Dr. Velociraptor Lapses.

I apologise for again not getting the medals to the event – this time the Comox Dove Creek omnium. (Medals for missed events will be publicly awarded at subsequent events.) Unfortunately I have not yet managed to drag myself into the 1990s. So I hadn’t checked my email for over a week when I decided Friday night to confirm the weekend race schedule. To my chagrin the Saturday morning hill climb individual time trial had been moved back 2 hours requiring a 5 am rising for the long drive. Also, owing to computer illiteracy I was unable to access the race bible (to ascertain race hq) through Google, and there was no phone number or directory listing for the race organizer. Then I was reliably informed that none of the events could count towards the overall since the road race was not an Australian pursuit but divided like the crit into separate A and B races, and there was no previous form for the hill climb.

In pique and frustration at 10 pm Friday night I decided, “To hell with it. I’m not going. Save myself $200. Catch up on my music and writing. Etc.” Even from a selfish viewpoint this was a bad decision, since reactive, which I regretted the next morning. More broadly and shamefully I was not considering that I was letting down others who were counting on me for the medals.

Moral: check your email at least every 3 days; don’t leave confirmation of the race schedule until the night before; don’t just think of yourself. I probably need to think more of the virtue of serving rather than the ego of winning. There is more to life than cycle racing. But there is more to cycle racing than winning.

Woefully behind with race descriptions and Velociraptor competition results and standings – another of my flaws is overestimating what I can do. Hopefully, the race free weekend August 8th will enable me to catch up. For now know that Steve Bachop 45, Emile De Rosnay 37, and Louis Watson 33 are doing well in the A men scratch. David Mercer 67, and Bill Yearwood 58 are leaders in the A men comprehensive age standards. Rino De Biasio 76, and Stephen Muir 48 are near the front in all 3 B men competitions: Australian pursuit, scratch, and comprehensive age standard.

Points are from 10 for 1st down to 1 for 10th in all 5 season-long Velociraptor competitions. Every BCMCA event counts in all the Velociraptor Competitions whether hill climb, criterium, or A/B road race – not just Australian pursuit road races and time trials – even if the event does not count toward the BCMCA overall. Try out the BCMCA events which are distant from your home region. Yes it’s expensive and time consuming but view it as a break, a mini-holiday. Take a partner, friend, or family. Make contact with other racing cyclists. Enjoy the ambience. Encourage cycling friends, runners, triathletes, etc. who are not dedicated racing cyclists to race for fun and fitness. Emphasise that BCMCA caters for all ages and abilities. Point out that BCMCA races are safer than sanctioned cycle races and club league races. Draw attention to the Adonis and Aphrodite qualities of BCMCA members.