My job is so cool

Driving and walking around in the mountains, enjoying views of lakes and aspens changing color in the fall... this would be part of my job description today. I had to go check out some stuff in the high country today and it was phenomenal. I felt really lucky to have the job I do. I still work for the same company- Xcel Energy...but I went from commuting back and forth to Denver for a grand total of 2.5 hours of commuting per DAY, and sitting in a cubicle all day, every day, entering numbers into a spreadsheet.... to now! I do lots of patrolling, work in boulder(my work is a 15 min bike ride away on the boulder creek path) am hardly in my office, and go around checking out transformers and power lines. Gotta keep that stuff kosher. I get to start some solar power work now too. We are going to be installing an 8 MegaWatt solar system in southern CO. I took some photos today while I was WORKING. :)

Barker Res in Nederland. That's where all the good mountain biking is too! We did a killer ride there yesterday.



Yep, there are power lines in the back country that need some action.

How's your as-pen?




A couple weekend photos....

At Nick the Welshman and Diana's. I really like this photo of Brian.


JP(of james frames) and Julie at Hungry Toad in N Boulder. We had these 20 oz beers that were a mix of Guinness and Newcastle Brown. Soooo gooooood.

Things are great!

I have to say that right now, I am the happiest I have been in awhile. I am really enjoying my classes this semester because I actually got to choose what I'm taking(I guess I have to pay my own tuition to take what I want!). I am taking Anatomy and Physiology for Engineers and Brians, Minds, and Computers. They are both biomedical engineering courses and are heavily focused on Anatomy. It's making me think that I will be doing the right thing pursuing Physiology after I finish my Masters!

Cycling hasn't been going so great. I have been in a funk all season long and constantly feel overtrained. However, I haven't really trained in almost 2 months and was just racing on the weekends. I am thinking there is more to it than just my training and that I may be anemic. I got a blood test today and the doc is dedicated to helping me figure out why I can't seem to feel good on the bike. Thank you doc! I'm doing a food and environmental allergy test at the end of the month too. All this information will be really helpful for next season too. I'll probably race some collegiate races in a week or two, but I'm considering not racing collegiate because of how bad my season has been and I'm feeling a littl burnt!

My parents and bro were here over Labor Day weekend and we had a good time!!

Brian and I watched this video last night. It's about 9/11 being a conspiracy and actually seems pretty accurate. I definitely recommend you watching it. It is really scary.
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-5946593973848835726&q=Loose+Change&hl=en

Brian(the new man!) and I went to see Big Head Todd on Friday. I know a lot you probably haven't heard of them, but they are fantastic...google them. We saw them at Chatauqua Auditorium and they did an acoustic performance. I have to show this here, it's really funny. Brian and I always end up wearing the same color, but usually meet at someone's house so there is the chance to change. Last weekend, we met at Southern Sun and woops, matching couple syndrome.

Matching couple syndrome

Hey mister, keep those hands where I can see 'em!

The FAM!


My bro and I. That's the pimp look. ohhh yeah!

Who says backpacking is for hikers?

Adam and I kind of decided on a whim to take a mid-week camping trip. It was pretty fun and fantastic to be in a tent again. I miss those days... I'm going to live in one for a month or more next summer. YES! Anyway, we went to White Ranch and there were some campgrounds, but you can't drive to them. instead of hiking, we rode bikes there...and up some hills. It HURT. my pack was probably like 40 lbs, and Adam's was 75 or 80. I could barely even put his on, and he made all the steep hills too. Amazing. There were some people in the parking lot who were shaking their heads at us in disbelief. You gotta be epic.

Adam's pack....whoa! I'm gonna fall over and be like a turtle on its back!

My pack...looks like an Xmas tree with various camping ornaments

There's a little man under that backpack!

Eassssy does it. steady girl, steady.

Pack 'er up

Cookies anyone?

School Started...

Sorry for my lack of posts recently but I don't really have anything witty or interesting to say! School started yesterday. This semester should be very informative and it'll knock out TWO more classes till I'm done with engineering school forever. I have 5 total left to get my M.S.

After about 6 weeks of not training, I started it up again this week. It's been good to get back on the bike with a mission. I have a 24 hr race next weekend, and to finish up the season, have some cyclocross and collegiate XCs to tear up! I am looking forward to doing a few collegiate mtb races. They're so fun and chill. I'm excited b/c this year I'll have some tough competition with Amy Drumm and Caitlyn Tuel.

My parents AND brother are coming for the weekend. I'm looking forward to it. I also will be highly amused watching my brother checking out all the sorority chicks. "Like TOTALLY!"

Meet my new friend...

This is my new(used) cyclocross bike. It's a happy addition to the Looney family o bikes and one step farther for me to get out of debt! ;) One of the many loves of my life! ;)

I start school Monday. Good and bad I guess. It'll be a happy change, but the bane of my existence! I turned 23 yesterday and have some sort of Boulder funk sickness. Hopefully I'll feel better and party up my birthday right this weekend. The funk is keeping me from riding. I tried to ride the bike path yesterday and could barely make it. No bike riding for awhile, but that's ok. I raced 6 weekends in a row and could use a break!n Not much going on... just want my chipotle burrito for dinner. yummmm

Snowmass Norba National contd

This weekend was the first time I actually felt like I deserved to be in the pro field. This first year as a pro, and really a rookie to cycling has been mentally difficult. I’ve been really disappointed with my race performance and incredibly frustrated with the rotten meat sticks known as my legs. I’m happy to say that for the past couple weeks, I have felt pretty good on the bike! I was beginning to think that I would never feel good on the bike again, and just have swamp legs forever! I guess coming on late is better than never.

XC was good, coulda been better. I was exhausted all last week and was feeling like maybe I shouldn’t race snowmass. Of course, I had line up in the back row since I have been slack about the Norba series, but amazingly, I started passing a ton of people on the first climb. I was pleasantly surprised that my legs had some kick in the them! By the time I got to the singletrack and looked back, I was in shock!! “WHOA! Look at all the people who are behind me!” I thought in disbelief. I had a pretty sufficient gap on the train of girls behind me on the singletrack climb. They slowly started to catch me and were right on my heels on the technical part of the singletrack. I don’t pride myself on being a fantastic technical rider, so I was as aggressive as I could be. Much to my surprise, I wasn’t getting passed on the descents or technical sections! I think I turned into a decent technical rider in Wisco a few weeks ago. To make a long story short, I was in about 32nd and was so excited and focused on going fast that I forgot to eat and drink. Bad, bad, bad. About 70 anaerobic minutes later, my body crashed…hard. Suddenly I couldn’t really pedal and was sapped of all my strength….aka the BONK. The rest of the race I spent groveling. I downed 3 honey stingers at once which was another rookie mistake. That stuff is just too sweet. Yuck. The whole second lap I was trying to hold the chunks down. I guess my stomach can’t handle that much sugar at once. I fell back to 44th place, but that’s okay!! I got to see where my potential is at for the year and that was worth everything. Live and learn. I was glad not to flat…just 3 weeks before I double-flatted on that same course at the mountain states cup and had to drop out. I was not a happy camper.

STXC: Super fun course, but my legs were trashed from bonking the day before. Basically I would hammer up the climbs and pass people, detonate, and do it again the next lap. My goal was to stay in 10 minutes and I managed over 14! There were some dual slalom bumps too. Here is a pic I stole from cyclingnews. I think Ross Schnell is the funniest guy ever. He may actually be my new hero. Check this out! He’s super fast, but still has a great time. Cycling needs more personalities like this! Check out Nick Martin's blog for even better coverage AND videos of Rad Ross. (see link on the side)


Super D: I was a virgin Super D-er till the weekend. Chris Jung convinced me to try ‘er out, especially since it was free. I have been avoiding this event all year thinking I couldn’t descend. After watching the men’s ST, I rushed to get ready and hopped on the lift. I got off and took the road down to the start and PSHHHHHHHH!!!! My front tire flatted. Of course I didn’t have anything with me to fix it, and no one else did either. I was laughing at the irony that I flatted on the WAY to the super D, and fortunately someone hooked me up with a tube and pump. I didn’t have any tire levers, and those Bontrager Jones tires are great, but a real bitch to get off. A chivalrous old French man took the reins and helped me out. He was grunting in aggravation, but I was very thankful he saved me. He wanted payment…kisses on both cheeks. No problem! I even ran into him later and got to practice my French on him. So the Super D went really well. I lined up with16 other pro women and was feeling very intimidated. There were some pro Dhers on freeride bikes and pro women. I was an IDIOT at the start. Rookie mistake number infinity. I thought I’d run through the grass and avoid the chaos. That slowed me down even more and I was 2nd to last getting on my bike. I started passing people and was pretty surprised. I was thankful for the short climbs because I passed a lot of people there. The descent I was trying to survive and go as fast as I could. Unfortunately I wasn’t taking the best lines because I didn’t pre-ride the course. I guess that’s kind of important, especially since I lost a place by not taking the inside lines. I ended up 10th which was a pleasant surprise to me. I will be doing more of those next year.


I am super stoked about cyclocross. The one race I did hungover last year was pretty fun! I have a weird false sense of confidence about ‘cross races… don’t get it. I need to be humbled and it will happen soon! I am very impatient to get my bike…. I need to learn patience because sometimes I am incredibly impatient.

I struggled today being back at work with the engineers. There are some cool guys that work there, but for the most part it’s a bunch of geeks walking around with thick engineering glasses trying to make conversation. Today I’m pretty beat from the weekend, so again, my patience and sweet charm is dwindling. Sarcastic comments were on the tip of my tongue today, but I bit it back. I try to tone it down at work and seem like a nice, professional, sweet engineering girl. Riiiiight. At least tomorrow I get to transfer to Boulder. NO MORE COMMUTING! My 36 lb beater bike, Frank the Tank, is going to get lonely, especially with a new cross bike I’m going to ride around a lot!

Snowmass Norba National

Stay tuned for a post with lots of fun stuff! First things first, I think I am FINALLY coming on for the season. Better late than never I guess... made some rookie mistakes in the XC, but started off feeling great and strong. I just got home from a long weekend and played hooky from work today to even stay for the series party. I think a good time was had by all. It's nice to be back home and to be ALONE! I love going to races and seeing my friends, but I go crazy sometimes b/c I don't have any time alone!

The most exciting news of the day! After nearly a month of searching for a cyclocross bike, I FINALLY found one that's a GREAT deal and am getting it this week. I can't wait to race 'cross this year. YES!

Some photos for your viewing pleasure. I'll have more from the race later...these are just random ones I took...I thought I took more, sorry these are not as exciting!

I remember a movie quote from the Nutty Professor talking about colon cleansing, but I didn't know you could buy it as a powder and drink it. I stayed with Nina's family one night in Snowmass and found this on the counter. I guess you need to do what you gotta do to stay regular!



Nina (Baum) and the crew normally take ice baths after the XC, but we had the Frying Pan river in Basalt. I stayed with Becca (Blay) one night in Basalt and this was right by her house. BRRRRR....so....cold. The kind of cold that is sheer pain. I guess we didn't get enough pain in the XC




Lunch with the Baum family...Nina's bro Jack, aka Tina. Tina you fat lard! Come and get some dinner. EAT TINA!!! EAT THE FOOOD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Going to Snowmass Norba National tomorrow....stay tuned.

I forgot to write about Winter Park! It was a really fun course, pretty low key race. We got to do two 9.1 mile laps with a decent amount of climbing, and ripping fast descending! I think I may have broken through on the descending at this race and finally have some confidence. The first lap did not go well for me. I felt really just stale and couldn't get my heart rate up. I hardly rode after 24 hr nationals, and I guess I didn't go hard enough the day before or something. I was feeling pretty discouraged about it all, telling myself I'm not racing anymore this year, etc. I decided to push it on the descent and had fun. Then, miraculously, I felt good on the climb on the second lap. I caught most of the experts who started their race about 7 min before I came through for my second. At the crest of the climb, I saw second place right up the road. I was in disbelief and excited that I actually caught back on with how horrible my first lap went. I passed her on the descent, but she was on me the whole way down, pushing my limits. It was good. She passed me at the bottom of the descent, but then there was a sharp turn onto some rolly, technical singletrack in the woods. I put the hurt on her there and gained a minute in probably less than half a mile, coming in for second place. It was exciting and fun!!! the only thing that took away from it was my seat bag opened during the race and I lost my tube, tire levers, CO2 adapter/cartridges, chain tool....that's like 40 dollars worth of stuff. DANG IT.

After the race, we ate lunch in Idaho Springs at this pizza place...Beau something. We were all famished after the race and the pizza took...count it... FIFTY minutes to arrive. We were not happy, and our waitress was pretty unfriendly as well. Maybe she hated me b/c I was pimping it with 6 dudes, or maybe she just hated pizza. I'll never know.

I leave tomorrow for Snowmass. A little nervous b/c Sunday after WP, I did a hard ride and then a run and my body hasn't fully recovered. I may be doing the Super D at snowmass too.

Meet the ugliest shoes you have ever seen. I swore I would NEVER own a pair of these things, but then I tried them on. so light and comfy. So if I'm wearing ugly shoes, I may as well go BIG and get a flashy color as well. Cheese anyone? ;)

Oh, school starts in 2 short weeks. It's bittersweet really. I will get away from the monotony of working(thank GOD), but school poses quite a few challenges. Maybe I need those challenges to keep things interesting.

Winter Park...ready to ROLL!

Race report coming up....Going riding now so later!

Spencer took us to the race. When he pulled up, B.Fuentes says, "Oh, did you borrow your mom's car? The 'ol grocery getter?" It's the pimp race machine...you can take the kids to soccer practice and then take it to the bike race. ...a grocery getter of many uses.

The horn on this thing played a pirate song!! When Spencer honked it in a tunnel, we were all surprised...and when he honked at an old jammer to give up his parking spot, that worked too.

Look at Collin's suuuuwweeeet callick. NICE! Must have been getting down!

LOOK! The girl's gone wild bus!!!. ooo mama.

Everyone meet Grandpa Fuentes. These sweet shades are for the real deal. You can really mac on some chics with this secret weapon.

Random pic I forgot to throw in earlier. This is my thing...on trips, I go in store and try on the most ridiculous things I can find and take photos. This was in Wausau, WI. These Wisconsin folk are STYLIN with the jacket and the choobaca slippers. Those are hot man. Heeeeeyyy baby!

We are the champions

Okay, I spared no expense writing this entry and it's long. If you want to be mildly entertained, grab your cup 'o joe and enjoy! Big thanks to all of our sponsors.

Podium. Lynn Bush, Janis Sandlin, Sonya Looney, Lisa Matlock

This was definitely one exciting race trip. Thanks to Tough Girl for making me feel like a real pro! The team was amazing and took care of my entry fee, travel expenses, and support. Thank you, thank you, thank you.

24 hour racing is a whole different animal compared to XC or ST races. There are more tactics involved and in some ways, it’s a lot less stressful. If you make one mistake during a lap, it won’t cost you 10 spots like in a Norba National. Tough Girl was the talk of the venue when Janis’ bright pink van rolled into the ‘hood. Even at the hotel, people were excited about our team and taking pictures of the van. During the race, people were excited to see our pink kits and would yell, “There’s the pink girl! GO PINK!!!” The course was VOLUMES better than the one in Castle Rock back in June. One lap was 13.2 miles on super windy, technical singletrack. There were some spots where the trees were so close, I felt myself rounding my shoulders to get through. These trees became a liability after the sun went down. I hit my shoulder pretty hard on a tree, and I also navigated a slick root wrong and hit my head on a tree. Thank you helmet. There was minimal climbing—about 500 feet per lap. Normally I wouldn’t be happy with the lack of elevation gain, but when I’m doing several laps over the course of a day, I don’t mind so much. It was also nice to be near sea level. Every time one of us returned from a lap, we would be elated exclaiming, “That was SO fun!” That’s what it’s all about.

The weather ended up working out perfectly for most of the day. I mentioned in another entry that we woke up to extremely high winds and a downpour. The storm cleared out by the time we had to start the race which I was very thankful for. I don’t really mind racing a 2.5 hour cross country race in poor conditions, but 24 hours of it did not sound too appealing and had me with a pit of dread in my stomach…. especially after racing collegiate nats in PA last October in some pretty epic conditions. It remained fairly cloudy during the day and probably around 80. That was much more desirable compared to the 95 degree temp with humidity the day before.

Lisa did the first lap which started with a run and she pulled a blazing time. There was also 12 hour race that started with us, so the singletrack was crowded. For the most part over the course of 24 hours, people were very nice and would even pull over to let you by. Of course there are always some chodes who get in the way. This stupid guy WOULD NOT get out of my way on one lap. He let the man in front of me by, and even after me asking nicely three times to get by him, he would not let me by. Finally I got fed up with him, chanced it on the almost dizzying singletrack, and got around him. I managed to keep my big mouth shut as I went by him. I bet it really hurt his fragile ego as I passed him wearing all pink. Maybe if his head wasn’t so big he’d go faster. My second lap was the fastest, even with an endo wreck (which made my chain fall off) and the fact that my rear tire was rubbing a little on the frame. I was pretty happy to FINALLY feel good on the bike. Immediately after that lap on the way back to the tent, there was a sonic boom…also known as my rear tire. There was a big hop in it that we couldn’t fix. The hop got progressively worse during the lap causing my tire to rub on the frame. It turned out that the bead was bad and the flat tire gods were smiling on me that day because a blow out on that course would have been really bad news. Maybe they felt bad for making me double flat at Snowmass. After that was on to the night laps. I definitely need to work on riding at night. I don’t have the best night vision to begin with and I was going really slow. My lap times were 8-11 min slower than my day laps. I just couldn’t really see well enough to feel comfortable going fast through the curves when I couldn’t see around the corner. The rocks were really hard to see as well. I did better on my second night lap at 2:30 AM, but was still pretty timid. I was afraid to pass people on the first night lap, but the second one I had more confidence and was putting the hurt on some fools. I need to learn how to night ride like Lynn.

At about 4:30 AM, disaster stuck. At the time, I was trying to sleep and about 20 minutes after I had dozed off into peaceful serenity, I awoke to mass chaos. Everyone was running around and the side of the tent was whipping around and blowing wildly. I sat up and realized the grave situation. A HUGE storm was on the move and we were frantically trying to get everything ready for the torrential rain and wind that would soon be upon us. Poor Janice was still out on the course along with many other unfortunate souls. The lightning was blinding, the thunder was deafening, the wind was blowing the tent around, and the rain was hammering down hard. Everything got soaked. We had to keep pushing on the roof of the tent because water would accumulate and make a huge puddle on top. The trails instantly turned to rivers and the already slippery rocks and roots became treacherous. Super tough Janice fought through the storm and finished the lap. She later said her bike was like her canoe and that she actually had fun except for the lightning. They stopped the race for about 45 minutes due to the lightning. Lisa was freezing under the start/finish area, trying to wait patient for the weather to cooperate. The rain started to subside, and even though another storm was rumored to move in, they restarted the race. This was unfair because certain teams were only about 5 minutes apart, and by stopping and putting everyone in one area, whether it be the start/finish or one of the three checkpoints, these time gaps were lost. I think they were going to somehow try and factor those in the times. Lisa went out onto the course which was now a totally different place. Trees were sagging low with rain, smaller trees had fallen across the trail, and there were hub-deep puddles. The storm moved in again, but Lisa pressed on and pulled a smokin’ lap considering the conditions. We were debating whether we actually needed to do another lap since we were already ahead and conditions were poor. They ended up calling the race at 8 AM, but took the lap count as of 5:30 AM meaning that our last 2 laps didn’t even count. A lot of people were dissatisfied with this conundrum because it very well could have cost them the national championship. Fortunately we were consistently ahead all day and were in good shape for the win. HOW TOUGH ARE YA!

Our team worked really well together and we had a great group dynamic going. Everyone had a fantastic attitude and was very thoughtful and caring of one another. Our support was phenomenal thanks to Chris and Mike.

It felt SO good to win the national championship. You don’t get to do that everyday! The prizes were pretty good too. I got some 500 dollar disc brakes. The race was very organized and the promoters did an excellent job. I also have to mention that the race was very well spectated. There were 3 different parties going on all night long(at least until the storm). One had a strobe light and loud music as you approached, so I showed the drunk, enthusiastic spectators my sweet dance moves while on the bikes. I’m glad to be heading home. I don’t envy Wisconsin residents. It was unbelievably hot and humid. Walking outdoors felt like swimming. Apparently cheese curds are a common staple there. You’d have to hold me down and forcefeed me to get that down the hatch. We also noticed that there were a LOT of rude people in town. What’s up with that? I guess I’d be grumpy too if I had to deal with that heat/humidity every day.

The next 24 hour race is Rage in the Sage in Gunnison, CO. It’s in a few weeks…over my bday. What a great thing to be doing as I turn 23! If I’m feeling recovered, I’ll be hammering at an XC race in Winter Park this weekend.

There were no hot podium boys…what’s up with that??!? Stay tuned!

Word

Learn to enjoy every minute of your life. Be happy now. Don't wait for something outside of yourself to make you happy in the future. Think how really precious is the time you have to spend, whether it's at work or with your family. Every minute should be enjoyed and savored.

Earl Nightingale

Tough Girl WINS 24 Hour National Championships

Our Tough Girl National team- Lisa Matlock, Sonya Looney, Lynn Bush, and Janis Sandlin brought home the stars and bars jersey for the 4 person women's category at the 24 Hour National Championship at Nine Mile. Big congrats to my teammates. Great job to Lisa Matlock for pulling in the fastest women's lap time. Thanks for riding hard, having great attitudes throughout the race, and being TOUGH!

Congratulations to Nat Ross for pulling a second place in the men's solo category. You don't get much tougher than that.

...I will be adding more photos and adding a lot of detail about how the race went later!!!

The very popular van.

The start... lotsa people

Lisa warming up...also Nat in the background warming up. Get ready to rumble.

Uhhh...yeah. We had the hottest team. :)

The best part of 24 hour racing is you can eat all the crap you want. Those would be powdered donut gems. MMMMM. They were good too.


My watch said 2:30 AM. SWEEEET!

The set-up. I should have taken a picture of it after we got hammered with a storm.

Nat pitting....getting handed chicken fingers to put in his jersey pocket

I want the west coast... :(

It is 7 AM. We woke up at 6 AM to extreme clouds and it is currently POOOOUUURRRING humongous drops of rain. Gusts of wind at 50 mph....I checked the weather. "Storms may produce large hail, chance of rain 90%" The forecast was dooming. Strong storms all day. YES! It's not just like a short XC race in the rain. We are talking serious buisness here folks. 24 hours of racing in the mud, rain, and cold. Tough Girls motto is "How Tough Are Ya?" I guess we'll definitely see how tough we are. :( I am hearing cries from my teammates "It is REEEAALLLY raining"

Rain, rain go away. Come again another day.

Ahhh, pimpin at the Hampton Inn

I got up at 5:30AM and got a whopping 6 hours of sleep last night. The bus to the airport was an igloo and I was curled up in a ball trying to sleep the whole way there. The flights were both very interesting. The first flight consisted of a VERY anal flight attendant who didn't even want us to have our water bottle or magazines in the seat pouched on take off. Mmmm...kay. Couple that with 7 screaming children in the consecutive rows behind me, and an especially bratty girl kicking the back of my seat for 2 hours and you have the perfect flight. Believe it or not, i still managed to sleep for about 45 minutes. The next flight was on an 18 person seater plane-the smallest I have ever seen. It was a single seat row, but with a 3 seater across the back. Most people were so "wide" that they had to walk sideways through the rows to get through. I was supposed to sit in the back with an extremely large 'gentleman' who took up more than 2 seats and was smashing me. Forunately there was a single seat open so I moved. That was the smallest, stuffiest plane I have EVER been on. We got out of the plane and was bombarded with a HUGE wall of heat and humidity. It was a bit of a shock to think that we'd be breathing in that thick fog of air the next day during the race.


So when you google my name, this is the first thing that comes up and the guy actually knew who I was. He mentioned Shonny, Georgia Gould, and then all of a sudden Sonya Looney. Proud day for me. bahaha. He called me the NM expatriot. Nice! The pic is from Deer Valley




Look at this sweet shirt.

Our star team member, Lisa Matlock.

Discussing tactics over lunch... Janice, Lynn, Chris, Lisa

We start tomorrow at 10 AM. It'll be hot and humid. Yahoo. It was 95 today. The race goes from 10 AM Sat to 10 AM Sunday. wish us luck! We're going for the stars and bars!

Off to Wisconsin tomorrow...

I have been pretty slack with riding and racing, so it's time for the ultimate punishment. Tomorrow I'm leaving to Wausau, WI to do the 24 hour National Championships with Team Tough Girl. I'm really looking forward to it. I'll take a lot of pics and put them up on Tues next week. I have been trying to rest the legs these past two weeks. I was pretty overtrained so last week I only did a 4 hour week, and this week I'm just riding when I feel like it(which isn't much). Hopefully I'll feel rejuvenated and ready to roll when I get back. The season is starting to come to a close. Brianhead is the following weekend, but I think I'm going to skip it unless I feel absolutely amazing this weekend. It's a 9 hour drive one way, and I'd have to miss 2 days of work. Not really worth it. If I feel alright, I'll do Winter Park and show some chodes who is boss. Next is Snowmass Norba National and that will be my last important race of the year aside from collegiate nats. I'm going to be rested and have a fantastic race that day. It have to have ONE good race this year, c'mon! I'll take two weeks easy, do some fun rides, re-establish my base, start running, and then collegiate season. Collegiate is super fun b/c it's so laid back and it really doesn't matter how you do in the scheme of things. This year, our women's XC team is going to be fabulous!!!!

Other than that, nothing too exciting has been happening. I've been working a lot and trying to keep myself busy. Gotta make the dollas.

I finally got to swim in a lake

Yesterday I went to the boulder resevoir with some friends. it was really fun! Drank some beers, did some swimming, made some cookies...

The view...looks like rain!

Ryan, Chris, Isabelle big pimpin. Look at those sweet shades.

YUMMY! Ryan likes those cookies. Get outta there!

Welcome to the gun show.

Pool rules...what can you do?

I like Coldplay...

Part of a song....

When you thought that it was over
You could feel it all around
And everybody's out to get you
Don't you let it drag you down

If you ever feel neglected
If you think that all is lost
I'll be counting up my demons, yeah
Hoping everything's not lost

D'oh

ahhhhhh.... my head and my heart are in it. I want to train and race so bad. So I go out today after a week off the bike and my legs felt even WORSE than they did before. I wish I knew what the heck was going on??!

GO FLOYD!

As Phil Ligget would say, "LOOK AT THE FACE OF THIS MAN!" Floyd Landis is my new favorite bike racer. First, he has such a positive attitude. In Stage 16, Floyd, in yellow, totally bonked and detonated, lost 10 minutes on the leader of the race, and had to face nagging questions from reporters. Cycling news- "Suddenly, Maillot Jaune Landis went out the back, the Phonak man clearly out of gas and having blown sky-high." The site of him going backwards was too painful to watch and I had to turn it off. The reporters asked him if he was feeling disappointed. He just claimed he had a bad day and that "I just wanted to come down here and smile for you guys." If you refer to one of my previous posts, note his quote about smiling. Before stage 17: "I don't expect to win the Tour at this point," said Landis after his ride yesterday. "It's not easy to get back eight minutes. But I'm gonna fight, because you never know what's going to happen next."Then, stage 17, he was off the front for the majority of the mountain stage. He caught the attack group and rode them off his wheel soloing in for the win and making up all but 19 seconds on the maillot jaune. 'I could at least show them that I could keep fighting' My only complaint for the stage was that Phil Ligget was not commentating. There was dead silence as Landis crossed the line. booooo commentators. you suck.

Floyd's attitude is so inspiring- never ever give up, and smile regardless of how bad it is. Tomorrow is the TT. Go Floyd.

Chris Jung's birthday

A bar on fratty hill, fake highlights as far as the eye can see, fat no-necks in backwards hats with polo shirts, and a bunch of skinny bike racers. This was the scene on a rockin' Monday night where if you win a coin toss, you win a drink for a whole american quarter. It was fun to go out and drink some good brews and hang out with fun people who share the same lifestyle of me. Imagine that! I DO have friends! :) We ended up at a very disappointing strip club, but it was at least mildly entertaining... or maybe the site of Chris on stage getting a double teamed lap dance is what made me smile. Who knows? Oh, and I did some pull ups on a tree branch. Photos...

yeeehhaahaaa! Pimpin ain't easy. Ryan Lynch, some chick, and the bday boy.

Jeff, Miguel, Brian, Ryan.

Rolf and Chris

me and Collin...plus Miguel looking suave. That's how you pick up chicks!

Wow, that is actually kinda scary. Ryan et moi

Cheers to good lookin' organic biker boys! Collin, Brian

SMILE!


I am starting to go crazy. It is day 4 of my rest week and I am definitely feeling restless and ancy. I want to ride up some canyons on my bike or fly down some singletrack. ahhhhhh A few more days.... just a few.