Back in the day......

.....when I first started racing, my very first race was the Camellia Festival Road Race near Ione, California. I was littler then - seeing how it was 25 years ago - and I was only in 7th grade.

The thing of it was, I didn't know anything about racing then. I mean, yeah, I knew a little bit - and I did have a coach and a team. I was slowly learning about riding and packs and racing technique. But for the most part, I was a greenie......just total newbie. Didn't even know there was such a thing as gear restrictions in Junior racing. I was in wool shorts, nailed-in-cleat shoes, just looking to ride fast with these other Juniors.

And the cool thing about it - I just didn't know anyone.

Why is that cool??

Because the mental part of it didn't get in the way of the riding or racing.

When you start to learn this and that about racing - and especially some of the key players out there - sometimes your mind can play tricks on you - "Oh, that's Greg Foster, the National Champion on the Track....I'll never be able to beat him in a sprint!" or "Great - just great - Scott McKinley is here again - I guess we'll all be racing for 2nd place."

But no - that first race - I was clueless.......and thus, had more of an open mind to possibilities and opportunities in races. There was no mental block - no intimidation - no conclusions before the race even started.

It was just me, the bike, the race.

Too fun.

Okay, back to work.