Zolder & Belgian Matter Supporters

The highlight of the day. The start of the Belgian Matter Fan Club. These guys found me at the tent before the race, yelled at me in the race, and consoled me after the race. It was rad!

Today I got a World Class ass kickin'......not sure why really, but its super frustrating. I didn't even get to race really. I had a good start, then the normal chaos of the first 5 corners. I opted to run rather than risk a crash. Still in good position I

mounted my stead, but couldn't clip in....oh well another hill and more chaos....pass more guys running. 1:30 into the race it spreads out a little and you can start to race rather than battle for position. I still can't get clipped in...I make it to the pits where there is some pavement and manage to clip in my right foot. At least I can pedal a little now. Oh yeah I'm in last place. I make it to the end of the lap do the run up,(check out the picture of Danny The Nanny) it was steep, and again can't clip in with both feet.

Down the entire start/finish stretch which is quite long and I can't clip in??? Not only can I not clip in...I'm in last place...and I'm trying to pedal with balls of ice under my feet. Lap 2 was horrible, Each time I have to pedal hard when I think my right foot is in, it comes out and I smash my shin on my pedal, or knee on my stem. Not fun...start lap 3 and I knew it was over. Already 6 minutes down after 2 laps...why am i doing this??? Oh yeah its because these crazy Belgie's are yelling for me and I love this stuff..... My legs want to unleash some fury and tomorrow I just might have another chance! Diegem at http://superprestige.vt4.be/ live at 5:00pm EST which is 10:00am WI time and 11:00am Mich. time. Mark finished up in the top 50 in one of the toughest World Cup's of the year...only 29 guys finished on the lead lap.

Merry Christmas - Holy Sh...

The calm before the storm:

A good night sleeps. A 10am wake up. Some morning coffee. The last training ride of the season??? We cruised out at 1:00pm for a good warm up ride to prepare for the Zolder World Cup tomorrow. Down the canal, cross the canal, and back up the other side to a small forest for some off road practice. All systems go on the way back with a couple of tough openers. Cross the canal and back towards home, we see some young Belgies sledding down the Koppenberg and....'HOLY SH....what was that??? We better go back...was that what I think it was?'

Sure enough a sheep in a wheelbarrow? Not what I would want to look out my window and see on Christmas morning. Was it a gift? Was it dinner? Is it a Belgian Christmas tradition? Or did the poor Sheep go in the night? Either way it was pretty crazy...

The highlight of the day came when Hilde came knocking at the door and invited us over for ice cream and coffee! Hilde is the owner of the Hof Ter Kammen where we are staying. It was awesome that they invited us over for some holiday company. Her husband is a promoter of the Koppenburg Cross and he gave us a copy of the 2010 race which we are now watching! This is the Belgium way to celebrate Christmas for sure. They had all sorts of crazy chocolates and were also pumped because Page was over the previous day to deliver some home

made X-Mas cookies something Euros don't do! I was way more into the traditional Yule Log...this one was made from Ice Cream and was carved with an electric knife!

Tomorrow starts Part 3 with the World Cup in Zolder....I hear there is a ton of snow on the course. Just like riding the beach....be sure to check it out at www.cyclingfans.com 3:00pm EuroST. 9:00 eastern and 8:00 central.

Thanks for reading and again Happy Holidays.

A quiet day in Belgium

Today was a pretty slow day. Only an hour on the bike followed by a little stretching and some work on my knee. Still having a little pain in the left knee after Friday Night's Jingle Cross race. yep that was a long time ago, but after falling on it again in Kalmthout it's aggravated. A little massage and some J-Tree magic and hopefully I'll be good to go.

It's Christmas Eve and all is quiet in Oudenaarde. Andrea made an awesome lasagna before she left and we tossed it in the oven for a tasty dinner. Bed time is just around the corner and my thoughts are back home. Today and tomorrow are the hardest part of being in Euroland. The glory of the Belgian mud vs the family time at home during the holidays. Soon enough I won't have time or energy to think....the race season is approaching fast. I wonder what Rosco is doing?

Immaculate Reception

Today is the anniversary of the Immaculate Reception. If your not a Steelers fan and have no idea what I'm talking about you better check it out on you tube. According to most it was the best NFL play ever. Terry Bradshaw to Franco Harris for the win over the Raiders...Steelers play tonight maybe Big Ben to Hines Ward for a repeat???

We didn't get to see much of Belgium today....actually we didn't get to see any of Belgium. All the way to here just to train in the garage? There is some sort of satisfaction in it though.... some serious bike racers have suffered in cold garages very similar to ours. It was the hardest interval session of the season. Unfortunately the weather doesn't allow you to pedal hard enough outside so we were forced to ride inside for the second day in a row. It's a lot easier to suffer on a trainer when you have a buddy sufferin' on a trainer right next to you...hopefully I can go that hard in the races.

Andrea and Elicia made it home. Rosco was pumped. I got a solid nights sleep. Dinner tonight with Peter Weber. All things are good!

Part 2

Mentally I have divided my Euro campaign into 3 parts. Part 1 was the initial shock of the 2 races and a little bit of being a tourist in Brugge. Now Andrea and Elicia have departed and we begin Part 2. Part 2 if pretty much preparation for part 3! It starts with trying to get a full night sleep. I think the last solid sleep I had was on the airplane.....and thats a bad sign. Each night I wake up around 1:30 - 2:00am SMBO and then I can't fall asleep for another 2 to 4 hours. Then morning comes way too early once I finally do fall asleep.

Part 2 continues with some solid training and we got off to a good start today. I had the desire to go to the EuroCrossCamp training race in Izegem to hang with some of the guys, but it was way to dangerous to ride that far on the roads. Melting snow, hidden ice, and fog like you wouldn't

believe. Mark and I attempted a short loop around Oudenaarde, but when the fog got too thick and the bike lane too narrow we were forced back to the trainer. A solid effort and more on the plate for tomorrow. Part 2 also means more stretching, better hydration, more calories(not brats waffles, chocolate and frites) and more mental focus.

Part 3 is race race recover race race recover race race pack up and fly home!

I already miss part 1 though...it was awesome to have Andrea and Elicia here. I drove them to the Oudenaarde train station early this morning and it looks like they should have made it to the airport on time considering their plane was delayed 2.5 hours. I'm hoping they changed their flights and show up at the front door of the Hof Ter Kammen any minute now...

Yesterday was pretty awesome hangin out....Mark & I explored some more cobbled climbs while the girls went for a run up the Koppenburg. Then we took the townies for a major chocolate run so the girls could bring home the best chocolate in the world back to Sheboygan trip and a visit to the Tour of Flanders Museum. Right now they have an ode to Belgian Cyclocross World Champs! I think I saw Andrea in the picture of Prince Albert winning in Hoogerheide!

We saw Freddy Maertens there...you should check out his results!

3 days till X-Mas and then the racing is full on...

It's not too late to donate...I still have to get my bikes back home on the plane and its highly doubtful that I'll be as lucky as I was on the way here!

Thanks to Scott Roehrborn and Carrie Hildebrand for their donations.

Brugge by Photo

Kalmthout WC

It was a slightly frustrating day. I felt like I never quite found a good rhythm on the course. Again it was icy and snowy. Yesterdays ice must have been slightly different because I could rail any line I wanted.....today not the case. Even with lower tire pressure something was a little off. Mid way through race (4 laps) to go I made the right turn on the start/finish and realized I had a front flat. Unfortunately I had to do two U turns on pavement and come down a metal flyover onto pavement before I could pit. It was scary! I got a new bike and chased on to the back of a small group with Mark and another rider. I sat on for a half lap adjusting to the feel on the new tires.....Way too hard so I pitted again...with 3 laps to go I was back on track. 2 laps to go I started to good again and was pretty pumped I wasn't going to get lapped. Getting ready to start the last lap and the UCI official pulled me...WTF it was like 2 - 2.5 minutes before the leaders came through for the finish. I easily could have pedaled the 200 meters andgone through the start finish without being lapped. Last year at Zolder I battled Pauwels for an enitre lap!

Andrea was waiting for me at the finish...I didn't make it there....she had the car keys and was stuck in the mass of 20,000 spectators. I went back to the van and froze my ass off for 20 minutes.....frustrating.....arghhhh...

Hoping tonight is the night I can finally sleep through the night...diet and sleep are still jacked for sure....maybe its because I haven't had a waffle yet.....time for a trip to Brugge!

GOOOO JESUS!!!

I'm not one that knows much about religion, but today in Belgium you would have thought that Jesus awoke form the dead. The Belgies loved the beard! One dude yelled go Borat as another yelled go Beardy, but the majority of the superfans were cheering for Jesus! I couldn't help but laugh as I completed the first 3 ronde's of the course.

The race earlier today was the first of this seasons

Euro Cross campaign. The Scheldecross in Antwerpen was part of the Fidea Cup. The day started with another so so nights sleep and a snowy traffic jammed drive to the race. We made it to Inschripjion with 2 hours before the start. A quick set up of the tent and we were off to check out the course. It was -3 celsius. The course was pretty much a single track down the middle of the course with only one good line. The majority of the corners were black ice. The flyover, a metal bridge, was pure ice and I was scared I wasn't even going to make it up and over. It was very similar to Kalmthout last year.

I had a solid call up thanks to my

trip down to

North Caroline. 3 row out of 7 rows. Unfortunately I had last choice in the 3rd row and was forced to the outside around the first corner. The second corner I was on the inside and hooked a bar on the railing. The rest of the race was solid. I could have been a little more agressive on the first 2 laps, but I didn't want to crash. After 2 laps I started picking guys off one by one. With 5 laps to go I started to cramp. I think I was dehydrated from the trip across the ocean, but I'm pretty happy with a 35th place.

Now that I blew some smoke out of the legs I'm hoping to get on a good sleep schedule and start racing faster and faster. Time to go do some laundry and clean up dinner.

Huge thanks to Andrea and Elicia for an awesome post race dinner and support at the race. And a huge thanks to Gregory for all the hard work prior to our arrival.

I think tomorrows World Cup can be viewed at www.cyclingfans.com or cycling.tv

BPW

Bike Path Warriors.....

That was us on day 2. Crushing the bike path in Belgium. A fine bike path it is. It was an old railway and now they converted it to a bike path. It was pretty much the only place where it was safe to ride. Every other bit of Belgium was cover with a thin layer of black ice. The bike path runs parallel to the hills. Each of the famous climbs in Belgium can be found at the base of these hills.

Our pad is pretty sweet. The Hof Ter Kammen. A sweet bed and breakfast about 3km from the Koppenberg and 3 km from the Oudenaarde Centrum.

Lyne from Podium Insight arrived yesterday without her bags. Marks bikes arrived lat night just in time to be built up and head to tonights race in Antwerpen. I'm not quite so sure, but you might find a streaming TV link at www.cycling.tv

Back In Belgium

I knew things were going to be good when we checked in at United Airlines and the charged us $0 for the bikes, wheels, and luggage! I couldn't beleive it....then I got on the plane...business class was just as sweet as first class, except there was a guy next to me. 3 course meal, wine, desert, post dinner liquor, and of course a full recline!

We arrived on time w/ all of our luggage. Mark didn't get his though...bummer. We arrived in Oudenaarde hit the grocery store, built the bikes, and went for a little spin.

Now its time for bed....a little lack of sleep setting in now.

Pic's tomorrow!

Nationals

The biggest and best US race of the year and it was over before I knew it...

First of all I'd like to say 'Job Well Done' to the crew who was behind putting on the race in Bend. The course was awesome. The venue was awesome. The spectators were awesome. The weather was awesome. All in all the best CX race I've ever been to in America.

For me it was over way too fast.

I started good. Was 7th or 8th off of the pavement. I was a little cautious on the right hander before the pits because I didn't want to case a rock and flat. The next corner and the race was over. I crashed into a few riders who piled up in front of me and went down. Travis Livermon crashed into the back of me and his foot went through my rear wheel. We were both calm and by the time I got his foot out of my wheel we were in the 50's. I pedaled once and heard the broken spoke flapping against the frame. I pedaled twice and the spoke got caught under the chain and in the cassette and began to wrap around the hub. I kept pedaling because I was going forward. As soon as I hit the first pavement I had to soft pedal just to make it to the pits then I was in 70th - 80th 90th....as soon as I had to pedal hard to make it up a little hill my chain skipped over the spoke...I coasted and ripped the der off. Game over 1:30 minutes into the race. A little bummed, but I know stuff like that happens and it doesn't happen to me too often so I'm lucky in that respect. I'm also lucky because I get to do it again this weekend in Europe!

The guys at Blue kept the bikes clean all weekend and were going to work the pits for me, thanks. Also have to say a huge thanks to my cousin Mike and his wife Terri and daughter Marley who put me up in Portland for the week and allowed me to use their van to drive to Bend and back. They had a sweet place and I was able to fully relax and train to prepare for the race.

Next update from Oudenaarde, Belgium! Waffle Time!

Even more thanks to those who donated:

Paul Warloski

Mom & Dad

John & Nora Beck

Jessica Gammey

Renee Callaway

Dan Schuster

Mike & Chris Hildebrand

PORTLAND

Friday...a full day of travel started with a little panic as both of my seatposts were frozen into my frames as I was packing to leave for the airport. Smart thinking from Andrea had the problem solved in no time and soon I was off for the adventures of travel with bikes, wheels, and gear bags. I thought I got off pretty good with only $165 fee from United. $25 for the first bag, $35 for the second bag and an extra $100 because it was overweight. They didn't even charge me the bike fee??? 70lbs for my 2 bikes and my double bike pro case. I carried on my duffle bag and back pack only to check my duffle bag at the gate anyway...but at least it saved $100 for the 3rd piece of luggage. Milwaukee to Chicago - 3 hour layover and then Chicago to Portland.

My good buddy Garett Heitman and Papa Heitman were waiting for me at the airport with smiles. It was awesome to see them both. Last time I saw Papa Heitman I was probably 20 years old racing semi-pro at the Norba at Snowqaulmie Pass in WA. Last time I saw Garett was 7 years ago. We had a blast hanging out in downtown Portland!

The racing wasn't quite what I was hoping for, but it was somewhat solid. 15th Saturday which was good enough for 1 UCI point and another 15th Sunday. My worst USGP results of the season... I thought Saturday was a rough day because of the travel on Friday, but the legs weren't there Sunday either. Sunday felt better but pretty much raced the whole day by myself. I missed the chase group on lap 2 and watched them put 5 - 10 seconds on me every lap. I was really hoping for 5 spots better and a top 10 overall. Instead I finished out the series with a 13th overall 6 USGP points from 10th. Not bad for my first full season of USGP action, but I know I can go better.

I think I have raced every weekend for the last 2.5 months. My legs definitely felt a little stale so I'm looking forward to a full week of rest. I'm staying with my cousin just south of downtown Portland. The rest started off really good last night with a Steelers divisional rivalry win over the Ravens! Time to go clean the bikes...

Thanks again to the growing list of Matter CX Supporters:

Bruce LeBlanc

Amy Dykema

Paul Weaver

Jason Lummis

Jim Michler

Ned Purtell

Jenn & Max Finkbeiner

Steve Cudnoski

Ben Wilkinson

and of course all my sponsors!

Training = A Day At The Beach

The Kocksijde World Cup venue " ain't got nuttin' " on Sheboygan when it comes to riding on the sand! Todays training consisted of 35 miles on the beach. It was 25 degrees outside the majority of the day with a pretty solid west wind at 10-15 mph. Light snow flurries. Kind of just like Belgium right now.

What to do? The same old boring ride again? Sometimes it feels really good to do something completely different. Taking the cross bike on the frozen beaches of Lk Michigan is your answer. It's like your riding on the moon. Its cold, its windy, its isolated....just you and some birds, some frozen fish, and if your lucky some deer or a bald eagle.

It was a J-TREE kind of day. Citrus Embrocation on the legs, Spicy Cinnamon on the lower back, and the J TREE SPF Winter Stick for the face. Gotta have some SPF when you go to the beach.

My days of training at home for the 2010 season are coming to a quick end. It was sweet to finish it off with a perfect beach ride...so perfect I even ran a road tire on the back. I'll be on the road all but 2 days in December...wish me luck!

Jingle Cubed

3 days of racing in the legs and I'm feeling pretty good. I never felt like I had the snap over the weekend so I rode steady the entire weekend and never pushed it over the limits. Hopefully that means I can recover good from the last three days and get a little rest and relaxation at home before heading out to Portland. I'm pretty excited to head out and hang with my old school buddy G-Heitman from Clif Bar.

After that I will be staying the week in OR to prepare for Nationals in Bend. Next update from Portland....until then you can check out this.

Thanks to the following fine folks for donating:

Bruce Leblanc

Amy Dykema

Jason Lummis

Paul Weaver

Jim Michler

Ned Purtell

Another huge thanks to all my sponsors for their continued support. And a huge thanks to John Meehan for putting on another great weekend of racing in the Midwest!

Jingle Cross Day 2

Jingle Cross day 2 started Friday night after the race. We were pretty pumped to be hooked with some host housing. I found the house after Fridays nights race. I had to pee....I opened the door to the bathroom which was actually the basement, and CUJO came charging out. It scared the shit out of me. Luckinly CUJO aka Rosie was a friendly dog and proceeded to pee all over the place. Maybe thats why she was in the basement....back in the basement with the dog and as soon as we went to bed she started whimpering, whining, crying and barking all night long...

With slightly warmer temps and some sunshine melting the icy ground I opted to switch wheels and go with the mud tires. It was a good choice. No crashes except for everyone around me. Somebody came in way too hot on the first corner and took out Cody Kaiser who broke a spoke and then crashed into me....we both managed to keep it upright, but we smashed through some course stakes and course tape. I think I was in 35th around the first half lap...not good. At this point with a C1 race the following day I instantly decided to take it easy and just ride a smooth tempo and see how far I can move up. I saw 3 guys crash trying to bunny hop the barriers. I never went over the red, never pushed it too hard on the run, just kept it steady and rode up to 9th place by the end of the race. Another 9th, not what I wanted, but today is the big day...

Watching the Superprestige this morning and drinking coffee....another good morning. Looking forward to 5 days at home before flying out to Portland.

Jingled

Another quick one day turn around at home and the Hyundai was loaded again. Again Elicia and I were headed south, but this time only a 5 hour drive. I think if Sven Nys had to go 5 hours to a race he wouldn't do it.....and I think 5 hours is my back yard. We left home around 12:30 and arrived to Mt. Krumpit in all its glory under the lights at about 5:30pm with 2 hours until race time.

A quick trip over to registration, followed by 15 minutes of digging through my bag to find the right clothing. I managed to get one lap on the course before the pro womens race. It was icy and cold. The course was pretty sweet though with a new flyover and a crazy descent down Mt. Krumpit.

Back to the car to get a good warm up on the trainer, a quick swap of the clothes and to the start line. It was the deepest field ever at Jingle Cross. I had a solid start 5th wheel for the first 2 laps. At the top of Mt. Krumpit on lap 3 it started going downhill. Chris Jones crashed in front of me. 4 guys went by. I started trying harder then crashed on an icy gravel road. one guy goes by me. i try to bridge the gap back to Wells and I crash again going down Mt. Krumpit....flustered i have to take it easy for a few laps. I ended up passing 4 guys on the last lap to finish 9th.

I smashed my knee really good on one of the crashes. Hopefully it loosens up a little after a lap or two today. Tristan is still gluing up his tires...

Turkey

Happy Thanksgiving everybody!

I'm hanging at the in-laws getting ready for a killer turkey day dinner. This will be the second in 3 days!

After Sundays repeat win in North Carolina, Elicia and I headed back to Athens for a little vacation. Andrea had flown in to Columbus that morning and was able to hang with the crew from Athens Bicycle while E and I were racing. Monday after the double race weekend was pretty much a wash. I was smashed...and had just enough energy to head out for a ride in the near perfect temps with my Dad, A & E.

Tuesday I was feeling a little better and spent the day getting caught up on some bike maintenance while Andrea and Elicia made killer Turkey dinner #1. They cooked up a fully Vegan dinner that was tied for the best Thanksgiving feast I've ever had!!!

Back in Tucson in the year 2002 I smoked a Turkey with Mesquite from a tree in our back yard. It was amazing.

Next up....Jingle Cross! See you there.

NC GP

A last minute change of plans before driving down to North Carolina. An unexpected guest decided to join me....my favorire sister in law in the whole world! So we loaded up the car with 4 bikes(one for Andrea who is flying down to Columbus) and drove to Athens to 'train in the mountains and hang with mom and dad. We arrived late Wednesday, checked out the new Athens Bicycle Thursday morning and then found the steepest road in Athens county for a serious interval session. Friday morning we were back in the car and headed further south to Hendersonville. We arrived in time to check out the course and then back to the Red Roof Inn for some relaxin'.

The race was good. I liked the course, but didn't think it was going to turn into that much of a road race. A little wind and some longer open sections made it hard to drop people. With 1/4 lap to go I jumped into the woods first. Frattini passed me before the climb and I waited until the last 20 meters to go around him for my first UCI win! Elicia finished 17th just out of the money.

We celebrated the old fashioned way with a night at the gas station laundromat, some burgers, and some more time chillin' at the Red Roof INN.

FT. Collins - new BELGIUM!

Like I said in my last update. Belgium, It's ON!
















I had a little taste of some true cross weather and mud this past weekend in Ft. Collins, but the air was a little thinner. I did manage to finally crack the top 10 on Sunday and I'm sitting 12th in the USGP points, just 3 points away from a top 10 in the series!
















Sheboygan was represented in full force!

It's a really quick turn around before I leave tomorrow morning. So I'll leave you with a couple photos and hopefully another update from Athens OH in a few days.

I have put up a donation link below for those who want to help. This year I'll be staying with Mark Lalonde. We are renting our own guest house, renting a car, hiring a mecahnic, and trying to figure things out on our own! It's a bit more challenging than EuroCrossCamp, but its going to be pretty cool to stay at the Hof Ter Kammen a kilometer from the Koppenburg in the heart of Flanders!

Another huge thanks to Bruce Leblanc from the Flying Rhinos cycling club in MI for donating another set of frequent flyer miles to get me over to Belgium.

and so it begins

The next 2 months will be a whirlwind...and it's already started! Iceman was an amazing weekend. Thanks to everyone who sent e-mails, facebook messages, and congratulations my way.

Sunday was a long drive home from Traverse City. We made it just in time to leave our muddy clothes in a heap on the basement floor and then head over to the Hildebrands for a Packers ass whooping over the Cowboys! Monday was spent cleaning up the mess from the weekend and swapping bike parts from the Elite 9.9 back to the Top Fuel frame. Tuesday I was able to push through 2 hours of pain on the bike and then Wednesday I got in a solid cross practice and started packing for Ft. Collins. It was a brutal 16-18 hour drive in the Gear Grinder team van. We made it to DIA just in time to pick up Tristan from the airport and and head up to check out the course. More snow, mud, and cooler temps are in store for the weekend.

The rest of the season:

On the drive up I booked my tickets for my 3rd Euro CX campaign. This time I'm flying solo. No Eurocross Camp. I'm just looking for a little bit of a different experience this time around. Mark Lalonde will be joining me and hopefully Andrea and Elicia will be there also for moral support. I have reserved a house in Oudenaarde about 1km from the base of the famous Koppenburg climb in eastern Belgium! More to come on the Belgium trip...

Before that I have to race 2 times this weekend. Drive home Sunday and Monday. Unpack and repack on Tuesday. Drive to Athens OH on Wednesday. Drive to North Carolina on Friday. Race 2 times and back to Athens on Monday. Thanksgiving on Tuesday. Back to Sheboygan on Wednesday. Thanksgiving on Thursday. Jingle Cross for three races on Fri, Sat, Sun. Portalnd the next weekend for the USGP finals with an extended stay for the week and then out to Bend the following weekend for US Nationals. Fly home from Bend on Monday unpack and repack on Tuesday and fly to Belgium on Wednesday. Race the Scheldecross on Thursday in Antwerpen and then probably proceed to get my ass handed to me, because I can't see straight, for another 15 days in Euroland! I can't wait! This is what I trained for all season long!