2011 Race Stable and Winter Training - Max Houtzager

Christmas came early this year! New XC bike came, and the 2011 race stable is complete. A few more tweaks soon (mainly some nice white accents to the xc bike with a white carbon silverado, some esi grips, and bottle cage). Oh yeah, and it RIPS! SO much more stiff laterally. As soon as you hop on you can tell the difference from 2010, the bike wants to go no where but forward. On the trail it feels more solid all around. I'm not afraid to pump real hard and throw my rear end around the trail as hard as I want. Every time I get out of the saddle it feels stiffer. I think it will actually make a difference in efficiency over an entire race as well as when sprinting all out. Got some sweet new S Works shoes and helmet as well!

I’ve been training away and it’s been pretty nice, starting to feel real improvement. Some big cold gnarly rainy road rides but it’s all worth it and feels pretty good (epic tea/soup/baked goods afterwards always a plus). I’m also forced to shred different trails that drain more, so it’s been cool to mix it up as well. However, it’s a little annoying taking an extra 5 minutes to get ready to venture out into the cold in spandex (so many more layers/accessories).

In other news, I AM DONE WITH SENIOR YEAR SEMESTER UNO. Less classes next semester and grades don’t matter now!!! Way less stressful. It’s XMAS break and I get to snowboard, surf, and bake / cook plenty of yummies. Peppermint Bark, Persimmon Bread, No bake Bars as of recent, with potential pies, apple oat muffins, and marzipan to come.