Lauren Hall

Australia Day

2012-01-26T19:38:00.001-08:00

So yesterday was Australia Day, it is a national holiday and everyone was off work and having fun. We did an early ride(6am) and on the way to the start, saw a couple of people still having fun from the night before - ewww - we've all been there. So after the ride and some rest in the air conditioning(it's so hot here - 107) we waited till the afternoon to get back out and enjoy the holiday.

We went to dinner close to the Swan River, so we could walk down afterwards and catch the fireworks show. I'm so glad we did this!! It was a blast and a pretty amazing moment - watching the fireworks with EVERYONE else! People set up tents early in the morning just to get a spot on the river to watch the show, which lasts about an hour. They have music that plays along with the fireworks and you can tune in with your radio and they will also give a bit of history in between songs. It really was cool! Then the rain started to roll in and there was thunder and lightening behind us and fireworks in front - so crazy!!

Only a couple of days left now, I'm really sad to be leaving but looking forward to seeing my new teammates in California. I hope I can come back again, truly a great experience.

Bec and Amber at dinner...
Kangaroo! YUMMMM....
Pretty good stuff!!!
Adrian(another housemate from Holland, he is here on vacation and staying w/ Davina as well)and I sharing a laugh...
Tha girls having some fun...
What is he looking at?
Getting ready for the show...what a beautiful sunset too!
For an hour, it was huge fireworks!

Random photos

2012-01-22T20:18:00.000-08:00

Since the weekend of the Fremantle tour, the week has flown by and time is almost up here in Perth....can I go ahead and book my ticket for next year????

I've checked things off the 'to do' list and some pictures follow show the happenings.....enjoy!

Learning the game of cricket! There was a wall of bats!! Then another wall of padding, so cool!!! Here I am trying to perfect my swing.....I'm still working on it.
This is Little Creatures brewery in Fremantle. Amber was told that this was good place to go! They were right! Cool atmosphere and packed!! Perfect for a hot day:)
Sit wherever you can find a spot....
I bet these guys were melting!!! It was sooo hot back there! No air conditioning in the entire place...
The bar area...
Hanging out at a friend's BBQ...
Fishy face!

Reading: Cycling news, world cups and racing...

Listening: Horse Feathers

Watching: Tour Down Under was on this past weekend and tennis

Eating: fresh fruit salad! It's summer here people!

Feeling: reflective on my time here....

Excited: for a hard training week!

Maybe I can get in another blog after Australia Day(Thursday). We will see if I have anything to write about:) I fly on Tuesday morning and will be back in the states for camp, so I'm sure I will be blogging from camp. Stay safe!

Fremantle Prison

2012-01-17T23:32:00.000-08:00

On Sunday, Meg(roommate at Davina's place) set up the Fremantle Prison Tunnel tour, a 2hr tour through the tunnels underneath the prison that were hand dug by the prisoners to reach the aquifers for water to the above world. Eventually they also supplied the surrounding settlement as well. First they pumped the water by hand but over time installed a steam engine pumping station.

Once the aquifers ran dry, they found other means for water sources and in 1989 there was an oil spill through the tunnels. This part is interesting so pay attention: the solution they came up with was to put a type of mold in the tunnels that would eat the diesel oil and leave no bi-product. So once all the spill was 'eaten' they sealed the tunnels until the government decided to make it a historical landmark and a place for visitors. HOW cool!!!

Before we went to the prison we cruised the streets and markets and found a place to eat lunch and take advantage of a couple of shopping opportunities. Great food, great environment! It reminded me of the French Quarter in New Orleans but with a nice breeze:)!

It was such a great experience and a lot of locals expressed their own interest in seeing the prison tunnels and just haven't gotten to it.....well get to it folks, that was a great tour!

It was blazing hot in our 'outfits' above ground but once you climbed 20meters down, it was at least 20 degrees cooler. Hope you enjoy the pictures!

From the parking lot, looking at the main entrance....
Meghan and Carlos....
Walking the streets of Fremantle and about to enter the markets...
Once inside the markets, it was a mix of a flea market and a farmers market, so much fun!...
Vendors and people everywhere!
The streets of Fremantle....
Street performers...
More vendors on the street....
Walking to the entrance of the prison....
INSIDE the walls, looking left...
then looking right....
Photo opportunity INSIDE:) Meg, Amber, me and Davina....
Our tour guide - Richard...
All in, gates closed:(....
Walking to the tunnel entrance...
This is the amount of limestone they pulled out of one tunnel...could you imagine do that by hand?
About the size of the tunnels....
We had to watch a video first for history and safety....
Then they had to make sure we were all sober - Amber doing a breathalyzer test...
Gearing up, it was so hot!!!
Post tour with all our GEAR on....safety harness for not falling down the ladders, life vest so we don't drown in the 3 ft of water and the hard hat and light for the ole noggin and to see....
Our sexy boot shot....not really though...
Amber loosing her overalls....
Hey! They are letting us out!!!
To the right of the prison, not sure what, but they were cool buildings....

After the tour, we came home, showered and went to Luke's mom and dad's house for Sunday dinner and met Luke's sister and her kids and had a great dinner! I had 2 helpings of everything! YUMMY! And that was the off day! We are planning to go back and do more shopping this weekend, just wasn't enough time!

Reading: my book again, finally having some energy to read before bed

Watching: Tennis on TV

Eating: Vegemite, gotta try it!

Drinking: lots of water and the occasional Coke Zero

Listening: tennis on TV

Speed Dome and other happenings

2012-01-13T23:14:00.000-08:00

It's been another productive, hard week of training, as a matter of fact I just woke up from a nap-been doing that well these last couple of days:)

I've been enjoying the training sessions, learning the roads and getting to know my way around town. I'm trying to learn everyone's names: on the group rides, the kids at the track and friends we meet everywhere else - getting it! LOADS of chamois time, been out to dinner a couple of nights and overall enjoying my experience and time here in Perth. I've been riding group rides with the South Perth Rouleurs - great people and good riding, then spending quality afternoons at the track with the WAIS coaches and kids. The pictures below include the sunset view at the Indiana Tea House at Cottesloe Beach, the Speed Dome(velodrome) and my training buddies and good friends - Amber Rais and Davina Summers out and about.

Tomorrow we head to Fremantle for a little shopping, eatin and touring the Fremantle Prison, more blogs to come;)

Beautiful sunset = a glorious end to an amazing day.....
Goofing along the bike path, Swan River and Perth city in the background....
Still goofin....
Looking at the last turn from the pits....
Start/finish straight....
Athlete entrance...
Amber, myself and Davina, still smiling, even after some awesome training sessions...

Eating: 2 breakfasts, 1 at 5am, ride, then eat again at 9 or 10:)

Reading: The Western Australian - local newspaper

Watching: everyone I talk to on Skype

Listening: the radio in the house it's on a great station

Drinking: loads of water

Caversham Park

2012-01-07T15:47:00.000-08:00

Yup, when you go somewhere new, sometimes you have to be a tourist and do the tourist-y things:) So I wanted to see kangaroos and such so Davina(my new house mom - she is my age, just took me in:)) took me to the right spot - Caversham Wildlife Park.

First up, I wanted to see the kangaroos and plus they were on the way to everything. These places know how to shuffle people through to the right places at the right times.
"Hey, will you take my picture for me?" These guys were laid back, not a care in the world and so used to kids running around acting a fool. One of the signs going in says: "No running" and of course kids are running around acting nuts, high on sugar and life:) That's what I got a kick out of....

So you can pretty much walk up to any of these and slap em across the head and they wouldn't move, as long as you have food to give them:) I didn't slap any of them I promise but they were happy, chill guys.
And on closer look, a reason I wasn't to keen on the kids playing so rough with them, those claws could do some serious damage.
I liked how they just propped up...
The kangaroo area was pretty big and nice to walk around...
Too much hand fed food for this guy;)
Da babies!!!
DANG! I needed some more grub....I guess no pellets for me....
The walkways were really pretty

Some of the flowers along the way..
Headed to 'Molly's Farm' for a little sheep shearing...
The way they used to do it before the electric shearers were invented....
Doesn't hurt a bit, except for the guy bending over all day like that....
One piece from the sheep, trim the edges and bam = $ in tha bank
The good stuff....
Crackin the whip
This guy was from the states - ha! He was the 'bird' guy but hey, they're cool too...
The wombat....it's a boy!! That's the first thing I noticed but decided that wouldn't be such a proper picture:) hahahahah!!
Different angle..
Koalas.....you could pet them w/ the back of your hand just on their back, they are so cute!
Chillin...
Hangin out.....

So that's pretty much it, they had lots of birds and other wildlife but these were definitely the highlights of the park. I'm glad I went and had the experience. Next on the list is the Fremantle Prison Tours next weekend - hopefully:) Don't worry, they aren't in business anymore;) haahah!

In other news, I've been training a good bit, putting in some quality time and looking forward to getting my bike back soon. I'm starting to learn my way around town a bit more and meeting more people. Next week and the weeks to follow I will be even more tired:) which is good, except that I've been know to go to sleep at 8pm ;) Oh well:) That's what I'm here for!

See you down the road! ONLY 3 more weeks, time flies when you are having fun....

Auzzy

2012-01-02T01:01:00.001-08:00

A couple more days and I will have this placed mostly mapped out. Today I rode the ‘river’ route around the Swan River and then we finished with a quick trip through Kings Park, which gave some beautiful views of the city!

It’s always interesting to go to another country and see how you adjust:

Driving on the left side of the road and riding on the left side of the road, means I’m hesitating at every intersection almost but I’m getting the hang of it.

Picking up some of the sayings like, “How ya going” means “How are you doing”.

They shorten words and say things like mozzy instead of mosquito.

Bogans are the equivalent to our rednecks.

And group rides are group rides no matter where you go:) Saturday morning we were riding on one of the group rides and had a small incident - someone ran into the back of me and bam....broken frame. I didn’t go down but the guy that did was pretty banged up but I had plenty of help getting back home and had a borrowed bike by the afternoon(really good people here). I’m hoping to get the bike repaired, I needed that money, so I will try to sell it - obviously letting the buyer know and selling it for a discounted price. So now I’m working on getting set up on a new bike and getting the borrowed bike back, hopefully this week or so - we shall see! Love the adventure...

They have such cool cars here, just zipping around town. I wish we had more options like these or maybe we do and I just don’t pay attention or we just like our bigger cars? I dunno, granted I drive a 4 door truck;) I will take some pictures and post em on the next post.

Other than that, kicking the training up a notch in the coming days and settling in at another place since some other folks are coming. Whoop whoop!

One of the monuments in Kings Park...
The view from Kings Park...
Another angle from Kings Park..
Midway through the river route ride, looking back into the city...
One of the first ads I noticed in the airport! hahahah!!.....

Australia!

2011-12-30T00:56:00.000-08:00

So it was decided a couple of months ago that if I was given the opportunity to train in Australia, then I should take advantage of the opportunity and warm weather and go.

After talking with the parents about concerns and questions and getting a game plan for training and my racing schedule, it was time to fly. BUT first I had to get back to the west coast from my Mississippi Christmas trip.

So after (what seemed) a long day of travel, I was in an LAX hotel, riding the stationary bike in the hotel exercise room, getting ready for my big haul to Perth.

The plane took off from LA at 10:15pm and guess who had the lucky middle seat!!!! MEEEEEEE:) hahahah! Oh well, at least I’m going to be so covered on my mileage with United! I was lucky enough to have good seat mates, a Navy Seal to my left and a college student going to visit her boyfriend to my right. We had good conversation and Lindsey (seat mate right) had stayed in Sydney for a while prior to this visit and gave us some pointers. A couple of hours in, they fed us dinner - rubber beef or rubber chicken - chicken please! Choked that down w/ a Crown and Sprite and an Ambien and I was out for about 5hrs. When I woke up and moved around for another hour, they fed us a turkey sandwich. I think this is the point they shift from US time to Auzzy time, cause our last meal before landing was breakfast - apple pancakes or egg omelet.

Once we landed and everyone had their customs cards filled out, it was time for the lines, which I thought was pretty efficient, even though it took an hour to get from immigration, bags, customs, checking in, it wasn’t that bad! So once through and in the Qantas terminal, I got a little snack, did some shopping and laid down for a nap - one more plane ride.

This one was the kicker....it was the hardest flight to deal with, my legs hurt so bad, so I was fidgeting so much! I felt sorry for the guy beside me cause I was constantly squirming:) hehehe....

And here I am! I was picked up from the airport at 4pm, got my bike put together, unloaded and settled by 8pm, had dinner and went to bed. Of course I made the mistakes of trying to get in on the driver’s side and was confused about all the driving on the opposite sides of the road but after this morning’s ride, I’m slowly getting used to it.

I’m acclimating to the time pretty well. I’ve walked to the store, enjoying the warm air and sunshine, bought the local newspaper and sorting out the difference in the coins versus ours. Their 10 cents look like our nickles and the coins are heavier. The paper money is softer but very similar to the US dollar. The following pictures are from my walk to the store. I will update in a couple of days!!! Happy New Years!

Local birds....

Today's market run....2 blocks from the house...
It's always interesting to see the differences in countries...
The road I walked..
More signage....

The view walking into the apartment complex...

Listening: interesting bird noises

Reading: maps of Perth for cycling

Watching: the road! Keep on the correct side;)

Eating: yummy oranges

Training in Tucson

2011-12-19T08:28:00.000-08:00

I've been in Tucson for a while training and enjoying the 'warm' weather, hanging out with friends, filling time with reading, Modern Family marathons, eating good food and of course sleeping;)!!

My good friends, Dave and Alisha, have been so awesome for letting me stay with them and be their third wheel on outings. It's been nice to have a riding partner too, even though we may not have the exact training schedule, we can at least start together and then split off when time calls for it.

It's been interesting weather here, lots of rain on a couple of days but it makes for a beautiful back drop when the mountains are dusted with snow. Things are settling in for 2012 for all the teams and mornings usually bring a new e-mail for things to send back: sizes, favorite flavors of mix, filling out questionnaires. I'm looking forward to training camp, looking forward to meeting the gals and getting into race mode BUT first comes training and preparation. Now is the time to put in the LONG miles, getting the body used to efforts and waking up from winter mode and boy will that make you tired!! But it is such a gratifying feeling.

It's interesting how FB and Twitter has probably made coaches' lives a bit harder because you will see teams at training camp, you hear of women putting in extremely long miles and rides and then you see the questioning in other athletes' training. Am I doing enough? Am I riding long enough? Pushing hard enough? You can always do more...;)

I've started juicing fruits and veggies! I saw a documentary while riding the trainer one day: Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead and I was sold. I started talking to my friend Ally Stacher, cause I know she has veggie juicing experience and she helped a ton - which one I needed, how to travel with it and some other handy tips - thank you Ally:)!! It is easy, tasty and good for you!! I'm trying to talk mom into trying it, so I'm taking my juicer home with me for Christmas to get her started. I have faith.....

I also found a recipe for ribs in a slow cooker! I know, quite the contrast from juicing but my roots are planted and BBQ is my all time favorite food, always will be and when I see a new recipe, I'm up for giving it a try and tasting the goodness! I've never had a slow cooker and once I used Alisha's I was sold that I need one and that everyone needs one! They are such a life saver for a cyclist. Just think, start something yummy in the morning, go for a long ride, come home, smell the goodness in the works, make lunch, shower, rest and BAM supper is ready! hahaha!!!! It's gotta be good if it's been cooking for 8hrs!!! So again, when I go home, I will be juicing fruits and veggies for mom and making ribs for dad! Can't wait....

So here are some pictures from my stay in Tucson, enjoy:

Tucson Botanical Gardens had a Christmas special one night and it was so much fun!! We saw Santa and wanted our picture taken. Who knew that when we sat on his lap he was a DIRTY SANTA!!!! He said we were on the 'naughty' list! YUCK!!! Don't ruin it old man!
Before one of our rides - Alisha and I.....she's tall? or am I short?
Smile for the camera!
I may have been killing time one day dyeing my hair.....maybe.....
The mountains right beside Tucson, so beautiful!
Stucco doesn't really work too well in some places but in the southwest, it is beautiful!!!
From my awesome friend Ally Stacher!!!!
Sunrise in Tucson...
Sunset in Tucson....

Watching: The Help(GREAT movie!!!)

Reading: Confederates in the Attic by Tony Horwitz - very interesting....thanks Janel for the reference!

Listening: Awolnation - Sail (I'm not so sure about this video but the song is good)

Eating: FRUITS AND VEGGIES!!! (and ribs)

Feeling: excited about going home for Christmas.

Merry Christmas y'all!!

Thanksgiving 2011

2011-11-28T17:38:00.001-08:00

What a week!! 7 days can go by so fast sometimes but I enjoyed every moment as best I could. We had Thanksgiving lunch at our house with the family, then on Saturday I went to the MSU/Ole Miss game in Starkville with some of the best people in the world-my friends from college.

I got to ride a couple of days as well but now it's time to get back to work. I fly home tomorrow morning and will focus in on next year's season. Things are in the works and I'm really excited. Hope everyone had a wonderful holiday!

Eric and P.J. pre game....
Brandi w/ her baby girl Rivers on the left, Olley(sp?) in the middle and Amy and Emerson on the right.....how cute!!!!
Stevie, Amy, Brandi, myself and Brandon...no one has changed a bit.....
Phil, Amy and myself.....
My best bud - Brandon and myself....

This was a great trip...

Reading: The Time of Our Lives by Tom Brokaw

Listening: Coldplay's - Paradise

Eating: Too much good Thanksgiving food

Watching: FOOTBALL!!!

Until next time....

Asheville trip with the family

2011-11-08T16:20:00.000-08:00

I had been excited for this trip since track nationals! When there is a family trip, it's always full of laughs, some funny story and dad walking us all over the place to check things out. And it seems he knows exactly where he is going - all the time - and he can find the coolest things!

But this time he was a bit slowed due to an injury that required surgery this coming Thursday (yes, he put it off for 2 weeks, thinking he could tough it out). He was still a mover and shaker and could outpace any of us, EXCEPT - T3!! My nephew is such a sweetheart and clown! He is 5 and apparently already the class clown.

On the agenda (we were only there from Thursday-Monday) was Tweetsie Railroad, Linville Caverns, maybe Biltmore and building a bookshelf for Ben and Verka for all her books. The pictures below are from most of all that.

We stayed the first couple of nights at the Grand Bohemian Hotel in Asheville and it was over the top nice. I was the last to arrive to the hotel, checked into my room and was looking forward to a hot shower. So I started the water, left the bathroom, came back and there was water running over the tub onto the tile floor....oh sh-t....The shower head was pointed right off the edge of the bathtub, against the wall and creating a river that was about to flood the room!! I ended up using every towel, except one to clean it all up! hahaha! What a way to start the trip...

Other interesting things that happened: T3 choked on supper, chewed and swallowed a toy that was supposed to expand and of course a couple of folks ended up getting sick (head cold stuff). I wouldn't have changed it for the world!

Next up is Thanksgiving and I'm looking forward to what that has in store:)! But for now, I'm in Tucson, riding and enjoying the company of teammates and friends.

Tweetsie Railroad was such a cold day!! We all froze our butts off but it was still a blast.
The train....
The train ride - even the hot chocolate wasn't doing the trick...
Down by the river at my brother's house, camp fire, hot dogs and T3 almost falling into the river, almost falling into the fire, falling on the rocks - perfect for him, scary for everyone else...
While my dad and brothers were building the bookshelf, I helped T3 make this his boat. He wanted to float it down the river but we ran out of time....
Brothers at work.....
Whoopsie!!! Who measured this again???? It was a bit too tall, so they had to take it back outside to cut it back a bit.....
Mike, the neighbor, supervising the cuts....
Measure twice, cut once....
YEAH!!! It fits!...
Bonfire funny men.....
Verka, Andrea and myself enjoying the sunset and fire....
Not sure what we were laughing so much about...
My favorite 5yr old EVER!

Reading: Rin Tin Tin by Susan Orlean

Listening: Good Feeling by Flo Rida

Watching: Football!! How bout that LSU/BAMA game!

Eating: Pomegranate

Off season

2011-10-24T07:51:00.000-07:00

And so it has started - OFF SEASON! I've enjoyed cyclocross rides, mountain bike rides, long walks and time to do those things that need to get done and still have the energy afterwards to be social;)

I've been cooking, cleaning, loving on Miller, watching sports, making homemade things and reading. I'm headed to Asheville, N.C., back to my brothers house, for a visit and the whole family is gonna be there! I've been looking forward to this since track nationals ended.

These pictures are from a ride I usually do, towards Rico - a beautiful place. And one picture of Dolores from a hillside looking out at the mountains.

Reading: Brandwashing, Martin Lindstrom

Movie: 127 Hours

TV: Sports, 30 Rock and Modern Family

Listening: Taj Mahal and Hugh Laurie

Cooking: Pot roast ~ 4 1/2 hrs :)

Thinking about: 2012 and the good things to come....

Ride to Rico....
Ride to Rico....
Coming back from Rico....
Ride to Rico....
The view of town and the mountains in the background...

I'll post again when I get back from the family visit.

Track Nationals

2011-10-06T11:56:00.000-07:00

WOW, what a whirlwind of the last 2 weeks. In my last post I said I had one more 'event' before the start of my off-season and it was my first ever track nationals.

We headed west to L.A. a week before nationals to get my legs and body re-acquainted with the feel of the track, spin of the pedals and just overall going in circles bit. There was also a race the weekend before that I did just to get used to the time at the track and the feel of racing(ended up winning!!).

Then nationals started on Wednesday morning and I was there everyday except Friday, racing my bike and having fun. I was entered in the omnium, scratch race, points race and the madison.

The omnium was 6 events over 2 days:

Day 1 - flying 200, miss n out race, points race

Day 2 - 3k individual pursuit, scratch race and 500TT

I had a great first day and then I concentrated a lot on the 3k for the next day, which turned out good for me but then it was like my brain left the building for the scratch race. I had a horrible race and was so mad! But in hindsight, it was great thing to experience failure and learn from the pressure and I did. I still need to work more on the 500 as well but hey, 2nd place overall I was content-not happy but content.

I skipped the scratch race because, one, I was exhausted from the omnium and two, I wanted to watch and learn what I could from the other experienced girls. AMAZING racing!!!

Also, the points race was more for experience and just to get a feel for a group that size and race my butt off:) So taking 5th there was success in my book. SMALL STEPS :)

Then the madison on Sunday.....I was REALLY tired and not motivated to be honest but I did commit and I'm not one to not show up. Which turned out to be rewarding, seeing that we won! I was completely exhausted on the last throw and when they said we won the national championship, I was overwhelmed! Again, learning experience, how to push through when you are tired, what that feels like to have been so close, take a beating and get back up to stand on top and be successful-WOW...

I met so many wonderful people at the track and enjoyed seeing the differences between trackies and roadies:) Oh boy the chamois time!! hahahaha

I look forward to seeing everyone in the future, pushing myself to get better, racing against some fantastic athletes and having some good laughs at the past.

Here are some pictures from the whole weekend and I shared a video of the madison finish on FB, check it out!!

One of the best.....John Walsh...aka Walshy, he has helped me SO MUCH!
In between races I think...I was so tired so sleeping was not a problem;)
Winding up for the flying 200....
Points race...please note the size of the crowd, apparently some of their best yet...
Going for something? Dunno what;)....
Scratch race maybe?....
This breakaway had me in the box!!! Owie!!
2 of the best!!! Walshy and Engleman!
Myself, Dana Feiss and Kate Wilson(my madison partner)....
Awards for points race.....ha! I'm standing on my tippy toes.....
Points race podium....
The best for last.....Madison National Champs.....

For all results, click on the link below:

Track Nationals

Earth ships

2011-09-17T12:48:00.000-07:00

So on one of my trips this summer, I went to Taos, NM for training and came across these 'earth ships'. I had never seen anything like it before and after riding by them for a couple of days, my curiosity got the best of me and so I paid the entry fee to get to check one out.

They are built into the ground, have solar panels, a grey water system, 'green house' inside and most of the building materials are from reused products. Not the most beautiful homes but whatever floats your boat eh? There was a whole community of houses and they drew a lot of curious visitors.

Entrance to the viewing earth ship...
Walkway to the earth ship...
The wall that really caught my eye when we were riding by...
Thank you beer drinkers for your contribution...
A close up of the wall...I'm pretty sure this is eventually covered...

The earth ship from afar...
Glass bottles and cans in a decorative pattern...
Domes...
No this isn't a trash pile but rather building materials....
So they cut the top ends of the bottles off and tape the bottoms together w/ duck tape and the bottoms is what you see sticking out of the wall. I think the bottles help with insulation? Total guess on that one.

So before you build your dream home don't forget to look into having an earth ship!

Last little bit...

2011-09-06T19:25:00.001-07:00

Wellpers, that's it....no more road season, all done. I'm sad, which is a good thing, means I'm not burned out or ready to be in the off season(hopefully that mental toughness will pay off next year). I finished things up with the Gateway Cup this past weekend and won the overall.

I look forward to:

my next adventure(I'll have to wait and tell you about it later) at the end of this month

Aspens changing colors and going on some hikes

hanging with the family

endless rides with no time limit in the mountains till it gets too cold

So again, some more random pictures from my brother's house, post race fun and just general team bonding experiences....enjoy.

Verka and I enjoying some dinner outside their house
We were riding around the St. Louis Cardinal stadium when we came up on this sign for parking and insisted we take our picture and while we were there, Kelly saw an old friend of ours....next picture....
We met this guy at the Tour de Grove(St. Louis) races when it was raining and cold. He was one of those random folks that walks up to the tent, looks at all of us in our 'bike clothes', looks at all our 'bikes', crossed the barriers, notices other folks racing around the blocks and says, "Is there something going on today?"

So I obliged and told him we were bike racers and I inquired on what he did-he is the 'Bud Light' guy at the baseball games, you know the ones who walk up and down the stairs yelling, 'BUD LIGHT'. So I asked him to do his 'call', those guys always have something unique to get your attention and man did he let out a yell!!! It was highly impressive. So fast forward a couple of months and we had just finished taking our picture next to the Rock Star parking sign when Kelly says, "Hey, it's the Bud Light guy!" And sure enough......
I love me some chicken wangs! Grrrrrr
Post race celebrations.....Elk Grove I think....

I'm back home, feet kicked up, Miller snoring.

Reading: Tina Fey's Bossypants

Eating: nothing exciting to note actually

Watching: FOOTBALL!!!!!

Listening: my house noises, oh so sweet

Where am I?

2011-09-01T17:34:00.000-07:00

These last few weeks, I've had a hard time keeping up with where I am and what day it is! HA! I went to a news stand yesterday and they were selling the Sunday Times and I asked if it was Sunday. The guy looked at me crazy and said, "No we sell the Sunday paper all week, it's Wednesday". Yeah...I knew that...

So the following pictures are from Aspen Women's Stage Race:

Ronnie gets to ride!!! She was on the hunt for Lance Armstrong:)
Ran into this guy after our last day and they finished in Aspen....very nice, I'm sure he was so tired:)
Fun ride the day after racing finished, we had a blast...
Won the Best Colorado Rider jersey the day of the crit and had fun with this picture;).....

Then we flew to Chris Thater, raced, won, before hurrican Irene shut things down. Stayed in Asheville for a couple of days with my brother again, no golfing this time. Instead, he put me to work-painting-BLAH. Then we hit the road again and now we are in St. Louis, getting ready for Gateway this weekend.

That will wrap up the road season for me:( That will be a whole other post......I'm sad it's over, so fast...

While I was out...

2011-08-11T07:07:00.001-07:00

So after the Charlotte crit(July 30th-we won!), I headed to Asheville with 2 teammates, Rachel and Adrian for some down time before the next race-Elk Grove(we won!). My brother lives in Asheville and we made the most of the 3 days I was there, as the pictures below show....:)

Shooting his 308 rifle a.k.a. deer killin machine!
Look close in this picture and you will see a red speck, that was the target ~200yards away, it may have taken us a couple of times to hit it...maybe.....
Then on to golf...this is Ben's view out his back yard....for refrence, the target we were shooting at was to the right of this view....
So I'm no golfer, I want to learn but this is as good as it gets right now:)...I did hit the ball
My golfer pose...
Down by the river, hanging out....

Next up....mini training camp, a.k.a. different roads to ride while putting in the time, then on to Michigan, Aspen and New York, then back to Asheville!!! Wonder what else we can do next time I get there?!

Reading: The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, Rebecca Skloot

Listening: Dave Matthews

Eating: Tomatoes! Yum a tum!

Watching: my dog sleep

Looking forward to: 'training camp'

A great couple of weeks

2011-07-26T16:32:00.001-07:00

Janel and I after a LONG day - 98mile race....
All of us before the crit...
Finish of the road race...
Helicopter view of me feeding from the team car...
Criterium finish at Cascade....

Wow.....home again after 3 weeks on the road and some great racing!

Tour de Toona was a great race and I'm glad they brought it back! I've heard so much about that race and it's history, so I was really excited when I was chosen to go which turned out extra beneficial to me because I won the longest stage of the race(crazy)! Our team won GC as well!!

Pennsylvania was beautiful countryside to ride through, the weather was perfect and the people were wonderful! This race also gave me my first experience racing with a helicopter following us and filming the race. I'm hearing that it will be a DVD or something? sometime soon.....we'll see

From that race, 3 of us flew directly to Bend, OR before the Cascade Cycling Classic which was awesome because Bend is AWESOME! The mountains are beautiful, the weather was a bit chilly before the race and the folks around there are really cool-oh and all the food there ROCKS!

Cascade was another great race for the team, we won GC again there as well and I won the criterium...so needless to say we are having FUN!!! :)

Next up is Charlotte, then some time in Asheville and on to Tour of Elk Grove.

In between all the racing, I watched the Tour, spent time with my teammates, ate some great food, slept a lot(we cyclists can do that ya know) and enjoyed seeing some folks I haven't seen in a while.

Miller is glad I'm home:) Boy o boy is he shedding-whoa! It's been raining every afternoon here, which is nice because it keeps things cool but it also brings out the bugs but not too many of em, so it isn't bad at all.

I fly out Friday to Charlotte and I'm looking forward to seeing my brother and sis-in-law:)

Next up

2011-06-28T16:30:00.000-07:00

Well, nationals was an interesting weekend. Augusta was a pretty cool town with some pretty warm temperatures and the time trial was Thursday, crit Friday and road race on Sunday.

While 2 of my teammates did the time trial the rest of us went to the road race course to check it out and get an idea of what was in store. It was a great course and the combination of rollers and the heat, it was going to be a tough race.

The crit wasn't a proper race at all due to weather! We were supposed to race around 1hr and 1/2 which is great for weeding out the weak and settling the peleton but we only raced 30 minutes before the announcer said, 5 laps to go! There was a serious storm moving in and they were looking after our safety. The wind picked up, dust was blowing everywhere and girls were going crazy pretty much. Our sprinter ended up getting second but when you are ready to race a HARD race and then you get back in the van after 30 minutes, it's a weird feeling...but we had to re-focus and look ahead to Sunday and that's what we did.

On Sunday our race strategy was successful but again another second place finish but THAT'S RACIN!!! You never know unless you try and we tried....

Next up:

That's July! :) Hope you guys can follow on Twitter and Facebook, we will have updates.

Tonight's dinner: Taco Salad, hummus, gluten free beer(it's ok), blackberries, olives, milk chocolate squares;)

Watching: Running the Sahara

Reading: Sleepwalk with me and other painfully true stories by Mike Birbiglia

Listening to: Ellie Goulding

ALSO WATCHING: Women's FIFA world cup!!!!

Up next

2011-06-18T17:09:00.000-07:00

So nationals is coming up next week, then on to Tour de Toona, Fitchburg and Cascade and I'm so excited! I LOVE LOVE Cascade because Bend, OR is the coolest town eva!

In non-cycling news......I treated myself to some nice bed sheets-it's been a couple of years;) and a new quilt ~$300 for all of it-DANG! But they are nice:)

I'm reading-It's all about the bike....it's a great book with lots of history, which is nice to learn how your current bike became what it is. Check it out.

Listening to: Pandora channel - The Allman Bros.....you can never go wrong with them!

Eating: smoothies! Frozen strawberries, peaches, blueberries with fresh banana, a bit of yogurt, nuts and juice = YUM! Cherries(thanks to my teammie Janel for getting me hooked:)), pears and nectarines. Also, fresh corn on the cob, sliced tomatoes and grilled veggies - oh yayyer!

Watching: I want to see Cars 2 sometime, maybe one of these road trips I can venture to the movies w/ some friends:) We shall see.....

Alrighty...until next time....

Pretty and ice

2011-06-08T19:16:00.001-07:00

I'm no gardener, my mom is but I can't remember which plants will be coming back the next year or not or if it is a weed or not and I don't know the names of pretty flowers.

I know different types of trees and which ones are good to hunt deer from, which ones you can climb easily with a climbing stand..

Anyway, this flower grows in the yard and I think it's pretty:) It is sitting in one of my brother's pottery that he made for me:) YAY....

Oh and check out his ice carving videos below:)

Fish

Humming bird

The Blues Trail

2011-05-23T07:40:00.000-07:00

Again, another post that has nothing to do with cycling:) this time about the blues-the creator of all music and all of it from the heart of Mississippi, the delta to be exact.

The Blues Trail is pretty much all the river towns along HWY 61 and the MS river from Vicksburg north and ends in Memphis, TN, that's where everyone recorded...

Sun Studio

So while I was home visiting, we drove to see my nephew in north Mississippi and on the way back, dad drove down HWY 61 for fun and we stopped in Tunica and Clarksdale before making our way back to Vicksburg. Check out the photos and the links, it's some good history!

This sign is for a hotel, the hotel is in the picture behind the sign....yep, that's a hotel still today and yes people still stay there:)
One of the hotel's fine rooms:) Notice the car tag from California. People come here for 'inspiration' for their music....there is a feel to these places...
More of the Riverside Hotel, wonder what it is like on the inside? We didn't get to see....
Madidi's restaurant, owned by Morgan Freeman
Inside Ground Zero, the blues club also owned by Morgan Freeman
The lovely inside furniture, now outside:) "Don't make your mama cry"
Ground Zero...
Ike Turner history.....
Blues Museum......

And that's about it!

Mighty Mississippi

2011-05-17T09:08:00.001-07:00

I was home, in Vicksburg, for Easter, before the river started is rise but everyone knew it was on it's way. In the mean time a boat had hit the MS river bridge, a mile north of my parents' house and 2 of the barges sunk, one close to the bridge and the other, right in front of our house. Here are some pictures of the process, it was really cool to see. It took them over a week to pull the barge up, at around $100,000, I guess it was worth salvaging:)

This is the view from our back porch, this is the first barge on the scene and the buoys south of the barge are the markers for the sunken barge.
A close up of the buoys..
Next, they needed to pump sand out of the hoppers of the sunken barge to relieve some of the weight and hopefully get some leverage underneath it. It's amazing to think that that much sand can accumulate in the hoppers over a week. They pumped for 3 straight days....
Just perspective of how big the boats are...notice the little fishing boat tied up to the barge....
Sand going down river....
Zoomed out from the house....
Brought in another barge w/ more cranes for lifting power...
Mostly out of the water now....
Sunken barge no more.....

I'm not sure how they get it from here to a dry dock for repairs but they did, somehow....

You never know what you are going to get on the mighty MS, it's amazing....

Hello from Tucson

2011-04-18T07:34:00.000-07:00

Yep, last weekend Anniston, AL, this past weekend Tucson, AZ.

After Anniston, I flew home on Monday. Michael had a rider in Tucson he needed to help and asked if I wanted to head south for more warm weather. It wasn't too bad in Dolores but cold enough for warm clothing, so if I could go warm I would and I did. So Tuesday morning, I got in a quick 1hr 1/2 spin, re-packed the bags(took 2 seconds) and piled in the truck.

The 8hr drive kind of put a hurtin on me, I was just tired of traveling but once we got to our destination I was happy:) So that rider Michael needed to help just happens to be Clara Hughes, click on her name and it will be clear why I decided to fight it out in the car:)

You can learn a lot from someone like her, on and off the bike. She has a wonderful personality, she is competitive as hell and knows that everyday is a gift. So Wednesday thru Saturday we rode together and I got in some good quality miles.

Saturday we participated in the famous Tucson Shootout ride. The ride is full of strong people and is just as hard as the rides in Durango, lots of pros, lots of strong people, doing some hard training as well. The ride started at 6:30am-yes early, but totally understandable! And we rolled back into town by about 9ish. So a few of us hit the coffee shop for a minute before riding home at about 10:30, yep, by 11 I was done riding for the day. And good thing because it has been getting really hot here already.

The difference in this heat vs MS heat-NO HUMIDITY...DRY, DRY, DRY. And if you run out of water it is a REALLY bad thing! So I've been drinking lots of fluids off the bike as well to stay hydrated.

Sunday, I raced a criterium here in Tucson with my teammate Kristin Sanders, it was a last minute decision on my part and a good decision it was. We won! She soloed away from the field and I stayed in the pack to make sure know one caught her and to sprint for 2nd, which I did :)

It was a great decision to come to Tucson. I leave to go back to Colorado today but first gonna go for one more hot spin:)!

Next up, I fly home on Thursday for Easter, see my nephew, help around the house and getting in some good riding before heading to the USA Crit Series....

Happy Monday!

Sunny King

2011-04-12T06:35:00.000-07:00

Every time I say 'Sunny King' I really wanna say 'Sunny Kaaaannnnggg' with a little bit of harmony in there:) I dunno why, that' just me....

ANYWAY

So myself, Kelly B., Andrea D., Janel H., Kristin S. and Cath C, along with Rachel H(director) and Adrian(mechanic extrodinaire) all headed to Anniston, AL this past weekend for the NRC Sunny King criterium and Foothills road race on Sunday. Arriving at the airport and all of us meeting up, it was good to see the crew again, even though it had only been 4 days-these gals and guy are funny and a blast to be around and with.

We all piled into the van and headed to the wonderful host house and a couple of us went for an easy spin around to check out the back roads and get the travel out of the legs.....Anniston is beautiful!

Saturday morning, I wake up around 8ish and head downstairs looking for coffee and Frank(the host dad) offered up a morning tidy-bloody mary.....hahaha, that's funny Frank-nope he was serious. Then I realized it was Saturday morning and hey, if Frank wants a bloody mary by golly, he's gonna drink one. I opted out and enjoyed coffee instead and sitting around the table with everyone and scarfing down some of Frank's wonderful breakfast buffet items. He cooked every meal for us and it was yum a tum! Love southern hospitality!

After a nice pleasant morning, it was time to get in another ride, go check out the course and do some face time with the fans. The venue was only a couple of miles from the house, which was perfect and when we arrived there were already races taking place. I saw my family and some friends from the area and we visited for a bit before myself and the other girls got on the course to take a lap and then off-or so I thought. Next thing I know, we are coming around the start/finish line and the 3/4 women are lined up and we are lined up behind them. Then the announcer says, "Thank you Colavita women for volunteering to race with these 3/4 women and give them some pointers while on course".....WHAT? Wait, what are we doing???

So, Kelly, the awesome trooper she is, goes to the front and gets right in the middle of em. I play it safe with some of the others in the back, thinking I may offer a draft, a couple of pointers and then pull out after a couple of laps. About the time I decide to pull out on the NEXT lap, sure enough, a crash!!! Thank goodness no one was hurt and none of us were involved, all the girls got up and if their bike was ok, finished the race. That was our cue to head back to the house and get some lunch before the evening's events.

The race was awesome, we had a game plan to be aggressive and we were from lap 2!!! Janel won, Kelly was 3rd and the rest of us finished in the group. Winner winner chicken dinner!

Sunday's race was EARLY-9am-to us anyway;) Especially after finishing the crit at 8pm, then watching the men's race, then podium, then home for shower and try to go to bed around 11ish...so yeah, 9 was early.

Again, we wanted to be aggressive and from the gun we were. Cath and Andrea created a break with one other and they were gone! Cath won and Andrea took 3rd, back in the field is was a bit more chaotic because we would get neutralized by the men coming around but all in all it was a great day on the bike. :)

Afterwards I said goodbye to the family, we loaded up the van, back to host housing to clean up and pack up and off to Atlanta airport we went. From there, Rachel, Adrian and Cath went on to Asheville and myself, Janel, Kelly, Andrea and Kristin had an awesome Thai dinner, then watched the reruns of Paris-Roubaix on Versus at the airport hotel! That was a wonderful way to finish the weekend. Miss the team family already......

Next up for me is the Southeast crits after Easter....

Redlands and home

2011-04-05T14:39:00.001-07:00

I'm pretty sure I've said it 100 times - "It's good to be home". Colorado is definitely home for me, the mountains are so beautiful, the air is fresh and the temperatures are perfect! Ahhhh, "It's good to be home" (101)

After San Dimas, we drove to the Redlands host house-Jane and Dale, they recycle, they compost, they have a cool cat, a cold pool and a BIG house with a nice kitchen=perfect host house. My roomies were Janel and Heather and we had a good time with Jane and Dale. While in Redlands we had to do a photo shoot for the team, so we used some course recon to get in our shots while getting familiar with the races to come.

The time trial is a booger with a 1k climb at the end that is pretty steep and it hurts so bad-but we all got through it just fine:)

The team won the next 3 stages of the race and we are such a great group. When one of the riders wins, we ALL win and that is what it felt like! We have a lot of fun together and everyone has an awesome personality and it makes us all gel well together. I really look forward to this season-up next Sunny King in Anniston, AL, this weekend. It should be a great race!

But until then, Miller gets all my attention when I'm not riding:)

First race-San Dimas

2011-03-29T21:09:00.000-07:00

Prepping for our photo shoot.....
As we left Borrego Springs, I looked back on the week and thought about the memories already made. The next destination was San Dimas time trial course, just so we could give it a look and think about the days ahead and our first race together. Then on to host housing in Simi Valley-2 houses open to us by amazing families.

The uphill 3.7mile time trial-for me not so good-first one, nerves, etc. but for the team Cath Cheatley was sitting in 5th=awesome.

Stage 2 was an eight lap circuit(56miles) and my teammate Heather Logan-Sprenger soloed in for the win and our sprinter-Theresa Cliff-Ryan won the field sprint!! It was a great display of teamwork.

Sunday was the criterium and we wanted to A: win the race B: keep Heather in second. Well the cards just didn't play out that way but Heather did stay in 3rd and Theresa was second in the race! So overall, for our first team race, it was pretty successful.

Sorry for the condensed version but I'm sleepy :)

We are now in Redlands prepping for that race that starts on Thursday, it should be some hard, good, racing. I'm looking forward to it....

Good night to all!

Pictures

2011-03-19T21:22:00.001-07:00

So I can't take credit for these pics, Cath Cheatley, my teammate, took these-thanks!

From l to r: Andrea, Kelly, standing-Kristin, Rachel, myself, Heather, Leah, Cath, Theresa
The town's get together on Friday night..
One of the statues...
Couple more statues...
Statues in the back of the truck-OH MY:)

Borrego Springs!

2011-03-19T09:04:00.000-07:00

Good morning from Borrego Springs! The weather is warm, the wind blows in the afternoon and the wildlife is abundant. Plus there are metal, animal formations in the middle of no where who seem to appear when you aren't looking and are a wonderful surprise to all cyclists and motorists.

Today is an easy day, so I PROMISE to take pictures;)

The town is perfectly small, surrounded by mountains, desert looking, with one HUGE round a bout called Christmas Circle. We are staying at a resort with weekly or yearly rentals, so there are 2 to a condo-which is really nice-and we all meet at the team room to start our rides, have meetings and eat dinner.

We are the topic of town and were invited to the Chamber of Commerce's dinner last night to welcome and introduce us-it was really nice. They also introduced the artist who creates all of the metal sculptures, that was pretty cool as well. There was music, food and good laughs.

Pictures will be coming soon! Time to get movin....

Pictures from the last race

2011-03-10T17:01:00.000-08:00

So I've finished racing on the track for a bit but I'm planning on more racing later in the summer if it fits within my road schedule but FOR SURE at the end of the season(Sept./Oct.). I raced a decent race, made a couple of bad moves but that's how you learn and I ended up getting second to the Canadian national team chick(sorry, didn't catch her name).

Another interesting part about the race was that the Guatemalan national team was there-men and women. The women weren't too much on top of their game but the men raced a great madison race-which I raced as well. Click HERE to see what the madison is....then maybe check out a couple of YouTube videos-it's such an interesting and intense race....

The L.A. Velodrome is a very popular place for teams and countries to prepare for racing, I think because the weather is pretty predictable for any road riding that needs to be done and the indoor track is just one of the best in the world-it truly is amazing.

So now for the pics.....

This was my mistake move but I still took second....
The group...
I added this picture so you can appreciate the angle and steepness of the track...

Someone joked about how much I sweat, I'm used to it:).....
This is the Madison race with my partner Dan Vogt, it's amazing how fast you can get going when someone hand slings you down the track! WEEEEEEEE
And here she is, my first track bike, she's a bit heavy but a great bike to start on...

Next up...team camp! I'll take pictures and post em when I can!

Comforts of home

2011-03-01T07:28:00.000-08:00

It's officially here, bags are packed(again) and I'm headed west(again).

My last trip to L.A. was from Feb. 2-Feb. 21st and when I got home, I was so happy to see my pup, get back to my bed, my house, it just feels good to be home. Of course, I also had to get MY mail, MY bills, which wasn't so much fun but a month's worth of mail does have a lot of magazines in it:)!

After a day of 'catching up', it was time to get acclimated to the altitude and get those legs going again from travel. Since I've been home, I've put in some great miles and had a wonderful time not seeing a stop light and riding in the brisk 39 degrees. Miller was happy too, we threw ball and he got to run some errands with me and he was generally loved a bunch:)

But now it's time to go again- I hate leaving Miller, I really miss him when I'm away but I know he is in good hands. I am excited to go as well, team camp is right around the corner, followed by 2 races and I'm looking forward to all of it! I was more nervous than excited last year, just being new to the whole experience and all but this time the nerves aren't there and I'm looking forward to riding, meeting, hanging out with my teammates. BUT before all that, I have one more track race this weekend and a couple of days left there to have some Velodrome fun, so I will make the most of those days......

So back to packing and getting on the road, see you all on FB/Twitter or right back here!

Some pics

2011-02-22T18:25:00.000-08:00

Getting my times...
Going fast:).....
Where all the coaches stand.....
Other gals, going fast.....
Looking down towards the infield-to the left is about 3 full basketball/volleyball courts and to the right is the ramp for riders getting on/off the track...

John has something in his eye....this is where I was warming up and cooling down and generally hanging out....
Men's race....
more of the boys....
Us gals getting ready to get our team pursuit going, first one ever-it was fun....

Post race day

2011-02-20T09:43:00.000-08:00

So yesterday(Saturday) was race day at the track and it goes a little like this:

6:00am wake up/shower/coffee/brkfst

7:00 out the door

7:30 registration-chamois up/get all your stuff organized(cause you have a LOT of stuff)/get on the rollers

9:00 first races start

9:20 MY first race-Team Pursuit-post race, it's back to the rollers to cool down...

10-11:30ish-race 2 more races-500(2laps) and 3k(12laps)/warm up on rollers/cool down on rollers/eat food/drink drink/stretch/pull skin suit on and off

Morning session done-for me anyway, there are still 3 or 4 events going on but I'm just happy to get out of the chamois for a couple of hours and get some lunch. I was fortunate enough to have a those hours in between events, so time to go get some lunch! YAY! I'm told, a lot of times either you don't have a car or you don't have time to leave so I was prepared and brought a lunch but if I could get out, I would and I did:)

Afternoon session!

2:00pm register...again.....for the Omnium-scratch race-20laps, points race-40laps and miss n out-10 laps

3:00 afternoon races start

3:40-chamois up/make sure everything is organized for the afternoon-gears, bars, shoes, helmets, food, drink

4-8:00 I raced my 3 races, I don't remember the times/rolled on the rollers for warm up and cool down for each race/stretched/sat/watched.

I think it's best sometimes to not know, as long as you know when to fuel yourself, stay hydrated.

It kind of reminds me of a casino, you know how they don't have any clocks or windows:) b/c they want you to loose track of time so you stay longer-same principal on the track:) The only windows to the outside world are at the front of the track.

8:00 racing for me is over/change clothes-use lots of baby wipes here;)/start packing things back up/eat whatever is left/wait for prize money.

9:00 leave

9:30 find restaurant

10:30 home

10:40 showered and chillin

11:00 sleep!

Day after race.....wake up at 9:) Coffee and couch time, nice long road ride planned:)

Pictures coming soon....

L.A. outside rides

2011-02-12T17:20:00.001-08:00

The riding(once out of town-whatever that means) is actually pretty nice, well decent anyway:) I guess there really isn't any "getting out of town" but less lights, and less busy roads turns into beautiful scenery and rolling hills.

We also enjoyed a ride on the beach, which is always kind of comical because you never quite know what you are going to encounter, did I mention that I met some new friends? Can't remember....but I did:).

Other than that, I miss my pup-I'll get to see him soon though:)

Palos Verdes ride....

The beach bike path....

Venice beach was interesting to say the least, it was like a flea market-oh wait....a HIPPIE flea market with a slice of New Orleans thrown in-IN TA REST ING.....:)

Ok, other than that working on my track skills:)

Trackity Wack

2011-02-08T20:16:00.000-08:00

Here's what's funny.....that is a XXS skin suit, last year I couldn't get my leg in one side, now I'm wearing the thing:) funny...

Did you get that? I'm at the track;) and having fun. I've really taken to it, I love the smell, the sound, the people-all is good. I also loved riding the bike path along the coast for an easy ride, enjoying the scenery, the location, the sun, the waves-it was just overwhelmingly beautiful and I feel totally blessed to be here.

Winter months are winding down, so I'm finishing up my knitting(I only learned how to knit scarves), got a new book for my b-day(The Animal Dialogues by Craig Childs), getting schedules for the race season, putting up the skis and dialing myself in.

Other than that......watching college basketball:)

Been a while

2011-01-31T10:38:00.000-08:00

Sorry, it's been a while but I just haven't felt like I had anything to blog about.....

After Carla passed away, all the usual stuff that I rant or talk about seemed unimportant. I felt like I needed to have a moment of Internet silence or something-it was weird....how do I post some sort of Facebook status about myself after something so horrible happened? So I didn't but like all things life continues back to normal but with a person being changed a bit now from that day forward....

So, of course, I've been riding my bike a good bit and thinking about Carla and all the good times we had(even if there were few) and enjoying the beautiful weather that Colorado has had. I've also been trying to plan this next month or so of training-like when, where, what kind-and I think I've concluded with a trip back to L.A. to get on the track and hopefully some warm weather riding.

The team has posted the racing schedule and it gets ya all excited about the year and the opportunities for greatness to come. Camp is right around the corner and I look forward to meeting all the girls and such....

I've also been doing a couple of group rides with the Colavita club team from New Mexico and have met some really cool and fun people. So the rides have been great and of course the food and camaraderie afterwards has been a barrel o laughs:)

So today is a chill day and I've been cleaning house and getting ready to head out. That's all the news from here for now....until next time...

Warm weather skiing

2011-01-18T07:56:00.000-08:00

AHHHH! That's what this guy is saying! Thanks Brandon, for the picture:)

So we made it back from the tumultuous Tucson, actually I think they are rallying together so I correct myself....I had a great time in Tucson w/ my most awesomeness host and hostess, thank you guys! Hope I get to come back and maybe this time actually ride w/ you!

Miller is one happy pooch, when I was unpacking, he got all upset because he thought I was packing again-awww, shame! And thank goodness, it hadn't snowed at all, so no shoveling to park the truck and the roads were entirely clear of snow, so smooth sailing.

On Sunday, it was time to ski again! Whoohoo! I was excited and it was a lot warmer than last time! Last time my nose hairs froze b/c it was like in the teens or something but this time, it was almost 40-nice! I hear of one Minnesotan skiing in a T-shirt in this weather(Missy) and I totally believe it! But again, it was perfect! A good 2hrs and I was toast. Then it was time to do the usually back in town stuff: check the overflowing mail box, stock up on food(now I'm broke), take Miller for a walk.

I noticed that the classic track on the trail had turned purple! What is that all about I asked??! It is because of these tiny bugs(looks like vanilla bean ice cream to me) get pushed down into the snow and so many of them-it turns the snow to a purple color. Gross yet cool!
Just another beautiful view in the woods....

The view from an overlook, this is looking at the San Juan mountains....

Sidenote: New book-Eat, Pray, Love . I finished At Home: A Short History of Private Life two days ago and I highly recommend it!! I learned so much, like why we say "Sleep tight" or where "limelight" came from. And I'm interested in the CD, "Pickin on Coldplay: A Bluegrass Tribute" and for the first time I've watched The Colbert Report-wow that guy is funny!

Have a great day!!!

The Desert Museum

2011-01-12T14:10:00.000-08:00

So I had the opportunity to go to the desert museum on one of my easy days and I figured I wouldn't have too many chances to do that, so here are a couple of pictures from the fun....

Since I love having my picture taken with statues.....

Beautiful views....
Hello Mr. Cactus, may I have my picture taken w/ you.....

Alrighty back to work....

Yay SEC

2011-01-11T07:50:00.000-08:00

When State isn't in the BIG game(which is most of the time) I pull for the SEC like all other faithful SECers do and last night was no exception-good job Auburn!

I'm having a blast at my friends' house(no names for their protection), the views are amazing, the temperature is almost perfect, the house is BIG and we are all cyclists so mornings have been slow, evenings early and lots of good food.

I hear President Obama is headed to Tucson tomorrow, that should be interesting! I would like to see that but we will see.....

That's about it, I know, not too exciting;)

Crazy stuff

2011-01-09T08:29:00.000-08:00

Not really any crazy stuff with me but crazy stuff happening here in Tucson. I'm putting in the mile's and getting my saddle time. Unfortunately crazy folks are shooting congresswomen and innocent bystanders at the grocery store!??? WTF?

So yesterday afternoon I get a phone call from mom, "All I heard was 'shooting', 'Tucson' and 'grocery store' so I just need you to text me or call to let me know you are ok?" Hind sight it is kind of funny that mom associates me with grocery stores:) hehehehe

I'm safe, no where close to that intersection but it is crazy that it happened:(

In other Lauren news(which isn't much).....

Dad sent me some deer meat from my bro's deer-YAY!

And it's official now, I've signed with Colavita/Forno D'Asolo Pro Cycling Team for 2011 and that's about it.....

Happy Sunday:)

Nordic skiing pics

2011-01-03T17:46:00.001-08:00

These pictures are from Chicken Creek trail(in between Dolores and Mancos-check out their blog), it is so beautiful and one day we even saw a couple of elk! It really is an amazing place....

I think that day's high temp was 24 and the low that morning was -3 but by the time I finished this ski session, I had sweated so much that my hair that was exposed ended up freezing-funny.

I bet Michelle can make an awesome picture out of this!
Skis on the trail....
I'm not to great at the 'self portraits'
Trailhead.....

In other news......my latest book I'm reading: At Home by Bill Bryson, really good book about the history of the home and all it's rooms plus other facts about life in general that are pretty amazing!

Until next time....

My New Year's Eve

2011-01-01T13:41:00.000-08:00

What did I do for New Year's Eve celebration?

1. Go nordic skiing for a couple of hours in freezing cold weather(my nose hairs froze).

2. Take Miller for a walk to the store(him playing in the snow the whole way).

3. Make pizza crust and get all the toppings ready to take to my friends' house.

4. Eat homemade pizza, drink wine and then......sauna!!!!

The fun thing about sitting in 160 degree sauna(yes, that's hot enough for me-Ms. Sweatsalot) is that when you get to hot, you run outside to -3 degree temps and sit in the snow-ahhhhhhhh, nothing like sitting outside in your towel while watching the steam just roll off of you and your friends.

Then you get cold and run back inside and all of a sudden 160 degrees feels all cozy and perfect:)

So I didn't make it till midnight, so what.....as I told everyone last night, "This is probably one of the healthiest NYE parties I've ever been a part of." Thank you to my awesome peeps....

Sauna really takes it out of you, I barely remember the walk home and falling into bed and a sweet slumber! A great way to start the new year.....

Whoa, a little close up!
Yes, the snow is above my head while sitting in a chair....
It's not a bad picture, that's just all the steam coming off everyone:)

Colorado fun

2010-12-30T17:07:00.001-08:00

I made it back home(CO) with no problems, since when I got back, there wasn't any snow on the ground-the next morning at least a foot! Then today even more!!! It made walking to the grocery store pretty interesting, as the snow was really slippery. Today wasn't too bad but I did laugh at Miller as all four paws splayed out like in the cartoons, he is such a goofball...

It is so much snow, the town will just plow the 2 lanes on the road and push the snow to the center, like a center line barrier. Then they will plow it to the end of the roads in huge piles, which makes the stop signs that much more tricky. Once it stops snowing, they will use dump trucks and pile it all up at the end of town, quite impressive. Today was lots of plowing, people shoveling and 4 wheelers plowing driveways. Snow shoveling adds up FAST and you have to stay on top of shoveling or else the snow freezes and melts then it gets hard to break up and even more difficult to shovel. It's like cutting grass in the south, you have to do it all the time or you will be bailing hay:)

I also got to nordic ski another new trail today with one of my friends here in town! 2 hrs and I was done! The drive out and back was pretty interesting, lots of snow and people really nervous because it was so hard to see. We witnessed a car drive right off the side of the road, they weren't driving to fast so they didn't get too stuck but still-that sucks.....

On the way to go skiing, no yellow lines, no white lines...just winging it....
One of the piles at the end of the road....
This is right out the front door, I actually couldn't see the steps and we had to walk through 3ft deep snow to get to the road, it is so much fun here....

Side notes:

I added another blog to my blogroll-Johnny Kilster. It's nordic skiing stuff but also just pretty funny reads....
Miller got a bone for Christmas
After checking my mail, I called mom to confirm that she ROCKS because she sent me a subscription to Everyday FOOD-I love magazines.....

Happy New Year!

More Christmas fun

2010-12-27T06:21:00.000-08:00

Well I'm trying to upload photos but Internet is a bit slow, so for now just words.

Ever since the last post, I've been hanging out with the family, eating LOTS of great home cooking and riding my bike. It was really cold yesterday, as the storm that is pounding the east coast, has brought cold, freezing temps to the south but I shall keep moving! Yesterday was the coldest with the wind chill of 30(it's colder feeling in the south b/c of the humid air) but it still wasn't impossible, you just have to be prepared for the worst and hope for the best and find routes that keep you in the sun, out of the wind or some combo like that.

Yesterday's clothing:

Long sleeve underwear thermal top

Long sleeve, fleece lined jersey

Wind breaker vest

Wind breaker jacket

Warmest gloves I have

2 pair of bib shorts

Knee warmers

Leg warmers on top of knee warmers

Warm but not thick socks

Wind breaker shoe covers

Wind breaker hat

Ear covers

Plus, helmet, shoes, food, phone, spare stuff....and I was fine. The first 10min are always painful just b/c of the cold but once you get going, life is good and you get lots of stares but you know you are doing something productive and good for yourself. I also think that March is right around the corner-I'm ready for a good year this year.....

I have another ride today, longer but it is a touch warmer today so a small change in the clothing from yesterday. Some of the guys said it was too cold, seriously??! Wimps:) Anywho, I fly back to Colorado tomorrow, then hopefully a couple of days of snow skiing then time to head south for some warm weather training.

I wonder if mom would buy Miller a plane ticket next time?

Family recipe

2010-12-23T20:11:00.001-08:00

Part of my blogging is 'adventures' and being with family is always an adventure right?! I love my family and I love our adventures.....today was the family recipe of Nutcake...

We made about 40 small nutcakes and by the end we had the process smooth. Lots of laughs, lots of messes and lots of love and we had the house smellin good. Here are some pictures from the day.

I was asked not to name all these lovely ladies but I'm related to em all;)....
As you can see by the cake pans.....we were on a mission...
After doing this for a while, I soon asked for the food processor and then my job became a lot more fun.
Sis-in-law measuring it up...
That mixer was worth every penny today.
The crew and the product.
Tomorrow is riding and helping in the yard...gotta rake some leaves, cut down some bushes, pick up sticks.....

This is strictly a Vicksburg visit, as I'm leaving on Tuesday. I won't get to see many folks at all:(

Merry Christmas everyone!

New hobby

2010-12-20T09:46:00.000-08:00

Check out my new hobby:)

This is a synthetic ribbon that was a bit harder to work with but turned out pretty cool-just for looks really-not much comfort or warmth...
Most of these are Christmas presents:) The one on the far left was my very first full length scarf, it seemed to take forever! My favorite is the blue scarf, the material feels SO good.....

I've become a knittin fool! I learned how to knit about 2 months ago and now all my spare time and for most of my Christmas presents, I've been knitting a BUNCH of scarves:) It has been interesting to see the progression in skills and I've been known to knock out a scarf in one sitting. I haven't learned how to pearl or to do turns or anything like that yet, I was waiting till after Christmas to learn something new, so only scarves for now, no hats or gloves but hopefully those will be next:)

By looking at all my colors, I would guess that I'm mostly 'earthly' kind of gal. I'm not big on being too flashy, so my work reflects this I assume. I've knitted alpaca wool, that was pretty cool except it shed worse that Miller! I like nice, soft fabric that feels good when wrapped around your neck but I have tried a more synthetic fabric just for looks. I'm not very partial to it but it is a gift so I don't have to wear it....hope they like it! hahah!

It has saved me a lot of $$$ this Christmas, which is always nice.

Ok, back to work people....time for yoga:)

In other news

2010-12-17T15:59:00.000-08:00

My track adventures makes the "big time"....

Blog

2010-12-14T07:55:00.001-08:00

Check out the FedUp w/ school lunch blog about the PB&J! That was interesting!!! I know Rankin Co(my previous job) always served FOOD, even if it was just a sandwich, it was something that the ladies put together themselves. If our director put this on the menu as a lunch item, I'm pretty sure the parents would riot. Or the ladies would be dissappointed they couldn't show their culinary skills-a lot of those ladies are very proud of the things they can cook and the good ones CAN COOK! Of course they are usually limited by the federal gov't. so most things are by the rules but sometimes, they 'slip' something good on ya and you are in school cafeteria heaven:)!!!

I love those ladies, I miss em and if anyone is reading this blog, I hope they are all having a wonderful holiday season.

For Sale

2010-12-07T17:26:00.001-08:00

If anyone is looking for some good deals on some stuff barely used, you are in the right blog:) E-mail me(laurenthall17@gmail.com) if you are interested and I will ship em to ya. I also have some other things if anyone is interested(helmets, gloves, sunglasses, more skin suits), just drop me a line on what you need and I'll see what I've got. Merry Christmas!

Pearl Izumi fleece lined arm warmers

Size: Small

$25

Bellweather Vest

Size: Medium

$20

Women's Pearl Izumi vest

Size: Small

$25

Louis Garneau rain jacket

Size: Small

$40

Pearl Izumi wind jacket

Size: Medium

$45

Adidas wind jacket

Size: SMALL

$20

2x

Long sleeve skin suit from the Hudz-Subaru Cyclocross 2009 Team

Size: Medium

$25

The shorts are shorter than normal but the chamois are comfy.
2x

Short sleeve skin suit from the Hudz-Subaru Cyclocross 2009 Team

Size: Medium

$20

Santa baby

2010-12-03T09:10:00.000-08:00

Hurry down the chimney for me, hahaha! For all those out there with your lists and checkin em twice, have fun shopping during the holidays, I'll be riding my bike, hanging with friends/family and relaxing-I don't shop till after Christmas;)

BUT, if you are just dying to know what I would love from santa please let me amuse you with the following list:

Total Pillow

Wonder Hanger

Snuggie

Ok, I'm joking but I really get a kick out of those products for some reason...

A fish outta water

2010-11-29T10:40:00.000-08:00

I finally was well enough to head out for my first run on my new ski stuff! I was so excited and it was DUMPING snow, which is always fun:) So off to Telluride we went! The land of money:)

I'm in the process of uploading some videos to my YouTube channel so if you get a moment, go to YouTube and search for laurenhall17 channel and check em out, kind of funny:)

I'm not really any good at all but I'm getting better and it is great cross training for cycling and plus it is at 9,000ft AND it is a great mental break! It was a ball of fun and I hope to get to go again in the next couple of days. For a while there wasn't much snow at all but after the storm that just blew through, things should be well covered and hopefully the trails will be groomed soon. Up next? Back to warm weather some where to get in some long rides or back to the velodrome, we shall see!

Nordic skis!

2010-11-24T15:54:00.000-08:00

Yahooooo!!! I love the UPS guy:) in a package receiving way that is....plus he gives Miller treats....I'm a bit under the weather but hot tea helps a ton! Hoping to give the skis a go this weekend....Happy Thanksgiving!

Last days at the track

2010-11-23T08:48:00.000-08:00

So I'm back in Colorado now, we drove through a bit of snow in Flagstaff, it was interesting because it was slippery!! We saw one guy almost drive off the road, swing back over, all the way to the right side of the road and save it(glad we weren't closer!)

So the last days of the Velodrome felt so good, I would've loved to have stayed but I needed to see my pup too:) Maybe next time he can come along for the ride, the Tanners already gave me permission! Like my dad always said, we will see.

So on the last day, I did a flying 3k and a 500 sprint. I think I put up pretty good times so hopefully I'm headed back sooner than later but that is up to the coaches to decide. Here is a link to two videos, I don't know why it wasn't posted to YouTube but anyway...

The first video is me being me...

The second is the 3k...owie mowie

Cycling track reminds me a lot of running track, go hard, finish, cramp, have fun:) hehehe...

http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1066772134

Ok, gotta do the usual 'just got home' errands to run...

What day is it???

2010-11-19T22:08:00.000-08:00

Day 5 I think? Anyway, more circles=more comfy on the track...:) So that's what I'm doing and I'm still learning!!! I'm lucky to be surrounded by awesome people, teaching me something every time we do a lap....

I thought today was the last day but I got to swing one more in there.....so tomorrow(Saturday) will be the last day-again another opportunity to learn! Roger has really been patient and very clear and concise in what he wants me to do and then he leaves me in the good hands of trained professionals.....

After 2 glasses of wine, some grilled chicken and such...I'm officially pooped.....I have some video I will upload probably when I get back to Colorado(Sunday or Monday) so be on the lookout. My nordic stuff should be in before Thanksgiving as well, so more pictures and adventures(snow pending of course) to be had!

Good evening and good night....

Random pictures of SoCal

2010-11-19T10:07:00.001-08:00

The first 2 pictures are of the velodrome, just walking inside and the first impression. Felt bicycles are the neutral bikes available for people like me so they have 2 Felts at the front.

This is the elusive Michael Engleman on a bike!!! He is rarely caught on camera riding his bike these days, so I'm pretty sure he is making a comeback with Alexi Grewal :)This is the bike trail that we ride to and from the different roads.
Jet Tanner, what a great guide!
I wonder where all these people are going???? All times of the day, both ways, it is always busy.

2 more days

2010-11-18T08:39:00.000-08:00

So another 2 days at the track and another 2 learning sessions. I've also enjoyed going a couple of hours early to watch others and what their training sessions are. Yesterday was a group of kids, YES KIDS!, looking to age from 10-16, going around in circles with no problem at all, it was very impressive. I guess when you are that age you really don't have much to fear and all new things are still fun-hmm, I just described myself:) hehehe

I liked the drills they were doing, the coach was pretty much forcing them to look around and be comfortable with people above and below them....

So my training included:

Day 3-We warmed up with 40 or so laps, then Roger says, "Ok, we are going to do 140 laps...." and then I heard blah, blah, blah...:) I knew I could do it because we did 100 laps the previous session but these laps were going to get progressively faster every 20 laps, so I did my best and hung on as long as I could(seeing I have a really small gear to learn with) which was about 43 laps to go, I was happy with that. And then Dena Eaton and I did 2 sprints, after that, I reallllllyyy needed to change my saddle or something had to give, SERIOUSLY! So I asked Roger if it was ok to change the saddle for next session.

Day 4-Another good warmup-80 laps and this time I wasn't protected by an awesome wheel to follow, so I was actually following a guy that would serge and drop(more room please). After the warmup it was time to work on more sprints, again, getting more comfortable and reliable as well.

I totally understand why the track is so rule oriented. If one person doesn't have a clue what they are doing or what the rules are, it wouldn't take long for something bad to happen. There are so many people and we are going around so fast and there is no way to slow down....

Another day today, one more tomorrow, then we will see what the future holds. In the mean time, I will do easy road spins, rest, eat....oh and take random pictures:) Like the strawberry fields, smog, traffic:)

Hope Miller is ok....I miss my bud

New fun

2010-11-14T17:54:00.001-08:00

So I've made it to beautiful Irvine, CA to visit the Tanner family and give it a go on the track. While I'm doing this whole cycling as a lifestyle bit, I want to try every aspect of cycling.

So this is how my racing career goes:

My first stage race-with Amber Neben and the Nurinberg team

My first cyclocross race-UCI against Katie Compton and the crew..

So my first track experience-LA Velodrome, where the likes of Lance Armstrong, Kristin Armstrong and some of the world's best perfect their skills.

This is day 2 and I've fallen in love....

Day 1: Here is a track bike, here are the different positions on the track, here is how to clip in...go....My thoughts, "I'm nervous" "Look at the banking on this thing!" "This feels weird" "I wanna know how fast I'm going" "I want to go faster" "This is AWESOME!"

Day 2: Learn how to ride in a paceline, then some moto following along with madison practicing(or something like it)....My thougts, "I'm nervous" "Look at all these people" "I love going fast" "This is REALLY fast" "I feel sorry for the guy that I'm 'pushing' cause I think he is doing a lot of work b/c I'm not very comfortable with all this yet" "I think the guy just got a bit more of a push" "This is AWESOME!" "My girl stuff is KILLING ME"

So tomorrow is a day off, we will do an easy 2hr ride, then get back after it on Tuesday-I really look forward to it.

Check some of the pictures of the LA Velodrome....

I'll post after another trip to the track...

Cyclocross and Pumpkins

2010-11-08T07:35:00.000-08:00

I'm pimping my sweet Kokopelli Bike Shop jersey, which allllmmmooost matches the bike....

As soon as I got home it was time to carve a pumpkin! One of my favorite fall activities:) If I had time I would've loved to have dressed up in something totally scary to scare the crap out of all the kids but I had a cyclocross race in Durango instead...ahh poooo! So I flew home on Thursday, carved pumpkins on Friday, rode my cyclocross bike for the first time all year on Saturday, raced on Sunday and was able to pull off 3rd place...NICE!

Then I had the hack for the rest of the night. For those that don't know...this is when you race your bike so hard, your lungs have this burning sensation, you taste blood in your throat and post race you hack like you've been smoking the last 20 years of your life.....I wonder if it is healthy? Any doctors reading this have any input? Or MENSA folks? You know who you are;)!

This past weekend we had 2 more cross races and again I finished 3rd in both of those.....I'm solidifying my position there....

Saturday's race was here in Dolores and the sweetest girl in the world came to town to race, Teal-Stetson Lee(she races for CalGiant Specialized this year), last year she raced for Fort Lewis College and won Collegiate Cyclocross Nats. And I swear she is the nicest competitor I've ever met! Anywho, she took first and Carmen Small(I'm just gonna start calling her 'train' because she has this HUGE engine that I can't keep up with) took second, me third.

Sunday's race in Cortez had an awesome BMX pump track incorporated into the course, I LOVED that part! But unfortunately I managed to drop my chain while trying to solidify 2nd to the 'train'. As I was putting my chain back on, I fell to 4th-time to go......I caught right back up to 2nd and 3rd, passed 3rd and stayed in that position for a bit, putting pressure on Shannon(top ranked mtn biker, nothing like living near Durango right). I passed her in the sand pit and was going to put more pressure on both of us by going faster and making it hurt, well I ended up sliding out TWICE!!! She passed me and held me off the last 2 laps....but I enjoyed the race, I think I was smiling the entire time.

Anywho, I've been working on my spin this past week, preparing to go to the track. My cadence is usually around 90 but for track I need to have it ramped up to like 110-125 rpms, which is totally opposite of cyclocross-that's more like 80 and grinding...

I don't know the specifics yet, like when I'm leaving, how long, what I'm doing, pretty much anything;) except that this has been my best chance to go so I'm preparing as best I can.

There hasn't been any snow yet here in the four corners but maybe that will all be changing tonight! It has been getting semi cold but no weather to go along with the cold just makes it all boring, I guess it has been a bit of a blessing since I'm having to ride my road bike for training still so ok, it can hold off one more day;)

The finished products! Mine is bottom left...it's a witch
Ken working on his gourd, no pumpkins for him just gourds.....
Laura, always loving on the dogs, sittin on the floor....I miss her already and she hasn't even left yet...
BillieRay and AngieRay, they are awesome!

Some randoms

2010-10-27T15:11:00.001-07:00

I'm headed back to Colorado tomorrow. It is currently 95, hot and humid here in Vicksburg and I've been told that it was snowing at home....ooohhhh yeahhhhh!! Bring it on! Got my skis ordered and I'm ready. So before I leave, here are some other pics from the visit....enjoy....

Me and my best bud....my dad:) He is such a social butterfly! I have a hard time keepin up with him!! But we had some fun on the visit.....Ok, so when I retire from my pro cycling career and I've made my millions(don't laugh to loud please) maybe I will take up my other profession, I'm a certified chef! That's right......I don't cook like I've been trained but I can whip out some good stuff when pressured;) My brother(Ben) is also a trained chef, he actually uses his degree-so we went to St. Al High School and while he was carving a pumpkin, I did the apple duck/dove and the tomato roses and had a couple of kids give em a go as well....
This is Ben starting on his pumpkin face:) He is such a great artist! Here are two YouTube videos he did with his ice carvings.....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aM-tcXZROBE

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RzE7bRzjZJQ&feature=mfu_in_order&playnext=1&videos=aPzcVpmKBAQ
This is the band teacher/junior varsity basketball coach/blues singer-Vickie Baker. She is the best!!! She does tells it like it is.....and I swear she hasn't aged at ALL!!!
And so that wraps up the visit.....sad to leave my friends and family but happy to get back home...

And the crazy part, I didn't even get to see half the folks I wanted to! Dang it! Next time! See y'all at Christmas.....wonder if I need to bring shorts or pants...hmmmmm. Gotta love that Mississippi weather...

On a break or have I????

2010-10-21T16:38:00.000-07:00

This is from inside the Vicksburg Military Park.....great riding!!!!!
Another one from in the park
Some beautiful roads on my ride......

Sorry it's been a while since I've posted, I've been on a wee bit of a break...a.k.a. home visiting my parents. And it really hasn't been much sitting around shootin the bull and such, it has been more hanging out with dad(attending events with him), working in the yard, cooking for everyone(which is fun anyway), spending time with my brother and sis-in-law who were in town for the weekend and getting in a couple of workouts. It seems every night I'm pooped!!!! But that is fine with me, life is good.

I've also been working on my school cycling program, I've talked with the local bike shop, and the school district and everyone is in on the idea, now if we can just get a coach or P.E. teacher to have some fun with it as well!!! So the ball has started rolling! Yahoo!!!! And thanks to some friends, I've also gotten some leads on some folks to talk to in North and South Mississippi as well so I'm excited!

I'm headed back to CO on the 28th, then hopefully and FINALLY get on the track!!! Maybe a trip to L.A.....we shall see.....time and money...time and money.....I'm also going to race some cyclocross, just for fun and keep me in some shape....

Headed to see my nephew this weekend.....he will be 4 on Sunday...awwwwwww...

Ok, I'm outta here....what's for dinner?

The latest

2010-10-08T07:20:00.000-07:00

This picture is actually from another hike but it was so cool and fun I had to post it....
Coming down this part was a bit scary, I guess since I've never experienced anything like that before....
The trail heading down....
The Aspens are absolutely beautiful...

"It's this way, come on!"...
One of the many beautiful views....

Good morning blogging world!! Life is goooooood.......since the off season has started, I've enjoyed some great hikes, a bit of disc golf, some mountain biking and last but NOT least, I've learned how to knit!! YEP that's right....KNIT!

The pictures are from my hike with Michael. The trail started at 10,200ft and dropped to 9,000ft in an hour walk. We never reached 'the end' but I could tell it was going to be hard as hell to get out, so I made an executive decision to turn around....oh boy, it hurt! But it was absolutely beautiful!

The hike was on a Friday, on Saturday I hit the mountain bike trails just up from the house-Boggy Draw and did a couple of loops-by now my lower back is SO MAD at me, so I called it a day. Plus, something was wrong with my rear shock, so it was time to take the Epic in for a look:( Come to find out the shock is blown-man I didn't know I was so tough;)! hahah!

Sunday was a 'yoga retreat' in the morning, a good 2hr session of zen stuff......then it was time for a round of disc golf. Since it has been 5 years since I've played, the start was REALLY rough but over the next 18 holes, I got my throw down but my putting still needs a lot of work! haha!

I've been hiking more and checking things off my list, like learning a new craft-knitting! Mom and dad called me a hippie but when mom gets her amazing scarf for Christmas she will be loving my new craft;) No pictures yet sorry....

So there you have it.....I will be back on the bike a bit when I go home next week and then time to start thinking about 2011.....wow that was fast!

See you guys later! Go outside and play!!!

Boston was awesome!

2010-10-01T19:06:00.000-07:00

I'm actually behind Lauren Tamayo, you can't even see me....shame...
Look at the third floor window!!! Dewey, Cheatham & Howe!!!
The FOOT!!!! Please give me luck!
Sara started it!! We don't know what this was but we couldn't resist, while the kids were being all smart and cruzin around campus...
We were REALLY having fun
Fenway Park

Boston was full of fun, some CRAZY drivin and some awesome sights, oh yeah and a bike race;)

Race report: The race was a race only because of Team VBF! If Alison wasn't attacking and off the front or Robin was attacking for a prime, then I was giving it a go and that is how it went UNTIL lap 18/32. There was a bad crash in turn 2 and they neutralized the race till lap 13, then it was back at it:) I knew where I needed to be for the sprint but unfortunately I was boxed in and could only stay in for 5th, a bittersweet ending for the year but we had a blast.

My host: The amazing Sara Bresnick-Zocchi and her awesome hubby Michael AND their stuck up cat....Coconut a.k.a. Coco! I picked on the cat a bit too much and she let me know all the time....

Then it was time for some fun and sightseeing:) First up, most important, Dewey, Cheatem & Howe-the Click and Clack gag name for their law firm! There wasn't much to it AT all but it was still cool to nab the picture.

Then on to Fenway Park, we didn't make it inside, we were pretty beat so we just took some pics outside the park and bought a couple of souvenirs.

I got a lot smarter after visiting Harvard, walking around on campus, rubbin 'tha foot' and pretty much just kicking around having fun on the campus.....

And then it was time to come home, which I was ready......I missed my pup, Coco just wasn't cutting it for me;) and I missed the dry air, no really!!! And I was ready to get away from all this crazy drivin!!! They didn't have lanes and people drove CRAZY!!! Sara included! But she was hell on wheels and was one hell of a host for drivin us around town, thanks chica.....

Now that it is the off season for a couple of weeks, it is time to play some disc golf, hike, ride my mountain bike and all that 'other' stuff:)!!! Whooo hooo!

Gettin things done

2010-09-27T13:04:00.000-07:00

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

2010-09-25T06:52:00.000-07:00

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

2010-09-16T10:44:00.000-07:00

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

2010-09-10T09:02:00.001-07:00

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

2010-09-07T08:14:00.001-07:00

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:)

The life of a dog, my dog

2010-08-30T08:07:00.000-07:00

What he loves the most.....swimming
Miller on his bed with 'moosey'
His second favorite form of water
You coming out to play????
He loves the doggy door....
Miller sleeping 'on' the bed.....

Miller is one happy dog, always has been, he loves his tennis ball, loves eating and loves social events. I, on the other hand, am at the other end of his leash. He has drug me down hills at soccer games, face first, while everyone else is laughing as he thinks the soccer ball is his toy, he drools all over the floor when dinner time comes around and man can his gas be TOXIC:)

Miller is from a litter out of Jackson, MS and I still remember him as just a pup, sitting in my lap when I would drive back and forth to school(State) and home. I still remember the LONG nights of him whimpering, peeing, wanting to play and being the sweeeeetest dog ever when he was sleeping!!! I also remember going home with him and mom trying to buy him off of me, NO WAY! He is my baby but I'm sure mom could've spoiled him rotten.

Miller has been dove hunting with me, even though he wasn't a true hunting dog-he knew the command STAY but never listened. Every hunt he would steal the first bird killed of the day and while he was bringing it back to me, he would eat the WHOLE thing...eeewwww but I still love ya!

He loves going to Lake Bruin to my mom and dad's, endless water and he stays in it ALL day! He loved going to the deer camp, eating (hold your groceries) deer guts, rolling around in all the blood and coming home SO STINKY!!!!

He lived with me in Starkville, Austin, Jackson and now in Colorado-he is a well traveled dog.

Now that we are in Colorado(which he loves riding in the truck-has only fallin out once, when he was a pup and it wasn't his fault and jumped out once, thinking he was gonna catch a deer, he learned his lesson w/ a chin full of gravel) he LOVES the snow, it is just another form of water to him. He will stay outside as long as you let him, roll around in the snow, bury his ball on purpose so he can dig it back up, just loves it.....

He is getting older now, his joints are all swollen from arthritis, he is 9 years old and has been running all those years and now he is slowing down a bit. He has fatty tumors(on medication), can't do as much, has a hard time getting in and out of the truck and he is turning all white from age. But he still loves his tennis ball, matter of fact, I have 4 on the table outside that are all nasty from his slobber. He is a bit more tolerable on the leash and I can almost hold him back now-88 solid pounds is hard to pull back when he wants to smell something in the grass. He still loves to eat and can finish his bowl in record time, I'm sure of it.....

Mom has bought him a big, super duper, cushy bed that he LOVES and I have to carry it from the bedroom to the living room so he can stay close to me and comfy at the same time:) He has a moose that my friend Laura has given him and it is the FIRST toy that he hasn't pulled the stuffing out and shredded into BITS! Maybe after all these years, he has learned:) We've had 'moosey' for about 5 months now:)

As I write this he is snoring on his bed beside me, with his moose of course:) I'm headed to Durango today and when I get home, he will be staring out the door wondering why I've been gone so long and when can we play ball?!

Just thought you guys would get a kick out of getting to know Miller pup.....

Those rides

2010-08-23T10:41:00.000-07:00

Some days getting on the bike is the cure to all of the worlds problems, if only for a little bit..

Take today for example, it was overcast, been raining all morning, the roads were wet, it was a bit chilly outside. I'm stressing over next year's contract-who will want me and how soon will I know. I'm thinking about a friend who just lost her husband, I'm worrying about my errands I need to run for the day and bills and such. I had the option to take the day off or do an easy 30min spin, I figured I needed the spin.

So off I went, trying to get in a quick ride before the rain, looking up at the sky every couple of minutes and about 5 minutes into the ride, just like that, all of my worries go out the window. Who cares if it rains?(which it did) Why does it matter if my shoes get dirty and my bike gets dirty and I have to clean it? The errands will get done, the bills will be paid. Be thankful that the only thing I REALLY have to worry about is next year's contract. Then I think about all the things I don't have to worry about or all the things I can be so thankful for....

Like the fact, that I have this window of opportunity to ride my bike for a living. I'm healthy, happy and so is my family. I'm planning trips with them in the near future. My friends are all doing well. I just won a race and I'm racing more this coming month and I have short term goals to meet. I can't change the outcome of next year's contract or decisions so let it be. I don't have to worry about the start of school like my old co-workers have to deal with. I love being in Colorado and the rain feels so good actually. And just like that my ride is over, I'm back in town, soaking wet, dirty from all the road grime and I have a smile on my face and my head is focused and cleared.

Maybe it was the rain, maybe it is the good juju from riding the bike-getting the blood flowing, the legs spinning and the heart rate up. Whatever it is, I'm glad it is a part of me, makes me know I'm alive and well........

So now...off to those errands:)

PS, I rinsed off my bike, wiped it down and she looks good as new, ready to go again tomorrow, whatever the weather is;)

Hey!

2010-08-20T10:54:00.000-07:00

This was art at our host house...pretty cool!
We didn't win the race but we won the post race fun!
Teammates, Carrie Cash and Toni Bradshaw...chillin
While at home, Michael and I thought it would be a good idea to climb Coal Bank Pass...twice...~10,500ft.....
So it's been a while, my bad:) Since my last post, I've been home mostly and then raced a criterium in Glencoe, IL. The race was pretty stellar....I was in some breaks and with the help of AP, I created the last break that stuck which included, Theresa Cliff-Ryan, Meredith Miller, LVG, my teammate Carrie Cash and myself. It was fun:)!!! And we made some good $$$ and had some post race fun that included shots of tequila and margaritas at a yummy mexican restaurant. Also, I had the chance to meet Rahsaan Bahati and his teammate Matt Rice, they were really nice guys, you never know what to expect from the men to be honest but you hope they are nice and they were....just sayin...

I can thank Robin for the $40 worth of shots, it was kind of funny. We were also celebrating Carrie Cash's b-day but she doesn't want to talk about how old she is getting:) hahah! I love my teammates:)

I think I was sweating the entire time I was there, it was WARM but all in all....good times!

Now I'm back home, trying to figure out what other races I'm going to finish the season off with. Right now, I'm racing the Gateway Cup in St. Louis in 2 weeks, it is 4 days of criteriums and some good fun. Then maybe up to Boston at the end of September and I'm hoping to get a track bike within all this time and give it a go in CA. We will see......I'm also looking at nordic ski stuff for winter, man I thought cycling was expensive and confusing:) But why not huh?!

Other than that, I've just been riding my bike, enjoying the afternoon showers, taking Miller for short walks, shooting my bow for fun and wondering if next year is going to be as much fun.....

I'm also thinking about all those folks getting ready for school to start, I still have vivid memories of long hours in child nutrition office, entering free/reduced applications and taking phone calls from teachers, parents and trying to hold it all together!! Good luck y'all!!! Hang in there!

All the good times

2010-08-06T08:25:00.000-07:00

Brian and Molly-my keepers, my friends
Kisses all around!
She is one strong chic
Crazy Carla Swart....
Carla, Toni and I enjoying one of the views
I'm sitting here this morning, drinking coffee, reading the NYT's and thinking about the season that was and what the future will hold. I have one more race for sure with the team, next weekend in Chicago-Glenco Criterium.

Brian(our mechanic) and Molly(Soigneur) are officially done for the season. Their last race with us was Cascade and then a couple of us got to hang out in Portland and Eugene for the three days afterwards for sponsor visits and it was fun to see where they lived and learn a bit of history about Portland. Portland is a COOL city, if you ever get the chance to visit-DO IT! The weather was amazing, the city had so many neat areas, tons of cyclists, tons of good food and so many adventures just minutes away.

So what will happen in 2011? What will happen at Glenco? What will happen tomorrow? What's for breakfast? I DUNNO yet but I'm totally looking forward to it all.

I'm reading a book, As Good As Gold by Kathryn Bertine about her quest to become an Olympian and how people thinks she's crazy. It is a funny, easy read, check it out! I can totally relate to some of the things she is trying to overcome. Anyway, I thought I would fill y'all in on my reading schedule;)

Oh, check out Tutela. She has some cute things! I'm a fan of the wallets......:)

Alright, time to get movin....

Cascade and post race

2010-07-27T16:20:00.000-07:00

Let me just say that Cascade Cycling Classic was awesome! It felt like a break through ride for me, I got in breaks, I attacked, and I placed in the top ten one day-success!! I had a blast!

Check out cyclingnews.com for results and race reports. Sorry, I was too tired to post everyday:)

So after Cascade, on Sunday, we drove to Portland to spend some quality time with some of our sponsors and participate in a couple of group rides. On Monday, we went to Nossa Familia coffee shop to do a meet and greet and did a group ride. After the ride, they had a keg of Ninkasi beer for us and we sat on the front porch of someone's house and enjoyed the afternoon with friends and beverages:)

Tuesday we drove to Eugene, visited Rolf Prima Wheels warehouse, participated in another group ride(loads of chics on bikes:)),raced in the Tuesday night crit, then went to Ninkasi for more beer drinking and a tour of the brewery-cool!!!! Eugene is a cool town, another one I could add to my list of favorites-it just had some really cool coffee shops and vintage shops, lots of cyclists, great roads and some really cool people:) Which brings me to a question.....wonder where I will settle down and call home????

Wonder if I will ever move back to MS???? hmmmm

Anyway, I digress......so today-Wednesday, I'm back in the airport trying to fly standby to get home and worn out.....hence me not being able to focus on one subject and finish a complete sentence:) sorry....

Next up-a break~3-5 days off the bike. Time to be a tourist in town:) Take Miller to the river, hike, check out some things-then it is back to work, there is still a couple of races to do and then maybe onto the track. I will ride my bike till it snows, then I will take a longer break before thinking about 2011.

ok....when I'm not so tired, I will post more and hopefully it is something worth reading, until then:)....

Bend again:)

2010-07-19T16:31:00.001-07:00

I can't tell you guys enough just how much I love this place! This is now my 4th time to be in Bend and I'm loving it more and more.....:)

This race is gonna be a hard one but I'm totally looking forward to it. It is kind of bitter sweet because this is the last stage race of the year. So even though I will be doing one day races with the team after this it feels like it's over, I'm sad......whoa were did the time go?????

It seems like forever ago that I was at my first team camp, then San Dimas, then Redlands...then it starts to blur a bit:) But man what a great time I've had, even the bad days.....jeez...I totally made the right move to quit the ole 9 to 5er and go for it. I'm looking forward to racing as much as I can till the end of the season, whenever that is.....and I'm just hanging on to all the awesome memories!!!

But back to today....this race...it's gonna be hard/fun/fast.......let's do it!

Hometime

2010-07-05T09:53:00.000-07:00

Wonder if Miller would wear these?
Post race chillin
The Hillside Girlz!
The week I got home, I had a visitor from home-my buddy, Andrea Wilson. She had driven across the country to do a race in Breckenridge this past weekend and she needed a place to stay for a couple of days before heading up to the race venue. I gladly offered up Dolores as the coolest town ever to stay in:)

So Andrea was so kind as to pick me up at the Durango airport at 10:30 Monday night, then we drove the hour drive home and called it a day, plus I got to see my baby boy-Miller was SO excited to see me:)

For the next couple of days, I had easy rides and Andrea had some business to take care of, i.e. bicycle stuff, so we got to hang out and drink a couple of cold ones and visit my friends for dinner before she left on Thursday morning.

As for this past weekend, I didn't have any big plans until Karen asked me if I wold be the bike leg of a relay team for a triathlon.....whoooo sounds like fun! A chance to ride my TT bike without any pressure AT ALL and have a good time with friends! I'm in! We had a blast! Karen swam, I biked and Terra ran- we were the Hillside Girlz! We got second place to a group of guys by seconds, ahhhhh. So to celebrate, I took a nap, then Michael and I went to Lance n Karen's for a cookout and to watch the replay of the tour(Tour de France). I was asleep by 10......whoa big partier:)

Maybe I'll jump in the river again today with my all my cycling stuff on...hmmmm

Nationals

2010-06-29T20:24:00.000-07:00

Well let me just say....if I weren't living in Colorado...Bend, OR would be my home. It is beautiful, clean, fun, great weather, great people, great food, shopping.....and of course, my new favorite place to eat-Cuppa Yo! I was there for a full week and I think I ate there 6 of the 7 days! The owner(Keith) knows where I'm from, why I was there and he met my teammates! hahaha!!! We were GREAT customers;)

My host house was a friend of ex pro Chrissy Ruiter(she's from Bend-lucky), Heidi and her house was so cute!!! She had a sweet black pup named Beta and a huge cat named Otis:) It was nice to care for some animals, making it feel that much more like home.....Heidi is super cute and has great taste and she was a blast to hang out with...THANKS HEIDI:)

So racing.....the first race was the time trail, not a lot of gals signed up because there are only a select few that had a true shot at it and I enjoyed cheering on my teammies:) Alison was fourth and even if she wasn't totally thrilled with it, I was really proud to see her step on the podium and take her medal.

After the awards ceremony, the team went back to one of the host family's house and had an awesome cookout! It was so cute, everything was labeled and the food was wonderful! I think I tweeted the photo:) They also had to big dogs, one was a yellow lab....awwww, I miss my Miller!

Next up was the criterium, this was Erica's race(another teammy)! She was ready, excited, focused and knew exactly what she had to do to get to the finish line first. It felt good executing a team plan and having total success in the end-Erica took 2nd! What a closer!:)

After the crit, we ate some awesome Thai food and then called it a day:) Whew, I was tired.....

Saturday was an off day, the road race was on Sunday. So we had a nice, easy ride and chill day lots of rest b/c Sunday was gonna come fast and early.

So alarm goes off at 6am, eat, coffee, dress, head to the start of the race. We discuss team tactics and off we went:) 113k of fun! 4 laps, with a nasty climb each time....it was totally hard but again, I enjoyed it! This was my second time to do road nationals and my first time to finish....in my mind, it was a successful day and my teammate was in the top 10!! Good job Sanders!

So back home on Monday and Andrea Wilson from TN is in town for a couple of days for some acclimation, she is headed to do some 100mile mtn bike race....she is HARD CORE!!!! Glad she is here and I'm enjoying showing her the sites of the big city:)

So the next 3 weeks will be training and then see where I'm going from there! I'm sure some interesting things will happen b/t now and then:) I shall blog......

Until then, check out this video..

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2LoeAar4gxY

Nature Valley Grand Prix

2010-06-20T18:37:00.000-07:00

Whoa! As of now, this was the hardest race I've ever done! I survived but barely and not without some serious aches and pains......

The race is a time trial, 3 crits and 2 road races. The time trial and first crit were on the same day and after the time trial, I was feeling good, excited for the racing to come and that my teammates were sitting in good positions for the evening to come. The crit that afternoon was in a new place than the previous years and what was so funny is that I've been to the same location just in January when they had the Ice Carving Festival with my family! hahaha! I got a kick out of that....and here I am again, racing my bike!

The crit was HELLA hard! I got caught up in a crash early on(I was fine and my teammates who were also in the crash were ok) so we went to the pit, got our free lap, jumped back into the race and went at it again.....sometime later and a couple of other crashes later, the race was over and I was thankful to be finished....OUCH!

That's when I realized how hard this race was gonna be, oh boy.....

The next day was a road race that ended up being cancelled due to weather! Crazy stuff!!! A lot of gals said this was a first for them and they've been racing for YEARS! It was a bit bizarre, so everyone packed up and headed home....

So back to a crit the next day, here we go again:) I started in a better position for this one, tried to get into a couple of breaks that didn't stick and BAM back on the back hanging on for dear life again....and again I made it till the end. I think my fingernails are hurting from hanging on for dear life;)

On Saturday, we had a road race(76miles) filled with steep, quick climbs. I CAN DO THIS! And I DID! :) I was with the main pack coming into the finishing circuits and I was sitting in a pretty good spot and I just couldn't hold it till the end but I was happy that I made that group to finish with.

Sunday was the day of HELL a.k.a. Stillwater...beautiful town but STEEP hills:) I still enjoyed the experience to be honest(is that sick?). I did my best to hang on but my legs were done for even though my head was still ready to rock, ugh...

FINISHED, next race please....Nationals!!! YAhooooo:) Headed to Bend, OR tomorrow with the rest of the gals, should be fun!!!

A quick week

2010-06-12T09:53:00.000-07:00

Thank you Kokopelli Bike Shop!

It seems like I just unpacked my bags and I'm getting ready to pack em again:) Yahooooooo....

So my bad ju ju carried over till Tuesday.....I headed over to Durango for the Tuesday 'Worlds' ride with Lance and we met Michael as well. It was going to either be a great ride or I was going to totally blow up-I was feeling REALLY GOOD! About 30min in I was with the hammerheads, enjoying life when I reached over to shift into a smaller gear and nothing. Again, nothing. UGH!

So I pulled out of the group, pulled over to the side of the road in my 12(the hardest gear) and Michael stopped to take a look and my day was over, well kind of. I had to limp back about 8miles to the truck, so I took this 'opportunity' to work on my pedal stroke, since I was probably pedaling at like 20rpms! hahaha!

Anyway there are plenty of positives from this:

1. I think of these issues as opportunities to think about what I would do if this happened in a race and how I would react.

2. Thank goodness for the awesomeness of Kokopelli's Bike Shop for letting me borrow a bike while mine was out of commission.

3. At least it didn't happen during a race.

4. My team mechanic, Brian, was so awesome in overnighting me what I needed to get back to good:)

So also this week, Carla and her sister Alice were driving through Colorado and had the chance to stay in Cortez for the night, so we got to have dinner together! YAY! How cool would that be, to get in a van, point it one direction and just go and I think they are headed all the way to Alaska-HOLY SMOKES!

Well that's about it for the week, time to watch some soccer and get movin....

Bad ju ju

2010-06-09T08:21:00.000-07:00

I'm hoping that after this weekend, all my bad ju ju is gone:) Here is the list in order of the weekend:

Durango - Denver flight delayed 3hrs
Missed flight from Denver to Tulsa
Shuttle to hotel.....20min away, supper at 9:30, try to sleep by 11
Leave hotel at 8 to catch 10am flight
Get to ticket counter for flight, mechanical
Flight is going to be delayed 3hrs.....hmmm I race today, this is gonna suck
Oh wait! flight not delayed just moved to a diff. gate....and we are off!
Become travel zombie somewhere between Denver and Tulsa and Whole Foods, just wanna get somewhere:)
Get to host house at 4pm, we race at 7
Get to ticket counter to go home, they have zeroed out my seats
Have a 30min layover in Denver, this is gonna be a runner
The plane lands but can't get to the gate b/c the crew isn't there, tic toc
Get off plane, run to gate, no plane, wrong gate, delayed flight
Last but not least........bags don't arrive in Durango for another 4hrs

So like I said, I hope all my bad ju ju is out and gone!!!! The positives were that I got to have most of this happen with Alison T., my new favorite travel buddy b/c she and I could laugh 99% of it off and we had some fun times chattin it up. I also got to see some of my teammates and staff that I haven't seen in a while, so it was good to catch up with them and eat some good post race meals together:)

More positives.....

Tulsa Tough was awesome! I loved the races, the environment, the fans, the atmosphere....good times for sure!!!

On the last day, the crowd had gathered on 'cry baby hill' and every lap it got more crazy. I remember seeing a baby doll that was being tossed around, a guy dressed in the devil outfit and a bunch of crazies cheering us on...I think one guy even offered me his phone number! hahaha! crazy! But fun as hell!

I also got to meet my friend Doug Lamunyon's brothers. One of em owns a place called In a Tub and everything at the restaurant is FRIED! hahaha! I would like to eat there once.....maybe one day....

My host house mom was sooo nice! She had a sweet old dog and the house was right beside a bike path.....just good home feeling....

So I travel again on Monday, I'm headed to Nature Valley Grand Prix and from there Bend, OR for Nationals, NO BAD JU JU! :)

Miller would like to go to the river now.....

So fit I'm sick

2010-06-01T11:03:00.001-07:00

It seems we cyclists walk a fine line between being as fit as possible to getting sick. I think I'm one of the lucky ones to be honest....knock on wood!!!!

I was looking forward to this weekend and the Iron Horse Bicycle Classic but as the weekend got closer, my head starting filling up and my throat hurt worse and worse each day, ugh....

I'm a social butterfly and this weekend was full of events I wanted to attend plus all the cool racing! Dang it!:( So no road race for me but I managed to pull my lungs together long enough to do the crit with my teammate Alison and implement our strategy: win, win $$, keep overall GC for Alison.

The crit was 45min and the only 2 people Alison was most concerned with were Alisha Welsh and Marissa Asplund. So our plan was to attack and counter attack, knowing one of those would be chasing at all times, so off we went. I started the race, thinking, keep a high pace, keeps us out of trouble and things strung out. Sure enough, 2 laps in that was happening, so now time to attack. After a lap or so, I look back and see who is chasing:) Plan is working. They catch me and there goes AT!!! Yayyer! And that was it, the attack that stuck! Marissa couldn't get her team or anyone to organize a chase, plus, I won the field prime and AT took all the other primes. "I love it when a plan comes together":)

The last lap was strung out and my lungs had thrown in the towel by then, so I just hung on and finished with the group. And I must say, the crowd was AWESOME!!! They had a beer garden on turn 2 and the longer the break went on, then more rowdy the crowd got, it was a great feeling:)

Post race, Alison and I spun around a bit, then headed home to get cleaned up and maybe some grub. Alas, my lungs and head had different plans. By the time I showered and slowed down, I needed to get food and get home or else my head was gonna explode! Needless to say, I was in bed by 9 and slept till 10 the next day.

After lots of couch surfing, I think I'm on top of the head cold now, so I'll take an easy spin today and get the lungs open and take in the fresh air!

So like I said, we cyclists are super fit and on the border of getting sick all the time, hence the importance of proper recovery, eating right, sleeping right and trying to stay healthy as possible flying/traveling as much as we do.

Next up for me....flying to Tulsa, OK on Thursday with my teammate Alison, I'm looking forward to racing and seeing my other teammates as well:)

I think Miller is waiting for me to take him to the river......

ahhh

2010-05-27T17:47:00.000-07:00

Well I made it home on Monday night after a couple of delays and cancelled flights but it was all ok once my head hit MY pillow...zzzzzzzzz....

So Tuesday someone thought it would be a good idea for me to do Tuesday night worlds in Durango........my thoughts the entire ride were, "I left my lungs in MS!!!" but it was good to ride with my teammate Alison T. She has been here for a couple of weeks and taking in the sights and getting some quality altitude lovin, I think she is having a good time.

The weather here has been a perfect 80 degrees, low in the 40's at night, wow what a difference! I kind of understand why folks aren't out and about more back home, it is just down right nasty hot! If you aren't doing something at sunrise or sunset, you ain't gonna! Unless you wanna sweat, which isn't a problem for me but hey...everyone is different:)

I think the summer time folks that come to town are all here now, it seems a bit more busy than normal days.....WELCOME:) keep your eyes on the road, I'm out there working:)

Miller and I have been spending some quality time together:) awww, he is so sweet! It is warm enough and the water is high enough, I've taken him to the river for the last 2 days in the afternoon. He loves the water....what else can I say?

So this weekend is Iron Horse Bicycle Classic in Durango, it is an awesome race and a lot of the pros come in town for the racing. Then next week, Alison T. and I are headed to Tulsa, OK for Tulsa Tough, then back home:) I'm getting the hang of all this travelin and knowing what to pack, it gets easier as the summer progresses b/c you know you don't have to pack as much clothing! Nice!

So I'll check back in after the weekend, y'all be safe out there!

Bikes in schools

2010-05-19T14:57:00.000-07:00

Showing off the awesome kit;)
Describing gel packs and other 'on bike' food

Vera Bradley "Loves me" print
Whoa, time flies when you are having fun:)

So the last time I was in town(Christmas) I had the opportunity to speak to 5th and 6th graders of St. Francis Elementary about cycling, nutrition and goals. It was such a great experience, that I asked the teacher if I could speak again when I came back in town post Joe Martin. The teacher, Mindy Giambrone was more than happy to have me back but this time I spoke to her 7th and 8th grade PE classes-all girls!

Also, this visit I wanted to bring in more than just my road bike and kit. So I talked to Jayce Powel at Indian Cycle in Jackson to see if they would let me borrow a Specialized Transition(time trial bike) and a time trial helmet. I also was looking for Kroger(local grocery store) to donate some food items for the talk. I wanted to talk to the girls about nutrition a bit more extensively seeing that this time in their lives, they become a lot more aware of body image.

Jayce was awesome and had everything ready when I got to the shop and they even through in some water bottles to give out to the girls after the talk! Thanks Indian Cycle!!!

Kroger on the other hand didn't think that the school visit was important enough to donate $30 worth of product.....carrots, humus, apples, almond butter, plates, cups and toothpics....oh well, live and learn.

So the first talk on Wednesday was with the 8th grade girls and when I mentioned Team VERA BRADLEY Foundation, their eyes lit up:) They enjoyed seeing all the Specialized equipment, I showed them how the shoes and pedals work, showed them the kit and how we riders get to items in our back pockets and I described racing in general, as well as racing for a cause. Then we talked nutrition and brought them over to the 'food' table and by the time we finished the talk, all food was eaten and even though some turned their nose up to the almond butter at least they got to experience different foods and understand nutrition a bit better.

I also had the chance to talk to them about the ugly four letter word, DIET! We also talked calories burned and calories consumed and that fast food doesn't count in my calories consumed column AT ALL! So all in all, it was an AWESOME talk and I hope I got through to a couple of the girls, if not on cycling at least a bit on nutrition and health and just exercise in general.

Next up was the 7th grade girls. It is amazing what a year in adolescence does to the brain! These girls were more interested in the sport and the bars, gels and drinks we cyclists use. Might be seeing some more pro cyclists coming from MS in the future??? I hope so:)

So after that day(Wednesday), I had another school visit on Friday to 75 6th graders, post state testing. What a combination right???

BUT FIRST....I had the opportunity to speak on a local radio station Friday morning. Every Friday the station has an hour devoted to sports. I felt honored that they invited me to join them so that they and their listeners could learn a bit more about women's cycling!!! That hour FLEW by! I could've talked for 3 more at least! We talked about safety and coexistence between cyclists and cars and some local roads(MRT) that are cycling safe, my athletic background, training, health, nutrition and the bikes in general:)

So after the radio show, I got in a quick 2hr ride, then home to change for the school visit.....I was a busy gal:)

It was also at the end of the school day at Bowmar Ele., so these kids were already looking forward to the bell ringing but with a little help from one of the students trying to put the TT helmet on wrong we all enjoyed the talk and by the time I left the school I was starting to loose my voice! I don't ever talk that much;) Plus, Vicksburg-Warren School District filmed the talk and said they would get me a CD, looking forward to that. I would like to see what I need to tweak on the talks because this is something I'm really enjoying and want to continue.

Guess how I ended the day.....driving to Mudbugs in Jackson for crawfish, crab legs and shrimp and brought it home so mom and dad and I could sit outside, enjoy a cold beer and some good grub. I was asleep by 9:)

Back in the south!

2010-05-10T18:03:00.000-07:00

I flew to Tulsa, OK a week ago today, then drove a couple of hours with another girl to Fayetteville, AR and realized that I had missed the south just a bit:) It was good to get back to big oak trees, green grass and humidity!

The team raced in the Joe Martin Stage race this weekend and it was a successful race as we won!! Alison Powers, Robin Farina, Alison Testroete, Kristin Sanders, Erica Allar, Alex Rhodes and myself, we all did our jobs to make it happen and I had a blast.....until the criterium.....

There was something in the second to last corner that just wasn't right. It was a corner you could go through with a lot of speed(or so it looked anyway) but apparently there was either something on the pavement or a booger bear that wanted to see me a bit closer because I just slid out! My first thought, SHIT, I hope I didn't just take out my teammates because I was near the front. My second and third thoughts, here comes others on top of me. It was like a soccer tackle, as soon as I slid, I was standing out of it looking behind me to get the heck out of the way if I saw someone barreling towards me but luckily traffic had slowed enough. So I grabbed my bike gave it a quick look - yep rideable- and headed to the neutral pit, I still had to finish my job.

So I made it to the pit, got the SRAM guy to check it out and he sent me on my way when the group came back around. Unfortunately he missed that my left hood was a wee bit crooked so the rest of the race my hand was a bit cockeyed which was awkward, not to mention the intense burning sensations I was starting to feel on my hip, leg, arms and wrists. So I stayed with the main group, trying to regain composer and about 5 laps later, 2 more girls went down in the SAME spot right in front of me. I was gapped off the back and there was only a couple more laps so I just limped in with the next chase group.

After dropping my bike off to the team car and confirming Alex's win, I headed to the EMT tent. Those poor guys were not prepared AT ALL! They had run out of gauze just about, no antibiotic cream and some crappy bandaids, oh well, give me what ya got!! SCRUB HARD cause I don't want to have to do it later! Yes, I had someone's hand to hold and yes I felt like a little girl getting a shot but that HURT!

So next stop, back to our team car for some of our wonderful sponsor BEER!!!! I filled up a water bottle, changed clothes and went to hang out with the folks as they watched the men's race, I was feeling good by the end of that bottle:)

So after their race, we had podium, then off to the host house for a shower(more HURT) and then off to Memphis, TN to see my brother, his wife and my sweet nephew:)

Joe Martin is a cool race and I highly recommend it as one to get a taste of NRC with. It was perfect, not too hard, not too long, no major climbs and logistics getting to and from the race starts was taken care of! Check it out next year!

Anyway, we got to Memphis last night around 9:30 and hung out for a bit before crashing into the bed. This morning we got up and drove to Vicksburg and here I sit at mom and dad's house with a full belly of Walnut Hills and headed to Jackson tomorrow for a PT massage, maybe some ice and stem if I can get it, grab some bikes for a talk and take care of some other things on the list before I can settle into an easy ride back in Vicksburg tomorrow afternoon.

Time to wash clothes.....

PS...Doing a school visit on Wednesday/Friday....gonna try to stay in Jackson Sunday/Monday night.....I'll also be riding my bike everyday while I'm here as well.....if you see me on the road, honk-in a nice way:)

School visit

2010-04-29T11:37:00.000-07:00

This morning I had the opportunity to speak to a school group in Cortez. It is a mountain biking class, how cool is that?!!! Hopefully something like that will be coming to a school in MS sooner than you think!

Anyway, the kids were awesome and had some great questions! Their class gets to work on the bikes, ride the local trails and read books regarding cycling and athletics. I talked about my history of sports, getting into cycling, moving to Colorado, chasing your dreams, nutrition, sponsors, racing......we talked about everything cycling!! I swear! I could've kept talking but I think they ran out of things to ask.:) I also had a small video I put together of racing and hopefully they enjoyed that.

It is fun to do those kinds of things because I feel like it may motivate them to do something different than the 'norm'. We will see:)

And guess what, it's snowing again.....blah! See y'all soon! Time to get a ride inside.....

Gotta love sponsors

2010-04-28T09:10:00.000-07:00

This is some good coffee.....

Nossa Familia

Nothing exciting going on here...just riding my bike, waiting for the snow to come in tomorrow...boooooo. Got a school visit tomorrow, pretty excited about that! Maybe I will have some pictures to post.

My teammates are at Tour of the Gila this weekend and I will meet up with them for Joe Martin next week. Excited about getting back to the south!

Been helping out with the new USWCDP website as well as Team Car Radio, hopefully they will be up either today or tomorrow!

Ok, off to Durango!

Did you see this?

2010-04-23T09:45:00.000-07:00

I don't think I blogged this but it was on FB and Twitter.

My bike shop

2010-04-22T09:10:00.000-07:00

Photo by Brian Hodes, Veloimages.com
Kokopelli's cool women's jersey
One of the guys working on my spoke tension
Just some of the bikes....
Clothing and mechanic's area...this place is huge...
Photo by Brian Hodes, Veloimages.com
Home again, home again, jiggity jig:)! After a cancelled flight on Sunday night and being one of the lucky few to catch the next flight home, I made it to my bed by midnight! Yahooooo! Miller was one happy dog!

So the circuit race on Saturday was a lot better for the team and my teammate Alison Powers won! She is one amazing chick, she wins the circuit race, then changes clothes and jumps in the short track mountain bike race with some of the best in the world. She was pretty tired and didn't make it to the finish but I know she had a good time. I had a good time as well, I love racing and I loved the expo. There was so much to see and so many people to talk to!

Sunday was a ride and travel day for me.

This week, I've officially claimed Kokopelli Bike Shop as my home town bike shop. I haven't really had the need to go since Michael always helps me with my bikes but we figured it would be good to become familiar with one of the local shops for convenience and as my dad would say, it's always good to 'press the flesh'....aka meet and greet:) So I've been going back to this shop and talking to them about events, help and just general stuff and even raced with a couple of the mechanics during cyclocross. The guys are great and the owner, Jimbo, is from Alabama!!! Small world....he knows Vicksburg and some of the hangouts in Jackson, seeing that he was in a band. He is a pretty smart guy and has one heck of a work ethic! And his shop is HUGE!

Last night is snowed about 5inches, so today is a trainer ride day.....booooooo

I have these awesome tan lines from California, only to be covered up with arm warmers and leg warmers:(

Headed to Joe Martin in Arkansas in a couple of weeks, then down home for a couple of weeks. I look forward to hanging out with you guys!

Life...

2010-04-16T14:08:00.000-07:00

So for my best friend's birthday(Toni), she received some of the best news anyone could ever get....her husband's cancer is gone!!!!! What a blessing from God, I truly believe it! When I come home in May, I hope to see them and hang out for a bit, she is on the top of the friend list to see for sure. I missed her at Christmas because her mom had cancer and Toni was spending all her time in LA with her mom and her dad, poor Toni has had one hell of a run at it lately so happy birthday to Toni for getting some great birthday news:)

As for me....I am in Monterey, CA racing Sea Otter at the Laguna Seca Speedway and it is such a cool place!! They have mountain bike races, downhill racing and road racing, it's funny because all of us in spandex are a bit outnumbered:) But it is awesome to see all the different bikes cruzin around and enjoying the sunshine! They also have a sweet expo set up and we've had the opportunity to go and thank a couple of sponsors as well as have some guests come along for a 'ride with the pros' ride. I love meeting new people and to learn how we all have come to this one spot in the world for this weekend:)

Yesterday was the criterium (on part of the speedway) and it went ok....I learned a couple more things to racing....every race, something new is learned. As long as I'm progressing, I'm happy, I hate I couldn't have done more for the team but again next time will be better, so we move on:)

Tomorrow is the circuit race on the speedway, for 2hrs and it has a pretty steep hill before we descend on this AWESOME cork screw turn! I want to take a hot lap in one of the cars on the track!!! The cork screw is so much fun on the bike and I could only imagine the fun that could be had in a car!!! Faster, faster, faster!

Then I fly back to Colorado on Sunday

The host house is so cool, they have dogs, cats, chickens and horses. It is nice to go to a host house that has animals because it makes me feel more at home and most of the animals are so loving and that sure does help a lot sometimes during racing when the day didn't go according to plan:) Animals always seem so happy to see you...whoever we are:)

Hope Miller doesn't get jealous reading this post:).......

Having fun

2010-04-12T10:15:00.001-07:00

My teammate Alison Testroete
A couple of sponsors:) Amy - Specialized, Alsion, Lisa, Kevin-Betwixt chamois cream and myself
I got second! Whooo hooo!

So over the last 2 months I've had my first ever pro team podium and my first ever pro individual podium!!!! Holy cow, what a feeling! To be standing beside some of the best riders in the world and I'm up there with them!

The first pro podium ever was with my team(Team VBF) at Redlands Bicycle Classic, our team won general classification! This means that our team had the most riders finish with the best results from each day compared to the other teams. There are some funny pictures on the team facebook page, check them out when you get a chance! So after Redlands I flew back to Colorado and went from 60-70 degree weather to 40's and snow! Whoa! I was spoiled in California thats for sure! After riding in the cold for a week and a half, my team director flew me back out to California for a team PR event-Cinderella Classic. I've never seen so many tutus, tiaras, pink boas and bike tassels in my life, it was amazing! 66miles of riding with hundreds of women along the way, for fun and sheer enjoyment of exercise and commraderie with other women. There were stops along the way with an assortment of foods and at the end was an expo full of cycling goodies! The expo had cycling clothes, exercise clothing, food, beverages, photo opportunities and Specialized and Trek were set up outside loaded with bikes for women. What a site!

After the Cinderella Classic on Saturday I was a bit tired from all the riding and socializing but there was more planned for the weekend. On Sunday my host - Kelly, my teammate - Alison and I drove to Menlo Park for a wet criterium. It rained all day on Sunday but we had some racing to do so, better just get to it. I knew in my mind I wanted to stay towards the front to stay safe and hopefully make a break and that is just what happened. About 4 laps into the 60min race, a break of 5 were gone. It was Shelly Evans(one of the worlds best track racers), Rebecca Much, Alison Starnes, Mary from Touchstone racing and myself. We stayed away the entire race and I got second overall to Shelly, it really was an amazing day.

It's kind of funny because when I talked to dad after the podium at Redlands, he said, "Ok, now you are on the podium, you can't get off!" I'm just trying to do what my parents told me to do:)

Schedule for a couple of weeks

2010-04-04T18:17:00.001-07:00

So here is my schedule for the next couple of weeks and then past that, I'm not sure so I won't post my full summer schedule because things change a good bit....

Fly back out to San Fransisco on Friday, April 9th and participate in the Cinderella Classic. I will stay with my team director, Lisa, until time for Sea Otter(the following weekend). Then I fly back home(Colorado) on the 18th and stay until it is time for Joe Martin Stage Race, May 6-9th. From there I think I'm going to stay in MS for a week or so and hang out with the family! YAY! They are planning on making the Joe Martin race, which will be their first race ever:) and I get to see my favorite nephew:) I'm excited about that.....

Other than that, today-Easter, was wonderful! The weather has been a bit chilly since I've been home and it snowed 2 days ago, so when today warmed up to the 50's I was excited:) All the snow has melted and the trees are about to bust open with blooms. I know there will probably be more snow to come but I'm thankful for the warm weather in between:)

Time for some fish tacos......:)