Readying for the year..

Hello folks,
I'm starting this as a way for me to keep track of myself, and for a way for our teams sponsors to check up on me.

This past cross season marked my first full season of cross, and just like a lot of people; I'm hooked. So in turn, I'm cutting back my mountain bike racing, moving to Louisville, KY (Cross capital of the midwest), and focusing all of my resources on the upcoming season. I'm still just a Cat 3, but I should be a Cat 2 after the first couple races of the season. This past season I had a few pretty good showings, but most of it was a learning experience.

USGP Louisville Cat 4- 2nd Place Both Days
Indiana State Championships Cat 2/3- 1st
DRT Consulting Cat2/3 Hamiltion Park - 1st

Those were my best results, but really don't show how well my year went. I had the fitness, and the skills to place high in Cat 2/3 races, but I lacked some of the patience that i needed. A few of my downfalls were some crashes where I was trying to push too hard instead of waiting for the right time to attack. But my season ending race was the last race of the USGP series in Portland. Everyone has heard about how crappy it was out there, and I managed to get crashed out in the first slight bend. I was sitting around 12th and some dude came in on me from the inside and just careened right into me. The result was that I rolled my front tubi and slid on my back at 20plus. I was done, I was pissed, and I was hurt. Luckily I hadn't gone out there strictly for the race. For the two weeks after, I spent in the awesome town of Ashland. Its a little Euro town dropped in the middle of a small mountain range. There are miles and miles of trails and fireroads that keep you entertained, and then road miles too. Its a super progressive, cultural town, and it felt like every town in my opinion should. I only wish i could stay.

I got great training in there, with climbing from 1800 feet to around 6000 about 4 times a week. Most of my training intensity came from my frustration at being crashed out of the USGP by some random guy. So in turn, my fitness has continued even now. I've been throwing down on training rides, and I've got some great 4 hour rides in the Floyds Knobs in S. Indiana.



This week marks my fourth full week of training since the new year, and I'm trying to find my first peak for the season. This past year I started with a couple of spring road races, but we'll see what happens. I only wish we had true "Spring Classics", cobblestones, dirt road races, something more interesting than a flat road race or four corner crit. My team (DRT Consulting) has our first training camp in Fontana, NC in March, and I really want to throw down on the climbs. It should be interesting to see how my fitness has continued.


I'm heading to the beautiful town of Ashland, Oregon in two weeks to get DT and suspension certified, and can't wait to ride out there again. The way it sounds, there is a good amount of snow there, so maybe xc skiing is a more likely option.