I'm moving in 5 days to Korea!!!

I can't believe it is almost here! In 5 days I will be going to Yongin, South Korea and won't come home for at least a year!!! I finally finished up my research and I've packed my bike! I am definitely sad that I won't be riding the Felt again next year. I even made a Cyworld page which is the Korean equivalent of Facebook. I don't remember if I posted the info about where I will be working yet but I will be living in a small town called Yangji. Yangji is home to Yangji Pine Ski resort http://www.pineresort.com/yangji_eng/index.html
The school I will be working at is called Yangji Elementary School (yangji.es.kr). I will be teaching English to 4th, 5th and 6th graders. Here is a google map of where I am living. http://maps.google.co.kr/maps?hl=ko&tab=wl
양지 is how you write Yangji in Korean letters.
I am excited and nervous for this at the same time but I can't wait to get over there and start having a great adventure!

Last Race weekend!!!!

The Marion Classic was my last big race of 2009 and the start of my last race weekend in the US for a long time. The course was awesome and had 10 corners in less than a mile. I was hoping to pull a top 10 finish in this race but the field was pretty stacked with lots of solid pro teams showing up. The race was pretty fast from but not nearly as hard as I expected. The number of corners kept the speed down and made it really hard to move up unless you were willing to cut inside of everyone. I was sitting in the top 20 most of the race and even went with a few moves. I expected it to come down to a field sprint but one guy got away solo and then when I was sitting in the top 10 with about 5 laps to go a Kelly guy crashed hard and let 4 more guys slip off the front. Ryan and I were up there for the sprint. He placed 11th and I was 19th. I should have tried harder to move up with 2 or 3 laps to go but I am still pretty happy with how I race especially considering the strength of the field. I really enjoyed the race and I hope it continues to grow and continue to bring fast guys to race in Indiana.
Sunday was a criterium not far from my parents house in Carmel, IN. Originally we had not planned to do it but because it was so close we figured we might as well. A pretty good field showed up for a small crit with Aerocat and TX road house bringing big squads. The course had a few good turns but most of them were gradual. The race was super aggressive and fast from the gun. Andy, Chris, Greg and I were all attacking a lot. Greg got off in a move with one guy from each team but halfway through the race he got dropped! So we started attacking and hoping to get someone off. With 3 to go Chris managed to get away and Andy and I sprinted. Andy got 14th and Chris was 6th. I got 18th. It was a fun race and I am definitely glad I will be getting a break from racing for a while.

Last races for a while coming up

This weekend i am racing the Marion Classic and the West Clay races. They are most likely going to be my last races of the season since I am leaving for Korea next Sunday August 30! I am hoping to end the season on a good note and maybe win some money at Marion to boot. I really like the looks of the course and it sounds like there should be a really great field! Other than getting ready for the races I have basically been packing for my move and selling all of the stuff I don't need. I am excited and a little big nervous at the same time! I can't believe I am leaving in a week!

Downer's Grove and Mass Ave

Saturday we raced at Mass Ave in Indianapolis. Mass Ave is a trendy section of Indy and the race was held on a triangle shaped course. It started off fast with lots of attacks but nothing sticking. We were caught sleeping though and missed the winning 3 man move. We put in a good chase effort and tried to form a chase group by attacking but couldn't get away. I crashed about halfway through the race when my tires slid out on me. I tore up the white shorts and got a little bit of road rash but other than that I was fine. I got back in and attempted to lead Ryan out for the sprint but he lost my wheel heading into the last corner. I finished 10th and was the top finisher.
Sunday was Downer's Grove which was my second big goal race of the year after Collegiate Nationals. I was feeling pretty good and when the rain started coming down heavily about 15 laps in I was near the front half of the group. The race was crazy with riders crashing everywhere. In the last 10 laps Paul got off with a group and they were gone. I worked my way to the front along with Ryan to try and get a good spot in the sprint but I went to the inside up the hill rather than the outside and got boxed in. I finished 22nd but I was really hoping for a top 10. At least I didn't crash though.

Meijer Grand Classic and Glencoe Grand Prix!

Saturday was the Meijer Grand Classic in Grand Rapids, MI. There was a small (60 riders) field but it was stacked with good riders from Kelly Benefits, Subway Avanti, Bissell Pro, etc. The course was awesome and included 2 brick sections. It had been raining earlier in the day so the course was soaked but the sun came out in our race and dried it out mostly. As usual we raced aggressively and tried to get in the moves. I was in a few small attacks but nothing stuck until Tom Zirbel and Jake Rytlewski from Kenda and Bissell attacked and got away. Paul and Chris were 20 seconds up on the field in a chase group but that was brought back single handedly by David Williams from Priority Health. The race came down to a field sprint for 3rd and we had it lined up on the front for Chris but unfortunatly bad luck struck and he broke his chain on the last lap! I was trying to continue the lead out and I went hard on the front with about 1k to go but no one from the team was there to follow me. I ended up 14th but I think we definitely would have deliverd Chris to a top 5 finish if he hadn't had mechanical trouble.
Sunday we raced in Glencoe, IL which is a northside suburb of Chicago. Again it was raining before our race so the course was soaked but the sun came out for the end of the race. This race had a slighly less stacked field with Subway Avanti of New Zealand being the only pro team. Ryan, Greg and I planned to race aggressively and hope a break went with one of us in it. There were lots of attacks but none really gained much ground. About 3/4 of the way through the race I attacked for a prime and stayed away for 3 laps each of which was a prime! I ended up winning a gift card, case of gatorade and $200 dollars from a 3 lap solo move. Ryan told us he wasn't feeling to good and was just going to see what he could do in the sprint and I nearly got dropped after my attack! I managed to recover and go into the final corner in 3rd but my legs and lungs were fried and I rolled in for 12th with Ryan taking 8th. Pretty good payday on Sunday though! I was very happy with how i raced this weekend, my legs are starting to get strong again after all the racing i did in July and I think I will be on flying form for Downer's Grove and the Marian Classic!

Double PostIowa Wedding and Trip to Washington DC

I haven't had the internet for the past week so this is a double post. I am currently staying at Dr. Shawn and Jerel's house in Naperville! They have been awesome and hosted me and Chris a few times this summer!

Wedding!

My cousin Andrew got married last weekend in Waterloo, Iowa.

I got to be an usher in his wedding meaning I had to show people wear to sit.

I also got to do a ride around Waterloo which was nice. There were lots of rolling hills, pig farms and corn.

The wedding itself was pretty ok but the reception was fun and got pretty crazy.

It was great seeing a lot of my old friends from Camp Du Nord which my cousin and I both worked at.

I also got to spend some time with my cousin Fredrick who went to Purdue. It was great hearing about how Purdue has changed and how much it has stayed the same!

Up next for me is a trip to Washington DC to visit my grandmother (dad's mom) and then Crits in Grand Rapids, MI and Glencoe, IL.

This week I visited my grandma (who I call Oma because she is from Germany) in Bethesda, Maryland which is just outside Washington DC. My good friend from high

school Kate came with me. After picking her up at the Chicago airport we drove 11 hours to Bethesda and made it around 9:30pm. I really love the riding around Bethesda

it is hilly and wooded and there are tons or roads to explore. It is kind of easy to get lost however but I knew the roads a bit from last years trip. We also went and explored DC. We went out and got drinks in China town one night and went to see the monuments and some smithsonian museums. The museum about Native Americans was very interesting and I highly recommend it if you go! We took my grandmother to the Falls of the Potomac which is a national park near Bethesda with a huge rapids section and we saw some crazy Kayakers jump off waterfalls! We also brought her to Annapolis to take a boat ride around the harbor. Annapolis is where the Naval Academy is located. It is also a really cute town with a ton of cool sailboats. After Annapolis we went to a state park and went swimming in the Chesapeake Bay, luckily I didn't get stung by any jelly fish this year! It would have been fun to stay longer but I had to get back to the good old midwest to keep on racing! I definitely think Washington DC would be a cool place to live after my Korean adventures! It certainly has good riding and lots to do!