I was lucky to have Nate Loyal fit me to my Raleigh and Scott bike yesterday. I’ve posted a video of Nate demonstrating proper pedaling technique on the ROAD Magazine site. You can also check out Nate and his coaching services at nateloyal.com.

I was also lucky to have my favorite metrosexual hairdresser Slover cut my hair before my upcoming trip.

In the continual quest to not burnout and fade away, I’m getting reacquainted with mountain biking. Back in the day, I did have a bike that required 26 inch wheels, but due to living in a very urban area and the effort it took to actually get to dirt, I got rid of it. When the 29er craze started I asked decline Magazine’s tech guy what he thought of them. He thought it might be good for what I wanted to do which means nothing too technical and just roll along. Perhaps do some marathon races. So the other day I got my new issue of WIRED Magazine. They have a snarky section that tells you what’s Expired, Tired or Wired. Expired was recumbents (no kidding), Tired was fixies (to be honest those guys bug me), and Wired was 29ers. That’s all it took for me to take the leap and get a 29er. So I have a Raleigh XXIX coming my way. So now I’m going to incorporate my running, cyclocross, Pilates and some early season marathon races to my schedule. Somewhere in between that we’ll produce a magazine.

When I come to Starcrossed I always eat at Dick’s

So with minimal preparation I am winging my way to Seattle to participate and report on the Starcrossed cyclocross event. Basically Starcrossed is an outdoor party which just happened to have a ‘cross race break out. I did a quick loop of the infamous Fullerton Loop the other day to test my limited ‘cross skills. This included doing a few quick dismounts and run-ups and I seemed to remember how to not make a complete fool of myself. I gotta remember to thank Tim Johnson for the great cyclocross clinic he put on for a few editors late last year. Those skills saved my bacon several times this year.

When I was in Seattle a few weeks ago, I laid the groundwork with the folks at Raleigh to borrow a ‘cross bike for Starcrossed. So far I must have not annoyed them too much because they are letting me destroy/race their cross bike kitted with FSA, Shimano, and Mavic components. Downside to this is that like last year when I raced on a Ridley, I wouldn’t have thrown a leg over the Raleigh till my race. So with that in mind and with my high intensity training/threshold very suspect, I have limited goals. My first goal is not to smash my grill into a barrier. I’m not that pretty, so keeping my face intact is paramount. Second, don’t get lapped. This is a little trickier as I have a feeling that the Washington riders are itching to get their ‘cross on and I will be mowed down like overgrown grass. Still, I need a challenge and that’s as good as any. So as we say at work, “I’ll be pinning it to win it!”

I’m in Seattle now and staying at the promoter Steve Westover’s house. As you might have read before, I prefer to stay in a house than a hotel anytime. Staying in as many hotels as I do is bad for the head. Anyways I stayed here last year and they have a great boxer dog named Eddie. Let’s just say that he is really affectionate and will probably be sleeping in my bed tonight. Also they have two young kids, a three year old girl and 20 month old boy, so this place has been bustling with activity since I’ve been here. I’ve been told they like to get up early, so I fully expect a 7:00 AM wake-up from the little girl.

So if you are at Starcrossed look for me flailing in the “B” category race and have a beer ready for me when I cross the line.

This is down the street from where I am staying. They make great cakes according to Steve.

I’m not sure what to say about this sign

This is Eddie. He really likes me.