Back to the US I go...

Seven weeks, four races, five States, three Bikes, and endless Unknowns

This is a bonus piece, I sat in bed and just started typing. Friday, I’ll be writing ‘My American Bet’ which gives a little more context to my season’s plan.

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I never really understood why the American riders would complain about coming to live over in Europe for the season. But, as I lie in bed at 23:07 some 28hrs before I fly off for seven and a half weeks in the US, I think I finally get it.

It’s Tuesday night, and I’m lying in bed at home in Girona. Maggie is downstairs finishing a university lecture and our spare room has two suitcases lying on the bed with a full collection of Castelli kit - it looks like a bomb went off in their factory.

On Thursday morning at 3am, a taxi will pick me up to take me to Barcelona airport, and I’ll begin my journey to Salt Lake City.

Packing

I’m packing for 53 days on the road, that’s seven and a half weeks. There are five different locations: Utah, Oklahoma, Colorado, Texas, and California. Two of those are almost guaranteed to have snow, and two of them could give my sunstroke.

Trying to pack is borderline impossible. I need every item of kit in my wardrobe, plus a million and one accessories too. I’ve become a bit of a packing ninja over these years, but the first trip of the year always feels impossible.

A packing list would be smart, but that’s too prepared. Things just come into my head every now and then like just now, Di2 charger, and I hope that everything’s been remembered.

Inevitably, something gets forgotten. Maybe it’s my Dynaplugs, maybe it’s my tyre pressure gauge, maybe it’s my portable charger, or adapter. Honestly, who knows, I just hope it’s nothing important.

The Americans

At the start of this, I said I never understood why the Americans, or the Aussies would complain about coming to live over in Europe for the season. I started to understand a little last season, but I feel I finally get it.

I moved to mainland Europe a few weeks after my twentieth birthday - living on the continent is all I’ve known in my adult life. The culture is great, and while the bureaucracy can be frustrating, it’s endearing in its own special way. Even though there’s a language barrier, I just get European culture.

That’s what’s funny to me, I speak the same language as my American friends, but the culture feels so foreign. I can only imagine for those guys what it’s like coming over having both the culture shock, with the language barrier on top.

For me, spending a majority of my race season in the US is like living in a movie that I didn’t realise was real life. Like driving past a high school football field at sunset, or seeing a yellow school bus and almost expecting it to be in slow motion. For them, moving to Europe must feel like a whole different world.

When I fly out this week, I’ll sort out a new SIM card, and settle into ‘home’. I’ll have a few bases while I’m over there this time, but a majority of my time will be split between Salt Lake City and Boulder. It’ll be learning new roads, routes, and routines. New cafes, new people, new everything.

The Bikes

On the bike side, that’s slightly complicated too. I’ll buy flying out with my MOG, and racing that for the first few weeks. Then, there’s a Melee (road bike) waiting for me in Utah which I’ll hop on for both Redlands and Levi’s.

Then, let’s not forget my TT bike - well Alexey’s TT bike that I’m borrowing/stealing. That’s waiting for me in Boulder, and I have parts shipping from both Melbourne and Cape Town to his house.

The bikes are a logistical nightmare - I’m just happy that I only have to fly with one of them this week.

Note: It’s 23:21 and Maggie has just come to bed after class. I’m in trouble for writing in bed this late, but she’s full of energy so I’m kinda getting away with it.

There’s excitement mixed with fear and apprehension. I was up late last night flicking through my budget spreadsheet, realising that I need to find a bit more money for the end of season races, but that’s an end of season problem. This block is in. We’re doing this US thing again - weirdly, it feels like me against the world.

You never know what’s going to happen on these trips. I’m sure that I’ll race in some far away land that most of you have never heard of, and tell the tales on this Substack like a soldier reporting home. I’m sure that there’ll be plenty of words from those races, but really, the stories are off the bike.

Elite sport is fickle. None of us have any idea if this season will be my last, or maybe I have another ten of them. But, I’ve learned something since racing independently - I’ve learned to appreciate it. Enjoy the adventure and the craziness because one day it’ll just be a memory thatI’ll look back on with a smile.

Damn, I’m pretty proud of myself. It’s 23:36 and I just finished this piece. Hell, I’m just gonna click upload now. That’s efficiency.

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