Passing through California

Mike looking for some tube time...

Mary and I were happy to have some time to stay in Chile after our intense experience at the Trans Andes Challenge (http://www.transandeschallenge.com).   Our two weeks there turned out to be just enough time to recover from the racing and feel like we were able to relax and enjoy some non bike related activities.  It was great to have the opportunity to spend some time with our friends and see at least a little bit of the country in the peak of its summer glory.  As always, it seemed way too soon to board the plane when the day arrived, although the knowledge that we would be returning next season for another action packed trip was enough for us to go without regrets. 

Riding with best of friends in Chile!

Beautiful frosty mornings...

Northern California welcomed us back with an onslaught of icy winter storms that had us scrambling for our wet weather gear.  Flood conditions were in effect as the rains hammered the saturated ground overfilling surrounding creeks while snow uncharacteristically piled up on the local hills.  Still we found no reason to complain as even in the grip of the darkest storms there were moments of calm often allowing us to slip out between the rains.   Once out on the bike the weather never seems as bad as when you anticipating a wet ride.  Typically the conditions would change quickly as low clouds that filled the valleys and wrapped around the hills would be gone around the next corner making our efforts to get out and train all the more exciting.  

Flooded out roads...

As we began to fall into a comfortable rhythm, our time in Sonoma county seemed to slip by more quickly, certainly faster than we would have liked.  Soon the days had accumulated to a month and we were scrambling to pack everything up for the next journey.  Mary and I feel a special connection to Sonoma county for many reasons, none more so than the amazing community of people here that we have the honor to know and call our friends.  

The anticipation of the upcoming season has us pretty fired up to race and travel but as we are packing up out of here for 6+ months it is also a time filled with difficult last minute logistics.    At this point riding has become critical for relieving tension, luckily this means we are getting in plenty of miles and the fitness is on track for the season at hand.  We are looking forward to getting back "on the road" once again and into traveling race mode as this has become a comfortable norm for us and the way we prefer to spend most of our time these days.

Mary and I are currently heading to Puerto Rico to start our cross country season off with back to back UCI race weekends aimed at getting our flow on for the Pan American Championships that will be held the following weekend in Bogota, Columbia.  Mary and I are really looking forward to our 5th trip to PR.   Since we stumbled into the race scene on this busy caribbean island at the outset of a race season years ago, it has become a perennial favorite.   Even more we are honored to once again represent our country at the Pan Am's in Columbia as this is a seasonal highlight that brings the best athletes in the continent together to do battle for the title of continental champion.     

Wanted to mention how impacted Mary and I are with the latest happenings surrounding the devastating earthquake in Japan.  We feel incredibly bad that this nightmare situation has affected the lives of so many people there.   Wanted to send our most heart felt sympathy for those directly affected and hope that those who are able can remain strong to help those who need it.  

Mother nature can be pretty brutal, however the greatest problem in our minds, along with the component that is preventable, is the man made threat of nuclear radiation that could potentially affect people for years to come. We feel that this is not something that we as part of the worlds community should consider as a distant problem since there is the very real potential for a similar disaster to take place wherever there is a nuclear power facility around the world.  If anything positive could come out of this tragedy it may be in the form of  a wake up call for the rest of the world to get more involved with sustainable and safe forms of energy production. 

There are 104 nuclear power plants in the USA alone, some along the same "ring of fire" fault line that initiated this still unfolding tragedy and all otherwise susceptible to acts of man or mother nature.  No matter where you live it seems like a good time to speak up and show your support for alternative energy sources I.E. Solar Wind and other lesser known but no less great ideas and technologies.  It seems certain that there is the potential to produce all the energy we need without the devastating risk of literally spoiling world.   A lot of little voices and pocket books have the power to add up to popular opinion and the financial incentive to steer things in the right direction. 

Wishing you all good health and proper perspective on how good we all really do have it.

Mike and Mary

Share this post