Saturday, January 29, 2011

Time Ticking Away

Man, winter in Junction has been a "normal" year for 2011. I've been able to get all my workouts outside, which is really nice. I've had only a couple snow rides, but the white stuff is gone and the sun is shining. Riding dry trails in January is a pretty sweet deal.

Been getting everything in order for a run at the 2011 race season. I just did a pre-season VO2 Max test yesterday to see where I am at. Results were good, and showing that I am in really good shape for January. That's good, casue last year I sucked. First race will be down in St George, UT again this year. Nothing like blowing the cobwebs out of your legs in early March. Riding in Hurricane the next day isn't bad either.

Still trying to figure out my race schedule for the year. Going to be doing some of the PRO XCT's, some MSC races, a few local races, hopefully some cross, then Iceman. I'd like to come back for a run at Ore to Shore, but I'm not sure if I can get back this year.

Off to Moab tomorrow to shred some trail!

Wednesday, January 12, 2011

2011

I'm not getting anyone's hopes up here, but maybe I'll do a little better job of updating this blog over the next year. I've had a great and exciting 2010, so I'm hoping for the same in 2011. The 2010 riding was some of the best I have done. I did not have the best fitness or results last year, but I had a hell of a time traveling around racing and riding bikes.

Here is a quick recap of what had gone down in the 81501 the past year.

I took the summer to explore all the fun things one should do. I set my home base of Grand Junction, and spent the summer riding, hiking, floating the river, fly fishing, racing, and traveling. I go to Crested Butte twice to ride the most glorious trails ever made. Some awesome camping was had, along with a few killer rides and some river fishing. I was also able to head back to Michigan for a couple weeks to visit family, hit the Ore to Shore and have a little camping vacation in the UP. Ore to Shore was decent, but a flat tire ruined my hopes of a good ride. I still finished up 15th and had a good time seeing everyone. Copper Harbor the following week was good enough redemption.

I didn't do much fall racing. Did a fun 24 Hours of Moab team and then headed back to Iceman for the true end of the season. My chainring gouged on me and kept dropping my chain after mile 12, so I had a long ride/walk to the finish line. At least I was able to see everyone from the mitten and ring out the season at the afterparty.

Besides riding and having fun, I graduated from Mesa State College with a marketing degree this fall. I also started a job running a new bike shop here in Grand Junction, LTR Sports. It is going to be exciting watching it grow along with the exciting cycling scene in the valley. I will be riding for our local team, LiveTrainRace.com next year. If I'm not posting here, you'll see some of my posts on their website.

I also just bit the bullet and decided to stay in Grand Junction for a while. I bought a pretty cool little house the other day which should give my outdoor gear a place to stay when I'm in town. Yep, thats about it. This whole social media thing is booming, so follow me on FB or TW for more consistent updates over the next year!