Hello from Switzerland

Hey everyone.  It's been about a week since I showed up here in Europe, and things have been very fast, as anyone who's travelled knows.  I'll give a short recap of the trip...

My dad and I caught the 10:00 flight out of DIA - first class, very nice - into Dulles, and then the 4:00 from Dulles to Zurich - first class again, very very nice - on standby. We were very lucky with our standby tickets to get first class seats - it's hard to sleep at 40,000 feet, but we managed quite well.  The weather in Zurich was as expected: cold, snowy, and... cold.  After managing to load all of our bags - 2 carry-ons, 3 duffel-bags, a bike box, and a pair of wheels - onto a cart made for 2 items, we met Regula and Beat Stirnemann outside of Customs.  Regula speaks English quite fluently, while Beat is more adept with Francais, and so it was easy to communicate right away.  After arriving in Graenichen, about 50 minutes East of Zurich by car, we met the kids, Matthias and Kathrin, both of whom are fun to be around.  Despite the jetlag hanging on my body, I was able to catch a short spin around the trails (with snow and all) with Beat (right) and Matthias (left).

My dad and I headed down to Crans-Montana, where he grew up, in the Valais region.  Despite the snow (it snowed about 2 feet while we were there) we had a great 4 days trekking around, eating great food, and enjoying some down-time before I returned to the North for some serious training.  

It's been 3 days since we returned from Valais, and my dad took the 12:00 flight out of Zurich yesterday.  Everything here is very structured - we train on a very specific schedule made by Beat, the Swiss National Coach, and we eat, sleep, and train based on our personal needs very accurately.  Already, I am beginning to see why the Swiss are so dominant in cycling, and in most other sports.  

Although I miss home, my family and friends, and Ashley very much, and I am very sore and tired all the time, and I am getting a little sick from the cold and the constant fatigue, I am still very excited and privileged to be here in a country where success is not a measure of the trophies on the shelf, but rather the dedication of the self.  

Other things happening around here:

-I left my laptop on the airplane - first class=far too many compartments - but was able to get it back in the Zurich airport Lost and Found on the way to Zurich... that was exciting.

-We had training last night in the gym - one of the hardest workouts I've EVER done - with the whole junior team from Graenichen: about 20 kids from 6 - 18.  

-I was accepted at the University of Colorado.

-My Lefty fork is shot, and so I am unable to ride until I get it fixed or get a new one from cannondale.  Brand new...  only about 300 miles on it.  pff.

-I have been doing a magnetic resonance program 3x a day for my Sciatica, and it is working miracles.

-Anything else?

There is so much happening here that I really am at a loss to what all has happened over the past week.  It is amazing here, and I'm loving every minute of it - from Kathrin destroying me on our yesterday's "recovery" ride (I mean, completely destroying me...) to playing Yatzee (Yatzy in German) with Matthias.  I have to go to lunch now, the main meal of the day.  I will check in soon.