Turning the Page

Another cycling season is in the books and now it's time to start looking at 2009. Yeah, I know we still have a few months left of 2008, but the way the cycling season goes around here, you have to start your base training in early October to be ready for the state series kick off in January.

2008 was a great year, among other hightlights:

• 2nd Pro/Semi-Pro Overall - AZ State Series
• 2nd Cat 5 Overall - Summit Center Stage Race
• Won the Vulture Mine and South Mountain Time Trials as a Cat 5
• 4th Elite Overall at Afton Avalance9th Open Overall at the Whiskey Off Road 50 (After riding most of the race with Floyd Landis)
• 17th Elite Overall at the inagural American MTB Classic
• There were a lot of firsts too. I raced on my first crit event (Hungry Dog), had my first crash at a Crit (Cyclo de Mayo), raced my first road stage race (Summit Center) and road Time Trial (Vulture Mine), completed my first 24 hour race in a 4-man team (Old Pueblo) and did my first short-track and cross country race as a semi-pro.

So what's new for the next season... New Team...
Starting this weekend I'll officially start racing for Adrenaline Race Team. Darrin A. offered me a spot on his team, fresh off winning the 2008 State Team Series, so I look forward to a great year.

New Sponsors...
Along with the new team comes an awesome list of new companies supporting us including: Coyote Athletic Centers, Train Like a Pro, Vassago Cycles, Hammer Head Cycles, Whey Up, WTB, White Brothers, Crank Bros, Carb Boom and others.

New Coach...
After two years of self-coaching I seemed to have reached a limit, so it was time to trust my training on a professional, so my friend and teammate Art MacFarland from Baja Training Systems will be my coach. Over the last year, Art has provided me with tools and advise to improve my skills, so I am eager to see how things will develop during the next season.

Over the next few weeks, I will be finalizing my racing calendar for the upcoming season but it all starts this weekend with the Payson Stampede 24 Hours. Darrin, Evan, Chris Sutter and I will be competing as a team. This event will host the 24-hour national championship for 2009 and 2010, so it will be cool to give it a go this year. I am not sure if any big names will attend, considering it conflicts with the re-birth of the Cactus Cup in Las Vegas but we'll find out on Saturday.

Thanks to all for your support in 2008, stayed tuned for a promising 2009 season.

Pura Vida!