The life of an old and long time amateur athlete
Written by Dave Muscianisi
I am a cyclist. While I do have a gravel/road/CX bike in my quiver, my mountain bike is where I find the most joy. Like so many, getting my first bicycle at a young age was like getting a golden ticket to freedom. I could do anything, and ride everywhere and nowhere at the same time. It was pure bliss.
At the age of 19, with a ton of energy and little experience, I tied a number plate on my bars for the first time. While the race was somewhat of a disaster (an entirely separate story), I was hooked. Over the years I found myself entering all kinds of events. 12 hour, 24 hour, cyclocross, adventure races, Xterra tri’s, and a few Pikes Peak Ascents and Marathons. But I typically liked 2-ish hour XC races. That was the sweet spot.
As I began to compete at slightly higher levels, I noticed there were 2 types of competitors. Those that are competitive with others and those that are competitive with themselves. I don’t write this as judgment to either side, but I’m curious if the latter approach leads to a longer racing career.
I have always been the latter to a certain degree. Rarely when I raced did I have the ultimate desire to beat the guy that I was with at the finish line, unless he was a total douchebag. I mainly wanted a solid race where I knew I performed at my absolute best. In fact I often found that I was just fine with second position as long as it made for an interesting race, and a story to tell. And I only like telling the stories where I pushed someone to their maximum, even if I finished right behind them. That may explain why I have so few wins in my long and illustrious career. There is a saying I read on a piece of cardboard once; I don’t need to beat you, I need to beat who I was yesterday. That for sure was my style when I raced more. I’m 53 now and even though I’ve dropped off quite a bit, I still get the urge to compete with my riding buds. Other friends that I raced with long ago have completely disappeared. Is that the difference in longevity?