Wha' ha' happen' wuz....

Finally some action! Okay, maybe not good action but action nonetheless. Dad, Jeremy and I started out for Wichita Falls Friday morning for this years edition of the HHH. It was a quick drive and the madness started as soon as we arrived. Imagine over 13,000 cyclist in one small city! We found good parking, right next to the Crit course for my first race Friday night. I got to watch a bit of the womens race while I was getting ready. My friend Jen dominated the race and took the first leaders jersey of HHH. She was absolutely beaming, and it was great seeing her on top of the podium.

I was feeling good and definitely fresh for my race. I had a good start and stayed 30-40 guys back for the first half of the 75 minute race without trouble. When I made it to the front of the race I still felt fresh and was able to hold my position well. With eight laps to go I went straight up to the front with several teamates riding on the heels of the green train led by Stefan. Only a couple laps later the speed slowed a bit and just as I was thinking to surge a little to stay up front I got swarmed from behind and lost 30 places or more. This was the end of my race, because the speed went back up a never let up, making it impossible to get to the front. I finally popped with one lap to go and hoped my teamates could finish off with a win. This was not to be as most of them got caught up in a crash at the front of the field on the last turn. So we looked forward to Saturdays road race.

It was a beautiful morning on Saturday, in the 60s and no wind at the start. This meant our race would be fast. The pace was really fast and easy to follow, with a rolling enclosure (we get the whole road) it was easy to move up and stay near the front to watch all happenings. I mostly followed wheels and waited for orders, or a hard section to make the race tough. I felt really good, the best I have felt all season and was just thinking this when another racer swerved with no regard to position and took my front wheel completely out. We were going atleast 30mph and maybe faster. Two other riders (one was my teamate) plowed into me and I thought I was never going to come to a stop. What seemed like minutes later, I emerged from the carnage to assess the situation. I thought I might be done for the weekend, and just sat for moment afraid to move. Once I got over the shock I got up and wanted to continue but my knee was gushing blood, and since I wasn't in a state to think and the race was gone, I recieved help and eventually made back the start finish medical area. I recieved two stitches in my knee (a whole chunk was tore out) and they cleaned up the rest of my road rash and injuries and sent me on my way.

I waited a few hours and Dad and Jeremy both finished there 100 mile rides! I am super proud of them for finishing, and made a pretty worthless day for me a little better. The rest of the weekend was fun, I raced on Sunday and physically felt good, but just didn't have the power required for that kind of race. Here are some pictures of my wounds.... Don't look if you have a weak stomach!

Lucas Update

It's been a while since I posted, and since I have been spending some time with Lucas, I wanted to put some pictures up. Mommy and Lucas came down this past weekend for a surprise visit since I wasn't able to get Lucas for Fathers day. We had a wonderful time. Saturday was probably the worst ride I have ever had on a bike, for many reasons I guess, luckily I had Lucas to make the rest of the day go well. We spent that evening with the family at my aunts house, ate a lot of food and played with all the toys. Lucas also got to ride a horse for the first time (finally!), but I don't think he really liked it all that much, he just wanted to be with daddy. I get him again this coming weekend (that isn't coming fast enough) and am really looking forward to watching the Tour de France during his nap time! Go Lance, or Schleck brothers. Really, anybody but Mr. Fingerbang (Contador), Wigo or Vino can win the Tour and make me happy. Tyler Farrar needs to put Cav in his British pompous place also. Enjoy the pics!

Yes that is my son!

Grumpy looking grumpy...

He wants it all!

Fun with the cousins.

Yeah.... I know!

Not supposed to be here but I sure am cute huh?

A Legend Passes

Well, it is with much sadness that I bring news of a true legend that has gone to doggy heaven. Our family pet for something like 14 years was laid peacefully to rest yesterday morning. Kix is a true legend. Her last few years in retirement were spent eating, sleeping, drinking and stinking as much as she could. Those who have only known her in her later life might think "she doesn't do anything." And they might hear us call her names like "Old table top back" or "Pib" as pappy would say. But in her early years Kix set records that may never be broken in our family.

Although Kix never got into the serious business of tennis ball chasing like earlier family pets, she did the best she could to chase the dog that chased the ball, and distract them as much as possible. Kix's true calling was "killin." This dog could kill. She must have killed over 30 moles and gofers over the years. She would just sit and wait for them to pop up and then it was game on. It was not uncommon to come home and find a dead mole laying in the yard. Or to look out the window when you were washing dishes to see her tossing something up in the air, a gofer she had been waiting to pop up for two days. We don't have too many problems with these pesky animals anymore, she cleaned them out. Perhaps her greatest achievement ever, and this animals last mistake ever was killing an armadillo. Somehow an Armadillo made its way into the yard and dug itself in. BIG MISTAKE! Kix sat by that hole for three days and nights, not coming in to eat or drink, she wouldn't leave it for anything! She sat and waited. That poor armadillo had to come out sometime. Unfortunately, when it did we were at school and missed the ensuing battle. We came home and sure enough a dead armadillo was in the yard, its tail ripped off and laying on its back. We all knew it was doomed, because Kix had no problem sitting and waiting. Anyway, I felt she was worthy of a little post. You were loved Kix and we will miss you! I will post a picture soon.

Ups, Downs and All Arounds

The past three weeks have been some of the most fun, longest, and somehow fastest of my life. The racing season has officially started for me, and although my form isn't near what I would like, I am showing some improvement and I hope to really be rocking and rolling by crit season. For two weekends in a row, Dad (my soigneur) drove me down to Austin for some great racing. Wahlburg was my first road race in over three years and I was nervous. This race tends to always be epic, whether from strong winds or cold and rainy weather. It turned out to be epic yet again, with pretty strong crosswinds, and rain for the first part of the race. I wasn't able to do much, but hung in with the main field untill the last seven miles or so. Pacebend is known for perfect weather and a challenging course. We again had perfect weather, and in my opinion the fastest edition of the race I have ever done. I was spit out the back of the group after not being able to recover when following attacks off the front from the beginning. The team had a good weekend overall and snuck in a fourth place at Wahlburg, and second at Pacebend.

The following weekend is at one of my favorite venues (even though I have never done well at this race) Lago Vista. Just off of Lake Travis near Austin, the best scenery and riding can be found in this area. Two 80+ mile road races with several thousand feet of climbing a day would change a normal persons opinion however! Saturday went well for me. I was able to be near the front and follow some moves near the middle of the race, unfortunately when the race split I was at the back (for no reason at all) and missed out. I had great legs and I know I could have went with those attacks. Luckily my teammates where more attentive and we accomplished our goals for the day, just barely missing the podium. I finished comfortably at the back of the peleton choosing to save my legs for Sundays race. Sunday was a much more difficult race and only 25 guys finished. The wind picked up and there was no hiding. The magnet at the back of the field was holding me there and I got dropped pretty early on, and pulled out of the race about two hours in. Patrick McCarty (a pro riding with us for the start of the season) narrowly missed the win to British National Champ Christian House. He was not happy, but he gave it everything he had, the course was just not difficult enough for him.

This past weekend was a long overdue Lucas weekend. We crashed at my Wichita Falls parents house and had an absolute blast! He is so much fun, and such a good boy. He liked the little dogs and kept playing the sharing game with thier dog bones. He tries to say Kitty, Nooooooo, and Thank you. I melt everytime he comes to snuggle or hide in my legs. There is no mistaking who his Daddy is, and even after five weeks, we settled right in, and I became a big sucker! On Saturday, we met Mommy at Toys R Us and got him an easter present, we had fun with him, he kept pulling stuffed animals off the shelves and pointing at everything he liked. Sunday we went shoe shopping, and I let him wear the Pumas I couldn't afford ($35!) around untill I found some shoes for me. We each got a pair of shoes for the price of the Pumas. Click here if you want to see some new Lucas pics. Thanks for reading!

Cannondale

Sweet bike for sale! The snow will be no extra charge. Stupid Texas weather, I hope we get three feet of snow. Kota isn't sure what to think about the snow, but she will fetch a snowball. What a good dog.

Surprise Daddy!

Poppy and I left friday night to visit Lucas. The weather was cold and rainy and the roads were supposed to be very slick and icy. This did not deter us in any way, I had all weekend to get to the Falls. Aside from some icy bridges in Sherman, the roads were dry and it was a fairly uneventful drive. Earlier in the week when I talked to Mommy (Lucas' mommy) on the phone she said they had a surprise for us.

When Lucas, Poppy and I returned to Mikes house I set him down to stand at the coffee table as usual, but instead of plopping on his butt and crawling, he walked over to the tv stand like it was nothing! I couldn't believe my eyes. So I went to the middle of the room and sat down, and he walked straight over to me. Apparently, Mommy has kept this a secret since the 13th so that I would be surprised. I was very surprised, and giddy with excitement all weekend. The kid is a walking fool, and he can even stand up on his own. He was so much fun this weekend, he is picking up all kinds of tricks and very quickly turning into a little boy. We had our late night parties as usual, and it was nice to have Poppy around so I could shower and do things that are hard to squeeze in when I have Lucas! We went shopping at all the manly stores, Academy, Old Navy, and of course Shoe Carnival, and did manly things like watching 24hrs of Daytona (for most of the 24hrs) and drinking lots of chocolate milk. Lucas is turning into quite a young man, and its easy to tell Mommy works with him a lot. He understands "no," and sometimes he will test you but otherwise listens. I swear he says "thank you" when we play the sharing game, and the kid eats more than I do! All in all it was great weekend. Below is a video of Lucas walking.

January was a busy month for me and I was only home on one weekend. I have been playing catch up my training from being sick, and went down to Kerrville TX for a training camp. I only made the last two days of the camp, but it was a blast. Saturday we rode 105 miles in the hill country, and I quickly learned that I was lacking endurance. The last thirty miles were hard, but I survived and feel stronger already. My first race is in less than three weeks. I have a very strong team, and am excited to mix it up again with the top guys in Texas racing. It is a good feeling to train, and feel yourself getting stronger and faster. It's been a few years since I have had that feeling!

Lucas also turned one, and thats hard to believe. Makes me think about how much my life has changed in the passed year, and how much Lucas has changed. We didn't have an official birthday party yet, but he did get to play in some cake. He has enjoyed all of his birthday presents so far, especially the cards as you can see in the video. This post is long enough already, I hope you enjoy the video, one of these days I will get some more pics posted!