It looks like I am finally settled into my new home. The Olympic training center here in Chula Vista is pretty cool. It is 15 or so miles South of San Diego and about 8 miles north of the Mexican border. Someone this morning called it Chulajuana and I think the name fits!

I rolled in Sunday morning to a whole lot of rain. The weather hasn't really cooperated with us until today. Ritz had to hold off finishing the Beijing replica track because the dirt was too wet to work with and Paul Kintner has just been mud boggin around out there in bobcats trying to lay out some trails for us, but so far we haven't ridden any dirt...just lots of sprints.

The whole team is in town for the next week and a half and we are all crammed into two two-bedroom dorm rooms so living space is a little tight. The permanent male residents are Day and Cesar. They have been joined this week by dR and Stumpy with Paul sleeping on their couch. Over here on the girls side Hayashi, Geving, Kintner, and I have our own apartment and Smith is campin out on the couch for the week. It makes me feel like I am back in my sophomore year of college, nothin like living with a bunch of girls in a space too small!

The whole atmosphere here is pretty good. It makes training a lot more fun and I feel like I have a lot more motivation to work hard. Its good to finally ride with girls that are on the same level as me, I think in the end we are all going to improve a lot by pushing eachother. The Euros wont be dominating in Adelaide, of that I am sure.

Everyone else at the center seems pretty excited about BMX. I guess its hard not to be when there is a 5 story starting ramp and an Olympic Supercross track on site with a bunch of trails and soon-to-be pump track right behind it. I think everyone is pretty excited to watch us practice...something like that kind of overshadows (literally) a flat field-hockey field.

We train during the day and at night there is usually an intense ping-pong tournament of which I now decline to participate in because I embarress myself. dR and I actually had a match last night to prove who was worse and it looks like I am on bottom. I have some ping-pong training to do for sure! Without a doubt Stumpy is amazing with that little paddle but Mikey, Jill, and Amanda all have some skills in their bags as well.

Time to wrap it up...good luck to everyone going to Reno.