T6

Over the years I managed to convince a few businesses that I was worthy of some financial and/or equipment support. Sponsorship is nice, especially for a mostly mediocre racer who occasionally did well.

In May of 2007, I received an email from a new company looking for riders to wear their gear. I have no idea why I was chosen or how they found me. After a short back-an-forth email interview, I was welcomed to Twin Six.

It was kind of cool having a bio on the website.

Unfortunately the clothing didn't show up until late July when most of my racing was over. I was only able to wear my gear in two 2007 races. The first was the Whiskeytown 9 to 5:

And then a Sac cyclocross race in the fall:

In 2008 I had big plans for a full race schedule, starting with the TBF racing series. I raced the first one on January 20:

And I broke my wrist about 15 minutes after this picture was taken.

When I was invited back to T6 for the 2008 season, I told them I had just broken my wrist, but I would be ready to race later in the season.

They ghosted me. No "sorry to hear that" or "maybe next year" or anything. Just silence.

Even for a lowly weekend warrior, that is the harsh reality of sports. I was just a body, a vessel to wrap their clothing in for exposure. I was a temporarily broken toy, and quickly thrown away.

I still have a T6 jersey but I don't wear it much because it's terribly uncomfortable. The material is weird, and the collar is abnormally tall so the zipper digs into my throat. The company still exists, so I guess they managed to find some success without me.

Later.