Ron Strasser

In my years on the planet (not as many racing as the honorable J. Myers and others), I have determined that most people continue activities / adventures that give them pleasure. FUN is one of the most pleasurable. Those who are very competitive also find a way to make it fun. The key for all of us (from my perspective) is to respect those around you no matter what fun / competitive zone you presently inhabit. As a lug nut / slower racer I am humbled by upper level racers riding skill, respect and support when flying by me on a course. In my many races, I (in my own pain cave) am having fun, but when they pass me in the way described (chasing each other with intensity), my sense is there is much fun taking place in their racing lives. Their actions make my fun that much more rewarding. I also see them extending that “fun” when they debrief and cool down minutes after intense race finishes. Great examples for young and new racers to witness. That is an important part of good sportsmanship as well.
ronnie

From: John Wilger via OBRA
Sent: Friday, February 09, 2018 9:41 AM
To: Jay Swavely
Cc: OBRA Chat
Subject: Re: [OBRA Chat] Fun s bad word?

IMO, folks who compete in sport for the sake of competition and *aren't* enjoying it should probably re-evaluate their life choices. And, yeah, that includes the 0.01% of people who get paid to do it. Not that *every* race is always going to be fun, but it should make you happy in general.

On Thu, Feb 8, 2018 at 7:13 AM, Jay Swavely via OBRA wrote:

I was recently told that racing is not about fun. It is about competition. I get it, I guess, if you are an inspiring pro but us Cat2 racers need to seek fun. Why the heck else do it? What am I missing?
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John Wilger | +1 (971) 678-0999 | http://johnwilger.com

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John Wilger

IMO, folks who compete in sport for the sake of competition and *aren't*
enjoying it should probably re-evaluate their life choices. And, yeah, that
includes the 0.01% of people who get paid to do it. Not that *every* race
is always going to be fun, but it should make you happy in general.

On Thu, Feb 8, 2018 at 7:13 AM, Jay Swavely via OBRA
wrote:

> I was recently told that racing is not about fun. It is about
> competition. I get it, I guess, if you are an inspiring pro but us Cat2
> racers need to seek fun. Why the heck else do it? What am I missing?
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> OBRA mailing list
> obra@list.obra.org
> http://list.obra.org/mailman/listinfo/obra
> Unsubscribe: obra-unsubscribe@list.obra.org
>

--
John Wilger | +1 (971) 678-0999 | http://johnwilger.com

Jon Myers

Considering that there are maybe 3 or 4 people based in Oregon that make a living racing bicycles and nobody makes a living racing bikes if they only do OBRA races then racing is a hobby for 99.9% of us. I've found it to be fun for the 28+ years I've been racing off and on road. -Jon

Mike Murray

You���re right. If it isn���t fun why do it? Racing is and should be fun.

Mike Murray
Sent from a mobile device.

> On Feb 8, 2018, at 07:13, Jay Swavely via OBRA wrote:
>
> I was recently told that racing is not about fun. It is about competition. I get it, I guess, if you are an inspiring pro but us Cat2 racers need to seek fun. Why the heck else do it? What am I missing?
> _______________________________________________
> OBRA mailing list
> obra@list.obra.org
> http://list.obra.org/mailman/listinfo/obra
> Unsubscribe: obra-unsubscribe@list.obra.org

John Schmidt

Your job is to be pack fodder :) so the aspiring pros have a venue (a
peloton), have someone to race against, and someone to learn from :)

I always found that the pacelines and teamwork (almost always temporary
teammates), attempted breakaways, was always the fun bit.

Solo breakaways not much for inspiration, but 2 or 3 or 4 people working a
tight paceline to perfection, each person bouncing in and out of their
anaerobic threshold, some taking a LONG 30 sec pull, others maybe only 5
sec pull, each pull based on his or her fitness, now that's inspiring and
super cool. And if done right, super fast.

On Thu, Feb 8, 2018 at 7:13 AM, Jay Swavely via OBRA
wrote:

> I was recently told that racing is not about fun. It is about
> competition. I get it, I guess, if you are an inspiring pro but us Cat2
> racers need to seek fun. Why the heck else do it? What am I missing?
> _______________________________________________
> OBRA mailing list
> obra@list.obra.org
> http://list.obra.org/mailman/listinfo/obra
> Unsubscribe: obra-unsubscribe@list.obra.org
>

Jay Swavely

I was recently told that racing is not about fun. It is about competition. I get it, I guess, if you are an inspiring pro but us Cat2 racers need to seek fun. Why the heck else do it? What am I missing?