North Carolina Day 3/Virginia Day 1

We were up early yesterday morning to get back on the road and head for Richmond. We wanted to get on the road early so we could ride the Richmond course in the afternoon and then hit the water. The drive was mellow and were in VA by 4pm and it was hot!... again!

Me and the boys rolling out.


We headed straight for the trails and got in a mellow ride and it felt good just to get out and spin the legs out after being in the car all day. The bike course is fun, but definitely tough and will hopefully get easier with all the pre-riding that will take place before race day.

richmond bike course


After the ride we went for a quick swim in the James River, which is always and adventure. The water was disgustingly warm... probably 85. Swimming through the currents, rocks, and sand bars is always interesting but hopefully a couple of days of getting if dialed in will pay off on Sunday.

the james.


After the swim the boys dropped my off at the Crowne Plaza hotel where I will be staying through the weekend. It's the host hotel, it gotta a killer rate, and it's a 1/4 mile from transition and the trail head. Beth will be joining me on Friday afternoon along with my parents. I can't wait.... The rest of the week and weekend should be a lot of fun.

room service in the hotel. pretty good.


livin' it up.


tomorrow it's all about more course recon... and relaxing.

North Carolina Day 2

Yesterday was a long one and exactly what I was expecting out of North Carolina. I slept really hard the night before and woke up feeling rested but still felt sluggish and stiff. Racing in the heat and pushing as hard as I did on Sunday definitely took its toll on me.

Once we had some breakfast Trevor, Brian, and I hit the road. Cody opted to hang at the crib and an urban assault of downtown Asheville. The plan was to head out to Tsali Recreation Area some where in the backwoods of western North Carolina. After a lot of driving through some of the smallest, weirdest mountain towns I have ever seen and getting lost a couple of times we finally found the park... and it was killer.

This place is a mountain bikers/triathletes dream come true. We were greeted with an awesome lake, trails, and they even had a bike washing station. We hit up the lake first. I just cruised around in the water for about 20 minutes and it was totally rejuvenating and I really felt my body coming back around after were out of the water.

Finding the lake. Stoked.


It was then a quick change as we were out riding. The trails were epic... yes I am going to use the word epic. I probably had the most fun I have ever had on my mountain bike. 15+ miles of super smooth, flowing, tree-covered single track. I have to get back there some day.

map of our ride. pretty incredible.


mile and miles of this.


another killer view from the trail.


After getting our fill of Tsali we headed back to Asheville for some BBQ and beers.

On the way back we some pretty sweet stuff.


cruising around downtown Asheville.


The place we went was really good and even had cans of PBR for $1. I really can't think of a better way to spend the day.... good friends, epic riding, good food, and cheap beers!


Trevor's massive plate of food... He ate a lot of it but barely made a dent. It's no wonder people aren't to slender around these parts. (see motorcycle photo above).


We are now on our way to Richmond... I am actually blogging it up from the passenger seat of the Uhaul! We'll be riding the course in Richmond later today and then a couple of more times before Sunday's race.

Pose down.

North Carolina Day 1... and photos...

Yesterday was a good one...

The home stretch.


podiums are cool.


Cody and me chill'n in the misting tent.



Cody post race at @ 2 Pesos... worrying a little too much about recovery... put some clothes on!


After a tough day of racing we finally made to Fairview, NC around midnight last night. It was a pretty mellow drive and house is incredible. We quickly settled in, grabbed a couple beers, and hit the hot tub. Perfect way to end the day.

Cody and I about to get in the hot tub... not at all gay.


I woke up feeling pretty worked this morning.

morning view from the crib... still celebrating!


We all took our time getting around and then we headed down to downtown Asheville. We stopped at Hearns Cycling & Fitness for some directions to the trails. The guys were super cool and pointed (actually gave us a map & directions) in the right direction. After we got directions we headed down to the Green Sage Cafe for a caffeine fix. The place was awesome and the place I dream about opening. Killer coffee, food... and beer on tap. They had grass fed Bison burgers on whole wheat buns served with organic sweet potato fries. I think we are going to head back for dinner tomorrow.

After we got our drinks we headed down to Pisgah National Forest for some riding.

Being the smallest guy doesn't always pay off... riding in the way back...


All of us were pretty beat down after the race yesterday... except for Trevor who was ready to throw down. We rode some fun trails and then got to gnarly hike-a-bike climb that totally sucked. The shitty climb brought us to the Blue Ridge Parkway.
Trying to find our way.


and again...

Trevor continued on the trails while Cody, Brian, and I cruised the road. We got in an hour of spinning at it probably helped but I was damn tired.

On the way home we stopped at Fresh Market to get some killer food for the grill. The call was for Filet Mignon kabobs and tons of veggies.


Trevor relaxing before dinner.


my dinner.


Chillaxing with the boys.


Since we got in so late last night I had celebratory meal and drinks tonight. Tomorrow we will be heading out for some more riding and hopefully a lake swim. More tomorrow...

ending the day the same way I started it... except this time with a beer in hand.

Xterra South East Champs... quick one..

I am finally out of Alabama and now in North Carolina... it's about 230 am est and I am finally getting pretty tired. The race went went well. I will post a more detailed report some time tomorrow. Here's all I have for now.

from the Xterra site:

AMATEUR RACE: James Walsh from Carlsbad, California was the top amateur finishing 13th overall and ahead of eight pros.

a good day to say the least... a lot more to come...

Alabama Day 3: Race prep

It's 2:30pm* on Saturday afternoon and I am sitting on my bed in the hotel room relaxing, staying out of the heat, and off my feet. It helps that there is some good college baseball action on all day. We have two joining rooms and they are packed with bikes and gear. The rest of the boys are all glued to their laptops as well (free wifi at the Sleep Inn = killer). This is how we will most likely be spending the rest of the day.

*I probably won't post this until the day is complete and I am ready to call it a night.

This morning we are up and on it pretty early. Cody and Trevor wanted to ride the bike course again and Brian and I wanted to hit the first section. The Xduro 21k started at 8am and followed a lot of the same course so we had to be out riding before the got sent off.

The ride was perfect and I felt solid through the tight single track. The bike course is so fun and I am just stoked to be racing on it. After the ride was quick little run with some accelerations and then another lap in the lake. We all got checked in including Trevor who will be lining up for his first race as a pro. I am stoked for him and hope he has great rookie performance.

Brian and I stumbled upon the BMX track while we were riding. I was bummed it was closed I was going to throw down Cru Jones style.


After checking in we headed to Whole Foods for lunch. I am so stoked the crew is as into eating at WF as I am. I have eaten there three times in the last 3 days and we are headed back for our pre-race meal. By no means is Whole Foods cheap but at least you know what you are getting and there are tons healthy options no matter what you like to eat.

After lunch we went to pick up our U-Haul truck that will be transporting us and all our gear to Asheville, NC Sunday after the race. We be spending a couple of days in Asheville relaxing and riding some of the killer local trails. It's going to be fun and great way to relax after a tough weekend.

the rig.


So now our crew is comprised of two Amateurs (me and Brian) and 2 pro (Cody and Trevor). Tom had to stay at home because of some last minute work obligations but will hopefully be meeting us in Richmond. I am trying to come with some kind of drinking game pitting the Am's agains the pro's for Sunday night. Any suggestions?

in case anybody wants to know... here's how a 2nd year xterra pro and rookie pro get down the night before a race... boring!



Pre-race Whole foods dinner... a mix of everything!


my current favorite snack... fuji apple and almond butter.


Tomorrow will be a fun one with projected high of 96 degrees. The race doesn't start until 930 so it will definitely be blazing by the time we hit the water. I am hoping to be able to post a race report (via EVDO) while on the road for 6 hours while we are in route to Asheville..

stay tuned...

Alabama Day 2: Course Recon

Well... it's still hot and humid, but it's not so bad... as long as you are inside with the curtains drawn and the A/C blasting...

Today was spent checking out the course. My initial plan was to just ride the the bike course and then go for a swim in the lake. After talking with Cody last night and reading Dan Hugo's description of the run course I decided I needed to know what all the talk was about.

Brian, Me, and Cody ready to do work.


After a good sleep we were up and on it. We head on the bike course first. It was just after nine and already in the 90's. The first section of the bike course is fast and fun with a bunch of tight twisty single track. Then you hit the only significant climb. It's about 3 miles and it's where the "work" will be done and one of the only places where it will be easy to pass. Then it's on to "Blood Rock" and the descent. After scoping out the technical rock garden known as the "Blood Rock" and some words of wisdom from Coach Cody I gave it a go. I am stoked to say I cleaned the first time and was pretty stoked. Then we just cruised the rest of the course and drank a lot.

get it.


Blood Rock!



Bike course:



After the ride we ate and drank some more and then set out for a loop on the run the course. The first couple of miles are on the same trails as the bike course and are fast... and then it's gets tough... I mean brutal. There numerous (I stopped counting at 7) power climbs that last anywhere from 1-3 minutes and are just grinders. The last 3.5 miles of run course is filled with these climbs and fast, technical descents. It's going to be tough one! At first I didn't really want to run the whole course but after seeing the climbs and course I am very glad I got out there.

one of the many steep power climbs.

run course:


After the run we were all pretty tired and jumping in the lake felt awesome... even though water was in the upper 80's... yeah.. super warm. We swam a lap and called it a day.

ready to for a dip!

swim course.


The afternoon was spent eating at a pretty good mexi-joint right next to the hotel, napping, and watching the NCAA Baseball Super Regionals (i love college baseball). Then we headed to pick up Trevor and hit the Whole Foods once again for dinner.

Whole foods dinner: sweet potato fries and chicken salad.


Tomorrow will be all about recovery and getting ready to race. Can't wait!

Alabama Day 1: Hitting the ground running...

After a morning filled with travel Brian and I arrived in Birmingham just after 3pm local time. Right off the plane we could feel the heat and humidity. Travel was pretty uneventful which is definitely a good thing.

We immediately grabbed our gear, rental car, and headed for the hotel. The hotel is solid and only a couple of miles from the course. We quickly changed and then headed out to the park for an easy 30 min run on the trails. I always find it beneficial to get out and run or ride as soon as possible after flying and it definitely helped. It was really hot and humid when we started and I felt like crap, but I came around after a mile and started to really enjoy the heat. It was just a quick out and back and then we called it a day.


Brian and I post run. Only 30 minutes of cruising and we were both covered in sweat... gotta love the dirty south!


We headed back to the hotel, quickly cleaned, and then head off to pick another member of our squad, Cody Waite. Then it was time for dinner and we were stoked to find out there was a whole foods near by and I got down! A mega salad and turkey burger was the call.

After dinner we headed back to the hotel, built our bikes, watched the Laker's drop game 1 of the NBA Finals (bullshit!), and then just relaxed.

Today it's off to do some course recon and pick up another member of our squad... Trevor Glavin. Report to follow.

Hitting the road!

It's early and all my gear is packed and ready to go. Traveling to race triathlons is such a hassle... so much gear to pack, especially when you are going to be gone for two weeks. But it's done!

I'll be in Birmingham, AL by 330 EST and am ready to sweat my ass off. I am really looking forward to the race on Sunday but more so the the road trip with my homeboys. 5 dudes driving, racing, and riding around the south and east coast has to be fun.

On Sunday I will be racing the second stop of the Xterra USA tour in Pelahma at Oak Mountain State park. The bike course is supposed to be really fun and the run... brutal. Sounds good to me! The weather is also going to my liking too...



That's it for now... gotta load up the truck. I will have my laptop with built in EVDO and of course my camera so I plan on posting a lot from the road... hopefully every day... or two.

word.