In this new section, our fourth profiled client of the month, Mike Mercer, answers our Seven Super Questions! Congrats Mike and keep up the good work! Mike is coached by Bill Nehr.

1. Town, State: Milwaukee, WI.
2. Training Focus: Bicycle road racing... That takes enough time and is difficult enough.
   I tease the ones that I know, but I really do have a lot of respect for
   triathletes - especially the Iron Man distance racers. They have to
   train for three different sports at once and the races are longer than
   anything I have done. Where do you find the time? I will go for 112
   mile ride anytime, but to do it after swimming and then go run a
   marathon... WOW!
3. Your "A Race" for 2005: I had a couple of "A" races this year. The first was a stage race in Minnesota called the Tour of 10,000 Lakes, and it was my first "real" Pro\1\2 race! That was a kick in the pants, but lots of fun! Then there were selected events of July's International Cycling Classic
   located in Wisconsin. This is the United States' longest continuously run, multiple day bike race. In the past racers have included Greg Lemond, Lance Armstrong, Levi Leipheimer and Fred Rodriguez - can you say Tour de France... Last, on the list was the USCF Wisconsin State Time Trial Championship.
4. #1 goal as a first year Category 2 rider, it was simply to compete and stay with the pros in the big races. To see what it was really like riding with the big boys... I also wanted to medal in the State TT Championship,
   which I accomplished.
5. Athletic Accomplishment You Are Most Proud Of: Becoming a Category 2 rider... It is something I have wanted to do since I started road racing 8 years ago. And after some time off of racing, never thought I would accomplish. However, by the grace of God and with a lot of help and encouragement from family, teammates, sponsors, friends and co-workers, I made it. It was hard work, but it has shown me that if I focus, I can really use the talent I have to achieve a goal.
6. Favorite Snack/Food: Snack, anything chocolate; and food would be anything Italian. They know how to cook! Of course that choice was by no means influenced by having had the privilege of dining in the back yard of a colleague's house in Italy that over looked the city of Florence... The view was great!
7. I'd rather be....I am quite content MOST of the time and really have been blessed in so many ways! (Most of which I am just starting to realize) It would depend on the day. However, when I was younger, my first passion was motor sports and I was influenced tremendously by a driver named Al Holbert. So, if I could go back and do it all over again, I would love to race sports cars and compete at the 24 hours of Le Mans in France or the 24 hours of Daytona or 12 hours of Sebring in Florida. These are most renowned sports car endurance races in the world!

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