Winter Training Update

This time of year, most people can’t wait for race season to start—but I’ve actually been enjoying the off-season more than ever. Without the stress of packing, traveling, jet lag and time zone changes, I get to focus on real growth: longer endurance days, heavier lifts, and experimenting with new training methods, nutrition, and recovery tools. It’s the part of the year where the biggest improvements happen, quietly, consistently, and without interruption. And with Chase and Lucy keeping things chaotic at home, the off-season has been anything but boring.

Most recently, my biggest changes have been to my bike setup. On a regular bicycle it’s much easier to use your body to compensate for a fit that isn’t perfect, but on a handcycle, a proper fit is absolutely necessary for both performance and avoiding pain. Throughout this off-season I’ve gained enough extra thickness in my back that the setup which felt great a few months ago was suddenly not working anymore. I make my own backrest using layers of a camping pad glued together to match the exact shape of my body—some areas end up one layer thick and others as many as four. After building a new backrest and adjusting my fork height, everything is feeling dialed in again and ready for a strong build into the new year.

I also want to wish everyone a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! I had planned on being at the Christmas party earlier this month, but the East Coast weather and flight delays had other plans. Sorry to miss it, and I hope everyone had a great time. Looking forward to a strong 2026 season ahead— Next month I should have an update on what races I’ll be attending throughout the year.