Enough people have asked why I’m not racing cross to actually write a blog post (yeah, people still do that). Rather than racing cyclocross, I’ve been galavanting through the hills on some amazing mountain bike rides, and also supporting Christa as she’s dived head-on into cross fever, and taking a break from racing. My racing hiatus isn’t permanent – I’m going all in for Mountain Bike season next year, so I thought I should put my feet up for a month or two instead of draining the battery even further. No matter how many small breaks you take throughout the season, it’s good to stop completely for a bit and rest. I get to the end of every season still motivated and enthusiastic about riding bikes, but that continuous drive to race needs to be tempered by what’s good physiologically too. So I’m not in for cross season. But I’ll be in the pits drinking beer instead. It’s actually really hard not to race, but I know it will pay off next year for MTB season.
Next year: I’m three UCI points away from racing a World Cup. So that’s what I’m aiming for. Having a break earlier in the year means I can get in some quality rest, followed by a lot of strength training, and still be ahead when it comes to base miles in the spring. Unlike last year, I’m starting racing a little earlier to see whether I can get some points in time for the June World Cups. The goal will be all the short lap XC races that attract so much internet hate, but are so fun and intense to race. I’m not sure on the exact schedule yet, but I’m thinking I’ll be heading over to Europe at least once during the season. Christa and I are getting married at the end of July, so that seems like a good time to take a break. Then? Not sure yet, but I have a feeling that Cyclocross season 2016 will be really appealing.
On the team front: I’m sticking with Boulder Cycle Sport and YogaGlo for 2016. I didn’t even consider looking for other teams. With assurances that the team will be even better supported than last year, I’m very happy to be staying in the same kit. I’ve done a lot of skills coaching for BCS this year, and in the process have met a huge bunch of people in Boulder that I wouldn’t have met otherwise. That’s pretty awesome. Their community philosophy is worth supporting, and they make me feel valued as an athlete. It doesn’t really get much better than that.