Well, well, well…..another racing season bites the dust.

Labor Day was by no means a labor free day for me as the team and I contested the Atlanta 10K which happened to also be my last bike race of the season. A note of interest: The Atlanta 10K is neither 10K long or for 10K of prize money and it starts at 7:15 a.m. Hm? Anyways, it’s always a bitter sweet feeling as another cycling season passes by. You’re remembering the good times, the bad times, and all the hardwork along the way that led to both of those distinct and memorable feelings……(tear).

As for me, I’m taking a bit of down time. In that time, I going to enjoy a few weeks without the bike as I rest up and prepare for another winter of training and prep work. Since I don’t have to worry about the ball and chain better known as my bike, Suzanne and I are planning out a few vacations sans velo, zonder fiets, without the bike. On tap is a trip to Boston to see my sister and a trip to New York to see her best friend. After that we’ll spend some time with my brother and his wife in Tucson and hopefully get in a camping trip up on Mt. Lemon. All in all, we’re both looking very forward to nearly 6 months of time together and not having to pack up “that damn suitcase” and head down to the airport for 3 weeks of racing somewhere on the other side of the country where cell reception is inevitably a bit patchy. Patchy cell reception makes me cranky. Write that down. It’s werid how T-Mobile’s little coverage map included in their brochures appears to have the entire US well blanketed…..except for where USA Cycling manages to find National Calendar Races. Weird.

I started school a few weeks ago and will be adding 2 more classes to my schedule next Monday. That should be enough to keep me busy for the coming months. Remember kids: Don’t be a fool, stay in school. Otherwise, you’ll be going on 26, have a receeding hariline and be in freshman level classes. Don’t think boy, just trust me…. I’ve also just picked up a mountain bike and look forward to crashing it very soon. Actually, I think I’m going to go out in the Phoenix Mountain Preserve and find some nice jumps and just keep jumping it for a few hours. Either that or until I take a digger. Speaking of crashes, I didn’t crash once this season…….knock on wood…..ok, knock on wood again just to make sure the knocking gods heard you loud and clear and there’s no confusion over whether that was knocking or not. Thanks.

The team’s also sending me and Neil “Lavernen” Shirley to the Vegas Bike Show for some promotional purposes. Speaking of Neil (click here to see a picture of him), he’s been hounding me since the day I met him for an akingslife.com shout out. He told me that we would trade in his Cascade Classic stage win and more importantly, his coveted 2006 Valley of the Sun World Champion of the World Stage 3 Criterium Champion Battle Royale Winner,

for a mention on what probably has to be the best blog in the universe. So, big Neil, this shout out’s for you:

Finally, I’ll leave you with a few words from my teammates Trent “Willo” Wilson and Jeff “Hoppy” Hopkins……

TAKE ONE:

TAKE TWO:

Take care.

Austin

Categories: Daily Jibber Jabber.