Summa Time

Summer is coming to a close, and the thought about going back to school is making me nervous. Sure, it'll be fun, and I'll learn a thing or two, but oh the dreaded move. This summer has been great...well, a bit wierd, but all and all I have no reasons to complain. I've ridden my bike in more cycling events then I could every imagine....

First up was none other then the epic S-D-S,

Then came the slighty blurry , but always open for business Giro d'Ville,

Followed by a stop at the Massanutten Hoo-ha.........

Then it was off to West Virginia State Championships to play in the mud.

The best week of summer, le tour de 'burg...KOM glory!

Then there was Michaux...eh, lets not mention that one...

A suprise ride at the Wilderness 101.

Not a bad summer at all! Bring on the fall...

Cohutta 100

What a day...after years of continuous training I approached the starting line Saturday morning with very low expectations. I started the race forgetting it was in fact 100 miles long and not 35-60 miles like almost all of my rides had been to that date. I cruised for the first 20 or so miles and then started raging up to aid station 3. It's important to note I had a good time on the early single track. At aid station 3 I caught up with the JV Squad El Captain and cruised for awhile with him. I later pulled in Drew...man, what a miserable day for that guy. Kudos for sticking it out (Explosive Diarrhea). The tripod had some good cries, and it was really good to catch up with Kyle and ride with some good people. We rolled into Aid station 5 only to see this scene in front of us...

Well, due to my increased unadulterated power (Mustache) I was able to clean this no problem. I continued to edge up my watts past threshold power to see where my barrier was, but it kept going up until I was rolling at about 420watts. I felt amazing but knew that 420 was 310 watts above my tested LT and it could not be sustained for the remaining 1 or so more hours. I brought it down to 396. I hit the single track feeling like a champ, but soon felt like this young boy...

My tire selection got the better of me; so I sat in the woods and collected my thoughts. After a quick soul search I carried on. Soon, Tony from Richmond rolled up behind me which motivated me to ride like a big boy, and I finished the race. The whole day I felt good...8.5 hours...not too shabby. Good times were had. Thanks Joseph for driving. I've already started tapering for the Middle Mountain Momma in May; so, expect to hear about a great victory.

The end is near....

It's official school is coming to a close...so excited. I'm ready for the cohutta. I have been on a mustache training program, and I've just gotten off my 4 month block. I think massive never before seen power will emerge from my intensive training. I've taken a lot of pictures over the last couple days and a legit entire is due.

p.s.

Gordon...are you still alive? I'm ready for spring.

Spring Break 2k8

I swam with dolphins, hung out on one of the best beaches in America, tried to tame wild horses, ran with the mighty armadillo, and wrestled with alligators. In hindsight going to Cumberland Island was an absolutely amazing trip. Figured some stuff out about my life and career choices. It was also just nice to get away from daily routines and enjoy some sweet scenery. I was looking for some short of mountain top experience where I'd be on a white sandy beach and all the crap in my life would vanish, and I could just be still and have the meaning to life. Well, I didn't find it. Our group of 11 (I went on a class field trip on steroids) hiked and paddled around Cumberland only to find two other small groups of people....well, when we popped over the sand dunes there was a group of twenty from Boston College on Spring Break, trucks, and helicopters. Not exactly the ideal setting I had in mind to get my life together. But, hey God works whenever and wherever and the coolest thing is I don't have to have my life together. Well. it's getting late, but I figured I would blog. I want to get in a habit of it. If you take anything from this long boring post it's this...I had a good spring break, and I'm ready to finish school and kill at the Cohutta.

Da J-Man

Down for the count...

2008 has been the year of the sick. I don't think I have been healthy for more then a week. Today's diagnosis is the flu. Yuck. I'm down for the count, eating some chicken noodle soup my good friend Erin brought me and I'm getting ready to go to bed.

I need to get healthy and buy new batteries for my camera. Harrisonburg trip is most likely cancelled, and I'll be without a mountain bike for yet another week. Not like I could ride it anyway. Riding was good last week. Windy gap was da bomb.com. Be prepared for more post...

Ryan