The Tri Town Times: 11/13/23

• Posted on 14 November 2023
• By Antonio Gonzalez
• Posted in the tri town times
• 0

This week: Samantha Scott lands pro contract; upcoming seminars and events; are you playing in hard or easy mode?

Hi all,

If you appreciate our work at Tri Town, please consider voting for us in the 2023 Boise Favorites. There are just a few days left in the voting process and you can vote once per day. We sincerely appreciate your support!

Here is your weekly Tri Town Times newsletter:

Weekend Highlights:

Boise-native Samantha Scott, 18, has inked a professional cycling contract with the Belgium-based Lotto-Dstny Team. Following her stellar 2023 season, where she clinched victories in both the US Junior Time Trial and Road National Championships, Samantha now adds her name to the expanding roster of cyclists from Boise competing at the highest level on the global cycling scene.

Events I'm looking forward to:

- Learn how to change a flat tire with confidence and skill in our Flat Tire and Repair Clinic. The one hour course is this Tuesday, November 14th, starts at 5pm, and costs $10. View our full winter season of mechanical courses here.

- We are excited to host running coach Albert Lu this Saturday, November 18th for a free clinic. Albert will demonstrate how you may benefit from adopting the Pose running technique. The clinic starts at 9am and will take place in our lower level. Learn more and please RSVP here.

- Explore our 2023-2024 Seminar and Event Calendar, updated weekly with events of interest for the endurance athlete.

Thought that struck a chord:

"To prepare for a race there is nothing better than a good pheasant, some champagne and a woman." - Jacques Anquetil

We never fully control what happens to us, but we can control how we play our cards. Life is like a video game that we all must play, and we have the choice to play it in hard mode, or easy mode.

When faced with exceptionally challenging situations, we may find ourselves compelled to compete in hard mode. The key is that the actions and behaviors within our control don't unnecessarily complicate life. Our actions, thoughtful planning, and preparation should position us to play in easy mode, preserving our energy for when we're confronted with the necessity to play in hard mode.

Jacques Anquetil won his first Tour de France in 1957. The Tour has a long and twisted history of competing over obscenely tough courses. Regardless of the era, there is only one mode if you want to complete the Tour de France- hard mode.

You would be justified in believing a champion like Anquetil would do everything in his power to make the race easier for himself, but you would be mistaken. Anquetil played his life in hard mode. He openly avoided training, smoked regularly, drank copious amounts of alcohol, slept around, and ate a diet unbefitting a professional athlete.

After winning his first Tour in 1957, Anquetil went on to win the Tour four times in a row from 1961 - 1964. His career started during an era in which doping was expected but not talked about. He ended his career when the extent of doping within the pro peloton became public knowledge, and he openly talked about and justified his use of performance enhancing drugs.

When individuals feel overwhelmed by challenges, it's often not the challenge alone that defeats them but the cumulative impact of their choices. Desperation may lead to shortcuts, akin to a gamer resorting to cheat codes or an athlete turning to performance-enhancing drugs.

Reflect on your life- are you inadvertently setting it to be played in hard mode or easy mode? Life's inherent challenges, both personal and professional, are demanding on their own. It requires keen self-awareness to recognize when our own decisions contribute to making the journey unnecessarily difficult.

Have a great week,

Antonio Gonzalez

Tri Town Bicycles

p.s. For a deeper dive into the crazy and wild life of Jacques Anquetil, I recommend reading Sex, Lies and Handlebar Tape, by Paul Howard.

Like the newsletter? Please forward to a friend so they can subscribe.