Squandered ability
04-04-10, 05:53 PM
#1
Announcer
Thread Starter
Squandered ability
The question: can you name (without naming names) a rider in your region that could have been a great pro bike racer? And what kept them from doing it?
In my region, there are a couple of examples.
One has a huge fear of crashing, so he rides at either the back of the pack or off the front. He's in his 40s, and he can ride away from anyone.
Another rider is as smooth as silk on the bike. He's young. Says he WANTS to be a pro rider. Prefers weed and alcohol. Comes to races hung over.
It's hard to see people squander talent. I just wonder how often this happens.
In my region, there are a couple of examples.
One has a huge fear of crashing, so he rides at either the back of the pack or off the front. He's in his 40s, and he can ride away from anyone.
Another rider is as smooth as silk on the bike. He's young. Says he WANTS to be a pro rider. Prefers weed and alcohol. Comes to races hung over.
It's hard to see people squander talent. I just wonder how often this happens.
04-04-10, 05:56 PM
#2
out walking the earth
Talent is mental as well as physical. Success in athletics requires strength in a multitude of disciplines.
04-04-10, 06:00 PM
#3
gmt
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yes. I used to ride with him.
he could do solo centuries in under 4 hours on a road bike, would have been a perfect workhorse for a pro team.
Reason: started too late and was already making 12 times the amount of money that a pro bike racer makes. Also his body was fairly beat-up from years of pro enduro moto racing.
he could do solo centuries in under 4 hours on a road bike, would have been a perfect workhorse for a pro team.
Reason: started too late and was already making 12 times the amount of money that a pro bike racer makes. Also his body was fairly beat-up from years of pro enduro moto racing.
04-04-10, 07:04 PM
#4
Slow'n'Aero
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yes. True talent but on track to making much more money in Law than he could have being a pro domestique.
04-04-10, 07:13 PM
#5
SLJ 6/8/65-5/2/07
I've been a high school coach of several different sports for what's getting to be a long time; you see this in many sports. It's part of the reason so few truly excel.
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04-04-10, 07:35 PM
#6
meow
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It happens in a variety of domains.
04-04-10, 08:04 PM
#8
Banned.
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My best friend is the best non-pro I've ever seen on a bike...he could have been a pro, the guy has unbelievable skills in multiple sports. He just hated bike racers..thought they were arrogant pricks. We lived in an area that had a lot of domestic pro teams training in the winter and spring...he would go out and just annihilate them on there training rides.
04-04-10, 08:10 PM
#9
Cat-5-O-Meter: Training
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04-04-10, 09:02 PM
#10
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My brother (hey, I didn't name names). That ********* had more natural talent than me. I'd train all week long while he blew off rides to play video games, and he'd still show up to races on the weekend and do better in his age group than me. A little bit of training would have gone a long way.
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04-05-10, 12:35 AM
#11
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Local legend. Huge engine. Booze and crank addiction.
04-05-10, 05:52 AM
#13
Elite Fred
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I had a friend in high school that was an amazing natural athlete. He went from picking up a golf club for the first time to shooting in the mid-70's in three months without any instruction other than what he found in a book at the library. He did this by hitting these
in his back yard because the driving range was too much $'s.
in his back yard because the driving range was too much $'s.
