Time off?

 I've had a lot of time off the bike the last couple weeks, but it's just left me spending more time in front of one of these. 

 Beth in the surfwagon!  Yesterday was a high quality Sunday - trail run and surf with beth , followed by nap and ended with small group study with friends. 

I don't know how to surf though... couldn't even catch the 2-3 footers.  Still fun!

Off season...

It's been kind of tough taking a break from riding!  I'm not dying to ride, but my energy and moods go through a pretty good funk when I stop riding for a couple weeks.  I'm finally coming around and feeling good again, but it's amazing how much rest the body wants after a season of racing.  Once my body starts to rest, it wants more and I'm more tired and hungry then weeks when I'm training. 

Anyway, it's all good and I have 2 weeks before the time change to really enjoy a few good sunset rides and beach hikes.  I'm lucky to have some pretty cool single track within a few minutes ride of home and I plan to start taking better advantage of that during the off season. 

Let the mountains sing together for joy (ps98:8) - see you on the trails!

Thank you!

Today I just have to say thank you!  It's been a great year for me.  Busy, but great.  First and foremost thank you to the Lord Jesus for his grace, my health, family, friends, and opportunities.  Athletes tend to be hard on themselves and end up taking their basic health for granted.  I'm truly blessed and need to do a better job reminding myself of that.

Thank you to my amazing wife Beth for your love and support behind everything I do.  I don't think Beth has ever, not even once, discouraged one of my bike racing plans once I had my mind set.  And I have a lot of bike racing plans!  Thank you to my awesome family and friends for all of your encouragement.  And thank you to Trek, Jax Bicycle Center, Cytosport, Clif Bar, and Schwalbe for your support. 

California State Championships

1hr 45min at a 185 heart rate and 99.9 degrees was a good effort to end the year!  Saturday was a really fun 7 minute Super D and I was able to take the win by just a few seconds over Ben Bostrom.  On Sunday it was Ben who held me off by a few seconds... 

I welcomed the heat going into the day, hoping it to use it to my advantage.  When it's 100 degrees and the course is completely exposed to the sun, a little pacing, and extra cooling can go a long ways.  Ben and Sid opened a gap on the main climb of the first lap and I already wasn't feeling that great due to the heat, but knew I just had to rely on my own pacing and be patient.  Beth was awesome in the feedzone as always and kept me cool and hydrated.  The plan seemed to be working as I caught Sid and Ben going into the second lap.  Then they opened a gap again on the main climb.  Then I came back up to Sid again going into the third and final lap.  But this time Ben held his gap and opened it up even more on the climb.  There wasn't much chance of me catching him in the last 15 minutes of racing after he had been stronger all day, but I kept my head down and effort up.  In the end I brought him back into sight and the gap to 7 seconds, but that was everything I had!  It was straight to the snow cone stand and into the pool for me!  I didn't get the win but it was a great effort and fun weekend with friends to end the season. 

I'm so grateful for the year that Beth and I have had.  Last night I realized it was 15 years ago that I did my first mountain bike race, I've been racing for half of my life!!  The love won't die!

Fall is Here!

 Fall is here!  Finally SoCal will start turning a little more beautiful again.  This afternoon I'm off to pre-ride the xc course and race the super d for my last race of the year - the CA State Championships.  Seasons are changing! 

I though my breakfast today was just awesome so I took a picture, sometimes i'm a dork!