Back form the dead?

So, just in case anyone has been wondering what I’ve been doing all summer (assuming anyone is still checking up on this long out-of-date blog), here’s a quick rundown:

• Beauce – got dropped most days, didn’t finish
• Nationals – pulled this weekend out of the toilet and picked up top tens in TT and RR.
• Tour of Qinghai Lake – got dropped most days, did finish
• Mtl-QC – made the final selection then missed the key counters to finish 11th
• Spent most of August burnt out and kicking tunes at CL

And now I’m back in my other home, Hamburg, for the Stevens Racing Team pre-cross season training camp. I guess it’s not really pre-season, since there have already been UCI races in Czech and Belgium this weekend. First up for me is a double header next weekend (23 & 24 Sept) here in Hamburg; the Stevens Cross Sup UCI C2 events. Let’s hope my new bikes and wheels show up before then, otherwise I’m using one somewhat battle-worn ’06 chariot.

Things are looking good, fitness-wise. I was definitely a little sketched out after basically not riding a bike for the critical month of August, but I’m coming around pretty well. There’s a pretty huge diesel engine sitting under the hood right now, and with a little high-speed race tuning the turbo should be coming into service soon. With a bit of luck and some hard work I should be killing it in time for ‘cross nats in early November.

I’ll drop the word on my schedule just as soon as it is confirmed, but it’s looking like I’m doing some early World Cups as well as a bunch of C2 races in Holland and Belgium before I come back to Canada. Maybe this year I’ll have enough UCI points to actually get a call-up at Nationals…

Kay, I’m off to bed.
GReain

Oh yeah, I think Kool & the Gang stayed in this hotel once (no shit!)