I’ve spent entire seasons racing in support of a team or teammate’s goal. I love being a student of the sport - simply observing how tactics play out among competitors gives me a sense of satisfaction. I have lined up at a race when I didn’t want to, just so I could boost the number of starters for better upgrade points, or increase the chances of a promoter offering a W field again. I have showed up many times solely because of FOMO, for the team hangs after, and for some nice race pictures. I have gone into a race with a single goal such as: just get in a good workout, just practice feeling comfortable surrounded by 95 dudes going 27mph, just stay in the top 1/3 of the pack in this technical crit, just hang on to the leaders over the first big climb, just make sure you catch back onto the field after you attack them and they reel you back in, or just follow a sprinter’s wheel to learn better positioning. None of these goals had anything to do with my individual result in those races. And yet, they collectively had everything to do with my cumulative growth as a person, an athlete, a teammate, an advocate, and a bike racer who now knows how to win races.

A wise friend named Matt Vandivort once said, “finding joy in this sport is all about surrounding yourself with good people who can derive happiness from the repeated failure that is inherent in the very nature of bike racing.” We can all get a self-deprecating chuckle from that quote. But this really rings true to me.

It’s really f*ckin’ hard to win a race at any level - damn near impossible. If we all tied our self-worth to results, we’d be one big collective of very sad people. Only one person can ever be the winner of a race. But everyone else - all of those middle of the pack racers - if it were not for them showing up, then we wouldn’t have bike racing at all. We also wouldn’t have any winners. If I had quit bike racing after that 2009 Clinic because I knew I wasn’t “good enough” then, I never would have had the decade of incredibly rewarding experiences I’ve had since.

So, cheers to all the middle of the pack racers among us. Thank you for your persistence, and for continuing to show up in the face of whatever unique adversities you face. Thank you for contributing in countless ways to our our great community. You are as much an important part of our sport as those who stand on that wooden box.