Next year

The best time to think about goals and planning for next season is most definitely when you're loopy on cold medicine.

So, because I'm not thinking clearly even a little bit, it's time to lay out the plan for 2012.

Because of the nature of the Nebraska road calendar — done in mid-July — I'll probably split the season between road and 'cross. I do plan on traveling a bit more next summer (well, hopefully), so the road season will mostly likely end in early-to-mid August.

After that, I'll take a couple of easy weeks and focus on shorter, higher-intensity things in preparation for a 'cross campaign. It won't be a full-scale, drive-all-over-the-place affair — I still don't care that much. But it will be more focused than this year's spin around the block. I'll actually do 'crossy things outside of the once-a-week practices (skills work, etc.).

As far as events go, pencil me in for all of the Nebraska road and 'cross races. I'll do Climbing Hill, of course, and possibly the Iowa City weekend. If there's something compelling in KC — and if my schedule allows it — I'll probably do it. I'd really like to do the Clear Lake, Iowa, crit again, too. It would be pretty awesome if the Iowa and Nebraska schedules allowed that to happen.

I'll probably again put the Omaha weekend as the top objective, if only because it affords me every advantage: familiar roads, familiar food, better recovery and my own bed. If I had to choose a B race, it would be either Iowa City or the Lincoln weekend in May. We'll see.

For 'cross? We'll see what happens. Everybody is jumping on the upgrade bandwagon right now after solid seasons. But seeing as how I did 1/2/3 races anyway, I don't feel a ton of pressure to get that Cat. 2 upgrade next fall. I guess we'll see how that goes.

The same thing goes for the road Cat. 2 upgrade. It would be pretty cool — a reward for hard work. But I don't think it's necessary, considering how many of the events are combined with the 1/2 field, anyway.

Anyway, back to 'cross. I'll probably target a two- or three-week stretch of races for focus. That will probably be the November races, because I really felt like I was hitting my stride earlier this month. I would imagine that could be continued with a little bit of effort.

And that would bring us back to where we are right now: riding whenever I feel like it. I'll keep that going for a few more weeks and then get rolling for real again.

I should probably drink more coffee first, though.