School, Weather, Holidays......

Hello Everyone,

Its been quite some time..........I want to begin by saying that I've been very busy for the past few weeks.

The last week of school was very hard to get over due to all the final exams I had, but God gave me the strength to get through it. After, I flew home to spend quality time with my family. As soon as I got home, I was welcomed by a lot of snow.......close to 4ft.
Due to the terrible weather here in New England, I have not been able to get out and train as I should. Perhaps, I've been riding the rollers, doing some running and going to the gym often so that I can stay fit. Even though I've been trying to stay fit, it still does not take away the amount of frustration I have inside and the little patience I have left to start putting in the base miles I need. I want this upcoming cycling season to be the breakthrough season for me. That's why I want to put in all the hard work necessary to be successful and be a surprise to the Pro peloton next season.

On top of all the negative things happening, there are many positive things happening as well. For one, these holidays have been wonderful to me. I have been spending a lot of time with my mother who is recovering from arthritis in her joints and giving her all the love she needs during the holidays. Also, its a joy to be around my father and brother again.
A couple days before Christmas, we all traveled to New York City to gather with my Grand-parents for Christmas Eve. Furthermore, once we were in the city we all went to see the big Christmas tree in downtown; we took pictures and walked around to enjoy the scenery.

After all, I'm back in Massachusetts and hoping for the weather to change to begin my intense training during these winter Months. Stay tuned for more updates to come.
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year for everyone!!!!!!
Thanks for reading,

Danny Estevez

CycloCross.....

Hi Everyone,

This past weekend The Lindsey Wilson Cycling traveled to Purdue University (Indiana) and Chicago, IL to compete in the teams first cyclocross races of the season. Saturday at Purdue University, other teams such as Indiana State and Missouri and a few others gathered to compete for the Mid-South conference points. The conditions were harsh, muddy, and the wind was consistently blowing at 30 mph, with a windchill of 19 degrees Fahrenheit. At noon the collegiate A (Pro, 1,2) men's race got underway, in which was competing in. A few corners after the start I was in the lead, with one of the Indiana University racers behind me. After the second lap the Indiana rider and I increased our lead over the rest of the field. As the race went on the gap increased over 2 minutes over third place, and lager gaps on everyone else. It was clear that the win was going to be between us. with two laps to go, in one of the technical sections of the course I made the mistake of trying to cut my competitor in one of the toughest turns of the race. That's when I slipped and went down sliding across the turn. The Indiana rider attacks as soon as I went down and got a gap that I couldn't close before the end of the race. So I ended up getting 2ND place. In the other races such as the Men's B race and the Women's A race, Lewis Almonte my roommate, friend, and teammate took the win of the Men's B race. Another powerful performance was put by Ashley James my teammate who took the win in the Women's race.

On Sunday, we traveled to Chicago, IL to race at "Lansing Cross Race" that was also part of the races that Purdue University put on, in which more collegiate points would be awarded. My category, the Collegiate  Men' A and the Elite Men were combined for the day. After the start of the race, once again I was in the lead for the first two laps, increasing the gap between the rest of the field. After a moment of rest, my teammate Clayton Omer and another elite rider from Chicago were on my wheel, but everyone else were far behind. Clearly, after 5 laps the race was going to be decided between us. After halfway, I noticed how terrible I was going through the "sand pit", which made my lower back hurt. When this happened I was unable to get the necessary  power in order to accelerate, and keep my speed up. Every other time through the "sand pit" Omer kept increasing his gap, as my back got weaker. He ended up taking the win for Lindsey Wilson. I took 2ND place for the day. After the race I was very disappointed how my body felt, now I'm reminiscing on what I did wrong so that next weekend does not happen again. 

In the other races, Lewis Almonte again took the win in the Men's B race and Ashley James won the Women's A race. Overall, Lindsey Wilson College overpowered the competition this weekend. Next weekend, Lindsey will host the Regional Championships. Stay tuned for results!!!  

Thanks for reading,

Danny Estevez

Preparation.....

Hi everyone,

For these past two weeks I've been preparing myself for the upcoming collegiate cyclocross season. It has been hard to divide my time through out the day because of all the work in school. But I've been managing to do so, and training has gone well Thank God!! The first race will be this weekend at Purdue University and in Chicago, IL. After all the preparation that I put in, I should be ready to tackle these races. Philippians (4:13) "I can do all things through Jesus Christ who strengthens me". Stay tuned for more updates!!!!! Thanks for reading.

Danny Estevez

Months of Recap....

Hello People,

Well, this is my first time letting everyone know what I've been up to lately. 

Let me start by saying that my life has been a journey of ups and downs. This past spring I was racing at my best, until I got tendinitis on my knee. This injury took me out of racing for 3 solid months. I was mentally bothered by this injury, but I tried not to think about it, and instead continue to move on. I focused on recovering both mentally and physically.  The process was hard and time consuming, but I managed to get through it. Now, months after the injury, I feel fully recovered, ready to race, and show the world of cycling what I can do.

Also, even though the healing process from tendinitis was hard to get over, I got a blessing from God and the opportunity to attend Lindsey Wilson College on a full NAIA scholarship for Cycling. This was a moral boost for me. I made the decision to attend Lindsey Wilson and represent the school in all the major collegiate cycling events. So far, it has been the best decision I've made. 

Lastly, after my 3 months of recovery I started training to get back into form. Weeks came and went until now. I feel in good condition and very soon I'll start racing Collegiate Cyclocross. 

That's all for now and Thanks for reading.

Danny Estevez