They say bad luck comes in threes. I’ve crashed once in each of the 3 stage races this spring. At Vuelta Rioja I crashed hard on a wet descent and smacked my head onto the ground breaking my helmet. At Dunkirk the same thing, I went down on a wet descent, hit my head but stayed conscious. Then at Picardie, I didn’t even know what happened when all of a sudden I was in a hospital.

Despite all the pain and discomfort I went through, I do have to say while walking around to get some fresh air after getting out of the hospital I just smiled over the fact that I could still breathe, smell, touch, hear and see. We take these things and being alive for granted sometimes and I am just so happy to be alive.

When I inspected my helmet the other day I noticed it just got smashed or crushed. Normally helmets are suppose to be designed to explode on impact but this one just compacted and smashed down into a pancake and my head actually is red and bruised where it is smashed. Without helmets I hate to think how many riders would have died.

I really want to say how important it is to wear your helmet even when just out training. You never know when that car is going to bump you or your front tire is going to slip out, and when it does only your helmet is going to be there to save your head. I want to live a long life so I choose to wear a helmet on every ride.

PLEASE WEAR YOUR HELMET ALL THE TIME!!

August is here and I’m Frustrated.

If there was one word to describe me almost two months after my injury it would be totally, insanely “frustrated” . Landing on my head has turned out to be more of a challenge than I had thought it was going to be.

At the beginning of August, I had still not been given the green light by Dr. Thomas Hardey, whose specialty is brain injuries. He works with the Raiders Football team and other NFL teams. I fully trust this guy with my life and have been waiting for the day he says I am good to go. It’s nuts having to deal with this, because I have felt physically fine for a while. I feel capable of racing again but mentally the doctor says I still need more time. I have gone through long sessions of testing.

I was allowed to race the Time Trial at the USA U-23 Nationals as long as it did not rain. It felt so good to just be out there going hard again feeling like I was racing. I did not win like I had planned on doing but 7th was a good start in coming back to where I want to be.

This whole event has taught me so many things, one is trying to be patient and look at the big picture. I love racing in Europe and this is really the only American team that has a huge program over there and has chances at getting in the Tour de France and other grand tours which is what I dream of one of these days in the near future.

I have been working really close with my coach Dario, training very well each and every day. I can only hope it’s for that finish line in the near future. I hope my next journal entry after August 2nd is full of good news.

Finally the good news!

I am so relieved and happy! I finally got the green light last week and the next day my team said they’re sending me to do the US Pro Criterium Championships in Downer’s Grove near Chicago. It’s a fast criterium with a lot of strong riders and teams, so it will be a good test of my fitness and confidence in tight situations.

The race ended up being wet and rainy and filled with crashes. I was super lucky to avoid all the crashes, maybe because I worked so hard on positioning toward the front. I was able to help out my team for most of the race, covering dangerous break attempts and working to bring back the ones the team did not make. Races like this are such a gamble as you never know who’s gonna be in position to win.

Now that I survived the US Pro criterium, it’s time to focus on the US Pro time trial and road race in two weeks. After that I do the Tour of Missouri, which looks like it’s going to be a pretty big race for the US. I am so excited to be racing again and am feeling stronger every week!

Thanks for all the support and continuing to read my stories.

Steven