You never really know how great your stuff is until you're not around it for a while. Not that I'm complaining... Living in Breckenridge, CO for the summer has been incredible. The lifestyle, the training, and the creative cocoon have paid dividends - without a doubt. Oh, and the breakfast burritos from Cuppa Joe get my vote for 'best ever'. Plus, they're great recovery after a jaunt up and over Wheeler Pass.
I have a couple more weeks in Breck, then home, and then I make a huge change and head to Austin, TX for a while in October. All this 'should' equate to finishing a film series we've been working on for 3 years. And if I'm fortunate enough, maybe a solo 24 hour world championship, too!
I'd have to say that if my season ended today, I'd be happy and satisfied with how it all went. The results, experiences, and time spent with friends was all part of a great summer. However, the season doesn't end today and I'll have a few more opportunities to squeeze in some last races including the solo 24 hour world champs in CA. (and long rides through aspen groves during the brightly colored fall season)
The run up to the solo 24 hour race has been on track. I've had some great races over the last couple months and one of the coolest wins was the Winter Park king of the rockies. This race, to me, is a pretty legendary one as the course has been the same for the last several years and has hosted the likes of (wait for it...) Lance Armstrong back in his *heyday. (he crashed and didn't have a lot of success for those wondering)
Well, I certainly had to work for the win as Cody Waite has been crushing everyone lately and was battling me the whole way through the race. At the end, the gaps weren't huge and my teammate Josh came in third for a super solid day. This was one that I was really hoping to do well at and it's always a special race. The second time I won it it was on my great grandmother's 100th birthday.
I'm fresh off of the Dakota Five O - another one of the great bike races in America. I've tried to describe this race to people, but in all reality you just have to be there to get it. Some of the coolest people ever put the race on and there's a PBR and bacon aid station in the race. (always a good indicator of a great event) This was another great battle and I fought as hard as I could with Corey Stelljes, but he was just too fast on the day. I knew that he'd be super fast since last year he was WAY out in the lead before taking a wrong turn on the course. I knew I had to be on good form if I wanted to race with him and I felt I had the legs. (mainly due to Rob's Norma Tech recovery boots - again!) You can't be disappointed when you give it your all and end up 2nd. Plus, it couldn't happen to a cooler guy. Chapeau Corey - well done! Oh - and the after party is incredible. Free beer, of which I had two, and it was one too many...
Again, my family showed up in full force to cheer and support us. Handsome Rob Batey and teammate Josh Bezecny made the trip extra fun and they were adopted by the family support crew. I truly have the best family! (I'm biased, of course) They take time off to head to Spearfish, chase us around all day, make sure and cheer for every single rider using an arsenal of cowbells and whistles. I felt like I was in a world cup race on one of the climbs when I heard my wife, parents, aunts, uncles, and cousins yelling and cheering and making an awesome amount of racket. That'll make ya fight a bit harder... (especially when the official team vehicles are out there - thanks Ryan, Pat, Sandy, Kelly, Sandy, mom, Gary, Ginger, Alexis, Eric, Hayley, Kayla, grandma, grandpa!)
With CA on the horizon, I'm feeling good. I'll be hitting the Crested Butte 100 in prep for worlds and then I'm taking time to do some fall riding and hopefully finish our films... We did celebrate a milestone in our process by hiking to the top of Peak 8 with Waylon Jenning's platinum record for 'Wanted! The Outlaws'. (for those of you who don't know, that's the first ever platinum record for a country album) Waylon's wife, Jessi, came to visit us and she couldn't be a sweeter woman. We felt honored to take it up to 13,000ft for her and their son, Shooter. Even if my legs were destroyed from the walk down...
And as always, I really do owe a huge thanks to the team. Len, Jon, and the entire crew at Honey Stinger, my friends at Trek and Bontrager, and everyone involved - it's really fun to wear the logos for you guys, but it's even more fun to hang out and ride with you all...
I have a couple more weeks in Breck, then home, and then I make a huge change and head to Austin, TX for a while in October. All this 'should' equate to finishing a film series we've been working on for 3 years. And if I'm fortunate enough, maybe a solo 24 hour world championship, too!
I'd have to say that if my season ended today, I'd be happy and satisfied with how it all went. The results, experiences, and time spent with friends was all part of a great summer. However, the season doesn't end today and I'll have a few more opportunities to squeeze in some last races including the solo 24 hour world champs in CA. (and long rides through aspen groves during the brightly colored fall season)
The run up to the solo 24 hour race has been on track. I've had some great races over the last couple months and one of the coolest wins was the Winter Park king of the rockies. This race, to me, is a pretty legendary one as the course has been the same for the last several years and has hosted the likes of (wait for it...) Lance Armstrong back in his *heyday. (he crashed and didn't have a lot of success for those wondering)
Well, I certainly had to work for the win as Cody Waite has been crushing everyone lately and was battling me the whole way through the race. At the end, the gaps weren't huge and my teammate Josh came in third for a super solid day. This was one that I was really hoping to do well at and it's always a special race. The second time I won it it was on my great grandmother's 100th birthday.
I'm fresh off of the Dakota Five O - another one of the great bike races in America. I've tried to describe this race to people, but in all reality you just have to be there to get it. Some of the coolest people ever put the race on and there's a PBR and bacon aid station in the race. (always a good indicator of a great event) This was another great battle and I fought as hard as I could with Corey Stelljes, but he was just too fast on the day. I knew that he'd be super fast since last year he was WAY out in the lead before taking a wrong turn on the course. I knew I had to be on good form if I wanted to race with him and I felt I had the legs. (mainly due to Rob's Norma Tech recovery boots - again!) You can't be disappointed when you give it your all and end up 2nd. Plus, it couldn't happen to a cooler guy. Chapeau Corey - well done! Oh - and the after party is incredible. Free beer, of which I had two, and it was one too many...
Again, my family showed up in full force to cheer and support us. Handsome Rob Batey and teammate Josh Bezecny made the trip extra fun and they were adopted by the family support crew. I truly have the best family! (I'm biased, of course) They take time off to head to Spearfish, chase us around all day, make sure and cheer for every single rider using an arsenal of cowbells and whistles. I felt like I was in a world cup race on one of the climbs when I heard my wife, parents, aunts, uncles, and cousins yelling and cheering and making an awesome amount of racket. That'll make ya fight a bit harder... (especially when the official team vehicles are out there - thanks Ryan, Pat, Sandy, Kelly, Sandy, mom, Gary, Ginger, Alexis, Eric, Hayley, Kayla, grandma, grandpa!)
With CA on the horizon, I'm feeling good. I'll be hitting the Crested Butte 100 in prep for worlds and then I'm taking time to do some fall riding and hopefully finish our films... We did celebrate a milestone in our process by hiking to the top of Peak 8 with Waylon Jenning's platinum record for 'Wanted! The Outlaws'. (for those of you who don't know, that's the first ever platinum record for a country album) Waylon's wife, Jessi, came to visit us and she couldn't be a sweeter woman. We felt honored to take it up to 13,000ft for her and their son, Shooter. Even if my legs were destroyed from the walk down...
And as always, I really do owe a huge thanks to the team. Len, Jon, and the entire crew at Honey Stinger, my friends at Trek and Bontrager, and everyone involved - it's really fun to wear the logos for you guys, but it's even more fun to hang out and ride with you all...
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