Chris and I rode my race bikes down to Bridgeport Friday night to Dan's house for the year end party.  As Julie pointed out, I'd be peeling the tires off the wheels in a couple weeks anyway.  A bit of a thank you to a whole bunch of people, but also a time to hang out away from a race venue for once.  Thanks to Matt and Emily, two cans of Coors put me well on my way to under the table and before most people were able to leave, I was giving airplane rides and trying to arm wrestle people.  Half Acre hooked up the beer and we all had a great time.  It was awesome meeting a few new folks, even if the only thing they knew about me was that I "don't wear underpants."  I am happy my reputation precedes me!  A few things on tap and other things to write, but some time other than 9 AM on Monday.

The dust has not even settled from last weekend and I am neck deep in next season already.  Heck, I have not even re-capped this season and you are about to get a face full of 2009.  Alot can happen in five days apparently.

As you may have seen the preliminary UCI schedule has been released.  There are a few awesome mid-west things to note.  First is that the USGP has been extended to four weekends, one of them being in Madison Wisconsin.  It only took one year for Renee and the WCA folks to pull the USGP to our area.  So awesome!  I tip my hat to them.  The other thing is Friday NIGHT racing at Jingle Cross!  If you click on my link, the red races are what is on tap for now.  So, if we hit Star Crossed, Vegas and Jingle Cross, that would be three night races for me.  The schedule also allows for some crazy travel oppertunities if I decide I want to kill myself.  Two weeks and seven races on the east coast, Northampton Mass, Jersey, NYC and then South Hampton.  Also, nationals is rumored to be in the Northwest next year.  Go to Portland for the USGP and stay for Nationals?  Think we will forego the 5 hour drive to Michigan and head out to Seattle and visit some friends I will sorely miss this summer as well.  And once we know about it, we will probably try to make it back up to Toronto.  That race was really a ton of fun.  Great course, great people.

Not only is the schedule starting to take shape, but support has as well.  Next year I will be on the awesomest team again, riding for HRS / Rock Lobster.  I am super pumped that Paul and the west coasters are having me back!  Hopefully, with the continued help of Brian Conant as my coach, I will be able to grab a couple better finishes next year as well.  Brian helped me fine tune a couple things this year before the season got underway, but for 2009 he is going to have 11 months instead of 11 weeks to whip me into shape.  And it looks like I will be getting whipped into shape on a new whip too.  Paul is going to build me a steel road frame that matches the geometry of my cross bikes.  Super pumped for that.  I will be running road rings this year, I swear.

I am super ready for an off weekend though.  We are having a thank you party tonight, then sleeping in, good coffee, tasty breakfasts, some random fun chores and a trip to Milwaukee.  Good times rolling in!

So here is the deal people.  We all know about the World Bicycle Relief folks by now.  And if you don't you should.  They started a new program today called Double Bike Match where donations made through noon on December 19th will be matched dollar for dollar.  They are trying to raise $13,400, but this year an angel donor will match all donations – dollar for dollar – up to $750,000.  That is alot.  $10 helps when you consider $134 buys a whole bike.  One bike can help up to 20 people, which means 200 bikes will affect the lives of over 4,000.  Help provide bicycles to Africa. Your donation will be matched Dollar for Dollar!  So go here if you feel so inclined, and donate!

Photo by Amy.  So when do you know I am having a fun time racing my bike?  When there is a very narrow line between some orange fencing and four railroad ties and I try to ride the run up with a ton of people cheering me on.  Amy has a whole series of me landing on my ass.

When the guys left for the single speed race on Sunday morning it was about 60 degrees.  By the time we were leaving the hotel for the course four hours later it was in the forties.  By noon for the pre-ride it was approaching the freezing mark.  And by the time we were all on the line it was really cold.  I am sure had you been standing on the course with a thermometer you would have been able to watch it drop by the minute.

The course as you have probably heard was pretty sweet.  Almost half up and then half down and it lacked any really technical feature once it dried up.  The long steady climb made up for the lack of technicality though and the downhill inspired thoughts and riding styles reminiscent of mountain biking.  At the top of the hill there was a run up over railroad ties, followed by a downhill to uphill u-turn.  The barriers led directly into a 180 degree turn, so a little slower than I'd like.  And then there was the other run-up that I questioned the ride ability in my forth lap pictured above.  The downhill parts had some really sweet swooping corners and the uphill parts were slow through the soft ground.  The race was going to be fast!

With thirty minutes to start I was sitting in the car trying to maintain some semblance of a core body temperature.  The pounds of muck that had sat in my rear shifter for a week on the train from Portland were fortified and refusing to work their way out.  So the call was made to race, or at least start, on the "B" bike.  I watched Johnson roll by the car, followed by Marko warming up.  Julie and I sort of nodded in acknowledgment, that is what I should be doing.  I said, "they pay to be fast."  Julie left the car for the pit as I gathered my stuff and moved towards the start line.  Call ups start 15 minutes before the start and we were all cold.  I was pinned as rider number 55, which put me in about the sixth row.  There were another six or seven rows behind me.  My goal was simple, finish higher than last year, 57th.  This was almost the same as finishing at my start position, so I already was in a good spot.

After we were all lined up and the top ten guys rolled back into the grid they said we had three minutes.  The guys up front were taking their time undressing.  Then it was inside of a minute, thirty seconds and at the whistle.  A whistle blew, but not the official one apparently because everyone behind the second row surged forward.  I was able to get half a crank in and clip in.  The first two rows didn't go because they could see the official, all we could hear was the sound.  So now everyone was all over the place.  The guy next had dropped his chain and was struggling to get it back on.  Rows of eight were suddenly 12 wide and we all moved back, but it obviously wasn't all the way.  I re-readied myself as best I could and the official whistle blew.  I made my way up trough a bunch of guys off the line but settled in half way down the straight as there was less and less room.  We were all prepairing for the dirt.

The first half of lap was intense.  All the way up the hill we were two or three wide.  I attacked everyone I could and took any possible opportunity to work my way forward.  Through the first swooping corner of the downhill, Adam Myerson and Johnathan Baker were tangled together.  I went by fast, but I did see what I thought I saw happen, albeit blurry.  Kinda weird.  Past the pit for the second time, Julie called out 30. 30!  I was pumped.  Rode into the barriers on the slower side, but still managed to botch it.  Over the weekend, trenches started to form in front of the barrier and I must of stepped in a deeper section.  As I ran over the first barrier, my trailing knee slammed square into the top 2 inches.  It ended up leaving a nice straight cut across the top of my knee.  I got back on the bike and just rode through it.

Through the last run up of the first lap and onto the pavement.  The second time down the start straight almost always seems twice as fast as the first time.  There are less guys, you have the momentum and you're trying to drop everyone.  The problem is that you had just rode a lap at capacity and now you are trying to push it.  It hurts.

The second lap, after everyone strung out, was when I realized there were about six million people on the course cheering for me specifically by name, as well as a group of guys at the first run up heckling me about UCI points.  Fantastic, I gave the hecklers the medal sign on the following laps.  I really don't remember much of the second and third laps beyond trying to give everyone props who was cheering for me.  Thanking folks.  I guess I could ride a little harder and have a game face, but I was riding as hard as I could and trying to be friendly too.  I put a foot down in that first swooping corner on one of the laps, but I always looked forward to it and tried to ride it as fast as possible.  Lean into it and carve it for all it was worth.  At the end of that third lap, at the last run up, the fans were cheering "ride it, ride it!"  I gave it a quick look as I ran up the steps as to how, got an idea and then heard them go nuts for someone behind me that tried.

The next lap was the same, except the uphill parts were getting tough.  But with so many guys on the course I was almost always racing someone, so there was not any letting up.  But when I came to that last stair section instead of slowing down I pushed hard on the pedals and took as much speed as I could up a skinny line on the far right side.  Four or five inches is all I had between the fencing and the railroad tie.  I pointed the bike into it and leaned out away from the fence.  The momentum got be up it, but I was not able to shift my weight back up from the lean in order to make the right turn.  I hit the ground and lost a spot, but I was smiling and the crowd loved it so I was happy.

At this point I was rolling onto two to go, the leaders were going to be getting one to go.  The fact of the matter was, Ryan was riding FAST and I was going to get lapped.  So, with what I thought would be my last lap of the season, I put everything I had into my pedals hoping for a couple more spots.  Gave Greg a high five as I passed the pit.  Blew kisses at Julie.  Smiled and thanked people.  Ryan got me about half way through the lap and Driscoll came around me with less than a quarter lap left.  They were both killing it.  I did make up a spot or two in that last lap, so that felt good.  But that was the end of my race as I rolled off the course in 38th.

I felt good about how I raced and rode.  Strong, fast and aggressive.  I had a blast.  I am happy with my finish and feel that it was a great ending to a fantastic season.  Nationals is a completely different place to be as a racer.  There are so many people and it makes for a great race.  It was so much fun.

I need to heartily thank Matt and Sarah from the team for their help, encouragement and new friendship.  It made the weekend so amazing.  Mike was also a great help and encouragement this weekend, helping me talk through some stuff about next year.  All the people who came down from Chicago and Wisconsin who cheered me on during my race.  I will try, but it will probably be unsuccessful.  Julie, Kevin, Mike, Adrian, Tim, Amy, Matt, Sarah, Devon, Aspen, Debbie, Leah, Adam and Al from the Cuttin Crew, Scott M., Wayne,Tim, David, Chris, Scott A. (all from Vertigris), Kristen, Anna, Diane, Gina, Andrew at CX Mag, and everyone else I forgot, you get to kick me in the nuts next time you see me.  And Julie gets breakfast in bed from now until next September, she is the best person ever, my best friend and wonderful wife.  A recap of the season and a sh1t ton more people to thank in the coming days.