Ordered some decals for the Raleigh project, had some coming from Thailand, they arrived, were the wrong type. So now waiting for the right type to arrive.

The good news is that the wrong versions I can use on another Raleigh project.

Patience is tough.

We made it to St Anne. We left at 8:30am and arrived at the condo at 8pm. That's almost 12 hours of travel door to door. It is much longer then driving but pretty relaxing too to fly.

The course here uses most of the same trails as in the past but goes different directions on them. They have built the coolest bridges I have ever ridden over in a race. They are usually squared off edges with no transitions, just 2 ramps up on a table type of design. These bridges have sweet transitions and they are more like something you would see in a skate park. Rad! All course bridges should be built like that.

The course is also completely dry and where there is usually mud even if it isn't rainy there is 5 inches of dust/sand. I'm going to ride the 29er Epic because this course is rough when it's wet so when it's dry it's really rough.

I didn't drop at all in the UCI ranking after last weekend so I'm number 13 and should start number 12 since the little Footlicker is racing U23. That will be my best ever start position for Worlds and due in large part to the good race I had at Worlds last year finishing 8.

The Dart and I played some golf after training yesterday and it was a blast. He is really good for never playing since the last time he swung a club was in Durango before we went to the Olympics in 08. No course records but I did play with some real "wooden" woods that are smaller then the irons of today.

Claire has been making her famous lunches all week and my knee is almost completely healed from the Leadville crash so I can get massage on my stomach with out wincing. The Dart and I are doing the Team Relay tomorrow so we're going to do some more course recon and pin it out there for a bit today. The last time I rode the team relay for the US was in 2001 when Worlds were in Vail and it was my first season back from the Corporate/School world. It's an honor to take part in the relay and I hope I can do a good time for the team.

I might hit the pool today for a a few minutes to get ready for my South Beach trip a week from Friday, there is always something to train for.

Big thanks to Ken Bell for the copy of "Chasing Legends". Ken made "Off Road to Athens" with Gripped Films I believe and it was the coolest XC movie I've ever seen. The CL movie is about the HTC team at the Tour in 2009. It is also an awesome film I would suggest it to anyone that loves cycling.

That's all from St Anne. Did I mention the condos here now have A/C(new for me for this year) and the temperatures have been in the 90s and humid, strange for this time of year in St Anne. Everyone's grass is brown and none of the lakes have any water in them either.

I wonder what Winstons' doing right now......

It was another scorcher at Alterrra....it seems every year at this place is rained out then re- scheduled for the hottest day of the year. The sun bakes you on the climbs and then you get lost in the maze of never ending singletrack...unless you use the force.

It happened this week. After last weekends WORS race it was time to take a week off, rest, and refocus on the upcoming cyclocropss season. That meant not doing WORS yesterday and missing the first opportunity of the year for #1 call up as the new series leader, but more importantly a week to relax mentally from racing and training and to refocus on what must happen coming up.

I announced on FB last week a new team for cyclocross and I am excited to announce it here now with team kit pictures. I am very excited to be riding for a new team called Cyclocrossracing.com
along with Blue Bikes, Rolf Prima Wheels, and Lazer Helmets. Things came together quickly but I couldn't be set up better with equipment with Blue Norcross SL bikes, some great looking new carbon CX tubulars from Rolf Prima, and continued protection for my noggin from the best fitting, coolest looking helmet company Lazer. It's been very exciting because I wasn't sure earlier in the year of cyclocross on a national level was going to happen, but with the support of the new team a full USGP schedule, along with all the midwest UCI races and Nationals will all be possible.

With the new team and new season comes new motivation. Hopefully with determination and hard work some good cross results will follow a solid early season of road racing and mountain biking. My coach, Gordy Paulson has been saving the best workouts for last, so I am fully expecting to be torn down again after a refreshing break, but he's been a tremendous asset to my racing/training the last 2 years and I know that he will have me ready when it's time to line up against the country's best.

Another W.C. in the books. It was a mixed bag for me back in Windham. I felt good on course but didn't have much luck. A poor start, flat tire on the first descent that turned into a run to the techzone. Running in any MTB race sucks but if you have to run in a WC that isn't because of mud it's going to be a long day.

Got a new wheel and was off again, in 75th place. Made it back up to 24th by the end which isn't a good result on it's own but given the day wasn't too bad. I felt strong all day and actually passed people on the last lap instead of cracking and getting passed which is my usual MO. I was hoping for a big result but there's still one race left to go for it.

The team did pretty well with Susi landing on the podium in 4th and the Dart flatting out of the lead group at the end. I think it could have been an awesome day for everyone if we had a little bit of luck.

The course was in perfect condition, the weather was beautiful and it was great to have the support of the family there. I rode the Epic 29er and I was gaining so much time on the downhill. That bike is amazing.

I got to debut my new Stars and Stripes kit as well this weekend. I can't think of a better venue to premiere it then at the first ever World Cup finals less then 1 hour away from where I grew up in NY.

As racing goes, you're only as good as your last race so I'm hoping for a good one this weekend. We're on our way up to Quebec right now and it will be the first time I've ever flown from Albany to Quebec. It's going to take as long as driving but I not going to complain because the drive up to Quebec is my least favorite ever.

The Schmooz and I are sitting at the Buck waiting for Claire and Burry to finish checking in. Sundays are nice days to travel since the volume seems light and the staff pretty friendly. I know I'm going to jinx myself but I haven't paid a bike fee since Sea Otter this year.

Happy Birthday to the Schultz Man and I have to say his new Incognito haircut by Doug looks good.

I wonder what Meg and the family are doing today.....

CX season is quickly approaching! New sponsorhsip lined up with Shimano & TRP!

The trip back to N.Y. was flawless today. I slept great even though I had to get up at 5 am and leave at 5:10 to get to the airport for my 6:20 am flight. Everything was on time and I slept through 2 of the 3 flights and got upgraded the whole way. Had time to snag a Que Bueno breakfast burrito in DIA and made it into Albany 10 minutes. All my bags showed up and I got a ride with Gully to the venue from the airport so Benno didn't have to come get me. He seems to be bored though so I think he was looking forward to coming to get me. 

It's really cool right now for this time of year in N.Y., only 70 degrees today. The air is so thick right now it's almost like it's raining with out the rain. The place we're staying is pretty nice and I even have my own room for the weekend since no rooms have 2 beds but they all have living rooms and kitchens. 

The Dart got his new 29er Stumpjumper 2011 and the bike is super light. We have some new tires we're testing out but they might be too narrow for this course. They are super light though and his size "M" bike with the 1.8 tires is crazy light, almost like a road bike. 

I have been so hungry lately it seems like as soon as I finish eating I'm hungry again. No amount of hard boiled eggs seems to satisfy my appetite. One thing that does fill the belly is one of those amazing cup cakes from The Carrot place next to ZIA. Calling it a cupcake doesn't do it justice though, it's more like a piece of cake art. They are so good and I can't wait for cyclocross season so I can start trying all the flavors. 

It's great to be back with the team (sans Lene who is sitting out this one because she's just starting to get healthy). Even Bobby is here and every time the team gets together, no matter how long it's been since we've seen each other it's like we never left. It's awesome. 

No one of the "S" team has ridden the course yet because it's been so rainy. It sounds like not much has changed since last year though from hearing what people said that have rode it. One thing that will be different is we start in the middle of downtown. That means we race on a road for about 1K up to the ski resort before hitting the course. That's good news for people starting at the back but bad news for those of us starting towards the front. It will be like a road race fight for position the whole way up but at least it's a pretty straight shot. 

I don't know what to do with myself with my own room and all this space. I wonder what Winston and Meg are doing right now......

Another WORS race in the books this past weekend. This one was held near the new ZOO in Green Bay. Andrea decided to take the weekend off so I hit the road with the next best thing!

Any good websites on the dates for the Spring Classic races in 2011? Will be there from 4/19-4/26.

Anyone out there have any viewing tips?

I didn't have any good race photos from the weekend so Ellie takes home the front page. She hated her little infant bathtub the first 3 months, now she's too big for it and thinks it's a row boat and loves it! She climbs in and out for hours and thinks it's fantastic. Funny what you begin saying "whatever" to when you have a 1 year old.

This weekend I cracked 30 races for the season so far. I don't know if that sounds like a lot or not, but I guess it is. The year I raced on Saturn in 2003 I think I did over 70 which is a lot, but many of those were stage races or multi day events and that adds up fast. All of my races are either 1 or 2 race weekends now so I guess that is a lot of weekends. I think there might only be 1 or 2 weekends I haven't raced since April. I like it though and I have been able to stay focused at all of them so I am feeling good about it and still feeling motivated.

This last weekend I raced the last WCA crit of the year in Fond Du Lac and after much deliberation I ended up passing up the shot at $20k at Race the Lake Sunday to do the WORS race. I think that means I am done road racing for the year. It was a tough call to skip Race the Lake, but in reality I just didn't see myself being able to win it against the teams that were showing up and while there is great money for top 10, cyclocross and finishing out the WORS series are my priorities and I needed to keep them. It turned out well at WORS on Sunday so I was relieved about that. I had a hard time at first getting through my legs from the crit the night before, but with the longer, faster laps I was able to sit on comfortably and just wait for them to come around and hope for the others to tire. I know my legs in that situation will more than likely feel better at the end than at the beginning so patience and determination were key. It worked out for me and finally on the 3rd lap I was able to ride at a high level and keep the throttle on for the 5th WORS win of the year. Thanks Mafia and Felt bikes for a great season so far!

Speaking of being done road racing for the year, I am able to sell off a few of my old cross bikes and if anyone is interested, I am selling my two Ridley X nights. They are both 54cm but really measure about 56cm. Well, if you know me you know about my size and they fit me good. They would be race ready other than wheels, leave your email in the comments if you are interested.