Gale Reason is back in his hometown, on the eastern side of Bermuda, resting from a very succesful start of season 41. He is staring out on the quiet sea. This is where he learned to bike, using a homebuild waterbike to race on the sea. There was never enough road on Bermuda to get enough mileage in his legs. When the sea was wild, it was much like riding on the European cobble roads, he later found out.
As a young Bermudean he had a dream of becoming a professionel roadracer. He was riding in the local cyclingclub of West Indies and later on rode on a lot of exotic teams around the world. His first big team Abelixe of Columbia quiclky found out his potential on the cobbles. He was trained to be one of the most talented and promising rising stars on the cobble scene. Soon he changed to Brazilian team Veloclub Botofoga, where he was doing good in the lower divisions.
A...
Read moreGale Reason is back in his hometown, on the eastern side of Bermuda, resting from a very succesful start of season 41. He is staring out on the quiet sea. This is where he learned to bike, using a homebuild waterbike to race on the sea. There was never enough road on Bermuda to get enough mileage in his legs. When the sea was wild, it was much like riding on the European cobble roads, he later found out.
As a young Bermudean he had a dream of becoming a professionel roadracer. He was riding in the local cyclingclub of West Indies and later on rode on a lot of exotic teams around the world. His first big team Abelixe of Columbia quiclky found out his potential on the cobbles. He was trained to be one of the most talented and promising rising stars on the cobble scene. Soon he changed to Brazilian team Veloclub Botofoga, where he was doing good in the lower divisions.
At age 26 he was discovered by Jonas Pro Cycling and brought in to replace agening star Sigurd Guldhammer. Gale was now competing with guys like Rodolfo Gomez, Christobal Zubizareta and soon to come a young Lucas Louden on the rise. In Gales first season, he won the prestigious Astana GP, for the first time in temahistory. He did a great cobble campaign and ended rank 42, finishing 6 in Antwerpen Huy and 6 in Twedaagse Van Antwerpen. This was only enough to get a 5th place in the yearly awards behind Even Erlandsen, Otto Nøddebo, Qi Yiqun and Adrian Dudziak. Gale Reason was very dissapointed with the awards of his debutseason. The following two seasons he did not perform very well. As often as he could, he would revisit his homeland and train on his waterbike, soon to become the most skilled cobbler in the history of OCM. He was the first rider to break the 305 point barrier in four combined mainstats and still is the best cobbler with a 10 point margin.
In season 36, at age 30, Gale Reasons trainingfrenzy stagnated and he again began to focus one hundred percent on racing. He had a very succesful season, getting 2nd in TVA, winning Astana GP again, 7th in Antwerpen Huy and finishing 29th overall rank. This was enough to secure him 3rd in the yearly awards only beaten by the infamous Lucas Louden and Timo Canseco. Gale Reason was dissapointed yet again, but not able to raise his level furthermore. The following three seasons was not very succesful. His best result was 2nd in Roubaix Classic in his first edition.
Season 40 it all got turned upside down. Gale Reason was till now, by big parts of the cycling world, looked upon as an almost cobbler. As the biggest cobbletalent ever in OCM, but not able to quite fullfil his huge potential. As history. Somehow people pitied him. But Gale wanted his legacy to be different. In his eight try he finally won the TVA. He also got a 3rd in Roubaix Classic and 4th in Antwerpen Huy. In twelve races he got top 9 in ten of them, thundering into an amazing 9th place in the ranks. Finally at age 35 Gale Reason had the succes he had dreamt about, the countless of hours training back home on the Bermudian sea. He finally got recognized by the cycling community and is now the oldest rider ever to win an award. He was voted best cobbler of season 40 and also best old rider. Gale was all tears that night at the awards.
Now a few days later Gale Reason is starring with dreamy eyes at his loved sea. He just won the TVA for the second time in a row. The oldest rider to win a topdivision tour, and even without topform. He cannot believe the succes he is having. 'It's like getting a second chance in life' he mumbles. 'Beating all those great younger riders..' Early retirement is not in Gales plans right now. 'The sea must wait a bit longer. The paved roads of Belgium, Kazakhstan, Italy and France is my home for now. Someday I will return to Bermuda and be able to look proudly back on my career. A career that I gave it all for. Yes the sea must wait... ' is the last words Gale Reason mumbles before saying goodbye.
Bermuda