It's now been about a month since my last bike race of the season. You could say that I have spent this time as my "off season," as there has been very little training taking place. In fact, I think you could say that I have been "anti-training" with all of my all of my alcohol and food consumption with insufficient physical activity to support it. This picture is from halloween weekend up in Duluth with a bunch of good college buddies. I did actually bring my DH bike up to Duluth for some freeriding. JJ and I found some pretty sick lines on the trails behind St. Scholastica and up at Enger Tower. I'll try to post some of the pictures from those rides when I get a chance.

I think this time off the bike has been good for the Central Nervous System, as I am actually starting to crave training again. The first part of my training this year will be focused on weight loss. I believe that I raced the entire 2006 season at about 15 to 20 lbs over my ideal weight. During this past race season, I didn't really concern myself with weight loss or regimined training. Instead, I just wanted to prove to myself that I still enjoy bike racing. It had been almost 3 years since the last time I raced MTBs competitively when I started my season this year. So.... I am going to be focusing on core strength, basic aerobic activity and diet during the last part of this month and December. Come January, I will be focusing on increasing my strength and power with a bit more time in the weight room.

I will try to be more diligent with my postings going forward.

For now, I can say that the 2006 MTB season was overall a success. I had really been out of the sport for about 2 years. Finally, this year I made the decision to get back into shape and get healthy. I was happy with a few top ten overall expert class finishes in the MNSCS races. I finished 10th overall in the state, which I am definately happy with. I was dissappointed with my performance at the Deer Valley National, where I finished in the back of the pack out of the Semi-Pros, and Chequamegon, where I finished 66th overall. I plan to take training semi-seriously this winter to get closer to my potential during next years race season.

In addition, I plan on doing a few more DH mountain bike races next year. I finally purchased a long-travel full suspension MTB this past summer that can handle just about anything you throw at it. The local freeride scene is a pretty tight knit group of talented bikers. It would be really cool to see this scene grow next year with more races and events. I'll do what I can to help.

For anyone who cares, I will be sharing my outdoor sporting experiences with the world. In the warmer months, you can expect to see posts regarding bike racing, training and possibly some backpacking. For the winter, I'll post up info on my ski trips, snowshoe excursions and anything else I get myself into (i.e. waterfall sledding, downhill kayaking, drunken urban spelunking,etc.).