Transitioning ...

Last night I made my official announcement to Chris & Desi that I would be leaving Team Backbone to ride for Team K&N Performance. It was a decision a few months in the making, with many sleepless nights and stressful days. I never thought this would be so hard to do, but it showed me how important my four years riding for Chris' teams (CFR and Backbone) were.

I think back to the first phone call I got from Chris & Desi inviting me to join CFR. I had met them through Gabe (formerly of SuperGo Santa Monica). I listened to two super-charged and energetic people talk about CFR and where Chris wanted to take the team. I was excited just listening to them describe the people and the resources Chris was working on getting. I remember my first CFR meeting at a mexican place in Burbank. I was excited because only a few months earlier, I was thinking of ending my short MTB racing career (I had recently finished grad school at U of Wisconsin - Madison and had raced for Saris (bike racks). So I thank Chris, Desi and Greg who got me excited about racing again and taking it to the next level.

Over the four seasons with CFR/Backbone, I recall so many fond memories. There are so many stories to tell, it's hard to figure out where to start. I have seen the roster change over the years to a great squad with some outstanding talent. I remember when Bert and I were the only expert racers, and over the last two years that list has grown substantially. One of the best examples is to see Ara move up to expert for 2006. I have seen him become such a strong racer and will never forget our kick butt performance at 12 Hours of Snow Summit last summer. We were the only sicko-s on the team who were down for the sheer pain of endurance racing. That day with Chris, Greg, Short Stack, Ara, among others, was such a special day! Probably one of my favorite race days of my career. I will never forget sharing a condo (1 room condo!) with all of those boys the night before. Due to bear-like snoring, Short Stack was quarantined to the porch.

Here is a short list of some key phrases, events, etc from my years racing!
- Schwanstucka!
- White Chocolate
- Solvang Century with the whole gang
- Camp 'N' Rizzle
- Big Bear Condo weekends with Chris/Jim/James dirty jokes in full force
- Mike Jones!
- "this sucks, I want to quit!" - common terminology used by me during races
- KENDA (need I say more!)
- meeting Mary!
- Sea Otter 2004 (3rd place!)
- Big Bear National 2004 (silver medal!)
- Beauford and Boone, some of my favorite puppies!
- Growing as a racer and meeting new people
- Sagebrush 2003, my first expert race. with Chris running along my side encouraging me to a strong finish.

I could go on forever about this stuff! I know you all know how much this team has meant to me over the years. I want to thank Chris (and anyone who has ever supported me .. and all of you who have contacted me with words of support) for EVERYTHING that you have ever provided for me, or done for me. Thanks to everyone for encouraging myself and Teri as we transition into the pro ranks. It will be a tough road up there, but we will give it our best shot! I am looking forward to Teri and I working together on our new team. We have been through alot this year in many ways, but we are ready for this new endeavour together.

I will still be out there supporting everyone (if you will let me) and I am excited to see EVERYONE continue to grow during 2006. I hope to see everyone out there at the races and hopefully we can still get together a ride once in a while! you are all my friends (and family!)

Chris & Desi, we go a long way back and I don't ever want that to change.