So... I think its time to start blogging again after a year long break. 2011 was a very good year for me, I finished 8th in the National Ultra Endurance Series, with an 8th at SM100, 6th at Fool's Gold, top 20 at the Breck 100, Wilderness 101 and Mohican 100. Didn't do much XC racing, but that will change soon.
2012 is right around the corner, a new season of racing bikes coming up. Lots of cool things are happening... I'm still trying to get things finalized with team/sponsors for this year but so far, I'll be on Schwalbe tires, and Stan's NoTubes and Magura have agreed to continue sponsoring me for 2012, thanks guys! Also I have a coach for the first time ever, Sue Haywood will be sharing her great MTB racing knowledge and experience with me, and with her help I will transform into a total beast! (I hope) Anyway its very prestigious and exciting to be working with her. And... I finally got a power meter and a Garmin! Powertap SL+ and Garmin 800 to be exact. Very cool.
The NUE Series is a priority again, but I want to focus more on XC races and will try to compete in as many of the US Cup East and TripleCrown races as possible. NUE results aren't good enough for USA Cycling so I guess I'll have to do their races if I want that Pro license! Do I really want it though? My chance of winning anything will basically vanish lol. We'll see.
So far this winter has been so mild, its been great! I've been getting lots of riding time, and not having to spend much time on the infernal rollers. On a side note, finally am able to ride the things for 2 hours without wanting to kill myself... thank you audio books! Anyway, trying to pile up the road miles and do some good strength training in preparation for next year. 118 miles a few days ago on the flat/rolling roads of eastern Maryland, 45 degrees and sunny. Can't really ask for better weather than that the day after Christmas.
Local Blacksburg roadie Scotland Leman has organized and sponsored a bunch of TruGold roller racing events throughout the winter, with 4 identical TruTrainer setups and a nifty computer interface so we can watch him kick our asses on a big projection screen! Its good fun though and quite a workout. There has been some carnage so far, some from myself and others but mostly from another VT Cycling roadie who shall remain nameless (JAber!). It can be tough not flying off those things when going as hard as you can at 40 mph, but as people get more practice the incidents seem to be diminishing.
Now that my previous employer has laid me off, I have lots of free time on my hands, so will probably be going out for another 100+ miles tomorrow. This gives me a kick in the pants to find a real engineering career and not waste my time at a dead end job making Vapor Genies (no offense other guys). If anyone has a good lead on a job for me, let me know! Or, perhaps a master's degree is in my future.
That's all for now, thanks for reading
