it's been a good year...

2009 has been good... but next year will be even better. i will be marrying beth in a couple of days and can't wait for my first year, and a lifetime, as a "married" man. nothing else that has happened this past year (or the past 31 years for that matter) comes even close to comparing to what will take place on 12/30. I can't wait.

xmas was awesome. I had the week off of work to finish getting ready for our wedding and also to ride. i got in a bunch of different rides and went over the 10,000 mile mark for the year. it wasn't a goal until i looked at my log on monday night and realized that it doable. so with the help of some friends i knocked some fun rides.

sunday night i got a text from trevor and about riding on monday and even with as shelled i was from the final cross race i didn't want to pass up the oppurtunity. trevor has persevered through a year of injury and his motivation and drive is contagious. so late monday morning we hit sycamore canyon and tore up some single track. so much fun. i can't wait to get back out there and push each on some "race" laps.

i was stoked to head up to the OC on wednesday to ride with Slater. we got in 80+ miles and a lot of good chatting. he's an animal and will be charging IM St. George along with Beth and bunch of our other friends (luke, keevin, monique, mac, and more). i am really looking forward to logging more miles with slater and the crew. i have a feeling next year will be a big one for all of us!

some pre-ride fuel: breakkie sandwich. 2 gluten free waffles, Nuttzo, and a banana.


beth and i got out on xmas day for an awesome 3 hour ride. her coach (the grinch that stole my xmas!) had a big day planned for xmas day. 3 hours on the bike and 1 hour run. gnarly! but i am so proud of beth. she has been killing her training and following the plan. she's not adding anything, cutting anything short... just doing the work. i am really looking forward to her 2010 season. more so than my own.

so we lounged around xmas morning, opened some presents, prepped dinner and then around 11am headed out in perfect weather. you can't beat socal in december!

photos from the ride:
heading out on the coast

when we hit torrey pines we ran into jason

beth killing on the bike path...

we stopped for some fuel.

heading home on the coast


and if xmas day couldn't get any better... the bolts dominated the titans!

and with the end of the year i also ended my first base block of the 2010 season which was filled with a lot of mellow miles. i kept the intensity way down, no group rides, no intervals. the only intensity was the 2 cross races (both wins) in december. my body seems to respond really well to a lot of volume as longs it's mellow, endurance paced.

first base training block for the 2010 season: 11/30-12/26

* notice there is NO running in there. tuesday will mark 6 weeks of no running.

sunday I finished up the block with a solid mtb ride with ryan. 35+ miles and 5131ft of climbing. good times.


i really am fortunate to be able to train and hang out with some incredible, motivated athletes, especially my wife to be. they definitely have helped me push my limits and I am really looking forward to pushing them further in 2010.

Time to recover by surfing, lounging on beach, spending time with friends & family, drinking margaritas, and marrying a wonderful woman in mexico!

photo of the surf spot right in front of out hotel. can't wait!

SCPS #15 Santa Cross... Game over!

good weekend.

last week was super busy at work as i was trying to get a lot before my 2+ week vacation. in the end i got it all done and now am in full on vacation, getting married mode!

on saturday i headed up to the santa ana's for and awesome off road ride. i have been wanting to get up there for the past couple of months but we just couldn't make it come together. so on saturday ryan, luke, eric, lauren, and I got on it. very solid ride.

3:50, 35 miles, 5994 ft of of climbing.


on sunday i was up and headed to woodlands hills for Santa Cross, SCPS #15.... the final race of the series. even with the big ride the day before my legs were feeling great and was feeling anxious to race.

Awesome Race and SICK course. the best all year. i was stoked have really good legs and got a good start. sat 5th wheel for first half of lap and then took the lead of the chase pack as one guy went off the front. i reeled him in and took the lead during lap 2. at the start of lap 3 a lapped rider standing on the side of the course dropped his bike as i came by and i hit and crashed! my chain came off and one guy passed me before i could get back on.

so i turned myself inside out to get back on the leaders wheel by the end of lap 3 and then took the lead. over the next two laps i just kept throwing down on the climbs and run ups and eventually cracked him with 3 laps to go. I just kept extending the lead. i took the win and overall series. so stoked. can't wait to race with the elite's next year!

i probably rode harder in the race than any of the races so far this year. the course was HARD. felt great!

My team, Celo Pacific also took the overall team title. I am really glad I made the decision to start riding and racing with Celo. A great group of people that are in the sport for the right reason... having FUN!

This week is going to busy... last minute wedding stuff, xmas, getting ready to go to mexico... and some riding for sure.

rainy riding

killer photo taken by richard murphy at last weekend's race.


not too much going on around here last week and weekend... except getting ready for our wedding (16 days), xmas shopping (11 days to go), riding (everyday!), and xmas party hopping (4 parties in 3 days), and HUGE bolts win (8th in a row) yesterday... ok so kind of a lot going on.

by southern california standards we had a pretty rainy week and weekend. i actually like the rainy days and nights, but in the past i would have probably been pretty bummed and hit some indoor running and swim sessions. not this year. having a cross bike is making all the difference.

i still got in a lot of miles last week and all of them were outside. i heard about and saw a lot of people getting on the trainer but i didn't cave. i hit the wet roads on my cross bike and rode through some pretty crappy weather and rain.... but even with as wet as i got and how dirty my bikes ended up i still had a lot of fun and it was better than sitting on the torture rack (trainer).

a view from my saturday ride. i hit the cross country running and trails up at UCSD and had them all to myself. super fun.


beth we super excited to see the bolts dominating the cowboys yesterday.


final cross race of they year this sunday....

Skinfit USA Website Launch!

after a lot of hard work Skinfit USA's new website is online!

go to www.skinfit.eu, then click on USA.

I have been using Skinfit gear for the past couple of years and couldn't be more impressed with the quality. The baselayers (klima/klima soft) and outerwear (vento jackets/vest) are definitely one of the reasons I actually look forward to getting on the road at 545am all winter.

trevor has been a good friend for a long time now and i have watched him work his butt of building the skinfit business in the US. It's definitely been tough but things are blowing up. I couldn't be more stoked for him. His hard word IS paying off.

another rad thing about the site is that it was designed by Ryan's new wife, and my friend, Sarah. She's got skills!

Week 1 and SCPS #14 Race Report

this past week was the official start of my base training for 2010. since september and the last US Cup mountain bike race i have just been riding and racing cross on the weekends. nothing structured just having fun. i feel fresh and the legs are good. this next month will just be about some mellow miles and Cody is helping dial the plan of attack for 2010. he helped me get my cycling to another level in 2008 and I am hoping working with again this next year will do the same.

so this week was just some mellow base miles. nothing hard just logging time in the saddle with a little more structure. my rib is almost 100% so i am hoping to be able to get back in the gym and do some upperbody stuff this week. i have been limited to lowerbody and have been knocking it out. i am trying some new things strength training wise.

so after solid week of riding on headed up to the OC on saturday for Slater's b-day ride. we had a group of 15 and cruised for 2 hours one some trails i have never ridden good times for sure. next time i am staying for the bbq and beers!

slater trying to talk us into adding a "little" climbing. typical slater move. he got denied.


sunday. SCPS #14 Adams Avenue race at the Velodrome.

Good, hard race. Took the win but had to work for it early on. right off the start i tangled with a couple of guys going over a barrier 50 yards into the race. then had to work HARD to bridge back to front group. i eventually did and then sat in and recovered. half way through lap two i went to the front then made a move and was able to break group up... and then just kept hammering and got away. i got caught on the fireroad on lap 3 but then attacked again as we hit technical/single track section and got away... and that ended up being the race. just kept hammering.


finishing on the velodrome. stoked i didn't crash.


felt really strong throughout. i could have ridden some sections better. cracked my front rim blowing it on the run/ride up section twice. lame... but stoked to win.

post race. beat down.


podium shot. I won a Stone Arrogant Bastard 22oz. does it get any better?


i now have done 9 races out of a possible 14 so far with the finals left on 12/20. I am currently in 2nd with only 9 of a possible 10 races counted. so hopefully after the final race (my 10th scoring race) i will have enough points to win the series. yesterdays race was also the final race of San Diego CX Series (the 3 races in SD within the SCPS series) and by winning at Storm the Beach and on Sunday I took the overall for the SDCX series.

very good weekend. back at it tomorrow.

solid week.


oh yeah... and in case anybody missed it... beth made a movie (totally far fetched)... basically working me! i'll get her back!

where i'm at and where i'm going...

so i have been getting a lot of questions lately regarding what my plans are for next year. i was kind of all over the place this past year. i began the year with some lofty running goals, plans for Xterra and then hurt my foot, bagged triathlon, had some health problems, and came back racing my bike.

i really enjoyed racing my mountain bike all summer and built fitness and ended the season strong. I cut way back on the running (but still running) and enjoyed the mostly single sport focus. it was so much easier on me physically and even more so mentally. not having to worry about cramming workouts in for 3 sports and having a lot of time for hanging out and having fun was awesome. my riding also got to a new level and I started winning mtb races over the summer and then took the US Cup Unification race.

then i started racing cross. i loved it from the start. it's what i am cut out for! good times and very hard racing... and then beers after!

with all that being said... 2010 will be all about the bike. I just totally love riding my bikes right now and want to see what happens if a i spend a full year focusing on one sport... but it's kind of 3. My main focus from Jan-Sept will be mountain bike racing, then I was start the cross season, and I also want to get into some road racing, especially stage races. it's all about having fun.

so i will be hanging up the running shoes for a bit, except for a little bit of cross training, and spending a lot of time in the saddle.


things are good... really good.

My Thanksgiving weekend 2009

so it seems everybody does a thanksgiving post. so here's mine.

Thanksgiving is HANDS DOWN my favorite holiday. don't get me wrong i love xmas too but everything gets complicated and expensive when presents/gifts come into the mix. i would rather just celebrate with less superficial things. to me it's all about the F's: Family, Food, & Fun... and that's exactly what started going down on wednesday leading into the t-day.

i am pretty much let the photos tell most of went down.

beth had the week off so we were able to get in some mellow riding.

wednesday night i set up a happy hour at the newly (re)opened Encinitas Ale House. good times.

this could be my new favorite photo of all time. it's my new background on my computer. and yes... she was definitely paying for this in the morning.

thursday beth and i hosted our first thanksgiving. i got up early to ride with Dan on a perfect day and then headed home to prep some food. my sister, aunt, and uncle all came over for an epic feast.
view from my t-day ride. don't hate!


dinner.


fridayi rode long (and it shelled me!) and beth's friends put together a "rolling" bachelorette party for her. they're awesome. i hung at home and made some killer left overs!

the rest of the weekend was spent riding and relaxing.

on saturday i woke up to rain... and stoked. the long ride (70+ miles) on friday worked me. so i got up had a couple too many cups of coffee and then just went on a short cruise on the CX bike. i love getting out and riding in the "weather" since I rarely get to do it. nothing like riding in the rain and 20-20mph winds. then from about 10am to 10pm i sat on the couch watching college football. great day.

saturday night sunset. actually some clouds. rare.

on sunday ryan came down and we hit the trails pretty early.

view from the ride. does it get any better in november... anywhere?


we had originally planned on going to bolts game (i had some free tickets) but opted to just watch it at home. I mean that's why I bought my killer HDTV and the beer and food selection at my house kills anything you can get at the stadium. is it really worth paying $10 for a bud light when you have some Pliny the Elder in the fridge? the game was rad, we grilled up some carne asada, and more friends came over to watch the bolts kills the chiefs. 8-3 and looking good.


that's it... today is monday 11/30.... traing officially started my 2010 campaign, but more on that later.

SCPS#12/SCNCA District Champs race report.

lame.

sunday didn't go as planned.

saturday was a GREAT day. i had a good night of sleep and then got a couple mellow hours in on on the bike. the rest of the day beth and i lounged around the house... a rarity for us. we went out for brunch, did some xmas decoration shopping, watched some college football, had a couple of beers, hit the hot tub, beth cooked me dinner, and we watched a movie. probably a typical "non-athlete" type of saturday. it was rad.

turkey meatloaf, kale, and butternut squash soup.


sunday i was up early and headed up to Ventura. mellow drive. the race site at lake casitas was beautiful. sunny day, no wind, and perfect temps. i got there a little to early and the races were delayed a bit so i had plenty of time to kill. so i just watched all my friends race and then warmed up. my legs were feeling good and i was ready to go.

it was pretty good sized field so i was stoked to get the call up. the whistle went off and we were hammering down the initial 100 yards of paved road. I was sitting just in the top 10 and then about 7th when we made the sharp 180 degree turn on to the grass/dirt. then it was single file and fast on the grass. a guy went around me right before we got to a little log that we would have to bunny hop up.

we were probably going about 20 mph, and wheel to wheel. he attempted to bunny hop the log with me doing the same right behind him. he got sideways in the air and rolled his from tire when he landed and went straight to the ground right in front of me. there was nothing i could. my front went straight into his back (on the ground) at full speed. me and my bike went into full on front flip/somersault mode! i don't exactly what happened. it was fast and i have never hit the ground that hard in any of my bike crashes. then about 5 other guys piled on top of us. sweet.

i jumped up and was dazed and out of it. i tried to get right back on my bike but couldn't. so i started walking a bit as guys were flying by me. i finally got back on my bike, fumbling around and was probably in about 30-40th place.

at this point i was just frustrated. i wasn't thinking about the pain. just the fact that the race had gotten away from me and we were only 2 minutes in. so i did what i do... i chased hard and hammered my way through the field for a couple of laps. i was riding aggressively and making a lot of passes and eventually worked my way back into the top 10 but then the pain started to settle in a bit. i had some significant pain in my chest on my left side, like right under the pectoral muscle. every time i would get out of the saddle it would hurt pretty bad. i wanted to pull the plug, but needed some points for the series... and i don't quit... bad karma. if i can roll across the line, even if it's in last place, i am going to do it.

so i ended up finishing in about 6th or 7th (i think). not sure because i didn't stick around. right after i crossed the line i picked my spare wheels and headed for the truck... and home.

i was pretty sore driving home and once i was home, i showered, got to icing it, and then watching the DVR'd bolts game. that definitely cheered me up a bit.

i got this morning and my chest and rib felt a bit better just sore. i decided to go ahead and go to urgent care and get an x-ray just to rule out the possibility of a break. that's what having good insurance is for. so the x-ray came back negative as well as all the tests the doctor performed. it's just a strain. so that's good news.

so it looks like it will just easy riding on the road for the next week or so. nothing hard and nothing that puts any strain on my uppperbody (riding out of the saddle, offroad riding, lifting weights, or running). no worries. i just want to heal so I am 100% for the start of my 2010 base training and my last 2 CX races of the year on 12/6 and 12/20. I will have to have good races at both to pull of the series.

quick one... and some cooking

some fun, cold morning rides this week on all 3 (road, mtb, cx) bikes. a lot going on at work. cooking some good dinners.

i like to cook a lot more in the winter. a lot of people seem to hate cooking. it relaxes me. i really look forward to coming home, especially now that it's dark when i get home, and making dinner for me and beth after a morning of riding and a long day at work. here's some stuff i made this week.

grilled gluten free, sundried tomato & feta chicken and Turkey sausage tossed with kale, bacon, mushrooms, garlic, and onions. steamed veggies on the side.


turkey bacon wrapped scallops, grilled shrimp, grilled zucchini, and roasted broccoli rabe, brussel sprouts, & mushrooms.


an experiment: sauteed broccoli rabe, brussel sprouts, & green beans with turkey bacon, onions, garlic, olive oil, and balsamic vinegar. came out good.


and had it with some cioppino from the Solana Beach Fish House.


and last. Turkey bacon wrapped pork chops. i don't have photo of the finished product but it was good.


the legs are good. i'm ready for SCPS #12 race on sunday up in ventura. It's the SCNCA District Championships so it should be a pretty tough race..... i'm thinking about doing the 1/2/3's right after as well. report next week.

it's all about recovery. thanks hammer.

more of the same: riding and good times....

nothing new on the "training" front. i rode my bikes a lot this week, including 3 group rides. getting out with the groups and pushing the pace/intensity has been my only "plan". good workout without having to think. just ride hard, attack, and stay at the front as much as possible.

on saturday, before heading out to temecula for ryan and sarah's wedding, i hit the saturday swami's ride. it's been a couple of years since i have gone on this ride. back in the day (2+ years ago) I couldn't hang on this ride and would get shot out the back as soon as we hit elfin. my plan was to just get a feel and see if the ride i want to incorporate into future traing.

well... the ride was rad and super hard. there was a really big group and the pace lifted pretty quick with a bunch of fast dudes leading us out. once we hit elfin i went to the front and worked my butt off. i even made one break away and was able to get away for a bit off the front. after regrouping at the church i was feeling it and pulled a lot of the way home down del dios.

very solid ride and some of the hardest riding i have ever done on the road or in a race. it will definitely be in the future training plan when it comes to start working on race speed/intensity. i need to make sure not hit it too much over the winter. it's pretty intense. i

i was pretty shelled when i get home but made an epic breakkie before hitting the couch.
veggie/egg scramble. (eggs, bacon, kale, sweet pots, broc, onions, peppers, mushrooms)


then we headed out to temecula for the wedding. good times. i am stoked for ryan and sarah. they are perfect for each other.

me and the future wife. we're next.


sunday was just about perfect. i woke up with no plans, had some epic 53x11 coffee, and then headed out to PQ canyon with beth. we just cruised around and had fun riding bikes. nothing hard... perfect weather too.


not lost.


she loves the internet!


then we headed home and while beth got her P90X on and i did my own strength work. then it was all about the bolts. we had some friends over, some good beers, and fired up the grill. the bolts got the win (there was never any doubt in my mind) and the icing on the cake was the broncos losing to the skins. next sunday's game is going to be huge.



i am looking forward to another fun week of riding and racing next sunday. the race is in ventura and is the 2009 SCNCA District Championships as well as race #12 of the SCPS.

I am also starting the strength program at Rehab United that I am very stoked about. time to get yoked! if you are interested in checking these classes out come checking it out and check the link for more info.
Rehab United Strenght Class

time to hit the road... it's only 45 degrees. it's going to be cold!