Bike Racing Professional
HOW I GOT STARTED
“I was a cold and lazy music school student in Boston. My friend suggested I get a bike so I would stop complaining about having to wait for the train. This changed my whole life because I became a bike commuter, then a messenger and a very enthusiastic member of the ‘fixed-gear’ community, which led me into organizing and eventually bike racing.”
TYPICAL WORKDATE OF A PROFESSIONAL BIKE RACER
My workday varies depending on whether I’m in bike racer mode or bike advocate mode.
Monday through Wednesday usually consists of bike rides and strength exercises for training, as well as meetings for A Quick Brown Fox, which is a bike advocacy group / business in which I am involved.
Weekends are often for bike racing. This includes travel via cars, trains and/or planes; recon rides of the race-course and lots of eating, stretching, resting, and prepping for the race.
8:30 a.m. – Wake up and check messages, socials, and emails. Stare into space for a bit before getting out of bed to make coffee and eat breakfast.
9 a.m. – Work on some projects for my advocacy group. I spend quite a bit of time on a video to announce projects involved with my advocacy. It always needs multiple ‘takes’ to get all the information out without tripping over my words. I don’t mind looking a bit silly because it’s awesome to do work that I care about.
10:40 a.m. – Get dressed for a training ride.
1 p.m. – Recovery shake, shower, lunch.
2 p.m. – Strength training online – three times a week.
4 p.m. – Meetings! I’ve made my schedule so that I only have meetings Monday through Wednesday so I can focus on bike racing Thursday through Sunday.
7 p.m. – Time to “clock out” – I didn’t finish everything but there’s always tomorrow!
Editor’s note – This story is based upon a brief newspaper article instead of the usual in-depth (in-person or telephone) interview to learn more about (possible) family influence on a career, childhood thoughts of an adult career, education (including whether the story-teller considered going to college), the career path, any changes, and challenges along the way and finally, career satisfaction other than money earned.
Presumably the story teller’s source of income sufficient to support himself, is earned through bike racing as a professional.
Readers wishing to gather additional information about the story-teller could try on-line researching Ayesha Rosena Anna McGowan, a professional road cyclist for Liv Racing Xstra and bike advocate at A Quick Brown Fox.
