Yesterday is a perfect example of why I do what I do and why I love doing it.
Morning: Do an easy ride with Heidi Franz because we are both going to race a Seattle classic, The Ballard Criterium, later that day.
Afternoon: Get in the van with Heidi and Jennifer and head onto the ferry and then over to Ballard. Arrive and park in a primo spot at corner three.
I race, and I accomplish my “goals” – I don’t crash. I finish. I make a brief appearance at the front (at the wrong time but….details). I don’t embarrass myself. I have fun (my bike racing goals at Ballard are not that lofty).
Evening: Head over to where I made a dinner reservation with Jennifer and Heidi’s dad, Ernie. It just so happens that our table was outside and located right at the start/ finish line.
The three of us then watch the Women’s Pro 1-2 race which has three women that I coach in it (Heidi, Emily Alexander and Margaux McBirney) over dinner, some beers (a really good Imperial Stout by Métier) and a great bottle of wine.
During the race I watched Emily bridge up to a break midway through which was awesome. Emily has made some great progress in the past few months and watching her do that in a race that she has struggled in the past was, well, really awesome. (this is from Emily’s notes on the race: “For the record: this was the first time I haven’t been dropped in this race, and my first ever bridge in a race… Definitely a good night at the races”)
I watched Margaux, who is pretty new to bike racing, be active and eventually finish 5th – also awesome.
And I watched Heidi WIN THE BIKE RACE WHICH WAS AWESOME!!. Did I mention that Heidi’s dad was watching with us…..so that was also AWESOME!
After their race Emily, Heidi and Margaux joined us for some celebratory beverages as we watched the Pro 1-2 men race and then Jennifer, Heidi and I got back in the van, headed to the ferry terminal and pulled up just minutes before the boat to The Island was getting ready to load (which was a complete surprise and also pretty awesome).
So yeah, yesterday was a prime example of why I do what I do and why I love doing it. Because it is pretty damn awesome.