I guess when you turn 24 life goes by at even a faster rate. My days are productive and they seem to go by in a blink lately. Training has remained in full swing and the power is coming along nicely. The routine as of late has been a sequence of double days, done back to back. I won’t give away the specifics but these four rides create a serious training load. So far the legs are responding nicely and my mind is also adapting to a new level of workload. It’s awesome how we can continue to set new personal standards, breaking through with workouts that once seemed off the charts. I love the challenge to continually go to new levels and with adequate recovery built in that’s been the training regime as of late.

Last weekend my mom married Phil at his brother’s place in Phoenix. Chloe and I made it up there for the occasion and it was a great chance to hang out with the family and meet some new family as well. I’m really happy for the two of them and with them the best. Of course another bonus of a weekend in Phoenix was a couple stops at In and Out Burger. That place gets better every time!

My birthday was last Wednesday so my roommates, Chloe and I went out for some Mexican food. It’s hard to beat a good burrito and the company of friends really adds to it. Not having dishes to wash was icing on the cake. We followed up dinner with some RC Car racing on Speedway. We all came home smelling like race fuel, but watching the cars rip up the track was pretty cool. Paul has been flying/crashing his RC Helicopter in the living room, so he found out about the car racing when he was in there buying replacement chopper parts I think.

Race plans are starting to take shape and I’m having a hard time deciding between some of the big events. Unfortunately the Tour of the Gila once again conflicts with the Fontana NMBS event. Last year I did Fontana, but for some reason I seem to have a real attraction to the idea of racing the Gila. I hear that the cat 2 race has a history of success amongst pro mountain bikers that have toed the line. With this as the big question mark everything else seems to be fitting together nicely. The first race will be the Valley of Sun which is coming up soon, February 16-18.

Tucson’s weather turned for the best today as temps hit the 70’s. It was absolutely perfect out there today. Those of you suffering through the sub-zero days in Wisconsin likely will no sympathy, but last week I did ride in the 40 degree rain on four occasions…

Thanks for your interest; I’ll keep the updates coming.

-TJ