Meeting Some Local Legends

Waking up at the crack of dawn this morning, I was stoked to get out on the roads for one of my last Florida training rides. Just finishing a banana at 7:30am, I saw the big pack of riders soft pedal by the condo, and I knew I had to scramble. I snapped my shoes tight while rushing out the door to jump on the bike, I even forgot to bring the pump and spare tube (luck was on my side today).

Speeding up to the group half a kilometer up the road, I was happy to see lots of local Fat Cat cycle shop riders and a few other fast local riders. I enjoy the cycling community here in South Florida, some of the familiar faces brightened the morning. Getting used to the flow of the pack, approaching a little hill, I squinted to see a Texas Roadhouse rider charging ahead with a Fat Cat rider. I was moving up the left side of the pack at that point, trying to find a friend that was supposed to be on the ride, and I decided to keep on going. I sprinted once I was in the open and settled into a tucked position until getting to the two riders. I looked at the Texas Roadhouse rider and recognized him as Chad Burdzilauskas, the stellar rider that got third in the Ann Arbor Priority Health Classic professional race. I couldn't believe it. The first thing I said was, "Hey aren't you the guy who won the Ann Arbor race?" I had forgotten he got third, so close.

After cranking for a bit, I dropped back to recover and to try to stay in some sort of regimented ride. Plus, my cable housing kept holding onto my cable in my shifter, sometimes limiting my ability to shift. After we settled in to a soft pedal through Palm Beach, I started talking to Chad and the other TR rider; I unfortunately can not remember his name after the ride (my bad memory never fails me). He too was cranking big gears during the ride. Both of the Texas Roadhouse riders were great guys with good insight on cycling and the culture of the Palm Beach area.

As we eventually turned around, after a large pack of mostly Z Motion riders past us, we headed across the Intercoastal to grab some coffee at a Starbucks in West Palm Beach. As I looked around at the other guys and ladies in the group, I saw a number of elite riders and a local pro from Toshiba-Santo named Todd Sanders. We started talking after he recognized the South Lyon name; he grew up in Westland, Mi. It sounded as if he raced all over as a professional for a number of years and has now settled into the Toshiba team. He began to talk about his wife and it turns out she too is a professional racer. Kristin Sanders was on Aaron's Professional Cycling and is now going to ride for a different team. The couple even made it to our very own pair of Priority Health Classic Races; an inspirational duo.

After riding with this group and hearing about the great riding they get in around here, I may have to look into a nursing job in the Jupiter/Palm Beach/Fort Lauderdale area. I love the Caribbean spirit mixed with Latin overtones that this area brings about. A little off-season surfing wouldn't bother me either. Its something different when your pack gets passed, on two occasions, by Porsches speeding down the left lane. Yesterday a guy in a Ferrari even waved to me after a U.S. mail van almost took me out. Vacation is coming to an end all too fast.