Scored. Don't even want to use them. Just polish the cotton side walls:

Early morning MTB today before work. Went out with J Fry, Bryan and Stu. Bryan and Stu could probably host their own comedy/reality TV series. Hilarious conversations. My legs were loaded from yesterday and I crept along up the big climbs until the fire in the engine got stoked a bit, but these guys had me in stitches talking of schemes and plans to raise capital for a new "anti-team", riding to races regardless of where they are on same bike, etc etc. Before I knew it we were at the top of some of these monster climbs and drilling it through single track still talking schemes...but trading paint in the corners. Fun.

We did Sunshine to Poorman's to 4 Mile to Logan Mill to Betasso and on home to NOBO. Perfect temps and perfectly tacky ground. I am running these new 2.0 Hutchinson's....bumping down from 2.1 WTB's and I am just not sure about them yet. They were horrible at first this AM hooking up but then I found a rhythm with them. I think ultimately they will be decent for STXC but will pre-ride them at the Research Center a bit to conform. Dialing in the tire pressure too will be something I have to play with.

Family was in town this weekend and we all had quite a bit of fun. Took 90 year old grandma (who has more go-go juice that most 40 year olds) and the cousins and kids on Banjo Billy's which was a riot. Learned more about the Republic on this ride than I have since I moved here.

Mostly though I heard my cousins say I was lighter. Lighter in mood and in laughter which they hadn't seen in some time. That made me smile. Things are working. It seems like months of surliness if not years. It's easy to let things slip away and let the cancerous thoughts eat your brain and preoccupy your mood and your being. Business is business, family stress is there...and should be when you raise two active boys, trying to be a great athlete is a challenge at my age....but it's ALL OK....if you know you are a good person and you are doing the best you can. It's not OK when the cancer is deep. People speak of universal attraction. I speak of balance. The path to attraction is what you emanate and to emanate goodness and attract the type of people you want around you, the soul's got to be balanced and the frequency you have to be putting out is tuned to the same channel known by Labrador retrievers and their permanently wagging tails and good nature.

Riding for me after CX season this year...e.g. the early season 'training' in January Feb, March...was for me more like an anvil of anger dropping. My moods were black and everyone could just go spit. If you were not going at my pace, go ride elsewhere. Wrong wrong wrong wrong wrong. I learned my lesson and that combined with everything else just forced the collapse. Immunities, relationships...it starts to slip and the slope is hard to climb back up.

I listened. Am listening.

I sincerely want to make right....and am. Riding a bike is so much fun again it's maddening. I got goosebumps on my early morning MTB this AM. I wheelied for a block and a half. I was ripping like a kid on my GT Pro Performer. Having this balance and then heading into work carries through your voice, your commands, your doctrine. People hear this on many levels when it is clear and they turn and are motivated by you. More importantly it sends me into smiles when I get home and my kids don't ask me "Are you angry tonight, Daddy." That is wrong on so many levels it is unspeakable. They should expect what I expect and that is a clean mind coming in through the door from their daddy who wants to build legos, kiss his wife, tickle the boys and laugh.

Life is too short, and no one gets out alive at the end of this story anyways. Make it fun.

So, how was your day today, sunshine?

Finished up my first real work week of training with a Flagstaff/Magnolia climb fest. Flag is tough but Magnolia is an insult. For folks out there who do not know this climb, Google search the Mike Horgan Hill climb hosted by Boulderracing.com. It is an impossibly long and steep mountain pass which starts from Canyon and goes straight up. It borders on ridiculous. Dragging my large carcass up that thing is insulting. I ended up climbing OK and within myself with another guy and the guy working with us this season. It was an OK test and I know what work needs to be done still, but was phenomenal to feel OK after all the sick. A good first week back to being a cyclist again.

Mom's day today and the b-fast in bed was duly made for my lady in addition to a surprise of an Apple iPod Shuffle for my running-crazy lady.

It is unbelievable when you come out of a sickness haze how you get the feeling of what it is like to live like a normal person. It feels like....no...it HAS been months since I felt like a normal healthy guy. I listened to my body and while I i hated doing it, I said no to tons of races and general deep training to give the body and mind a break. This week was my first week back to training and got 5 solid days in between my work and family schedule. The new training program is ramping and is way realistic and something I can execute on and feel good about.

Monday Tempo and cadence Busstop Course
Tuesday Flagstaff Mountain bench mark
Wednesday Tempo and cadence Busstop Course
Thursday Left Hand Lee Hill tempo and Hill interval
Friday Flagstaff early season trial

The body is responding, painfully, but still with a smile. I have been waking up each morning this week thinking "Oh my God, what do I feel like? Do I feel sick again? Did I deplete my immune system like battery acid with yesterday's work out??" And each day I feel better. Miraculous. It's so f'd up when you are sick for so long, your mind is convinced it will never get better. I feel like I am well on my way to something good.

On a totally unrelated note, here's where good kids make good! An old Rocky Mounts devo from a few seasons ago is kicking ass in Italy! Jon Garcia is leading the BMC team over there in Italy at the Giro del Friuli Venezia Giulia . He is responsible for getting us Levon (seen center here) who is racing strong for us these days. Jon's team mate Scott was staying down the streat from me at Dan's for a bit and I can tell you these are good, core kids. It is unbelievable that Jon and this group of kids are breaking legs over there. Kudos.

I'm going to try my luck at a piece of history. A set of genuine used blood bags from Op Puerto! Joy!

Kill some time meandering through these. Taken by my team mate and fellow cross geek Ryan.

That there is a gaggle of Moots...er ah Meets (plural?). What's missing? My Moots. My boys went on the annual pilgrimage this year to D-ville in CA and this is them getting ready for one of their sorties on the mountain. Downieville is bar none one of may favorite MTB Meccas. My Europe biz trip forced my non-participation in this years debauchery and I am saddened to my core. Next time boys.

How Denver got dissed on this tour I dunno. OK, having lived in moth NYC and SF, Denver isn't quite the epicenter of culture and avant garde film, but it's still a bike geek Mecca. The festival will hit some serious cities though which is rad.

Brian Verner of Hunter Cycles and Pure Sweet Hell fame will be debuting films at this festival highlighting some local builder in the Cruz and some photo prints from his study of the Cross scene the past few years. I raced against this guy years ago on the Left Coast and it's rad to see an artist who knows the true pain and suffering yield inexplicable passion. But he nails it all in celluloid.

See the BFF2007 Web Site for details and to buy tix et al.

Cheat, cheat...never beat. Or so says my boy B-dub's slogan on his now worldwide creed of DOPERS SUCK. Basso. What a p.o.s. I will discard my copy of Overcoming even though I love watching Jensy lay wood to the peleton.

Reading the news about Basso 'working' with the Puerto investigators to "relieve his conscience", I immediately went up stairs and brushed off the dust from my extremely limited Operation Puerto t-shirt (3 were made) and will wear it with pride. I put it away because it looked like this thing was a witch hunt. The design is hilarious and was done by my boy Ted at Anthem for (very) personal reasons, not for distribution.
Having Valverde in there as well was pretty prophetic too given the latest announcement. Here's another one of the shirts in action:

This boring waste of everyone's time has got to end. And yes, the pessimist in me says there'll be another wave of some new form of cheating but still my larger optimist side says the Slipstreams of the world will dominate. You didn't hear it from me but rumor has it that a very famous doper-come-clean rider who wears a distinctively yellow kit this season will be moving to the Argyle clad team for 08 to enable a Pro Tour slot and a ride to Le Grande Boucle.

But what do I know?

Dopers suck. Cheaters suck. My sons will know the difference.