Yesterday I raced my bike...

...IN MY OWN BACKYARD. It was cool. It was fast. And it was a crit. Crowds were decent. The roster for the day was Brian, Stefano, Devan, Justin, and yours truly. The race started off just like any other crit, fast. We took a right turn, then another right turn, and another right turn. Then guess what we did? If you guessed we took another right turn, then you get a gold star.  Anyways, the race played out perfectly for us. Devan got into the break and WON. And Justin/J-WOW/Kanye took home 3rd to win the field sprint. It was just domination. Pure domination. Even if Chuck Norris entered the race these guys still would of killed it.  As for me, the race was ok. Not good not bad.  Sure as hell felt better than most crits this season though. Hopefully a good sign.

I've been home for just about two weeks now and I couldn't be happier.  I've missed it all. The climbs, all my favorite training routes, my family etc.  Maybe I was a little home sick.  I guess I'm trying to say I'm happy to be home.

Did a solid ride today in the Berkeley hills area. A lot of up and down. Actually it was all up and down. Needless to say, my climbing legs need some work. Hopefully, that part will come easy. And I forgot to put sunscreen on today. I'm 100% positive I'll regret that tomorrow. Thanks for reading.

Wes

P.S. Thank you Jakroo for getting me a call up last night. That was pretty awesome.

My Trip

I realize that this is the first blog I have posted in 8 months. I apologize for my lazy/inconsistent posting pattern. I'm going to briefly discuss what has happened in the past 8 months.  That knee injury I mentioned back in January lasted 4 months. Let me say that again. 4 months. It royally ruined my season.  It wasn't till April where I was able to ride my bike again.  Racing resumed almost immediately which in the long run probably wasn't the best idea.  The team went on the road in June to race Tulsa Tough, Nature Valley, and Elite National Championships. For me, it was a rough trip. The struggle to find any sort of form made it very difficult. Despite my lack of form, the team had success with podiums in each of those races. Justin got a second on the first day of Tulsa. Devan took best young rider/best amateur on the first day of Nature Valley.  And we had podiums at both the crit and road race at nationals. Straight up ballers.

  After that trip, we headed back to SoCal for a few weeks before it was time for yet another trip. This time it was for the Boise Twilight and the Cascade Cycling Classic. The crit in Boise was pretty gnarly. I wasn't able to race it, but it looked fun. Michael took home a 3rd on a wet, dangerous, and generally chaotic day. Cascade was hard. Devan took an 8th on the first day, but other than that the race was uneventful. 

Here are some photos from the trip.

View from the host house in Tulsa.

Pre riding the TT course at Nature Valley. It went along a road parallel to the Mississippi.

 

This was a lake I rode by in Augusta, GA. I had to talk myself out of jumping into it. Temps were in the high 90's.

 

Jackson, MS

State Capitol in Jackson

Back in SoCal! Laguna Beach to be exact.

Sin City. Looks depressing really.

Snake river in Idaho. There was some gnarly base jumping taking place.

Dowtown Boise. One my favorite cities we went to.

Top of a 16 mile climb near Boise. Elevation ~6200'.

Another view of Snake river.

View from the host house in Bend, OR. The coolest host house we stayed at all year.

2012

It's finally 2012! For what seemed like an eternity, the off season is finally over and a new year of racing has begun. It's always nice to start fresh both physically and mentally. With the new year, brings a new team. I would like to officially announce to all my followers that I will be racing for CashCall Mortgage Cycling Team for 2012. http://cashcallcycling.com/2012/01/03/2012-team-announcement/. This year will the most exciting year of my life. I will be racing in various races around the country, along with a majority of racing in southern California (where the team is located). Couldn't be more excited.

On January 23rd I will be flying down for team camp. I went down in mid November for a couple of days mainly to get acquainted with my new teammates. I did a couple of 4-5 hour rides with them in Tustin. Other than the stoplights, I wouldn't mind living in the area. I enjoyed getting to know my teammates. Each and everyone of them have incredible strength. But most importantly, they race as a team. I'm over the moon just to be apart of this program.

On the training aspect of my life, it has been good. I've been doing a lot of "exploration miles" all over the bay area. There's this.route. that I've been doing lately that has sent me through different parts of the bay area. Although, I have recently developed a slight case of petallafemoral  in my left knee which has kept me from my normal training regime. On the brighter side, I have dealt with this condition before. So knowing how to mend it gives me peace at mind. Whenever I overcome these small bumps in road, I treat them as victories rather than dilemmas. The road to becoming a professional cyclist is not your everyday smooth and flawless road you train countless miles on(excluding Sonoma Co.). Realistically, it resembles a sector of cobblestones in Paris- Roubaix. It is a series of bumps and ruts and jolts and rattles. I expect this is 2012. Whether it's sickness or injuries, there will be bumps and ruts along the way. Truth is folks, that's bike racing.

Hope everyone had a good new years. Get out there and achieve your new years resolution. Thanks for reading!

You have one life.

Make it count.