Best of 2008

2008 was a wild journey for the Traveling Circus. Many transformations occurred as I went from a non-traditional student/enduro fiend to an intern teacher/multi sport poser then coming full circle to an employed instructor with big league triathlon racing dreams.

Here is a look back at the best of the best broken down by category.

RACING

Taking it serious since 1999

Best Promoted Event: It was a tie this year between the Ice Man and the Dunes Duathlon. One with all the star studded flair and crazy shenanigans 27 miles of fire roads can handle and the other a low key well supported benchmark for late season fitness.

Best Race Effort (horn tooting): Prairie View Triathlon

My 2^nd go at multi sport racing and I found my groove. It will be a women’s only event next year so I will need to get a sex change before earning back those 5 seconds separating the top three bike splits.

ENTERTAINMENT

I enjoyed and you should to

Best Book: Tim Obrien’s “The Things They Carried”

Best Film: “Step Brothers”

Best CD: Andru Bemis “Singer”

Concert: Saul Williams at the the Blind Pig in Ann Arbor

BLOGGING

Exotic brain candy guaranteed to inspire

American Blog of the year: The Michigan Scene

Machine guns and racing coverage spliced into videos and set to the tune of rock gods. Want more? Look closely and you might find naughty pictures.

Canadian Blog of the year: Big Ring Racing

This was a tough call considering no other category was split between the USA and our neighbors to the north. I felt the need to give them props due to the accents, socialized medicine and nude bike gear reviews by Craig Barlow.

Favorite Post: The Mohican Destroyer

EVERYTHING ELSE

Those without boundaries

Best Moment of 2008

#1 Turning these nut jobs to the dark side of bike racing

#2 Change

#3 I was fighting it but give credit where credit is due. Thanks LL Cool J for keeping it real.

2009 Goals

1. Stick to the goals. Every holiday season I load up on pie and decide 25 races stretching across the globe is a great idea. Much love for the ambition but i always ask myself 3 races in: What were you thinking?
2. Be a better blogger. Last year I promised less talking and more pictures. For 2009 I am working on more consistency, less you tube videos and zero pictures of my face while riding.
3. Olympic distance tri, half marathon finish, sub 1:50 Ice Man, more speed and less suck
4. Be more thankful, appreciative and grateful for the opportunities I have. Without the support of my wife I would not be able to enjoy these experiences or the people I met along the way.