KROGG MAKE GIF

KROGG HAVE FRIEND. FRIEND HAVE PUG. PUG SILLY BEAST. KROGG CAPTURE SILLY BEAST ON CELL PHONE, TRANSFORM TO GIF, AND SHARE WITH INTERNET. BEHOLD:  MOGLEY AND BINDY!

Let Me Be Exceedingly Clear

Unless you've had your head under a rock this week, you'll know by now that the sponsor of our team, Exergy Development Group, has chosen to end their financial support of the Team Exergy for 2013. This news was not unexpected, but the finality of the announcement came as a surprise. I'd been carefully guarding a faint glimmer of hope that everything would be OK (Read: sticking my head in the sand, hoping the situation would just go away. It's called denial folks, and it's not a river in Egypt.). When I read the news that the team was without a sponsor, and that I was without a job -- I was crushed.

The internet has gone totally bonkers over this news. Reactions have ranged from the dismissive and pessimistic  to the vitriolic and asinine  Personally, I've had trouble refraining from being more vocal over social media. This is something that affected me deeply and profoundly. A large hunk of who I am, and how I think about myself is tied up in my job as a cyclist --  and the prospect of suddenly not being a racer any more is painful. I'd grown rather fond of what my next year was shaping up to be. Getting the rug pulled out from under me like this feels a bit like getting dumped by a girlfriend. It stings. I've said things over Facebook and Twitter that I probably shouldn't have -- comments that, while they've all been centered around me and my personal situation, aren't really the message I want to broadcast. 

So what do I want to broadcast? It's simply this: I am SO grateful for the chance to race my bike these last two years -- and most of that gratitude is directed towards James Carkulis and the Exergy Development Group. Anyone who knows me from my Hagens Berman days remembers how close I was to not becoming a pro racer. At the end of 2010 I'd been "chasing the dream" for five years. I was satisfied with my career as an amateur, but (provided I didn't get a shot at the next level of racing) was ready to move on to other things. I'd reached the conclusion that I was good enough to be a pro, but that much more goes into getting a pro contract than simply having the legs to do the job. Luck, timing, and connections were all part of the equation, and I didn't feel like I failed as a racer just because those other factors weren't on my side. Then, in October, I was offered a spot on Exergy. I felt like I'd won the lottery! It was only because of the management team of Escalera racing, and the insane generosity of our sponsor that I was offered the chance to keep racing. Like I told Cyclingnews, I feel like I was able to hit the snooze button, fall back asleep, and continue dreaming this ridiculously fabulous dream where I get paid to race bicycles. 

You can say many things about James Carkulis, and Exergy Development Group. Yes, he has outstanding bills. Yes, he had to make the difficult decision to withdraw sponsorship of my team. But to imply that he harmed us or betrayed us is just stupid. He enabled us, and the sport of cycling, to a fantastic degree. 

James, it's been a wild ride. 

Nothing lasts forever, but this was gooooood while it lasted. 

Thank you so much. 

KROGG VISIT SKY!

Krogg get opportunity to take ride in sky car. Amazing! Krogg love sky car. Drive around sky like brontosaurus drive around land.  

SKY CAR!

INSIDE OF SKY CAR!

FASTER SKY CAR!

VIEW FROM SKY CAR!

BEAUTIFUL VIEW FROM SKY CAR!

PILOT AND CO-PILOT!

BEAUTIFUL DEADWOOD RESERVOIR!

SNAKY RIVER!

KROGG IN SKY CAR!

Wherefore Hast Thine Blogging Waned?

What's wrong with me? My desire to write in my blog has all but dried up! This latest drought, not surprisingly, coincided with the start of my new job at Trademark Sign Company. I've been working there full time (or very close to it), for over a month, and it's been hugely satisfying. I'm learning a new craft, making a valuable contribution to a promising little company, and really enjoying myself while I do so. My hope is that, by the time the season starts, I'll be competent enough in the skills necessary for this job that I'll be able to maintain my position there throughout the year. Naturally, training and racing will call me away for much of the year, and Trademark has agreed to be extremely flexible about that when the time comes. But for now, alas, my free-time is no longer. I'm feeling swamped in a way I haven't since college -- and I'm not even training heavily yet!

But it's not just the job. The flow of mindless drivel found here at Gliderbison waned to a trickle long ago. Why? Was it just the lack of time? Has my desire to express myself lessened? Isn't there still interesting stuff happening that I have an opinion about? What about Red Bull Stratos? What about the massive implosion of Pro Cycling?  What about all the interesting work I've been doing at Trademark Sign Company? What about my friggin' knee (and the damaged ligaments therein), the triathlon I'm racing tomorrow, Exergy's financial woes, or my overwhelming excitement for the 2013 cycling season?

Perhaps I've simply found a substitute for the satisfaction my blog used to provide me. I've always acknowledged that writing a blog was simply a way to make myself feel better about what I do (i.e. selfishly spending all my time training and racing). That, and my greedy little appetite for emotional connection with other humans was hardly ever fulfilled, and spewing words into the void somehow sated that hunger.

Over these last few months, it's not like I haven't been creative. Or felt satisfied. But I miss the blog. And I'm not done blogging --  I'm sure that once I return to the cycle of training and rest, of preparation and perspiration, I'll also be compelled to share my silly thoughts. Hang in there, dear readers.

People do Things

The world is a crazy little place. People are crazy little creatures. Right now, people everywhere are doing things. Some of them are doing awesome things. For instance, an astronaut floating high over our heads just fixed the goddam space station with a goddam tooth brush, like some kind of goddam spaceman MacGyver. Look: 

But some people are doing idiotic things. For instance, there are skilled humorous writers who lack both common sense and a willingness to read (or follow) directions are applying powerful chemical solvents to their genitals -- much to my online delight. 

Happy Tuesday. It's going to be a good one. 

It Happens Fast

It happens fast. One minute you're locked into the rhythm of the stage race, the rhythm of racing and recovering, of meetings and massages, of eating and eating and endless eating. The next minute -- bam -- you're driving back to Boise so you can watch the race on TV.

It can be a tough pill to swallow.

Yesterday morning I awoke in a lavish hotel room in Beaver Creek, Colorado. I stayed quiet for nearly two hours and stared at the ceiling, ruminating; after all, my roommate Serge was still in the race. I was not. I'd be a very poor teammate indeed to deny him any extra sleep. Finally Serge's alarm started bleating, and we both arose and packed our bags. Serge placed his outside the door for the soigneurs to bring to the van, and trundled off to the dining hall for breakfast, whereas I brought my bags down to one of our team cars. The car was loaded with the bikes and bags of racers who'd abandoned, bikes and bags, no longer needed, bound for Boise. Bikes, and bags, and racers. I said my goodbyes -- this is the end of my season after all -- who knows when I'll see my teammates again, or our staff. I wished the mood were celebratory; it was almost morose. It's odd: I certainly didn't want to leave, and nobody wanted to see me go, but driving back to Boise was the only thing I could tolerate.

I had to get out of there.

On my way to the highway, I stopped for a(nother) coffee with Daniel and Emiliano. We waxed philosophical about racing bicycles, about getting dropped, and about the close of a season, the last paragraph in an exciting chapter, the other bookend. After another round of goodbyes, I flicked on the radio, found the on-ramp for I-70, and headed west.

Somehow, the cosmos united me with a fantastic radio station, and a stunningly gorgeous stretch of road to send me off. Here's a slice:

A poem, read to me by Garrison Keillor.

Debtors

by Jim Harrison

They used to say we're living on borrowed
time but even when young I wondered
who loaned it to us? In 1948 one grandpa
died stretched tight in a misty oxygen tent,
his four sons gathered, his papery hand
grasping mine. Only a week before, we were fishing.
Now the four sons have all run out of borrowed time
while I'm alive wondering whom I owe
for this indisputable gift of existence.
Of course time is running out. It always
has been a creek heading east, the freight
of water with its surprising heaviness
following the slant of the land, its destiny.
What is lovelier than a creek or riverine thicket?
Say it is an unknown benefactor who gave us
birds and Mozart, the mystery of trees and water
and all living things borrowing time.
Would I still love the creek if I lasted forever?

A song my math-dork friends would adore.



A winding highway through a misty canyon.

A Real Humdinger

TO THE GENERAL PUBLIC:

It is the object of this blog post to alert the public that the stretch of road to the South and and to the East of the township of Aspen, Colorado, commonly known as Independence Pass, has dealt tremendous harm to both my person and my mind. While several lesser offences have accumulated throughout the previous year, today marked an insult so grievous it is my civic duty to pronounce it a scoundrel and a brute! 'Twas not but six miles from the beginning of the race that the hostilities commenced: pain of legs, shortness of breath, fire of crotch, dizziness of mind, questioning of self worth, and hatred of Jens Voigt -- I suffered all of these and more! An honorable road Independence Pass is not! Upon my arrival at the summit, I found myself near twenty minutes abaft, a discovery as shocking as 'twas demoralizing. I place the full weight of my decision to abandon the race squarely upon the shoulders of that loathsome road.

Independence Pass, from hence forth, we are enemies. 

Despisingly yours, 

Sam Johnson

August twenty-third, two-thousand and twelve

Beaver Creek, Colorado

Made it to Aspen....

Well would you look at that -- I made it to Aspen. The course was hard: two hand-numbing, tooth-chattering dirt sections (totaling ~20 miles), two 12,000+ foot mountain passes, 130 miles, ~10,000 feet of climbing, and two hair-raising descents. All in a day's work. I'm going to share some pictures now: 

First thing's first -- at the start in Gunnison, I spotted this hilarious combination of things. 

A double-decker wiener wagon!

 The dachshund on the lower level was a mean one, and growled at me when I got near.

Next is a picture of my shins after 130 miles of racing. My legs are covered in sunscreen, and dust sticks to sunscreen. We raced through a lot of dust.

Next are these awesome kids who showed me to my room. They carried my bag, brought me a sandwich, and posed in this picture -- all in exchange for an Exergy cycling cap and an autograph from yours truly. Thank you, 12 year old porters -- you made my post race experience smooth and simple.

The same sunscreen-dust dynamic operates on my face too:

After a shower, I took advantage of the sweet pool they've got at our hotel. Yeah, we're in Aspen, and in case you can't tell, that's a waterfall behind me. I'm pretty sure I was the only cyclist (out of probably 50 staying in this hotel) to indulge in this luxury. Silly cyclists.

Lastly, here we are in Aspen -- but here I am in my hotel room! I wish I could go explore more of this town, it's bustling right now. I heard live music from a big park down the street, cyclists and cycling fans were everywhere, and there are clearly dozens of cool places to eat and drink here -- and yet here I am, preparing for bed and typing a blog post. This is my second trip to Aspen, and I still couldn't tell you anything about this place aside from what the hotel is like, and that people still rely on horse drawn carriages. Silly cyclists.

Highs and Lows

Over dinner yesterday, the conversation was pretty glum. We'd all just had a very hard day, so there was a lot of complaining going on. In an attempt to change the mood, one of the Manual for Speed guys said "hey guys, let's do highs and lows." At first I was resistant to this idea. "Hell no I'm not doing that," I snarled. But I've performed this exercise in the past, and know how helpful it can -- especially when I'm feeling negative. So, after further consideration, I changed my mind, and offered the following:

"My high was the time after the gun went off, but before we were released from neutral. We did a parade lap through downtown. All my stress and anxiety melted away, and I got to savor the delightful Durango crowd. The rest of my day was pretty much a flatline low."

Today was different. Today my low was definitely the second KOM. I fell off the pace of the group when we weren't even going that hard. I was the first, and pretty much the only guy to get dropped. I slid backwards through (almost) the entire caravan, suffering my way past dozens of team directors and mechanics, past officials and police and race doctors -- a very visible kind of suffering. Once again, I had to contemplate the fact that this could be it -- my race could be over. I had to take a good hard look in the mirror and ask myself: how bad do I want to finish this race? I think I surprised more than a few of those directors and mechanics -- they all thought I was a gonner (and with good reason).

My high was finishing in Crested Butte. Holy crap -- what an atmosphere! Thousands of people, costumes galore, painted roads, helicopters whirring overhead, the works. I wish I could share what it feels like to ride a bike through a crazy crowd in at this race. It's unique, and energizing, and nearly overwhelming. To the people on the side of the road today, a very heartfelt thanks, especially the ones who said my name!

Tomorrow should be very very hard.
G'night.

Soul Trauma

Today was hard -- like the kind of hard that makes bike racers shudder. Hard for everyone, and hard all day. Days like today leave a mark. I think my soul suffered a mild trauma. But it's not just the race, it's the fact that it's our biggest race, and it's our final race. It's the USA Pro Challenge, and there's nothing else like it in the country.

Bullet points should suffice here:

• wake up rudely from above-par dreams
• amble to dining hall at Fort Lewis College, consume ~1800 calorie breakfast
• chat jovially with teammates, staff, and competitors
• return to prison-cell of a dorm room and flick on computer
• discover large problem in personal finance
• stress
• realize good mood rapidly deteriorating
• solve problem in personal finance, experience gratitude for good friends -- no -- amazing friends
• don spandex, apply sun lotion and chamois cream, pack pockets with food
• sign in, sign autographs, answer questions from Dave Towle
• experience nausea
• stress
• sit around nervous beyond belief, tap feet neurotically
• seriously consider pulling a Fojo
• commiserate with mechanic about how, with only one race left in the season, we can't actually pull a Fojo
• experience nausea
• stress
• finally line up for the race, chat with fans, experience sublime relief when gun finally goes off
• marvel at quantity and enthusiasm of fans -- this race is unlike any other in the country
• work way towards front, consider attacking from 0k
• look up the road and realize we're already climbing up to Ft. Lewis -- nasty climb
• change mind about attacking
• "holy shit it's going bonkers up there -- good thing I'm near the front -- at least I've got some room to backslide"
• begin to suffer, bad
• throw up in mouth a little
• look at Garmin (distance: 2 miles)
• exit Durango, start suffering even worse
• lose contact with peloton on uncategorized climb out of town
• come completely unglued, enter survival mode (distance: 12 miles)
• experience numbness in lips and cheeks -- a sensation normally experienced rarely, and (prior to today) only during sexual climax 
• slide extremely far back through caravan, express desire to die quick death to assistant director in second caravan car
• realize that I might be ending my USA Pro Challenge right here, right now, fifteen miles into the race
• suffer
• suffer more
• congeal with other racers in similar, hateful, state
• join forces, finally claw way back to peloton
• experience astonishment ("I made it back!"), gratitude ("I'm still in the race!"), and dread ("we still have 100 miles to go!")
• assess situation: large powerful breakaway of twenty-two riders already five minutes up the road, but most GC favorites still in peloton
• gasp in horror as legitimate chase begins -- implication: today's pace shall be ungodly fast the whole time
• fetch bottles, work for teammates, do job, even enjoy myself a little
• curse rain gods
• fight for position with Freddie and Andres until I pop, ride it in with the groupetto
• finish race fifteen minutes down
• roll to trailer, hand off bike to mechanic
• throw massive temper tantrum when director tells me I have to get back on my bike and ride to lodging "I've been spinning my legs out for a long time Tad -- my ass hurts, I feel awful, and I DON'T WANT TO GET ON MY BY BIKE AGAIN!"
• realize I just completely lost control in front of my director, teammates, and staff
• hide in trailer, pull self together, apologize to director
• get in car, drive to charming Telluride cottage
• lie down, eat food, get massage, feel much better
• turn on computer, type blog post, encounter following video: 

USA Pro Cycling Challenge: Back to School Edition

OK EVERYBODY! STRAP ON HELMET AND BUCKLE SAFEBELT: KROGG AND TEAM EXERGY ABOUT TO START BIG RACE! USA PRO CYCLING CHALLENGE PART II...THE SECOND...REDUX...RETURNS...STRIKES BACK...THE SEQUEL!

Krogg very excite for big race. Why? Because Krogg race big race last year! Read about here (just keep clicking newer post at the bottom of the page)! This year, big race start in DOO-RANG-GO. Nice city. Big mountain. Cool weather. Krogg like! Race headquarters at Fort Lewis College. Fort Lewis College very excite to have race here: 

Just like last year, race have ceremony to kickoff. All racers get dressed up in tight pants, and trot on stage like horse at auction. Rich people sit in audience and famous cycling announcer ask question to Freddie. At end, KROGG AND TEAM GET PRESENTS!!!

Wow! Gift bag nice! 

Krogg open gift bag and instantly become suspicious. Krogg know: only time someone shower Krogg with gifts like this is just before same someone apologize for something they did wrong. Sometimes, gifts work ("Oh you didn't need to get me a whole set -- I never really liked that coffee mug you broke in the first place"), but often don't ("I guess the mug is a nice gesture, but you destroyed my $2,000 juicer when you made yourself that chia-seed shake").   

Then Krogg get first view of bedroom. Turns out, Krogg have good reason for suspicion. We stay in tiny dorm room made for small person. Krogg not enthused. 

Dorm room try to make amends. 

Ok big race, time to listen to Krogg -- you no play nice with Krogg -- Krogg no play nice with you! TOMORROW, KROGG TRY TO GET IN BREAKAWAY, UNDERSTAND?! 

Much more to come. Stay tune. 

Lantern Rouge

In a stage race there are numerous forms of recognition. Some racers, the best ones, chase the overall victory. The sprinters covet the points jersey. The best young rider gets recognized for his budding talent. Everybody wants a stage win. But there's one form of recognition that most cyclists try to avoid: the Lantern Rouge. Named after the bright red lantern that swings from the caboose of a train, the Lantern Rouge is term reserved for the last placed rider in the overall classification. To quote wikipedia: "the rider who finishes last, rather than dropping out along the way, is accorded a distinction " I'd make that "dubious distinction."

Well at this year's Tour of Utah, after all was said and done, I was the Lantern Rouge. Here's the final GC (scroll alllllllll the way down):

Final general classification

		Result
1	Johann Tschopp (Swi) BMC Racing Team	21:26:32
2	Matthew Busche (USA) RadioShack-Nissan	0:00:43
3	Leopold Koenig (Cze) Team NetApp	0:00:49
4	Joseph Lloyd Dombrowski (USA) Bontrager Livestrong Team	0:00:58
5	Ian Boswell (USA) Bontrager Livestrong Team	0:01:03
6	Levi Leipheimer (USA) Omega Pharma-Quickstep	0:01:08
7	Christopher Horner (USA) RadioShack-Nissan	0:01:19
8	Lucas Euser (USA) Team Spidertech p/b C10	0:01:21
9	Steven Kruijswijk (Ned) Rabobank Cycling Team	0:01:29
10	Mathias Frank (Swi) BMC Racing Team	0:01:31
11	Thomas Danielson (USA) Garmin - Sharp	0:01:32
12	Christian Vande Velde (USA) Garmin - Sharp	0:02:56
13	Peter Stetina (USA) Garmin - Sharp	0:03:13
14	George Bennett (NZl) RadioShack-Nissan	0:04:08
15	Francisco Jarley Colorado Hernandez (Col) EPM - Une	0:06:04
16	Chris Butler (USA) Champion System Pro Cycling Team	0:06:22
17	Francisco Mancebo Perez (Spa) Competitive Cyclist Racing Team	0:06:39
18	Wilco Kelderman (Ned) Rabobank Cycling Team	0:06:56
19	Brent Bookwalter (USA) BMC Racing Team	0:07:10
20	Christopher Baldwin (USA) Bissell Pro Cycling
21	Freddy Orlando Piamonte Rodriguez (Col) EPM - Une	0:08:32
22	Max Jenkins (USA) Competitive Cyclist Racing Team	0:09:42
23	Andrew Bajadali (USA) Team Optum p/b Kelly Benefit Strategies	0:09:46
24	Mathew Cooke (USA) Team Exergy	0:09:54
25	Marc Goos (Ned) Rabobank Cycling Team	0:10:55
26	Timothy Duggan (USA) Liquigas-Cannondale	0:11:04
27	Eduard Alexander Beltran Suarez (Col) EPM - Une	0:12:43
28	Mathias Flueckiger (Swi) BMC Racing Team	0:13:52
29	Michael Creed (USA) Team Optum p/b Kelly Benefit Strategies	0:14:07
30	Jorge Camilo Castiblanco Cubides (Col) EPM - Une	0:15:13
31	Rory Sutherland (Aus) UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling Team	0:16:17
32	Mike Olheiser (USA) Competitive Cyclist Racing Team	0:17:20
33	Benjamin Day (Aus) UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling Team	0:18:17
34	Rafael Infantino Abreu (Col) EPM - Une	0:18:23
35	Yann Huguet (Fra) Team Argos - Shimano	0:18:45
36	Damiano Caruso (Ita) Liquigas-Cannondale	0:19:39
37	Ben Jacques-Maynes (USA) Bissell Pro Cycling	0:20:13
38	Gavin Mannion (USA) Bontrager Livestrong Team	0:20:16
39	Reto Hollenstein (Swi) Team NetApp	0:20:45
40	Carter Jones (USA) Bissell Pro Cycling	0:21:43
41	Paolo Longo Borghini (Ita) Liquigas-Cannondale	0:22:58
42	Benjamin King (USA) RadioShack-Nissan	0:23:11
43	Michael Schär (Swi) BMC Racing Team	0:24:13
44	Cameron Wurf (Aus) Champion System Pro Cycling Team	0:24:43
45	Oliver Zaugg (Swi) RadioShack-Nissan	0:25:32
46	Joshua Atkins (NZl) Bontrager Livestrong Team	0:26:05
47	Robigzon Leandro Oyola Oyola (Col) EPM - Une	0:26:32
48	Craig Lewis (USA) Champion System Pro Cycling Team	0:26:36
49	Jesse Anthony (USA) Team Optum p/b Kelly Benefit Strategies	0:26:44
50	Serghei Tvetcov (Mda) Team Exergy	0:27:43
51	Tom Jelte Slagter (Ned) Rabobank Cycling Team	0:28:02
52	Ivan Santaromita (Ita) BMC Racing Team	0:28:07
53	Lawrence Warbasse (USA) BMC Racing Team	0:28:24
54	Bartosz Huzarski (Pol) Team NetApp	0:28:56
55	Andres Diaz Corrales (Col) Team Exergy	0:29:18
56	Peter Velits (Svk) Omega Pharma-Quickstep	0:29:39
57	Taylor Sheldon (USA) Competitive Cyclist Racing Team	0:30:21
58	Michael Matthews (Aus) Rabobank Cycling Team	0:31:47
59	Jeffry Louder (USA) UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling Team	0:31:48
60	Jeroen Hoorne (Bel) Omega Pharma-Quickstep	0:32:08
61	Matthieu Sprick (Fra) Team Argos - Shimano	0:32:42
62	Valerio Agnoli (Ita) Liquigas-Cannondale	0:35:41
63	Marsh Cooper (Can) Team Optum p/b Kelly Benefit Strategies	0:41:06
64	Jens Voigt (Ger) RadioShack-Nissan	0:41:21
65	Martin Velits (Svk) Omega Pharma-Quickstep	0:41:42
66	Andreas Dietziker (Swi) Team NetApp
67	Christopher Jones (USA) UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling Team	0:42:49
68	Thomas Rabou (Ned) Competitive Cyclist Racing Team	0:43:16
69	Andreas Schillinger (Ger) Team NetApp	0:43:36
70	Hugo Houle (Can) Team Spidertech p/b C10	0:45:33
71	Thomas Leezer (Ned) Rabobank Cycling Team	0:46:02
72	Fred Rodriguez (USA) Team Exergy	0:47:01
73	Joost Posthuma (Ned) RadioShack-Nissan	0:48:09
74	Alexander Candelario (USA) Team Optum p/b Kelly Benefit Strategies	0:48:12
75	Edward King (USA) Liquigas-Cannondale	0:48:34
76	James Oram (NZl) Bontrager Livestrong Team	0:50:28
77	Brian Vandborg (Den) Team Spidertech p/b C10	0:50:47
78	Scott Zwizanski (USA) Team Optum p/b Kelly Benefit Strategies	0:52:52
79	Patrick Gretsch (Ger) Team Argos - Shimano	0:53:00
80	Ian Burnett (USA) Competitive Cyclist Racing Team	0:54:03
81	Cesare Benedetti (Ita) Team NetApp	0:55:54
82	Ryan Roth (Can) Team Spidertech p/b C10	0:56:56
83	Jeremy Vennell (NZl) Bissell Pro Cycling	1:00:03
84	Kirk Carlsen (USA) Team Exergy	1:01:19
85	Gang Xu (Chn) Champion System Pro Cycling Team	1:03:09
86	Reid Mumford (USA) Team Optum p/b Kelly Benefit Strategies	1:04:48
87	Nathan Haas (Aus) Garmin - Sharp	1:07:41
88	Jetse Bol (Ned) Rabobank Cycling Team	1:07:50
89	Alex Howes (USA) Garmin - Sharp	1:09:39
90	David Boily (Can) Team Spidertech p/b C10	1:10:55
91	Morgan Schmitt (USA) Team Exergy	1:12:47
92	William Clarke (Aus) Champion System Pro Cycling Team	1:15:26
93	Sam Johnson (USA) Team Exergy	1:15:49

See? I finished a mere one hour, fifteen minutes, and forty-nine seconds behind Mr. Johann Tschopp -- BUT I DID FINISH. Thirty-six racers failed to do so, and in my previous two attempts at races of this caliber, I was among the DNF's (Did Not Finish). I swung the axe out of my hands  at last year's USA Pro Cycling Challenge, and failed to respect how grueling these races are at this year's Tour of California. Some of DNF's crashed out, some lacked the speed and missed the time-cut, but many of them lacked the sheer stubbornness needed to keep going. And that's what it took for me to finish this race -- defiant stubbornness, and lots of it. It meant getting dropped on the climbs, time and time again, and continuing to suffer, sometimes for hours -- just so I could start the next day. Getting in a team car can be so tempting, especially when you're suffering, and hot, and dehydrated, hopelessly dropped. I'm proud of my Tour of Utah result. Even though my team didn't get the results we wanted, even though I finished last -- I contributed to our cause a lot, and I did my job all week long. I'm getting better, and that's why I keep doing it.