The 'Great' in Grandmother

I've had the true privilege to get to know my great grandmother really well. She would sit with me and share stories of her journey from Russia to the US as a little German girl. She would share with me her experiences on the boat, (hiding inside of a trunk for most of it). She told me about settling on the Prairie in North Dakota. And when she told me stories about my family, I couldn't get enough. I began to realize why I've always held my family in such high regard. I come from a bloodline of great people and last week's visit with my great grandmother, ultimately my last, reiterated this. Two months shy of her 101st birthday, she was sharp and offered up her usual advice on life. I'm going to miss those conversations, but I feel blessed that I've had them. I'm going to miss you grandma.

From the Alps to the Prairie

Yikes. It's been a while.

I think it's safe to say that any time I notice a friend's blog become a little neglected (or a response to my call or email), they've probably been pretty busy. That's the case here folks. I'll give a rapid-fire update of the on goings as of late:

Jani Brajkovic. (this might be filed under the old news category, but still newsworthy nonetheless)

Jani is one of the coolest guys we've worked with. His kind and shy nature made it easy for us to work with him. Paul, (my partner in crime for the past few Trek shoots), and I spent several days on the island of Tenerife, Spain shooting with Jani while he rode up and down the volcano. Here is the 3rd episode of 'Driven', featuring the Radioshack sponsored rider.

Upon returning from Spain, I had a couple races that went... well, let's just say that I didn't bring my 'A' game to them. As always they were fun, but I still have some small plate-sized bruises on a couple of places on my body.

Cut to:



Back across the pond, Paul and I had the opportunity to shoot with the Leopard team again. This time we meandered around the French and Italian Alps for a few days - which totally blew my mind. Although I can't say much about it now, I will tell you to keep your eyes out for the finished product very soon. I believe it is going to be a good one.

Cut to:



More bike racing for me. This time, I felt better and started acting like a real rider.

MTB Race News write-up

Angel Fire, NM is one of my favorite races, and not just because it marks the start of the ski resort climbing races, but also because when in Angel Fire, you're a hop, skip, and a jump away from Santa Fe. My traveling companions and good friends, Dave and Justin, were up for a South Boundary ride following the race and then a quick day trip to Santa Fe for some spicy food and good riding. An impromptu invitation also saw the likes of Sarah and Nick from Yeti joining us on the South Boundary expedition. That's a great group right there.




And finally:

One of my favorites - Race to Sunset in Bismarck, ND. It is always a pleasure to return home and see the family. I owe a huge thanks to my parents and my whole family for sporting some custom t-shirts and ringing cowbells for the entire 10 hours of the race. I hit a pretty rough patch around hour 5, but the undying support from my family and the knowledge from my experienced cousin Ryan helped get me through. And really, everyone out on course and in the support area deserve a huge thanks as well. This is one of the highlights of my season for several reasons and this year didn't disappoint. One of my cousins and I have a tradition where we trade sunglasses for the last hour of the race. Appropriately, she had a pair that matched my casual kicks...



I'm humbled by the kind words of the local cycling crew up here. Every year the entire group gets stronger and faster! I so look forward to seeing you all when I make the trek home and I hope I get to see ya sooner than later!

All I'm doing now is eating. It's weird, the Nutella flew from my grocery bag, into my hands with a bag of apples and a knife, and now they're in my stomach. Apparently half of the jar of Nutella went missing too...

Until next time - which shouldn't take as long as this time,

km

This one's up for grabs...

I'm heartbroken to have to announce that I will not be at the Growler this year to defend this plate.



Although both of my jobs are dream jobs for me, the necessity of having to choose between the two is often taxing. Winning this race last year ranked among one of the biggest wins of my career. I had worked so hard to be in the best shape possible for the 2011 edition, but instead it looks like I'll be in peak physical condition for my flight to France that weekend. Yep, France - again!

I'll be in the shrouded mist of the French Alps doing some shooting - so I guess it makes it a little less of a bummer.

Good luck to the guys and gals in Gunnison!

The Gold Coast

I'm not even really sure where to start, but I guess I should kick this off by saying that I won't come close to giving the appropriate amount of word-time to people and places mentioned in the next couple paragraphs.

Last week I went back to Los Angeles to shoot a video with Shepard Fairey, a world-renowned artist best known for his Obey Giant campaign - and more recently, the 'Hope' poster he designed during Obama's 2008 presidential campaign.




Lucky for me, good friend and ultra-talented filmmaker, Rod Blackhurst, resides in the city and thus I was able to hire him to help me. Rod and I have traveled all over together working on projects, so it didn't take any time to get back in the swing of things. Here's the link to the video:

Shepard Fairey + Trek = New Team Radioshack bikes for the Tour of California.

Upon returning to CO, I headed down to Cortez, CO with my friend Jesse Swift for some racing in the desert. Honey Stinger/Trek teammates Len Zanni and Colin Osborn met me down there, and along with them was Calle Friberg, Swedish national champion (several times over!) to round out our 4 person team for the 12 our relay.

Unfortunately for us, Lady Luck and I have been on the outs for some reason. After my first lap double-puncture, we rallied all day long to get back into the game. And into the game we were! With all of us tearing ourselves inside out to catch back up, the team delivered me a great opportunity to go out and steal the win. As I was getting ready to head out for my last lap, the leaders came through the timing tent 2:15 ahead of us - sitting in 2nd place. Well, I knew what I needed to do. It was my fault we were in this place so I had to clean it up!

I went out with purpose and I was feeling great. I caught and passed the leader (who, I must mention, was on a 3 person team... Not 4!). As I was cruising along and dreaming of finishing in first after the crazy circumstances, I hit a steep hill. Standing up and mashing on the pedals, I heard a 'pop' and then looked down to see my chain laying in the sand. Long story short, I wasn't prepared enough to fix the chain in a timely manner, thus slipping our team back into 4th at the finish... Lucky I have a very forgiving team and we chalked up the day as a fun one, albeit challenging. Lesson learned - be prepared.

The next day I found myself back in Concourse C, boarding a flight to San Francisco. Trek had asked me to be in a photo shoot for their catalog, ads, and whatever else they'll use the photos for. Of course I said yes. Who wouldn't take the opportunity to ride their bike up and down Highway 1 North of San Fran for 4 days?! I saw mostly familiar faces and met a handful new people. I've worked with photographer, John Laptad before, but never in this capacity. John does tremendously great work, and the fact I knew what he meant when he said, 'I'm shooting at f11', was hopefully a help. Thanks to John for making me look good as I know it's a tougher job than I'd like to admit. He had two lovely girls with him who helped make us look good and tried to keep us on track. Thank you Amarett (Assistant) and Mariva (Stylist) for putting me in the hot seat...

Out there with me doing the heavy lifting as 'models' were new friend Chris and old friend Jeff. The 3 of us are simply fans of riding bikes, so when we weren't shooting we were riding, sprinting, attacking, and just having fun.

I'm finally back home and anxiously awaiting my upcoming schedule. I've been preparing for a few big races that are quickly approaching, but my travel schedule may have something to say about it. As always, I'll just try to hit that moving target known as
my schedule.

Wouter Weylandt

No one likes to hear the news of a fellow rider passing away. We, as fellow racers and enthusiasts, know the inherent risk of riding our bikes as fast as we can, but we never expect tragedies to happen. We expect to have fun, suffer, give it our best, and go home to our loved ones with stories to tell and recover before the next adventure.

Today, Leopard-Trek rider Wouter Weylandt, suffered a fatal crash in stage 3 of the Giro d'Italia. Although I've only spent time with him on a couple of occasions as 'the film guy', I can't help but feel crushed - which only makes me realize how devastated his family, friends, and team must be. My deepest sympathies go out to them.

Don't ride hard, ride fast.

Within these wise words lied what I told myself over and over this last weekend in Fruita during the 2nd Mountain States Cup race. As simple as it may sound, it's certainly more difficult to follow through with that advice when in the throws of a mountain bike race. Told to me by good friend Josh on the drive out to the Western Slope, those words were the winning ingredient on Sunday.

It seems that when Brad Bingham toes the line at a race with me, we're doing battle - one way or another! Brad's unbelievable talent on a mountain bike makes him a feared competitor, but his friendly nature makes him a likable guy. When the dust settled on the first 10 miles of the race and Brad and I were alone, I knew it was going to get tough. He's got huge power and insane bike handling skills. After some good miles of back-and-forth racing, I found myself alone - and in the lead! 'Don't ride hard, ride fast!'

Benefiting from a couple big races around the country the same weekend and good preparation, I was able to win my first Mountain States Cup as a pro. Couldn't be happier - and to do it in front of some new teammates (and team manager Len!) it was made much sweeter. Thanks to Honey Stinger, Trek, Bontrager, et al, for all the support.



I woke up that morning with great legs and a good mind. Brad didn't have the day he wanted given some tire troubles to throw into our close battle, but said he had fun nonetheless. Thanks for the great race my friend - there will be a lot more I'm sure...

They Do.

It's been a while since I've been really excited to drive to the airport and get on a plane. Don't get me wrong - I love traveling. However, most trips lately consisted of lugging multiple cameras, lighting setups, microphones, hard drives, etc - across numerous countries, leaving me with bruises on my back and dark circles under my eyes. So, a trip to LA to see some of the best friends anyone could ask for and be part of a wedding for two of them was a truly great treat.

My accommodations were provided by my good friend Nicki who happens to be the key hair stylist for a show on Adult Swim called, Children's Hospital. Couldn't be more proud to see her in her element - especially after her and I slung coffee together back in the day in Denver.

The weekend was a perfect and much needed escape. These days it's very rare that large groups of friends can gather and spend some concentrated time together.



Looking around at my cohorts this weekend humbled me. The good-hearted and talented people in this group reminded me of why I strive to be good at what I do. Needless to say, I'm honored to have been in the wedding of two people capable of bringing so much goodness onto one beach in Malibu.

Congrats Rod and Rachel.