Well, it has definitely been awhile since my last post. Much has happened from then until now, although I don’t know if I could fit it all into a blog post… Even if I tried it would surely take over an hour to read and I don’t believe that is something anyone would want to do. So I will try to update everyone on the past year and a half of my life in a single paragraph (maybe 2…). For those who know me, you may know that this might actually be impossible as I’m definitely not known as the most concise person on the planet… Here goes.
At the time I wrote the last update I was halfway through my first trip to Europe as an Under 23 rider with the US U23 National Team. I was in Luxembourg, which at the time I’m pretty sure I deemed to be the most beautiful country in the world. Pretty it was, but I may have spoken a little too soon, as I have seen some much more beautiful places since. I had been having a decent trip up until that point, although it wasn’t until the end of that first trip that I really had my first breakout ride at the Tour des Pays de Savoie in the French Alps. I was able to help our team leader at the time, Tejay Van Garderen, to 2nd place overall, while also posting some decent stage finishes for myself as well. During that race I saw a glimpse of light, being my first really good ride in an Under 23 race, that I might have the potential to make it to the professional level one day.
Previous to that summer I had spent a rigorous freshman year at the University of Michigan trying to balance a difficult school schedule, a heavy training load, as well as trying to be a part of as many groups and activities on campus as may have been humanly possible. I did all of this while trying to maintain some semblance of a social life. My goal that school year was to do what it took to be accepted into the Ross School of Business at Michigan, a prestigious 3-year business program ranked as one of the top in the nation. All of my high-school career I knew I wanted to go into business after college and that Ross was where I wanted to go. I somehow got through a year managing a balancing act by getting decent grades, getting over to Europe in decent fitness, and still, in the midst of it all, making some great friends.
Previous to that trip to Europe and having my “mini-epiphany” that I could maybe one day make it as a professional cyclist, I had always really considered cycling a hobby – albeit one that I was pretty engrossed in. Going over to Europe and racing as a junior cyclist, I had spoken to other kids, all who aspired to be professionals someday. Whenever I told them I wanted to go into business, they kind of just looked at me curiously. I guess setting a goal for myself that seems unrealistic has never been something that appealed to me. I knew that I could make it into Ross, and I knew that if I made it there, I would become a businessman. Whether I could make it to the professional level as a cyclist, was something I was much less sure of. Sure, it was a dream of mine, just as any kid dreams of making it to the NBA one day because he thinks playing basketball is fun, or of becoming a rockstar after he learns how to play hotcross buns on the guitar. I dreamt, but I guess I was a realist at the same time.
At the end of this first U23 trip to Europe, with an invite to return later in the summer in my hands, I was about to realize something else. I finished the Tour des Pays de Savoie in high spirits, with this newfound realization that becoming a pro might be a possibility. I went home in high spirits and dreamed of my future as a cyclist the entire plane ride home. I jumped on my bike as soon as I returned. Five-hour rides seemed painless, I was now working towards a greater goal. My mildly euphoric state was cut short one day when, mid-ride, I felt my phone buzzing off of the hook in my jersey pocket. I pulled off the side of the road to see what was wrong, and it turned out to be a plethora of messages from my friends, all having been admitted to the business school. I had almost forgotten about it by this time, but could not wait until I got home to find out. I called my friend and soon to be roomate Thomas to check my admittance status online, which he gladly did for me.
I got in.
I proceeded to call my mother, sister, and others I knew, all while sitting on the side of the road in some middle-of-nowhere Northern Michigan town. While I couldn’t have been more ecstatic to accomplish what had been a goal of mine for over four years, it came at a less than opportune time. Just as a dream of mine was starting to look like it could one day be a reality, a goal of mine was accomplished and a future career in business looked to be almost certain. That was, if I decided to take it.
Shortly after learning of my acceptance, I left for another block of racing out West in the US and Canada. It couldn’t have gone much worse, as I was overtrained, and most of my teammates, including myself, were pretty cracked. Psychologically, I probably couldn’t have been worse off going into a second European trip, but somehow, what was about to happen would make my decision even more difficult. I must have had the perfect amount of recovery and my coach must have really known what he was doing, because in my first race back in Europe, I almost won. I finished 4th in the prologue of the Tour of Antwerp, one second off of the win, against the strongest in Belgium. The rest of the trip went superbly, much better than I, or anyone else could have expected. For a first-year American kid racing in Europe, especially one that had been going to school the entire year, I think it is safe to say people were surprised. I definitely was. My success helped me gain a spot on the BMC Racing Team’s U23 squad, one of the biggest and strongest professional teams in the US, if not the world.
I was now a part of two amazing programs – although two programs which probably could not be farther apart. As I began my first year as a student at Ross, regularly ranked among the top-5 and top-10 of undergraduate business programs in the states, I also began to prepare for my first season with BMC. I felt that I was one of the most fortunate kids around. I was succeeding at and accomplishing two of the biggest goals I had set for myself in life – at the same time. I dropped almost all of my other on-campus activities to be able to focus on school and cycling, as disappointing in either was the last thing I ever wanted to do. I felt the pressure of everyone who had ever helped me along the way riding on my shoulders and knew I could not let them down.
It seemed to be going well as I finished my first semester off reasonably, not with the highest GPA, but with a fine one. Much more impressive considering that at the end of it I discovered that I had been suffering from mono for the last 2 months of it, including during my second round of midterms and my final exams. I then went to training camp for BMC in January and rode very well, again much better than I or anyone else expected – especially after just having recovered from mono. From there, I don’t really know what happened. I did decently in school for the rest of the semester, and decently in riding for the rest of the season. Nothing stellar in either. While I was studying all I could ever think about was cycling. And in riding, I was very strong, stronger than I had ever been, and I had numbers to show it, but for some reason I couldn’t seem to pull it together when it came to a race.
Over the past year I learned alot. Trying to perform my best in school, while being as strong as I could in cycling, taught me alot about both of those subjects, and about myself. I love riding my bike. And I love going to school. I realized though, that I also love being the best at whatever I do. If I put my heart and soul into it, I think I will be able to succeed at either, but trying to balance both might just not be in the cards. I want to be a professional cyclist, but I also want to finish school. After taking a ton of time to weigh both things out I decided that later this year it is time for me to try one of them full out. I am going to take a semester off of school to see whether it is feasible or not for me to make it as a professional cyclist. I have been really fortunate to have such a great and supportive team, and one that has stuck by me for the next season. I have also been fortunate enough to have an understanding and supportive school, one that is allowing me to take this semester off.
After this season, we will see what happens and where life takes me. It could be eventually to cycling, or to business. Whichever one it is though, I will at least be able to say that I gave it my best shot. I hope to (really this time) keep everyone updated along the way, whether it be via my 140 character twitter updates, or my extraordinarily long blog posts.
Guess a paragraph or two wasn’t in the cards either…
-Larry
On my way to winning my hometown crit earlier this summer
Hope to do this more often next year...
At the Tour of China opening ceremony. That race is a whole other story...
At the Strasbourg Cathedral for a stage start in the Tour of Alsace
Yey, saw you retweeted the article about MiSCA and the scholarships. I’m the director and just wanted to say thanks for helping to spread the word.