My Season In Review

I would like to start by saying thank you to everyone I interacted with during my 2013 season for an outstanding year. I enjoyed every minute (there may have been some seconds that weren’t so great though) of racing and training whether in sub 30 degrees or 100+ degrees.

I want to say thank you to Team Specialized for all of the support and the great memories. We shared the “successes” and the “failures”, the glory and the pain that make cycling the sport we all love.

Thank you to Specialized, Sram, and Zipp for the bikes and components. Thank you to Clif for fueling all of our riding and shenanigans. Thank you to the NCCF for funding it all. And thank you to Larry for making it all possible.

This season taught me many lessons, from teamwork to how to truly put my head down, grit my teeth and suffer to the importance of preparation. Each of these lessons have their own story or stories, which could be whole blog posts in and of themselves, but none of it would have been possible without the support I received from the team, our supporters, and the guy who decided to spend 20 minutes of his day, and create a traffic jam driving behind me and shouting encouragement while I did hill repeats.

The season saw me learn the importance of dedication, humility, flexibility (both kinds), etc. The season saw me get into countless (respectful and half-joking) arguments with my P.E. teacher on any given Monday, when I tried to explain why I couldn’t and wouldn’t run the mile. The season saw me ride on two continents, four countries, and five states. The season saw me ride for over 600 hours and 10,000 miles.

As I enter my offseason and continue to reflect on my 2013 in preparation for 2014 I am excited and intrigued for what lies in store, as I know that 2014 can only be better.

Again, I want to thank everyone that was involved in my 2013 season, especially my teammates and supporters on Team Specialized. Here is to all of the pain, learning, fun, victories, losses, and joy that the 2013 season brought and that 2014 will bring.

See you all during the offseason or next year, I will be wearing the same shit-eating grin on my face and the same Specialized “S” across my chest, so wave, say “hi”, or if you happen to be in a car spend part of your day driving behind me, honking, blasting music, and shouting.

Jason S