What
could be more fun than riding away from campus (legally) every
afternoon with the wind in your hair and sunshine on your face—all
while getting into the best condition of your life, enjoying
the camaraderie of other athletes, learning about a tactically
fascinating sport, and becoming a more confident rider—whether
competitive or recreational--for the rest of your life?
That's consistently been the experience of our coed, interscholastic
cycling team at Phillips Academy. Of course, we can't promise
that the sun will always shine. Sometimes the New England spring
forces us to don jackets and gloves and dodge potholes in the
rain in order to get in our training miles. But even then, the
smiles still shine.
Our object is to have a great time on every ride, whether it
be an intense set of hill intervals or a light, chatty spin
the day after a race. Although at races we ride in separate
packs, in practice men and women ride together. We like to have
fun but we enjoy the rewards of hard work. In order to improve,
each person must find and extend the limits of her/his endurance.
It's a common misperception that cycling is an individual sport.
In races individual victories are recognized, but it's rare
for someone to win without the support of strong and dedicated
teammates. Indeed, during a race no single rider wants to be
out front by her/himself for very long while those behind, shielded
from the wind, maintain the same speed with considerably less
effort. For safety reasons as well, competitors must therefore
be continually responsive to--and coordinate their efforts with--their
adversaries. That necessity makes tactics in competitive cycling
both complex and endlessly engaging.
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The team here was founded in 1981 by Derek Williams and a
few renegade students. That year, among eight schools, the
team won the New England championship. Cycling has been part
of the interscholastic program ever since. We race in road
races, time trials, and criteriums from Maine to Rhode Island—usually
six races a season. About a dozen schools comprise the New
England Prep Cycling Federation. For years, Andover hosted
a circuit race (and one year, with Milton Academy, a stage
race) that was a staple on the schedule.
More often than not, the Andover team is a rider's first experience
with racing. Thanks to Ken Thomson (father of Jennifer, who
raced on the team in the 1980s), the school has acquired a
collection of race-quality bicycles, so that no student faces
an equipment disadvantage when trying out for the team. Time
and again, we've seen students smitten by the sport as they
develop quickly from ignorance to expertise. Quite a few go
on to compete in college, and afterward in United States Cycling
Federation age-graded races. Some launch careers: Doug Friman
('93) is a nationally-ranked professional triathlete; Steve
Peck ('91) is general product manager for Cannondale and a
Category I racer. Certainly the athletic competition throughout
New England is first-rate: the list of national and professional-team
members who have competed with us as high-schoolers is too
long to enumerate.
We hope you'll consider joining us for the excitement.
-- Jessica Watson, 2001 team captain
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