Not quite PRO-DSJ

When I first started racing, one of my objectives was to "get paid" for doing what I love most.
So this weekend, I got m first expense cheque. Ok, it's not quite pro, in that it is just being reimbursed for what I have spent, but it's amazing how fast the bills can add up and how much it can cost to travel and to race. Fair enough, if you spend your life travelling and racing it's only fitting that sponsors help you out and cover your costs.

So another race under my belt, did the Toronto Zig Zag race. A small crit on the Lake in Toronto. I had put in a big week of training and was pretty busy so I knew I wouldn't be a 100%, but it was a good chance to see the boys and gel a little with the team. I drove down solo and hung with my friends Peter and Hailey and watched some hockey and chit chatted about non-cycling things...kind of refreshing when you get to hang out with people that don't race, it really takes your mind off of things. I was a little too relaxed at the start and was not really paying attention and I almost got popped by my lackadaisical racing style. Pete and Thorben were in a break right from the start and I missed the move so I stayed in the pack and covered team RACE's moves all day. It was a little confusing the break caught the pack then Pozniak went off the front with a non lapped rider Keir P and I throttles myself for a few laps but I fell a little short in trying to ring it back and I popped in the last lap so I just rolled in slowly.

Racing on the road, results are often times deceiving, you put in all this work over the winter, training, diet, training, you get stronger, smarter and still you can have poor results here and there. That's kind of the good thing about Cross...you get what you deserve. But anyways I would have to say that the Month of April has not been stellar, I haven't felt like I was 100% yet. Also being with a more of a team, when your guys are up the road, you don't chase em and your role changes a little bit. Last year I was a one man show, if I wasn't in the move I would manipulate the situation to make others chase, or bridge myself. So it's a little bit of an adaptation period to not always be in the spotlight, but it's kind of good for my patience.

I was using the April races to work on my form , try some things out. Funny enough my old style of racing, which is more like fighting or scrapping seems to be more effective. I've been a little too patient up to date and need to be race inspired a little more. I guess it's not a big deal, cause I never really go well in April anyways and May is usually a better month for me. Maybe some of my early season racing lacked objectives, I should have been a little more focused on certain things, cause I could have had some good results with I would have focused on some small details. In the car on the way back last night I was thinking what the hell is the problem, and I think I figured it out. So this weekend I'll put it in practice and see if I had some clear voyance or if it was just a matter of talking to myself in a four hour drive. If you're a bike racer you know how that works.

For the most part, the hard part is staying focused when the results are lackluster,it's easy when your on form and it's gong well. A few little things to tweak. I've been lazy, it has cost me. I race well when it's aggressive, not stupid but hard, enough of this trying to be lazy BS.
That's not me. Glen once told me, when you find a wasy to win, stick with it. I think I have learned to be a little more patient this month...but there is definitely a possibility in being too patient. Lessons learnedi , just need the legs and the head to be there to show up at the same time, that way I can stop making excuses and put some more hardware on the shelf.
DSJ