superweek begins!

Me pulling the breakaway with the field behind: Menasha, WI: July 9, 2005

It is great to be back at the Superweek bicycle race series in Wisconsin. I’m staying at my friend Douglas’ place just off of Brady Street, a popular strip of cafes, restaurants, and bars. Great for people watching while recovering from the day’s race. Douglas’ kindness and the familiar fun of the racing makes Milwaukee feel like a second home.

My first three races have gone well. I feel strong and have been riding aggressively. Each day I’ve been in several breakaways, but unfortunately not the winning ones. My sprint is faster than it has ever been, though. I finished 2nd in the field sprint in both Saturday and Sunday’s criteriums and 1st in today’s road race. (It was an exciting photo finish. I threw my bike forward at the line and won by only a tire’s width, which I witnessed on the race video afterwards.)

For the first nine days of Superweek I’m racing the 30+ masters series. Following that I’ll take a few days off and spend time with family in Grand Rapids. I’ll return for the final three Pro races. After yesterday’s race I was 4th overall. That slipped a bit today, but I hope to get it back up in the coming days. You can check the current standings here.

Other news: I just finished The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini. Highly recommended. Let me know if you've read it and what you think.