Gettin things done

So before I left for Boston, I had to take care of some business. I was having some issues with my dial on my shoe slipping while I was sprinting-so I figured it was time to change it out. It isn't too hard to do, a bit tedious, but with the right tools it was a breeze.....

I love my Specialized shoes(once they are broken in) and they've been through a hard season and I'm just now having to replace the dial, in my book, that's getting your money's worth. I would tell Specialized that the only flaw is that the dial is made of plastic and over time and usage the plastic wears down and slips....that's why they need replacing.

This is the dial's guts....
The only real tricky part is remembering how the wire weaves through the maze on the dial....
The new dial...
The tools needed.....the smallest tool, bikes shops usually don't have that tool, so if you have one, hang on to it and travel with it because they are HARD to find......

Needle nose pliers are what cha need for the dial's wire

Flashlight, cause those holes are tiny

Cutters to snip the end of the wire from the previous dial

Sharp tool to keep the wire in place while pulling it tight....

So now on to the fun stuff!!! After I fixed my shoes, I had received my track parts and it was time to open all the boxes and check it out! Shimano sent me some KILLER stuff!! Thanks guys!! Plus Mavic hooked me up a wheelset, so now the pieces just have to fall/fit into place....

But it will have to wait till I get back from Boston......which I will update in another post soon:)

Track bottom bracket
14/15T cogs
Cranks-165
48/49 Chain rings
Mavic wheels-Ellipse, aluminum

Sprint Bars-Specialized Pista

Boston

Good morning from Boston! Flying was fine, kind of a long day but once we got 'home' life was good:)

Today: spin around, pick up numbers(maybe), check out Boston, relax and have some fun. Right now Top Gear is on TV(a marathon weekend I hear), I love that show....soooooooo..

Ok, when I get some pictures of my whereabouts, I'll be postin em:) till then, tune in to BBC America:)!

Next adventure

Miller was all excited to be hangin out with my new toy
This is the beginning of my next adventure.....the track.....

Specialized was so awesome in sending me this Langster track frame and I'm in the process of ordering my Shimano parts and Mavic wheels. As the parts come in and the bike starts to take shape, I will update my blog accordingly:)

I'm not sure of WHEN I'm going to the track to give it a go but again, you will know when I do, probably within the next couple of months-I think I'm going home first, got some work to do there. I'm also checking into getting a full cyclocross setup, if anyone has any ideas please let me know. I'm not looking for top end cyclocross, just enough for me to get out and do some local races....

Well, time to get in a road ride, just a couple more weeks, then I will race Boston and hang it up for the year.....stay tuned...

How to celebrate

The top, about to drive down to Rico
The trail we decided to check out...
It would be a fun mountain bike ride...
One of the awesome views...
The dirt road we were on....

What does a girl do when she gets home to celebrate her win? She goes for a hike:)

Michael and I drove a dirt road from outside of Dolores, past Dunton, to Rico(~30miles). I had never been on that road and it was AWESOME! Most of it is national forest with some private land stuck in the middle of it and their are hiking, biking, horseback trails littered along the way.

Dunton was really cool to check out because right when you think you are in the middle of nowhere this small town pops up, how cool!

We hiked one trail for a bit but didn't get to far out because of the weather but it was still amazing! The overall trip was about 3hrs with some good walking to stretch out the legs a bit. On the way out, the bow hunters were headed in so it was perfect timing. I can't wait to get back up there and explore more but with hunting season and snow on the way, it may have to wait a while:(

On a side note-the night I got home(~11pm), Miller thought my ego was getting big from my big win over the weekend, so he decided to go outside and get sprayed by a skunk, just bringing me back to earth.....thanks bud.

The solution that gets it off:

In a plastic bucket(nothing closed or it will explode):

1 quart hydrogen peroxide

1/4 cup baking soda

2 teaspoons of liquid soap

Mix

Douse dog, wait ~10min, rinse off

Repeat the next couple of days

Warn your friends that he stinks:)

Pretty excited

Overall podium!!!!!!

What an exciting weekend and such a great adventure! It seems that things finally came together for me during this race. I was now given the opportunity to apply everything I've learned from my teammates throughout the year and it seems I paid attention;)

I was picked up at the airport by Jessi(Team VBF PR chica) along with Emily Kachorek(Vanderkitten). She is a cool chick, so the weekend started off good, with some good laughs in the car(we took a couple of detours)!

Friday's race was at 8:30pm, I loved this night race last year and this year was the same, I loved the shadows, the darkness and the speed. It only took a couple of laps for Carrie and I to get in sync with each other and know where we both like to be in a pack. I nabbed 3 out of the 4 primes because making back the plane ticket in the first night is always fun;) And then for the sprint, I felt like a million bucks but I wasn't in a great spot for sprinting for the win~10th place, but apparently I did ok with 3rd:) I could tell it was going to be a good weekend as soon as that race was over. I also knew I needed to be in better position for the rest of the weekend to make it happen.

Saturday's race was another 4 corner, wide open road. Sanders did a good job at getting away and staying away, so I knew I would have to conserve and take the field sprint. It was a good battle between Modesta, LVG and myself. It was a close sprint but I came away with it!

Sunday was a smaller road, tighter corners. I messed up and missed a break, that I didn't think was going to stick but hey, it did, oh well-learning lesson. So again, I was thinking field sprint and again it was a great battle with the Colavita gals but also...again, I took the field sprint-I was creeping my way up the podium steps but making progress none the less.....

Monday's race, I wanted to win outright. Carrie and I played different scenarios about points and all that but I said, let's keep it simple-let's win. Whatever happens with the overall jersey, happens, I just wanted to win. This race was completely different from the others because it had 11 turns, left and right-NICE! Unfortunately it also had a bunch of orange spray paint, a.k.a., pot holes! Off we went, about 1/3 into the race I had a rear flat-thank you SRAM for being so awesome! I got right back in the mix, never missed a beat, did my best to stay near the front and make sure no break got away and man did they try-ouch!

The last lap, I was in great position on the last turn-3rd wheel-and I knew this sprint was going to be a long one, uphill, headwind, so I kept thinking, patient, patient, then BAM! to my right LVG went with a Colavita(couldn't see who it was b/c she was coming up from behind me). So here we go-early-I jumped, I was going to get on their wheel b/c I knew we had a ways to go and about the time I start heading over right-LVG drops her chain on one of the pot holes and force me and Colavita far left. I was safe and kept sprinting and got 3rd. And with that, I won the overall jersey-go for the win, you never know what will happen in the finish and you can't control anything but yourself and that is what I did:)

It was a great weekend, I had a blast hanging out with Carrie and Jessi, battling with the field and being successful. So next up is the Mayor's Cup in Boston with more teammates, I look forward to seeing everyone ONE more time together before new contracts pull us in different directions.......

PS...thank you Jose and SRAM for my Podium hat:) It's a keeper
This was after Saturday's race, waitin on podium
I like the feeling standing here....
Friday night's podium:)