Wow, so it has been a really long time and all of you I am sure are no longer checking this site. I just have a hard time writing on this thing. I am really not the tell everyone my feelings and my life type of guy but I will keep you posted on a few things. First off, I am now officially graduated from Highschool which is just a crazy feeling. I feel like now my life starts and everything else was just practice. I have not been doing as much riding as I would like (or should i guess is more appropriate) and have been enjoying life after Highschool a little too much perhaps. I did the Santa Fe Century on Sunday and it was a pretty good time. The century crowd is defianately a different group of people than i would ever see on the racing circuit. I did the whole thing in my big ring just for fun and it wasnt all that bad except for Heartbreak Hill. A 53-23 was a bit stiff for that climb, but i made it. I got a new car (well new for me at least) for graduation and have already managed to mangle the rear trailer harness doing a little four wheeling. Some dumb ass rider took me and Scotterbot out last night when we were warming up for the Crit. As bad of road rash as i have, i am lucky compared to Scott, who evidently is nursing some serious damage to his hip. My hope goes to Scott getting better as soon as possible, and Scott, if you are reading this, like i said earlier, you have enough miles under your belt so dont rush to get back on the bike. Scott is a tough guy so lets hope for the best. Basically all my other time has been either working, sleeping, or hanging out with my girlfriend. Thats it for now, i am sorta getting tired of writing.

B

ROTC State Championships

While I am sure all of you would prefer a Podcast, you’re going to have to read the report on this weekend’s Cloudcroft beatdown. Unfortunately I spent Tuesday night cleaning and prepping the amazing KHS XC904 Team so I could not race it in the Fat Tire Series.

So now to the action: I drove down with my parents on Saturday morning pulling “The Rig” (yes, my parents are officially old enough to have one). For those of you not blessed enough to know what “The Rig” is, it’s a 2007 Toyota Tundra pulling an 18 foot Fun Finder camper. We got in beautiful Cloudcroft a little after noon and settled into a campsite approximately 14 inches away from a part of the course. I took the bike out for a course pre-ride, and seeing as how the course was a loop, I stopped over by the start finish line and picked up my packet and number. I tucked all the goods into my jersey and rode back to the camper just before afternoon storms hit. I was a bit nervous as to the condition of the course with the storms, but I remained optimistic, knowing the KHS would get me through regardless of weather conditions. The afternoon showers ended and the sun came up, the perfect combination for a smooth non-dusty course.

The following morning I slept in late (the race didn’t start until 10) and then we rolled on over to the start line. We got there right about 8:30 and within a minute of pulling in the rain came. It wasn’t that nice “look how pretty the rain is” kind of rain, it was more the “Honestly if this comes down any harder I am getting in the car and driving home” kind of rain. It rained steady up until race time. Because the conditions of this course get so bad in the rain, they cut the lap count from three to two.

I busted out my always comfortable Voler clothing and lined up in the front row. After an incredibly hard start I was able to settle in and almost clear the first slick uphill. I got back on the bike, and by the time I reached camp the sun was out and I pulled the rain jacket off and threw it. A short section of dirt road allowed me to recover for the long scary descent that was to come. The descent itself is not all that techy, but the shear speed that it is ridden makes it a bit gnarly. About a half mile from the end of the descent I passed Damian, who had flatted on a berm jump. For the first time in my life I was in front of the guy and sitting in third place overall. I pulled my head together for the scary banked corners at the bottom and tried to keep it as smooth as possible. As I approached the last corner my confidence was up and I didn’t hit the brakes. I rolled into the corner at about 32 miles an hour (keep in mind the course is glazed over with mud) and heard the distinct sound of my tire burping air, followed immediately by the popping of tire bead off rim bead, and then followed by a sliding of my forebrain across a muddy ground. I pulled myself up and tried to ignore the cameraman who had so conveniently just got a picture of me piling it into the ground and pulled my spare tube and Seal-N-Flate off my seat post. Much to my dismay the rim was packed with a thick layer of mud that I had to remove before I could get the tire back on. I put the tube in, politely told the cameraman to please not take anymore pictures and tried to inflate. The mud had plugged the canister and I only got about 6 PSI out of it, so that’s when I started freaking out. I had just saw the last man in my class pass me, and Damian was coming around the corner. Using my crazy cross skills I picked the bike up and ran it to the bottom to get some more air. After about 5 minutes of trying to get a Schrader valve pump to put air into a presta valve, I gave up and ran up the trail a bit to find the adapter from my air canister. I used el hand pumpo pequeno to inflate the tire up to riding pressure and got back on the bike and started the climb. I went probably harder than I should have up the hill, but as my good buddy Skinnyfast always says “you can’t win if you are afraid to lose”, well, that and the fact that I was already losing. By the top of the climb I had moved up to third in my class. I hammered the single-track, and despite the thick mud the bike still rode as smooth as butter. I caught my last guy as we rolled through the start- finish line to start the final lap. I had made up about 7 minutes in lost time and now all I had to do was keep it.

Since this is way too long, I will spare you all the heartache and just say that I came out with the Big W.

As always I would like to thank the sponsors that made this all possible: KHS bicycles (which are just incredible bikes), Rudy project (for keeping the mud out of my eyes and the rock out of my head), Clif nutrition (for keeping the motor running), and The Bike Coop (for hooking me up with Chamois butter for protecting my tender backside).

Wow, so yeah its been a super long time since i updated. Anyway the last post was obviously senior prom, i look like a dork in a tux, but my girl looked beautiful as always. I look sorta toasted in some of the pics because i had the SYDC that morning. Talk about a killer ride. Took me 7 and a half hours to ride the 82 miles all on a mountainbike. Thats a long ride. I must admit that after the ride i was super mad and was like all pissed at matt (for no good reason i might add) because he said it was 70 miles and it ended up being 82. Once i got some food in my i thought back on it and was like "wow, that was a killer ride, i can't believe i just did that, im glad Matt did that". So matt, since i know you will read this, there was like a half hour period there where i really really hated you, and then, i really liked you all over again. Anyway it was an interesting experience for me. its amazing what your body does when you deplete it to that extent. I have always been fit, but thats a different kind of fit. For the first 2 hours i felt great, the third wasnt bad and the fourth was absolutely brutal. Then, something that never has happened before, my pain receptors actually turned off. No pain, no thoughts, i pinched myself and couldn't even feel it. i must say that is slightly scary feeling, but enjoyable. Then, an hour later they turned back on and thats when i got ugly. I hallucinated a couple times, saw a black ford explorer right in front of me. problem was, the other two guys said it wasnt there. i swear i ould have reached out and touched it. I saw a wild horse, but then when i got near it it was a rabit, seriously seriously crazy stuff going on in my brain. When i got to the last stretch of pavement all my pain went away and i felt like i could ride another 80 miles. Its really amazing what your body can do to itself. i have a whole new respect for guys like tinker and matt.

Thats it.

So again, i guess there is really not much happening. I have been busy getting some good base in this year and today hit the 30 hour/ 500 mile mark. I will probably start my first build period when i hit 700 miles so it should be about a week and a half at the rate i am going. I got in a good 8.5 hours this weekend by doing a 5.5 hour ride with Mike and Dan at white mesa and red mesa. About an hour from the end i fell and hit a rock with my hand and severely damaged the tendon. Just today i got full mobility back, but it still really hurts to move it. I have been off the mountainbike since, but have been doing base on the road bike. 2 hours 20 minutes yesterday and 2hours 7 minutes today. I will probably ride a short bit tomorrow and take friday off in preparation for the SYDC on Saturday. Its going to be a busy weekend. I have the SYDC starting at 0630 on Saturday morning, then as soon as i finish that i have to come home and get ready for prom. Prom festivities will start about 1700 and go until probably 0100 or 0200 Sunday morning, unless they go better than planned in which case it might be more like 0300 or 0400. Then it will be off to bed for a couple hours and up to hopefully get in a 3 hour road ride. After that i have to go to the NAU freshman orientation they are having at the Marriot in town. Hopefully sunday night i will be able to catch up on sleep. To top it off i have to have 34 lines of Hamlet memorized by Tuesday.

I should probably go to sleep now and load up. Thats it for now.
Later

So the weekend races happened and about all I can say is that i was not recovered from my sickness quite well enough. In addition i am fat and out of shape and the combination of the 3 made for a really bad weekend on the bike. I rolled something like a 30:23 in the time trial which is well...something like 5 minutes slower than my man Scott rolled. We skipped the team trial which i have to say i was happy with because i wasn't going to do it anyway and i didnt want to look like a wus. The crits on Sunday started and it took my body 5 minutes to realize i was supposed to be riding, by then i was dropped out of both of them and just rolled around with my head crooked and drool coming out of my mouth. It has become very clear to me after this last weekend that i can't get by just riding once a week. Anyway i guess that is it, nothing really new happening.

I'm out.

B

SO... I was supposed to be running tomorrow, but since i am making the move from the spinting team to the distance team, the coach won't let me run until i have run a time trial for him. Since I have only run with the distance guys twice he doesn't think that it is possible for me to have the endurance necessary for the 2 mile. I guess a 24th at nationals doesnt do that much for you. I have been sick the last couple days so i haven't run since tuesday, all in a desperate attempt to be ready for the 4 races i will be doing this weekend. Hopefully a TTT and an ITT tomorrow and a 3,4 crit and 1,2,3 crit on SUnday.

Tomorrow will be the first ride since last Sunday. Is that bad? I'm not sure, but i will tell you one thing that is bad... dumping your girlfriend and then trying to take her best friend to prom. In case you didnt know, it doesnt work, but feel free to try for yourself.

Wow, so as Matt Shriver would say, "i have been off the back in updating my website lately". Anyway, alot has been going on and i haven't found much time to update my blog. Track has been killing me so i havent been doing much riding. This week before today i had done a total of maybe 3 hours, all on the rollers. Thats sad, especially since i probably ran for about 8 this week. The only time that i can catch up on miles lost is on the weekends so i generally plan on about 4 hours both Saturday and Sunday. My first track meet is only two weeks away and my first bike race is the day after that so i have alot coming up in the very near future. With track and riding i havent found any time to get in the gym, but i have been lifting pretty much daily in the ROTC room at school. My weight is starting to steady in at a pretty reasonable place of about 156 pounds and my BMI is about 7 so i guess that aspect of my fitness is pretty good. I got up 160 on the bench press yesterday which is a far cry from the 175 i have been hoping for, but hopefully i will get there soon enough.

Today i went out with THE NUTS and SKINNY on the trusty KHS FLITES for about 2.5 hours. I wasnt happy with that so i tacked on an extra hour to bring the grand total ride time to 3 hours and 40 minutes with exactly 60 miles. Had to run by my girlfriend's house in the last hour because i ran out of food and water and was very near death, but somehow i made it home with a respectable ride in a respectable time. I threw in a bit of dirt road off of Alameda on the way home and i must say, i am more and more impressed with my FLITE TEAM on every ride. Did i mention i got the brand new 2007 KHS XCTEAM mountainbike? you want to talk about a sick bike...thats the one. If you are looking for a good 4 inch travel cross country bike that is smooth as butta and stiff as a frozen corn cob i suggest you get your butt over to the BIKE COOP and have them order you up one.

Not much time until graduation.
B

Some images for your viewing pleasure. See if you can figure out what is going on.

No School Today... gotta love sophomore testing. I went out last night becasuse i didn't have school today and had a really good time. Today i was supposed to work but unfortunately Sandy is sick and was unable to pick up the necessary supplies. I was going to do a nice road ride today for about three hours but since the weather was bad i ended up just staying in and doing 1.5 hours on the stationary devices consisting of an hour on the rollers and a half hour on the trainer. Got the Cateye computer hooked up and it is definately awesome. The cadence is a good training tool for me because just before i crack i start pushing some massive gears. After that i went out and just rode my dad's bike around because its got flat pedals. I did some trials moves and goofed off since now i can manual and bunny-hop with platforms. I dropped 8 pounds in the last 4 days and while most would say that is good i am sort of pissed about it. I have spent the last 3 months trying to put that weight on. I am up to about 10,000 calories a day to try to avoid losing anymore and i have been running and riding nearly everyday. In addition i do atleast something to work the arms so hopefully that weight will be coming back up.

Thats it for now i guess, i probably wont be updating for a few days since i have track and a ride tomorrow and a party friday... and dont forget the ride with the Navigators on Saturday. And oh yeah, a ride on the new mountainbike Sunday. Look for a new update by monday, hopefully with some pictures so i dont kill all of my readers with my poor grammar and boring writing.

Out
B

Some big news going down with me lately. Track is finally to the point where it is not hurting and i actually enjoy showing up everyday after school. Riding i hae to say is actually taking a bcak seat to that right now, though i did manage to get in a good 9 hours this weekend on the trusty Flite for some nice base build. Hit practice after school today after some unnecessary girl drama and did a half hour of core work followed by 15 minutes of sprint start workouts followed by 4 300s at 80% effort and 1 300 at 95% effort. Hit work after that and worked for 2.5 hours. Gotta say i love the added perks of working for a couple of cyclists, today, the bonus was a Cateye Double Wireless cycling computer with cadence. I will be putting that to good use. Exactly 5 days from today I will be heading out with the Navigators Pro squad...Be prepared to hear about the Skinnyfast Jr, throwdown that will take place, its going to be huge (keep in mind by throwdown i am talking about eating, and yes i will probably be throwing down some food at the AYCE Buffet after the ride). In ten days i will be riding 105 miles with the Cycling Center Begian U23's, hoping by some miracle thzt i last the whole way and can actually get recognized as a bike racer.

Thats it for now.
PS Skinny- J let me know today that the new mountainbike is in so look for a ride happening on Sunday.

Well, there hasnt really been all that much riding going on here lately. Track pre-season started on Tuesday and I am already sore. I was a bit shocked when we ran 6 100s on the very first day, but found that I actually have better fitness than everyone there, I'm just not fast. Somehow I didnt find out that preseason was only for sprinters until after the 6 100s, so as of now i am a sprinter which is fine by me. Personally i would rather be a sprinter than a distance runner, but the hope is that the sprinting will jump start my running muscles because i know i can run for a long time. After 2 weeks of preseason the real season starts so we will have to see if i have any speed by then. If nothing else, i will be in top running form for the running leg of the Mt. taylor quad that i am doing with Hawk, skinny, and crashy. If all goes as planned and crashy wrecks less on snowshoes than he does on a bike we should be a force to be reckoned with.

After practice yesterday i rode for about 35 minutes on the rollers while watching GW as he explained that he has done nothing wrong. Its hard to believe but i have actually gotten pretty good on those things. i only fell off once the whole time and it was because i was trying to do the no-hander. No ride today as i was worked after practice and had the trail usage meeting. Tommorrow is lifting day, and hopefully a short little trainer ride while watching Saw 3.