With such a highly sought after prize this past month, we had some high caliber questions. Many were extremely humorous as people went in different directions to win the SRAM XX Disc Brakes, and some were serious as always. This months winner is no longer “regular” as he gets to ride XX “Pro” Disc brakes! Congratulations Dave Pryor, you are now going to have the best stoppers made.
Q: One of the best parts of our sport is working-class-heroes (like me) get to ride with pro-class-fast-folks (like you). I’ve learned a lot on those rides that have made me a better rider afterwards. Have you learned anything while riding with regular folks that has helped you get faster? And I don’t mean faster at drinking beer, though feel free to share those stories as well.
A: Dave, thanks for the kind words. I often feel like “regular” riders might be disappointed when they race along side me and see that I get frazzled, frustrated, crash and blow snot rockets, just like everyone else. I question my ability, fumble over those slippery logs in PA and sometimes even cry or cuss a little. I guess it’s good for people to see that the pros are human too, but I do feel badly that sometimes I might not live up to my super hero persona in situations like that! Keep in mind that any pro who has experienced some great wins has also experienced 10 x as many losses. I will also tell you that it’s often easier to win than it is to lose. I’ve been on both sides many times and probably learn more from my back or middle of the pack experiences than from the wins. Riding with “regular” people when I expect to be up with the pros always brings me back to reality and reminds me of how awesome mountain biking people are. The reason we all lined up in the first place was because we like riding bikes and pushing ourselves. Hanging with the riff raff (and I mean that in the nicest way) reminds me to laugh a little more, take myself less seriously and to just enjoy the ride! A PBR or two along the trail never hurts with this life lesson either. Thanks for always sharing your beer and laughs.
