tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21350639915976649482024-02-21T02:39:22.980-08:00Peterson's Sexy Cycling AdventureMitchell Petersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10350461939431256364noreply@blogger.comBlogger38125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2135063991597664948.post-5697602122633955782010-02-09T10:49:00.000-08:002010-02-09T10:54:39.764-08:00The Trip Back East<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWMfoZC3LwcionwVYlBFhKi_9qAemU6jhPxGkvxUyGp6F0Azm1wxMSs048xt-32eWMSkFFItBF_YZ6_QKyMr8ZqvKYg6Bz9JgQ00pVYnuhmW7j5amNZH1rPuXNc8jbDfgu1VPftMPoHas/s1600-h/P1010141.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWMfoZC3LwcionwVYlBFhKi_9qAemU6jhPxGkvxUyGp6F0Azm1wxMSs048xt-32eWMSkFFItBF_YZ6_QKyMr8ZqvKYg6Bz9JgQ00pVYnuhmW7j5amNZH1rPuXNc8jbDfgu1VPftMPoHas/s320/P1010141.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5436318697941976882" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPjmlFToYucKX47IXjQW8PoJ1Dz4e0Rrq0Ft7gDlh94jdSY66JfVwIyoORjbjZlnBoIlECYwUqw3iwxuZb41ZhY-q92EfvW-9Hu19gCcaMsJcHelRkG2Yh2iw0UQ7A1e4tSBNfhD8HTjM/s1600-h/P1010146.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPjmlFToYucKX47IXjQW8PoJ1Dz4e0Rrq0Ft7gDlh94jdSY66JfVwIyoORjbjZlnBoIlECYwUqw3iwxuZb41ZhY-q92EfvW-9Hu19gCcaMsJcHelRkG2Yh2iw0UQ7A1e4tSBNfhD8HTjM/s320/P1010146.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5436318694165499746" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwCbfWxtiKGihu-YhOaydr9dTMV-Nv0Lrht10sVAoxhWEDMguq0KxM4ljaP-wiXpo8s-Rab3TgTnSkAlRJ6rviyWvX8l7QXekC-HRhH1_xULNug9fWHckIlNrgIrJrZzFIy0zaLp9TA-s/s1600-h/IMG_3242.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwCbfWxtiKGihu-YhOaydr9dTMV-Nv0Lrht10sVAoxhWEDMguq0KxM4ljaP-wiXpo8s-Rab3TgTnSkAlRJ6rviyWvX8l7QXekC-HRhH1_xULNug9fWHckIlNrgIrJrZzFIy0zaLp9TA-s/s320/IMG_3242.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5436318680826535650" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGCgcZMW2IOMiII6QJvUk199tgKJSSnNrSA8ynsnDb6Jp5yckLI_UVGEn-EOS4c5wnC0rN17qVPUb8T3VBs16ReysbvfJwNwNZg_LYHumx00jCuT99SIxg3pqtNsemrFBorm1pdV4n-CI/s1600-h/IMG_3238.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGCgcZMW2IOMiII6QJvUk199tgKJSSnNrSA8ynsnDb6Jp5yckLI_UVGEn-EOS4c5wnC0rN17qVPUb8T3VBs16ReysbvfJwNwNZg_LYHumx00jCuT99SIxg3pqtNsemrFBorm1pdV4n-CI/s320/IMG_3238.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5436318675612126482" /></a><br /><!--StartFragment--> <p class="MsoNormal">A while back I picked up my new TT in a little town in PA on Lake Erie called Erie.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Everything went pretty smoothly except for the claimed free shuttle service from the airport to the hotel turned out to actually be a $30 cab ride.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Anyways, I picked up the car and started the long trip home.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>By long I mean driving to the Chicago airport, then flying to Seattle for a week, and then returning to Chicago to finish the 2 day drive back to Salt Lake.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Despite the crazy blizzard, snow packed roads, and smashed cars along the side of the road all the way to Toledo, OH, the drive went smoothly until I got close to Chicago.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Oddly this was when the snow cleared up and the roads dried off.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>I also must say that doing donuts, spinning 360s, and just drifting in general is a lot easier and more fun in a TT than it is in a A4.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>But I digress, Illinois, more specifically Chicago, did not go smoothly.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal">I have come to the realization that Ferris Bueller has been lying to me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>This is a dramatic crushing realization and I feel as though my whole life has been a lie.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>When you can’t count on a high school kid who skips class, who can you count on?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>I say this because of my recent trip to Chicago.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>There is absolutely no way you could drive a Ferrari in Chicago.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>The roads there were absolutely terrible.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>It was far worse than driving on a dirt road.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Every road was deteriorated to the point of almost being a dirt road and there were so many potholes that you couldn’t avoid them all.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>There was one section on the freeway where the road crew must have thought, “Hmm, we don’t have quite enough pavement to bring these two roads together.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Oh well just leave it one foot short and dig out a trench between them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Nobody will notice.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>I saw it and thought,<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>“Oh shit.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Bunny Hop Bunny Hop!!”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Then Slam, I hit the trench so hard that the rear view mirror was showing me the shifter.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Then on top of that, they have the audacity to charged me around $10 to drive on their shitty broken roads for one night.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>It was absolutely ridiculous.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>I do not understand the point of the toll roads.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>I thought that they charged people to drive on them in order to keep them in great shape, but apparently not.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span></p> <!--EndFragment-->Mitchell Petersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10350461939431256364noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2135063991597664948.post-30466145723272919132009-11-10T21:38:00.000-08:002009-11-11T07:55:37.008-08:00Broken Collarbone and National Title<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZwINPFOKH8bP8C2vY6uBC7-vIm2iHYmx6AVJdR_CRxYrWtI9WNhU7pOkhHsUjakZM6SPpT7SrG22MOH5gvPI1akQtBSfKbwESdJ9nF6T3i62_kHh-TeWLplSj9GgyQr6B_9Sv72jxfR8/s1600-h/IMG_1831_2.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 285px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZwINPFOKH8bP8C2vY6uBC7-vIm2iHYmx6AVJdR_CRxYrWtI9WNhU7pOkhHsUjakZM6SPpT7SrG22MOH5gvPI1akQtBSfKbwESdJ9nF6T3i62_kHh-TeWLplSj9GgyQr6B_9Sv72jxfR8/s320/IMG_1831_2.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5402873404274452802" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEii9EMTWTOL0_W_vJnASX1PCPAWKaPYRD33GTmRcZYDVKNFz54-O_w0z1-UOVawQs9dqEzFymRqtfi95Z13iwPbsQshlONxJIyhxJbc9MnBamEZHLjcJF9nYduqAZ8KT8U__7IIGIODhnQ/s1600-h/IMG_1867.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEii9EMTWTOL0_W_vJnASX1PCPAWKaPYRD33GTmRcZYDVKNFz54-O_w0z1-UOVawQs9dqEzFymRqtfi95Z13iwPbsQshlONxJIyhxJbc9MnBamEZHLjcJF9nYduqAZ8KT8U__7IIGIODhnQ/s320/IMG_1867.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5402870784424835810" /></a><br />I finally got my motivation to ride back after the MTB national disaster sometime around the beginning of September. I thought that with nationals being up at Tahoe, if I trained I might have a shot at winning the race and finally end the foreign stranglehold on the race. I was feeling pretty good going into nationals despite getting DQ'd at one of the collegiate races for a wrong turn, and finishing 6th at the RMCCC conference mud fest. I had a slight head cold, but other than having water poring out of my nose I was good. After leading the XC for most of the first lap, Rotem attacked me and I had nothing. I closed a little on the DH (which was probably the best DH I have done in a really long time) but he took off on the climbs and was gone. I finished 2nd. The Short Track went similarly except that I couldn't go down hill to save my life. I actually had about a 5 second gap going into the first DH, but I managed to blow out of both pedals and ended up standing over my top tube with the whole collegiate field bearing down on me. Rotem left towards the end of the race and I was able to pass a Lees McRay guy on the last lap to take 2nd again. Turns out that I needed to train for more than a month to beat the foreign muscle brought in by Fort Lewis. Next year. However, Nationals didn't end for me there. Because I won the Intermountain conference in four cross and because I was the sole member of the University of Utah's team (Rob and Dave were too busy being lazy) I was able to race the 4x and DH races thus qualifying me for the omnium. <div>I was able to finish in 44th place (points went 50 deep) in the 4x and then all that was left was the DH. I had had a good qualifying run that put me ahead of all the big contenders for the omnium and all I needed was a clean run down. The race started off great. I hit all of the lines that I wanted to and had a really fast run going. Then I came around a tree and there was a big boulder in my line. I swerved to avoid the rock and hit the next rock drop in a place I hadn't before. The ledge off the rock bucked my rear wheel up into the air and I landed very nose heavy. I almost saved it, hit some more rocks, almost saved that, hit more rocks, and then I was looking up at my tires. I landed on my head and shoulder pretty hard, spun around, grabbed my bike, and took off again. I started to notice that my left shoulder hurt everytime that I hit a bump, but I had to get down inside the top 50 to score a point. I went as fast as I could and my shoulder hurt more and more. Now there were shock waves being send down my arm every time I hit a rock. After crossing the line and getting a medical guy to look at it, I took the chairlift down. While I was at the bottom trying to decide if I should go to the hospital like the guy suggested or not, Abby called with the results. 50th. I had scored at least one point in every event and I was the All Around National Champion. Of course this meant that there was no way that I was going to go to the hospital. I had to put on the stars and stripes jersey for the first time. I had come so close so many times before and so many times I had been thwarted by illness or injury, but this time neither illness or injury was able to stop me. I had to put it on. It was the most painful yet satisfying thing I have ever done.</div><div>After I returned home my shoulder started to feel better and I thought that I had just torn some muscles, but when it didn't get better by the next week, I decided it was time for an X-Ray. Turns out that I broke my collarbone. It was very very close to needing surgery but fortunately the bottom part of the bone hung on by a sliver. Even so, off the bike for 4 weeks. Pretty much sums up my season this year. Able to train for a month, got sick, injured myself, had to take a month off. All and all, a pretty frustrating year. I'm hoping to be back for cross nationals and I am really pumped to get out and race again.</div>Mitchell Petersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10350461939431256364noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2135063991597664948.post-50187593896521312892009-09-02T12:29:00.000-07:002009-09-02T13:33:50.843-07:00School and Geckos<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdSl-NWebkL-tWFKU-XD4fBPyLbSLYP7w9YAd5H1eceT9xxcADoMBz-_yZ6mlajPwn9CPG9_e1W6Fywv278t4cI_rKJgSqA3NfKAq30PzROplxK7oV7xV9bzLGeqJNIPiSNQP_NHxacrc/s1600-h/P1010129.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdSl-NWebkL-tWFKU-XD4fBPyLbSLYP7w9YAd5H1eceT9xxcADoMBz-_yZ6mlajPwn9CPG9_e1W6Fywv278t4cI_rKJgSqA3NfKAq30PzROplxK7oV7xV9bzLGeqJNIPiSNQP_NHxacrc/s320/P1010129.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5376970791487527538" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjA66jvlgSnhA3HmJZBTwQZPWNb_OqZ_us47gJVhhtjCgP1CEHb6z_mLmMEOHxcnQgwCeSVGWoTbQI81snQkEgQqLglLpSgHH3PUfSb9fBzTC9p_-eSMgtucrt5PuUYeRE2yF6b9m5IRoE/s1600-h/P1010112_2.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 311px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjA66jvlgSnhA3HmJZBTwQZPWNb_OqZ_us47gJVhhtjCgP1CEHb6z_mLmMEOHxcnQgwCeSVGWoTbQI81snQkEgQqLglLpSgHH3PUfSb9fBzTC9p_-eSMgtucrt5PuUYeRE2yF6b9m5IRoE/s320/P1010112_2.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5376970782213639506" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1Qv8xtQl6JMi7FwYrz9fKjhyphenhyphenVJstjjjaXQQKP-_a8Jor4TQesvV39IWPLrITIbSrMd8q6MkXWojq3kDW7M12txEmdOJ_g217LITTBdE9RerkpaB4Fd4TnB-Zcc4Fw3kfoIHfydGacAnE/s1600-h/P1010098_2.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 217px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1Qv8xtQl6JMi7FwYrz9fKjhyphenhyphenVJstjjjaXQQKP-_a8Jor4TQesvV39IWPLrITIbSrMd8q6MkXWojq3kDW7M12txEmdOJ_g217LITTBdE9RerkpaB4Fd4TnB-Zcc4Fw3kfoIHfydGacAnE/s320/P1010098_2.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5376970774899956802" /></a><br />I know that you don't normally equate school with geckos, however in my case this year that is exactly what happened. Allow me to set the stage. The class is Foundations of Analysis, which for those of you who don't know, is a math class that proves calculus. I have yet to use any numbers and it seems to be more logic than anything else, and so far has been a pretty cool class. Anyways, its a college math class. One day, during the first week of school while I was waiting for the professor to arrive, I overheard a guy, who we will call Apu, talking about how he has the opportunity to go europe for a while so he was thinking about dropping all of his classes for the semester. This sounded like a good idea to me, in fact one that I have done in the past. Apu went on talking about what he was going to do there and other things, but there were smudges on my erasure that needed removing so I wasn't really paying attention. Then he said a word that perked my interest; that word was "gecko". I am and always have been a big fan of lizards, especially geckos. I really like their sticky feet. I wish that I could run up glass. I decided that the remaining smudges were just fine and I turned my attention back to the conversation. Turns out that Apu had recently bought a baby crested gecko and now that he was leaving the country had no way of keeping him. The guy he was directly talking to, who we will call Lisa, suggested that he try to sell it. Apu thought that this was a good idea, however he didn't think that he would have time to sell it and was thinking about just letting it go. Apu didn't want to do this as crested geckos cannot survive in snow. I interrupted them (don't you hate it when that random weird guy sitting behind you comments on you conversation?) and told Apu that if he didn't sell it, I would take it off his hands. I didn't particularly want a gecko right now as I also travel, but I also couldn't stand the thought of having a little gecko drying up or freezing. A week passed, I did some research on how to take care of crested geckos, nobody bought it, and I now own a very small, very cute, and very active baby gecko. It is a very cool little lizard and I am looking forward to watching it grow.Mitchell Petersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10350461939431256364noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2135063991597664948.post-57122353852583631012009-07-30T19:19:00.000-07:002009-07-30T19:31:07.778-07:00Waterskiing<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIXd9C36OqGDUmh7wii-kxCzu3wuUsKU9Wg7yv4hpqE2ad4nYXdLQH5nvKURQkOIuc0CYgjzcBlsMMjtdy_zyJD97bMF_Km8v9bR7ry4kMWl7WmFqxhYH5Dhts-c7A-JuB8-l27zDDb0k/s1600-h/P1010102.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIXd9C36OqGDUmh7wii-kxCzu3wuUsKU9Wg7yv4hpqE2ad4nYXdLQH5nvKURQkOIuc0CYgjzcBlsMMjtdy_zyJD97bMF_Km8v9bR7ry4kMWl7WmFqxhYH5Dhts-c7A-JuB8-l27zDDb0k/s320/P1010102.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5364446158751711762" /></a><br />That is right, my tiny little T-Rex arms are receiving use despite their dramatic protests. I can't brush my teeth anymore and if a pen hits the ground it is staying there, however it is a lot of fun. It is just the thing to cool down from a nice 4 hour bike ride, however the weather up here in the UP is in the upper 60's and is poring rain. I mean today it was almost dryer in the lake than out of it. The Lake still felt much better than a hose shower and the wind calmed down and allowed me to run the slalom course on perfect glass. Rob is crushing the world cups, wish I could join him but it wasn't meant to be. Oh well I guess living on a lake waterskiing and riding some of the sweetest trails ever made isn't such a bad thing. Mitchell Petersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10350461939431256364noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2135063991597664948.post-35487601465415068552009-06-26T23:48:00.000-07:002009-06-27T10:26:47.519-07:00Law Issues<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoDtfWXG3JJA-mnCq6H6pwIh6i8YtQGVIUMJFtRHYgiGx1Ism2A26E8XZQ7Pebx58_7Z2R3IQfgFO5q_AeXNXA960revmnSXlowITFSe4MVX66Jf7ck_SHNLvkESwioaBYQbByBRr-eyU/s1600-h/IMG_0894.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoDtfWXG3JJA-mnCq6H6pwIh6i8YtQGVIUMJFtRHYgiGx1Ism2A26E8XZQ7Pebx58_7Z2R3IQfgFO5q_AeXNXA960revmnSXlowITFSe4MVX66Jf7ck_SHNLvkESwioaBYQbByBRr-eyU/s320/IMG_0894.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5352056664495492114" /></a><br /><br />As some of you know I have been having issues with the police and getting my car registered. The issue was that I had a shot exhaust sensor and therefore I had a check engine light that would come on from time to time. This didn't cause any problems with how the car runs, however due to safety regulations it wouldn't pass the state safety test. During the time between when my previous registration expired and when I could finally get it to pass I racked up some traffic tickets. One was on Valentines day when I was driving to the store to buy some flowers for my GF. Although irritating for me, I can understand where he was coming from. As a fat, balding, police officer with a mustache, I am sure he has spent many single awareness days at home with a bottle of scotch. Maybe putting soap in people's coffee. Anyways I told you that story to lead you into this one:<div>Back in early April I was dropping Sayoko off at her dorm after our date at 11:30ish on a Tuesday night. On my drive home I came to an intersection that had a no left turn sign. I needed to turn left so I turned right drove up the road a little ways and made a U turn. I drove on until I saw some flashing lights in my mirror. I pulled over confused as to what I did wrong. After having the spot light from the police cruiser shined on me for a good 5 min I was wondering if there had been a silver audi involved in a drug deal or gang shooting. I have no idea what she was doing. Finally the cop waddled out of her (Female cop, yeah I was screwed) car over to my window and proceeded to shine her flashlight directly into my eyes before asking, "Do you know why I pulled you over?" I answered, "No, I really don't know what I did wrong." She responded, "That sign back there said no l</div><div>eft turn." I said, "I know. That is why I didn't turn left." Cop, "Well by turning right and then making a U turn you effectively made a left turn. Therefore I am giving you a ticket for turning left because that is what you ended up doing." MTP, "Well then if you can't head west on this road, how am I supposed to get out of here?" Cop, "What you need to do is turn left into the hospital and use their circle thing (I believe she meant round-about) then turn right." MTP, "Isn't that still an effective left turn?" Cop "No. By doing what you did you block the road so that other cars can't pass." Now, by this time we had been sitting there for about 15 min and not one car other than ours could be seen. Furthermore, she had pulled me over on a road with no shoulder so we were stopped in the middle of the road. I didn't push this issue and realized that, like any cop, logic and reason far exceeded her </div><div>mental ability so it wasn't worth trying to persuade her.</div><div>The next day I went in and pled not guilty to the offense because I didn't turn left. They set up a pre trial date for me, however they didn't tell me that it was a pre trial. That date happened to be yesterday. I prepared my case and went in with the hopes of being able to show the judge why this was ridiculous. Turns out that all that happened was the DA offered people a deal and then they either took it or didn't. The DA never even told me what my deal was because she couldn't understand what it was that I did wrong. Therefore I pled not guilty for a second time and set up an actual court date for the middle of August. Now you would think that this process wouldn't take very long seeing as all I needed to do was say two words and get a court date set up. Unfortunately I was dealing with people paid per hour not per case and it took over 3.5 hours. Not only did this waste ~3:15 of my day, but the parking meters outside have a 2 hour limit, so I got another ticket. This pretty much su</div><div>ms up my experience with Utah traffic enforcement. Once they have you, there is no escape. I drove for 6 years without ever getting a ticket. Since February I have probably had 10. I'll let you know how the trial goes. </div><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2XcfK0V4GX3LLcvG7y6tBruu30O5kUF_xUpwqjB-V3_rKHZ7MaP6RYXecldeyLBfqM8pcDDWMy84iUdIguNCrCpOlun2cVJGU_M40w77g4g8ClcP5NQuuE4aqPfLhoycGMzST6MOHKYI/s320/IMG_1590.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5352053524999561730" />Mitchell Petersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10350461939431256364noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2135063991597664948.post-5548280524113810512009-05-01T10:00:00.000-07:002009-05-01T10:16:11.722-07:00Life Update<img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKQt0pchlpYp46uqMTrOt25m8alN1PEfZjkMlPphSZFx8h8xVU0u30sd5GR1bRHBdFOou7UfpJtnlK9SuJnmuDt6eYrd-7opO3uxK5pxPRYgU9RipMYcJTHRYEADl37bWaRenqL1Bi-mw/s320/IMG_1231.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5330905236278059490" /><br />So as some of you may have heard or witnessed, it was above 75 degrees and very sunny at Sea Otter. Infact is was 96 in Salinas and over 100 on some of the climbs out on course. This was not a good thing for me coming from 34 degrees and sleet. I ended up suffering from heat exhaustion that was borderline heat stroke. I passed out and fell off my bike on one of the climbs. I was totally out of it and rode passed the medical people but fortunately Trevor stopped me and sent me to the medical crew. I had stopped sweating and wasn't functioning very well. The medics pored water over me and put ice packs inside my shorts. Then it was off to the ambulance for a nice ride over to the medical tent. I was feeling much better after an IV put 2 bags of saline solution in me. All and all it wasn't the best Sea Otter I have ever had.<div><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQofnGFbSkd7grteoCty2LWXc24UQwBkWOLobVlVnPjXkkY49_iDQ6AAXvtoJfjnU92ua9yC_J5goekA7ZbFXJlAU62_SkpBAyc9YbMwfIjVjpAZF6HxQQ5zTD-TtSI-wpg-x3qf9JCh8/s320/IMG_1346.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5330905238935973106" /></div><div>School is taking up most of my time, however I still managed to perfect my skills of catching fish with my bare hands. I am all done with it next Wednesday. Less than a week of studying hard and writing papers and I will be free for the summer!!</div>Mitchell Petersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10350461939431256364noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2135063991597664948.post-88637036343921044672009-04-16T15:28:00.000-07:002009-04-16T15:45:52.006-07:00Good Gossip for Utah Cyclists.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzP_dEvewjsJw2Yho0_ykJW4K0wbpjCA9H38YLbjq01yFKeN41z5mIajcKO8pFuXXMETEiKquuyMgXYnQ2Y9Go8ytnvLMHjujWtaoxbCbJ4hDbPk0ppnEHj2UK0TRg7_g0miPA-oS8U8s/s1600-h/2452527520_ca172a4809.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzP_dEvewjsJw2Yho0_ykJW4K0wbpjCA9H38YLbjq01yFKeN41z5mIajcKO8pFuXXMETEiKquuyMgXYnQ2Y9Go8ytnvLMHjujWtaoxbCbJ4hDbPk0ppnEHj2UK0TRg7_g0miPA-oS8U8s/s320/2452527520_ca172a4809.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5325424100431469042" /></a><br />This is a great blog. Check it out: <span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(68, 68, 68); font-family:Tahoma;font-size:13px;"><a href="http://utahcyclingtabloid.blogspot.com/" target="_blank" style="font-weight: inherit; cursor: pointer; text-decoration: none; color: rgb(0, 104, 207); ">http://utahcyclingtabloid.blogspot.com</a> You got to love a blog that calls everybody out and gets the roadies all wadded up. haha</span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(68, 68, 68); font-family:Tahoma;font-size:13px;"><br /></span></div>Mitchell Petersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10350461939431256364noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2135063991597664948.post-39778610587142871292009-04-16T12:16:00.000-07:002009-04-16T13:26:03.241-07:00Training in SLC<img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAmvBcaGQhPUcq6S0u203wthQYm29Y0Z8_Qxg6XX8gJ2aIhpF0ZW_inwMscJBphJ7uObzVe6zNEn9BtNqOv74mxzIkZ7ho5TEpUrzNvMgJca033f5xH56P9jT6GlMXIW5_4sAOYda6skU/s320/IMG_1276.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5325384600260458994" /><br />Yesterday I had a nice 3 hour ride planned. Nothing to hard, but a couple nice climbs just to keep it fun. However when I woke up and looked outside I realized that it was going to be exciting no matter what. There was about a fourth of an inch of snow in the grass and it was snowing hard. I went to class hoping that the snow would go away and it would be a good day to get in some miles before Sea Otter, but it just snowed harder. I put on my waterproof jacket and pants and went out.<img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxHgT7i7H6oqzz7vLXmy32iKgyav24f7TbhF-PFQSpvk57XotApEarBazfqBRXVFEogWoWaOQnS2mlqEKJQfP6Oin7G9ttBdY_F2np42oeF7Vc_Ftr76hELW0llxm2vA8MoCNiDLF14iA/s320/SSPX0014.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5325384599862131298" /><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div>There was only one man brave enough to join me on my crazy snow ride, Ali G. I met up with Ali at Contender and as we were heading out Reed said that we were crazy and Ali told him to HTFU. The ride really wasn't bad at all after my face went numb. The temperature outside averaged 35 degrees for the whole ride and it was snowin</div><div>g the whole time. This meant that the snow would melt as soon as it hit you or your bike, however the wind would quickly freeze it again. This caused our bikes to get covered in ice, my shoes and gloves to fill with water, and ice sheets to form on my glasses. Fortunately</div><div> I had Oakley's hydrophobic lens so it wasn't too bad. Ali wasn't so lucky. It was without doubt the worst conditions I have ever trained in and I don't think that it could have been any worse. If it had been colder we wouldn't have been wet, which would have been a lot warmer. </div><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEuE0Tek1BLIYw0YLokUqK1OO1MmeCh7DJYWMaH3BOkRPpT3Rx2GYL-16DhPKuhZfUNa3AFdOi5LQbX_m2fsRntArXUZKQHFKlVczTyIUrdwH4pOvkJdQT-45pso1dY-g2X0uSi4ippZM/s320/SSPX0015.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5325384606966622850" /><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghzuXqXe_1G8_NgDR1yNrN1G41kh-zOCeVFAqxYPV5QA6v7cneUWo1yDPug3jUMbaarLeFaGagHx5hyZ_eyUGOZD6dQOM0jWJ-8SD2okthgGPLiXTlydzwiLW6TIJ8w1kWpUD7gBeauQ8/s320/IMG_1282.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5325384608517918002" /><div> All and all it was a pretty good ride. I was able to get in my 3 hours and I am prepared for anything Sea Otter can dish out provided it isn't above 75 and sunny. </div><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJPZacJuTBHnZ_ZoGRmaIDD3hMHYk2xh7PBpavnjrVsG5jRh56B8oGg26lJ3ehWhzpYGl6UomFab0XkDycGtMBr64ETV6iQMdHi2kIMZmlYcRaC_-shXeU1BrC1S4egcJ7iliZL5_TB58/s320/IMG_1284.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5325384614631166226" />Mitchell Petersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10350461939431256364noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2135063991597664948.post-19731175051269619382009-03-20T18:41:00.000-07:002009-03-20T20:45:13.772-07:00ChileThat's right, I am in Chile. I am in a hotel about 6,000 ft above Santiago, Chile and am surrounded by 18-22 thousand foot peaks. I would show you pictures, but I forgot a camera and a picture really wouldn't capture how this place looks. I did ride my bike for a little over 4 hours today, but hang on, I am ahead of myself.<div>Let me start from Atlanta because it is where the story really begins. I was able to fly in first class from Atlanta to Chile and slept very well after gorging myself on ice cream sundays. After arriving I headed straight for the customs agent so that I could beat the mob and get out quickly. Little did I know that I was about to get slammed with another fee on top of the $300 bike charge. For those of you who have never been to Chile, apparently every American citizen has committed a crime against the Chilean government and therefore must pay $131 in a "reciprocity" fee before being allowed to enter the country. I was completely unaware that my birth was a crime against the people of Chile. At least they didn't charge me a late fee. </div><div>Back to the ride. I started the ride with tad and had the idea of just doing a kinda easy 2 hour ride. We started climbing up the road towards the ski resort that was at the end of the paved road. From there we road around a little bit and then headed out towards this place called Colorado. After climbing dirt road switchbacks for an hour, Tad said that it was time for him to turn around. I wanted to go to the top of the ridge and see what was on the other side. Well once I got to the ridge, it was so amazing that I had to go up to the next little peak. This continued on and on and I ended up climbing for 4 hours, went above sections of snow (it is the end of summer here) and got up to around 13000 ft before I ran out of water. To put this into perspective, imagine doing 4 snowbird widowmaker hillclimbs back to back and then have the top of the mountain be 7000 ft above you covered in glaciers. It was crazy and absolutely beautiful. I have never seen anything like it. I was above all plant life. No bushes, grass, or anything. I could see glacier covered peaks all around me and not one person. It was most definitely one of my top five rides of all time. Yes, I may have fried my legs for Sundays Continental Championships, but I have tomorrow to recover and it was worth it. I hope you all get in at least one epic ride this year. It will show those clowns at AIG what life is really about. </div>Mitchell Petersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10350461939431256364noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2135063991597664948.post-85523834762298884272008-12-20T09:39:00.001-08:002008-12-20T10:22:20.600-08:00Update<img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 256px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjx09d3R__hZkbsShffHBd_oJA6zeOaFXt4nACQiGSCTzenLIknkxDvQF7MYgetkZvN9cXMNgzEMIwf-cRxoF-8UQGrK7XSv8EziE16qR5dhI6PNbwNHFofb-aQW-nEexnW0T3RQUJIVm4/s320/USGP08PC10948.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5281938782074201618" /><br />It has been a long time since I last posted. I have been busy writing papers and taking finals, but now the semester is over and I can give an update. Cross season is over and the snow has finally arrived. This cross season had its ups and downs, but considering the total lack of training and occasional illness, I think that all and all it was a good year. As you may recall I was called up last at the first four GP's, However I still managed to take the leaders jersey the last day in New Jersey, and race in it both days in Portland. The picture of me that went into velonews was not such a good picture, and some gay guys wrote about how ugly I am. I found this pretty entertaining. Why gay people are discusing my looks is beyond me, however I am honored to have reached the level where people hate me. As Katt Williams would say, "If there are any haters out there with no one to hate, feel free to hate on me." I do have one other thing to say though, if I am so ugly, why is she dating me?<img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 214px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRSPFmbaa6BBCdLZuJrvG2SdF5_9T_ImdHxC_cn7PzLucfT1wFpD2mdmMFKrk8ybVYmYdZuzJ4QH7IIFCrsekQ8VFlMRIjPAjClqKyNQAbw0jyA3ybwZVuWB75dz7_dF3NILzN4Tdnl_Y/s320/More+Head+Shots+2008+Dec+006.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5281938792929345842" /><div> I did lose the jersey in the end, but Nick was really fast and deserved it. I was sick and not training so I didn't expect to go very well. Nationals also reflected my lack of training and being both mentally and physically drained. I was able to scape together a 4th at collegiate, but I was really tired. I decided to turn down my offer to go race in Belgium this year because of being fried. I have some important MTB races in March and April and I decided that it would be best for me to ski now and refresh my mind in order to have a great MTB season. It was a really hard choice because I really enjoy racing cross in Belgium, but I needed the rest. There is about 6 inches of new snow in my yard and I am going skiing.</div>Mitchell Petersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10350461939431256364noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2135063991597664948.post-39796481235240692172008-10-25T16:56:00.000-07:002008-10-25T17:59:40.345-07:00Last PlaceI am out in Kentucky for the first two GP races. The first race happened today under partly cloudy <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">sky</span> and the ground was dry. For the second year in a row I was called up dead last. I found out that UCI points reset every <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">calender</span> year with the first world cup. This made it so that the points that I gained last year were lost. So that <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">meant</span> that I went behind everybody with a UCI point. That was fine, but then the GP people are supposed to do a random call up for the people who have zero points. Now either I am the most unlucky guy on the planet, or they are doing the call up some other way. It must be <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">written</span> in the rules that Mitchell Peterson is always last. This <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">meant</span> that I was called up over 45 places behind the first U-23. By the end of the race I was able to move up to 20<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5">th</span> and was 4<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_6">th</span> U-23. Hopefully I can talk them into not making me start last because I would rather not be stuck behind people all race, or maybe do something really crazy and put a climb in. <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_7">OOh</span> I know, I said it. Having a climb in a GP race would be as crazy as producing cross products for cross season, but seriously why can't we have a climb?Mitchell Petersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10350461939431256364noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2135063991597664948.post-63959816999858392602008-09-04T16:54:00.000-07:002008-09-04T17:02:27.239-07:00FIRE!!Today I rode the trail that burned down in the draper fire. It was really weird and actually pretty cool. You could see the trail so much easier, given that all of the plants have burned away. Interestingly the plants that were growing in the trail are <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">totally</span> fine, but both sides look like Mars only black and with the <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">occasional</span> black log sticking up into the air. It was really cool to ride through. I didn't have my camera with me so I can't show you just yet, but I will go back tomorrow with camera in hand. On a side note, I can't believe that cross is just two weeks away; that is crazy! I don't have all of the parts I need let alone have a built bike. Plus I am not in shape at all. I need to get on it.Mitchell Petersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10350461939431256364noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2135063991597664948.post-30311875422073775232008-08-27T21:03:00.000-07:002008-08-27T21:06:50.607-07:00<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjD2xaCImkdbbXZY5NtXp3ZR-srhbquiUn5z4R9x4wA8HRln1Pxz_irwPgGBcmQyUsUiliaPfCTeAb4vu1sKxkyhcldN2eXGTebtFzJivG2d7xYZjCen9LZqzEIjhtUU2tudMnRlEz9LWM/s1600-h/IMG_0109.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjD2xaCImkdbbXZY5NtXp3ZR-srhbquiUn5z4R9x4wA8HRln1Pxz_irwPgGBcmQyUsUiliaPfCTeAb4vu1sKxkyhcldN2eXGTebtFzJivG2d7xYZjCen9LZqzEIjhtUU2tudMnRlEz9LWM/s320/IMG_0109.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5239414954992801362" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmC8F6xq0TBsw6_-fLzNiolqrys4pZCuZovw1qtQAx9snHQQgNDk1QIqPRfIYi_Ju1TDQoGh69AGhDFuJYhwpCW49spXcaf5n64fbzOHU685D9dObuwHlud_Qg-yAmduFm1TdTds5hcNA/s1600-h/IMG_0120.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmC8F6xq0TBsw6_-fLzNiolqrys4pZCuZovw1qtQAx9snHQQgNDk1QIqPRfIYi_Ju1TDQoGh69AGhDFuJYhwpCW49spXcaf5n64fbzOHU685D9dObuwHlud_Qg-yAmduFm1TdTds5hcNA/s320/IMG_0120.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5239414957910227346" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizAv2YlrZSopmJz6w3nb7Vi3U_tOd1k_FgagKvPjyxvbo4Y8bjkZCOzWBQlpd3lbaWTXzcr-FOQpDHz0iIGZ4bxsO-jn6wDOYz49aUrhSjHbHFoHa_iQ37bC5lxszzD8GIhyphenhyphen4ZcJvJF5A/s1600-h/IMG_0085.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizAv2YlrZSopmJz6w3nb7Vi3U_tOd1k_FgagKvPjyxvbo4Y8bjkZCOzWBQlpd3lbaWTXzcr-FOQpDHz0iIGZ4bxsO-jn6wDOYz49aUrhSjHbHFoHa_iQ37bC5lxszzD8GIhyphenhyphen4ZcJvJF5A/s320/IMG_0085.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5239414966198059122" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEii06g74bmyh4HL7t53zslPoQNA_fWfUzOXJ7dvELNbmBmYM8a80fT84YZY2ns6rrlPegBkVEXFeaOAiNKE-vPp4eGVRnWHvCzrp0n9-Et3urvBJty0DRmr2jvm7MeESeEh_JdwZFvwuUk/s1600-h/IMG_0083.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEii06g74bmyh4HL7t53zslPoQNA_fWfUzOXJ7dvELNbmBmYM8a80fT84YZY2ns6rrlPegBkVEXFeaOAiNKE-vPp4eGVRnWHvCzrp0n9-Et3urvBJty0DRmr2jvm7MeESeEh_JdwZFvwuUk/s320/IMG_0083.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5239414969144888978" /></a>Mitchell Petersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10350461939431256364noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2135063991597664948.post-52402683674487521862008-08-27T08:31:00.000-07:002008-08-27T08:45:32.212-07:00SchoolWell, summer is over and I am back in school. In some ways it is good because now I have stuff to do all day, on the other hand it sucks because I have a lot of non-school stuff to do right now. My car is sitting up on blocks with the front bumper removed waiting for me to replace the timing belt, I need to get a house, and I would like to keep training but that isn't going to happen. Fortunately the racing season is over and I can just ride aroud through the trees and enjoy the raging forest fire that has engulfed my trails. On the plus side, my parents house is still standing so I have a place to live. Haha, this guy infront of me is playing Age of Empires (a computer game for those of you who are not nerds) I am in Psycology right now, but it is just introduction and because I took this class last semester I know it. I know, if you failed last time maybe you should pay attention, but I had an A going into the final. I skipped the final to go race the world cups in europe and since I am not a steroid ridden football player, I couldn't make it up; thus why I am taking it again. Yay school!Mitchell Petersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10350461939431256364noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2135063991597664948.post-63975600350061938672008-08-21T15:19:00.001-07:002008-08-21T15:46:28.806-07:00Healthy??<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxrzrMzJ0JfnWIyZi7YZEH2AB03UFZt86x4n0y4KdBQlFDnXxONxY1RKUQOBUIlUyGzajngrybwQMthT1GDEiD1xrB-C9hZgQtoefj33q8gbfkBlgtUtM_FdT1pndgky8Tw1TamS0OwkA/s1600-h/P1010035.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxrzrMzJ0JfnWIyZi7YZEH2AB03UFZt86x4n0y4KdBQlFDnXxONxY1RKUQOBUIlUyGzajngrybwQMthT1GDEiD1xrB-C9hZgQtoefj33q8gbfkBlgtUtM_FdT1pndgky8Tw1TamS0OwkA/s320/P1010035.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5237105780014220818" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhL29OlKmG2hnkYBHy6wS91Hh9ZiALP33pLbryL6kHeLG9OlVzGhfg9Fhqd9Bnfr9okXJb8HE2YS9nYXeaM-7Q9ccjvfcEdp_WrsZw-eEQGbz4NzmeFYXUB9-1iaFLMc_WPFGRGETxU3xc/s1600-h/P1010008.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhL29OlKmG2hnkYBHy6wS91Hh9ZiALP33pLbryL6kHeLG9OlVzGhfg9Fhqd9Bnfr9okXJb8HE2YS9nYXeaM-7Q9ccjvfcEdp_WrsZw-eEQGbz4NzmeFYXUB9-1iaFLMc_WPFGRGETxU3xc/s320/P1010008.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5237105793684075442" /></a><br />Last Saturday I decided that I could handle a 45 minute effort, so I raced the Snowbird Hill Climb. I am glad that I did because I felt much better than I have in a long time. I love that climb and to have a race up it is just perfect for me. Sayoko is back in town for school, so she was there for extra motivation. I needed that to beat Norm. There is only one thing about that race that I really don't understand and that is the awards. This year the winner of the pro race got exactly the same thing as the winner of the cat. 5s. WTF? Oh well, Rob is happy. On a side note, if you know Cameron Hoffman could you please tell him to upgrade Rob Squire to a cat 3? It is crazy to make a kid who was 23rd at world championships, is the current US National Champion, and is ranked #1 in the nation race cat 5s. Even if it is on the mountain bike. It isn't fair to the other cat 5s, plus it is a waste of his time. OK I'm done ranting and am off topic. So because I felt better after Snowbird I decided to go on a five hour MTB ride to try and get myself back in shape for the Brianhead national. I felt dead after about an hour. I feel like I have finally won the battle against my illness, but now I have to heal my wounded and repair my infrastructure. I don't think that all the necessary repairs will be finished by Brianhead, however I should be back come cross season. Maybe I will go try and set a record up Clarks, that's right Bart. I'm coming.Mitchell Petersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10350461939431256364noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2135063991597664948.post-17605406120151322642008-08-05T14:12:00.001-07:002008-08-05T14:20:02.187-07:00Home at last<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh62UyIARevjSlyqs_cBirCPVWS_peeEb87Ipe6Ujz3z7a1cJh2uegj2Pa5UdIkDP11OwbY8EWzoSJOvRTLRur8Vcxrj-qbUrnb6CgL2-3zKVX0rwUTDlpxo4BtBFLDw1rHI5g3iZNLtFo/s1600-h/IMG_1760.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh62UyIARevjSlyqs_cBirCPVWS_peeEb87Ipe6Ujz3z7a1cJh2uegj2Pa5UdIkDP11OwbY8EWzoSJOvRTLRur8Vcxrj-qbUrnb6CgL2-3zKVX0rwUTDlpxo4BtBFLDw1rHI5g3iZNLtFo/s320/IMG_1760.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5231146063258595714" /></a><br />I am finally home. It has taken a very long time, but finally I can breathe the fresh thin mountain air. I also was able to go by the doctors again and get a new round of antibiotics. I hope I will be healthy before ski season. I don't have a picture of my house not from the winter and I don't want to walk outside, so that is why my house is covered in snow.Mitchell Petersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10350461939431256364noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2135063991597664948.post-55806130873722506502008-08-01T08:55:00.000-07:002008-08-01T09:00:27.640-07:00Mitchell Petersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10350461939431256364noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2135063991597664948.post-22479537244949481922008-07-15T11:59:00.000-07:002008-08-01T15:16:51.306-07:00The Crazy Life<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoYRym1dJqk42RfmwOy0ZNlG3ourxUb_6yFTz6zpTSj_PYK_dnCNR1QbN_t_haq5R77liXQx4g-egLfyKdZBNKlZKj7YE3BRmzDei9JmX6Oo3DI3KEKNg3TVd1ReHFl5BMPzFcFxvbcuY/s1600-h/VisitingMitchellinBC2008summer032.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoYRym1dJqk42RfmwOy0ZNlG3ourxUb_6yFTz6zpTSj_PYK_dnCNR1QbN_t_haq5R77liXQx4g-egLfyKdZBNKlZKj7YE3BRmzDei9JmX6Oo3DI3KEKNg3TVd1ReHFl5BMPzFcFxvbcuY/s320/VisitingMitchellinBC2008summer032.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5229675385633142706" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCYxYwT-g1mBk-xV4YDKhm5e2KQRSWxSGWvSogIXRhUDrIKUsUZhkvUdaldpLxpyQlvgX7bk7mGW11wIHARxC1ROktq9cddVNsL7-l93TNywtUQFAhlGY79HcM5d9lyXnPW3iI646Nqnw/s1600-h/P1010098_2.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCYxYwT-g1mBk-xV4YDKhm5e2KQRSWxSGWvSogIXRhUDrIKUsUZhkvUdaldpLxpyQlvgX7bk7mGW11wIHARxC1ROktq9cddVNsL7-l93TNywtUQFAhlGY79HcM5d9lyXnPW3iI646Nqnw/s320/P1010098_2.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5229675392226925986" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCxM2W7vHD2AG5Od-LcKfHTFMzYZ7Hk7mgCpCDIOllvOiyqHkGYgOXJ5ozXgPmHrnRU9OXaGEklv7PfYJg6E9sT3e7AjfCVuhPqyJqIPQYRRG1PNO8PBBEQHU-6fGVLrcpYutF5VkNEnE/s1600-h/IMG_0198.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCxM2W7vHD2AG5Od-LcKfHTFMzYZ7Hk7mgCpCDIOllvOiyqHkGYgOXJ5ozXgPmHrnRU9OXaGEklv7PfYJg6E9sT3e7AjfCVuhPqyJqIPQYRRG1PNO8PBBEQHU-6fGVLrcpYutF5VkNEnE/s320/IMG_0198.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5229675398443659122" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFu-Dlc0QKs9ZKIvAylfQp7ESqljDbH7hTgZE_LKoGgLuBeHjWsrROMMk8Owrrr9NR0b4gFZuOYgdjvr5GRtYkJzddOfrMuAwz0_bqt2s_xOQd81bSA0wFH8ujgORERPTXM6umSz-LLI0/s1600-h/VisitingMitchellinBC2008summer003.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFu-Dlc0QKs9ZKIvAylfQp7ESqljDbH7hTgZE_LKoGgLuBeHjWsrROMMk8Owrrr9NR0b4gFZuOYgdjvr5GRtYkJzddOfrMuAwz0_bqt2s_xOQd81bSA0wFH8ujgORERPTXM6umSz-LLI0/s320/VisitingMitchellinBC2008summer003.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5229675413147435394" /></a><br /><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>It has been a long time since my last post and many things have happened in the adventure. For those of you who don't know, my attempt at a decent result in the world championships was foiled by a German kid who went down in front of me in a steep shoot. He slid out on a root and crashed into a big tree on the side of the shoot. I smashed into his bike and went over the bars superman style and hit the German in the face with my elbow sending him flying back into the tree. As I was sliding down the shoot on my back, I saw my bike go flying over me. Fortunately a spectator ran down and grabbed my bike out of the river for me. Unfortunately my seatpost was broken. I went into the pits and got it replaced, however it took about four minuets to fix and caused me to go from about 40th back to 120th which was last, and where I started due to a timing chip problem caused by the worlds mechanics. In addition to having to come from the back again, my saddle position wasn't correct and my mind was out of it so I ended up in 67th and was kinda frustrated.<div><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>After Italy I flew home and was there for about eight hours before I had to catch a flight for Vancouver, BC for the BC 7. I got there and was really jet lagged and tired for the start. Not really the way that I wanted to start with Tinker as my teammate. On the first stage I had problems. I flatted three times and only had one tube and a big air. Needless to say I lost a lot of time, however all was not lost because Bart and Sager won the stage and took the yellow. After stage three I got sick. I was already tired from having to race super hard for four hours everyday and the sickness did not help. I was really starting to doubt that I could finish. If Sayoko had not have shown up at the finish of stage six and been there for the final stage, I don't think that I would have finished. I was having serious problems sleeping and was coughing up a lung. It was without doubt the hardest thing that I have ever done. It was a good thing that the trails were so sweet; otherwise I would have gone insane. I really liked the race now that I look back at it, however I don't think that it is a good idea to be racing in Europe the week before the start.<br /></div><div><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>After the race I spent a few days traveling around BC with Sayoko. It was really nice to just take it easy, go shopping, and eat at some really cool Japanese restaurants after spending a week racing hard and sleeping in a tent. I was also hoping that taking a few rest days would help me overcome my sickness, but it didn't. The sickness eventually turned into a sinus and ear infection; not a good thing to have with nationals only two weeks away.<br /></div><div><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>I took it real easy the next week and started my anti-biotics. I decided that I needed to do a little intensity so that I wasn't totally flat for nationals, so I did the big cottonwood hill climb. I felt terrible, like I was going to die. I was coughing and couldn't breathe. I was able to hang in for dear life up to Solitude and then I put in one of the most pathetic attacks the world has ever seen. It was quickly bridged, however I was able to pull off a second place finish for the second year in a row. I hate second place.<br /></div><div><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>The next day found me on yet another plane this time going to Vermont for MTB nationals. I really love racing in Vermont. I think that it has something to do with devo being based out of there. I spent a lot of time there as a junior and I know the course. As the race got closer I started feeling the effects of the anti-biotics. My snot wasn't so green and I was very tired. During the race I actually felt OK on the first two laps and was off the front. However by the end of the third lap I was totally dead. Tad caught me and eventually dropped me on the fourth lap. I finished second again. I hate finishing second.<br /></div><div><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>I am now up in Quebec for the world cups and I am still sick. I am looking forward to being able to go home soon and get ready for school. If you are still reading this, I am truly amazed and I thank you for suffering through this with me.<br /></div>Mitchell Petersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10350461939431256364noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2135063991597664948.post-12523883633776373132008-06-18T12:23:00.000-07:002008-06-18T12:58:41.071-07:00<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4E6k3P0kRKJKORAyyh-gZQJ7wh8AwzzLccwTBBlhuyKJTP86u825tNDrfz6I_Q54WEOo98FH4Htf_pWsJ-y9dyXY0kZZXppNhtlRaXTk0TbhMhAa1MxNcSPZpptjMHXnR0MR2d1oDH-g/s1600-h/P1010132.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4E6k3P0kRKJKORAyyh-gZQJ7wh8AwzzLccwTBBlhuyKJTP86u825tNDrfz6I_Q54WEOo98FH4Htf_pWsJ-y9dyXY0kZZXppNhtlRaXTk0TbhMhAa1MxNcSPZpptjMHXnR0MR2d1oDH-g/s320/P1010132.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5213313321335790594" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGE-UfHFfzFy4P7Kv-di_wIc6I_6huEhc_0IVzO8GqYvPft14aGe8heMIMVKN6zXkff0SjcO-F64jMRiH2TorEzVTU0OyZFCnod3G0huDd9CaobmmKkVjcmOW1F7-Q85PCvpRTdWq9abc/s1600-h/P1010112.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGE-UfHFfzFy4P7Kv-di_wIc6I_6huEhc_0IVzO8GqYvPft14aGe8heMIMVKN6zXkff0SjcO-F64jMRiH2TorEzVTU0OyZFCnod3G0huDd9CaobmmKkVjcmOW1F7-Q85PCvpRTdWq9abc/s320/P1010112.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5213313340538998194" /></a><br />Today I slept. I have been missing sleep from the past four or five days, so I made up for it today. I slept for 12.5 hours, then the maids came in and woke me up, so I went down for breakfast. After breakfast I started to watch soccer on euro sport, which works better than ambien by the way, so I fell asleep until lunch. After lunch I went on yet another unbelievable ride. I just can't believe how amazing the riding is. You could easily do 14, 4 hour epic rides. Those of you who have never been to Italy think I am exaggerating, but those of you who have been here know that I am not. This place is absolutely amazing. The Gavia is close and I may hit that up on Saturday. It is hard to not go too long and blow my legs for Friday. My legs feel pretty good, so I am hopeful that I can have a good race. Maybe if I get some help from my super fans both here, home, and in Seattle, I can have a good result.Mitchell Petersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10350461939431256364noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2135063991597664948.post-5626373364481723752008-06-17T11:57:00.000-07:002008-06-17T12:22:20.862-07:00Val di non sole<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7erxylwwgO0FU7VmsdTGzb-XXza6xoMrnEFd1cHlLlyDu56pl5K6vBiLrVJZMmMJFiBY-mg_WTxIcJUJvNC82NfbbnSKYYkcu7LII5I0PKVycujwCZsAgEb3A-RZRc16Qvr1eOyKDQ3g/s1600-h/P1010067.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7erxylwwgO0FU7VmsdTGzb-XXza6xoMrnEFd1cHlLlyDu56pl5K6vBiLrVJZMmMJFiBY-mg_WTxIcJUJvNC82NfbbnSKYYkcu7LII5I0PKVycujwCZsAgEb3A-RZRc16Qvr1eOyKDQ3g/s320/P1010067.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5212932895755807282" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHgp9vn4nBY40Knyfx3qT54KvtaXE8-rDppNpSHneIU-uvSep53EyjN3oPETJylphZKipgUOTriRhxncbBEt39-5tC5ejGL2wqfEMAZ792v2B-wunVPCO5YxOtIU9XCqVZIT0vyZlWlV0/s1600-h/P1010087.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHgp9vn4nBY40Knyfx3qT54KvtaXE8-rDppNpSHneIU-uvSep53EyjN3oPETJylphZKipgUOTriRhxncbBEt39-5tC5ejGL2wqfEMAZ792v2B-wunVPCO5YxOtIU9XCqVZIT0vyZlWlV0/s320/P1010087.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5212932908785858594" /></a><br />On Sunday morning I started my journey back to Europe for World Championships in Val di Sole, Italy. As I was walking to my seat on the flight to Munich I saw the fattest guy I have ever seen. I mean this guy was huge, easily pushing 400 lbs. The momentary laughter at the poor sucker who had to sit next to this guy died about the same time that I realized that I was that sucker; Rob laughed harder. I sat in the window seat and quickly put my armrest down in an attempted to protect my fragile personal bubble from his monstrous girth. The little armrest strained and creaked as it was overwhelmed and forced towards me. His seat belt, even with the extender extended to the max, was unable to contain him. The only thing that was finally able to reign in his width was the seat in front of him. I was curled up next to the side of the plane completely hidden from view for the next ten hours. It was a long flight.<div>I finally arrived in Val di Sole yesterday after a 6-hour bus ride from Munich. I have no idea as to why we flew into Munich. Both Milan and Venice are much closer, however this place is unreal. There are huge jugged peaks towering above on all sides, unfortunately they are currently covered in clouds. I rode up this amazing pass that was right here. 15 Switchbacks and two hours later, Schultz and I found ourselves in the base of a gigantic cirque, and in the driveway of this Italian rancher. He was pretty cool and talked to us a little bit and we responded in broken Italian and and hand gestures. There are some really big name passes, like stavia, that I will try to do on Saturday and Sunday. For now I am off to the pasticceria for some amazing Italian treats.</div>Mitchell Petersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10350461939431256364noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2135063991597664948.post-55950166160420808862008-06-09T19:41:00.000-07:002008-06-10T14:05:50.254-07:00Sleepless in Seattle.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVwAcvRcToxesEcYnIS9oIO8NFbx2OiWTL4g3JYfW_d7_0OlRJ0kVAOcSGyIOun75Rq3nGdNpJ3OpkPQiER5vt4Vllx1wwC66LJMpk9oDqeLBCfrEH_Q5f01xrSRu2GneTZMNtecTYqxA/s1600-h/Summer2008024.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVwAcvRcToxesEcYnIS9oIO8NFbx2OiWTL4g3JYfW_d7_0OlRJ0kVAOcSGyIOun75Rq3nGdNpJ3OpkPQiER5vt4Vllx1wwC66LJMpk9oDqeLBCfrEH_Q5f01xrSRu2GneTZMNtecTYqxA/s320/Summer2008024.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5210089181229489922" border="0" /></a><br />I spent a couple of days in Seattle last week helping Trevor drive his new car back to his house. I happen to know a really good tour guide in the area and she agreed to show me around the city while I was there. It is not very often that I get to experience cities and countries the same way that most people do. Usually I am there to race and that is all that I do. Just hang out in the hotel resting and waiting for the race. Then I race and leave. I don't have much time to walk around and usually just spend my time at the grocery store or local bakery. Not that there is anything wrong with that, however it was nice to be able to see the sights and just wander around. I got to go up into the Space Needle and stroll down Pike Place Market eating all of the Turkish candies, Russian rolls, and French pastries that I could. We also went by the fish market, the first Starbucks, and walked out onto the pier. Fortunately Sayoko was with us so I didn't feel too much like a tourist, although Trevor's purchase of a snow globe didn't help the situation. After all was said and done I didn't get back to the house until 4 am, and finally fell asleep at 4:20 only to be woken up at 5 to start the 13 hour drive back home. Sleepless in Seattle. I do not recommend starting your road trip off with 40 min of sleep. It tends to cause problems, however I feel that it was a justified sacrifice. After about 10 power naps, 15 Red Bulls, 5 coffees, a bag of swedish fish, and a pound of skittles I was awake, alive, and at my house ready for my next adventure.Mitchell Petersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10350461939431256364noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2135063991597664948.post-34211574124014976942008-05-31T18:38:00.000-07:002008-05-31T18:53:41.815-07:002 for 2So far during the time I have been back home training for worlds there have been two Intermountain Cup Races. I was able to pull off wins in both races. The first one wasn't a big surprise because it was held on the trails that I train on. They are literally a 10 min bike ride from my house; I know them. The second, however, was a bit of a surprise. There were fast pros there in Alex Grant and Bart G, and although the course was good for me with lots of climbing, I was tired from training hard all this past week. If it wasn't for a certain super fan in Seattle I don't think I could have won. Alex was coming up fast and it was all I could do to stay away. It looks like sly guessed the first two correct, but I am not sure what the deal was with the other three. He must be out of it, or got some bad information. I'm off to help Trevor drive his new car back.<img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMD3mKN-_VuThoee2I8CV3vAAiKYZGW8jxSK6Eg0yT0pZq8moaX5EWc0fZjA8cTNmrT1QPNTHu4gyrQoK74lcYfugVwvE9A78iPuQsNzgqh4SzEYYDmAxsaaxARLeBmM8AmxSgw7bJ-Gc/s320/IMG_1778.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5206725271618541266" />Mitchell Petersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10350461939431256364noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2135063991597664948.post-66308732648667051132008-05-24T10:11:00.000-07:002008-05-24T11:18:36.017-07:00May in Salt Lake<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPB_vZi32APw6_ytMyp9NoCD7TO5X4viDPpWhl4nDy2r7pLZaGnXjq23Q16a2KuTGDa4gz9-C1DG_-4SlGRVnoIUUo4L9PzayTL8EVawPGgRnrbykqwZH78GDd9zHDKUTm_Ju1JijXYbw/s1600-h/P1010065.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPB_vZi32APw6_ytMyp9NoCD7TO5X4viDPpWhl4nDy2r7pLZaGnXjq23Q16a2KuTGDa4gz9-C1DG_-4SlGRVnoIUUo4L9PzayTL8EVawPGgRnrbykqwZH78GDd9zHDKUTm_Ju1JijXYbw/s320/P1010065.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5204010467699037570" /></a><br />I have to train hard for the next month because I have World Championships in Italy coming up soon. Yesterday I was supposed to go for a hard 4 hour ride up the cottonwood canyons. However because I am the quintessential slacker that I am, and because it was raining when I woke up, I didn't. Instead I looked at the snow report and saw that Snowbird had 14" of new snow. Skiing it was. It was amazingly good. I am not saying it was the best day skiing, but it was a good powder day. Very few people, as it was a week day in summer, and good snow. This meant that I could ski as fast as I could. I love skiing fast, the old ski racer in me comes out and it is just a rush you can't get anywhere else. Plus, there is nothing better than freshies to remove the pain of overheating the Saturday before. Every trip back up the lift I was thinking, "It is the 23rd of May. This is incredible. At this time last year I was picking daisies and frolicking in the wild flowers, craziness." Eventually it started to get warm and the snow thickened, so I went home.<div>By the time that I got home, the sun had come out and the roads had dried up. Perfect for a bike ride. I got my lazy ass in gear and got in my full ride. That is why I love living in Salt Lake. Drive for 15 minutes and am skiing knee deep powder, then in the afternoon head out for a 4 hour ride. The mountains are my playground. </div>Mitchell Petersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10350461939431256364noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2135063991597664948.post-11555185193135908902008-05-19T15:35:00.000-07:002008-05-19T15:49:19.291-07:00Heat Wave and the Valley of DustThis past weekend was a race in Santa Ynes California. It was hot. Way too hot for a kid who got 14" of new snow the Monday before. When you go from training in thermal jackets and tights in order to prevent the onset of hypothermia, and then throw yourself into a race in 100 degree heat; you melt. A complete and total meltdown. I probably should have quit after lap one, but I never quit (even if it means giving myself pneumonia). On the plus side the beach was nice and the cold Californian ocean was a welcome relief. Since I am not flexible enough for yoga, all I needed was a pini colada and I would have been set.<img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdaGSF3OqcNiwYprVEgnUo5PbOeaqNHqMaCptYdOeplF3kVi5ErrwOYCcSkSuOqqMR8U5WDtrLXH5BNM-0S1CCJBb4fx1k3weT1eQ1KfI1AyKhm_2o2WBNWOOFwr6tAhFimcv4lJxkdbw/s320/IMG_1811.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5202224776414908722" />Mitchell Petersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10350461939431256364noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2135063991597664948.post-14730986456770084702008-05-01T11:25:00.000-07:002008-05-01T11:58:10.145-07:00Belgian Showers to Spain’s FlowersBecause I am traveling alone and because I decided to go to Europe last minute, I pretty much didn't and don't have any set plans or places to stay. I figured that I could get a flight from Frankfurt to Madrid, however that didn't work out. <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">Fortunately</span> Sue was able to give me a ride to Brussels, which had flights to Madrid. Belgium, for those of you who don't know, isn't known for its sun or attractive girls, so I left the next day to Madrid. I had talked to a friend of <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">Sager's</span> and he had said that he would pick me up at the airport. I have a euro phone so I figured all would be well. After trying to wash off the fly I left the rain behind.<img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJR7JRsLXqC5gW94wu72L68vshbWMbPSrnhpoyVn2TPKkPls8A5iCdO9SfoO9c0DQBRrE848OmQ74501duxzSi7ALxFvs0nbFLb5xyfJfllSHi8xSXJIBfMmbxKrYmI0kMSt7a_UutPIY/s320/SP_A0003.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5195480959726773698" /><div><div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIF9gt20O4TJoUwF6ZOfKOyJsKzXH9Ehh8RaXewVbdPbUZFOSRPkZVbl88_cccD7sgzjwznBJxXAXTZCSpCxdaP40EKxFJ2oREOysNx2v5I33Q5Oyb1xeTw7ZpHDczklP8bRqXoZ_WuMQ/s320/SP_A0007.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5195483515232314882" /></div><div>Upon arriving at the airport in Madrid, I discovered that my phone couldn't find service. This was bad seeing as how I had no idea where to go or who to look for. I told <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">Sager's</span> friend, Jose, to look for Ronald McDonald <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">carrying</span> a bike box. This worked well and he found me after about 15 min. Later I figured out that if I went in and selected the network <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">manually</span>, I could get the network in Spain that my Belgian carrier uses. I knew that the girls in Spain are nuts, but Bimbo <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5">sandwiches</span>? Seriously. My dog would love this place (Pig legs).</div><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJ_0sCVa8_VsPZrp3boyVnSdYhgdelFd-5RIz3X6Gq7g1WxFHLHbgJ26YEkhvD3CMzxQcs8qVnQh_8gPxnFkeEKdUe2ByPZgsle-lERcDcHDTWRo-yWoHHtxyz2IfPahVwrbSE_ufMgag/s320/SP_A0012.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5195482819447612898" /><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzktUsLgUpRFvoBowJ3u1iT_YiiBEo71RSyhoqHGpR2wFueNYuOqPmAiyVF-EW0cmr-idDhDbQVB2toeFIc25sNGF8Zxlk1Dtl5xvlmG_3VfJs-1qsNDdEWUdkrOf_a8r3o3N-v5II7k0/s320/SP_A0014.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5195482823742580210" /></div>Mitchell Petersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10350461939431256364noreply@blogger.com0