Sanctified

Well, actually I've been sanctioned but it's nearly spelled the same. And why can't I believe that this has all happened for a larger purpose? I have agreed to a 2 year sanction from cycling today. Ouch, that hurt my gut. Even when my friends and family know that I am not a cheat, it still hurts to write this and it really hurt to send that fax today. However, I believe this to be my best course of action and I'll try to explain why. Nothing has really changed: I will still continue to have testing done to try and figure out how this all happened in the first place and I still won't be racing. The only difference is that by accepting this sanction, I may actually gain a little credibility with USADA. I really am trying to work with them so we can make sure this doesn't happen again. And if I can walk away from racing forever, maybe people will be more willing to listen when they know I have nothing to gain personally. I'm not lobbying for change to save my own career, I'm lobbying for change to save the next clean athlete's career. In the meantime, I may actually be able to move on with my life and start this next chapter that I've talked about.
So, I guess there will be some sort of press release from USADA announcing my acceptance of the sanction. Then I can only assume there will be much back-slapping and smiles all around as another doper has been purged from sport. Ugh. This anti-doping system in place is....how can we be diplomatic here?...needing serious reform.
Hang with me here, folks. I'm trying my best. I'm not turning my back on cycling and I'm not giving up. As my new friend Sarai pointed out, "Cycling can save the world!" So I guess I can suck it up and help make it better.

Meet Bear Peak

This is Bear Peak taken about 20m from my doorstep. Bear Peak and I have a special relationship. Bear Peak has helped me cope through some of this drama that I've experienced these last 4 months. Heading up to the summit (8400 ft above sea level - so about 2800ft gain) is hard enough to purge all the crummy feelings that I may be having and allow me to feel a little closer to nature. And no matter how many times I get to the top, I feel like I accomplished something because there's no easy way up there. Plus, the views on a clear day can't be beat.
This is Longs Peak from the top of Bear Peak. At 14,259 ft above sea level, it's the closest 14,000+ ft peak to Boulder. It's an incredible mountain to hike. It has so much character and is my favorite of the 10 or so 14ers I've climbed.






This is Boulder from the top of Bear. In an attempt to include the CU campus (red brick roofs in the middle-left of the pic), I cut out our house which is just a little bit to the right of lower right quadrant.






This is Green Mountain (also a great hike) from the top of Bear Pk. You can also see where the foothills meet the plains in the background.


Anyway, I just wanted to share one of the many features in this area that have helped keep me happy (and sane). Also, because I need a competitive outlet these days, a couple of months ago I raced myself to the top and down from my house in 1:21:30 (50 min. up, 31 min. down). That was in snowpack so it was a little slower going up but really fast and out of control at times sliding down! I'd like to see how that compares to the fastest times ever done, so if any of you locals know some ascent times of Bear, Green, and/or Sanitas - let me know if you get a chance. Thanks!

No leads on the job front yet, but I've had a couple of chats with Mr. Tygart from USADA since announcing that I was no longer going to play the game. They've been potentially productive chats and I've been trying to give them the benefit of the doubt now. After all, they are the good guys right? I've just been trying to convince them that it's in their best interests to help me find out (or allow me access to find out) how this positive test happened. But it takes a lot of trust on their part, I guess. Can't they just see things my way? :)
Also, in a show of my personal recovery of sorts, I was excited to hear that DirecTV will be adding Vs. again to their channel lineup. That means I'll be able to watch the Classics this spring. I'm pretty excited. I guess I'm still a fan of this cycling thing.

Transitions

Hello,
things are going well with me. I'm feeling good about my renewed outlook and I've started the job hunt. I appreciated the heartfelt comments regarding my last post. I'm entering a challenging, exciting, and scary new chapter of my life and it's nice to know that I want be doing it alone.
We had a fun party at our house last weekend to mark the transition in our lives. See if you can guess the theme by the pictures.
We had wine...











We had cookies...












We had a nice spread all-around.











And I've been rock climbing quite a bit as well. Joel and Rand took me outdoors for the third time ever yesterday and I had a blast. We climbed Castle Rock up Boulder Canyon and I did my first ever rappel. It was the scariest part of the day for me. Of course my first time rappelling we do a full 60m (2 ropes tied together) in the snow, but even by the end I was feeling much more comfortable.
That's a big rock! See me up there? This was my "oh shit" moment of the day.











I'm not sure if the smile is because of the thrill or because I'm almost at the ground.
















JoJo had a Birthday a couple weeks ago!










And because I'm very goal oriented and I always have to be targeting something - I've found something new to train for. This is what Davy Mac and I are shooting for at the 2014 Sochi Games!