Rotten meat sticks, it's time to move again.

tomorrow morning is the third national in the series, the XC in Fontana. I heard that Fontana was kind of a weird national, but you really need to experience the magic yourself. After driving through the heart of LA and sitting in traffic FOREVER at a very off-peak time, we were ready to get on our bikes. The freeway is 6 lanes EACH way!!! I tried to take a photo, but it didn't really work out.  



We took an exit off the freeway. The road was like mangled asphalt and there were weird industrial yards on either side. Suddenly, we were in suburbia. The race course is pretty interesting. Very very sandy, steep descents with huge rutted out sections where its really easy to wash out your front wheel. You go through a junkyard and by this ghetto ditch with all kinds of graffiti. Interesting, yes.

The legs are still feeling horrible. Preriding today, I was SUFFERING up climb in my easiest gear. That shouldn't be happening. I wish I knew what was wrong. I know that I shouldn't have ridden as much as I did this week, but I'm on vacation in CA, I'm going to go have fun and ride my bike. No race is worth giving that up (at my level at least). I also pulled some weird muscle in my abs earlier this week. It's not quite my abs, maybe my very lower abs. It almost feels like a hernia and hurts really bad to walk. At least I can pedal....

I'm hoping maybe tomorrow the legs will miraculously feel better, but I'm not counting on it. I'm going to try to grin and bear it, and hopefully I won't feel too humiliated if i'm blown off the back again. All I can do is stay positive, try to enjoy it, and remember I'm trying my best. I have the rest of the year to perform at my true potential... I just need some time off. I know I sound positive, but in my head, I'm actually being super down on myself and negative. Not so good, but I'm trying to not think that way. I'm actually NOT excited to race tomorrow. :( Nathrop, the first mountain states cup of the year, is next weekend...I'm going to spend the week (after I take my final and turn in my paper) trying to relax.

After pre-riding the course, we came to our hotel. After our tiny tiny room at Motel 6, this place felt like a palace. Seriously, at Motel 6, we were crammed in like sweaty sardines with bikes and organic food. The sheets felt like paper mache, the beds were the smallest double, our bedspread had a cigarette burn in it...seriously. Did I mention though that it was the first Motel 6 every made? Obviously, gosh! The people at the front desk had messed up our reservation b/c we wanted a room with two beds. instead, they gave us TWO rooms with a king and one with a queen bed for the same price. We went from 3 people cooped up in the tiniest motel room ever (we are talking no space between the bed and the wall) to a room with a full kitchen and lots of space.



Hallelujah! At least if my legs feel like total ass, I can still feel like a pro staying in nice digs!

P.S. I decided that since I take ice baths, literally sit in a frozen tub of water up to my waist, that I could handle the cold ocean. I went and played in the 50 degree ocean yesterday. It was painful getting in, but I was swimming, trying to ride the waves, screaming like a child. I love the water!