What a difference a bike makes.
Michael Gulley started racing competitively 14 years ago at local bicycle competitions in the tri-state area and Canada. During that time he gained confidence and experience. So much so that he is planning to compete in the 2001 Masters National Road Championship Race to be held in Spokane, Wash. this summer. Gulley is certain he can win the race, but one thing stands between him and his dream – money.
According to the 37-year-old semi-professional cyclist, his plan to compete this year in Spokane was running smoothly before March, when he suffered large financial difficulties. He needs about $1,000 to compete in the race, and he is asking for support.
“I decided that it was time for me to seek a national championship title in the year 2001,” Gulley wrote in a flyer that he put up around his neighborhood. “I cannot achieve my goal without your support this year.”
Despite his financial crisis, Gulley continues to train for the July 8 event. He is winning races in New Jersey and New York and is training every day.
So far, SDS Bicycle Shop on Palisade Avenue in Jersey City has come forward and offered to help Gulley by providing a new racing bike for him.
The Cannondale R4000 Si model is three pounds lighter than his current bike and one of the most impressive racing bikes on the market today.
“Over time you get to know the feeling of a bike,” Gulley said. “A faster bike helps me stay ahead of the pack.” Tony Scarpa, the bicycle shop’s owner, said he is doing the best he can to help Gulley.
“You can have the best equipment in the world, but if you don’t have the determination, you won’t win,” Scarpa said. “This guy is determined.”
Gulley has lived in Jersey City for the past six years with his wife Lise. He was born in Alabama and then moved to New York City with his family. After high school he joined the Army, where he started taking his bicycle riding seriously.
Gulley recalls one time when he was riding his bike at the Army camp where he was stationed, and a man on a racing bike rode next to him and eventually passed him without showing any effort. What was shocking to Gulley was that the man was on a full sprint at the time.
“That is what started the whole thing for me,” Gulley said.
After the Army, he moved to Canada and entered local races. He would win a race once in a while. Eventually, he won consistently.
Racing is a mental exercise for Gulley.
“When you race, there is no time out,” he said. “You can mentally crack your own self. You have to play mind games and be extremely focused.”
Gulley eats a high carbohydrate diet and drinks plenty of water during races. He works out at Gold Coast Fitness Center on Newark Avenue, where he is affectionately known as “the guy on the bike.” Cycling is his lifestyle. For Gulley, a chance to compete at the nationals will make all his training and mental preparation worthwhile. His plan for the race will be to stay with the front pack and out-sprint the leaders at the end of the race, finishing in first place.
“Every race is a fight to stay in front,” he said. “When you pass a guy, never let them know you’re coming. If I win it, I’ll make plans to go to Europe and compete there.”
Gulley has seen amateurs who win the national title. Their confidence, he said, rises 200 percent.
“Cycling is five percent physical and 95 percent mental,” he said.
For information on means to help Gulley, call 435-8872 or email mikerage1@aol.com.