Lessons from the Masters (and I don’t mean Golf)

I still can’t wheelie,  but I did get to ride with  the 3X road cycling world champ himself, the inimitable Peter Sagan at the Sagan Dirt Fondo.  The off road section included gravel, lots of mud, rocky ascents/descents, and water crossings.  As a newer dirt rider,  I knew this course was likely to be challenging at times for me.

A pre-ride helped calm my nerves even though I almost face planted in the water crossing.  The day of the event rolled around, and what a treat!  There was Sagan and his Bora Hansgrohe teammates,  along with former world and national champions in various cycling disciplines, and plenty of local studs and studettes.  It’s not everyday that the world champ passes you speaking Italian with his team on the local bike path!

Four days later, I headed to U.S. Masters Swimming Spring Nationals in Indianapolis.  One of the coolest things about masters swimming is the age range of swimmers competing goes from 18 – 99.  That’s not a typo.  I was in awe as one swimmer set five national records in the 95-99 age group.  And these weren’t slow times either!

I loved that the ladies locker room was filled with women in the 70+ age groups that were putting on the same high tech suits that the recent college grads were sporting.

So, different sports, but great lessons:

You’re never too old to compete, or to have fun in the dirt.