Kirchzarten

Arrived Wednesday by first class luxury here in Germany, courtesy of standby tickets and all their magic.  Was happy to get over 6 hours of sleep on the 8 hour flight.  Had no trouble in customs and was able to quickly spot the Rothaus van where the rest of the group was waiting for me to arrive:  USA Cycling's Marc Gullickson, FLC College's Matt Shriver, Greg Carpenter, Jack Hinkens, and Kerry Werner.  After loading up, we drove South 3 hours along the German/France Border to Freiburg, and then on to Kirchzarten, 7 km to the east.  There we met Russell Finsterwald, who arrived to race Offenburg a week ago.

Our home away from home, the Steiertbartlehof, a homey hostel bordering the Western side of the Schwartzwald.  We live here with Marc and his family, the host family, numerous cows, pigs, bunnies, chickens, dogs, and a cat that enjoys catching birds on our top story abode.  Russell and I are rooming with Matt Shriver, coach of the Ft. Lewis College Cycling team.  

On our second day, Russell's local friend Sönke showed us some of the local trails--we ended up riding over 3 hours on trails.  Probably one of the best rides I've ever been on.  The trails were a little wet from several weeks of rain, but the predicted storm of the day never showed up, and we rode all day in the sunshine.  

We're headed out in about 10 minutes for a recovery day before Sunday's race.  Jet lag has finally caught up with me, but I'm ready to roll -- Sunday's Swiss Racer Bikes Cup should be interesting.  It's been over a year since I've raced in Europe, so hopefully I will see some improvement at least by the second weekend.  

Unfortunately, my Rocky Mountain Vertex cracked a day before leaving for Germany.  I was able to make a quick fix to avoid the crack's conflict with my front deraillure, but Rocky was quick to help me out--I've got a new frame on the way here soon.  Looking forward to getting the new frame specked out for another 3 weeks of racing!