08/22/2026
CRASH! 🌲💥
Took a nasty spill clipping a tree going around a corner. I was doing what I was supposed to do, sighting my exit but lost track of my spacing and went from 13 MPH to 0 in 0.15 seconds (according to the Garmin, which picked up the impact).
The timing could not have been "better" actually. I’m in the final, highest-volume round of training during the hottest, most brutal humidity of the year. To anyone who says Arizona is a "dry heat": you have NO idea what happens when a monsoon storm gets trapped in the forest and starts evaporating!
Luck was on my side with the schedule, too. I had to shift my Saturday ride to Sunday anyway to pick up our dear friend Marianne from the airport tomorrow. Normally moving a key ride around is a headache. after this hit, it’s a blessing in disguise.
After passing 100,000 vertical feet of climbing this spring and grinding out big miles from Utah up to the Rim, I’m sitting on roughly 100 miles of training left before the Fire on the Rim race on Sept 12th. With Andy acting as my head personal trainer, keeping me on track with daily warm-up and recovery hikes, I’m already closing in on 200,000 total vertical feet climbed this year, which matches my entire total for ALL of last year.
All I have to do is finish what I set out to do, and I will start this race as a winner no matter what unfolds. But make no mistake: I don’t plan on just going for a "bike ride." This time, it’s MY turn. Those who have followed the journey this year know the difference. Those who are used to my failings or my back-of-the-pack finishes... well, you’re in for one hell of a surprise.
Leadville 100 participant Charlie Hagan famously said, "If you don't enjoy the journey, you will not enjoy the race." I forgot that last year, and I paid severely. This year, I made sure to live it every single mile.
Time to heal up, dial it in, and finish this. See you at the finish line.
