Early Christmas!

The mother-load has arrived! Im pretty pumped about rocking the pinstripes all year...I think it makes me look skinnier! Saturday Bennet and I made the trek to town for the Shoot-out. It's definitely the toughest group ride I've ever done. The "shoot-out" part is about 40 minutes long, ending with a sprint up a pretty steep kicker...then its pretty chill for a while until Madero Canyon, which is an all out 25 minute effort up a climb...it was brutal. Then the ride seems to turn into a death march back to town. It was 4:30 ride time, about 92 miles.

Sunday was another monster day, we rode out to Kitt Peak and did it twice! (It's a 12 mile climb, average 8%, going up to 7,000 ft. elevation) Needless to say, I spent most of the day in bed yesterday, only getting up to eat large amounts of pasta and tofu!

Training in the desert

Well I made it out to Tucson for 7 weeks of warm weather to train in! Sorry it's been so long since an update, we haven't had much internet out here(I'm living about 30 miles west of Tucson, in the desert), but things are rolling now, and I'll definitely be updating this thing more often. The weather has been wonderful so far, about 75 degrees and sunny everyday! I am already rocking some pretty sweet tan lines. I've had a few solid 20ish hour weeks, and everything is going great! My roommate Bennet is a solid chef, so we've been eating well, and resting well. It's super quiet out here, which is nice, I'm doing a lot of reading and writing. Here are a few photos of where we live and train...Im doing the Shoot-Out tomorrow, so I'll let you guys know how that goes!

Tucson Pilgrimage

It's a pretty crazy and intimidating feeling to make real sacrifices to chase a dream. For those of you that haven't heard, I'm heading to Tucson in the morning to train for 2 months. I'll be in an apartment with a teammate(Bennet) about 12 miles west of town, in a secluded area right next to the Saguaro National Park. Migrating west for sunny 70 degree weather sounds like a sweet vacation, but this is strictly a business trip. Lots of hours on the bike, rest, and eating clean will be my top priorities(it will also be a great time to catch up on some reading). Tucson provides great weather, mountains, and people that are better than me to train with. Hopefully this "training camp" will take me to another level, and provide a great tan to start the season! I plan on getting in to Tucson late Wednesday evening, so look forward to some good photos and stories from the road trip!

St. Crispin's Day, August 30, 2009

I went for an easy ride today with the plan of reflecting on the past year, but all I could think about was what I want to accomplish in 2009! Its pretty hard to set really specific goals for next year because I'll be in a whole new world, with races I've never done before, but I want to talk about my main goal for 2009. (I know most people dont like to talk about their goals, but we're all family here, and I trust everyone reading this will be supportive of what I want to accomplish.)

Goal-Finish top 15 at the USPro Road Race in Greenville on August 30, 2009.

I know this is an insanely lofty goal, but I just cant operate without something big to aim for. Im sharing this because my parents, Milo's, the Birmingham cycling community, Eddy, Eric, CT, and my friends are the reason I have a chance to live my dream. I've felt such an overwhelming amount of support that I want everyone to be a part of the journey. The next 8 months will no doubt be tough, but its worth every hour on the bike and every little sacrifice to make it happen!

"We few, we happy few, we band of brothers;
For he to-day that sheds his blood with me
Shall be my brother; be he ne'er so vile,
This day shall gentle his condition;
And gentlemen in England now-a-bed
Shall think themselves accurs'd they were not here,
And hold their manhoods cheap whiles any speaks
That fought with us upon Saint Crispin's day." -Shakespeare, Henry V

Holidays

I hope everyone had a Merry Christmas...things have been great around here. We had a great Christmas, and Im settling into a big 10 day training block. Today was a beautiful 75 degree day! We had a great BBL ride, and the "Tria Train" even let me win the attack zone, proving Lenny's point that "even a blind squirrel finds a nut every once in a while." I have much to talk about in the next few days, so stay tuned! Here's a picture of me getting worked in boxing on the Wii.

you receive what you believe

I started off the 2008 season as a cat. 4 with the lofty goal of becoming a pro cyclist...I had no idea how or when or if it would ever happen, but I couldn't think about anything else! It was a LONG year to say the least, but with huge help from loads of people(I'll thank them all individually later), my dream came true! I signed a contract with Kenda Pro Cycling for '09! I'm super excited about meeting all the guys at camp in late February and having a huge year. Thats it for now, I just wanted to get this thing rolling. I promise more and better updates than my last blogging attempt. Merry Christmas!