Twelve years after his first team experience, our columnist thanks the individuals who made that medal bid and every one since then possible.

Here we are again, getting ready for a team trip to Mexico; the Pan American Games are right around the corner.

I rode on my first team at the 1999 Pan Ams in Winnipeg with Pajama Game, and wow, how the times have changed since then! Twelve years ago, I was “the young guy”—only 22—and I had absolutely no clue that I was going to represent my country until the day before we left for Canada.