Home Sweet Home.

Home is a good place.  Its a place you feel comfortable, feel like you can be yourself without any judgement.  A place you feel grounded, but can still reach for your goals.  I have always had this in my personal and professional life, with lots of support around me that let me push myself.

And now I couldn't be more stoked to land with the boys at Fitzgerald's Bicycles for this coming 'cross season.  These guys are the most supportive, proactive, fun-loving group around.  And I will get to line up with them this fall proudly wearing the black, green and orange of the Fitzy crew.

These guys essentially brought cyclocross to this area (as well as the Victor Bike Park, snow biking, indoor cycling training in the winter, and tons of support for our trail networks), with Moosecross and the Victor Cyclocross series.  So in a round about way, they brought me back to cycling.

Now road cyclist haven't always the most welcoming breed of rider in the world, I know cause I was one of them once upon a time.  Unfortunately, I once did my fair share of judging others.  Names like Twinkie, Fred, Gomer, OTB Joe, and a whole list of others comes to mind.

But these guys are different.  In my first cyclocross race, which was the first Moosecross so many years ago, these guys were instantly supportive of any and all.  They cheered me, and everyone else, with a vigor only seen in the most intense cyclocross settings.  I hadn't seen anything like it before.

I always knew these were the guys I wanted to ride with, but wanted to wear that jersey proudly.  So I never quite got things together to approach them about riding for them.  Now, don't get me wrong.  They asked me numerous times and I'm pretty sure they would have supported me even if I'd never ridden a bike, weighed 300lbs and  had a "rookie mark" tattooed on my forehead.  That's the kind of guys they are.  They want everyone to have a good time riding a bike.  It is also a bonus they are sponsored by my favorite brewery, Snake River Brewery, with whom I have had a professional relationship with for years.

And so it was that yesterday, my birthday, I went into the shop and picked up a team uniform, 'cross team skinsuit, some new rubber the team will ride this season, and a few other items.  Everything felt good, except for maybe the skinsuit.  I may still be packing a few too many stones for it too fit just right, but that's OK.  A little more motivation to lose the remaining pounds before things get really going.

I had a really great week of training this week, minus a bailed out attempt to ride from Swan Valley to Victor over Pine Creek Pass.  It wasn't for a lack of trying.  Mel had already dropped me off and I was on my way when my rear wheel broke a spoke, forcing me to call her back for a ride home.  After that, I decided to call it a week and sit on the porch with glass of Hendricks the boys in the kitchen got me for my B-day.  I was able to also walk 18 holes of golf on Monday which was a nice way to stretch the legs before this weeks training.

This week will be more of the same.  Short intervals tomorrow and Thursday, some long intervals on Saturday and a MTB ride on Sunday.  Should be a pretty brutal week.

We will also be abstaining from the beer for the next few weeks in an attempt to squeeze into that skinsuit by Moosecross.

See you cats on the cross course.