Meanwhile, back in the PNW...

With the 2012 Olympic pursuit behind me, it was time to do a bit of spring restoration before the rest of the summer race season came along.  Aside from spending more time at the office and keeping my travel luggage stowed away for awhile, riding my bicycle around home in the PNW is the best way to get that figurative 'psycho-physical trim' back to its healthy crisp condition.  Once again, my appreciation for the cycling experience at home is enough to consider myself as a devout member of the Republic of Cascadia.


So even after spending several hundred hours and several thousand miles this year sitting on a bike, I'm not tired of it.  At all!  In fact, after wrapping up the spring World Cup campaign in late May, I was more hungry than ever to get back home and just...ride!  Not only am I lucky to be able to make riding a priority, I'm lucky for the support I receive in order to pull it off.  I've felt a renewed appreciation for Kona's "Cascadia" roots these last few weeks, enjoying everything from long road rides up the Puget Sound, to all-day epic cross-country rides in the Cascades, to gnarly gravity riding in the Coast Range - all aboard awesome Kona bikes designed by people who share the same love for the sport.  

Whistler!! Entourage!!

friends and their toys

bunnyhop practice

    

A little orienteering in Pemberton

Team Mechanic Dave and the newly wrapped Team Trailer

Speaking of "Cascadia" membership...custom Cascadia colorway?...or Seattle Sounders? Hei Hei 100, team build

Mustn't forget the more orthodox training...a road ride from my house in Seattle to my grandparents' house on Lopez Island and back over Memorial Day Weekend...all in the sun

With crisp island air and...

...delicious calories and good company awaiting

An extra-rejuvenating weekend getting to ride back in my childhood home of Trout Lake, WA (little sister Emily aboard Kona Lisa)

Mt. Adams

mmmm...Whistler...

Suffice it to say...I'm feeling all charged up and ready to go for the task at hand this summer - Pro XCT series, National Championships, North American World Cups, a berth to Worlds, some enduro racing...maybe even some DH.  Watch out!