This weekend I got to do something that I hope to do more of in the future: volunteer at a biking event.

Up until the past year when I've been more involved with raising our son and working on the internet businesses I would go to a fair number of cycling events as a participant. This was usually a fund raising event, a "recreational" ride like the Seattle-to-Portland (STP), or bike race - mountain or road. I'd always appreciated the service of the volunteers who really make the events go smoothly and sometimes found it hard to believe they were so friendly even though they weren't getting paid for it.

I found out the secret to why they're so friendly: it's a lot of fun!

There's a lot of logistics to running a bike race smoothly, and now I appreciate that more than ever. One of my very good friends was running the organization of the car caravans for each race group. A group was something like Category 1,2,3 Women [note: Category 1,2 and 3 are really good], Category 4,5 Women, Category 1,2 Men, etc. There were about 5 race caravans with four cars in each caravan. My buddy's job was to make sure there were enough volunteer cars and drivers, as well as make sure everyone had the right equipment (signs, lights, radios) and get started in the right position and on time. He also picked up one or two other responsibilities on the day of the event.

No, he didn't get paid for that either. But he did a great job!

By contrast, all I had to do was drive a wheel support car for the Masters category, which consisted of about 50 guys 30+ years old of all categories. Coincidentally, that would have been my group had I been racing.

Wheel support involves collecting extra wheels from those who brought them, and then making sure that every one gets their extra wheels back at the end of the race. During the race, if one of them gets a flat they will pull over and raise up their arm. I pull over and, quickly as I can, pull out a front or rear wheel from the car and give it them. I'll help them swap out wheels as quickly as possible so they can have a chance to catch up with the race group, 'cause the race group is not waiting!

So that's the nuts and bolts of what the wheel car driver has to do, but that leaves out how much of a blast this really is! Having done a fair number of group rides and races, I know what it's like to suffer with a group while trying not to run into anyone else and paying attention to your own exertion level, trying to be smart in your group postioning, etc. It takes a lot more mental energy than you would think. But the reward is that you get to fly along the road with a tight knit group and get the rush of racing.

This time following along in a car I got to see how the race group moved along the road and through the curves. With all of the colorful jerseys and bikes, I almost felt like I was at the Tour de France! In some ways, this was even better because I was actually participating by helping to support the racers. I really wanted to make sure I got a new wheel as quickly as possible to those who needed it and get them back on the road again.

By the end, there were only a total of three flats that I needed to help with.

And what I found out is that there are a lot of people like me out there. That is, the actual participants in the events really are appreciative of the volunteers. Even the guys who did not need a wheel in the race gave me a big smile and a "Thanks!" just for following along with their wheels. I was happy to do it and had a great time in the process.

So the thing I learned from this, and that I would like to pass along, is to find a way to volunteer in something that you really enjoy. Yes, we are all busy. You're not special in saying "I have too much to do - I don't have time to volunteer". What makes you special is finding a way to volunteer in spite of being so busy.

I've been just a guilty as anybody else in using this excuse, but now that I've had such a great time I'm going to make it a point to do something like this several times a year. You really can't buy this kind of experience and it will help clear your mind from the day to day routine.