Over 2 days, my 4 teammates and I traveled from Houston, TX to San Dimas, CA.  It was a long road trip of 23 hours to get here.  But we had lots of laughs and lots of talking and music to keep us entertained.

Sunrise driving across New Mexico

This weekend was the opening up race of the season. San Dimas Stage Race.  3 Days; first the uphill TT,  Saturday a circuit Road Race, and Sunday a Criterium downtown.  I was pretty tired and fatigued from traveling and work at camp, so wasn’t sure what to expect of myself.

Fun scoping out the TT course in San Dimas

The TT was definitely difficult and I didn’t feel the snap and lightness that I did last year coming into the race.  The Road Race was tough as usual with a steep climb every lap of the 8 lap circuit.  I felt good the first half but then learned my lesson for nutrition and eating during the race.  When I needed most I wasn’t able to get a bottle and then hit the wall that lap and wasn’t able push when I needed to.  It was a difficult day all around as my feet were giving me issues, the hood on my bar slipped and was loose the whole race, then there was also my contact lens.  My contacts were probably the worst of it all because I ended up having scratched corneas out of it and couldn’t race the Crit the next day.  I was basically blind and in pain for 2 days before getting to a Dr and some medicine.  Now I am just recovering and looking at getting some Rx glasses to race in.

Before the Crit that I had to sit out

Excuses are easy when a race doesn’t go well.  A true professional and champion supersedes all obstacles and difficulties to accomplish the goal and win. I have felt lots of potential excuses creeping into my mind recently; the past week as travel, new equipment, training inconsistency, diet inconsistency, and other stress become factors that I have to deal with.  Whether it’s life or training or anything, everyone has their obstacles and challenges, but it’s always a matter of approaching  and tackling them correctly.  Being fearless and knowing you will succeed.

Riding with the team

We will spend the next 2 weeks here in California as the Redlands Stage race starts in a week.  It’s nice to stay and settle in one place for a little while before racing again.  It’s never easy living out of a suitcase, so every reprieve we can get between races is great.  We are training and preparing for a race that will certainly be a challenge.  Even though it’s an early season race and the first on the National Road Calender, it seems like every pro team comes out blazing and jersey hungry.  But what would the sport be if we didn’t race our legs off every lap and every hill?  I’m excited for the upcoming week and the start of hard core stage racing.

Up at Big Bear Lake to ride the TT course for next Thursday