The first week of my off season has already passed, and as I look at the calendar, the first training camps and even the 2010 season are just around the corner.  Sometimes I feel it might be easier if we just continued racing, and that might be the case in the near future.  It wasn’t so long ago that the real racing didn’t begin until almost April.  Now teams and riders are putting more importance in doing well in races in February and even January.

I have really enjoyed my break so far.  I am still putting in a few hours here and there on the road and mountain bike.  My goal is to stay relatively fit this winter to have a great start to next year.  Off the bike, I traveled down to Charleston with Courtney for a few days.  There we caught up with some good friends and even snuck in a nice and increasingly rare night alone.

I had not been in Charleston in many years so I was a little surprised at how much I enjoyed my time there.  It has a very European feel, and I love the fact that we were able to walk everywhere and never had to use the car.  We did a little shopping and even a run one morning along the Battery, but we spent most of our time trying a few of the amazing restaurants Charleston has to offer.  A big group of us went to Lucca one night and dined family style, with endless plates of anitpasti, fresh pastas, meats, cheeses, wine and desserts being brought to the table.  By the end of the night, with very full stomachs, we all agreed that it was some of the best Italian we have ever had.

It was nice to get  away with Courtney for a few nights, but I was happy to get back into my own house and put away my suitcase, even if its not for long.  We are off again next week to Texas for a clay shoot that benefits a local charity and the big NASCAR race the following weekend.  It should be a great time, and we are looking forward to catching up with our family there.