A New Year a New Homeboy...

    So the year 2003 is over and a new year is upon us all.

    If you want a recap of the year from my perspective it was summed up in the previous diary. I won't be looking back on 2003 with to many fond memories. Alas a New Year is here and there is now a chance to make everything right.

    For the year 2004 I have decided to get serious about my cycling. I look at where I lie in the grand scope of it all and it is distinctly possible to bridge the gap between my amateur wannabe status and the rank of a European pro. The chance is there, but no amount of talk and dreaming will bring me any closer; so I have been on a training frenzy the last two months.

    In November I officially started training again. My form was laughable. I can still remember the first real training ride I set out on in Austin. I started off with some reasonably fit local riders and ended up getting dropped from the ride only one and half hours into the planned five-hour ride. On the way back I found myself going a measly 4 miles per hour up a hill. The humility of it all worsened when I joined up with a older, lets say 50ish rider, who ended up having to slow down so he wouldn't drop me. I had the single worst bonk I have ever had in the last five years. I didn't feel much like a cyclist that day.

    Despite that dreadful ride I knew it was all a result of my "Mexican Food and Beer" diet. As bad as it was physically for me, the diet and some needed TOB (Time of the Bike) was the cure for my being burnt out on the bike.

    So time went on and I found my legs once again, dropped about 10 pounds of fat, but surprisingly gained about 5 pounds of muscle from the weight training. Despite being 5 pounds heavier than my race weight I am the leanest I have ever been. I like this weight range as I don't feel quite so tired all the time or stress over keeping under the 150 pounds.

    The highlight of the last two months has to be my ten-day trip out to Leaky, Texas then Ft. Davis and back again to Leaky. I love the Leaky area as it contains some nice one-mile climbs and really beautiful terrain. It is also the area where I learned to love cycling, so it holds a special meaning to me. I also love the Davis Mountain region. I went out there for New Years four years ago. Most people would be surprised to know it's higher up than Denver and there is a nice 10 kilometer climb up to the top of Mt. Locke.

    The trip included many great experiences; including seeing a variety of animals from deer, antelope, elk to wild pigs, and foxes. The highlight of the trip was going to the Star Party at the McDonald Observatory on my birthday. I was able to see about 8 different stellar objects including the planet Saturn and our neighbor galaxy Andromeda. It really makes you realize exactly how small we all are when you realize the great expanse of what exactly is around us.

    Oh and about that begin dropped by a recreational rider. At the end of the trip my teammate Edgar and me battled it out on the roads from Leaky to Vanderpool during the Ambush Training Camp. Let's just say the score is Gregg 3, Edgar 0. Hey, it's all fair though, cause it was payback for the last time we were out there where he schooled me. Of course now that I have written this it's on like Donkey Kong (quote credit to Doug Berry) and I've set the stage for some more turning of the pedals in anger when Ambush is on it's next training camp.

    I did pay for it all due to the 118 mile (186k) ride we did the day before. It was killer, but a ton of fun. I must also say a huge thanks to Sonya Klein who is kind enough to host the team at her ranch and feed us some great varieties of meats with bacon always included.

    So what is to come for 2004? Well I won't let you know anything right now, but let me just say that there are sure to be some surprises in it for everyone out there. I plan on making more than a few people stand up and go "DAAAAAMN!" (Remember to elongate the 'a' when you say it)

    Out of the bad I always seem to pull myself together and come out tougher and stronger than before. It happened when I broke my collarbone in 2002 and I have endured through this last challenge in my life fairly unscathed. 2004 is my year to shine.

    Tot Ziens,

    -Gregg Germer-