And yet, I am getting grief from a fellow cyclist via Facebook.
Remember that junior from Minnesota who raced at Norfolk over the summer? He's a strong cyclist, but his primary sport is speedskating. Apparently he's really good, as his goal is to represent the USA in the 2010 Olympics. He won the RR and did well in the crit, if I remember correctly. And I do, because I have pictures of the podiums (podia?) in both cases.
Speaking of those pictures, a few of them ended up on my Facebook in an album handily titled "Norfolk Classic 2008." Initially, it was pretty much just pictures of Ian, Matt, and me, as those were my only Kaos fb friends. But then a few more people were tagged as I friended more NE cyclists (Note: feel free to friend me). I believe it was Jon Downey who tagged Colton Barrett in this very photo:
The caption read "John finished on the podium in the 3s. The junior who won it is a 17-yr-old Olympic speedskating hopeful. I don't know what that means though, because if you think about it, I'm an Olympic hopeful too. Just because I have no chance getting to the Olympics doesn't dampen my hopes of participating."I thought it was funny. You may or may not feel the same way.
Anyway, Colton commented on it and said "That wasn't necessary." I figured it was a joke, until I got a message from him late last night. He, apparently, didn't see the humor in it. the message reads as follows:
"Hey, so why do you hate me man? Totally ragging on me in that photo where I'm first on the podium, that someone tagged me in. I'm not gonna sit here and bitch you out, but for someone you didn't even talk to when I was at those races in Norfolk and don't know either. Probably shouldn't be doing that because a Jr. beat your team mate. It was a good race, i had fun, but seriously man, kinda makes you look like an ass. Makes your team look that way too. I showed some of the skaters that live with me, they thought the same. Don't want to start an argument, just think about it. If you want me to explain the speedskating thing to you, thats fine. I will, because someone sent you in the wrong direction when the told you that. Olympic hopeful? I'm not just participating in a sport and hoping someday I'll get there. So just think about that.
Colton"
The message says he doesn't want to sit there and bitch me out, but it seems like it does just that. I was pretty confused when I read this. First off, I don't think it's offensive. I could see how it might irk some with gentler sensibilities, but really. This does not seem like a proportionate response. I was tempted to respond in kind, with a thorough bitching-out, but in the end I decided against such a rash measure. Though it is still pretty snarky:
"I'm sorry man, it's intended to be just a harmless joke. I meant no offense when I typed it up a few months ago, and I mean no offense now. I can even take it down if you insist.
Gotta learn how to take a joke."
I see the whole situation as material ripe for blogging. I do like the fact that I have found myself embroiled in an intra-peloton feud, though. Very Armstrong-Simeoni, and very pro.
3 comments:
Team politics, blogging, and facebook don't mix. Yes, those things are supposed to be kinda personal and fun and not official, but any time you display any material with your team on it, you really should act in a professional way.
Unfortunately, this little joke could escalate to the entire Aaron's team thinking, "Man, those Kaos riders from Nebraska, or all Nebraska riders for that matter, are jerks!" Aaron's is a very large team. You wouldn't want Spence to come after you because he was getting flack from an Aaron's racer in his Cat 1/2 race would you? Unfortunately, that's how bad it can get when it comes to teams and bike racing.
It was wise of you to sort of apologize, but this situation is something I had to learn about too. Anything team related has to be dealt with carefully. You don't want sponsors getting bad press in these hard economic times. I know, I know. We're pretty small time in Nebraska. But still, it's a good practice to work on anyway.
sean -- key words in this post: "17-year-old." Perspective means a lot. I probably would have freaked out about it at 17, too. But I'm 31 now, and I really have long since stopped giving a crap about things like that.
Good thing we're changing sponsors next year, though.
also, why is that dude wearing a skinsuit all of the time? And his quads freak me out.
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