LIVESTRONG Challenge

I signed up for the 2008 Livestrong Challenge today - formerly known as "Ride for the Roses". It's going to be a 90mile ride on October 26 through the Hill Country just West of Austin. If you have a friend or family member who has to deal with that disease, or are interested in the initiatives to fight cancer I'd appreciate if you check out my fundraising page here.

My goal is to have raised $250 by October 18th, 2008 - one year after my mom passed away because of cancer.

I Heart Bert Grabsch !!!

Word Champion!!!

Toughin' it out at TX Tough

Finally, there's a BIG race in Dallas, too: The TxTough Crit. Thanks to the Euro trip, I got 16days off the bike, and was well recovered. Not the best preparation for a $25K crit but I survived, thanks to some last-minute training and Adam's "I'll drop you" moto-pacing sessions.

There was some serious sprint horsepower on the start line so we got rolling fast and furious once the 15mph neutral lap was over. My goal was simply to hang in there and see if I can contribute something to teammate Chad who's been on fire over the last few month. I found my spot in the peloton as we circled around the fast city-course at 28mph. It wasn't too bad actually and 45minutes into it I found myself off the front with Matt Seagrave. We worked together well, quickly got a nice lead and they kept throwin' $250 primes at us. I was in the "red zone", especially after Emile A. came up to us and we kept going faster. Chad was chiling at that point, waiting for the end. We got pulled back quickly, though and I needed the rest of the race to recover :-) Chad finished it up for us, though with a strong 3rd behind Blackgrove and Escuela.

Here's a short write-up from the Dallas Morning News.

And that's how much it hurt...

Come on, Jan!

After both L.A. and Floyd announced their comebacks, Germany is looking forward to Jan's return. When asked by German gossip newspaper 'BILD' if he intents to return to competitive cycling, he simply said: "If he [L.A.] starts, then I ought to start again, too. But I haven't thought about that. You should never say never, though. I'll give him a phone call in the next couple of days."

taken at 2004 Tour of Germany