I was introduced to the bicycle racing culture through a friend who lives in Tupelo, a guy named Josh Westmoreland.

He and a buddy came to Nashville for a race and were needing a place to stay.  Sure I said, I have a couch that pulls out, come on up!  Little did I know a host housing opportunity would push me to explore competitive racing.  Josh got into the winning break of a criterium around the Tennessee state capitol building, won a good bit of money, and afterwards we enjoyed lunch on the patio of SATCO.  As I watched the races that day I remember thinking, “that looks like a lot of fun.”  All the credit goes to Josh for encouraging me into bicycling and racing.  I am willing to bet you have someone who lit or is currently lighting your fire as well.

When I first began I would ride three or four days a week for an hour or two each time.  I had no plan and no structure, but simply got out there and rode my bike.  I was all wrapped up in my total miles and average speed.  I remember thinking there was no way I could ride more because my legs will wear out.  Looking back this logic made no sense considering I used to catch nine innings and double header games five to seven times a week.  That routine was my life for a long time, but riding four times a week seemed like overdoing it!  Wearing the “tools of ignorance” for a living does warp the brain a little, but the upside is you learn to handle any kind of adversity thrown your way.  My overall endurance was quite strong since I used to run a lot of distance in baseball, which helped tremendously when I first began cycling.  I can attribute my pedal stroke efficiency to the foot speed and agility required to be a good catcher.  I shutter to think how poorly of a cyclist I would be without having had baseball in my life.  I sometimes dream of what my life would have been like had I entered cycling during my teenage years, but then I remember the joy I experienced with a mitt and bat in my hands.  Bicycle, baseball, glove, wheels, face mask, tires; nothing but conduits to express one’s love and creativity.

During my first two years of riding I slimmed down from 235 to 205, and the weight kept coming off.  It took a couple of years of regular riding before I could manage a metric century (63 miles) without collapsing, but soon after I began aiming for those five favorite digits on the cyclometer – 100.0.  What once seemed impossible was now becoming possible.  Riding a bicycle for over five hours, 100 miles or more, are you serious?  On the one hand my long time friends thought I was crazy, but on the other hand would say, “yeah, I can see Tim doing that.”  This was also the time I began a five year period of not taking a sip of alcohol, which happened unintentionally, but felt great nonetheless.  Truth is I did not miss alcohol one bit because a void had been filled.  To compensate I began my addiction to coffee, go figure.

During the year 2000 I entered my first race – the Highland Rim Classic in McMinnville.  Josh had talked me into signing up for the first time, but he did not tell me anything about the course!  Hello Josh, Baker Mountain?  Despite coming in dead last in the Category 5 field, exhausted and covered in salt, I knew I had found something worthy of pursuit.  I will never forget looking over my shoulder at the following sweep van, arriving at the finish line, and seeing a ghost town because most everyone else was gone!  I could have easily become discourage at such a beat down, but instead it motivated me to become lighter and faster.  That race taught me a huge lesson; riding well in club rides did not equate to racing well. 

I do not recall racing again in 2000, but I did look ahead to 2001 and set some goals for myself.  I kept my goals very simple:  1) complete 10 century rides, and 2) compete in 10 races.  I did not set time goals or results goals, but only the goal of finishing them.  I began to ride more, five to six times per week, and realized I still had plenty of energy to do everything else I wanted to do.  My body could handle the workload, which helped to shed more pounds while increasing my strength and speed.  Not only did I hit both of my goals, but I destroyed goal #2 by racing over 20 times that year.  I won my first race that year too, the Crossville Criterium.  Oh man, I had the fever now!

As I began my odyssey as a bicycle racer I had to make some tough choices and prioritize in a different way.  There were two books I purchased that helped tremendously.  Joel Friel’s book The Cyclist’s Training Bible helped me to understand periodization and how to formulate the basics of training, among countless other important ideas.  Dr. Ed Burke’s book Optimal Muscle Recovery helped me to understand how my diet, hydration, rest and recovery can impact my cycling on a daily basis.  Without those two books I would have been completely in the dark.  I highly recommend those books to build your library and become more knowledgeable about training and cycling in general.  I did not develop an annual master training plan right way or become an immediate health food freak.  However, I did begin to eliminate random training as well as better prepare my body for the possibility of success.  I let go of some habits that were holding me back while developing new ones that would take me to another level.  I avoided the following: Coca-Cola, alcohol and buffets.  Instead I picked up these habits: drank more water, ate smaller portions and rode my bike a lot.  Pure rocket science!

I will never forget being this green Cat 5 traveling to St. Louis with then Cat 3 racer Brad Spears to the Tour de Soulard Criterium.  It was a combined Cat 4/5 race, and I recall asking Brad, “Do you think I can keep up with Category 4 riders?”  Brad assured me I would have no problem.  I looked up to Brad for guidance and motivation.  He was right, I kept up and finished with the group.  To this day I admire watching him compete, and I still listen to what he has to say.  Our trip together also lit my affection for the city of St. Louis.  Brad and I are both Category 1 racers now and have raced hundreds of time since.  Time flies huh Brad.

Up ahead is 2002 - look out Category 4!