Last weekend was the elite national championships in Orange County, CA. I hitched a ride out from Tucson with my buddy Neil (saunier extraordinare) and Thomas (16 y/o cat 2). We arrived in Disneyland tuesday night, got packets and cruised over to Cara Gilles' pad in Huntington Beach.

Next morning was the TT. I tried to get a good warmup in, but on the course I felt really flat from being in the car all day the day before. It was a tough course and I was going so slow that I was sure my wheel slipped in the dropouts. A quick stop at the pit at the turnaround reveal it was just the legs that were slow. I started feeling better by the end, but finished well down from the leader.

After a couple days of hanging out with Cara and checking out the local vegan restaurants it was time for the RR. 185k on a fairly flat course in the blazing afternoon heat of Irvine. I was stoked to make THE breakaway and all I needed to do was survive to the end for a top-10 result. Unfortunately, with 1 lap to go, the heat took its toll. My legs cramped bad and I just ran out of gas. I called it a day after about 98 miles and 12 bottles. Better luck next year.

- David