Fall Flying By   Gear, gear and more gear. I love it but it can cause some serious hassle when traveling every week to a new place for ski racing. So here are a few tips for tackling the over whelming travel days - both gear tips and mental preparation skills for the events you are traveling to. I having been flying around the globe with as many as eight bags sometimes and weight soon becomes your biggest issue. Lightening your load can save you a lot of money at the ticket counter of an airport. A few ways to lighten your load: bring only the essentials for the on hill activities keeping the extra clothes at home and make sure you have a detailed packing list so you aren't duplicating any items. When it comes to the skis a huge weight saver can be the removal of bindings. This is contested by some coaches but as you reach the higher levels of the sport it becomes part of the game. If you are going to bring nine pairs of skis on a training trip to Chile, maybe you only need 4 or 5 pairs of bindings.    On travel days you not only feel physically weighted down but also mentally. It can be extremely draining to have 24+ hour continuous travel days only to get up the next day and be expected to perform and compete with the best in the world. I have a few techniques for staying fresh even after a long journey.  Staying positive is probably the number one way to not feel as burnt out. So what if your flight gets delayed or you miss your connection or none of your bags make it to your destination, this is all part of the game. Just settle into a good book or movie and allow yourself to relax and feel like you are sitting in your living room. Being able to sleep anywhere is also one of the skills that has helped me keep up with this demanding travel schedule.  If you are willing to put on your head phones and drool on your neighbor's shoulder on a 8 hour flight to Europe, you might just feel pretty rested when you get there. One final thing about traveling as a ski racer that may seem obvious to many but could prove vital to a beginner reading this is the importance of travel waxing. Its a layer of wax that you put on your skis prior to travel in order to protect the bases from all the dirt, dust, and grime that come in contact with your skis throughout a travel day. I hope you enjoyed my few random tips on helping you get to where you need to go.   Sam Morse