Teamwork Makes the Dream Work (even When it doesn’t Work)
If last week I was writing about risk and reward in bike racing, this past weekend of racing highlighted that the “reward” can come in many forms. Given this is a competitive sport, the most obvious reward is in the form of results… wins, and podiums, and category upgrades and everything else cyclists use to justify getting out of bed at 4:30 AM to be on the start line at sunrise. Less obvious are the rewards that come with a team based sport, which can be completely independent of results.
This team element was very much on display in the most recent Prospect Park race in Brooklyn. For the TBD Women’s squad, this meant defending Shane’s leading the QOM competition, whereas the Men put their energy into setting Simon up for the field sprint. While the Women succeeded in their goal, the Men fell a bit short in the “results” column. But it felt rewarding all the same as we all invested in the same collective task, each of us playing a different role in the process. While the results did not follow on this particular day, the vibes were immaculate all the same.
