Taking some much needed time off from racing bikes for a handful of weeks after completing three out of the first four NUE Series races this spring to get healthy. I'm a very competitive person and have been that way my whole life. Not competing at a WORS race (especially Eau Claire) will be tough, but it's time to take care of myself and spend some quality time with my family.
After finishing 21st at the Mohican 100 after suffering badly on a course that throws everything at you, I thought that the Lumberjack 100 in Michigan would be a better race for me. A good taper week didn't bring a good race day as I struggled just after an hour and ended up getting off my bike after limping in after just one lap. As much as I wanted to finish, my body had shut down and I was not having fun. I kept hearing a voice (my wife) that repeated "you are old enough to know better" over and over again as I couldn't overcome what physically was happening by blocking it with my usually strong mental stubbornness. My LJ100 was over...no words can explain how bad it feels when a decision like this is made, but hopefully it was for the better. Letting my teammates and sponsors down is the hardest thing to deal with over everything else even after 24 years of mtb racing.
Over the last five weeks it's been really tough for me to race. With a series of doctor appointments dealing with a few health issues that haven't been totally resolved yet, my thoughts have been miles away from the bike on most days. Next week is another and hopefully my last appointment to see an oncology specialist to have more tests done. I'm very optimistic that things will get figured out soon to get me back to racing on all eight cylinders again. Congrats to great finishes this past weekend by the A212/Specialized team at WORS and NUE races! Pedal on...
Photo Credit - Butch Phillips - Mohican 100
No comments:
Post a Comment