With two weeks off from training my body is feeling refreshed. It’s time to get back into training mode.  Nothing helps more to kick things off and get out to train than new equipment, and nothing more so than a new bike. You want to create the eagerness to log miles, get yourself a new bike. It’s like magic!

For me, I recently had the opportunity to splurge on a new bike. Not just any bike though, my longtime dream bike. Seriously, since I raced the Tour of the Rockies back in high school in Steamboat Springs, Colorado I wanted a Moots. Back then I wanted their mountain bike of course. Over the years I became to simply drool over any Moots bike and especially their top-end road offering: the VaMoots SL.

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The 2009 XTERRA World Championships did not go as I had expected. Despite getting some heat acclimatization in Arizona two weeks before and getting to Maui on the Wednesday before the race, traveling well, resting well and feeling good in the days prior, I could not get it going on race day. This was my third attempt in Hawaii. With the first two attempts allowing me descent excuses for poor performances (multiple flats in 2006 and terrible travel troubles in 2008) this year I have no excuses. Only questions, as to what happened out there on the slopes on Haleakala.

My swim was right where I expected it to be, about 3-4 minutes down on the lead group. I ran towards transition looking forward to a strong ride. Immediately on the bike however, I felt like my power was lacking. It felt like I needed to just warm-up the cycling legs for a few minutes and I’d get going. The whole first half of the bike felt like I was riding in sand. I was moving up through the faster swimmers but not at the rate I was looking for. I couldn’t hang with the faster guys coming around me that I normally can. Then some guys that I rarely see during races began to make their appearances. The lack-luster bike left me feeling defeated and disappointed.

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