I hope Mike Vick goes to jail. He is a liar and either takes his fans for idiots or doesn’t care at all. First he claims he has nothing to do with dog fighting. When the charges first came out he claim ignorance and vowed to “clear his good name.” Well, after the feds show all their info against he he completely flops and takes a plea, says sorry and expects everyone to forget about it.

The take on these athletes that come up in the ghetto, hood or sticks claim they can’t just leave what they know and break off all the people around them that are only around for the glory and will be gone the instant these athletes run out of $. Funny how he was keeping it real with his boys but now they his two co-defendants in this case and Mike Vick himself are all flopping on their backs and willing to turn in everyone and anyone involved shows how they really keep it real when doing time is the other option.

After reading some blogs this morning I walked to get a paper and was thinking about racing and how there are guys every year that want to be professional cyclist. There are many of them that ride their bikes full time and pursue the career the same way a college student does. The thing is only a handful of guys a year get contract for the following season which leaves the rest in the same spot they were before. There are heaps of factors for the guys that don’t make it, everything from being unrealistic about their talent and goals to plain ol’ bad luck. Some guys will spend the winter in AZ or CA and “want a shot” or “are faster than that guy” and can smash guys on training rides in February but when it comes to a national level race on the weekend you don’t see them on the first page of the results. For many of these guys it seems they get “burnt out” or “screwed” and never reach their goals and after a few years of being poor and traveling around the give up. At this point some make the right decision because they don’t have the mindset or skillset to be bike races but some guys just need to give it a little more time. Maybe take it a little different approach and stop trying so hard and start having fun. The time thing is hard to come by though. Bike racing is so hard after a few years it will wear on a guy and break them down, driving in a van across the country with checking account balance in the triple digits all while turning yourself inside out every week…

Sooner or later I will not be making a living from riding my bike. I doubt I will every actually quit riding/racing but the time will come when I am sitting on the patio with my wife and son on a Saturday/Sunday morning and chose to skip a bike race because I would rather spend time with them or am worn out from work. Instead of providing for my family by standing on podiums I will be working a “regular” job. My regular job will be in property/construction management and one of my goals for the future is to figure out a way to help guys that are trying to break through make a buck. Yes, it will include work and often hard work but if I can figure out a way for some deserving guys to make a little money and still have time to ride and race maybe it will make the 2-3 years it takes for them to break through a little more manageable.

That’s the future. The present is a double day featuring some time in the mtns this morning and a criterium in Niwot this afternoon.

Hope you had a great weekend.

-dan

Its kinda like deep dish carbon wheels on the group ride.
-Dan Schmatz
Via Handheld SK3.

Myriam came through in a big way tonight with a “take and bake” calzone. I am pretty sure we could feed a small village with this thing but after the ride/group ride I was temped to put it down myself. This has been a good week of training, I have gotten in the mtns everyday and the weather has been awesome. Cool temps with a mix of sun, clouds, rain, wind and even a little hail! We are starting to stock up on our baby stuff. Its maybe a little early but we are finding good/great prices on the exact stuff we want so we are getting them now. I am looking forward to a couple rest days then a local race here in Colorado. Its the Niwot criterium and its been 5 years since the last time I have done it. Its an exciting downtown crit with lots of corners and has been ran off and on for many years. After that its another block of training before heading to St. Louis. Now its time to sit in front of the TV for a bit then go to sleep.