long time and parenthood as a crit

Whoah that was a long time.

Funny how things change. To all you fathers out there rocking on the bike, putting in the miles, and thinking about taking names in the upcoming races of 2011...my hat is off to you in a big way. As a new father (12 weeks now), I am having a real hard time putting any effort into pedaling. The energy isn't there to get onto the saddle. The times that I do have (and they are very infrequent) seem to be better spent trying to recover for the next big "parenting" effort.

From my very limited experience as a parent, I seem to think that it is going to play out like a 20 lap showcase crit:

Birth - 3 year (laps 1 through 5):
Hold on for dear life as the pace is breakneck speed. Look up and breath every once in awhile as you turn yourself inside out trying to hold onto the wheel in front of you and think to yourself in disbelief as you can't imagine that anyone can put out as much suffering as the thing your trying to keep up with.

4 through 14 years (laps 6 through 15):
Settle in as you start to figure out the pace and flow of the race. You start to understand your competitor and have identified the mannerisms that give you hints on when they are about to put in a herculean effort to destroy you or are willing to work with you in peace.

15 through 18 years (laps 16 - 20):
All the effort up to this point has given you the knowledge and experience that might give you a chance for a team win. You've worked with your teammates to put your sprinter in the sweet spot of the peloton. You've done all you can and as long as you get them to the final turn in a good position, the best you can hope for is for them to finish strong using the effort you provided earlier. Who knows, maybe they'll even go on to graduate school afterwards??


Maybe? Maybe not.