Whiskey Off-Road race report

Friday morning, I was feeling very lazy and neglected to do my opener ride. This was my first of many poor decisions for the weekend. I had only done 2 super easy rides since the Gila and my legs were ridden with lactic acid. Adam and I hopped in our pimped out rental car(2006 Jetta, fully loaded) and headed out to Prescott. Six hours later, we arrived at High Gear bike shop to register and pick up our stuff. I had heard that the race promotor was kind of a tool, but had a completely different image in my head. I pictured an overweight chodeman. You know, the kind who pedals wit his knees pointed out and a big booty. Instead, this guy was a younger, arrogant looking guy who thought he was totally badass with huge sunglasses. That fad is still a mystery to me. 2004 was the first year this race occured, and Adam was there to win it. When Adam crossed the line, big sunglasses promoter(maybe overcompensating for a small pepe?) was flabberghasted and accused Adam of cheating. "There is NO way you could have done it that fast! I rode it yesterday and it took me an hour longer than you" he exclaimed. "You cut the course and I'm going to have to disqualify you." He was so persistent in his accusation that he even had Adam second-guessing himself that he accidentally cut the course. A few minutes later, second place came across the line and the tool realized he was mistaken. Everyone got cool schwag and big trophies, but b.s.g.(big sunglasses guy) gave Adam a little bag with trail size sunscreen. This year, Adam called to make sure we could still register because we missed online reg. Big sunglasses guy had warned him on the phone in his pompous manner, "You know, there are A LOT of fit guys coming this year. I hope you've been training." So w got our stuff and headed to the camp site, got set up, and relaxed.

Pimping it in Prescott. Who needs a hotel?

Saturday morning, 5:30 AM. i woke up with the birds and started getting my stuff ready. After choking down my usual pre-race oatmeal power breakfast, I got set up and ready to go. Adam and I cruised down to the start of the race at 7:20. On the way there, a chode was standing up and trying to sprint past me to show me that he was pretty awesome. Everyone was already lined up, so with no warm-up, we got int he group. There were about 400 riders at the start. Some fast guys, lots of chodes. I knew I was in trouble because I hadn't warmed up, and would be in the back on the singletrack. Much to my dismay, I was correct in my assumption and got stuck behind a bunch of fat guys who don't know how to ride a mountain bike. They'd bobble in front of me, I'd have to dismount. Then I'd have to let the 10 chodes coming up behind me by and get stuck behind them. On top of that, my legs felt HORRIBLE. I decided I would try to enjoy the day and the view. After all, 50 miles on a mountain bike is a looong way. AT the 10 mile mark, i still felt bad and was seriously considering bailing on the 50 miler and going with the turn around for the 25 mile race. I got to the feed zone at 15 miles. It had taken over 2 hours in the midst of the chodes which is a ridiculous amount of time. I knew there was a long dirt road descent followed by an even longer dirt road climb. I decided to press on. I could see how far back I was because you ride down to the bottom of this road and ride back up and continue even higher. I was the 7th or 8th woman back, and even 2nd had a substantial gap on me. I decided to see if my legs had opened up by the bottom of the climb. Sure enough, i started feeling great and motored it up the 18 mile climb. If ONLY I had done my opener ride, I wouldn't have gotten stuck in the back on the singletrack and made up like 30 minutes. I passed about 50 guys. The course got back on the singletrack and I actually caught and passed 2nd place on a technical climb. The course was not marked well, but I managed to not get lost. I was ecstatic to work my way up to 2nd place, especially after not really racing for half the race! Despite all the "FIT GUYS", Adam won the men's category as well. I was very happy with my technical skills and the Gila had proven to get me fit for climbing. I had to say, my Avid Juicy Carbon disc brakes are a life saver and make a world of difference on the descents. The ones in the race were my worst skill, and I actually did pretty well. YOu know, really loose, rocky singletrack with a drop off on one side. Not my favorite. so the race ended up being a success. Adam again got screwed out of some good schwag. I think sunglasses guy was bitter.

Cool bar where the awards were. There were a ton of people watching.

Adam giving a winners speech after a few cold ones.

It's quite apparent from this pic that being in front of large crowds makes me a little nervous??? Oh, the guy in the pic is big sunglasses dude.


At the awards ceremony, beer was super cheap and good. That's why I LOVE mountain biking. :) We were pretty beat and I was in my sleeping bag by 9 PM that night. The rest of the trip will be in the next entry...Sedona and Flagstaff. Highlights: riding in 100 degree desert on some sweet trails, summersalts ON my bike, and rude AZ people.

Off to Prescott for a world of pain!

I am so glad this week is over. It seemed like an eternity long, probably due to the fact that every single day I was in hell for several hours during the day, completely clueless about my take home final exam. I still am not really sure how a quasi-resonant zero voltage switching LLC converter works or why I even care! All I can say is that I am soooo glad that I never have to think about it again!!! I worked so hard in that class, so I just hope that I pass. Hopefully the GPA gods pity me this week, because my GPA is in serious jeopardy at the moment.

I'm off to Prescott tomorrow with Adam. We're going to do the Whiskey Off-Road which is a 50 mile epic mountain bike race. It should be pretty good. I'll take a lot of pics He won it last year and really had fun, so hopefully I will too. This will be my first race ever as a pro mountain biker. Hopefully it'll go better than my first ever pro road race last week! ;) I'm just excited to be on some dirt, fat tires, and to zoom down some sweet singletrack. Here is the new Titus get-up this year(oh, and my pimped out Racer-X). I can't wait to riiiiide that baby for hours. haha After the race, we're going to probably head to Sedona for a few days to camp and just ride. Hopefully Adam will be able to physically make himself go slow enough while the caboose brings up the rear. ;) I actually think my legs feel pretty good about now and hopefully are way stronger from Gila.


Last night I finally got to see one of my best friends, Jolene. Here's a pic...it's been awhile. We've known each other since we were 10. It was 2 dolla pint night at Copper Lounge last night and they had some tasty brews there.

NO alcohol was involved here.



Oh, I saw a low rider truck the other day with rims that had dollar signs on them. Ghetto-riffic.

My new favorite song

I have a new favorite song... there is this really cool internet music site. www.pandora.com and it tries to figure out what songs you'd like. I found this band on there. You should check out the pandora site.

Stroke 9 - Make It Last

The fire flickers out, making movies on her skin
And in the embers she remembers all the places that shes been
Four letter words fly from her mouth
She thinks shes breaking ground
Time takes its toll, she feels his soul
In everything around and I say

The way that you feel now
Its cool as long as I know
The way its gonna be

Make it last for an hour
We'll never feel this way again
Make it all that you want
And everything that I need

The booze reaches her blood
She forgets his name
The wood has turned to coal
But our desire feeds the flame
Will we surrender to the night?
Or will our conscience win the fight?
She wont regress, but cant confess
That everythings alright and I say

The way that you feel now
Its cool as long as I know
The way its gonna be
Its gonna take more
Where were gonna go....

Some Gila Pics

Start of the crit. That's a lot of fast girls!! This is a chode's worst nightmare.


Struggling to keep up the pace after I got dropped.

Here I was laughing at myself for being off the back in the crit.
Stage 3. The person in red at the very back... yeah, that's me. soon to be off the back!

BOOOOO

Believe it or not, all I want to do right now is ride my bike! :) I guess that means I'd rather be torturing myself physically rather than mentally...take home exam is NOT going well. :( I've been kinda slack on pics...here are some. I'll definitely take a lot when I'm in Prescott for the mtb race. Hell yeah. I can't wait.



My station for the next week. At least I can see the light of day out the window contrary to the dungeon at school. Damn those tan lines are sexy. mmmm




My mom makes such good desserts. That's what I'm talking about! :)

Gila, Stage 5 (final stage)

Yesterday was the last day of the Gila. If you didn't see me in the results for the crit, they messed up and gave me a DNF. A course marshall waved me off the course and that wasn't supposed to happen. Apparently I was supposed to get a few more laps. Oh well. I'm just glad they let me race on day 5 and they are going to try and figure out my time in the crit. I was glad to finish the race although it had been fun. All of the women in contention for the GC were very close, so from the get go, the pack was flying. I managed to make it through a couple attacks, but before the sprint line, there was a furious attack and a lot of people started getting dropped. I chased for a long time in the caravan, and the people in the caravan were really sweet and kept cheering for me. I would almost catch the pack on the descent and flats, but they would attack going up the rollers and I had no legs left after riding mostly solo for 5 days. I caught up with a girl on Cheerwine, Sarah Bamberaer, and we tried to chase the pack. I rode with her for awhile, but she was pretty exhausted from working for her team and couldn't pull. She told me to go on because she couldn't sit on my wheel any longer. I debated just chilling with her, but she told me she was going to drop out at the feed zone. I rode 50 miles alone yesterday. Doing that every day was definitely starting to take its toll. It was encouraging to hear Sarah tell me that I was definitely strong enough to hang with the pack, I just need to learn how to be in better position rather than on the back all the time. I had a good time yesterday riding through the valley and was looking forward to climbing Sapillo. I passed some 40+ guys on the climb. I was passing the signs, 15 miles to go, 10 miles to go, 5 miles to go, 1km to go...so close to being done with the Gila. Around 200 m to go, I heard a motorcycle and it was the leaders of the men's pro field. They made me pull over to the side of the road for about 30 seconds until the lead group passed. There were 7 of us who got dropped yesterday and couldn't catch back on. Only 2 of us finished the day. I got second to last in the stage. In the overall GC, I got DFL. Adam tells me not to think of it as last since over the course of the week, 20 people dropped out. Every time someone behind me quit, I'd be like, "DANG IT! I don't want to be last!" haha I partially solved my foot problems. I cut slits in the sides of my road shoes and it helped a little. I had a great time over the week and met some really cool, new people. All I can say is next year, I'm not making Gila my 3rd race of the year. I'm showing up fit and ready to git it!!

Now that my 5 days of physical anguish are over, I'm about to start 5 days of mental anguish. My professor is going to email me my take home exam sometime today. BOOOO I can't wait get it over with. I just hope i pass the class. Next up is Whiskey Off-Road Challenge. I'm resting up during the week and will hopefully be flying by the weekend. They have a 25 mile and 50 mile course. I really want to do the 50, but will have to see how I'm feeling. It's in Prescott, Arizona. I cannot wait to go and camp for a few nights. That's one of my favorite things about bike racing. CAMPING!

Tour of the Gila, Stage 3 and the Stage 4

Stage 3- Inner Loop

This was a very tough stage for me. It was day three of the stage race, and after a grueling stage 2, I was feeling pretty tired. The race got underway and I knew immediately I was going to have a tough day when I was struggling with the rollers on the way out to Pinos Altos. The pack got faster and faster up the climb and several people started to get dropped. I surprised myself and held on a little longer than I was expecting, but then the inevitable happened. There were various people around, but no one really wanted to work together. None of us that got dropped ever caught the pack again. I worked really hard up the climb and it turned flat. A train of girls, mostly Cheerwine and TRIA came up behind me and I tried to hop on, but couldn't. I had a great time on the Sapillo descent and passed 4 people. Of course, they caught me again on the flat. After the descent, there was a very long, windy valley. I had a couple more girls pass me, but was just too blown to try and work with them. Much later, there was a right turn and a long, gradual climb straight into a raging headwind. I was extremely exhausted at this point since I had already 10 miles in the pack, 55 miles alone and still had 15 left to go into this crazy headwind. The highway had roller after roller and it seemed like it would never end. Finally I got to the end and my shoes were killing me. I had unbuckled the velcro and the first thing I did when I crossed the line was rip off my shoes. I'm going to cut them for stage 5. I ended up being 3rd to last of the finishers. There were about 5 girls behind me that quit the race and 2 girls who finished. Despite my effort, I wasn't too disappointed considering I was only 30 minutes back from the main group and working all alone in the wind, and had ridden solo the day before as well.

Stage 4- Criterium

I'm not a great crit rider to begin with, so I already knew what to expect. The crit is always really fun to watch and there were tons of spectators out to cheer us on. I warmed up on the trainer and with the first revolution of the pedals, I knew I was in for it. My legs are so sore!! It's amazing what stage racing will do to you. I made my first error by lining up in the back of the pack. This was my first large crit with 60 women lining up. The biggest I had done before was 20 people and it was only for 30 minutes. This crit was to be over an hour long. The race started pretty fast and I did everything I could to hang on. We were turning over lap times that were the same as the cat 2 men, and afterwards, everyone agreed the crit was flying at a blistering pace. Unfortunately, my position condemned me and I was yo-yoed off the back after an embarassing 3 laps. I managed to hold my own for about 8 more until they pulled me. I was flattered that the announcer actually knew who I was and played up the fact I was from NM. It was pretty embarassing to get pulled, but I was also relieved. I know next time what to do better! I'm not very happy right now because they made a mistake and didn't include me in the results. I know I was 3rd to last...at least I wasn't DFL. I'll have to get to the race extra early tomorrow and make sure they put me back in the GC. I'm hoping tomorrow(the last stage), I can stay in the pack and conserve energy until the climb, then give it all I got... not that it will help my GC placing, but I want to finish this 5 day suffer-fest with a bang.

Tour of the Gila, Stage 2

After a grueling TT the day before, we had to get up really early(the one thing I HATE about bike racing) to get ready for our 71 mile day. I knew from the climb out of town that it was going to be a rough day for me because I was already getting dropped. I think that I just need to learn to be in a better position in the pack because I'm always at the back! The course profile was either flat or rolly with a long, steep climb at the end(aka Mogollon). Normally this would be great news, but getting dropped and chasing back on multiple times will tire a person out very fast. I kept trying to go to the front of the pack, but it seemed every time I did that, I'd end up at the back again so I just quit wasting energy trying to be in the front. there was one advantage to being in the back.... all of a sudden, there was a huge pile of bikes in front of me. I guess someone crossed handlebars and there was a big wreck. I got lucky and was up on my front wheel trying to stop and managed to avoid it. Among the chaos, I didn't know what to do. I thought in a wreck, you wait, but apparently not! I saw a group take off so I began chasing hard. This went on for like 10 minutes and I was completely red-lined. A looked back and saw a group coming, must have been the people who went down in the wreck. I hopped on the wheel of a Webcor girl and did the best I could to hang on. It was tough because my legs were already so tired. We got up to the main group and I thought it was going to be okay. Of course, I was at the back of the pack again, and was right behind Merrill Sapp. Suddenly, I saw metal parts fly in the air and she came to a screeching halt. I almost wrecked right into her and it turned out her derailleur exploded. I got dropped at that point since I had to slam on my brakes and again, was working really hard to chase back on. I managed to catch the group again, but by then we were close to the sprint line and the pack started attacking. I got dropped for good at that point and for awhile was going backwards and forwards in the caravan. After about 20 miles, I almost caught the pack again. They were only 50-100 m in front of me and even the sag motorcycle got behind me. I just couldn't make it and I totally blew up. The people in the caravan kept cheering for me, but it just didn't happen. Shortly after, I got superdehydrated(I had FOUR bottles) and could barely pedal. I had to make it up the big climb in the hot sun with no water. My back was killing me from being in a TT position the day before, my shoes are WAY too tight on my feet after a few hours, my neck hurt from being tense in the pack...bad... all around. I just needed to finish. The climb didn't seem that bad, but I could barely turn the pedals over. I saw the 1 Km to go sign, and after what seemed like an eternity came to the 200 m to go. At that point, I almost got off my bike and walked because I felt like I was going to pass out. I crosssed the line and the official said, "You get to ride tomorrow!" Meaning they weren't going to time cut me.

I rode over to the medical tent because I knew I was in trouble. They saw me coming and approached me. I got off my bike and fell over, and the medical people had to help me walk to get on a stretcher. I couldn't talk and was trying to motion that I needed water. The guy took my pulse and wanted to give me an IV(which I should have taken for better recovery), but I HATE needles and told them no. They insisted I have some oxygen and I drank a bottle of saline solution, and it actually tasted good. I finally regained my strength to walk around again and was amazed to see Merrill come across the line. Someone who had crashed and couldn't go on gave Merrill her bike and she had to solo it out too. I came back to the house, had to finish up my homework(which took FIVE hours), took an ice bath, and went to bed.

Here we go

The theme for this week will be "off the back" with Sonya Looney. Today was the time trial at Tour of the Gila. I got here last night and just made it for registration. I rolled up to the start today looking choderiffic! Clip on Aerobars, old ass frame, no skinsuit, no TT helmet, no disc wheels. Sweet! Today was actually my first TT ever (other than hill climb TTs which are short and don't require much special equipment. I am actually good at those). My goal today was not to get last although I was secretly hoping to do okay. I got 65th out of 69. Ouch. I still beat last place by I think 2 minutes(not sure on that). Oh well. I did have a great time and got in a good effort. I enjoy time trials, I just need to build up some fitness. Apparently I am a strange creature that needs to be studied in the lab because my AVERAGE heart rate for 49 minutes was 200. I was looking forward to telling Adam because he get so flabberghasted at my hummerbird heart rate. I guess this will fare well for me late in the season for mountain bike races. I was around 206 most of the time, but felt like I could have pushed it a little more. I'm pretty disappointed with my result, but it's my fault for only doing 2 races so far this year and showing up to my frist 1/2/3 race thinking I'll do decent. I'm ultimately using this race for training to be fast in July.

I'm staying in a house in Tyrone,NM (Mary Rudy's family) with 3 other girls. The town is 5 miles south of Silver City and is literally just a neighborhood. They are all super nice and not your typical roadie bitches. There were some snobby chics at registration. You know me, I'm friendly, I'll talk to anyone. In this case, when i started talking, they just pretended I wasn't there. I am actually feeling gigantic here at the Gila. I don't think of myself as being a "big" girl (although I need to drop a few pounds before July), but compared to these 100 lb 5'2'' chicks, I'm Thor. Maybe next year I'll get fit early in the season and try to tear it up here.

Tomorrow is the first road race so wish me luck. I'm a little nervous about riding in a pack with 70 other girls, but most of those girls are really good so they won't wreck me. This race will definitely be a great learning experience. The course tomorrow is pretty flat until the end and there's a steep climb. Hopefully I can stick it to 'em on the uphill. I'll let you know how many times I get dropped! ;)

Congrats to C dolla, AKA Collin Becker for tearing it up and getting 2nd in the Cat 2 race. Nice job!!!

Top 10 ways to know you're in Albuquerque

I was dreaming this up on the car ride back from Adam's tonight. (YES! Got to finally see my man after ~6 long weeks)

10) You see billboards for Ron Bell
9) There are sticks in peoples' windows to hold them shut in case a gangsta tries to break in
8) Adobe
7) You see low rider cadillacs/trucks with hydraulics. In the rear window there is old english writing of the person's last name
(generally hispanic, but would be any)
6) When you go to a mexican restaurant, you know what they mean when they ask you if you want Christmas
5) Orange barrels and hooting construction workers...except they yell in spanish instead of white trash english.
4) You know what a hoochie mama is, what she dresses like, and how she talks.
3) Houses look like forts with black cast iron bars. (adobe forts of course)
2) You go to the Frontier to people watch.
1) The beautiful view of the Sandias!

I'm sure I'll think of more later. If YOU think of more, don't be shy to post it as a comment.

Busting some moves in the Querque

I drove back to Albuquerque today that way I have a day in between the drive here and the Gila. Silver City is only a few more hours down the road. The drive went pretty quick, I made it in 6.5 hours. My '94 Sentra was rockin' today. I was driving 80-85 mph and getting ~42 mpg! I put some new spark plugs in a few weeks ago. I think that helps the gas mileage. I have never really appreciated my little car till now, where gas prices are around 3 bucks a gallon. Now all those gas guzzlin' SUVs are really paying. Suckas! It's always nice to come home and get spoiled by my parents. My mom was equipped with cake, cookies, two types of food for dinner, chips and dip, and my dad made us some mojitos. That's what I'm talking about!

Gila starts on Wednesday. I'm a little nervous because my legs have felt terrible all week. I hope they recover before the race. I am convinced there is an evil leprachaun who lives in my room. He makes bad things happen so I can't recover in my sleep!!! Hopefully the recovery fairy will pay me a visit. I did a 4 hour endurance ride yesterday out to Carter Lake. It's kind of out by Fort Collins and is a popular ride among Front Rangites. There were some threatening rain clouds and a 20 mph head-wind for 2 hours all the way out. I'm trying to learn to embrace the wind, so my mantra for the ride was, "wind is good, I like wind." Here's some pics of the lake. I was a little hesistant to put this pic of me on here since I look like Alvin from Alvin and the Chipmunks. Too many cookies. Oh, and I look like a boy. hahaha





Actually, I figured out how to do well this week. For those of you who don't know, female cyclists have a stereotype of being lesbians. I need to flirt or possibly bust a move on one of the fast women so maybe they'll let me sit on their wheel. What do ya think? It's going to be hard to stay motivated and get all my school stuff done. That looming take home final is causing a lot of pain and will eventually cause a lot of tears once I get started!! That's it...peace out homie(I have to talk like an Alb homeslice since I'm here)

Rain,rain! Go away!

Despite going to bed at 2:30AM, I still woke up at 8 AM as usual. Unfortunately, I woke up to rain! This week is being mean to be!! I'm supposed to be getting in one last week of training before Gila so later, I may be doing intervals with my heart in my throat, and getting my bike all dirty. I guess it wouldn't be the first time!

Last night was really fun. I had drinks with Fred Dreier, celebrity mountain bike editor at Velonews. Fred is a cool guy, goofy like me. At the Rio, there was this horrible band...so after pretending to rock out and suck down a rita on the rocks, we moved on. We ran into a lot of cool people including Henk Vogels... a totally badass European pro(on Lotto) who is just in Boulder for the week. He does the Giro, Tour de France, you name it!! We also ran into the Nicks(Ranno and Martin). It's a good time. It's actually fun to go to the bars in Boulder(compared to Albuquerque). It's not super ghetto. Albuquerque boys would think they are heaven because there are a lot of hot chicks. In Albuquerque, homie G funks cruise up and down Central with their bling bling, old english last names on the back windows, hydraulics pumping, and their mouths screaming out the windows at the chicas. Most of these chicas are actually hoochie mamas. Hoochie mama= fat, too much make-up, big nasty hair, wearing clothes that are WAY too small for them and trying to act all tough, with the New Mexican accent. Hot! Hot! Hot!

TGIF! I'm so excited for the summer to be here! Yes! I have wanted to live in Colorado over the summer for my whole life.

Saying howdy

Today I had a bike fit for both of my bikes in Ft. Collins. I tell you what, in Boulder, you can't see the HUGE snow-capped mountains behind the flat irons. When you are further north, you can see them. It's pretty cool.

I am getting some new road pedals from a friend. Egg Beater Quattro SLs, and they are pink. I'll show a pic tomorrow...now my pedals AND my seat are pink. Sweet!! A lot of bugs decided to commit suicide on my face today during my ride. I tried out some aerobars for the time trial at the Gila and it wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be. I'm looking forward to going home and getting this semester ALL done. Tonight I'm going to the Rio to get some margaritas with a friend. I randomly made friends with the velonews moutain bike editor, so he'll probably have some cool stuff to say!! This Rio place has a limit of 2 on the margaritas so I think one will be sufficient for me. Then maybe I'll go to sushi happy hour at Hapa. 2 rolls for 5.50. no bad,eh?

Wine party

My friend Chris Jung has wine and cheese parties(that's sooo snobby Boulder! ha) every now and again. Our little cliche of cyclists gets together and sees who has the most lightweight tendencies(usually me...) Oh, and we make fun of roadies ;) jk

Chris Jung, me, and Josh Bezecny. Those bunny ears were pretty clever!

Caroline Jaromilek, Jess Vogt, me. DHers teach me how to be cool

Collin is always trying to be a badass.

This is Karl, not a statue. Amazing, amazing.

Today in Boulder

The roads were dry so I got to ride today, but here's a pic I took on the way to school...

Let it snow?

Yesterday and all last week: Sun and 80 degrees. Today: snowing.... 32 degrees. What's going ON? I saw several confused victims to the weather, trying to fight the strange day still wearing shorts and t-shirts. Maybe feeling cold made them feel better...I don't know. At least it was an excuse to take a rest day. I did want to try out my new seat though. I also got some aerobars to practice with before Gila next week.

Here's a quick overview of the race yesterday: The course was an out and back circuit. It was about 7.4 miles/lap, we did 6 laps. The road had 2 huge rollers and was on a closed section of highway. I arrived at the race bright and early (7:10 AM to be precise). I did the pro race(cat 1/2/3) and there were about 20 women in the field including Ann Trombley(former Olympic mountain biker). Basically the race consisted of me getting hammered. I am no roadie, and it's quite evident during the races when someone attacks. I can hop on the attack for about 10 seconds and then POW! Off the back i go. It's the super high end bursts of speed that I do not train for, nor have. As a mountain biker, I train to sustain a pretty hard effort for a long period of time. Road racing is more about riding in the pack, conserving energy, and then going super hard when someone attacks. I need to work on that stuff. I don't it will be as big of a problem in the Gila next week because the climbs are pretty long and if people jump the way they do on a roller(a relatively short, steep hill), they definitely will not be able to hold it. I got dropped off the back 4 times over the course of the race and was able to flog myself and chase back up to the main group. I'm pretty satisfied that I'm able to get dropped and catch back on, but dang it, I would save so much energy if I could just hang with people on the attacks. I didn't do so well, got like 15th or something. The official results aren't in yet, but I had a good time and got some good training. I was trying to get used to riding in a pack again before I hit the big time next week where there will be more like 70 women in the pack versus 20!

I'm leaving sometime this weekend so I have a day or two in Albuquerque before I go down to Silver City. I still don't have a confirmed place to stay, but hopefully it will all come together!! This week I'm just trying to wrap up my schoolwork and get ahead.

Adam has been missing my cookies(more than me I think, haha), so I did some work in the kitchen and here is a picture to tease him... now you can take joy in his pain as well. muhaha













There's that crazed look in my eye!

PINK bike seat

Well, I am tired of getting chami sores so I decided to get a new seat. This is the Terry Damselfly seat, made for women. I got it in pink so I can really piss off guys when I pass them and made chodes feel like wusses when they try to hammer me and then blow up. Sweet! I'm trying to pimp my ride a little, but hopefully next year I'll get me a nice, new road bike. The frame on this one is a handme down and it's actually pretty heavy compared to what the other girls are riding. It's a leaned out frank the tank. The original frank was my 35 lb mountain bike that I thought was light before I knew better. More later on the race I did today. All I can say is that I will be in a world of pain next week at the Gila.

New template

Ok, so I figured out how to put a pic of the Sandias up. I may change this template again... you have to let me know what you think.

I had to go in for a drug test today for my internship. I drank THREE Nalgene bottles and then left(about 96 oz of water). It all hit me at once and I ended up having to wait 40 min. By the time they called me back, I was clenching every muscle in my body trying not to pee my pants. I think they purposely wait till you're at your breaking point so they can laugh at you.

I can't wait till May!

Howdy howdy. I got in a killer ride yesterday. The state of my legs never ceases to amaze me. Tuesday I was totally blown from my weekend and long ride Monday. So blown that I cut out my ride. Yesterday i went out and did some of the canyons, and it felt like I had my race wheels on. I guess that hint of fitness is a little encouraging for the Gila. A preview of this weekend: 50 mile road race in Grand Junction/Fruita and crit in Fruita. it should be pretty fun. next weekend I will take a break from racing and get ready to go to the Gila. I gave notice at Wild Oats...I just can't justify working there if I make twice as much at my internship this summer. I am so excited to have school over and done with. This year has been incredibely challenging in both school and life. It'll be great to have fun, go camping, race my bike, and have a change of pace with my internship at Xcel Energy. It shouldn't be very technical since it's for a utility company.

Sierra, you would be very proud of me. I was talking to a friend at 11 last night, and we spontaneously went out for Mojitos. I am such a wuss... I had ONE and was feeling prettty good. ha I was the decoy for my friend Thurein. He likes this girl and is trying to play hard to get. He wasn't going to show up tonight b/c the girl he likes asked him to go. Instead, he decided to show up with me and I laughed at him when she wasn't there. Why do guys feel like they have to play all these stupid games? BOOO

On another note, I'm trying very hard to change the template of this blog. I don't like it, but I'm no whiz with HTML coding, and I am picky.

Durango... long entry!

Last weekend I went to the beautiful Durango, CO for my first real race of the year. I went with the CU Cycling team. We were supposed to take a 16 passenger van which we rent for races. The vans arrived 2 hours late. People were probably wondering why there were a bunch of cyclists standing in the Safeway parking lot for 2 hours. We finally loaded up and it was packed...butts in every seat! We departed at 5:30 PM meaning that the 7 hour drive would put us in Durango very late! At a gas station about 60 miles away from Wolf Creek Pass, we had a scare. Signs were saying the pass was closed after 7 PM meaning we would have to tack on yet another 2 hours to the trip. Fortunately, it's just Mon-Thurs, so we were okay to go. However, it wasn't so easy. As we started ascending the pass, it started to snow, turning into a full-on blizzard. There was also construction, so to add to the chaos, we were on a dirt road in total darkness except for our headlights and the blowing snow. The van got silent very quickly. It looked like something from a horror movie where 16 college kids get murdered in a blizzard under the full moon. The werewolfs decided to spare us and we made it to Durango okay. The site of our hotel was the next fun thing. I didn't think Durango had ghettos, but apparently it does. It had weekly/monthly rentals. The people in the room next to me were living there, complete with the lawn chairs outside. After seeing who lived there- basically white trash, we weren't suprised to experience the bum fight the next night. That's right, bum fight. A bunch of drunk dudes, one named CJ... yelling for 2 hours at the top of their lungs to show some respect. They were slamming up against the vans, against the doors, drunken punches being thrown. It was pretty crazy and we almost called the cops. I was glad Adam wasn't there, because I knew that if his sleep was to be disturbed, he would have been partaking in the bum fight to try and get them to shut up. I tried calling the front desk, but for some reason, the front office was always closed. Oh wait, I know why! We were in the ghetto. We left at 7 AM Sat morning to head to the TTT. Our bum neighbors were already outside getting started on a 24 pack of Bud Light. That's right! No wonder CJ had no respect later that night...he had been drunk since 7 AM. That's just how they roll.

We didn't have enough women there to do the TTT, but we watched the guys. It was snowing and freezing. Tom Danielson and Ned Overend even showed up. The team went out to lunch and I went to City Market to buy pb&j supplies for the weekend. That's me, poor grad student extraordinaire. I don't have mommy and daddy giving me all the money I want like most of the trustafarians... I like pb&j though. It's good stuff. :) Later that afternoon, I drove the huge van and we went to get ready for the hill climb TT. I wasn't feeling that great on the bike and the TT was a very short 2.5 miles. Ouch. I was warming up on the course and I found the most pompous official ever. We'll just call him cowboy hat. The moment he saw me, he yelled, "You can't warm up on the course!" when the chief ref had already given me permission. He proceeded to complain that I crinkled my number, and had to comment on my headphones. He had to go on and on. The weather cleared up for the TT. At the start, my calves cramped, but I tried to ride through it. I got 3rd in the TT right behind Molly Hummel... not too bad I guess!

Dinner was interesting. A van full of 15 roadies all bitching about where to eat. That was pretty much the theme of the van. Whining. No one could be pleased!! The sound of my alarm the next morning at 6 AM didn't feel good after being up all night listening to screaming bums. With the first few pedal strokes on the trainer, I knew my legs were feeling less than adequate for the day. The course had some good climbs...my favorite. I ended up working for my teammate. I helped bridge her up to the attack group since we were a little late jumping on. I had to turn myself inside out to do so, so 15 minutes later, I had just finished a pull and there was another attack. My legs were destroyed and I couldn't grab onto my teammates wheel in time. I guess she forgot I was with her or something... stupid road racing. I ended up riding solo for 20 miles and held off the chase group. I still finished mid pack overall which is okay. I got some good VO2 max efforts in since I didn't let off the gas at all when I was riding solo. Our new clothing sponsor, Domino is pretty sweet! Check out the new uniform:



Next up is Mesa State in Fruita this weekend. I want to bring my mtb so bad. I'll take some pics. I'm trying to get a little bit of race fitness before I become imprisoned in the hurt locker for the month of May. I'm hitting the Tour of the Gila(5 day this year!), a Prescott endurance MTB race OR a Las Cruces Stage Race(Road) Chili Challenge(MTB), and Iron Horse(road). I was thinking of going to collegiate road nats, but much to the coaches dismay, I think I'll decline that spot. There were waaaaaaay too many wrecks last year for my comfort level. I would rather not risk it. Plus, why in the $@*$# would I want to go to Kansas?!?!

Anyway, the length of this entry is indicative of how badly I do not want to do my homework. I have tried it and am again too dumb to do it. Grad school kills me. We got our midterms back for my soft switching and resonant converters class... I didn't do very well, but at least I didn't get the lowest grade in the class. I did get a C+ WITH the curve. I think I need to drop out of grad school. I refuse to live in the lab, and everyone else in my classes does...so basically I'm screwed! I'll figure it out someday.

Oh yeah, the final verdict is in! Adam is moving to Colorado in the fall. I know all of you were waiting to see if I was going to be with my heart's desire or turn into a Boulder pimptress. ;)

Race Recap

Howdy! I know it's been awhile. My life is kinda going crazy right now... hard times at school, possible break-up, no funding for school next year... no fun. On the up side, it was 80 degrees here in Boulder today. I enjoyed the sunshine and gorgeous mountains with a run and bike ride. I had my first race of the season last weekend in Golden, CO. It was a collegiate race, specifically a hill climb time trial. I am not the best at TTs, but I did this to see where I'm at as far as fitness. I am a climber though, so this suited one of my strengths. I didn't get to preride and as a result, was a little too conservative. I ended up getting 2nd which I am very happy about since last year I did terrible in a collegiate TT. However, I should have gone harder!!! Maybe I could have won it. Tom Danielson even showed up to the race in his Discovery Channel gear. He started two guys in front of me. It was weird having a Tour de France rider right in front of me like that. And folks, this guy is skinny. You don't realize how skinny these top guys are until you stand next to one. I took it easy on him...I didn't want him to feel too bad if he got run down by a GIRL. ha, right. Next race is this upcoming weekend in Durango. It's another collegiate road race. Mountain bike season officially starts next month for me. I'm peaking for my first race, Chili Challenge in Angel Fire, NM.

I got a job at Wild Oats a few weeks ago. I work in the deli/juice bar. I need to pay off some bills before race season gets into full swing. The job is alright. There are some weird people that come in! You just don't see it as a shopper there, but when you see everyone...you see the wack jobs. I only work there 2 days a week, so it's not bad at all. It is a nice break from engineering although it involves a LOT of cleaning since I have to take closing shifts.

School's out for the summer.... in about 4 weeks. I can't wait!!!!! I have been looking forward to spending the whole summer in Colorado since I was little. It's going to be great... and NO HOMEWORK!!!!! YAAAHHHOOOOOOOOOO. I have an internship at Xcel Energy and don't even have to work 40 hours a week. I'll shoot for 25-30 hours/wk and race my bike. That sounds like a dream come true to me. Funny...now I spend 20 hours/wk JUST working on homework for ONE class every week. What a nice change! I'll take my camera to Durango and take some refreshing new pics for my peeps.

You know it's bad when...

...you are out on a ride and you get passed by an old man, on a beater mountain bike wearing a backpack!!!!

...you wake up in the morning and realize you were happier when you were asleep

Poor abused road bike.

Man, check this out. My road bike is very filthy from all that wet riding I was doing. Yuck. I guess I really am a mountain biker at heart. I'm looking forward to getting out on my bike tomorrow after being sedentary for four days. It was partially by choice since I've been working on this nightmare of a takehome exam. Thought you roadies would freak at the sight of all the dirt on my bike! ha

NEW BIKE!!!!

Howdy all!

I've been pretty busy lately (what a surprise, eh?) Adam came to visit me last week for his spring break. We always have fun, but this time I didn't really get to see him as much as I would have liked. I was gone most of the week at school working on crap, and he had his own school work to do. We got in some good rides last week though. I really upped the anty of my climbing workouts and really hit it hard last week. I did Lee Hill and Old Stage both three times, Sunshine Canyon 3 times, and Flagstaff once. It was a productive week. Sunday the snow came again and I had to ride in it. It was 35 deg and raining when I started and it eventually went away. Right when I thought that maybe the weather forcast was wrong, the temperature dropped and quarter sized snowflakes began to fall. It was snowing so hard at one point, I could barely see in front of me! My cables got really wet and dirty, and my rear derailleur gave up too. About one minute from my apartment, I had my first road bike crash. I was on the Boulder Creek path and came off a bridge and around a corner a little too fast. My rear tire slid out! It was kind of funny.... I ride all these technical trails with no problem and wreck on stupid wet concrete. Fortunately I was wearing both leg and knee warmers. I ripped right through them and just got a teeny raspberry on my knee. Now both knees of my knee warmers are ripped. If you've seen my knees, they are not the most beautiful, but at least I have cool scars to compare with people! ;)



My new Titus came in the mail a couple days ago. Adam was in Boulder with me when it came. I came home from school and was in my room. My bed looked funny and Adam followed me in. He pulled off my comforter to reveal a big box with the Titus logo on it! It felt like Christmas time as I unwrapped the box and began taking out all the packaging material. Once all that was out of the way, my gorgeous new frame and all my components were there! We went through them and were admiring all the sparkling new bike parts. The frame is new this year with some extra carbon. You should check it out at www.titusti.com under Aluminum Racer-X. The carbon in the rear triangle is great because it makes the bike ride even more like a hard tail(except on really bumpy stuff!) I have been working on building it up and will be taking the bike out for its maiden voyage when I go home for spring break on Saturday. I also swapped out the black Chris King headset for a pink one. I had a pink one last year too and it was fun! I can't wait to take it into the foothills in Albuquerque! I am looking forward to trying my Avid Juicy Carbon disc brakes and DT Swiss wheels. I've never ridden with disc brakes or DT Swiss wheels before! People here in Boulder seem pretty impressed with Titus' new look!



I've been slacking on the collegiate races but will definitely get into it soon! The ACA crits and road races in CO start next month. That'll be painful but good.

Other than that, I've been fighting this take home exam. I really have no idea what I'm doing and there's a chance every problem could be wrong. I really should just do an MS in exercise physiology. I already had a meeting with the dept. If I work as an engineer for a year and still don't like it, this will be my next path.

Happy trails!!!

I had a big bowl of crazy for breakfast

It has been snowing/raining/sleeting since I woke up at 7:30AM this morning. My intention was to go out for a 3 hour ride until I saw how wet it was. I invited my friend Anne to come along the night before. I got a phone call from her, and we decided to go brave the weather. I put on all the warm weather cycling gear I owned AND my new gloves Adam got me. We were completely soaked in the first 5 min thanks to the rain and sopping wet roads. The rain turned to huge snowflakes and our legs grew numb after a short time. We cut the ride short to 1.5 hours, but had fun doing it. Nothing like riding in the crazy weather, huh? Here is a self photo I took after my ride...




I had school and stuff today. I got a call from Anne(she's such a diva!) and wanted to go for a hike with her dog, Bode. We hiked the first flatiron even though the snow was 5-6 inches deep and we couldn't see the trail in some parts. That's what makes it exciting. It was snowing the whole time and was so gorgeous. Coming down was kind of sketch, I got to go sledding on my butt a few times! Here are some pics. It's crazy to think it was in the 70s here just a few days ago!

Wimpin' out

Well, I decided to scratch the CO Springs race this weekend. I've been riding like crap all week. I even threw on my race wheels(which are MUCH lighter than my tank training wheels) and struggled up a climb today. I'm going to the CU bball game with my homie tomorrow night instead and doing some fun rides in the hills at a leisurely pace! Here's a pic of me and my good buddy here in Boulder, Anne. I think she may be crazier than me! I've definitely been having fun with my digital camera!





I'm getting ancy waiting for my mountain bike. It's supposed to come in next week. I'm tired of being a roadie! TGIF.

pics

here are some pics from my ride today. I was hoping they would come out a little better...but this is what it looks like around Boulder. Next time I'll take some photos of the mountains.

Hurt locker, here I come

Howdy howdy!

Well, I've been trying to get to bed earlier, but it's a lost cause so I'm bloggin away for my few readers. I appreciate you reading what I have to say! It gives me a purpose to write. Anywho, not too much has been going on... I'm having an unmotivated week for school. It's been hard to make myself get stuff done, but I'm still plugging away. It's a great feeling to know that next week, the semester will be halfway over....and better yet, after this semester is over, I'll be halfway done. yahooo. Adam was here last weekend and we had a great time! We went skiing on Saturday at Winter Park. My buddy Brian let me use his equipment(I'm referring to his skis, boots, poles... get your mind out of the gutter!!) I checked online and the tickets were supposed to be 50 bucks. We left late to avoid the infamous ski traffic and still got stuck moving 20 mph on I-70. When we finally got to the resort, finding a parking spot seemed impossible. Fortunately, I scouted out a tiny spot in between a snow drift and a car. We managed to squeeze my car in...good 'ol nissan sentra. I had to pee really bad so I ducked down in between two cars and made some yellow snow. We got in some good runs in including one that was a little out of our league. Black diamond with moguls up to my chest, close spacing, super steep...yeah. It was an interesting experience and took maybe thirty minutes to get down. I really want to buy some skiis and a ski pass for next year. Then maybe 8 year olds bombing down everything doing jumps won't make me look so bad! Much to my dismay, we went running and Adam beat me for the first time. I gotta start training for running with him so i can hammer him again. haha One of the ONLY things I could beat him at. That's what I get for having a man who is good at everything! :) :)

check out these sweet shades I found on one of my rides. It's right up there is the big booty ebony edition of road porn!


This weekend will be the first race of the season. I am hesistant to call it a race because I am far from being in race shape. The first race I care about is the Iron Horse in May! These collegiate road races are just for the hell of it! Sunday is in Colorado Springs and will be no picnic.... 50 miles and 10,000 ft of climbing. Normally that wouldn't be a big deal, but I have gone uphill maybe 4 times this winter and am still doing base miles. It'll be interesting to see the different abilities in the collegiate road scene. Nevertheless, I will be in the hurt locker for a few hours. I'm pretty stoked to try out my new race wheels.

gotta love trying to take those self portraits


I have a meeting tomorrow with the intergrative physiology dept. I'm thinking of doing a PhD and need to find out if that would require me to do another M.S. If that's the case, I think I'll probably go to PT school. I know, I'm all over the place, but it pains me to imagine the rest of my life full of engineering. I should probably try to work a few years first and make some $$$$ since I'm beyond broke. I really need to get me a sugar daddy. (Sorry Adam)

It was 80 degrees here yesterday. 10 days ago it was below zero for multiple days, and now the temp is from 60-80. Crazy weather.

view from my balcony. next time I'll post some pics of Boulder now that I have my digital camera

Well, I will bid you adieu...till next time!

Looney

AHAHAHAHAHAHAHA I sent this to most people, but for more laughs. YES!

Oh yeah, I bought a digital camera today so there will be much more photos of Boulder and stuff in the weeks to come. yaaaay I'm excited.

This is a photo of my new baby. I still have to build it and the snow needs to melt so I can do some some mountain bike rides. I'm sick of my road bike. Blah!

Brrrrrrrr-oulder

Well, it is freaking frigid here. We reached record lows meaning no riding for me. booo Well, I rode my bike back from the gym tonight and it was -3 out, but with the wind chill it felt like -17. THAT was very painful. Even with a hat, my ears were in serious pain and were part frozen when I got home. Speaking of frozen, I was outside for TWO minutes last night with wet hair and my hair FROZE solid. It was crazy. There is snow everywhere and the cold smacks you in the face when you walk outside. It's pretty awesome though...as long as it doesn't stick around too long. I went for a hike yesterday when it was 7 degrees in town. I got these sweet 0 degree boots last year and finally got to test those bad boys out. It was so gorgeous in the flat irons. It's amazing how beautiful mountains can be regardless of the conditions. I wish I had a digital camera to share with all, but alas, I am poor and behind the times. Tomorrow I will most likely do another hike since the high is 11 degrees, not suitable riding weather. I wanted to go out and try some skate-skiing, but brrrrrr. Do you realize that collegiate road season starts in a mere 2 weeks. Ughhh..not...in....shape!

I've found a new way to waste time. myspace.com. When I was visiting my cousin in Dec., I swore up and down I wouldn't join it because there are so many skanks and losers on there. however, I decided it's worth it because you can find people you haven't talked to in years. My other new favorite time waster is a program called Skype. You can talk(with your voice0 thorugh your computer to people all over the world. I get to talk to my french friend, Matthieu and attempt to speak french. It's a lot harder than writing it...good practice though. I'm glad he's so patient with me. With my free internet and cable TV at this new pimp apt, it's hard for me to get shit done!! By the way, in all of my patheticness, I got drunk from 2 beers last night. Sweet.

I told my advisor back in January that I'm not doing a Phd meaning I wasn't going to take the prelims and I got to drop this shitty class. There were 8 people that took it and studied their ass off through xmas break and for a month after we got back. 5/8 people failed and the advisors are all pissed off. What do they expect? I was really glad that I didn't take it after hearing that. I definitely wouldn't have passed if these geniuses failed. Jeez. These Colorado Power Electronics Faculty members are kind of psycho.

Anyway, it's late and I need my beauty rest. Have a fantastic day!
-S

You gotta want it

Have you ever wanted something so bad that it's all you can think about? You felt like it had to happen because you want it that bad? This is just how I've been feeling lately. This will be my first year as a professional mountain biker... no, this doesn't mean that I am getting paid to ride my bike, that I can quit my school/job, or that I'm any good for that matter. It means I have to get my butt kicked into the ground my first year so I can get better and pay lots and lots of money for travel and entry fees that somehow USA Cycling manages to store away in king size mattresses somewhere... Get my butt kicked by derriere extradonaires(seen Zoolander?) who actually get paid to train, drink fabulous coffee, travel, and ride their bike for a living. These people are my heroes...they are who I want to be and when I read about them, gives me goosebumps in hopes that someday I will be like them. This lifestyle is very hard to come by, especially due to the low extrema on the sponsorship rollercoaster lately. It's also haunting that I will be finishing my master's degree next year in engineering....meaning I will be expected to grow up and work a full time job as an engineer. Granted school is more than a full time job since it takes up your days, nights, AND weekends...but the charm of school is that it offers me the flexibility so I feel that not all is lost... it gives me day hours to train and wee hours of the morning to study. It's all I can think about lately...I can't even sleep at night because I want so bad to train and do what I love for a living! I guess that pesky bug in Boulder has bitten me and I want to be like all the other high rollin' pros. :) It is commonly known that when you want something so bad, it means you have to make sacrifices... some sacrifices that your head would tell you in a second are not logical, but your heart is screaming at you to do the opposite. So what's a person to do? Anyway, just thought I'd add something to my blog that isn't terribly sarcastic.

I've been busy with school and training. My classes are no doubt a mountain of work with one homework assignment in one class taking 15-20 hours a week. That's what I call fun. Training has been going well although the weather in Boulder has been like a woman trying to go on a diet. There are the good days where the sun is shining and things go just as you want them to...and there are the bad. Where the wind is howling or it's snowing...and things don't go as well for you. For those of you who thought winter in Boulder is bad, think again! It's actually pretty nice save the crazy wind. I am happy to report that I got to start climbing again. It's just so much more fun then a flat, windy road. Another bout of GREAT news! I sold my '05 Titus and am ordering my new PIMPIN bike tomorrow. The new 06 Titus Racer-X frame is pretty sweet. It's lighter with carbon in the rear triangle. I also am getting XTR components AND disc brakes this year. I better learn how to ride a bike before race season! ;) I am definitely missing the mountain biking...it's been quite awhile. I'm getting sick of the road. things are going to heat up soon. My first race will be here before I can lose the extra 5 lbs I picked up this winter! We have our first collegiate race march 4-5. Colorado road racing picks up in April--lots of crits. I better learn how to do that stuff soon. All I know how to do is ride uphill to get away from the pack because I don't like being stuck behind someone's wheel. Speaking of road.... DANG!! I want a new road bike. I got some great offers on some sweet bikes, but alas, I am a poor graduate student who is even wondering how she'll pay for race entries this year! If anyone has like 2 grand they feel like donating to me, I would be very grateful! :) I've been obsessing about going to Sea Otter. Although it would be likely to be my debut as a pro racer and probably yield bad results, it would be so fun to be part of a huge UCI event such as this one. My dilemma is school! There is a homework assignment I'd have to turn in very early...yes, one of the 20 hour homeworks that are impossible to do alone. What to do? I've already checked plane tickets, driving hours, the works!! If anyone is an expert in soft switching and resonant converters, give me a shout out!

Adam came to visit last weekend and it was great. Naturally he demonstrated his talented,superhuman strength on the bike, frollicking up hills in what would be my hardest gear where I would be in my easiest gear, struggling just to turn it over. As much as he denies it, those legs are supercharged. Maybe it's those cookies he likes to eat so much.

Anyway, just thought I'd say howdy to my two fans that actually read my blog. See ya!


Here are a few more pics I got from collegiate nats. Not my most glamorous, but fun!