2012 USA Cycling Masters Track Nationals

As a former Apple employee (1982-1996) I love the old mantra “The Journey is the Reward”.  Tomorrow I leave for my 17^th trip in 20 years to the USA Cycling Masters Track National Championship in Colorado Springs, CO.  Three quick stories:

-        I started racing at the San Jose velodrome in 1992.  I didn’t even know what a velodrome was until 1991, and I’m a 5^th generation Californian.  That’s pretty sad.  Well, it took a good number of visits to get comfy on a fixed gear bicycle, but once a rider relaxes, the faster they go!  At the end of the season, after Masters Nationals had already taken place and results showed up in Velonews, I gained a new level of hope.  My 3km pursuit time in San Jose would have placed me 2^nd at Nationals.  Fast forward to 1993 with Masters Track Nationals in Colorado Springs… I walk away with my first two national championships in the 3km pursuit and match sprints.  A special “thank you” to teammate Don Langley and Jeff Solt for their assistance with the sprinting.  I was a good student back then and simply did what they said to do (“take ‘em long”).  Later that year I was asked to join the Subaru-Montgomery master’s team. 

-        2012 will be my 19^th year with this team.  Subaru-Montgomery became Montgomery-Bell, which begat US Postal, then Discovery Channel, and then Specialized.  We’ve been with Specialized since 2008 and we’ve had a junior cycling team since 2007.  My whole point for writing these blog entries is to inspire the juniors, inspire our FaceBook fans, and to give me that extra boost of motivation before Nationals. 

Which brings me to my last point and will help to connect all three stories…

-        I just finished reading Marty Nothstein’s “The Price of Gold”.  Perfect timing for nationals!  An inspirational read.  Marty’s stories, in a well written format.  Two highlights for me in this fun and fast read,

o   “control the things you can control” – Marty Nothstein.  Match sprinting has a boatload of variables but Marty’s strength lie in his ability to control some, and let go of others.  For me, I love to points race, but I can better control my 2,000meter pursuiting goals.  Get as fit as I possibly can with pursuiting, and perhaps I’ll have good fortune with points racing(?),

o   After Marty earned silver in the 1996 Atlanta Olympics his perspective changed for all other events.  He trained through big events, world cup events, and even national championships, because he was solely focused on the 2000 Sydney Olympics.  Our team has had similar goals – work through the smaller races to prepare for Nationals and Worlds.

Oh, the places I’ve been (National Track Championships)

Colorado Springs, CO (1993, 1997, 2002, 2004, 2006, 2009, 2012)

Tallahassee, FL (1994)

Trexlertown, PA (1995, 1996, 2007)

San Diego, CA (1996)

Houston, TX (1997)

Redmond, WA (1998)

Frisco, TX (1999, 2010)

Indianapolis, IN (2000, 2005)

San Jose, CA (2008)
Carson, CA (2010, 2011)
Skipped – Redmond, WA 2001; Kenosha, WI 2003, T-Town, PA 2011

Where to next?  COS tomorrow!  Cheers, Larry Nolan, Team Specialized

 

1993 Kilo podium (l-r) Harvey Nitz, Don Scales, Rory O'Reilly, Larry Nolan, Glen Winkel