Homeland - back to the mothership

Duncan Riffle brough up a really good point right after the World Champs last week in Italy. He made the point that our whole lives people are telling us to go travel and get some diversity in our lives, see new people, new cultures, and new food. However, as we have all found out, all the food is the same no matter what European country we were in. Duncan said, "what about New York or LA? In any city in the states you can walk aroud the corner and have Italian, Indian, Chinese, Mexican, American, Indonesian, Japanese, ...anything you can think of. Why do we need to travel half way around the world to eat the same stuff everywhere we go??" We decided, as we already knew but was hitting home really hard because we were all so excited to come back to the Motherland, that the U.S. has the best food in the world...no need to go anywhere else!! So if your reading this and thinking about travelling..dont. NO I'm kidding, I strongly advise travelling, just be ready to miss the good home cookin of the U.S of A!

My time in Europe has been really awesome. I wouldn't rather be doing anything else. Seeing the world from behind the bars of my bike is the only thing I want to be doing with my life. It's amazing. I was just thinking during a ride my bike took me on today, how crazy the places are that my bike has taken me. Just last week it took me on a wild ride down a rooty mountain side in italy, and only a few days later had me cresting tree line climbing some gnarly road in the mountians in Colorado. Where would I be without my bike? I sure wouldn't be racing world cups, or riding remote ridge lines, or pushing new downhill tracks by my house. My own two feet are far too boring for that. My bike has some pretty cool adventures...I'm stkoked I get to be along for the ride all the time. Thanks bike....your the man!

I'm loving my time at home now for a few weeks before Team America gets going on some new trips around the world. I'm getting some much needed re-fueling time in Colorado. My African American Brother, Jonty Neethling is here. We are reliving last summer as we plan to hit as many firework shows as possible and ride flat out for the next two weeks. The motocross national is at Thunder Valley in Denver tomorrow night under the lights, which we are pumped on. Watching those gys rally always makes me think I can go alot faster on my DH bike.

We will be back on the road here soon, hitting the National Champs, then into Canada, and onto the remaining WC's. We may not be in the States, but we take Freedom wherever we go, Full tilt Red White and Blue!!!!!!

Later!
CB

US Open, Andorra, Ft. Bill, now in London on my way to World Champs in Italy

Yo yo yo!! Ok, big time slack off in the blog department. sorry. I'll try and be brief with the recaps from the last month of racing.

It has been pinned, all over the place, super fun, lots of competition, lots of riding on tons of different terrain.

First off, the U.S Open was rad. it was my first time at the race, and the experience could not have been better. the guys at Diablo Freeride Park are super cool and treated us so well. The DH track is technical and rocky, which I really liked. I qualified 16th and ended up 14th in the final, which I was pretty happy with. I think I was only 3 seconds off the top three, or top 5 I can't remember, but right in there, and my run was pretty good but could have been faster for sure. I hate excuses so that's now what it is, I'm just excited cause I know I'm on pace, I just need to put a good run together and I'll be right in there with the best of em.

Slalom was cool, really short. i qualied 7th, with teammates Cody Warren in 4th and Chris Herndon taking the number one spot in qualies. the race shaped out to be bad for me, I broke my chain out of the gate second run in the second round...so I was done for the night.

Straight from the US open Cody, Nate our mechanic, and myself flew over to Barcelona, where we got a car and drove up to Andorra for the second World Cup. The track is like nothing I have ever ridden...just a big rough mud rut the whole way down. I struggled pretty bad. sat. practice i felt pretty good, but my race sucked. I think it was my worst race run since I was a junior. No crashes, just slow slow slow. but I want to forget about it so moving on...

Ft. William, Scotland was the week after andorra, I flew up there and got to see the track early. they quickcreated alot of the track to try and smooth it out, but the weather didn't do what it has always done...rain. no rain meant to moisture for the quickcrete, and big holes developed everyhwere that made the track rougher i think.

My second practice run on thursday was probably the fastest one of the weekend. I felt like I started from where I left off at the World Champs there last year.

Dissapointment struck when I missed my start for the finals due to some miscommunication from the UCI officials. i'll leave it at that cause if i start going about how mad i was and how pissed I am at the UCI then this blog will be too long.

Now I am in the London Heathrow prison of an airport on an 8 hour layover to munich. We will get to Val Di Sole, Italy tomorrow morning and start the preparation for the World Championships. I'm stoked to be going again, this is my 3rd year in a row on the U.S. team, and I hope and plan to make it count!!!!!!!!!

Look for another update after worlds!! Later!!!!!