Sea Otter Classic 2013

The season finally kicked off this past weekend at Laguna Seca raceway with the Sea Otter Classic. This is always an exciting race because it is one of the first races of the year and all the big names are there. This was my first race with my new teammates and I can already see it's going to be a great season. I get along really well with Brook and Greg, they are both fun to be around. My race went really well, I finished 10th place in a very close race among the best in the world. I was 1.8 sec off the win and I am really happy with that. This coming weekend the team is headed to Seattle, Washington to race another U.S. National. The track is really good there and i'm looking forward to it.

NM

Spring Is Here!

This time of year is always the most exciting. As the last season becomes more distant, plans for next year get closer and closer. Team camp is right around the corner, and is always the most exciting time of year. New bikes, gear, and this year new teammates! An off season full of adventures has really kept me going, and I don't feel the distinct gap from one season to the next as I have in the past. I made trips to Mexico, Indonesia, New Zealand and Chile over the past few months experiencing new things and having a great time. I got to visit warmer places and be on my bike more than ever this winter.

The urban downhill in Chile was my latest trip a few weeks ago and what a wild experience that was! The track was so much gnarlier in person than in all the coverage I've seen. All the man made features were very intimidating, a lot more than anything on the world cup! The whole experience was great. There were lots of fans and Trek took great care of me. The day after the race we did some runs on a downhill track that was 45 min long with 10,000ft of vertical drop! It was amazing! The whole trip was amazing.

This year my training has been a lot more specific and much higher volume than in years past. Now that I'm out of school I can dedicate my time to training first. I have been on the bike so much lately and I am feeling very comfortable. I cant wait to be at the first race! It's what I love to do and it can not come soon enough!

Neko

New Zealand Summer

This year I decided to spend a month in the Southern Hemisphere to get a break from the worst part of winter and jump start my off season training. I am currently in Christchurch, New Zealand staying with my teammate and great friend Justin Leov and his wife Tory. It felt so good to hop off the plain and get the full feeling of summertime. Having beautiful warm weather and longer daylight hours allows me to easily get in all my training rides and really enjoy being out there on the trail, something that's a little harder to do in the dead of winter at home. The NZ National series had a stop here in Canterbury and I got a chance to race against some talented kiwi riders. I ended up finishing 2nd behind Sam Blenkinsop and ahead of Cam Cole, both top 10 riders on the World Cup. It felt great to do a race after such a long brake from it. The track was awesome, one of the best I've ridden and I just felt really fit and comfortable on my bike. That's a great feeling to have this early in the year and gives me confidence that my training is on the right path. Now I can put my head down and keep working hard up until the season starts, still 4 months away. I am really excited to be here the rest of the month, train hard, and enjoy the summertime!

Off-Season Travel

The past month has been packed with lots of travel and a few races. I had an awesome opportunity to do an urban downhill race in Mexico, something I have never done before. The race was a lot of fun. We raced through the town of Taxco, a silver mining town in southern Mexico. There were huge wooden ramps built for us to jump off 3 story buildings and massive dirt jumps down the main street of town! I finished 3rd there in a very close race, only 0.5 off the win. There were so many fans there, I'd say more at that race than at any other race all season. Very cool experience. Shortly after that I was off to Indonesia for the Asia Pacific Downhill Challenge. It was similar to the race in Mexico in that the main purpose of the event was to bring the sport to an area that doesn't get to see a whole lot of professional racing. The track there was extremely slick. Hard packed red clay with torrential rains made it almost impossible to ride. I ended up 5th there after a big crash right out of the gate. My Mom and I were very well taken care of by the local Trek distributer. I really enjoyed both races and having the chance to see a new part of the world.

Last week I was away again, but for the first time in a while, not for a race. I went with my uncle and his family to the Bahamas for a week vacation. It was so cool to be away and not be thinking about getting ready for a race. My cousins and I had so much fun snorkeling, parasailing, riding jet skis, fishing, kayaking and enjoying the Caribbean lifestyle. I am very grateful to have such a cool family and be able to do things like this. Right now I am in Asheville, North Carolina staying with my good friend Chris Herndon. I will be staying here 2 weeks, taking advantage of the beautiful weather and great riding. I have been chasing my coach Colin Izzard and the boys from Carmichael Training Systems up the hills here in Pisgah Forest. I've put a lot of hours on my bike this week and plan on getting in as many more as I can before heading home.

NM

The Ultimate Off-Season

I have been home after the season for a month now and my life has been nothing but good times. This is the first year that I've come home and not had to hit the books to catch up on school work. I have been having such a great time doing the things I love and not being on a schedule. I have actually been riding almost as much as I was during the season, but its much nicer to be able to do it on my own time as I please. I've been riding my bike or motorcycle almost every day and taking fun trips to ride or race locally on the weekends. Logan and I have been taking up the top two spots on the podium at every race we've done this fall. Its really fun to get back to my roots, race at the venues I grew up racing at and ride because I want to. I have some exciting trips coming up next month; I will be racing in an urban downhill race through the streets of Mexico November 3rd, and then racing in an invitational downhill race in Indonesia November 18th. Im very excited to see some new parts of the world! Only a fraction of the way through the off season and its been awesome so far.

NM

Season is Over

The last race of the season for me was the world cup finals in Hafjell, Norway. I really liked the track in Hafjell and was feeling strong on it all weekend. There were some technical woods sections similar to the terrain I grew up racing on in the northeast. I qualified 15th with a decent run, but I knew I could shave some time off for the final run. My goal was just to improve on my qualifying result. I had a good start to my final run, but unfortunately suffered a mechanical coming out of the rock garden and snapped my shifter cable. That meant that I was in the hardest gear the entire time, and had to grind away slow pedal strokes. I had a solid 1st split in 8th place and 8th at the speed trap, then fell back to 19th on the day after the mechanical. Top 20 results are solid, but I just felt like I had a lot more speed and I wasn't able to show it. It was definitely disappointing, but I can go into the off season knowing that the speed is there. This weekend was the first time my body felt like it was up to the task since the beginning of the year. I know I can be a top rider when I'm healthy, I've just had some bad luck this year with injures. I am excited and motivated to start training for next season. Gonna give my body some time to recover first though!

After Norway I went to Sweden to spend a week with my friend Dennis at his house. We had an amazing time and it was a good way to celebrate after the season. We went out camping on the islands around stockholm for a few days and then had some good parties with his mates back at his house. I just made it home today after 5 weeks in europe, and it feels great to be home for a while this time!

NM

World Champs

 I was really looking forward to world champs in Leogang, Austria this year. The past two years world champs has been a very stressful race for me because I was in the Junior category and in contention for the win. This year there was no pressure and I had a great opportunity to see where I stacked up in the elite mens category. Unfortunately less that three weeks ago I crashed and separated my shoulder at Whistler, a very painful injury that kept me off the bike until this weekend. For the first week I wasn't even sure if I'd be able to ride, but the injury came around quickly and I was really happy to feel good enough to race by Sunday. I finished 27th, which I was really happy with given the lack of preparation I've had. My shoulder is still not completely healed, but I was able to hold onto the bike and as most racers know, once you're adrenaline kicks in you don't feel much pain. I enjoyed the weekend all together and was really glad to have my family here supporting me. I am still in Austria now getting ready to head to Norway for the world cup finals where I'm looking to get my best result of the season. Just need to get this body of mine all healed up and the rest is cake!

NM