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| Some quality RV time |
Mary and I are currently a week into a month long RV expedition in Europe. Our travels will include races in or passes through Germany, Czech Republic, Austria, Italy, and Switzerland. We crafted this trip around the final two races of the World Cup series with a primary end goal of competing in the MTB World Championships that will take place in early September. Mary and I are both very stoked to have made the US National Team and to have the honor of representing our country in another World Champs. This one is taking place in Champery, Switzerland on a decidedly technical real mountain bike course - something we have been looking forward to for a good while.
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| Driving across eastern Germany with stormy August skies |
We feel very lucky to be up to making such an ambitious trip so recently after Mary was in the grips of Lyme disease. Having brushed up on all the Lyme disease literature that we could get our hands on in the past weeks we were scared s###less and prepared for worse... We are super thankful for a host of lucky and determined efforts that made for a quick/ accurate diagnosis that removed all the guess work out of why Mary was feeling so terrible and allowed us to take the necessary steps in getting her healthy.
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| Mary roasts a chicken in the Super D(elux) RV. |
Being an athlete and living a healthy life style were two of the most important factors in Mary's (so far) positive battle against overcoming the Lyme disease - of course this is not to take away from the effectiveness of the six weeks (!) of heavy antibiotics that she is still plowing through. Our rest and recovery time, forced away from the racing action, was certainly the most difficult part of our season. It was a big lesson in patience and a huge learning experience in general.
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| Recovery spin after overnight flight |
We are super happy that Mary is well into fully regaining her health and fitness to the point where we are able to get back into the racing!! Being sick did however leave a bit of a hole in the mid season training plan as was noted when returning to europe and jumping back into the final two races of the world cup series. Racing on antibiotics and without the proper preparation is not by any means the easy or rewarding way to get back into the swing of things. Although we feel that making the attempt to compete to the best of our ability is the proper way to get back into form for the long haul.
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| In the office |
Our last few days have brought us from our preferred european staging area in Igolstadt, Germany up to the SRAM head quarters in Schweinfurt, Germany. Here we spent a day getting a preview of a few of the latest technologies that will no doubt make a significant impact on the world of high performance mountain biking. We also had the pleasure of hitting the trails with some of SRAM's resident rippers for a demonstration of how well those new products perform out in the real world. SRAM is really pushing the envelope on MTB performance in so many ways and we are honored to be a part of the action!
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| Great to catch up (and ride!) with the guys at SRAM |
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| Mike race tuning the bikes |
Our next stop was the brand new world cup venue in Nove Mesto na Morave, Czech Republic. Here we were treated to an outstanding course as well as one of the most festive venues we have seen in our travels on the World Cup circuit! The race for us was more about getting back into the swing of things rather than a chance for a great result and we were happy that things went as well as they did. With this race finished in some semblance of success we felt cleared to go on to the next competition with the confidence that Mary is indeed capable and perhaps more happy than ever to race her bike!
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Mary has a steady ride, finishing 35th.
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| Mike has a solid race performance, Shredding the technical track and moving up through the field to finish 66th! |
We are currently passing through our favorite campground Camping Daschstein, in Ramsau Austria on the way to next weeks W/C competition in Val Di Sole, Italy. Here we continue to recharge our energy while enjoying some rides and the sporty atmosphere of this amazing mountain town.
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Lucky to have some gorgeous summer weather in Ramsau, Austria
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| Foraging for mushrooms... |
We have found ourselves traveling and living with an extra undeniable appreciation for what we do. Each day seems like a gift. This renewed perspective on how good we really have it, to feel well, have our health and to be able to get back to business!
Wishing you the same!
M n M
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