Gettin' Ready

Today was a good day. Weather was awesome, riding was good, and riding was fun!

Started off suffering behind this...

On my MTB, thats how I roll

Then off for ride #2 having some fun

Ali-Ali Singletrack

Not sure how many more days will be like this

Superfly looking ready for Iceman

The 'Fly all boxed up and shipping out tomorrow.

A Few More Pics

BRAAAP!




Euro Mullet and Frogskins. Hell yeah!

Collegiate Nationals

The Truckee/Tahoe area is sweet!

Raced XC on Friday. 4 - 7.5 mile laps. Big climb up, descend down. Was a little conservative on the DH, but finished on the podium in 4th.

Short track Saturday morning. Started up a loose gravel climb. Lots of rubbing and leaning on each other. Just as I think I am clear of any trouble, some guy comes flying up and takes me out. Fly off the bike and run back to it. Look back and I am dead last all through lap 1. Rally the rest of the time and finish 6th. Was on the wheel of 4th & 5th, but ran out of time.

Did a sweet loop of the XC afterward and watched some four cross.

Made sure I looked like a fool on the podium.

Rode to Lake Tahoe with Cruise and some of his teammates. Views and ride was awesome.

Watched some downhill and yelled at Joe too much.

Drove back all day yesterday.

It's pouring rain here now. Time to get wet. Iceman is 18 days away. Let's see if I can keep some fitness.

While the Weather is Dismal...

for most of you. Seems like is has rained a lot in Michigan this week. And those down in Denver have been treated to freezing temperatures and fluffy white stuff. Way to early for me. On the other hand, the weather on this side is quite nice. I got a fun ride in Fruita today. Blue skies, sunny, and 70 degrees.

Enjoy!



In other news, my racing schedule is looking to be really fun with some of the biggest races in the country coming up. We leave in a couple days for Truckee, CA for collegiate MTB nationals. Two weeks later we have the Boulder Cup UCI cyclocross race weekend. Then the following week I will be setting sail back to the mitten for the all mighty ICEMAN!!! I'm so stoked. Might have to get a few sessions behind the motor after Nationals to pick my legs speeds up!

Here is my Iceman bike. 19.01 lbs.

Almost There

Conference Finals were last week here in Junction. It was nice to stay here for once and not have to drive into the boonies late at night. Short Track was on Saturday morning. We got a nice little hour ride with a bit of singletrack in before the race. My legs felt decent, but once again we all had a horrible starting position. Dead back row on a course that is all about position. Needless to say, we all sat waiting to get into the 1-track, then stopped again before a drop, then had to hike up the next hill. The course was a technical singletrack downhill, then a jeep road back up. After 3 laps, it finally cleared up a little and I was able to make up some positions. Ended up 11th which was fine. I think we would have all done much better with a better start.

Went up to the Ranch after that to help out and watch the dual slalom race. It was sick. There are some crazy fast dudes out here and the course was awesome. Here is a video of Ranchstyle that is held there in the spring. Kinda gives you an idea of what is up there.

Saturday night we went out to Olive Garden which turned into a bad choice. We ended getting competitive in an eating competition. Needless to say we were all hurting after 2 bowls of salad, 6 breadsticks, and 4 bowls of pasta.

Sunday morning was quite warm as I rode over to the XC course. It was dark and sprinkled a bit on me. My chain got jacked up with a tight link in my warm-up, so I spent the last few minutes before the start putting more links in. So, another back row start with not a ton of passing as it is a rocky climb. It started raining half way through the lap. By lap 2, the benonite on the ground turned into concrete. Wheels would hardly clear the frames. We hikes a bit, and just rode around having fun. No one was behind us as they stopped everyone after our group, so we rode a chill conversational pace and rolled in safely.

We leave next week for Truckee, CA for Nationals at Northstar at Tahoe Resort. Should be a sweet time. I am still waiting for my Superfly to come back. That bike should be killer on that course. I really hope it comes in by tomorrow so I can race it. After Nationals turns to donut and cyclocross season. Should be a blast!