Shifting Gears

It's been a good long run, but I had to finish at some point.  Yes, that's right, I finished college and got myself one of these:

BS in Applied Mathematics

Whitney and I went on an awesome road trip down to Palm Springs, CA after finals week.  We stayed with her family down there and did some amazing hikes and relaxed a lot.  I also got out on three rides, two of which were really scenic in the San Bernardino and San Gorgonio Mountains.  Stage 2 of this year's Tour of California will finish in Palm Springs, but otherwise I wouldn't call the place much of a cycling destination.  The winter hiking options are unbelievable though!

Joshua Tree National Park

After working as an intern at Heath Tecna since June, I was officially hired on as an Associate Mechanical Engineer after graduating.  I feel privileged to have a good job right out of school and am super excited to get to stay in Bellingham.  Heath has been and still is very accommodating with and excited about my racing.

On a less positive note, I ran into a tree and hurt my shoulder about a month ago and I am still recovering.  I missed a couple weeks of riding and some early season races, but I'd say I am about 90% healed up and can mountain bike with almost no pain now.

This weekend will be my first race of the year at the Beacon and Legs, the second round of the Fat Tire Revolution Series.  The race is at Beacon Hill in Spokane and brings back nostalgic memories of my very first mountain bike race way back in 2004 at age 16!  I look forward to returning to the course after nearly a decade away.

Jiri and I sprinting for the win in the Junior Beginner Category at the '04 WIM Beacon Bomber.

It might be good for me to mention that I am racing on a new mountain bike squad this year called Team NW Sho-Air / Raleigh presented by SET Coaching.  The team is lead by solo 24 hour racer Ian Mullins, with Gian Dalle, Kevin Bradford-Parish, and myself rounding out the quadfecta.  You can check out our supporting companies on the right side of my blog.  See you at the races or on the trails!

Exciting new team kits!