Back in Action

It's been a while since my last update, but nevertheless, I'm back in the writing saddle. It's not that the past year has gone without incident, exciting events, glory, and newfound passions. Every new day brought an adventure, and it seems like such a crime to brushstroke it all in one highlight reel. 

First, I'm happy to say that my involvement with out national BMX program was a true blessing, incredible opportunity, and paid huge dividends for the team in Beijing. Under the direction of USA Cycling's BMX Program Director, Mike King, the team won 3 of 6 medals. A huge congratulations to silver medalist Mike Day, and bronze medalists Donnie Robinson and Jill Kintner. This was the first Olympics for BMX and our US team went out and did some serious damage. I'm looking forward to continuing my involvement with the program in 2009.

One of my best friends, Performance Driven athlete, and moto-racing phenom, Phil "Hole Shot" Horwitz, turned it up a notch and finished 5th overall in the MRA GTU 600cc class! Absolutely un-f'n believable! 

The 24 Hours of Moab was a real treat this year. I cruised out there with my little bro who got to experience his first camping trip. Crazy shit, I know, but he's a city slicker. Our 4-person team, the Plant Powered Pedalers, did pretty well considering this one dumb ass had his lights go out on him 1/2 way into lap 2 at 2 in the morning. Nice move... especially because this was the 2nd time it's happened this year. This cowboy needs to get extra batteries or he's being booted off the team. Mad props to Sharon and Lyn for picking up the slack. Huge props goes out to my brother from another mother, Davey the Dart Boy Burger, for riding some killer lap times and not impaling himself on the Moab slickrock. After a sketchy season of near-death mountain bike races, Davey cowboy'd up and had a super stellar race!

Congratulations goes out to friend, and another Performance Driven coached athlete, Alison Powers, for winning the US National Championships in the time trial, a team national pursuit title on the track, along with 2 other track podium finishes, and numerous other tour jerseys in Europe this season. I'll take very little credit for Ali's super horsepower and phenomenal season. She was already a super stud when I came to know her. Just a little guidance, a few suggestions here and there, and watch out! She's going to blow the doors off the 09 season.

Another great addition to the 08 calendar is my little bro moving out to Colorado Springs from big bad Texas. And yes, everything's bigger in Texas, including Josh. A newly graduated and BAR passed attorney, little bro wasted no time adapting to Colorado fitness standards. He dropped 40lbs, is running his ass off, and got himself a 2nd place in the 20's division at the Venetucci Farms 10k. He's run about 8-9 races this fall and just keeps getting stronger. All we gotta do is keep him away from the damn cookies!

Heidi Volpe, another Performance Driven animal, is just kicking ass and bringing down the house in the So Cal mountain bike scene. After winning her local series as an expert cross country racer, her and new duo partner have been riding strong in 12 and 24 hour local and national races. I'm expecting big things in 09.

And finally, the biggest change in 08 has been my dabbling in trail running. I'd originally planned on doing a mega-event, but a torn rotator cuff early in the year shit-the-bed on those plans. Consequently, I was content to do some shorter races and have been having a blast on the trails in and around Colorado Springs. A word to the wise, DON'T do a marathon on 3 days notice. Both little brother and I paid the price for that one. But not to worry, big overloads mean big compensation. 

Back to the grind....

Compton wins AGAIN, Horwitz taken out by a DUMB ASS!!!

This past weeekend offered a few highs and lows for my racing friends, mountain biker Katie Compton and track motorcycle racer Phil Horwitz.

In her usual fashion, Katie road away from the field in lap one of the Greenbrier Challenge, putting 2 minutes on Sue Haywood who rode in for second place. Cycling News has the play by play http://www.cyclingnews.com/mtb/?id=2007/apr07/greenbrier07.

In other news, the Motorcycle Roadracing Association (MRA) held its first weekend of racing this season at the Pueblo Motor Sports Park in Pueblo Colorado. Athlete Phil "Holeshot" Horwitz has been prepping all winter for a breakout 2007 season. On lap one of practice, and yes, I said LAP ONE...some novice, newly licensed, shit-for-brains, ass-monkey tries to make a completely unsafe move, going for a pass on Holeshot on the high left side of the track. Can anyone think of a reason why a guy who's been newly licensed to race two weeks ago shouldn't be making an unsafe pass on lap one of practice, in race one of the season, on a machine that does close to 200mph??? Sweet Jesus what a dumbass!!! Rookie boy proceeds to clip Phil's bars, taking him down, while destroying his leathers and causing some serious cosmetic and mechanical damage to the bike. On a positive note, Phil managed to walk away from the crash with only a broken finger. Consequently, there was no more racing for him this weekend. And rookie boy you ask...the ass monkey rode off track into the grass, didn't crash, and made no acknowledgement of his complete lack of riding skills.

I've raced a lot of things for a lot of years, and as a great friend of mine likes to say, "rubbing's racing." If you've ever toed the start of a race of any type, you know full well there's going to be a little rubbing, elbows, shoulders, the occasional handlebar. It's to be expected. We're all in close quarters vying for the same prize. Still yet, it's a little irritating when a complete novice does something that obscenely stupid.

Rookie boy, get your ass off the race track, give your motorcycle to someone who can ride it, and consider bowling, pool, or maybe pie eating as a mode of recreation.

Alison Dunlap Adventure Camp

Last Saturday, I had the pleasure of instructing at Alison's Level 1 mountain bike camp here in Colorado Springs. We had a great turn out and tons of fun and learning were had by all. The group started "shredding" at 9am and learned the finer arts of body position on the bike, braking, cornering, wheel lifts, navigating switchbacks, and climbing the wonderful "pea gravel" we have in Colorado Springs.

The group also learned to get your ass WAY BACK behind the saddle when dropping into a steep descent. One special obstacle that presented a challenge for my buddy, whose initials are Mary Barry, was the ditch transition. Like the true spitfire she is, she dropped in and shredded the ditch like a champ! I might add, she was rockin' her new Maverick M7 for the clinic. Every time I turned around, her and her speed demon friend Kay were rocketing down the hillside, scaring the living crap out of yours truly.

One thing that thrills me about working with Alison at her camps and clinics is watching the breakthroughs people make in such a short period of time. I just love seeing those "lightbulb moments" when people just get it, and things start to click. They're riding obstacles they never thought they'd ride, getting their bike to move in ways previously unimaginable. Just looking around at the group, I was treated yet again to a number of smiles and wide eyes as people just kept raising the bar on their skills.

I've coached and instructed at a lot of camps and clinics with various groups over the years and I gotta say, Alison's expertise, down to earth personality, patience, and teaching style are world's above anyone else in the business. For information on riding with the Champ, check out www.alisondunlap.com. A level 2 clinic is being offered in Colorado Springs on May 5 & 6.