Game Over

Well I did it. Raced the world cahmponships and didnt even die. Just abotu though. Had a pretty good race going after about 2 laps, then flatted while sittign about 30th. In a bad spot at that and ended up loosing about 30 seconds riding halfway around the course to the pit. got my second bike and started soldering away. Gradually worked my way up, 45th, 38th, 34th, 30th, 28th going in to the last lap. then stufed it hard in a icey turn while i was busy thinking about how to ditch the teo guys on my wheel as apposed to steering my bike. dropped the chain and messed up the sifter so I had to take another pit. Cought one of the 5 guys to pass me and ended up 33rd. Not great, not horrable, but i fel like if i had riden a clean race i could have made the top 25, maybe even top 20. oh well, had the legs, just bad luck, which i guess is better than having bad legs and good luck... anyways, back in belgium now. tomorrow will be spemt packing and shopping for chocolate and eating frites. thanks for all the encourament fom everyone. there were tons of US folks out there today and i could hear my name being called out the entire way around the track. quite a bit different from the first time i went to worlds. did a get a few "go lance" heckles form drunlk french guys but i guess we cant all be that cool. anyways, i think this will be my last udate for a while as i enter a hibernation of sorts for the month of february. no bikesa llowed. just some surfing, hiking and a whole lot of chillin. thanks to Kona for all the support this year, Geoff with his excellent advice and ability to bring out my best, Sarah for her unyeilding support of my abcense and racing and all the rest of you who have given me the cheers along the way. untill next time, keep on keepin it on. what is around is all around.what comes around is around. and all that jazz. see you at the sea otter!

Nasty

Saturday

Today the racing has finally gotten underway. This morning we watched the juniors go off. Bjorn had a great ride, in the fornt 8 for the entire race and was sitting in 4th halfway into the last lap but hit a tree and ended up 7th. still a great ride. After that I headed out for a ride. went in the forest for a bit and then out on the course for a few laps. It is in good shape. A bit icey in spots but super fast and for the most part pretty grippy. Then came home and had lunch and watched the U23 race. The US guys had a rough race. Troy went down at the start and got super messed up. he was on TV riding aorund bleeding from the face, the other guys got held up too and were pretty far back. The Check kid won again, the top 3 guys were killing everyone. Now i am just hanging out and trying to rest up the legs. I wish we had raced today so it would be all over. The waiting game is almost done though so i am ready to get to it. We race at 2:30 tomorrow so another day of haning out and then revving it up for the race. Saw a bunch of the Oregon crew out there today while i was preriding. they looked ot be having fun. anyways, i think it is time for a nap.

nasty

Friday

Today was another cold clear day. the high has been -1 and now the sun is going down so i dont think it is going to get any warmer. I headed out thismorning on a road ride but was getting cold so I ducked into the forest and found a 30k ATB loop. It was super fun, rolling single and double track with a light dusting of snow. Rode for about 2 hours and then 2k from the hotel crashed in a turn and broke my handlebars. Ops. Luckily Tonkin has a speare so I will be ok. Tomorrow the juniors and U23s race. The course was a big skating rink today, all the good lines had frozen over and it was super slick. Tomorrow it is supposed to warm up a littl eso it may be a thin layer of greasy mud over ice. Cant think of much better conditions for cross worlds.. I have a massage at 3 and then some more time to kill untill dinner. One more day of waiting and then it will all be over. I hate waiting around for a race because it takes forever, but riding in the woods today was a good escape from everything. Wicked.
Later

Bizzel

2 Days to Go

This morning I got up and went on the morning wlak with the juniors and U23 kids. This has been a tradition ever since I started cross. Proctor likes to get the guys up and awake and thinking about the day and what they are ehre for. I really enjoy it as well. It is a good way to start te day focused on the task at hand, with the added bonus of watching the sun come up over northern Europe. After breakfast I went out motor pacing with Geoff. We found some good road and the speed limit was 60 kmh so traffic didnt even try to pass since we were going as fast as they were. there were thiese speed humps though every 1k and each time we hit one I thought the Hatch on the Mercedes wagon we were in was going to come down and bonk me on the head, but luckily I came through unscathed. Can say as much for the car as I sprayed salty gritty water all over the inside of it from my front wheel. The road were all frozen except for the main one because it was so cold so the below freezing road spray on the salted roads was quickly soaking through my layers. Luckily I had a good draft and was working hard so I stayed warm. It started snowing a little after we got back but now the sun is out and it is super windy. After lunch I headed over to the course with the rest of the crew and did a few laps. It is pretty icey out there but at leats no huge ruts are developing and it is staying in pretty good shape. It is supposed to stay clear for the rest of the week so it will probably stay about the same. Got some words form some of the Oregon crew that is over here. They are hanging out in Amsterdam for a couple of days before heading this way. I bet they will have more fun there than we are having here... Anyways, thats about it. The legs are feeling good and I am about ready to go out there and just giver. All I have to do now is to keep my self occupied for a couple more days and then it will be all over. Woo Hoo! Later on.

Nasty

Nederlands

Made it up to Zeddam today. the drive was a bit long, but i guess we made it so everything is good. The weather up here is pretty bad. It was a super hard frost last night so it almost looked like it had snowed. after lunch it had warmed up quit a bit though so we headed out on a ride. The course is only about 50 meters from the hotel and to get there we ust ride across some farmers field. There are tons of single track trails right here to in the woods. It is quite a nice change from riding along the canal in Izegem for sure. The world parcourse is pretty cool. It starts out mostly flat and fast, then dives dwn this wicked steep off camber twisty descent, back up a huge set of stair and the rolls around up top for a while. Being holland there is even a section around a windmill. Teh whoel team is here now. It is a bit different crew than we have had the rest of the year, differet mechanics and soigners and stuff, but they still get the job done, if maybe in a more chaotic stressed way. I think that is the differance betweent he Belgians and Americans. The belgians are pretty chill, they just focus on the task at hand and get it done, no stress no worries. Americans tend to want to get a little more excited about things and make everything a big deal, but they still get it done in the end. We have a meeting at 5, then dinner so untill then I am ging to lay in my bed and watch a movie. Thanks for all the encouragment from everyone and I will try to keep you stoked. Later on...

wickey

Headed to Holand

Did my last ride of the year in Belgium today. It was even sunny and nice out for us, but it was still -2c when we started. Went and got waffles and had some good town line sprints on the way home. Then went to the grocery store to stock up on Penut Butter and rice cakes because I dont know if I can get them up there in the Netherlands. We are leaving early tomorrow to make the drive. It is supposed to take about 4 hours or so. I got some new tunes on the ipod so hopefully I wont get to bored. Check out this chick called Cat Power if you get a chance. Good stuff. I am going to go downtown this afternoon and see if there is anything I cant live without and then grab a cup of joe. Thanks for all the words of encouragment people have been giving me, you guys are rearded. I hope I can ride good at worlds, we will see. Anyways, I have nothing else even remotley interesting to talk about so I bid you adue.

Bart

Last World Cup

Another one bites the dust. At least I didnt today. the course was pretty cool, good elevation changes and super fast. I had a horrable start, got pinched into the barriers on the side directly fromt the gun and was pretty close to last on the first half lap. finally started mooving up and passing guys. I was in a big group with the rest of the americans for about half the race then ditched that group and almost got to the next with a couple of Italians. Finished it up in 36th. Not great but my legs felt pretty good, i had god power and was pretty motivated so all is looking up fo rnext weekend. Had a good drive back with Geoff. It was cool to talk to him for a bit. The house is pretty full now as we acuried a few more people today, Mo Bruno and Newt. We leave for Holland on wednesday so 2 more days of fn in belgium and it is off we go. I have to be sure to ride to the waffle stand tomorrow... anyways, I am glad the season is almost done and happy I am feeling good again in time for worlds. I just have to trick my body into giving me one more day of suffering and it will be all over. Yes! Anyways, i thin it is time for dinner so I am out. Thanks for all the support everyone gave me this year comming over here, especially Sarah for putting up with my grumpiness and her empty bed for so long. And Proctor for keeping me focused and on track and motivated to do well at worlds. Check ya later!

Nasty

Saturday

Today there is a race near the house here but I decided not to go do it. Tomorrow is the final World Cup and I have been feeling less motivated to get myself up to race so I thought only doing 1 race this weekend would be enough. Plus I can save some energy for next weekend. Jesse and I are going to ride over there today and watch a little bit of the womens race. A bunch of the US women are here now so there will be some ladies to watch. The canadian women are sround too. Tonkin is racing the pro race with a couple of the U23 guys as well. Tomorrow is the real deal though and after that all there is left is worlds. Pretty sweet. I am about ready to hang it up for a month so having a countdown is pretty good. I have been sleeping better now that I dont get up at 10:30 every morning and hopefully the goods will coninue. Word, I am out!

nast

thursday

Another day to sit on the couch. Went out yesterday and felt like shit trying to find a good road for some motor pacing, got lost, and ended up doing 2.5 hours by myself in the rain. A bit harsh for this guy. Today I am supposed to be super pro and pretty much never get off the couch. Some of the juniors showed up this morning. I some how have aquired the Sarah sleeping disorder where I just lay in bed untill 2 am tossing and turning with out being able to sleep. It sucks. Now I know why she gets mad at me when I just pass out in 2 seconds. She will be happy when I get home though. With my luck though she will probably be able to sleep like a champ. Tonkin and Rhonda get in today some time too. Only 2 more races to go and it will be a month of fun for this kid, I am pretty excited about that. Anyways, thats all my mindless rambling for today. Later on...


nasty

Resting....

Yesterday was a much needed day off. Ryan and I went into the mall and did some shopping. i couldnt buy anything though because all the close are made for short fat belgian guys... Then we went and got waffles in the town square. They were the best yet. We saw the guy making them and the dough was very weird. It was just that, dough, not batter. It was a big clump of gooey dough that he put on the waffle iron. The waffles were soft a gooey on the inside and crisp and sweet on the outside. I am going to try and get the recipe form Ells so I can make them back home. Today it is raining like crazy. Ryan left this morning to go back home and now it is just me and the colorado biys. Its raining today so we are going to go out and try and ride a bit befre it gets to bad. Anyways, time flys when your having fun!

Later

Nasty

Leavin World Cup

Well, another on eis in the books. Didnt feel super good today, I think the last week of training and then racing yesterday is catching up with me. The course was fun though. All ups and down with some sweet turns. Had a horrendous start and then rode around with a group untill I front flatted. First time I have done that in quite a while. Got on my pit and rode for a bit, then cruised it in for 36th. I had to out sprint an Italien Guy though, that was not to much fun. Tomorrow I am going to just chill out and recover from the weeks of training and racing. Only two more to go, the WC next weekend and then Worlds. I am pretty stoked. It has been hard mentally for me to get up for these races so having only 2 more is going to make it easier. I hope. Boner is going back to the states because of some family emergencies so taht is too bad. We are going to go gocarting tomorrow though so that will be cool. It is supposed to start raining pretty soon too. Crap tastic. i guess that is all i have for now. I was the only US guy to finish from our squad today. Not a great showing. The American women are here now and they have been representing prety well. I heard the reverend Heavy D out of the crowd today so that was pretty cool. Anyways, i am going to go read a book.

Biznas

Too Vanilla for You

 
 

Roubaix

I am sitting here in my towel waiting for the showers to free up. Today we did a cross in Roubaix. It was at the velodrom where the Paris Roubaix finishes. Prety cool cours. There were these super steep drop ins from high up on the sides of the velodrom out towards the streets. At the bottom of each one was an imediate 90 degree turn with the consequence of missing it being running into a brick wall. Nothing like a little motivation to get you around a turn... The rest of the course was around soccer fields. It reminded me of a course in the us with its frequent off camber section s in succession and very few fast peddaling sections, outside the blitz around the velodrom. I had a good start, top 10 and hung tough for about 3 laps in the front group. I finnaly got popped off and Ryan and I cruised in for 14 and 15. pretty good ride and the legs are feeling good for tomorrow so I would say it was a successful race. The coolest part was getting the bell with one lap to go. It was the same bell they use in the Paris Roubaix on the track and it was pretty cool to hear it while racing. Anywyas, looks like I have a free shower..
I will write more tomorrow after the World Cup


biz

Back to the Cold

Made it back up to Belgium. Had a pretty uneventful quick flight. It is pretty cold here though. I think it was 2 when we landed. I was just getting used to the warm weather... Tomorrow we are racing a small race in Roubaix. It may start and finish n the same track as the Paris-Rubaix. Not totaly sure. Then suday is the World Cup in Levin, France. I think the legs are feeling pretty good after the week of good training so I am hoping these next few weekends go well and I can out somthing together for worlds. We will see. Anyways, untill tomorrow

Bizzy

 
 

Final Day in the Nice

Today we did our last ride in the sun. Right away Bobby Julich went blasting past us so we chased him down and ended up riding with him for 3 hours. We rode up some climb that went super high up this mountain, but i guess it was closed to the public and was a military base becasue when we got to the top there were all these dudes dressed up in army kit and yelling at us so we high tailed it back down... Bobby showed us a sweet Mexican resturant in Nice we are going to check out tonight, then it is back to the land of fog and mud. Only 3 more weeks and I will be back in Sunny Cali gettin my surf on and having a grand old time. Later on

wickey

Yeha!

Below is the picture of my finger after I messed it up at the Hooglide world cup. Ryan got the pic while we were waiting for the ambulance to pick us up. Looks pretty nasty but it didnt really hurt untill they put it back in place...

Dinner with the Powers

 
 

Watch your Nuts!

 
 

Rest it Up Steve

Today we took it nice and easy in Nice. We rode the bus in to town and check out the farmers market and got a ton of goods for dinner tonight. Jeremy and I have been making a ton of awesome salads for dinner and tongiht should be no different. We have been having some pretty good wine as well. for 8 euroes you can get some wicked good stuff. Tomoorw we are planning another epic into the mountains. I hope the weather stays good. It has been chilly but sunny all week and is great for riding. I also found the above figuine at the atuique market here in Villfrance where we are stayig and thought it was to good to pass up. I am going to check out who won the Belgian Nationals today and finish my cappacino... Later

Wickey

Vino

We saw Vino riding up the Col du Madone today. pretty sweet. Did another 4 hours today and Jermey made it with out tipping over for the first time. Toorrow should be an easy day for us so maybe I will do a longer update. we met the neighbors yesterday after they cought us trying to steal wirless formt hem. they invited us in for wine and we had a grand old time! sweet

bin

Monaco

Made it down tot he south of France. The weather is outstaning to say the least. we did a 4 hour ride today up over the Col du Madone, yeah the one Armstrong trains on. It was pretty chilly up top but the sun was shinning and we got to ride up a hill so it was all good. cruised back down passing some dudes looking very pro and then found this internet cafe. it is mega slow but atleast it kinda works. No telephone at Dans appartment though. It is pretty nice and overlooks some sweet views of a bay. There are tons of sail boats down there and we have a nice little breakfast nook out on the patio where we have been eating and hanging out. more tomorrow maybe and some pictures if i get lucky...
later

bart

Magic Fog

Today ryan and i rode into to some fog that was so think and cold we got a thin layer of it frozen to or bodies and got lost. we found our way out and got to a coffee shop in time to avoid our fingers falling off. now i am going to get a massage and then take a nap.. exciting times!


Bart

St Nikkolass

Well, I finally had a descent race. It was a bit less of a stacked field than we have had atthe other races but a few of the top guys were there. I had a pretty good start and was around 15th the whole race, riding solid. I didnt feel amazing, just solid. I was rididng the sand sections well and felt pretty dialed on the technical stuff. I ended up 17th. No so ad. Ryan was 16th after some crash issues and not being able o hold on to his bike properly with his sholder still messed up. My pinky is feeling tons better. It didnt even hurt during the race and now I only notice it if i try to use it to much. Today we are recovering and then tomorrow headed up to Holland to do another race. After that one Ryan Pwers and I are going to Monoco for 8 days to ride in the 55 degree rain instead of the 35 degree rain here and try to get ready for worlds. We have 2 more world cups and then the world championships to go. I am not sure what my internet conection will ne like down there but I will try an dpost stuff when i can.

Later on

wickey

Crash

Well the race yesterday was exciting to say the least. It was probably the worst condition si have ever raced in. The snow from the day before had melted and combined with the pooring rain that began around 2 it was a real shit show. Mud. All different types of mud, all thrown together in a windy technical slip and slide. I had a good start, well the first time we started i had a good start. some guys jumped the gun a bit, pretty usual here, but Sven Nys, reigning world cahmp had a bunch of photographers in front of him and couldnt go. so he stayed on the line and pretty much single handedly forced the race organizers to restart the race. About half way into the lap we all got pulled over to the side and taken back to the start for another try. The second go round wasnt so ht for me. i got cought up pretty good in traffic and on the first of three steep drop ins i had my first spectatular head first crash into the crowd. fter that i was un abiut last place and just got on and tryied to limit my losses. I passed ryan a few minutes later standing by his bike and holding his sholder, I guess he had a huge crahs and had jammed it up pretty good. I continued to ride around the course making up ground and then giving it back up as i went careneing of course into the fencing at least twice a lap. Onone occasion i went over the bars into the fences and my bike stayed clipped onto my foot and got catapaulted into the crowd. Finally on the fourth lap i was starting to get my shit together and actually ride my bike. All was well untill a slight laps f concentration aproaching the stairs. I slipped and went head first into them. no big deal i though and got back up and kept going. The i noticed i couldnt bend my left pinky. weird i thought. I rode around to the start finish and pulled my glove off to get a better look. I almost fell off my bike! It was mangled beyond recognition! It didnt hurt but was all twisted up and ugly. I couldnt even stand to look at it. I rushed into the pits and then over to the medical tent. There i found ryan all cleaned up and ready ot go to the hospital. I got the quick sponge bath and we headed out in the back of te ambulance for the hospital. There was no one there and we got some star treatment. one of the doctors scrubs were all muddy because he had just been at the race! they started checking us out and one doc came over and looked at my finger. She asked "how tough are you" and i said, Kinda. She took my finger and started moving it around and with a sickening crack she out it straight. ryan and i headed up for xrays and then back down to our room. good luck was on our side. no broken anything for either of us. just some severe dislocation for me and some strained muscles and ligamnets for ryan. she gave ryan an shot in the but fr the pain and then we headed home for a sweet new years dinner and some chanpagne for the new year. today i am chillin with my finger in a splint and some ice on it. We are going to try and race tomorrow in St Nickkolas. we will see how it goes. I will try and post a picture of my finger before they straitened it out. anyways, a pretty shitty day all aorund but now it is time to get on the bike and try to ride the bruises and scrapes out of my mind as i focus on the next 2 races and then an 8 day training camp in Monoco. Later

bart