My look back at ToAD

I wanted to take a chance to you look back at the things I learned through my 10 days of racing, top ten style.

10) ToAD makes your kit and shoes smell, I mean really bad! If you plan on doing a long race series make sure you have multiple kits!

9) Mental exhaustion is harder than physical exhaustion. A race series is stressful and the mental grind really starts to take its toll towards the end of the series.

8) Have a book to read throughout the series. You need to recover each night and sitting around reading a book with your feet up worked really well for me. I read the new Bill Strickland book "Tour De Lance"

7) Take time to meet the people in the pack. I made sure to try to get to know some of the Wisconsin racers, and that didn't hurt when I needed a helping hand in the pack. It was great to get to know Dave Racine Hampshire Cycling Club throughout ToAD.

6) Try to sleep. Its hard, you hear free wheels when you close your eyes, you dream about the post up you want to do the following day. Find the time to sleep, I was really bad at this probably averaging around 7hrs a night (at most)

5) Write race reports, every race is a story and without a race report you may forget some of these stories. And believe it or not people read them, really people do read this blog it not a joke. Don't be afraid to utilize twitter as well. Twitter is strongest tool for updating people on races. It is also the key to the future of this sport in this country, in my opinion (more on that soon).

4) Buy air fresheners from Cosco. You are going to need to stock up on these because your car is going to stink! If you played football in high school think about the smell of your locker room, that's what my car smells like.

3) Be a host family. It's actually really fun. My parents will concur after hosting myself and 5 Chicago racers from 4 Chicago teams last saturday night (even if your basement floods the day your are suppose to host its still fun). My parents are considering hosting a pro team next year. 

2) Thank everyone. I mean everyone, from the women your checked in registration daily to the announcers who tried to make every race exciting even when they were far from it. Make sure to thank the officials who stand in the sun to watch sprinting lines and the SRAM neutral support guys who are willing to help keep your bike in top shape. Most importantly thank the locals. Say good morning to everyone you pass, show them that you are thankful that they opened up their town for you that day.

1)  Have fun, the growing focus on points and upgrades can really take the fun out of racing. It important to remember that racing your bike is a blast. If its not fun then all you are doing is riding in circles. Note this upgrade obsession is a Chicago thing, I didn't hear one Wisconsin rider talking about upgrades all week. (well except that we were all glad Travis was going to have to upgrade after ToAD). 

My final thought: This was an incredible experience, not only did I learn a ton about racing I learned that I can push myself past my limits. I realized I am a strong racer, I just need to remind myself of it and go for it. Well now its time for the rest of my season.