Greg Archi: The Fastest Loser
Greg Archi
-- Adventures from the road and from the trails --
Before anyone starts attacking me for not being politically correct (Greg, you can't call people losers, it hurts their feelings... They prefer the term slowest-winners-in-their-own-way) listen to me. Last Sunday, I raced in the Country Cross race, hosted by the good people of BikeSABBATH at the Ciociaro Club in Windsor. And for one glorious lap, I was a winner. I could proudly put my hands high in the air, and celebrate the fact that I had just won the prime (mid-race prize for you non-racers) for the fastest first lap. After that, I became a loser- and not just a loser, but THE loser. There is also a nice prize for finishing the race dead last, so I ended up scooping two of the three prizes up for grabs. I somehow became the fastest loser in this particular race. Also, a huge thank you to the sponsors of this race, look forward to them doing some BIG things in the upcoming years. Walkerville Brewery was one of the main sponsors of this race, and provided prizes (one which I will be drinking soon). And as an honest opinion, their beer is one of the best I've tasted in a long time- extremely smooth medium bodied lager. I'm hooked, and you should be too!
So how do you go from leading an elite group of riders to finishing behind every person racing? Was it a lack of fitness, did I just give up? Nope, it was that back of mine again, and this time it royally went out on me. There is actually photo evidence of me having to walk (not run) up the hill, leaning on my bike for support. So while that part of the race really really sucked, the course itself was a blast. A good combination of techincal sections, long rolling straights, hills, and of course the annual mud pit that tends to be a staple of the Country Cross series (I've raced 3 Country Cross races, all 3 have had the biggest mud pits I've seen).
Another year in the books, another year of lessons. Last year I learned a lot about myself as an athlete- how far I could push myself, how much I had improved and how much I still needed to improve. This year I learned a lot about myself as a person- how humbling it is to DNF essentially every race since April, how much effort it takes to stay positive and see what you started through. Right now I simply wanted to take a little break from studying for school, and writing allows me to hide from my responsibilities for a few minutes. I wouldn't say I'm glad this season turned out the way it did, but I'm probably better off from it in the long run. It's showed me how much I like doing what I do as an athlete, and how much I'm willing to work to get back to where I was.
Photo Credit: Al Henderson. This man braved the elements to watch some amateur racers ride in the mud. Thank you Al!
You don't really need a rear wheel to race cross...
This must have been on the first lap, before I was reduced to walking the hill!
Exhibit A- Hobbling up the hill
Umm... Apparently I'm going to throw up? What can I say, mud grosses me out.
Uncle Buzz SawOctober 17, 2012 at 6:17 PMGreg...Never call yourself a loser..You have accomplished quite a lot so far in your life.. Always and will forever be proud of you......PS...Having a Brewing sponser a race is cool......Uncle Buzz SawReplyDeleteAdd commentLoad more...
Photo of the week - CLICK THE PIC
Carbon Eye Candy
Building Brands in Biking: Marketers, Make Note!
Alp D'Malden 2012
Barry-Roubaix 2012
Team CHCH
Bike Sabbath
HallowCross-Sarnia
Property of G. Archi 2011-2012. Awesome Inc. template. Template images by hdoddema. Powered by Blogger.
Greg Archi: The Fastest Loser
Greg Archi
-- Adventures from the road and from the trails --
Before anyone starts attacking me for not being politically correct (Greg, you can't call people losers, it hurts their feelings... They prefer the term slowest-winners-in-their-own-way) listen to me. Last Sunday, I raced in the Country Cross race, hosted by the good people of BikeSABBATH at the Ciociaro Club in Windsor. And for one glorious lap, I was a winner. I could proudly put my hands high in the air, and celebrate the fact that I had just won the prime (mid-race prize for you non-racers) for the fastest first lap. After that, I became a loser- and not just a loser, but THE loser. There is also a nice prize for finishing the race dead last, so I ended up scooping two of the three prizes up for grabs. I somehow became the fastest loser in this particular race. Also, a huge thank you to the sponsors of this race, look forward to them doing some BIG things in the upcoming years. Walkerville Brewery was one of the main sponsors of this race, and provided prizes (one which I will be drinking soon). And as an honest opinion, their beer is one of the best I've tasted in a long time- extremely smooth medium bodied lager. I'm hooked, and you should be too!
So how do you go from leading an elite group of riders to finishing behind every person racing? Was it a lack of fitness, did I just give up? Nope, it was that back of mine again, and this time it royally went out on me. There is actually photo evidence of me having to walk (not run) up the hill, leaning on my bike for support. So while that part of the race really really sucked, the course itself was a blast. A good combination of techincal sections, long rolling straights, hills, and of course the annual mud pit that tends to be a stap
le of the Country Cross series (I've raced 3 Country Cross races, all 3 have had the biggest mud pits I've seen).
Another year in the books, another year of lessons. Last year I learned a lot about myself as an athlete- how far I could push myself, how much I had improved and how much I still needed to improve. This year I learned a lot about myself as a person- how humbling it is to DNF essentially every race since April, how much effort it takes to stay positive and see what you started through. Right now I simply wanted to take a little break from studying for school, and writing allows me to hide from my responsibilities for a few minutes. I wouldn't say I'm glad this season turned out the way it did, but I'm probably better off from it in the long run. It's showed me how much I like doing what I do as an athlete, and how much I'm willing to work to get back to where I was.
Photo Credit: Al Henderson. This man braved the elements to watch some amateur racers ride in the mud. Thank you Al!
You don't really need a rear wheel to race cross...
This must have been on the first lap, before I was reduced to walking the hill!
Exhibit A- Hobbling up the hill
Umm... Apparently I'm going to throw up? What can I say, mud grosses me out.
Uncle Buzz SawOctober 17, 2012 at 6:17 PMGreg...Never call yourself a loser..You have accomplished quite a lot so far in your life.. Always and will forever be proud of you......PS...Having a Brewing sponser a race is cool......Uncle Buzz SawReplyDeleteAdd commentLoad more...
Photo of the week - CLICK THE PIC
Carbon Eye Candy
Building Brands in Biking: Marketers, Make Note!
Alp D'Malden 2012
Barry-Roubaix 2012
Team CHCH
Bike Sabbath
HallowCross-Sarnia
Property of G. Archi 2011-2012. Awesome Inc. template. Template images by hdoddema. Powered by Blogger.