Never had flowers on my toes before...

Got sweet talked into having flowers painted on my toes at the nail salon. I took this pic just as I showed up to race the twilights last night because I wasn't sure if the dainty little flowers would last through the wear in my cycling shoes and I wanted to remember the artwork on my toes as cute as they once were! But to my surprise they lasted and were fully intact after the race..and that was one hell of a training crit too!!

Now I'm not a super girly-girl or anything like that...trust me, I will throw an elbow and I have been known to stir the pot here and there, but when it comes to certain things like painted toe nails, high heels and cute purses...well I kind of fall right into the trap of being a girl!

lol....

Is it possible to coordinate the schedule???

So I am racing The Austin Criterium on the weekend of June 21st.
I'm psyched and stoked and totally looking forward to it....but why is that The Tour De Nez and The Hellyer Velodrome events have to be placed on the same weekend!?
(not that I would race the track but I'm just saying)
It's kind of a bummer to see multiple races like these slated for the same weekend....

It seems to be a bit of a pattern, sort of like Cat's Hill being raced on the same weekend as Roswell/Sunny King and Tour of The Gila. These are ALL amazing races. And many events have totally stepped up the game as far as sponsors and payouts etc etc etc...

It bugs me for some reason.

I just hate to see all that hard work going into putting on these races only to have teams and riders not show because they are off racing another important race that happens to fall on the same weekend!

I see Tour De Nez (Nevada City) becoming a big event on the schedule for women...but it's tough to compete with a high-profile race like Austin (!) and then what about Hellyer....I mean dang (!) that's some serious prize $$ for track racers...but aren't alot of our top "trackie women" (of NorCal) also road racers that will be torn on which event to do???

And on another note...my little hometown area in Columbus, Ohio is throwing a nice two-day event that will offer equal prize monies for the women as the men (www.tourdegrandview.com). That's something worth supporting. This race used to be part of The Wendy's Classic, which was a big stop for NRC racers. These folks are doing their part to bring it back, but hey guess what?...it happens to be the same weekend as Manhattan Beach Grand Prix. Another high-profile event that will make it hard for the Ohio race to draw the top guns and big numbers from out of towners....

I wish there was a solution because there are clearly some people out there working very hard to raise the level of racing here in the U.S. (for men AND women), and I personally would like to see these races succeed at gaining momentum and become key races on the schedule!

Two bits from a women who wishes she could be in two places at one time..

In the moment.

So in preparation for Philly I raced the Memorial Day event held out in Long Beach. I raced the Masters Men 30+ 1/2/3 (40k??) and the Pro 1/2 Men (100k).

I'm a little cooked to say the least.

I didn't finish the Pro 1/2 race (I lasted about 60k). I actually came pretty close to sticking in there. At one point though, it really got going full throttle and all sorts of dudes were getting blown out the back. Shortly thereafter, I decided to call it a day too. I mean c'mon... it was a 100k criterium! (and I had already done that race earlier). I was beginning to think about minor things like food and water....neither of which did I have!! Plus, I was not about to be the one who let a gap open, so I made a polite little exit when I saw an opening to get off course.

Have I mentioned that I'm tired?

I'm cooked.

And I'm still tired, many hours later and even after a nap (I never nap!).

I love training races......
but the only way I managed to keep my head in there through two long races was to focus on the moment, one pedal stroke at a time. It was cool to ride like that..it became somewhat of a game I played with myself out there...to see how well I could stay "in the moment". It was fun. It kept my head in the game....that's for sure!

Anyway, I am definitely tired but I am truly and completely satisfied.
Gotta love the bike.


And BTW, some of the funny things said to me today were
--"I can't draft off of you at all, but I can get a draft off your legs"
(hahaha funny guy)
--"why do they have to tell us 26 laps to go? can't they just tell us when it's 5!"
(seriously. lol)
and my personal favorite of the day...
--"youre racing the 30+?? you cant be old enough!!"
(can you say that again, so I begin to believe it too?!) ;) ;) ;)

It's true.

IT IS A SMALL SMALL WORLD!!
I keep meeting people who know people who know people that I know. It seems nearly impossible that this could happen down here in this overpopulated, sea of people! It's random and cool at the same time. I mean we're not even talking same context, just complete chance meetings! What is that thing called that one of my best girlfriends talks about? --Six degrees of separation?

Maybe its true.
Or maybe.. it's just the fact that I'm getting older and the law of "random people knowing my people" average is increasing!! LOL. (and no i do not consider myself too old to use lol or omg!)

And on another note...there were flowers delivered to my house yesterday from a "secret admirer", also known as "Huge fan". I'm altogether flattered, but I have to admit...there is this little, itsy-bitsy thread of me that hopes the flowers didn't come from that weirdo that followed me for a million miles on The 405 the other day. I sure hope he didn't go and pay to find out who I am by looking up my license plate on the internet.
That stuff is creepy. Really ..is it supposed to be that easy to "find" someone? Well it shouldn't be. It's not like the flowers came to my office...they came to my house!

Tell me you wouldn't wonder a little bit too.
Still....the pretty pink flowers look nice on the kitchen table :)

I'll never forget this smile....

I just wanted to share a little something from my world....this is Anna. She was a friend, a mother, a wife, a sister, and a daughter. She passed away quite unexpectedly shortly before my racing season began. She was young, bright, beautiful, and full of life.
I have dedicated this year to her.
I love this picture so much. Miss you Anna.

POH-diUM...again :)

These legs...

Did this...!



More reporting soon....

It's Go Time.

We'll be racing in Delaware this weekend, come on by and say hello :)

MMmmmmmmm......

This stuff is too good! ....especially if you don't do the Moo-moo milk like me! Actually I have been almost completely dairy and gluten free for awhile now...kinda funny as I hadn't really planned on being that way. It just sort of happened and now I'm rollin with it. I'm not a fanatic about it like I used to be (thirteen years of vegetarian living of which five were vegan!) but I am all about keeping it as fresh and chemical free as possible!! Go get some of this stuff...it's good good good and it aint gonna cost you an arm and a leg!

My house pals

Dyani the dog and Cali the cat....my brother's sweet little pets. These two characters are all about love and food ...two little creatures after my own heart.

Love and food.

Two of my favorite things as well! ;) ok ok ok... and I always have to mention the bike, my other always favorite thing. For reals, without my bike I wouldn't have the need for so much food (!!!) nor would I create the piece of mind to allow myself to be all about love.

Dang, there's some real truth in that last part.
Cheers.

The wall is near...

And here we go again.....just four weeks away.

TL and BL

I like working with my brother. I like living with my brother. I like riding with my brother. Word.

My other baby keeps me going

The legs were feeling a little tired after all the travel and racing in such a small window....but just looking at my bike got me itching to keep going! So...I passed on the "drive home and kick it option" after a long day in the car visiting shops, and went straight on out to The El Dorado training criterium last night.

The race:http://www.californiabicycleracing.org/



Hosted on Fotki

Photo from Kenny B.

Man, I have no regrets....what a great training race Eldo is. Albeit a test of nerves sometimes as there is a heck of a lot of shuffling around on the curvy course, those boys can lay it down and get a little dicey here and there...but hey, I'm not complaining....I actually like the test --and it felt good to get the junk out of the legs after all the travel and time in the car! good times..

Cheers to Eldo and the folks who put on the event.

po·di·um

Advil Chapstick made the podium both days in NRC racing this weekend.....rock on. And we got the 20% chance of no rain for racing!! rock on even better.

Lemme break it down for ya...


77 hours from Friday to Monday.
Looked like this:

one flight from LA to ATL
two hour wait in airport for ride
two hour drive in lovely Hotlanta traffic
one short and not useful spin
one helluva late night due to time change
one rude awakening morning
one rainy start to the day thwarting all hopes of spinning the travel out of the legs
one 90mile drive to race
one nutty painful race on my legs after said LONG day before
one podium for the team --go Jenn go
one great race organizer who spread the love by feeding all us pro-peeps...and I mean ALL!
one long drive back to one amazing host house
one late shower very late very very late
one very sleepless night with major headache (what the heck i never get headaches!)
one rough morning (again)
one short drive to race
one kick-ass race
one more 3rd plus a 4th place for the team --Jenn and Brenda punch punch in their first go at a final lap effort together this season
one good shrimp salad
and two stellas
one trip to airport hotel
one goooooooooood nights sleep ;)
one flight home
one great travel companion (hilton clarke)
one great brother who met me at the airport to drop off my car on his way to l.a. and saved me one weekend parking charge :)
one superpsyched me. back in the game.

Can we race during the 20% chance of no rain please. ...

Would it be okay if I said I was not at all excited about the weather expected for one of our races this weekend. I am grateful to be able to race, but jeez... "80% chance of thunderstorms" does not thrill me.