It feels a little weird to be home in Vermont during November. It’s been several years since I’ve been able to enjoy the fall training in New England. Because of the way the World Cups are scheduled this year we’re trying out a new approach travel that will have me going back and forth to Europe more times than normal, instead of just staying over for one big haul. In the past I’ve done some road trips that have lasted from Before Christmas until April without making it back to North America so this will be a little bit of a change, but I guess you don’t know what works best until you’ve tried everything.

After being home for just about two weeks I’ll be heading to Finland on Monday for my next three stops on the world cup. (The next stop on the cross-country tour is in Beitostoelen Norway, but I won’t be racing until Kuusamo.) I think being home for these small training camps will help make the travel season more manageable and keep me fresher for the later season races on the world cup. In some ways taking a break from the constant migration to different hotel rooms helps keep you more in touch with reality. Being on the world cup for so long you get stuck in your own little world and lose track of what’s going on in the States. Coming home brings me back to the real world and reminds me again who I’m ski racing for and why I want it so badly.

So the past two weeks have been great. The roller skiing is killer around here. I’ve been hanging out with the boys. We took a Sauna at Fosters house the other day that was one of the best ever. The water on the pond had the thinnest layer of ice on it so it was basically as cold as it gets. I’ve even been able to skateboard a little bit… I racked myself SO hard at the Stratton park the other day I think I might have to put the board away for the winter. I banged my left side up so bad I couldn’t sleep on that side for a few nights. Oh well…. Cross training right?

I was even able to take a break from red neck Vermont and head to NYC for a few nights. Even being there for two days reminds me of why I’ll never live in a city and makes me realize why New Yorkers are pissed off all the time. Ha…no, I’m just kidding. I am 23 years old though and I don’t know how to tie a tie…. Is that Vermont or what? I was there for the annual USSA NYC ski ball and I was honored to be able to go there and represent the cross-country world. An event like the ski ball is an opportunity for the US Ski Team to bring together many of its Trusties and big sponsors in an attempt to raise more money for USSA. A lot of the folks at an event like this don’t necessarily even know what xc skiing is, so it’s good way to try to ‘spread the word’ to big companies and sponsors and try to raise the awareness of our sport. Nordic Combined Silver medalist Billy D. was there too and they brought him up on stage and showed the sprint finish of his race in Sapporo last winter. It was wild. I looked out into the crowd and almost every ones jaw was just dropped at how exciting xc ski racing can be. People were stoked. No one could believe that a race that’s a half hour long could come down to a lunge. It was a fun little party. There weren’t any mini ramps, mudding trucks, or shotguns but I can try to pretend I’m classy for one night.

So that’s our goal this year. To spread the word, get people excited, score some podiums, and drop some jaws by skiing fast! I look forward to seeing everyone on the snow.

Caption: Newell and Nordic Jumper Jessica Jerome at the annual USSA NYC ski ball.

This entry was posted on Monday, November 26th, 2007 at 12:38 pm and is filed under General. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.