Best of 2010...

Lifes been busy- busy enough to where things like trying to keep up a blog has been sort of challenging. I typed up a few entries throughout January in Word, but just never transferred them...anyway, the next few posts were written sometime in the last few weeks.

“Best … of 2010”

Its fun to reflect back on the previous year- I’m very competitive and driven in several areas so I like to see and remember what I’ve done. 2010 was a wacky year and brought lots of changes…and definitely has its own chapter in my life. Starting the year I was almost sure I was done racing competitively after losing so much fitness in the seven months off the bike after my accident in 2009! Not only the fitness loss but I had some weird “things” going on with my ankle- thankfully I just started the training anyway and when it went away I realized it was only because of the lack of use and physical therapy during recovery. There were some major peaks and some valleys last year – but here are some of the “best” of 2010:

Best Race: USA Cycling Nationals…this one is obvious- a bronze medal at this caliber of event?! Big thanks to TJ at Momentum Endurance for helping me boost my fitness as much as possible in such a short amount of time. Huge accomplishment- I still have lingering battle scars six months later to prove the effort I put into the preparation and participation in this race.

Best Event: TEVA Games in Vail. I don’t care what other events fall on this weekend- I’ll be back for this in 2011. The events, food, people, music, the whole festival was everything I love- even better being a participant in something this big..

Best Day Dream Topic: The Olympic Skeleton

Best Race Course: Kind of tough as there’s about five…but can probably narrow it down to a toss up between Sol Vista and Rabbit Valley (Fruita). Sol Vista was an awesome course for a mountain bike race- the long climbs varied from dirt road to technical and the descents varying from rocky/sandy loose singletrack to high speed banked turns. Rabbit Valley was quite simply the most scenic place I’ve ever ridden…ever- racing over flat rock, red dirt, sand, along the edge of cliffs and bluffs with amazing colors and views- racing on this terrain was seriously sweet.

Best Training Workout: LT Intervals (thanks TJ!)

Best Ride: Riding to the top of Mount Evans; ~14,260 feet above sea level

Best Lessons Learned: Pre-race hydration/preparation!! Several times in 2010 I bonked (including one DNF) or didn’t get warm-ups in due to lack of hydration, sleep, and/or not getting to the venue early enough before race start times.

Best Road Trip: Omaha to the Black Hills in SD to see two great friends get married; then two days later to Burnsville, MN for the MNMBS race at Buck Hill.

Best Addition to Traveling Entertainment: My dog Bandit

Best Equipment Purchase: PowerTap

Best Cross Training: Downhill skiing at A-Basin in Colorado

Best Motivation to Train Movies that are not Bike Movies: Rocky- all of 'em, The Cutting Edge

Best Training Tunes (well...some of 'em): Paradise City (GNR), Scream (Avenged Sevenfold), Awake and Alive (Skillet), Hell of a Time (Hell Yeah)

Best Thanks: To all of you who put up with my "I care about racing and thats it" way of thinking and living throughout the summer months in particular. AND also to anybody that at one time or another has let me take up refuge for a night or four in your basement, guest room, closet, garage, where ever...Bandit and I sincerely appreciate it.