Stage 2

	Today went good again. The race was 140 miles and we did it in under 3 hours! it was super quick and fun. Winston was off the front ALL day only to be caught 10 k from the finish. We then tried to set keith up for the finish but things got real sketchy and he ended up having to fend for himself but still swung 8th. Everyone else finished with the same time. Things are still going good but i havent had any coffee in days! That is a new record for me. it is so hot here and apparently spf 50 isn't strong enough for my white ass. I have a new nickname here, they are calling me jumbo. ha!

I love the Dominican!

	So the race is under way and the racing here is very chaotic but a ton of fun. I love it here. Everyone smiles all the time it seems although i have a feeling that they are actually laughing at how pale and goofy i look. Today we raced 120 k into the wind and along the coast and it was beautiful. I ended up in the winning move and got 2nd on the day which puts me in 2nd overall. So far so good but we have 8 stages to go...

Happy Presidents Day

I don't know whats wrong with me, maybe I have the residual munchies left over from college, but i am currently stuffing my face with Cheetos and getting fake cheese residue all over my keyboard.

So life is good for me, I get to go race my bicycle for 10 days in the Dominican Republic!!! I am so excited. There is a 8 day/9 stage UCI stage race there and 5 of us are going. I leave thursday morning and won't be back until March 3. I am so excited mainly for the experience in itself. It will be fun to check out a different country and do some bikin.
Either way it will be good to get out of this weather. This is what I woke up to the other morning 3 INCHES!!!! Needless to say EVERYTHING was shut down and by noon it was 60. It still looked nice in the morning. This is my backyard...

Because I am going to the Dominican, I needed some new hater blockers, so I scored these...can't wait to embarass my teamates by wearing these on the airplane.

My Cheetos are gone now, so it is time for dinner. Tonight I am going to have a peanut butter, fluff, with chocolate...and I am going to grill it on my George Foreman!!! Oh Yeah...

I don't think I will be able to post for a while, but I am brining my camera so I should have some good stories when I get back.

some pics

DS GUS. HE IS JUST BEING HIS NORMAL AWESOME SELF.

THIS IS PACO. HE IS THE SOIGNEUR. DOESN'T SPEAK A WORD OF ENGLISH, BUT HE SMILES A TON AND GIVES A GREAT MASSAGE.

ALEX AND I MODELING OUR KITS. ALEX IS SHOWING OFF HIS DANCING MOVES...






















NEW RIDE. THIS IS THE BIGGEST FRAME THEY MAKE. IT IS SWEET....

I thought old ladies were suppose to be nice.

So i went to the ATM today and when I went to put my card in the slot, there was one there already. Someone had left their card in the machine. I took the card, did my business and went in the bank to give the card to the teller. The old lady whose card it was was in the bank and when she heard that I found a card, she literally SNATCHED it out of my hand and stormed off without as much as a thank-you. Fascinating...

yup it was me

so i totally fell off my bike in the parking lot because i didn't unclip fast enough...yes everyone saw it. so fancy i am.
we rode 115 miles today in 6 hours...the riding here is AMAZING.

hello from the mountains

The TOSHIBA Santo presented by Herbalife training camp is awesome!!
I am finally sneaking online. It is way fun to be riding in the mountains and the all the guys on the team are super cool, i need to learn spanish though.
Everything is good. We are staying at the hiker hostel and our hosts are amazing people and cook THE BEST breakfasts ever!!!
I am coming back to winston on sunday/monday and have some interesting pictures to put up.

Packing for Training Camp

This new team is in for a surprise...

lame blog

I know the lack of updates have been rampant and I would like to say that I have been busy, truth is I am just too lazy or tired to post things when I get home. I know my life doesn't seem busy, but riding over 20 hours a week and working close to 30 does add up, despite what people think. The nice thing is that I don't need to worry about working out when I get home...
I have been up to a couple of shenaningans which include hiking in bear country, having a birthday party for phatty, and some more hiking...



This is Jim wearing his "special" shirt for his birthday dinner...with the ladies.
Uh and I hiked up to the top of hanging rock which is not an easy hike...my heel held up just fine.


I like to look back on my blog and see where I was a year ago. This is what I looked like one year ago...

Monday is the first day of training camp with my new team which was the AEG/Jet Network team last year. I am not sure what the official title is this year but I am super excited to race with them and spend the summer as a pro bike racer. I wish I still had this mohawk so I could roll in there looking like a sociopath. I hope to be able to do some posting next week during the camp. Should be a ton of fun...

this is what happens

when you try and cut your own hair at 8am before having any coffee...
Things are going great, I am training over 20 hours a week in anticipation for the season--which begins in a few weeks it seems. The weather is awesome here in NC and things are good.
Gotta go fix my hair...

and speaking of bosses

Just in case you were curious, this is my boss Cameron. He is one of the owners of Paceline Bicycles. He is an all around good guy and everything, but if you are a bike shop owner and this is your only bicycle, i would be a tad concerned.



I like the aerobars and triple... YES this is really his bike...

my most sincere apologies

I have to apologize to my boss... when I said in my last post that I didn't have to WORK in january, I actually meant I didn't have to TRAVEL. It was a mild brain fart on my part probably due to spending 4 years living in Ithaca NY. So I apologize, and yes, I am posting this while I am punched in at work.

Rode yesterday again and it was 70 degrees...saw this snowman which is HUGE. It is twice as tall as me at least.

Back at it...

Happy belated New Years to all. Sorry for the lack of updates, as I have been up north in MI where it snowed every single day. It was beautiful and cold. I managed to do some biking and some cross country skiing, but the highlight was definately the snow tubing at the ski resort. They tow you up and let you sled down. It is actually quite scary and borderline dangerous, but a ton of fun!!! It is nice to be back in Winston-Salem as I rode for 5 1/2 hours today in 65 degree weather. Can't complain about that at all. I am excited to have the entire month just to train and not have to work.


Since I am getting older, I finally talked my family into letting me pick out my own christmas presents. Here was my first present...Gotta have the love for Dale Jr.







My second gift was this lamp. This lamp is amazing and beautiful and it just gives me goosebumps. I love it so much I can't even begin to tell you....

MY KIND OF VACUUM

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!!!

MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL!!!!
If anyone has seen 2 duffle bags full of presents and bicycle stuff that NW airlines seems to have thrown COMPLETELY away, let me know.
I am in MI and enjoying my time around the family tree.
HAPPY HOLIDAYS!!!

Secret Training Weapon

My secret training weapon is chocolate cherry cake with icing for breakfast. It is awesome, I will eat it for breakfast and then feel so bad about myself that i go out and train for hours. The only problem is that I am usually starving when I get home so I will eat some more...


I love the south, saw this on my ride this morning. If you don't see what is wrong with the sign just smile and nod.

ITS OFFICIAL

My heel is officially healed. I had my last DRs appointment today. Yup I am good to go!!! That wasn't to bad. HA! Ask the people close to me how horrible i was for these 4 months. I would like to thank all those people who put up with me for their patience. Time to get back on the regimen.

Taking Cyclocross very seriously....

This is me in last place at the finale of the NC Cross series. I was trying really hard and had my game face on.
Things are going great, except I have found out that eating chocolate cake for breakfast is a ton of fun!

Guess what I have doing a bunch lately...

Thats right!!! Riding my bicycle a whole bunch!!!
Some of you need to get your mind out of the gutter...

Not much

is going on. Except for the fact that I have been walking like a normal person for about 2 weeks now. My heel has healed. It is funny, because now that I can walk again I have already forgotten what a pain is was to be on crutches. HA!!!
Things have been real good. I have training again and enjoying the long rides for the most part, except that it seems a lot hillier now than I remember...

I went to a cross race yesterday and ran into some friends. I like richs choice of knee warmers..



Andy got some new wheels, which helped him fly to a second place finish in the North Carolina Cup Finale. He ended up 2nd in the series and he WON the TN Mud Sweat and Gears series...Congrats to him.


This is what Andy and his wife brought to the cross race for just the two of them...


Oh yeah, I was wrong about the temp today... it was 78.

To all my friends and family up north....

It is sunny and 76 right now in North Carolina...

newest hekman

Congratulations to my brother Rich and his wife Rachael on the birth of their baby, Joshua Allan Hekman. Welcome to the family Joshua!!!!!!

I'm BAACK

So thanksgiving was amazing as usual. I hitched a ride up to mi with uh so it was super cool not to have to drive alone. It was a great trip as we had a stop in columbus and then a turkey sandwich lunch stop the next day. We were preparing our palates by eating turkey before thanksgiving...last minute training, I guess.
Grand Rapids was really cool as I got to do a bunch of riding in 30 degree weather, that is always super enjoyable especially when you are used to riding in the 60s one day and the next day it is 30. BRRRR.
The highlight of my trip was finding out that my cousins husbands brother is Marie Osmonds dancing partner on "dancing with the stars"!!!! I could always feel that I was famous somehow, I just didn't know how, but this explained everything and I am sleeping better now.
I flew back home on tuesday and I think I might be getting old. Do you think it is a sign that you are old when you get super annoyed with the teenager sitting next to you on the airplane who played drums on his legs and tapped his foot the ENTIRE flight. I was aggravated for some reason. Also, I don't think you should be able to be a flight attnedant if you butt is so big that it bumps into people everytime you walk down the aisle. I guess I am getting old and cranky these days.

Big Time Interview

So finally made it up onto thebikegame.com.!!! It is a website about the seriousness of cycling. They interviewed me and it is on there right now. Check out thebikegame
Rode 3 hours in the dark last night, it was sweeet....

I always knew it.

I knew I was on to something...I could just tell...Should have done this study.
Went to the doc today. I am healed but I have 2 more weeks with crutches while I get used to full weight bearing. I will be doing wind sprints and the long jump in six weeks. SWEET!!!!

Not that I am one to brag.....

So I would like to thank Steve for bringing it to my attention that I am on Wikepedia's notable former residents list from Grand Rapids, MI. Don't believe me? Check it out here...me and good old Gerry Ford...on the same list. I am finally getting the recognition I deserve.

Putting my masters degree to use.

Yes it is 7am and yes i am holding up a sign outside. This is the good life.

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GO LANCE

He is slowly getting cool again...
NOT TOO SHABBY.

I am so classy

That is wine cube, not a box of wine and yes that is a plastic wine cup.

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I am home and safe

I survived the trip. Key West was an absolute blast. Nothing like riding a beach cruiser from bar to bar with your crutches in the basket. It was amazing. We stayed in a wonderful house with a great group of guys. I have some pictures coming up soon, but I just wanted to let my mom know that I am okay. HA!!!
I am back to riding, ramping things up a little bit. I can weight bear 75 lbs on my foot now and see the doctor in one week... hope it goes well.
It is still nice in nc...will get up to 70 today.
Not much else is going on, just working everyday and tonight uh and i are going to the symphony. The WS Symphony has tuesday night concerts which actually is a great day to go as there generally aren't any conflicts.
Pictures from Key West are coming...i promise.

Home for a Minute

I have a bit of work to do...

So we (uh and I) got back from our MI trip yesterday. Nothing like starting a 12 hour drive in at 7am after going out from 5pm til 2am the day before. Luckily I had good company so it went by extremely fast.
The weekend was wonderful. I got to see every single one of my friends and family. It was the perfect trip.
The reunion was wonderful and I was surprised how everyone looks exactly the same. We recieved this book that had where everyone lived and who was married and how many kids people had. We graduated with 137 people. The book had 100 people responding and out of 100 people 18 people are not married and 11 live out of state.

My Crutches and I are off to Key West in the Morning!!!!!! YAY!!!!!!

lunch at work

I have been riding lately, about 45 minutes a day for three days now. It feels awesome.
My high school 10 year reunion is this weekend so I am going to MI for a couple days and will be there from thurs-sun so if anyone wants to ride short and slow or go to founders let me know.
After MI I am going to key west for a fishing trip and to check out this thing called fantasy fest...should be interesting.

Wow

Rich is on a diet. Yes he did finish it.
Vegas is awesome we saw the sun rise today.
The boys rocked the race last night.

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First time is a charm.

So last night was the first night here and i woke up this morning with a tattoo! Crazy!
This banner is at the show.

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Airport

Rich was worried that the world would run out of food so he brought this huge disgusting sandwich from wal mart for 4 dollars. I then sQuished while putting it in the over head compartment. He was so upset over that stupid sandwich it was so funny...to me.

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mobile posting

I can now post to this from my phone...the last entry was posted that way. How cool is that. So now I should be able to update this thing from the show and the race. The only problem with this is that I won't have anymore excuses. I am starting to love technology. You know what else I love? FREE TRIPS TO VEGAS!!!

Vegas

Getting in shape for the show!

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VEGAS BABY!!!!

I am going to vegas tomorrow and I CANNOT WAIT. I am going there to watch the USA CRITS WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS on Thursday evening. It should be a riot as all I have to do there is party. I hear it is a good place to do that. I went there last year when I was in a wrist cast and so this year will be even more fun as I will get to get pushed around in a wheelchair. I am sure my teammates will be excited to help out with that.
The race seems to be shaping up to be a huge deal and it is going to suck watching it from the sidelines. Oh well I guess that is how it goes. I am super excited to hang out with the boys in vegas though, that is going to CRAZY!!!!! I can only imagine what we are going to get ourselves into...I will let you know...some of it..
Other than that I have been working at the shop everyday and watching "The Rock of Love", "The Pick Up Artist" and "The Real World" on a regular basis. I love america and its television it is so enlightening.
I'll keep you posted...maybe.

wow what fun

Yeah that was Jim B's rear end in that last post, it sure is nice isn't it.
So not much is going on here in NC. The weather is nice to look at, and it probably would be nice riding weather.
I have been keeping busy by working at the bicycle shop. I just roll around in a wheelchair and talk to customers. It is kind of fun.
I have three more weeks of non weight bearing and then we will see how things are. My leg is already atrophied down to the bone. It is scray how fast that muscle has left.
Anyway everything is good, going to the symphony tonight. The WS symphony has tuesday night concerts which I thought was weird, but apparently they have been doing them for ever.
Happy BDAY to my DAD. It was yesterday and he isn't as old as I thought, so that is good.