Back from VEGAS! So I just spent Tuesday through Saturday in Vegas with a bunch of close friends and family for interbike and cross Vegas. I got a chance to see all the new up and coming products and meet a lot of the reps that Reality Bikes works with. It was great being able to share what I'm doing to some of them. I would say Vegas was a lot of fun but a place where I wouldn't go again for a while. However the buildings/hotels were amazing and the amount of detail that was put into the indoor buildings and the painted ceilings is just hard to describe. We also went to the Bellagio and saw the fountains and "Paris." Its crazy to see how many different people are there and how the town is quiet during the day then at night its packed! But anyways thanks to Fuji I will be getting the new Kestrel Evoke SL Carbon for my ride America. It was nice to spend some time with the rep Paul and get to know all about the new bikes that are coming out. Also thanks to Louis Garneau for giving me a free pair of their shoes. I finally got a pair of shoes with carbon soles. I have been looking at these in the shop since the summer and just couldn't convince myself to get them. Things are really starting to come together and with it being pretty much October the 3-d golf tournament is right around the corner!

So after sleeping in till 12 today well which is 9 Vegas time Eric and I put together some breakfast and coffee then went out for a easy 1 hour spin. Man the weather here is just awesome now. Fall is here and leg warmers and arm warmers are soon to come out. I had to adjust my cleat a couple times and my knee was bothering me a little bit but not like the past. Also at interbike I had a chance to talk with a "fit doctor" ... what an incredible amount of information she gave me and helped me out with my problems. She gave me some exercises to do and gave me some advice with how many shims I need to put on my shoes. I hope soon to get put on the Retul bike fit system.

Well that's it for now.. its going to be tough to get back to work after 4 days of non stop partying but it is a good feeling to be back in town. Going camping in the gaps this weekend with the family and also going to do some training in the mountains. Then its off to the races next weekend! The big 12 hour race in Helen. I hope everything is good to go by then!

So I went out on a mountain bike ride yesterday with Uncle Jim, Spencer, and Ed! It was awesome getting on the mountain bike. Even though I just painted the bike and put all new components on it, it felt like a brand new bike. Having a front shock is amazing I actually feel like I have a full suspension bike now! My plan of attack was to go out and just pedal around and take it easy on the knee. We got there and got dressed I was so fired up all morning to get out there! Right before the first lap I pulled off the side of the trail and waited for two riders coming the opposite way to come through by doing a "track stand." Well I didn't quiet make it I fell straight over and there it was the first crash on the new bike! First lap was great took it easy the knee was hurting but nothing major. Then we went on to the Dwelling loop and sure enough 2 riders came by us and knowing Ed and I we went after them and stayed behind them the whole time which led to a great tempo ride. After convincing my cousin Spencer to go one more lap around the South loop we started off easy. Then a APB rider came by and Ed and I were off again! Flying through the South loop I thought it would be great to hit a "jump" on the right side well I hit it alright got sideways in the air and knew I was going down! Took a pretty hard hit knocked the chain off the bike, put a pretty good scratch in the frame, and got some sweet battle wounds! I was happy it was a good laugh for Ed and the APB rider. Wished we had the helmet cam to replay that one! We finish the lap easy and overall it was an awesome ride on the mountain bike and I'm looking forward to spending a lot more time on it this winter...... anddddddd the 12 hour race coming up in October!

SOOOOO its been a while since I have updated this. A lot of crazy things have happened since the last time so we will start with I had another meeting last night about the marathon. It has now changed into a 36 hole golf event. It being in November would make it hard to complete the full 100 holes. Our goals are still set on trying to raise the full $60,000 which is awesome. We now have 8 captains which will allow us to reach that goal. A lot of good things are coming out from this and it excites me and worries me. I still cant believe that all of this has come from a simple idea to this amazing thing where all these people are just coming together to make it happen.

Now for the riding part... I have been off the bike now for a full week. I know that doesn't seem like much but its a lot to me when I felt like I needed to be on the bike the most this past week. I just got my old mountain bike back that we re-painted and put all new parts on and a front fork. Its b-e-a-uuuutiful! The knee really isn't doing to well right now but I'm sure it will come back after some more time. Also Reality Bikes is going to have 3-4 teams in a 12 hour mountain bike race on October 10th. So I really need to be up and running by then and at least riding the mountain bike. All and all things are going okay and the weather has been great... I'm excited to do this ride and sometimes wish I was on it now just to see what its going to be like.

Vegas is in less than 2 weeks also!!!!

So I had another meeting this morning to put more ideas and stuff together for the "Golf Marathon." Greg came up with a great idea called "Who's your caddy." There will be about 10 of the guys from 3-D that will be out there and ride around with the golfers and talk about their lives and experiences that they have had and how they have changed over the past months or years. And to throw numbers out there we are looking at getting 32 golfers to raise 2,000 each which would come out to be about $64,000. THAT IS JUST AWESOME! and to add to that would be whatever I raise for the Ride Across America. I was so happy to have Lisa Crouse come out to the meeting this morning also. She has done a couple golf marathons and gave some great ideas to what we should do.

I went up to Athens again last weekend on Saturday night to do a ride Sunday with my brother. I got a great night sleep and got up early to try and ride but only ended up doing about an hour and a half. My knee is bothering me and I really need to get fit on my bike soon! It wasn't the ride that I have been having up there but it was still nice to just get out there with my brother and ride side by side talking. I've really slowed down the miles in the past couple weeks which has given me time to recover and think about a bunch of things. I cant believe the ride starts in April. It seems so far away but its really right around the corner. I really need to get focused on my goals and write down everything I need to be doing and really get a good training schedule together soon instead of just going out and riding riding riding. Well that's about all I have to say now ill continue to keep you guys posted on the golf marathon!

Vegas is in 28 DAY!!!!

So I took the day off on Tuesday and have been icing the knee and trying not to use it as much as possible. I did a ride Wednesday with the Wednesday night group and started from my house easy spin to warm the knee up and see how it would feel... and it felt awesome! We started a 10 man break away probably 10 miles into the ride and shortly after 4 guys dropped so there was just 6 of us. It was a little messy at first but we both communicated very well and managed to get organized and work together to stay away till the last climb. I picked up the pace and dropped 2 more guys for the lead sprint. Overall the knee felt great until the cool down. I broke 3 new watt records the 5 min, 10 min, and 60 min and we kept an average of 24.5!

I have another meeting on Tuesday of next week with the same group to talk about the "golf marathon." I'm going to try and go out to 3-d next week since I couldn't make it this week. From talking to Greg a couple times this week they are thrilled to be doing this and hoping to make it an annual golf tournament.. I jokingly said "Greg I'm just not sure about riding across America once a year and how work would feel about that." But it feels good to be doing something for these kids and to see how excited they are about it. I'm looking forward to meeting all of them and getting to know them more and seeing how much they grow and change through the coming months.

So the weekend was a lot of FUN! I rode on Friday up in Athens and it was amazing like always. It seemed that no matter which way I was riding I was riding into a headwind. I kept telling myself that "I better get used to it... it could be like this for 100 miles." I called all the local bike shops and a couple coffee shops in search for a group ride for Saturday morning and not one.. not ONE of them could tell me of a ride. A bit frustrating considering you could call Reality Bikes and ask for a local ride and they could give you a probably 10. Funny story short when I was riding I had a car pull up next to me and a kid ask me if I knew of any local rides in the area and that he had just moved to Athens.. I got his number and was supposed to do a ride Saturday morning but didn't really make it.

On another note I went to Reality Bikes after my long epic 3-gap ride from the house and talked with Todd and Eric about my ride across America. REALITY BIKES is now my bike shop sponsor!!! I'm extremely thankful for them and all the help they have given me thus far and now that they are going to be on board with me for the ride is even better. Todd is going to purchase a bike for me to ride and I will be wearing the new kits for next year. They will supply me with the food, tubes, tires, spokes, etc... Also I will be getting fit on the bike by Pedal Right which is located in Vickery Village. Being fit on the bike will be so important considering all the long miles and hours I will be spending on it. My knee has started to bother me again in the same spot as last year and I needed to get physical therapy for 8 weeks. I'm hoping its not as bad and that I just need to spend a couple days off the bike. Yesterday was just a long time in the saddle with a lot of climbing.

I was going to register for a race at Grant Park on Sunday but now I'm not sure if I will be doing it. I will just have to wait and see how the knee feels... However I will be going down to Peachtree City on Saturday to go watch my first Tri race which I am very excited about!

GOOD MORNING! Wednesday was a great day. Went out and did a 75 mile ride started in the rain but about an hour into it the sun came out and the sun was baking on the wet roads. Thinking it was going to rain the whole time I didn't put sunscreen on... needless to say i got a nice sun burn and new tan lines. It was a nice ride the first 50 miles or so I rode alone by my house rode really hard averaging 19.5. Its weird it didn't feel like I was going that fast at all I pushed myself up the climbs and felt okay but the the heavy air was making it seem like I couldn't breath. Then I did the other half out of the bike shop with Art, Christine, Heather, Brittany, uncle Jim, and Spencer. It was a great time and a nice change of pace. Its so nice to be able to go out and just ride sometimes!

On another note I had the meeting yesterday and it went well. We shared ideas about the ride and how to raise money. 3-D life is an amazing organization and I'm so excited to be able to have the chance to donate a possible $50,000! It's looking like the golf outing is out and were going to do a "golf marathon." The goal is to get 25-30 people that are willing to donate money. They will pay per hole they play.. like $1 a hole or whatever and they will have their own sponsors. Its almost like Relay for life. $50,000 seems like a lot of money but I think we can do it! With all the support from family and friends I'm hoping to pass the $50,000! I am so excited to do this ride and having yesterdays meeting made me feel like I have all the support in the world.

Headed to Athens today after work to do a ride and then to go out with some friends and celebrate Arthur's birthday. I'm looking forward to calling the local shops up there and trying to find a nice long ride for Saturday morning. I cant tell you enough how awesome the riding is up there.