New in 2009

I could not be more psyched about racing on BikeReg.com / Joe's Garage / Independent Fabrications this year. That's that. Fantastic people and the best of sponsors, based right here in New England. Feels like home. Now to race the bike fast.

Bedford Cross - Sept 13

There is nothing quite like a race to jolt one into cross season! You can roll around on the cross bike but it's just not the same. Hard to know what to expect emerging from over a month of training without racing, then the always-chaotic/tiring first week of the school year. Sustainability across the board, and zipping out to Bedford and my other life was a key step in the quest for balance. Weather was HOT; course was a dry grassy slog. According to others, the slog is my specialty, so I was supposed to be psyched for this course. Hopes of anonymity dashed at the line with Mo, Sara B-Z, a fair number of ringers! Holeshot off the line (evidently I can clip in even after switching back to Time from Crank Brothers) and leading then following Mo but AYA then my seat was coming off. Many thanks to JD and Matt Roy for help in the pit (left-hand bike change in the first race of the year!?), new bike but then AYA my handlebar was loose, so another left-hand bike change. Inexcusable equipment laziness, but point of race 1 is to blow out the cobwebs and eliminate glitches. I clawed my way back into 5th but definitely tired by the end, though closing a bit. Smoothness needed but hopeful about the legs and season. Mo rocked, and Anna/Anns were well-represented on the podium, taking 3 of top 5 spots. Way to go name. Photo courtesy Brad Jurga. Next up, Suckerbrook Cross.

And September!

Eeking in just under the one-month-between-posts limit. Much to report! Transition time as I moved, started a new job, got a haircut... My brother returned from his e$%# ("epic" is now under quarantine) two-month canoe trip on Alaska's Yukon river so I no longer need to worry about him disappearing into the Bering Sea. Big news is I am teaching again, hoping I can successfully integrate environmental science, biology, and public health into a tip-top high school's curriculum and ethos while sustaining a strong racing life and making the most of the academic calendar's opportunity for expeditions and adventure. The pace of life is high, but whose isn't and ideas and energy and people should carry me through. Grad school felt like a lot of absorbing, now it's time to see what I can do. You run what you brung. New Haven was surprisingly great, but I am so happy to be back in the Boston area again.