Witness Protection Program

That's what it feels like out here: New home, new job, new everything. Still feel like i'm on vacation, but this time, i just happen to get a job and stay. It was a long haul getting here and a lot of planning but definately well worth it. The cool dry air, ocean breeze, and new riding terrain, with HILLS, is awesome. The road riding is spectacular. The weather has been pretty much the exact same every day for 23 straigh days: Perfect. A few warm days inland but the low humidity and cool ocean breeze makes it. Our wedding week in Tahoe was awesome. Couldn't have asked for anything better. Getting settled in, finding the local group rides, getting the new job dialed in. Moving is a pretty stressfull ordeal. So is getting married and starting new jobs. Now do all 3 inside of 2 weeks. I wouldn't recommend it, but i'm glad we did it all at once and can now focus on moving forward.





Yes, that water is cold in Lake Tahoe





The amount of MTB trails in Tahoe is just mind boggling, and breath taking.

The view from Donner Pass looking back towards Donner Lake and Truckee at the far end

The wedding location William B. Layton Park in Tahoe City





The new home: Downsized a bit....



and the the yard is easier to take care of (right Joe?)




The happy couple




The view from the top of Mt. Diablo. That's my home...3800ft down there. North Bay and Mount Tam in the distance.

Arrivederci Kansas - final TNW's

It's been an amazing 6+ years here, but it's now time to move back to the West Coast. Kristine and I will be hitting the road for San Francisco area June 28th. We have our wedding week in Lake Tahoe right after we bet there and settled into our new place. Tahoe is amazing and should get plenty of good riding, relaxing, recharging, but more importantly, getting wedding and spending time with family. I put racing on hold right after the Bonebender race to focus on getting the house here ready to sell and getting rid of all the unnecessary crap that was starting to own me. Still riding enough to keep some fitness but it hasn't been the priority lately. I'll get into the race scene back there when i'm ready. I just want/need to get some good riding in first and explore the new terrain, figure out the local scene, group rides, etc. It will be nice to have HILLS again and there are plenty around the East Bay area where we will be.
My 2 trucks were loaded onto a car carrier this morning and are already on there way, so I rode into work this morning. Very sticky.
Last night Worlds was definately a hot and sticky one. I hadn't really done much out there all year except for a couple finishes in top 10, but nothing close to top 5. I rolled off the front after the neutral lap and got my first solo laps in quite a while. After a few laps I was joined by Andrew Coe, Tom Price, and and another guy. I was hoping it would be easier with 4 than it had been with just me. WRONG. Those guys were flying and it was all I could just staying on the back. I tried to take my share of the work but i had nothing to contribute and probably disrupted the rotation a time or 2 trying. After a few laps I drifted back to the group to recover a bit. Those guys ended up staying away till the end. I hid out in the group for the last 15 minutes and just tried to follow some smart wheels and get across the line safe, somewhere around 10th maybe.

Thanks to everybody for all the great memories.

Tuesday Night Worlds

What a perfect night for a ride. I was out of town this past weekend, but I heard it was miserable weather, and more is moving in today. At least last night was nice. Good turnout. Mercy had the big numbers but Tailwind was right in there with some quality over quantity. Lot of moves but nothing really got organized. Hitting the bell lap, I was in perfect position, about 15th or so. That's about the right place for me. Any further up and I get mixed in with guys that I know will out sprint me anyway. Any further back and guys start sitting up and messing things up. Well, turns out a few guys around 11th to 14th decided to shut it down coming around turn 1 and that was it. Tried to go wide and get around 'em in turn 1 and 2 but it was already over. The first 10 guys got a 20 foot gap going into the downhill and that was it. The tactic of sitting up right in the middle of everbody and having the entire field split around you works great for the guy doing it and their teammates at or off the front, but not really for all the guys that have to get around that person. It happens a lot out there. One minor crash. Some mtb guy went wide in turn 3, got gutter'ed, and eventually ended up in the grass. No major physical injuries reported.

Ronnie James Dio

Ronnie James Dio passed away this past weekend after a long battle with stomach cancer. RIP

Update, Commuting, Giro, Etc

Last 2 weekends have been crazy. It's crunch time on getting the house pulled together and listed. Put in almost 30hrs between Friday afternoon and last night alone. That hurt. I feel worse this morning than I did the Monday after Bonebender. Last weekend was about the same and a few hours every night after work in between. I'm on a racing hiatus until I get the bulk of everything done. Gratefull just to get out and ride for a couple hrs here and there. End result will be well worth it of course. On the commuting side, managed to get in 5 so far this year. Not lighting the world on fire there but getting them in when I can. The Giro is under way. Impressed with Brent Bookwalter's prologue ride. Not impressed with the bunch as a whole in yesterdays road stage. I know it's the first grand tour of the year, but all of these guys have been racing for a while now. The roads in Italy are definately NOT the same as those in the TdF and all of these guys have been here before. Tyler Farrar looked great in the finish line dash, but didn't look good laying in the middle of that traffic island. Good comeback.