Eat, Sleep, Ride, Repeat

Throw a bunch of hours of schoolwork into that mix, but that's been pretty much the routine around here these days. It's nice.

My load from the Oro Valley Farmer's Market yesterday. It's cool
to chat with the man who raised your dinner.

I've been in Tucson for a week. It was especially hard to leave home this time. It always is, but I had only been home in Idaho for 6 weeks since returning home from my last bike racing adventure before I had to leave again. I had just started to feel settled in, and although I got a chance to ski some powder and a lot of groomed xc track it was time to move on to a location where I could ride a bike that moved (well, at least one that didn't require 4 inch tires and a balaclava.)

I miss my dog the most. I wish dogs could talk on the phone. Then maybe I could explain to her that I tried for weeks to find a pet-friendly rental in Tucson to no avail...and that Idaho is a way cooler place than Arizona for dogs. To many sharp things growing here...and no dog door.

Although I always miss the rhythms of home, new ones are emerging here. My newest teammate Judy Freeman arrived a few days after me and it's been awesome to have a like-minded teammate to keep me company. Plus, she is RAD. Great, great gal to have around. It's looking to be another stellar year for the Kenda Team. Andy is just down the road cooking up a storm for the people at The Cycling House and Colin is supposed to show up at the end of the week. The annual gear drop has begun, as a steady steam of big boxes started to arrive this week. More on that later, as we have both returning and new sponsors hooking us up with some fantastic stuff that deserve some major props.

My rides have been going really well so far. I think cross season set me up well for my 2010 mtb season. It all just seems to be working out. Take today for instance: I have a rest day, a big paper due and have to pick Nate up at the airport. I awoke to the sound of POURING rain. See....perfect. I suppose today will have to be Eat, Sleep, Study, Repeat. Of course, another trip to Trader Joe's wouldn't hurt either.

Old Photoz

Thought I'd take some photos from the archives for kicks. The excitement surrounding the announcement that the cross world championships will be in Kentucky in 2013 got me thinking back to cross season. Holy moly, did I have a GREAT fall. Even though I won't go back for 3 months straight in 2010, I certainly will go back to the east coast again to race. These pictures remind me of why...plus my folks are just the most awesome supporters ever. They never complained about me tracking mud everywhere, they fed me all that I wanted and they dog sat on the weekends. Tres cool.

This is what my folks' backyard looked like every Monday morning. Mud, mud and more mud to clean. Hours and hours of taking apart bikes, scrubbing down equip, unpacking to repack. Ahhhh, the life of a bike racer.

Fall colors through Bradley Palmer State Park. Gorgeous. I put a lot of training time in here.

The whole fam damily on Crane's Beach.

My number plate at this year's Iceman. Cool while it lasted I guess...

Driving back home to Idaho. Dog as my co-pilot.

Spud Singletrack

Cool headline on singletrack.com today "License to Ride Proposed for Idaho."

I would certainly pay extra for a license plate that looked like this:

I think I would actually pay double for something other than our current "famous potatoes" slogan. Plus, the proceeds would go to trail building across the state. Where do I send my check?