December Training/ Life Update

Well, I have started training with more consistancy.
Nothing too structured yet, just sort of riding how I feel right now, trying to increase distance and time in the saddle as much as I can with daylight and work/ life schedule demands.
Jason is helping me out again this year and have given me a couple work out blocks as well as his extra Power Tap to help me reach my potential.

I spent Thanksgiving down in Palm Springs with friends and family. Close to 60 people joined us this year in Palm Springs for this wonderful tradition. I really grew up with an incredible community of family and friends and this is one of my very favorite times of the year.

Wedding plans are coming along nicely. Our date is March 21 (San Dimas Stage Race Weekend) This can be a stressful thing at times, however it has been a great opportunity to spend time together and practice personal problem solving skills and communication. We have most of it dialed in by now thanks to a ton of help from both our families.
My buddy suggested as an idea of a bachelor party an epic hike or ride... I am thinking right now I'd like to hike up to San Jacinto peak from the Desert Valley floor. It is approximately an 11,000 foot climb (Pretty epic). But these are just thoughts and ramblings.

Also, you might notice that I have added Google Adds to the site. I got the idea when I read Marco's blog post about how much money his son earns on a monthly basis through these Adds on his YouTube Web site. The Idea would be to donate any earnings to either my Sister's Non-Profit that she is the VP of, or a company that focuses on supplying small business loans to foreign disadvantaged businesses. I don't expect to be able to contribute very much, but every little bit helps and it is a way I can contribute on my limited budget.

Back to cycling:

We had a Platinum Team meeting last week to discuss 2009 race plans and get our new kits. The road team is looking a lot more organized and I think we will have a very strong presence in the SoCal cycling scene, with very strong representation in all categories across the board. The goal is to focus more on about 8 to 10 local-ish races and try to have a dominating presence. My plan for this year is very similar to last year: Race every single possible race up until I get married... take a little mid season break for the wedding and honey moon then hit it hard again through the summer. I would love to upgrade to a Cat 2 this next season, but my real focus will be to continue to learn how to race bicycles, be as competitive as possible, race aggressively, and have a much fun as possible. Last year was a blast once I learned how to race and I hope to continue that trend.

Today, I headed up to Gibraltar Rock with Dubberly and we did some climbing. Like most things with the M-DUB, he schooled me. But I had a blast up there and I plan on trying to get out there at least one or two times a month. I was basically flailing around today, but climbing is a skill that returns fairly quickly. Plus Matt has pro cycling stories Galore and is all around local Santa Barbara Bad Ass.

Thanks for tunning in... I will try to find time to be more diligent in my blogging and carrying a camera around with me so this thing becomes a little more colorful.

Train Hard...