Remembering other years

Image 1 of 12

Jeremy Powers(Image credit: Joe Sales)

Belgium, January 3, 2007

I was out riding with the "caveman" Eric Tonkin today, and we started to discuss all the hilarious stories that have happened over here during the years, so for your reading pleasure, I present the first edition of the "Powers' Chronicles!" The first story was the time after the camp ended back in 2003, when I was at the house solo. Noel’s brother Reechard came over to use the computer pretty late one night not knowing I was in the house sleeping. He slammed the doors when he came in and was making a lot of noise. I popped out of bed and came running down the stairs screaming expletives, brandishing a plastic wiffleball bat, only to find a very surprised Reechard trying to figure out what was happening.

Some city limit sprints are a bit sketchier than others. One in particular stands out above the others in sketch factor. The first road, which is basically a single farm road, crosses wet train tracks then does a blind corner right-hand merge onto a main road where cars travel pretty quickly. The city limit sign is about 50 meters after the merge, and it is really a 50/50 chance to see if you get rammed by a car or win the sprint.

Then of course, my favorite Trebon story of all time. One day Ryan rode to Brugge, a local tourist spot in the area and ran a bunch of red lights while he was looking around. He did not have his passport and got put in the jail when they pulled him over for it. He tried to bribe the guy with a Clif bar, but to no avail. I was at the house relaxing, making some dinner, and got a call from Noel that he had to come by the house and get Ryan's passport and some cash so he could bail him out of jail.

Fresh from US Cyclocross Nationals, sixteen American riders were selected for the Euro 'Cross Camp IV from December 23, 2006, to January 3, 2007, in Belgium. US national 'cross coach Geoff Proctor started the program in 2003 and runs the camps during his winter vacation from his job teaching high school in Montana. This is the fourth year that top US riders will be given this opportunity to gain valuable 'cross racing experience in Europe and to prepare for the world championships in late January. Riders were selected for this year's camp based on their performances in the 2006 USGP of cyclo-cross and US nationals. Coach Proctor and his riders will take turns contributing diary entries.