Road Bike Racing - Jealousy

Today I went out for a ride, as I was heading out through Carrboro I spotted some dudes decked out in matching bright orange team kits. I started chatting with them and as it turns out, they are 3 young cat 1's who are 18,19,and 20 years old and who are training here for the next month or so. I am now consumed with jealousy - these guys are living the dream! I asked, "So, are you in school?" and one guy says "No... I was taking some community college classes but you just can't ride all the time and go to school too." Point taken.

Apparently a typical day for them is getting up, starting to ride at 10 AM, and getting in 5 or 6 hours. Good lord. I was just getting out there at 3:00 after a day of class, and they were leaving for their SECOND ride of the day! That just strikes me as unfair, but I think I'm just bitter... A lifestyle that I can only wistfully aspire to.

Out on the ride, we started riding up Borland Rd, which is a short but decently steep hill. One of the guys just nonchalantly pops a wheelie and rides the entire way up the hill, maybe 200 yards or so. Mind you, this is a hill much feared by local weekend warriors and upon which many attacks take place during group rides. I couldn't act like I wasn't impressed as hell. That pretty much sums it up.

that is sickening. i guess there is decent enough money at the cat 1 level....

That is pretty cool.. I hope to be an 18 year old cat 1 someday...before I die.

Just pretend to be happy for them...

that is sickening. i guess there is decent enough money at the cat 1 level....

No, there isn't.

I applaud anyone for chasing their dreams. But they either have their parents backing them, or they are just barely getting by working part time jobs. No one is getting paid to ride at the Cat1 level. There are plenty of unpaid PROs out there, FYI.

Don't confuse having all the time in the world to ride with doing well financially.

I was on a ride last week with some guys and was feeling pretty good about staying with a tough tempo up a long hill with just me and one other guy leaving the rest behind. At the top of the hill, I detected weakness in the other guy, so I cranked it up another notch and just started TTing my way to the finish... another 4 or 5 kilometers.

So here I am cruising along all by myself, feeling really good, moving fast (for me) and suddenly I'm passed by this young guy like I'm standing still. He bridged and blew by me and simply disappeared down the road.

So now I know what fast really is, and it ain't me. So ,yeah, I know how you feel.

Az

I'd settle to be 20...wait, what am I saying?

Yeah, I talked with some of those sakonet riders at the ncsu race. Theyre young and strong for sure.

They are apparently doing a training camp up there.

Today I went out for a ride, as I was heading out through Carrboro I spotted some dudes decked out in matching bright orange team kits. I started chatting with them and as it turns out, they are 3 young cat 1's who are 18,19,and 20 years old and who are training here for the next month or so. I am now consumed with jealousy - these guys are living the dream! I asked, "So, are you in school?" and one guy says "No... I was taking some community college classes but you just can't ride all the time and go to school too." Point taken.

Apparently a typical day for them is getting up, starting to ride at 10 AM, and getting in 5 or 6 hours. Good lord. I was just getting out there at 3:00 after a day of class, and they were leaving for their SECOND ride of the day! That just strikes me as unfair, but I think I'm just bitter... A lifestyle that I can only wistfully aspire to.

Out on the ride, we started riding up Borland Rd, which is a short but decently steep hill. One of the guys just nonchalantly pops a wheelie and rides the entire way up the hill, maybe 200 yards or so. Mind you, this is a hill much feared by local weekend warriors and upon which many attacks take place during group rides. I couldn't act like I wasn't impressed as hell. That pretty much sums it up.

unless these two dudes turn into top euro pros, that's where i would have thought to myself "good luck, and by the way, i'll take fries with that".

unpaid PROs

??

Q,

I'm pretty sure that unless you're majoring in underwater basketweaving with a minor in reeferology a degree from UNC is worth more than the vast majority of pro contracts :D

That said - it sure as hell isn't all about money, and sans f**ked knees, and a few years younger I'd love to do it. I'd ride all day for free as long as I had a place to eat and sleep. In reality though - I'll take racing at the CAT3 level, hopefully CAT2 in a year or two - and staying involved in sport in other capacities (maybe coaching/sports medicine).

^^^ my thoughts

Agreed with most of the posts above, it would be great just to be able to ride all day, but I look at cycling as a hobby and school for me at least is very important. I need to do well in my education and later on my career...cycling is just a huge plus IMHO

I can tell you that if you're willing to take summer school, and are able to work your schedule around such that you have a 4hr opening in the middle of your day, or at the end of your day, you can easily ride 20-25hrs a week, during the school year.

There are several kids in our conference (although, ironically, one is taking this semester off to train in AZ...taking online classes, though) who are taking the steps necessary to move up to the next level, and are doing just that. And, there was a guy getting his Doctorate from the University of Chicago who was also a domestic pro when I first started racing. You CAN do both.

I'll agree with the Duke...between a knee surgery and a failed ACL in 2007 I managed around 12 hours per week on the bike. Working 50-60 hours per week, and taking 2 classes per semester - at night.

College where all I'll have to do is take classes? Pfft, 20 hours easy :D

??

Yes. They (the team you ride for) foot all of your bills to get you to races, keep you in equipment, medical expenses, but you have no salary. Basically, you're given a try-out year in order to demonstrate that you do in fact belong, and can do more than race the local regional races you did as a Cat1.

Yes. They (the team you ride for) foot all of your bills to get you to races, keep you in equipment, medical expenses, but you have no salary. Basically, you're given a try-out year in order to demonstrate that you do in fact belong, and can do more than race the local regional races you did as a Cat1.

isn't Dave Clinger on something similar with RR?

isn't Dave Clinger on something similar with RR?

Probably. Sad to see a person of his ability NOT getting paid, too.

But, YOU (your entire being) represent your sponsor, and Dave Clinger is not going to be ideal for that as long as he has his Maori facial tattoos. But that's neither here nor there.

I just know that at least one of the two guys that turned pro from my team two years ago didn't get paid his first year. He is now, and he had a job to support himself his first year, but damn, that would test my resolution.

...I was just getting out there at 3:00 after a day of class...
Just wait until you graduate and start your M-F 8:00-5:00 with an hour commute.


unless these two dudes turn into top euro pros, that's where i would have thought to myself "good luck, and by the way, i'll take fries with that".
+1,000,000

A former junior teammate of mine raced pro for a team in Italy for a couple of years, then came back to the states to study and become a lawyer. Living in poverty with the title "professional" just didn't seem right to him.

But, YOU (your entire being) represent your sponsor, and Dave Clinger is not going to be ideal for that as long as he has his Maori facial tattoos. But that's neither here nor there.

I would have thought that's the exact image Rock Racing is going for. Granted, you've limited yourself to one team by appealing to that style.

^^^agree, but i think Clinger fits in better with Rock Racing with his facial tattoos than he would without them, but thats jus one case.

EDIT: damn you urbanknight, posted the same point i was posting

^^^agree, but i think Clinger fits in better with Rock Racing with his facial tattoos than he would without them, but thats just one case.
Apparently one of at least two! lol

Q,

I'm pretty sure that unless you're majoring in underwater basketweaving with a minor in reeferology a degree from UNC is worth more than the vast majority of pro contracts :D



Yeah I know, I'm certainly not planning to drop out of college anytime soon :D I just thought it was kind of cool, and it's hard not to be at least a tiny bit jealous of somebody who can just put their life on hold and pursue something like cycling (even if their parents are bankrolling the whole thing.)

Q- I've seen those guys out on the road a few times, and they were at the NCSU RR as well- they rode strong there. I haven't hooked up with them for a ride, but maybe I'll manage to before they finish up with their training camp.

My new goal is to wheelie Borland :)

Yeah, there are plenty of guys on pro teams that dont get paid.

Sure everyone on jittery-joes and toyota united gets that sweet as check, but pro teams like Time Development and DLP might one or two riders that get paid(probably Dulin, beamer,and Johnson) out of 12 guys.

Yeah, there are plenty of guys on pro teams that dont get paid.

Sure everyone on jittery-joes and toyota united gets that sweet as check, but pro teams like Time Development and DLP might one or two riders that get paid(probably Dulin, beamer,and Johnson) out of 12 guys.

I doubt their check is that sweet.

First time I did the tour de toona I was staying at the same hotel as the healthnet guys, as well as some other smaller pro teams. Those guys were doubled up in a crappy motel for a week, which was probably the norm for the entire season. Made me realize just how unglamorous being a domestic pro is, even on a top team.

EDIT: college guys complaining about not having enough time to train, completely ridiculous. You'll never have as much training time again as you have right now, unless you become unemployed or a bike racer.

I love riding, training, and racing my bicycle, but I would not want to do it for a living unless I was an uber talent like boonen or equivalent who is pulling down some bank and making more $$ through endorsements.

I'm pretty content with what I have and the ability to do what I can. I'm thankful that I have a wife who supports me and encourages me to do better. It was such an awesome feeling to come off a sprint where I almost puked for 7th place in a cat5 race to see my wife and kids beaming with excitement like I won a pro tour.

Deliver pizzas at night and ride bikes all day long. You get plenty of time to train, free food, and the money isn't all that bad, so long as your car isn't a gas guzzler. Of course, when people ask you what you do, just tell them "Oh, I'm a professional cyclist," and not "Yeah, I ride my bike all day and deliver pizza."

LIVE THE DREAM!

unless these two dudes turn into top euro pros, that's where i would have thought to myself "good luck, and by the way, i'll take fries with that".

+http://avenefica.files.wordpress.com/2007/10/lemniscate.jpg

I love cycling, I love racing, and while I wish I had all the time in the world, I also love watching my investment accounts grow. Early retirement trumps being an ubercyclist.

good for them, bf is full of haters

Hey, if you've got it, use it for what it's worth. We are education mongerers here in the US, but some of us (royal "us", me in particular, not so much) are blessed with athletic talent and not so much with academic talent. If they are late teen's, early 20's and Cat 1's, then they have the talent to go the distance if they give it a credible go. They will go pro if they make the right choices. Not a question.

They might not be Einstein, but they can ride a bike. There are people who will pay them to ride a bike. If they play their cards right, they can make a lucrative business out of the deal.

My former team started a Division III domestic pro team. The guys on the pro team got $500 a month, meal money on days they actually raced, and the team rented a house they could stay in if they wanted.

Given that they only got meal money on race days, winning prize money on the weekends was often necessary to buy food for the week.

Exactly. There is a reason all(except SS/chipotle) is listed as a d3 team. To be a D2 or D1 uci team you have to pay minimum rider salaries and employ doctors full time. You race a bike on the pro level for the love of the sport, not the money. And if you have issues with the choice of school or racing, well, unless someone is beating down your door then pick school.

EDIT: college guys complaining about not having enough time to train, completely ridiculous. You'll never have as much training time again as you have right now, unless you become unemployed or a bike racer.


Undoubtedly. This was true even in law school. Now I'm at work 10-11 hours a day, and a 5 month old, and riding the rollers 5 days a week in the garage memorizing Oscar Freire's 1999 World Championship attack on VHS.

Law school, with a wife who had a good job was the closest I will ever get to being Pro, or riding like one. Of course at the time I moaned that "I'm soooo busy." Ha!

+htt p://avenefica.files.wordpress.com/2007/10/lemniscate.jpg

I love cycling, I love racing, and while I wish I had all the time in the world, I also love watching my investment accounts grow. Early retirement trumps being an ubercyclist.

who said anything about investments and early retirement?

i was merely stating that i'd rather have an education, unlike the vast majority of ex-pro bike racers.

EDIT: college guys complaining about not having enough time to train, completely ridiculous. You'll never have as much training time again as you have right now, unless you become unemployed or a bike racer.


Absolutely 100% true. Nothing was better than stacking my senior year's spring semester schedule so that every day I was done with class around lunchtime.

who said anything about investments and early retirement?

Just me.

unless these two dudes turn into top euro pros, that's where i would have thought to myself "good luck, and by the way, i'll take fries with that".

What's the rush?

EDIT: college guys complaining about not having enough time to train, completely ridiculous. You'll never have as much training time again as you have right now, unless you become unemployed or a bike racer.


Yes and no...

Try taking 18 hours and working two jobs, one of which being as a photojournalist...

I get out of class monday, wednesday, and friday at 10:50. I get out of class tuesday an thursday at 12:15. If I rode during all my free time, I'd overtrain myself in a matter of weeks. Plus I do have a couple other things to do :)
Life's rough.

I'm pretty content with what I have and the ability to do what I can. I'm thankful that I have a wife who supports me and encourages me to do better. It was such an awesome feeling to come off a sprint where I almost puked for 7th place in a cat5 race to see my wife and kids beaming with excitement like I won a pro tour.
Well said.

College guys with not enough time??? I went to school full time, worked 30 hrs a week and still had so much more time then I do now. I'd kill to be in college then, if only I raced back then instead of chasing women, drinking beer and doing a few other things...

Now I work full time, have a 4 1/2 yo and a 5 month old. My wife stays home so not only do I have not enough time but money is tight too. But I'm hoping training 10-12 hours a week is enough to get me to cat3 this year, then I am happy to race there forever.

If I had the talent to do anything professional, I'd put school on hold and at least give it a try. You can always go back to school, you don't always get a 2nd chance to become pro, even a domestic pro.

Yes and no...

Try taking 18 hours and working two jobs, one of which being as a photojournalist...

at least you don't have to add being a super hero to the list.

http://www.ditko.comics.org/ditko/artist/arcas20b.jpg

I like that you keep referring to me as Peter Parker.

Mary Jane is hot, and she's a red head
http://photos-d.ak.facebook.com/photos-ak-sctm/v204/154/93/33100190/n33100190_31017199_8864.jpg

^^ not hot.

*shrug*
All the better :)

Don't sweat it.

Hot women ⊕ Stable long-term relationships

I like that you keep referring to me as Peter Parker.

Mary Jane is hot, and she's a red head

meh. i prefer melanin.

most of my cousins were redheads. then they turned 25, and went gray.

meh. i prefer melanin.

most of my cousins were redheads. then they turned 25, and went gray.

The last lady was blond and turned red in the summer. The red head (shall we just name her saucy?) is a sort of...well..translucent. But she does tan a bit in the summer.

I mean, if we're going to talk ideal i'd like me a nice tall tan Italian preferably with some curls in her hair. Alas, during that 6 month stint of single life, i was reaffirmed my belief that a woman's hawtness can only get her so far in regards to me being able to put up with her.

The last lady was blond and turned red in the summer. The red head (shall we just name her saucy?) is a sort of...well..translucent. But she does tan a bit in the summer.

I mean, if we're going to talk ideal i'd like me a nice tall tan Italian preferably with some curls in her hair. Alas, during that 6 month stint of single life, i was reaffirmed my belief that a woman's hawtness can only get her so far in regards to me being able to put up with her.

move.

move.

Truth :(