Dammit Jim I'm a doctor not an astronaut (Westside Series# 3 3-20-11)

Okay I'm not a doctor either (which would you trust me to do first though?) but the point is that I am just as much a mountain biker as I am an astronaut (or doctor for that matter.) I only dabble in mountain biking and really only race in the dirt when I miss racing or forget the pain from last time. Most mountain bike races are about an hour longer than the 15-20 minute races I am accustomed to at the track.

I just finished my first race of the 2011 season, Westside series#3 at Soaring Eagle Park (better know to us locals as The Beav) in the Sport class. Like it was last year; I did a mountain bike race as the first outing. Unlike last years race I didn't have a flu and was feeling pretty good about everything. I knew that if it was going to be muddy I would be just fine since it would be just fine since it would default to being a race about brute strength and horsepower which is something that I can do. It just depended on getting a good starting position and just hang on for a couple laps and then launch myself. Unfortunately for me, I didn't get a good start position. I found myself with little left in the tank about 2.5 laps in. I was still passing people but I knew that I would now be fighting for a top ten finish and not a podium slot. I gauged my efforts wrong and hit the wall hard. For a second I caught myself thinking of excuses to leave the race and go home in shame. I felt like crap: I was over heating bad and my hearing was starting to go, breakfast was coming back for a reunion tour that would undoubtedly result in horrible disappointment. I had to get myself out of this mental hole and back in the game. I drank some water and took off what layers I could and decided to take it back a notch to stave of breakfasts second coming. I started to play music in my mind and in a little I was feeling much better and passing riders again. I wasn't 100% but at that point I was happy with something. All was going well until I chose a bad line over an obstacle and crashed in a way that smacked my knee into the bike, pinned my leg and dropped my chain all at once. As I was pinned I saw all the people that I had just passed overtake me again. Lucky for me there was only one person in the bunch that matter. I got up quick fixed my chain, limped for a bit and got back on the bike. The rest of the race was uneventful and I ended up taking 6th place finishing in 1:10:59. Not bad for someone that only dabbles in mountain biking. I am not disappointed in the result; I didn't come in last and I didn't puke. I learned a lot about myself as a racer and took a lot from the experience. My endurance is still not where I would like it to be but it is for sure a ton better then at any point during last season. I feel confident that with a bit more training Ill be hitting it hard in May (track season starts.)

I need a haircut

And another thing

Mark Bezos presents why you help others and to do it now instead of later. Give what you can even if it is not a monetary asset. I feel that this philosophy represents exactly what my team is all about and why I love it so much. I can actually help people with this talent that I possess

New kit and my pants don't fit so well.

Lets play "whats that smell?"

Just before my ride in crap whether

About a week ago I picked up my new team kit. This is the first team kit and first full kit that I have ever owned; the fact of which just seems to solidify a lot of things for me. Ive taken the next step on my journey to becoming a serious competitive cyclist. It just fills me with a touch of pride and a bit of willingness to suffer just a bit more for the good of the team and sponsors.

The team that I joined is Farestart powered by Colbalt Mortgage (Thumbprintracing.org,) a team that is all about charitable work and actually helping out the community. One of the teams title sponsors, Farestart: is a catering company that hires recovering homeless people and trains them to be chefs. It feels great to represent a non-profit like this. I have a lot of pride wearing this jersey; which means a lot to me since I want to represent people and companies that I feel have the same philosophies and ideas as I do. Why would I want to represent a group that I don't like?

The fact that I am representing a great group of people (both the sponsors and teammates) just pushing me on even more motivating me in my riding and training. Track season is coming up very quickly and I am pumped to get back on the track again. My training has been going very well and I am feeling stronger than at any point during last season. I've worked hard to get rid of my weaknesses and make sure that Ill achieve all my goals for next season. I'm in good shape and Ive gotten my bike more dialed in. I'm ready --- now can it be May already?