I’ve been pretty inactive with this blog over the past year- and the last post I had about bike racing went back to April 2009. I’ve thought about posting plenty of times, but usually when I had something to write about I was too busy to write about it, couldn’t really talk about it, wanted to only talk about gadgets (my not-so-secret fetish), or my thoughts would have disintegrated into politically charged grumblings- which is well outside the scope of my expertise. But for the last three or four months I’ve been almost exclusively focused on “It” and fortunately, I’m going to be able to officially spill the beans about “It” very soon. It’s not a huge secret, some folks on Twitter and Facebook might even have seen the occasional hint or excited message from the people I’m working with- but we’re still a very few important steps from having all the i’s dotted and t’s crossed- and until then nothing’s official.
But “It” has a backstory, and It was a major catalyst in Rosa’s (my wife) and my decision to move from Los Angeles to Chicago (in Winter!), which has resulted in temporarily living in the suburbs in the house next door to my parents (which really is just like “Everybody Loves Raymond”, and extremely entertaining to be a character in). And actually, the story behind “It” doesn’t even go that far back...
Last summer I was planning for a new chapter in my life- sort of- I was going to go back to school. I was preparing to take the GMAT and apply for a few different MBA programs. I was hoping to take my experiences from working with ABD, of organizing events and people and teams, and learn how to do it in “the business” world. I was still planning to stay involved with cycling during school- riding my bike and coaching a few athletes- but my studies would have been my top priority. A friend had planted the MBA seed in my brain last April or May and I found myself getting very cerebrally excited about an MBA program.
Then in mid-August Rosa and I were back in the Midwest for the Downers Grove Criterium and to visit family and friends. We were driving through the middle of rural Wisconsin farmland, enjoying time away from Los Angeles, when I got a phone call from a number I didn’t recognize. I answered it and the ensuing conversation was very short and very exciting. A couple of guys had a vision for a new project, it was related to cycling, and they wanted to know if I wanted to run It? It was far from a sure thing, there was no money (yet), and It offered no long-term security. So of course I said, “I’d definitely be interested”.
The simple fact is that the cerebral excitement of going back to school and getting my MBA was no match for a gut-reaction, butterflies in my stomach and a rush of adrenaline. I’ve been racing bikes since I was 14, and occasionally I would think that maybe it’s time for something new, but for me life in the cycling world is exciting and intensely satisfying- whether it’s winning a race, watching a teammate or athlete I coach win a race, helping run an event for a few hundred people, or just having a great workout.
So, a few days after the initial phone call, I meet with these guys to talk about It before heading back to LA. We met at a Starbucks next to the airport so we could talk before my flight out, which kind of made me feel like a businessman- no MBA required! Despite the fact that It is just a twinkle in all of our eyes, Rosa and I start throwing around ideas on the flight back to L.A. We’ve always talked about living in Chicago, but this time the conversation was much more serious... and we were excited. However, once we got back to L.A. we shelved the talk for a while and went on with our lives in California. I stayed busy with prep work for ABD’s Fall Fling, a couple of new coaching clients and talks with riders about the 2010 ABD Elite team. I even finally went to Disneyland for the first time ever (thanks Katy and Billy!).
Then, in mid-September, I got another call about It. They’d decided to head in a little bit different direction (my heart sank a bit, we talked a few more minutes)... but then, “So, do you still want to be involved?” Heart soars: of course.
Rosa and I talked again- excitedly and nervously. Los Angeles had been our home for six years, the hub of Rosa’s craft (acting), and we’d never considered moving to Chicago so seriously. But deep down we know the nervousness is why we should do it. We’re young, we’re mobile, why not.
I flew back to the Midwest for three weeks to help run the Fall Fling and I met again with the key players. As is often the case, the more I learned about It the more nervous I became. Things sounded great, but I knew better than to get too excited too early, and especially after the bottom dropped out of the economy in October of 2008 and riders, teams, clubs and events were left with no funding. Sometimes this nervousness of mine disintegrated into fear, but it actually felt ok—kind of like cliff diving. I knew the water was deep enough because if we moved to Chicago there were plenty of other opportunities, but that still didn’t take away from the fear and the rush of jumping in.
Rosa and I talked more via video-chat, but we postponed a final decision until I was back home so we could talk to face to face. (Technology and gadgets are no match for the rich subtleties of actual experience.)
I flew back to L.A. on October 13th, we waited a couple of days, and then one evening we opened up a nice bottle of wine and talked. And we decided to move... by Thanksgiving. Even if It didn’t work out then we’d at least have the opportunity to live in the city, and we decided that after a year we’d evaluate whether or not to stay.
Now that a decision had been made, we started to clean house and by the first weekend of November almost every piece of furniture we owned had been sold on Craigslist. For the next few weeks we lived off a couple of TV trays, an exercise ball, an office chair and an air mattress. We realized, for better or worse, that as long as we have our beloved kitchen amenities (knives, cutting boards, pots & pans, coffee maker) and an internet connection we don’t care much about the rest of the apartment.
Rosa packed constantly for three weeks. What was left of our possessions had to fit into 285 cubic feet of moving company space and a 1994 Nissan Sentra. We sold Rosa’s ’99 Nissan Sentra in four hours on Craigslist because we thought my car would have been a tough sell with it’s many quirks and bike grease stains.
The move itself is a long, funny story that you can read about over on Rosa’s blog here and here. It involves a broken down car just 120 miles outside of L.A., a tow truck, a few airports, Thanksgiving in Phoenix, and ultimately a flight to Milwaukee.
Upon our arrival to the Midwest in early December we moved into my parents’ extra bedroom. Our stuff arrived (mostly undamaged) a few days later and was stashed away in their basement. Now that I was local I worked away on “It” with a clear goal in sight but still nothing signed, sealed or delivered.
Two weeks later we flew back to Phoenix for a wonderful Christmas with Rosa’s family. Then, on Christmas Day we flew back to Chicago to celebrate Christmas with my family. And six days later, on January 1st, we flew down to Costa Rica for 12 days to take our delayed honeymoon and celebrate our one-year anniversary. The trip was also to fulfill a deal I made with myself that if my wife agreed to move to the Midwest- in Winter- then I’d take her some place warm. Costa Rica was amazing and despite my getting sick for a day we had a great time. Unfortunately, the day we returned from Costa Rica I got sick again, and it was pretty bad. Rosa had never seen me that sick before. I lost obscene amounts of weight and for the first time in my cycling life I’ve been consciously trying to put on the pounds—and I won’t lie, it’s kind of nice.
Once I started to feel better we began to look for apartments in the city and we immediately fell in love with Chicago: great people, great neighborhoods and everything is within a few minutes of everything else. We started to get excited about unpacking our things that had now been in boxes for two months. We saw a few places that were possibilities, but nothing really perfect.
Then, during one of our apartment hunting days in the city I received a phone call that my parents’ neighbor has passed away. His name was Bill Enders and he was a great guy and also Winfield’s first paid fireman. He, his wife and their daughters would come over during family parties and the neighborhood always felt a little safer knowing Bill was keeping an eye on things. His daughters decided that they didn’t want to leave the house vacant in winter so they made us an offer that we really couldn’t refuse: would we mind housesitting? Umm... (we thought about it for a day, then thought about saving money that we’re not actually making anyway since “It” hasn’t made an official penny...), you bet we would!
So for now we’re rocking the suburbs, enjoying life in the Midwest, the proximity of our friends and family, keeping an eye out for that perfect place in the city, and working on It. Hopefully I can talk about It soon!