Jesse Anthony

2010 Road season is about to begin

Man, I haven’t updated my site for a really long time, but hopefully I’ll change my habits and be more diligent now that things are starting to pick up again in the racing world.

This weekend I start training camp with my new team, Kelly Benefit Strategies.  I’m getting stronger every week and am really looking forward to this road season.  I will be racing in the Philippines at the end of Febuary, Singapore in early March, Uruguay in late March, and then I go home back to the east coast.

I’ll get some photos up soon of the new team kit and the beautiful California riding.  There will be some more interesting posts to come for sure.

Happy winter!

The 2009 Cyclocross Season is Over.

The 2009 cyclocross season is completed, and I am taking the next few weeks to digest everything that’s happened this year. My mission this fall was to ride as hard as I could in every race, train as hard as I could, and do everything in my power to get healthy and back into the form I know I can achieve. I never did get back to full strength, but I accomplished a level of mental toughness that I have been working at for years. Overall my season was a success, and I have a lot to take into the off season and the year to come.

The National Championship in Bend was a really awesome race. The course was technical, rhythmic and fast. The crowd was loud and excited, one of the best crowds that I’ve raced in front of in recent years. I rode the entire first lap with adrenaline pumping from the energy of the fans, it was crazy! I don’t feel like I ever settled into a temp, more like I put my head down from start to finish and never let up. I had a clean race, didn’t crash or make any major mistakes, and I was kept up a steady speed the whole race. In the end I finished 14th. While I was not excited with the result, I was definitely satisfied with my effort.

This whole season I was more focused on what I was doing and how I was doing it rather than what the outcome was. I learned a lot about how to work hard, stay focused and appreciate some of the more controllable aspects of this sport. I learned to appreciate the people involved in all facets of cyclocross and bike racing in general. We are involved in so much more than just racing and results. There is an awesome group of people putting a lot of energy into each other. Everyone does their part to keep bike racing going and make it better and more fun and rewarding. Noticing and appreciating this network makes me want to put my best effort in the mix and add my own piece to the pie.

Well, for now I am just resting and decompressing and appreciating everything I learned this fall. I get to enjoy time with my friends and family at home, and apply the lessons I have learned in bike racing to my everyday life.

Thanks for your support not only of me, but to this entire sport. I hope I can inspire people to do there best in everything they do and appreciate the efforts of other people.

A special thanks to a few people who were a really big part of my experiences this fall:
My brother, Silas, for putting in countless hours working on my bikes and making my life easier at the races, and for being a great travel companion.
Steve Fairchild at Jamis Bikes for spearheading my sponsorship and being the man behind my mission.
Tim Johnson and Lyne Bessette for offering their invaluable advice, experience, support and friendship.
Rob and Adria O’Dea for their endless efforts to look after me.
Jodi Llacera-Klein for her generosity in keeping my body functional throughout the fall.
Gord Fraser, my coach, for making me want to throw up during training rides and helping me get the most out of my body and mind.

Thanks to my awesome sponsors:
Jamis Bicycles
Mavic
Sram
Giro
Oakley
Champion System
Fizik
Ritchey
Clif Bar
SwissStop
Rob O’Dea Photography
Cape Ann Orthopedic and Sports Physical Therapy
Carmichael Training Systems
Ola Loa
Dugast USA

The Calm Before the Storm

Right now I’m experiencing the calm before the storm, the last break in the action before the final two weekends of racing for 2009. After my crash in Boulder I had a hard time recovering to race the following weekend in Northampton, MA. At that same time, all of the racing and traveling that I’ve done this fall caught up to me.

By the time I got to the Mercer Cup USGP in New Jersey, I was both physically and mentally drained. I was hoping to hold out for one more weekend, but it was too late. I had a tough time in New Jersey, finishing 44th on Saturday and 18th on Sunday.

Now that is all behind me though. I took a few days off and resumed training to get a chunk of work in before the final USGP weekend in Portland, OR, followed by the National Championships in Bend. I am starting to feel refreshed mentally after 9 weekends of racing in a row. Physically I still have some work to do, but that is what I’m doing and I’m confident in the progress I’m making. Performing a training block of more than 2 days seems so novel, such is the nature of the cyclocross season.

This season has been very up-and-down, I put in so much effort and saw so much improvement, that was encouraging. Up to this point I have not achieved the results I had hoped for, but when I look back at it all I could not have tried any harder and I’m satisfied with my efforts.

In the next few weeks I have a few more chances to dig deep and give everything I have in these races. I have nothing to lose, and I want to finish this season off on a high note. I hope you have a happy Thanksgiving and are able to fully enjoy the meaning of this holiday.

Clothing finally up for sale on Ebay

I have a bunch of clothing from Team Type 1, Jamis, Champion Systems and Louis Garneau up for sale on Ebay right now.  Check out all the auctions.  I’m working on getting some current 2009 Jamis clothing for sale too.  Spread the word!  Also, check out the La Pavoni espresso machine I am selling in my store.  

Jamis Supernova Bike Review

Check out my bike review on Cyclingnews.com.  That’s my ride!  Jamis Supernova