I can't believe I'm out of here already, seems like we just arrived. I had a little bit busier off season then normal with a trip to South Africa and driving all the way back to Durango from Mexico instead of just going straight to Tucson. Oh well, it's been another great winter of training.

This year has been the wettest I have ever spent in Tucson. As I'm writing this it's pouring out again. I can't believe all the water Tucson has received this winter. Everything is turning green, the washes are raging and they claim to be out of their short term drought. I thought the whole meaning of desert was dry area but I guess it's been drier then normal over the past 5 years.

Winston got attacked by another dog a few days ago up at Lower Tanque Verde Falls. We were the only ones there minding our own business when some lady comes down the trail, tells Meg her dog just attacked another dog and by the time she finishes her dog has Winston's neck in it's mouth and submerging him in the water. Luckily he got away but got a bite on his back and bruised his chest trying to escape. The lady just took off. From start to finish the whole experience was less then a minute.

Winston seemed a little shaken up but OK until that night. He started to stiffen up and then at 2am he was panting super loud and we took him to a 24/7 emergency vet. He had a fever and had to get on antibiotics and pain anti inflammatory medicine. It was a bummer but the vet was really nice and we were out of there with in an hour since no one else was there.

He's having a rough week, yesterday he had to go back and found out he's got worms. He's on even more medication now.

I finished up my high volume, low intensity training block last week with out a hitch. That training takes a lot out of me but I feel like it sets me up well for the rest of the year. Since then I took a little break and have been doing some transition rides and hit up the Shoot Out group ride on Saturday.

The Shoot Out has been going on for ever and the ride rolled out of town with 150-200 the other day. We even had like 30 or 40 people do the Madera portion of the ride. The most I've ever seen do that part is about 15. The ride was really windy and I got some good suffering in.

After the ride I had my first USADA test of the year. I've been been tested by the same husband/wife down here for the last 10 years.

Congrats to Tad Elliot for getting 2nd at the Birkebeinder ski race a few weeks ago. It's one of the biggest races in the country and he narrowly got beat by an Italian racer. Dan Bowman also had a good race at Tour of Langkawi where he was 20th on the huge climbing day. Jean-Christophe Peraud had a good Paris Nice prologue yesterday in his first big road race since switching from the MTB. He got the silver medal in Beijing and switched to the road this year after winning the French TT national championships last year.

Meg, Winston and I are heading out to San Diego today. I'm getting my UCI medical tests done at the Chula Vista OTC tomorrow morning. Then we're going to hang out in Del Mar for a few days before going up to Boneli for the first race of the year. It's going to hurt bad but at least I have a month of good racing before the first World Cup. I'm hoping by the time we get to Durango at the end of March the snow is melted or at least starting to.

I wonder how long it's going to take us to drive to San Diego....

So I'm in my last week of base training for this year. People have different ways they approach this endurance phase of training. Most do some intensity during this period but I don't do any. I figure racing from March through December is enough intensity and I enjoy not putting it in the red zone during this time of the year. That's not to say I'm not training hard though. This week I'll hopefully log in 35 hours at a very steady pace that is about as hard as I can ride after the 5 weeks leading up to this week. Needless to say I'm pretty tired right now. I only have 2 big days left though and then I'll have a nice 5 day recovery period consisting of ez riding and as much golf as I can take.

The weather has been really wet this year. The washes are still running full blast and it's gonna be an awesome spring with all this water. Should be blooming cactus everywhere. With the cool weather I've managed to ward off the sunburn this entire training period which is usually tough with big hours, no shade and 2,500 ft elevation. These guys haven't been out much but will probably be coming out soon.

I heard a rumor that the upcoming Fontana PROXCT just got down graded from a C1 to a C2. That's a bummer since the US needs all the points we can get for Olympic spots but more importantly I need all the UCI points I can for start position at the World Champs. If you were at the Saint Ann World Cup last year you know the new start is even more crucial then the old one. You have about 2 minutes before you drop into a long single track.

Meg and I have been logging in the Olympic viewing. I'm either out on the bike, at the gym or watching the Olympics. My favorite event so far was that 15K mens skate race. That was the most exciting race I've ever seen on skis.

I have also been crushing the Lee Child books. The Reacher character is awesome and ever since the TM, Booby turned me on to them I have been reading them non stop. You can hit up the Bookman's here and get like 10 books for $40. That's a sweet deal.

Finally, check out this article from Cyclocross Magazine about Cross Nationals. We need to get a CX National Championships in Durango. http://www.cxmagazine.com/cyclocross-nationals-boost-bends-economy-144m?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+CyclocrossMagazine+%28Cyclocross+Magazine%29&utm_content=cyclocross&utm_term=cyclocross%2C+cycling%2C+bike+racing%2C+veldrijden%2C+cyclo-cross

I wonder how old Hagen is today.... Happy Birthday.....

The training has been going well lately. Our living situation is dialed in and I have more then 1 days worth of groceries in the fridge. Life is good.

I finished up the first phase of my base on Monday and then had 5 days off. While, not quite off but pretty chill, other then getting back to the best gym in Tucson and working myself over. Kettle bells are way better for swings then dumb bells. Jump squats also work way better with the proper equipment.

Meg, Winston and I logged in some running miles too. I have been trying to run twice a week this year for my training. It helps keep the muscles in good shape, builds bone density and keeps the weight off. Plus Winston loves it so it's gotta be good.

I played some golf too. Had my best round going in a while but ran out of daylight the other day. I was crushing the drives though and hit 300, that's big for me.

Meg and I went to the Desert Museum on Friday. That place is so cool. I hate to look at the snakes but can't help myself. They blend in so well, you gotta be careful when you step of your ride in the desert, there are plenty of venomous creatures waiting to get you like this one.

The cactus there are really friendly.

I like this one. Notice my sweet helmet hair.

They even have mountain lions here. If you live in the west you gotta fear the mountain lion. You don't see them often but if you do it could turn out bad. You can kind of see him here, not much zoom on my phone.

Tucson has been really rainy this year. It has already rained more in the last couple weeks then it usually does when I'm here for months. You don't see the washes running too often in the winter.

Luckily when it rains in the desert it doesn't do it all day(usually). This is a classic Tucson picture. That is a lift kit. Meg is 5'6" so that thing has to be close to 10' tall.

Sram just launched a new site for it's XX stuff, check it out at: http://sram2x10.com They have a list of bikes speced with the XX, Specialized has 6 production bikes with it and the closed competitor only has 2. That means they give you 6 super light high end production bikes to chose from. Man I'm lucky to be on the Big S.

Finally, here a classic Flipper shot from our Stellenbosch SA Camp.

I wonder when it's going to be hot and sunny again.....

The bad weather seems to have followed me from Durango to Tucson. It usually rains one time while I'm here in Tucson all winter and today it hasn't stopped since I woke up. Maybe today is the one day but somehow I doubt it.

Made it down here last night and am staying with Hutch right now on the North side of town. DT is going to show me a condo tonight though so as soon as I'm set up with a permanent residence Meg and Winston are going to come down.

So far today all I've been doing is eating and drinking caffeine. I was trying to cut out caffeine for a while but that doesn't seem to be working. What else am I going to do while hanging out at the coffee shop surfing the net?

I had hoped to tough it out through the SnowDown parade this weekend but I'm a total wuss when it comes to cold weather. How I ended up in a mountain town in Colorado I'll never know. I always had dreams of moving to the beach in Florida but somehow I landed in the four

corners. It's so beautiful there 7 months out of the year it's tough to leave. Especially when I can drive 8 hours to (usually) sunny Tucson and so many great people live there.

Hutch(the Fabio looking guy) was one of the main people that helped get me back into racing once I graduated from the UofA. It was great having him on the circuit for a few years and it's always good to catch up with him. Never short on stories.

Meg is having yet another birthday tonight put on by Willow and Co. I'm sure it's going to get out of control and I'm bummed I won't be there to be part of it. If you're out on the town tonight I'm sure you'll run into them.

The rain seemed to have stopped for the moment so I'm going to head back up the hill to Hutch's house in an attempt to get out on the bike or at the very least lace up the shoes for a good run.

In case I'm not back on line in the next few days, doubtful, good luck to the whole US Cyclocross Worlds team and Kit-Kat. Kick ass over there in Tabor and bring back some hardware.

I wonder what Winstons' doing right now.....

Unless you’ve been living under a rock you know that the Cyclocross National Championships took place this weekend in Bend, OR. This is the first time Bend has hosted a Cyclocross Nationals and it was a huge success. The crowds were estimated at somewhere between seven and ten thousand strong. The venue was downtown and city put on a great show.

I went into Nationals thinking I had a great shot at the jersey after a first and second place last weekend in Portland. I knew my form was good and I had tested myself against all the competition except Jonathan Page. I had a great week in Portland and Bend leading up to

the race, though it was a bit cold. The temperatures were stuck in the twenties for most of the week and Bend got some fresh snow about five days before the race. Slippery conditions are always good for me so that gave me even more confidence.

Sunday came and the temperatures soared to almost forty degrees, the course went from snowy to dirt and mud puddles. It was a little slick in sections but nothing like it had been earlier in the week. About halfway though the first lap I knew I was in trouble. Powers was

driving it on the front and I was slowly slipping back through the field. The legs felt good I just couldn’t get it going. I was suffering like a dog but not going anywhere. Finally towards the end of the race I started to settle in a little and made contact with Page. We would battle the final two laps for third place but when we hit the pavement together for the sprint he was gone.

I have stood on the podium with the same four other guys for the last eight years minus 2008 where I didn’t make the podium. We have almost all stood on that top step a few times and I can say from experience it is a pretty amazing feeling. I have never seen such a huge crowd

for the podium at any race I have done, ever. Cyclocross is blowing up in the U.S. and I feel honored to be a part of it.

I want to thank you all for your support and especially for all the “good luck” wishes this week. Most of you have already seen it but for those that have not, Specialized put together a series of webisodes though Brake Through Media that documents my build up to Nationals this past week from my win in Portland to the finish of the National Championships. I have received some great feedback on it and you can access the videos at: http://iamspecialized.com/xc-mtb

Thanks again and I’ll see you next year……

The USGP Finals took place this weekend in Portland, OR. I have been racing cross in Portland for about seven years now and I have never spent an entire weekend here with out rain until now. What the weather lacked for in moisture it made up for in wind and cold on Sunday.

Saturday was beautiful though so I’ll start there.

With one week left until the National Championship I wanted to have a good race in Portland on Saturday against all the guys (minus Page) that I will be competing with in Bend on December 13th. I wanted to make sure I had my race week lead up dialed, that I would be

completely open and rested as much as possible for the one day event.

I usually race better the second day of a two-race weekend so I was really keying on the first day since there is no second day at Nationals. To add even more pressure we had a film crew here putting together a documentary on my lead up to Nationals, I had to perform.

Saturday went perfect for me. I made the front group with Trebone, Powers and Kabush right from the gun. We dropped Kabush pretty quickly and mid way through the race Trebone dropped after doing all the work in the beginning. I attacked Powers but he came back to me each time and on the last lap I put in one last surge through the technical section. I was able to grab a couple bike lengths lead and hold onto it to the finish. My first USGP win of the year. Phew.

Sunday the temperatures dropped and the slippery course we had on Saturday turned into a highway on Sunday. The corners were like Velcro and the straights like asphalt. I found myself in lead after coming around my brother who had holeshoted right before the first 180 corner. Midway through the first lap I was off with Power and Johnson. I was feeling good and kept the pressure on hoping to crack them but by the mid point in the race we had settled in and that’s when they started attacking me. I was able to cover each move and countered a bunch of them but we were all evenly matched. On the last lap Powers attacked and got in front of me before the technical section. I passed him back a minute later but went wide in one corner and grabbed the lead back with a great inside move. He led through the last few corners and put a few bike lengths on me. I tried to catch him on the pavement but had to settle for second. It was the most fun I’ve had in a race in a long time with all the lead changes and fast conditions.

Also managed to pick up the SRAM most Aggressive Rider award for the second weekend in a row.

We are heading down to Bend on Tuesday to prepare for Nationals. They got fifteen inches of snow this weekend, high temperatures are forecast only in the teens and more snow is in the mix for the next weekend. It should be perfect conditions for me and make for a great race.

Thanks for your support…..

I have 2 days of training in Durango left for the year. Actually, I only have 2 full days left in Durango for the year. I've spent more time here in 09 then I have in any recent years. It's been awesome.

Yesterday I rode the Colorado trail and this was as snowy as it got. The worst part was actually in the canyon about 2 minutes from the parking lot. After that it was great.

Winston has been sharing his food lately with "Cowboy". I don't think he likes "Cowboy" that much though since he always ends up outside.

The temperatures in Durango dropped last night. It's about 10 degrees out right now at 8am. It's always cold at 6,500 feet in December but it hasn't been this cold in a while.

I finished "Running with the Buffaloes" a few days ago. It was a great book. I never ran cross country but it gives you the inside scoop on CU's build up to the NCAA championship in 98 I think. It's amazing how much those runners get hurt. In order to be good you have to run a ton but if you run a lot you are bound to get injured.

Well I have a busy day, dentist, doctor, training, tire gluing, packing, dinner with Gilby and I have to find my really warm gloves.

I wonder what Myrons' doing right now....

I spent this Thanksgiving in Coralville, Iowa for the Jingle Cross Rock UCI races this weekend. It has only been a two-race weekend in the past but this year they added a Friday night race under the lights. We lucked out with the weather since late November in Iowa can see temperatures stuck below freezing during the day and absolutely frigid at night.

Friday night was a little cold but not too bad. The elite men lined up at 7:30pm under some of the brightest lights I’ve ever seen. Mt. Krumpet was lit up from a mile away and the course was covered in mud since it had rained a lot earlier in the week. Jingle Cross is known

for Mt Krumpet, which is a giant climb (for cross) we go all the way to the top of and rip down. Steep muddy climbs and cantilever brakes don’t mix too well.

The race went well and I was able to take my first cross win of the season and gain some valuable UCI points for my Nationals start position.

The races on Saturday and Sunday went well also. I was able to gather three wins this weekend and managed to get off the front after about one lap each day. The course dried up as the weekend went on and by Sunday only the climb was muddy. Myron and Richard were working hard on Friday as I was swapping bikes every lap. Saturday wasn’t quite as bad and Sunday I didn’t do one bike change.

We zig zaged all through the Johnson County Fairgrounds stables, barns and grounds. There was Christmas lights and music going all through the course and the Grinch even made an appearance on Saturday afternoon. The race promoter raised 30K for the local children’s

hospital with the event and it was even bigger then last year. On the run up people were hanging over the tape handing out meat and beer.

You gotta love cross.

Durango is turning into a cyclocross town. I would say it's still a mountain bike town but there is a lot of momentum behind cyclocross right now. When I was racing cross back in 2002 it was myself, Maple and Barthel. Now every ride has 40+ people, FLC has a 7 race series

that goes from Durango to Dolores, Cortez, Aztec and back to Durango. This weekend there was a race in Aztec and one at Santa Rita park in Durango. The courses are rad, there's a good turn out and the temperatures have been in the mid 50s for most of the events. It doesn't get much better then that.

I opted to skip the NACT finals in Long Island this weekend after coming down with a cold in N.J.. I think it was the right decision since I was able to get healthy and do some good training here in town. It's so nice to actually spend a few weeks in a row here. Usually I don't get more then 2 or 3 weeks at a time in town but this fall I feel like I really live here.

Every night we have to google at least one thing. We're usually sitting around talking, Meg, Snoodle, Winston and I. We always come up with some question about something we're talking about or watching on TV. Here is what we checked out last night.

1. Taylor Shift's height: 5'8" to 5'11"

2. The forth person's name in the Black Eyes Peas: Forgot already, maybe Tabu

3. Mary J. Bliege's age: 38 (Meg thought she looked good for being

like 50 but not for being 38)

Monday night football is always a must watch too. We have to Tivo CSI Miami though and if it's a bad game like last week we just bag it. We watched the AMAs in about 20 minutes last night after we got back from dinner at The Office. They always have live music, mostly country, 1

man band, covers, etc. Last night we heard an original from cousin Eric of Cowboy Rap. It was pretty good. He even borrowed Meg's sunglasses for the song.

Congrats to the FLC soccer team for making it to the Final Four for D2. They play in Florida on December 3 and if they win, the championship game is 2 days later. FLC has awesome soccer and cycling programs.

Meg and I just got a new tent for our Mexico trip. We're planning on camping in San Carlos and maybe Mazatlan. We already checked out the campgrounds and need a little bigger tent to fit Winston.

Bowman and I are going to tear up the Aztec trails tomorrow morning. I hope my bike starts.

I wonder how cold it's going to be in Iowa this weekend.....

I didn’t think my cyclocross season was ever going to start this year but I finally made it to my first race this weekend. I had planned on beginning my build up for CX nationals a few weeks ago at the Boulder Cup but a freak infection landed me in the hospital for surgery just a

few days before the event. My recovery took longer then expected so that’s why I haven’t been out there mixing it up. Things seem to be going smoothly now though so hopefully I still have time to build up my form for nationals.

I hadn’t been on a plane for almost two months before this weekend and I have to say it’s been awesome spending so much time with Meg and Winston. I’m really excited to race now though and couldn’t wait to get back out there.

Hurricane Ida nailed N.J. on Thursday and Friday with strong winds and rain. After 600 people rode the course before we raced on Saturday it turned it into a sea of peanut butter. I wasn’t expecting much since I missed a bunch of training with my surgery but managed to make it up

to 8th place by the last lap before fading to 10th at the finish. Not where I want to be but good considering I had so much time off the bike the week before.

By Sunday the hurricane was gone and the sun was out in force. The temperatures were pushing 70 degrees and all the riders had dried up the course substantially. There were a few more turns then the previous day, berms were forming you actually had to use your breaks

coming into some of the corners rather then pedaling flat out just to keep moving forward. I had much better legs after having a good race effort the day before and found myself flying past guys the entire race. I made it up to 3rd place by the end of the day, which was also

good enough to grab the “Sram Most Aggressive Rider” award, something I had never won before.

I knew the first race back was going to be hard so I was very happy about how it went. I hadn’t worked with Myron, my mechanic during cross yet except for at Cross Vegas that is more like a road crit and doesn’t require any pitting unless you have very bad luck. I had hoped we would have some easy pit work to start out but I was swapping bikes every half lap on Saturday so he was basically thrown right into the fire and didn’t miss a beat. The bikes worked awesome, the new Zipp wheels were great and the TRP brakes are the so easy to adjust it’s incredible. I can’t wait for the Jingle Cross Triple header in two weeks.

Thanks for your support…..

I've been back on the bike the last 2 days. I'm not sure how it's going though. I have been using a normal saddle that's much softer then my normal one. I don't have the side cut out it so my left leg doesn't get a lot sorer then my right one like it did with the modified one. I find out on Thursday morning if I can go to N.J. this weekend. I'm finally off antibiotics today. Woohooo.

Rude took me motor pacing yesterday and I was suffering. I haven't been behind the scooter in a while. He was suffering too since it was pretty windy and cool. Well, I was wearing shorts but it's cold when you're just sitting in the wind.

We had a good burger night last night. Every Monday night is "Burger Night" at the Palace in town. They have pretty cheap burgers that are made with meat from the local Sunny Side farms beef. The guy who is the chef there use to cook for Oprah and now runs the Palace. Big

time.

The Specialized crew is in town for tire testing today and tomorrow. I missed the last tire test session in South Africa this winter. We're testing some 29er and cyclocross tires. It's going to be a full two days of testing but it's so cool the company does stuff like this. They are so thorough and it's no wonder they make the best products.

I was finally able to book a hotel for free with my Hilton Honors card. I have had it forever and my points never seem to get put on it. Last night I had enough to book a hotel for Meg.

I'm still recovering from my running race this weekend. My hamstrings are worked. Who knew running worked your hamstrings to much. As a bike racer, I find my hamstrings are the weakest part of my leg. I have been doing a lot of weight stuff over the past few years to try and get them stronger but they are still pretty weak.

This past weekend was the local race in Dolores. It had a great turn out, a beautiful day and plenty of good racing. Rude narrowly out sprinted Shriver for the "W". Grant and Howes had a good battle as well as Travis and Ned. There was some action in the pits and I even

grabbed a wheel for Mapel. I think he was the only guy to do the running race on Saturday and the CX race on Sunday. Looks like he's back in training mode.

I wonder if the Gulch is dry yet......

So today is my 4th day being off the bike. It sucks no being able to ride and feeling fine. I have been logging in the miles with the running shoes. I ran for over an hour and half the other day with Winston and Tad. Winston couldn't even walk all the way into the house after the run before collapsing on the floor. My calves were worked after the run too.

I did some speed work yesterday to get ready for my 1st 5K race in 9 years today. It's only my 2nd 5K ever. It was a benefit for a local high school girl who was paralyzed during a track event in a town about 20 miles from Durango. A goal post fell on her and she was paralyzed. That sucks. She seems to be in good spirits though.

I started a little slow and a group of high school guys got away from me. I spent most of the race running with Lee-ro. I managed to catch the 2nd place guy inside the last 100 meters and we got with in about 15 or 20 seconds of the leader at the finish. The 3rd place guy and

the 2nd place guy I caught on the last climb both out kicked me on the slightly down hill finishing straight. I can't sprint in a running race either I guess. 4th place isn't too bad and it was cool to run in a group for the whole race and jockey for position at the end. I don't

think I'll be able to walk tomorrow. Even Mapel was out there today ripping it up. He finished behind Lee-ro and they were both wearing red shirts.

I hit up the test track for some dirt jumping today also. I rode over there standing up the whole time. The nice thing about dirt jumping is you get to hang out at the top of the run. The weather was awesome, just about 70 degrees with hardly any wind. I hope this weather never

ends.

I'm not sure if my butt is ever going to heal. It's like having a inch and half long cut, half an inch deep on your knee. You're always using it so it never seems to heal. Even when it does heal it's still sore for a while and the last thing you want to do is put pressure on it.

Meg and I have been logging in some serious "House Hunters" time on the HGTV channel. I like the international version the best. Either Spain or the Caribbean.

I wonder what Hutch is doing right now.....

So I had the brakes put on the Iceman yesterday from the Dr.. I knew it was going to be a long shot to be able to race this weekend when I was still having trouble sitting on the saddle on Tuesday. After talking with the Dr. I'm taking some time off the bike. I had hoped I'd be able to just train through it but it's not really healing and I'm not able to train that well. Now I'm hoping I'll be able to race N.J. but I'm not holding my breath.

So instead of lining up in MI with 5,000 other MTBers, I'll be doing a 5K running race instead here in Durango. Every race I do gets shorter and shorter. I bet 5K of running will hurt me much more then any MTB race though. I'm fine to run so Winston, Meg and I have been ripping

around the trails here in Durango. They're a little muddy but it's nice to run on soft dirt rather then hard pavement.

Sager came into town last night, him and Snoodle are off to a MTB race in Texas today. I didn't actually see him though because he got here after I was sleeping and left before I was awake. That Sager is quite a go getter.

Last night Meg and I made it to East by Southwest for sushi happy hour. Half the pros in Durango were there. We got to talk to Shonny about here Xterra World Champs, Meg was reading the live updates. Too bad she got sick before the race but 5th isn't bad for being under the weather. It's no rainbow stripes though.

The weather in Durango has been awesome this week. Mid to upper 60s, sunshine and no wind. The no wind thing is pretty amazing because it always blows at least a little here. Barthel and I have been hitting the crest the past few days. It's in great shape but they've been

spraying the tee boxes and greens with some type of fertilizer paint. It's pretty gnarly and I have to remember to wash my hands before I eat anything after playing up there.

Time for some Matte and then I'm off for a run with Winston. He's still a little tired from yesterday so he might only do half today.

I wonder what the Darts' doing right now.....

So things aren't looking too good for me. I went to the doc. yesterday and was hoping he would clear me to go to the Iceman this weekend but he said I have to come back on Wednesday before he could let me know. He also put me back on both antibiotics for another week. I was so hoping to be done with them already. Wether he lets me go or not, the

training isn't going very well. Sitting on only one side of the saddle isn't optimal and it makes me pedal crooked. On top of that all the pressure from my body is on my left sit bone and a double dose of antibiotics makes recovery tough. I hate going to races unprepared and

just riding around.

On the plus side the weather is awesome here in Durango. Yesterday the bank sign said 68, although I think it was closer to 60. The trails are all muddy though and don't seem to be drying too fast. When the sun is low in the fall all the north facing areas seem to stay wet and

icy until the spring. Phil's World though is reported to be completely dry and in great shape. I'm sure the road apple and alien run are also in perfect shape after that moisture.

Winston, Meg and I hit the dog park yesterday for a little while. You have to be out of there by 2:45pm or the sun dips behind Smelter mountain and it gets cold. Winston made some new friends and gave his ball to a husky. Such a nice guy.

Dekrey got reared on Rude's scooter by some 90 year old lady at the stop sign on ninth street by the river trail. He was stopped and turning right when the lady just ran into him from behind. He wasn't hurt but Rude's fender got busted. The old lady was shaking when she

got out of the car. How do you not see someone stopped at a stop sign when you are getting ready to stop at that same sign? It doesn't make any sense.

I'm glad to see that the LA doctor in that road rage case got convicted for crashing those 2 cyclists. At least riders there will getting run off the road by one less person for a while. Also big news that Evans is moving to BMC. That's a big step going to a non pro tour team, hopefully it works out for him and he can do the tour.

I wonder what Megs' doing right now.....

A few days ago it snowed here, not it's almost 60 and not a cloud in the sky. Gotta love Colorado. I hope this weather holds out for a while since I need to do some good training now.

My incision is healing slowly but surely. The doc wants it to heal from the inside out so it's still really tender and it's right where I sit on the seat. I got some good advice from Verhuel about cutting the area of the saddle that hits it out. I know it's not the best structurally but at least I can kinda ride. Here's a shot of the modified Phenom.

When I'm not carving up seats this time of year, Meg and I are firing up the Jack-O-Lantern.

Last night we had a record number of trick or treaters, 10. We also went downtown with Ned and Pam to have a drink at Ariano's. I was sticking to Pellegrino since I'm taking 2 different antibiotics for my infection and 1 of them is what they give alcoholics to make them trow

up if they drink. I'm a mess. Ariano's is an Italian resturant that's been in Durango for 25 years. Last night was there last night open. The space is being taken over by East by Southwest Sushi place and turned into a fancy Thai place.

I've been watching the Boulder Cup on cyclingdirt.com today. It sucks not being able to race. Oh well, I'm going to try and do the night race up at FLC tonight. It's at 6:30pm so it's going to be completely dark since the time changed today and probably cold and muddy. I can't

quite jump on my bike correctly so I'm going to be doing some Ned like remounts.

1st US guy to win the NYC marathon in 27 years today, that's pretty cool. It seems like it's been that long since a US rider won an MTB World Cup too.

Meg's parents just arrived in Durango on their way back to Vail from Taos. It's their 40th anniversary tonight and her Mom's 60th birthday soon too. Those are some big milestones.

Rude doesn't look like he's having as good of day today as he did yesterday. Hope he holds on for 10th.

I wonder what the temperature is going to be at the Iceman this weekend....

I got soaked yesterday for the 2nd day in a row. I wasn't quite as lucky as the day before though and had to call in a ride from Meg. I thought the weather would clear up as the day went on so I headed out for a Bayflield/Ignacio loop. I got to the top of Florida and it

started raining but I figured it would clear up once I got to Bayfield but it didn't. It was about 40 degrees and pissing rain by the time I got there. Then I thought for sure it would clear up in Ignacio since it's further south and really dry there. Nope, pouring rain. I pulled into a gas station across from the old casino, drank a huge cup of hot chocolate and tea. Meg came and got me about 1 hour later and the rain didn't let up at all. We get back to Durango and it's not even raining. You kidding me?

Needless to say when I tried to go back out later on it started raining again and I called it a day. Racing in the rain is one thing but training in it on the road is another. I have a few chill days now and I'm heading out to the course today. Might even head down to Farmington to soak up the warmth.

Rude is off Louisville for the next two rounds of the USGP this weekend. I decided to bail on it since I'm racing the Iceman and didn't want to do 4 weeks of racing in a row. I'll start my season at Boulder next weekend. The race on the first day is no longer at the reservoir and is back at that office park where it was the first year.

So who's going to win the GPs this weekend? I think Trebone is fired up for a 'W' but I don't know if he'll get it if it's raining. I also think Kabush will be going good on Sunday. We'll have to see if my predictions are right. I'm hoping Rude has a good race, he has good form but you never know with the Bear which way it will go regardless of form.

Bobby and Susi are doing a 2 person, 5 day team race near Stellenbosch in South Africa this week. Bobby has been cramping up and Susi has been harassing him about riding too slow. You gotta know when you sign up to do a stage race with the former World Champ it's not going to be fun, especially if you're a triathlete. Or actually, a working guy that commutes from SA to Cali for work. That's a lot of plane time.

Winston and I need to get our day started, thinking about hitting the dog park hard.

I wonder how long before I lose my sweet new scarf......

I went from riding in just shorts and a jersey to getting caught in a 47 degree thunder and lightning hail/rain storm on the road yesterday. It was freezing. Rude and I had just went out to do a short road loop when the wind came up, the clouds came in and the rain came down. I

guess most people would call it "perfect cyclocross weather".

Earlier in the day it had been pretty nice and I logged in a few hours in Horse Gulch. The thing about Horse Gulch is I have never seen a horse in there. Now on the Colorado trail this weekend we saw about 10 horses. I think they should rename Horse Gulch, Rattle Snake Gulch

since I see those in there all the time.

Anyway, I got this new seat dropper seat post from Specialized the other day and I finally got it set up. The post is awesome. We don't have many stunts or drops on the trails here but it's nice not to have to stop, get off and drop your seat to do a couple foot drop. With

this post I can hit all the stuff with out even slowing down.

Meg has been craving eggplant pizza for the past few weeks so last night we went to Mama's Boy and she satisfied her craving. We never seem to go there because it isn't downtown and we generally gravitate in that direction when we're hungry.

Today is the last of my big rides for the week. I have a three day rest coming up and I'm hoping to play at least 18 holes per day, maybe 36. I might even get a new header up on this site but probably not.

I wonder if it's going to rain again today.....

I can't believe how busy I am these days. You would think that with out any races to pack for, travel to and from and prepare for I'd have plenty of time on my hands but that's not the case. I woke up somewhat early this morning and got out in the Gulch just before 10am. The

trails were pretty loamy but were still a little slow from the rain. From there I had to race over to Luke's for some dry needling and laser treatment on my knee. I was TTing down 160 on my MTB and I just barely made it.

The dry needling works well but gives me the biggest "zing" when my muscle grabs the needle and relaxes. Not my favorite treatment. The laser doesn't feel like anything though and I think it is really working. I have to wear goofy glasses though to block what ever ray it emits.

Got home, Winston and I loaded up the CRF, stopped by RGPs for some Southwest fuel and headed out to HB's house to roost. We almost made it there before we got stuck in the middle of a sheep drive.

It's nice to live someplace where this stuff is common place. Could you imagine being 1 mile from LAX and seeing something like this? Durango rocks.

We had a killer session at the ranch, Winston didn't go on any loops but hung out with Rooster and Baxter all day. I don't think he stopped playing the entire time we were there. 1 can of Coke, 1 Snapple and 1 Sobe Power later I was buzzing on the way home. I managed to make it

to the gym after dinner which i was pretty proud of since it' hard to get motivated to leave the house once it gets dark and I settle in.

I just found out Meg and I are getting some sweet new Specialized Globe cruiser bikes. They have 8 speeds and I'm hoping I get the one with the belt drive. Right now we have one speed cruisers that we can barely pedal up the hill in front of our house. You can check them out

at this link: www.globebikes.com I'll get some pictures up when we get them. They have 700C wheels and should cut our ride time down to town to under 8 minutes.

I need to get ready for bed, big day at Pinon Hills golf course tomorrow.

I wonder how Noah's wedding is coming along....

Here is my first picture from my new camera. Meg took it while I was cutting down the final limb on this damn tree. I can't wait to get it out of my backyard. Notice that sweet ladder I bought a few months ago. It's nice and light since it's aluminum but it sure is flimsy.

I did my first ride in the passes since the spring today. It wasn't too cold but I did bring quite a few clothes with me. I was pretty cooked at the end and it's always a block headwind the whole way back in the valley. Today was no exception. It wasn't my fastest time but it was pretty good. They're putting in some new bridge over in Silverton.

Silverton is the picturesque mountain town. Old victorian mining town architecture, only Main St. is paved and it's surrounded on four sides by mountains. When it dumps big there in the winter you're not getting out of town for days. Pretty cool.

After the ride I met up with Luke for some dry needling and laser work on my knee. I have been having some problems with it all year since screwing it up lifting weights this spring. I think the laser if working wonders.

So I finally cleaned up my bike that I rode for over an hour on the rim and the thing seems totally straight. They sure do make equipment good nowadays.

Meg and I ate at Jean Pierre last night. It was good, we had some good steaks. Then I came home and ate a Reese peanut butter crunch bar. Those things rock.

I talked to the Dart yesterday and he said the Roc is awesome. They have been hanging out on the beach everyday and living it up. I hope I get to go next year, I love beach races.

I wonder if I'll play Pinon or Cortez tomorrow.....

Jeez I got beat up on my ride yesterday. Did the Hermosa Creek loop and about 20 minutes after I got to the good single track I flatted. No problem except for the 29er tire fits tight to the rim with a 26 tube and I pinched it putting it on. An hour and a half later Meg picked me up at the south trailhead. I've never ridden a flat that far before and it rattles the crap out of you. At least I got to get a piece of pizza at Momma's Boy in Hermosa afterward.

I've been logging in some miles lately and feeling like I'm getting physically fit too. I can now do all of the following with out getting sore, or too sore: ride the bike, run, lift weights, play 18 holes walking and dirt bike. This is pretty good since when I try to do any of the above other then riding during the season I am sore for at least a week.

Rude, Gilby, Barthel and I played out at Dalton the other day. It was touch and go weather for most of the day but cleared up at the end. We even had this rainbow at one point.

I have also been playing up at Hilcrest a bit but they are so unfriendly up there. I have never been to a golf course that was less friendly then there. I don't know what the deal is but I guess it's been like that forever there.

Finally got my new camera back from Las Vegas. I had left it someplace and they just sent it back to me. I don't think it works as well as my old one but it's water and dust proof so maybe it will last more then one year.

The whole team wrapped up the season in the south of France at Roc d'Azur this weekend. I wish I could have been there but that's a lot more travel after coming back here for Vegas. It looks and sounds like it is awesome there, maybe next year.

I wonder what the Darts' doing right now......

I'm back in training mode, did a good Bayfield/Ignacio loop today. Avoided the rain for the most part but did have to throw the jacket on twice and got some wet feet too. The new cross bikes are awesome. I have to say one of the coolest things on the bike are the TRP brakes.

They are so easy to set and adjust, way better then the Empella frog legs. Especially since the new Zipp rims are much wider then traditional rims so the brakes require adjustment when swapping from race to training wheels.

Today I glued up some new Specialized prototype tubular cross tires. I will probably be racing them at some events so keep your eyes open for a new tread pattern out there. They are on a FMB casing which I like better then the Dugast. It comes pre sealed and the base tape seems to

be stuck on better.

Meg and I had our 6th anniversary today. We were planning a hiking trip up to HB's cabin in La Plata canyon but Meg has been feeling under the weather the last few days. She spent the day in bed and I spent the day on the bike, at the dog park with Winston and cleaning up the garage. It still needs a lot of work.

I'm switching up my cross schedule a little bit this year and will be racing the Ice Man MTB race in Michigan the first week of November. I'm looking forward to doing another MTB race after having some bad luck at World Cup finals. The race is suppose to be really fast and

fun. This year I think there are 4,500 people doing it. It's no S.A. Cape Argus which has 30,000 people that compete but it's the biggest race I will have ever lined up in.

I saw Tad and Rude tonight, they had just finished up some golf at the Crest. Tad has been getting ready for the nordic season by roller skiing/skating. He roller skates for 3 hours a day, that is brutal. I'm glad I don't do that sport. Maybe he should head over to Silverton because I heard they got 7 inches of snow today. I guess I won't be doing the Molas/Cascade ride this week.

Sundays are the best day to train on the road. There are hardly any cars and no one seems to be in a hurry. I bet that is the day with the least traffic accidents. I know it's the day I get honked at the least.

I wonder if it's going to rain again tomorrow.....

It's been so long since I've updated this blog that the posting template has changed. I don't remember what I talked about last but I'll go with Cross Vegas. Cross Vegas was hard, as always. There's a lot of drafting but that thick grass just takes it out of me. There are minimal corners for recovery so it's a lot like racing a crit but with just a few guys. Here's a shot of the new ride.

Usually I bunny hop these barriers but this year I didn't have a chance to practice before the race and didn't want to look like a dork and crash.

I had good form but that didn't translate into a good result, one of these years I'm going to have a good Vegas. The party after the race was good though. I even managed to loose my new camera I bought 2 days before.

I spent some serious time in Sin City because, Meg, Willow, Heather and I went stuck around for the Britney Spears concert on Sunday night. I also got to see my old friend that I went to the UofA with, Dave.

Britney concert was cool, only my 2nd concert ever. There was some guy dressed up like that flight attendant in her "Toxic" video and he was just a fan. Best costume of the night though. Porter from Specialized set us up with Britney's bodyguard and he got us right next to the

stage. Pretty cool.

It was really nice to get back to Durango after being gone for a month and flying around the world. Winston remembered me which is what I was most worried about since I hadn't seen him in so long. We've been hiking and running. He's faster when it's cool out since he doesn't

over heat so fast. I started riding again and have been hitting the gym too. I'm so sore from all my new activities that I have to lower myself down into the chair with my hands.

The golf game has been coming around too, I've been playing with Rude, Barthel and Tad. I even have some idea where the ball is going to go when I hit it. Most of the time.

I wonder when my hamstrings are going to stretch again.....

This weekend was the second to last World Cup of the season. It was held in Champery, Switzerland, deep in the Alps and less then thirty minutes from the UCI international headquarters. The weather had been great all week but yesterday a big rainstorm soaked the short and technical 4.7 KM loop leaving the trails slick and muddy.

The course consisted of one really steep climb/descent and flattish loop at the bottom. The trails had tons of exposed roots and slippery rocks. The Epic was the perfect bike for gobbling up the rough stuff and helping me keep the rubber side down all day.

I didn’t have a very good start and never really got it going all day. I managed to move up a little as the day progressed but only managed a 25th, my worst World Cup of the year. It’s funny because I had my best race of the year last weekend in Australia at the World Champs.

Sometimes it’s tough to figure things like that out but that’s why we line up every weekend.

On a positive note my teammate and great friend, Burry Stander won the race today and took his first ever World Cup victory, locked up the U-23 World Cup Overall and added some points to his 2nd place overall for the entire World Cup. Great Job.

Another highlight of the day was winning the team competition. Each race they crown the best team for the day, which is composed of a team’s top three finishers. With Burry, Susi and I we managed to take it away from Merida for the first time this year so well all got to stand on the podium. We will also race with yellow number plates next weekend designating that we won the team comp this past weekend. Tomorrow we’re off to Schladming for the final World Cup of the year. It seems like we were just racing in South Africa a few weeks ago. It has been great being part of the Specialized team and enjoying everyone’s success through out the year.

Thanks for your support….

The World Championships is one race that everyone wants to win. It’s a one day race and if you have an amazing day, you can find yourself in the coveted “rainbow jersey” for an entire year. Needless to say, it’s the most important race of the year.

The World Championships took place this year in Canberra, Australia. Canberra is a three-hour drive southwest from Sydney and instead of being tropical and balmy, it’s dry and cool. They are just coming out of winter so the weather was on the cool side but nice and dry.

The course was almost the same as World Cup course from last year but they shortened it a bit so they could add one more lap. It was a fast circuit with plenty of man-made jumps, berms and rock gardens. There were multiple lines so you could take a short harder section or an easier longer one. It had sections of fast, loose single track and few dirt road sections for passing. I think it is the best course we have ridden all year.

The start of the race was very important since after the one-kilometer long dirt road it turned straight into single track. If you don’t get into the single track in the first ten you have to stand around and wait for everyone to funnel in. The further back you are, the longer you wait. I am usually a good starter but found myself standing in line and only managed to make it into the first single track in the mid thirties. By the time I popped out of the first single-track

section I was already one minute down.

Once I settled in I started to move up quickly. The way the course was setup you couldn’t pass in the single track so you had to wait for the dirt road sections. I would sit on a group on the dirt road and then sprint to get into the single track first. I was riding the down hills well and could usually bridge to the next group on the single-track sections and then repeat the process.

I managed to make it into a group of sixth through eighth on the sixth of seven laps. I couldn’t hold the pace of Ravanel and Peraud up the climb on the last lap and had to let go. I almost caught Peraud coming into the finish but had to settle for eighth which is still my best

ever World Championship finish. I was happy with the race and seem to keep improving which is the most satisfying thing. Now I’m off for another around the world trip for the World Cup in Switzerland this weekend.

Thanks for your support…..

The US Cup PRO XCT is officially in the books for 2009. This time last year there wasn’t even going to be a National series but Scott Tedro stepped in with Sho-Air and Specialized and made it happen.

The past few weeks back east were cool and rainy but summer returned this weekend with temperatures in the nineties with humidity up also. Windham is getting ready for the World Cup finals next year and the PRO XCT was a great chance for them to work out the kinks. The crew did a great job getting the course ready and things ran smoothly. I don’t think I’ve ridden as many bridges all year as I did in one lap of the Windham XC.

The course was shortened from last year. The laps took about sixteen minutes in the sweltering sun and heat. There was plenty of exposed ski slope climbing, fast rocky descents with lots of bridges and some high speed open descending.

We raced at 2 pm and there wasn’t a cloud in site. The race broke up pretty quickly and by the midway point I found myself in the lead group with Sid and Max from the Sho Air team. Kabush, Shultz and JHK were only fifteen to twenty seconds behind. On the forth of six laps

Sid flatted and had to change a wheel in the tech zone. I was by myself at the front with a few seconds on Kabush and Max. I could only hold the pace for a lap though and Kabush came by at the start of the fifth lap. Max and I rode together for most of the lap until I faded near the top and was alone in third. I would ride the rest for the race in that position and maintain my forth overall in the series. Sunday was the short track and I had a pretty commanding points lead for the overall starting the day. The short track course was also a bit shorter then last year with laps taking about 1:30. I like to go hard from the gun but decided to play it safe today and make sure I didn’t do anything stupid to lose the overall. I started conservatively but never really got it going. We rode in a big group until four laps to go when Shultz and Kabush attacked. I was in a group with Sid, Craig and JHK on the bell lap but couldn’t come around them. I rode in for sixth, which was more then enough to wrap up my first short track National series overall title and on the 29er to boot.

I have a two weekends of no racing after six weekends in a row and then it’s off to the World Championship in Australia.

Thanks for your support…..

The Mount Snow Festival kicked off this weekend of racing with fire works, a giant slip and slide, a woman’s only triathlon, clown show for the kids and plenty of other fun summer time activities. The Pro XCT and STXC were just part of the action this past weekend in southern Vermont. The festival atmosphere was great but the cool temperatures, lack of any humidity and minimal black flies was even better.

Mount Snow has probably hosted more national and international events in the U.S. then any other race venue. The course is known for steep, technical climbs and treacherous descents covered in rocks and roots. It usually features a big climb to the top of the ski resort but this

year they decided to alter the course to bring it more in line with the twenty-minute lap the UCI is shooting for. That meant we didn’t have to do as much sustained climbing and spent more time in the venue area.

The XC started well for me, I found myself in the lead group of five a few minutes into the race. First it was an on form Sam Shultz driving the pace but he would fall off the group on the second lap along with his teammate JHK. That left Sid, Kabush and I to fight it out over the

next four laps. I threw in a few attacks but lacked a real punch to get away. Kabush also hit it a few times during the first few laps but nothing stuck. Finally halfway through the forth lap Kabush attacked on a steep climb, I fell off the pace first and then Sid. We would stay that way to the finish.

The STXC started even better on Sunday with Sid and I getting off together after a lap or two. He towed me around until five laps to go. I wasn’t feeling great but I was hoping to hold off a hard charging Kabush. It didn’t happen, he caught me with two laps to go. He attacked on the last lap and got a few bike lengths on me at the top of the climb. I tried to bring it back but after two wheel drifting though the slippery descent the lap before I didn’t want to risk it

again and had to settle for second.

I was happy to be on the podium both days this weekend. I have had some bad luck at Mt Snow in the past but the Epic was awesome for the XC on Saturday and the 29er was great for the STXC on Sunday. The bikes worked perfectly, the tires held up well through the sharp rocks and roots and the suspension was awesome.

Next weekend is the final stop on the US Cup Pro XCT circuit for the 2009 season in Windham, NY. It will be nice to check out the course that will be used for the World Cup finals next year.

Thanks for your support……

The Canadian World Cups are in the books for 2009. This weekend we wrapped up the sixth round of the World Cup in Bromont, Canada. Bromont hosted a World Cup last year, the World Championships in the late nineties and the Master’s World Championships on numerous occasions.

This year they made a few upgrades to the XC course, rerouted the main climb and added a few rock gardens. The weather was pretty good all week and held up for most of the women’s race earlier in the day that my teammate, Lene Byberg won. It started raining about two hours before our start and only let up for a few minutes in the middle of race. The course had streams running down the middle of it, the roots and rocks were covered in slick mud and climbs had become even harder then earlier in the week.

I had a decent start and found myself riding with Burry and Susi right at the start. Everyone was having trouble with the mud and was randomly shooting from one side of the trail to the other. World Cup starts are always crazy but this one seemed a step above the rest. Could be the fact I was seeing it through my mud-splattered glasses.

I was moving up well on the first lap but burped my tire midway through the technical traverse. I was able to stop and fill it up with my Big Air but lost some valuable spots. I got going again fast and found myself in the top ten by the midway point of the race. I managed to burp my other tire on the fifth of six laps and again hit it with the Big Air and luckily it also sealed. I felt great on the last lap this weekend as opposed to last weekend when I was seeing double. I was chasing down eighth place on the last descent but couldn’t quite real him in and rolled in for ninth.

I was thinking I had a shot at the podium going in but am still very happy to get my first top ten in the World Cup of the year. The race was crazy with all the rain and mud but the mechanics had my bike working perfectly. There was so much carnage on the course with flat tires, broken chains and ripped off derailleurs that it looked like a bike junk yard in some sections. I don’t think anyone had brake pads left at the end of the day since the mud was so thick but everyone was in the same boat.  

I want to give a big "Congratulations" to Geoff Kabush for winning his first World Cup, he has been close many times but finally bagged the "W". Sam Shultz was also having a great ride racing in the top five for over half the race before seeing his career day ended by mechanicals. I also want to congratulate Lene for not only winning her first ever World Cup but for also taking the Women's Overall Leaders jersey in the process. It was an exciting weekend all around. 

I have the final two US PROXCT races coming up on the east coast the next two weekends. I head back to Durango to dry out for a few weeks after that before heading to the Australian winter for the World Championships. I’m hoping for some dry races and I think my bikes are too.

Thanks for your support……

The World Cup returned to action after a two-month hiatus this past weekend in Canada. It was great to hang out with the team again and get back to international racing. Mont Sainte Anne has hosted a World Cup just about every year since I started racing. The course has seen quite a few changes over the years but it still remains one of the best pure mountain bike circuits we race on all year.

The course has two steep climbs, tons of roots, rocks and technical descents. This year it rained quite a bit on Saturday, dried out that night and then poured during race morning. It made one of the most technical courses on the circuit even trickier. Luckily the course holds water really well and just got slippery.

Last year a lot of the top guys skipped the Canadian rounds of the World Cup to focus on the Olympics. This year with Olympics not being a factor, a big lay off in the schedule before the races and the fact that Worlds will be held there next year the turn out was awesome. Just about all the top guys were there and it made for an awesome race.

Things started out pretty well for me. I had a good start and moved into the top twenty in the first few minutes. By the second lap I had moved up to tenth place and by the middle of the third lap I was sitting in fifth place alone. I was feeling pretty comfortable until the middle of the fifth lap when I started coming a little unglued. Burry passed me for fifth but I was still in sixth place alone starting the last six-kilometer lap. With three-k to go the lights went out. I dropped nine places and lost five minutes in those few kilometers and saw my good race go out the window.

I haven’t blown up like that in a long time. I was happy to push myself to that point but I just wish I could have held it together for a few more minutes and scored a good result. Next weekend I have another shot at it in Bromont.

Thanks for your support….. 

The US National Championships took place this past weekend in Grandby, CO. This was the first time Sol Vista ski resort had hosted a big race and was nice to go to a new venue. The area up in north central Colorado is beautiful with huge mountains, giant views and endless rivers and valleys.

The cross country was on Saturday afternoon. The weather was warm and dry with temperatures in the low 80s and no humidity. The course was a classic ski resort track that had us climb to the top of the mountain on fire roads and single track and then rip down more of the same. There was a lot of fresh cut trail that was very bumpy and it was perfect for the Epic. With the base of the course starting above 8,000 feet and the top above 9,000 the breathing was tough.

I had a great start and was with JHK and Craig by the end of the first of five laps. JHK and I then rode together until the final lap. I led through the start/finish but he attacked on the feed zone climb right after that. I was chasing hard and hoping to keep him close enough on the climb to catch him on the descent. He was climbing better then me but I was descending faster then him. Halfway up the climb I had a problem with my crank that ended my hopes for what is proving to be a very elusive National Championship jersey. Bummer

Sunday was the short track and I wasn’t very motivated after the previous day. When you pin a number on though the motivation comes back quick. The course was very different to a normal short track. It was just straight up the side of the ski slope and then a few switchbacks on the way back down. Usually short tracks are fast with some drafting but this was just nose of the saddle all the way up and two wheel drifting on the way down. I led for half of the race before Craig bridged up to JHK and I. He attacked straight away and I was already on my limit and couldn’t go with him. He held that lead until the finish and I had to settle for 2nd place. Not a bad result but on a day titles are handed out to the winners not what I was hoping for. Oh well, next year.

I am now off for a month long trip with the two Canadian World Cups and final two US PROXCTs in the next four weeks. It will be nice to get back to sea level for a few week sand breath that thick air.

Thanks for your support…… 

The Tour has finally started and that means I'll be getting some great rest these next 3 weeks. I usually watch in the morning, afternoon and night. It the most time I spend on the couch all year except when I'm sick.

Rude and I did a big week of training this past week. We logged in a bunch of high country rides.

Not too much snow up there. We also did the Molas/Cascade a few days ago.

This ride on the other hand was pretty muddy. You can't tell from this shot but there is quite a bit of snow melt going on up at 11,000 feet right now. Tad started the ride with us but crashed and busted his clavicle. He didn't think it was broken and set out to ride the road back to the car but was in too much pain to ride and just hiked out to the road. I bet he'll be back soon. On our rest week we hit the links with him and Evan.

I also went roosting up in the high country with HB about a week ago. He tried floating his bike down the river on one creek crossing and I couldn't make it over any of the hundred of downed logs. While HB was floating down the river, I was taking this picture of the rig.

I'm not a fan of camelbacks but I've been using the HAWG quite a bit lately since I've been riding the Stumpjumper on all these high country rides and it only has one bottle cage. I try to fill it up as little as possible so it's not too heavy. I've also been using it on the moto.

Tomorrow we're doing a MTB group ride up Junction Creek and down the Colorado trail pretty hard if anyone wants to go. Probably be at the cattle guard around 9:30 if you want to go, should take around 3-3:30 hours.

Town is off the chain right now for the 4th. I can't remember the last time I saw as many people in town as I did yesterday. Everyone from Durango heads out to the lakes and mountains for the weekend and everyone from out of town comes to Durango for the weekend.

Winston has been kicking it at Dog Park lately, leaving his tennis balls in the river for his buddies down in Aztec. We floated the river with Powers and Emily yesterday, Powers was wearing some type of Sheik head ware and had a tube that was 6 inches around on one side and 3 feet on the other. Not optimal for the rapids.

Almost time to go train, I wonder if it's going to rain today......

In the past eight days I’ve raced three events and stood on each part of the podium. I’ll start at the beginning though with my late decision to attend the Teva Games in Vail, CO last weekend.

The Teva Games is a huge festival held in Vail, Colorado and consists of everything from a mountain bike race to dog jumping competition to half marathon to freestyle kayaking and everything in between. I was planning on taking the weekend off but with a huge payout on the line and a chance to see my wife’s family (she’s from Vail) I decided to drive and pin on the numbers.

The Vail course is a classic western ski area course with plenty of fire road climbing and awesome single-track descents through aspen tree forests. We actually used part of the course from the 2001 World Championships. The air is pretty thin up there and the base of the course is at 8,200 feet so the breathing is difficult to say the least. I spent most of the day swapping pulls with JHK while we built up a good gap over the chasers. I was hoping to attack on the last sustained climb but he beat me to the punch and I couldn’t up my pace so I had to settle for second place on the day. I was happy with the race and impressed with the turn out for the event, they sure know how to put on a show.

Next up was the forth round of the Pro XCT in Colorado Springs, CO. It sure is nice being able to drive to the races instead of getting on a plane. The Short Track was the first event of the weekend and kicked off on Friday night. I won the first round of the series at the Sea Otter and I was focusing on extending my lead in the four race series. I again found myself off the front with JHK but this time half way through the race I was able to get rid of him and take my second Short |Track victory of the season and extend my lead in the series. I didn’t have much time to savior win since the next day was the XC race.

The XC course at Cheyenne Mountain State Park was a mix of fast twisty crushed gravel hiking path and rock strewn technical single track. It was by far the most technically challenging Pro XCT we have raced this year. I ended up in the lead group of three with JHK and Max Plaxton half way through the race. Towards the end of the third of four laps I lost contact after JHK bobbled and I couldn’t keep my momentum through a rock garden. I chased in vain on the forth lap and never caught the leaders so I had to settle for third place. I was happy to get at least one victory for the weekend.

I’m off to New Jersey for a five day road stage race this week and then it’s back home to Durango to prepare for the National Championships.

Thanks for your support……

The US Cup made it third stop this weekend just outside of Birmingham, AL. It was the first time any national XC series event has visited AL, the closest it has ever come before was Helen, Georgia.

If you’ve never been to Georgia and preconceived notions of the South I would say it is worth the trip. The people are some of the nicest I have met in my travels through out the world. The weather was perfect, sunny and warm all weekend with not much humidity (for the east coast). The race was held in beautiful Oak Mountain State Park and was mostly fast, flowy single track with a short asphalt climb and descent.

I had a descent start getting into the single track in the top ten and we formed a group on eight on the first of five laps. By the second lap we were down to six and on the third lap we were only five and it would stay that way until just before the finish. Sid Taberly attacked on the only substantial climb; a minute and half steep pavement climb about 2 K from the finish. I had been feeling great all day but couldn’t match his speed at the end and JHK also went across to him.  I chased hard but Plaxton came around me at the end for 3rd and I had to settle for 4th.

The US Cup is doing a great job promoting the National Series. There were a lot of spectators, FOX was there filming and we even did a parade lap before the start for them to film. The US Cup comes to Colorado Springs in two weeks and I’m looking forward to racing fairly close to home.

Thanks for your support.  

It was back to Europe this past weekend for round number four of the UCI Nissan World Cup. Casa de Campo has hosted the Madrid World Cup for the past eight years and is right in the heart of the city. The Royal Palace is less then a kilometer from the course and the park has to be bigger then Central Park in New York.

My trip over was good and the weather was hot and sticky when we arrived on Thursday afternoon. Burry and I went out for a loop of the course and right when we were getting started we got called for random drug testing by a guy that looked like Maverick in Top Gun complete with Aviator sunglasses. Thirty minutes later we were back on the course.

It rained on and off the next two days and Sunday morning the women had a muddy course to contend with. They dried it out for us though because by the time we went it was in perfect condition. It was super tacky and fast, probably the fastest I have ever seen it.

I didn’t have the best starting position after not finishing Offenburg and not starting Houffalize but I moved up pretty quick. I managed to make it into the main chasing group containing third through tenth at the start of the fifth lap but couldn’t hold the pace. I faded back to sixteenth by the finish but was happy to make it into that lead chase group and take part in the race.

They have been trying to make the World Cups slightly shorter this year shooting for between 1:45 and 2 hours instead of the normal 2 to 2:15. It seems to me that the pace is slightly higher from the start but no one really cracks at the end, everyone is still going full on.

Burry, Susi and I did a ride through the city after the race. We hit the Buck(Starbucks), which it seems is world wide now and hung out for a while people watching. It was a highlight of the trip for me. It was a quick trip and I’m already back home.

I have a few US Cup races, the US National XC, STXC and Marathon championships and a road race to do before the World Cup resumes in Canada at the beginning of August.

Thanks for your support….

Offenburg has to be one the best World Cups we do all year. The crowds are second only to Houffalize, maybe. The course has good climbs, steep descents with rocks and roots and spectators everywhere. We wind through the black forest but also the vineyards and sports fields in the area. All and all it’s a great course.

We had some big travel coming from Sea Otter on Monday but the rest of our week was very relaxing. Claire is giving us great rubs, Sandy and Dylan keep the bikes running smooth and Beno keeps it all together.

The week flew by and the race was there before I knew it. I had a third row start but moved up quick and made the lead group right after the start loop. Things were going well for me until midway through lap four of seven. Absalon had attacked on lap three and Burry and Susi were trying to bridge across. I was sitting in what was left of the chase group of forth through ninth when I cut my tire right on the bead. I tried to seal it with the Big Air but that didn’t work and I couldn’t get the tube inflated either. I was about as far from the tech zone as you could get on the course so my race was over.

It felt great to be part of the race again but very frustrating not to be able to finish it off. Susi also had to abandon after crashing on lap five and snapping off both brake levers in a strange crash.

Burry had another great race finishing forth after riding in second for most of the later portion of the race. He even had to come back from a puncture on the first lap that he got only meters from the tech zone. It would have been a really quick change but Dylan was stuck in the tech zone on the opposite side of the course because there was no break in the 220 riders to get to Burry on the other side. He also won the U-23 and built up his lead in the U-23 overall. Next weekend is Houffalize and I’m just hoping for the same legs as this past weekend with a little bit better luck.

Thanks for your support. 

I never thought they would shorten the Sea Otter cross country because of heat but that’s exactly what happened this year. We arrived back in the U.S. on Tuesday evening after horrendous travel from South Africa back to Northern California. Our first stop was Morgan Hill to tour the Specialized factory and try to hang on to the famous “lunch ride”. The office visit was awesome but the lunch ride hurt. I don’t think there is an easy group ride anywhere in the world.

Thursday was our first ride in Monterey and it was typical Sea Otter weather, super windy and cool but luckily no rain. Friday wasn’t much better but we did get to participate in the Stumpjumper 29er launch. I think that was the day that the wind was pumping so hard Susi got blown over at a traffic light.

By the time the short track rolled around on Saturday the winds died down and the temperature was on the rise. We managed to get Burry, Susi and I all off the front and were just riding a team trial when Susi burped a tire and it was just Burry and I left. Burry pulled most of the race and I was able to gap him at the end to take my first victory of the season in the Specialized colors and on the new 29er that just launched the day before to boot.

Sunday we were told about an hour before the race that we would only be doing one and half laps instead of the traditional two full laps because of the heat. It was warm for Sea Otter, upper eighties but minimal humidity, still much cooler temperature then the previous week in South Africa where we had ninety-degree temps and ninety percent humidity.  

Burry rode on the front for most of the first 19 mile loop and whittled our lead group down to seven before he decided he wasn’t feeling well enough to continue. Susi attacked toward the end of the first lap and I waited to see if anyone was going to chase. No one did or could so I tried to punch it across to him just before the track. I couldn’t get any closer then about forty five seconds and managed to flat half way through the shortened second lap. By the time I wasted my Big Air, put a tube in and walked part of the way to the tech zone Conrad came by and gave me another Big Air. I was able to air up the wheel and get riding again and was still in eighth place. I managed to make it back up to sixth by the finish, which was enough to win the overall Sea Otter title and Susi won the XC.

It was a great weekend for the whole Specialized team and made the long travel back from South Africa worth it. As I write this we are already back in Europe for this weekend’s World Cup in Germany.

Thanks for all your support. 

The 2009 Nissan World Cup season is officially underway. We had the first race of the year this past weekend in Pietermaritzburg, South Africa. I started my trip two weeks ago with the first round of the new US Cup MTB series in Fontana. Since this is my first race report of the year I might as well start at the beginning.

The first US Cup race in Fontana was a big success, lots of participants, great fans and even a street bike exhibition filmed for Speed Vision right before the start of the men’s XC. I was hoping for a big result but one hundred meters into the race I had a mechanical that sent me scootering the bike to the tech zone. By the time I got going again the race was way up the road and I spent the rest of the day making up ground. I was able to work my way up to tenth place before I ran out of laps. Not the way I was hoping to kick off the season but the form was good and I was excited for my first trip to South Africa.

My trip had another hiccup as I arrived in Washington Monday afternoon only to find I needed two completely blank Visa pages in my passport to enter the country. I only had one, which meant I had to stay the night in Washington, go to the passport agency (only a few exist in all of the U.S.) and plead my case for an expedited set of extra passport pages and hopefully get on the flight the next day. Amazingly everything worked out and I made it back to the airport the next day with a fresh set of pages in my passport. I was even able to walk by the White House while I was spending the day at the agency.

I spent the past two weeks hanging out at Burry’s house in SA. We did an SA Cup race last weekend that was stacked with World Cup guys looking to preview the course before the big show. I used the race to shake out some jetlag and sweat out about twenty pounds of water. It was hot, humid and everything you would expect South Africa to be at the end of their summer.

This past week I spent most of my time with the team in Pietermaritzburg. It is great getting to know everyone and settling in with the new program. One thing that hasn’t changed is the Dart and I rooming together and watching seasons worth of TV sitcoms at a time. This week we knocked out the past few seasons of Entourage, last year it was all the O.C..

Race day came before I knew it. The heat was on again, temperatures close to 90 and humidity as well. I had a good start and settled in just outside the top 10 with Burry and Susi in the top 5 by the end of the first lap. Second lap I was still hanging in about the same position but then the lights went out. I started dropping like an anchor and finally crossed the line in 23rd place. I’m glad the first race is over with and I’m looking forward to getting back to California for the Sea Otter.

Thanks for all your support.