As everyone knows by now, for cyclists, the 2011 season begins in December.  The teams have been finalized, the schedules have been set and the first get-togethers are underway.  Some teams are in the snow, while some are at the beach.  HTC-Highroad’s will take place up and down the coast of California over the next 10-days.

I’ve just finished packing and I am ready for the first leg of the trip, Morgan Hill.  Specialized, our new bike sponsor is based in Morgan Hill, and for the next few days we will be getting to know them better as well as getting to know our bikes for the year ahead. Specialized has developed a 29-step process, known as the BG Fit, to help everyone feel more comfortable on their bikes.  I feel pretty good already, so I am interested to see what changes can be made.

After a few days in the San Jose area, we are transferring down to Westlake Village to focus more on actual riding.  That is about all I know for now.  I am really not too sure what all to expect, I am just excited to begin a new season.  There will be a lot of returning riders paired with quite a few fresh faces, so it should be a good mix to keep things interesting.

Looking at the weather forecast, it looks like timing for a trip to sunny California couldn’t be any better.   Things are cooling off quickly here in the Southeast, so the warmer temperatures will be welcomed.  And for a sign that 2011 is starting off on the right foot, I’ve already been upgraded to First Class for the trip out West.  When it’s good, it’s great.

Traveling to a new area of the US is a rare occurrence for me these days.  It seems I have been everywhere and in between, but I had never set foot in Little Rock, Arkansas until two weeks ago.  Our close friend, Brendan Quirk, finally talked Courtney and I into checking out his hometown and we couldn’t have been happier with our decision to go.

At first, I really just wanted to check out his company, Competitive Cyclist, and spend some time with him and his family.  Then the idea of having a little group ride came into play.  Before I knew it, it was a full-blown-trash-talking-infused race between twenty of Little Rock’s finest.  There were even cash prizes for the three main climbs!

At this point in the year I am as far from my race condition as I can be, but when there is money on the line and half of your companions are rolling around on $10,000 bikes, clothed from head to toe in Assos you know you have to represent.  Long story short, I came, I saw and I conquered!  Though, it didn’t come without a great deal of suffering.

But “winning” the ride wasn’t the highlight of the week for me.  I’d say that would have to go to my first encounter to the unforgettable chant for “calling the hogs” during the Arkansas football game. I know Americans are passionate about their collage football, but this took it to a new level…

With that said I can finally speak openly about where I will be racing next year and I am happy to say I am sticking with the same team I have grown with over the last three seasons, HTC-Highroad.  I feel at home here at HTC-Highroad and to end up renewing my contract with them makes me more motivated than ever.  Besides, I have some unfinished business with the Giro d’Italia.  I still need to finish off those 150meters that kept me from winning stage 13 this year.

There will be more to come from our get together in California next week.

Now that I am back up and running from a short break after the Giro and Philadelphia, I figured I would get my site up and running as well.  It was been a very eventful month, to say the least.  Having seen my fair share of Italy, and Europe for the past six months, I scored a ticket home to the United States.  This past block in Europe has been my longest stint yet, so I was more than excited to catch up with my family and friends at home.  Horrific travel from Milan to Greenville saw me arriving home a little over thirty hours late.  Yes, thirty hours!  Before I knew it I was back in the airport bound for Philadelphia, PA.  After a great race for HTC-Columbia in Philly, I finally had a chance to catch my breath and had the pleasure of spending a few days with my wife and family in the great city of New York.

The days spent in New York were just what my body and mind needed.  No stress, no schedules, just spending the day slowly moving from one great restaurant to the next.  At this point in the year all I need is some relaxing downtime to get me fresh and motivated for the second part of the racing season.

Now, with a clear head, I am starting again with some serious training.  The intervals and distances are not as difficult any they were.   However, the weather has been abnormally hot the past few weeks.  So much so that it probably isn’t healthy or safe to be exercising outside past noon.  By the time it was ten o’clock here today I had already taken off my jersey and soaked it in a mountain stream, hoping to cool off a bit.  It worked, but only for a few minutes.  The next stop I filled my empty jersey pockets with ice with a little more success.  In the end, there is not much you can do when it is so brutally hot outside except ride faster to get home quicker.

My journey to the Classics this year did not turn out the way I had envisioned just days ago.  The airspace never opened up here in Europe for the flights to run and my team was unable to work out any other options, waiting hours on hold trying to book any method of travel.  So I decided to take matters into my own hands and rent a car to drive the 1,300 kilometers to Belgium.  I found that even though the cost to rent a car for a one-way trip was approaching the 2,000 Euro mark per day, I could rent the same car and return it back to Spain for just 20 Euros a day.

My mind was made up.  I would pick up the car in Girona, drive to Belgium and race through Liege-Bastogne-Liege, then drive down to Italy to pick up Brendan Quirk for a few days of training on the Giro d’Italia course and finally bring the car back to Girona in early May.  I am tired just from writing about all of the driving ahead, but at least I know I will get to where I need to be.  The outrageous bike charges and the countless security screens that come with air travel will not be missed either.

Driving in Europe is not all that bad either.  I am amazed at how much the scenery changes in such short distances.  Being from America I am use to driving hours on end before I was out of the deserts of the West, or the mountains of North Carolina.  Here in the space of a couple hours you go from the arid landscape of Provence, past the high mountains of the Alps and you are in the rolling pastures covered in yellow mustard seeds that make up central France.  The scenery defiantly keeps the drive entertaining, but I was more than excited to pull into our team hotel late last night.  It was a long trip that took some thirteen hours from door to door, but I am happy I did it.  It is great to be back with the team and where I belong.  I hated watching Amstel on TV, and I didn’t want to be in that same position the rest of the week.  These races are some of the best of the year and regardless of how I feel after the long drive I can’t wait to race tomorrow.

For 2010, Fleche Wallonne has had a pretty significant course change.  As always we pass the infamous Mur de Huy three times.  With its slopes kicking up above 20% it has always been a deciding factor, but probably never more than it will be this year.  In past editions we would pass the Mur two times before the finish on the third trip up, but those first two times were always far out from the finish so the pace was calm.  This year the 2nd passage comes just twenty-nine kilometers from the finish, so it will play a vital role in the race.  The run-in to the 2nd passage will be chaotic, as we all know the race will be decided there.  HTC-Columbia’s goal is to have some riders up the road by then as with a finish like tomorrow it is always good to be a little ahead of the game.

With a huge block of racing down the center of France, I have spent the last few days recovering with Courtney and her aunt and uncle, Bobbie and Bill, on the Cote de Azur. I am a world away from suffering through crashes, snow, crosswinds and mountains. Now I am just enjoying the time with family and catching up over some great dinners and wines. We have spent several nights in Monaco, Vence, Fayence and we will soon end our trip in Nice, but for now it is all about enjoying every minute of the day.

My training will get longer as the week progresses, but for now I have been filling my days with cooking classes and spa treatments, as well as just relaxing in the sun on our balcony. This morning the alarm sounded at an early hour of half past four, as we had to meet up with chef Jacques Chibois at his restaurant, La Bastide Saint Antoine, for a full day of following him around. We drove into Nice and joined him on his weekly food run through this massive market that is only reserved for professional chefs. It was amazing to see how much food Jacques needed to purchase to just get him through a few days. By the time the sun came up, we had filled an U-haul sized truck full of vegetables, fish, meat and even flowers.

Then, it was back up to Grasse where his restaurant is located to tour the grounds. Down in his wine cellar we browsed through over 20,000 bottles, some of which dated back to the 1800’s! Once we had a good feel of the restaurant we were seated at a small table in the middle of the kitchen and served a very large eight-course lunch. The food was amazing, but what made it the best meal I have ever had was being able to walk over and watch them put together each ingredient and knowing that we had picked it all out this morning.  With all of this accomplished before it was even two, we were all pretty cracked. So I have been staring at the mountains from our balcony ever since, and the sun has long disappeared. A very nice rest week I must say…

With the Mallorca Challenge now a distant memory, Courtney and I are enjoying some quality time together on the island in Deia. I have written quite a bit about Deia in the past, but each time I come back I love it even more. The whole atmosphere is something very special. Taking in the fresh air with mountains behind you as you gaze out towards the open sea makes this very friendly village of 800 residents truly unique. The roads are quite amazing as well. Countless climbs dot the coast as you twist your way through the Tramuntana region of Mallorca.

For the long weekend we will be calling La Residencia home. Days spent out of the bike will be followed by some serious spa sessions! Not a bad life at all. My teammate, Vicente Reynes, has been kind enough to point us in all of the right directions in his hometown. Some amazing food and wine is to be had, as well as some rest and relaxation before it is off to Portugal for the Tour of Algarve next week. After my recent crash on the first day of Challenge Mallorca I am finally starting to feel back to normal. The stress and strains of crashing are never easy to bounce back from while racing, especially while racing in the mountains. So I was digging myself into a hole for the final two days of the race. Now with just an easy day or two I am back to normal and the legs are feeling good for the future.

This past Saturday Courtney and I decided to take the train down the Barcelona. After the hour and a half train ride we jumped off at the Barcelona Sants train station and headed to one of our favorite restaurants, Inopia. Here are some pictures of how we spent our afternoon.

Two days have now past of the HTC-Columbia training camp in Spain.  Yes, I meant to put the HTC first.  They seem to have taken over the title spot of the team, but that is about the only difference you will notice on the new jerseys.  We have received some great new Columbia gear as well, and I have been putting all of it to use.  As I am typing, the wind is howling outside my window and the cold air seems to be forcing itself through the walls and into my room.  So escaping the freezing temperatures of Greenville, South Carolina didn’t go so well!

Our ride today started out quite pleasant, actually.  Maybe it was the fact that we had the wind at our backs the first half of the ride, and the sun in our faces that kept us warm.  As soon as we started to head back it was a different story.  The rain blew in; followed by a short burst of snow, then more rain!  Luckily, all of this crazy weather hit us in our final half hour, so it could have been much worse.  It is also amazing at how just having some fresh roads to ride makes the day go that much faster, and it also makes you a little less sensitive to these bad moments.

Well, my winter break here in Greenville has come to an end.  I’ve spent the past couple of days figuring out how to pack up my whole life into one suitcase.  I’ll spend the next six-months or so over in Europe, my longest block yet, and I’ll have to be prepared for everything.  Training camp in Mallorca, Spain, is my first stop.  Two weeks of hard training, on and off the bike, and hopefully a little better weather will help me get ready for the racing season.  Then, it’s time to get settled in Girona, my home for the year.

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.