Need motivation?

I just had to post this clip from Velo News

Saul Raisin's dedication is inspirational:

I was distressed to read about Saul Raisin's crash and his drug-induced coma. I remember racing in Union City, Georgia, several years ago. It was a split day: a morning time trial and an evening criterium. After the criterium (which was held in a shopping mall parking lot) there was this kid riding around and around the 1 mile shopping mall access road. He was there after all the races were over, and he was still doing laps around the mall after the race-sponsored pasta dinner (we are talking four or so hours of riding in circles, folks). I remember walking out of the mall after dinner as the sun was dipping in the sky, and I saw the same kid still cranking around. I thought, "Who is this kid? That is some dedication."
It turns out that was a young Saul Raisin who needed to get in some extra training miles, and the mall road was the only place to do it in an urban, traffic-clogged setting. He did not use the unfriendly cycling terrain as an excuse to dodge training. There was work to be done, so he did it.
I saw him the next morning in the race hotel and overheard some other guys asking him why he rode so long around the mall. A simple "I needed to get in the miles" was his reply. What a professional.
Steve Prefontaine said that "to give anything less than your best is to sacrifice the gift." Saul's dedication that day demonstrates that he too must live by that motto. I often think of him that day when I struggle in my own training, and his example still gives me an extra boost of motivation.

Hang in there, Saul.

John HartKnoxville, Tennessee

(Source: Velo News)

Please keep Saul in you thoughts.