Central American Bike Racing: we could all learn a thing or two
Central American bike racing is truly something special. At some of the biggest road cycling events in the states, you’re lucky if there are a more than a thousand people watching. You’re lucky if a hundred of those stick around and watch the podium presentations, and I don’t think I’ve ever seen racers go watch the award presentations unless they, themselves, or a teammate is being awarded something; even still some racers leave and just ask promoters to mail them their prize money (I’m personally guilty of all of the above claims). Of course there are exceptions such as the community of Redlands, CA with their host housing program and school visits which truly makes the local residents and the racers become like family, but bike racing in America simply needs more community involvement like that if it ever wants to become relevant again. I’ve won a number of races and been in the scene for quite some time and I can’t recall a single time I was asked for an autograph. The introverted side of me kind of appreciates this level of nonchalance among racers and spectators.. but the side of me that has bills to pay wishes North Americans learned a thing or two from our Central American brothers and sisters.
Our neighbors down south seem to have a whole different approach to things. They actually care… like a LOT. All of these countries and regions have insane fans that, to the unaccustomed outsider, seem borderline obnoxious. Most of the race courses are lined with tens of thousands of spectators and podium ceremonies are massive parties without room to breathe. Oftentimes racers have a difficult time getting to the start line or rider sign-ins because of hoards of crazy fans begging for photos and autographs. This might sound like a dramatic exaggeration, but ask anyone who has raced down here and they’ll verify. These teams that chase these stage races are often asked to take a picture with restaurant owners when they go out to eat. I have been given nicknames such as “El gringo de dos metros” (the two meter gringo) and “El Jirafa” (the giraffe) which help turn me into a more relatable and identifiable racer for the spectators. I believe it is our job as entertainers to be personalities and to have personalities. I am by no means a perfect example and sometimes catch myself fighting my tendency to shy away from the crowds. I sometimes have to force myself to embrace the bigger picture and encourage any form of spectator interaction but in a way that focuses on bringing people together rather than simply boosting my own ego. This is a fine line that I’m still figuring out how to navigate.. but people deserve authenticity and genuine positive and loving energy. That is what makes human beings come alive… and it’s contagious
“Don’t ask yourself what the the world needs. Ask yourself what makes you come alive and go do that, because what the world needs is people who have come ALIVE.” -Howard Thurman
In Guatemala, every little village basically shuts down and everyone swarms to the road to get a glimpse of a bunch of malnourished athletes clad in spandex racing to arbitrary lines painted on the road. They light strings of fireworks which often end up in the road as we race by and no matter how often they did it I almost always thought it was either a massive crash or gunfire. They would spray water on us, whether or not we wanted it, and kids would throw balls of confetti at us. All of that honestly did get a bit distracting when you catch yourself trying to dodge fireworks and steer clear of kids with water bottles or confetti… but at the end of the day, the sentiment is there. They get so damn excited about what we’re doing. Weeks after the race, I went to a bowling alley with Julio and some of his family, and he got stopped by some fans who wanted a photo with him. I catch myself complaining about peoples lack of caring in the states which shows itself in lack of sponsorship dollars and monthly paychecks are slim-to-none these days.. but then I come down here where people DO care and I catch myself being annoyed by the festivities. They come to life watching us come to life. Sport breeds that energy and we have to embrace it as athletes if we want the sport to flourish.
These racers and teams are treated as professional athletes by the general public. At the end of the day, we are entertainers. Our job is to interact with and entertain the people who care; whether that is from the saddle or as an athlete inspiring the next generations of young bike racers and giving them the photo or autograph they are begging for. I posted on instagram a while ago about finishing a stage of the 2016 Vuelta Guatemala and fuming about the end result… but a young fan at the finish reminded me that they don’t always care who crosses the finish line first. They care about the athletes who care about them. I had similar experiences at this year’s Vuelta Guatemala and Vuelta Chiriqui. I finish 2nd and 4th and was counterproductively upset with myself for not doing better.. but then there are fans swarming asking for photos and reminding me in a not so subtle way that they don’t care about my “loss”.. we still carry a degree of superhero-status in their eyes.
Why is it so hard to see that positivity in our own accomplishments rather than being distraught over what could have been. This is, again, about the balance of self-love and self-consciousness and the desire to do better next time. As athletes, we should be able to focus less on the result at the finish line and more about the result of our involvement in the race and the influence on those watching no matter how big or small. Unfortunately though, the industry as a whole lost sight of that focus mostly in the early 2000s when cycling became a big-business money making machine. I’ve been lucky enough to partner with Allied Cycle Works this past year who are doing their part to flip the agenda back to where it should be and let their athletes prioritize individual impact on the community over race results. Oru Case is another partner who believes that enabling athletes to travel helps spread the athlete spirit far and wide. It’s our job as athletes to feed the sides of ourselves and the sides of the sport that help grow the aspects of the sport that we believe in at a fundamental level.
I believe there is a shift in the industry happening in our sport’s time of “financial crisis” that is forcing companies to align themselves with personalities who share a common goal of growth in the sport. Going faster than the guy or girl next to you isn’t enough to sell bikes anymore.. but being an inspirational person and athlete in some degree is more effective at accomplishing the goal of growth. That creates a fine line between being a ego-oriented salesperson and being an authentic representative of a system of ideals in order to move the sport forward in a positive direction and turn it into an inspiration machine. I’ve been reflecting on my time down here and working on caring about the fans as much as they seem to care about us. It turns everything into a positive return cycle and breeds compassion for oneself along with growing the positive energy around the sport of cycling. I believe that is what we need more of. As a sport and as a society, we need the energy that Central American racing has. Caring breeds caring and that starts fundamentally with individuals in the community. That doesn’t take away from us being the best athletes we can be.. It simply changes the priority into becoming the best people we can be. Human development and athlete development are not independent from one another.. they’re co-dependent. Less cookie-cutter. Less robotic. Less ego-driven. More compassionate. More genuine. More community-oriented.
Finally at the end of the the final stage of the Vuelta Chiriqui in Panama, I let myself be consumed by the energy of the Panamanian people. I let their passion for what i was doing become my passion for what I was doing. Even though I could only speak to a handful of the locals who spoke English, I realized the weight of what I was doing. This sport is about so much more than winning bike races.. it is about giving people a reason to smile and that is a goal which transcends language barriers. Busting out of my very small jersey on the podium made them smile. Riding around and taking photos with people made them smile. But at the end of the hardest days when I couldn’t hardly find a reason to smile, the roles were reversed and their love and encouragement and passion for what I was doing made me smile when I needed it most.
