Well so much has happened since my last post. First and foremost, is the tragedy of my teammate Tim Putnam. A collision on his motorcycle with a deer took his life. Tim will be missed by us all, and remembered as a nice dude.
Nationals went about as poorly as they could. I broke my chain, Corey flatted. After getting to the super d a minute before the start i worked my way to 4th and probably would have won when i blew a tire off the rim. I ended up in 15/30. Not bad for 2/3 of the hill being ridden on a flat but disappointing for all the time, money, and effort that went into the weekend. Jason Hilimire killed his superfly on the super d :(
I moved to Harrisonburg. This was a long time coming, as i have wanted to move for years. Through some chain of events i am now here. The other contenders were Bend, OR, Asheville/Boone, NC, Boulder, CO, and Big Bear, CA. i chose Harrisonburg because it had everything those other places did without the drawbacks. High cost to live, overcrowding, pollution, and undesirable winters. I think the east coast things helps with the woodland skill as well!
I live in a college house and only two other guys are currently here, as school starts in a few weeks when the full population of 9 will happen. but in the meantime, i enjoy the quiet.
The job search has been taking up most of my time, so i haven't really ridden yet, but i did check out the local park, where there are some small loops and plenty of turns to get some speed on. The mountains loom on both sides of my house. They are huge and are calling me to them. On wednesday i will go on a mountain ride and hopefully take some nice pictures on the way.
Tonight happened to be the club meeting of the Shenandoah Valley Bicycle Coalition as Kyle from the SBC so informed me. So i went to meet the local guys and see what is happening in the valley. I guess this town really isn't pretentious because local hero Jeremiah Bishop and wife Erin showed up and were hanging out. So i guess i am neighbors to a few pros, or at least share residency in this small town with them. It must be time to step things up a bit and get fast. I will take some town pictures too and put the Bishop blog up on the roll!
