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| Ren made me do it, as usual... |
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Well I’m sitting here watching the UCI track world cup and working on sponsorship stuff for Zone-6 and the thought just occurred to me that I really want to go ride my bike. The thing is, though, that three days ago I made a commitment to myself that I would take a couple weeks off the thing because I feel really worn out. I’m tired a lot, it takes me about an hour and a half to get my legs under me when I do longer or harder (that’s what she said) rides, and my freakin hamstrings and glutes refuse to release fully when I roll out and stretch…which is every day. Those things tell me I need to take a break. And I need to REALLY take a break, I mean not just from riding, but from running also, which I do a considerable amount of in the off-season. And I just started running two weeks ago and just got over the initial soreness of said activity. So that sucks. Now I will have to go through that shit all over again. But…gotta get my body recovered and healthy and ready to start training for next year.
Some athletes do not need to take a break like this. I know plenty of riders that keep training year round at a high level. They may ease off the intensity or shut it down altogether, but I know a lot who just keep going as though they are getting ready to race in three weeks. In my opinion, unless you actually ARE going to race in three or four weeks…doing a lot of intensity this time of year is pointless and a waste of energy. But…it’s just an opinion. But but but…I am an opinionated guy and I’ve done a lot of research on the subject and…well…I’m right. So STOP training like you’re racing and just take it easy for a while. Your body will most likely end up stronger and much more ready to resume actual, focused, and, most importantly, high-quality training training when it’s time to ramp up the intensity in February (why is there an R in February?) in order to be ready to race those early season March and April races which nobody gives a shit about anyway.
Yeah, that first race in March is fun and all…and it’s great to see all your racing buds again and get the sprint legs firing, and maybe even start some shit and get a break going, but…alas…no one at Indy Crit, TOAD, Intelli, or Quad City weekend says “Hey you guys, you better watch out for (insert miscellaneous rider name) because he won Marian three months ago… And to be clear, I am not discounting the Marian crit as not worth your time at all…I wish there were many more early season races on the regional calendar. Were that the case, I would place a much higher priority on inserting a peak into my training calendar for that time of year. The sad fact is that there just aren’t enough early season races to justify it. But, again, these are only my opinions. And they matter very little in the grand scheme of things. AND…for the record, I am sooooooo very grateful for Dean and every single other race director who puts in the time and great effort to put on races in these fragile and uncertain times for the racing community. I will always support them as much as possible.
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| Oh so Dead Sexy |
So, what else? Well…Zone-6 is definitely upgrading its stature for 2020. We are sponsor hunting at the moment and getting our kit designs started. We have significantly bolstered the roster for 2020 and I believe we will be protagonists in the local and regional elite races. I am still in the business of development so we have also added a few more young up and coming cat 4 and 5 riders to the stable. Matt Laubach will be team manager for 2020 while I remain the director and basically Bossman (as Rachel and Bri still refer to me) and chief horsewhipper. I am super proud of all the guys for their commitment to our team vision, which is rider development, person development, and community involvement with a focus on volunteer efforts.
The focus on volunteer efforts will definitely involve our respective geographic areas and individual and organizational needs within, but will also extend to many of the races in which we compete. Last year, I had everyone who raced Indy Crit do a volunteer shift for Jen and it worked out very well. For 2020 I will expand that and be proactive in contacting race directors to offer our guys in a support role. As I mentioned, I am passionate about developing the individual person FIRST, and the bike racer second. And giving back to the community which supports you is a key element in the development of a well-rounded individual.
Too often we are apathetic toward those in need of a hand in life. But we gladly accept that same offer of help when we need it most. I firmly believe that the more often we go out of our way to offer assistance to those in need, the more we can actually change our everyday and automatic thought processes for the better. That is, our go-to decision making can begin to default toward a more positive choice when faced with apathy vs action. I am always amazed and reinforced at how good it feels.
Oh year…I shall now tell you what I have learned on the News: wild fires = bad. Turkey and Kurds and Ukraine and military aid and quid pro quo and bombs and missile strikes…all very bad. Impeachment and ridiculous two-party political division and CNN vs Fox--more badness. And a certain political leader of the free world (more like a tribal chief, in reality, when considering his constituency) is a poorly-programmed automatous and grotesque caricature of some greasy pig-fiend from Tammany Hall not fit for the Chuck E Cheese Band, let alone the Hall of Presidents. A first-order cretin dunderhead who somehow lacks the moral awareness which is automatically instilled in the very genome of every human being from birth. The thing's dreadful psychopathy is the sort usually reserved for the worst of the criminally insane. ----I cannot recall where I heard that heinous description, but I’m sure those words are floating around somewhere in low orbit, up for grabs should anyone need a mantra to repeat whilst in deep meditation or just looking at an iPad while pooping. I suspect the author of those words is a dangerous man, and not to be trusted around the weak-minded.
Editor’s note: Mr. Richter subscribes to NO political party whatsoever and would most likely vote for Kermit the Frog from the Muppet Show, as a write-in, due to his humility and altruism, two words which we believe are scheduled to be deleted from Webster’s Dictionary in their next edition.
