Gasp – the racing season has started. In Ontario the season kicked off with the Good Friday Road Race. This means that people are madly checking websites to see who is “fit” and who isn’t “fit”….

Some folks are sitting in front of their computers pouring over power files, trying to figure out what went “wrong” on Friday and why they didn’t get the result they had planned on getting. Others are looking at Strava and critiquing the training their friends and teammates have been doing – quickly finding holes in these training plans.

How about instead of stressing over what your teammate did or didn’t do in the race, or what your cross-town rival said to you after the race while completely exhausted and likely not thinking correctly, or obsessing over your friend’s new time trial bike and fancy wheels – you just take  a deep breathe and realize what it is we are doing.

We are racing bikes. We race bikes because it is fun. We like to go on long training rides because it is fun. We do intervals because we like to push ourselves.

We don’t do this to get stressed out, to get cranky with others who have the same passions as we do, or to behave negatively to another cycling fanatic. This simply doesn’t help the sport or the image that we as cyclists have.

So when you see your “rival” or teammate at the next race and you ask “Are you ready?” – think about how and why you’re asking this. Are you asking this to find out if you can get an upperhand or are you being genuinely friendly. Yes, yes, I know this is also sport – and everyone wants to win – well guess what – we race bikes because we love to ride our bikes.

Be nice to the people riding around in spandex – they’re doing it for the same reasons as you.