still kickin'

Well hello there!
I'm quite alive and doing well now. I've been training lung-pain free for a few weeks now. And I'm taking my meds like a good little infirm. I've been out visiting teammate Sheedy in the Appalachians of North Carolina and I have to admit how impressed I am with the terrain. The Rockies got nothin on these here southern hills. I don't even remember what's it like to ride on flat ground. I think if I live here for a few more months and subsist on nothing but coffee and rice cakes, I could snatch that KOM jersey from Scotty next year at Cascade! weeeell, maybe I should just stick w/ TTs. I wouldn't want to relinquish my status as the heaviest bloke in the pro peloton.
I will say that the backroads in this area can get a little precarious. If you're fast enough to outsprint the loose rabid country dogs (which amazingly I've got an undefeated record thus far - look out Logan! Of course, the knowledge that I'm on blood thinners could add a little extra adrenaline to the mix) you still have to pray the NASCAR Ricky Bobby Wannabes don't feel like jerking the wheel 2 inches to the right as they pass you. In reality, Lees-McRae cycling team has not had any car/bike encounters in recent history but I did get pegged by an empty Mt. Dew plastic bottle and an empty chaw tin (thank you for fitting perfectly into my stereotypes mr. redneck motorist) in one ride. I'm in the process of working on a thesis that quantifyingly correlates the deepness into redneck kuntree with how shot up the road signs in the area are. you know, 2 or 3 rifle shots and you should watch out for dogs but if the sign is so full of shot that you can't read it - you should pull a u-turn and sprint like mad, etc. All in all, these are minor hiccups when compared to the quality of training available in this area. So, I'll be doing the USPro TT this weekend so we'll see how that goes. Should be fun to get a little adrenaline pumping anyway. After that, we have the Atlanta 100k which should be a slugfest as it's the last NRC race. Then we head to Michigan to race in Grand Rapids and Tour de Leelanau to hopefully wow the sponsors and end on a good note. After that I'm hoping to get out to track nationals in LA and go around in circles fast for a bit. Buuuuut, let's just take it one day at a time, eh? TT nats this weekend...
here are some pics from the summer:
this is how we cool off and ice the legs in the summer in boulder - a little soak in the boulder creek. the ladies try to deny it, but they love our hot spandex and tan lines.
so I'm a little bit of a coffee snob sometimes but don't these just look scrumptious? it's art I tell ya.
here's a sunset in my hometown of Clear Lake, IA. yup, it's purty.
here's sheedy in his element w/ passenger Ally. when he tells you he's been spending a lot of hours on the bike - this is probably what he means...
this is one of many secluded country roads in the area of Banner Elk, NC. It's fun to just go out and get lost on roads like these for a few hours.
Take care and thanks for sticking with me! Are you happy C.B.?