BIG Announcement!

I am excited to announce that I have joined a new Triathlon Race Team, sponsored by The Cycle Center Bike Shop right here in Columbia! The Cycle Center has been providing Columbia with top notch cycling and triathlon products and services since 1991.

It'll be hard to hang up the Alabama Triathlon uniform, but I'm looking forward to the opportunities that might be afforded to me by training and racing with local triathletes! I am really looking forward to immersing myself in the local triathlon community and learning the ins and outs from the seasoned vets...

I've been pretty giddy about this for weeks (and am just now getting around to posting about it)... For some people, this isn't a big deal... get into triathlon, do well, get picked up by a shop team or better yet, some regional or national development team... For bigger guys like me, all of that seemed like a pipe dream... No way would any shop that's worth its own salt pick up a fat slow guy... it's a gamble for sure, to have a chubby guy squeeze into a tri kit with your shop's logo on it, then proceed to get handled at every race he goes to... But, John Green (shop owner) clearly saw something in me that he trusts... or something that inspires him... or maybe he just said ok because he got the impression that I wouldn't quit asking about it until he said yes.... or probably a mixture of all of these!

I'm finally excited about training and racing again, and having the opportunity to race for John and the Cycle Center has been a big part of that...I feel like this step kind of validates what I've been doing for the last 3 years- training, racing, improving my health, improving the quality of my life, never settling... This isn't just a big step for me, but I feel like I'm making a statement for all bigger athletes out there: it's not impossible to find a team, you just have to commit yourself to it, know your limits, and not stop until you find the right fit for you...

Thanks to John for giving me a shot! If you're in the Columbia area, go check out either location of the Cycle Center, either on Harden St., or Two Notch Road!

www.cyclecenter.com

"ON YOUR LEFT!"

Thanks for reading...