Monday, April 03, 2006

Monday nights at Gasworks

Michelle Maislen of the NWWC contacted me earlier in the year asking if I would be available for any volunteer work. A ride leader position was available leaving from Gasworks - a mere 2 blocks from my house - so I was more than happy to give back to the community, could it get more convenient? Tonight was the first night and three women showed up. We managed to avoid the thundershowers and only have a little splash from the wet/muddy trail up to Matthews beach. I talked to each one about their interests - why they are on the ride, what they are hoping to get out of it, etc etc. Two out of the three women are completely new to the scene - ready to jump in with both feet. The third- Eden Marie - is in her first year of racing and will be an invaluable resource to help guide these women into the racing scene.

Both had the same questions - how do you train? What do you do? Hopefully I answered in a way to give them some direction - and I really hope they show up next week so I can talk to them more. I told one woman that cycling is a collection of experiences. Each training ride, race, conversation with coaches, fellow cyclists, reading information on the web - all adds to the ever increasing puzzle. Hopefully at the end of it you can make sense out of it all - and teach someone else what you learned.

Thank you for the continuous guidance. It is really refreshing and helpful to hear another perspective on my collection of experiences. I fully agree - racing is something that cannot be rushed. I am eager to learn more - but know that wisdom comes all in good time.

1 comment:

JT said...

Wow - that's quite a story. Thanks for sharing. It's funny how life takes those unexpected twists - and wonderful how someone can leave that much of an impression on your life. And really - cycling is more about the collective experience than winning races. Sure that's rewarding too - but there's so much more to it.