2008

Wow, the year is over. I reached my goal of over 10,000 miles. I finished with 10,515 miles for 2008.

I took two weeks off after cross nationals. Did some bike maintenance and found the problem to my flat tire in the collegiate race. The valve of my rimstrip tore almost all the way off and resulted in a quick flat tire 30 seconds into my race.

Haven't done too much. Ate a bunch of food and goodies. Did some skiing tried to enjoy the snow while it was here. Now it is back on the bike and get some miles back in my legs. I fly out January 8th for the next semester. I'll do some road racing in the spring, then head back to Michigan for the summer for some good ole mountain biking with the fun racers here in the mitten. Looking forward to a good 2009.

Looks like a month or so of school, then off to Phoenix for the Valley of the Sun stage race. Looking for a decent result and get some racing in so hopefully I will be able to upgrade this season so I can race A's in collegiate. I guess I need to be a 3. Happy New Year.

Update

Just my luck, I flatted my front tire on lap 1, 10 seconds past the pit, and only 30 seconds into the race. Luckily the Stan's was able to keep the tire pseudo glued to my rimstrip. The tire never came off, but I had to be very careful. Slow corners, no standing (on a course that was almost all standing). So I rode about 3/4 of a lap on a front flat. Back in 40th position.

Went into the pit, took my wheel off, got a Zipp 404 from the SRAM guys, and was on my way 30 seconds later. Spent the next 40 minutes catching back up. Definitely a hard race. Was able to finish in 15th place. Probably would have been around top 10 if I had not flatted.

Our team did very good. We had Kevin finish a strong 2nd, only 10 seconds back from Colin Cares. Conor rode a great race and finished a nice 7th. Team ended up 2nd by a few points in the D2 Mens, but with no women, we ended up 6th overall.

Good weekend. So, Oregon next year?

Cross Nationals Update

Mudder Friday morning. Opted to skip the noon open course time. Rode out to the park around 3:30 and rode 3 laps of the course at 4. Firmed up and was tacky.

Raced 10am this morning. Legs felt good. Somehow I was taken out on lap 1. The guy crashed on a smooth slight downhill and went into me. Chain fell off and all. Besides that, it was a good fun race. Ended up 31st out of 50 some. Kevin rocked out a 12th place finish. Nice job dude.

Watched jauque-maynes kill the 30-34 masters. Again, why is he racing masters. Then Brandon Dwight went on to give a clinic to the 35+ guys. Masters 40-45 was a thrill with some excitement up front. Weinert was near the front on lap 1 with a front row calllup. Wissink picked off 30-40 guys in the first lap to get into the top 5. The front selection was made and he was chasing the front 2 for most of the race. Hovered between 8 and 10 seconds, but never contact. The Wiz finished a strong 3rd which should get him a callup next year, right? What a fast and fun race to watch.

Collegiate race in the morning. Supposed to be a low of 50F tonight and drop through the day. I wonder if the 20-30mph winds will die down?

Funday Sunday err...Saturday

It all started with some mountain biking on the one speed. Hadn't MTB'd in a couple weeks, so it was a rush. Bluebird skies and warm temps made for a sweet ride.



Parade of Lights downtown this evening. I have never seen so many people in the city before. It was seriously at least 5 people deep on both sides of the road.


Night hike up in Bangs Canyon. I'd say it was a little bit of hiking, but mainly crack and rock climbing. Gnarly.




Got home and checked the MI Scene. Hell yeah Wissink. Way to represent.

Everyone's Favorite Subject

Boy, am I in for a surprise. Seriously, highs in the low 20's and maybe not even hit 20F tomorrow. I rode in that crap all last year, and I will ride in it again, but come on...early December. I prefer the mid-50's here.

I am now done with all of my projects and tests, so all I have to do is sit on my ass, relax, ride my bike when I feel like it, and get down to DIA on Thursday. Sounds like the life to me. Haven't touched my MTB in two weeks. That is going to change tomorrow morning. High of 52F and sunny should make for a fun ride on the trails. I am thinking of riding the MTB a bit this week before I stick to the slushy roads back home. Fly out on Thursday and race u23 Saturday and Collegiate on Sunday morning. Watch the pros, then hit the road back home.

At least there is a positive in this...Mega WRCS points early on in the series!