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My parents make fun of me for bike racing.

They roll their eyes when I talk about epic rides. They think its ridiculous when they hear how much money I spend on equipment. They see me and laugh at my tight fighting, obnoxiously colored uniform. I enjoy the criticism. For me, taking a comedic blow every once in awhile is a small price to pay for their undying support. My parents have earned the right to tease me. No matter what they say, I know that they always have my back when it comes to bike racing. And whether they like the sport or not, I know that it will always play some positive part in all of our lives.

I’d just like to thank my parents for a few specific things:

1 – Buying my first race bike! Freshman year of college I began obsessing over the bicycle. As I started riding more and more I wanted to race. They bought me my first Schwinn Fastback, the bike that really accelerated my racing “career.” Without the equipment, I would have never made it to my first starting line.

2 – Coming to my races! My parents are cool as hell about this. They really know how to pick the good events too. You can find them every year at The Blast, UCI Harbin Park and John Bryant.

3 – Taking Team Hungry seriously! I’m not saying they never did, but I only recently noticed that they perceive our team as legit. While they could play it off as minor league games, they really do see Team Hungry as something that is bigger than a few young guns shootin’ the shiz. This became apparent when my mom’s company offered to sponsor us for 2012. Pretty Cool and thanks!

I could have been thankful long before today, and am not really sure why I haven’t expressed it more publicly. Honestly, the only reason I have been pushed over the edge here is because some photos my dad recently sent me. I can’t resist sharing:

I love this photo and think it explains exactly what I said before. He is teasing me, but at the same time, showing that he cares about bike racing at some level.

Thanks guys!