The agreement was simple. All I needed to do was show Kyle that
I had potential as a cyclist because he had never seen me ride before.
I could tell he wanted to stop being a waiter and do something with his degree,
but he just didn't want to throw his personal money on the line
without seeing if he could get a return on his investment.

So, I asked him that if I could impressed him enough at my next race
would he consider being my own personal manager/promoter. He agreed.
I even let him pick out my next race as I was confident on all types of terrain.

Kyle picked out an individual time trial race being held the day before
the start of the 2009 Amgen Tour of California as the race was for the local
amateurs to test their skills against the clock to compare themselves to the
professionals running the same course the next day to kick off their tour.

I was used to individuals time trials making this the perfect scenario for me.
Sure I was still I little bit nervous but last week I finally broke into the top 5
for the 1st time since I started racing here in California.
It was a small payday but it surely helped my confidence for this race.

And for those keep track, this was going to be my 12th race of Californian soil
and I was now approaching seven months away from my family.
I hadn't made much progress but this was my chance to keep moving forward.
If I didn't do anything soon a trip back home started to look more likely.

Kyle had what I needed, knowledge in publicity and of course money.
All I needed to do was impress him in a discipline I trained myself in as a kid.

--- *** --- *** --- *** ---

All the best amateur riders in California were here at this event
as cycling had taken over the state for the next week.



This was my chance to shine.

The course was 2.4 miles long and dead straight.
Back home that wouldn't even stretch the length of our cornfield.
I left the start house rather early in the day which ultimately helped me
as the temperature soared into triple digits later in the afternoon.



One thing was for sure, I didn't match at all.
I took to the course with my Discovery jersey, Garmin water bottle and socks,
and my Trek bike which now had red stripes painted on to cover up
some the dents I got from carrying my bike up down the stairs at my apartment.



But all that was stuff that could be fix with a little extra cash.
So, back to my time trial as I was feeling great through my first mile.



Then I started to hear the crowd at the finish which only made me go faster.
It made me feel like a kid again with my grandpa's Schwinn trying to push
my bike as fast as it could go so I could make it to school on time.



And before I knew it I had hit the line with a time of 4'52".
It was by far the best time of the day so far,
but there were over 150 riders still left to go.

I settled in as it was going to be a long nervous wait.