My Blog

Having been inspired by the UCI/ABA threads I figured I`d start a thread where we could talk about what Vet Pro is to different people.

I didn`t join the class for a lack of AM competition. There are some VERY fast riders in 28-35X. I was in my last year in the class, and many of the riders are 29/30 and former pros. 36X has some extremely fast guys as well, again...many former pro riders. It`s not like I was tearing up the national scene as an AM and had nothing left to shoot for.

The mere existence of Vet Pro is what ultimately brought me back to BMX racing. A few years ago I was looking into BMX as something to get my son into, and saw there was a pro class just for the over 30 crowd. I was like "WOW! That rules! I bet I could do that! I was a terror on wheels 15 years ago!" Of course I had NO idea the level of talent and speed I would find there. I suppose I was expecting it to be an entry to pro racing for 30 year old guys, not the next step for guys who were competitive in AA that got a life outside of BMX but couldn`t get it out of their blood. Either way, I knew I would at least try it.

It took me a year to realize I should have just come back to the sport as the expert I left it, and dealt with getting whooped from day one. Instead I was an Inter and learned how to be nervous and reserved, and never really felt motivated to put more into it. I turned expert in an effort to "sink or swim", so to speak. I knew I as nowhere near the level I needed to be for Vet Pro, but I had the pull to do OK in expert. I started getting faster, and was pretty happy with my progress when I had a health issue that could have dropped me dead. It didn`t, and I beat it. It took a long time to overcome some of the side effects, longer than I wanted it to, but the fact is I beat it. Steadily I got my cardio/pulmonary performance back and felt very motivated to ride my best. The more my endurance developed the more I thought about turning pro. I had made more progress than a lot of people thought I would (including my doctor who said I may never have the pulmonary ability to race competitively again). I realized that I really was reaching a goal I set for myself that seemed so out of reach when I started. Then the thought came to me; "If I can overcome this, I`ve got it in me to race vet pro. It may take me a while to measure up, but by the time I`m done I will earn the respect of the class, and more importantly, know that I took a chance and believed in myself again."

Since I turned up i`ve been pushing harder and trying to ride faster than I ever have. There is a motivation to live up to the pro card in my wallet, and a pride that I`m giving it what I have. What is Vet Pro to me? It`s a chance to put aside all the times I`ve let myself down in the past several years and chase a goal, even a dream of sorts. Whether I ever win isn`t in the equation. The only failure is if I give up before it`s over. Finding out my best isn`t enough to win a race isn`t a failure. Never giving myself the chance to find out what I`m capable of is the failure.

maybe it`s corny, maybe it`s a screenplay for an afterschool movie. Maybe it`s just something I`ve loved all my life, and gives me the chance to believe in myself again after putting myself aside to start a family, and buy a house, and work long hours for their sake. Maybe it`s my chance to be the kid again after losing my mom and realizing "wow, this is real. *I* am the adult now. *I* am the parent. *I* am the one who has to lead a family now". It`s not to be "cool", or for free practice.

maybe, just maybe it`s to prove that just because I am grown with a family and the life that comes with it, I don`t have to stop chasing dreams. There`s a 3 year old that calls me Daddy that needs to know how to always believe in himself, and who does he look to first for those lessons?