NCCX, ATHENS, & ESSEN

Last week was the NCCX in Hendersonville.  The last race of 2012.  I finished up with a Win on saturday and second spot on the podium on Sunday.  The results were good, the feelings honestly were not.  Saturday early in the race I got a good gap.  On a normal or good weekend I feel I should have been able to hold that gap until the end of the race, but it came down to a last lap attack...a little close for comfort.

Sunday same thing.  An early gap, the group of three caught me a lap later and then I made 2 mistakes in the mud and Kerry Werner from BMC was gone.  Again on a good weekend I feel I should have been able to close the gap and race for the win, but not this Sunday.  A little disspointed with the form, but happy with the points and the results.





After the race I spent a few days at mom and dads house to try to recoup.  It was pretty darn relaxing.  By Wednesday I was feeling better and headed out for an amazing gravel road ride w/ the crew from Athens Bicycle.  Unfortunately I woke up Thursday morning with a bit of a head cold and it has only gotten worse.  During the drive home I went through a box of Kleenex and a bottle of hand sanitizer.  I think my body was fighting this beast off before I even left for Portland...I finally lost.  Time to rest up.  3 weeks and 2 races to go.

This morning I am feeling a little better, but probably only because I just watched one of the best CX races of my life.  Its the start of the Christmas period in Belgium.  Tomorrow is a World Cup in Namur.  The 26th is the World Cup in Zolder and somewhere else they'll squeuze in Diegem, Baal, and Loenhout along with some others.  Check out www.cyclingfans.com for the daily listings and links to watch the races live.  I think they are usually on around 8:00am central time.  If you missed today you should at least check out the last lap and the sprint finish.

http://www.sporza.be/permalink/1.1510258


Merry Christmas!

2,700 miles

2,700 miles.  That's the distance from Portland, OR to Hendersonville, NC.  Part of me thinks I did it the easy way by flying half of that distance back to WI, but the other part of me that just spent 2 full days in the car driving from Sheboygan to Hendersonville via Athens, OH doesn't quite agree!  Travel is travel though and you've got to get to the races somehow.

Last year the trip out to Bend was miserable.  This year things were about as smooth as can be.  We arrived in Bend after a 15 hour travel day on Planes(obvious), Trains(Denver Airport) and Automobiles(rental car form Portland to Bend).

Thanks to my friends at Clif Bar we were set up with some host housing.  I'm never sure about host housing and usually prefer just to be on my own in a hotel, but this time around we hit the jackpot.  Many of you probably don't remember the name Kirt Voreis, but I do.  Kirt was the man on the downhill circuit back in the day racing for teams like Santa Cruz, Yeti, and Specialized Mountain Dew.  He now lives in Bend and was gracious enough to let me crash at his house for 3 days.

It was pretty sweet to hang out there and share war stories of the olden days of Norba and the traveling circus.  Kirt and his wife Lindsey are still involved in the industry and are still living the dream.  Check out his website and if you get a chance to hit up a stop on his ALLRIDE Tour you should take advantage.  I think he could teach you a thing or two in the skills department!

The racing itself was not so hot.  I had a horrible start on day 1 and fought back for a few UCI points and finished 14th.  Not what I was hoping for after all the hard training after Jingle Cross.  The next day I was determined to get a better start and I did...only to fade away after 3 laps of racing.  I finished 18th after a flat tire on the last lap.  Really dissaapointing way to end the USGP for me.

Looking back I think I trained too hard too close to the race.  I was mentally focused on completing a training block that was similar to the block I did before the Iceman and Cincy weekend, but this time around it was too much.  Hopefully the hard work pays dividends later in the year.

Now I am sitting at the Red Rood Inn in Hendersonville, NC.  I still feel overextended, but it is what it is and its time to go and race!  Andrea and I made the drive to Athens, OH on Thursday.  She stayed to ride with the gang and hang out with Dad, while my Mom and I drove down to NC.  Race time in 4 hours...wish me luck!