off season.

2009 was an interesting year for me. Not so much racing, but so much I've learned from mistakes I've made and just pointers from good people. I realize that you don't really need a coach to get good at racing or whatever...you basically just need to know what to do. I know for sure that if I get a coach, I would hate cycling and just racing in general. Why? Probably because if I get a coach, I'll feel like cycling would be a job instead of what we do now...ride for fun!

2009 was definitely a tough year, but overall I think it was a great year for racing. Even though I didn't race much, I still have a bronze medal that says "state champ"; made okay money first time racing track and actually enjoyed it for the most part; and of course...I learned A LOT. I also found out that I like to sprint against the top sprinters we have in Las Vegas. Who doesn't like to go fast? Seriously...

Most recent race we've done is the Mount Charleston Hill Climb and USA Crit Finals...

Mount Charleston Hill Climb was definitely a good turn out this year. We have a couple guys out there who decided to do it fixed and they did so well, they were able to eat at the top and watch the rest of the people suffer through the final climb.
There was some head wind and cross winds but not as bad as last year for sure. Nearly 300 people came to participate and everyone enjoyed the scenery like always.
I ended up not beating my time, but I'm glad to have done good enough for how much training I've done on the hills this year. Didn't do much and maybe that's why my knees started hurting when I got to the top. Terrible! My knees don't do very well in cold weather :\

USA Crit finals was fun too. Lots of people came to cheer, watch, and enjoy the race. The course wasn't as bad as last year and Vegas did real well. I know we took cat 2/3 and Masters...I'm not sure if we took Women's or Industry but that's definitely good enough. It was hot and the last turn was definitely sketchy. It's one of those turns where you feel like you have a flat but you don't. You just have to go through and hope your tire stays on the ground. Overall, I think the race was awesome. I just need to upgrade next time and race with people who can actually ride a bike. Luckily, there weren't that much crashes this year and I'm just happy to not have to deal with it again this year. I'm not quite sure where I finished but my team mate ended up taking our race. Definitely the way to finish this season!

And now...Off season! Time to party and leave your bikes behind, but unfortunately...I can't do it. No road bike lately though, just been with the track bike trying to get used to it and eventually, when I get my TT bike back, I'll be riding that too..
WELL...Be safe everyone! No need to crash and get into accidents. We have next season to train hard for and do good, so let's keep getting motivated!


time for some foe d's!



-chcuk.