This training stuff sure is hard. It's amazing how much fitness you lose when you stop training for just a few weeks. It comes back fast but the first few days really hurt. My butt was sore for most of last week but has recovered and I'm back at it full gas.

For the past few years I have tried to build up specifically for cyclocross Nationals after the mountain bike season. It is really hard for me to be good for the entire cross season after doing a full international mountain bike program. I don't know if it's all the races or travel that I do all summer but it's hard to stay motivated for the whole cross season.

This year I am taking a different approach and a shorter hiatus to try and be good for a larger part of the season. I'm hoping not to fizzle out before the big show on December 14^th. That means I don't have much of a period to revisit my base and I pretty much jump right back into intensity. Some people love to ride hard but I prefer the long distance lower intensity training to the lung searing intervals that are in my very near future.

I am getting ready for the first USGP in Louisville this weekend. I have only ridden my new cross bike a handful of times and haven't even ridden my number two bike yet. There's always tomorrow. In fact, we have a great training series here in Durango during the week. The courses are marked off with tape and we even have a timer to let us know when we're done. Not bad for a mid week training ride. I'm looking to make my first official practice on Wednesday.

Cross season entails a lot of mechanical work I don't normally do during the mountain bike season. I don't have a dedicated mechanic going with me to all the races so that means I end up doing a lot of maintenance at home. My good friend, Ryan Barthel at Mountain Bike Specialists takes care of a lot of it but I spend a lot of time gluing and prepping tires. I spent a good part of the last few days gluing and Aqua Sealing tubular cross tires while I wasn't training. I might have managed to squeeze a little golf in there too but not nearly enough.

I wonder if this snow storm is going to hit Durango.....