Home Sweet Home

My last week in Boulder for a while was pretty relaxing. First of all, I just got to be a spectator at collegiate road nationals, which was entertaining to watch. Taylor Kneuven got in a break in the road race and ended up taking 4th, so that was a pretty good result for CU after getting 2nd in the team time trial. Unfortunately, Kiel crashed a few weeks ago at Bisbee, so his form was off. He definitely had a chance to win the road race and crit. After nationals, I just got to ride and chill out without a care in the world. There were two days where I got in both a road and mountain bike ride in on the same day. I had to try to squeeze in as many rides as possible before I left for home, and more importantly, Italy!!!

There is nothing like coming home. Even though Boulder is my "home away from home," there is just something comforting about coming back to where you grew up.
Yesterday, I got to go straight from the airport to go see my little cousins. I hadn't seen them in a while, so it was good to see them again. After that, I went and had dinner with my parents and then came home and just crashed. I had an early flight out of Denver, so I was really tired. Today I was busy running errands, and then got to play golf with my bro. I miss playing golf, but I surprised myself by playing pretty well. Tomorrow will be spent packing and getting ready, and then Saturday we leave for Italy! I'm so pumped. Here are a few pictures from home:


construction at home- I remember when everything around here used to be trees or farmland...


Mike on the tee


Jameson having some fun

It's Summer in Most Places...

I woke up this morning to more snow and cold weather. WTF?

Conference Finals

This past weekend was conference finals. Well, sort of. I drove up to Wyoming on Friday night with Phil, and we arrived dreading the next morning because we heard that it was supposed to be below freezing and snowing and windy. Not the most ideal conditions for a road race. So I got up at 5:45 the next morning and was greeted by a wintry scene outside with freezing temperatures and blowing snow. I immediately considered going back to bed and not even racing. It just was not worth that kind of suffering. Then I got the best phone call I have gotten in a while... the race was cancelled! So I went back to sleep and was able to relax the rest of the day. Sunday was the conference championship crit, which did not end up being cancelled. The A race started at 8 AM, so I was up early again. The weather was a little nicer, but still cold. Temperature on the start line was 34 degrees. The race went pretty well for me... I stayed towards the front and held on for 45 min. out of the 60 min. race, which was better than last weekend's crit.

Today was a beautiful day in Boulder. I celebrated the nice weather by going for a great mountain bike ride with Peter. We did a quick ride up to Betasso, and came back in time to go to the Club Sports end-of-the-year reception, which was nice because it was a free dinner! The next few days are supposed to be even nicer, so hopefully more good rides are to come. In the meantime, I'll be studying for exams, which are next week. Ouch.

Spring has arrived!

So this past weekend we finally had nice weather all weekend. I took advantage of it by racing in Colorado Springs. Peter, Chris, Abby and I drove down on Saturday morning to get to the Springs in time for the crit in the afternoon. The weather was actually hot, at least compared to the weather we've had recently. By race time, it was probably close to 75 degrees. This race was a new step for me because it was my first collegiate A race, meaning that I am now racing with the big guns. The crit was hard from the gun. The group got strung out immediately, and my heart rate shot upward. In fact, I couldn't find a single place on the course to rest, as I was just trying to hang on for dear life. I lasted about half the race (28 min.) and finally got gapped after the tight U-turn on the course. That was the end of the race for me, and I got to go sit in the shade and catch my breath while the rest of the guys battled it out. I was kind of disappointed, but after all, it was my first A crit and the course was not well suited for me due to the power climb on each lap. After the race, we grabbed some food, then took a much-needed nap. We went to Carraba's for dinner, which was quite entertaining, and then went back to the hotel and crashed. Sunday was the Air Force road race. Our race was 5 laps on a loop that was roughly 13 miles. This time, the course suited me pretty well because it had a long, steady climb in it. I took 4th in the B's last year at this race, so I was confident I could do alright in the A's. Unfortunately, however, it was a really windy day, with gusts reaching close to 35 mph, which made the race a little harder than I anticipated. I hung in the main group for 3 laps, then stayed with a small group off the back of the lead group for the 4th lap, and ended up soloing the 5th lap. I pretty much hit the wall on the last lap and came in roughly 10 minutes behind the winners, but I was proud of myself for hanging in and finishing the race, seeing as many of the riders dropped out. I think just because I finished, I guaranteed myself a top 20... I'll take it. After the race, I got to drive an hour and a half back to Boulder, and we made it back just in time to see the ridiculousness of the 4/20 celebration, although we did not partake.

This is Colorado for you...

So apparently it likes to snow 3-5 inches the day after it's 80 degrees in Colorado. The weather is teasing me. That is all.

Fun Weekend

This weekend was quite fun. Friday night, I just got to sit at home and relax with my roomates, which was actually very enjoyable because it's not often that I just get to sit around and not worry about having to do anything. After sleeping in on Saturday, Jacob, Phil, Chris P. and I went to Hall Ranch to hit up some mountain biking. It was a beautiful day, and the trail was surprisingly dry. I rode well, and cleaned a good number of technical sections that I normally have trouble with. AND I didn't have any hard falls like last time, which made the ride all the more fun. Today was the cycling team ride-a-thon, and about 20 people showed up for a relaxed group ride. Chris and I put the hurt on from the get-go with our sneaky double prong attack from the back, and Chris owned the climbs to claim the virtual king of the mountains jersey. I think it was probably the proudest moment in his cycling career. The weather was even better than yesterday, and I managed to get a pretty gnarly tan line. Yes, that's right, the cycling tan is back for another season...

Looks like another trainer day...

I'm ready for it to be warm.