FUJI on BICYCLING.COM

Did you know FUJI has a kick-ass mountain bike line? Betcha didnt....but now you do.

Check out this review....
Bicycling.Com
Fuji Reveal 2.0
Light enough to race and burly enough for endurance events, the Fuji Reveal 2.0 can handle it all

By David L'Heureux
Fuji Reveal 2.0

"The addition of the trail-oriented, 5-inch-travel Reveal 2.0 is a big step forward in Fuji's quest to reinvent itself as a player in the full-suspension mountain bike market. Like the go-to dish at your favorite restaurant, the new-for-2008 Reveal is a great entree with some fantastic sides."

I like David's analogy :)
Peep the link below to read the whole review, PLUS see an on-line video review of The REVEAL 2.0
http://www.bicycling.com/article/0,6610,s-1-384-16842-1,00.html

word to the bike.

DeGoede takes the first stage on a FUJI :)

Suzanne won the opening stage in New Zealand...Fuji is Fast!

Miss Carroll --one of my best friends

Now most of us in the cycling world are very familiar with the lady on the right, but for all of my non-cycling friends, please allow me to introduce Miss Katharine Carroll, member of The U.S. National Team and former teammate and roommate of mine. This woman is probably one of THE coolest ladies in the sport of cycling and look at her go over there in New Zealand.... contesting (and owning at the moment) the sprint classification. I will never forget how fun it was to ride with Kat during the Tour of Toona. She gave me the most amazing leadouts! It just makes me smile to see her on the podium! All of the American riders are mixing it up over there by the way... Katheryn Curi-Mattis won the World Cup (big news for the U.S.!), Lauren Franges has been getting up there in the sprints regularly, and well Tina Pic and Brooke Miller, they are always there duking it out with the other big guns.....and watch out for Kristen Armstrong....she will definitely be unleasing her terror soon, no doubt.

What is so amazing is that the U.S. is finally a very solid presence in international racing, fielding a whole host of potential champions instead of just a few. That's pretty damn awesome and says big things about this sport for the future ladies! We are witnessing and being part of history in the making here people....hope you are paying attention.

I know that ultimately these women are the competition at home, but there is definitely something very cool and unique about American women in cycling....somehow we are all part of this amazing movement called "women in sport". Ultimatley, we are the ones responsible to grow our sport in this country, and that makes us far more supportive of each other --however, when it comes down to the line, we all want our team to be there first! ;)

Anyway...back the to photo....GO Kat GO!...

compelling urge...

i'm a bike racer, but i still love to run. no music. no talking. no shifting. no gears. no brakes. just me, my body, my breath and my mind. its a great way to clear my head from all the specifics of training, focus, and goal setting. i like to run as the sun sets. today, just as night had fallen into the sky, i found a swing hanging from a tree in a yard along my path....and you can bet that i took the time get on. i lifted my bum up onto the tiny wood platform, feet dangling off the ground, and took a light little swing while gazing into the black of night specked with the twinkle of stars. i loved it. such a peaceful moment in a place that can be so fast paced, crazy, and chaotic......just goes to show what you can find when you're open to it.

Gotta love it when a FUJI gets there first!

Way to go Mr. Rollin....

SE BIKES + ROB and BIG = a match made in heaven!

How about that? Look at that super sweet "PK RIPPER".......
You can get a better looksie on The Rob and Big show, tonight on MTV (or next Tuesday).

Man...those bikes look hot!!!

That top picture gives you an idea of how "BIG" those bikes are --that little wheel in front is a 20-inch! Oh, and you can see my brother Todd in the background of the bottom picture wearing the Blue SE colors. Myles is up there too somewhere, and well...I was there also, but hanging out off-set just watching the shoot.

I think Myles and Todd will be both be on the show. Peep it and see.

Coolness.

Holding my tongue..

But if I weren't holding back I would get busy writing about how Velonews really drops the ball for women. Thank you Cycling News for the pictures and results on The Women's Amgen Race, maybe we'll get a write up too?!

Velonews...ugh. Inside Communications needs to look at their mission statement a little closer, and then apply those words to both sexes in the sport of cycling. The after statement of "oh...and the women raced too blah blah blah" just isn't cutting it anymore. ahem.

MUSICOVERY.COM

iLIKE IT.

Couldn't resist.

Too bad Myles isn't here to hide them from me!

In case some of you have been wondering...

Sometimes women leave the sport of road racing and everyone asks "where did they go?".
Truly when women leave the sport it's typically because some gals head into motherhood, some find a new career, some go off to school, and others move on to a different sport. And as for the ones who don't do any of these things...well i am sure they have moved on to another life adventure because most of the women I have met in this sport are quite adventurous!

Wouldn't it be nice if we had our own cyclingnews page for all things women?! I mean really...isn't it getting to be about that time? We could have racing news, life news, cycling tips for women...etc etc etc! Okay wait a minute..that's a whole different subject, I will not get off-topic. This post is all about one of those women who have moved on from our sport. This post is about Brooke Ourada -- one of the "names" in pro-cycling for the last few years.

For those of you who know Miss Ourada, you know that she is one talented athlete who has had her share of success as a road racer, so it will probably come as no surprise to see that she is now a superstar multi-sport gal (sponsored by FUJI!)....and she's already taking names.

Check out the link below...way to go Brooke :)

http://fujibikes.com/2008/blog/pt/blog/

...and props to FUJI for making an athlete blog page on their site :)

Gonna be a "no-show" at The TOC Race

sorta bittersweet.....

yep, i will be missing the TOC women's race in Santa Rosa.

in some ways i couldn't care less because i have too much going on right now to pay attention to starting my season. the thought of the travel is just too much. hell i was just in philly last week and vegas this past weekend, not to mention i will be heading to training camp in asheville soon.

i just need a few solid weeks here at my little homestead with my bicycle and the sunshine, so i can get my groove on to start my race season in march. and besides....i'm not really ready to have my legs torn off!! we californians are known to have some seriously good early-season form...so i am well aware of the racing i would be subject to should i attend the race up there.

honestly, it's all good for me to start my season a little late this year because i'm totally cool with, and loving my new job and all the new stuff i see and do --but i have to admit, it's truly bittersweet to miss out on an event that will hopefully set the tone for the women to have more races alongside the domestic tours for men...PLUS, the race goes RIGHT by my house in Santa Rosa...and on paper, i still live there at that little home on 3rd street. since when does an NRC race go right by your front door and have the finishing sprint a block from your house?!?!?!?!?!?

oh well....not meant to be hey. win some lose some i guess.....

two xmas's

the second one is when the kits come in :)

Muy Importante

Stylish ZipLock Baggies......now that's a novel idea for travel!
No, I am not a carrier of these fashionable little travel statements, but I bet they start creeping into the security line so keep your eyes open...isn't it truly amazing how suddenly important these little plastic inventions have become?
As a matter of fact, I forgot my "baggie" and forgot to put away my little day bag of cremes before I sent my luggage off with the check-in folks at the airport. So after a trip to the candy store just to get a clear plastic bag with purchase, I realized that my bag HAD to be seal-able! What an adventure....hunting for a seal-able plastic bag at the Las Vegas Airport amongst the bling-bling of all the slots, and shops and wary tourists! Finally, I spotted the First-Aid station, and thanked my lucky stars when the lady there sold me a "baggie for a buck". Breathing easy now...a small price to pay to keep all my little cremes safe from the trash!!!

Monday Morning Funnies

jeez...

sometimes travel is nothing but annoying.

after a hell of a long flight back from Philly (i spent five hours sitting in airports plus the flight itself), i finally get my luggage, catch a shuttle and get back to my car only to find a $50 ticket on my window for not displaying a front license plate. wtf! then...as i am leaving the parking lot with the clock having crept past midnight, rather exhausted from a day of meetings and flying...i am told "miss, do you know your taillights are out?" great. not a damn thing i can do but brave the drive home without rear lights. so i get on the highway. within two minutes i am flipped off and nearly ran off the road by a car full of saturday night partygoers, probably because the people in the car thought i was lame for driving in the night without back lights. trust me...i thought it was lame too, but there was nothing i was gonna do about it after midnight.

the only nice thing about the whole deal is that i didn't get pulled over on my way home from LAX. whew...no surprise that i slept like a rock.