some things

Something that usually infuriates me is snow. Because when the clouds are in the process of snowing or if there is just snow on the road, that means I'm not getting time in the saddle. But I will let it go for now since it is Christmas Eve Eve, December 23rd. This means it is almost time for Jesus's Birthday, or more commonly called, Christmas. I have been especially excited for Christmas this year, and I am not too sure why. I usually get excited this time of the year, so excited I can barely sit in my seat, I'm too giddy. But, this year, I am in a different mood about Christmas. I am in more a mood that I am just going to have fun. I have basically ignored everything material about Christmas, which usually annoys me as well, but this year I just haven't paid attention to it. I'm just really feeling good about Christmas this year, and to tell the truth, I could careless what I get for gifts. Something about this Christmas is just great. I love this time of the year. It just feels so right. Christmas is my favorite for different reasons than anyone would think.

wow i never have any posts im lame

I'm sure there are a few people who look forward to reading my blog and im sorry im so lazy. Well basically nowadays after my 12th place at nationals, my season has been over. I have been sitting on my ass 24/7 with the occasional spin ride. I've been mostly using facebook but i have also been playing games and watching tv. It really feels good to take a break. I will be picking up my training soon for some good early season results but for now i will just hanging out and doing nothing. My friends are happy because i can actually do something out side of riding my bike which is awesome.

The season....it went by like that! The local cyclocross season has now come to a close. My last 2 races of the season were both really good. The first of the two was Red Rocks Velo Cross #2 at Tony Grampsas Park in Golden. I raced in the SM Open with 25 starters with me coming in 18th. There were a ton of big boys out. I also was only really racing for 30 minutes out of 60 but I still had a pretty good placing. I started out really strong with a 13th spot at the highest. I was able to hold that as long as I was going hard but then I just cruised. But most importantly I got some sweet shots of the race.

The next race was the state championships. I raced the Junior Men 15-16's. I came in second right behind Zane Godby. I didn't have such a good race but thats okay. I will be back in full force for Junior Nationals!! Stay tuned....

Gettin' Prepped

As any ready of my blog would know, I am super psyched to do well at nationals this year. I just stumbled on a pre-ride video of the course at nationals:

Here is a map of the course as well: http://www.usacycling.org/events/2009/cxnationals/09CXcourse_map.pdf

I am feeling pretty good about nationals now after my result from last weekend at GMVS Cross #3!

I got 14 out of 33 in the SM Open which was really good considering all of the big boys that were out.

I had one of the worst starts and first laps I have ever had too. I started the race and I didn't get up very far

especially because I started in the 2nd row. But we went around the first corner and I realized I could barely

stop. My front brake cable had loosened up and all I had was the back brake which barely worked also.

So for the first lap of the race I rode with essentially no brakes, making it hard to ride very fast because I couldn't

stop. But once I got my pit bike, I started to eat up the field. It was RIDICULOUS! I moved up several places per

lap until I met up to Marty Guess on Rocky Mountain Bikes who was holding 15th in the race. I proceeded to sit on his wheel because

he was throwing big blocks at me every time I tried to pass. So I sat there until the last singletrack section

where I saw him let up a little and bobble so I attacked and passed him. He sat on my wheel for the rest of lap

until there was this huge straightaway section with just soft dirt, it wasn't even mud. I rode a line sort of down

the middle but I was slightly over to the left. This was to put a permanent block on him. He still tryed to

get around me but I threw a block that he couldn't get out of. I stayed ahead into the final corners and burned

him in the sprint. I think he was out of gas. The conditions were great though, it had snowed the weekend before

but last week wasn't very war, and it wasn't really melted. So it was pretty muddy in some sections but it was watery, wet ground

mud so it didn't stick on the bike THAT much. I still took a few bike changes just so i didn't break my stuff. I think this race

was great to prepare me for nationals in Bend, Oregon. These conditions could very well be the same at nationals.

Colorado Velidrijen Crusade

This race was awesome! It was a much, much shorter version of the uber long race they had last month. As bad as it seemed to be outside, it really wasn't cold out. I raced with a jersey shorts a thermal long sleeve base layer and knee warmers. It was a really fun course with 2 different aspects to it. There was a Le Mans start, meaning you put your bike down on the course and then run at the start and see who gets their bike first. Then there was a different kind of finish too, a sand run through a volleyball pit. I love this course since there are so many awesome trails at the park. I would have placed about 9th or 10th in the SM Open if I had done the whole race. I only did 30 minutes since that is the race time at nationals. But I was crushing it before I dropped out. Thanks ICCC for putting on a schweet race!

All's well in the hood

"Go confidently in the direction of your dreams! Live the life you've imagined. As you simplify your life, the laws of the universe will be simpler." - Henry Thoreau

This is how my season has been going. I have been writing the future for myself in a way by performing the way I want to and dream about, not the way I think I will do. This season as a whole, along with the road season, has been one of the most determined times in my life, especially because of the amount of work I have put in. I have pushed myself farther than I ever thought I could before this year. I have achieved all of my goals so far this season, upgrading to cat 3 road and going to nationals and for cross upgrading to cat 3 at first and then cat 2 once I achieved that. That's right I am now officially a Cat 2 cross at 15 years old! There is only one more goal to be achieved this year. And I think all of my readers know what that is. It's the jersey, old glory, stars and stripes. My final goal and biggest goal for the 2009 cycling season, and more importantly the 2009 cyclocross season, is to win the National Cyclocross Championship. If I don't achieve this my season will in no way be a failure, it turned out much better than I imagined, especially due to having to recover from a car accident in February that sent me to the hospital and kept me from riding for almost a month when the season was just about to start. But, if I did achieve this, then that would be pure bliss. It will make my numerous hours of training and racing much more worthwhile than I could ever think possible. This season has been amazing.

I've been pretty lazy I'm sorry

I've not been on my A game and I have been very busy lately, so I am sorry I haven't given you some blogger love for awhile. But since my last post, about the valmont bike park cross where I had my epic conquest in the Junior race. I have done several races since then. The next day i raced the first Red Rocks Velo Cross race at Tony Grampsas Park at the base of North Table Mountain in Golden. It was about 85 degrees out or so, superr hot for cross. All I have to say about my performance in this race is that I dogged it. This was my first weekend racing 2 60 minute races in a row and after about 15 minutes in the race I started to go backwards after a top 10 start. I just could not handle the heat. I almost dropped out of the race but, I still finished even though I dropped to dead last at one point. I rested for a bit on the last few laps and on the bell lap I made my jump and moved up to 22nd out of 27 giving me like 1 BCR point. This is the first time in a VERY long time I have ever been lapped in a race and this team it was by Danny and Paco who had nothing on me at Interlocken.

The race the next weekend, or should I say last weekend, was the 3rd Boulder CX Series race, at the Boulder Reservoir. It started snowing the morning of the race and became very cold out.

But it wasn't a problem because guess what race I did? SINGLESPEEDS! It actually stopped snowing literally 5 or 10 minutes before my race started, making our race not as epic as the SM4 race. Even though this is one of the most painful races I have ever done, I have to say it is probably the most fun. I ended up taking 2nd in the Single speed race despite having an awesome hole shot at the start of the race. Soon enough on the second lap of this 5 lap race I had dropped to 4th or 5th out of 17. This was mostly due to the fact that we had already caught the SM3 race (or should I say the back of it) because they started only 1 minute ahead of us. I was also running too small of a gear (42 tooth chain ring and 20 tooth cog) with the winner of the race who was only 20 seconds ahead of me using a 18 tooth cog. But this gear was ideal for riding all the brutal sand across the beach, giving me an advantage over guys who ran their machines. But the downside of using a smaller gear is I really got my spin on out on the flat and sometimes downhill road. My guess is I was getting up to at least 160 rpm. Overall it was a good race and I had a great time. I also would have placed 14th in the SM3 race despite starting 1 minute back.

I plan to dominate again tomorrow at the Boulder Cup in the Junior race just like I did at Valmont. All in all I would say my season is going much better than planned and we will see what happens on the 14th of December.

Valmont Bike Park

Today is the grand opening ceremony of the Valmont Bike Park. This is exciting because Val is a bike park that is dedicated especially to a cyclocross course and even though I don't live in Boulder I don't live too far and this is going to be AWESOME! No SM open race for me, I am actually going to race my category JM 15-16 and for 60 minutes, the way all JM15-18 races should be. And it is free which is always a plus in my book. Also there is the same merch payout in Open and JM15-18 so I think it is win-win-win. Nonetheless its gonna be a day devoted to some epic cowbell!

Balloon Boy

This seriously the most awesomest new story ever. I love balloon boy! And the fact that it happened in Ft. Collins, CO makes it even more awesome!

The story courtesy of CNN:

ado by foot and air, frantically chasing a Mylar balloon for miles and repeatedly interviewing his big brother, authorities ended the search for 6-year-old Falcon Heene where it began -- at his house.

He was in a box. In the attic. The whole time.

"I played with my toys and took a nap," Falcon told a group of reporters outside his home Thursday afternoon.

"He says he was hiding in the attic," said Falcon's father, meteorologist Richard Heene, clutching his son. "He says it's because I yelled at him."

"I'm sorry I yelled at him," added Heene, tearfully hugging the boy.

In a later interview with CNN's "Larry King Live," Falcon said he heard his parents call for him from the garage.

When asked by his father on-air why he didn't respond, the boy replied, "You guys said we did this for the show."

When the father was pressed by Wolf Blitzer, who was filling in for King, to explain what his son meant, he became uncomfortable, finally saying he was "appalled" by the questions, and then adding that Falcon was likely referring to all the media coverage.

Authorities said they believe the case was genuine.

Heene said the family was in the early stages of working on the balloon -- a "3D low-altitude vehicle" -- when the contraption and the boy went missing.The situation grabbed the nation's attention early Thursday afternoon, after authorities reported that the experimental helium balloon was set adrift with the 6-year-old apparently riding in it.

His brother had said he watched Falcon get into the balloon before he untied the tethers, setting it free. Heene later said Falcon was videotaped getting into the vessel by his brother, but "obviously he got out."

Once it was untethered, the saucer-like craft flew eastward from the Heenes' neighborhood, though officials couldn't immediately confirm how fast it was going.

Authorities said the silver balloon, 20-feet long and 5-feet high, at times reached 7,000 feet above the ground while adrift. It was found more than 90 minutes later in a field near Colorado Springs.

The story took a turn when ABC said that Falcon's parents, science enthusiasts Richard and Mayumi Heene, were featured on the 100th episode of ABC's prime-time program "Wife Swap" in March 2009.

According to the network's Web site, the Heene family "devote(s) their time to scientific experiments that include looking for extraterrestrials and building a research-gathering flying saucer to send into the eye of the storm."

Richard Heene is a meteorologist and former television weatherman who has submitted to CNN iReports accounts of his sons helping him chase Hurricane Gustav, among other contributions.

Rescuers from several counties followed the saucer-like vessel until it made a soft landing some 90 miles away.

Officials rushed to the scene of the landing, smacking the metallic balloon until it deflated. They looked inside -- no Falcon.

At that point, there were two possibilities: Either Falcon never got in the balloon, or he fell out.

Authorities began to fear the worst after reports surfaced that a box possibly carrying Falcon may have fallen off the balloon.

A Weld County Sheriff's deputy had said he saw an object fall off the balloon somewhere over Platteville, Colorado, which is in the search area. There was no box attached when the balloon landed at 1:35 p.m.

The widespread worries prompted the Colorado Air National Guard to deploy a UH 60 Black Hawk helicopter, with plans to launch a second one equipped with night vision if necessary.

The search, which initially focused on Weld County, covered "the entire flight plan, from the Fort Collins area down to the Denver International Airport area," Col. Mark Riccardi said.

But a little while later, Falcon turned up at home.

Larimer County Sheriff James Alderden said it's not uncommon for children to seek cover when they realize they're the subject of a massive search.

"They hide because they think they are in trouble," he said.

"What was confusing was the eyewitness who said [Falcon] climbed into the apparatus, which was not the case," Alderden said, referring to the boy's brother.

The sheriff said the brother was interviewed several times by investigators and that he was consistent with his story.

Marc Friedland, the family's next-door neighbor, said he saw Richard Heene working on the giant Mylar balloon in the backyard.

"Basically, the whole family was out there and they were working with it," he said. "When I came back is when I found out that the event happened."

He said the aircraft was intended to hover around 20 feet in the air and was not intended to carry people.

"Obviously, something went wrong with that."

Friedland described his neighbors say."

This is what I think really happened

You can even get a shirt to commemerate the event!

http://www.saveballoonboy.org/

COLD!

This whole weekend was cold. I raced the CO Velidrijden crusade and it was sooo cold. It was 3 laps of course around Bear Creek Lake Park. It was actually the course for Battle of the Bear and I only made it 2 laps. This was the complete opposite of the Open race at Interlocken today, the #2 in the Boulder Cyclocross Series. There were 56 guys in my race and they were FAST. There were legit pros there, which is no surprise because it was in Boulder. Out of the 3 times I have done this race I have to say this course set-up was the best. Also the conditions made it more of a Belgie-X cross race, rather than a grass crit. I started 2nd row but I got bottle-necked on the first corner and I dropped to about 30th. It just went from there. It was about 28 degrees out and I was able to move up on the really short course until I moved into 17th place with a chaser right on my wheel on 6 laps to go. We kept having a battle royale until the end where I was able to get a gap in the sand on him and then eventually out sprint him. This 17th place gave me the 2nd highest place among juniors in the open race, let alone being the youngest in the category. I actually placed one place behind yannick eckmann who was not having such a good day but still was near the lead group of super-fast guys. I was the first rider outside that group to finish. Despite placing lower than I did at Frisco last weekend in the open race, the competition was much more fierce and I would say this is one of my best races so far. I wasn't in such shock with the 1 hour effort and I'm very proud about how I did:)

I'm a pro

That's right. I raced Open (Pro 1/2) this weekend at Frisco. I only raced saturday but I all I can say is wowwwwwww. Cross+60 minutes+super fast guys=pain. I am not even a cat 2 even though I could upgrade but I am just going to stay a 3 for now and race up in Open. Well the race, started out uber-hard, not that it was any easier the rest of the race, I didn't think I was finish the race because I started like 2nd to last row and had to work through the field because I started like 30th out of 40 and started behind a crash. I made it up to about 20th or so and settled into a rhythm when I caught my team mate Skyler and we both picked up the pace and passed like a group of 5 guys and secured 2 spots in the top 15. I started to pull after a little while with skyler this was about 30-40 minutes into the race. But then I put in a monster effort up the huge paved climb to stay ahead of the chasers who weren't far behind. Skyler then told me he wasn't sure if he could hang on with my pace and he dropped off and this was about 2 laps to go. He was starting to gain on me fast because I was passed the usual 45 minutes I do in a cross race and my cleat was getting really worn out making it hard to get clipped in. Then it came down to the last single track section i had about a 2 second gap and Skyler was on my wheel. This was epic! He came up trying to pass me on the last barriers literally 50 meters from the finish and we had a insane sprint with me being the winner giving Blacksheep 13th (me) and 14th (Skyler) in the Open out of 38th!!!! I would say not bad given this was my first crack at the open race in cross and how I am stacking up against past wunderkind who are older now.

Doin the insane quadruple barriers

Mate Skyler doing the same reppin the green for BLACKSHEEP!

winner winner chicken dinner

That's right, I won again. This time it was a bigger even though the race was in the cross mecca the 3oh!3 because it was in the hotspot of cross racing, Boulder. It was at the Louisville Rec. Center an uber power course not very technical. Pretty much a dirt and grass criterium. It was a pretty fun course though none the less, very exhausting. It was hot out too like 80 degrees fahrenheit I think. This race may be the one of the only races I have zipped down my jersey. So onto the race. I was not feeling well at all before the race and I was telling other racers that and they were saying, "that's how you always feel before you really perform." And that's exactly what happened. I started from row obviously, based on my previous results and got the hole shot out on the gravel drag strip start and stayed in first for the first 2 laps. Then Zane made a move to pass me and I dropped to 2nd. This continued for another lap until Matt Provonost on Moots made a move and started to pull away from me. Even though I wasn't winning I was still in 3rd with is still really good. Then at about 30 minutes into the race I saw Zane on just stop and get off his bike on the monster hill run on the backside of the course and he dropped out of the race and I was sitting then in 2nd, while closing in on the Moots guy. Then at 3 to go I passed the Moots guy and had at most a 10 second gap on him going into 2 to go until on the flat section in the valley in the middle of the course he attempted to pass me and put in a huge effort and cracked soon afterwards on the monster hill run. I was in 1st for sure now and I was just going for it. Then I didn't look at the lap counter when it was supposed to be 1 to go because I was sure it was. But when I came into the finish on the last lap I heard the bell that meant one to go and I was almost in mid-celebration and someone was making up ground on me so I had to keep hammering for another lap. The guy was still gaining on me until the finish were I narrowly won in a sprint finish.

Hole Shot

Teammate Skyler crushin it in the open race

Hottttt

Doin the barriers the right way

Finally

Finally I got some exposure! Well not my blog, but just me. I was on 303cycling.com in a race report about GMVS #1! Check it out here

Muddy Fun at Brecktobercross

All I can say about Brecktobercross is that it was a blast. Out my 6 years racing cyclocross, this is a race I have never done. I loved the course. And what made it even better is that it rained, for about 3 or 4 hours before my race starting, and during my race. So you know that means, MUD!!!!! And it wasn't the break shit kind of mud, it was just watery so you got wet and dirty but not your bike. It wasn't too warm up though, probably about 55 degrees Fahrenheit is my guess, but I'm not really sure. I had a great helper who came up to the race with me, Ariana who helped me out with everything including cheering:) Now about how I did. I didn't win the 3's in the small 25-man field but I still got silver. I got beat by Zane again by about 30 seconds. I had a pretty whole shot, even though the ground was not level and it took me a second to get into get on the saddle and stuff, so I was 3rd out of the start going into the immediately muddy singletrack. I ended up passing the guy in 2nd giving me the control of the front of the race behind Zane. Zane was just to strong and thanks to my valiant effort on saturday at GMVS Cross I was already tired at the start. On the road section my other road teammate Dangerous Dave Kessler passed me just to end up crashing later on in the single track on the first lap leaving with 2nd again. Behind me in 3rd and 4th was a MOOTS guy and a Velonews guy. I put in a hard effort with Zane for the first 2 laps until he was able to out ride me in a section where I had a random wash-out on a 180 degree off-camber turn. He eventually put together a 30-second lead on me at the end of the 8 or 9 lap race. That is what I built on 3rd and 4th leaving me with a comfortable gap for any mishap. But I had a very good time up there even though I think I might have gotten minor altitude sickness, forcing me to stay home from school the day after. And I'm already looking forward to a fun weekend of racing in Boulder this weekend, and possibly Cross at the River in Buena Vista.

Ariana keeping me dry during warm-up:)

I'm a dirty boy

Finally done

GMVS Cross #1

This is so exciting. Here I am, racing my 2nd 3's cross race ever, and I am called-up into the first row and before I knew it had the hole shot! Then I was off the front and had a gap. Only one guy could follow, this Velonews guy who had the first call-up, and he worked with me and opened up a 3 minute gap on 3rd place. He eventually tripped on a barrier on the penultimate lap and I made my attack. I comfortably road into my first win in a Cat 3 cross race. It was pretty much awesome. If I win 1 more race I will be forced to upgrade to a Cat 2! So we will see tomorrow at Brecktobercross...

The finish

Middle of the course

going for first

Sharp corner after the barriers

Some other pictures:

Ariana a really fast girl (the only on DEVO next year) doing the barriers the right way:)

Ariana riding into the win

Stephen hammering to a 3rd place in JM13-14 (also my younger brother)

Ethan on the 15-16 doin the barriers in the junior race

Jordan (devo) sandbagging to a win in the JM15-18's

Velocross

All I can say is, great race. I did not think I was going to do this well. I raced my first 3's cross race today at Boulder Indoor Cycling in East Boulder. The course started in the back of the building in the dirt and zig zagged around a bit. Then you got out on some road on a huge turn that took you into some loose-dirt in some wooded singletrack. There was a barrier that you could ride that was metal pipe laying across the course in two spots. Then you got back out into the dirt and rode through some rocks and off towards Baseline Rd. Then you went over a barrier and had to run your bike across a hill and then into the parking lot where the finish was. The most fun part of the course was after the finish where you hopped up a big cement stair and then turned up another and then turned into the building. You rode in an did a big hairpin turn and rode over this little kiddie mountain bike course. Then you rode out of a loading dock on a huge wooden ramp back outside. It was an awesome course, probably a favorite of mine. Onto how I did. The race had 42 guys who raced and I got 2nd!!!! I was very surprised about how I did and had a ride to do it. I started about 30th in the 4th row and I ended up moving up all the way to 5th by the 4th lap. I was riding with 2 Boulder Cycle Sport guys, one was on a mountain bike, and a Stork guy. The winner of the race was my road teammate, Zane Godby, who has always been a big rival for me in cross because he is the same age and ability. On about the 7th lap something felt strange on my bike and I thought I had a flat tyre on the back. So I did a bike exchange for my mountain bike and rode that for 2 laps until I got on my Yeti again. By the time I had my Yeti it was 3 to go and I had dropped the guy on the mountain bike. Then the next lap I just sat in and didn't do anything stupid, I was holding 4th. On the dirt hill run I passed and dropped the other Boulder Cycle Sport guy and was in 3rd place. Right after the official rang the bell for 1 to go, we rode into the building and the Stork guy had pinch flatted on the stair and I was in 2nd. So I was able to ride into the finish easy with a solid 2nd place in my first 3's race, a placing I only had twice last year in the 4's which happened to be in the last 2 races of the season. I am already on my way to the Cat 2's with 4 upgrade points! I also won $50 my first cash prize in cross ever. I would say today was a good day.

The finish 2nd fo sho!!!!

First corner

Big ramp out of BIC

The baller zane cornerin wicked fast

The start, I was sooo far back

Hammerin

and it begins...

Today is my first cross race of the season, Velocross, and I got my 3's upgrade and I'm all ready to go! I will be all greened out with my green bike and green Blacksheep Devo kit hence the green font. Details up after it happens.

Pedaling for Pennies

My new cross team did a yearly fundraiser yesterday called pedaling for pennies, abbreviated as p4p, to raise money for the team the next year, and is a requirement to be on the team the next year. The ride was 128 miles starting at our coaches house in Broomfield and went up to Carter Lake up to Horsetooth Reservoir and then back to Broomfield through Ft. Collins and Berthoud. I did not make it the way even though I was in the fastest group of riders. I made it to the 3rd aide station which was approx. 70 miles. There was a ton of climbing and I knew I wasn't going to the whole way. I rode really hard with two of my other team mates, Gabe and D. Gregs and our coach Carlos. It was cold the whole day, about 55 degrees Fahrenheit, and if I had not stopped with my other teammates Kiel and Ariana on the Devo at the 3rd aide station I would have been in the rain.

I am also starting my cross season today and don't want to be too tired.

Yeti ARC-X

My yeti is finally done!!!  I love getting new bikes and this puts my count up until 10.  It took a day of hard work (mostly done by my dad:P) but i finally was able to take it for a ride.  It is a sweet build here is the list: 

Frame: Yeti ARC-X 

Fork: Alpha Q CX

Brakes: Tektro oryx/origin 8 Cantis

Shifters: Sram Rival

Crank: FSA Carbon 172.5 standard

Chain Rings: 39th and Salsa Crossing Guard

Handlebars: FSA Wing Compact ALU

Stem: Felt aluminun

Headset: Green Chris King Nothreadset

Pedals: Candy Beater SL green

Seat Post: Felt Carbon

Seat: Felt Carbon (soon to change)

Derailleur: Sram Rival

Chain: Wipperman

Wheels: Mavic cx23 with felt hubs (for training) 

Tyres: Maxxis larsen mimo (front) Michelin Mud2 (rear) for training of course 

Grand weight:19.48 lbs. 

The bike rides great and is a blast to ride handling any kind of riding amazingly! 

riding around on the new rig

track standin

19.48lbs!

the cockpit

sick headbadge

front end

looks small but rides like a 54cm

Sammy's Foot

I got some pics of Sammy's foot!!  This shit is epic and it happened in the weirdest way!  He crashed over a railroad tie after a ride through the volleyball pit at Bear Creek and  landed completely wrong.  His foot hit a lump of grass and he landed on the buckle of his sidi mtb shoe. 

This is crazy!!! 

Left side of ankle

This is huge mos def!

Biggest looking pic for your enjoyment