k e v i n k a n e

2011-12-20T22:54:00.001-07:00

https://docs.google.com/leaf?id=0B-jbyIumLH2KOWYwMzJjNzUtZWYwNS00NWFkLTg4MzUtMjI3ZDViYzJhMjVl&hl=en_US

Winter Delights

2011-02-15T23:40:00.001-07:00

Every winter, as the skiers are headed up to the mountains to get their fix of that all-so-holy white stuff and the people of the Denver Metro area shut down their schools and workplaces for a dusting of snow, I slump into a claustrophobic depression that I can only describe as snow-induced delirium. I grew up in this white shit. I love to ski. I appreciate the beauty of snow, in all its white wonder. However, I really can't stand is the daily numbing of toes and fingers and the painful showers that follow. Pursuing a professional cycling career against the obstacle of snow is something we all go through, just in some places more than others.

Some of the best training days of the year happen in the winter time, however. Sometimes when the sun is just right and you leave sometime before 10 am (so that you can avoid the early sunset in the narrow valleys around Boulder), riding in the snow can be the most rewarding training of the year.

There's really no pressure to base training, besides the pressure to ride as long and far as possible. I do most of my riding alone, with some great musicians plugged into my ear for the road, and that good ol' XTR hub whirr and bottom bracket creak to keep me motivated off-road.

Whereas most of my base in the past around Boulder was confined to the roads North to Ft. Collins and elsewhere, I no longer have a road bike--only mountain and cyclocross--most of my rides have been shorter distance and more vertical around the foothills West of Boulder.

Several of my favorite loops cut through burn-country from the devastating 4-mile fire from last fall. The beauty of regeneration, despite its drawbacks for the outskirted civilized people of Boulder and surrounding communities, never ceases to amaze.

Despite Boulder's lack of singletrack trails, there is an incredible network of old mining and fire roads through the foothills that link up in a myriad of ways, including the famous rail-road grade known as the Switzerland Trail, which can be seen above winding through the bottom of the photo up to the top of Sugarloaf Mountain (standing point).

After several months, the smell of the fire is still fairly strong when you ride through the burn area, seen here from a vantage point on top of Sugarloaf.

There has been a lot of controversy in Boulder lately over the rights cyclists (especially mountain bikers) have on the various trail networks surrounding the very hiker-friendly community. I agree in many ways that cyclists are often some of the most obnoxious and uneducated trail-users out there, but to anyone who still stands by the conception that cycling is more destructive than hiking doesn't have very far to look to realize that this is blatantly false. And to anyone who thinks the bike provides a disconnect between the athlete and nature, I have hiked and camped extensively, and I can attest fully to this statement's falsehood. Just because the bike is a vehicle of more rapid transportation does not diminish my engagement with my surroundings--especially in a place like Boulder, where it is nearly impossible to remove oneself from the reaching fingers of civilization, the bike is merely a means to an end. That end, be it the pure source waters of some mine-polluted and city-sapped river downstream or the top of some remote fire-road that ends in scree, is my justification for riding bikes, in general.

As for engaging in such an unprofessional activity professionally, I really have no justification other than: I can, or at least I think I can.

Nedward Bound

2011-01-10T11:32:00.003-07:00

Recently resolved myself to discovering the infamous mountain bike route from Boulder to Nederland--unfortunately, it's winter, and my persistence only lasts as long as my hands and feet are somewhat warm... so, I took the warmest day in January and did with it what I could--the following is what ensued.

Hobbled my way up Flagstaff after over a month off the bike, feeling confident and happy to be back on two wheels in the sunshine.

It was a beautiful day--mid 40's with minimal wind out of the North-west. Climbing required little more than knee-warmers and a vest.

After about an hour of riding, I had made it to Gross Reservoir--from here, I made the improper assumption that the rest of the route would be moderately easy--some climbing, but nothing too fancy, since my current elevation was above that of Nederland... I was wrong.

CR 63 from Lakeshore Neighborhood to Magnolia Road is overridden with "No Trespassing" signs--a recent development since my map was drawn in 2007... I decided to take the risk, however, and stick to the low-lying brush for cover from any rabid redneck dogs and their owners with shotguns. Needless to say, I made it through untouched, landing myself on some forgotten spur off Magnolia, not knowing how far I had to the road proper.

At this time, I could see the imminent storm peeking it's nasty head over the continental divide. I was reaching what I supposed would be my time-wise halfway point, and so I didn't think much of the coming weather, since it would undoubtedly be stuck west-side of the divide for quite some time until it lightened up enough to dissipate or slide over and down into the Front Range.

In the Twin Sisters Peak area, I ran into some very interesting geologic formations from the Pleistocene Ice Age, including these very nice roche moutonnée.

Time and time again, I get stuck out on these long rides with nothing but Welch's Fruit Snacks to keep me going... and trust me, they keep me going.

Reaching Magnolia Rd, I took the left-route, hoping to come across the singletrack system that would take me into Ned--upon reaching the trailhead, I discovered that the snow was starting to become more prevalent...

I was undeterred, however, and continued to snake my way through the many trails and jeep-roads that lead into Nederland along the South Side of Boulder Canyon. I was ignorant (purposefully, perhaps) to the fact that the trail was becoming snowier and snowier, as it was shaded more and more on the North-facing slope, and to the fact that it was nearly four and I was quickly running out of daylight.

The Single-track allure kept me thinking that ignorance was bliss.

The route along the Blue-dot trail was a success--it landed me right in my half-way destination, Nederland, and though it was unrideable in a lot of areas due to snow, I was happy to finally find a plausible route between Boulder and Ned.

The aforementioned storm dropped about 10 inches on the Front Range, and so it looks like freezing my ass off down the 17-mile Boulder Canyon was definitely worth it, since I won't be riding singletrack again until mid-May it looks like. The temperature difference is evident--that Gross reservoir was still flowing and blowing, and Barker Res in Nederland is frozen stiff... welcome to the high country, I guess.

Ride On,

the ponderous k

Welcome to 2011

2011-01-05T21:38:00.002-07:00

Here we go--it's 2011! And you know what that means... the cycle starts all over. New Year resolutions are really no different than 2010: ride bikes, have fun, win races (in that order). Unfortunately, though the ideas remain the same, a lot of things have to be recycled before the 2011 season can officially begin.

First, it's time to get those wheels rollin' again. After a much-needed stay-cation in beautiful, snowy Summit County, I'm ready to commence my 4th semester at CU Boulder and begin riding in the sunshine again. It was nice to experience the real world for a while--working in my local ski shop over break, as I've done the past three years--and to brave the -35 (with windchill) degree temps of home for a couple weeks.

Everything is starting to take shape for the new season.. sponsors are lined up, schedules are being written in calendars, and world traveling is being organized.

Speaking of schedules... here is the much anticipated (yet still tentative) race schedule for 2011:

March 12: US Cup Triple Crown Bonelli Park – San Dimas, Calif.

March 26: US Cup Triple Crown Fontana City National – Fontana, Calif.

April 8: MSC #1 - Colorado Springs, Colo.

April 16: Sea Otter Classic – Monterey, Calif.

April 29: MSC #2 - Fruita, Colo.

orApril 30: Mellow Johnny’s Classic – Dripping Springs, Texas

May 20: MSC #3 - Salida, Colo.

June 3: MSC #4 - Angelfire, NM

June 18: Sand Creek Intl. – Colorado Springs, Colo.

June 25: Subaru Cup – Mt. Morris, Wisc.

July 4: Firecracker 50 - Breckenridge, Colo.

July 14: USAC National XC Championships - Sun Valley, Idaho

July 22: MSC # 6 - Keystone, CO

July 24: Missoula, Montana XC – Missoula, Mt.

August 5: MSC #7 - Snowmass, Colo.

September 2: MSC #8 - Sol Vista, Colo.

FALL 2011:: COMPLETE USAC Collegiate XC Mountain Bike Series

Those are, at least, the planned national level races I will be attempting to attend this summer. Of course, there are more: The Summit Mountain Challenge, Front Range Series, Steamboat Town Challenge Series, and Winter Park Series will all have their race days, most of which I will attend. Furthermore, many of these races may be forgotten due to the International Race Circuit, of which my attendance depends on Marc Gullickson's approval from USA Cycling. These events include, but are not limited to: the 2011 UCI World Cup Series, the 2011 XC U23 World Championships, the UCI Pan-American Championships, the Swiss Racer Bikes Cup Series, and the German Bundisliga National Series. If I am selected to represent the U23 National team as I have been in past years, you, my fellow bloggers and esteemed sponsors, will surely be the first to know.

I realize I've mentioned this in about every blog update over the past 3 months, but it's the off-season, and these are the details that keep me motivated... SPONSORS! New ones, old ones! Projects with companies, product testing, prototypes, new gear, schwag... this is the kind of stuff that keeps me excited about cycling when it's -35 degrees Fahrenheit and blizzarding and I'm stuck inside instructing a group of 26 tourists from Tennessee how a ski boot fits. The 2011 line-up is more finalized than the last time we talked, so here it is... Your Monthly Sponsor Plug~~~~~~~~~{

Rocky Mountain Bicycles

Kids excitement about bicycles on Christmas compares very little to my excitement about riding the new Rocky Mountain Element RSL this year. Just waiting for this baby to arrive! The new element is, simply put, the best bike Rocky Mountain has ever designed and manufactured. Get ready for a rock-and-roll season on the Team Element RSL!

Maxxis Tires

The 2011 lineup from Maxxis stays true to Maxxis's tradition of originality and functionality while maintaining a XC race platform that is light and durable--check out the new IKON (pictured), a combination of durability/traction and lightness/low rolling resistance. My favorite tires: the classic CrossMark, the resilient Larsen TT, and the 2010 new Aspen. I'm sure the IKON will join that list.

Mountain Racing Products

MRP makes some of the most specialized and lightest chain guides in the business, including this recently released 1x cross country chain guide that I will be riding this year on all my bikes. 1x10 is the way to go, people. There are only two speeds on a 1x spec: fast and bonk.

You might think that MRP only manufactures chain guides, but think again! MRP owns several different companies, including Kreitler Rollers (the best rollers in the business) and a new fork company that has very exciting prospects, White Brothers (pictured).

One Industries // SixSixOne

These guys are one of my favorite sponsor groups--mostly because I have a glove fetish. SixSixOne and One Industries both specialize in MotoX components and gear, but both have branched out to mountain biking, and they create some of the best gloves in the business. The new One Drako (pictured) is one that I'm very excited about! MotoX durability mixed with XC breathability and lightness.

Extreme Endurance

There's not much to say about this excellent product--it's incredibly effective. STOP THE BURN! Extreme Endurance is my new favorite XC weapon, and it's USADA safe, so no worries when the officials show up at your door at 6 am.

Mavic

If you haven't heard... Mavic makes some pretty yellow shoes.

Podium Sports

My local connection, along with Summit Velocity--the two companies that keep me riding strong when I'm at home in the mountains. Podium offers a selection of the top winter and summer equipment for all your sporting needs--located underneath the Backcountry Brewery on the corner of Frisco Main Street and Highway 9.

____________________________________________

As sentimental as this is getting, I was recently going through lots of pictures on my computer, and thought I'd post a big ol' egotistical flashback into how far we've come since my first mountain bike race in 2001. And so commences the photo-memorandum-flashback-slideshow:

First season racing the Summit Mountain Challenge--2001

A handful of professional racers, including Garmin Slipstream rider Taylor Sheldon, former U23 National Team Rider Kevin Soller and myself owe all our success as cyclists to the Mountain Bike Little (now Junior) League of Summit County Colorado--the brain child of local legends Jeff Westcott and Mike McCormack.

First Firecracker 50 with my dad at age 12.

First mountain states cup race in Moab, Utah at age 13.

The Summit Jr. Cycling years -- local junior racers train and race together, here pictured at a Spring Training camp in Moab.

Things started to take off when my sister and I were selected to go to the Olympic Training Center with the 2005 Junior National ID Camp with USACycling.

From there, USA Cycling became a more and more important force in my development as an up-and-coming Junior and U23 racer, and in 2009, I attended my first U23 Camp in Germany.

Before that, however, I spent 5 months in Switzerland with the Swiss National Coach, Beat Stirnemann, and his family, the 2010 European U23 Vice-Champion Kathrin Stirnemann and Swiss U23 phenom Matthias Stirnemann. While there, I got to race in my first two World Cup events in Offenburg, Germany and Houffalize, Belgium.

Spring Training in Switzerland can be similar to training in Colorado.

Around this time, I was transitioning between the Sobe/Cannondale Professional Team and the Cannondale Factory Team.

In Europe, I represented the U23 National Team and the Cannondale Factory Team, but had a hard time developing a niche in the ultra-competitive European Professional XC scene.

Upon returning state-side, however, I realized that I was racing faster than ever.

At the end of 2009, I moved to Boulder to begin studying at the University of Colorado, whose cycling team got second at the Collegiate National Championships in California.

Collegiate Racing was more fun... than regular racing... for... many....... reasons.

2010 held a lot of changes... most significantly, the Cannondale Factory Racing Team of previous years all but disintegrated (to be later re-structured with new racers) in the early months of 2010, leaving me and my fellow racers at a loss for sponsorship. After a fervent Spring spent searching for new sponsorship, several companies and individuals pulled through for 2010, and I was set with an incredibly lucky program considering the short notice.

In 2011, we're not pressed for time, and there is no short notice--of that I've made sure. I'm happy to be working with some of the best companies in the industry, and riding for a team that has been known for producing some of the best racers in North America and in the world.

Happy 2011 Everyone!

Ride On,

Kanger Danger

Great Shot!

2010-11-11T03:04:00.000-07:00

Great shot from Linard Cimermann this weekend. Ended up top 15 out of 45 starters. Not bad for being sick, injured, and bogged down with midterms.

Just add water

2010-10-25T11:55:00.001-06:00

Finally got the new CX frame from Rocky Mountain built up this weekend. Pretty hot, eh?

Special thanks to Larry Grossman and Squirtlube - best stuff on earth - for support and excellent announcing at all the CX events. Not only does Larry shake things up on the microphone, but he also races every weekend. My summary of cyclocross so far: Great vibe.

Maxxis, as per usual, tops the list of sponsor support for the last 12 months. Stoked to be riding rubber-side down!

The new tapered head-tube CX frame from RM -- soon all bikes will be this way.

Tricked out Maxxis stickers via X-acto knife, which unfortunately is not one of my sponsors...

Unfortunately, these photos don't do DT Swiss justice - I will be sure to update them once my new wheels have arrived. Thanks DT Swiss! Lightest/Strongest wheels out there.

Down Tube action - Ride like a canadian!

Thanks David Overstreet for the build!

Until next time,

the ponderous k

Off Season - the beginnings

2010-10-18T00:58:00.000-06:00

Riding bikes can be a great job. Though I don't get paid a salary, and I couldn't really call what I do "work" per say, my apprenticeship of professional cycling is ongoing, and encapsulating enough to prevent me from holding any other full-time job. Anyway, back to the point, that being the point of bicycle riding being fun.

Well, sometimes it isn't.

For example: when you get hit by two cars in one week, but don't sustain substantial injuries for anyone to feel bad for you, or to take a break from riding. When muscles scream profanities loud enough to wake me up in the middle of the night. When masochism begets feelings of "there is no reason to go through this much pain by choice." Just when these things begin to overwhelm you, and you're on the edge of a simple and early retirement, praise the off-season, for it is finally here!

Off-season, by definition: The time of year when thinking about that time in January, when all you could think about was bikes, makes you question your own sanity.

Welcome, once again, I embrace you yearly, use and abuse you for several months, only to forget you again for nine months of the year, and then, consequently to come groveling back on my knees come October.

Ingredients:

Eating really great (tasting) food and not worrying about protein and carbohydrates.

Racing cyclocross and making a fool of yourself (because you forgot to wash all your RMB kits and are racing in the US national team kit, or maybe because you're riding a mountain bike)

Sleeping in.

Working at the ski shop, making the moneys.

Spending time with great friends and family

Reading, Writing, and doing the other things that I excel in, but forget about when cycling season rolls around.

And playing in the snow. On bikes, of course.

But hey, this wouldn't be a proper blog without a hint of sentimentality behind it, so here comes the cheese. It's been a long journey, has it not? A long time since that first ride over 8 years ago. A long time since the golden years of Junior Sport. A long time since the local series was as nerve racking to me as the World Cup 6 years later. But one thing hasn't changed. Off-season always hits with relief, and riding bikes is always fun, even when it's not.

I know, that doesn't make much logical sense. Unless of course, you ride bikes for a living (which I don't, so it still makes no sense...)

One thing is for sure, even if I want nothing to do with pain, bicycles are aesthetically pleasing to me. I dream of bikes. I dream of the new Element, who will surely be gracing me with her presence by 2011.

But mostly, I dream of singletrack. When I go out in the field for Geology, I rarely see only the glacial moraines to the south, or the sedimentary clasts off the right shoulder. I see those things, and I see potential. Building trails is not illegal so long as you do it in your head. They say you can't dream a face that you've never encountered. The same is not true of trails. I rarely dream of a trail I've already ridden (though I do sometimes). Right now, I imagine a shallow-cut route above timberline, a few sparse shrubs along the right. It winds along the ridge that cuts deep into the plate blue that is Colorado at midday. A lone pine shades over a landslid portion of trail (what came first, the trail or the slide?) where marmots whistle their one-note tune and the camp-robber jay hops and hopes for a slice of your pb&j. This is to be alive. And the fact that no such face, no such trail exists, exactly how I see it, is sad. Alternatively, the idea that I'll never be able to prove that this trail does not exist delights me.

Mushy-Gushy-thanks-everyone for a great season. Thanks be to sponsors, without whom we professional cyclists would be an extinct breed. All the Canadian (and otherwise) folks at Rocky Mountain Bikes -- particularly Peter Vallance, and Ephraim Learned. Rob Perkins over at Maxxis International, and all those guys down South -- the new tires look great! Podium Sports, Summit Velocity, Mike Mac and Seth Strickland - you guys pulled some serious strings last minute to get me out of a very large, sponsor-less hole, and I owe you both cases of beer (in 1 year, 2 months). Ryan Cranston and the MRP crew - best of luck with the new Fork line (White Bros., everyone should definitely check them out). Peter Pyer and SixSixOne - you guys don't do much XC stuff, which is great, because it means your gloves are actually comfortable, hellsyeah! Marc Gullickson and USA Cycling: great work in 2010, thank you all for such a great opportunity this year and in years previously.

And most of all to my family: Dad, you are the great motivator and you're far too humble about your photographs; Mom, thanks for being creative with me when it seems like my life is all about bikes and money (or lack there of); and Meghan, never forget that I taught you everything about downhill, and that if you treat life like a trail , remember that building your own is always better.

Love you guys, thanks for reading.

Ride On,

The Ponderous K

Up to the task, down for the count.

2010-10-10T11:31:00.000-06:00

Entering the ring with not but your naked fists against an opponent twice as big and far more experience than you--and he's wearing boxing gloves. Though a mountain bike, like my naked fist, may be well suited for street-fighting and cheap-shots, in the world of cyclocross, cyclocross bikes reign, rain down like blows.

Last weekend, cyclocross was fun. This weekend, cyclocross was survival -- and survival with insufficient means of survival at that. Granted, I love my Rocky Mountain Vertex, but she wasn't altogether suited for the "wet-grass-fest" this Saturday at the Boulder Cross Series. Let's just say nothing really went according to plan... but that was the plan. For the second weekend in a row, I decided to do the race last minute, and after a long week of riding, found on Saturday morning that all my Rocky Mountain kits were dirty. Looks like I'll be suffering in the stars and stripes again today, enduring the inevitable skepticism from my peers.

You can't teach an old dog new tricks, and you can't learn a new discipline of cycling on a whim at the end of the season without a bike. Luckily, Rocky Mountain is providing the goods, as usual (and they are much anticipated, these goods)-- I should be racing a proper cyclocross bike, the Rocky Mountain Solo CX, soon!

Until then, I'll continue to hop the barriers and give those egotistical crossers a little surprise with my wide bars.

Ride On, my friends.

the ponderous k

Cyclocross Day 1

2010-10-03T23:17:00.001-06:00

I've never mounted a cyclocross bike, or raced in a CX race. For one reason or another, I've never really wanted to. But after a disappointing final collegiate race yesterday (getting pulled after being wrecked by another rider and getting stuck at the back of the pack with no passing room), I decided last minute to head up to Summit for this year's Frisco Cross ACA CX race.

My only problem (not having a bike) was solved by some help from one of the local legends David Overstreet, who let me borrow his Primus Mootry for the race. Jumping on a CX bike for the first time a mere 20 minutes before your first race can be a bit intimidating, especially when the likes of professional Jake Wells and a stacked field of other racers come out to play in the dust. However, I needed an outlet for all my pent up energy from the day before, and was excited to jump on the bike (over and over) during the 60 minute sufferfest.

The differences between mountain bike racing and cyclocross are many, but the most impacting to me was the fact that I was "racing" the entire 60 minutes on course. I didn't have any chance to recover, nor did I have time to think about pain - at the end, my brain was fried from so much concentration. The one thing I have to say about cross is that it's addicting.

I'm excited to see what I can do this season - though I'm getting a little bit of a late start - this may become more of a passion than an addiction, who knows?

This is what happens when you try to stick to my wheel when I've never ridden cross before - I need to work on my technical skills on these awkward bikes.

Announcer extraordinaire, Larry Grossman, was not only announcing all day, but also racing in one of the earlier races of the day. SQUIRT LUBE is the best!

Until next time,

The ponderous k.

Interbike 2010

2010-09-26T09:41:00.000-06:00

Welcome back! It's been nearly six months since I last blogged-it-up, but you haven't missed much. Let me give you a quick synopsis:

Returned from Europe with high hopes to plug in some strong results in the States. Did just that at the 2010 Pro XCT in Colorado Springs, pulling out a top 20 finish in the stacked pro field in all three events, Individual TT, Cross Country, and Short Track. Two of the results had me in the top three U23 riders, so at this point, nationals was looking pretty damn good. At the Firecracker 50 (aka USAC Marathon Nationals), had another great race out on my local turf - riding in the top ten through the first 25 miles (rode through lap 1 with Dave Weins and Jeremiah Bishop). With XC Nationals only a week away, however, I decided to pull the plug early and head home for recovery after my legs started cramping. At nationals, I was having the race of my life, but bad luck held me out of that coveted podium that I've sought for so long. I got the hole-shot up the steep first climb (by the top of it, I had nearly a 100-meter lead) but ran into problems right away on the start-loop descent. Throughout the race, I continued to experience mechanical issues, but was able to climb myself back into 6th by the end. Going into the last lap, I was over a minute behind fellow Coloradoans Mitch Hoke and Matt Beaton, who were fighting for the fourth place spot. By the end of the race, I had pulled myself back up to the two riders, but was not able to bridge the last 10 or so seconds on the last descent. So close... Oh well, take it as a learning experience and realize I still have 2 more years left of U23 to get one of those precious metals slung over my neck. The next day I pulled off a top 15 in the Pro Men's Short Track National Championships, finishing as the third U23 in the race.

Jumping in the Hole-shot at the USAC U23 XC Nationals.

______________________________________

In August I drove myself and all my stuff down to Boulder for my sophomore year at CU. I'm living in an apartment just south of campus. Shortly after moving, I returned to Summit for the Colorado State XC and STXC championships, where I rode to my first ever Pro Podium! In the Cross Country, I was able to pull off a nationals-type race day, but with no mechanicals this time. In the end, two Colorado legends, Jay Henry and Jake Wells, grabbed the top two slots, but I rode a strong third onto my first podium!

Pro XC Podium at the 2010 Colorado State Championships

____________________________

After the state championships at Keystone, I continued my training down in Boulder, but soon realized (through some bad luck) that I needed to take a break after almost 8 months of hard training. Over the course of 4 days, I was struck twice by cars, and also had a nasty incident with a slackline while riding across campus. Luckily, the first two accidents left nothing but mental scars and a few bruises, but the least exciting of all the stories put me into the painful position of not being able to ride for several weeks.

A week or so after the accident, I visited the doctor who informed me that I had received a border-line 3rd degree burn from the rope. The scab had grown almost a centimeter thick, and I was unable to bend my leg far enough to ride my bike. After spending two weeks off the bike, the doctor informed me that I should continue that horrible trend, and not ride until the scab was fully-healed.

Now, I'm all recovered and riding again, but slowly. It's funny that you spend 8 months training to peak for these big races, and after two weeks of inactivity, you can barely ride uphill. Such has been the nature of my collegiate season so far. My legs feel good and solid every race, but with all that base-training gone, I have a hard time cracking the top-ten. I guess injury is a veritable excuse.

And now for the exciting part: I N T E R B I K E 2 0 1 0!

Took some time off school to hitch a flight to Las Vegas for Interbike 2010, the International Cycling Expo. Thanks to Maxxis Tires, who set me up with a pass to the show, which was probably the single greatest spectacle I've ever witnessed.

While there, I spent a heafty amount of time in the Rocky Mountain booth, drooling over the soon-to-be-in-my-possession 2011 Rocky Mountain Element (above). This bike marks a huge turning point in Rocky Mountain. It is sleek, stiff, and super-light. So far, it has only been ridden by Geoff Kabush and a few select riders from the Maxxis/Rocky Mountain Professional Mountain Bike Team, but now it's finally here for everyone to enjoy. On the RSL build, expect Carbon Race Face products, a full XTR build, beautiful new DT Swiss 1540's and a matching 2011 Fox Float Remote Lock-out. STOKE! The bike should be here by Christmas.

I'm also very excited about the new Maxxis line-up for 2011. The new IKON caught my eye as a potentially potent XC race tire. Build with new EXO sidewall protection, this non-UST tire will be fast and durable and hopefully on all my bikes next year. Thanks again to Maxxis for a great 2010 and beyond - I've said it before, and I'll say it again, I've NEVER FLATTED a pair of Maxxis Tires, NEVER!

My other new ride for 2011 - the new Vertex, with a similar look to last year's ride, but don't be fooled. The bike is lighter and faster! Stoked to get it out on the climbs.

Fi'zi:k has a great new look with their new Tundra, and I am happy to be riding the saddle for the fourth year in a row. Are you a snake, a chameleon, or a bull? Find out at http://www.fizik.it/spineconcept/

Interbike was incredible, to say the least. It was great to see such a broad spectrum of the cycling industry come out to talk about and look at bikes. It was my first Interbike experience, and with a handful of new sponsors lined up for 2011, I'm happy with how it turned out (even though I spent a total of 14 hours in the airport waiting for standby seats).

Returning to the Kevin Kane sponsor lineup for 2011:

Maxxis Tires

Rocky Mountain Bikes

SixSixOne / One Industries

Mountain Racing Products

Podium Sports

Summit Velocity

New for 2011:

White Lightning

providing some of the best bike lube and cleaning products

Extreme Endurance

an incredible drug-free supplement trusted by some of the world's top athletes

DT Swiss

the lightest/strongest wheels in the business, as well as forks and shocks

In the woodwork:

GU Energy

will be fueling the Kane-Train through 2011

SockGuy

will be stylishly clothing the feet through mud, heat, and everything else

KMC

will be lightening my whip with the lightest chain in the world

Fox Racing Shox

will be providing ample cush through those gnarly Euro race courses

Swobo

will be stylishly clothing everything other than my feet whilst off the bike

Crank Brothers

will be securing me to my bike by means of the incredibly light Eggbeater 11

Fi'zi:k

will be creating the most excellent saddle sores for the fifth year running

Sidi

will be putting their shoe in, literally

T-9 Lubricant

will be lubing my bike like it does the Boeing Jets it was made for

Thanks Everyone, and Ride On!

Kirchzarten

2010-05-28T02:51:00.002-06:00

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!

Europe 2010

2010-05-24T22:28:00.002-06:00

Tomorrow, I'll be strapping in for my second thrill ride through scenic Europe. USA Cycling has a great program established for us -- I'll be attending the U23 National Mountain Bike Camp in Kirchzarten, Germany for the second year in a row. I am excited and nervous for the trip -- excited to train on the beautiful singletrack in the Black Forest, nervous to see how I compare to last years trip in the racing we have planned -- as follows:

29.30 May 2010 - Swiss Racer Bikes Cup - Plaffeien, CH

5.6 June 2010 - Swiss Racer Bikes Cup - Champéry, CH

It's still up in the air as to whether I will be staying another week in Switzerland after the U23 Team departs on the 8th of June.

The season has had a bit of a slow start, but that's all part of the season plan. With no chance of making the World Cup team in the spring because of my final weeks at CU, I decided to take the spring as per usual by enjoying my time on the bike with a lot of long base miles, and not much specificity in my training. In the past, this has always worked for me for a July peak, and this year, July is a supremely important month. Here's what we have laid out:

26 June 2010 - Subaru Cup, Mt. Morris, WI

4 July 2010 - Firecracker 50 (Marathon Nationals), Breckenridge, CO

9.10 July 2010 - Pro XCT Sand Creek, Colorado Springs, CO

17.18 July 2010 - USA XC Mountain Bike Nationals, Sol Vista, CO

That seems to be the gist of things. I'll surely update more extensively on the long flight into Frankfurt tomorrow night. For now, auf wiedersehen.

The end is near...

2009-05-22T23:46:00.004-06:00

Hey all you blogger fanatics, occasional passerby's, and devoted followers... It's time for you to turn off those computers and move on with your lives. Now, I would be a hypocrite to be an activist for the anti-technological movement, but I certainly am an advocate for getting out into nature.

Why are you here anyway?

???

If it's because you are looking for some sort of insight into cycling training in Europe, I assure you, there are much more professional and respectable sites for that.

If it's because you're interested in my ideas, then here's another one for you... walk into nature and don't look back until you've had enough.

If it's because you find me inspiring, I would have to insist that all inspiring people - at least in my book - have in turn been inspired by nature. Ansel Adams, Edward Abbey, Teddy Roosevelt. Do people like Donald Trump inspire me? Oprah Winfrey? Barrack Obama? No. They inspire too many blind and reckless individuals. They represent the the hierarchy of riches, the blinded opinion of the populace, and the fantasy of politics. Let me alone to be inspired by the beauty of nature. And you - don't be inspired by me, go directly to the source.

The end is near. Three days. One 11.5 km hill-climb, one German cross-country, one exhausting trip to Frankfurt International, one 1:50 p.m. direct-to-Denver Lufthansa flight, and one 5000-mile journey away from home.

An essential part of any journey - Oscar-winning or otherwise - is the following speech:

Thank you all so much, thank you for your support through the good and the bad. It's been an amazing trip. First of all, my parents deserve all the credit, both for my trip and for the wonderful life I am living - Thanks, of course, is not enough to ignore the amount of money I owe them!

Thanks to my sister, Meghan, for the unyielding support along the way, and a developing bond that was occasionally marred by many years of living under the same roof, but nevertheless became evident the minute I stepped out the door. To Ashley, for taking a chance with me, not knowing what would become of it, and for her love and support everyday.

To my incredible sponsors - Cannondale and the whole list of companies supporting our team - because in cycling, you need a lot more than luck to be successful.

To my wonderful community, many of whom still have no idea that I left, which is the way I like it. To USA Cycling and Marc Gullickson for giving me the opportunity to race World Cups and attend the U23 Camp in Germany.

To my fellow Ameircan cyclists in Kirchzarten, Mitch Hoke, Tad Elliot, Tristan Cowie, Ethan Gilmour, Stephen Ettinger, Colin Osborn, Trevor Downing, and Rob Squire, for revamping my motivation during these last three weeks.

To Jimmy Deaton for race support and many a great laughs, and Joey Erst, without whom I'd have no bike to ride. Thank YOU, for reading my sometimes random updates, but supporting me nonetheless. And finally, and most importantly, thanks to the Family Stirnemann - Beat, Regula, Matthias, and Kathrin - for their incredible hospitality and providing me with the chance of a lifetime.

No title

2009-05-17T11:16:00.006-06:00

Hey guys. We had another amazing week of training here in Kirchzarten, and I've been feeling really in shape. No excuse for my bad result today in the Bundesliga German Series Race in Huebach, other than I just had no legs. Training for cycling is proving to be as difficult as ever, and I can never really tell whether I'm feeling good or not until the gun goes off. Today, I had a great start position (29 out of 100 or so starters), but wasn't able to hold it, and ended up in 60th place, 3 laps down. I was rolling backwards out of the start. My legs felt like jello on the climbs, but the descents were fun. It's safe to say that today wasn't my best result over here... but I'm looking up, and down... There are surely many good and bad races to come this season.

The only thing on my mind right now is home. After three months, you loose track of how homesick you are - it's overwhelming to think about, and so you shut it out. Now, however, I've come to the realization that I'm a week away from the comforts of my family and friends, my own bed, my own room, my beautiful home in Colorado... I have missed it all, but never as much as I do now.

Let's see. A couple nice rides this week. One day with the Rothaus Team doing core at the gym. My abs still hurt. We left on Saturday morning for Huebach, a three hour drive Northeast, and rode the course when we got there. Much to Joey's (our mechanic) dismay, the course was a muddy mess, and he spent until 11:00 that night cleaning machines for the race the next morning. Let me reiterate the fact that Joey is awesome - working on bikes for a group of racers is never easy, he's one man for the 6 of us. His hard work made the difference in a good race for many of us, me including. My defective brake is more defective than normal, and I am once again confined to a set of options - 1. Deal with it. 2. Buy a new brake. These problems with the bike need to stop, I've spent far too much money over here.

Ice after the race. yum. (Joey)

In the car after the race. I think we were all kind of out of it. (Left to right: Stephen Ettinger, Tristan Cowie, Colin Osborn)

So, I'm out for now. I have a lot of laundry to do, and a lot of sleep to catch up on, and a girlfriend that I really want to talk to...

2009-05-13T08:40:00.002-06:00

I think I have this special knack for finding epic rides. I started out today on a mission to find some singletrack, and that quest led me to the 15 km descent that I've been raving about since my return. AWESOME.

I was able to get some self-portrait work done with the little Canon Powershot - a nice addition to my thousands of photos from Europe.

Ended up about 3000 ft above home on this grassy ridge.

The singletrack downhill was a little piece of Colorado in my new German home. I'm excited to come home and rock the Colorado Trail.

The Dommkopf Diaries

2009-05-12T08:50:00.006-06:00

Guten Tag! Ich bin in Deutschland.

Here in Germany... Where to start? Arrived here on Thursday after a sad departure (for me at least) from my new home in Switzerland. Special thanks to the Stirnemanns for their hospitality, and continued friendship. Despite the sadness, I was excited to get Germany over with, honestly, and get home. However, Germany has opened new doors for me.

This place is beautiful - different, but beautiful. Of my travelling in Europe, which isn't that extensive, mind you, the village of Kirchzarten in the middle of the Black Forest is one of the most beautiful areas I've ever been, and the riding is by far the best. Roads spur and lead to nowhere - mountain passes, 2 hour climbs, flat fields, and rolling hills. I am happy to be in a new place to explore and lose myself in. The town is East of Freiburg about 10 km - a small little village nestled in the valley West of a small range of mountains. The mountains serve as excellent training ground for the US National U23 team - me included.

I hate to go into detail about the whole team, since I know some of them will probably see this post, but I'll give those back home a short character-analysis of everyone for their benefit - I hope no one minds.

My roommate, Tristan Cowie, is a laid-back, friendly rider from Bervard, North Carolina, though he grew up in Georgia. He rips the descents, and is always excited to be on the bike, taking photos, messing around, or racing and training. We fit well in our luxurious room(compared to the other rooms), which has two rooms within the one room, one with a suite, and the other with a kitchen and a pullout (my area). We're both really into the Schakolade Müesli with Vanilla Joghurt (chocolate muesli with vanilla yogurt, for all you that couldn't figure that one out), and Nutella. Note to self: Americans eat a lot. This house is mainly an eating ground, since rarely is any sleep done here...

Next door is the National Team, Tad Elliot, Rob Squire, and Ethan Gillmore... Tad is one of my personal heroes, and rides like a star everyday. He has always inspired me with his laid back attitude, but multitude of successes - many of which I tried to accomplish myself, and failed(or am still working on). He's a great guy - friendly and always working hard. Rob is the innocent new guy (not the only one, mind you, there's still me!) - an 18-year old phenom who popped onto the racing circuit and instant success just last year. He won the National Championships last year and was the top American at the World Championships, which landed him a spot on the U23 team this year. Rob is outgoing to the point of obnoxiousness, but only on occasion. Sorry Rob : ) Ethan is ... well, Ethan. He is quiet and always seems to be focused very hard on what is at hand for his future success. He's a great guy, with a great personality, but I just can't really put it into words - like a quiet, resourceful, outgoing, completely juxtaposing kind of guy.

In the same room is Stephen Ettinger, from Boseman, Montana (grew up in Washington state). (I guess if I'm giving location, I might wanna go back. Tad's from Durango, Colorado. Rob's from Sandy, Utah. Ethan's from somewhere in Vermont.) Anyway. Steve is outgoing and great company, always making good jokes and telling great stories. He rides well too, and was riding for the US at Worlds a couple years back.

In the final room is Mitch Hoke - the tall humanitarian, who sees the good and bad in people with an honest and straight-to-the-point joke. I've known Mitch for a couple years, though I haven't seen him in a couple either, and he hasn't changed much. Still a great guy to be around, and lots of fun. He likes his sleep, and his food. Mitch is from Carbondale, Colorado, though currently in Colorado Springs at CC.

With Mitch is Trevor Downing, a quiet, conservative guy, who nonetheless tells great jokes and stories. He's silent but brooding, always seems to be thinking about something. He was riding for the DEVO team throughout his Junior years, and now rides for Mafia and Ft. Louis College Cycling in Durango. Trevor comes from the East Coast somewhere, I believe.

Wow, there's a lot of people here.

The last spot goes to Colin Osborn - the sleeper. He likes his sleep, and his coffee, and his food. Colin is a great guy, voted the most Euro of all of us here. He likes to split his rides into 3-5 sections with coffee in between each. Colin is Colin. Funny guy.

Other than the other guys here... Jimmy Deaton is kind of the man-put-in-charge, but nonetheless, one of the boys. He likes to joke around, listen to rap, and hang out with us while we talk about random cycling and other testosterone-prone things. Jimmy is somewhat of a big deal in the world of cycling - 199? Downhill WORLD CHAMPION, and mountain bike hall of famer. Watch this sick Old School video!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KFxL8yQakrk

Jimmy's the MAN!

Joey Erst. The man behind the machine. If the National Team is the machine, that is. Joey runs shop here in Germany. The head mechanic here in Germany, he runs all bike maintenence cleaning and chain lubing that we forget to do or can't figure out for ourselves. He's a great guy, with lots of experience. Fun to hang out with, and very reliable.

Finally, the brains behind the operation, Marc Gullickson (Jimmy's the man, Joey's the wrench, Marc's the brains. There we go, it's all situated.) ... Marc is a quiet, conservative guy, but has a lot of enthusiasm for the team. I owe everything to him for letting me race World Cups and letting me come to camp. He runs things around here, and tries to run things in the US while here too. His official title I believe is Marc G. - USACycling Mountain Bike and Cyclocross Director.

So... the lowdown since we've arrived. Wow, I have to catch UP!

Arrived on Thursday, ate dinner, that's pretty self explanatory.

Friday, went on a short ride with the guys around Kirchzarten and got a little lay of the land. Ate at a great restaurant, and situated the rooms.

On Saturday, we headed down to Switzerland (only two days after leaving) for the Racer Bikes Cup in Solothurn. The course was 80% road (both paved and dirt), with some awesome singletrack for the other 20%, but despite the lack of trail, it was an awesome course in my mind. This positive attitude led to my best finish over here in Europe - 45th!! I started 46th on the grid, and so I moved up one spot, which is IMPRESSIVE in the elite category. I had a fantastic race. I even beat a couple of Americans, which was my main goal, honestly. I didn't want to be the slowest one here... On saturday, I wasn't. Granted, those guys were still jetlagged. Anyway, it was a great race, and I got to see all my Swiss friends for the last time. Sad, but happy at the same time. Check out www.tcracing16.blogspot.com for a course description from Tristan.

Saturday night I slept like a rock. Bad news for the race on Sunday. In a short explaination, if you sleep before a race, it usually means you're not ready for the race.

Sunday we had a local race in Wittnau. It was a small race, but I did not fare so well. The race included the typical Euro climb, a short section of over 25% grade. This climb led to my demise, and I blew up on the second lap. Sadly, there were 10 laps in the race. Ouch. I got 27th out of 30 -the last Amerikaner. Oh well, you can't be good everyday. Tad won the race, Rob was second, Tristan was 5th!!! Nice job guys!

Wow, long writeup.

The night after the race. I didn't sleep. I haven't slept since then more than 6 hours... in all.

The last couple day's we've been training around Kirchzarten. Great rides with great guys. This place is awesome.

A MUST see.

2009-05-06T13:40:00.003-06:00

It's my last day here in Switzerland, and I have only one thing to say... Thank you, everyone for your support along the journey. Of course, it's not over yet -- I still have three weeks of training in Germany. But it's sad to leave this beautiful place. That's pretty much all I have to say... An undefinable amount of thanks goes to the Stirnemann family for their incredible hospitality.

Enough sappy stuff - watch this video of the Junior Men race in Houffalize. Fortunately, this was the only crash at the start of the races for the day - no mishap in my race - but even so, this is incredible. Notice the Quad with the cameraman on the back that caused the whole mess. Watch, and cringe.

http://vimeo.com/4469683

Coming home in three weeks!

Oh yes, I almost forgot! Watch the highlights from the Houffalize Elite Men race also - http://freecaster.tv/mtb/1007880/nissan-uci-mtb-wc-09-houffalize-xco-highlights -- you won't see me in there... I was watching the race live myself because of my broken bike.

Houffalize World Cup

2009-05-05T05:15:00.007-06:00

"If mountain biking had spring classics, Houffalize would be the Paris-Roubaix" - Todd Wells.

Shit happens. Murphy's Law. C'est la vie.

No amount of patriotism, hope, training, and all the other things I used to prepare for Houffalize could stop the inevitable. Things break, and that's just how it goes. When you have an essay due at midnight, the internet will always crash at 11:45, giving you just enough time to throw a fit before realizing the futility of your efforts. The car will always break down on the deserted road, miles from civilization. The bike will always break in the biggest race of your career. But you never prepare for the inevitable, that's human nature. "Let's prepare for everything that won't happen, only to forget about the one thing that will happen." Existentialism at it's best.

Houffalize is a small village in the middle of Belgium, surrounded by hills and logging roads. A beautiful place, but evidently boasting a population of less than 1000. However, this place is known throughout the world as the host of arguably the biggest, most infamous, loudest, craziest, most insane mountain bike race in the World. The town seems to be built AROUND the race course, and not visa-versa. Everything is easy access to the grueling cross country course, and there are even loud speakers throughout the town that blast music and live results during the races. It's a village centered on one weekend in the year, and all of Belgium (and most of Europe) is here to see it. Here's a look at our hotel:

Let's take a look at the course, why don't we: Take the walk -

http://freecaster.tv/mtb/1007825/nissan-uci-mtb-wc-09-houffalize-xco-course-walk

Two problems I have with this video: 1. Riders are preriding the race course in the vid, so not going as fast, and there aren't 250 people on course, like in the race. And 2. Those downhill sections? They're steeper than you think. Those uphill sections? Worse than the downhill. And those rooty technical sections? The camera makes them look lame, when in fact, they are so NOT lame. Come and ride the course with me sometime, if I ever get to come back for a second chance here in the mountain bike world cup capital of the world.

Any questions about the intensity of the course? Just ask Rowena Fry from Australia...

The race. 5 laps plus one start lap (start lap was a half a lap of the regular lap, plus a killer start climb - about 500 meters of 20% road). Julien Absalon pushed the pace out of the gates. I started 205th out of about 220 starters, which meant WAR on the first descent. We started fast. Go find a 20% grade, take your bike, and SPRINT up it giving 150% - for about 2 minutes.

In the first descent, I took many risks to get a better placement. On many occasions, we had to wait for the 200 riders in front of us to organize before we could ride - sometimes we waited around for minutes. The whole time, guys were cutting the tape (aka, cheating big time), punching, pushing, fighting for that open space. I didn't get very bad in the mix this time, I just rode my own race... and then.... it was over. In the first descent of the start loop, I bent my chain and several cogs on my front chainrings. Luckily, Joey, the USA mechanic, was waiting at the tech zone not 100 yards from when I realized my mechanical, but there wasn't much we could do. Joey had to remove the chain completely in order to get the knots out of it. To this day, we still can't really explain what happened. I was in the right gear, and I did NO shifting on the downhill - however, only those two things could have resulted in this problem. Frustrated? Me too.

I had been racing for only about 10 minutes. However, I jumped on my bike and raced. I had lost about 3 minutes to the BACK of the field, but was on a hellbent goal to catch up and get some laps in. However, my chain was bent and the drive train was busted, and climbing was like trying to get a car to start in 3rd gear. The chain slipped with every pedal stroke, causing me to bust my knees against the head tube several times. I was on a rampage, riding like a lunatic, against a bike that wouldn't respond. Through the two climbs and the two descents, I rode all the way to this climb:

I was far behind by now, more than 5 minutes... but the most amazing thing happened on this climb, and I will never forget it. Thousands of fans lined the course, 5-10 deep in some areas, taking photos and screaming their heads off. When riders talk about Houffalize, this is always the section that they comment on. I climbed the first switchback, and for the first time during my racing career, I heard the fans... Usually I zone out to any noise, but this group was so amazingly loud... The grinding of my bike was drowned out by the raucous. On the second switchback, the Swiss National Team was watching, and one of them yelled my name; after that, everything changed. People were screaming my name, people that didn't know me, people that didn't care how far behind I was, people that just loved the sport and were there like a bunch of insane football fans. They scream in unison, "Hop, hop, hop" ("go go go") and they scream my name. My mechanical was a blessing in disguise - I got the crowd all to myself for the 2 minute ascent, and I wouldn't want it any other way. That moment will surely last in my memory as the most incredible in my whole mountain biking career.

When I reached Marc at the second tech zone, I had to pull out. I was going to trash my bike (I already had, but didn't know the full extent of it until I got the bill from Küttel Radsport, my local Cannondale shop, later that week), and my body was toast from fighting a broken machine. I raced for a little over 20 minutes. C'est la vie.

Mirrors of my thoughts

2009-04-30T06:07:00.013-06:00

I think out of all those in the audience, Sam will appreciate this most of all:

What can I tell them? Sealed in their metallic shells like molluscs on wheels, how can I pry the people free? The auto as tin can, the park ranger as opener. Look here, I want to say, for godsake folks get out of them there machines, take off those fucking sunglasses and unpeel both eyeballs, look around; throw away those goddamned idiotic cameras! For chrissake (sic) folks what is this life if full of care we have no time to stand and stare? eh? Take off your shoes for a while, unzip your fly, piss hearty, dig your toes in the hot sand, feel that raw and rugged earth, split a could of big toenails, draw blood! Why not? Jesus Christ, lady, roll that window down! You can't see the desert if you can't smell it. Dusty? Of course it's dusty--this is Utah! But it's good dust, good red Utahn dust, rich in iron, rich in IRONY. Turn that motor off. Get out of that piece of iron and stretch your varicose veins, take off your brassiere and get some hot sun on your wrinkled dugs! You sir, squinting at the map with your radiator boiling over and your fuel pump vapor-locked, crawl out of that shiny hunk of GM junk and take a walk--yes, leave the old lady and those squawling brats behind for a while, turn your back on them and take a long quiet walk straight into the canyons, get lost for a while, come back when you damn well feel like it, it'll do you and her and them a world of good. Give the kids a break too, let them out of the car, let them go scrambling over the rocks hunting for rattlesnakes and scorpions and anthills--yes sit, let them out, turn them loose; how dare you imprison little children in your goddamned upholstered horseless hearse? Yes sir, yes madam, I entreat you, get out of those motorized wheelchairs, get off your foam rubber backsides, stand up straight like men! like women! like human beings! and walk--walk--WALK upon our sweet blessed land!

Edward Abbey - Desert Solitaire (290-291)

We have agreed not to drive our automobiles into cathedrals, concert halls, art museums, legislative assemblies, private bedrooms and the other sanctums of our culture; we should treat our national parks with the same deference, for they, too, are holy places.

Abbey, Desert Solitaire (65)

Nature was here something savage and though beautiful. I looked with awe at the ground I trod on, to see what the Powers had made there, the form and fashion and material of their work. This was of which we have heard, Here was no man's garden, but the It was not lawn, nor pasture, nor mead, nor woodland, nor lea, nor arable, nor waste land. It was the fresh and natural surface of the planet Earth, as it was made forever and ever,--to be the dwelling of man, we say,--so Nature made it, and man may use it if he can. There was clearly felt the presence of a force not bound to be kind to man. --to be inhabited by men nearer of kin to the rocks and to wild animals than we. We walked over it with a certain awe, stopping, from time to time, to pick the blueberries which grew there, and had a smart and spicy taste. Perchance where our wild pines stand, and leaves lie on their forest floor, in Concord, there were once reapers, and husbandmen planted grain; but here not even the surface had been scarred by man, but it was a specimen of what God saw fit to make this world. What is it to be admitted to a museum, to see a myriad of particular things, compared with being shown some star's surface, some hard matter in its home! I stand in awe of my body, this matter to which I am bound has become so strange to me. I fear not spirits, ghosts, of which I am one,--that my body might,--but I fear bodies, I tremble to meet them. What is this Titan that has possession of me? Talk of mysteries! Think of our life in nature,--daily to be shown matter, to come in contact with it,--rocks, trees, wind on our cheeks! the solid earth! the actual world! the common sense! Contact! Contact! Who are we? where are we?

Henry David Thoreau, Ktaadn

Wilderness appealed to those bored or disgusted with man and his works. It not only offered an escape from society but also was an ideal stage for the Romantic individual to exercise the cult that he frequently made of his own soul. The solitude and total freedom of the wilderness created a perfect setting for either melancholy or exultation.

Roderick Nash, Wilderness and the American Mind

Anyone who knows me well knows that I get claustrophobic... not a diagnosed claustrophobic, but my own kind of phobia--people. After spending 3 months in Europe, the thing I miss most is Colorado. From there, I plan to never leave for as long as this again. By Colorado, I do not mean the rectangular state in the central United States--I mean Colorado almost as an adjective, for the wilderness, a Coloradan Wilderness. I miss the open. I am not as much afraid of people as I am of a situation where I do not have the OPTION to leave. As long as there is that option--even if I never take it (which I will, trust me)--I am okay.

When I get home, I am heading out for a nice refreshing trip. Training can wait a day. I can have a life still, even if that life comes only once or twice a month with a lonely trip into the uninhabited wilderness. Don't get me wrong... I am NOT Christopher McClandless; I do not have a recluse mind. I do, however, have to get away at times. And this is what I plan to do.

The only company that I would certainly enjoy would be Ashley and Meghan--for them I have missed the most, and would certainly need a whole week of time to tell them all of my stories from far-away Europe.

World Cup Offenburg

2009-04-28T11:45:00.009-06:00

Friday - showed up in Offenburg - staying in a nice little hotel (3 stars!) in Durbach, a little town about 6 km from the venue. I took the day off, two days before the race, but joined the Swiss Team for cleaning bikes afterwards, etc. At around 10:00 PM, we got news that bikes had been stolen. Patrick Luthi lost his Rocky Mountain ($10,000), Vania Shoemaker lost the same (10,000), Emelien Barban lost his Trek (7,500), Fabian Paumann lost his Merida 96 (12,000), Patrick (coach) lost his Haibike (10,000), and Matthias lost his Merida 96 with NoTubes 1180 gram wheels (15,000). The bike room was open from the inside door, and a table was propped up against the outside door. The theives came in THROUGH the hotel, snuck the bikes out through the Sauna room underneath the hotel while we were preparing for bed - the people assigned to sleeping with the bikes (two coaches) arrived to find 6 bikes missing.

Over $50,000 was written down on the police report. After the same thing happening in Houffalize last year, we were stunned. Fortunately, all were able to get new bikes by 2:30 the next day. Matthias rode on Ralph Naf's, Patrick on Florian Vogel's, Vania on Nino Schurter's, Emilien on his own from home, and Fabian on a 96 from Jose Hermida. It's nice to have a tight-nit swiss cycling family around to rely on. :)

To give you some perspective on the fancy hotel, we were staying in the same hotel as the Scott SwissPower team -the best team in the world with an almost unlimited budget. The garden was immense, and the rooms were great! Unfortunately, I didn't sleep a wink the entire two nights. Nerves and heat got to me.

Saturday - rode the course. I can't even tell you about it. Words, pictures, videos, they don't give it justice. However, to get a taste of the course, visit this link:

http://freecaster.tv/mtb/1007774/xco-course-walk-germany

To view the race highlights (and a half-second section with me at 3:16) visit:

http://freecaster.tv/mtb/1007790/nissan-uci-mtb-world-cup-offenburg-xco-highlights

It's probably my favorite mountain bike course I've ever ridden. This stuff would make Meghan scared (a hard thing to do on the downhill). I met up with Marc Gullickson (head of USA Cycling MTB) at around 10 and slipped into my stars and stripes. It felt like all the pressure of my country was on my shoulders, but also the support therein. Unfortunately, this ecstasy only lasted about 12 hours, and the next day, the pressure was overbearing the excitement to compete for my country.

Anyway, the course. The course had 5 technical sections constructed specifically for spectator enjoyment. Indeed, the WHOLE course was constructed in this way. All five are easily accessible by a 15 minute walk down a "spectator path" where, during the race, 30,000 people crowded into every corner of the forest with Bratwurst in hand to watch the race's many successes and failures.

Dual Speed - a section of the trail that splits into two singletrack sections, each littered with 5 separate log drops from 3-10 feet high. (not mandatory drops, mind you, but enough to get your heart in a stupor). The right line was easier, but as all easy lines go, it was also slower. The only option for me was the left line, the faster, which included three consecutive MANUAL drops - where you actually have to lift up the front to keep from going over the bars. Here, Matthias demonstrates exceptional ability on the Left line of Dual Speed:

North Shore - A section of steep tight switchbacks leading into a 30 foot WALL of a descent into a sharp left hand birm. By far my favorite part of the course, if you hit the WALL just right, you can launch it, if not... well, fans are softer than rocks. : )

Kathrin at the bottom of North Shore. Kathrin didn't have the race she was looking for, after a good start, she ended up dropping out on lap 3.

World Class Drop - Does this need any explanation? 5 feet of airtime into a 50 degree pitch for 20 feet and then a sharp left hander with no birm and PLENTY of brake bumps.

Wolfsdrop - a scary drop. Scarier by the fact that it's followed by a ridiculous climb out of the pit.

"A scary drop?" (Tanja after her respectable finish, 16th, after a crash at the beginning of the race)

Finally, after 2 km of smooth climbing and descending road and singletrack, comes the Snake pit, a section of trail littered with roots rutted enough to taco wheels, flat two tires at the same time, and break bikes (many many bikes). After as many laps, this was the toughest section of course, over 200 m long, requiring utter concentration and a hellofalotta flex in the arms. I came out every-time feeling like I'd just been on the bench press for an hour.

The descents are fast and scary, tight and littered with random trees and stumps marked with neon orange spray paint, that nonetheless take me off guard several times. I love this course. I'm fast in the pre-ride, and I'm sure that Rob and the other US guys are a little nerved. They ask me about training in Switzerland, and about European racing, and I let them know. When it comes to the race, however, I'm not teaching anyone anything... It's them who need to be teaching me, because evidently I am still far from the strongest American here.

186th. The number doesn't sound so bad. 4 laps down gives my race a little bit more of a perspective. 4 laps. I only completed THREE laps before the bald UCI official directed me off course and I silently teared up. 3 laps. 1 hour. It wasn't even a race, it was a slaughter.

The start was utterly hell. Standing in Box 8 filled with 50 or so other riders (the last box had no assigned amount of riders, it was just 190-and up), I could see riders from the first box being20called to the line... they were over 200 yards away. The call-up took 30 minutes. 250 riders, 250 carbon racing bikes, 250 national jerseys and jerseys of the most respected teams in the world. 14 Americans, if I counted correctly. 4 U23 Americans, all in the bottom 100. I looked up with 2 minutes to go and saw what must be the same sight of a professional soccer player at a world cup. 30,000 SCREAMING, yelling, shouting, whistling, horn-blowing fans - in a giant stadium, along the sides of the barriers, up and around the start loop, on chairs and tables, all screaming, all watching us. I felt not even a scrap of nervousness at the start--I remember thinking how weird it was, considering how nervous I'd been for Matthias's start--I was completely overcome by20the spectacle, and when the gun went off, it all disappeared to my eyes and ears. The next thing I saw and heard rocked my brain, and still haunts me. 25 meters into the race, in a gravel section on the grass, 20-30 riders went down without warning. Handlebars were stuck in my wheels, bloody elbows and arms were fighting against me to hold position in what, for most that went down, was a less-than-3-second ordeal. I was not caught in the crash, but behind it, and had to back up and out in order to free myself from the chaos. CHAOS. For one whole start lap and half of the first lap, it was utterly unbelievable. I have abrasions and contusions from everyth ing on my legs and elbows - other legs and elbows, chain rings, chains, a considerable variety of tires, handlebars (in the face mostly) and cleats. I learned more foreign curse words in 200 meters than I ever would traveling around Europe through the slums. People hit me, pushed me, purposely grabbed my front brake, knocked heads, threw bikes, spit on riders and... so did I, at least, the semi-civil stuff. I fought more than once for a spot in line that inevitably would only be a half-second faster than the other, and for me, NOTHING to brag about. We RAN our bikes through each technical spot. I shouldered my bike, gave up riding, and just ran down Dual Speed - much too steep to run, mind you. In that fist lap, I lost all sense of sanity, and so did everyone else.

After the excitement of that lap, things deteriorated quickly. By the middle of the second lap, I was fighting mentally against myself, and the negative side was winning... "You represent your country. You wear your nation's flag on your shoulders. And YOU have let your country down." "You let USAC down; Marc will regret putting you on the team, he will regret inviting you to Germany, and won't want you to race Houffalize."

Prominent features of an exhausted and defeated mind.

When I heard the moto coming up on me after 3 laps, I started beating myself up to get to the finish in time to complete a fourth lap. Never would I live down a World Cup where I finished FOUR laps down. In all my time in Switzerland, I had a lways completed my lap goals. In Neiderhelfenschwil, I was one lap down, in Schaan 2, and in Tesserete 1, these had been my goals... My goal for Offenburg was to complete 5 of 7. I was on my 3rd when the official gestured to me in the most demeaning way. I teared up, alone for a minute, behind the cover of my opaque lenses, and then I got over it. I went to Marc, and apologized very seriously, though he laughed. I went to the mechanic and did the same - "sorry for wasting your time" - to typical responses: "Oh no, you did well, you did what you could, I am proud of your finishing the race." when really, deep down, I know each of them feels a twinge of what it is that had me apologizing to them.

I only teared up once more, though no one noticed, when I came upon the entire Swiss National team, surprised to see me out of the race so early. I have never been so humiliated in my life, and so comforted by the joking words, "was it hard?" Their judgment was softened by the fact that many of them suffered equally the day before. I had just completed 3 laps, and they knew what was going through my head - though I insisted on telling them so: "I'm very embarrassed" was all I said, and was happy to get no reply... That's what I needed.

Beat provided only a congratulations and constructive criticism.

I trusted my camera to Michelle Hediger (not normally my kind of thing, but I was so excited about maybe having pictures of me for once, and the fact that the hotel didn't seem to be a safe place to store valuable things... anyway), and she took over 200 photos of my and Kathrin's race.

They are really really great photos, and I am very happy to have them - chocolate for Michelle. Michelle dominated in the Junior race - 2nd place, and Vania was 3rd, the French Swiss rider. Both rode extremely well - Tanja Starkemann (16th?) crashed hard in the beginning, and came back through the WHOLE field to 16th (?)

Reto Indergand was the first Swiss Junior. He rode like a star against the dominant Germans and Italians, and was not expected to do so well. The photos of his post race are some of the best I got - he's usually a very quiet guy.

Matthias was under too much pressure... and didn't have the race he was looking for. He rode strong though, and was not unhappy for more than 10 minutes following the race. You can't be on top everyday.

Fabian rode extremely well to somewhere in the top 20. A very good result for the 17-year old.

Patrick Lüthi is one of my favorites among the Swiss guys, always smiling, always great to be around, always talking with a heavy french accent, which is great! haha

My roommate, and the sole Liechtensteiner at the race, Benedikt Mündle.

Michelle leads after the start lap.

Junior Men Start.

Bene(dikt) at the start. Unfortunately, he had a flat in lap three, and was forced to DNF - which eventually lead to an inside joke around the cliche "shit happens" which eventually turned into "shit happens in Liechtenstein" which lead to the following photoshop from me:

Bene.

Matthias

Patrick... being Patrick.

Bene.

The most impressive result of the race for me was this picture, which appeared on VeloNews.com a few days after the race. VeloNews, for those who don't know, is the biggest cycling magazine in the world (I believe). Look at that crowd. I couldn't hear any of them... I was too focused.

That's all for now. Watch the next World Cup - Houffalize - Live on Freecaster.tv! It shows 8 hours earlier in the US in Colorado, so figure out your time zone, and watch the race. Houffalize is arguably the biggest and most famous (or infamous) mountain bike race in the world, with over 300 Elite Men starters (including me) and 50,000 fans... wow. It's going to be a heck of a race.

On May 7th, I leave Switzerland for good - I'll be attending the USA Cycling U23 camp in the Black Forest, Germany for 3 weeks.

On May 25th, I fly home... Home. I miss home.

Thanks all for your support!

Danke Schön!

Kevin

2009-04-20T05:50:00.001-06:00

www.radsportphoto.net - Tesserete. Picture #: 6965, 6984, 7003, 7048

Tesserete Racer Bikes Cup

2009-04-19T11:45:00.005-06:00

I am surprised I'm not keeling over right now from lack of motivation. Motivation to stand, to write the blog, to ride my bike... to race a world cup in one week. I'm surprised, because despite the horribly upsetting results of yesterday's race, I still feel extremely motivated. This surprises me because usually following an embarrassing defeat, I am subject to lack of motivation just like the next guy. Not the case this time. This time, the defeat has only made me more resilient to adversity.

I thought I got last in Schaan, when in fact, I was two whole places out of last.

I knew I got last yesterday... Dead Last. And this time, I was not incorrect in my knowing. Out of the 50 or so finishers, I was the last to cross it--running with a flat tire from across the finish line in the pouring rain. The race was a nightmare, let me tell you.

The course in Tesserete was a fantastic combination of climbing and descending, smooth and technical. It was a mountain biking dream course. 90% of the race was singletrack, which wove in and out of thick forest and wrapped around trees and rocks. After an unexpectedly sunny pre-ride on Saturday, I fell in love with the 7km loop. Unfortunately, no amount of love for the course could change the weather, and--about halfway through the first lap, the sun left for good, and so did my strength to keep with the Elite pack.

The first lap was comparable to unclogging a sink. The gun sounded, and the Drain-O exploded us out of the starting gate. 70 riders on a winding path-- 6-8 riders across in a section of trail that could only fit 3 or 4. Elbows flew, handlebars caught, knees and hands pushed for position. I watched... from the back. I had started there, and instead of mixing into the starting frenzy, I layed low, and made my move on the technical back stretch. Unfortunately, this was not the best of tactics. By the time I was able to make it past the 10 or 15 riders at the back of the pack, the front groups had already created a gap, and I had a hard time closing it. This first lap effort, for me, was a success, and I rolled through the finish in a decent position, 5 or ten riders from the back. My success was short felt, however. With the start of the second lap, I felt great, but obviously the riders around me had more power. By the end of lap 3, I was in dead last... and I knew it. I rode alone for the rest of the race. Utterly alone. It was an effort to keep racing--how can you race against no one but yourself and expect to compete? It was like racing my heart out for a reassuring pat on the back--mind you, not a very rewarding exchange for 2 and a half hours of pain and suffering. I rode for myself, for my family cheering me on back home, for Meghan, who herself would be racing her heart out in Fruita in several hours, for Ashley, who would support me, no matter what place, for the community that brought me up, and taught me that this sport is about more than just winning, or losing. I rode my own race, unaware to the muffled cheers that preceded me, unaware of the embarrassment I might feel after the race when, as if on a queue from irony, I was asked in amazement, "You are racing in Offenburg?!", unaware that the pain of last place would be short this time, and I would continue on with my training within 24 hours... I rode alone for 5 laps, and then I flatted. With 3 kilometers to go, I jumped off my bike and ran. I ran like I had nothing to lose, like I was actually fighting for a podium spot. In reality, I was already a good 3 minutes behind the rider ahead of me, and no one was coming to catch me from behind. I ran so hard that my legs gave way at the finish--running in cycling cleats through the foot-deep mud is no easy task, and I didn't stop, not even to let Florian Vogel by on his way to victory. I ran away from the pain and the embarrassment of my result, and the seeming ineffectively of my training. I ran until i was so fatigued that nothing mattered, and this, in the end, is what saved my race. Because I beat myself into a pulp, I could feel no regret for my race, only relief that the pain was over. Today, I don't remember much of the event, only a sort of emptiness of looking down at a flat tire and realizing that I could not just stop.

I remember thinking, towards the end of the run, "If I don't make it in this sport, I could always go back to running."

I continue to run, hypothetically, hoping that the despair of my horrible race will not catch up to me, and that I won't start seriously considering the obvious--that next weeks World Cup in Offenburg could be very very difficult. No doubt.

I continue to stay on my feet, I do not back down, because of one thing. I know that I'm in the best shape of my life, and I will come back to the U.S. and prove it. That is the only thing on my mind. That and Ashley, and family, and home... Homesickness is a terrible thing--if you have the choice, take a 3 week vacation, not a 3 month one. If you're training over seas, take a good book (or 10) and a picture of the ones you love. (I have a whole laptop full). That is enough to keep your homesickness down for at least a week. After that, you're on your own.

Oh yes, petty details -- The Tessin Valley is beautiful. The church bells in Tessrete ring loudly every half-hour ALL NIGHT. The camping in Tesserete is 20 meters from the Church. Church bells, if slept through, can create the most incoherently terrifying dreams. Roots and mud and slop don't mix. If you get a sponsorship from Schwalbe, make sure that they keep their end of the deal, and SEND YOU TIRES (I am utterly out of tires... and money.) Anyone wishing to donate to the Kevin Is Broke (aka only $80 and still 5 weeks in Europe) Fund can wire it directly to my parents... without them, I wouldn't be here, so my first plan of action upon returning home and getting a job is to pay them back. Depending on the results from the U23 race in Sea Otter today.. right now... I will be chosen or declined for a USA camp in Germany for 3 weeks starting May 13. Life of Pi is a painstakingly religious book for 50 pages, and takes a turn for the better over the last 200. I love good books. Life of Pi is a good book. Matthias won in Tesserete by 3 minutes. An exciting and somewhat unexpected victory. He is extremely happy, and was the first of the swiss riders selected for the World Cups (by Beat, mind you.) Kathrin had another unfortunate race--broke her fork with one lap to go, she was in 5th in the Elite category, and first in u-23. Despite the bad luck, Kathrin is taking it hard on herself, a painful thing to see for a young determined rider like her. I felt great training today. Matthias didn't feel so good - at least he's still human.

I need sleep, and a shower.

Racing in the Rain.

2009-04-17T00:18:00.002-06:00

This time tomorrow, I'll be preparing for my race in the forecasted rain.

Sorry it's been a while since I've caught up, but everyone's on spring break anyway--so I didn't feel it was too necessary to update you all on a long week of training.

I felt great this week--rode longer, harder, faster. I feel like it's finally coming around, and I'm once again comfortable on the bike. There's a lot to talk about for this week of good training, but unfortunately, I have to leave now. We leave for Tesserete in about an hour, so I will update you all after the race! Check out cyclingnews.com for immediate results after the finish.

Racer Bikes Cup Tesserete - 16h00 start Saturday. (For you guys in the U.S., that means Saturday morning).

See you all in a couple days!

Schaan Racer Bikes Cup, redefined.

2009-04-07T23:07:00.003-06:00

Unfortunately, for the race in Schaan, I was racing and not taking photos. I can't be two people at once, you know? But... the photographer from the Merida Suisse Team got some great shots of me, as I posted the link below - for those of you that didn't visit the site, here are the photos from my race.

Hammering up the first flat section after the climb (not at all flat, but flatter than the climb)

On the descent - man I need some color on those legs.

Post-feed zone. Two seconds later, I entered the PAIN section of the course - a 500 meter wall of mud and roots.

Nice Shot! I love this photo. Love the new kit too, looks great on the bike, though I could really use a Green Scalpel.

Like this one... (Gujan got second in Schaan)

and those...

My teammates from Europe... One world Champion, Roel Paulisson, and two other hot-shots, Martin Gujan and Marco Fontana.

Anyway, back to the race.

At the finish... exhausted.

No words...

2009-04-07T11:41:00.002-06:00

E-mail from Marc Gullickson, Mountain Bike Director @ USA Cycling:

I have decided to get you registered for Offenburg and Houffalize.

Marc Gullickson

USA Cycling-Mountain Bike & Cyclo-Cross Program Director

photos.

2009-04-06T12:22:00.001-06:00

www.radsportphoto.de - This is the photographer for the Merida Suisse Team. Check out SCHAAN RACER BIKES CUP, on the left toolbar, then go to the ELITE race, and I'm in photos : 2915, 2964, 3022, 3063, 3066, 3002. COOL SHOTS!

Let's talk about pain.

2009-04-05T12:06:00.007-06:00

Lately I've been writing a lot about pain. Indeed, to many of you, the entire trip to Switzerland may seem like it has been painful judging by my more significant entries (true to a certain extent, but the good far outweighs the bad.) The physical pain is durable to a certain extent. In the case of a crash, the shock that pulses through your body is enough to keep your pain-threshold high - perhaps the most painful part of carnage is the shower following, and the inevitable visit to the cycling med, where the nurse always insists on rubbing the wounds clean with a soapy, wiry brush. In races, the pain is altogether different. At times, it feels like your whole body is consumed by the dull pulse of the pedal-stroke, and your heart beats with a fury that seems to shake the handlebars. The crowd, however big and small, has gone mute to your ears, and the only thing you hear is your innermost thoughts screaming against the pain and screaming all the same for you to keep pushing. This pain is what we cyclists live for... it is a successful pain - a pain that expresses the training and preparation that went into the effort. This kind of pain becomes addicting after a victory (whether by your own goals, or by winning). The contrast between 2 hours of intense effort and 2 minutes of ecstasy following the race is tremendous and leaves a mark on a rider, and for me, it is the drive to win that keeps me training and racing my heart out.

The pain I went through today was unlike any other, and was not a pain that I had hoped to experience, nor would ever hope to experience again. It was a mixed pain - both physical and mental. The physical pain was bearable, as it should be. The mental pain was brain-numbing. The nerves before the race had me eating little, forgetting vital parts of race-preparation, and paying little attention during my warmup to cars and other riders. The concentration that I counted on so many times before was absent, replaced by an irrational nervousness that climaxed with the sound of the gun, at 14h00. The physical pain was immediate - the start was like a slingshot of power and adrenaline - 50 or so racers from various nationalities vying for a chance to prove themselves as the new contender. The course began steeply on a paved road, climbing up for a kilometer or so, where it then joined a double-track climb. The second feed zone was placed at a flatter spot on this road, which continued to climb for another kilometer (the first feed was located in the Start/Finish, along with the tech zone.) Immediately following the feed, and giving no time for extended recovery, was a 500 meter climb through the mud straight up the fall-line. This climb, on the first lap, is where I first found myself in the grasps of fatigue. It was evident that I was still in the latter end of the flu; feeling lethargic after 2 kilometers of racing is not normal. The Swiss, by regulation, are required to attain a certain amount of points as an Amateur racer before they are licensed as a professional when moving from the Junior to Adult Categories. For me, however, this was not the case with USA Cycling, who allowed a certain number of Junior X racers this season to move directly into Pro. For this reason, I was the youngest racer on the line that day, by over a year. Continuing on, the climb crested out onto a flat road section leading down to the final climb of the loop. The entire climb was a mere 3 kilometers long, followed by 2 kilometers of rooty, muddy, grassy single-track. Ride ten of those back to back, and you've got a 31-mile sufferfest to worry about.

After the first lap, after going down on an off-camber corner, I found myself in the bottom ten, after the second, I was second to last, and after the third, I lost count of laps and I was sitting in what I thought at the time was dead-last, but ended up being third to last. About an hour into the race, the leaders passed me (an improvement over Niederhelfinschwil, where I got lapped 40 minutes into the race), and since the race was only half-way over, I was slowly lapped by a number of riders from the rest of the field. It's amazing how an audience can react to a race in such a way that it helps tremendously those in contention, and hurts even worse those who aren't. Even after being lapped, it was evident that the crowd could tell that I was not a member of the group racing past me, and I wouldn't be surprised if many of them knew that I was one lap down. The normal phenomenon occurred each lap, as I have experienced as a spectator myself - the fans don't cheer for the last rider, who suffers the most - the cheers dwindle when I come upon the crowd, as if they know that no amount of cheering will change my suffering.

Sometimes in a long, bad race, the body shuts down. Either it refuses to go on, and you are forced to drop out, or it shuts off the pain, and you feel numb on the bike, able to finish with an air of self-accomplishment. The infuriating part of this race was that neither of these happened. Indeed, the normal absence of thought that I experience in a race - to be replaced by sheer concentration - was absent, leaving behind the horrible mental workings of the mind against the body. Over the course of the race, my mind fought to keep a grip over the body, which protested any continued effort. Most influential in the pain was the fact that I had no idea how many laps I had done, or would have to do. At the end of the race, I flew straight through the tape crossing the course - under the assumption that I had another lap, I didn't even notice the crowd of riders being congratulated and signing autographs, finishing a whole two laps ahead of me.

Humiliation. For this race, the only positive thing that came about were two proverbs - both of which I thought of after crossing the finish line.

"There's a first (and a last) for everything."

"Someone has to be last."

However, the goal I set in the beginning of the race was successful. I completed 8 laps out of 10, and I finished the race. In reality, that's all I had ever hoped for, and although many of the riders back in the states have been giving me a hard time - as one writes "wtf, Kevin, two laps down?" - do they really have any idea what that race was like? I was the only United States Citizen in Schaan for the race, so I think not. We'll see how they fare over here when they get their chance - it's a completely different world, I assure you.

Thanks everyone for your support. My goal of this trip - a spot on the U-23 team, and a potential start at the European World Cups this spring - still stands tall. Unfortunately, Schaan is not what I was looking for in race results, but sickness and fatigue are part of life. This was not a one day trial for the team, and I will continue to show Marc Gullickson and USA Cycling that if it takes more than results to make a solid racer. I am still mentally strong enough to train and do what it takes to reach this next level.

On a lighter note, Kathrin and Matthias both had excellent results. Kathrin was 11th in Elite Frauen, the 4th u-23 to finish, as well as the 4th Swiss rider. Matthias was 5th in Juniorren, the second Swiss rider. I took over 700 photos at the race; I will be updating more soon, less about pain, and more about the trip, which was a great one.

Kathrin and Michelle Hediger - Michelle got 3rd in the Junior Women.

Kathrin waming up.

Kathrin on course - by the way, she beat Sabine Spitz, not an easy thing to do.

No photos of Matthias's race, unfortunately. It was at 9h00, and I was still waking up.

Loving Supporters

2009-04-03T23:07:00.001-06:00

Thanks for everyone's support up until this point. I love you guys! Talk to you soon!

Never Better.

2009-04-03T05:51:00.003-06:00

After 3 days of marginal food and nasty Black Tea, my stomach is back to its usual, hungry self. Three days of the stomach flu have left me lethargic and 10 pounds lighter, but hey, all the better for Sunday's race! Woke up this morning, and felt about 100 times better, and though - after a couple solid meals - my stomach still makes odd noises unexpectedly, I haven't had any bad symptoms in 12 hours. This is good news indeed, after yesterday's catastrophic nothingness.

With nothing to do but sit and feel like crap, I decided to take the telephoto for a walk yesterday, since the sun was shining for the first time in a week. The fog finally lifted out of Europe and the North winds have died down, leaving sunny skies and a warm southern breeze. Getting better and having sun on the same day is like having Christmas and a birthday in the same week... something that I'm used to.

I've been diligently working to reverse the effects of my procrastination from the last 7 weeks... I finished my last High School course - a quick online class that I needed for a last credit - and have been updating my article for the Rocky Mountain Flyer, due to appear in this summer's bi-monthly magazine.

Other than that, I've been preparing best I can for Schaan - though I really don't know what to expect. I will be training today - supposed to be a day off the bike, two days before a race, but as I have been two days without training, necessary exceptions to the rule had to be made. Beat's instructions for the day: "Go as long as it takes to feel good." If that's not subjective, then I don't know what is.

Okay, I'm outta here. I'll be updating after Schaan! Best wishes can be sent telepathically or electronically before 8 tomorrow morning, my time.

2009-04-02T09:15:00.002-06:00

New gadget for the Blog. Looks like I have some Coloradans, Rachel up in Bend Oregon, Someone watching in SoCal, a handleful of midwesterners, east coasters, and one Floridan. Across the globe, that's me in Switzerland, H in Israel, and someone - I'm assuming Yuna - in the Bretagne region of France. Watch out, I'm tracking all of you... or maybe I'm just bored - been on house-arrest for the last couple of days because of the sickness.

Well that clears things up...

2009-04-01T14:23:00.005-06:00

A short excerpt... This is the diagnosis. If this thing doesn't clear up before Sunday, I'm in deep - excuse the foul language and perfectly placed pun - shit.

Gastroenteritis (also known as gastro, gastric flu, tummy bug in the United Kingdom, and stomach flu, although unrelated to influenza) is inflammation of the gastrointestinal tract, involving both the stomach and the small intestine (see also gastritis and enteritis) and resulting in acute diarrhea. The inflammation is caused most often by infection with certain viruses, less often by bacteria or their toxins,parasites, or adverse reaction to something in the diet or medication. Worldwide, inadequate treatment of gastroenteritis kills 5 to 8 million people per year,^[1] and is a leading cause of death among infants and children under 5.^[2]

At least 50% of cases of gastroenteritis as foodborne illness are due to norovirus.^[3] Another 20% of cases, and the majority of severe cases in children, are due to rotavirus. Other significant viral agents include adenovirus^[4] and astrovirus.

Different species of bacteria can cause gastroenteritis, including Salmonella, Shigella, Staphylococcus, Campylobacter jejuni, Clostridium,Escherichia coli, Yersinia, and others. Some sources of the infection are improperly prepared food, reheated meat dishes, seafood, dairy, and bakery products. Each organism causes slightly different symptoms but all result in diarrhea. Colitis, inflammation of the large intestine, may also be present.

Risk factors include consumption of improperly prepared foods or contaminated water and travel or residence in areas of poor sanitation. It is also common for river swimmers to become infected during times of rain as a result of contaminated runoff water. ^[5]The incidence is 1 in 1,000 people.

Gastroenteritis can be classified as either viral or bacterial.

Murphy's Law.

2009-04-01T08:33:00.001-06:00

Probably the most influential race on my 2009 season is on Sunday...

and I have some variation of the stomach flu - achy joints, raging headache, and some other stuff that you don't want to hear about. Fantastic.

Christmas In March.

2009-03-30T07:59:00.007-06:00

Took a little side-trip to Lugano this past weekend... Merida Suisse Team spring meeting. Unfortunately, the famous valley of sunny days was not so sunny when we arrived on Saturday. The whole of the trip was spent in the Hotel Colorado (ironic), waiting for the rain to clear. Unfortunately, it never did, and so we spent 36 hours in Tessin and 0 hours on the bike. Joy.

Cannondale's yearly "Christmas in March" package arrived this past week as well. 4 beautiful new kits from Cannondale, Uvex helmet, Cannondale gloves, Smith and Cannondale hats, Gu and Gu2o, and what I think is left over Bear Naked Granola from the previous team sponsor. Schwag is good, but the kits are the most important of the package. Glad to be sporting the new green Cannondale Factory Racing uniform for the upcoming races.

New Jerseys are SWEET!

and the back...

To be honest, I never really liked Orange kits... Green is way better.

Will be posting an update after Schaan - first race in the Racer Bikes Cup Series - in Liechtenstein. Already about 50 guys signed up including several world-champions, Olympians, and legends.... and then me. Will let you know how it goes. My potential spot on the US U-23 National Team and ability to race World Cups depends on my results from Schaan; No pressure or anything.

Persistence Pays Off.

2009-03-26T12:15:00.003-06:00

Welcome back - after about a month and a half of getting used to Europe, I'm finally back on track (aka, sleeping, training, eating, timing everything correctly).

This week has been fantastic since the race on Sunday, once again displaying the unpredictability of this sport - a bad race followed by a good week just sounds silly.

Monday, went exploring in the forest... worked for 1.5 hours on wheelies and technical garbage. That was fun.

Tuesday, jumped on the rollers for some hard intervals, then off to the weight room.

Wednesday, HARD day! Went to training with Club Granichen, as usual, at 2h00 for 2.5 hours of technical training. MUD MUD MUD, and rain. Had a fantastic day on the bike, but as I should have noticed on my training schedule, it was not over... again I had a day of hill sprints with Beat. Can't go into many details - some of my competition reads this page - but I worked on a new technique for climbing that improved my speed two-fold. It was me against the locomotive again, and this time I won. 8 sets of STEEP climbing intervals, each 10 minutes... in the pouring rain. Yay for rain, we gotta love it.

Today, I felt the pain when I woke up... but that didn't stop me from checking out the training schedule right away for what I expected would be a nice recovery day... 180 minutes? Tempo? What? WHAT? Oh man, elite training.. I forgot. So, after school and lunch, it was off my butt and into the saddle. Headed out South again, towards Luzern, and about 15 km out, I was about to turn around. Everything hurt, and I was dealing with a killer headwind. I stopped outside of Menzingen to decide about my disappointing return - I was at the point of no return, if I continued, I would be going long. Within a couple minutes of thought, however, I realized that I was just being stupid and that for any other elite, turning back would be out of the question. I dug deep and found a gear. This newfound motivation drove me through an 80 km ride - in three hours, in the wind. The loop is quite impressive on the map - I took quite a chunk out of Switzerland today. Rode down to Luzern (about 5 km outside) and rode back along the Baldeggersee and the Hallwilersee. Average HR 140, average speed 17 mph. Check it out on Google Maps.

http://maps.google.ch/maps?hl=en&q=granichen&um=1&ie=UTF-8&split=0&gl=ch&ei=3snLSbvvNISLsAaZ9u2_CA&sa=X&oi=geocode_result&resnum=1&ct=image

To figure it out, start at Granichen, and go south on Road 23 to Essen, then back North on Road 26 to Mosen, left and over the Schwarzenbach (steep climb!), down into Menziken, and back North to Granichen.

I feel Great!

Niederhelfinschwil...

2009-03-22T14:45:00.002-06:00

Not much to say about my first race. It's safe to say that I wasn't not fast - I just wasn't not slow compared to the rest of the field. That should shed some light on things, right?

17th / 30 riders -- 40 minutes + 1 lap

No pictures, too worried about the race before, obviously busy during, and incredibly beat afterwards.

Running out of things to read.

2009-03-20T01:05:00.002-06:00

Finished "Plato and A Platypus Walk Into A Bar" - now all I have left for reading material is Atlas Shrugged... I've tried to start it three times while I've been here, and I never get very far. Anyone have any spare books lying around so I can procrastinate further on venturing into Ayn Rand again?

My bruised thigh from Giverola is killing me. I can't sleep very well at night - every time I move my leg, it cramps. Joy. The only thing I seem to be able to do effectively is ride. That's a relief. The training's been great. While my bike was in the shop yesterday - Kuttel Radsport, the Cannondale Dealer close to Graenichen - I hopped on Florian Vogel's Team Phonak Road Bike (which is about a size too small for me) and rode from Granichen down towards Luzern - to a little town called Neudorf. 25 kilometers one way. Not bad for spring training...? Riding the road bike was incredible. In the last couple months of not having a road bike, I forgot how nice it was to just go out and hammer into the wind without worrying about much. Riding on slicks with the mountain bike is not the same - but it will have to do. Cannondale is not providing bikes for riders this year, which means that we have to pay for our carbon fiber machines... although we get a good discount, I couldn't afford the luxory of three bikes this year...

Oh wow, enough of an update... I have to go to german class!

A bit of a revelation, and a long ride with the locomotive...

2009-03-18T13:17:00.008-06:00

Part One : The Revelation...

I think I've realized why Switzerland - and Europe in general - is so... appealing, different, insane, extraordinary, overwhelming... for me. It all comes down to a simple concept we all know as SENSORY OVERLOAD!!!

Gustation - umm, if you haven't heard, the food over here is, as Wendy might say, "way better than fast food" - but no, it's not like Wendy's either. It's amazing. To relate it to sensory overload, everything is just stronger - the cheese is strong, the schokolade is delicious, the bread is tastier... not just that, but it's just better. Better for you, better tasting, better food.

Olfaction - oh boy, the smells of the food. Wait... no more food, okay. Well, I must say that the smells are much stronger over here in general, especially when it comes to manure. Yes, we're talking good, old-fashion cow s***. On today's ride, I was so overwhelmed by the smell of newly manured fields, that I just about passed out.

Mechanoreception - this one is more of a stretch, but here's one thing that's surprisingly different about the sense of touch. The mineral complexion in the water is different over here, making the H20 "harder"... After a laundry, the clothes seem to be starched, and after a shower, your hair and skin feel different. It's kind of weird, different water...

Audition - I wake up every morning to hundreds of sounds outside my window - not to romanticize or anything. The birds chirping, the trains training, the cars, the buses, horns, people... throughout the day, through the many different settings I walk and ride through, there is an odd contrast of noise and silence, that makes the silence even more noticeable, and the noise even noisier. If that makes a smidgen of sense.

Vision - The most important sensory organ for day to day activity - in Europe - is stimulated beyond belief. There is just SO MUCH to look at! The vegetation is thick, the population is high, and there is just stuff EVERYWHERE. Most of it's beautiful - old buildings, moss on thousands of trees making the forest greener than normal, trinkets in everyone's yard - although some of it's not - the new McDonalds, for example.

That's my six cents on things...

Part Two: That Hammered-Into-The-Ground Feeling

Rode for the first time with Beat- the Swiss National Coach, my coach, and the head of the family I live with - today. Seriously no offense, but HOW OLD IS THIS GUY? I have never gotten so beat up on a road ride with anyone, and Beat must be at least 50. Haha, no pun intended on the name Beat to "beating" me up, but it does fit nicely. Let's get the run-down. Headed down to "The Lion Hotel" for our normal Wednesday group-ride with all the kids from Granichen. From there, a 2.5 hour training on the trails around Aargau, working on technical shenanigans every so often - a moderate pace, but nothing to scoff at, you understand. During this training, I told myself to forget the mental block from the previous week in Giverola and ride like I meant it - which worked fabulously, despite my fork's inability to keep up... broken again. So, it was a good day... But it wasn't over yet... oh no. Beat was ready for a psychological breakdown of my most seemingly most predominant cycling skill: Climbing. After the training, I got a call-over from my new coach, and a statement that went something like "We go more climbing." "um, okay". So, after a 2.5 hour training, Beat and I headed out for an additional 2 hours on the bike. From Granichen, we headed East, towards Unterkulm, where we took a right up into the hills towards Schoftsland. Right away, Beat appeared to be attacking me on the climb. I was unprepared, and found myself struggling on the back wheel of this impeccable-climbing-form locomotive. By the end of an 8 minute interval that seemed like hours, we topped of the climb and were greeted by the aforementioned pungent smell of manure... We repeated this lunacy 2 more times, and then once more on a separate climb from Muhen to Granichen on a different route home.

I really like toast, but only for my own eating. Not only am I toast, but Beat practically ate me today.

Read along, if you so desire...

2009-03-17T06:19:00.004-06:00

Reading a new book - "Plato and A Platypus Walk Into A Bar". In for some philosophical fun? Read it.

"Inductive Logic:

Holmes and Watson are on a camping trip. In the middle of the night, Holmes wakes up and gives Watson a nudge. 'Watson, look up at the sky and tell me what you see.'

'I see millions of stars, Holmes.'

'And what do you conclude from that, Watson?'

'Well... astronomically, it tells me that ther are millions of galaxies and potentially billions of planets. Astrologically, I observe that Saturn is in Leo. Horologically, I deduce that the time is approximately a quarter past three. Meteorologically, I suspect that we will have a beautiful day tomorrow. Thrologically, I see that God is all-powerful, and we are small and insignificant. Uh, what do you see, Holmes?'

'Watson, you idiot! Someone has stolen our tent.' "

Maybe it's just me, but I was cracking up on a busy train. : )

Also, the glass is twice as big as it needs to be... that's the obvious truth.

It feels like SPRING!!! The weather in Granichen is beautiful... Unfortunately - Murphy's Law - it isn't supposed to stay this way, and it's scheduled to RAIN on the day of my first race: a local race in Niederhelfinschwil. Say that 5 times fast. Looking forward to testing out my legs.

Some very complicated Self-Portrait work.

I LOVE the roads here. So beautiful.

The soil here is Switzerland is the perfect mountain bike dirt. Very easy to build trails - although you have to get government approval first... a process that takes 6 years.

No, unfortunately, that is not an attempted goatee for Mustache March... That's leftovers from Giverolan Face-to-Rock Special.

A new page.

2009-03-16T03:56:00.003-06:00

It's been one month since I left home, and things are finally starting to come around. I've always known that training 5000 miles away would be difficult, but I never expected so much constant mental and physical fatigue. However, that's no longer a problem. I realize now that I've been complaining far too much, and that I am truly living the American cyclist's dream. I'm in Europe, training and racing, and I've been much too focused on the pain than on the reward. Pain is the means, and an acceptable means for the possible ends.

"Bike racing is about two things: PAIN and REVENGE. If you go through so much pain that you want revenge, then you've got it made." - Bob Roll

In cycling, there is something known as the second wind - essentially, one day you have a bad day on the bike, and the next day, you're almost guaranteed a great day. This goes for training and racing. For me, I have experienced a mental block in the last couple of days, due to exhaustion and plenty of pain, and now it is time for my second wind to sail me through the rest of this trip. I'm ready to do whatever it takes - however long it takes - to far exceed the level of training that I've ever done.

In the past couple of days, I've been trying to establish some ideas on my newest endeavor in cycling outside of personal training and racing. I have been coaching for Summit Jr. Cycling for several years, and now that I have a chance to move most of the program's weight onto my shoulders, I am not going to take the responsibility lightly. The program is where I got started in my career, and it is where I would like to give other young riders an opportunity on the bike like mine - or better. I am currently working out the logistics of this NEW SJC, and have received a little bit of doubt on whether I will be able to run the program at the level that I would like. Anyone who knows me, knows that this kind of subtle discouragement is the right kind of kindling for me to prove everyone wrong. It's what I've always enjoyed doing, and what I will continue to do. I have 100% faith in this new program; all I need is for riders and sponsors to jump on board, and we'll be all set.

Giverola was intense, but it was essential for my development as a cyclist. The training was not unusual, and in fact, I was surprised by how good my legs felt after the initial couple of days. The pain - in the end - was mostly mental, and for me, this fact is unacceptable. It's unacceptable to let the mental aspect of the sport interfere with my own physical potential for one reason: I can easily change my mentality towards training and racing. I can't easily change my fitness, but if I'm physically fit, and the only thing holding me back is mental frustration, that's unacceptable. It's time to get motivated. It's time to move on from the humiliation and the basic fact that the Swiss are going to be fast. It's time to return to my normal, self-motivated mentality.

By the way, it's not all bad.

2009-03-15T22:48:00.002-06:00

It's proving very difficult to upload pictures to blogger, so I've attached the link to my facebook - don't worry, you shouldn't have to create an account to view it - where there are loads of funny pics.

http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1193152045&ref=profile#/profile.php?id=1193152045&v=photos&viewas=1193152045

Some Pictures, perhaps?

2009-03-14T09:15:00.003-06:00

Apply to the post below.

After Thursday's crash.

After Friday's crash. It looks nice here, but later it turned very blue.

More from after Friday's mistake. Very nice!

Giverola

2009-03-14T07:06:00.001-06:00

12 March 2009

Hola from Giverola. I have very little Internet time here, so instead of e-mailing everyone I need to, I will just update you all here and hope that everyone sees. I am currently on house arrest for the afternoon, after a crash I had this morning. Similar to Meghan's early season crash down in Morrison (www.meghan-kane.blogspot.com for photos) I have a quickly swelling black eye to flaunt. More on that later...

We arrived here by bus on Saturday morning, after a 12-hour drive overnight. We rode for 5 hours on Saturday, hard.

On Sunday, we started our normal Giverola routine - wake up at 7, run, breakfast, ride for 3-5 hours, lunch, ride for 3-5 hours, massage and prop legs, dinner, film (the coaches have cameras to scrutinize our technical abilities) and finally around 10.00, bed. It's been a very regimented routine until yesterday, which was our one and only "day off". I and the National Team, headed into Lloret le Mar, an hour's ride away, to do some coffee-drinking, pizza-eating, and shopping. Lots of fun. I have good videos and pictures to show when I get home.

Our riding here consists of a lot of technical work, as expected... but it's even more difficult than I first imagined. I am supremely out of shape still - and on top of that, the Swiss are all extremely powerful. Today, for example, we went out for a shorter-than-normal 3-hour ride on the trails. We did drills and worked on trails, and finally had a little race on the Nazi Trail - christened this by the locals because the National Team rides it so often. On the second loop of this technical descent/road climb, I crashed hard and hit a tree. Everything was good except I had some trouble seeing out of my left eye. For a second, I was surprised by how much pain I was in - it had been a very minor crash given the circumstances. When I managed to figure out where I was exactly, I realized that I had received a sharp blow to my left eye from the end of a tree-limb, and there were a fair amount of tears (I thought at first it was blood, but soon realized that my eye was just attempting to flush all the dirt and bark out) flowing all across my face. In shock, I was able to walk down the rest of the trail - characteristically, not a single rider stopped to ask if I was alright - and made it to the bottom, only to realize that I had to climb back up to tell Beat, who was filming at the top of the trail, that I would no longer be around that morning. The rest is not as exciting, although getting all the way back to the hotel was thrilling with a swollen left eye and very little vision. Now that I'm healing up - it took the better part of the morning for my eye to flush clean - I feel much better, although am still frustrated with my stupid mistakes that led to the crash. I've realized here that in a setting where all of the riders appear to have no fear, it's important to know your limits... and always wear glasses, although they didn't help me too much.

13 March 2009

I woke up this morning, and immediately realized how lucky I was to have complete sight out of my left eye, after removing a half-an-inch piece of wood from my brow. That wasn’t altogether a pleasant wake-up.

If yesterday’s events weren’t reference to how hard it is here in Spain, then maybe today will prove more worthy. After a longer jog and breakfast this morning, we headed out for 4 hours on the road, where I felt very good, despite the fact that I could see little out of my left peripheral vision.

I told myself before lunch that today, I would push the limits a little and attempt to break the fear left over from yesterday. However, once out on the trail, I soon realized that I was riding worse than ever. The pressure from the riders around me, and my own pressure on myself was building up, and it seemed that I was bobbling and missing corners left and right. When Marc and Patrick decided that I would be the one to lead a sketchy decent back into Tossa where Beat would be filming, I wasn’t altogether thrilled, but took it as a chance to once again gain some confidence. The confidence I found on the trail led me right into a trap; about 5 minutes into the steep decent, I took a sharp, rocky, extremely steep switchback at just the right angle to catch my front end on a rock and preceded to launch over the handlebars about 15 feet off the trail – once again right onto my face. Battles between rock and head have never held very good odds for the head, but I got lucky again, and made contact on my jaw instead of my teeth – no replacement needed. The force from the impact ran through my head, down my back, and into my bike… I effectively lowered the seat 6 inches from its starting point all from the impact on my face. How pleasant.

Similar to yesterday, I have very little injury to show for the pain I feel – a severely bruised leg and a nice bit of road rash on the chin. Most of the pain comes from my head and jaw, which have both been throbbing since the accident, including the hour-long ride back to the hotel. I’ve never had a concussion before, but this is for sure how it feels. It feels good to be back at the hotel, but only because I’m not on the bike. I miss home more than ever, and the people there that make it great.

I won’t even go into details on how I feel about cycling right now. From the pain and the fatigue, I don’t want to lead into any false pretenses of quitting for good, but I must say that the first thought that went through my head after my wreck today was “That’s it. I’m done with this shit.” Quitting has never crossed my mind before – at least in regards to cycling - so this is an interesting feeling.

I’ll get some sleep, and hopefully reconsider my now overbearing longing to jump on a plane the minute I get back to Switzerland and head home.

2009-03-04T23:59:00.002-07:00

Great News!!! Matthias, Kathrin, and Beat are headed to South Africa for the first World Cup event! I get to stay home with Regula over Easter and eat all of the yummy food!!!

Actually this is quite a big bummer for me, since I don't get to go; but I'm happy for Mattu and Kathrin, they are very excited! (They weren't supposed to go, but then Mark-another Swiss guy-decided to book tickets, and the Stirnemann trio decided to jump on-board.) It's a very good chance for Matthias and Kathrin to start off the season with a GREAT result, thus helping propel them to the top of the UCI rankings and better results at other World Cups.

Right now, however - as it is snowing and cold again here in die Schweitz - all I can think about is SPAIN!!!! Giverola, Spain - North of Barcelona. It's supposed to be sunny and warm all week. I will keep you updated.

Hello, and welcome to week 3...

2009-03-02T05:12:00.003-07:00

Let me apologize in advance for the lack of photos... It's proving difficult to find time for pictures with so much insane stuff going on all the time. For the past week, things have started to cool down. I'm getting used to Switzerland, which also means that I'm getting a little homesick. Monday is my day off - no training, not much of anything until 6:00, when we head to the Sauna for some serious sauna-ing. Tuesday through Friday during the day looks much the same. In the morning, I take the train out to Wohlen, where I have German class from 9:45-11:00.

Kathrin usually picks me up on her way home from work. In the afternoon, I train on the bike - on Wednesday with the group, on Thursday with Matthias and Fabian (both Merida-Multivan racers) and all other times on my own. I structure my training around what Beat wants me to be doing. Tuesday nights, we do weights at the gym, and Friday nights we do cross-training at the training hall.

This last weekend we were in Zofingen for a Technical Training camp. Matthias and I showed up on Friday (I got to drive, so fun) just as a meeting of the national team was starting. On the floor in the room were about 20 brand new Assos duffel-bags loaded with national team gear for 2009, all Assos - arguably the most expensive brand in cycling. I wanted a bag... bummer. : ) I got to meet the whole junior national team, which consisted of about 15 riders from around Switzerland, as well as the 20 or so other kids that were there. Saturday morning, we awoke early for a jog, and then came back for Breakfast. From there, we sat for an hour long presentation on cycling psychology - very interesting, although a lot I didn't understand. After, we jumped on our bikes for a 3 hour training session in the local rock quarry. I won't go into much detail... to say the least, it was EXTREMELY technical. I was overwhelmed at first by the skill of the Swiss, but soon was able to catch on - a little. The obvious key to their success is technical skill.

After returning for lunch and showering, we went out again for another 3-hour technical training on the local trails. Actually, we made most of them, but once again, INSANE. So technical, and plus it was muddy and snowy everywhere. It was by far the hardest riding I've ever done. Over the course of the day, I crashed HARD about 15 times, and the same for everyone else... we're talking bruising, swollen knees and elbows, stitches for one rider, broken bikes, and everything in-between.

When we came back, dinner was waiting - all the food was spectacular. Afterwards, we walked about 15 minutes over to the training hall for another 2.5 hours of drills - mostly balance and strength. Finally, when we were back at the Hostel, I thought we were done... but no, the National Team was all stoked about Carnival in Zofingen, a yearly celebration much like a mix of Mardi Gras and Halloween.

We were out for over 2 hours that night, walking around, listening to music, eating Swiss food, and drinking Rivella. As I expected, I got my first taste of the party life with the national team, who seem to have a strong bond. We headed to the bar for about an hour or so, drinking Rivella - no joke, no alcohol for these guys - and having a good time.

From left to right: Unknown, Fabian, Michelle, Tonja's head, Kathrin, Mattias's head, ?, Roger, and Mark.

The food is to die for over here. Matthias and a hot dog above. I had my first real Bratwurst... so good.

Sunday morning, we woke up, same as before, for a jog and breakfast. Then we headed out to ride some more trails. This time was not as bad for me, it actually went quite well, although I was not the fastest in the group, that's for sure. The trails that we built were technical again, but more my kind of riding, so I had a good time racing around with Matthias and the others. Fewer crashes this time, but more serious... some bruises where there shouldn't be any. I NEED MUD TIRES, anyone care to send some? haha. Came back for lunch, and then a 3-hour "recovery" road ride with the national team. I was riding Regula's bike, because my fork is once again broken. How nice... All in all, it's been a good week, and a great weekend.

I miss Ashley though, and Summit, and Family, and most of all, CHIPOTLE. haha, just kidding.

More from Spain, will be leaving on Friday...

No comments anyone?

2009-02-23T00:52:00.002-07:00

I feel like the lone member of a forgotten band on stage for no one to applaud. haha.

Fotografie

2009-02-22T04:57:00.006-07:00

Hey there... if you have read the new post below, then you have a good idea as to what's going on over here in Switzerland, but for you visual folks, here is the pop-up book version of the same story:

First Class from Dulles to Zurich... very nice - even for the 6'3" cyclist sleeping in seat 1A.

After many days of snow in Montana, we were delighted to wake up to clear skies over a foggy Rhone Valley. This picture is only a small segment of a panoramic view from out apartment.

Eye Candy: the Taillens Boulangerie in Montana.

"Dear Rivella,

I know that you do not distribute outside of Switzerland, but would you kindly consider sponsoring a young American cyclist who is addicted to your product? Thank you."

This genuine shot of the sasquatch was accidently taken in the Zermatt train station during a trip to Switzerland by American cyclist Kevin Kane (right) and his father (photographer).

Welcome to Graenichen: my current place of residence.

The "cellar"... Merida bikes litter the downstairs area; the 2009 full-suspension weighs 19.5 lbs. The road bike on the right is the only non-merida bike in the room: Florian Fogel's Team Phonak Scott USA. Fogel was 3rd at the 2007 Mountain Bike World Championships in Ft. William, Scotland, and 2nd in the 2008 World Championships in Val di Sole, Italy. If you haven't caught on yet, he's a national hero in Switzerland...

Kathrin - 2008 European Champion - showing the kids how it's done in a training session in Graenichen.

Me, trying to keep up.

Me and the Boss, preparing my training schedule for the next 4 weeks.

The mountain biking in the area is extensive, and all the singletrack trails around Graenichen were built by Beat for the team to train on -- VERY TECHNICAL.

When it snows too much, it's time to jump on the trainer and "crank the bass," as Mattu says. Beat and Matthias pose for a quick picture.

Kathrin showing off for the camera.

Fighting against the snow.

More soon!

Hello from Switzerland

2009-02-21T03:45:00.003-07:00

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.

I'm in Europe...

2009-02-16T09:32:00.001-07:00

but have very little time for internet. I am busy eating raclette, fondue and chocolat, and learning how to yodel. ha.

ZOO!

2009-02-09T09:46:00.006-07:00

Ashley and I went to the Zoo this weekend!

A Nice Day Off...

2009-02-01T20:35:00.002-07:00

Took a day off from training to ski some A-Basin with Ash and the gang. Skied Pali and ate burgers, who could ask for more?

Colorado Springs

2009-01-26T08:43:00.006-07:00

Headed down to the Springs to stay with some good cycling friends--Cody, Lisa, and Chris Cox. I've been racing against Cody for several years, and he's broken off into several different media of the sport, including Road and Cyclocross. He still sticks with the mountain biking circuit however, and tends to have a lot of power early season... This weekend was no different.

On Saturday, I drove down and met Cody at his house above downtown. He was stoked to ride, and so we took off to Palmer Park--an area where I've ridden before at the National Camps--which is littered with technical nuances to practice on. We had a blast playing around on the hundreds of trails--seriously, there were so many trails, I thought we were lost...

After a two hour adventure in Palmer, we headed over to check out "The Incline" on Pikes Peak. It starts at Manitou Springs, and climbs up an almost vertical railroad grade to the top. Insane! We were too exhausted to do the whole thing, and it was like a freezer in the canyon. You can see the incline in the right of this picture from Manitou Springs.

That night, we ate some delicious Lasagna and watched the best cycling movie ever, The Triplets of Belleville. Great stuff.

On Sunday, we woke up to the smell of bacon and waffles.... and SNOW! What??? The snow seems to be following me no matter where I escape to... Despite adverse weather conditions, we piled into the Suburban with our four bikes (Chris and Lisa were planning on riding as well) and headed out to Pueblo Reservoir, about 35 minutes South of the Springs. We couldn't believe the weather--every time we checked the temperature, it was the same... 14 degrees. However, Cody and I weren't about to let this little detail spoil our training. It was a day to separate the boys from the men. And so we headed out onto one of the coolest rides I've ever done. It was a little chilly, but with a little help from Pearl Izumi, we kept warm enough to ride for 2 hours along the cliffs of Pueblo Reservoir and down the chutes with North-Shore features and rock outcrops. It was great. This photo is of Cody from Pueblo last summer.

Unfortunately, I had to head home after Sunday's ride, though I made sure to get some more lasagna first. I had a great time in the springs, and, as my trip draws ever closer, I am becoming more and more excited about the prospects of training in Europe, despite the fact that it's the same kind of weather over there as it is over here, but rainier.

Don't get jealous, but...

2009-01-20T16:44:00.004-07:00

The weather on the Front Range has been fantastic!

Went down on Saturday to pick up my new Taurine, helmet, and other stuff (sorry, no pics yet) and the trails were all muddy. Well, I guess it's not a mountain bike until you get it dirty... but still, it was so NEW. Anyway, today, rode the same loop as Saturday, and not a single patch of mud! I love Colorado DRYNESS. Anyway, both days it was hanging around 60 degrees... as opposed to the 35 in Summit. So happy.

My favorite road ride... Rooney Road to Lookout Mtn Road, up the Frontage Road--pictured above--back down all the way to Morrison, and then whatever I feel like from there. 35 miles + Too bad I no longer own a road bike...

On days like this one, even I-70 can be beautiful...

Ashley!

2009-01-19T18:59:00.004-07:00