Apart from competing in the Chicago Triathlon a few times (which I won in 2001) I have never been to the Midwest. Proper Midwest- small towns, green farmland and flat expanse.

The welcome in Battle Creek, Michigan- home of Kelloggs cereals- was warm and hearty. Its not often they get pro athletes from all over the world. As usual, we were set up with home stays. Partly to save on expenses, but also the best way to get to know the local people and their culture.

My home stay Jim is an avid mountain biker and he really enjoyed showing a few of us the race course. A huge tract of forest, which the military donated to the city- flat as a pancake with so many turns it makes your head spin. Left by ourselves, we would have been lost till monday.

The trails were the most perfect consistency imaginable. Like velcro in the corners and like tar road on the straights. I brought tires for what I though was all occasions: my pantzer* Fast Tracks, panzer* Captains and some Sauserwinds for sticky mud. *The panzer refers to the durable Armadillo like prototype casings I'm riding this year. Its a heavier, slower casing, but its Caveman proof. Should be for sale later this year. But when I saw this high speed, low risk course, I called the tire guys at Specialized, asking for the Renegade- our lightest, fastest tire. I called it "the Condom" the 1st time I saw it. Normally I wouldnt consider such a light tire, but this is a once in a lifetime course. There are about 2 rocks and 3 roots out there. Somehow Bobby (our Team Manager) got word of my request and my phone went nuts. 1st a text that said “NO!” “Call me”, then some more threats and by the time I finally got to argue my case, I knew I was fighting a losing battle. I’d say “Bobby, this course is safe, (punctures) I need the fast tires” and he would say “Ride what you have. Just pedal harder- you can win on any tires, as long as there is air in them!” Not much sympathy.

Race morning was cold with frost. The water was only 60 deg F, but much warmer than the air, which made a warm up ride an unpleasant affair.

I had a good swim- 2nd out the water. Once on the bike I took off hard trying to get out of sight as quickly as possible. It was a 2 lap course with a nice balance between pedaling sections and technical sections where you can recover. I have been doing quite a bit of dirt biking, which has really trained my concentration, and helped me stay focussed no matter what. I rode the forest sections almost without fault- maybe a little over braking a few times.

Dan Hugo was riding really well, staying just a few turns behind me up to about 10km where he promptly lost a contact lens! He picked it up off the ground, and put it back in record time, losing only 30 seconds, but it must be unnerving at least.

We had 4 water crossings, 2 of them axle deep and at high speed- I plowed through the icy water so fast, the spray went over my head. Of course your shoes, gloves etc would be wet and freezing- causing numb feet and fingers - making for some interesting transitions.

At the end of the bike, my dumb fingers and feelingless feet somehow got running shoes on, and for a while it felt like I was running on stumps. At 5km I felt the back half of my feet and I only felt my toes by 8km. I had a relatively comfortable lead and unlike Las Vegas, didnt have to dig too deep. (we are racing again this coming weekend, so "saving some for later" seemed like a good idea.) Little did I know of the frenzied racing going on behind me. A minute after I finished, they sprinted across the line in quick succession, number 2 - 6 finished within 2 minutes! Not sure if its a good or a bad thing I didnt get splits...

The XTERRA Series consists of 8 races, from which your 5 best placings count. I have 2 wins, with my 2 favourite courses coming up. Richmond and Alabama. 2 courses are unknown and 2 will be climbing races.

This Sunday we are racing in steamy Birmingham, Alabama. The run is murderous. Steep hills through the forest- in some places there is no trail, they just mark a course through the trees- straight up and down forested hills. Some of the downhills are so steep, you have to grab on to trees to slow down.

There has also been 21 inches of rain in the last 2 days and apparently the bike course is a mess- or heaven- depending how you like your rocks and roots...