184: I sent this to my teammates:

not original but I figured I share anyway:

Ladies and gentlemen of the C3-Sollay Cyclocross team:

Always wear embrocation.

If I could offer you only one tip for the future, embrocation would be it. The long-term benefits of embrocation have been proved by scientists, whereas the rest of my advice has no basis more reliable than my own meandering experience.

I will dispense this advice now.

Enjoy the power and beauty of your big ring. Oh, never mind. You will not understand the big ring until you’ve faded or done something silly like run a 1x9.

Trust me, in 20 years, you'll look back at photos of yourself and recall in a way you can't grasp now how much possibility lay before you and how fabulous you really looked. However, most of us won't really have a shot at a national championship until we make the 80+ class. So at least we have that going for us.

Fatmarc is fatter than you imagined.

Don't worry about this weekend’s race. Trying focus on one cross race is like trying to catch a fly with chopsticks. The real measure of your season will be the entire picture of all your races. No one race will define your season. The exception to this is nationals. You can suck all year long and win nationals, and it makes everything seem alright.

The really big troubles in your race are likely to be things that never crossed your worried mind, that you can’t control anyway, so why bother wasting the energy trying.

Play with your tire pressure. Yes, 60lbs is way too much.

Run File Treads.

practice your cornering.

Sing on the start line.

Work hard for your teammates and friends. Don't put up with people who use you like a $2 dollar whore.

Take the hole shot.

Don't waste your time on stressing the confirmed rider list. It doesn't control your destiny. It is not a magic 8 ball.

Sometimes you're ahead, sometimes you're behind. The season is long and, in the end, it's all for fun. We do this because we love it.

Remember compliments you receive. Forget the MANbra promoters who kicked you off the email list. Forget the guys that said you doomed your team because your results were bad, and that you only get on teams because of your blog. Forget the people that say they hope you have as much fun when you get upgraded.

If you succeed in doing this, tell me or my therapist how...

Don’t let the chip on your shoulder get too big, even if we all still have something to prove, and you want to destroy the bastards talking smack above.

Love your bike, but remember you can’t buy speed in cross.

Stretch.

Get food and drink into your system after the race. You only have 40 minutes to replenish.

Beer is a great recovery drink. (except for Zach, Sam ,Morgan and Jeb)

Maybe you'll win a race, maybe you’ll win a series, maybe you won't. Maybe you'll fight your way through the huge pack of cat4’s for the next 5 years. Whatever you do, don't congratulate yourself too much, or berate yourself either. Have fun.

Enjoy your body. Use it every way you can. Don't be afraid of it or of what other people think of it. It's the greatest instrument you'll ever own. That is not an endorsement of public nudity.

Celebrate your successes, learn from your mistakes, your best race may not be a race you win or place, but certainly when it all comes together.

Cheer for your teammates, work pit for them, stay for the elite races when you can, get there for the women’s b race when you can. After all what’s the point of a team if we don’t support each other?

Travel.

Race outside of the MANbra region. Take in as much as you can from the different regions, and learn the traits of each different area. Race in New England, New Jersey, PA anywhere outside of MANbra. Return to our home races a better racer for it.

Celebrate diversity.

Accept certain inalienable truths: The day you win a race, you are a sandbagger and will get called out for it. It’s better to work hard and take responsibility for your results, than to moan about someone else being a sandbagger.

Respect your elders. Learn from everyone you can in this game. The moment you think you know it all, you might as well buy a recumbent.

trust me on the embrocation.

respect
faticus