Teamless

It looks like I may be teamless next year. I realize that I've only been on a team for a year and in the beginning I didn't know if I wanted to join, but I really enjoyed it. I like going to a race and knowing there will be team members to hang out with while I'm waiting to race. That's something I'm definitely going to miss. There was a certain camaraderie there I haven't experienced in a long time. My teammates always cheered me on even though I was ridiculously slow.

I just found out that the team I was on this year probably won't exist unless someone else is willing to do the legwork. Jake took responsibility for the chapter team this year and I think he really had a disappointing experience. He put a lot of time and effort into it and ended up doing all the work, not getting the amount of participation he expected and having a lot of drama with our sponsor. Personally, he experienced a lot of success racing and continued to get better throughout the year. He may have good luck securing a sponsor for himself for next year, and I can't blame him for wanting to do that. He's done a lot for our MMBA chapter for a while and seems to be experiencing some burnout. I am as much of a culprit as anyone else, but I do realize that there are a lot of folks who are members in name only and don't get involved. That makes for the same people doing all the work all the time and the understandable amount of burnout. On top of all that, Jake was on the receiving end of a crappy, completely unwarranted tongue-lashing from our sponsor, who has serious issues.

I guess there's the chance I could join another team, but let's face it, sponsors aren't really knocking down my door. The fact of the matter is, the only team that will take me is probably one that will take everyone and I don't think there are many of them out there.

In other news, I'm officially done with work now. We leave for our trip to Kansas City tomorrow to visit this guy and on to Lake Wappapello to hang with Chris' family for a couple days. When I get back, I'll be ready to dive into my new career and training schedule with a vengeance.