Dave Collins is leaving the island today to go back to school and I think that Bermuda cycling will miss him. Not because he's fast - though he is - but because he brought such a fresh attitude to the race scene here.
Want to do the mountain bike series but don't have a mountain bike? Easy, tear it up on your day-glow cross bike. Never done a road race, win your first ever and lap the field in the process. Then five more. Straight. Then bag an A category crit. No power-meter, Carmicheal plan, no tactics, just good hard riding.
It's not to say that the man is without flaws. He's the one that chased down his own team-mate's break on May 24th. Ask him why he did it and you get the same answer you get when you ask why he went so hard he now can't get his shoes off: "I don't know, I just wanted to ride hard. So I did." It's refreshing. So many racers spend time saving themselves for some other race in the future instead of chasing the group going up the road. I'm a victim of this too of course, but I got into cycling because when I was a kid it just felt so good to ride my bike, to go fast, get lost and have fun. Dave rides like a kid, and that spirit is infectious and to me is what cycling is all about.
He's planning on racing in BC and doing the cross scene there over the winter (and introducing to Bermuda in the future?). He'll be contactable and reporting when he can on his races at his site www.self-inflicted-suffering.blogspot.com.
When did you take that picture? Ha it's awesome. Thanks for the write up. Going to miss Bermuda cycling.
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