End of Season Wrap up by James Hawkins
When Rachelle asked me to say a few words at the year-end party, I responded by saying, why the heck would you want me to say a few words?
She wrote back and said it’s been an awesome season for you.
I thought about it, and it has been an incredible season, and I told her I’d be honoured. So let me tell you why it’s been such a tremendous season for me.
I know quite a few people here, but there’s probably a lot that I don’t know super well, and some of you probably just know me as some kind of nut on Strava. So it’s probably worth setting the record straight while also sharing with you a bit about me. Two things, I’m an engineer by education, and I used to ski race. And to translate, what that tells you about me is that I like to solve problems, I like going fast , and I like to have a good time.
Biking, and skiing, for that matter, are just really an extension of who I am, and it allows me to channel my energy into something I enjoy. I love the process, I love the outdoors, and I enjoy making workouts hurt. So this year was just about proving to myself that I could be better than I was last year. So for those of you that might think I’m a little obsessed with Strava, I’m not. It’s a tool for me because you all motivate me to get out there, and at the same time, I hope I’m reciprocating by doing the same for you.
Mid-season you might have noticed something going on in Richmond at that grassroots crit race. I remember seeing a few Lotus people showing up to the race, then there were a handful of pictures on Instagram, and then there was a photo of dozens of Lotus jerseys. I felt I had to go out there and see what it was all about. And so I signed up for my first race and it was so exhilarating. Things went well, leading to more crit races, cross racing, and finally riding Victoria. The key message I’m trying to get across is that I’ve fallen back in love with this whole idea of pushing myself in competition. I know this is not a race club, but I have an even greater sense of purpose in enjoying this sport I already love it so much and it’s mainly because of a lot of you who encouraged me to get out there.
I’d say the last couple of years have been tough for a lot of us. I’m feeling pretty confident outside of Covid there’s a lot of people that have had personal challenges. I’m certainly not excluded from that list as I’ve had my headwinds. It’s just so fitting that one of my most memorable moments was the triple crown and supporting such a good cause. And the thing about those ups and downs is there’s a lot of different ways you can come out, you can come a better or you can come out worse. And I’d argue how you come out, a big contributor to that is the people you have around you. For me, there’s always been a constant, the Wednesday nights, the Saturday mornings, and all the things after and in between. There were so many of you, whether you knew it or not, that got me through my challenges better than I would have otherwise.
As we get older, we change. Who I was in my 20s and 30s and perhaps even my early 40s (I’m in my mid-40s now) is completely different from who I am today. What’s changed is what I value in life, and what I value the most is having amazing life experiences. And not only having unique experiences but having incredible experiences with amazing people. Because having experience on your own is one thing, but having experience with people you care about, that have good energy, makes it exponentially better. When I ski or bike, and I’m with a solid group of people, I get so much more inspired and fuelled by what we’re doing and I feed off that energy and just really love that camaraderie. I’m so grateful that I’ve been able to have these experiences this year with so many of you.
I’ll just finish off by saying, what this group has is so special. And I’m so proud that I can wear the Louts jersey and represent this club. I’m so grateful that my friend Mike introduced me to Rachelle, that Rachelle took the time to put me through the entrance interviews and gave me the green light. I’m just so grateful that I’ve developed some solid connections within the club but I’m also looking forward to growing my Lotus friendships with those people I don’t know quite as well. And so I’d like to take this opportunity to ask you to raise your glasses , because I’d like to cheers all of you and thank you for making this such a fantastic season for me, and I hope in some way I did for you, and I hope we can do it again even better in 2022.