Getting on a plane this PM to head out to the PNW (again). Pretty psyched for the trip, got some good meetings and a good shoot lined up. But when I made the plans for this trip, way back at the end of summer, the main motivation was to go out and kill it at the final USGPs in Portland. By December, I figured, I’m usually going pretty well on the bike and I love racing in mud. So what’s wrong with that plan? Well, over a month of being sick and a separated shoulder are what’s wrong with that plan, now. I’m bringing my bike out to PDX and will try to race but my fitness is for shit right now, seriously. Then that’s it for me for CX for 2007. No Nats, no RI races the weekend before. When I look at my training this fall my best week, in which I was able to ride 5 days in a row, was way back in September. Not surprising that’s when I last felt good. As far as CX shooting, also looks like no trip to Europe in January to shoot Euro CX. The dollar/Euro imbalance is one reason but I also have some good jobs planned for January already. So it’s down to a financial decision really. As well, looks like I’m going over there anyway in April for a sweet Ardennes Classic stint. What cheers me up? The thought of a week of Seattle/Portland coffee and shooting CX in the gloom/mud.

I was thinking of racing yesterday but opted not to, just didn’t think my shoulder was ready. I was right. Went out for a road ride yesterday and I definitely felt the issues on that side. But still, I keep reminding myself it could have been so much worse. Just starting to sift through my shots from the Virginia/West Virginia assignment a couple weeks ago. Shots are good but doing an extensive MTB trip once the leafs are off the trees doesn’t rate too high, all the trails look the same with a deep blanket of oak leafs on them.

It’s not often you get the diagnosis of a torn labrum (in the shoulder) and consider it good news. But there you go. Doc said my shoulder is stable, that the separation wasn’t too bad, but that I tore my labrum - how bad she can’t tell without a MRI. Based on how hard I wrecked I can’t believe this was all that happened. I can live with the torn labrum for now and seems like I can also ride with it as is. As for racing, only trying to race will tell that story but it seems good. I just have to be careful the positions I put my shoulder in, which isn’t always possible when going full gas with a bunch of other knuckleheads trying to do the same thing. As for shooting, luckily the injury hasn’t effected my ability to hold the camera at all. Phew.

Got the film back a few weeks ago from Vegas Cross and never posted anything. So here goes. Not your “normal” bike race shot, but then again the race wasn’t normal, so I think it fits. Shot with Canonet QL19 with Canonet Flash, AGFA RSXII film cross processed and pushed two stops. Freaky deaky. So about the season sucking. Just as I was starting to get back into it after illness scotched my October I may have ended my season yesterday. Was doing an opening ride for Putney, some start sprints on the CX bike after an hour on the road bike. First sprint was fine but second one not so much. Was going full bore and my chain snapped! No warning, no skipping, just doh. Head first over the bars straight onto the pavement at 30 MPH. Luckily it was cold so I was pretty well bundled up, otherwise I would have lost yards of skin. As it was I got banged up pretty good. I separated my left shoulder, it was non-displaced so it popped out and back in all at the same time. It wasn’t sticking out or anything. But now I have torn ligaments and muscles, I need to go to the ortho to see what else is wrong in there. You can always tell when you have had a good (meaning bad) wreck when you go back and catalog the toll on the gear. Two torn gloves, one wrecked shoe cover, destroyed tights, wrecked jacket and jersey. Luckily the noggin never hit the ground. No clue as to why the chain broke, it was pretty new. Just one of those things I guess. If everything goes well I could be back riding by the end of the week, but it could also be 6-8 weeks before I ride again.

The anticipation. I sent out my film from my trip shoot last week and now I wait. But the lab in NYC cranks it on out so I won’t be waiting long, but when compared with digi the waiting can seem interminable. Right here we have the battle scarred legs of a pro cyclist, you don’t get legs like that without logging crazy on-bike hours - and getting hit by a car. One of my favorite races of the year is coming up this Sunday, Putney CX. I’ve only won one race in 18 years of racing bikes and it was the Putney race in 1992, the B race with like 10 guys in it. But it’s cool old school CX and always worth a start, plus it’s only 45 minutes from Hanover. Another Boston shoot tomorrow.

Finally, the end of travel. For a few weeks anyway. Just returned Saturday from a week of doing a cool edit assignment in Virginia/West Virginia. It involved a LOT of mountain biking and a bunch of shooting. I figured I rode more in the final 4 days of last week than I had in the previous month. The legs seemed to take it well but by Friday I had nothing, at all. The MTBing in that region was killer. Got over to Davis, WV and feasted on some incredible singletrack. Shot all film (!), lugging around a Pentax 67 in a backpack is no treat (along with 4 other film bodies) but at least you don’t get freaked out when you have to shoot in the rain like you do with digi. Now it’s time to put the MTB in the rafters and get serious about CX.