Updates from jeff

For the younger radsters out there, some advice: d...

Tue, 08 Dec 2009 21:07:10 GMT

For the younger radsters out there, some advice: don`t knock the guys that aren`t as rad as you are. For some people, the desire to progress will push them right past the haters. Then all you`re left with are excuses. Ride hard, and support your peers. What we do is WAY more fun when you have friends instead of being a punk and having to ride alone.

It was 28 degrees this morning. Didn`t do my 100 m...

Sat, 05 Dec 2009 20:59:23 GMT

It was 28 degrees this morning. Didn`t do my 100 mile ride. Hey, gimme a break, I`m not even a roadie and I`m willing to commit! Maybe february...

I`m riding 100 miles on a road bike saturday. I`ve...

Tue, 01 Dec 2009 18:53:27 GMT

I`m riding 100 miles on a road bike saturday. I`ve never gone more than 100 feet on a road bike before. I`m also doing it in 6 hours (a goal I chose because someone said I couldn`t do it. I`ll be damned if someone else tells me what I`m capable of)

I have been RIPPING on the MTB lately! Traded the ...

Sat, 28 Nov 2009 18:26:29 GMT

I have been RIPPING on the MTB lately! Traded the Epic for a Gary Fisher Roscoe and couldn`t be happier. It`s a beefier bike that lets my aggressive side come out and play.

finally! Warm and sunny, no rain in the forecast f...

Sun, 01 Nov 2009 07:05:54 GMT

finally! Warm and sunny, no rain in the forecast for at least the next ten days. Maybe some of the trails will dry up and I`ll get to go RIDE!!! (got a brand new Specialized Epic to break in!)

Why Vet Pro?

Tue, 04 Nov 2008 20:16:29 GMT

Having been inspired by the UCI/ABA threads I figured I`d start a thread where we could talk about what Vet Pro is to different people.

I didn`t join the class for a lack of AM competition. There are some VERY fast riders in 28-35X. I was in my last year in the class, and many of the riders are 29/30 and former pros. 36X has some extremely fast guys as well, again...many former pro riders. It`s not like I was tearing up the national scene as an AM and had nothing left to shoot for.

The mere existence of Vet Pro is what ultimately brought me back to BMX racing. A few years ago I was looking into BMX as something to get my son into, and saw there was a pro class just for the over 30 crowd. I was like "WOW! That rules! I bet I could do that! I was a terror on wheels 15 years ago!" Of course I had NO idea the level of talent and speed I would find there. I suppose I was expecting it to be an entry to pro racing for 30 year old guys, not the next step for guys who were competitive in AA that got a life outside of BMX but couldn`t get it out of their blood. Either way, I knew I would at least try it.

It took me a year to realize I should have just come back to the sport as the expert I left it, and dealt with getting whooped from day one. Instead I was an Inter and learned how to be nervous and reserved, and never really felt motivated to put more into it. I turned expert in an effort to "sink or swim", so to speak. I knew I as nowhere near the level I needed to be for Vet Pro, but I had the pull to do OK in expert. I started getting faster, and was pretty happy with my progress when I had a health issue that could have dropped me dead. It didn`t, and I beat it. It took a long time to overcome some of the side effects, longer than I wanted it to, but the fact is I beat it. Steadily I got my cardio/pulmonary performance back and felt very motivated to ride my best. The more my endurance developed the more I thought about turning pro. I had made more progress than a lot of people thought I would (including my doctor who said I may never have the pulmonary ability to race competitively again). I realized that I really was reaching a goal I set for myself that seemed so out of reach when I started. Then the thought came to me; "If I can overcome this, I`ve got it in me to race vet pro. It may take me a while to measure up, but by the time I`m done I will earn the respect of the class, and more importantly, know that I took a chance and believed in myself again."

Since I turned up i`ve been pushing harder and trying to ride faster than I ever have. There is a motivation to live up to the pro card in my wallet, and a pride that I`m giving it what I have. What is Vet Pro to me? It`s a chance to put aside all the times I`ve let myself down in the past several years and chase a goal, even a dream of sorts. Whether I ever win isn`t in the equation. The only failure is if I give up before it`s over. Finding out my best isn`t enough to win a race isn`t a failure. Never giving myself the chance to find out what I`m capable of is the failure.

maybe it`s corny, maybe it`s a screenplay for an afterschool movie. Maybe it`s just something I`ve loved all my life, and gives me the chance to believe in myself again after putting myself aside to start a family, and buy a house, and work long hours for their sake. Maybe it`s my chance to be the kid again after losing my mom and realizing "wow, this is real. *I* am the adult now. *I* am the parent. *I* am the one who has to lead a family now". It`s not to be "cool", or for free practice.

maybe, just maybe it`s to prove that just because I am grown with a family and the life that comes with it, I don`t have to stop chasing dreams. There`s a 3 year old that calls me Daddy that needs to know how to always believe in himself, and who does he look to first for those lessons?

The ZEN of BMX

Sun, 19 Oct 2008 19:01:56 GMT

We all started in BMX for one reason or another. Whether it was to get the girls. or to get a bit farther from home after school. or to try and catch huge air like the pros we were lucky enough to see, it was SOMETHING that got us interested, and we might all have a different reason. However, we all have one reason why we stuck with it and kept doing it...the feeling we get from being on the bike.

For me, BMX was an escape. It was something I could call my own, and no matter where we moved I would have it, and I was GOOD at it. If I wanted to be the best in the neighborhood all I had to do was learn tricks other people couldn`t do. But more importantly, I could go out alone and completely lose myself in it. I could go to the trails and just flow for hours before I realized I was about to be late for dinner. It was like therapy for my young mind, but without the expense of some kook prescribing me some psychoactive chemicals. It always felt like "home" being on my bike.

As we get older we encouner different motivations and influences, and life gets a lot more complicated. The simple things get overlooked and sacrifices are made out of natural necessity. I didn`t ride a bicycle for 16 years before I came back to BMX, and looking back at that time, I wonder how I ever survived! (actually, it was music that took over but that`s another story). I have had my life revolve around responsibility and other people`s needs for a long time now/ I had become an "adult" *gasp*. Yet something was calling me from some very distant place, and it simply wouldn`t stop. I realized BMX needed to be back in my life. I was now an adult with a job and could afford all the cool crap I wanted as a kid. I got all wrapped up in having the latest and greatest in race technology amd the coolest, most inovative parts. I was so serious about riding that it started to feel like work. That wasn`t what I was in this for, and could have easily pushed me away from it. I had a decision to make. I could either quit racing again or I could find a way to make it fun again.

I cut loose of my aluminum race only frame and picked up a good, american made chromoly frame and forks from S&M. I built a bike I could ride at the track friday night and take to the trails saturday morning without worrying about snapping a dropout or cracking the frame. It`s only about 1/2 a pound heavier than my aluminum bike, and I found my groove again.

I spent about an hour and a half at the trails saturday all by myself. There were some other cats there in case I crashed, but I didn`t go with anyone and I fully intended on riding in silence. I just zoned out and hit a modest three hit line over and over, floating in a world of my own. For just over an hour I was free again. I was riding for no reason other than I wanted to. I had nothing to prove, just having fun. I walked away with a clear head and more inspiration than I have felt in a long time. I forward to riding my bike again, and I smile really big just thinking about it again.

training, training, training

Wed, 01 Oct 2008 20:40:09 GMT

With the previously mentioned return to roots, I have also gone back to some fundamental skill training for a while: PUMP LAPS. If you`ve never used them as a training tool you`re missing out. The amount of energy required to do multiple consecutive pump laps is intense. They also help with flow and track speed. They also help you pinpoint bad habits like leaning too far forward or back or riding too stiff, and then eliminate the issue. Well, only if you`re going to get better! Pump laps are great because the better you get at them the less you have to work doing them. It`s all about flow, and all the power in the world means diddly squat if you can`t put it to use.

Out for now.JB

gettin` some flow on!

Sat, 27 Sep 2008 21:51:45 GMT

Wow. That`s all I have to say about today. I spent the whole day at the skatepark and had a BLAST! SOO much fun. I actually got my 360`s dialed again and whipped a couple over a sweet little box jump. Nutted up and got an old trick out that garnered some "oohs" and "ahhs" from some of the younger guys...a well delivered, tweaked out tire grabber never fails to impress. A few more trips out and I`ll have my turndowns clicked, too.

I love bmx.

back to roots for a while

Thu, 18 Sep 2008 20:12:58 GMT

When I was a kid, the only time you actually "practiced" at the track was a race day, or the occasional gate practice day. Most of our riding was done around the neighborhood streets and dirt jump trails. that`s where you learned to bunnyhop higher, and farther. It`s where you learned to ride a wheelie just a little farther than your friends. It`s where you learned to get more and more air from whatever jump or makeshift lip you could find.

It`s where you grew your nuts.

I just got a new street/park/trails bike. It took a long time to find one because I wanted something fairly long, like my race bike. most dirt jump bikes are barely 20" top tube, maybe the occasional 20.5". My race bike is 21.75, and I wanted something closer to 21". Enter the Eastern Jane. A GREAT complete bike for the money, and the perfect size for me. I hopped on it once I had it built and it felt SO much more comfortable than the bike it is replacing. I spend 5 days a week on my race bike to have it feel so sweet. This bike felt like home from the very first pedal.

I`m going to be spending a great deal of time just riding urban street and trails for a while now that I`m not on a 2600 dollar purebred race bike. I`m on an all chromoly bike I won`t feel guilty about taking some chances on, and pushing my limits again. Growing my nuts again. And I can`t WAIT. I love BMX so much, and I really missed just getting on my bike and riding wherever my feet took me. Racing is demanding, and requires a great deal of energy. Free riding is exactly that; free. You get to go out and just ride.

And that, my friends, is what made me love BMX to begin with.

So the cat`s out of the bag

Fri, 12 Sep 2008 07:17:48 GMT

SO if you take a look at the pic of my new number plate you`ll notice something. It`s black with white numbers. In the ABA that means one of two things. It`s either a national number, or it`s a pro number. Well, I missed a substantial portion of last year so it`s sure not a national number.

That`s right!! JeffB joined the Vet Pro class! For no reason other than to grab a lifelong dream I turned pro. It`s not like the competition in the amateur class wasn`t there. Hell, I`m sure some of the top guys in my am class could easily hang in Vet Pro. I just didn`t want to leave the sport wondering how well I *could* have done. I raced my first pro race this past weekend, and it opened my eyes to several things. Mainly it showed me it was time to shift my training focus back to my weaknesses instead of elevating my strengths even more. I had a good first moto, and went into the second feeling like I had something to prove. Well, I proved something all right. I proved I could flip the starting gate and get dead last. Actually, I was just trying too hard, plain and simple. I got a SMOKING holeshot in moto 1 and actually had the lead for a bit. I was trying to do even better and it bit me.

Not sure when my next pro race will be, hopefully Florida. If not, it will be the ABA grands.

has become the owner/operator of a custom powderco...

Thu, 28 Aug 2008 11:52:43 GMT

has become the owner/operator of a custom powdercoating facility. Need anything coated?

just some info

Sun, 27 Jul 2008 18:27:46 GMT

just some quick updates, figured I`d do a blog instead of sending out some dumb broadcast.

First off, some BIG news at the JeffB headquarters....but I`m not letting the cat out of the bag just yet. Gotta wait about another month.

Second, I`ve got a cool video that i`ve been working on.I expected it to be done by now but you know how projects can get side tracked! It`s gonna be cool, hang tight.

One step closer

Sun, 01 Jun 2008 16:55:31 GMT

In my quest to train and prepare for joining the Vet Pro class, I raced a local pro-am last night. It was the first time in a long time I was in the gate with 7 other really fast guys, and it was a total blast! WAY fun! All sense of thinking went right out the window and I was riding on instinct alone, which felt good. Since I was working as a track official I had to cut my lap short and get right back out on the track for the first moto, but I was pretty happy with how well I hung in with a pack of (much younger) pro riders. It was cool, and I`m looking forward to the challenge of racing as a pro.

FLUID recovery drink

Tue, 08 Apr 2008 16:23:37 GMT

Hey, just taking the opportunity to let folks know about FLUID recovery drinks...

IT IS THE REAL DEAL!!!!

Normally after leg day i`m hobbling around like a cripple. Not this time. Even after sets of squatting 5 plates I`m spent, but not sore and actually have the energy to ride. FLUID works, plain and simple. Thanks for bringing me on board!!!!

Hmm...decisions, decisions

Sun, 30 Mar 2008 14:49:55 GMT

So we had our national this weekend. I had a bit of equipment failure (came unclipped) and missed the main. Not an excuse, I just had some bad luck. Shit happens. I should have been able to get back on the gas and keep my lead.

Anyway, after snapping my class and pulling every single round it made me think..."hmm, I have a ton of reclassed pros in my class that are up to 6 years younger than me. If I`m having to race younger pro level riders, why not turn Vet Pro and race people my own age?" LOL. Well, a few people (very fast people) agreed with me. So.....

I have a checklist of things I need to be able to accomplish in one lap at the track. Once I get them all picked off I am going to turn to the Vet Pro class. Racing expert is cool and all, and much respect to the guys in my class, but I never got the chance to race pro as a kid. With a bit of work I should be able to at least be 5th in the semis, and I`m OK with making the guy in 4th sweat a little bit!

what do YOU want?

Sun, 09 Mar 2008 18:46:47 GMT

Wow...it`s been a while since I`ve written a blog!!

I`ve written about motivation before, and it`s what I`ll wirte about again. For a while there I was simply motivated to be on my bike. I was down due to a medical condition and it was all I thought about. Now I`m tired of having the excuse.

It`s about time I really manned up and got where I need to be. It`s time I let go of my comfort zone and stretch out to find my potential.

For those of you reading this that are still very young, learn one lesson from me. Never lose your passion. Never let go of what makes you believe in yourself to your core, and never let anything get between you and your dreams. As corny as it sounds, it`s the real deal. If you have a dream, chase it until you either get it or fail, but whatever you do NEVER abandon a dream or stop trying before you get there. I have been on the edge of some huge successes and because I let go, I also let go of the passion.

Ignoring who and what you are is to be miserable. Don`t ever let go.

Reflecting on 2007

Tue, 04 Dec 2007 10:41:05 GMT

Well, 2007 was an interesting year. It started off pretty rough, got better, then I found myself in the hospital with a potentially fatal condition in June and lost 4 months` worth of training! On one hand, it sucked for the obvious reasons. On the other hand, it pointed me in a direction I didn`t know I needed to go in. It made me train in areas I had been neglecting, and made me appreciate things in my life SO much more. I really, REALLY wanted to race the `07 Grands, but after a couple of practice laps I knew the dust in the air was going to wreak havoc on my lungs and I didn`t want to drop dead of a heart attack at the finish line! I was riding pretty well, but after Melvin Shadrick crashed in the rack before mine I figured it was the universal mojo telling me to sit out and just root for my son and my friends who were racing. I ended up seeing a lot of great friends and saw some AWESOME racing action. 2008 marks a new and focused effort to compete at the top end of national competition. Hard work and determination will carry a person a long way. Let`s see just how far...

Proof is in the pudding

Thu, 08 Nov 2007 20:41:30 GMT

Wow...it`s been a month since my last blog. So much has happened. A short recap just for the sake of it:

Stopped taking my blood thinners and I feel GREAT.
Got a new job!
Had the one year anniversary of my mother passing away. (HARD to believe it`s been a year already!)
Spent a day with Greg Hill and really enjoyed myself. Got to relax, hang out, and polish up on a thing or two.

I don`t want to ramble, so I`ll finish with this: I`ve been working SO hard on my riding lately. I`ve gotten faster and better, and the hard work is starting to show. I was at practice this evening and actually outsnapped and pulled one of our local, old school heroes, the one and only Todd Slavic! Todd is a former top 4 ranked AA pro and #1 pro cruiser title holder, and is still VERY fast. I was lucky to get a good snap and have been working so hard that once I realized I was out front I just went into overdrive and put some distance between us. Having him give me props for it really made my day!

recovery and patience

Wed, 17 Oct 2007 07:42:54 GMT

You know, recovering from a life-threatening condition is a two sided process. On one hand, the fact that I beat it makes me feel invincible. It makes me feel strong and proud of myself for keeping my head together and not wilting under the stress.

On the other hand, there are parts of the process that I am so frustrated about, like getting my heart and lungs back to 100%. I`ve been in the gym, training smarter than I probably ever have, and i`m getting stronger and faster by the day. The problem arises when I get a great snap and pull the lead for half the track, then my lungs just shut down and I simply cannot push any further. I absolutely DO NOT give up, there are just times when I`m giving everything I have just to keep rolling. It`s hard, and I`m sure my friends and fans get disappointed. Let me make it very clear to all of you: I DO NOT GIVE UP. If I look like I`m not giving 100 percent, it`s because I simply don`t have it. Know that no matter what, I am giving 100% of what I DO have!

The balance is slowly shifting and I`m having more good days than bad ones, so that`s a good sign. My gates have gotten to the point where I`m actually happy with them, and I have been busting my butt in the rhythm section for two weeks straight. There is a chance I`ll be ready in time for the grands, and if I feel like I can give 100% to the race I will register and see what I can do.

Right now, locals are an accomplishment enough. Just being able to make it to the finish line is something I couldn`t do 4 months ago. By he time next season starts I should be well enough to be a threat to my class, and will set out on a NAG plate chase. A major accomplishment will be to find myself back among my peers, chasing the coveted gray plate after suffering a condition that could have not only ended my racing career, but my "living above the dirt" career as well!

Choosing sponsors for the right reasons

Sun, 16 Sep 2007 22:16:41 GMT

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!

If it does not drop me dead I will beat it (and di...

Fri, 07 Sep 2007 06:52:53 GMT

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.

First REAL race since I was in the hospital

Sun, 02 Sep 2007 17:15:00 GMT

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

Life is good!

Thu, 16 Aug 2007 13:11:40 GMT

Wow, my first blog for august.

First off, I`m feeling SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO much better! My medicine is working and I`m apparently healing very well. I have ridden much harder and longer in the last two weeks than I have in the prior four months. I`m going for a blood test to see if I can come off the medicine in the first week of September. Wish me luck!

Also, just to throw some props out: I`m no longer riding a Crupi frame. They do make amazing products, and it was fun to ride, but they are designed for smaller riders and it was just too small. I`m now on a 2007 GHP XXL, and I have found the frame than will carry me to whatever success I`m capable of. I love it more and more every time I ride it.

Just recently got my Motogrip Death Grips, and they ROCK. Comfortable and tacky.

Also, just got my new pedals today, the Crank Bros Mallets. I was worried they would be sloppy like the Time pedals I tried, but they absolutely are NOT! These pedals are so steady and comfortable with a flat sole BMX shoe I can`t see ever going back to the "Big S".

Well, that`s about it...see ya` next time :-)

"and they called him The Phoenix"

Tue, 24 Jul 2007 09:53:11 GMT

Twelve years ago, nearly to the day, I stepped off an airplane in Los Angeles International airport and said hello to California. I was a 21 year old hotshot guitarist who had left behind a locally successful band to attend one of the most demanding music schools in the world. There was no doubt about it. I was going to leave my mark on the music world and nothing would stop me. I had no housing arrangements, not much money, and I wasn`t even sure if my financial aid for the school had been approved yet. There I stood, so many things to worry about but not even giving any of it a second thought. I was going to make it happen one way or another. I hailed a cab and just told the driver "Hollywood, please." The school is right in the middle of hollywood and I figured as long as I could get close I could manage from there.

When I finally got in and situated (my financial aid had, in fact, been approved) I found I was in SO far over my head. Here I was, a musician of 2 1/2 years attending a school populated by career musicians and the teachers were literally rock stars I had read about in magazines. Their level of musical competency was so superior to mine that all I could do for the first six months was hide away and study and work my arse off for up to 16 hours a day. After a while I found myself being able to get out and hold my own with some of the better students and I started to frequent the more challenging elective classes. I had worked so hard, so intensely that I had made up several years of experience and was on my way to being the musician I wanted to be.

Then, in one slippery moment it nearly all ended. I had an accident and snapped a major ligament in my hand, putting me in a cast after a minor surgery. Final exams for the semester were only a week away and I could barely hold a guitar, let alone PLAY it. I made some concessions (read: begged) for some leeway, but there were things I simply could not do. My career at this school hung in limbo.

I took a steak knife and whittled away part of the cast, just enough to hold a pick the right way. I still couldn`t move my wrist so I had to learn an entirely different way of playing (temporarily...thank God). but I went back and asked for a second chance at the finals I wasn`t able to take before. I was granted the request and stayed in california over the break instead of coming home to Texas.

I passed.

The setback just made me work even harder, and as I got better and better some of the students (mostly the friends I made along the way) started calling me "The Phoenix", for the birds` ability to resurrect itself from it`s own ashes. The name stuck around for several years, and I went on to play and perform with some of the biggest names in music. I built a home studio and set out on an album that has grown far too diverse to release as one project. Some day I will sort through the hours and hours and hours of recordings and maybe even re-record some of it, and have an end to the story.

As I sit here recovering from a potentially fatal condition I can`t help but compare it to what I did a decade ago. My aspirations in BMX are bigger than I am, and most people don`t think I can get where I want to be. I have worked so hard to get to this point in the short time I`ve been back, only to have the carpet yanked out. I WILL NOT let it stop me. Ten years ago I had the unfettered confidence to overcome anything in my way. My quest now is not to find the best training program, or the best bike, or whatever. My quest is to find that unyielding confidence again. It`s inside me somewhere, and it`s only a matter of remembering where to look. Seems a fitting time to resurrect a nickname given to me by people who thought I`d earned it...

Thanks for reading,
JeffB,
The Phoenix.