With that said, this past month has been very productive on the bike.  As you’ve seen in my previous post, training has been going well, very well.  So this snow is a welcomed sight as I could use some chill time on the couch before all of the madness of the racing season begins.  I am off later this week to Mallorca, Spain for our 2^nd HTC-Highroad gathering.  With all of our team photos and meeting completed, our upcoming camp will be all about the bike, so it is a good idea to go in a little over-rested if anything.

This forced day off couldn’t have come on a better day as I am celebrating my 26^th birthday, and my wife is snowed in with me.  Instead of working, we will be out sledding in the streets.  After all, you’re never too old to act like a kid in the snow.

George and I have been happy to play tour guide these past few weeks.  The long rides we are use to covering by ourselves are made much quicker and easier with the help of some company.  Ted King has been based out of my house this past week and has, as far as I can tell, been enjoying his time here.  Another New Englander, Jeremy Powers, just made the journey down south to put in his final preparations for a bid at the upcoming Cyclocross World Championships in Germany.

Our training group has been getting more diverse by the day.  From sprinters like Frank Travieso to climbers like Chris Butler, we have had a great mix of riders to push each of us in all the aspects of cycling.  After all, sometimes the best way to progress is by surrounding yourself with better riders.

With a few of the locals joining us throughout the week our group has been relatively big and entertaining.  Some of them have been biting off more than they can chew trying to keep up on the climbs and pull through when we are rotating on the flats.  But it has all been in good fun.  I hope Greenville continues to draw in a growing number of cyclists.  When we are in the dead of winter, and the body needs the mind-numbing base miles for the season ahead, misery loves company.

Sampling wines from all over the world is also so appealing because it lets me taste and smell the exact place and time that the wine was bottled without even leaving the comfort of my home.  Wine is such a great representation of any place on the earth, giving you a window into the soil, climate, people and their lifestyles’.   If you can mange to master the cuisine of the region, then it is just that much better.  But popping open a cork on a bottle of wine is the much easier and far less time consuming route.

Since I have been missing out on the usual fall Italian races, I have been trying to feel like I am in Italy as much as I can here at home.  This week has been all Italian in the kitchen.  From osso bucco, to the apricot crostata pictured here.

Being home at this point in the year is a luxury for me, even if injured.  I am usually away racing in Italy through mid-October.  Yes, those one-day races are my favorite of the entire season and I hate to miss them, but the past few months have not gone my way on or off the bike and the crash last week was a clear sign to call it a year.

Now I have several months, at least, to enjoy being at home in Greenville and spending time with family and friends.  And I am finally getting my first real break from the bike this year over the next few weeks.  The only activity I will be doing is some rehabilitation on my shoulder at the Steadman Hawkins clinic here in town.

Greenville once again proved to be a worthy host to the championships.  Each of the past five editions has seen wins from a number of fashions.  From sprints to long solo breakaways, a worthy winner has always been crowned here.  This year’s race was made even more unpredictable with the race radios being banned from the riders.  This added to the confusion, and forced teams to remain together at all times in order to communicate.

Ben King is a very deserving winner after the effort he put in yesterday.  Blazing temperatures wore down on the sluggish field throughout the day.  In the beginning, talk was of how slow and easy the race was.  “Easier than an training ride,” was heard throughout the bunch during the first hour of the race.  After that, there were few left in the race with the energy to do much talking.

It was a strange race, to say the least.  The required effort needed to close the gap to the leaders came far too late in the race.  Since not a single team was willing to take control of the race when it was still within reach, the gap to the leaders skyrocketed without them having to put much effort in.

I leave the race with mixed emotions.  I am happy to have the event in my hometown and proud to have such wonderful fans.  Yet, I am also happy to have the week behind me.  So much stress throughout the week, to just watch the race roll up the road minutes after we started.

I’d say the highlight, or most surreal moment, of the summer would have to go to the day we started our race in Poland at the gates of Auschwitz. It is impossible to even put into words the presence that the concentration camp carried.  Trying to comprehend what took place on those grounds, I just stood in awe as we waited for our little bike race to begin.  Moments like those are priceless and put everything in my life into perspective in a matter of seconds.

Sitting in the plane now, with my wife digging her nails into my arm each time we hit any section of turbulence, I can’t wait to get home and reconnect with family and friends.  Living in Europe is grand – I love the culture and general lifestyle – but there really is no place like home.

The coming weeks will be blur as I race out the remainder of the season.  The Canadian ProTour races have all of the ingredients to make for exciting one-day races and I am looking forward to taking part in their first editions.  Then, back to Greenville for US Pro.  After that, my work life is a bit up in the air.  I am planning on attending a few events during Interbike out in Las Vegas, with the hope of continuing on to Australia for the World Championships.  Then, on to Italy for the fall one-day events and finally completing my around-the-world trip when I land back in Greenville for the off-season!

I am looking forward to getting the year going and figuring out where my fitness is in the first few races.  I feel the winter has treated me well, but it’s hard to say when you’re not racing and don’t have anything to compare with.  I am also really excited to get back to life in Girona.  The life and culture there is about as good as it can get.  Morning coffees overlooking the river at our place, and an evening glass of wine in one of the town squares with Courtney are some of the best parts of life.  It will also be nice to escape the bitter cold that has settled in Greenville, and have some fresh roads to train on.

The night begun with a small, yet great dinner over at George’s house.  A few bottles of very nice wine later and I was ready to curl up in bed, but it was only eight so I had to rally to make it down to our neighborhood’s clubhouse for the actual party.  Several coffee drinks later and I was on the dance floor, one place you’ll rarely find me.   I was trying to learn a few moves from Brent Bookwalter who made the trip up with John Murphy for the party.  There was no denying Brent knew his way around the floor, but he was paying for his effort, as he was full on sweating the whole time he was out there.  With only a few short hours of sleep, I was paying for it the next morning.  It’s a good thing I only go through that once a year!

The rest of the long weekend was spent down in Atlanta, GA.  Courtney planed a trip there to celebrate my upcoming birthday since I will not be at home for it again this year.  We found a new favorite restaurant, Eugene, and spent way too much time in the malls, but we had a great time.  It was such a nice way to begin the year!

Hope you all have a great 2010.  I am very excited for the possibilities and looking forward to making the best of each of them.  Happy New Year!

This Christmas weekend should be as special as always.  It’s hard to believe it’s actually that time of the year.  I have been so busy lately that it’s been hard to keep up with when and where I actually am.  Surely when I sit down with my whole family for dinner on Christmas Eve it will set in.  Enjoy the Holidays!

Now it is time to once again re-adjust to a new time zone and finish up all of my holiday shopping.  It’s hard to believe Christmas is this week, but it sure does feel like it.  Returning to the cold weather was a shock and it is strange to see snow by the roadsides and ice in the trees.  Training is full on for the 2010 season now.  It was a very quick switch from easing into things to being in the thick of it.  In fact, the week spent in Lanzarote, I had around forty hours of exercise!

The goal for the next few weeks is to just enjoy as much time with my family and friends as possible.  Before I know it, I will be back in Mallorca, Spain, for our next training camp and then the racing season will have officially begun.