the fam

Life is settling down on the home front. Sleep is still in short supply, but we've gotten into a pretty good rhythm. Continuity has started to edge out chaos. There's still plenty of excitement so don't get the idea that life is boring with 2 kids in diapers!

Our move out of the city is really helping us handle everything. Mel and I both love (NEED) to ride and being able to roll down the driveway to the trails in 2 minutes makes it pretty easy for us to get rides in without taking away much family time.

No racing this weekend. My racing this season is about finding balance. With a newborn at home it's not possible to spend most every weekend away. I wouldn't enjoy it and I'd burn out pretty quickly. With a good balance of family and racing I can do my races and enjoy them knowing that I'll still have a lot of quality time at home being a Dad.

So I'm not racing, but I will be trying to ramp it up for next weekend's biggie at Granogue. Hitting it hard on the mtb seems to be working for me so that's what I'll do. The weather and trail conditions couldn't be much better.

I'll be doing a limited MAC schedule this year but Granogue is important. First off, it's a stellar race. Not that all of the climbing suits me, but I still love this race. Second, I worked hard last season to accumulate a few MAC points here and there. The starting grid for Granogue will be based on the final standings from last year. That should put me on the second row.

I have a history of having material issues and bike driver issues at this race, but last year I rode it cleanly until I blew the finish and lost 4 or 5 spots on the final road section. If I can do well this year I might score enough points to be able to start in the first 3 rows at Beacon, which will be my next MAC race.

My first priority will be doing what I can to help one of my teammates win the race. I figure if I'm lucky enough to get in position to help them early in the race then I have a shot to hang on for a decent finish myself.

I guess when I really break it down my goals are to ride hard and aggressive the entire race and to have a clean race. If I can do that I'll be happy regardless of where I finish. After all, I love racing cyclocross, but it's really just one part of a balanced life.