Wednesday, February 27, 2013

The Road to Paris Roubaix - Appreciate the Journey

Jordan received an e-mail from USA Cycling on Feb 18th, inviting him race for 2 1/2 weeks this spring, for Team USA in Belgium and France. He will be competing with 5 other elite American 17-18 year old juniors in 3 events:

24 March: Meer (Hoostraten) kermesse, Belgium
30 March- 1 April: Ster van Zuid Limburg, Belgium http://stervanzuidlimburg.be/index.php?cat=2
 7 April: Paris Roubaix, UCI NCup, France

This marks Jordan's first opportunity to race for the Junior National Team. This will be Jordan's 3rd cycling trip to Europe, after going to EuroCrossCamp in 2011-2012, and Racing in Belgium for his trade team, Slipstream Craddock last summer. We are so proud of Jordan, and wish him the best of luck!

It's far too easy to get caught up in the thought of achieving your dream, that you fail to appreciate the journey. The road to greatness is challenging, and if you focus too heavily on the final destination, you will fail to gain happiness and satisfaction from the intermediate successes along the way. If you have great day on the bike, celebrate it, and wait till tomorrow before contemplating what if means for your future.

As Jordan's father, other parents of junior cyclists often approach me and ask how they can help their child become the best they can be. I think the best advice I can give them is help their kid dream big, set intermediate goals, and appreciate the journey.