Show me the power and mud! OVCX opener report.

Well, the Drt racing crew showed up in a big way this past weekend for the "official" kickoff of cross racing season in the subs of Cinci for the King's Cx OVCX opener. We had a nice team showing during the 2 days of racing that showed both sun, rain, mud, heat, humidity and lots of racers.  I was super stoked to see the large numbers of 3/4 women racing this year as they had over 20 gals line up to duke it out each day. I was also a little bummed that more of us elite women didn't show, as we didn't even break the double digits. I'm sure that will change really soon though with the way 3/4's are getting into the sport. 

We headed down from Northern Indiana on late Friday with the RV and woke up to a chilly Saturday morning, but beautiful conditions and plenty of time to scope out the coarse. Josh Johnson and I were there first from the team to arrive and would later be joined by Zach, Andy and Don. After getting a good look at the layout, we got prepped for the days events. 

Josh had the first race in the Cat3 men and had a great showing with 2nd place (which he would repeat on day 2). This was a sweet job considering he was a cat4 last year and only had

 about 4 cross races under his belt.

 (Pic: Josh in the lead group hitting the center of the barrier)

Don and I would take the line next. I really was excited about the layout since I felt it was a good mix of some tech and long power sections. It had a little too much running for me, but I knew I would make it through it. Running is something I am unable to do with the bum ankle so I am a little anxious with more running in the laps. It turns out that the running really wasn't a problem. I took off from the line into the humungo first straight and felt like the legs were firing great! I dipped in 2nd wheel behind Olivia Jaras and drafted a minute to catch my breath before taking the lead. I had  the lead for a while until I found myself eating the ground on the barriers. I got a little fancy and tried to step off at the last minute and my front wheel hit the barrier sending me pile driving into the ground face first at full body speed. Ouch! I'm still feeling it. After getting back up in dead last, I had a bent lever and couldn't shift. So I was forced to do some climbing in a massive gear until I got to the pit for a bike exchange. After the exchange, I had made my way up to 4th and after getting my A bike back I finally passed a tough Pam Loebig and moved into 3rd.  I then set my sights on 2nd place that was held down by last year's series winner, Amanda Mckay. It took some effort to get up to her, but I drilled it on the hills and finally did it. I played it safe and drafted a little off her on the bell lap until the very last straight. I threw down what power I had left and had a fair gap allowing me to not have to work too hard in the last meters. I finished 2nd, but I had to work the whole race to get it. I was pretty happy with being able to fight my way back after a wreck and 2 pits. On a side note, Don decided to eat the barrier also and played a similar race as myself and was able to fight back for 3rd!

Andy and Zach took the line next in the pro men field and they both had a good first day showing, placing 6th and 9th respectively. The pro men for ovcx are looking super tough this year and there should be some epic battles for the overall series points chase. 

(Pic: Andy Messer rounding the pit area in the 1/2/3 race . It was a fast, dry day.)

After another night in the RV at the venue, and a showing of Office Space, day 2 of racing was upon us quickly. Being a team of MTBers, we were hoping the rain predictions would stick and that happened just in time for the races to start. A steady rain began and I was excited to get to try my new Rhinos. Josh's race was probably the slickest of the day with the rain being constant, but by the time I started it was dying down and forming walls of humidity. It was sticky and I was regretting putting on the embro earlier when it seemed "cold." I  didn't feel that great in my warm up, but hoped the legs would wake up once the racing started. It was fast pace from the gun, and with some stiffer competition and ovcx points on the line, I wanted to do the best I could. It was pretty bunched up at first and slowly the obstacles and mud started spreading us out. AnnaJean (Nikki) got into the lead early and I stayed with her for a little while, but she slowly gained on me in the power areas and I settled into 2nd.  I had a couple more hard surges to try and get back to her, but I was unable to bridge it and was feeling the hurt from my hard chasing the day before. It really just comes down to power to weight ratio at this point with her and I. So 2nd place it was, and I was okay with this considering there was some good gals out there to race with. I was also very happy to have no wrecks or mechanical in this race of muddiness! It was super fun to race cx in the mud again and it reminded me of why I love it so much. Plus, the Rhinos were amazing!

Drt continued to have good team results on the weekend with Don G placing 2nd in M 1/2/3, Andy finishing 4th, and Zach E. coming in at a strong 13th. Not a bad showing for the team before we head to the Wisconsin Usgp this weekend. Thanks Kings Cx for a great venue and all the work to put on a good time!

USGP is already shaping up to be a huge field for the pro women and looks like all the paid gals will line up. I look forward to see how this full-time anesthesia cross racer can fair against the full-time pros!

Do mechanicals come in three's?

In anesthesia and in medicine, most things happen in 3's. Like 3 people die, 3 difficult cases in a week, 3 call-ins in the middle of the night, stuff like that. I'm hoping that rule doesn't hold true in cycling. In the last 2 races I have had 2 mechanicals to my bikes that have resulted in me either coming in dead last or losing the race. I think 2 is enough since cross season starts in official swing this upcoming weekend. Here's the low down. 

(pic: Dino Indy start, first race on a 29er)

Dino Indy was the first breakdown. It all started great with me leading the elite women for about 3/4 of the first of 3 laps.

The track was dry and I was trying out the new niner and was having a fun time on it. I felt like I was in slow-mo in the corners compared to Terry, but maybe it was just the way the 29 feels. I don't think I was actually that much slower. Coming into the field section I was passed by AnnaJean, which I expected and faded a little before deciding to start racing again. About that time,  I noticed that my left crankarm/ cleat was wobbling all over the place and I thought it was just my shoe cleat coming lose. After babying this along for a whole lap, I found out what it really was because after an excel out of a corner the whole left crank came out of the bb and fell off.  Thus, ending my racing day. I was happy that I didn't kill myself, but I was super bummed since AnnaJean only had a 10 second lead on me and I still felt like I had some fuel left to burn. I walked back to the car about 2 miles, fixed the bike and decided I might as well do the last lap for fun. By that time it was starting to rain and I cruised along kinda happy I didn't have to risk my life in the slime trying to get a win. Unfortunately, this put me in dead last, leaving me with no payout. This was made worse by the fact that I got a speeding ticket heading out of Indy later that day. Oh well, some days just don't pay.

I ended the Dino series overall in 2nd place. Officially 3rd, but I omit trail work bonus points in my book since I feel it is not indicative of race finishes. I think trail work should be rewarded, but doing it in a race series at the expert level is not really the place. I feel race points are race

 points, not points on how helpful you are in life. It would be like letting the bears add a few points to the score board because they helped mow the field that morning before the game. 

Anyway, this officially closed the mtb season except for Iceman, and I am looking forward to that race a lot.

After the dino race, I took off (very fast) with my 

parents to the Tour of Missouri. We had a great time and it was a very cool experience. I am thankful that my parents have embraced cycling so much and enjoy watching it even if I'm not the one racing. I can't stress enough how anyone who rides a bike should go watch this event, it was a unique thing to see for sure.   

( pic: Garmin compound, Busch Stadium lot)

Mechanical number two happened in the first cross race of the year. Josh Johnson, Anne Young and I headed up to a Kisscross race in Grand Rapids MI to get our feet wet for the season. This was a smaller race and would serve as a low- key practice race for me. Practice races are for getting the kinks out and I had no kinks until the last stretch of the last lap when I rolled my rear tubie. I was leading by a sizable margin at the time and by the time I ran for a bit and then realized I had to far to run to finish, I deflated the rear tire to about 10psi to get the tubie back on the rim, got passed by the girl I was beating, then barely made it across the line ahead of the 3rd place girl. This was no fun to lose the race due to another mechanical, but I would so rather it happen in this race as opposed to a pro usgp race. That's why I do practice races. The good things from this race were: I sat in 4th overall ahead of a bunch of guys until my tire rolled, I held the effort no problem and still had more left, barriers were flawless, Anne kicked butt in her second cross race

 ever, and Josh brought home the win in the B race! 

I'm sure the bad luck is behind now, and I will get on with it. Mechanicals happen, I just hope they don't come in 3's. Cross is full on now, with 1 or 2 races every weekend until December and wncxw's every wed at the bike depot. Fun, fun...Hup, hup is what I have been waiting for since last year! (above pic: Josh and I 1st and 2nd in the first cross of the year. Cannonsberg ski area. Drt domination! )

The Cross Builds

Well, here it is- The cross builds. I have to say, that the S- works is a bas a**. I had a hard time deciding  to get a carbon cross bike, but I'm happy I made the move. It is so sweet and rides so stiff that I want to go ride it all the time! Its just stupid light and feathery! The bike not only looks fast, it is a pure rocket. All I have to do is provide the firepower. I think the biggest difference, as far as ride goes from the B bike, was the way it excelled out of corners and I felt it was very stable in power transfer on the first couple strokes after remounting. As it stands it weighs in at 16.6 ibs. I will drop a few more grams soon by a few little touch ups. Here are the vital stats:

Frame- 2010 Sworks tricross 52cm

Fork- Sworks 

Wheels- Easton EC90 aero tubular with Challenge Grifo 32

Shifters- Dura ace 7900

Rear Der- 2008 dura-ace

Front der- 2008 ultegra (due to upgrade)

Cables- nokon

Cranks- Fsa K-force 36/46 fsa rings

Pedals- Crank Brothers 4ti eggbeaters

Chain- ultegra

Cassseste- ultegra

Brakes- TRP Euro mag with Swiss-stop yellow

BB- ceramic 

Stem- 3t

Bars- FSA compact short and shallow 40cm

Post- Thomson elite masterpiece

Saddle- Specialized Ruby 155cm

I love these wheels! I built this with a double 36/46t, but I think I may drop the double and go single. Haven't decided yet, but I will see how I feel after a couple races before deciding. 

View from the cockpit. Fizik tape is the only way to go. Trying 3T for the first time. It was plastered all over Cervelo bikes, so I think it will be good for me. 

A and B together. My B bike was a bike I had bought for my sister 2 years ago. She didn't like the style, so I inherited it back, and good thing because it worked out to not have to buy 2 bikes giving me the oppurtunity to pimp out the A bikes as much as I could. I will mostly ride the B bike to work, during skills practice days, and I'm using it now as my road bike too. It is also great to warm up on during muddy races and on the trainer, not to mention, it will be my pit bike. Although it has lower componants than the A bike, it has turned out to be a pretty nice ride in itself. Upgrades to it this year were the Dura- ace levers, Thomson elite post, TRP euro-x brakes, and specialized Ruby saddle. Barry at Summit City bikes fit this bike to match the A bike perfectly, so both bikes flow with ease. B bike's name is Putty. That's a Seinfeld throw in, and this bike is pretty much my David Putty: it is always a good standby, mechanically sound, 

can do a little of everything but doesn't have much bling. 

I'm running sweet Dugast Rhinos for the mud with Chris King Classic cross hubs and Sun rims. They look so tidy all clean and new, but I can't wait to see how well they track in the mud. Zach Edwards (pro cross mechanic) at Revolution Bike and Bean in B-town built and glued these sweet babies up. I can't believe how supple they feel! Next year I will add a file tread set of wheels to the quiver. Maybe by my forties I will have all the wheels/ tires I want.

 Chris King is THE king of hubs (especially rear) in my book. I am thankful to now own a pair for cyclocross.

That's it. I'm stoked and very thankful for all the help I have had to get these bikes going. It takes a lot of planning and dreaming to get 2 bikes to fit together. Tim and Terry at Summit City did a great job with the bike builds and now it is time to put them to the test. I'm heading up to Grand Rapids MI on Saturday for the first race of the year! Its a small practice Kiss cross race and will be a good starter ride on the new rides! I can't believe cross is here already, it just seems like yesterday that I was throwing my arms in the air for my B National Championship Win in KC. Come to think of it, I liked throwing the W, I think I will do it again!

Pity for Non-Cross Racers

I really do feel a little bit sorry for those of you who don't race cyclocross. Not only because it is the best form of cycling I know, but because everyone is crazy about it right now. You would be hard pressed to view any form of cycling material and not find some cross mention that throws it in your face. Every magazine, e'zine, blog, tweet, and cracker jack box has some cross crack right now. Everyone is getting ready for it like old people stocking their pantries before a blizzard. That would make me feel a little left out if I were not a cross racer.

  In my 21 years as a bike racer I have never seen anything like the buzz, passion and explosion of cyclocross. Sure mountain biking had a pre-Lance build, and BMXers are a dedicated and unique bunch (and a close 2nd to cross in my fav book), but cross is taking the cake. Look at the growth people! Is there really a good excuse to not do it? Topping the list is the "I don't have money to buy a cross bike," excuse. This could be pretty valid I guess in these times. But it is cross. No fancy top of the line crap is needed unless you want to big pimp it as a cat 1 or 2. A good old mtb will do just fine, or take an old roadie sitting around and do a little home shop work. Plus,  you could nab a fair cross bike at any shop for a grand. Sell some old parts on ebay and you are half way there! Following next is the line, "I'm kinda tired of racing." What? Really? This isn't road racing... it is actually a fun environment people. The atmosphere is so laid back at times, you would think you are at a tailgate for a college football game (but everybody is a cyclist). The races are short and you don't need tons of training right now as long as you are still moving around  a little bit during the week you are good to go. Besides, are we ever not racing? Everyone knows you may be doing a local fall touring ride trying to best your time from last year; might as well add 2 or 3 cross races in there. Lastly, the "I don't like the cold," excuse is a favorite of some. Are you kidding me? You're a biker, you can handle whatever is thrown your way. It's not baseball. There are no game delays in cycling. Rub down with some Belgium knee warmers or take a warm shot of whiskey (which may help mentally) and go play in the frozen mud. Suck it up! It is fun to brave the elements in a skin suit! 

Seriously, cyclocross really is a ton of fun and I wish I could get every cyclist to try just one race. I know it isn't for everyone,  so maybe they should come out and cheer us on instead.  My point is that something must be great about it because cross talk is all over the place, and I'm sorry if you don't get into it since it is everywhere. 

Personally, I have started my cross prep full time. I have had about 3 weeks of cross specific practices and rides in. This ranges from race specific rides to switching to my cx bike for my daily commute to work. I also have taken the cx bike on the mtb trails for some technical handling and ride the cx bike for my road training rides. The geometry is different from the specialized sl, so I want my body to be totally in tune with the cx geometry. I have also bumped up my core routine, hitting the trainer 2 days a week and mixing in some small core work everyday otherwise. Darrell and I have started kickboxing which is very helpful for glute and hip flexor motion specific to cross. We are also doing some major jump rope, simple but effective in getting over the barriers and running up hills! It is always different from going from a static position on the bike to having to dance and run around with your

bike while not falling on yourface. It takes practice and core strength and is a major challenge at the beginning of the season and will leave you wandering how you could ever make it through a 45-60 minute race! It's a lot of work, but the payoff is so much fun and I hope some of the little changes and attention to the details pays off in a big way for me this year! After my last mtb race in Indy Sunday (aside from Iceman) I will be in full cross mindset and look forward to hitting a small practice KissCross race in Michigan next weekend.

Hup! Hup!

Now go get your cross on!

Dino Win, Coffee, and finally 'cross!

I finally added a Dino race win to my tally this year. I had mixed feelings on this since I was super happy for a win, but bagged it with a smaller field to compete against.  Regardless, I am taking it with a smile since it was the venue I felt I had a chance to really do well at this year. France park is on my favorite list for racing in Indiana. It wouldn't be a place I would go visit to get some epic riding in, but the venue for racing is super fun. It is great for taking the RV and it has a rock quarry to laze around in all weekend. That last part is super important since the race is usually very hot and this year was no exception. My sister and I had a great weekend camping and swimming before the race even started. I had a "fair" racing day and drilled it the first lap. After getting my lead time from Beth after that, I decided to back down off the pace. The worse part about France is the "must run" section and by the 2nd lap this was a "must walk" section for me. My gimpy foot was not so happy with me and this race reminded me that I still need surgery on my foot again. Aside from that, I pedaled on and finished over 9 minutes ahead of 2nd place. I felt like my helmet was melting by the end, it was a really caliente! It didn't take me long to find the bathing suit and head to the quarry! Kudos to all the other gals racing that day, it was a tough race with the heat. It was a nice weekend and I was once again thankful to be close to home. 

In other racing news since my last post, I did the local Downtown crit. This was also a super hot day and since road crits are used as training aids for me for cross, I decided to do 2 races. It was fun to have family and friends around and I accomplished what I wanted for the weekend: ride as hard as I could, basically doing a personal TT and race in a pack (men 3/4) at higher speed to get used to riding bar to bar. I finished 5th or 6th in the open women class and was pleased with that. It is hard to explain racing to some people, that some races are not meant to be won, some are just stepping stones. This was a very small stepping stone for me to climb some mountains (and hopefully podiums) later in the year. It is great to do well at local races, but these are hardly my goal events for the year as I race on a national level. 

 

In other Indiana racing news, there was a huge road event in Marion last weekend, as a NRC event came to town. It killed me to not race this, but I was in the middle of a taper for cross season, and technically, I really don't even race road. However, I did go for crowd support and enjoyed watching the event. I was a little floored that their wasn't more representation from local road teams for such a well put on race. However, my riding partner, Anne Young (Hammer Head) had a great placing with 4th in the 3/4 race and local Matt Light (Alderfer Bergan) showed some of his hidden talents by nabbing the win in the 2/3 race. 

Congrats to both! 

(<- Anne and I watching Robbie V  "announce" at the NRC)

In other big news: for the last 2 years I have been off caffeine. I know that sounds crazy to some, but caffeine is a drug regardless of what people say. Since I don't do anything half-ass, I decided that it would be best to eliminate all things bad from my diet. So, for 2 years I have only drank coffee on a race day, but I am back on the wagon! I really like coffee and am trying to talk myself back into it being okay. For now, I'm all jacked up on coffee splurging, but only using it when the time is right, not just because I need to "wake up" or if it is there. I drink it for the tradition. Kinda like Catholics with wine, and cycling and coffee is tradition.

Finally, cyclocross is here! I have two weeks in of cx training. Week 1 was a huge reminder of how hard it was to ride around in the grass and then run up hills! This was complicated by the fact that my equipment was not right and my fit on the bike was way off. I can't ever stress enough how important it is to not only have the right size bike, but also have it professionally fitted. 2 great places to do this is at Revolution Bike and Bean in Bloomington or Summit City Bicycles in Fort Wayne. It is the best money you will ever spend. Trust me. Anyway, week 2 was much better. My legs were starting to come out of the funk they were in and dismounts were much smoother! I finally found my groove and didn't want to stop practicing at all. I just don't know how anyone couldn't love cross, obviously I'm a little crazy about it. 

This weekend I am heading on a great outing with my anesthesia group to Chicago before the weekend racing schedule picks up again. It has been nice to have a couple weekends at home, but I can't wait to see what cross season has in store, it is just around the corner!

What about "some must watch..."

I have been asked a couple times what my blog title has to do with cycling. The answer is: it does and it doesn't have anything to do with it. It really is a reference to my career as a nurse anesthetist. The next question I get is: "what is that, you mean you assist the anesthesiologist?" No. Not even close. I practice independently from any supervision and I do the exact same thing a MD does everyday. Simply, Md's trained in medical school before their residency and nurses trained in nursing school before our residency in anesthesia. People think we are nurse practitioner type practitioner's and that is not even close either. I like to tell people that 72% of anesthesia in this country is done by crna's (certified registered nurse anesthetists) and anesthesia was started by crna's long before Md's did it. Those are the facts, but people assume we are doctors and get a little confused. I don't "pretend" to be a doctor, I am upfront with my title and very proud that I have a nurse's holistic upbringing. Frankly, it would take pages of this blog to explain what it is I do, so I won't. Matter of fact, most medical professionals don't know what we do with the exception of operating room staff, surgeons, and ob staff. Yep, everybody else really doesn't know, including the patient. And that is okay with me, I always chuckle to myself when the patient tells the surgeon to "not let them die" during surgery. The fact is, when the pt IS dying in surgery the surgeon looks up to anesthesia to not let the pt die. I'm not looking for glory here, just trying to explain. If I wanted glory I would have chosen another profession, I like to help behind the scenes. Just like glory isn't found in cycling. I seldom talk about my job here, but truthfully, it is a huge part of who I am, and I love it even when I hate it. 

That said, what does this have to do with anything? Well, I was reading a article in a cycling magazine the other day while I was sitting around in my call room at work, about how cycling can improve your job performance. I think this is true for many reasons, but then I thought about how my life in anesthesia makes me a better cyclist. There are many downfalls to it not helping. Long hours, high stress, standing, out of work responsibilities, being call in the middle of the night, and did I mention getting up in the middle of the night? It can make squeezing in training, travel and racing very hard. But it also can help my cycling in many ways. 

(A long day doing anesthesia for brain surgery awaits in training at Northwestern '05, its 545 am, do I look awake? --photo)

Let me regress:

When I first decided to go into anesthesia I was an RN working in the ER. I remember that when I told my good friend (the ER M

D) what I was going to do, he shook his head with a grim look. He looked at me and said, "Are you sure you want to do that? Why don't you just become an ER doctor? The problem with anesthesia is that your mistakes go to the grave." I thought he was joking, an ER doctor surly has more risk than anesthesia. I know now, that he was right. I haven't made any mistakes that cost a person their life, but I know now that not being on top of my game during every moment could. Even if I have been working 20 hours straight. I have seen many people die for many different reasons and I NEVER 

want to be that reason. In anesthesia, when things go bad, it goes very bad and very quickly. I think about that during every case, every day. I go over every situation that could happen for every type of surgery and person, again and again and how I will handle it. Bad things have happened and I handle it coolly and calmly because I'm ready, I have trained for it. Let me also say that for the vast majority of daily surgery we make it very safe (don't want to scare anyone).

Once again, how does this matter to cycling? First off, nothing could happen in cycling that is the end of the world. If I have a bad race or get a mechanical, the world won't end. Trust me, their is a feeling much worse than losing a race. Racing is a game in life, not life itself.

Secondly, all that practice of visualization at work goes directly to cycling. I visualize every thing before I race. Everything, and how I will handle it if it goes good or bad. I know this helps me personally attain what I am shooting for. If I know the coarse, I sear the images in my mind and go over and over how I will take a section or line. I even imagine what it will feel like to stand on top of the podium.

(Party time in Chi town: getting my Master's with fellow residents ->)

Also, I learn to keep my cool. When the entire OR is looking at me when shit hits the fan, it's not the time to start freaking out. Plus, there is no time to freak out, things need done. In cycling, things will almost always not go as planned. It won't do any good to freak out when you are heading cliff side out of control. You need to stay calm and get it back on the trail. When you get passed, you have to focus on how to get the position back. Cycling and anesthesia is the time to focus and be calm in a chaotic atmosphere.

Plus, anesthesia helps me be aware of everything around me. I may look like I sit in a black chair all day, but my senses are in overdrive. I hear everything and smell everything and see everything. I could tell you everything about the pt (heart rate, rhythm, how fast I have the ventilator going, oxygen level, etc) just by hearing alone. Sometimes, I could tell you what is going on "in the surgical field" just by smell. Cycling is like a cocaine addict on a high. Every sense is on edge, just like anesthesia. I can tell you when someone is gonna try and make a jump on me by hearing them downshift, or I can smell changes in my sweat that is more acidic than usual letting me know to back off a minute (gross I know). Not to mention the fact that I have a complete understanding of the body, how it responds to stress (cycling), how it handles byproducts of physical damage, and how this relates to how I feel at that moment.

Lastly, both are about control. I can control every aspect of a person under anesthesia (I'm talking as a professional, so no smart ideas here). If I want the heart rate high, I can do that. If I want to render the muscles unable to move, I can do that. I am in control and the same goes for cycling. We train and eat and sleep to see direct results in our bodies and bicycling skills. Having control of what our body is doing is very empowering.

( Below: Racing Brown County DRT to a 1st place this year, doin what I know and love!)

So many things that anesthesia does, I have to wander, which passion helps the other the most. I guess they both are a great compliment, and I love both of them equally. I get a rush every time I step on the bike, even after all these years. Sticking a needle in someones back, or having a smooth intubation, or easing a persons anesthesia fear does it for me too. Both take many hours of dedication, but the payoff is so sweet, and that is my life as I know it. On the eve of my 33rd birthday I realize I know 2 things very well: cycling and anesthesia. That's why my blog title considers both.

However, I have to say though, as much as I love cycling, the payoff of a person's life will always be sweeter! I'm truly blessed to be the person that watches, while others sleep!

On a Roll

While I don't feel like I have broken any major records this year personally,  I do have to reflect a little at my season thus far and find some pleasure in what I have accomplished. In the last few weeks I have won 4 of the last 4 races I have entered and placed 2nd in the state crit 3/4 champs before that. Honestly, I was bummed to not place better in the crit race because I felt great that day and made some stupid road mistakes. In my thirst to always have to win, I sometimes lose sight of what I have done. In a season that started off with major surgery, not knowing if I would even be competitive on the bike, I have to look back now and find a huge sense of accomplishment at overcoming that injury and the complications from it. Sometimes I think we forget about what all we all have to overcome and take some things for granted or get a little down on ourselves when we aren't winning. I'm not saying I won't continue to work to get better than where I am now, but I've come a long way in the matter of 7 months and I am proud of that personally. Its great to be able to make a long list on paper of wins and race results, but the real point is to be able to grow personally as  a rider and enjoy your own results and accomplishments within yourself. At the end of the season, there are few people who view that paper list, and it basically comes down to you who cares about what you have done.  If that growth leads to the paper list that is even more icing on the cake! This season I started my winter base training at 50 watts of power. I can now hold 250 watts pretty easily. It doesn't take being a drt super coach to figure out that that is a huge change. That alone for me makes me pleased with where I am right now and helps put things in perspective about the struggles I have come through. I know cyclist get so critical of themselves so often and sometimes it bums me out to see people do that. Its hard to compare yourself to the people you race, but not so hard to compare yourself to you! Don't forget that. If you don't like how you are riding, then change it, because you can control that.

Right now I am transitioning into the mack daddy of all of cycling: cyclocross. I have recently done some crit races to get into the short, intense mode of cross, by hitting the Pancake crit, state champs, and am set to do the Downtown Warsaw crit this weekend. I will continue the mtb riding and racing for skills and endurance, winning the last 2 drt races and hope to add to that by winning France Dino. This coarse suits my flat, power style so I will give it all I can. Looks like Coach Don G has me getting a little "rest" in the schedule for this month by increasing my time on the bike with "easier" rides and has me laying off the intensity a little. The super sweet part is 'cross practice starts Aug 19th! I will be semi-leading a group at the Bike Depot in Fort Wayne on Wed evenings. Tim Hall has a dedicated  cx coarse with sand pit and all just waiting to  be used by us cx crazies. It's a great opportunity.  Everyone is welcome and should join us experienced or beginner. 

That's where the season is and will roll on until the end of cyclocross racing on Bend, OR in December. I have done many races and am blessed to get to do many more. I just hope my roll of winning continues. Regardless, I am happy where I am right now, but working everyday to add to my personal sense of accomplishment. Ride on and roll on!