Whoops, forgot to blog........

Well it looks as though a solid year has passed since my last post.  Good a time as any to throw up a fresh one, eh?

So much has passed since July 2012.  I played cyclocross games last Fall for a bit longer than expected, then decided to play some ultracross games early in the year down in Georgia and Virginia.  Skipping the big early season XC races in TX and CA kept me fresh, and I enjoyed some more consistency through the early season races.  Unfortunately as the big season goals approached I was burning the end of my matchbook, finding myself running on fumes by the time I made it to VT for the Pro XCT finals, ending my main season with a bee-sting to the back of the leg.  ZIIIIINGER!

Speaking of skipping races, I missed the Bear Creek PA State Championship race for the first time in years in order to attend the wedding of a good friend.  It felt a little odd not being there with the rest of the team, but the wedding was fantastic and I even came across this gem, pictured below!

Greatest.  Store.  Ever.

After a nice little break for the wedding, it was time to buckle down a bit for the season's goals:  Windham, Nationals, and Catamount.  3 National calibre events on the east coast!  Words used to describe how I felt about this:  Motivated, stoked, excited, ecstatic, you get the picture.  First stop was Windham, where after some solid results in the local races I was ready to test the legs for the first time against a deeper field.  This is where my physical preparation and mental focus failed to meet my excitement and enthusiasm.  Where I normally would be hanging on at the start, then picking riders off slowly after that to the finish, I found myself struggling to find a rhythm and got pulled before the end.  Ugh.....  It was still a great time, and got to hang out with Seamus and his fam, and Sammy @ adidas Eyewear, who is a great supporter of the Giant Mid Atlantic Team.

Seamus and I hanging with Sammy and the crew from Overlook.
Can somebody get me a stepstool?!

The infamous Munchie the goat.

Post-Windham, I gathered myself quickly and set forth making up the difference ahead of Nationals.  One way I clear my mind is to clean my bikes!  This year the team was able to partner up with Muc-Off brand cleaners and lubes.  The stuff is awesome.  Their cleaner takes cleaning my bike from a chore to a pleasure, and their lubes are simply fantastic, the best I've ever used.  Please try this stuff!

Cleaning the fleet, Muc-Off style.

While the equipment prep was obviously going well, I wasn't quite sure how the physically prep was going, but luckily I had a race the weekend before Nationals in order to test that out.  Aside from my poor starts, I was also suffering in the heat a bit more than normal.  My prep for this consisted of driving to/from work without the A/C on.  It must have worked as I won that race and felt relatively comfortable the entire time.  Back on track!

Yays!  I'm the little guy in the middle.

Riding the high from my recent win into Nationals was a great feeling.  Having your confidence in check before a big race is a huge advantage, and my mindset was fully positive ahead of the Elite Men's XC race.  The heat there was CRAZY, but I had a decent start (for once) that lead me into the second lap energized and ready to pass.  Unfortunately I faded after 3 laps and my 4th lap was horrendous, finding me pulled and finishing 2 laps down.  Ugh....  Redemption in the Super D almost came until I made a big mistake on a corner that left me off-trail and out of contention.  Short Track felt like my day, but a bottleneck on the first lap took all the fight out of me and I cut the weekend short.  Standing and waiting for 30 seconds in the middle of a short-track race will do that to you.  Sooo, until next year!

Stuffing ice-socks in the jersey ahead of XC Nationals.

One thing I have to mention is Tealy's (Erin and I's dog) birthday.  She wears birthday hats and goes apeshit for her presents.  I love watching her freak out every year.  Pictured below as she tried to sneak a lick of her 'cake', her eye about to pop out of her head.

The hat goes on TOP Of your head.

Birthday celebrations aside, and Nationals over, it was time to focus on one more race:  The Catamount classic Pro XCT in VT.  I used to love going to VT for races and shenanigans back in college, so I was pretty excited to head back up.  Since I waited until last minute to go, I decided to take my Aunt up with me so she could go visit some friends in NH after the race.  She's a good travel companion and we had a great time driving and exploring.  The race was a bust, as I had a similar feeling as I did at Windham, but I was able to forget about the disappointment once we were in NH and I was eating ice cream on the lake.

Our NH hosts were awesome, leaving a gift basket for me in my room!

View of the sunset over Lake Champlain, Burlington, VT.

As I finish up this post, I realize how lucky I am to be able to race a bike, play frisbee with my dog, spend time with an awesome woman, and live the life I do.  All the positives in life help make the disappointment of a crappy race easy to forget, and I'm pretty motivated to rest up and train even harder for next year.  Next stop on the crazy train, Iron Cross XI!  See you there?

~ Jordan