The Jaded Jaguar

There are a lot of distinct personalities in the sport of cycling. From BMX to MTB to Road to Cyclocross, I've noticed some archetypes that show up over and over. Since it can be hard to break down the specifics without a good metaphorical basis, I decided to use Marvel Comics characters. Below are several superheros with easily recognizable traits. You probably know people from your local group ride, at the races or at the track who match these descriptions. Who knows, maybe you have a superhero personality as well?


Daredevil
Matt Murdock, a young lawyer, was blinded by radioactive cargo during a truck accident. His other senses were enhanced and further aided by a blind martial arts master named Stick. Matt became a formidable fighter and the avenging angel of Hells Kitchen. He is known as the man without fear.

Red tights and a baton are not pre-requisites for this type of cyclist. In fact, you don't even have to be blind but you must have uncanny reflexes, a complete lack of…

The first rule of racing is that things usually don't go as planned. I learned this during my maiden season of cross country mountain biking up in New England. Back then I was new to racing (of any kind) and so I was never fully prepared for the challenges to come. I took those lessons with me into the sport of BMX and became a better athlete. However doing laps only 50 seconds long always left me feeling unsatisfied. I needed to get back on a big bike and that is when I was introduced to Cyclocross.

I'm always up for trying something new so I bought a Nashbar CXSS and started training.

Fast forward six months and here I was about to enter my first CX race. The build up hadn't been ideal (See rule #1). My training had consisted of eight weeks of riding, 3 to 5 rides per week at about 30 to 80 miles or 3 to 7 hours in the saddle. I coupled this with 1 to 3 hours of strength training. The result? I felt fit and strong. The downside? I had a nagging foot injury that wasn'…

Have you ever showed up to a race determined to win and despite giving it your best effort, you still got your ass handed to you? You might be happy to know that you're not alone. In the last 20 years there has been an explosion in the popularity of participation sports especially by people over the age of 30. Right now, all across America, there are older athletes putting in serious time and effort in order to make an impact on their next event. All that training, planning and recon of the race locations can provide you with multiple advantages over your opponents. However, most of the time most normal people don't have any advantages at all. Most of the time, the deck is stacked against them and they don't even know it.

The painful reality is that we live in a culture that values winning above all else. It's a shame but there are many people who will only put effort into an event if they have a chance at victory. In this mindset even a slim chance is better than non…