Sun Valley, named by Someone with a Sense of Irony

Hey All,

So I'm in Sun Valley, and my first race was today! It was a 3.3km skate 'prologue.' I haven't raced in over a month, so there was a bit of rust to shake off, but it went pretty well. The course was really tough, but I had a good strategy, and I'm happy enough with my result (65th, but the front was dominated by several Olympians from the US, Canada, and even Japan, so it was a legit field). Tomorrow is a mass start 15km classic race. Should be killer. After that we have a day off, then a classic sprint, followed by a hill climb.

Sun Valley is sort of a funny place. It's all sage brush, and not as much snow as I envisioned. It's also not glitzy at all. I figured it would feel a bit more like Aspen because so many stars come here, but it's really not that big a deal. There also hasn't been much sun. We had one partly cloudy afternoon, and the rest of the time it's been overcast. I guess the folks who named it showed up during a nicer week. At least it hasn't been too cold.

Hope you're all well, and ready for spring!

Love and Adventures,

Toast

Home Sweet Home... Sort Of

I'm in Steamboat, and it is really nice... I'm talking T-shirt weather nice. Add that to a little trip to Azteca Taqueria, and things are pretty damn good. The only weird part is that my parents are currently living in a temporary place, and I've never lived here before. It feels strange to come home to a place I've never lived. Oh well, it's still wonderful to be here!

Love and Adventures,

Toast

Holy Crap

Hey All,

Dropped the ball on posting this winter, sorry. Hopefully a couple of you have found your way to my blog on the Maine Winter Sports Center site. It's a bit more consistent.

Anyway, I've just embarked upon a March skiing odyssey. I'm in Minneapolis right now for Junior Olympics. I'm coaching for the New England team, and it's pretty sweet. We're staying right downtown, and the hotel is really nice. First race on Monday, I think. I'll leave MN on the 14th to fly home to Steamboat for a couple weeks. I can already taste the burritos... Also, I'm pretty excited play in the mountains and remind myself why I'm such a snow snob. Then it's off to glitzy Sun Valley, ID for the finals of the national pro circuit. It's called the SuperTour, but it's not worth googling. There's no website: perhaps the stupidest thing in the history of marketing. They're trying to establish a pro racing circuit in the US and they won't build a website. Anyway, I've never been to Sun Valley, and the racing should be great. I'll also be totally acclimated, so I should be able to kick ass.

Let me know if you can join me at any point during my March Odyssey as I miss you all, and love seeing you. Otherwise, send me some good vibes and I'll do the same for all of you.

Love and Adventures,

Toast