COOK LAW CYCLING TEAM Carl Zach 
Birthday: 7/27/72 Category: 3 Occupation: Bicycle Shop Manager/Teacher How I Became Interested in Cycling: I competed in gymnastics through high school and red-shirted my first year in college. I continued club gymnastics until 1995, and during that time I noticed that gymnastics was not going to satisfy my cravings for activity for the rest of my life. I started working at a bicycle shop in Madison ??e with a lot of character behind it ??rking part-time during the school year and full time during the summers. It was through my years at this shop I discovered the sport of cycling ??e athleticism, the prestige, and the traditions. I bought my first real road bike in March of 1994 ??Bianchi Genius with Campagnolo Chorus ??gorgeous bicycle. With the bike I had to play the part, and I started riding everyday during the spring, summer, and fall. Through cycling I met many people with the same love for the bike and the freedom it brings. It was also through these people that I learned about cycling as a sport. I competed in my first race in 1995, at the Capitol City Classic and finished a respectable 18th. It was not my finish that spurred me on to consider cycling as a sport ?? was the reaction from more experienced riders. Many a rider came up to me after the race and told me that I did very well during the race, and with much surpise after I told them it was my first race. For the next three years I competed in only three to five races a year, always finishing in the top ten. It was not until 1998 that I truly accepted cycling as a sport. Mostly, I attribute this to the influence of one man in my life, a man that I respect greatly. It was his influence that opened my mind, and allowed me to look at life with a new appeal ?? live your dreams. Since then, I have competed in over forty races a year, winning a race, and stacking up an impressive resume with top 5?nd top 10?not only in local events, but in regional and national events as well. Through cycling I have learned the value of the simple things in life, the value of friendships, as well as living a life of which dreams are made of. Accomplishments on the Road: 1998 Superweek Category 4 overall 8th place, 1st Otto Grunski, 4th Downers Grove. 1999 Superweek Category 3 overall 14th - Manitowoc 4th, Kenosha 5th, and Holy Hill 9th, Wheels on Willy Criterium 5th, Whitnall Park Series a 4th and a 5th, Oconomowoc Criterium 2nd, a too many top tens to count. 2000?? Better than last year! Words to Live by: The words Carpe Diem seem a bit overused, but ce la vie!! |
