Long Time No See

Wow so I've been bad or busy one of the two for the last few weeks. I have not posted since HPCX and that was ages ago. So I'll start by filling in the missing race reports.

USGP #3 Mercer Cup

Overall not my best result. I get to the race venue early, I sign in and get my crap together. I make sure to pre-ride the course. Nice course. Fast, not super technical but still tricky course. Also the course was long...really long. Today is however going to be pretty cool as Cape Atlantic Racing/Team Beacon is debuting our new kits.

I also got to rock my new Adidas XC shoes. Awesome shoes, super stiff, super comfortable, and they look sharp. However I would not live up to really showing the kit or the shoes off well. I had a good start sitting 4th wheel onto the dirt. Bruce got the Holeshot which was cool. I was riding well sitting 3rd wheel as we head around the course. Then right before the sandpit, I hit a slick patch on a turn and slip a little. Just a minor bobble but it cause my wheel to slip or something because it started to rub on my breaks. Luckily the pit was right after the sand so I made a quick bike change and was off. I ride that bike for half a lap and then I go for the switch. This is where my rant begins. So I make a clean switch but I miss my pedal. No big deal, I look down as I'm heading for the exit to catch me pedal. I look up and WHAM!!! I slam right into some lady. WTF!!! Most people would feel sorry for hitting some lady with their bike. However I was pissed! She falls down onto me and my bike. I start yelling and she has the nerve to say "I thought you were going to go around me" I'm about to lose it. FIRST if you are not a mechanic for a rider than you do not belong in the pit! SECOND If you are in the pit then you have to pay attention. THIRD Why would you stand in front of the exit to the pit! Like its not hard to figure out. Needless to say I was pissed. Still the best I could manage was 11th for the day, frustrating indeed. Oh well, I was just like moving on its time for homecoming.

Homecoming was a fun night but a late night, did not get in until about 2 am. So I figure Sundays race day two would be a complete wash out. When I got up, my first thought was "Wow, this is pointless" Oh well I go anyway, my mother drives up as I sleep. I'm going to need it. I sign in and pre-ride the course. The course is slick as it is raining steadily. I have on dry conditions tires, and despite the lack of sleep, my tires are hooking up great and my legs are turning pretty easily. I say to my mom and teammates before the start "My legs are feeling awesome this morning...right now at least." They all laugh knowing that I'm on four hours of sleep. We get to the start and since my expectations are low I'm not too worried about the outcome. I have a front row start again and again I find myself riding strong early on. I'm riding 3rd wheel onto the dirt again. I keep pace as best I can but I got gapped. The lead group for the second half of the first lap contained Ethan Townsend, Eric Liner, and John Brewer. My thoughts are oh well there they go. However coming into the finishing straight they all sit up and look at each other. I'm gaining fast, I attack over to the far side of the road, and get a quick gap. I know that I'm not going to be able to hold it but I figure the best that will do is gap the ever strong and steady Jeff Bahnson. I get caught not long after that attack and so we switch places a few more times and just keep plowing through the laps. The interesting about this race was that because of the conditions the lead kept changing and at any one time in the race is was anyone of 5 riders race. Finally the last lap comes. I'm still up with the lead group and I still feel good. Heading into the slick turn before the sandpit Brewer is leading, Linder is next then E-Town then myself. Brewer makes it through safely, Linder slips and has to put his foot down, E-Town gets caught behind him, I squeaked by through the side. I was in second place. However Brewer had a gap as we went into the sandpit. At this point my brain turned off and instinct or craziness or something took over. I ran the sandpit hard and caught up to Brewer. We had a gap, could this be the chance to finally beat Linder? We remount and head into the 180 after the sandpit, Brewer bobbled a bit as he was looking for his pedal...I punched it hard. I quickly got a gap and I kept on the gas hard. Making the turn past the sandpit I slip, no worries I put my foot down and back in before I know it. No time lost. I keep on the gas but now I have a good gap and realize that I have to be careful. One wrong step and it's all gone. I keep on it hard and then I hit the finishing straight, I have it, I am going to win. Then it hits me, as I roll up to the line, a ton of emotion. Excitement, Joy, Exhaustion, Happiness, everything and the tears kinda start. No one captured this moment better than Kevin Dillard.

I'm not even ashamed to say I teared up. It was incredible. I cross the line and see Wade standing on the finish road hand extended for a high five. What a feeling. I roll on a bit and a few more people ride up to congratulate me. Then my teammates start to show up, and seeing how excited they were was just awesome. I was just glowing. Then it was time for the podium, you know its a big race when there is actually a podium girl giving out podium kisses, I was so stoked.Alright well I need to get going but I will continue to update later on...hopefully tomorrow.
Peace and Love,
Patrick

I got "Girled"

Wow what an intresting weekend. It all started on Friday. It was time to set up for the Beacon cyclocross race. I love this course, but setting it up is deffinitly some work. We were there from 12:30-6pm taping, marking, tieing, raking, and sweeping. It was hard work but absolutly worth it.

Saturday morning I awoke early and headed down to the Cross race to be there at 6:30 am. During the morning we just made sure that all the final preperations were in place and then it was time for me to prepare for my race. I got a good warm-up and rolled up to the line happy to have my front row start. However when the gun went off I screwed up big time and missed my pedal...twice. I get clipped in and take off. It was do or die time, I quickly move through the field and find myself sitting behind John Brewer, Eric Linder, and Ethan Townsend. We make it through the beach section and pass John on the hard climb on the backside of the course. I fly through the back section trying to make up ground. I make contact as we come into the sandpit. It hurt, I took a bad line and wasn't ready for it. I lost a little bit there, the
Ampitheater of Pain also kicked my ass pretty hard that lap. I got back onto Ethan's wheel as we hit the pavement. He swung over to the side of road as I pulled up to him, I saw he was suffering a bit and I hit the gas hard. I was running second place and would soon catch up to Eric. After a few more laps of yo-yoing behind Eric we went on our two to go lap. As we fly-up the climb on the backside of the course I feel someone kind of knock my rear wheel a bit. I look back and see a sight I did not expect, Georgia Gould. The Georgia Gould, the professional womens mountain biker who is going to China in 2008 for the Olympics. I'm like "Where did she come from and How did she get there?" I jump hard again, and got back onto Eric's wheel. Coming back through the sandpit I punch it and show why I love the sand. I get a small gap and take the lead. I punch it up the hill and up the Ampitheater, but it would not be enough to shake Eric or Georgia. As we enter the back side of the course Georgia yells out "You guys better hurry up, or those guys(meaning the ones behind us) are going to catch up!" Wow that is a rude awaking. I try and keep it up, I let Eric and Georgia pull through as we hit the beach. I crack as Georgia attacks off the beach. The gap was small and I try to limit the damage. We race out onto the back stetch and I take a serious risk on the loose corner at the top. I lost out and crashed and dropped my chain. John and Kevin Kralik pass me and then Jeremy Dunn and Marc Vettori pass me. I get my chain set and I take off. At this point I'm pissed for being so stupid and throwing away an oppertunitly like that. I ride so hard to catch back up, through the sandpit I pass Jeremy and then on the short climb Marc slips up and I pass him. I sprint up the Ampatheater and hit the pavement first, I know that Jeremy is still there, but I also know I can sprint. I sprinted hard and took it, but it was tough. Live and learn, live and learn.

However I would not learn quick enough. Sunday was a bad day, easily the worst day I have had on the bike in a very long time. I got sick last night after the race, stomach issues again. I was not feeling well in the morning and was not thrilled to be racing. I had a good start but could already feel my legs caving. I took the lead into the barriers well I made my second stupid mistake of the weekend. I clipped a toe on the barriers and bit it hard. The following lap I went down when a bush jumped out at me. My legs were dead I had nothing and would suffer hard to finish 12th in a tough sprint. For the worst day I have had in a long time, 12th is my only saving grace.

Key points for next weekend:

Calm down and be patient, the time will come.

Pick my feet up higher as I run over the barriers.

Don't be stupid.

Have more fun.

Hopefully that is what I can accomplish next weekend. Congrats to everyone this weekend, two very tough races and made all the better by some very tough racers. Also mad props to Georgia for racing so tough and being nice and humble about it the next day. After talking with her, I think I'll cheer for her the most out of the big three.

You know you're a bike dork when...

You dress as an early 1920's cyclist for Halloween. So I guess I'll recap on some recent stuff first. Last week went by uneventful, until the weekend. Friday night I went out to dinner with Alycia and Carly and then a bunch of juniors that I don't know at T.G.I. Fridays. It was pretty good, did not really have much of an appetite but it was still good. Any meal that starts with good people and fried macaroni is bound to be good. I also got to drive the new car out to dinner, even though it was raining it was still cool to drive. I went home to bed early because I would have to sit through the ACT's the following morning. Saturday morning greeted me with a loud wake up call and more rain. Perfect cross weather...stupid tests. However the tests went well as far as I could tell. Afterwards I went home and hung out for awhile, then I went over to Ursinus to visit my friend Kara from the beach. It was a pretty good time; Ursinus was nice but a little small for me. Sunday was pretty uneventful as a whole, and then we're back to the weekdays and school.
Today was Halloween. I'm not a huge fan of this holliday and did not plan on trick or treating. I did not dress up for school, first year ever that I didn't. After school I got dressed for work and hopped in my car and off I went. I pull in the parking lot and see a sign on the door. The shop lost power and would be closed for the day! WTF! Can't anyone call me and tell me! Oh well so I drive home and decide to make the best of it and go trick or treating with Alycia and Carly. So I dressed up in my new wool jersey, put on dress shoes and high socks, grabbed an old looking hat, and strapped two tubes around my back. I looked pretty authentic, I even worked in a British accent for my candy getting. It was pretty fun, though I deffinitly feel a bit old to be doing this stuff. However this was probably my last chance to do it before college, and then it will be me taking my kids around...scary shit. Oh well no worries mate.

Peace,
Patrick

It's a Learning Thing

It has been a while since I have last posted and honestly a lot has happened. That is most likely why I have not found the time to post. So I'll go back to where we left off, the day before leaving for Gloucester.

Friday morning I got to wake up bright and early around 5:00, get in the car and start driving. I was planning to be at the University of Connecticut by 11:30. We get rolling and everything is fine, I'm out like a light sleeping the miles away. This was great, until we hit traffic. It started at the Garden State Parkway and basically did not end until Gloucester. It took almost seven hours to get to UConn, it should have taken four. I take a tour of the campus , which took about two hours. I did not really like it, for a few reasons. I guess the search is still on. We leave UConn and start driving the long haul out past Boston to Gloucester. After quite a few more miles and hours of traffic we finally arrive at our hotel. It was a nice little place only a 5 minute bike ride away from the race venue. Wade arrives shortly after I did, and after getting settled in we take off to the course to check it out and get a few laps in.
The Course was a pretty fast and pretty plain course, definitely not one of my favorites. It featured a steep uphill road start, one twisty barrier section run-up, and one rideable sand pit. After a few quick laps we took a cool down ride around the harbour. For those that have not been there before it is a nice coastal fishing town with a beautiful harbour that lets you see out to the horizon of the Atlantic Ocean. We get back to the hotel at the same time that the Gordon's arrive. After everyone gets settled in we head out to a local restaurant and get dinner. It was fun but I was not overly joyed with my pasta. I get back to the room and get to sleep, it should be a big day of racing.
I get up early, go out to breakfast, then suited up and headed over to the venue. After signing in, I take a few laps and start to warm up. My field is pretty stacked, it included the 15-16 National Champion. I had a front row start and I took advantage of this, I was third onto the dirt. After trading some places back in forth with some different riders, the national champion opened up a small gap. I was solidly in second place and chasing hard with about three laps left in the race. This is when disaster struck. A strong gust of wind blew the course tape across my handlebars which resulted in my body striking the ground with alot of force. My head impacted the ground pretty hard as well, and I could not move. Finally after about a minute or so, someone ran over to me and helped slide me off the course. I layed there for another few minutes and gradually collected myself. Then I did something that is not considered to be smart by conventional wisdom, I got back on the bike and started chasing. At this point I was already way down without a lot of time to get it back. However I would try, and I put in a good effort to finish 8th. The rest of the the weekend is history, I finished 7th on Sunday, managed to destroy a Campy Centaur Carbon rear derailleur, and really beat the crap out of myself. The following week went by slow and uneventful.
Finally Friday arrived, I was super stoked for the weekend. After school I went to work, tuned-up my bike and got it race ready for the opening weekend of the MAC. I left work a little early so I could get to the big football game at Clearview and have enough time to paint my chest/face. I painted a green and gold checkerboard on my chest and then a nice design on my face. It was time to cheer like mad. I never screamed quite so loud at a football game, it was pretty amusing. Everything was going great until we lost the game 8-7 in the final two minutes of the game. Oh well life goes on. I went home got the rest of my race gear together and went to bed early.
Saturday morning, Granogue. I am so excited that the MAC is finally here, I'm also feeling pretty nervous. There is going to be a lot of good competition and the previous weekend was not really helping my confidence any. Then you throw in a course like Granogue which is not only extremely difficult, but also pretty unforgiving. I arrive at the race around nine and immediately get to business. I get my number on, my race gear on, my pit bike ready, my race bike ready, pre-ride the course, and get to the start line. It is officially do or die time. I have a front row start thanks to a few spare points gained in the mud of Guy's cross and Evo Cross last year. The road start is long and fast and leads into a fast prologue loop that dumps the riders onto the hard-packed climb up around the tower. My first objective of the race will be to get to the front by the time I get to the tower. The gun goes off, I clip-in and start weaving my way through the riders in front of me. Angry Mark from Rutgers (started right next to me) shoots up the right side of the road and flys into the holeshot position just in time for the dirt. Mad-Props for that kind of start. I keep working my way up as we get to the base of the climb. I pass quite a few more people as I stomp on the pedals on my way up the climb. I get into third position right behind Eric Linder and Ethan Townsend. I know these two are strong and will be hard to beat, but I also know that sticking with them will definitely help my placings. As that lap continues, the race begins to string out more and more. It is still a three man group up front, with each of us trying little "testers" to see how we are all reacting. I look back and notice that Jeff Bahnson from Henry's Bikes is catching up. I know that he is really strong, not only for a 14 year-old but for anyone. So out of respect for him, I attack on the road section knowing that I do not want Jeff to catch up. Both Ethan and Eric mark my move and it is not long before I'm back to sitting third wheel. The race continues to unfold and I continue to wear down. Eric manages to open a gap and would end up stretching this out into a comfortable win. I continue to yo-yo off of Ethan's wheel, until I can no longer hold it. I stay close and finished only seconds behind him. I was definitely pleased with my result. I was happy with the way I raced and was excited to get another crack at it the very next day.
After Granogue I head down to the University of Delaware to visit my friend Kieth whom I have not seen since summer. I also wanted to visit the campus and get an idea of whether or not I would like to go there. The campus is really nice, the dorms from what I saw were really nice, and Delaware also had a lot of very good looking women there. Overall I really did like the school, and so I guess we'll see what happens when I apply. Anyway on a side story, I am walking across main street on the campus of Delaware when I see a Honda Element with a cross bike strapped to the roof roll up to the intersection. Turns out it is Marc Vettori from C3's squad. This does not really become funny until the next day.
Sunday morning kicks off with a pleasant little ride up to Ludwig's Corner, PA. Wissahickon cross, the course is roadie-friendly course that I really enjoy. I once again get right down to business with pre-riding the course. As I enter the spiral off death, I head a shout come from the other side of the spiral. It's Marc Vettori, "Hey Patrick! I hope those college girls didn't keep you up too late last night!" I just laugh, funny stuff, at least to me. So I finished up with the usually pre-race business and warm-up and get to the line for my start. This is where things kind of take a plunge in the negative direction. I am about to line up when Kelly Cline(Promoter and Friend) comes up and gives me some bad news. I am to be relegated back one row of riders because I apparently cross the start/finish area during the previous race. I take it and forget about it, I am still in the fourth row and there is plenty of room to move up. The race gets ready to start, I am feeling good. The gun goes off and I clip-in and get down to business for five feet. Two riders directly in front of me crash into each other and fall right into my path. I stop and am at a stand still. I have probably some 20 guys start crashing into me from behind, I see my front wheel just crumble. My first thought it "OH Shit! That cannot be good!" The rim actually snapped into two separate pieces held together with spokes. I immediately throw the bike onto my shoulder and begin to run. It is likely about a half a mile to the pit. I am losing ground so fast, that I start to think about giving up and calling it a wash. However the pit is getting closer and people are cheering me to keep going, plus I hate quiting. I get to the pit drop my bike and quickly grab my spare bike. I jump on and try to start catching up/recovering from running so far. I start to make up ground, trying to salvage my race and possibly my overall MAC standings. I switch back to my race bike(with new front wheel) and get down to business. "Keep going! Pick them off one by one! You're bringing them back!" That's all I hear as I pass the pits and various spots on the course. I'm thankful to every single person that yelled any encouraging words to me. I really get into a good rhythm and start to gain ground fast. My dismounts leading into the barriers were so fast and smooth that I believe I was going over them just as fast as Powers was in the elite race. I end up finishing 21st out of 67. Considering that I started off #67 about 30 seconds down on the nearest rider, I am pretty happy about that. It was definitely the fastest I have ridden all season, I am definitely bummed that things did not work out for me at the start, because I could have won the event. Though life rolls on and hell I had fun. That is the odd thing about this sport, I destroyed a wheel that cost 150$ plus 5 hours of my hard work and time, and race so hard that I could have won or come very close to winning but I finished 21st, and I had fun. I truly do love this sport.

Alright well it's past my bedtime so I am out,
Peace,
Patrick

A Change in the Winds

The past few weeks have been very hot and dry in south Jersey and just about everywhere else nearby. Last night we finally got some much needed relief in the form of a nice cold-front. Now normally I stay true to my beach/surfer roots and love warm weather and bright sun. However after racing in two extremely hot, dry, and dusty races, I have changed my perspective. I have been cheering on the rain and cheering on cooler air temperatures. School was good today, the gloomy weather had an inverse effect on myself as compared with many of my classmates. I was in a very good mood despite having an AP Style Chemistry test right after lunch. The test went alright or at least I think it went alright. I can never tell with these tests. The rest of the day passed very quickly. I had to stay after school to make-up a marketing test that I missed last week. The test was based on Microsoft Excel; it was really easy. After school I rushed over to my bike shop, I wanted to get my race bike all tuned-up and ready to rock. It took awhile longer than I wanted it to but my bike has to work in order to at least eliminate one excuse. I rushed home and suited up in some heavier gear that has not been worn in 7 months, and took off on my road bike. It was cold and windy and getting dark way too fast. I again felt fast and smooth and really enjoyed being out riding. (I guess it takes crappy weather for me to really enjoy road riding???) However I spent most of the ride in the dark which wasn't exactly safe, oh well better luck next time. Tomorrow I leave for Uconn and then Gloucester Cross. Hopefully the winds keep blowing in my direction.

Peace,
Patrick

A trip to the Beach and an Awesome Ride can really do alot to change attitudes

So after hurting myself and being off the bike for a few days I was really bumming and was just glad for it to be the weekend. My weekend started off pretty well, even if our school lost the big game. Saturday was spent over in Pensy with some really awesome friends of mine that I met at the beach. I think it's neat when you meet people and then actually become friends. I must say that I am definitely glad I met these three, even if they did interrupt some hardcore beach volleyball. We all had a really great time and I was lucky enough to be able to stay overnight sparing me the long drive home back to Joisey... at least for a little while.

Sunday morning I drove the 45 minutes or so back to my house. Once there I called up my Mom who was down in Ocean City for the day, she said it was beautiful down there. So I decided to go for it another two hours of driving today couldn't hurt. Wow was it ever worth it. The beach was gorgeous, the ocean was a perfectly refreshing temperature, it was amazing. I took a dip in the ocean, not really much swimming for me with my shoulder. It was glorious. Then I went up onto the beach and passed out on my towel for a while. When I awoke a cold front had moved through and brought in the clouds and a 15 degree drop in temperature. Oh well I'm good with that, my weekend was still just getting better as was my mood and my shoulder.

Monday passed by relatively uneventfully. Then it was back to school, not so fun. Oh well you have to do what you have to do. The weather finally changed for real today, a cold front moved through and brought with it some clouds, some rain, and some cooler temperatures. I must say that I unlike many of my classmates was glad to see this change. I'm sick of hot, dusty cross races. So after school I get to go out riding on my road bike. I get out a little late so I know I am going to be racing the dark home but I am alright with that. The sky is threatening rain and the wind is definitely present, but I persist. As soon as I roll out of my driveway I feel it, the instant feeling of wow this is going to be awesome. Not even some hard intervals could mess this up, they might even add to the fun. I head out with a bit of a tail wind and I'm just rolling, I feel smooth, confident, and fast. I ride out down about 45 minutes to Woodstown, I turn and head back towards the general direction of home. The sky starts to spit at me a little bit, I press on and start my intervals, 5 intervals of 2 min in PowerZones 4-5, or about 350 watts. I'm flying even still, even with the wind whipping in my face. My shoulder does not even bother me at all, even when torquing hard on the handlebars. I make it home just before dark, a little tired but generally feeling incredible. I run inside quickly pull on a pair of shorts and a t-shirt and head over the the Clearview Varsity Field Hockey game under the lights. I definitely do not understand the game but it is still nice to hang out with friends and support my fellow classmates. We won 4-0, awesome. What a change the last few days have been, I'll definitely take it. Hopefully the good feelings continues for Gloucester this weekend.

Peace,
Patrick

Injured

I should have stopped after the first time I fell off the bike Tuesday night. It was cross practice in Bridgeton, NJ. Wade, Mike, Fergie and myself hammering around on the trails around the park. Within the first five minutes of the ride we're flying down some lakeside single-track and I smack right into a stump that throws me over my bars. I landed kind of hard but just laughed it off and was feeling fine. I'm really stoked to be out riding and I'm really having fun and riding hard. Finally we set up a circuit centered around the ampitheater. The first lap went alright except I layed the bike down gently in two turns. Just some more bad omens. So we set up for the last lap of the evening, I take off and I am really pushing myself. We get about halfway through the course when I take the lead. The lead was short lived, Fergie passes me into the final stretch of single-track before the beach run. I'm chasing hard, I stand up and really try to put some pressure on. Bad idea, I hit a root that blended in pretty well and never saw it coming. I flew quite some distance before smacking my body into the ground. I can't really be sure how I hit the ground, but as soon as I did the pain filled my shoulder and arm. I think I dislocated my shoulder andhad it go back in as I rolled. Mike immediatly stopped and started applying first aid. With some help I get up and walk back to my car which was only a short walk away. I start to get dizzy and I feel myself getting ready to faint so I sit down and close my eyes and stayed concious. The guys take me to the Bridgeton E.R. where I was seen within five minutes. I get my x-rays and wait about 10 more minutes for the E.R. doctor to give me the report. He comes in and tells me that my shoulder is fine and that nothing is broken. However he starts to ask me about me previous medical history. (Which there is quite a history) I tell him about my surgeries and the tumor I had in 7th grade. This gets him more intrested, which gets me more suspecious. I'm thinking "What does this have to do with my shoulder?" Then he tells me that the x-ray revealed a spot on my bone that did not look normal. He told me that it could be nothing or it could be something and he really couldn't comment on it but that I needed to see an orthopedic surgeon as soon as possible. Alright well that only got me a little worried.
So I get discharged and Wade, Fergie and I go out to dinner to pass the time until my mom can come down and pick me up. This whole deal gets my mom pretty worried but thats life with me as a kid. I go home and just go on with everything as best I can considering my one arm is in a bit of pain.
Wednesday was really pretty uneventful, however the surgeon did say that what it sounds like to him is nothing big at all. Still I would have to wait until Thursday for the official word.
Thursday:
I took off from school today so I could visit the orthopedic surgeon and find out whats up with my arm. For the first two hours of the day I am really enjoying the slow paced relaxing day. My dad takes me to the doctor, where it was nothing but good news. My shoulder was most likly dislocated but would heal up and I should be able to race Gloucester. As for my arm with the wierd leasons, it's fine. It was a benign process and is something that I really don't need to worry about. WOW! That's a huge monkey off my back. The whole visit was good and very reassuring. The rest of the day/night was pretty boring considering that I can't really do anything and that I have no school work to do either. We'll see what tomarrow brings, hopefully it's more exciting than today.

Peace,
Patrick

One of those days...

Today was just one of those days. The days where you wake up in the morning and you know its not really going to be fun. After a long weekend of racing and hanging out the unfortunite enemy of weekend warriors appears and hits fast and hard, I'm speaking of course about Monday mornings. This perticular Monday was met with some serious resistance in the form of the snooz button. I must have hit it like at least three times or so. I wake up late, get my stuff together and eat my breakfast of champions...poptarts. Off to school where in my second class I was again asked to ponder the question of "Why are we here?". I don't know the answer to this question and I don't think I really want to know. I am perfectly content in knowing that I am here and I am going to enjoy it while I can. Luckly I got to leave school early for a Doctors appointment, because I really wasn't in the mood for pondering about calculus. After that it was off to work which was fairly uneventful, aside from learning that I could send my Specialized tires back based on their satisfaction gaurentee. Oh well it really wasn't that bad after all but it sure did feel like when I woke up. Anyway tomarrow is cyclocross practice at Bridgeton, so tomarrow is bound to be fun.

Peace,
Patrick

Starting a Blog

So I figure that a blog might be a good way to keep track of exciting and the boring moments that happen in my life. As well as share these moments with people all across the world who may or may not care. I could also use the practice writing, because all my teachers have told me that if you aren't a very good writer that you need to practice. What better way to practice writing than recapping and archiving races, events, and just daily life? So here it is, I am starting a blog.