From my coach:
Mark, cycling is something (unfortunately) that requires tons and tons of time. You really can’t have much of a life outside of it because if you do then one or both will suffer. I totally know where you are at. Three years into my racing career as a mountain biker I ran into a snag called Natalie. She was very time consuming and as a result my training suffered. I would show up to races that I knew I could do well in and get my ass handed to me. This viscous cycled continued until something had to give. I quit racing. I took a year off and didn’t even touch the bike once! I didn’t come back to the sport until later when I started riding road bikes and found a new passion for racing. I decided to quit my full time job and concentrate on training. I moved back in with my dad (the relationship with Natalie was over anyway) and worked part time at Sharps to make ends meet. It wasn’t until last year that I quit that job and started training full time (At which time I started seeing big success). I have found that to be competitive and to stay motivated in this sport you can’t have too many things on your plate.
To make a long story short, I understand completely.
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