the dream
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
August 26th, 2007 at 11:47 am
wow. that’s one of the best blogs i’ve read in a really long time! i hope your idea works out b/c it’s tough for the women just like the men… this i know.
i’m trying to make that leap to “pro” but no matter what i want to continue enjoying riding and remember it’s not worth it unless you’re having fun…
k2
August 26th, 2007 at 12:55 pm
Hey Dan,
You’re so right. I did the “trying to make it” thing for a few years before I realized I simply didn’t have the horsepower, and was never going to, to make it as a pro and got myself a job. Still racing and having fun, and skipping a race now and then to hang out with the wife. See you at Niwot tonight!
August 26th, 2007 at 4:19 pm
i like this blog, it reinforces that sometimes i think there are only a handful of guys in cycling that i truly enjoy their company, and you are one of them.
but you didnt touch on one subject, what about the guy that makes it, has multi year contracts on good teams and bags them two years in a row because he finally decides he has the physical talent but not the mental talent? Honestly though, my decision this year was in part because I didnt like taking a good paying spot when there are so many guys putting out ten times the effort of me trying to make it. I want to see someone motivated get a ride that deserves it.
if i move to CO can i work for you as your assistant property manager? or your nanny i dont care, i have experience, i had three cabbage patch dolls as a kid, actually i didnt, i held my sisters hostage, but during that time i had to take care of them, so let me know.
Chris Thater race was held 20 minutes from me today, and I spent all day cutting firewood in the woods. I probably would have come down to watch if you and the Iceman came to town though.
ok, see ya
,mike
August 27th, 2007 at 6:33 am
Great post. I like seeing anyone excel in the sport and hate to see dreams crushed by either inner or outer forces. I really like those that understand giving back to what they got out of it is the best gift.
August 27th, 2007 at 10:43 am
Killer post.
August 28th, 2007 at 9:57 am
Dan,
My good man! What about the racers that have the talent but are held back by all the BS politics in cycling. Your legs can let your legs do all the talking but if you don’t want to jump through the hoops by governing bodies most often than not you wont get far (to that next level). You shouldn’t have to kiss ass. What happened to just being tough and being a good person?
Besides there’s nothing more important than family. You’re kids don’t need you all bruised and battered from a silly bike race.
There is a great life and more to it after cycling, people! You just have to pop the bubble and get out.
August 28th, 2007 at 2:10 pm
Love the post,
Although I never came close to being offered a Pro spot, I did spend a couple of seasons with 75+ starts(I thought was alot). After realizing that other guys were traveling/racing WAAY more, and seeing/finding out what the lifestyle of a first or second year Pro actually was, I realized that even if I had been given a offer at some point(not terribly likely), 99% chance I wouldn’t take it. Once the carrot was gone, I moved on.
I’ve learned MANY things from training/racing bikes. Work ethic, persistence, amongst other things, have been huge in helping me professionally. I’m in law school now, and I’m much more prepared for the work load because of the time I spent on the bike.
Even if you don’t “make it”, learn about yourself along the way, these skills are invaluable. They have been to me.
August 28th, 2007 at 7:09 pm
I fully agree with Candace. And Dan. And Jones, as I ramble in Jones-fashion.
I think that in order to “make it” in cycling you have to look at yourself as what you are: a performer and make the most out of what ever shape that takes. World Champion like K Armstrong, Most solid and dependable domestique of all time like Hincapie, Always gonna be there in the melee of a good crit Dan Schmatz, Joker, Party Girl, Underachiever who’s overachieving, Most willing to throw grandma under the truck to win a sprint, Always good for an early calculated breakaway, Always there to take care of your teammates through thick and thin, on and on. If you are just pack fodder and don’t ever risk something to be something exciting you are just another guy or gal trying to live the dream while living in a dream. You just have to be, or pretend to be, something special to get noticed.
And, if that wears out and you can’t do it, go contribute to society. Take your lessons with you without bitterness.
I think there is this illusion of “making it” where we are of the sort where we never really ‘make it’, if that makes sense. Never there, never close enough. I remember this one time riding through campus with the Laser and we saw these guys gleeming, just ecstatic about getting out on a Saturday to ride. We looked at each other and said, wouldn’t that be nice to feel like that again…once you wear out your try, I don’t know if you ever really can feel that way again. Bleak. Sorry for the downer…
Anyway, it’s all illusive. Overachiever-dreamer types never really ‘make it’, but they sure as hell try. I think your career, Schmatz, has been great and I look forward to hearing about the next level.