Benefits of a White Saddle...

...you know when your saddle sores pop.

Gross, I know...but I figured it'd be a great photo to share on the blog.

So, after having races every weekend since the end of February until the beginning of May, I've taken a month's break from racing and have been focusing on recovery and ramping back up for the second half of the season. Next on tap is the Indiana State Road Race Championships in Fishers, IN...just north of Indianapolis. It's basically in the backyard of my teammate, Chris Pfeiffer or, more affectionately known as Crispy. We're looking for a solid result (like a WIN) at this race and should have a great chance at it. Everyone seems to be on great form and the motivation is definitely there. I know I'm at least chomping at the bit to throw down some aggressive racing.

In other news, the rumor mill (aka Facebook...and now my blog) has let me in on the sweet secret that Sustainable Cycling now has a new team member - Isaiah Newkirk. He's from Bloomington, IN and raced for Marian College during the collegiate season. I raced alongside him during the collegiate season and found that he's a really nice guy and a strong rider. He's going to be a valuable addition to our quiver and I'm looking forward to racing together with him.

Well...I'm off to tent to the aforementioned saddle issue. Wish me luck and send me some DZ Nuts if you're feeling generous :) 

Legit Update Coming Soon...

....until then, here's a sweet picture to stimulate the right brain.

Italy goes all out.

Now I'm just poor...not a poor college student

Well...after four years at Purdue University, I'm a college graduate. The full magnitude of what I have accomplished never really hit me until I was on stage looking at my name on the big screen just before I received my diploma. That's when it hit me that all of the work and late nights I had gone through were finally paying off. Even better than that, I realized that never again will I have to do math homework, or B.S. an essay about some obscure topic of philosophy, or pull an all-nighter to hopefully pull off a miracle on an exam that I was no where near ready for. It's a huge sense of relief and accomplishment to have completed my undergraduate career.

The only downside to all of this is that I haven't secured a job yet...which means that I'm making the transition from being a well respected, unemployed, struggling college student to a dead-beat, unemployed poor person. Should be an interesting year ;)

In cycling news....Morgan-Monroe appears to not be happening, so my next race will be on June 6th up in Fishers, IN...the Indiana Road Race Championships. This race is a huge target for Sustainable Cycling, so all of our riders are expecting to be in fantastic shape to hopefully get Crispy the win in his backyard. 

I'm back down at my parents house for the week for a mini vacation and the weather looks like it will be dandy all week long. That means lots of miles put into the legs and perfecting the tan-lines.

Finals Week + Winona = Uneventful Post

Winona Lake weekend recap: Road Race - felt crappy...I need a break. Crit - Blake won! First win for the team in Indiana. 

This is my last week of college. The week leading up to Winona was terrible for me...called dead week at Purdue, it's the final week of regular classes before the final exam schedule. While Professors are forbidden to give exams or quizzes during this week, they DO seem to make all of our final term papers, final projects, and presentations due this week. I spent the vast majority of my week in the coffee shop buried in either my laptop or my papers wrapping up all of my final assignments. The good news is that I finished everything on time, the bad news is that "real" life got in the way of bike life and I only was able to get a few hours on the bike all week. Not the ideal or predicted run up to Winona Lake. Oh well...c'est la vie.

My body's itchin' for a little break from racing, though. I've been going non-stop since February racing nearly every weekend. Good thing is that I've got graduation weekend and Memorial Day weekend coming up, which should provide the opportunity to get some quality training in and gradually work myself back into form for the Morgan Monroe S.P road race and the Indiana State RR Championships coming up at the end of may and the beginning of June respectively.