Oh the places you'll go and the people you meet.

So its been raining for what feels like the entire week and since i really have nothing to do and from certain people asking id thought i'd update this good ole blog. Fair warning again we all know my grammar is terrible so just bare with me and suck it up :)

Fall semester of 2010 might have been the worst semester/time of my life. Filled with frustration of the worst classes and professors known to man kind it really made me rethink what i really wanted to do in this life of mine. Christmas break had come and gone and training soon began in my first year as a cyclist. Spring semester began a few weeks later and i soon felt as if i left off in the exact same spot as last semester. Ill admit i tend to stress quite a bit and be hard on my so frustration can easily build. As the semester started to take shape things were finally turning around. My grades were high and so were my spirits.

International Business. A class that i would rate as "ok" would soon turn into one of the best experiences of my life. Not knowing anyone in class and now having to make groups for the rest of the semester i kinda groaned to myself thinking of who ill get stuck with being that the rules was one commuter per group. Silly rule i no. No sooner did the class scamper around to find their friends to be in their group a girl 2 seats aways asked if i wanted to join her group. Initially thinking "oh god they are all staring at me" i said sure why not. With out first group meeting about a week or so later i felt like the odd man out walking to the library because they all new each other. The meeting started off with introductions and soon lead to watching funny videos. As we went into more detail about ourselves i told them about track and cycling and all three made the same reaction with a blank stare at me. I guess being a skinny little white kid doesnt equate to the athletic build of a typical sprinter/jumper or a good cyclist. But with hours of laughter aside we surprisingly got more work than i initially though we would done. After the meeting with Helena, Kevin, and O i was asked to dinner by Helena. After a brief argument saying that i would stay for 30 minutes i found myself having dinner for the next 4 hours. The conversation we had that night is one that ill never forget till the day that i die. My abs hurt so much from all the laughter it felt like i did a few hundred crunches. From sports stories to serious talks about life its just one of those talks that stays in the back of your mind forever. On the car ride home that night i let my thoughts wonder and i said to myself "i think this is the start of a beautiful friendship" (epic casablanca quote no need for applause). The semester roared on and before you new it i was a seasoned professional on the bike except i kept crashing. But those will be the stories for another day so stay tuned! Sorry ok ill continue. So the semester was flying by and classes could not be better. Our group meetings soon became the highlights of my days. The meeting consisted of 2 hours of joking and watching funny videos before we actually did work. Normally theres always one buzz kill in the group that always wants to do work but by getting laughter out of the way we were able to focus better. Its funny how when you put four completely different people together how well things work out. First you have O. O is extremely quite and we find ourselves yelling at him once in a while to speak louder but a great kid none the less. Than theres Kevin lol. Quite the character indeed. The top half of his body like an ox and the bottom half like a 12 year old school girl. (hes gonna kill me if he reads this but <3 u kevin)(not gay). Also very quiet and ill never let him live down the group presentation with his shaky hands. Finally theres Helena. The queen of mean. LOL just kidding, but no really im not, ok yes i am. As loud as one can be but the most caring person you'll ever meet and probably the best friend ill ever have. A few times she laughed so loudly the QU library security had to bust into our study room. Last but not least would be me and im pretty loud myself but all together we created one hell of a group. To celebrate the end of the semester we had an epic day of bowling with our top bowler Kevin already talking trash on the car ride there. He came in last both games just for the record.

The semester came closing faster than i had ever hoped and for the first time in my life i was dreading summer. As much as i like to hide my emotions sometimes its not really a good thing sometimes. As hard as it may be to come out and tell the truth in certain situations sometimes it just has to be done. This certain someone (who im sure or at least i hope you have figured out by now) really makes my days that much better. Whether it being just hanging out with her or a simple text message sometimes you just cant help but to smile. Emotions are funny things and for the longest time i felt as if id never feel them again until at one splitting moment in time where the simple question of "are you going to miss me?" broke me down into the smallest of particles. As my hero in life Mark Cavendish says always wear your heart on your sleeve this was exactly what i did. As hard as it may be to tell someone how you feel sometimes its only for the best and after telling her how i felt i made the right decision by doing so.

To end this post i give you a few parting words. As tough as things may get sometimes whether in life or having a race in the monsoon (which will be an epic story coming soon) just do your best and speak your mind. I feel that there are only a few people that will come along in your life and really make a difference and those are the people worth keeping forever. Sometimes you just might be stuck as a friend but with the soul of an athlete i find it ever impossible to just give up when you truly like someone no matter the circumstance.

Race Day

Snow... again... Im not a huge fan of snow, the first of the season is always good but after that it can go. It requires me to shovel which id rather not do but what can ya do. I guess thats when you get from living in New England. Today was a relaxing day, kinda enjoying the my last few days before the grind of school starts but im looking forward to going back (except for the school work part). But as i promised back to some cycling

So every day id push myself a little harder and get a little better hoping perhaps maybe something would come from it. Well something did happen. I decided to try out a 28 mile race with the pro's just to see how i could handle myself. The race started with about 35 people and as the miles went by the pack grew smaller and smaller. Now at the time of this race in late September i really didnt have all of the "professional" cycling equipment. Technology might not be everything but it sure as hell helps. Most of the competition had bikes that were above the 10,000 dollar mark. Some of the other cyclist shoes cost more than my bike. Yes i no i have lots of fancy watches that are expensive but at this time i was riding the cheapest bike and wearing some good old adidas running shoes. I didnt look like much of a cyclist but i was getting there. About 15 miles in the pack was cut in half and 25 miles in the pack was down to 6, and guess what i was still there! The 6 of us were in a single file line with me clinging onto the back, for a few moments i was contemplating grabbing the other cyclist bike to see if he could pull me but i decided not to. Good thing i didnt because the cyclist right in front of me was slowly losing speed and separating me from the 4 leaders. A small sense of panic ran through my mind but i gained the energy to get back into the lead group. 1 mile to go and it was down to 5. The other 30 riders weren't even in site, for all i no they stopped to grab a bite to eat knowing they had lost. Hmm what to do what to do. At bethel cycle we all get our classifications. In other words this tell you what you're good at and what you're not. Im a bit different from everyone else. My strengths happen to be hill climbing and sprinting and my weaknesses are flats and down hills. If you think about that im good at the stuff thats hard and not very good at the stuff thats easy. But yes its true im to light for the flats and am to reckless going downhills. Well with one mile to go i thought of the course lay out. In about half a mile we were to hit a steep climb up for 1/4 mile than a sprint finish for the last 1/4. The 5 of us traded positions and i found myself in 2nd right at the base of the climb. Being my height with such long legs and being very light weight does have advantages when everyone else weighs 200 pounds especially climbing a hill. Mid way up the climb i could see the rider in front of me getting tired. His hips shook from side to side with each pedal stroke and that was all i needed. With my cheap bike and holey running shoes i took off. I gripped the handle bar so hard i unthreaded where it hooks into the fork (bike talk dont worry if it makes no sense lol) I gritted my teeth so hard im surprised they are all still there. As i reached the top of the climb i looked back and thats when it hit me. I finally found the sport ive been searching for.

And that was it. I looked back and not one of them was in sight, and being the youngest rider with the worst equipment created a special feeling that was like nothing else

Why is this so difficult lol

Alright wow, i haven't actually typed something since like December when we were still in school. So ive decided to finally make a blog (cause people were yelling at me) but here it is. Now writing isnt exactly my strong suit so you need to help me out here and understand my problems. Another thing i should ad is i cant spell nor do i use the correct forms of words. So bare with me lol if you can read it and it somewhat makes sense than i can feel that its a job well done.

Now that thats all out of the way i feel a bit better. So a little bit about me is in order. My name is Matt (in case you didn't know) and uve probably found 13 spelling errors by now lol this is kinda fun though. But i love sports, whether im watching them or playing them its a lifestyle. Track and Field was kind of my past time now that im in college but those were the best days of my life. There was nothing better than competing with your best friends after class. I remember the brutal days out in the 90 degree weather killing ourselves, but in the end we loved every minute of it. Growing up ive played just about every sport. Basketball was always my favorite growing up and i was pretty good back in the day but all of those sports kinda fell to the way side when track came. I was always pretty quick but didnt hit my full stride till my senior year and after i graduated. Freshman year i kinda gave the whole running thing up but i decided for one last meet at the state games. Its always a good time to get back out their with my best friends to compete. As my life of track and field started to disappear the life of cycling started to come to life. Riding a bike was always fun but riding at a higher seemed like a thrill. I received an email from my now coach John Romano who is a monster rider and he wanted me to come out ride with the team. I said why not ive been training pretty hard maybe i could do ok. I sure didnt realize what i was in for lol .We did 30 miles and as fun as it was it was one of the most difficult things ive down. The pace seemed impossible and the guys made it look like nothing. My mom always tells me to take it easy cause ill prob get hurt but i wanted to do this and i wanted it bad. Everyday after class i would come home and bust my ass putting in the miles and climbing hills until i would get home and feel accomplished. Every week i would go back to ride with the team and everyweek i got a little better and the more obsessed i became. I couldnt get away from the bike and i still cant now. Theres just something about it i cant explain and to most it probably doesnt make sense. Why push urself into feeling pain and discomfort when you just sit at home and do nothing. lol cause im weird what can i say.

Now hold on a sec. I cant tell all the stories on the first blog i mean sheesh so for now that will be day one. Tomorrow the story will continue on cause ill probably be trapped due to snow. So for now i bid thee farewell and a goodnight to all and careful driving in the snow it might be slippery!!!