Getting Fit

After school this past Friday I went over to HED to get fitted on my P4 by Chris Edin, Ian Stanford, and Steve Hed. I've been working with HED a ton the past few years and they've been a huge help ever since I started with them.
I really got a good fit from those guys and went to Sushin afterwards. I had a great time hanging out with all the HED guys and can't say enough how great they all are!
On Saturday, I headed up to Excelsior with my Dad to do the 318 ride with Chad Macy. It was wicked cold at the start of the ride, but once we got going the temp got a little bit more bearable. I had a great time on the ride, especially since I haven't gone on a long group ride in a few weeks.
Sunday, I headed to the bike swap up in Blaine to try to sell some of our stuff. I had a pretty cool time there seeing some people that I hadn't seen in a while.
After we got done at the swap my dad and I met up with Dan Swanson to go on an adventure ride for a few hours. It was a super fun ride on some crazy icy trails with some classic Swanson stories!

Getting To The "Core" Of Things

This weekend I went to The Fix Studio to learn some core exercises that are going to help me out tons this season. I've known Sophie and Larry for several years and they have helped me out a lot over the years.
I was at The Fix for about an hour, and in that hour Sophie showed me several super useful core exercises and dynamic stretches. It's really nice to know that we have people like Larry and Sophie at The Fix that really know how to help an athlete out. I recommend them to anyone, they really know what they are doing!!

Making the Grade

Jordan missed 16 days of school last semester. A couple were sick days, but most of them were attributed to travelling for Bike Racing.

It took a lot of self-discipline on his part, but he still earned 6 A's and 1 B for the semester. He knows a career in bike racing is a long shot. Fast, but uneducated leads to a tough life.

While his school and teachers have been very understanding of his unique situation, Jordan is subject to state mandated guidelines of missing a maximum of 5 days per semester. His school's policy is 10 days per semester, but next year, they have to amend the policy to match state guidelines.

The consequence of missing more than 5 days per semester is no credit for work missed, making it virtually impossible to make the grade.

This has led us to a crossroad with Jordan. We are applying for open enrollment for next year, with the expectation he will attend school online. This will allow him to maintain his schooling, but allowing him the flexibility to travel. This is very common for elite junior cyclists in the U.S.

Obviously, the downside of online school is the lack of socialization and structure that you get automatically with normal high school.

One alternative we are seriously considering is enrolling Jordan at the Lone Star Academy in Wimberly, Texas. The school is run by Christian Williams, who is the director and coach of Jordan's Slipstream Craddock Junior Development Team. Jordan would travel to Texas Oct-May, in a boarding school environment with other promising junior cyclists.

While this would be a big step for us as a family, it is a great opportunity for Jordan to pursue his cycling goals without sacrificing his education.