Off Season < Cross Season

So, with the rap up of a season full of "almosts and would have's" cross season was finally here...in October. Road season was all in all full of fun, great build ups and depressing let downs. There is just something about sliding across the pavement at 30+ miles per hour in material thinner than your underwear that really puts a rider down in the dumps. Especially if these spills come at crucial times/big races...oh well. Wiley Mosley brought me on to his cross team to share the wealth of Austin Beer Works, Specialized bicycles, and unicorn love. Yes, you read that correctly, my cross season was full of unicorns. Learn more about the team here and/or "Like" us on Facebook here.

The first time one dawns a baby blue skin suit with rainbow plaid sleeves/shorts and a unicorn with green hair on the chest, one thinks twice of his dignity flying out the window the heckling that will ensue on and off the race course. All in all, I'm pretty damn glad I wore that unicorn skinsuit, even though I may have even judged myself...if that's even possible.

My cross season was broken up in to three parts:

1: Learning how to ride a cross bike. This involved traveling to the midwest to train a bit with the likes of Joe Schmalz and Adam Mills and refine my skillz at the USGP of Cyclocross in Louiville Kentucky.
2: Off Season. A break from everything including my real, if you want to call it real, life to visit my beautiful fiance in Brazil.
3: Coming back to the ATX to whoop some cat 2 ass in the final few races of the year.

Part 1 was fun, I placed 2nd in Boulevard Beer Cross in Kansas and 5th at the USGP of Cyclocross (cat 2-3) in Louisville after starting on the back row in a field of 130 riders.


Part 2, absolutely amazing. Kelly and I met each other in Lima, Peru to go on a hike from around Cusco to Machu Picchu. I need a photo blog in order to show the beauty of it. From there we went to Sao Paulo, Brazil (where she was living for 3 months) to eat amazing food and see an amazing city. We rounded out the trip with a hiatus weekend to Rio de Janeiro to hang out with the big Jesus, hang glide, and drink a few caipirinhas. It was a great time to take a break before hitting training pretty intensely to gear up for the 2012 season.



Part 3 in one word, fun. Setting up hang out spots with the TSA at races and winning the cat 2 state cross championship were a great wrap up to 2011 racing. It's not everyday you become the "Best, good, mediocre cyclocross racer in all of Texas"...I'm going to upgrade for next season.







For now I am putting in a some base miles and just starting to do some intervals to gear up for the new season. I will be riding with Mercy Cycling once again and can't wait to start a new after a not-so-bueno 2011 season. I learned a few things in 2011 which include doing what your heart desires. It may not be the most financially fulfilling lifestyle to "give it a go" at cycling, but it makes me happy and I've met a lot of great people doing it. Another thing I learned was to not get down on yourself when things aren't quite going your way. Yeah, I crashed a few times at key moments, yes, it was embarrassing, but no, it's not the end of the world. I judge my cross season a success, which is added motivation alongside the determination gained from close calls last year. The last thing I learned was to have fun, not stress so much about the little things, and always tell your fiance when you're heading out on a ride...they don't seem to like it very much when you don't answer your phone for no apparent reason.