#thecxoff

✖️ NOW SERVING SEMI-FRESH CYCLOCROSS CONTENT!! It's the 2018 cyclocross season all over again. Finally edited *one* of the lost episodes of #TheCXOff 2018 season with more to come! Link in bio ✌️💥⚡️💯 https://www.instagram.com/p/CHbhW75H-Cf/?igshid=gtk0whe6fk6v

✖️ ‘Dat Upgade Tho Y’all know I love riding the @van_dessel Full Tilt Boogie and won’t shut up about how it’s performed since I started #TheCXOff. I didn’t think it could get any better but I wasn’t prepared to have my mind blown 🤯 after the clutch @eastoncycling EC90SL crank/CINCH power meter and @kogel_bearings upgrades! There was a distinct difference in stiffness and solidity after everything was installed. Power transfer felt 🔥 and the rotation felt smoooth. Finally having a power meter was a much needed addition but reinforced I have so much room for improvement. Lastly, despite the insane amount of mud we had and despite being submerged multiple times in the mud pit at @charmcitycx, the Kogel bearings haven’t complained once. Their CX seals are legit. Thank you Easton and Kogel for being a part of my season. LOTS more in store for the FTB this year outside of racing CX. https://www.instagram.com/p/BsRqPeQnU3h/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=pcs02aio4kbo

✖️ The Skinsuit Hides Nothing . In fact, just like @dparksphoto’s wide-angle lens it amplifies EVERYTHING to 11 😫😂 . However, this is such a damn good shot of everyone who’s sponsored #TheCXOff, so I had to post. Also, I yelled at Darrell for changing lenses when I rolled through a lap before so I thought it was only right for me to purchase this pic #paytheracephotographer . Loving the @lazersport Bullet, the @asporteyewear Zonyk Pro Vario photochromic lenses are 🙌🏻, @handupgloves making my hands hard to see, @defeet socks making my ankles easy to see, @rideshimano S-Phyres adeptly transferring my massive wattage output into the @eastoncycling EC90 SL cranks with the CINCH powermeter telling me I need to train more, and the @kogel_bearings for staying clean despite full submersion at Charm City, while the @donnelly_cycling PDXs get me out of trouble and the @van_dessel FTB for making cyclocross an absolute pleasure to participate in despite tasting my lungs and nearly my breakfast. Thanks to everyone for all their support! 🙏🏻💯✖️ (at DCCX) https://www.instagram.com/p/BpddB4AHPa6/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=timz6i2eb3kj

✖️ Long Time Listener, First Time Caller . First race, of any kind, Hyattsville 2015. Never more stoked to cross this life goal off my list (hence #TheCXOff). After watching from behind the tape for years, I finally lined up and was instantly hooked. While my initial goal for my project #TheCXOff has been achieved, the project continues to morph—now more of an evangelizing of the sport of cyclocross in an effort to get others to try it as well. Season 4 is starting now! Episode 01 will be finished in the next day or so. (at Magruder Park) https://www.instagram.com/p/Bm4mr9ZAa1f/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=luoo48agfic3

✖️ I Had A Personal Photographer Once… . During Season 1 of #TheCXOff, @tomolesnevich offered to shoot my crack of dawn race at Schooley Mill. Love looking back on these shots of what was only my second race. I distinctly remember all the things I was observing, learning, and gaining confidence with every lap. Enough so that I was able to actually pass people on sections I was decent at. You read that right, I *passed* them, not how it is now. 😂😫 . Can’t get over how thin I was then! Also, that @madalchemy skinsuit was 🔥🔥🔥!! https://www.instagram.com/p/BnC5QRwAJzp/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=1npzwh7cggoa8

✖️ Back On It . Messing around in the woods and figured throwing some remounts into the mix would be a 👌🏻 idea. It was, until the I hit the root I was trying to miss and I remounted my seatbag. 😂💥😫 This one was spot on. Time to start #TheCXOff machine back up! 🙌🏻✖️💯👊🏻

✖️ Back At It (Sorta) . Forgive me Instagram, it’s been too long since my last post (at least in my feed). I’ve been recovering from bronchitis brought on by the worst allergies I’ve ever had. It should be noted I’ve never had spring/pollen allergy issues, ever. Nor have I ever had bronchitis, but here we are. This year I’ve been WAY off the back fitness-wise but was making decent progress hitting the trainer twice a week, but that’s been derailed completely. Yesterday, was the first day back on the trainer in two weeks and the first time on a bike in a week. Still have some shit in my lungs and I had to dial back @trainerroad to 85% of FTP on my @wahoofitnessofficial SNAP, but I had to tell my body that I need it to start working. Hopefully, it responds. . Continuing with #mentalhealthawarenessmonth from May, it’s interesting to note the difference between this year and the past two seasons as I trained for #TheCXOff. The last two I was physically fine without any colds or injuries. Mentally, however, was a different story. It’s taken me this long to work through what I went through at the beginning of the first season (2015). A brutal end to a relationship affects everyone differently, and as I understand more about how my ADHD presents itself, especially hyper-sensitivity, the reasons behind why it ended up so devastating have become clearer. One way the depression manifested itself was by removing the edge to push myself. If you want to get faster, the drive, the mental fortitude to make yourself do the work has to be present, and it simply hasn’t been—until recently. I noticed, once back on the trainer, that the desire to succeed was back. I’m tired of allowing myself to accept my fitness, my weight, or my mental state, knowing and wanting more from myself. Whether or not I can get back to the 170lbs I was in 2015 is irrelevant, simply knowing I want to, even despite the (minor) physical setbacks, means everything! . Anyone out there facing mental hurdles of their own when it comes to training?

This week hasn’t worked out for my #BikeneticX episode, so here’s a @dominioncyclingphotography shot of me looking brilliant on the remount after that shitty off-camber dismount to dirt wall runup gut punch 🤛🏻 . Need to start working on my slownessness now, there’s only 9 months until the first races in 2018 for season 04 of #TheCXOff!!! #crossiscoming #crossisnevernotcoming #cx365 . E15 Soon! (at Bikeneticx Cyclocross)