I’ve been trying to get to the point in cyclocross where I can leave the United States after a hard season with a lot of mileage in the airplane and races in the legs, then get to Europe and throw down for Worlds. In 2009 my big goal was to have a good world championships and I didn’t, so it was back to the drawing board.

Looking back on it, my body was always smoked. Sometimes, I’d get lucky during Christmas week, but then die a slow death leading into worlds. The December trip where I typically go over and race 5 races in a 10-day stretch got eliminated this year, which helped a lot. I also focused more after nationals, which included going south to train in warmer weather in Greenville, SC. The formula is finally taking shape after a lot of years of trying different things. In interviews, I say I’m proud of the season I had. It’s not because I got 16th at worlds or whatever else I did or to be cocky about it. It’s because the system that was in place did what I wanted and now, moving forward, I can refine that and make it better and maybe next year I’m in the top ten and then in Louisville… who knows.

So it’s Monday. I’m still waking up at 5am everyday. I can’t really kick the jet lag, but that’s okay, because tomorrow I head to Jelly Belly camp in San Diego where I gotta get up at 4 in the morning to catch my flight.

This year, I have sooooooo much cool stuff planned. Honest! I hope everyone that’s reading will be involved in the new stuff that I’m talking about.

One of those things is the J.A.M fund/Foundation team that’s taking shape right now. This year, my friends Alec, Mukunda and I have set out to raise the level of cycling in the Pioneer Valley of Massachusetts, build on the program they’ve had in place in years past, and help some truly talented young cyclists move up in the sport.

The team is outfitted with new bikes from Focus Bikes and two of the riders from the program (Jeremy Durrin and Anthony Clark – shown above) are going to be the first to benefit from the money we raised at the Grand Fundo last July! The two of them are flying out on February 11th to train with me and the Jelly Belly P/B Kenda team for 5 days in San Diego. They’re gonna live and train with the pros and maybe next year they’ll be at the camp, not as guests, but as teammates! This is the kind of opportunities I love being part of.

Thanks for reading and see you guys on the road. OOo…

Also, check out some new tunes I’ve been rockin’ lately, courtesy of Clinton Sparks!

Go to the Source – http://jeremypowers.missingsaddle.com

I’ve been trying to get to the point in cyclocross where I can leave the United States after a hard season with a lot of mileage in the airplane and races in the legs, then get to Europe and throw down for Worlds. In 2009 my big goal was to have a good world championships and I didn’t, so it was back to the drawing board.

Looking back on it, my body was always smoked. Sometimes, I’d get lucky during Christmas week, but then die a slow death leading into worlds. The December trip where I typically go over and race 5 races in a 10-day stretch got eliminated this year, which helped a lot. I also focused more after nationals, which included going south to train in warmer weather in Greenville, SC. The formula is finally taking shape after a lot of years of trying different things. In interviews, I say I’m proud of the season I had. It’s not because I got 16th at worlds or whatever else I did or to be cocky about it. It’s because the system that was in place did what I wanted and now, moving forward, I can refine that and make it better and maybe next year I’m in the top ten and then in Louisville… who knows.

So it’s Monday. I’m still waking up at 5am everyday. I can’t really kick the jet lag, but that’s okay, because tomorrow I head to Jelly Belly camp in San Diego where I gotta get up at 4 in the morning to catch my flight.

This year, I have sooooooo much cool stuff planned. Honest! I hope everyone that’s reading will be involved in the new stuff that I’m talking about.

One of those things is the J.A.M fund/Foundation team that’s taking shape right now. This year, my friends Alec, Mukunda and I have set out to raise the level of cycling in the Pioneer Valley of Massachusetts, build on the program they’ve had in place in years past, and help some truly talented young cyclists move up in the sport.

The team is outfitted with new bikes from Focus Bikes and two of the riders from the program (Jeremy Durrin and Anthony Clark) are going to be the first to benefit from the money we raised at the Grand Fundo last July! The two of them are flying out on February 11th to train with me and the Jelly Belly P/B Kenda team for 5 days in San Diego. They’re gonna live and train with the pros and maybe next year they’ll be at the camp, not as guests, but as teammates! This is the kind of opportunities I love being part of.

Thanks for reading and see you guys on the road. OOo…

Also, check out some new tunes I’ve been rockin’ lately, courtesy of Clinton Sparks!

Go to the Source – http://jeremypowers.missingsaddle.com

Speaking of animals. James and I ran into this dog in France. Who does that to their dog??

Bob Marley in dog form

Bob Marley re-incarnated. Sorry, I gotta blog about the crazy stuff I see on the road. This is for you guys, but it’s also for me, think of my blog as my running diary of crazy memories that I share with the public.

So far the trip has been great, we’re really getting this euro stuff down to a science. Over the years I’ve accumulated the essentials from years past that help make this trip easier: coffee grinders, rain coats, spare helmets, gloves, fenders, a couple pair of shoes (riding and casual), some clothing and jeans in case bags don’t make it … the list goes on. This past weekend I raced HARD for the first time in about a month. Opening up the legs up from “training” felt pretty good and I think I’m still on the up and up. I’m hoping for a little better this weekend in Hoogerhiede and then in Sankt Wendal for the world champs.

If you guys read this, I’m sure you all saw the final Behind THE Barriers episode. Unfortunately, there isn’t going to be any encore as many are predicting. That was the last one… Sam’s not here, there’s no content being generated, the budget was kicked long ago and I think we have a lot of great content to go back and laugh at. Looking forward to next year, I can’t wait to make Behind THE Barriers, better and more positive then it was this year. BTB for me was about bringing the people who couldn’t be at the races… TO THE RACES. It made sense on a lot of levels, but most importantly, let the newbies of cyclocross see how much fun a cyclocross race can be and hopefully grow this awesome discipline of cycling.

In the final EP of Behind THE Barriers, my friend Clinton Sparks made a cameo. I have to tell you guys, Sparks is an awesome guy, someone I look up too and enjoy following, probably the same way you all like reading this blog, I like doing that with his adventures. So to hang out, listen to new music and get the guy behind the magic 1 on 1 is awesome. Also. the HOWL, that happens…ALL THE TIME. The AWoOoOoO! (that’s Sparks) Of course we put a spin on it, but hey…the copyright goes in his favor. Thanks to everyone who watched this year. Sam and I promise to bring you an even better season next year!

I’ll leave you guys with this shot of my teammates and I with the undisputed KING of ‘cross Sven Nys. It was nice to finally get a shot with him after all these years in Belgium:

Go to the Source – http://jeremypowers.missingsaddle.com

“Behind The Barriers” Episode 14 from Behind The Barriers on Vimeo.

Go to the Source – http://jeremypowers.missingsaddle.com

Today was my first race of 2011, I finished that block of training here in Greenville and for the finale, I hit one of the North Carolina cross’ races about 2hrs away. It was a great course, lots of people came out and overall it was a great day. This was my first race since nationals and I was happy to be racing again, waking up the legs, starting the year off with a win, even a small one, is the best. Cross’ in the south is real and I can’t wait til our regular season actually migrates down here in January! The weather is perfect for this part of the season.

Lastly, I cannot wait for you guys to watch episode 14!! Butttt, it’s not 100% ready to rock yet, so we threw together a little bonus video for you guys to enjoy before the final episode of Behind the Barriers comes out on Wednesday. Enjoy,

“Behind The Barriers” Season Finale Teaser from Behind The Barriers on Vimeo.

Go to the Source – http://jeremypowers.missingsaddle.com