AP

The Wow NOW Team

2012-01-24T15:27:00.000-08:00

Here we are! My new team and teammies- NOW and Novartis for MS Women's Cycling Team

Travel-en

2012-01-19T15:04:00.000-08:00

I have not had time to post in several days. We left Bermuda on Tuesday and flew to Charrrrrlotte. After a "flat' ride on Wednesday, we drove to Greenville for more bike riding.

Here are some picture from the past few days. Oh, and I have yet to find good coffee anywhere on this trip. It's sad.

Coffee (really bad tasting) stop in Bermuda

Me and Devon at the Premier's house

Puppy Chow, BP, Ashle'y at he P's house

View from P's house before the start of the Ultimate Bermuda Experience

The start of the Ultimate Bermuda Experience

Safety First

Last day, last event in Bermuda. The team.

Waiting to leave

We had a great time in Bermuda. It was surprisingly good riding and we did fun activities.

Bermuda my legs hurt Day 3

2012-01-15T17:40:00.000-08:00

We were in our chamois for 6 hours today. Four of those hours were spent pedaling. The other 2 were spent taking team pictures on the beach, fixing a flat, fixing a pair of shoes, putting on taking off and putting on the rain jacket (jacket off), drinking bad coffee and eating yummy goodies.

My legs hurt. We've had 3 great days of training. It's pretty hilly here and all the up and down at sea level hurts my high altitude steady riding legs. Change is good, but painful.

Left my camera at home (again) during the ride but brought it with me to lunch. Here are some photos

View from hotel room

Teammies BP, Oliva, and Ashley visiting the ocean after building a snowman on the beach. I have yet to touch the water. Guess I should do it at least once...

Ashley and roomie Devon

Me and new Mommy Anne

Boss Kurt, Oliva, Beth, for real Boss Man Phil and BP

Flowers in January

We are having fun. I'm tired tonight I and needed a time out-so did roomie Devon- so we opted out of the evening Gala and instead ordered room service and watched Jersey Shore (now I know why I don't have a TV).

Bring on tomorrow!

Bermuda Day 2

2012-01-14T18:00:00.000-08:00

Today, we got wet. Very wet. It rained so hard there were rivers running down the streets. When you pedaled, your feet went in the water. When cars passed you, a giant spray of water hit you--in the belly if you are tall, in the face if you are Anne.

It was fun and funny and wet. Not cold. This is Bermuda, and I have yet to be cold while being here (famous last words).

I did not take any pictures today. It was wet and I didn't want to get my camera wet. Plus when you are riding and getting rained on, the last thing you want to do is get out your camera and try to take a picture.

We also got our butts kicked by new teammie Olivia. For once, I didn't have to be in charge of the core workout. Olivia is a personal trainer when not racing her bike and she beat us up. Badly. Actually, I didn't even do the entire workout because I'm a pansey who only likes the pain cave while riding bikes or skiing on skis.

We got our picture taken several times today--once with the mayor of some small town we were in--we got to see a "dunking", and we got absolutely poured on.

We've been eating some pretty good food. No longer do we have to wait an hour for food at each meal (thank goodness), and I've stopped being hungry since we bought snacks and ride food at the grocery store.

Tomorrow, we ride bikes. It's supposed to be windy. Windy isn't windy until you've lived on the front range of Colorado, so it shouldn't be too bad. Plus, we are in Bermuda and I have yet to get cold.

Bermuda Day 1

2012-01-13T13:38:00.000-08:00

Island life is good. Other than having to wait an hour for our food at every meal, and my bike not showing up, Day 1 has been great.

I got a loner Felt bike and other than a saddle that rubbed me raw (tmi) we had a great ride. Here are some pictures.

From Nordic Skiing one day

To the beach the next

We rode

The best part of the hotel

Day 2, I'm sure, will be much of the same and I'm excited.

Snowing-finally

2012-01-07T12:18:00.000-08:00

I like to complain about the cold and the snow and the cold snow, but the truth is- I like it. I like winter. I like the change in seasons. I like to be forced out of my comfort zone and to do different things. When I travel to warm places in the winter time, I end up missing the mountains and the snow.

Yes, I like to ride my bike. Yes, I like to be warm. Yes, I don't enjoy being cold. But, I don't like these things every single day. When you do or have the same thing every day, you stop appreciating it. You stop realizing how cool what your doing is.

That's why winter in Colorado is the best. Because the weather is always changing, you can ride a few days, ski a few day's, rest when the wind comes, and repeat the process. However, the past two or so weeks has seen nothing but sun, warm, and of course, wind. No snow. No cold.

This bout of good weather made for some amazing bike riding and that has made me happy. But, truth be told, winter isn't for amazing bike riding. Winter is for HTFU'ing rides and for fun adventures in the snow and cold. Winter is for post ride hot chocolate. Winter is for skiing.

I have missed skiing. I feel guilty Nordic skiing when the weather is good and I know I should be riding my bike. There is such little snow that the Backcountry skiing and the Nordic skiing are no good anyway.

Today, however, it's snowing and I can go Nordic skiing tomorrow. I rode my brains out the past 5 days, during the summer we were having, and now I don't want to look at my bike for a few days. Yay snow! I'm excited to play with you tomorrow.

Christmas

2011-12-26T17:03:00.000-08:00

Christmas was fun. And--thanks to some of my presents, it's going to have lingering fun.

First up was Operation Ride Bike to Christmas (or 1/2 way at least). With presents loaded in a backpack, I was "Santa by CX bike". 3 hours later over snowpacked, icy, dirt, paved, and wet roads, I met my parents with the car. We finished the trip by car, to my sister's house.

Next was a family ice skate (I bonked badly and ended up eating most of my 9 year old niece's popcorn).

Christmas day brought the most bestest gift ever. After coffee school, I have been pretty sad to not be able to practice my espresso and latte art skills. He Who Must Not Be Named fixed that. He got me everything I need to practice my skills-including milk! He is wonderful and I love him.

After eating too much we had a family Nordic ski. Turns out, the Powers/Trueblood family is competitive even on Christmas. The family relay race proved to be fun, funny, and dang hard--I don't think I have ever breathed that hard on Christmas- ever. Mike and Oma beat G, J (my nieces), and me by a hair and a wrong turn. Great job!

The gifts keep giving.

Thanks to my sister and to JH, I have a bike rack! Finally, I can car pool with people and no more dirty bikes in the car.

Thanks to JH (again), I am working on my latte art--it needs help as I got rusty after 2+ weeks off. I've already gone through a gallon of organic milk-right down the drain. I need drinkers!!

Happy Holiday's!!

Winter Solstice

2011-12-22T15:36:00.000-08:00

I've never celebrated the shortest day of the year and I've never celebrated the first day of winter.
This year was different.
We celebrated! Not only are the days going to start to get longer, but it gave us an excuse to get out and play in the snow on bikes.

It was fun. Very fun. I'll admit, I sucked at riding in the snow on the snowshoe track, but I can blame it on a weak light and the fact that JH and Meriwether were going too slow. :)

Thanks Meriwether for the photos!

Graduation

2011-12-18T17:36:00.000-08:00

It's official. I have graduated Coffee School. I have to say, coffee school was the most fun school I've ever been to. Learning about what you're already into is pretty fun.

My #1 goal of coffee school was learn to make latte art. Goal accomplished.

For lunch, on the last day, we went to a restaurant that had a lot of wood inside. We need this wood at home!

The food was very good, and like the rest of the week, I ate way too much for lunch. I'm happy to be home now and ride that food off.

The culmination of the day was a friendly competition. 10 min to prep, and serve 3 espresso drinks. Mocha, cappuccino, and espresso drink of your own choice. My espresso choice was espresso con panna. Mostly, I just wanted to use the whip cream dispenser.

Graduation

We left school with lots of fun goodies. I can't wait to start to use them at home to "dial in" my new knowledge.

ABC 2-4

2011-12-15T20:30:00.000-08:00

I've been asked, probably a gazillion times, "what do you do at coffee school for 5 days"?
The answer- A lot.
In no particular order-

Eat Lunch a various lunch locations-Montage is famous for Mac n' Cheese-my gluten free diet has gone so far out the door that I can't even see it anymore.

Learn how to make espresso, steam milk, and eventually put them together to make something pretty.

Steamer anyone?

The latte art is in it's beginning stages.

Eat lunch at more random locations that share space with this. I'm bringing 3 home for JH.

The entire goal of this trip, for me, was to learn how to make latte art. I'm getting there. I made this on my Birthday and that was a dang nice present.

Eat birthday dinner at one of the various yummy restaurants in Portland.

Learn how to cup coffee.
Learn how to properly brew coffee using several other-than-espresso methods.

Visit coffee shops to see what they do and how they do it.

Drink coffee.

One day left at Coffee School. I've had a really great time and have learned a ton. I leave school everyday smelling like coffee. I leave happy and I leave excited to come back.

ABC Day #1

2011-12-12T21:41:00.000-08:00

Wow. Today was a cool day.
I'm in Portland taking a 5 day "coffee class" at the American Coffee and Barista School.

Woke up early, walked to Whole Foods for some breaky food, walked until I found a good looking coffee bar. Drank espresso then walked to school (all in the dark) where the breaky food was consumed along with more coffee.

Learned all about opening a coffee bar (none of the teachers have said coffee "shop" so I'm guessing the proper term is bar instead of shop), ate soup and 1/2 sandwich for lunch, then learned about espresso and how to pull a perfect shot of espresso. Yay I pulled my first shot on a "real" coffee bar machine. Did some testing of espresso, and did a lot of throwing out bitter or salty tasting espresso. I can't wait to practice more!!

Finished day 1 at Bally's for a short workout before walking back home (again in the dark. What Portland looks like, I have no idea.) Trader Joe's for food, sleep, and do it all again tomorrow. Can't wait!

Coolest tamper I've ever seen.

Bday Celebration

2011-12-10T10:38:00.000-08:00

Thursday nights are our usual steel*wool celebration nights. In the summer, they are a bike ride followed by gluten fest at the local pizza/beer place. Then the time changes, it gets cold, and we skip the bike ride and head straight to the gluten feasting.

We tired something new this past Thursday. Thanks to He Who Must Not Be Named, we had an early AP birthday celebration. First Nordic skis (under the almost full moon), then gluten fest, all while be dressed in drag.

It did not disappoint. It was dang fun and I am so lucky to have friends who like to have fun while exercising and laughing at the same time.

Hip Flexors

2011-12-03T15:00:00.000-08:00

This time of year is one of my favorite times to ride my bike. Riding on snow packed roads is quiet, peaceful, enjoyable, and sometimes quite challenging. However, I have a healing elbow and the thought of falling down on the snowy road (it's happened several times) and breaking my healing arm makes me ill. Thus, I'll have to wait another couple weeks before I can do my outside snow riding.

In the meantime, I've been having to come up with other activities to do while my 'bow heals. I've been going to the gym and actually lifting weights (gasp!), I've been riding the trainer, and today I busted out the snowshoes (no Nordic skiing yet due to the chance of falling down and lack of arm strength--another favorite activity put on hold).

It was actually fun--and a dang good workout. Breaking trail works over the hip flexors (they're still worked over and I'm sitting on the couch).

I saw 5 deer- 2 bucks and 3 ladies. Of course the phone wasn't wanting to work as a camera when one of the bucks was in the middle of the trail starting at me.

Looks like one of the Bucks got the better of this poor little tree.

Soon I'll be back to my snow riding and Nordic skiing, but for now, I'll enjoy different winter activities.

Free Time

2011-11-23T13:22:00.000-08:00

It's amazing how much time there is in the day when you aren't spending hours at a time on a bicycle.
When I'm riding and "training", it feels like I am rushing around all day long--from one thing to another to another. I feel lucky when I get a "time out" to chill and eat something.

Yes, my arm is getting better and better. I am able to ride 1 hr on the trainer (yay!) and get back into the gym to work on strength exercises, but I still have all this time in the day and that seems strange. It also seems strange to get other things done- like read a book, bake cookies, muffins, granola (and give them to people instead of eating them), and read up on hobbies (coffee and baking). All this free time has been pretty cool and I feel more "balanced". When you ride bikes and coach bikes for a living, there isn't much balance going on. All bikes all day, every day.

Soon it'll be all bikes all day, every day-- except when I go Nordic skiing and feel like a rebel--but for the time being it feels good to not think about bikes every waking hour of the day.

Arrrrr

2011-11-18T14:22:00.000-08:00

Arrrrrrm update.
Went to the doc. All looks good. She did a darrrrrn good job. The scarrrrr looks better than it did before.

Tried to ride the trainer. It's farrrrr from feeling good. Guess I'll be hiking more.

Working on getting my range of motion back. Those exercises arrrrre a pain in the arrrrrse. They're farrrrrr from feeling good, but progress is being made.

Apparrrrrrrently I had wishful thinking that the arrrrrrm would feel 100% 2 weeks post surgery. Time to put the patience hat back on.

Surgery Day

2011-11-04T08:46:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was surgery day. I got a "free" morning at home as I wasn't to be at the hospital until 11:30am. My "free" time was spent drinking small sips of water, in the form of espresso, till 8:30. Then I dealt with the Passport Curse- the last 2 times my passport expired, that very month, I got injured. I've been putting off renewing the passport due to fear of injury in November 2021, but thought if I renewed it the day I was having surgery, maybe that would end the curse.

JH took me to the hospital, The Mom met me there, and check-in and pre-op began.

Surgery went well. Except for one screw, that the bone had grown around, all hardware was removed.

The Mom was there to take care of me and ask the doctor all my questions. Seems that post surgery I don't remember much, hence the need to have a person there to listen to and ask the doc questions.

Post surgery, it have been 19 or so hours since I last ate (that must be some sort of record), so they gave me some applesauce and crackers to eat.

Which I promptly threw up, in the driveway, once I got home.

I took my spot on the little couch, and stayed there for the rest of the evening. Lucy Dog made sure to take good care of me and keep me warm.

Along with the no eating record I set a new "haven't gone pee" record. Something like 9 hours for that record.

What's next? I get to wear my brace (that I had before) for the next 9 days. I'm not allowed to take it off. Then I'll have to work on range of motion (again) and, eventually strength. No bike riding for the next 2 weeks, and no outside riding for the next 6 weeks, due to chance of falling down--seems I can fall down doing most anything, so not sure why biking riding was singled out. For now, I'm chillen at home, and enjoying breakfast.

Still Dropped

2011-11-02T12:55:00.000-07:00

I continue to be off the back with Blog updates. Life has been a little crazy recently. What did I post about last time? Oh ya, riding road bikes and CX racing. Well, as of Monday, all of that has come to an end. There's snow outside and I am having surgery on my elbow tomorrow. I'm SO excited to get the hardware outta there. After I recover and heal, I'll be DONE with this elbow injury. Yay!

The last 5 days has been filled with family time (Mom staying while JH is gone), CX racing (9th place 2 days in a row), and doggie watching (letting Lucy Dog break all the rules while JH is gone).

My Halloween Costume pre CX race

Post race with The Mom. She was The Best Cheerer, period.
Check out this Link to see the Mom in action. It's awesome.

Lucy Dog looking innocent

Tomorrow, before surgery, I'm not allowed to eat or really drink anything after midnight. Since surgery is at 1:30pm, I'll probably die before I get to the hospital.

Pavement

2011-10-23T06:04:00.000-07:00

I'm off the back with the blog updates. Between riding, coaching, and hanging out with The Mom and Dad, I've been a little busy.

I've got less than two weeks 'till 'bow surgery, so I have been cramming in the riding. The road riding. After the FoCo shit show two weeks ago, all I wanted to do was ride my road bike- on the pavement. I've ridden in Boulder, I've ridden in Nederland, in Colorado Springs and in Littleton. I've explored, I've gotten lost, I rode an entire 40 mile loop with my Dad-on bike paths. I've had a great two weeks of road riding.

Me and 2 other "FasCats" went to Colorado Springs for a 4 day coaching clinic. It was pretty fun--mostly because we got to ride our bikes (road bikes) and learn at the same time- then ride some more. One full day in the class room was less than ideal, but it could have been far worse. Now I have to take the test and I'll be an official "Level 2" coach--which really means I get to pay USAC more $$.

I spent three days in Littleton hanging out with the Mom and Dad. The Mom had surgery on her broken collar bone and is healing well. The Dad entertained me with 2 bike rides and one gym visit. I needed a rest day when I got home.

The good news? I am going to play bike racer again next year! The bad news? I had to send my Specialized Tarmac (road bike) back to TIBCO on Friday as I am not going to race for TIBCO next year. Without a sweet road bike, I thought I would give CX another chance. The weather was awesome and the course was extremely roadie friendly. As seems to be the case with me and CX, there was drama. This time--after attacking on lap 3, I rolled my rear tubular (slightly annoying). After "snapping" it back on, I was able to limp my way to the wheel pit and put on a new wheel.

I'm extremely motivated by money. I was now in 4th place. There is no prize money for 4th and if I got 4th, I could lose the overall in the series (there's prize money for the 5 race overall)--especially since I'm not racing the last 2 races because of the 'bow. So, I rode harder than I have ridden in a long time. Deep in the pain cave, I felt ill and kept pushing it. I made up all but 12 seconds and got 2nd place. That makes me proud. I had fun, I challenged myself, and I got rewarded. I'm SO glad Amanda Carey was there to challenge me. Competition makes you better, and keeps things fun as you are challenged to better your game.

Here's a cool video of the race- http://www.303cycling.com/2011-Boulder-Racing-CX-Xlinx

That's all for now.

Lemon-Aid?

2011-10-09T16:59:00.000-07:00

After three great days in Fraser, 2 fun rides with The Dad, and 3 quality family days, it was time to head home and get ready to race CX in Ft. Collins. I'll admit, I wasn't looking forward to the racing before it even started.

1- The race venue is 1:45hr drive (3.5hrs round trip) from my house.
2- After being gone from home for three days, more time away seemed less than desirable
3- The weather forecast looked bad- rain. Rain means mud and for a roadie with absolutely no mud skills, that did not seem appealing.
4- Mud means having to clean my bike, my kit, my shoes, my ego, and get ready to do it all again the next day.

Stupid preregistration. I wish I never did it - or at least waited until the last moment to check the weather and my racing desire.

Despite my lack of enthusiasm, I went to Ft. Collins. Reader's Digest Version-
-I crashed 4 times (in a different place each time).
-I sucked
-I couldn't get out of my own way to save my life.
-I had the worst time on bike that I have ever had.
-It was horrible
-Despite being muddy, sore, and cranky, I didn't even feel like I got a workout.

I tried to stay positive during the race. -this is making me better, -I can do it, -don't give up. Bull Shit. It sucked and I am never racing CX in those conditions again. There was no way to make Lemonade from those lemons.

Stupid preregistration. I wish I never did it - or at least waited until the last moment to check the weather and my racing desire.

I did not race day #2 in Ft Collins. I'm sure it was better conditions (for me) as the course dried out a bit, but my bike was still in the car, some rust had accumulated, my kit was muddy, and my CX racing desire was very negative. Not to mention, my body is pretty sore from falling down so much.

So, I stayed home and rode single speed CX bikes with JH and Meriwether, in the snow. JH and I had two great dog walks, and quality at home chill time. Lemonade.

Lemonade

2011-10-05T19:16:00.000-07:00

The saying goes- "when life throws you lemons, make lemonade". Well, we got lemons yesterday. Unfortunately, The Mom caught almost all the lemons. She got tripped by a Honey Badger while running and broke her collar bone. She of all people, do not deserve this injury.

Luckily, I was able to drive home to the Mother Ship yesterday and stay a few days with The Mom and The Dad. Mission-help out. Do what I can to take the burden off my Dad and help my Mom feel somewhat comfortable.

Turns out, I'm getting a lot out of this trip home too. It's pretty fun spending time with the 'rents--Lemonade.

Yesterday, instead of a home alone while JH did his NATO thing, I got a salmon dinner and ice cream sundae--Lemonade.

Today, I was supposed to motor pace around the flats north of Boulder. Instead, I got 3 hrs of single track with The Dad--Lemonade.

This afternoon, instead of farting around on the computer and commuting to and from Boulder, I got to run errands around Fraser with The Dad and see old stomping grounds--Lemonade.

Not sure what tomorrow will bring, but I'm sure we'll do our best to make more lemonade.

Cramming it in

2011-10-03T11:52:00.000-07:00

The count down to surgery continues.
1 month.
30 days.

Must ride and race bike as much as possible. The goal is to burn myself out in the next 30 days. I want to be tired of racing CX, I want to be tired of training, and I want to be just plain tired and in need of rest.

This past weekend, I decided to race both days of the Frisco CX race. Both days were pretty dang fun.

I brought the Mom and Dad to Frisco on Saturday (actually they drove me) as they had never seen a CX race. It was great to have them there cheering us on. The Mom got some great pictures.

After Saturday's race, I told the Mom and Dad that I need some competition. Better be careful what you ask for. KFC showed up Sunday and worked me over badly. Luckily (for me), on the first lap she crashed, so we actually had a race for the first few laps. Me trying to get as big of a gap as possible while she rode through the girls that passed her when she fell down, and her trying to catch then pass me before the race was over. She's strong like bull, made me suffer bad, then beat me, but it was worth it and made it pretty dang fun (again for me).

I am totally cooked and tired today. Need rest before doing it again next weekend.

Because I Can

2011-09-30T13:14:00.000-07:00

I blogged about how cool the leaves are right now in the last blog post. Well, I'm gonna do it again in this post--because I can (it's my blog).

The leaves seem to be even more pretty this year than last. I'm trying as best as I can to get out and see them-either by bike or by foot.

Could this be the future wedding meadow?

Going to Frisco tomorrow and the next day for some more CX racing. Racing CX at high elevation hurts bad. More bad than "normal" CX racing. Be prepared to suffer and cough post race. Hmmm...maybe I need to bring the whiskey?

Good luck to He Who Must Not Be Named in CB tomorrow. He'll be racing for 10ish hours at very high elevation (he'll really need some whiskey).

Inspiring

2011-09-26T18:11:00.000-07:00

Right now, for me, is an inspiring time to be on my bicycle. The #1 inspiring reason to ride?

November 3rd 'bow surgery to remove the plate and 11 screws. That mean's forced time off the bike (again).

#2 reason- CX racing. It's fun, it's hard, and I am a competitive person who likes to win stuff. I got my first post 'bow break win on Saturday! Feels good to be "back".

#3 reason- Leaf peeping. The Aspen are going off right now and in order to see them, you have to get out! Golden Gate State Park yesterday on the 4" squishy bike.

#3- continued--morning dog walk out of the house.

#3 continued some more--yep, this is why I like being home so much.

#3 very much more continued--leaf peeping ride tomorrow in to work. Taking the looooong way in order to peep as much as possible.

Racing

2011-09-18T18:51:00.000-07:00

When you miss 3.5 months of racing, you either-
1- forget about it and not race again
2- build up big desire and motivation to race

During my 3.5 months of not racing, first, I experienced #1. Then I raced a small local race and #2 happened--big time. I like racing. I like how it brings out the best in me and "raises" my game. And, I like to win.

This past Saturday was a Cyclocross race at Valmont Park in Boulder, Colorado. I was super excited to race--not because it was a CX race, but because it was a race that I could do. Yes, I prefer to race skinny tires on the pavement, but that season is over. So, for now, I'll have to settle for racing in circles on slightly bigger tires on dirt, grass, and pavement.

The race was fun, dramatic (for me), challenging, fun and rewarding (2nd place)-everything a race should be.

Yes, I miss skinny tires, team work, and "playing the chess game" of road racing, but for now, I'm excited for next weekend's CX race.

Pretty Epic

2011-09-14T14:12:00.000-07:00

This past weekend (Sunday-Monday), I did the second most epic thing on a bike that I've ever done (the first being White Rim with a Bob trailer and ski racer fitness). MT, Soopa Doopa Toopa, and I rode from our houses to my parents house in Fraser-and back- in two days. Not that big of a deal- right? Well, no, but it was unknown territory, non of us really knew were we were going, and we had no idea how long it would take.

It was pretty hard. But it was dang fun!!

Here are some pictures to tell the story

after 2 hrs of climbing and taking my bike on several walks (i.e walking my bike), an innocent looking section of the pipeline that ended up kicking my ass and I had to walk some more.

Yay the trestles on Rollins Pass. I'm afraid of heights, so MT posed for the photo.

We made it to the top! MT, AP, Tupa, MT's baby Louise that was found in Nederland

When we arrived at my parents house, 5 hrs later, we had a celebration waiting for us.

8:45 am start of day 2

We got a little turned around getting to Fraser on day 1, so The Mom was ride guide for the first hour or so of day 2. We did not get lost and we rode some sweet, smooth, single track

Then, our bikes got tired and needed to be walked--again.

Or carried.

It's all downhill from here. Day 2 seemed shorter and not as hard. Probably because we knew what to expect, planned a little better, did not get turned around, and ate leftover pasta at the trestles.

Doing adventures on bikes is fun. I'm psyched I found friends to adventure with and family to support the adventuring. Now, I need bed.

Selfish Volunteering

2011-09-12T20:09:00.000-07:00

Not to brag, but the last few days have been pretty dang cool. It's days like these when I am so happy to live the life I live.

Saturday, was the Caribou Classic put on by BMA. I had no idea what it was but they needed "sweepers" (people who follow the ride and make sure all riders finish and clean up the trash on course) so I volunteered. Mostly, I just wanted to ride some new single track and see what Caribou Ranch looks like (the selfish part).

The event and the riding did not disappoint. A heard of elk watched us start, followed by a loop through the ranch, and eventually up to West Mag for 15 or so miles of single track.

After that section, it was my turn to "sweep". My sweep friend, Jen, was a great companion and explained all kinds of neat stuff as I had never been up the 505.

The top of the 505 trail was beautiful. Well, pretty much any time I see Devil's Thumb I think it's pretty, but this was really worth the climbing.

Our "sweep" ended at 5pm. 8 hrs in the chamois. I'll admit, it was a long day. Far longer than I anticipated. I was quite tired and hungry when we finished. But the cool thing about this event was--there was food and beer waiting for us when we finished- at the ranch.

The event was great! I'm so glad I was part of it. I'll do it again next year for sure.

What are you training for?

2011-09-05T17:28:00.000-07:00

I was asked this question last week as I was convincing my FasCat coworker, Peter, that he need to motor pace me.

What am I training for?
Next year.
To be fit again.
So I don't have to suffer so much in the next race I do.
To not get dropped on the weekly mountain bike ride.

You see, riding is much more fun when you are fit. You enjoy the climbs, you ride forever without getting tired, and you don't suffer in criteriums.

This is what I'm training for. Pure bike riding enjoyment. Ok, yes, I want to win a bike race again soon, too.

Whirlwind

2011-08-31T12:52:00.000-07:00

The last race in Aspen was great. A classic downtown criterium. Technical, people cheering, and I suffered- bad. Ouch it hurt. But, it was fun. Pre race espresso with Amy D and Julie E. Post race dread to ride back to Snowmass was saved by Karl H from Pactimo (thank goodness! and thanks for the ride).

Packed up, got in the car, and drove to Edwards where I spent the night with the Family "blood". Next day was up and at 'em to meet Athlete Kate and Friend Cindi for a pre TT viewing ride up Battle Mountain toward Tennessee Pass (yes my legs hurt from 3 days of racing).

We watched the men's time trial in Vail, packed up, drove home, (JH had yummy dinner waiting) unpacked, repacked, woke up, and flew to Binghamton, NY.

The next day was my first race "back" with my teammates after my injury. It's also the last race of the season. First was coffee and I found the best espresso I have ever had. The coffee shop didn't open till 9am, so I had to wait for it, but it was worth it. WOW! It was so good, I ordered another shot and bought beans to bring home.

First race back, last race of the season.

Finish race, pack, sleep, wake up much too early, fly home.
7 days, 4 races, 4 beds, 9 bike rides, 4 coffee shops, 1 tired AP.

How's your Ass-been?

2011-08-24T08:05:00.000-07:00

Mine has been fantastic. Crested Butte one week, Aspen the next. That's not bad living-at all. Last week was vacation, this week is racing-in Aspen! It's great.

Gigantic kudos to Jessica Phillips and Team Ajax Tavern for putting on a Women's only stage race in Aspen. The racing has been fantastic, as have the people, and the scenery.

Stage 1 was a TT to Maroon Bells. Ouch it hurt, but it felt great to race--though I was a little slower than I would have liked in 12th place (I still need some more fitness after 3 months off the bike). These views are from the finish.

Stage 2 was a circuit race in Snowmass. Pretty dang fun racing, lots of spectators, and a pretty good result for me in 8th place. Then a racer lunch at the golf course-it was yummy.

Stage 3 is today. Downtown Aspen Criterium. The course looks awesome with lots of corners and a great location. I'm excited.

The BEST Vacation

2011-08-21T10:06:00.000-07:00

For the past 10 (or so) years, I haven't ever really needed a vacation. Mostly because my life is like a permanent vacation. The life of a bike racer is pretty plush- other than taking care of yourself, there aren't

many other responsibilities. This year, however, due to injury and coaching making me busier (and happier), I needed a vacation. I needed to get away from having to go somewhere or do something or be on a very tight schedule.

This was my first vacation I truly looked forward to doing nothing, and having nothing to do but watch TV, drink espresso, ride my mtn bike (and maybe not every day), and hang out with He Who Shall Not Be Named.

Crested Butte Vacation 2011did not disappoint.

We hung out, slept in, watched TV, rode mtn bikes in absolutely amazing scenery and flowers, then hung out some more. No computers, no internet, no driving around or having to ride somewhere.

We even camped one night and man it was rough. A morning visit by a deer completed our espresso drinking.

A bonus was a vacation bike ride with The Sister and The Bro-in-Law.

A bonus bonus was getting asked by He Who Shall Not Be Named if I'd marry him. We were on the 401 and it was perfect.

I said yes and got a beautiful ring and a new Fiancé.

It was a perfect vacation. I am happy, relaxed, and ready to go back to "the real world".

HIkin'

2011-08-11T16:00:00.000-07:00

Went to Heart Lake with The Mom. She'd seen it from the "other side" (Fraser side of the divide), and thought it would be cool to see it up close and in person. I've backcountry skied in the area so I was excited to see it in the summer time.

It did not disappoint.

The "Someday" list

2011-08-06T09:10:00.000-07:00

Ever hear yourself say, "Someday I want to do _____", or "I'd like to do that someday". Why not make that "someday" today.

I'm a believer of doing the "someday"s. I've been saying (for a long time now), "Someday I want to ride my bike from home to Estes Park". Well, yesterday was my "someday" and it was pretty awesome.

10 minutes into my ride it occurred to me what I was actually in for. It's almost 50 miles to Estes. Then I have to ride back home. Oh boy...this could be a 6 hr ride. So, I took my time, I stopped and took pictures (thanks to TK's suggestion), and I made sure to eat and drink so as to avoid The Bonk.

This view descending from Ward is one of my favorites. I haven't seen this view for more than a year. After the descent from Ward, I rode on a section of road I have never been on (between Raymond turnoff and Highway 7) - so I peed on it. Now I have officially been there.

This Mo-Fo is also on the "someday" list. Someday, I'd like to hike up Longs Peak.

Interesting.

Pretty view of the "key hole" (or something like that) on Longs

Over the years, and many long rides, I have learned if I am riding at 8,000ft or above for more than 3 hrs, I have to stop for fuel and coffee--or else. Once I reached the destination (Estes), I found Kind Coffee sat down and had a little celebration. One of my "someday"s is crossed off the list. That felt good!

This is where I cracked. 4hrs 47 min and 76 miles in. I had to get off my bike, sit down, eat some food and take a time out.

I won't lie. The last hour was pretty dang tough. Everything and I mean everything hurt - except my elbow which is funny. I'm pretty dang proud of myself. I finally did something I have wanted to do for a long time and I haven't done a 6 hr ride in years. It's fun to challenge yourself and rise to the occasion.

You can see my ride here -http://app.strava.com/rides/1117753
Remember you can join Strava now and save $$! Use the code TTALISON10 for $10 off a Strava subscription.

Mountains

2011-08-02T14:35:00.000-07:00

I love the mountains. I've lived in or near the mountains my entire life-minus one year in Vermont and during that time I missed the mountains.

After spending the weekend flying to and from the brown desert-ness of Reno and racing around in circles on my bike, I needed some Rocky Mountains time with myself and my hiking shoes.

I had a starting spot in mind, but not an ending spot. The idea was to get into the mountains, see the flowers, hike around, clear the head, and be finished. I was tired from the race and travel the day before so was happy with being outside for an hour or two.

Long story short, at some point, I decided to hike to Woodland Lake (aka Woodlay). Little did I know (or pay attention to), it was almost 5 miles to the lake. My "little hike" was now a full on hike and it was awesome.

I was so happy hiking. I raced my bike in circles one day and the next day I got to spend 3+ hours in the mountains with myself and my hiking shoes. The flowers were amazing, the scenery spectacular, and my mind free and happy.

I'm pretty luck to live the life I do. I get to ride, race, hike, challenge myself, and inspire others to do the same.

To top off the great day, I treated myself to a mocha at Happy Trails--one must end an amazing day in a coffee shop.

22 hours

2011-08-01T15:47:00.000-07:00

I arrived in Reno, NV at 6:45 pm on Saturday. I flew out at 5pm on Sunday. Now that's a short trip. However, it was a very fun trip. Not only did I race (!), I spent time with teammates I had not seen in months, I spent time with family friends I had not seen in years, and I spent time with kitty cats-4 of them. They were nice enough to let us stay at their house for the race. They did, however, keep a close eye on us to make sure we were staying in line.

The race itself was awesome! The course is one of the best crit courses I have ever done. Hilly, technical, and a great atmosphere. I was having a good time for the first 10 min or so.

Then the suffering started and continued for another 45 min. I have to go back to this race next year with proper fitness so I can really race and enjoy the course, instead of surviving (barely) and suffering like a dog.

Post race, my teammies and I jumped in the river for a little cool down soak. I needed that.
L-R, Alexis Ryan, AP, Carlee Taylor, Tara McCormick.

It was a team effort to pack up my bike, wheels, and stuff to get to the airport on time. I am pretty sure that was the shortest trip I have ever had, but it was worth it.

Flying

2011-07-28T14:52:00.000-07:00

No, this post is not about me flying--fitness wise. Actually, I'm far from flying. More like jumping...
This post is not about my flying away--even though I am flying to Reno on Saturday and back to Denver on Sunday (oh I need to update USADA...good reminder).

This post is about the time. It's flying by!
This week has been filled with 2 Outdoor Diva clinics, 1 Blue Sky Velo cornering clinic, 1 visit by friends, 1 pretty dang fun hike with said friends, 2 giant bike rides, and a fair amount of gluten being consumed. Seems I don't have to be gluten free anymore! Yay!! BLT's for dinner last night were awesome. Tonight steel*wool ride followed by beer and pizza. Take that glutard suckkas!

Race #2 is right around the corner. Tour de Nez in Reno on Sunday. This will be a good test for the 'bow and the legs. I'm pretty excited!

Proud

2011-07-21T14:31:00.000-07:00

I'm proud of this picture for 2 reasons.
1- There's proof of a left tricep-hard work paying off
2- I'm racing! hard work paying off.

I don't know who's picture this is. I stole it from Girl Bike Love. Thanks!

Home again

2011-07-21T13:44:00.000-07:00

I have recovered, for the most part, from last week. I am home again and able to appreciate everything good about home there is.
-Flowers- are amazing right now due to all the rain we have gotten.
-Friends- I have some (!) and am able to hang out with them
-Family- spending time with "blood" is good

-JH and doggies- make me happy, make me laugh, and keep me on my toes
-Bikes- are fun, relaxing, enjoyable, and social- plus I had the hardest workout ever on Tuesday.
-Margaritas- best consumed with all of the above

Smashed

2011-07-15T20:06:00.000-07:00

I'm a little smashed. Actually, totally smashed.

Right now, I'm in Colorado Springs. I'm helping coach the Women's Talent ID Camp for USA Cycling (which is funny for several reasons). I'm coaching, but I'm riding too and riding a lot. Riding more than I have in the past 3.5 months. Today was a double day of field testing (5 min and 20 min) and pace-line racing.

Yesterday was a double day of cornering, climbing, and skills.

Tomorrow is a single day of 4 hrs filled with more bike riding and racing stuff.

Last Sunday, I raced my first bike race since breaking my arm. It was fun. Period.
I was nervous as shit before the race, I am unfit, and suffered 2/3 of the race, but I had fun and won $40.

I think I'll race again sometime soon (stupid UCI, USAC rules forbid me from racing ACA races in Colorado, so I have to go somewhere else to race).

Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday were filled with coaching, riding, athlete rides, packing, and driving.
Thus, I am smashed.
And it feels good.

Cool Hike

2011-07-08T16:27:00.000-07:00

I've been here in the winter time- Backcountry skiing- but never in the summer time. Pretty cool hike with my friend Shawn. We finished the day in the coffee shop (duh, of course).

Here are some pictures

Hessie Trail Hike- http://app.strava.com/rides/898967

Join Strava now, buy a Garmin, and save $$! Use the codes TTALISON10 for $10 off a Strava subscription. And TTALISON25 for $25 off a Garmin 500.

Other Than Riding

2011-07-07T13:51:00.000-07:00

Yes, I've been riding bikes. A lot. Almost everyday. But, I've also been doing other stuff too.

For example, I live in a pretty dang cool community and we do fun stuff together - like hike straight up a mountain to change out the flag in the rocks at the top (a 30 year tradition).

I've made good friends in our little community and getting to spend the summer at home this year has been really special.

Every Friday, we eat and drink together and tell stories. At least three times a year we work together to keep our home a wonderful place- then we eat and drink some more.

I've also been taking care of our friends "ladies" while they are out of town. This morning, I did my massive arm exercises- with 10 lbs weights- while the ladies hung out and found interesting stuff on the ground.

Life is good right now. The 'bow is getting stronger and more stable and I look forward to racing again--sometime.

Riding

2011-07-01T12:14:00.000-07:00

Riding bikes is fun and that's what I've been doing. It feels good to just ride. No training, no watts, no intervals, just riding along. I'm getting my body and my arm used to riding everyday. I've ridden to work 4 days in a row. I've ridden with three FasCat athletes. I've ridden my mtn bike- even a bit of singletrack on the Steel*Wool ride. I've had fun and I've made myself pretty dang tired in the process.

The goal next week is to ride home from work. Riding to work is easy- 17miles downhill. Now it's time to go up.

I've also tried something new this week- other than bikes and bike riding. Finally, after two years of hearing about them and how awesome they are, I went in for a visit to Peak Sports Chiropractic in Boulder. All I can say is WOW. It was so good I went in again today. Andy and Jen are amazing and thanks to them, my body is dealing with all the new activity pretty dang well (no elbow pain while riding singletrack and no Achilles pain). If you're in Boulder, you've got to go see them. It's more than the cracking of the normal Chiropractor. They get into your muscles and body movement.

That's all for now. Get out and ride your bike!

Outside!

2011-06-23T13:56:00.000-07:00

It's official-I can now ride bikes outside. Yesterday when I found out, I could hardly get out of Boulder soon enough to get home and get on my bike.

I'd love to tell you my first bike ride outside in almost 3 months was amazing, super fun, and I was flying like the wind. But in reality, it was pretty anti-climatic, actually more like disappointing. I got board (an out and back ride), I was unstable, I was butt slow and breathing hard, I couldn't stand, my butt hurt, my left Achilles hurt and by the end, my arm had had enough. All this in 1 hour. I arrived home more sad than happy. What used to be an amazing bike rider was gone and it was sad.

I tried again today. After yesterday's ride I had a look at my saddle position, which has felt wrong ever since I got injured, and sure enough the set back was WAY BACK. Too far back. I fixed that, raised the saddle a bit and rode down to FasCat (too bad bike to work day wasn't today as I could have taken part).

Today, I had FUN. No pain, no aches, more stable, and no boredom! Riding downhill with a tail wind going around corners is FUN. 50 mph fun. No fear and no worries. For bike riding should be fun, not fearful.

I won't lie to you, I still have issues. I am more aware of every bump, crack, or lump in the road that could vibrate up into my elbow. Due lack of coordination/strength in my left arm I feel awkward and uncomfortable in the corners. I cannot stand and pedal, my fitness is crap, and my arm is good for an hour. Other than that, I'm excited to ride again and that's all the matters.

You can check out my two rides on Strava here. If Strava looks interesting and you want to sign up-
Use the code TTALISON10 to save $10.

Have and Have Not

2011-06-20T13:30:00.000-07:00

I've been getting in trouble (again) for not updating The Blog. My response is always "I'll update it when I have something to write about".

In my mind, I have not been doing anything interesting. I created this blog to keep my family and my friends updated on my bike racing and the things that revolve around it. Since I have not been bike racing, or even bike riding, I haven't felt the need for many updates.

However now, I feel the need to update so as to shut all you "you need to up date the blog" people up.
So, here's a list of all the things I have been and have not been doing-

Have been-
-Spending time AT HOME- this is my first summer home in 6 years
-Spending time with friends and family-spent Father's Day WITH my Dad.
-Hiking
-Attempting (again) at running. This time, with "barefoot" shoes and sometimes actually going barefoot.
-Coaching cyclists at FasCat Coaching in Boulder
-Riding the trainer AND enjoying it. It's official, I have done more trainer rides in the past 3 weeks than I have in the past 4 years- combined.
-Looking forward to riding my bike outside
-Doing my arm exercises to gain the strength back that I lost (my tricep is a big mass of smoosh).

Have not been-
-racing bikes
-riding bikes outside
-traveling
-dwelling on things I can't do. Despite my injury, I'm in a very happy place right now and that feels good.

Update:
I see the doctor in Wednesday. That'll mark 12 (or so) weeks since my injury. I have my fingers crossed that I'll get the OK to ride my bike OUTSIDE.

Small Light

2011-05-29T15:02:00.000-07:00

I'm making progress. My arm is getting better. I can now see a small little baby light at the end of the tunnel. It's just a speck, but it's there and I'm moving toward it.

My range of motion is improving everyday, and my arm is actually working like an arm instead of an awkward appendage coming from my shoulder.

My motivation to ride the trainer has arrived. Mostly because my body is sore from running, hiking, and walking, but also because when I can ride outside, I want to ride. There are places I want to go and things I want to see, so I better be fit enough to get there by bicycle.

On a side note, along with espresso, this was this morning's entertainment.

Who knew there were black foxes?

Brutal Truth

2011-05-16T09:47:00.000-07:00

When you first get injured, you have a certain disconnect with your injury. As that injury is put into a cast and/or splint, the disconnect continues. The injury heals and you don't actually have to do anything to it.
However, as soon as that injury comes out of the cast/splint it is now it's up to you to get that body part back to what it was like before it was injured. That's where the disconnect ends and reality hits, hard. What used to be a strong, flexible, good working body part is now a stiff, weak, strange alien-like thing that is attached to you. Nobody but you and your own hard work will get that strange alien form back to a familiar, good functioning body part.

10 years ago, I shattered my knee cap. That injury and rehab process was horrible. BUT, I learned a lot about myself, about injuries, and about recovery from injuries. Now, with my broken elbow, that knowledge is either a blessing or a curse. A blessing because I know what to expect in the rehab process. I know what's it like to have shattered something, have it put back together, rehab all that, then get the hardware out, start the process all over again, then after a year or so, you are healed and back to somewhat normal. Back then, I thought it was the end of the world. Now, I know bikes will still be there in a few months, bike racing will still be there next year and my body will remember how to ride a bike. During this time off it's important to enjoy it and enjoy the process of spending time away from what you love.

Or a curse because I know what to expect in the rehab process. I know what's it like to have shattered something, have it put back together, rehab all that, then get the hardware out, start the process all over again. IT SUCKS!! It's painful, it's horrible, it makes you miss doing the things you love, and it makes you feel pretty inadequate for awhile. In my opinion, a person should not have to go through this kind of injury process twice.

Truth is, whether I like it or not, this is my reality and a lot of the time it sucks. BUT, it's rewarding too. Baby steps. Today I was able to pony my hair all by myself and give He Who Can Not Be Named a real, two armed hug. I'm able to pull my own espresso shots and my running program has officially begun. Being able to do these "new" actives makes me proud at how far I have come in the past 6 weeks. Yes, I have a long way to go, but for now, as much as it sucks, I'm enjoying the process.

Arrrrrrm Update

2011-05-06T08:21:00.000-07:00

Vacation

2011-05-04T12:55:00.000-07:00

Went to Fruita for the weekend.
Camped
Got snowed on
Slept in the Van agon
Ate Oatmeal
No e-mail/Internet for 4 days
Hiked
Ate Mexican
Laughed around the bon fire
Hiked
Played with the dogs
Ate Mexican
No e-mail/Internet for 4 days
Relaxed

The weekend in Fruita was
Fun
Relaxing
Perfect

I am now
TIRED

Not Much

2011-04-26T14:51:00.000-07:00

Not much new to report here.
Hiking, coaching, hiking, eating yogurt, coaching, hiking, drinking beer, coaching, hiking, drinking espresso, hiking, coaching, eating yogurt.
-exercise
-calcium for my healing bones
-making money
-helping people reach their cycling goals
-drinking yummy stuff

Now, off to Fruita! Alas...not for the sweet mtn biking that is there but for the hiking and friends that are there. I may mix things up a bit while I'm there-
hiking, drinking lattes, hiking, hiking, hiking, drinking margaritas, hiking, eating chips.

Random Stuff

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

When I returned home from the hospital, almost 2 weeks ago, there were a few things that were funny. Mostly it was my own body. Weird stuff happens to you when you have surgery, are on IV antibiotics for 4 days, and mix it all with pain killers.
#1- my body functions were all off
#2- espresso didn't taste as good as usual
#3- Lucy dog smelled like a skunk

He Who Must Not Be Named suggested all the antibiotics in my system were messing with my sense of smell. I'd never heard of the that, but he's usually right about everything so off to Pharmica I went. Sure enough, the nice lady said "Yes, antibiotics can mess with your sense of smell and taste". She convinced me to buy expensive Probiotics and I'm happy to say Lucy Dog now smells good as ever, and espresso is YUMMY!! Not to mention my body feels like it is "working" properly now. Maybe better than it was before all this happened.

On another note, some good things have come from my injury.
#1- I get to hike and hang out with people I wouldn't usually get to see due to bike riding and racing. (pictures below)
#2- one of the girls' who crashed with me in the crit also broke her elbow and we are now injury friends.
#3- I no longer have any kind of saddle sores or weird tan lines
#4- CrossPropz supplies me with a few of life's needs (last picture)
#5- I've gotten to spend time with family

People are wondering if I am riding the trainer yet, or when I'll "be back". The answers are "no" and "not for a long time". For now, it's hiking, walking, Pilates, and friends.

Injured at Home

2011-04-14T14:17:00.000-07:00

Home. I love home. Though, now I'm home with a broken arm. Honestly, it's not that bad. The only thing I can't do with my busted wing is make espresso from the la Pavoni. So, every morning, I get espresso made for me. Yummy.

Since being home, my family and friends have been so thoughtful and supportive of my injury. Friends and family have visited me, run errands for me, made me dinners, put my hair in numerous pony tails, taken me out for coffee, hiked with me, sent me an edible bouquet of fruit, etc. The list goes on and on and I really feel loved and cared for. I'm so appreciative of all that has been done for me.

On Tuesday, I went to the doctor for a follow up visit. They took x-rays and said all looks good. Here you can see the staples.

They took my cast off and sent me home with a sweet new removable split that I will be in for the next 5 weeks. This cast, gigantic as it felt, was only 1.3 lbs.

Once the cast was off, and I saw my arm, it hit me. Oh fuck, I'm injured. And injured BAD. I cried for the first time about the sadness of it all. Poor arm, poor body. I just put another big scar on it. I have shit loads of PT ahead of me, and I will not be riding my bike outside until at least June.

2 days later, it snowed, my Mom visited me, and I, for the first time, took the bus from Nederland to FasCat. All this has made me happy again, and I feel lucky to have what I do and to be able to the things I am doing now: walking, hiking, coaching, laughing and being loved.

And playing with dogs who get to play in the snow (who then bring " fur snow balls" into the house to melt all over the floor).

Hospital

2011-04-09T06:49:00.000-07:00

Not long after my last post, I crashed in the crit and went to the hospital. After a lot of waiting, and finally some x-rays, it was determined I had a broken Olecranon and humerus. Surgery was scheduled for the next day.

Wrapping me up in the ER. Finally something that felt good to my arm.

The welcome note in my room.

My first dinner and my last meal before surgery.

What they did to me in surgery

My post surgery dinner.

The next day, my teammies came to visit me. I liked that very much.

Dinner that night was much improved.

On Tuesday, I was feeling well enough to go for walk and get outside. Boss Lady Lisa, stayed in Redlands to take care of me. She took me outside. Then we arm wrestled.

The last few days of my hospital stay, I didn't take any pictures. I was tired of being there with an IV in my arm. I stopped taking pain medicine- because my arm was feeling good- but then my entire body started to hurt. I had road rash, muscle pain and tightness from the crash, and my back had had enough of the hospital bed.

Finally, on Wednesday, after 4 days, I got to leave the hospital. Super Awesome Serena, picked me up and took me straight to Mexican for dinner. YUM

Kitty welcomed me to the host house. Home the next day!

Behind the Scenes

2011-04-02T11:48:00.000-07:00

Stage racing is more than just racing. There's a lot that happens that has nothing to do with the actual racing. It's as easy as this-there are 24hrs in a day and our longest races are 4 hrs-max. That leaves us with 20 hrs of "other" stuff to do.

This "other" stuff varies depending on how hard the racing is day to day, and where the races are.
For example, if the start and finish are one hour away from our host house, that uses up an extra 2 hrs. If the racing is hard day after day, most of that "other" stuff is done laying around in bed with a water bottle by your side.

Our race today is a Criterium at 2:30. The start is 10 minutes away, by bike. That means we have no travel time, and only 1 hr of racing. So, pretty much, we have a "free" day today.

It felt good to sleep in, enjoy coffee and breakfast and be a little mellow. At 9am, my teammies and I went for a chill ride around the "Sunset Loop".

We ended at the coffee shop for post ride espresso and goodies. Though I love espresso and coffee shops, I don't enjoy the "scene" of bikes and bike racers (I know, that's weird). I rode home with a few teammies who don't drink coffee (which is also weird).

Drop off bike to mechanic
Get a car ride to host house
Eat lunch #1
Computer - which is what I'm doing now.

We've got a few more hours of free time before it's time to chamois up (again) and get to racing.

I've been VERY spoiled by my teammies in the other house, as they have been cooking dinner every night. It's GOOD dinner. Though, tonight's dinner is Chipotle- give them a night off from cooking.

Tomorrow is one of the hardest races of the year. Sunset. Despite the pain and suffering it brings, I look forward it to every year.

It

2011-03-31T19:50:00.000-07:00

I did not have "it" today.

Even yesterday, I knew I didn't have "it".

This "It" is what an athlete needs to have for success. Over the years, I have come to recognize when I have "it" and when I don't. I know before the race even starts if I am going to win or not. Yesterday, I knew I was not going to win today. Actually, I knew I was going to be sort of slow. No matter how hard I tried to think otherwise, I knew in my heart "it" was not going to happen. You can call it what you want- negative thinking, not believing in yourself, whatever. Or I could blame it on excuses like it was hot, I got sick last week, etc. That fact is, sometimes you have "it" and sometimes you don't.

The trick to success is finding "it", and once you've you've got "it" not letting it go.

The results speak for themselves- 12th place today. Worst ride in 3 years. There's nothing to do now but keep on riding, keep on working hard, believing in myself and trusting that "it" is coming.

The best part of the day--coffee with Anne and Robin.

The second bast part of the day--the walk home with Alexis after team meeting and dinner. We saw the sun rise on our bikes, and the sun set on our feet.

Here are my teammies post TT.

Almost Time

2011-03-28T13:44:00.000-07:00

It's almost time. Race time, that is.
Every year it feels the same. "Oh no! I'm not ready. I need more time to train to get race fit".
Well, it's here. Ready or not.

The good thing about not being ready is you can still get better as you "get ready" to race in the next few weeks/months.

Ready or not, race day is Thursday and we'll see how good what feels like a little amount of preparation was.

Published!

2011-03-24T15:26:00.000-07:00

I think I B.S. pretty well.
Cycleops.com

What do you think?

Oh and here's my very first Garmin/Strava ride.
AP Strava

Nutrition?

2011-03-13T09:56:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, like the other day, I wanted something other than what was in my jersey pocket- which was a Vanilla PowerBar.

I had one dollar to spend, a Snickers was definitely out of the question, and I didn't want another banana. So, I chose the Peanut M&M's. As I was eating my M&M's, I wondered how they compared, nutrition wise, to the PowerBar in my pocket. So I compared, and I must admit, I'm a little surprised by the results.

M&M's Peanut Chocolate Candies

Calories- 250

Fat- 13g

Sodium -25 mg

Carbs- 30g

Sugar -25g

Protein- 5g

Milk Chocolate,

Sugar,

Peanuts,

Cornstarch,

Less than 1% - Corn Syrup,

Gum Acacia, Coloring, Dextrin

Costing only $1 and with only 4 main ingredients, no soy, and less sugar than the PowerBar, I'm surprised to say, the M&M's aren't bad. They do, however, have a little bit too much fat for my liking, and don't have the nice vitamins and minerals that are in the PowerBar that costs $2.50.

Personally, I like simple foods-i.e. not many ingredients and of those ingredients, I would like to be able to pronounce them. I like food that tastes good and rewards me for my hard efforts. Thus, the winner is....

M&M's Peanut Chocolate Candies

Weekly Commute

2011-03-11T15:18:00.000-08:00

Come March, I try to have at least one "weekly commute" (i.e. big ass bike ride). These "commutes" can be as simple as riding to Boulder and back, or riding to my ride then riding home, or ride from point A to point B.

These rides all have something in common- they usually kick my ass and involve some sort of drama.
Yesterday's commute was no exception and it was actually a real commute. The route-my parents place in Littleton to home. C-470 trail to Golden and up Golden Gate. Pretty basic.

It seemed a little epic though. Why is it that a point to point 4hr hilly ride viewed as "wow, you're doing what?" when a 4 hr ride from home is no biggy and doesn't seem that epic?

Everything started off well. The C-470 bike path is awesome. I met a nice man named CJ and we rode together for a while. Then we got detoured in Bear Creek due to a "controlled burn". Turn around, ride another bike path, saw a coyote on that path! Back to original path and on to Golden. Make wrong turn, 2 miles downhill, followed by a U-ey and back up 2 miles to correct turn. Water and potty stop at Gas Station and on to Golden Gate Canyon. First half of commute in the bag. 36 miles and 34 of it was on bike path!! Awesome.

Up Golden Gate and it felt like I was on a totally different ride. I was in for 2 hrs of climbing, in a head wind, and little to no shoulder. Not to mention they were "tar-ing" the cracks in the road, so I had to stop a couple time to clean my tires so as to not detonate my Detonaters. Thanks to the head wind and the steepness of the road, at one point, I was going 4mph with a 42 cadence.

Long story short, I started to crave a Snickers bar. That's never happened before, but I went with it. 1 mi from the P2P, I stopped, got a Snickers and chowed it down. Yum. The best $.87 I have ever spent!

Only then did I look at the Nutrition facts. At least 3 of the ingredients were soy products. Not good for me and my belly. "Oh well, it was dang good".

I continued on, but 10 minutes later, the bloating and gas began. Good thing it was mostly downhill home now. This is my favorite view. It means I am almost home and have no more climbing.

I made it home, 5 hrs later and spent the next several hours on the couch due to fatigue and belly pain. Dang Snickers...kicked my ass.

Cool stuff

2011-03-08T08:10:00.000-08:00

This is cool.- Mountain Flyer Magazine write up about the Frostbite TT
And, so is this. -my write up about the TT

Btw...I went Nordic skiing again yesterday. It was awesome. Unlike the last time I went to Eldora, it was warm, it was sunny, and it was fast. However, after 4 weeks not skiing, my Nordic fitness was somewhat lagging. Guess I'll have to go again, to gain that fitness back.

Oh, and I feel like a rebel when I Nordic ski in March. As a "professional" bike racer, one should focus more on the bike workouts and less on Nordic skiing, especially in March. That's why I'm feeling rebellious (and it feels good). When it comes to bike racing...I'll still be better than you. :)

Home

2011-03-03T20:04:00.000-08:00

Team camp has ended. I am home now (yay!).

A few highlights from the last week or so-
Bike ride up Travolta
Bike ride down from Travolta into Santa Barbara --teammate Kendall goes downhill pretty dang fast.
Post ride cupcakes and espresso like drinks (dirty Chai)
Long drive to Merced- somehow the van/trailer combo beat the fancy Volvo's
Hard road race- those California girls are pretty dang fit for February
Crit race- we raced not so smart, but I got a hell of a workout
Good espresso and an enjoyable morning with nice Host Mom Annie
Fly home
HOME

Team Camp Day #3-?

2011-02-23T09:14:00.000-08:00

I'm not 100% sure what day it is. I'm not 100% sure what the schedule is for today. I have no idea what I'm eating for lunch.

I do, however, know a few things-

I know we are riding our bikes today and I need to hurry up and get in my chamois.

I know I'm supposed to wear my gloves because we are taking pictures while riding.

I know we've ridden past this lake every day except 1.

I know our view from the house is very pretty and very much unlike my view at home.

I know a few days ago, Meredith Miller, Jennifer Wheeler and I drove with Aaron from Specialized up and up into the mountains to take pictures.

I know I like this view to the lake we ride by every day, except 1 (which was the ride above).

I know I'm having a good time and am learning a lot about my team and racing this year.
I know that, although I miss home, this is a good place to be.

Team Camp Day #2

2011-02-19T16:15:00.000-08:00

Wake up
Pack Bags
Make/drink coffee
Load bags into van
Make breakfast
Get in back seat of car and begin drive
Eat breakfast
Hang out
Arrive at new Team House and "ooo and awww" at the view out the back windows

Learn house rules and get room assignments
Eat food
Ride
Get rained on
Get warned of the hail and snow
Get wet and cold
Arrive home
Shower
Eat
Internet

Later today--
Team dinner with Team TIBCO Jr's
Brownies and wine with Team TIBCO II's
SRAM presentation
Bed

I hope for no rain and a big, hard, ride tomorrow. Then my bike fit with the famous Donny Perry.

Alabama part duex

2011-02-18T18:55:00.000-08:00

After the last post, I went for my walk. It was nice to get out and explore. I walked through this old grave yard, and

past the normal amount of trash on the side of the road.

When I returned home, I found these "snacks". Apparently, this is what people snack on in the South.
When in Rome...

My last day in Alabama was amazing. Warm weather, 70 miles, and great group of people. Here we are before the ride.

I flew back to Colorado, quick stop in Boulder for Pilates, then home to unpack and repack. Then flew to San Jose for my Team TIBCO/To the Top team camp.

Here's my new costume.

So far so good at camp. Today we got to go to the Voler factory. It was really neat to see that ALL of our clothing is hand made and to meet the people who make it. I have a new respect and appreciation for our team clothing. I hope to steal a few pictures from my teammates who were smart enough to bring a camera to Voler.

That's all for now.

Alabama Cycling Camp- Year 2

2011-02-14T15:09:00.000-08:00

For the second year, I am in Alabama for the Alabama Cycling Camp. It's fun stuff. Yes we ride bikes, but we also do and see other cool things.

For example- when we wake up, we drink coffee. Then we eat Breakfast. Then we do whatever we want to until it's ride time. Yesterday, I visited this nice horse and his/her brother's/sister's (I didn't check their gender).

Then we ride: anywhere from 2.5-4.5 hrs. Nice people to chat with, amazing roads, and dogs. That's another thing we do- scare off the dogs that either want to chase us, play with us, bite us, or all three.

We see varying scenery, but one thing is a constant and that's the amount of trash on the side of the road. It's sad. They need the "Adopt a Highway" program here.

Here's a pretty picture with no trash. It was also one of the few spots I get good cell service.

Post ride, we eat, shower, then have free time. Which is what I'm using right now to blog. And now, I'm tired of it and want to go on a walk. So I'll finish this post another day.

Snuck in another

2011-02-08T18:28:00.000-08:00

It was cold, 1 degree, but I had to get in one last Nordic ski before bikes take over.
I was one of the few Dodo's to skate instead of classic (those are my tracks, the only skate tracks, from the lap before). The glide was not good.

It was quite snowy.

I had a dang fun time!

I even got fresh tracks on several trails (at 1pm!).

I never thought skate skiing in 1 degree weather could be so fun. I guess that's what happens when you know you won't be skiing again for several weeks. You don't know how good it is until it's gone...

Starting tomorrow, bikes. In warmer weather (I hope).

Freshies

2011-02-07T15:29:00.000-08:00

Yesterday was epic. I've never played in the snow like I did yesterday.

6:30 wake up- get dressed, coffee, morning "stuff", drive to Eldora.

7:45- begin Skate Ski in the dumping snow

7:48- see broken down groomer

7:55- realized ALL trails have yet to be groomed and there is anywhere from 3"-6" on every trail.

8:15- start really having fun in the snow. With all the snow on the trails, nothing matters but just skiing and moving forward. Who cares about technique, who cares about heart rate, just ski and enjoy. It was awesome.

8:55- it occurs to me how awesome backcountry skiing would be today.

9:05- get in car, make some calls, cancel planned bike ride, drive back home.

9:35- change out of Nordic clothes, into Backcountry ski clothes, grab some food, water, and drive back toward Eldora.

10:45 (ish)- the fun begins

It was AWESOME!!!

4 (ish)- return back to van with a giant smile and very tired body.

Yesterday, may have been the best "double day" I have ever had. I got freshies (Fresh tracks) while both Nordic Skiing and Backcountry skiing. I got to hang out with He Who Shall Not Be Named and Meriwether (thank you for the pictures!) and later dinner with The SMRP and doggies.

What an amazing way to leave the Colorado winter behind and start the bike racing chapter of the year.

Frozen House

2011-02-03T18:26:00.000-08:00

I've had an interesting turn of events today. Though very cold, the day started out pretty normally. Alarm, espresso, Frisbee, (too cold for dog walk), breakfast, Internet, coaching work. Somewhere in there, I baked cookies and made granola. After a trip to drop off the recycle, it was time to get my Nordic on. I skied for an hour and a half, and was on my way back home when I got the call. It was neighbor and friend TC, he needed me ASAP at "The Big House". The Big House is known to not withstand the cold very well, so I was not surprised to get a call for assistance. I was surprised, however, at the urgency in TC's voice.

I arrived at The Big House, walked in and it was FREEZING! Colder inside then the 25 degrees outside. Turns out, The Big House was completely frozen. Inside and out. Frozen. There was ice on the toilet.

The boiler had suffered a "heart attack" due to ice in the intake pipe and stopped working. No boiler means no radiant floor heat. No heat and far below 0 temperatures means frozen pipes, frozen everything. TC needed help getting the place warm and keeping it warm. So here I am, in The Big House, chillen. Literally.

The second fire place is kicking my ass as I have yet to get a good fire going in there. Actually, right now there are just logs sitting in there slightly charred and no flames in sight.

The plus side to all this....The Big House is a VERY nice house. Though the house is a little bit chilly right now, the couch is awesome, the TV is amazing and the tea options could keep me entertained the entire night. Though that's bad as there is no water so the toilet is off limits.

So for now, my job is to keep the fires going and to make sure the house survives the "thaw".

Weird thoughts

2011-01-29T14:36:00.000-08:00

Recently, I've been thinking strange thoughts. Actually, more like one strange thought. I've been wishing January would last longer. Never, ever, in my entire life, have I wished January would last longer (not even as a ski racer). So what gives?

Well...I been finding fun activities to do in January. I've been back country skiing, Nordic skiing, and Nordic racing. I've met really cool people while doing these activities and it's been pretty fun. When I go on bike rides, I go alone, ride exactly how I'm "supposed to" for that day on roads I've ridden tons of times. It's not that exciting.

As soon as February starts, bikes and bike riding get a little more series. Racing is 8 weeks away, and training camps and travel and serious training start all over again. I s'pose I'm not quite ready yet. I'm enjoying winter and I wish January was one month longer.

Nordic Race Day- part 2

2011-01-24T07:31:00.000-08:00

My Lats have never hurt as much as they hurt in this race. Bike riding isn't the best training for Nordic skiing.

I finished right behind my friend Anna. She got 5th and I got 6th.

The drive home was similar to the drive there, only this time in the dark. When I got home, I had light and 2 doggies waiting for me.

Nordic Race Day- part 1

2011-01-23T08:06:00.000-08:00

How'd the race go? Check back tomorrow...

Ginger Ninjer - Better Than a Good Person-

2011-01-19T13:40:00.000-08:00

Someone once told me, "at the end of the day, you are remembered not for how many ski races you won but for the kind person you were".

With Carla -aka "Ginger Ninjer", this rings true more than ever. She was one of the BEST people I have ever met.

When I think of Ginger, I don't think of bike racing or results. I remember the time we spent together off the bike. I remember her smile, her thoughtfulness, her laugh. I remember her being Robin's "bike wife" and making her breakfast. I remember talking about family, about training, about loving life. I remember hanging out, drinking coffee after Philly (she was drinking some kind of red smoothie drink). I remember the funny names we came up with for her new Twitter account. The list goes on.

Carla was one of the best people, if not the best, I have ever met.

She sent me a postcard from India.

Carla was an A-MAZING bike rider. But when I think of her, I remember the person she was.

I knew Carla as a friend for less than a year. She made a big impact.

Thank you for enhancing my life, Ginger Ninjer.

I'd attach a picture of her, but I don't have one. Bummer.

No title

2011-01-16T19:50:00.000-08:00

I got tired of seeing a dead horse on the blog, so I'm blogging to take up space and make it so when you open the blog dead Brandy isn't right in your face.

In blog worthy news, after listening to my body and taking a few days rest, I am feeling MUCH better and my rides and ski this weekend were great. I'm ready for more riding and more hours, but the freaking wind is blowing like a mo-fo and will continue through tomorrow and probably beyond.

So, more Nordic skiing may be in my future (actually it is in my future as every Tuesday morning, I wake up when it's still dark and "train" with the Boulder Nordic Sport training group. It's good fun, I learn a lot and always come home quite tired. Plus there is a dang race I have been convinced to do on Saturday, a 30km, and I have never skied that long of a distance in my life. Should be interesting).

This brings me to the end of this blog post for the sake of blogging.
Good night.

Listen

2011-01-14T11:54:00.000-08:00

Cool blog post about listening to your body at halfwheel.com.

I listened to mine yesterday. It was yelling at me....hard to not listen.
I was starting to feel like this (close your eyes SMRP) -

After a few days laying on the couch, I feel like this-

Tomorrow, I'm ready to do this-

(I stole those last two pictures off the internets. Thank you if they are yours)

A grown up

2011-01-09T08:38:00.000-08:00

I did not blog this week. Mostly because I was busy.

I was busy doing more damage to my already sad and damaged car.

I was busy test driving, and trying to find the money to replace my sad and damaged, but loved old car.

I was busy buying a new car.

I was busy feeling like an official "grown up" in my new car. Wow, my first real car that wasn't a hand me down from my family (not that I didn't appreciate those cars. I did, they just weren't "mine"). This car is DANG nice and I can't believe it is my car.

I was busy riding my bike on a bike path that, for the past 10+ years, I have wanted to ride.
I was busy seeing a bald eagle on that bike ride.

I am always kept busy trying to keep Lucy Dog off the couch.

Windslab fun

2011-01-02T20:11:00.000-08:00

Another day in the backcountry. Same people, new place. This place looked amazing. When we got there, the different chute options appeared to be endless.

However, there was one problem. For the past two days, it has been windy. VERY windy, and every single miniture piece of snow particle had been blown around and was contining to be blown around.

Everywhere we skied was wind slabbed. Unfortunately, it wasn't very fun. Actually, it sort of sucked.

But, that's the cool thing about the backcountry. The actual skiing is a very small part of the entire expirance. The secnery we saw today was amazing. The people we go with are funny and enjoyable to be around and every time I come home from backcountry skiing, I'm tired, happy, hungry and completly satisfied with having a great day.

HTFU or soft?

2011-01-01T11:07:00.000-08:00

There were seasons/years when I prided myself in my ability to HTFU. No matter the weather, no matter the workout needed, I went riding (or Nordic skiing). One winter, I didn't ride the trainer once. It was a fun game to see how long I could go without riding the trainer.

But there were times during my HTFU-ing when I wondered if I was really being tough, or just plain stupid. At what point does hardening the fuck up become stupid? When the wind blows you off the road? When you fall down on the icy roads? When both your water and your fingers are frozen solid? Or when it just plain isn't fun?

I enjoy riding in the cold. I enjoy skiing in the cold. I also enjoy doing both in the snow. But what I don't enjoy is when it isn't fun. Doing exercise when it isn't fun, sucks. So, I've learned my lessons.
Lesson #1- Skate skiing when it is below 5 degrees- sucks
Lesson #2- Riding in the VERY windy- sucks
Lesson #3- Riding when it's 20 degrees- is close to sucking
Lesson #4-Riding when it's less than 15 degrees- sucks

That's it. Four lessons learned. Today, all four lessons are in full effect and I may have to ride the trainer. Windy and 4 degrees outside. Does that make me smarter or have I just become soft?

More snow fun

2010-12-31T09:29:00.000-08:00

Since I seem to not be adept at taken pictures of my own, I steal them; from my friends or from the Internet.

Today's pictures are from the Meriwether. They are from yesterday's backcountry ski.

When we got to the top, you could see the trestles on Rollins Pass. That was cool.

Also on the top, this cool tree. I didn't think it was that cool until The Meriwether sent us this picture. This is my most favorite picture of the day.

Seems my favorite word of the day is cool.
Hopefully next ski day will be just as cool as yesterday's.

Old Stomping Grounds

2010-12-29T17:49:00.000-08:00

Today, by surprise, I happened to find myself in my childhood neighborhood. I knew we were headed to Aurora, but it's a pretty big suburb. What were the chances?

All of a sudden, by way of a new road, we were driving by my old middle school. Then Utah Park, then on to my old house, followed by my elementary school. Wow. It was cool. All the roads even had bike lanes (good job City of Aurora).

Needless to say, today has been a fun "tour of the memories".

Yes, Mom, my apple tree is quite big and looks healthy. Yes, the plum tree is gone. Actually, all bushes and shrubs are gone. No more jumping off the roof into the snow covered bushes. They took the basketball hoop down (why?) The house next door is for sale. My Elementary school doesn't look as big as it did when I was 7. The playgrounds seem smaller. The "long walk to school" isn't actually that long at all. Everything looks different as a "grown up".

I'm happy to have lived there when I did, but I'm also happy to not live there anymore. Each home builds different character and different memories.

Ski boots + snow = Fun?

2010-12-20T18:34:00.000-08:00

It's been a long time since I've had fun skiing. I've tried my best to avoid it due to various reasons. Ski boots make my knee hurt, it's boring, I'm over sitting on the chair lift being cold, it's not a "workout", I need to ride my bike, it's boring, etc.

Other than standing on the side of the hill coaching kids, I have not really skied for several years. No desire...at all. Until recently. I kept being left at home while friends would go backcountry skiing. They would come home with funny stories, tired bodies, and great pictures. I found myself wanting to be part of that.

So, it happened. Thanks to "He Who Shall Not be Named on the Internet", I got all the necessary equipment needed for the backcountry and off we went.

And DANG it was FUN!

I laughed, I got an amazing workout (i.e. "training day"), and I had fun. A lot of fun.

Next time, along with my Dr. Vie SuperFoods bar, I'll need to bring my own flask.

Thanks Meriwether and Heyride for the photos!

No quitting

2010-12-09T09:29:00.000-08:00

This time of year, it helps to have a "ride goal" in mind because riding in December can be cold, lonely, and boring.

Yesterday, my ride goal was to ride to the town of Eldora to stalk a little border collie puppy I've heard about. On my way there, I wanted to quit and turn around several times. After 6 weeks off the bike, not only is my fitness lacking, but a hour ride feels like forever to me right now. But I kept on, knowing that the way home would be much faster than the ride there.

I made it to Eldora. I never found the little puppy, but I did feel a huge since of accomplishment and I was proud of myself. And, sure enough, what took me an hour to get there, mostly due to head wind and uphill pretty much the entire way, only took me 30 min to get back.

Ride accomplished, goal accomplished, guilt free couch time earned.

Ride Time

2010-12-05T14:28:00.000-08:00

Looks like I'm going to have to find a new hobby. You see, this week something weird has happened. On Tuesday, after almost 6 weeks of injury, I started to ride my bike. This is not the weird part, but it is exciting. The weird part, it seems, are my taste buds. Thursday night, I poured myself a small glass of wine to drink with dinner. I took one sip of it and, ew, it tasted yucky. Second sip, same. Friday night, I poured myself one of my new favorite drinks, a Ten Fidy. I couldn't finish it. It didn't taste that good. Weird. Beers and bikes are supposed to go to together, aren't they? Looks like not for me.

One a side note, yes, I have been riding. Not much, but a little bit. 4 days on the trainer this week (2 hrs total- I may have surpassed my winter trainer allotment). Today, I rode outside. I was wonderful. I s'pose I'm back.

New Hobby

2010-11-23T12:37:00.000-08:00

5 weeks and still no bike ride. Not even close, actually. So, without riding, I have a lot of free time on my hands. Also without riding, it seems my body is not as intolerant to wheat as it once was.

Free time + not riding + not gluten free anymore = beer.

I have never liked beer. Gluten free or not, I didn't like the taste of it. Then something happened. A couple months ago, we went on a cross bike ride and everyone had to drink beer at the top of each mountain. By mountain 3, I was actually looking forward to the beer stop. 2 weeks later, post cross bike ride, I tasted the most wonderful thing ever (second only to espresso); Older Viscosity from Port Brewing Company. I was hooked. I couldn't believe there was actually beer that tasted like chocolate AND whiskey. Problem was, Older Viscosity is quite expensive. So, I had to find a beer I could drink and that wouldn't break the bank. This quest, has turned into a new hobby.

What's the difference between a Stout and a Porter?
How many calories are in each kind of beer? (that matters as I am not riding right now and do not wish to weight 200 lbs)
How does tap differ from bottle or can?
What other beers taste good?

Though beer is not quite filling the void left by my bike, it is keeping me busy. This new hobby is time, money, and taste bud consuming, and though I don't drink beer everyday, it has me looking forward to happy hour.

New Experiences

2010-11-15T11:06:00.000-08:00

Sometimes, when you least expect it, new experiences and new people come your way. In these situations, people can do one of two things.

1- get nervous, and quickly try to make the situation more comfortable by doing "normal" things.

2- embrace the situation and be excited at the chance to try something new.

Such was the case for me on Friday and Saturday.
I got a call Friday evening from a man who had supposedly found my credit card. I didn't even know it was missing and how did he get my phone number?
I looked around and sure enough, my card was gone. Weird.
So, I could do one of two things-
1- call my credit card company, cancel my card, hope the guy never calls me again, and call it good.
2- call the man back, meet him, get my card back, and hope he has not bought anything with it.

I chose #2...the more uncomfortable (for me) choice.
Turns out, I made the right choice.

We met at a coffee/tea place I NEVER go in Boulder, The Tea House. I ordered something I had never tried (also uncomfortable for me), and I met a really nice man who had great stories to tell and made for nice conversation. I got my card back, and made a new friend. It was a great, though somewhat uncomfortable at times, experience.

The tea I ordered (a "display" tea), some kind of white jasmine tea, opened up and looked like a flower at the end.

Though interesting, it was quite good.

Because I've done it in my past two posts, here's a dang cute picture of The "Moe" Dog, Jackson.

Stalking

2010-11-11T13:00:00.000-08:00

Here's a recent conversation I had-
"You've got to update your blog more often".
"Why?"
"Because I like to stalk you and know what you're doing".
"Oh. That's a little weird. Plus, you know what I'm doing. Nothing. Healing."

Then I got to thinking about it. I do it too. I stalk a few people on their blogs. I want to know what they're doing, what's going on in their life. Weird. But true.

So, here's what I'm doing.
I'm sitting at FasCat (where I work) drinking tea and hang'in out. An hour ago, I ate lunch and watched a tri guy do a workout with O2. Everyone needs supervision...
In 45min, I will go to Salon Salon for a hair cut with Renee. That's followed by a few errands then home to hang with the doggies, make a fire, and chill some more.

Are you still interested?

So, stalk all you want. I'm not doing much these days. Coaching, chilling, healing, stuff. I'm pretty happy and that's all that matters.

Everything Happens for a Reason

2010-11-06T10:07:00.000-07:00

My Dad once told me, "everything happens for a reason". At the time, I thought that was the stupidest advice ever. Why in the world would God or "whoever" break my ankle and not let me to go Nationals? That's totally dumb... But I never forgot that advice, and over the years, I also have come to believe 100% that everything does happen for a reason.

I look back on things that have happened in my life and almost always the good things happen after a bad thing. No matter how bad the bad thing was (broken ankle, surgery, no Nationals) something good came from it (more motivation for the next season, kick ass, make the US Ski Team).

Being a believer of the "everything happens for a reason" philosophy, makes the bad things much more tolerable, because sometime in the future, either near or far, something good will come of it.

Such is the case with my current situation. Status- still injured with pain in my Achilles. It all started with a small tear in the tendon and I made it worse by continuing to ride and walk around.

I gave myself a week of rest to heal, then tried to ride again. I couldn't even make it 10 minutes without pain. Shit. The CX season was finally beginning to ramp up and I really wanted to race. I had told all my sponsors I was going to race and there was no way I'd be able to race. My body was simply saying "NO". So, after a few days of thinking about it and talking to others, I decided to "pull the plug" on the CX season and focus on getting better. Right away a big weight lifted from my shoulders and I instantly felt better. I was tired, I was tired of traveling and I was tired of riding hard. I needed a break and injuring my Achilles was my body's way of giving me a break.

Now, I can rest, heal, and enjoy being at home. I used to take 4 weeks off every October. I wouldn't ride my bike and I'd eat and drink whatever I wanted to, guilt free. It felt good to have a "free" month to do or not do whatever I wanted. For the past two years, I have not had that break. Between racing CX, coaching, and general enjoyment of my bike, I have not taken the time off that I have needed.

Everything happens for a reason. It took injuring my Achilles to realize that I'm tired, I'm unmotivated for racing and I need a break. I have to admit, I'm extremely relieved to have guilt free time off. Yes, I'd like to ride or hike or take the dogs for a walk, but mostly because I feel like I'm getting fat after two weeks of doing nothing, not because I am ready to "train".

Everything happens for a reason. I've gotten to know our FasCat PT, Ann Trombley, and I really think of her as a friend now. I've gotten to experience Acupuncture, which is a blog post all in it's own, and I'm actually looking forward to Nordic skiing.

I really hope my Ahcilles heals soon, but I'm not stressing about it. When my body is ready, it'll come.
For now, I'll enjoy Jackson the Moe Dog's company as he keeps my knee warmer, that I use for icing, safe.

Healing

2010-10-31T16:22:00.000-07:00

I arrived from North Carolina to two things.

1.)- Cold weather, snow and wind. It's a bit of a shock to go from high 70's to mid 20's and snow. But that's what I love about Colorado so much. One day it's 20 degrees and snowing sideways and the next day is 70 degrees and sunny.

2.)- a Bona Fied Achilles injury. It is official. I hurt my Achilles tendon pretty badly while I was in North Carolina. Riding through (during) the pain only made it worse and I have not been on my bike in more than a week.

Instead of riding, I have been healing. I had PT three times this past week and my bag of frozen peas is my new best friend. I'm trying to heal because I hate being injured and I hate not being able to ride my bike. Fortunately, I have been injured several time during my athletic career, so I have a good idea of what the "healing process" involves.

So, I've been at home or at FasCat Coaching, where I now work. If I can't ride my bike, I might as well be happy in helping others ride their bike faster.

This is Lucy Dog. While at home, she helps me heal.

What's going on?

2010-10-24T17:31:00.000-07:00

I'll tell you what's going on. I've been in Charlotte for the past 10 days. It's been really good and fun and interesting and now it's time to go home.

I've been staying with my friend and teammate Robin. She is an amazing and she has the most energy I have ever seen a person have. I get tired watching her.

This entire week has been filled with riding bikes, getting ready for our Fall Cycling Camp in Asheville, spending time with cool people, and general "stuff". It's been so much fun that somehow I managed to injure my left Achilles tendon. Ouchy, it hurts and the worst part of it was the fact I couldn't ride in a 3 day cycling camp I was helping to put on.

"Come ride with Alison Powers and she'll cheer you on from the sag car". Oh well. Shit happens and at least I can be somewhat of a good role model of what to do when injured. Stop, rest, ice and take care of yourself.

Here are some of the views I got while riding in the car today-

Home tomorrow!

Lucky-Unlucky

2010-10-18T13:32:00.000-07:00

-Arrive to the airport on time, with plenty of time to get to the gate- lucky
-Delta agent tells me it's going to cost me $200 (the same as a bike) for my "baby jogger"- unlucky
-Give nice Delta agent agent my credit card and get charged "only" $100- lucky
-Walk to security line and see it's REALLY long, walk to other security line and see it's longer- unlucky
-Walk around in circles trying to decide which security line to go to- a waste of time
-Wait in line, cut line, hurry to x-ray-er, put bags on belt, and get told I have some "sort of tube of cream" that needs to be taken out of my bag next time. Realize it's sunscreen AND chamois cream AND the nice TSA agent didn't take it out of my bag and throw it away- lucky
-Run like hell to gate and miss flight by 4 minutes- unlucky
-Already booked on a new flight later in the day- lucky
-Surprise my Dad at his gate when he flies in an hour later- happy
-Hang out with Dad in the red carpet club and load up on snacks- lucky
-Fly to Charlotte where my "baby stroller" is waiting for me and dinner is ready- lucky

Hunger

2010-10-08T10:12:00.000-07:00

What does exercising three times a day do to you? It makes you hungry. Here's what you should eat (in my opinion).

Group Ride- steel*wool style

2010-10-02T14:46:00.000-07:00

Normally, I'm not much for group rides. I don't really like them. Riding with a bunch of people with varying fitness levels, for the most part, annoys me.

However, riding with a few fun, skilled riders, I really enjoy. This type of riding makes me happy, tired and I look forward to it every Wednesday. With the steel*wool ride, I have found the perfect ride and the perfect ride buddies. This past Wednesday, was especially great.

Before we ended our ride in the dark, our "training" grounds were bright with changing Aspen. Though I was constantly dropped (I was just enjoying the scenery more than the others), I enjoyed every minute of it.

The steel*wool "creators", Whit and JH, are the most skilled riders I have ever seen. Give either a bike, any bike and they will amaze you with skillz.

Singlespeeds, singletrack, changing leaves, flat tires, pizza, beer, biryani, and laughs. A lot of laughing (especially when JH endo-ed going less than 1 mph).

It's fun. Bring on next Wednesday.

Part 3

2010-09-28T14:54:00.000-07:00

Part 1- Vegas
Part 2- Kittery
Part 3- Boston

I arrived in Boston, put on my chamois, and rode to the coffee shop where we were to meet some of the Harvard Cycling Team members.

After an espresso, I was ready to be the fearless leader of our "cycling skills" ride. We worked on riding in the "pack", cornering, and sprinting. It was a solid couple of hours riding and after we hung out and ate lunch together. It was a very enjoyable afternoon.

My race buddy and "host Mom", Anna, made this for dinner for us. Dang...it was really good.

Woke up Sunday morning, and walked. For a long way. It's amazing the motivation a good coffee shop inspires in people. I needed espresso, good espresso, and the coffee shop, Diesel, was a good excuse to hang out with teammates, friends and coffee.

Sunday afternoon was race time. TD Bank Mayor's Cup Crit. You can read all about it here-.
The race was followed by packing, eating, and getting a great walking tour of the Harvard Campus-thanks Anna!

The highlight of Monday was taking the Subway, all by myself, to the airport.

I was successful. I made my flight, flew, caught the bus and was pretty much home.

I'd say the 3-part trip went well.
Until next time.

From Vegas to Kittery

2010-09-25T15:01:00.000-07:00

It's quite a contrast going from Las Vegas to Kittery Maine, but it's all part of the 3-part trip I am currently participating in. Each part includes a stay of ~1.5 days, a bike, different kinds of transportation and cool people.

Part 1- Vegas. I got there. Rented a car. Drove around the strip.

I visited sponsors at Interbike and saw this sweet picture of me at the Specialized booth. This picture is cool and makes me happy.

That night was Cross Vegas. We raced under a full(ish) moon.

Despite crashing into the stairs during warm-up... I had a fun time, raced pretty well (8th), and earned an extra $5 thanks to the beer can "reach-down-and-grab-$-while-I-take-your-picture" grab... You can read more about the race and see pictures on halfwheel.com.

The next day, my lip injury (due to crashing during warm up) was starting to look like a nice mustache.

7 hours post Cross Vegas, I was up and driving to back to the airport to fly to Boston where my road bike and my Aunt were patiently awaiting my arrival for part 2 of the trip. I arrived, got on a bus, then into a car and several hours later the contrast from Vegas to Kittery had been made.

The next day, I had a nice ride along the NH coast, spent time with family and ended the day with lobster and ice cream (though not mixed together).

This morning was a walk with the "Powers Ladies" (my three Aunts), then a car ride to Boston where Part 3 of the trip begins.

Part 3 includes a ride/clinic with the Harvard Cycling team, a BIG $$ Crit race, and a flight back home to Colorado. 1.5 days left...

Vegas day 1- Quotes of the day

2010-09-22T08:55:00.000-07:00

Yesterday marked the first trip of my own little Cyclocross team, Team ALP Cycles Specialized. I was a little overwhelmed making this trip alone so instead of thinking about everything that had to happen between home and my Vegas host house, I broke it down into pieces.

#1- drive to the airport and get on plane. Check
#2- get rental car. Check. This is where the first interesting quote of the day happened. After waiting in the amusement park style line for the rental car shuttle, I then arrived and waited in the Thrifty line. I finally got to the nice lady who helped me get my mini van. After talking to me, she said, "you look like a baby. You're so wide eyed and innocent looking. You look like a baby". Ok, that's great...
#3- get bike and skin suit. Check. This included driving, parking, and getting into the Sands to get my bike that the nice people from Rocky Mounts drove from Colorado for me, finding my Pactimo friends, and meeting up with the lady from Rolf Prima who had my "show pass". Interesting quotes 2 and 3 came from here. As I was carrying my boxed bike and leaving the Interbike show, I saw a floor pump that I desperately needed to use. I asked the man standing next to the pump if I could use it. That lead him to asking, "is that your bike in that box?" Yes. "Is that why your body's so nice?". Oh, um, thanks. I guess so. I do ride my bike a lot.
With tires pumped, and ego big, I leave the Sands just to be stopped by a security guard. "Is that an empty box?" No. It has my bike in it. "I need you to fill out this paperwork". Ok. Security guard promptly starts feeling himself and every pocket. "I got no pen". Feels every pocket again. "I got no pen. You got a pen?" No. "Well we need a pen and I got no pen". Long story short, I got to carry my boxed bike all across everywhere (my biceps are sore today) to find a pen and then to finally leave the Sands and get back to the car.
#4- get to host house. Check. (that was easy and right by the Cross Vegas course)
#5- put together bike and race wheels. Check. (Also easy)
#6- ride cross course. Check (that wasn't so easy. That course is going to be hard).

All in all, it was a good day. Things went pretty smoothly and I'm happy to be here.

Stuff

2010-09-17T13:52:00.000-07:00

First of all...you've got to check out www.halfwheel.com - there is a lot of fun stuff going on and you can be involved too! It's goona be big!!

The past two weeks have been busy but really nice. Home is the best (and it's where my heart is).
First, was the giant fire outside of Boulder. Here's a nice view of the smoke. Yes, that is smoke and not a cloud.

The fire resulted in this; for many, many miles.

The Aspen are changing and it's been really beautiful.

I've been kept "in check" with the steel*wool rides every Wednesday in Ned. Those guys are though and they make me feel like a bit of a sissy. But when the sun sets, the riding is the best and the scenery is even better.

The last of the humming birds are keeping me entertained.

To me, fall is not only the best season of the year, it is the best time to ride bikes (even though it means the snow is coming).

Been wondering?

2010-09-12T17:00:00.001-07:00

You been wondering what I've been up to??
Short answer- busy.
Medium answer- getting ready to put on my first CX clinic
Long (and much more interesting answer)- Click here.

The past two weeks- in pictures

2010-08-30T07:55:00.000-07:00

Post Charlotte and Chicago, Josh and I went to Crested Butte for a week of singletrack and vacation. It was amazing.

The first day, we got hailed on. After being in the heat and humidity for two weeks, I actually liked the hail, the cold, and the rain that followed.Snack time on 403.
Everyday, for 6 days, we rode something cool like this (can't remember what trail this was).
Now home from Crested Butte, it has been time to catch up, work on continuing to grow my coaching business (ALP Cycles Coaching), take time off the bike, and spend some time with two of Gilpin County's finest.
The cops saved the day (don't worry, everyone and everything is ok- more precautionary than anything), and I got to ask a question I have always wondered; can Gilpin County cops pull you over for speeding in Boulder County? (yes they can, whether they want to go through the hassle or not is up to them)

Up next is CX time. Cyclocross season is coming up fast, and I'm getting excited!

CX Skills Camp

2010-08-24T07:53:00.001-07:00

Interested in racing Cyclocross (CX) but not sure where to begin? Join me (Alison Powers) and ALP Cycles Coaching in Fraser, Colorado for the Introduction to Cyclocross camp. *Come one day or come both days*

CX is a challenging sport as it combines the fitness and tactics to road racing with the bike handling skills of mtn biking. Riders who want to be successful (and have fun) in CX need to be proficient at both and this "green level" camp will teach you the basics to enjoy your progression as a CX rider.

Skills to be covered are-

mounts and dismounts
cornering
barriers
basic bike handling
starts
race day strategy

Whats included-

lunch, snacks, goodie giveaways
small group, "hands on" coaching
professional bike fit (add $50-paid upon registration)

Camp Price-

$80 per day or $150 for both (register by Sept 1)
$100 per day or $180 for both (register by Sept 8)
no day of registration
all riders must have a USAC license. Unlicensed riders can purchase a one day license for an additional $5.

Registration-

This camp is designed to be a small group learning environment, so call now to reserve your space as it will fill up quickly.

Contact-

Alison Powers
303-501-7890 or ap.alpcyclescoaching@gmail.com

Quick Fix

2010-08-19T13:48:00.000-07:00

Post Charlotte, was a quick trip to Chicago for the Glencoe Grand Prix. On tap was a visit to a Vera Bradley store, a press conference, a skills clinic and of course, a race.

Toni and Lauren at the Vera Bradley store

The store visit, press conference, and skills clinic all went well. All that was left on the list was to race. All was good until 35 minutes before the start when I found this crack on the top tube of my bike.
Houston, we have a problem.

Not to worry, the amazing guys from SRAM, Jose and Ed, where there to save the day. A quick switch of seat posts, cranks, pedals and a shorter stem made it so I was good to go-with time to spare.
The trip ended well. The race was fun, bike was awesome, and team rode well. Now, it's time for home.

Charlotte Fun

2010-08-11T12:18:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago, I blogged about the fact that bike racing isn't all about the racing. I said something like the actual racing part is a small section of each day and we don't race every day. The rest of the time can be filled any way you like. Well, for the past 4 days we've been filling our time any way we like.

Mornings, of course, are filled with biking riding. Tony, Toni, Tone is always the first one ready and is always waiting for us.
We make the rides enjoyable by either attacking each other, sprinting for city limit signs or riding to neat places-such as we did today to the National Whitewater Center.
Two of the 4 days, have involved us getting our asses kicked by Robin's trainer, Laura. Ouch, I'm still sore. Day 1 was Arms and Day 2 was Core. We're smiling in this picture, but really we hate her. :) If you're in Charlotte and need a workout look up 1-ON-1 Fitness Training.
We've filled our afternoons with internetting, grocery store going, hanging out, or playing Foosball. Robin beat Toni, I beat Toni, Robin beat me. Quote of the game, "I hate losing to Powers!"
Evenings have been really nice. We have cooked dinner together (mostly Toni cooks for us), and gone to friends' homes for dinner. Yesterday was a trip to the Trip for Kids Re-cyclery.
That place is awesome. Pretty much, they help spread the love of bikes to kids who wouldn't usually get a chance to ride a bike. Not only do they get to ride bikes, they get to learn about bikes too. It's cool. Trips for Kids
This week in Charlotte has made Tony, Toni, Tone and I very happy.

Not in Kansas Anymore

2010-08-04T14:27:00.000-07:00

Either I am spoiled, don't get out much or live in a box (or all three). Whatever it is, I am often shocked by things I have never seen before or that take me out of my element.

After a week and a half at home doing awesome home things (like riding bikes with my sister and brother in law), I flew to Charlotte, NC.
When I stepped out of the CLT airport, it felt like I walked into a wall - a hot, moist, wall that had me instantly sweating and wishing to be back inside.

Due to this weather, I decided that if I were to ride my bike, it was going to have to be inside, on the trainer. Teammate Robin joined me.
We raced last night and today went on a pretty fun team ride with other cool people. I had no idea a "group ride" could be so much fun (and sweaty).
One of the bonuses of the ride was seeing these two never-seen-by-my-eyes-before things.
Ew.
Boiled peanuts. Double ew.

Girls Only Ride!

2010-08-02T11:40:00.000-07:00

Attention ALL women who like to ride bikes fast- Coach Alison will lead the first ever Women's Only ride tomorrow- 6pm-from FasCat Coaching in North Boulder. The focus is on racing, but everyone is invited.

This is your chance to learn from the best and become a better racer. See you there!