Blog

Guess where I am right now? Yep, on the road again. At this point somewhere between Albuquerque, NM and Durango, CO. Yesterday I left home in the wee hours of the morning and started the drive... home? That's right, this bird has finally left the nest. I'm headed to Durango, CO and this time for good. I will be moving in to my dorm at Fort Lewis College in just a few days, and will begin classes this coming Monday. While I'm not particularly excited about getting back to the whole school thing, I'm pretty stoked to start this next chapter in my...

I've been waking early lately, and not only because "early to bed and early to rise makes one healthy, wealthy, and wise," although those would be side effects I could deal with. No, I've been getting up before the sun because it's really, really freegin' hot here in ATX. I got home a little over a week ago, seeing my mom, sister, dog and road bike for the first time in 7 very short weeks. Although I missed them greatly while on the road, I found that being in a new place every weekend had a way of making it more bearable. Yampa. One thing I di...

As I alluded to in last week's update, after several weeks of "hunting for silver linings," the National Championships finally provided me with some positive material to write about. After a few rough weeks, my confidence was a little worse for wear going into Natz. That coupled with the fact that the venue was again at high altitude (the course topped out at 6,300 feet), I went into the weekend with fairly modest expectations. Southern Idaho. Big Sky Country at its finest. The day after the Windham World Cup, I caught a crazy early flight from...

The day after the Wisconsin ProXCT, Ryan Standish and I caught a flight out of Milwaukee into Pittsburgh. For those that don't know Ryan, we went over to Europe last year together on the USA Cycling team. He lives in Alice Springs, Australia, but is a citizen of the United States, and so rides for the Red White and Blue national team. Good thing too, as he's pretty quick on a bike. He is two-time defending Australian junior champ. But back to Pittsburgh... The plan was to fly to Pittsburgh where Ryan's grandparents live, spend a couple of days ...

The Subaru Cup ProXCT is my favorite race each year. Simple as that. The course is physically demanding but fun. The organization and officiating is second to none thanks to the incredible WORS staff that puts on the race. The atmosphere is fun and supportive for the amateurs, and downright electric during the pro races. I would recommend this race to everyone that has a love for cross-country mountain bike racing. I had been looking forward to the 2011 installment of this race since a few minutes after crossing the finish line in 2010, and as ...

Yesterday I was out on the Barton Creek Greenbelt here in Austin for one last rip. It was very hot, rocky and flat. Right now I'm sitting here at a friend's house in Durango, Colorado, watching the sun come up over the mountains. I'm wearing a sweatshirt and still a bit chilly. It's the first day of a long, exciting summer of racing all over North America, hopefully finishing up with a trip to Europe. Before I catch everybody up on that, however, I'd like to share some events from another trip that happened just a couple of weeks ago with a ver...

As I explained a couple posts back, this race was special to me for several reasons. It would mark my last weekend as a "TMBRA racer," as I'll be leaving Texas for Durango, CO next year. Having been where I got my start in the sport, and where I've met many of my closest friends, the TMBRA community has given me much to be thankful for. It seemed fitting that Rocky Hill ranch, one of the original venues, would play host to the occasion. On a more worldly level, I was in a tight battle with several other competitors for a podium finish in the s...

Many of you from the South may have heard of "The Racing Post." It is a cycling magazine dedicated to competitive road, mountain, track, 'cross and tri events in Texas, Oklahoma and Louisiana. A couple years back I did a "junior spotlight" interview with the magazine, and was later asked to be a contributing columnist. Although I do not get the opportunity to write for the magazine as much as I'd like, I have enjoyed doing so when I can. Most recently I wrote an article on the Mellow Johnny's Classic ProXCT, which appears in this month's issue....

This past Saturday was the TMBRA State Championship Series round #7, in Big Cedar, TX. This was a first year event, and the trails were a big unknown for most racers. In the weeks prior, however, rumors began to swirl of a course defined by climbing. I took the talk with a grain of salt, not knowing of many places in northern Texas that have much serious elevation change. I'm here to say that the rumors were true. The course was a nice departure from the typical checkerboard flat tracks we usually get here in the Lone Star State. The singletrac...

I am very lucky to go to the school I do. I've spent over 14 years as a student there, and truly believe it's provided me with the best education possible. With a high school enrollment of about 100, the Austin Waldorf School is quite a tightly-knit community. I've made some of my closest friends there, friends that I will keep for life. The interaction between teachers and students is also very special and I think one of the keys to why the system works so well. However, being part of a community that close can be a double-edged sword...  ...