Raining and Pouring

The weather here, and around every part of the country that I've been to lately, has been spotty at best. One moment it's sunny and the next moment it's raining sideways. Such has been the pains of my season as well. I showed moments of greatness in Phoenix and had a solid ride at Black Hill to be followed by three sub par performance over the past three weeks. A battle with a couple mechanical problems and a crash have a way of sorting things out for you in a hurry. Especially when my margin for error is so small.

I took a rare day off to do my other favorite thing. . . sit and enjoy a Spring day with food and friends at Oatlands for the annual Hunt Point-to-Point. I am bringing out a new fashion trend this season. I noticed a vest as a replacement for the sport coat in a recent episode of White Collar and wanted to give it a test drive. I think it's a great move for the blistering temps of the Summer. Who ever is running the costume shop on that show has been inside my closet lately. As long as looking classy is in style I am a happy guy. To that end I was introduced last year to Suresh Khemlani of Custom Executive Outfitters. He's been my tailor since then and put together a great set of shirts for me as a Christmas gift from the pretty brunette pictured here. I strongly recommend him to anyone. It's harder than you think finding business clothes that fit the body of an athlete. He comes to you and has been a pleasure to work with.

My out of town season starts in mid-May with Tour de Grove. It marks the first opportunity that I have had since becoming a Cat 2 to get into a race with my coach and friend Adam Mills. I have been looking forward to this for two years. No doubt it'll be one of the toughest races I have been in for a long time but bike racing has always been about challenges and meeting them head on, especially when they have a tendency of meeting you back.