School Bells

The beginning of the season, to me feels a little bit like the first day of school, a little exciting , a little awkward...we're out on the playground and there's some "sizing up" going on, wondering about who's prepared for this, who's clearly not, showing off our new Trapper Keepers. If I had to use one word to describe yesterdays race, I would pick ,HOT! Too hot for my liking, I welt under conditions like that and yesterday was no exception. This did not come as a surprise, it felt super good to be racing, I felt like I cleaned all the barriers, sand pits and techy sections nicely but it felt as though my head was going to explode from the heat. I think I finished mid-pack somewhere, I wasn't putting any pressure on myself for results, after a solid week off the bike and a trip to Taiwan, I will be racing myself into shape this season. Curiously, the ACA officials decided to not post results for our group if we weren't in the top 25 ! I'm really not sure if they started getting confused with lapped riders in a large field( 92 riders! ) or someones hand cramped up, perhaps they were short on volunteers but we had the same size fields last year and ALL results were posted ( sometimes they were incorrect but nevertheless, they were up ) so, kind of disappointing to not know exactly who's race I was obstructing.

My fellow Srammies, Jim joined me as well as Andy who showed his appreciation to us for introducing him to this fine sport by coughing up a nice bit of bile with blood mixed in after he crossed the finish line...yep , he's hooked. It was great to see the usual suspects out and about yesterday. Keller from Boulder Cycle Sport/Mud and Cowbells, Big Tom was out as always, I was particularly stoked to re-connect with Matt, a riding partner friend of mine from back in Maine. Despite a huge chasm in levels of fitness between us, Matt always humored me by dragging me out on some beautifully loopy, hilly road rides and I'd show him our local trail rides. After we'd come back to town, I would collapse on the couch while Matt would change out his gear and go for a 3 hour trail run. After we left Maine for Colorado almost 5 years ago, Matt headed East, way East to one of the "stan" countries to climb, then picked up a Masters at UAF in Alaska and his pursuit of a PhD landed he and his wife to be in Denver recently. My cycling family never ceases to amaze me, despite years that may go by without a word,that time or distance doesn't diminish the strength of our friendships, thankfully cycling is still the tie that binds us all and I am forever grateful.

Jen and I are spending a pre-wedding anniversary weekend in the high country next weekend so hope to see you at Frisco Cross

Shotty

Jesse Anthony on the goods

thanks to Rob O'Dea for the great photo

30 seconds to start

It's coming down to the wire, my cross season is about to officially get underway at the Boulder series # 1 in.....Louisville ( insert Debbie Downer sounds here ). I've had semi-decent results here but it's a brutal course..super rough, I hoping that this weeks snow and rain will linger long enough to dampen the dust. Tonight's practice session was held under perfect cross conditions, temps hovering barely above 40 degrees with a light rain, the leaves are turning, I felt super good and was pushing nicely,trying to keep it smooth and blow the Taiwan funk out of my system. Then a shooting pain up my right shoulder while portaging the bike...feels like some sort of tendon/ligament issue that will go away in 6 months time if I don't do anything so I'll nurse it along and hope that it improves. I highly recommend not getting old.

As of today, the Interbike show in Vegas is underway, as well as Cross Vegas, you may have seen this, which is something that has been consuming probably far too much of my time at work since about mid-March. It's the reason I spent the past 12 days in Taiwan and might be run by Jesse Anthony of Jamis tonight. It's out there and it's up to you to decide if we've done our homework.

Hope to see you Saturday
Shotty

After a brief respite, it's off to the island again, on a mission to do our best to enhance the lives of cyclists everywhere ( with specific focus to those who take joy in riding around in compact, tight courses with obstacles in miserable weather ). Today, I'd rather be reuniting with those whom I haven't seen since last December, but I'm not terribly heartbroken about missing the Bear Creek season opener. Duty calls, I have a greater purpose, I'll see you all at Boulder #1 (I hope Interlocken!! love this course ). Best of luck to all those who will pin on a number today and go home this evening with a raspy-phlegm filled cough, reeking of embrocation!! See you soon, please don't knock me off course when passing

shotty

exactly

great tweet from Trebon:

@ryantrebon For sure moto riding counts as 'cross training. Cornering skills, speed adaptation, it's all part of the program...