Yeah change is good, ultimately whatever is getting people riding is good. @
Bandera funny how the generations change - I ride MTB, which is established enough now to now seem like it's detracting from road to a current road racer like myself. I want to try some XC and I think I'd be fast b/c I'm an excellent bike handler/athletic and can be pretty fit when I'm training.
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TimothyH I figured that you would take issue with the Gravel comment
. As much as it was intended to ruffle some feathers, I am a bit sore as I see a lot of my buddies abandon road for gravel and the scene around here disintegrate. When I started racing there were 7-10 USAC road races in San Diego; now there's two.
Truth be told, I'm a bit tired of how dangerous road riding and racing is, and of how much I have to travel to race these days. I kind of see myself in my final two seasons of road before focusing on track and MTB in the longer haul. So I'm my own worst enemy there. I've prepared significantly for this season (1st/5th/2nd/1st/1st last 5 races) and my fitness, skill and experience is at an all time high. It's all coming together for me which feels great. Barring any incident, I should finally be able to upgrade to cat 2 this year and know what it's like to be on the elite level (P/1/2) before I "hang my cleats up" so to speak.
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TimothyH as I've also mentioned, many of my buddies are doing gravel. Although I poke fun at them for being "hipsters" and trendy, everyone who does it is having a blast, and as the old adage goes "if you can't beat 'em, join 'em." Maybe I'll give it a shot in a few years after the novelty wears off