My race report will come tomorrow after race number 2, but 666 is all I am saying for now.

As I predicted, Klaas got his W in Eernegem today. He's come so close since day one of the season and I knew he was getting the blood thirst towards the end of last season. It was obvious that he'd be rolling this year as he's just coming into that sweet spot age.

I'll see if I can recast some pics later today after my race...

That's right! HA! I'm locked and loaded for Belgium! I am inexplicably excited. This has been an amazing year of ups and downs but my focus on this goal has been what's gotten me though. Each Friday since 2006 my Outlook Reminder throws up a reminder to me that I will be in Belgium in 2008. I see it and I chuckle to myself. I simply visualize what it's going to be like....what I'll see, who I'll meet, how I'll go, how the equipment will work, etc etc and I get into this uncontrollable smile state. Can't wipe it off my mug once my wheels start turning in my head thinking about it.

I will be having some awesome travel companions on the journey and they are working feverishly to get all their plans dialed. I am so pumped.

Mol, baby.

This is an AWESOME little video clip of the Koppencross highlights from today. I still do not know if I am in love with the 07/08 UCI points leader uniform, this year modeled by Sven in a fairly pedestrian blue. I was down with Sven's perennial vertically striped UCI leaders jersey which essentially has been his for 10 years. If you read the Cycling News coverage of the race today, Wellens pulled back Nys and bridged up in what sounded like a throw down last two laps, only to get dropped like a bad habit by Sven the Cannibal on the bell lap. The sequence where Bart bridges back at the crest of the Kopp and Nascar's into Sven to take the line back onto the hill traversing the top of the field on the Kopp is classic. You go Bart.

I can not wait to get my first shipment of DVD's Joe! Oh, I owe you some casholine, don't I?

Ken posted these pics, and I am not sure where he got 'em but it's a perfect demonstration of how "nijsly" Sven can rip it through the barriers without ever getting his Shimano-laden feet out of those pedals. Note Sven's Dugasts just kissing that lip of the barrier. That's the secret. I watch some dudes try and do the full on MTB style haul-the-whole-bike-up-to-altitude to clear front and rear wheels at the same time but that ain't it sports fans. That's not the 'style' as J-Pow professes in his now well known YouTube description of his bunny hopping prowess. You want to take the bunny hop in 'cross in stages:

front lift...front kiss...rear lift...sometimes rear kiss...then pedal out bmx style to ensure the foolios fumbling through behind you burn more watts than you trying to bridge back. That's why you should be in the f-ing hoods and not on the tops when you get to the other side of the barriers either after a bunny hop or a full on dismount. You need to be thinking braaaaaaaaaaap! as soon as you get in those pedals again and your hands need to be on them thar hoods.

Peanut, you are one hard badass chick. Absolutely PRO as Radio Freddy says. I am re-casting Christine's pics here from a recent posting but this is a testament to hard core cross love. Much props, sister:Mikes bikes look absolutely sick as well. The Vanderkitten Brown is totally rad. I can NOT wait to get my Revolver 29'er built up.
It's getting cold in Belgie says Christine and I am lusting being there. January 9th through the 21st or so it looks like. I think I'm bringing along a surprise guest. I'll let you know when he says yes.

CAN

NOT

WAIT

Oh dear. I think all possibilities of me feeling good about this picture in any way possible are just not going to happen. This is from the Ridley article VN just published. What is it about the Euros? I read Cycle Sport and Procycling and the ads and some behind the scenes photos are so unbelievably cheezy, I can not take it. Scenes of dudes shaving their legs in the bath or Filipo Pozatto in (I shit you not) flanal pajamas with little sheep on them.

Seeing my 'cross heros in a photo that would normally be seen in any communal bath in NYC's meat packing district, I just want to shed a tear.

Is this PRO? God help us.

'Crossy weather this AM! Driving in from DIA last night, I could see all the stars in the sky. Getting home and finally falling to sleep, I awoke for like my 6th pee somewhere at like 4 AM (whenever I come back to altitude I start to pee like a mad man) and I could hear the distinctive sound of water running down the gutters. When there was enough light out to see this AM, I could see snow and rain and 35 degree temps.

Yum. Cross. Belgie style.

This AM was a cluster trying to wake up from my trip, get some coffee in my gullet, see my wife and kids out the door for school then finally suit up and giddy up on down to Amante. I was late jammed down expecting to see like maybe 5 people given the less than ideal weather (for non crossers) but low and behold, the whole friggin 'peleton' was in effect. My God we are a bunch of sick monkeys.

We got a surprise visitor today! Jon C (pictured winning the CO states last year) from Moots was in town on biz from Mootsland, CO. GREAT TO SEE YOU MAN! Thanks for the 411 on Mol. The call to order came, people finished up their coffees and we all trained on up to Elks. The usual place.

We dialed in a course basically the same as we normally run with the exception of adding some sections to get people to train for the sand conditions this weekend. So we sent people up through this section of stone driveway for like 25 feet which totally simulates the power needed for sand.

We lined up and Paco called out GO! and we were off. Tyler, Colby, Paco (on his Primus Mootry 1 x 1! You are ridiculously fast on that that one gear) Troy and I got a selection right away and rolled nice for like 2 or 3 of the 5 laps. Even after my stress ball trip to NYC, the break from the bike certainly paid dividends. I rolled better than I anticipated today so the engine must be up to something good (I hope). T had me under strict orders not to go to deep and I never did, yet was there the whole time. I guess that's the point, right?

Even after telling EVERYONE to watch the cement corner, yours truly went down on lap 4. Totally harmless crash and funny actually. Back up in a flash and finished up after 5 laps nicely with Steve, Jon C and a Red Rocks Velo fellow (Clay's team mate) somewhere in the top 6 to 8 or so on our training race.

A group of us then went on a mellow dirt road spin down for an hour or so around the Boulder Rez. Lots of fun! Great to see you out there this AM Clay H! Sorry about your flat!

So big races this weekend! Nice! Looking forward to it. Chris G has something special lined up me thinks.

'Cross on my peeps. Thanks for reading.

GK

In a New York minute, things can change. I'm back home after a trip away to NYC to see family and take care of some work. Things can change in the blink of an eye.

These last 4 days have my head spinning....

~Seeing family and old friends shows me how they...and I...have changed and life is not infinite but 50 years of marriage shows me that love can be.
~NYC is not the same City I once lived in. It's soft. There is no edge any longer.
~My work world showed me how quickly things can degrade for some people I've known and trusted for ages....and showed me what can occur if you do not make the right decisions.
~I'm home now and peering into my sons bedrooms tonight, they seem older. They're changing. Please stay the way you are my sweet boys. Show me again and again and again how you just learned how to ride a bike. Stay there for a little while longer.

I will lay my head on my pillow tonight and I will sleep soundly while I shouldn't. The past 4 days are in the front lobe of my brain firing synapses at such a furious pace I can almost physically feel them firing. Last night was restless. Hotel restlessness from being away from my loves and dealing with all this unrequested life education I just witnessed the last four days. The kind of restlessness where your eyes are open at 2 in the morning and you whip the covers off, drop your feet to the floor and put your head in your hands, the brain all tangled in knots in what if scenarios, contingency plans, the future, what's next, am I ready, will I do the right thing for my family, why isn't there a real crystal ball.

After learning most of the 'education' on Monday, I needed to suffer. Turn my mind on to channel zero and make the brain see nothing but channel zero's snow for a while. The suffering tends to make all life's noise stop....or turns it into 'white noise' as in snow on the television. I strapped on the shoes and got myself to Central Park on an epically beautiful evening. Clear blue skies, trees exploded in mad color. Commencing the run, channel zero could not be tuned in. 1/3 my brain was in overdrive thinking through things I've just learned while another 1/3 is causing me to half-smile as my eyes are seeing old treasures in the Park I haven't seen in years. Trails we used to poach and certain rocks we used to huck ourselves off of on big hit slalom bikes with Night Sun's blaring through those same trails during many nights, many years ago. the last 1/3 of my brain knows that this weekend 'cross is coming and for once I smiled about it while on the road....when typically it' s a stress. No more. Racing is racing and it's my salvation and cleansing from reality. My run through the park's single track made me feel like I was riding and that balanced the thrashing going on in my brain. I hopped trees like barriers until the legs were cached and I could go back to the anonymous hotel into my anonymous room and think some more.

I'm home. I'm lucky.