Sponsorhouse is a great thing. We get access to all kinds of companies that make stuff we want, and sometimes it`s very tempting to just apply to every company on the list.



But are you REALLY doing anyone any service with that?



I recently came to genuinely appreciate the pedals I use. I applied for sponsorship with Crank Brothers. The pedals looked like they would do a remarkable job, and once I find something I like I`m VERY brand loyal. Anyway, I was at practice a few nights ago and was really burning on one lap. I came unclipped just before a jump, and instead of panicking because my foot wasn`t stable on the pedal I just relaxed and acted like I was on platforms. Once over the jump I just started cranking again and my foot eventually found the clip and I was back to business.



Again, a few days later I had the same thing happen, only in a race. I kept cranking and actually picked up a place before I found the mark and clipped back in.The pedals have done exactly what I wanted them to do.



The point is, I applied for a sponsorship because I knew I`d use the product in a real, in-the-field capacity. And it paid off. I have no problem at all telling anyone who will listen that I use Crank Brothers pedals. ALL sponsorships should be the same. Don`t apply for deals just to rack up companies on your list. That`s what MySpace is for. Choose sponsors that fit what you do, and represent them well. If you like a sponsor`s product...TELL PEOPLE! If not, courteously part ways with them.



Anyway...it`s been a long, hard road to recovery and I`ve missed out on a great portion of the 2007 season. I`m making great progress, and I will owe it to my sponsors to come out as strong and determined as I am capable for the 2008 season. I have a newfound motivation and hunger to win, and hopefully will make everyone who supports what I do proud!

Well, I just got my blood test results yesterday, and the blood clots in my lungs are GONE! Also, it can determine hoe likely a person is for recurrence and I`m at a very low risk. I had a condition that kills 1 out of 3 people afflicted with it, and not only did I beat it, I will walk away from this with nothing more than a story to tell. I didn`t get the heart damage or permanent lung damage

 associated with pulmonary embolisms. I credit it to a lifetime of activity, and building a strong heart

 and lungs through years of BMX.



This sport rules.

So yeah, I did race a couple of weeks ago but it was a total points race in 105 degree heat. None of us were particularly interested in fighting for a win.



There was a shindig for labor day out at cowtown so of course we went. I wasn`t really planning on signing up (still on the meds), but I found myself paying for two racers when the time came. There were 7 guys in the class. My first race in 4 months, and first since I left the hospital. As the risk of me bleeding to death internally is still quite real if I crash, so I wasn`t even expecting to make the main. The meds make me tire very quickly as well.



Mind you, I have been riding pretty well in practice lately. My gates have gotten good again and I have felt pretty confident. First round is lining up, I`m in gate 1 with a pretty fast younger guy in 2. I didn`t want to fight for a qualifier and crash so I rode soft and chalked up that round.



They changed to a 2 moto transfer at the last minute due to rain, so I had to put at least a little effort into qualifying. I was freaking out on the gate. I mean SERIOUSLY nervous. Not about the race, but about actually being on the track when I shouldn`t be. I soft footed the gate hoping I could work up into a qualifying spot once the crowd thinned a little. I kept going for a pass, and one rider (thanks Brett!) was suffering with an injury and had some trouble, and I jokingly yelled "hey, pick a line man!". Well, he backed off and I moved into the last qualifier.



The main comes and I`m really sweating. I want to ride hard but there is the slightest sprinkle trying to start, so I`m afraid the starting hill will be slick. I put on my pressure suit (which I hadn`t been wearing because it`s too dang hot) and felt a little more confident. I had lane 7, a rider I have to try REAL hard to hang with in 8, no one in 6. I knew I could get out clean. I wasn`t really nervous, and not really even thinking about "what if". The gate dropped and I got a clean snap, albeit a tad late. I hit the bottom of the starting hill in 2nd, and another rider pulled up next to me. I was way outside and lost a place in the first turn, but I found myself in "eff it mode" and cranked out of the (very soft) turn. You`d have thought things went my way from there, but I came unclipped right as I came out of the turn! My heel was sitting on the pedal, but I just kept cranking (Thank you crank brothers). Got some momentum back and got back on the gas. I`m low in turn 2, and a friend of mine hits the turn WAY too hot on the outside and flies right over the turn! I squeezed the brakes to see if he was OK (a hurt friend needs help more than I need to finish a race). I see him raise the thumbs up right as Joey Lake goes by me. I head down the 3rd straight in 4th and that`s what I crossed the line in.



I was proud I popped out in the front of the pack and kept cranking. I was proud I kept my composure when I unclipped. I was proud when I finished the race, regardless of my placing. One step closer to being healthy again. My lungs get a little better every day, and it feels great.



Next wednesday I go in for my mid-point blood test. If it shows I`m not fighting a clot I *could* get off the medicine, but I think I`ll just go on a minimum dose for another 3 months. There is very little risk of bleeding, and a 64% reduction in chance of recurrent clots to go the extra 3 months. had these been idiopathic ("from out of nowhere") clots in my lungs I`d be on 6 months of full dose meds anyway.



I`ll just keep going as fast as I am able, and maybe in a month or so I`ll be fighting DP for wins after he turns X