This used to be Fatmarc.com: 10 Reasons I love my team and our year end party-awards.

Thursday, February 19, 2015

10 Reasons I love my team and our year end party-awards.

Dear Readers,

Last Sunday Diane and traveled down to Baltimore to the epicenter of C3: Twenty 20 Cycling, for our team's annual celebration and awards event. It was great to catch up with my teammates old and new and reminisce about battles in the past, and future goals.

Team Riders Cover The Walls at Twenty 20 Cycling Compamy...

I love my team. I love riding for Auer and C3. Every so often I get asked why I don't ride for a team more local to Newark. It's a great question, but frankly all the reasons C3 was attractive to me 8 years ago when Diane and I came on board still ring true:

Diane and Bad Kat Catch Up

Top 10 Reasons why I love riding for C3- Twenty 20 Cycling Company:

#10 Black Kit- Kit is black. Black like my soul. Every time I zip up the jersey I hear AC/DC's back in black playing. How cool is that?

Andrew and Shawn, Kathleen in the background...

#9 Halloween Kit- they are all so bad ass. I get so stoked for these every year. I like having two skinsuits for double weekends, and a little variety is always cool too. Admit it,you wish your team had a bad ass Halloween kit. Anne Rock's rule #27 - ALWAYS GET THE HALLOWEEN KIT.

Top Left to Lower right-:Karate Kid, Snow Camo, Stormtrooper, Evil Carebear, La Vie Claire. Love and Hate

#8 Eight, eight I forget what eight was for... (20 aging hipster points if you get the reference)

#7 SWEET JOHNNY MAY- no explanation needed.

Frances, Steevo and BadKat adorne the walls of the shop...

#6 Women and juniors. Moving women's cycling forward has always been mission critical for the team. Amazing women in our ranks, equal pay out, history of elite women's riders, koppenberg cross... really proud to be a part of this...

Auer, Bad Andy and Bad Kat

#5. It's not about your entitled ass. - This Team is not your general "elite masters" team or what's in it for me kind of organization. The team has always and continues to work to move the sport forward. Our riders are encouraged to be a part of something bigger than themselves. I'm proud my team gives back and pays it forward. How many races/series have the C3 team promoted and run over the years. Without a doubt cross in Maryland/Mid Atlantic would not be what it is today without the efforts of C3 team members. I'll add the only folks I have seen struggle in our program are folks looking more for a handout then contributing with a hand up.

#4 We race as a team.- Our team works together in races, we get the real benefits of being on a team. We share information, we support each other. We work in the pit for each other after our races. We cheer for each other. We want to be successful as a team. I am proud of how Auer, Sweet J, Sven Nystron, Joe Lillibridge, Jay Lazar, Big Time GT, Brett R, Jan, JHIII- and others have raced as a team over the years...

#3 Counter Culture/Aging Hipster/DYI ethic- The team attracts folks who tend to march to their own drummer. I like that. But it's not a FSU (fuck shit up) attitude, it's a "were gonna do this our way, and we expect the game to be played a certain way" ethic... We have a diversity of personalities and I have enjoyed learning from being around some awesome people...Two roads diverged in a yellow wood...

Kyle and Tommy

Barnbaby and Shana

#2 It's all about Cross - At a time when cross was an after thought for most teams, this team focused on it. Perhaps the Mid Atlantic's first cross focused team. It's what we think about, talk about all season, even in the offseason (road/mtb season). Eight years later, it's still the true focus of this team.

Auer flanked by Bad Andy and Shawn...

#1 Kris Auer- I'm proud to represent him, and what he stands for. As a team director he makes a mid pack masters racer like myself believe I can be a world beater. He has coaxed some of my best performances out of me. He also gets that it's stupid masters bike racing. I am grateful that he's willing to put up with my madness over the years. He has a point of view, and believes a team's purpose is greater than being a vehicle for sponsorship. He believes the whole is greater than the sum of the parts. He expects the team to make each other better. I have witnessed it, I have experienced it. I believe that teams take the shape of their leaders, and C3 is certainly a reflection of Auer. Okay, okay he's not always the greatest communicator, but I trust him. One of my long term teammates once said of Auer, "he's like you little brother who makes you crazy sometimes, and you don't always understand, but at the end of the day you know he's coming from a good place and you love him." yeah, that. Thank you for having me sir. Thank you for having us.

But I DIGRESS,

Sunday night was our team party and awards ceremony. While I'll admit I love the idea of riding for a smaller team- I know C3 is an ARMADA NOW! I can't say that there is anyone on the team I am not proud to associate with and that I haven't had a great experience with. Shawn, Jay, and Tommy or as I like to think of them Doc, Julie, Issac and Gofer did a great job pulling the event and awards off.They have done a great job all year helping make the team feel like, well home. I was honored to have two awards named after me. That was a surprise and something I took as a great honor. John Hosteller won the Fatmarc Breakout Award, as after years of being right on door step John grabbed a few wins and earned his cat 2 upgrade this fall.

Joshua Templeton won the Fatmarc Positive Attitude Award (which Bad Andy gave me a funny look over as he's seen me not always have the best attitude). Joshua is a super positive person and I have really enjoyed the times I spent with him. He is well deserving and has been one of the nicest folks I have been proud to call teammate this year!

It was a really fun night. I'm so proud and honored to wear the black and blue of C3 (or whatever color our Halloween kit is).

Auer's opening remarks:

Some of those honored included:

Most Prolific Racers: Greg Wittwer (20), Sam O (19), Kris Mac (18)

Most Wins: Fred Wittwer, Greg Wittwer (7 wins each)

Going the Distance: Jay Van Rennselear (builder of the stairs, C3 team photographer)

Longest Standing Team Members: Bad Andy,Chris Nystrom,Diane Grim, JH III and JHII

Newest Team Member: Kelly Walker

Best Crash – Michael Webber video at SSCXworlds and Jay Lazar going swimming at Ed Sanders