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What a pleasant surprise when I got to Hluboka and saw XTERRA Czech posters everywhere…

I love Czech! This country is beautiful- the countryside, the castles, the people. Here is the main street in Hluboka nad Vltavou- venue of XTERRA Czech. Great coffee and Apfel Strudel to be had under those blue umbrellas. English, Afrikaans and French doesnt get you far here, but most Czechs speak some German, so I’ve [...]

Go to the amazingly well updated AmberMonforte.com
The reasons why Amber beats me a blogging:
- She blogs with iMac, which allows you to write a blog while off line, and then just hitting “post” when there is internet.
- She types much much faster.
- She has way less admin. Sponsors, fan mail etc
- I’m the bike mechanic. [...]

Wow, what a race.
It rained the whole time, (I think) the course was super scenic - green and lush (because of the rain) and thankfully the trail drained well and the mud as quite watery. (Instead of sticky)
The race featured a crazy amount of climbing- 1200m on the 36k bike and 500m in the 10k [...]

How to lube a rusted bike chain when you have no (Squirt) chain lube.
Disaster strikes. The airline took your luggage hostage. You have to pre ride the course, so you borrowed a bike, helmet, shoes 2 sizes too big and clothes. (Yay for someone else’s used chamois!) Read more about why and how this was [...]

Here is some video of our tire testing in Stellenbosch South Africa earlier this year:

Visit Specialized Factory Racing website for more

photo by Nils Nilsen, see Xterra gallery for more
With 2 XTERRA USA Series victories so far, I was eager to beat the rush and wrap up the USA points series early. (best 3 out of 4 Series race to count towards Series. Plus compulsory Tahoe Nationals)

Balega is based in Hickory North Carolina. It was just about halfway through our drive, and of course it was a great opportunity and see the Balega folks again. (Russell, Jacky and Rob. Chris was on the road and Bert and Tanya in South Africa)
Balega is a Zulu word that means “to move with speed”. [...]

Howdy folks
Amber and I are on the road at the moment, traveling from Pelham (where we raced XTERRA Alabama yesterday) to Richmond. (XTERRA Virginia coming sunday) To break up the 12 hr drive, we decided to spend the night in a budget hotel to rest our aching legs and get some sleep. [...]

I’m in Alabama getting ready for XTERRA South East Champs this Sunday. Feeling good and ready to tear it up. Stay tuned…