Update: Good News/Bad News

Okay, so I have been out on the bike a few times since my rib crackin' good time on Monday. Thanks to everyone that has called and written their well wishes. Being the eternal optimist, I am convinced that there is always something good that can come from anything bad that happens. So the bad news first:

Because of my recent rib injury, I have suspended my training...to be a Cage Fighter. Yes, it's true. I have been in a double top secret program to be a cage fighter. I figured with the right training I had a chance at the World Title. I have decided that that goal is no longer possible. So don't go running out to REX-KWON-DO DoJo to catch a glimpse of my secret training regime, because I have scrapped that plan. I would like to thank my coach Rex and my sparring partner, Kip. You guys are the best. Yup, I've hung up the gloves. (well not actually, cause in cage fighting, there are no gloves. At least I think. Truth be told, I never really set foot in a ring.) So now the good news:
Training on the bike has resumed after only missing two days. Incredibly, my ribs feel the best when I'm on the bike. Maybe it's the endorphines, I don't know, but all is well. Sleeping is still a struggle, but hey...you can sleep when you're dead, right? I think the Mountain Bike will have to wait a week or two for now, but I am just itching to get back out there and ride the trails again.

So now that I am freeing up some of my time by suspending my Cage Fighting career, I have some free time.....hmmmmm....I wonder what other possibilities are out there to experience...
Stay Tuned....I have some ideas...
Speaking of free time, I just posted my race schedule for the season (See right sidebar). If you have some free time, come on out and hand me a waterbottle. (It's a lot like watching the grass grow, or paint dry, but hey, it's better than doing the dishes.)

Muddy Buddy

When I worked at Salomon, we went through this major shift from marketing products to marketing the brand. We noticed that our customers identified with our products primarily through emotion and sensation. Afterall, raging down a hill at 65MPH on a pair of skis balanced precipitously on the razors edge of control is a bit more emotional and sensational than say...I don't know....doing the dishes. Now, doing the dishes, while emotionally scarring, and scalding your hands can be sensational, the act of washing dished does not illicit the same response as skiing, snowboarding, adventure racing, fruit booting, and all the other sports Salomon designs products for. So we labeled this emotion and marketed it as an "Epic Moment". That is when the body, the mind, and most importantly, the equipment became synergistic. Where you almost become a third person observer, or and out of body experience of sorts. I know, it is a little far fetched, but if you have ever experienced an "Epic Moment" you know what I am talking about. So the point of this little diatribe is this...Yesterday I had an "Epic Moment". I got to finally ride my new Mountain Bike on my favorite trail , Tamarancho, here in Marin. (By the way, there is very little "Legal" singletrack here in Marin, and as a professional, I do not condone riding closed or illegal trails)

It's Good to be back on the Mountain Bike. I have not clipped into a mountain bike since November 1, 2005. Not that I didn't feel like it or that training has prevented me from doing so. Nope, it's because I didn't have one. Can you believe that? A pro mountain biker without a mountain bike???? Well my story goes like this. Originally my new frame was to arrive in mid-November, so I sold my old bike to a local racer. I was sad to see the bike go. I had many fond memories and successes on the bike. Most notably my fifth at Masters Worlds. But it was staying local and in good hands. (Besides, I had lots of year end racing and medical bills to pay). So mid-November, no frame... Finally, in the midst of rebuilding the shop, my frame arrived. I had the time this past weekend to build it up.

Monday I went out for a workout on my new bike. The sun was just coming up. There was a bite in the air from the cold temps. Not a cloud in the sky and you could see forever. It was like a dream. Everything was working perfectly, including the body. With some great tunes on the I-Pod, I was in heaven. Pure mental bliss. I was just floating on the imaginary tightrope through the trees. Two laps with nearly perfect conditions for this time of year. A few patches of mud here and there and some slick sections, but nothing like I have raced in or ridden in a thousand times before. I was whole again.

On my last interval, my front wheel washed out on a wooden bridge. I flew off the bike into a ravine. I landed seven feet down on a log, on my ribcage. I got the wind knocked out of me and I either bruised or cracked some ribs. Having broken many ribs before in my past life as a ski racer, I know the drill. It's like a broken toe...there's not much you can do...just grin and bear it.

The GOOD news is, The bike is fine, and the rider will live to fight another day...just not today. I resume my training tomorrow...it is just going to hurt a bit more than usual.

Having the past two days off the bike has given me some time to work on the route details for MS Global. I have been working on Google Earth which is amazing. You can cruise around anywhere in the world, zoom in, zoom out, pan the view down to ground level, spin, dip and dosie-doe. It is a serious TIME SUCK. I have managed to mark all of the major towns and major climbs of our route this year.

Classic Victory! Bravo D (Again)

I will never get tired of congratulating you Daron! It is great to see your years of hard work culminating in DOMINATING the world of Ski Racing!

WENGEN, SUI: MORE CLASSIC RAHLVES: AMERICAN WINS LAUBERHORN DH

Are you ridin'? Or are you hidin'?

For the better part of five years now, I have had the privilege of riding with some of my best friends. Every morning, rain or shine, before the sun rises often times, at least one of these guys has accompanied me on training rides. I ride because of them. Without them, I would have flaked on myself a lot of those cold, rainy, windy mornings. I went because they were going. We rode regardless and they were some of the greatest moments in my life.
Each one of their strengths challenged me in different ways. They were my self proclaimed punching bags. Every morning I would tell them my workout, and for the next 30 minutes or so it would take to warm up, they would always lag behind me, conspiring on who was going to do what to me and when. In fact, one day I showed up for a climbing workout and Seth arrived with two 20 pound bags of kitty litter and some backpacks. He wanted Josh and I to know what it was like for a larger, Sprinter like rider like himself to ride in the hills with two spindly little climbers like us. So we gladly wore the backpacks while he attacked us on every steep climb. My legs still hurt...three years later. But I would not have missed it for the world.
The pinnacle of our training season each year was a retreat to my family cabin nestled in the Central Sierras on the West side of Sonora Pass. We would ride the 88 mile round trip to the top of Sonora Pass climbing arguably one of the hardest, steepest roads in the country with sustained one mile stretches of 26% grade in two places on the last nine miles to the top.
All the while we knew that these great times on the bike together would not last, which made the times that much sweeter. And so it is that those times have passed, happily.
Seth and his wife, Heather brought a beautiful girl, Eleanor into this world a couple of months ago. Just mere moments ago, I got word that Josh and Nicole gave birth to healthy twin boys, Baby "A" and Baby "1". As they have yet to choose names, Seth and I are lobbying to have them named after us.
Seth and Josh, you guys mean the world to me. I am riding because of you. I would not have accomplished the things I have on the bike if it were not for your support. There is not a kilometer that passes that I don't miss you. I miss the morning coffee sessions, and the city limit sprints. I will miss looking over my shoulder on Sonora Pass just to make sure that you are hurting as much as I am. If I find myself standing on the box one more time this season, just know, that it would not be...without you. That being said, I could not be happier for you guys. Thank you for the gift you have given me, and congratulations on your new families. I can't wait to watch them grow up. I dedicate my season to your lovely children.
Enjoy the ride!

One Final Look

Downtown San Anselmo 12.31.05 7:15am

1 block "Downstream" from my Bike Shop

Shop Update: We're OPEN (Sort of)

After 6 days of non-stop cleaning with endless help from everyone (Thank you again), the shop opened for business yesterday. It is a bit rough without our point of sale system and credit card machine, but we managed to sell a mountain bike yesterday. The shop is getting a new set of walls today as the water is all dried up and we have been treating the wood with bleach to kill bacteria. The big blue thing in the middle of the picture is an industrial grade room dehumidifier. In two days, the thing has drawn almost a full size trash can of water out of the air. Working in the shop is like stepping into a wind tunnel. Between the three dehumidifiers and the six high output blowers, it is loud, windy and DRY. We have a long way to go till things are normal...

Speaking of "Normal"...

I am considering bleaching my hair as the rest of me and my clothes are covered in bleach. When I left last night, I looked at my Levi's and realized that I looked like something out of a bad Glam Rock Video. The jeans were nearly white in front from the bleach with holes starting to develop, I had a wicked cool black Def Leppard tee shirt on and long, flowing, spiked blond hair and a headband on. Eighty-two was a good year. As a group, if we all start pulling out our coveted 80's outfits and started rockin' them on a regular basis, we could re-ignite a trend that died WAY too early. What do you say???? We can do it...

I think I inhaled too much bleach last night...never mind. Besides, the leopard print just doesn't look good on a bike.

Enjoy the ride.

Enough already!!!!

The Storm's Most Powerful Images



So...I have spent the better part of three days now shoveling mud, washing bike parts and ripping out water soaked walls. The shop is a small disaster, but in a surreal way, it is starting to look good...maybe even better than before. I figured, hey, may as well make changes now while we have the place all ripped apart, so we are. And, I have always wanted to reorganize the way we store parts and such. So there is a silver lining to this whole muddy mess....I just wish it was not so ...muddy. Mud is EVERYWHERE! You would not believe how turbulent the waters were. It must have been to do this kind of damage. It is in everything we had below four feet. Every nook and cranny of every part. Argh...I close my eyes and all I see right now is mud.

So, I missed two days of training because of this fiasco. (No big deal...life is more important than riding ANY day.) It is important though that I stay on track, afterall, I have come so far already. I took the early morning off and rode in the hills for four hours. As luck would have it, it POURED on me the ENTIRE time.

Shhhhh....can you hear that? I swear I have frogs growing in my shoes. I think I saw an alligator today sitting on the side of the road laughing at what a fool would ride his bike on such a day. I may have been delirious, but it was such a privilege to be out on my bike on a day all to myself. The road was closed due to numerous mudslides, and the rain turned everyone away. So I had the entire Alpine Dam road to myself. I felt kind of lawless in a way. I could ride on either side of the road with no consequence (I did find myself habitually riding on the right shoulder though). I just need it to stop raining and all would be great. It has rained every day since December 17th at 9:00 am. I remember because I forgot my rainjacket as I was rushing to meet somebody for a ride (JP).

I am so thankful and grateful to everyone that has rallied to help whether it was coming down to the shop, rolling up their sleeves and getting really dirty, or those that brought by delicious snacks and tasty beverages, and all of the overwhelming support from friends and family all over the place just checking in and talking me down out of my tree. It gives me great hope to see so many people friends and strangers alike come together in a time of need. The world is not as evil as some make it out to be. Thank you all.



One final thought, I cannot begin to describe how heart wrenching it is to see business owners all around us, losing everything they have. It puts a great big reality check on the new year for me. Be thankful for today and live it like it is your last, for tomorrow it may all change.

more pictures here. (Thanks Deirdre @ THF) and here