Saturday, December 19, 2009

Happy Holidays from the 2009 Div III Team of the Year

It has been snowing for the last 15 hours, and I cannot see the ground. I can't ride outside either, but I'm feeling strangely calm, grateful, and happy. Someone once told me that it's impossible to find a cycling team in which you get along with everyone, and that you want to train, ride, and race with everyone. Well, I think this team has that, and so much more. The key may lie within the word "balance." Cycling isn't the first and foremost priority in any of our lives; family and friends are. Having this perspective strengthens our relationships with one another, and we always support each others' decisions, even if we don't agree.

The intention of this blog entry wasn't to share our philosophy; most already know it through observation. It's to show that our "wins" are not limited to what's accomplished during the racing season. Like our training, our teamwork is in action year-round. Friday morning USA Cycling announced the 2009 Team of Year awards, and I had learned that our team had won it for Division III. Thanks to our talented, dedicated, and selfless secretary, Robin Meidhof, we got our binder, documentation, and application in on time and put forth - as always - our best.

So why did we win? I think the secret is simply passion. Our energy is focused on being the best, on giving back to the community, and on promoting women's cycling because the only feeling better than winning is winning together. All of our sponsors are part of this team just as much as the cyclists. They happen to be the ones "behind the scenes," but we share the same philosophy.

Happy holidays from our entire team and sponsors!

2 comments:

kate e flore said...

Congrats on 2009 Division III team of the year! Great 2009 season showing, looking forward to the continued success of your program in 2010!

chris said...

Thats awesome. Good job and continue the excellent example. Well written post.