It's been quite a while since I written anything on this blog. Perhaps a lack of motivation to talk about myself, consumption by other factors in life or a waning interest in blogs in general, whatever the reason, it hasn't happened. This may or may not change, but I have decided to post a few things in the coming weeks and perhaps get back into the swing of things. Whichever direction it goes, here is a quick rundown of what 2011 has looked like for the few people who may still be aware of this blog's existence.
The year started with a change in profession for me. This was a huge deal as I had been working in shops and service for the last decade and had been managing the service department at Mesa for nearly six years. I had allowed my job to become a significant part of my persona and the departure was difficult in many ways. My new role as a personal trainer has been going welll and will afford me the time neeeded to tend to the other, and most significant, pending change in my life, the birth of my first child in mid August. He has been steadlily cooking since late November and Lizz and I can't wait to meet him. He is already action packed in utero and if he keeps it up after birth, I'm sure it will be a whirlwind with him in the mix. I expect this to significantly alter my life, but in a truly positive way. I look at all the other friends of mine that have children and I feel both lucky and inspired. 10 weeks and counting...
Sadly, I also lost my oldest and best friend about two months ago to pneumonia. This was an extremely challenging event and remains so, months after the fact. It is appalling to me that someone can die of what seems to be a basic respiratory infection with access to western medicine. There is not a day that passes that I don't think of him or the fact that I will not get to see him again. I intend to write a thorough and more fitting tribute soon, but it has been very hard to do so up until now. I sincerely wish he had had the opportunity to meet my son. The last time we talked, he spoke of his excitement over getting to be the "cool uncle" and I know he meant it. There is no one who I have as long of a history with and it pains me to have that history cut so short...
With such large scale life changes in play, it seems almost trivial to talk of cycling and bike racing. However, it has happened. I have two new teams this year. I have been riding with the 708 team on the road and have finally linked up with Team Seagal for my off road exploits. Both are solid groups of people and I have enjoyed the time I've had with all of them so far. The racing had been going reasonably well. Some mixed results, crashes and a shared win with a great friend and teammate have all added up to an interesting season. I haven't really worried about training, just doing what seems like fun at the time. So far this has meant marathon MTB races, some criteriums and relay MTB racing. This has lead to reasonable fitness, but I hope to bump it up a bit before the dirt crits in July. Either way, I am enjoying my time on two wheels as much as possible.
Lastly, I have realized an ongoing goal by having some written work and photography published on various cycling websites. I hope to have this continue moving forward. For now, you can read my write up of the NRC Tour de Grove on VeloNews
here, see some photos I took on cyclingnews
here, read my probike review with photos on cxmagazine.com
here and subscribe to my ongoing column on examiner.com
here.
So here I am at the halfway point of 2011. So much has happened and so much is still to come. I am lucky to be surrounded by some many good people and to have a new one to help shape in the coming months. Monumental changes are afoot and I can't wait for what's on the horizon.
Here is my favorite race photo of the year and possibly all time.
going fast and such, it will most likely look like this. 
The important thing here is that I remember to have as much fun on my bike as possible becasue I need to set a good example for this guy, 
