I joined a cycling club in 2023 and we have a coach. I have never had a coach before. I haven’t ever really done sports so I don’t know what a coach is supposed to do. But Kevin seems earnest and nice and is trying so hard to be helpful.

Before this season’s first race he held a racers’ meeting to go over the course using veloviewer and to talk about tactics and what we should be doing before a race. I was at work that night, so I asked if he’d be able to record it and he did. He talked about wind directions and planning and prep and where to attack the group if we had the legs.

In the race I laughed. Sheldon (who was the live person at the racers’ meeting) and I were all alone, dropped by our pelotons when we got to the spot with 10k left where he’d told us the best place to attack was. “For glory!”

But previsualizing it as if you’re taking it seriously as if you had the body and the strength that could try and fight for victory instead of just completing a ride, well, that’s probably for the best. That’s probably good coaching.