About two months ago I realized that I lacked a goal for the near future of my life. I knew that I wanted my own bike shop, would like to teach art at some level, want a family, would love to travel, etc. But the next 5 to 10 years were lacking any clear goal to work towards. And you can only dream so big in the realm of bike mechanic (I mean I am not the next Julien Devrise, Leonard Zinn, or Sheldon Brown.)
So I went back to a dream that I have had since I was a little kid. Be it swimming, soccer, basketball, or any other sport that I had a slight desire to play, I have always wanted to take it to the very top. To be a pro, yes. But more importantly to go to the Olympics. But I was an awful swimmer, a mediocre futballer, and if you saw my stats from my one year of hoops you would know this white boy can't jump (or shoot: 0 point in an entire season). While I was a road racer I dreamed about it, but road racers are born young and didn't approach the sport with the intensity it required. But with mountain biking, things are a bit different. People start a little later, you don't have to have a good team around you to race at your fullest potential, and the local scenes here in the U.S. are more in line with international competition. So I thought I might as well go for it.
I brewed on it for a few days and called Jess. She said I should do it. My parents and sister agreed. My regular riding friend here in Cincy began dragging me to the gym for off season work. My best friend didn't laugh in my face (though there was some snide remark about having to order a Flash). So with an awesome support network I am going for it. My goal is become a professional mountain biker and qualify for the 2016 Olympics. Not a bad goal if you ask me. I might as well go for it.
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