Pro License

License came in the mail USA cycling exchanged my accidental order of a BMX license for a mountain bike license.

I look forward to license time because I get to Photoshop an image for the back

2008
Neanderthal hockey player theme


2009
devil theme

I don’t think the picture even matters , I’ve never had anyone who was processing my registration look at the back of the license.

Sometimes when I'm bragging about how I am pro people think that means that I make a living riding my bike, have a mechanic, coach, someone who massages my legs after the race, that I am constantly sighing autographs and eating meals prepared by my team chief.  They confuse a pro Tour De France rider with a pro American mountain biker.

From what I hear the top 5 in the nation make a salary they can live off of and are in magazines regularly fitting the description that you would think belongs to a professional athlete.  The rest are just glorified weekend warriors.

I think there should be a sub categories in the pro field to distinguish between the different variety of pro mountain bikers.

best (best in the nation, On national traveling teams, in magazines regularly and make a living riding)

good (competitive, Still have dreams and ambitions of one day being in the best category)

poor (trying their best not to get lapped)

Why Do Mountain Bikers Have So Many Excuses?

Why do mountain bikers have so many excuses?

There are a lot of things that can go wrong with your bike and your self.  So a lot of the excuses are justified but other times... not so much.

Excuses aren’t necessarily a bad thing, they can be helpful.  As long as you can convince yourself that the excuse you use are true you can reap the benefits of having more confidence and a better self esteem.  Telling your self excuses takes away all the blame from your self and putting it on things, events, conditions and other people.

“Its not my fault I would have won that race if it wasn’t for my (bad knee, crappy bike, other people getting in my way, my inappropriate tire tread pattern, bla bla bla Ect. Ect. Ect.)

It's all out of your control destiny decides your fate thus freeing you from the horrible burden of responsibility. 

Burns Pacing

Rode with John Burns yesterday. We did a road ride 2+ hours . John is on good form. I spent 95% of the ride staring at his rear wheel.

every time I tried pulling around him my legs protested so I just settled in and accepted that I am the weaker rider and that john is the alpha rider.

It was like a motor pacing. According to this persons blog, motor pacing simulates race pace and being in a peloton. Pretty useless for mountain bikers.

Here is pretty much how are ride looked (john is the scooter , im the other guy)...

my fat face

John being faster than me

me eating john's face... tastes like chicken

My 30 Year Plan To Cycling Success

I’ve been riding more lately so when I went to the gym yesterday and stood on the scale I expected to have lost a couple of pounds.   The exact opposite happened I weighed 4 pounds more!!! Guess I’ve been indulging more than usual in my post ride meals.

I now weigh 174 lbs that’s close to 10 lbs more than my racing weigh last year.  I already didn’t consider myself much of a climber but I may have an even harder time this year.  I’ve been lifting weights regularly so I think its muscle, maybe it’s visceral fat but I don’t think so.

It might not be such a bad thing to have a little bit extra weight.  I took a class in college on the biology of aging and the teacher talked about how the body loses muscle mass with age. In this article they mention how a person will lose half there muscle mass in their life time. Most people lose about 1-2 percent a year after your 30 years of age.

This article mentions even though fatter people need to deal with all the side effects that go along with being fat (heat disease, hypertension, diabetes) they normally they have more muscle mass and that can help them in their older age.  Women live longer than men and they also have on average more body fat.  Maybe its more healthy to have a few extra pounds of fat and muscle to live a healthy long life.  Here is my plan...

My goal is to pack on muscle, a little bit of fat so when I do start wasting away I will be at a more advantageous stating point.



By the time I am 60 my body will have emaciated away to the ideal size to be an elite cyclist.   My cycling (hopefully by then there will be more money in mountain biking).

Should Mountain Bikers Shave Their Legs?

Should mountain bikers shave their legs?

Lets weigh both side...

Shaving

Look pro: Shaving your legs is more popular among professional (high level) mountain bikes.

less chance of infection: less hair means less chances of infection, an easier to clean wound, bandages will stick better and be easier to remove.

Washing made simpler: It's easier to clean dried mud off legs.

Massages made simpler: Use less lotion and its less gross for the person doing the massaging. Also less lotion is needed for sunblock which can save some money over time.

Not shaving

Don’t Look feminine: Uut side the cycling world it is considered weird and girly to shave ones legs.

Time saver: Shaving your legs a few times a week can add up.

No Razor burn: If it gets infected it can be a very annoying.

my opinion

I don’t shave my legs verry often and when I do I use a hair clipper.  The benefits are minor but it can be very time consuming if you shave often.  Using the hair clipper once every three weeks feels like about the perfect middle ground to get a lot of the benefits but not waist too much time.