ON BEING A POOR PROSELYTIZER

     I've known for years that I'm a poor sales person.  Whatever that guy is who can sell ice to an Eskimo (I know, Inuit), I'm the exact opposite.  Every now and then I give it a shot, and while not a disaster, it certainly brings me back to reality.  In retirement I moved to authoring two books on my cycling adventures.  Truthfully, the intention was 1) Give me something to do; and 2) Try to convince people to take cycling vacations.  I have a website and I have a blog.  With few notable exceptions, my exhortations have fallen on deaf ears.  You can lead a horse to water.....
     But fear not, I will continue to put in my two cents worth whenever I can.  In my first book I describe myself as "experienced" rather than "an expert."  I'll stick with that.  My first cycling "priority" are tours or vacations.  But I like time trials.  And I'll throw in a road race every now and then for the training.
     So what is the reason for this post?  After my race this weekend, I turned to my spread sheet for an up-date.  And tonight my granddaughter posted on Facebook something about displaying your (running) medals.  Well, thanks to a recent Christmas gift, I have a place to display my medals.  I've written many times that medals are more a sign of how well your training and health are rather than glorifying your racing prowess.  Especially as one matures (read: gets old).  I can no longer keep up with the fast guys, and have a difficult time with the intermediates on our club rides.  Of course, most of them are twenty to thirty years younger than me.  But, back to my spread sheet.
     Most of my races are five year age divisions, so I'm against guys my own age.  It isn't the same as Cat 3,4, or 5.  The talent pool is thin and gets thinner as I get older.  So take these stats with a grain of salt:  Since 2004, my inaugural year of not seeing a podium, I've had 107 races and placed 1st in 27; 2nd in 36; and 3rd in 21.  In 23 I finished off the podium.  Broken down differently: 75 time trials, garnering 24, 29, 14 1st, 2nd, and 3rd places respectively.  I only missed the podium 8 times (two of which were at Nationals). I've done 30 road races with 3, 7, 7, podiums, and 13 misses.  I found out the hard way to stay out of criteriums, getting pulled rather quickly (but not last) in the only two I entered.
     If you are over 50, you might want to check out TSGA.org (Senior Games).  There aren't as many in Texas as there were ten years ago, but we still have fun.  It isn't nearly as serious as USAC, although the competitiveness is still there.  And a few folks even allow a 70+ category, although as far as USAC is concerned we are lumped in with the 60+ guys.  There are lots of guys faster than me, they just don't come out and race.  And, for cycling vacations, check out Velo View Bike Tours.