CX: Tim Rugg p/b Friends

I rarely come up with a title before I finish writing but this was just too cheesy to resist and something that's been heavy on my mind.

I believe I can fly.

It's hard for me to just stick to the coaches plan of using cyclocross just for training and fun.  Don't get me wrong it's fun no matter how seriously you take it, but winning is the most fun!  I didn't look for sponsorship soon enough for cyclocross because I just didn't know how committed I could be with my focus still being on the road.  Plus I have PTSD from my bike failure and collarbone explosion from last year.

When I knew that I was definitely going to race I had a week to learn how to ride a cross bike again and a week to get a bike and some support.  Immediately my friends at Pro Tested Gear offered help getting me in the races and a sick looking kit to wear during the races.  I was telling my friend Simon while hanging out at The Bike Rack in DC that I was just not having any luck, and he handed me his Pake C'mute to race until and if I find anything better.

Now there's no denying that the Pake is a tank, as heavy and indestructible, but with my ENVE fork and wheels, it's getting me to and through some training and racing.  I was sitting 3rd before rolling a tubular tire Saturday at Jamestown and landed 5th on the podium in a stacked field in South Germantown Sunday.  My favorite moment from Sunday's race was when Joe Jefferson made a comment over the sound system that it looked like I was riding a bike a newspaper delivery boy would use.  Joe is about as good as it gets when he emcee's.

With the Charm City UCI 2-day weekend in Baltimore, MD coming up this weekend - I knew the Pake needed to spend more time as the spare bike.  Within minutes of reaching out again, I had multiple friends offering to let me ride there whip for the weekend.  Let me emphasize that these are friends that know how much I crash and are still there to support me.  My buddy Michael and Marc came through both offering me a place to stay and to be able to use there bike.  Amazing.  I've been feeling really lucky lately to have support for what I'm trying to do and what people believe I can do.

I'm really hoping a race-ready bike will make a difference this weekend as I try to grab some UCI points and some off-road cred' to add to my street cred'.  Speaking of off-road cred', my friends at Diamondback have really made my week rewarding me with a Mason 29er Full Suspension Mountain Bike for landing on the podium in both an NCC and NRC professional race this past season.  I'm going to take my first stab at mountain bike racing at the 26th Annual Tidewater Mountain Bike Challenge in Williamsburg, VA.  Thanks Phil, it's been a pleasure racing for Diamondback this year!