Yea, I am still here

Well, I am still here! I have no excuses for the lack of posts except that I have been extremely lazy. Not a whole lot has happened since the last post. The last couple of mountain bike races that I was wanting to do, didn't happen due to a few unfortunate circumstances. As a result I started to rack up miles on the cross bike.

Since I began to get bored with the training already, I decided to get myself into a couple of gravel road races. The first was the Freedom Fest Bike Race for veterans day. It was a low key race but it was a lot of fun! Team High Gear was well represented. When the race began, Matt Brown and I got into an early break. It was really windy that day, and we working well together all morning. As an end result we decided to come across the finish line together of the tie for first. It was an honor to work with Matt that day, and to learn a few tricks of the trade from the master himself.Two weeks later a bunch of us went down to Tawanda to do another gravel road race. It was the final race of the Big Ring series. It was once again a very windy day. On the way down I was talking to Matt Brown, and discussing a few possible strategies for the day. At this race, it was a course that included five laps. The beginning of the lap was the hilliest section, and included the heavy head winds. The second and forth sections were a cross wind, and the third section was the tail wind.

On the first leg of the first lap people were really jumpy and jocking for position. I was trying to stay safe up at the front. When we made the first turn into a cross wind, I decided to take the front and apply a little pressure to thin out the group a bit, and to wear some of the energy off of some of the others. In this section we were not able to get an advantage riding in the group due to wind direction. By the time we got to the next turn I looked back to see that the only person with me was Jed Sampsel. With the wind at our backs I decided to try to keep the pace high still to see what happens. By the time we got to the final section I looked back again and there was a definite gap!

At that time I decided to try to turn it into a individual time trial and see if I could hold them all off, and if I could not, I knew that Matt Brown and Tim Mohn were back there in good shape, resting, and they could be ready to take over from there. As the race progressed the gap continued to grow, and I was lucky enough to go solo off of the front. When I crossed the finish line I felt like I got in some good work that day, and the Garmin showed that the average on that day was 19.8mph. When it was all said and done Emporia went 1-2-3, with Matt Brown taking second and Tim Mohn taking third.

The people down in the Witchita area are REALLY nice, and they put on a great race. All of us from Emporia had a great time, and felt like they all went out of there way to take care of us. The hospitality was greatly apperciated. We are looking forward to going down there again next year to participate again. If you are into gravel, keep your eyes open for this series, you will not be disappointed.

Well that catches you all up for now. I want to thank Matt down at High Gear, and all of the sponsors for such an awesome opportunity this past year! I am now preparing for the new season. I am really excited for 2011. Their are some awesome things that are in the making for the up coming year, and as things evolve I will keep you all posted.

The new race bike has arrived, and has been fitted and adjusted, and all I have to say is, WOW I am really looking forward to riding this thing next summer! It is an AWESOME machine that High Gear has hooked me up with this coming season. It is a Trek, Gary Fisher Collection, HiFi Pro, and it is loaded! If you are looking for a good bike, go down to High Gear and have Matt hook you up with a HiFi. They are the best bike that I have ever ridden. you will not be disappointed.

I will leave you with a few little nuggets of information. Yes, I will be joining the 2011 High Gear Cyclery, Inc. / Trek Midwest Regional Team this coming year. This year we will also be working in conjunction with World Bicycle Relief, Living Water, and Numana to raise awareness for these great non-profit organizations. More than a billion people in the world live on less than a dollar a day and I would not call it living….more like suffering. Some 26,500 children die everyday because of the lack of basic needs. World Bicycle Relief, Living Water, and Numana are working in many third world countries trying to provide a better life for those in need. We are going to be representing them in hopes of raising awareness.

Well, that is all that I am going to give you for now. If you want more information, and to keep up with the winter training tune back in. I promiss that I will update regularly! Until then.

Peace Out!