31.8.08

The Hunt

It's a strange time and strange place in the year when a cyclist is looking for next year's contract. To the outside world, it is a great mystery as to how a rider suddenly goes from Toyota to Kelly Benefit from one year to another. Does the director of a new team call the rider and ask for them to ride? Does the rider apply for a position? What kind of resume does the rider submit, and when?

For a hoping-to-make the next step amateur this time of the year is called The Hunt. Tens of emails are sent out daily to friends, directors, and teammates. Only a few receive responses. One day your hopes are up and everything you wanted looks to be coming true. The next day your hopes are slammed into the dirt. Repeat for five weeks and see where you're at.

Such is how "applying" to a team progresses as a cyclist. For me, it's been up up up and down down down since I started The Hunt. Some of my friends and teammates have been successful this season, and that only makes me more determined to keep fighting more. I really wanted to keep racing this season, as I believe I had one more big result in me before the season's end. But it wasn't meant to be, between school starting and the team's finances dwindling, it was time to end racing.

I love cycling. I just hate this one part of it. The Hunt.


Phil and I getting schooled by Slipstream at Nationals.

2 comments:

Jon Chodroff said...

Just socks for phill. Classy...

Ryan Baumann said...

Wow, I've seen this picture 10 times and never noticed Phil is only wearing socks.

I'll second that. Classy.