It was an amazing decade and I didn’t really think about it much until around 11:30 on New Years Eve. The last decade was filled with a lot more downs than ups. I guess you can call that paying your dues, taking your lashes or whatever else. I was in the “suck” more often than I care to remember and often times the periods of woe were self-induced. I’m not the only one that was having issues and in reality, I was never without food, water or shelter so how bad was it really? Anyway.

1999 was a rough year, I was living in NYC’s Hells Kitchen on 46th between 9th and 10th. I was married to my first wife, and I had just started thinking about riding a bike again after walking away from cycling in May of 1994. My training and coaching business were really getting going. Things were on a downward spiral in my personal life and that was causing unrest in every part of my world.

On New Years Eve 1999 I was in a BIG apartment/house on Manhattan’s upper East side with a bunch of people I hardly new. I was unhappy and a new decade was about to begin. I was NOT looking forward to the new year. I would not have believed you if you had come up to me that night and said that in Jan 2010 I would be sitting in Seattle writing a blog about a decade that tuned out to be the best one yet- out of the 4 that I have been on the planet. In Jan 2000 I knew what I wanted to do, I just wasn’t in a place yet that I could make it happen. It’s happening now.

2000: I started riding a bike again, a Merlin with Campy Chorus. Powercranks. My personal training business was thriving. I separated from my wife and moved in with a friend on the Upper West Side. Yuppie status? Not really. I moved to London in the Fall and was hoping to open a training gym there. Swore never to return to NYC. NOT a well thought out plan. No work permit, no work. Lived with “friend” from upper West side. Returned to NY 3 months later. Tail between legs. Moved into a friends place in Brooklyn (Carol Gardens). Started my training business back up. Started riding a LOT. Spent New Years eve alone. Sad. Too much gin.

2001. Really rough. No stable place to live, slept in a gym, storage facility, a couch here and a couch there. Not awesome. I was really riding a lot now, you might even call it training. Training business was back up to speed. Started racing local races. 2nd my first race back in 7 years. Curious. Overheard: “who is that guy?”
Inspired. Spending a lot of time in the gym, studying.

2002. Only 2 address changes this year, Upper West and Upper East side. Stability? Training and racing going really well, no plans other than training and racing. Won Univest GP……. nice! Game changer. Might be something to this racing. Starting to do a lot more coaching. Developing a system.

2003. Living on Upper East side. Won Tour of Cuba, that was insane and it was in February. Fizzled soon after at Tour of Chile- too much too soon. Got a message on my old school Blackberry from Gord Fraser: Do you want to ride the big races? Easy answer. YES. Signed not so lucrative contract to join Fraser and Sayers on Heath net in March. First race was Gila- ROUGH introduction. A year of ups and downs and the biggest races in the country. End of season comes, verbal agreement for contract fizzles and enter late Fall with no contract. Over already? Sign with Colavita in November. Move into a plush loft apartment in Chelsea area with new-ish girl friend. Training and coaching business still rolling along, lots of clinics, trips and research. First Bikram yoga experience as well as LAST.

2004. Start the year with a big trip Tucson, feels like home. Team training camp also in Tucson. Break up with loft apartment girlfriend and a few months later meet Thea, current wife, at my training studio. She was looking for a coach, and i was looking for a date. We started dating after I returned form training camp. Long season of racing with lots of successes for the team. Learning a LOT about bike racing, life on the road and thinking about the HSP concept.

2005. Back with Colavita. Back to Tucson to start the year off right, rent a room in a house with Mike jones and Danny Pate. Short lived. Team camp in St. Helena this year. Take on the job of taking care of Italian teammate Davide Frattini, he becomes my NYC roommate in 116 St. apartment in the “safe” part of Harlem. FUN. Making lots of notes about training protocols, continuing to refine strength training concepts for cycling. HSP is taking shape in the brain. Another really good season, some good personal performances. Move to another apartment in Harlem with Thea, Davide moves with us- it’s SMALL. Thea takes an Opera job in Seattle and likes it. I visit Seattle in June to see her and decide I LOVE Seattle, good place for HSP master plan. Spend the Fall working the training business and figuring out the move. Plan is to move to Seattle in Decemeber.

2006. Move to Seattle during a terrible winter. No sun for weeks! I crack and bail to Tucson for a few weeks. Sign on for another year with Colavita. Still having fun but not so eager to take the risks I once was. Problem? REALLY starting to plot HSP.
Settle into Queen Ann rental and learn the local training rides. WAY better than life in NYC. Solid season. 12th at US Pro RR at end of year and crash out of last pro race, Univest…….. how ironic. Time to hang up the bike and start the next phase at age 36. Open first HSP office in Downtown Seattle in late October- a sub lease in a medical office, NOT much space. Let the games begin! GOOD YEAR!

2007. HSP is up ad running and starting to bring in local clients. Small training gym is outfitted. H logo comes to life. Looking for bigger space. Take on a partner in the business. Direct local team at NRC events- is this what I want to do? Take on another partner in the business. Biz plan created for 2.0. Go to Classics in Europe, discover brave new world! Find a new space for HSP, the move begins. Lots of build out. Should have gone to business school…. feels like I AM in business school. Move in and start working in new place in October. Thomas starts doing repairs out of back room- poor lighting, bad tool selection but a step towards the Pro Shop. Thinking about knocking down a wall and opening Pro Shop.

2008. Getting the business up to speed. Back to riding a little bit more. Tri coaches at HSP, Tri club concept being developed. New website. Coaching clientele continues to grow. Flash starts work at HSP: exercise phys. and bike fitting. Richter signs on as cycling coach. Company shake-up, HSP has 1 less owner- weight lifted, real progress beings! HSP moves away from Tri coaching, tri website and tri club – back to basics. Relief. HSP back to what we do best! Clear vision. Understanding business relationships. Start discussion with neighbor next door HSP to MAYBE take over his space for Pro Shop. Pro Shop concept gets dialed in. HSP gets lease for next door! Carpenter hired. Sleepless nights. More money needed. Less sleep. Build out begins. HSP shop team concept realized. Time to get back to bike racing again. Richter wins Washington Cup and B.A.R.R. And stamp.

2009. Is it really 2009? Shop construction underway. Turn 40. Bike shop opens.
Racing goes well all things considered. Brand growing locally. Shop picks up steam.
Already thinking about a bigger space. Some re-modeling of HSP gym. Planning on line store. Do first cross race. Plan a trip to 2010 Spring Classics. Professional network growing in leaps and bounds. Put name in the hat for BMC strength and conditioning coach. GET job as BMC strength and conditioning coach.

2010. I REALLY can’t believe the decade has ended! New motivation to start training and racing more. Got another dog- Beanie. Still happily married! Getting ready to head to BMC team camp. Making plans for HSP 3.0.

I need to keep better notes for the next one of these in 10 years. I get pretty worked up when I think back to when I was just starting to think about riding a bike again and where I might be in my life if I had decided to take up golf instead. I’m thankful to everyone who told me that I was too old to get back into racing and even more thankful to those who told me to do what makes me happy- it’s not always easy. I won’t forget for minute how this past decade started out as it motivates me to keep pushing forward.

Happy New Year. Never stop.

Best,
TH