Todd Wells

Happy Halloween

Man the drive up to Boulder is long. At least we got to stop at the Gun Smoke

Once we got to the course, I rode for 5 minutes and got 8 goat heads stuck in tires. Needless to say I got 2 flats. Luckily Louis was there to get me rolling again. I decided to do the rest of my ride on the road. We have some sweet pumpkins at the trailer. 

That's Pro. This isn't bad either. 

This is what Winston's Ninja costume looks like. He was a little bummed that Louis didn't know what he was dressed as when we first got there. 

Boulder is pretty baller. The Residence Inn where we're staying is awesome. Free chocolate chip cookies and complementary cruiser bikes to use. Meg and I rode to Pearl Street for dinner and costume watching. It is so warm in Colorado right now we even got to sit outside for dinner. Anyway, the bikes are sweet. 

The only time I feel like I rest is when I'm not at home so even though we sat in the car for 6 hours it felt like a peaceful day. You know I'm resting when I actually update the site, otherwise I'm too busy wasting energy doing stupid stuff. 

Winston is working on getting his Facebook up, I'll let you know when it's up. 

I wonder how the race is going to go tomorrow....

Too Much of a Good Thing

This awesome weather is killing me. On top of training a ton, I've been doing all sorts of fun things also. Between logging in the hours, playing tons of golf and going dirt biking I don't have time for anything. I'm even sacrificing sleep in leu of leisure activities. This cross is really getting in the way of my social life and house hold chores. 

This is the famous Tom Sawyer BMX track in Louisville KY where the Grand Nationals have been held for several years

I had part of that paved berm embedded in my arm one year. It was great. We got there right when the sun was setting so the pictures are kind of lame. 

Herting has been doing a good job of getting me out on the dirt bike. Seb let me use his trailer but it doesn't have any tail lights on it. Luckily we made it back from Aztec in the dark with out a ticket or getting rear ended. 

And Gilby has been getting me out on the golf course. We played at the Glacier Club today and it was perfect, 70 degrees, sunny and no wind. 

We're off to Boulder tomorrow for a few more cross races. Winston is going too so he'll probably be taking pictures with people just like he did in Moab. 

This internet keeps cutting in and out so that's all I got. 

I wonder how long it's going to take to drive up there tomorrow......

Louvill

I thought up a bunch of great stuff to write about but now I've forgotten it all and this is what you're getting. 

I love gluing tires.

Notice the sweet gloves courtesy of RGPs and chile pepper apron. You gotta keep it spicy when the weather turns cold. 

The trip out to Louvill was good other then the 3 hour layover we had in DIA. Flew through Chicago and didn't have to spend the night, the first time that's happened in 2 years and we even got our bags. Incredible. 

The course is across the street from the host hotel so it's closer to walk from our room then from the parking lot. That's how all cross races should be. We rode in the 50 degree rain on Friday but today it was pretty nice. Tomorrow it's suppose to be 72 degrees. 

I had a pretty good race for my first one back, could only really ride one speed but it was a pretty good speed. Rude was riding the strongest I've ever seen him today but couldn't out sprint Powers for 3rd. Speaking of DJ Powers, he wound up crashing me in a corner on the last lap when Rude attacked which resulted in TimmyJ getting his leg stuck in my frame and us having to do some Tetris style maneuvering to get it dislodged. 

I also forgot to drink my Mate before the race for the first time in two years. Not a big deal since when you haven't raced in a while it's pretty easy to get fired up. 

Meg got to go to Morton's Steak House tonight which she has been talking about all week thanks to SRAM. It was really good and they had a bottle of wine for $5,500 that the Kentucky Derby winner bought this year and gave some to every one in the restaurant. The bottle holds 144 glasses. 

They love Halloween here in Louvill more then on the East Coast. Here is a shot of a house on a couple mile long street that every house is as decorated or more for the Undead holiday. 

Meg took one photo all day during the race, she made it a good one. I think this is the beginning of the last lap before we hit the deck. Treboohoo and Jesse were long gone by this point.  

It looks like it's going to mid 70s and sunny all week in Durango which means I can do some more long rides next week and enjoy them. 

I wonder if Herting and I will get to moto in Aztec again next week....

DIA

On the road again. Just can't wait to get on the road again. 

My season is starting again already? Seems like it just stopped. At least I have Meg along with me for this trip to Louisville. I use to go to Louisville every year as a kid to race the NBL BMX Grand Nationals. It was in the middle of August, super hot and humid and I think we camped out at the track most of the time. It don't think it's going to be hot but it will probably be raining this weekend. At least we aren't camping out, we'll be living large in a hotel. 

Here is what I'm doing right now. Well this picture is from the Athens Olympics but I am sitting in the airport. 

Haven't talked to the Dart in a while, wonder if he's sitting on the beach enjoying a costal summer in SA. Lucky. I think Meg, Winston and I need to move to the Southern hemisphere so when I go home after the season it's summer and not winter. This morning when I left the house to go riding it was 16 degrees. When I went to the gym before that it was 14. That's too cold. 

TT is watching Winston this weekend. Winston has been bugging us to get him his ninja costume for Halloween. He only wears black so there are only so many things he can go as. Last year he went as a black bear. 

I wonder what Rude is going to have hanging off his back pack when we meet up with him in Chicago in a few hours....

Movie Night

Meg and I went to see the Durango DEVO movie by Chase, "Never Forget the Feeling". It was actually two movies, one about the Redbull Freeride event a few weeks ago in Utah and the other about the Durango DEVO season. The movies were awesome and some of the best bike filming I've seen in a while. Great job Chase. 

I was looking for some pictures to post but I can't find any. 

Talked to Hutch tonight, he is still working at Stone Canyon in Tucson. I hope he keeps that job so I can play there when Meg and I go down there. If you see some guy that looks like Fabio riding around the streets of Tucson, it's probably Hutch so don't run him over. 

Winston did his first outside walk tonight since his surgery. 

The Elliots were there. Guess the Nordic team and other Durango celebs are hitting the weight room at the Rec center at 6:15am on Wednesdays, probably other days as well. If I was getting on Euro time I would go then but since I'm not, I'm not. Meg and I have been hitting weights also, we run to the Rec center, pump it up and then run home. Big time. 

I think I'm rambling so that it. 

I wonder how many people will show up for the cross work out tomorrow....

Training

I have been logging in the miles on my cross/road bike lately. Today I was on track to break my Navajo Damn ride when 2 flat tires derailed my chances. The ride is 120 miles and I have never done it in less then 6 and a half hours at base pace. Today I was riding a little harder then I usually do so I was going to break it for sure. Plus, they have paved a large portion a road that use to be dirt so it's much faster. I flatted after just over an hour, fixed it but then I flatted again on the small portion of La Posta road that is still dirt. It is less then a K of dirt and I managed to flat on it. Anyway, I rode for another few miles but had to call Meg to pick me up since I only had one tube so i couldn't even complete the ride when I was only about 15 mins from home. 

I haven't taken any pictures lately so lets see what I have in the crates....

Looks like the Phil's World trail I rode a few weeks ago in Cortez, home of John Tomac. 

Gully and Hatrick back in 02 at some Thai restaurant during cross season. Ah, those were the days.....

This is a shot from the garage sale we had a few weeks ago. Not sure if I posted this one already. 

Winston has been getting ready for next year now that he definitely doesn't have cancer. We found out today other then all his normal weird stuff that's wrong with him he's fine. I told him we are still flying the blue and yellow until next year but he never listens. 

I forgot two things to rant about in my last post. 

1. I like that McCain surrounds himself with hot chicks. Hot for being old but still, you gotta respect a guy for that.

2. Why doesn't VeloNews put any Mountain Bike National Champions on the cover for winning their respective championships? Why put some doper that should be banned from the sport of cycling for life on the cover and not Julien Absalon for winning his 2nd consecutive Olympic Games or any number of World Cups? 

Rude had a good race on Sunday this weekend in Philly. He managed a 5th which is moving in the right direction and another podium for the season. Page finished 2nd in some big Euro cross race a few days ago. Not sure how Summerhill and Sealander finished in the WC this weekend. Good to see some young guns mixing it up in Europa. 

I wonder if I'm going to flat again tomorrow.....

Surgery

Winston had to have surgery yesterday. He had a lump on his leg and they removed it to biopsy it and determine if it's anything to worry about. We're keeping our fingers crossed. They also discovered he has a thyroid problem that makes him tired, not eat much and gain weight. The poor guy has had a rough few days. 

Another cheater roadie got busted, Kohl. I'm glad he got caught not just because he's a loser but because he is one of the ugliest people I have ever scene on a bike. The last two KOM winners of the tour are painful to watch on the bike. 99% of professional riders just look "normal" or natural while riding but not that guy. Good ridden. He'll probably come back in 2 years and win his national championships and VeloNews will put him on their cover. Lame. 

While I'm spouting off, I'm over all this politics crap. These debates are stupid. They just rip on each other. I would rather listen to some grade school kids bust on each other then these presidential candidates. At least they come up with some original names to call each other. 

I hope you all get out there and vote since our country is so screwed up. I'm voting for Obama. If you travel anywhere in the world other then the US you will realize everyone in the world hates the US and our government. They would really like to see a change and I think most US citizens would as well. That is of course unless you have enjoyed the GW reign, then I would say go with McCain. Either way, vote for someone. 

I did my longest ride in months yesterday, the Silverton ride. The sky was blue bird all the way, the temperatures weren't too cold up at 11,000 ft and the head wind wasn't too bad on the way back. Speaking of head winds, I did the Aztec ride a few days ago and had a head wind all the way down and when I started heading back to Durango the wind totally died. That sucks. 

I have been seeing Dr Frank quite a bit lately, golfing is rough on your back. Cycling isn't too easy on it either when you do it all day.  

If you have been wondering what a Spanish speeding ticket looks like, wonder no more....

I wonder when I'll get my new wheels and tires all glued up and Aqua sealed.......

24 Hours or Dust Storms

I'm glad I didn't have to race the 24 Hours of Moab this weekend. The winds were steady at 40mph+, sand got in everything I own including my Powertap which doesn't seem to work anymore and then a cold front moved in. Don't get me wrong, it was great getting to hang out with the GT and IMBA crew, eating awesome food and drinking beer around the camp fire. It was a little cramped in the back of the truck with Winston, Meg and me. The wind is what made it tough though. Everyone looked like they were in some type of cult or militia because you had to wear goggles and bandanas over your face just to function.  

The best part of camping is taking a shower when you get home and sleeping in your own bed. In addition to hanging with the GT crew I got to see Eatough, Kelli Emitt, Nick Waite and Danny Pate. I haven't seen Pate since Tour of Georgia three years ago and the Mexico stage race we did a year or two before that. Now he's famous but he's still the same goofy guy as before. Pate is one of my favorite road racers and definitely clean from my point of view. He turned down euro contracts after he won U23 time trail World Championships because he didn't want to take drugs to compete and he might be the only road racer out there that didn't want to have to go race the Tour. Anyway, how many top road guys do you know that would go race in a sand storm in the desert just for fun after racing the Giro, Tour and who knows how many other full throttle euro races? Plus the guy bought some fire bird car with the bird on the hood. 

Rude had a great race today in Ohio finishing 3rd for the first time in C1 race. Speaking of which, he is updating his site again so if you want to read a blog with worse spelling and grammar then mine check it out. www.troywells.blogspot.com

I wonder what it's like to be a dog......

Monticello, UT

Meg, Winston and I are hanging out in Monticello, UT. Big time

This photo isn't from Utah but the FLC home race last weekend. I drove over to Monticello today b/c I'm headed to Moab tomorrow to do a GT/IMBA ride. I stopped off in Cortez to ride the Phil's World trails. They're awesome!! I haven't riden them since the race they had there at least 4 years ago. They're super buffed out now. Combination of high desert and slick rock. Super fun. 

I left Phil's World and headed to Monticello to play golf at the HideOut. There were only 3 cars in the parking lot when I got there. That's unheard of for any golf course around the 4 Corners, especially Durango. I played like crap but it was an awesome fall day minus the wind. I played a bunch and on my 2nd to last hole I messed something up in my neck now I can't really look up. I knew I was swinging bad but not that bad. 

Tomorrow we're off to Moab to camp out for the night before heading back to Durango. I just found out that my long time cross mechanic, Doug Hatrick won't be able to wrench for me this year. He's on the road all year with the Santa Cruz team so i figured he might not be able to do it this year but I'm still pretty bummed out. We worked together since 2002. 

I wonder who my new mechanic is going to be for the cross season....

Breaking 2

Every great round of golf I've had in the last week got paid back today. I barley broke 100. What a crazy game, one day you're actually playing and the next day it's like your first time. 

In addition to sucking it up on the golf course, I also managed to run the dual slalom course a few times as well. I went about 1/4 as fast as the real dual slalom riders but it was fun and I didn't crash. 

At least it wasn't raining like it was during the race this weekend.

Meg and I have been taking Winston to the dog park a lot lately. Here's one of him in action

I have been piling on the pounds during this little break of mine. It doesn't help when you eat pizza, especially giant slices like this

Meg and I have been attending a bunch of college activities lately. You can't go to a college party, bbq, get together or what ever with out this. When I went to school they use to do handstands on these while drinking, now they run around them in circles.

Well as you can tell I have been quite the photog lately. Since it is break/chill training week here is another shot of Pinon Hills. I really like the little canyons and streams that run through the course

O.K., I have to write a Blog for USAC so I don't want to waste all my good stuff here. It was awesome again today, 70 degrees, sunny and not much wind. I did a good run with Meg and Winston in between all the leisure activities. I'm sore from lifting yesterday and I'm sure I'm going to be even more sore tomorrow. Speaking of tomorrow I'm playing golf with cycling legend Chris Herting of 3D Racing. I'm hoping to log in 36 holes and drink a few beers in the process. In reality I'll be lucky to play 18 and finish before dark. 

I wonder if I'll play as bad tomorrow as I did today....