Last Sunday started with Sierra Nevada Hill Climb TT #2. These are fun little events that I've frequented in the past.

I managed to ride 3 minutes faster than last year and am pretty happy with that. Maybe I'm acclimating. Max Jenkins killed it and broke the record.

Afterwards we check out Tahoe City for lunch and Olympic Bike Shop. Props to Spencer dropping some serious mt. bike knowledge on me.

Later, we went to the beach. The goal of that was to get our dog into the water. My wife was convinced that once he got in, he would realize how awesome it is. Long story short, it didn't happen.

This all frustrated Sara because our dog doesn't fetch or swim. Me, I'm happy to except that we have the dog equivalent of a kid who's into Civil War Reenactments.

Usually, when my mom calls I don't have much to tell her. I'm still married, working on a PhD, and riding my bike. But recently, some things have changed.
First, we bought a car, a Subaru Outback. Now, I know what you're thinking, "Didn't you have a Corolla, those things run forever, why'd you get rid of it?" Well, because my wife is special and deserves to be wrapped in premium metal when driving down the road.

The car also helps us fit in up here in Tahoe. And that brings me to my next point. We moved to South Lake Tahoe for the summer. It's a mix of altitude training, vacation and just a change of pace. So far it's been awesome.

In racing news, I'm not doing Cascade as I'd planned. It's a bit disappointing, it was a race I was looking forward to and one race I moved to Tahoe for.

On the flip side, it does give me a little more time to focus on the real altitude races, Utah and that Colorado race without a perminent name.

Another bonus of missing Cascade is that I can do the Crusher in the Tushar, a crazy, road and dirt race in Utah organized by my ex-teammate Burke Swindlehurst.

So that's what happening around here. If you're in Tahoe and want to ride, hit me up.

Update: In light of the recent Nike thing, I'd like to clarify what I meant by "hit me up." In no way was I suggesting you should provide me with drugs or drug paraphernalia. What I meant is that you should contact me.

It was quite a weekend. It started off with the wedding of Nils and Janie. Congratulations to them. Nils and I both started racing and Phding at the same time. Now he's got a girl and I'm buying mine a car.

So yeah, after a fun night we woke up early and bought a car. It's the largest purchase Sara or I have ever made, but more on that next time.

Then it was Nevada City Classic time. The race didn't disappoint and it was hard as ever.

It started out with lots of hard tempoing up the climb, till Evan Huffman got away. Then it was the classic, let the pros (me, Max, Kirk and Ian) chase till they get tired, and then attack. Good times.

I did a lot of work early and went for some primes. A couple early and one late. That last one screwed my legs, but it was so worth it.

Then, on the 31st lap, with two laps to go, there was a crash in the second corner. It was my fault for being at the back, but seriously? From what I understand it was a case of amateur bike racer playing amateur mechanic and a tire rolling off the rim.

As the three of us lay on the ground my only thought was, "I need to get going, a couple places lost can mean a lot of prize money." I spent 45 seconds on the ground and finished 6th. It's my second best result at Nevada City, but I hate to have it end that way.

Meanwhile, friend of the blog, Ian Boswell was soloing off the front to take the win. Last year I helped him, this year he did it all on his own.