After four days on the bike, it was time for two days off the bike this week. Meaning I was working at the bike shop for 17 hours (not in a row obviously).
During that time I realized (yet again) that the business side of the cycling industry can be a royal fist fuck (as if I didn’t get enough first hand anal play as I attempted to garnish industry/advertising support for a magazine/website dedicated to the sport of mountain bike racing and adventures in the dirt). While this fisting thankfully had nothing to do with me personally, I could tell that witnessing my friends go through it was bringing back some of those stressful and bitter feelings that I had finally put to bed.
Despite my continued displeasure with the business side of the cycling industry everything, there was one bright spot: In between shop tasks I was looking up the signed Swiss National Champion’s jersey above the work bench when my buddy, and the shop’s co-owner, walks by and sees me squinting up at the jersey. “Is that Christoph Sausers’s jersey?” I ask. “Sure is, and I gotta tell you, that dude was ALL class, both on and off the bike. Just awesome.”
“Susi” during his days with Cannondale.
And with that much of my flirtations with reawakened bitterness and personal failure went away. I really don’t know why. I guess it’s just always nice to hear positive comments first hand about someone whose accomplishments you’ve long admired and respected; especially when it’s someone within a sport that you have done and covered for much of your life. It was also nice to see that after a stressful couple of days with the business side of the cycling, my buddy could instantly remember positive things to share with me.
I am hoping that a relaxing holiday weekend will have everyone in the shop feeling refreshed and ready to take on the challenges that lie ahead come next week.
If you’ve never followed Christoph Sauser, you really should. Check out his website: sauserwind.com. For being so small in stature, the dude is a total beast of a mountain bike racer.