nightstand

Promise me you'll always remember: You're braver than you believe,and stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think.
-Christopher Robin to Pooh

Siblings.......

ASI Annual Sales Meeting -- Philadelphia,P.A.

super proud.

SE BIKES is Sizzlin HOT!

This is just one of the many cool bikes we are rollin' out for 2009. Fuji, Kestrel, and SE Bikes are all going to blow your mind!

Rollin, Drivin, Jetsettin

Doing a whole lot of all three!!

...Just got back from a little getaway weekend in Austin, and yep it got hot hot hot again! I like that place every time I visit though...it's just such a relaxing break from the movin and shakin that goes on over here in SoCal. And as for moving and shaking...dang!...I didn't even feel the earthquake! oh well....I got enough excitement in my life right now that it would be really nice if we could keep ground shaking to a minimum. lol.

Leaving for Philly tomorrow. Stay tuned....

ps) still haven't found my camera battery! (i feel like Chrissy..hahaha)

Yo People.......

FUJI BIKES....on a roll.

Cheers to "the ride"

Spent the entire day in the saddle on Saturday. That was a first for me in a long, long time. We rode from Santa Monica to Simi Valley ...and back. Like my friend said when we decided to change our route, "this ride just went from good to epic!"

He was not kidding!
What a day.

...and we still had the legs to sprint the Santa Monica City Limit sign at the end of the day. It was a photo finish ;)

On another note....my good friend Meredith Miller came over to Huntington Beach for a few days and we were fortunate enough to get to spend some time together both on and off the bike!! That was great.
I love it when the special people in my life come here to visit :) :)

Needless to say, the last few day have been good, or shall I say... darn right epic!

Rock On.

Well now...

I like the elements and all, and I have come to appreciate the forces of nature living along the coast here, but when the wind makes you work just as hard on the downhill as the up, it's just a little bit of a bummer.

..especially since I am the type of rider who pretty much suffers through climbing for two reasons:

1.)simply so that i can enjoy the views from the top.

and

2.) so that i can experience the thrill of the descending!

i'm simple. :)

Metal Flower

....tough and delicate all at the same time. thats me. lol.

For real.

I sleep on an air mattress. Hang on though....before you make assumptions about my air matress sleeping set-up, let me say something....this airbed is one deluxe suite of pumped up plastic! I'm pretty certain that if all of our race trip host-housing folks had these kind of air mattresses when we came to stay....we might never leave!

chek it out:
http://blog.wired.com/gadgets/2007/10/review-aerobed-.html

It's a double decker queen bed thing, that in reality could easily double as a raft if ever there were a flood. Or..has anyone done that afternoon raft ride in Tempe Arizona? This bed could be the highlight of the river! I am sure we could fit a couple coolers, a boom box and half a dozen peeps on it.

The only problem is that this airbed now has a slow leak. My son and his friends decided to see if they could double bounce me off the bed one day and that was that. The next morning I woke up in a marshmallow for a bed. I wake up that way every morning now. lol.

This is when it would be nice to have an assistant go and get me another one of these super deluxe, every home should have one for guests kind of thing...cuz man, lately I'm way to busy for these minor details!

Ok ok ok though enough is enough... I'll get one ordered this weekend.
No more marshmallow mornings....

Quote of the Day

"We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit."
– Aristotle

More from Austin. Next time I go there, I'm getting a pair of cowgirl boots!

Here is a nice selection of pics from our off-the-bike time in Austin. Thanks to Rick Kent for taking so many pics through the weekend.

I wish all race trips were like this one!! ;)

The folks in Austin really made a big, big deal about bringing the race to their town and thanks to Michael Ball of Rock Racing....the event received some great sponsorship and the name of the event became "Austin Rocks"....and let me tell ya, it sure did! My teammate Jen McRae, and my good friend and former teammate Kate Sherwin both live in Austin, so I have a darn good reason to go back real real soon.

People talk about Austin being this and that with music scene being so great, and with Lancy Pants opening a store etc etc...but for me, it will always be a special place just because that weekend was so wonderful. True that. It will be hard to repeat that kind of good time anytime soon, that's for sure.

Anyway, other than that.....we had Manhattan Beach, not the best weekend for me on many levels. The race was actually a bit of a buzz kill because it just never seemed to get aggressive enough, thus leaving everyone and their mum to feel like a sprinter come the end of the race (so typical hey). We pulled off third with Jen, which is great (never complain about podiums!)....but we know we can be on that top step. That is the goal. The best thing to come out of that race was the awesome host housing and support we received from my good friend and client Jim Manton of Sand Canyon Cyclery. He and his family and friends took really great care of my team, and to top it all off, we did a women's ride out of his shop that turned out to be a highlight for us all! Very cool stuff :)

So...post the Manhattan Beach race, I went right into a week long visit with my special, main man, Myles (sorry no pics yet cuz i lost the silly cord to upload!). Myles came here with two friends for a week. Ahem. Thats' right, three teenage boys for a week of Summer break! Talk about tiring a little mama out...lol. It was all about driving, and riding bikes, and sightseeing, and beaches and movies and girls hahaha! Jeez I could hardly keep up with these guys! Myles is just such a sweetheart though, even with the challenges of him being a teen!

I love him bunches and miss him every single day that he is not with me.....

So thats that. There's the update. Actually been training my arse off too (like I said in my other post!). I've been logging a bunch of miles on the bike in new places, with new people, and finally feeling like I am able to explore this new territory of mine on the bike ---and not just in the car!

Okay....just keepin' it fresh and keepin' it real (and throwing in a cold one here and there too!)


Peace

Training!...

...notice the time of this post. i am turning over a new leaf here and am actually going to do an early (really early!!) ride today. i have NO idea what has gotten into me ;)

cheers, ciao, and word to the bike.

Slacker Alert!

ok....i'll be be back this weekend! been in a bit of a frenzy with all the life stuff....but trust me i got good reports coming --and pics too!!

Hope you all have a happy day off people.
(thats pretty much my term for the 4th!)

btw--- my favorite memories from the 4th of July Holiday are the times that we decorated our bikes (we all did...me and my brothers) and rode them in the parade in our home town. it was "cool" to show off that we rode bikes!! hahaha...who would have ever known what was to come. I tell ya, I think I was just as proud as the mayor in that parade....riding along on my bike.

I knew I had something special beneath me...something very special.

Summer speed!

Does anyone else ever notice how fast the pace of life is when "summer" comes???
It's like this for me every year, and this year is no exception!
Anyway, we just raced in Austin Texas and I can't tell you how cool that trip was because I would have to write a book, and at the moment I do not have time to write a race report but here is a pic that sort of sums it all up :)

That was a first...

So I am meeting up with a potential new dealer yesterday over on E. 7th Street in Los Angeles. These guys are starting up a fixed gear community shop. It's going to be pretty cool, the shop is hardly put together yet though so to go over paperwork and whatnot, we met right outside the front door by their truck, which they had up on the sidewalk to unload stuff they had brought in for the shop. Now I tell ya...that was probably the most interesting meeting I have ever had with a dealer. We must have had about five people come up and start some "very interesting" conversations with us...the most memorable being the woman who came along and asked if we needed the truck washed. Seemed like a normal inquiry and all....until she said she would lick the whole thing for a cost..! That one pretty much got us all.

I had to laugh.

Yea that woman was probably clinically "cookoo" (like many of the folks walking around on the streets right there) and yes, it can be a bit of a tragedy to see so much homelessness...but in that split second when she blurted out that comment, that woman's boldness, her quick wit, and the twinkle in her eye...just reminded me not to take it all so seriously.

She sure as heck isn't!!

Kind of a Big Deal....some BMX news for ya!

We went to the watch the U.S. BMX Olympic Trials down in Chula Vista on Saturday. That was well worth the drive. Standing there with my brother, witnessing a bit of history in the making was pretty awesome! (this year is the first year ever for BMX to be included in the Olympics). You gotta go to www.toddlyons.com to understand just how big of a role BMX has played in our family's life. (..if you peep his website, make sure you go to the archives section and check out the pics from ten and twenty years ago!!) As for the race, Mike Day won the spot that was up for grabs. Kyle Bennett already owned a spot based on points, and one more guy (out of the others that raced this weekend)is going to get a coaches selection for Bejiing! It gave me chills to watch it all go down!!

AND..by the way Jill Kitner is going to represent the U.S. for the female side of things! www.jillkitner.com

It's a special year for the world of BMX :)



Me and Todd with Scott Breithaupt, the originator of SE BIKES.


Alan Foster and TL talking business. Alan is now a brand manager for Felt Bikes BMX division. We have know the Foster brothers since we were young and I spent a million days at BMX races watching those guys! The Foster brothers were known for how smooth they were on the track!....


And check out the size of this track! Look at that starting gate!!! That thing is crazy big!! And the track itself, wow....it's incredible!! A real BMX'ers dream!

They're coming soon............

Kestrel Talons.... back on the road and looking hot!

Congratulations Anthony!!

Anthony Zahn made the 2008 Paralympic selection!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Rock on.

One more from Philly......

Here is that sprint to the line I was talking about......look at all that horsepower!
I try to refrain from using any curse words in my blog but that picture is pretty bad-ass....I just had to say it!

And about the race....

Those are my legs before they gave out!

Ha...well what can I say? I had a hell of a day.....along with everyone really!! But for me and my little personal Liberty Classic experience, all I can say is that I simply fell apart going into lap four with cramps that practically kept me from putting any pressure on the pedals (I first learned of my inabilty to perform in extreme heat with humidity when I ran a marathon in Honolulu many years ago!!!!). I sure would have loved to finish on Sunday, but there was just no way I could see myself being any part of the race other than a finisher that rolled in many minutes after the race to the line. Therefore, I called it a day and happily rode over to the stands to watch my teammate Jen tear it up in the sprint with Ina and Brooke Miller. Thanks to Brooke who launched first down the last straightaway, she and Jen got a great jump on the other sprinters, but Jen couldn't quite get around Brooke (Brooke had a very, very strong sprint), and then Ina just squeaked by Jen at the line keeping her off the podium by one spot! Man....what a great sprint to watch.

I have to admit, having the opportunity to see that sprint was well worth giving up riding that last time over the Manayunk Wall for..hehehe, twist my arm ;) And truly, if I'm not going to be in the sprint...the next best thing is to be watching it!

Anyway, back to my race, I had great day, and a hard day all in one. It was nice to get back on the course and let go of last year's terrible memory of crashing in the last kilometer, and it was very inspiring to be back racing with an international field as a full-time career mama. Days like these remind me how much passion I have for this sport, and my team, and the company I work for....I feel so fortunate.

Thanks for reading :)


See you in Austin June 21st......

Liberty Classic 2008

All I have for you at the moment is a post race picture from our dinner with Fuji Bikes after The Liberty Classic race yesterday. I'm just too plain tired to write much right now about the race itself (long night, early flight and straight back to work this afternoon right off the plane...i'm a little wiped out!). However I will say the weekend was as Philly always is....a crazy whirlwind full of excitement, high energy, anticipation, pain (more pain!), suffering (and more suffering!). Of course, sprinkle in a little good luck and bad luck on top of it all and "voila", you have the race as it goes down every year!

Now who would want to miss that? It was epic.

BTW--- Jen McRae, my super teammate extraordinaire, BARELY missed the podium in the sprint to the line and came home for 4th on the day! Remember folks...she's right there duking it out with all those ladies getting their race legs over in Europe, yet she is a full time MOM and part-time racer....that's the coolest thing ever.

word to the bike.

Should have been a DNS

So I had a nice little four hour layover yesterday, that effectively cost me a good night's sleep and a good day at the races today. I hopped in bed this morning at 2:15am -my alarm set for 6:30am. The van departed for the hour drive at 8am and I was in the start line at 11am (after building my bike in the parking lot at the course). I knew I was walking into a storm, but I had do to it.....just to say I did.

Needless to say, it was a bad day at the office..... lol.

Gotta love race days that make you wish you took up sewing.....

Northeast side....

Shipped my bike and two wheelsets to Philly today. Thanks to our sponsor (Wyeth), we get travel vouchers to use with UPS....saves big time on shipping anything bike related, especially with the increased cost for travel bags!! I always feel a little strange sending my bike on the road before me, but some things just have to be done. It's a little bit of a bonus to have some extra space for packing though, especially considering I am always the one dragging around an extra suitcase full of food (just ask my teammates)!! And you can bet I wasted no time packing some goodies in that bike box this time around. I mean...have you ever tried to find a health food store in Northeast Philly???

Ain't happenin'.

And those peeps must not drink espresso either, because I couldn't even find a Starbucks last time I stayed out that way(had to drive 14 miles to get Starbucks, and you folks who see them every five blocks know how weird that must have been)!!

There are plenty of Sheets there though ;)
Ahhh....the wonders of culture.


Anyway, so that Blue Sky soda in the picture, got some of that packed for the trip too..that would be my savior for when I crave sugar drinks, and lately I got a little bit of that craving. My soda craving always come with summer, plus, it's always nice to go for a soda after a race and feel like it's okay to be drinking it! Thank you for existing Blue Sky.....and saving me from high fructose corn syrup!!
(Ps..I also packed rice noodles, Kashi cereal, Annie's canned ravioli, Fruity Booty and my espresso, the grinder and the maker...hehehe).

Philly here I come....ready or not.

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.

Surprisingly specific

Well I got my act together recently and can finally say that I have been on three local rides in five days here! That's quite a feat considering how all over the place I have been lately with this new career! It's been a strange transition.... I mean up in Santa Rosa I knew every nook and cranny of the roads I trained on, and I knew what every local race would have to offer. It took years to build that knowledge and understanding, and I think I really took that all for granted! Now..here in my new home everything is new (in alot of ways actually), but what I am speaking of is the "newness" of all these "new to me" training rides and races that happen around here. I have been nothing but amazed by how many great group rides are out there down here in Southern California!
I am feeling somewhat settled nowadays and have actually been jumping in in some pretty darn good rides (with pretty darn good company I might add!). Now that I am back to spending some regular quality time on the bike, I am also beginning to learn some new/old things about myself. Ultimately, aside from the coolness of each new adventure, what has been so surprising (note the subject line)is that I am noticing just how specific my skills/abilities on the bike are becoming. I mean seriously.....if there is a hill these days I just end up suffering like a beaten dog. But on the flip side, I have no problem hanging with the big guys when things get tough on the flats. It's quite comical actually (the fact that every little hill feels so hard!!). Just goes to show that I really do belong on fast, speedy, FLAT courses despite the fact that EVERYONE thinks I should be a great climber because I am so small.
You know one of my coaches, Mr. Max Testa, once said to me that I had a power to weight ratio that was pretty close to world class, but that I was so full of fast twitch muscle that the only hope I would have in hilly races was if they were rolling courses!! He was so right! (hahaha)....Cant say I don't like a hill as much as "the climber" because I really do enjoy climbing .......but when it comes to racing, well it is safe to say that I am in love with criteriums.
In love I tell ya.

In love.

Cheers... and as always, word to the bike.

serenity...

this pic is from the garden at our host home in Redlands Ca


i have come to realize that serenity only arrives when one takes care of all aspects of the self. addressing and taking care of all aspects of the self can be a challenging task in today's world....but really, do we have a choice?
flowers remind me of the need to keep serenity alive.

Ouch $$$$$$

I just heard that beginning May 5th of this year, we traveling cyclists should expect to see a $200 charge each way for a bike bag.
Okay...now pardon the language, but that sucks.

SEA OTTER is coming... see you there!

What if we could lean like that down the corkscrew.....!

BLOG in a Blog

Hey people.....come follow us :)

www.teamadvilchapstick.blogspot.com

Burning head in Ojai....

Ok....that was what you call "One of those days"!!!

The race in Ojai was a very odd and interesting one. Unfortunately, the event lost it's NRC status for women, which meant we lost the majority of the initial set prize money, as well as the "points" that go along with many team's seasonal goal of earning a high ranking. All of that was a bit of a bummer, and in and of itself as an entirely different topic for discussion.....

As for me and my little one person report -- I decided to race Ojai for various reasons (mainly because I haven't raced much at all yet this season!!....but also because I planned to stay up in the area overnight and get on with work in Santa Barbara the following morning.).
Anyway, about the race...I have to say, the high temperatures really made for a miserable day on the bike for me, and everyone else no doubt!....but I absolutely fell apart in the heat! I was completely knocked out of my own head early on in the race, and all I really did was pedal around, watch my watch to see how many more minutes I had to ride, and wonder why I was putting myself through the torture! Guess that happens sometimes. Of course I knew everyone was suffering with the heat, so I just kept thinking I would come around....but it in the end it was just wishful thinking and I ultimately resigned myself to "just finish" as the goal of the day...

It took about four hours before the post race headache went away.

...should have spent at the beach with my brother :)


see you all at Sea Otter.
peace.

I miss my baby.

I spoke with Myles this morning (in case you don't know...we have been temporarily living apart for almost six months during this big life change of ours). Anyway, our conversation was good, and when we said goodbye we said our "i love yous". I didn't expect to hear from him again today...he is a teenager after all, and it is a Saturday and that usually means life is all about friends (life about parents on the weekends...not so much).
Well I was wrong.....honestly, Myles never ceases to amaze me even during the teen years. He called me late this afternoon and said he was calling from Lake Elsanjo (a lake up at the park where I first fell in love with mountain biking, and the same place I used to take him when he was under ten years old to learn what I came to realize was some pretty techinical mountain biking for a youngster!!)
...Anyway, back to the phone call --he said "Mom, after talking to you today I got inspired to go mountain biking, and now me and Luis are up here at the lake and it's been really fun, and now the sun is just starting to set and it's really beautiful."

...then he went on to say "I just wanted to call you and tell you that."

Now you tell me.....wouldn't your heart just melt.
mine did.

On the job.....

Met one of the owners of this clothing brand along my L.A. travel route yesterday. He was riding the PK Ripper....straight up cool. These are the days that I love.

live it breath it love it

Redlands 2008

Everything about Redlands was a success! We had a great first race with the team and management, we added awesome guest riders to our roster, we rode amazing equipment(!), we stayed in wonderful host housing, and we competed against stellar competition. Of course the highlight was that we took one of the podium spots for the weekend as well! As for me....I obviously couldn't be happier than to have made the podium in an event that I have known for years suited me well. I was so proud to snag a podium for our team and sponsors....and the placing was even more special to me because it was my first criterium this year, and in the last six months my life has been an absolute whirlwind! I just got back on the bike about 8 weeks ago! I was really wondering just how the legs were going to come around.... :)

I love my bike.
I love to ride.

Sometimes it puts tears in my eyes when I think about all the great experiences I have had simply due to this little invention called the bicycle.
Honestly, I don't know what I would do if I didn't have this sport in my life. What a pleasure racing really is.

Enjoy the pics...and by the way, take a look at those podium boys! Who would have known ;)

Precious Moments...

I'm feeling a little political here people.

Stay tuned... I got something to say and I think it's worth hearing, but I need to sit back and figure out how to articulate my message clearly.

More crazy news....hilarious.

Great April Fools
http://www.cyclingnews.com/news.php?id=news/2008/apr08/apr01newsspecial