off road handcycle world championships all wrapped up.

boy howdy, quite the beatdown! sitting in an internet cafe in gunnison just feeling tired drinking coffee while denise is off mtn biking. all in all, it was one of the coolest events i've had the pleasure in participating in, and i did much better then i expected! the first day was the hillclimb - 2 miles straight up the side of the mountain to well over 10,000 feet. i was dicing it out the whole way for 2nd with last year's silver medalist, drew wills, after passing 5 riders after the start. it was grueling! i came in 3rd with seth arseneau winning and steve ackerman in 4th. the second day was the x-country, three miles up and down the muontain with a mass start. i was seeded near the back of the twelve starters as they put the fastest riders at the back to make it "more interesting", which it surely did. i ended up yo-yoing back and forth with last year's bronze medalist, steve ackerman, renound hard-man, the 1st guy to hand cycle around the world! it was a gruesome contest of who could endure the most pain with drew in 2nd and in sight the entire time and steve won, putting me in 4th with seth taking the gold once again. all in all i think i did really good for a rookie, it was a treat and a surprise to duel it out with the world's finest and to sit on the podium for both days in a world championships less then two years after almost dying, something i would have never belived would ever happen!{the $500 in prize money was pretty sweet too!} thanks to all, everyone was soooooo supportive, from my bro-and-sis-inlaws michelle and greg to one-off handcycles, ron andrews from kingcage, the crested butte adaptive center, the u.s. handcycle federation, all the vollenteers,and drew will for some great additional photos. and especially my wonderful wife denise for sticking it out with me through all the hard times and all her love! rock on, ya'll, steve.