Ins and Outs

There are a lot of Ins and Outs going on right now (think Big Lebowski)...the elite amateur cycling scene in New England/Mid-Atlantic is going through all sorts of crazy changes right now. There is some seriously interesting stuff going on. Yeah, yeah, yeah...its small potatoes, nothing like Lance and Vino and all that crap...but its the scene I'm in and its pretty all over the place right now.

There are a bunch of teams that I've heard may not be around next year...Fiordifrutta, Kenda-Raleigh, Targetraining, Sakonnet, Rite-Aid. Pretty whacky stuff. I think a few guys will stop racing and many more are shuffling around trying to find new homes. The face of racing regionally is going to look a lot different. It will be cool seeing all the new rider combinations out on the road next year. I think several teams will get major reinforcements, there will be a couple new teams, and there will be a couple strong riders racing as solo acts.

I'm going to be wearing a new uniform myself next year. I'm still trying to wrap my head around it 100%...but I'm very excited at the same time, taking the next step for my cycling. It is pretty scary though, because the CCB club has come to mean so much to me. Its come to be a large part of my identity as a rider and a person. I love the other guys on the elite team (and all our wild adventures, funny misfortunes, and many successes), the multitude of masters riders (and all their encouragement and advice and racing tips), and especially Steve Pucci. There is a certain "je ne sais quoi" about Steve and the touch he has with his team and his riders. Steve very much stays out of the limelight and behind the scenes - but he's had a huge impact on me and many others. He is a director of few words, but when you do get an e-mail from Steve every word has a message and every message is significant. He (and Amos!) has instilled confidence and purpose in me and my racing. The most satisfying thing for me was having such a successful end of this season with CCB. We really came together as Blue Team and got ourselves on quite a hot streak.

I'm going to be racing next year with the Empire Cycling team out of New York City. After I won the GMSR crit this past year I decided I was going to race 2009 as a full-time bike racer. Interestingly, the seeds of me riding for Empire were actually sowed in the fall of 2004 at the Gloucester cyclocross race. It was my very first race as a CCB'er (I met Steve and stayed with him that weekend and he gave me a CCB skinsuit to race in). Steve was taking a chance on me and I deeply appreciate that and would like to think that it is a chance that's paid off for him. Well, I finished 2nd in the B race at Gloucester. After the finish they took the top 3 and put us inside a big tent to have drinks, get cleaned up, and ready for the podium. Gloucester that day was really windy and there are thousands of cyclocross fans screaming and announcers going crazy but inside that tent it somehow seemed quiet. I chatted with the other 2 guys and especially enjoyed talking to a guy from NYC named Mike Sherry. I could tell right away that Mike and I both enjoyed each other. Over the next couple years I would occasionally bump into Mike at the races and we always enjoyed a good chit-chat.

Mike started the Empire Cycling team in 2007 and has been working hard to make the team into a big-time program. He had a rider win the national TT championship this year and really gets the team to all the big races with tip-top support. I ended up only racing 6 days of the NRC calendar this year (Virginia and Toona getting cancelled had a big impact on us east coasters) - so I'm really looking forward to getting on the road more next year to throw down at the big-show races. I'll be turning 28 next year, which in the world of an amateur cyclist trying to become a professional is a majorly bad thing. Pro teams must have 1/2 their roster under the age of 28. So, if you're over 28, and you want to ride for a big-time pro team, you really need to be a proven racer that can win big-time races. There are a whole handful of riders on the bigger pro teams who are the same age as me that don't have contracts for next year. Because of all this, I really appreciate the opportunity Mike is giving me and am I'm going to make the most of it!

I'd also like to say that I love my girlfriend Helen because she can make awesome pizza and really good peanut butter cookies.

On a last side note, check out this interview with Mike Creed. He's got some pretty funny stuff to say about riders who blog. All true of course! It has made me think...so, you may start seeing some writing that actually has some thoughtful insight. Baby steps.

Snow is coming...get ready! I'm going to be doing some fall training this year with Eli Enman. Eli runs Sleepy Hollow and is one of Rossignol's big-gun national ski racers. He was the guy who came before me in high school...so, I was always chasing his ghost around the cross-country courses. I'm hoping that by training with him that some of his go-fast ski mojo will come my way. Either way, it should be fun, as he's great to get out and run and ski with.