Neimanation

Getting Ready

2012-02-09T09:20:00.000-08:00

The last few weeks have been pretty dull here on the Neimanation, and for that, I apologize. We've been back and forth to the track in LA preparing for the UCI Para-Cycling Track World Championships.

The camps went well although I will admit to a bit of track overload- I quite like riding outside! Like at many camps run by Craig, I left each day and camp not quite knowing how I was going to make it through the next training session. It was as much mental training as it was physical.

Every athlete on Team USA is ready and at their peak to show the world what we're made of. The track is looking as good as I've ever seen it, undergoing a bit of a face lift before becoming the world's stage.

Racing begins today! First up for me is the 500m TT. The tandems begin today's program with their pursuits followed by the women's single bikes for the 500.

It's go time!

LA Times video

2012-01-23T22:13:00.000-08:00

Pat Benson, of the LA Times, recently did a piece about my teammate, Laura Sobchick, and me as we prepare for the World Championships. Watch the video below and read the article here.

Meet the paralympians from Pat Benson on Vimeo.

Thank you to Pat and the LA Times for the coverage!

2011 in Review

2011-12-31T17:09:00.000-08:00

This has been a year of changes. 2011 has been one that,looking back, was very stressful and mentally challenging. As a result, I’velearned a lot about myself and other people and think that I’ve grown as aperson- is that too cliché?

While I know some of you would love to read- in great detail- all about the past year’s highs andlows, lefts and rights and everything in between, I know some of you probablyjust want to get to the good stuff. So, in an effort to save you guys some timeand give you only the filet of information, here’s a list of notable momentsfrom 2011.

January

PB&Co.2011 marked my first year on a real team.
PneumoniaBeing sick really sucks. It sucks more to not take the time to get back to 100%and be behind the eight ball for months.

March

Brokenbikes In the span of three weeks, two bikes were broken- the first at thehands of an airline, and the second from UPS. In that time, my time trial bikeand I became much closer friends.

May

SydneyWorld Cup This was my first trip to Australia and was another continent tocheck off the list. The extra days spent in Sydney were some of the best of theyear. It was also another birthday on foreign soil.

June

Brokencollarbone The “squirrel incident” as some people have called it was one ofthose where you have to laugh to keep from crying because it was so dumb. Whileon the bike path, riding about 15kph, a squirrel ran in front of me. I swervedto avoid running it over- and possibly killing it- and dumped my bike over,breaking my collarbone in the process. Thankfully it was my already gimpy sidebecause I would’ve been S.O.L. if it’d been the good side.
Thedecision to move After months of waffling over whether or not to move out ofthe training center, I decided it was time to go. Almost five years in ColoradoSprings had taken its toll on me and it was time to get the hell out! I had noidea where I was going to go or what I’d do for money but I knew somethingneeded to change and I was the only one with the power to make it happen, so Idid!

September

MovingAfter road worlds, I packed everything into my car and hit the road for SanDiego. A teammate had an open room and I needed a place to live. SouthernCalifornia has so many more opportunities to race, better weather for yearround training and, most importantly, it wasn’t Colorado Springs! So far, it’sproven to be one of the best decisions I’ve ever made.
New coachFollowing the theme of change, after the move I began working with a new coach.It’s important to me to have a coach I can see on a regular basis, ride with,and have face-to-face contact. We made some changes to training routines tryingto freshen things up to help make training enjoyable again. So far, it’s beenworking out really well.

November

NaneeThe hardest part of the year has been the death of my grandmother. There are somany things that could be said, but they’re best saved for another time.Rather, this Dr. Seuss quote sums it up well: “Don’t cry because it’s over, smile because it happened.” Thereare so many lessons she taught and so many wonderful memories she gave me thatI won’t ever forget.

These are the moments that stick out when thinking back onthe year. Things like airplane seatmates, and people clipping their nails inpublic places- and leaving the clipping all over the floor- are some things youmay see in future posts. Until then, here’s to a fantastic 2012!

ParaPan American Games

2011-11-24T11:17:00.001-08:00

In all of my travels, Mexico has been one country to escapemy grasp. Finally, I had the opportunity to visit our neighbors south ofAmerica. The ParaPan American Games took place in Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico.Held two weeks after the Pan Am games and in the same village and venues, itwas like a mini Games. For some sports, a win in Guadalajara meant a ticket toLondon. For us, it was one of the last opportunities to qualify more team spotsfor London. (What that means is that we needed to do well to get a higherranking to take more athletes to London.)

In Mexico, I competed in the 500m and 3k pursuit on thetrack and the road race. (Normally I would compete in the time trial as wellbut due to a family emergency I skipped the TT.) Things got started offtremendously with the 500. Historically my weakest event and without anyspecific prep for the event, my goal was just to get under 40.0 seconds. A goodwarm up, fantastic track and a packed house of rowdy spectators made for anideal racing environment. Not only did I go sub 40, I took 0.2 seconds off mypr. To add to the excitement of the moment, Team USA swept the 500 event with Jenny taking gold and Allison bronze.

The following day was the pursuit. Coming in, this was theevent that I wanted to do best in. The 3k is as much mental as it is physicaland striking a balance between the two is a challenge that I enjoy. That said,it can be infuriatingly difficult to strike a balance between the two. Thistime around, things leaned towards the latter. Going in I felt phenomenal.Spirits were high, the crowd was getting going, a great warm up and a few highkicks before qualifying put me in great mental position. I was able to qualifyin first with a comfortable ride. Then, it was time for the final- this is whenthings didn’t go as well.

According to the watch, things started off okay. Accordingto my legs, things started off terribly. The ride never felt right, it was asif I was wrestling the bike the whole time, fighting to stay on schedule. Atthe halfway point, Craig stopped giving me splits and started giving me thedistance ahead or behind of my opponent (in this case, Jenny). Rather thanbeing motivated and digging deeper when hearing that I was five meters down, itwas discouraging. This was my event. Howcould I have felt so good in qualifying and so terrible in the final? I waslosing the mental battle and was dying 1000 deaths on the boards. The feelingof shattering disappointment I felt after my ride was one that I won’t soon forget.I’d lost the battle with myself, let emotions and doubt creep in and lostcontrol of the event. Now, things are only truly a negative experience if youdon’t learn anything from them. Looking back I know what I need to work on. I’mconfident with more training under my belt- both physically and mentally- thatwon’t happen again.

Two days off of racing before the road race was just what Ineeded to regroup mentally and recover physically after the track. Fortunately,the women and C1-3 men were combined- but scored separately- for the road race.This makes the racing more competitive and gives both groups larger fields torace with/against. Starting with the men meant that a fast first lap or fewkilometers was likely. Sure enough, just several kilometers into the race, thegroup split. Eight riders made the front group including myself and my teammate Mike. No otherwomen made the selection so at that point, I knew that if we kept a solid pacewe would stay away. To let Mike rest and stay fresh for any attacks and thefield sprint, I took his pulls. This worked perfectly because I was able to setthe pace to stay away from the other women and Mike was able to save himself. Thelaps ticked down and the race was over. The win in the road race felt like redemptionafter the 3k. Mike fought it out for a second place finish.

One notable aspect of the road race was the road itself. Thefact that I looked forward to the cobbles should be an indication as to howbumpy it was. When cobbled road is a sweet relief, it may be time to repave theroad. Just sayin’. We finished and my hands and feet were numb from the roadvibrations.

Bumpy road aside, my time in Mexico was fantastic. Notflushing TP was strange and brushing my teeth from a bottle of water felt likecamping but the people were wonderful. The volunteers and Games staff were sohelpful and went above and beyond for all of the athletes. As always, it was anhonor and privilege to represent Team USA. Seeing 24 flags for our podiumfinishes and hearing the anthem played so many times was amazing. Great thingsare in store for the coming months! Thank you to my teammates, family and coaches,US Paralympics, Peanut Butter TWENTY12, Zipp, SRAM and Felt Bicycles for thesupport. I couldn’t do it without you!

Photo Update

2011-11-01T09:58:00.000-07:00

This post will be primarily photos that I have taken over the past several weeks.

As some of you already know, I moved to southern California. The move is proving to be one of the best decisions I've ever made. Besides the obvious perks like warm weather, better training and racing opportunities and an ocean to look at every day, one of my favorites is the mailbox. Growing up in Chicago we had a mail slot- the mail carrier came every day and put letters through a slot in the front door. If we wanted to send something out we either went to the post office or the blue box on a street corner. The only time I'd ever seen a mailbox- with a flag and everything- was in the movies. That is until I moved to Cardiff. Now, I don't have to look for a big blue mailbox or go to the post office. It is so neat! Holy cow! Think what you will but this simple minded bike rider thinks it's pretty darn cool.

Shortly after moving, I went to Houston for an athlete appearance. The hotel I stayed in had a Chihuly piece in the lobby which I thought was pretty cool. If you haven't seen any of Dale Chihuly's work, it's absolutely amazing and unmistakeable. The event was really great and I met a ton of interesting people. Everyone was extremely nice and left me with a very good impression of Texas- it was my first time to the Lone Star state. They even had a summer concert series in the park across from the hotel.

I'm excited about this plaid shirt that I just got. It was for a "plaid tie" wedding but I plan to wear it for other occasions.

And Finally, here's a photo I caught of a pretty cool sunset the other day. The photo doesn't quite do it justice but it's a glimpse.

Press Release

2011-10-24T19:07:00.000-07:00

Press release from Road Bike Action.com - TWO ATHLETES NAMED TO 2012 PARALYMPICS TRACK WORLDS TEAM

2012 Track World Championships

2011-10-19T14:35:00.000-07:00

The World Championship team has been announced! The official press release can be found on the US Paralympics website. (For those of you that just want a list of athletes, it's at the bottom of this post.) The team includes some veteran athletes and some new faces which is always exciting.

As some of you already know, Worlds will be held in the States. Yes, that's right, World Championships will be held in the United States, in LA. So, mark your calendars, get your plane tickets and some out to watch the world's best para cyclists racing in our own country. Check out the LA Worlds website for all the details and schedule of events. (My events are on Thursday and Saturday.)

Men

Matt Bigos (Cardiff by the Sea, Calif.)

Will Chesebro (Carmel Valley, Calif.)

Mike Farrell (Colorado Springs, Colo.)

Mark Gyulafia (Portland, Ore.)

Vincent Juarez (San Jose, Calif.)

Sam Kavanagh (Bozeman, Mont.)

Clark Rachfal (Annapolis, Md.) and pilot Dave Swanson (Tucson, Ariz.)

Aaron Trent (Colorado Springs, Colo.)

Chester Triplett (Mooresville, N.C.) and pilot Pete Billington (San Rafael, Calif.)

Anthony Zahn (Lincoln, Neb.)

Women

Megan Fisher (Missoula, Mont.)

Allison Jones (Colorado Springs, CO)

Greta Neimanas (Chicago, Ill.)

Jennifer Schuble (Homewood, Ala.)

Laura Sobchik (Fullerton, Calif.)

Karissa Whitsell (Eugene, Ore.) and pilot Lisa Turnbull (Springfield, Ore.)

Track Nationals

2011-10-03T12:22:00.000-07:00

Photo: Gus Sarmiento

Track nationals are done and dusted. While in LA, I racedthe 3k individual pursuit and 500m time trial. Mentally, I went in to nationalsa bit flat. I’d moved to southern California two weeks earlier and wanted toenjoy my new home instead of riding inside in circles. I was able to convincemyself, make a deal with my mind, that if I gave it my all on the track itmeant I could really enjoy my offseason. It worked. After a few sessions on thetracks in San Diego and LA, I was able to rally.

My first event was the 3k IP. After a sub-par performance atWorld Championships in Italy earlier this year, I was looking forward to puttingdown a solid ride. I wanted a technically sound ride while taking intoconsideration the track conditions and my motivation. In qualifying, I was inthe last heat of the day paired with Kelly Crowley. She’s had a phenomenalseason thus far and I knew it would be a good pairing. The clock counted downand I came out of the gate. Any lack of motivation I had going in quicklyturned around when the gate opened. It was on. A quick opening lap was the setup for a faster time than planned for but I was game. The lap counter tickeddown from 12 and before I knew it the bell was ringing- one lap to go. Aftercrossing the line, it was enough to qualify first and move on to the finalsthat evening. Not to totally blow my ego up, but by all accounts- friends andstrangers- it was a very smooth ride. The final on the other hand, well, thatwas a different story.

Photo: Rob Evans

After a quick lunch and recovery it was time to turn around,and head back to the track for finals. I was pumped. This was my chance todefend the national champion’s jersey and keep it for another year. The finalfor gold was a ride off against Jenny Schuble. The plan was to do the exactsame thing as the morning session- just ride my ride. As the clock clickeddown, my excitement levels were growing. As soon as the gate opened, it waslike unleashing the hounds of hell. There’s a difference between “going outhot” and “blazing f’ing fast” with the latter being something you’d generally like to avoid while racing 3000m. Well, that wasshot right out the window. Once you go out hot, as far as I’m concerned, you’recommitted. Just hold on and keep it going as long as possible. The first fivelaps felt fantastic, I’d put a lot of ground into Jenny, then, it was likesomeone attached a piano to the back of my bike. MMmmm not so good. Not good atall. Shortly after this, I started hemorrhaging time. I was getting scared. Iwasn’t sure if I’d be able to hold on until the finish. With each lap, the gapwas closing- she was gaining on me and I was losing ground on her. It came downto the wire at the finish and I was able to eek out a win by the skin of myteeth. The evening session was almost the complete opposite of the morning’sride, which is frustrating to say the least. It wasn’t pretty but it wascertainly a hard fought battle.

Photo: Pat Benson

Our final event was the 500 (kilo for the men and tandems).The event is only two laps so it’s sort of an odd, in between distance. It’slong enough to suck but not long enough to get into any rhythm. The bestportion of the race was the first 10 meters. After that it was sort of, meh- notterrible but not the time I was hoping for. Jenny-who specializes in the event-won. A silver in the 500 and gold in the pursuit is a pretty good way to finishthe season.

Thank you to Felt Bicycles, Zipp Speed Weaponry, and Oakley.

Now, we have a bit of time off before the ParaPan AmericanGames in Guadalajara, MEX November 12-21. It’s time to enjoy the Californiasun!

Pursuit Podium
Photo: Rob Evans

Exergy TWENTY12

2011-09-27T08:55:00.003-07:00

Exergy Development Group has stepped up in a big way in women's cycling. The team that was once Peanut Butter & Co. TWENTY12 is now Exergy TWENTY12. Watch the team's intro video here:

(You can also watch on the Vimeo site.)

Parapan American Team

2011-09-23T09:35:00.000-07:00

The US Paralympic Parapan American team has been announced. We will be competing in Guadalajara, Mexico November 12-20.

2011 U.S. Parapan American Games Cycling TeamMen
Mike Farrell (Colorado Springs, Colo.)

Vincent Juarez (San Jose, Calif.)

Sam Kavanagh (Bozeman, Mont.)

Steven Peace (San Diego, Calif.)

Clark Rachfal (Annapolis, Md.) and pilot Dave Swanson (Tucson, Ariz.)

Oz Sanchez (San Diego, Calif.)

Matt Updike (Denver, Colo.)

Brett Weitzel (Salt Lake City, Ut.)

Anthony Zahn (Lincoln, Neb.)

Women

Monica Bascio (Evergreen, Colo.)

Muffy Davis (Salt Lake City, Utah)

Allison Jones (Colorado Springs, Colo.)

Greta Neimanas (Chicago, Ill.)

Megan Fisher (Missoula, Mont.)

Jamie Schanbaum (Austin, Tex.)

Karissa Whitsell (Eugene, Ore.) and pilot TBD

2012 Paralympic Medals

2011-09-19T08:45:00.000-07:00

They have been unveiled in London.

Road Worlds- Roskilde, DEN

2011-09-12T12:12:00.000-07:00

A lot has happened in my time away from this blog. We had our para team training camp here in the Springs, competed in the UCI Paracycling Road World Championships in Roskilde, Denmark, and now I’m packing up to move (more on this later).

22 bikes and 25 athletes (three tandem pilots that count as equipment) were named to the worlds team and made the trip to Roskilde, about 30 minutes outside Copenhagen. We were greeted with cold temps, lots of wind and rain. Coming from the blazing heat of the Colorado summer- days were consistently over 90°- it was a bit of a shock to the system. Personally, I like the rain and don’t mind the wind so it was just the cold that I was somewhat unenthused about. I do have to say that our week in Roskilde was the perfect opportunity to make good use of DZNuts In Heat embrocation- no legwarmers needed with that stuff.

We had several days of training before competition started. Both the time trial and road race were held on the same 15.3k loop so we did almost all of our riding on the course. By the end of the week, we were all extremely familiar with the course and could probably run through it backwards in our minds. The course had a bit of everything- long straights, little kickers of climbs, and fast, technical sections. In typical euro race fashion, the roads were narrow, had some roundabouts, a small town with thatched roofs on the houses, fields full of cows, and even some optional cobbles. I really enjoyed it this course.

Come race day- the TT was first- the rain stopped and the wind subsided leaving us with cool to cold temperatures. With just one lap of the 15.3k course, it was going to be a fast and furious race to the finish. Because of the scheduling of the other riders going off that day, I did not have a follow car or radio- I would be riding blind. Rather than having a follow van, there was a photo moto around me for big sections of the race which will be interpreted as I must have looked damn good. At one point, one of the horses ran alongside me from fence to fence of its pasture. That’s never happened before. The ride went well and after the results were in, I finished up 3^rd behind Great Britain with the win and Poland in 2^nd.

Two days later was the road race. Things went off like fireworks right from the start. My teammate Kelly and I soon found ourselves in the first chase group of four riders with the two leaders up the road. With no help whatsoever from the other two riders, it was up to us to us to do the work. Several big pulls later I got popped out of the chase group- a cardinal sin- and found myself on my own, in no man’s land. That’s how things finished up and I rode solo in for a 6^th place finish. It’s certainly not the way I’d hoped the road race would play out but it is what it is and it’s done.

The road season is all but finished- we have Pan-Ams in Guadalajara, Mexico in mid November- and now it’s on to track nationals at the end of the month. No rest for the weary!

How to Ride in a Group

2011-09-03T09:34:00.000-07:00

Here's a good article that talks about the importance of the group ride and how it's become a lost art.
The Lost Art of the Group Ride

2011-08-16T10:12:00.000-07:00

Danny Macaskill makes me look like I've never ridden a bike before in my life. Absolutely amazing.

Dad

2011-08-06T08:44:00.000-07:00

In some ways it feels like yesterday and in others the three years have been ages since my dad died. I don’t remember if it was overcast or sunny, hot or average or what anybody wore or looked like. It’s almost a fog, like a clichéd Lifetime movie in my brain. This is supposed to be something to remember distinctly, right?

As time has passed, I find myself remembering, highlighting, more of the good memories rather than only the bad ones. I’m still very angry but things are certainly shifting towards the positive. I don’t know if I’ll ever remember only the positive things but I kind of don’t want to. Good comes with bad. The negatives- and positives- changed me and it almost feels like I owe those moments something for what they’ve done, how they’ve shaped me as a person.

Sometimes it feels like I’m missing someone I never really knew, or a ghost, which is a strange feeling to say the least. There are memories from years and years ago and then stories that his friends, my mom and family have told me. I worry that I’m constructing my own memories of what I wanted rather than what actually was.

Despite the feeling that I didn’t know him, I have good memories of our time together. The day he died isn’t clear in my mind but others are: That time I was attacked by the monkey at the tire shop, all the times I sat on the bucket in the van, being carried like a sack of potatoes, going to the museums, building the sand box, making the teepee, the fireball of a torch- nothing’s better for a kid to play with than a kerosene soaked rag on a stick! And the countless hours he walked me up and down the hallway because I couldn’t sleep. To this day, looking at the moon and stars is calming and one of my favorite things to do.

What I’m learning and working on is that what’s done is done, it is what it is, and all there is to do is move forward. That’s easier said than done, though, and I still find myself wishing for things and wondering how things might have been and would be different. I'm afraid, too, that I'll forget things about him. I don't clearly remember the day he died and it's worrisome to think what might fade next.

Dad, I think about you everyday. I wonder if our relationship would have changed, if we would get along now. Whenever I see someone in overalls or suspenders, I think of you. When I see a picture of Tom Selleck or Burt Reynolds, it reminds me of your mustache and then when you shaved it off and it took ages for that to be the normal look. Panel vans, work boots, weird artwork, PBS, Bob Marley, Tom Waits and Eric Clapton’s music, salami and hard bread, and seeing the moon all remind me of you.

Logically, I can’t believe in a god or heaven and hell but I hope I’m wrong. I hope that you’re somewhere at peace and enjoying yourself. For better or worse you made an impact on me and I’ll never forget it. I love and miss you.

Not a Robot

2011-07-17T10:56:00.000-07:00

Something within me has changed. I'm not sure what exactly brought it on, or why, but I kind of like it. I don't feel the need to be a robot anymore.

I’ve always been my harshest critic and have put pressure on myself to bat 1.000. To some, that may clearly be impossible but nothing is truly impossible, it’s just improbable. This way of life, while some may argue that it makes for a better athlete, isn’t such a great way to live. It’s quite stressful and often unnecessarily so. This season has been frustrating with rebounding from serious burnout, having pneumonia and not fully recovering, and a broken collarbone. Somewhere along this rocky road it dawned on me that maybe I need to take time to do things properly- things like recovering from illness and injury. Not everything can be controlled- which is still difficult for me to comprehend- and sometimes things just happen. While the mind is a powerful tool, it still doesn’t have magical powers. Healing damaged lungs in a week, or mending a broken bone overnight are not going to happen no matter how hard I concentrate, wish, pray, or cast spells for. Somehow an idea worked its way into my brain that maybe, just maybe, I could let it go. It was earth shattering.

In the last few weeks, I’ve raced the national championships in Augusta, GA, a world cup in Baie-Comeau, CAN and part of SuperWeek in Chicago and Wisconsin. Going into each of those races, I put no pressure on myself. All I had to do was ride as best as I could and my job was done. What did I find? I had great results! No, I didn’t win everything I entered and I even lost the overall UCI World Cup title in the final race- that was a tough, tough pill to swallow- but I’m not distraught over it. It wasn’t meant to be. I’m much more relaxed about my performances and my life in general. It’s like I’ve broken free from the tangled web of “perfection” and I’m now able to do what I love- race my bike!

One of my teammates sent me the link to this video. Now that I know what not to do, it should be easier to find what’s right.

Road Nationals

2011-07-04T09:45:00.000-07:00

Road Nationals were held in Augusta, GA last week. In addition to being an opportunity to claim the title of National Champion, the time trial served as the selection event for the 2011 UCI Para-cycling Road World Championships in Roskilde, Denmark. A total of eight spots for the men and four spots for the women were available for automatic selection to the team.

Matt picked Nadia and me up in Colorado Springs and we drove out to Augusta from there. We saw snow in eastern Colorado and then the rain came. Of the 27 hours we drove, 26.5 were in the rain- over 1000 miles of rain. The rain ended as soon as we arrived at our hotel in Augusta and was traded for heat and humidity. It was quite nice to have some moisture in the air.

Originally, my plan was to race the three Para races- Time trial, crit and road race- and the elite crit and road race. Plans changed after the broken collarbone so it was only a time trial for me. The TT was held along the Strom Thurmond dam on a straight out and back, 19.6km course. Who knew that Strom had his own dam?! The course was made for power riders. It rolled with hills that could all be taken in the aerobars. This was especially good for me because I could get settled in the clip-ons- I ran clip-ons because I couldn’t get into real aerobars- and stay in the bars the whole time. Despite rain for the race it was fast course. Pair that with riders on top form and you get some quick times. The top riders were all considerably faster than the National Team time standard. I finished up fourth overall in the women’s two wheeled bike classification- there is also a classification for the three wheeled cycles. Normally I would be very disappointed with a fourth place but with a broken collarbone, I’m quite pleased.

After the TT there was still the crit and road race to be fought. I did my training rides in the morning and was a spectator for the races in the afternoon. While frustrating, it was actually kind of fun to be a spectator at the races. Don’t get me wrong, I absolutely wanted to race but it’s always fun to watch bike racing.

The week was filled with great racing by everyone. The team has just been named and it’s filled with tremendous athletes. I look forward to racing with everyone!

2011 U.S. UCI Para-cycling Road World Championships Team announced

2011-07-04T09:34:00.000-07:00

2011 U.S. UCI Para-cycling Road World Championships Team announced | News | U.S. Paralympic Team

Living a Double Life

2011-07-03T18:58:00.000-07:00

Only a few people knew Batman’s real identity. He dressed in normal clothes, had a mostly normal life and job but lived as two people. He put on his super-suit and fought crime then went about his business. People knew that the villains were vanquished but didn’t know by whom. The streets of Gotham were being cleaned up and that’s what mattered.

This is what being a Para-cyclist is like. People have some sense that you exist but don’t really know what you do or how you do it. Something happens- it must- and races are won overseas but more detail than that is unknown and somewhat unnecessary. We live double lives as Para-cyclists and your average rider at local races- we’re just missing parts or some are defective and can’t be warrantied.

We train and race as hard as any other elite cyclist but without the recognition. We travel around the world fighting our competition and come home, quietly victorious.

Medals from Nationals and World Championships are kept in a basket and yellow jerseys are in a bag on the top shelf of a bookcase, out of the way, not displayed for people to see. They’re proof of an alter ego. Proof of the double life but a life I choose to live. Choices are not sacrifices because they are done willingly. Being a Para-cyclist isn’t going to get me on billboards or cereal boxes and I know that. It’s okay.

Most of us don’t race the able-bodied circuit for the recognition. Rather, we race because we love to race, it’s great training and, most of all, it’s fun. This is our day job (for some). Sure, in a pack a fake arm or leg- or riding with only one leg- is going to stand out and those are the things that people remember. It’s amazing how many people know me simply as “that blonde girl with one arm” at races. I come quietly, race my race and go on my way.

At an able bodied race, there’s no pressure other than what I put on myself. Yes, I like to win, but a lot of the races I do are for training. They’re just practice. For right now, the priority is on Para-racing and conquering foreign adversaries. It’s my priority that few people know even exists. The cutthroat attitude you learn in able-bodied racing is a necessity on the Para circuit. The top riders are all on able-bodied professional teams so the more cards in your deck the better off you’ll be.

Despite having a full deck of cards, the transition between the two can be a mental challenge. With two different styles of racing, it’s sort of like going from second gear to fifth- it’s a bit of a shock. Para-cycling is small pack racing. Only the top riders are there and the “pack fill” that you expect in races are all medal contenders so you have to be on it. Usually it’s every man for himself so teams of just two riders make a huge impact on the races. There are no lead out trains or caravans. One hundred spectators is a good turn out. The cat 4s usually have a better turn out!

This double life can be difficult. Right now, with the London Paralympics less than 500 days away, we’re chasing points. We always race to win, but now there is a bit more pressure. Without results now, we won’t have the team ranking to take the number of people we want which means people could be left at home come Games time. Results now means a larger team for the London Games. With this in mind, more than just a race win is on the line. This could be the difference between me going to The Show or watching on a grainy webcam feed.

For now, I’m going to continue to put on my national team super-suit and fight for every point. Then, as usual, come home, recover and do it all again seemingly under the cover of darkness.

Without the support of Peanut Butter & Co. Team TWENTY12, U.S. Paralympics and all of their sponsors and supporters, none of this would be possible. Thank you.

I've Come to a Realization

2011-06-17T09:35:00.002-07:00

Maybe I’m not as tough as I originally thought. Since crashing a week ago I’ve felt cranky, agitated, bummed and even a bit depressed. It’s not so much because it’s painful or anything- that’s what Tylenol is for- but mentally it’s been really tough. Being cooped up is not something I’ve ever enjoyed or handled well. Call it being a free spirit or whatever but I need to do things, go places and explore. I was a leash kid for a reason.

The collarbone is just a skinny little bone that helps make up your shoulder. They break all the time and it’s not a big deal. They heal pretty well and you’re able to get back to “normal” life reasonably quickly (which is never quick enough). So what’s the problem, then? I feel like I’m losing my mind!

Riding has always been an outlet and some of my best thinking happens on rides. I can do something, go places and explore all at the same time! Riding a bike is my way of handling stress and freeing my mind. It’s my escape. When my dad died, when there’s a family issue, when I have trouble focusing, my bike has always been there, ready for a ride. It helps me clear my mind and reduce the stress, anger, sadness etc. that was there before. It’s cleansing. Being outside in the wind and sun, hearing animals, and getting rained on is all very calming.

Frustration can be taken out on the bike, too. You can throttle yourself and somehow feel better afterwards. It’s one of my favorite aspects of the sport. There’s something about physical suffering that helps me straighten out my mind. Yes, it’s a bit masochistic but it’s what works for me.

After crashing, I was given instructions: “Keep your heart rate under 100bpm” and

“Don’t ride outside. You can’t risk another crash.” Well, there goes my coping mechanism! Okay, fine, I’ll just read or watch TV and rest. That lasted about two days. The “vacation” was over and I wanted to get back to work. It was frustrating not being able to use mini arm- I realized how much I actually use it for- but wasn’t the end of the world carrying things differently or driving differently. (This can be a conversation for later- driving stick with one hand to begin with then throwing an arm in a sling to top it all off.) It was a call for patience, something I’m not good at. The Pnu was different because I didn’t have the energy for anything other than sleeping. Now, It’s uncomfortable to lay around, I’m rested and just feel like I’m a leash kid again- held back.

How is it that such a skinny little bone has so much power over me? Craig- my coach- told me years ago “You’re not a real cyclist until you break your collarbone.” Now, after having a week-which, for me, is an eternity- to reflect and think about things I’ve realized something. It’s not breaking the bone that makes you a cyclist; it has to be the rest of it that does. Evaluating where you stand, what the course of action is and what’s a priority- or no longer a priority- for the season and then moving on makes you one. It’s cliché but every so-called real athlete has to get over some type of obstacle in order to truly achieve anything. Nothing is given away; everything has to be earned. Maybe this is just a test. Not like a religious test of faith because I don’t do that, but a test of will. How much do you want it? Considering I spent a morning watching videos and reading articles learning how to tape a collarbone back into place to race, I think it’s safe to say I want it. (I’m not going to do anything dumb, I’m just exploring options.)

As crazy as it sounds, maybe this is exactly what I needed. At the training center, I’m surrounded by athletes that are training to be the World’s best. Each day of easy riding and resting feels like a step backwards. After months, things were finally clicking and going well on the bike. Now, I’m back on a leash. If this is the situation, and this is how things are going to go, then that’s fine. It is what it is. Maybe I'm exactly as tough as I thought. One thing is for sure, when this thing is over and done with and I’m free to ride, it will be on!

New Training Regimen

2011-06-14T08:40:00.000-07:00

The bike's a little small but it should work out. Trike video

Bike lanes

2011-06-12T13:01:00.000-07:00

This is a very true and funny video. Bike lanes aren't always the best place for cyclists.

2011-06-08T18:31:00.000-07:00

It's been just about a week since crashing so it's time for an update. Unfortunately, I can't report- as of right this moment- that things are completely healed and I'm ready to rock and roll. (Hopefully this will be knocked out by Friday.) Things are progressing nicely though and I'm feeling much better than last week. Sleeping has become much more comfortable and the pain has subsided to more of a dull ache than anything else. Each day, range of motion increasing and my pendulum exercises are becoming easier and the circles bigger. (I make little circles with my arm to keep things moving, trying to increase the circle's diameter a little bit each day. Exciting stuff, I know.)

My coach gave my Friday (the day after the crash) off and I was on the spin bike for easy rides starting Saturday morning. The spin bike and I are developing a love-hate relationship. I want to ride but haven't been cleared to go outside and the spin bike is the best option at this point. The hardest part of this whole thing is not being able to ride outside! The weather has finally turned for summer and it's been 85° and sunny all week.

On the bright side, as my friend pointed out today, if my collarbone wasn't broken I wouldn't have been at the craft store in the middle of the day with a man wearing a lime green and white tank top with short overalls on. It was the highlight of my day. I wish more people wore short overalls. They seem very practical.

Finally, I'm a Real Cyclist!

2011-06-04T16:14:00.000-07:00

Broken

Several years ago my coach, Craig, told me "You're not a real cyclist until you break your collarbone." Well, I'm a real cyclist now. Last week, while riding the bike path for a recovery spin, a squirrel ran across the path, juked left and right and while trying to avoid hitting the little guy, I dumped it and landed on my shoulder. As soon as I sat up, I knew something was amiss and decided that with the power of a positive attitude, my bones could not be broken. Nope, no way! A good samaritan stopped to see if I was okay. He asked "Your legs look pretty strong, do you do this often?" To which I responded "Crash? No. Ride? Yes, although you probably wouldn't have guessed that."He helped me dust myself off, asked if I went to church then helped me get on my way. I rode home with my arm cradled against my stomach still saying to myself "Nothing's broken! Everything's just fine!" and went straight to the sports med to get cleaned up.

The initial diagnosis was a separated shoulder. This was determined by the trainer feeling for breaks along the collarbone and then, at the shoulder joint, jamming his finger into what he thought was the AC joint (and what I later came to realize was just the break in the bone) which was unpleasant to say the least. They gave me a sling and told me that I'd be good to go in a week to ten days. After a few hours in the sling and feeling some things moving around in there I went back and got x-rays. Sure enough, it was broken. Not even my charming, positive attitude could heal that bone. Who are we kidding, I'm a realist.

They're wily buggers

After a visit to an orthopedist to rule out the need for surgery, very little changed as far as treatment, but the time frame grew considerably. The orthopedist said 6-8 weeks for my frail, bird-like bones to heal. Hopefully it doesn't take that long because it's summer, the weather is nice and I have racing to get to. Thankfully it's mini arm and not my good arm because that would have been tragic. I'm in an ever stylish navy blue sling with white trim that seems to wrap around my torso. It's a lot of sling for a little arm!

Being juked by a rodent was not my finest moment, but I hope he went home and hugged his squirrel kids and his squirrel wife. Hopefully the sun shone brighter and the grass seemed greener because that is one lucky squirrel.

Every athlete has their setbacks, suffers their injuries and has a wrench thrown in their plans at some point in their career, right? Given the situation, it could definitely be much, much worse. A collarbone break is a common cycling injury and, in all seriousness, would probably have just a matter of time until it broke anyway. Best to get it out of the way now. And, I'm finally a real cyclist!

2011 UCI Para-cycling Road World Championsips

2011-05-29T07:53:00.000-07:00

This looks like it will be a fun, fast course!

2011-05-16T18:22:00.000-07:00

espnW article

Sydney World Cup

2011-05-11T22:57:00.000-07:00

From Montreal we headed to the opposite end of the Earth for the first UCI Para-cycling Road World Cup in Sydney. This trip meant another country and continent checked off my list and I was very excited. Australia is always a place that I’ve wanted to go and it lived up to my expectations. But first the racing.

The format for the racing was standard- a road race and a time trial. The road race was held first on the Eastern Creek Raceway another auto-racing circuit. The course combined the typical racecourse with their drag strip via access roads making an 8-ish Km undulating circuit. There were some 180s, hard 90s, S bends and chicanes culminating with a long, downhill finishing straight. The girls raced separately this go around which meant a small field. Sarah Storey won and it came down to a sprint between Claire and I for second. With a bike throw at the line, I managed to snag second on the day. Instead of flowers, we were given stuffed frilled necked lizards to take home.

Always throw your bike! Photo: Chris Lane, Cycling Australia

The next day was a time trial through Olympic Park, the location of the 2000 Sydney Olympic Village. The 6km course was the most technical I’ve ever seen for a Para-cycling event. It was great! I rode my road bike, a Felt AR, which is basically a TT bike with drop bars on it to begin with. Throw on a set of clip-ons and it’s about as close to a TT bike as you’re going to get without it actually being a TT bike. I digress. I felt fantastic! I liked the course despite there being no rhythm to it. I took the corners like I was on rails. Second again; I just plain got beat. In order to win, I need more power. If you know of anyone that’s looking to get rid of extra watts, let me know, I’ll take them.

The Olympic Park TT was the first race in a while that I felt good on the bike. The end of last season and almost all of 2011 has been pretty tough for me and I’ve struggled to have fun on the bike. The TT was fun, plain and simple. My legs felt great and I was happy to call myself a bike racer again.

Montreal

2011-05-11T22:52:00.000-07:00

Two weeks ago Team USA went up to our nation’s attic for some bike races- there’s some great stuff up there, you just tend to forget about it until you go up. We went for two P1 events- regional events from our continental area- the Americas. The first race was in Blainville and held on a banked oval auto test track. Yes, it was similar to a velodrome because of its shape, no, it wasn’t like a velodrome because it was six kilometers long. Six. The turns were so wide that the change in wind direction was the only reason we knew we had turned. In the typical fashion of spring in northern North America, it was cold, windy and rainy. This was not a surprise to anyone but unpleasant nonetheless.

Now, this is a post or conversation for some other time, but there are no girls who race. I mean, yes, technically there are several, but we’re few and far between. So, if there are any crippled female cyclists out there, please, please, please consider racing. The sport needs you and I’d like more people to race against. As you may have guessed by this plea, I was the only girl in my class and one of three total including one who was a teammate in a different class. So, with the points for this race locked up it only made sense to work for my teammates who needed a bit of help. Sam and Vince both had people to race against and I needed some training time. Mike- who also didn’t have anyone to race against- and I set tempo, closed gaps, and did what we could to keep Sam and Vince- marked men-either out of the wind or off the front. Because of the differences in classes, Mike and I raced a shorter distance and had to leave them on their own for the end of the race.

The next event was in Montreal on the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve F1 racetrack. Because it’s an auto-racing track, the road is as smooth as butter and plenty wide to take turns at speed. If cars can race around the track at 100+ mph then there shouldn’t be any problem for bikes. The first of the two races was a time trial. Again, Mike and I were the only ones in our classes and would work to help Sam and Vince in the road race. In an effort to not blow ourselves to bits in the TT- like we like to do- we rode very conservatively. The next day was the road race and with legs as fresh as spring daisies I was ready to work. As was illustrated in Blainville, the race would be Canada vs. The U.S. and it was up to us to make the race ours. We had the strongest riders in the field so we rode our race. Mike and I rotated at the front to keep the pace high and cull the herd. Team USA had a major presence in the race with two to four riders rotating on the front at any given time. Like in Blainville, Mike and I raced a shorter distance than Sam and Vince but by that time, they were both already off the front in the break and the first chase group. The work for the day was done.

It was fun having a job and working towards a common goal. More importantly, all the bikes started together big(er) fields. (For safety, the handcycles, trikes and tandems started in separate groups.) It’s always fun to race with the guys and to race with teammates. Training together is one thing but racing together and seeing the hard work pay off with wins is another. Additionally, having some low-key races to start the trip off is nice and takes some of the pressure off the riders that have to get results to gather points for the team.

Track Worlds is coming to America!

2011-04-19T17:34:00.000-07:00

Save the dates, mark your calendar and book a flight to L.A. The UCI Para-cycling Track World Championships is coming to America- for the second time ever- February 10-12, 2012. It's the last big event before the London Games, so it's sure to be good competition.

Read the official announcement here.

Surprise!

2011-04-19T06:03:00.000-07:00

My mom recently celebrated a milestone birthday and decided to have a party. This year marked the big 6-0 (Mom, hopefully you don't mind me telling the three other people who read my blog how old you are!) and, rightly so, wanted to live it up. You don't turn 60 very often, in fact, you only turn 60 once, so it makes sense to do it up right. 60's music- my favorite- hula hoops, Silly Putty and those weird chalky, unwrapped "mints" that restaurants used to give out before heath codes were established were all part of the evening.

Now, because I live 1,200 miles away, I don't visit very often and usually only make appearances during the summer racing season and for Christmas. My family would like to see me more often- who wouldn't? - but they understand that it's tough to get back. Due to my infrequent visits to The 773 nobody expected me to be at this 60s celebration. Well, since you only turn 60 once I decided it was worthy of a plane ticket and a good time for a trip back to Chicago. Under a veil of secrecy I made plans to attend this party. Only a select few knew I would be making the trip and I swore them to secrecy.

I'm the puny one in the family.

I'm not usually one for surprises but sometimes they're pretty fun. Nadia picked me up from the airport at midnight the night before the par-tay and we went straight to the house. Nadia told an un-truth for me- she told my mom she was going to a movie- to be able to avoid suspicion. I walked right into the house, my mom thought I was one of Nadia's friends and called me by another name, and I just said "hello." It took a few seconds for things to register but the excitement and smile on my mom's face was worth the few seconds of waiting. It's been a long time since she was that happy and I was excited to be there for it. We enjoyed breakfast together that morning and blasted 60s music in preparation for that evening*.

The second person on the surprise list was my grandma, Nanee. She's 87 and one of the coolest people on Earth. She and I write letters to each other- via snail mail- every other week or so. It's always a treat to get letters from her and read about what's going on in her life. I digress. She came in to the party room when I had my back turned and she didn't notice me. I walked over when she'd made it most of the way through her greetings and said hello. It took a moment for her to figure out that the person she was looking at was real. Then, she started crying. She's a crier so I was as prepared for it as I could have been. It was great to see her that happy and excited.

The party began and despite the fancy restaurant I felt compelled to sing 60s ballads at the dinner table. Not that I'm one for maintaining appearances, but it was nice that Nadia and our cousin Brittany joined in too. As is our family custom there were quizzes- this time on 1950s trivia. The young people failed miserably partly for not having lived through that time period and partly for not paying attention in history class. Luckily for me that was only part of the evening's festivities and I was able to make up points in the hula-hoop contest. We were even able to tear my mom away from the game clothespin in the bottle and got her to hula-hoop. Then it was right back to the clothespins.

The evening wrapped up and a lot of fun was had by all. It was so much fun to surprise my mom for her birthday. The best plans are the simplest ones- Just don't tell anyone and it'll work out! The only problem now is figuring out how to top it next year...

*Because of this party I have added 5.5 hours of 60's music to my collection. My life may be complete.

Introduction to Para-cycling

2011-03-23T17:10:00.000-07:00

This video does a good job of explaining the basics of Para-cycling.

Dream

2011-03-16T09:27:00.000-07:00

When I have sugar before I go to sleep I have some wild dreams. I’ve dreamt about all sorts of things like being a bug, going back to high school- because it’s just easier that way. I’ve dreamed that I somehow ended up with a kid- I’m unsure if it was mine or if I found it at The Coffee Bean, nevertheless, it was terrifying. I’ve had dreams about good things and terrible things happening, happy and sad, scary and funny. You know, just like anybody else.

A few days ago though, I had one that struck me as odd. I dreamt that my dad had faked his own death and I found him on the street in a foreign country. I know that probably wasn’t what you were expecting to read. I don’t know what country we were in or why I was in that country but I was walking through a marketplace and saw a man who looked amazingly like my dad. I stared because of the resemblance and out of confusion. He looked over and we made eye contact. At that moment, I knew it was him. We were both shocked and, understandably, I felt like I’d just seen a ghost. Then he ran off! I chased him through the market and was eventually able to catch up to him. When I was chasing him I don’t remember thinking much other than “I can’t let him run away” and then felt angry. I was mad and wanted to know why he would’ve faked his death, what he was doing in X foreign country and how he could have put his family through everything that he did. When I finally caught up to him, my anger had subsided. I wanted to sit and talk to him. And then I woke up. My timing really could use some improvement.

I’m not one to invest in the meaning of dreams, but I do think it’s sort of wild one to have. I know that he didn’t fake his death. It would be ridiculous to think that. He looked different in the dream too. He was dressed differently than he ever had when I knew him. He was younger, fit, and energetic- enough to go on a foot chase anyway. He was laughing and looked happy from across the marketplace.

For some time since his death, I’ve thought that we would’ve been good friends. In the past two and a half years, I’ve learned to place a higher value on things like interpersonal interactions and relationships. I have a better understanding of different situations and people. It’s helped me realize what a great person he was and that I missed out on getting to know him. I think, or hope, that we could’ve gotten along well in my adult life.

So Dad, wherever you are I hope you’re happy and having fun. I miss you.

Track Worlds Recap

2011-03-14T21:29:00.000-07:00

Track World Championships just wrapped up in Montchiari, Italy. They proved to be a bag of mixed emotions with a little bit of disappointment but also a little bit of excitement thrown in. Our team of 11 was comprised of the core group of familiar faces and we also had several riders making their international debuts.

Day one kicked off with kilos for the tandems and pursuits for the men. Everybody smashed their previous best times for their respective events. Like my teammates, I wanted to ride a new best time and, more importantly, for bragging rights. There are a number of healthy rivalries within the team which helps to keep us all pushing to be better.

My ride in the pursuit qualifier was rough at best. The first five laps or so were good and I felt like I’d gotten on top of the gear pretty well. Then two things happened. First, I got caught. I was paired up against the reigning World Champion and record holder whose time is far out of reach at this point in my career. That said, I knew going in that it would happen and it was all about minimizing damages. The second thing that happened was someone constructed a brick wall on the track over the course of a lap that I ran straight into. At the moment of impact, the wheels came off, the anchor dropped, the parachute deployed, the elephant climbed on my back, or any other hyperbolical phrase that could be substituted, happened. The time started slipping away and it seemed that there was nothing that could be done to grab hold of it again. As much as I tried to get a grip on it, it was ineffective.

Think of it as holding onto the middle of a rope- your lifeline- that if you lose hold of, you fall and you die. When you’re up on time you’re climbing up the rope and moving towards safety. When you’re down on schedule or begin losing time, you start to slide down the rope towards the danger zone. As soon as anchor dropped, it was like the rope was being pulled through my hands and there was nothing I could do to regain a firm hold of it.

There was a movie with a shark or a big fish in it, maybe it was Jaws where they hooked the shark or fish and all of a sudden their line started being ripped out to sea and they couldn’t do anything to slow it down. There was smoke coming off the line and the guys were doing everything they could to stop the line from breaking and the fish getting away. My pursuit felt like that- I was out of control until the very end where I was able to grab onto the end of the rope and claw my way back up a hand hold or two. It was a messy ride but, somehow, was enough to get me into the medal rounds. The evening proved to be quick and relatively painless for a pursuit and finished off with a silver. I was very disappointed with my qualifying time but it was enough to sneak into the finals- by the skin of my teeth. That said it’s not fair to complain and still make it into the finals. It was great to be able to contribute to the medal count.

The next afternoon was my 500m time trial which, historically, has been my weakest and least favorite event. This weekend was a bit different and I was able to set a new best time for my opening lap and tie my personal best time for the event. This marks the first time that rode the National Team time standard in the 500 and not in the pursuit. This is the part that I’m excited about. For the past several weeks I’ve been… blah. Just flat. The legs have been dull and haven’t responded very well to training for a while. It’s been very frustrating and neither Craig nor I can really put a finger on it. Having said that, it’s encouraging to see a new PR for an opening lap and tie my best time in my weakest event. I don’t interpret this to mean that I’m going to become a sprinter, but it’s an indication that life still exists in my legs! I was getting worried.

Track Worlds is over and the local track scene won’t be starting for a while. I feel like this is the end of one book and I’m moving now able to move onto the next. In some ways it seems like putting the track behind me for some time will help me get over the flat, dull feeling. Maybe it’s all mental, maybe it’s all training related, it’s likely a combination of the two, but psychologically I feel like I’m starting fresh. While I don’t want to forget the past three months of track training, camps, or Worlds, or not acknowledge it at all, I’m very glad that it’s over and now in the past.

I’m excited for the road season and to see what comes of this year. A lot of new opportunities are on the plate and I feel very lucky to have them. It will be a busy competition schedule with a lot of new paralympic races and also a full season of able-bodied racing with Peanut Butter & Co. 2011 has to start looking up sometime, and I think things are finally starting to change.

2011-03-11T22:15:00.000-08:00

It's race day! Follow results here and on Twitter

Pre-Race update

2011-03-10T14:10:00.001-08:00

It’s time for me to get back on the blog wagon. If I had a dollar for every time I wrote that, well, I would have a lot of dollars. As I write this, I’m sitting in a dimly lit hotel room in Italy, appropriately listening to Andrea Bocelli. I’ve been here for the past five days or so- they’ve all blended together a bit- but that is unimportant.

I’m here, in Montichiari, Italy, for the 2011 UCI Para-cycling Track World Championships. The racing program starts tomorrow with the men’s C’s (single bikes) racing the pursuit and the tandems racing the Kilo. The women’s single bikes will race the pursuit on Saturday and the 500 on Sunday. The team sprint and match sprints will be held on Sunday as well. Here is the schedule, but what this means for you, in regards to me- I race pursuit qualifying Saturday morning and if things go well then I’ll race for a medal that evening. Sunday morning will the 500 and then I am done racing. After that I plan to watch the rest of the racing on the program and enjoy our time left in Italy before heading to the airport at about 3am Monday morning.

Here’s a bit about the trip over: The ~26 hour day of travel to Europe was complete with its concomitant mishaps. Most people had seats in the “cattle car” or the back of the plane, flight delays, one lost passport resulting in a two day expedited replacement of said passport, and 25 bike boxes being left in Munich on the tarmac. In all honesty, this was one of the simpler trips across the pond. We usually fly with both or all three of our bikes to competitions but this time Adam, our LA based track coach, took almost all of the bikes with him when he flew. That left just a few bikes to travel with the athletes from their various departure cities. I flew with my road bike, and I must say that traveling with only one bike is pretty nice.

I don’t usually talk to strangers, but the flight to Munich was different. My seatmate and I exchanged the typical pre-flight banter of Hi, how are you? Are you traveling on business or for pleasure? What type of business? Bicycle racing sounds like a pretty good business to be in! One question led to another and we ended up talking for three and a half hours! There are few people on Earth that I have conversed with for three and a half hours straight and Jason, in 39B is now one of them. This is the second interesting person I’ve met on an airplane- the previous being a civilian demolitions expert contracted by the military who is also a gunsmith, shoots competitively, has some type of engineering background and also keeps bees and has a honey and beeswax product company. Jason is a drag racer and as a racer, was able to ask intelligent questions about cycling, the different races and the different types of equipment. It was actually pretty fun to answer all of his questions and teach him about the sport. It was also interesting to learn about cars and drag racing. After saying nearly everything I know about the sport of cycling, I was pretty tuckered out and fell asleep. Before landing, I was able to squeeze in a viewing of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part I. Think what you will of me, I love those movies and have seen them all. This is the first one that I have not viewed in theatres but I assure you that I will see Part II on the big screen. Don’t you worry about that!

After checking into the hotel in Montichiari, we sat down for dinner. Our first course: assorted steamed veggies and lettuce (not all together). Second course: Pasta or rice (both are very good). Third course: flattened chicken with tiny potatoes. Fourth course: fruit. Dinner since then has been basically the same, with variations on the main course and type of meat. One night we had flattened beef, the other night we each got half of a chicken, and tonight we had three wings of chicken. Mine still had some feathers and a few chicken hairs on them.

The bikes finally arrived mostly undamaged. Mine was the only one that sustained any damage in transit. The dropout, or part where the wheel is held into the frame was severely bent. In the process of trying to straighten it out, it snapped off. It sounds minor, but actually rendered the bike unrideable. Because the bike is/was a fancy-pants bike, it did not have removeable or replaceable dropout. So, shortly after the bike was unpacked, I repacked it and boxed it right back up for the trip back to the states. It was definitely a sad day for me. I quite like that bike and have had a good long run with it. But, all things must come to an end. Thankfully, most of us on the team are all close enough in size to each other that borrowing bikes is not a problem.

The track bike was undamaged and is in perfect working order. I would much rather have a broken road bike than not have a track bike- this is track worlds after all. We’ve ridden the track and besides it being really, really cold, I like it. The LA velodrome is shaped more like a hotdog than a hamburger. A hamburger track is much smoother to ride because you don’t get big power spikes going through the turns. It’s a much more consistent effort. That said, the hotdog tracks are fun because you can feel more G’s in the turns than the rounder tracks. Like each city, each track has its own personality and different characteristics. The are all unique and have different things to offer the racers. It’s one of the nice things about track cycling- while it’s the same event, distance, equipment and competitors, you have to be able to adapt to the situation.

I’m feeling confident and excited as we close in on Saturday’s racing. First up though are the men and the tandems tomorrow. Everybody is flying and I’m looking forward to getting all the results as they trickle in throughout the day. Check Twitter and Facebook for updates from me and the results website for official results.

Human Kebab

2011-02-21T21:38:00.000-08:00

This video is not for the squeamish: http://www.trackworldcup.co.uk/News/Article/329/1

Now that that's out of the way, I can go on to talk about another of my fears- Being skewered like a kebab. While I love kebabs, don't get me wrong, being one is not something I'd like to have on a list of life accomplishments.

The Malaysian sprinter, Awang, is one tough guy! They all went on to finish the race, and according to another video, it took him until after he ran across the line to notice the railroad spike like "splinter" through his leg. As the above video says though, he should be able to ride in but a fortnight. (I would like to say that the word "fortnight" is underutilized. I digress.) Being skewered is not something that happens often, but it is now a fear of mine. I would also demand that the surgeon let me keep the piece of wood as a souvenir.

Montichiari

2011-02-14T20:09:00.000-08:00

The Track Worlds Website is up and going. The program and hotel information is there for any of you interested in a little last minute vacay.

That's Bike Racing

2011-02-14T17:38:00.000-08:00

Like I mentioned in my last post, this past weekend was the Valley of the Sun stage race in Phoenix. Last year it treated me very well but this year it wasn't as nice. Friday was the time trial. I'm satisfied with the effort but know that I can go much faster. Saturday was the road race and Sunday was the crit.

The road race started at high noon, like an old west duel. I felt good, I'd recovered well from the TT the day before and I was ready for the first road race of the season. The course was a 16 mile triangle with a 3500-4000m climb on one side. It was sunny, warm and windy. Allison had raced earlier in the morning and made girls cry. My race however was less successful. Approximately 5 miles into the 57 mile race- about a kilometer after turning into the crosswind section of the course- there was a crash. I got tangled up in it and, miraculously didn't flat, damage my bike, and other than some thistles and thorns in my hip I was uninjured. The bodies and sand in the ditch below me cushioned my fall. It took a while to untangle everything and check myself and bike over before I got started again. At that point, chasing solo in the wind was looking like it would be fruitless. And believe me, I chased with the fury of 1000 warriors yet made no progress. After chasing for a lap with another girl, I decided to cut my losses and save it for the crit. If nothing else, it was good to get a solid ride in in the sun. The tan lines need work!

Each year the crit is held on a figure eight course- it did not actually cross itself, just touched in the middle- and it’s one of my favorites. It’s technical enough that it separates some people out but it’s open enough to still be fast. After a disappointing road race, I really wanted to do well in the crit and redeem myself a bit. The whistle blew and the race started. It was fast right from the start. The Primal/MapMyRide team kept the pace high and kept anything from getting away. It was too fast for me to try to go on my own that early. My plan was to just hang out in the pack and then with two laps to go try to take a last minute flyer. My plan was going perfectly and with three to go I was sitting in about 10^th wheel and moving up. Then, while going through the rodeo section on the back side of the course -I call it the “rodeo section” because the pavement is quite bumpy and you have to just hold on and hope for the best- my wheel was knocked out of alignment and into my frame. Immediately it was as if I’d pulled the E-Brake or, like on aircraft carriers, the plane catching cable grabbed me and was dragging me backwards. And that was that! Because it was within three laps of the finish I was awarded pack time for the day.

This bike-racing thing is frustrating. I’m sorry if this sounds like something an ex high school quarterback would say at his ten-year reunion- “The game would’ve been totally different if coach had let me do ______ and then we would’ve won state. It could’ve been great, I’m telling you.” In no way do I mean I would’ve won, but, I am saying that I wanted to take a chance and if I couldn’t win at least go out in a blaze of glory- or something like that. Like I said, this can be a very frustrating profession, but at the same time, it’s the most gratifying. When things work out, it’s a phenomenal feeling. Highs come with lows and it’s nice to get the lows out of the way before the season gets going in earnest.

Starting the Season Off... Right?

2011-02-12T08:04:00.000-08:00

Yesterday was the first stage of the Valley of the Sun stage race in Phoenix, AZ. The format is a ~23K time trial, a 57 mile road race and a 40 minute crit. VOS is my first race in a long time, and first official test of the legs and lungs since being sick. I woke up the morning of the TT feeling great, the sky was a little bluer, the grass was greener- well, maybe that was just the turf on the putting green in the yard- and the sun was shining. I felt fantastic! Start time is approaching and I put my bike on the trainer, kit up and begin my warm up.

Here's a bit of background so this post makes more sense. When I was home for the holidays my brother's rabbit ate the laces right out of my shoes. Yes, I know the holidays were two months ago, but that's neither here, nor there. Finally, the day before leaving for Arizona, I decided to finally replace the laces in my cycling shoes. After an hour of struggling with the shoes and very thin cable laces, cutting laces to their appropriate length- which I just guessed- and reassembling the ratchet closure system, I thought they were ready to go. Did I try to ride with them? No, why would I do that? Of course it would be fine.

Janky

While riding in Tucson with Ali Jones I realized that my shoe did not, in fact, work properly. It kept opening up and I was beginning to worry that my foot might just come out of the shoe. I thought about it and figured that it was because there was too much cable in the boa system and it was over loaded. I tried fixing it to no avail. The ratchet itself had broken. Now, I usually travel with a second pair of shoes, but did I this weekend? Ha! No, no, of course not. The solution? Electrical tape. A few times around the shoe and I was set to go! It's important to be able to improvise, right?

Now that my shoe had no chance of falling off my foot, I was set to resume my warm up, and then race. Start time rolls around and I take off for 23K of pain! Holy Chicken, it was painful, and I was proper f'd afterwards. Technically, I'm happy with the ride- I chose the right gears, was focused the whole time, had good body position and left everything out there. From a time and placing standpoint, it wasn't my best ride- I'm sitting 15th, 2:30 back- but I'm actually satisfied despite that. With every track camp and effort that we do, I realize just how much the Pnu took out of me. It makes total sense why old people die of pneumonia.

With the dancing shoes on

I gave my best yesterday and that's all I can ask for. Having Pnu has helped me realize how important it is to be patient although, admittedly, I'm still not very good at it. Perhaps patience is like art- it's never actually finished, it's just "done" when it has to be.

2011-02-07T16:05:00.000-08:00

Sorry for starting to slip back into my old, bad blogging habits. I enjoy blogging but it seems to slip my mind. Can I blame my not following through on my resolution on the mysterious cessation of Google Cal reminders? Yes, but that's irresponsible. Truly, I really didn't feel like blogging at all last week.

We wrapped up our third track camp in LA yesterday. This camp was still the two-a-day format with early morning and evening sessions each day. The training tears me up, but one of the hardest things is getting up so early. It probably sounds like I'm a prima donna for saying that but it's true. A late night session followed by and early morning session is hard to do. Between eating dinner, trying to wind down, and then finally sleeping, it's a quick turn around. That said, it was nice to have more time between the morning and afternoon sessions for added recovery.

I'm still recovering a bit from the pnu, and as Craig told me "You're flat... Whatever that means." Always the wordsmith, he also said "Enough is enough, when it's enough." Now, that probably doesn't make a ton of sense to a lot of you but it does to me. It's easy to dig yourself into a hole by not fully recovering from an injury, illness or just hard training. It's smarter to say it's enough than to beat your head against a wall trying to make times that aren't going to happen. It's frustrating for sure, but reminding myself- and having teammates and staff that remind me- that it's not the end of the world and that recovery is important help a lot. I was able to ride well and had several successful sessions on the track. It's always fun to ride fast!

2011-02-01T08:47:00.002-08:00

We’re in the middle of our third training camp right now, but this one is a slightly different format than the others. Rather than only being a track camp, this one is half road and half track- we just finished the bulk of the road half. The road half is based out of the Chula Vista Olympic Training Center where we do our biannual training camps and time trials. One TT is flat- Otay Lakes Road- and the other is uphill- Honey Springs Road.

Today is our first rest day between the two time trials and our drive up to LA to get on the track again. I think it’s safe to say that I’m not the only one that’s looking forward to today’s recovery ride. Yesterday was a slog for me. We had the Honey Springs TT followed by another 2.5 hours of climbing. Between being sick and doing a lot of track training, this endurance business is hard work. 3.5 hours and about 6000ft of climbing is tough for this track racer. If you’re going uphill on the track, you’re doing it all wrong.

Our work is done for the next two days and now the main objective is to rest as hard as we’ve been training. It will be important to go into the next camp completely rested and firing on all cylinders. Worlds is rapidly approaching – March 5^th is our departure date- just four and a half weeks away.

Track camp #2

2011-01-24T17:11:00.027-08:00

All our bikes waiting to go fast.

Track camp number two is done and done! Camp was both frustrating and satisfying. Going in I wasn't 100% and was still recovering from The Pnu. It completely kicked my butt, and I was laid up for the entire time between camps. So, going in I was tired but on my way to recovery. Before training started, Craig and I decided it would be best to ease my way back into the training and take camp session by session.

At first I was frustrated that I wasn't making times and was struggling to finish the efforts. I am my harshest critic, and something like walking pneumonia wasn't a valid excuse for not making times. As camp progressed though, I was able to look at the entire situation and not beat myself up for not being able to breathe during efforts. Each day I recovered from being sick and was able to do more of the training exercises with the rest of the team.

Sunrise from the velodrome

By the end of the camp I was able to look back at the weekend and feel satisfied with the work I'd done. Going in less than 100% and still putting in the work during training was a good mental boost for me. Laying on the couch all week was tough and I couldn't help but worry about how being sick now would impact my training and the rest of the season. Completing the camp was definitely helpful in eliminating those worries, and I think I'll be just fine this season.

2011-01-23T11:23:00.000-08:00

Here are some super cool photographs from the 1850s-1940s (Some are graphic.)

Packing

2011-01-22T13:19:00.000-08:00

Sorry for the delayed post, I forgot what day it was.

With so much travel in my schedule, a lot of people ask me about packing. How to pack bikes, cars and duffel bags all seem to be of interest. It's actually fairly simple and when you do it often you develop a pretty specific procedure for it all. My secret? Organizer bags. They help keep your bag tidy and are great when you're looking for something in a rush. Just pull out the bag full of socks and you're good to go rather than digging through a mess of t-shirts, shoes and pajamas. I use six organizer bags to keep everything organized- one for socks, underwear, sports bras, real clothes, kits and ride food. An extra pair of cycling shoes and casual shoes, toiletries, massage stick, bowl, cup and cutlery also go in my duffel. I like traveling with as little as possible, so I often bring a clothes line and some laundry detergent so I can just do sink laundry and pack less clothes.

This is everything I travel with.

I also carry a few items in my back pack. My laptop, iPod and Kindle are the three items I never travel without. I also pack my helmet, riding arm, cycling shoes and pedals in my carry on- taking shoes and pedals allow you to ride any bike if yours doesn't make it for some reason. It's that easy! Packing the duffel takes about 20 minutes- when I don't have to do laundry of course- and I'm ready to hit the road.

Baldie

2011-01-19T20:42:00.000-08:00

My Baldie had a white and red outfit

When I was a kid I only gave my toys and pets practical names. My first goldfish was named Gold (not even Goldie, just Gold), my brown teddy bear was Brownie and my bald Cabbage Patch doll- You guessed it, Baldie. I distinctly remember sitting in the kitchen, holding the doll and thinking about a proper name for it. After a few moments of thought, I triumphantly declared "Baldie" was it. My mother was unimpressed. Why the designers at Cabbage Patch thought it'd be a good idea to make a bald headed doll for kids to play with is beyond me because I'm probably the only kid that loved it. I didn't have any friends with a bald doll but Baldie and I were tight.

Baldie was a boy- why would I want to hang out with a girl? they're so dramatic- and I'd like to think we had a fair bit in common. As a kid, I looked pretty sickly and people often asked if I was albino. When told I wasn't afflicted with albinism or a victim of leukemia- often their second question- people gave a quizzical look but generally accepted it and moved on. Because of this, maybe subconsciously, we were pretty close friends because he too looked as though he was going through chemo.

In addition to a vaguely sickly look, we had similar belly buttons. I've never liked mine and always called it an in-betweenie because it wasn't nice and finished like my friends' innies, but- thankfully- wasn't an outie like my dad's. It looks like an outie, but doesn't stick out past my belly. (If it did, I would have surgery to fix it.) Although Baldie's belly button was an outie they were similar enough to me to bond over.

I also remember licking his head because the plastic tasted good. None of my human friends had heads that I would lick. I was a weird kid.

2011-01-17T21:00:00.000-08:00

I'm still sick with a bit of the pnu. I seem to have grossly underestimated its power. Today was the first time back on the bike for a real ride, outside, and not recovery. After riding 90 minutes, I laid on the floor of my bedroom like I'd just finished a 4.5 hour hammer fest. It's funny because I'll feel fine, and like I'm making quite a bit of process in terms of recovery, then out of nowhere, it's like a wave of exhaustion that crashes down on me. Sleep still comes in 11-12 hour doses at night, usually with several naps during the day. In a way it's nice to sleep a lot, but at the same time the indolence is frustrating. I like being active, I like riding my bike, I like visiting with friends and now all I do is ay on the couch and nap. Oh well. I guess it's better than... I don't know. It needs to be done so I'm not an invalid forever.

2011-01-14T18:29:00.001-08:00

Sorry for the short posts this week. I've been laying on the couch sleeping most of the week trying to get over a nasty cough/cold that I brought back from LA.

My tip for this Friday is to go see a doctor when you're sick! Don't wait until you cough your lung up to realize that something is amiss. The doctor told me that I may have a bit of walking pneumonia and started me on medicine to clear my lungs out. I've been assured that I should be good-to-go for the start of camp on Wednesday which is good.

2011-01-12T16:19:00.000-08:00

The cough/cold I brought back from LA is kicking my butt. My plan is to sleep it out. 12 hours last night, and an all day nap today seem to be helping. If I'm asleep, I'm not sick right? Just sleeping?

Track Camp #1

2011-01-10T16:34:00.000-08:00

The team returned from our first track camp of 2011 last night. Four days and seven track sessions proved to be an ass kicking for all of us. That's how you know it was a good camp! As it was the first full-on camp of the year, we spent some time getting reacquainted with the track before hitting the training hard. The reacquaintance period consisted of the five minutes before the warm up, then we got right down to it. It was great being on the track again with teammates. Training with teammates encouraging each other and suffering along side you makes the sessions easier, and more enjoyable.

In addition to returning home feeling like I got beat up in a fight, I brought back a cough that sounds somewhat like the croup. The cure? Robitussin. Chris Rock says that Robitussin is the cure for everything. Well, I can't say I'm a fan of the 'tussin, but it does seem to work.

A bit of recovery is on tap for this week, then back to the track for camp #2 next week!

2011-01-07T16:13:00.000-08:00

People are jackhammering outside the hotel. Unfortunately, it's not conducive to napping.

Outside of that, camp is going pretty well. We've finished three sessions, and have four more to go before heading home on Sunday. Not much to report on as far as that. Camp is camp which means lots of time training, and lots of time spent recovering to do it again in a few hours.

Still jackhammering.

From the Old Country

2011-01-05T18:19:00.001-08:00

My father’s family came to America on a boat from the “old country.” When I was young, I dismissed it and went on with my life, not thinking it was interesting or of any importance. I thought they were a bit odd- as a result of coming from the old country- but grew accustomed to having a three-foot, hard salami in the refrigerator and eating bread that could double as roofing shingles. Now, I’m reevaluating my thoughts. While I was back in Chicago for the holidays the Neimanai got together for our annual New Year’s lunch- it was not actually on New Year’s this year. On the drive out, Nadia and I were talking about how difficult it must’ve been coming over here. I had a very basic knowledge of why they came to America, but the real reasons are far more interesting.

The family is from Lithuania and came to America when my dad was 10. My grandfather was educated in Moscow- he could speak half a dozen languages- and was known for being very forthright. He spoke out against communism and fought in the Russian Revolution. He was imprisoned for some time in a Russian work camp but escaped. In the dead of winter after getting frostbite on his feet, he was placed in the infirmary, and then, somehow, managed to escape the camp. After getting out, he walked back to Lithuania with only the clothes on his back.

In the old country, my grandfather was the head of the Lithuanian Evangelical Reformed Church where he was essentially a mini Pope. In addition to that, he worked on an estate as the stable/transportation manager. He met my grandmother there where she worked as the manager of the estate. They had four kids, my dad being the youngest.

Somewhere around here, WWII broke out.

Despite being vehemently against communism, he was hunted by the Nazis because they feared he would spread communism. Presumably, because of his education, outspokenness and ability to reach the masses from his position in the church, he wound up on the Nazis hot list. He and his family were pursued throughout Europe where they were forced to jump from country to country, evading detection. They bartered their way around Europe trying to ensure safe passage for the entire family. Eventually, their only option was to leave the continent and move to America.

After coming across on the boat- this isn’t hyperbole, they actually crossed the Atlantic on a boat- they reached New York. Rather than anything going smoothly or according to plan, they arrived and learned that their sponsor could no longer serve as their sponsor. They were stuck in New York until someone would vouch for them. After several weeks (?) they found a family and began their travel to the Midwest.

Finally free from the Nazis, they began a new life. Unlike in Europe where they had prestigious jobs, they took the only jobs they could get. None of them spoke English, so my grandfather took a job as a janitor and my grandmother worked in a sausage factory. The oldest daughter, Rita, worked in a shoe factory. The oldest son, Stasys, joined the army and worked as a translator- he was actually sent back to Europe to work for a while. The youngest daughter, Eve, was still in school, in high school or college. My dad, John, was in elementary school at the time and had a rough go of it. He was thrown into class with the other kids and had to learn to swim quickly. He didn't speak any English or know the customs and as a result, got bullied a lot. He wound up in trouble a lot, partly because of the cultural differences, and partly because he was on his own. With the rest of his family working all the time, he was left to his own devices.

After two or so years of constantly getting into trouble, my dad was sent to a mink ranch. Because he was always in trouble, and the family couldn’t adequately look after him, they sent him to work on a ranch in Wisconsin. The ensuing two years of his life provided many stories he told us whenever we were out of line. Based on his stories, the mink raised on the ranch were all killed and turned into fur coats. Detailed descriptions of falling into enormous containers of mink intestines, and the proper way to kill the mink were stories we heard growing up.

This is about where our discussions ended, and I don’t know what exactly happened next. My dad learned English, left the mink ranch, finished school, became an artist/teacher, met my mother and then I entered the picture. I do know that life before and after coming to America was anything but easy. It’s all tremendously interesting to me, but I can’t ask him. I want to know what it was like being in this new country and the hardships it entailed. I’m certain it was terrifying being a little kid and being chased around Europe. Did he have toys that he carried with him, or games he used to play? I know he was close to their nanny and once heard a story about her saving his life. For his first birthday or Christmas in the U.S. he got a pineapple. His life was very different and it’s almost hard to imagine. What I imagine is mostly concocted from my movie-based knowledge of Nazis, a Google search of “mink” and the few stories he told us.

Now that I’m old enough to appreciate it, it’s too late for me to ask him. Rather than asking questions at the Neimanai gathering- I was too scared to ask in front of other people.- I kept quiet and mulled over what it must’ve been like. After returning home, I realized how dumb that decision was- I should have heeded my own advice and sacked up and asked the questions! Learning more about his life should help me understand more about him as a person and hopefully give insight into some of his decisions. It would be nice to know more about him than his love of shingle bread and salami.

2011-01-03T14:53:00.000-08:00

Yesterday consisted of a cross-country drive from Chicago back to the Springs. It's about 1100 miles point to point and is, obviously, a very long drive. Between that and being cooped up inside on the rollers for almost two weeks I was itching to get outside. With temperatures in the teens almost the whole I was in Chicago, I was dreaming of some warm weather too. Today, the Universe answered- it was 45° and sunny for my ride! Some of the roads still had snow and slush on them, but I didn't even care, I needed to get outside. It was one of the best 60 minute recovery rides in a long time. The bright blue sky, shining sun, and mountains were a terrific welcome home.

Wednesday is the start of track camp in Carson, CA.

Staying Focused

2010-12-31T06:15:00.000-08:00

Most of my quality thinking happens on the bike. It's often a big chunk of my day and I look forward to that time. Something about being on a bike, often alone, on a quiet road gives you the opportunity to just be alone with your thoughts.

I've been in Chicago for the past week visiting family. While it's has been a lot of fun catching up with people training has not. Partly because I'm a cold weather sissy and partly because the roads are icy and not totally clear (for my liking anyway), I've been spending some quality time on the rollers.

My teammate Sam is actually the expert in this area, but I'm going to go ahead and discuss it anyway. Riding rollers is tough. It's tough to get focused and stay focused while you're going nowhere. The feeling of being a gerbil on a wheel is definitely present- riding your bike, staring at a wall, or a TV, listening to your iPod and not covering any actual ground. Time slows to a crawl and you notice everything- the seam of your sock is twisted, your chamois cream is cold, bar tape isn't perfectly wrapped anymore. All these things seem to have neon signs drawing attention to the "problem" that needs to be fixed. Outside on the road, these things all go unnoticed.

I have two tricks that help me get through roller rides, and they're actually contradictory. First, turn your brain off. Get into a Zen-like mental state where you sort of turn your brain off and just ride. You're not aware of anything, yet completely self aware- you don't want to fall off the rollers- during your ride. The rhythm of your cadence, heartbeat and breathing all help to get into groove. Soon enough, you're done!

The second, is to think about everything! It's like going on an adventure in your head- Yes, that can be scary at times- but just start in one place and, like a conversation, follow the path. Don't force anything. Think about wherever your mind takes you. This method is how I get to thinking about outer space, the confines of space, how many other planets have life and why haven't we made contact with them, who are the people in my life that I should get back in contact with, what my grandmother is doing this weekend and so on. Everything leads to something else, and you may find that you get quite a bit of good, quality thinking done in that time.

Like riding your bike, it takes training to get to the point where you can either turn your brain off, or turn it on warp speed. If you're like most Americans, you'll probably have the weather for lots of quality roller time this winter. Stick it out, it'll pay off in the spring when you're out on the road and killing it. Happy riding!

A Resolution?

2010-12-28T22:36:00.000-08:00

Starting today- it's technically Wednesday already- I'm going to update this blog three times a week on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. Call it a resolution, a goal, or just being more responsible with thing, but regardless of what you call it, I'm going to do this. As of today, Mondays will be a training recap, "Wildcard Wednesdays" will be a bit of everything and Fridays will be a bit of everything, but mainly pertaining to life as an athlete. I didn't like any of the clever names beginning with an F so it's just Friday for now. The two ideas that were shot down were "Friday Fun Day" and "Frisky Friday".

Name suggestions are welcome and encouraged, as are topics for entries and any questions you may have.

Here's a little update: I'm back in Chicago for a little visit with the fam. Nadia came out to Colorado Springs for a day to see the city, then drive back with me. In the day she was there, she saw everything the COS has to offer. Admittedly, it's not much at all, and we didn't feel like we missed out on anything at all. The drive in was uneventful which is good, I suppose, when you're driving 1100 miles in one go. There was some pretty impressive freezing fog between the Springs and Denver. The grasses and trees looked like they'd been coated with a perfect amount of frost. Or sprayed with a fire extinguisher. One or the other.

We celebrated Christmas with the whole family- aunts, uncles, Nanee- my grandmother, and the kids. We took our Christmas card photo on Christmas which will be sent out for the New Year. (Timing isn't exactly our strong suit.) We actually look pretty good if I do say so myself.

Because it's quite cold and very snowy outside, I've been riding the rollers inside while watching movies. It's a bummer to ride inside, but it's better than freezing my little toes off. And now, I can catch up on my movie watching. Speaking of which, Nadia and I went to the theatre yesterday to see The King's Speech. I highly recommend it! Colin Firth is fantastic, and Helena Bonham Carter and Geoffrey Rush also play terrific roles. Go see it.

That's all for now. Check back on Friday!

My Biggest Fear

2010-12-15T21:02:00.001-08:00

I know I don’t know all of you that well, and maybe we’re not at the point in our friendship where we voice our hopes and fears, but I’m going to anyway. I’ll start with one of my biggest fears- breaking or losing my teeth. I’m not scared of snakes or spiders, although I found a spider in my bed once and didn’t like that very much, but the fear of damaging my teeth is very, very real.

As a child, my baby teeth fell out as expected but instead of nice, Chiclet shaped adult teeth growing into a movie star smile, the teeth that grew in were… less than beautiful. In actuality, I had a bunch of crooked, gapped teeth that didn’t quite fit in my mouth. An eighteen-wheeler could have driven between my front teeth. Because of this horrific situation, I was sent to the orthodontist for some work. They did everything from expanding my skull to make room for all my teeth and tongue to fit in my mouth at the same time- I’m very happy that my tongue doesn’t hang out of my mouth like a dog’s- to the traditional braces and retainers. This went on for six years. Yes, six years of my life were spent with some type of orthodontic apparatus glued to my teeth. These six years spanned the 3^rd to 8^th grades.

Because I spent six years of my life with braces, I’ve grown to value dental hygiene and health. I brush and use mouthwash everyday and even floss sometimes. That's right, floss. This devotion to dental hygiene is based in fear. I’m terrified that by not brushing my teeth, they will rot and fall out of my face and I would look like a white trash hillbilly. Not even my Colbert sweater could make up for a missing tooth and it’s the most pretentious piece of clothing I own.

Because I’m in control of my dental hygiene, it is the lesser of this two-part fear. More importantly, I’m afraid of breaking or knocking out a tooth- or, Chicken forbid, teeth. Playing soccer for 12 years, I took my fair share of hits to the face, and the fear was nearly crippling. Cycling, I fear that I’ll break teeth in a crash and it’s usually the first thing I check when I hit the ground. Again, this is mainly because I don’t want to look like a hillbilly.

You’re probably thinking to yourself “This Greta sure is vain.” Well, maybe I am, but I really, really care about my teeth. Part of this fear is the part where the teeth actually break. While I’m sure this is quite painful, it’s a minimal component of my fear. Mainly, I’m terrified of the aftermath. Having broken/missing teeth and holes in my smile is not something I want to experience. I’m far too young for dentures or caps, and putting my teeth in a jar at night is simply not an option. Given the choice however, I would choose a fake tooth over a dead, grey tooth still attached.

I’d really hate for my six years of orthodontic torture to go to waste because of a silly thing like a bike crash, or tooth rot. My parents made quite the financial investment in this smile of mine, and I invested hours of stress and dental pain- a far greater cost than any amount of money if you ask me- and it just doesn’t seem right to have to fix it again. Because losing my teeth is a constant threat, it only adds to my fear which I worry it may have reached an irrational level. I will continue to live in constant fear of losing my teeth, but I assure you, I’m doing everything in my power keep all of them intact.

Thanksgiving

2010-11-24T23:00:00.000-08:00

I could write an entire book about all the things I'm thankful for, but you probably don't want to read all that right now. Here just are a few:

- The best friend you could ever imagine
- People that love me and I love in return (and finally realizing that!)
- The opportunities I have been given throughout my life
- The life experiences- good and bad- that have helped shape who I am, and what I value

Everyone has something to be thankful for, sometimes it's just a matter of realizing what it is. Happy Thanksgiving everybody.

2010-11-24T08:16:00.000-08:00

Today is going to be a good day- I can feel it. Happy Wednesday. That is all.

2011 Season

2010-11-14T21:10:00.000-08:00

I'm excited to announce that I'll be racing with Peanut Butter & Co. Team Twenty12 for the 2011 season!

Read more about it here.

Louis Zamperini Story

2010-10-11T15:41:00.000-07:00

The Most Interesting Man on the Planet

2010-10-11T15:28:00.001-07:00

On Friday I heard the most interesting man on the planet speak. And no, it wasn’t that Dos Equis guy. Louis Zamperini came to the OTC to speak 70 athletes about perseverance, and to share his life’s story. If you’ve never heard of him, you’re not the only one, but he is truly an incredible person and deserving of much more recognition than he gets.

At 93 years old, Louis flew to Colorado Springs to speak at the OTC's annual Reach the Peak event. He probably weighs 90 pounds soaking wet, but he more than makes up for his small stature with a larger than life... life. He started running in high school, and at just 19 made the Olympic team. He competed in Berlin in Hitler's Olympics in 1936, and despite not winning a medal, he was congratulated by Hitler himself for his finishing kick in the 5000m. He also stole a Nazi flag, and talked his way out of trouble with the gestapo.

After the war is when his life really got interesting. His plane crashed during a WWII rescue mission in the south Pacific. He spent 47 days on a raft with the other two survivors (one died after 33 days on the raft). They fought off Great White sharks (he told us nonchalantly that if you're ever face to face with a Great White, just put your hand on its nose and it'll calm down and leave you alone) and evaded death by Japanese planes shooting at them. He decided to jump in the water and take his chances with a few sharks than face certain death from a bullet. After drifting over 2000 miles, he washed up on shore of the Marshall Islands and was soon taken prisoner by the Japanese and transferred to "Execution Island." He was a guinea pig for their medical experiments, was threatened with death every day (the nine previous captives on the island had all been beheaded) and kept in a tiny cell. He was transferred to a POW camp in Japan where he was help for two years. Merciless beatings and forced labor were the day-to-day in Louis's life for two years.

He was freed after the war ended and jumped straight back into real life. He married a smoking hot girl soon after returning home but fell into a bottle and suffered from night terrors until he found religion. Now, this is where I am really amazed by Louis's character. He was beaten, tortured, experimented on, and faced with atrocities I don't want to imagine everyday for two years, and was able to forgive his captors for it. He went to Japan on a religious trip and met with some of his guards (they were in prison) and he was able to forgive every single one, including the worst one.

I’m not a vengeful person, but if I went through what he did I’m pretty sure I wouldn’t be as quick to forgive. I don’t think I’d want to kill them, but I at least wouldn’t want to go visit them, or probably forgive them for what they’d done. And I understand that orders are orders, but in that case I feel it’d be okay to stay angry for a while.

He then went on to talk about how the lessons he’s learned from the Olympics and his war experience has impacted his life. Everything he said about living life was so simple and made so much sense. For instance, just don’t think about negative things. You can only focus on one thing, so why not make it a good thing? By eliminating stress, he’s been able to live a healthy, happy life and at 93, he doesn’t look like he’s slowing down at all. He talked about having hope and faith, the difference between them and how without them, he wouldn’t have made it off the raft. It was really amazing to hear his story, and at the same time frustrating that I’d never heard of him before! How can a person who’s persevered through so much be an unknown? He wrote an autobiography that I just started reading, and there is another book about him coming out next month (Laura Hillenbrand, the author of Seabiscuit is writing it).

I definitely recommend watching his video (I’ll post the links for it it) and looking into his life. You know you’ve lived an amazing life when being an Olympian is an afterthought.

Walking is Hard Work

2010-09-29T11:19:00.000-07:00

As an endurance athlete, I’ve been taught “don’t stand if you can sit and don’t sit if you can lay down” when I’m off the bike. This may sound extraordinarily lazy to some, and it may sound like heaven to some of you. Well, it’s usually a motto I live by except in the off-season. The fall is often the time for us to play around, have fun off the bike, and try doing other activities. One activity that’s easily accessible here is hiking.

All hiking is, is walking in nature. In theory it’s simple- you put on some shoes and just start walking. Well, that’s about where the simplicity ends and the mountains begin. Walking is hard work! Really, it’s tough. Here in the Rockies, chances are you’re either going up or going down. After hiking for nearly five hours in the mountains one day last week, I have a new found respect for people that hike seriously, and the pioneers when they came through here.

Our hike started at 8000 feet, and our destination was at 10000 feet. Armed with plenty of water and a camera, we set of up the mountain. Let me tell you, it was gorgeous! There were so many little plants that I’d never seen before, the leaves were changing colors, we identified different types of pine trees, crossed streams, saw bear scratches on trees, and heard stories from one man about how he’d chased a bear through some of the same trails. Why you would chase a bear is beyond me, but it was cool to hear him tell the story. Now, for those of you from sea level, you may have noticed this thing called “altitude” here in Colorado. Even as a trained athlete, it’s hard to breathe at 10000 feet.

After a few hours of climbing we reached the top. Oh my chicken, it was gorgeous! The aspen were beginning to change color and the brilliant gold against the bright blue sky is something I’ll remember for a long time. I took a bunch of photos at the top primarily of a dead, uprooted tree with a rock in its roots. I like dead trees, uprooted trees, and quirky things like rocks that get stuck in trees. When the three came together, I took it as a sign and went crazy with the photos (see album on right). We found pieces of quartz, amazonite, and lots of cool pieces of dead wood.

Unlike on the bike, walking uphill is much easier than walking downhill. There was not a single moment on the descent when I thought it was easier than the ascent. It is very clear how easy it is to get hurt on the descent when you’re tired to begin with coupled with harder work than the first half of the trip. Each time we stopped, my legs were shaking from walking down such steep sections of trail and working to maintain footing on loose soil. After getting back to the OTC, I was exhausted! It felt like I’d ridden for 5 hours, not walked! I was so happy with the day though that it didn’t matter how tired I was. A new activity was conquered, stories were shared, photos were taken, and now I have a tiny crystal too.

If you’re looking for a fun, challenging activity, consider hiking. It’s a great opportunity to see the area from a different perspective and take in some of the beauty of nature. Seriously, if you don’t believe how hard walking can be, try it in nature.

A Quirky Hobby

2010-09-23T14:25:00.000-07:00

If you haven’t picked up by now that I’m quirky (“odd” and "weird" have a negative connotations), this should settle it for you. I love going to cemeteries. Wait, don’t leave, just give me a minute and hear me out. I don’t go with pouches of fish scales, eyes of newts or crystals I go with reverence and curiosity.

Death, and what happens after death, is interesting to me. Is there a heaven and hell? I don’t know. Are people reincarnated? I don’t think so. I struggle to believe in god- although it would be kind of nice sometimes. Where does a soul go, if it goes anywhere at all? What I do know is that everyone makes a difference in someone else’s life. The saying “To the world you are one person, but to one person you are the world” is a bit too lovey-dovey for me, but there is something to take away from that. Everyone is loved at one point or another in their lives, hopefully for all of it, and hopefully it continues on after they die too.

I joke about not liking people, ok about hating people, but it’s because I don’t understand why they do the things they do sometimes. I really do like people, I like learning their story and what makes them who they are. Listening is important to me, and I think it’s something I’m able to do fairly well. Too few people really listen to anyone anymore- it’s almost like a lost art.

When I go to a cemetery, I want to learn about the people there. Since they don’t do much talking, I have to take the reins. I ask questions and do a lot of speculating. How did they die? How old were they? What were their hobbies? If they’re buried with a family, I wonder about the family too- parents, children, siblings. Did they have pets? What was their favorite book? What did they do, or want to be when they grew up? These and hundreds of other thoughts all run through my head when I’m there. I wish I could listen to them, and hear their stories. When I leave, it’s with a sense of wonder and respect for the person regardless of if they died a hundred years ago, or three months ago.

A friend told me that people die three deaths- one when they actually die, one when they’re buried, and finally the last time anyone thinks of them. So, in a way, going to the headstones of people I’ve never met and have no connection to is keeping them alive. I love life, and I want everyone to enjoy theirs as much as I do.

Another element of cemeteries that I love is the serenity. There are no children running around you screaming, very few cars, and hardly any distractions. It’s quiet. It’s amazing how a cemetery can be right on or near a busy road, and once you’re inside the gates it’s quiet. There’s an invisible sound barrier surrounding the grounds that lets you be with your thoughts.

Despite death, more often than not, there’s a sense of new life. Fresh flowers are placed on headstones, trees are growing, and people are visiting their loved ones. It’s hopeful in a way. When you see death, you appreciate life more. You can understand how fragile and precious it really is. Visiting other people in the cemetery makes me think about their lives and how great of people they probably were.

Each time I go to a cemetery, I leave with mixed feelings. I feel big knowing that my life can impact people, yet small knowing how short life can be and how delicate it is. Life is exquisite! Enjoy it while you have it, and respect those who have lived their lives by remembering- or theorizing- the life they lived.

Road Worlds

2010-08-27T19:26:00.000-07:00

World Championships is the keystone event of an athlete’s season. For cyclists, it’s two days of racing, two events, two chances to show the world how good you are. Think of it as the final presentation after a semester long project. The work is all done, you’ve completed every assignment and now all that’s left is to tell people what you know. It sounds simple, and in essence it is. As the athlete, all you have to do is show up and do what you know best.

2010 has been a long, busy and hard season for me. Racing started in February and it’s been full on since then. Physically it’s been difficult and mentally even more so. I’ve never been as dedicated to my training as I was this year. I trained harder, raced more, and didn’t do any outside activities in the thought that it would detract from my training.

As best as I can remember, it was after competing for six days straight that I cracked. Like a house of cards, everything just came crashing down. Something small (I don’t even know what it was) made me crack. I was mentally shattered and over it. I wanted to go home, sleep in my bed, and not even look at a bike. Luckily, this was perfectly timed in the middle of the season… or the worst timing imaginable. I went right into track camp, nationals, prep camp for Worlds, and finally World Championships.

By the time we got to Canada my legs were just flat. When you’re ready to go you feel sharp, ready to race and on top of the world. I didn’t feel that. I was excited to finally be at Worlds because, in my mind, the whole season came down to this event, but I just felt tired.

Photo: Barney Storey

One of the events that I focus on is the time trial (TT). It’s you against the clock, no excuses, you just ride your heart out. I gave everything I had that day which was enough for 3^rd. I’m absolutely stoked to have a medal, but am disappointed in myself, because I know that I’m capable of much better.

After a full day of rest, and trying to regroup mentally, we had the road race. It was a race of attrition, with five trips up one of the biggest climbs to be in a Paracycling race. I’m not a climber, but on a good day, I can at least hang with the group on most roads. This was not the case. As soon I started out of the gate, I knew it was going to be an exercise in mental toughness. I went from racing to win, to just managing my time loss. The first lap was okay, I got gapped a bit over the top of the climb, but was able to catch back on on the descent. The second lap was not as successful. From there, it was myself along with a teammate chasing the leaders for third place. I did everything I could to help my teammate out. She’s a better climber, the course suited her more than me, and she had the legs that day. I did what I could to close the gap between us and the leaders then she had to go on alone. I was done and had nothing more.

The rest of the race was definitely a test. It was awful to get “The pity clap” coming through town. When you’re racing and are going at it alone, you better hope to be off the front; anywhere else is pretty miserable.

After finally finishing, I just wanted to leave. I went back to the hotel, showered, and ate dinner. I’m not a crier, I’ve never cried after a race, but I was so upset with myself that I couldn’t help it. I knew I was capable of racing better, I knew that I was capable of helping my teammate more and that if I’d been there to help her more, she could’ve placed better than 3^rd. I knew that I was capable of being there at the end but I wasn’t. It felt like I’d failed myself, and my teammates. People have assured me that I didn’t let anyone down, and that may be true, but I feel that I let myself down. I’ve always been my harshest critic, but I think it’s what keeps me going. I’m never satisfied, and always striving to do more and be better. If I had won with those rides, it would be a very hollow victory because I know I can do better.

Worlds this year was disappointing. I went in and did what I do, but not as well as I know I can. After some time off and a chance to mentally regroup, I know I’ll be back firing on all cylinders. 2011 will be better than 2010, and I know what to do differently. Anyone up for a winter ski trip?

Photo: Anthony Zahn
"I have a bell and I'm going to use it!"

After being such a downer in this blog I have to say that there were definitely positives to the trip. It should be known that Baie-Comeau did a fantastic job with the event. The crowds were phenomenal and there were more spectators than any other paracycling event. The people of Baie-Comeau are also some of the nicest I’ve come across. I’m excited to go back next year for a World Cup.

I also want to thank my teammates, and say that I was blown away by their support. It was amazing to be surrounded by such caring individuals who gave me everything from a shoulder to cry on, words of encouragement, and company while throwing rocks. Being part of this team has been a terrific experience. Watching a group of individuals come together as a cohesive unit, be supportive of each other, and extremely successful is something not many people get to experience. This year we were able to top the medal count for the event winning 14 total medals: six titles, three silvers, and five bronze medals. Here’s to Track Worlds, wherever they may be, and knowing things will only get better.

Savelli's

2010-08-03T16:00:00.001-07:00

Last night (See, I'm getting back on this blogging thing!) we went to Savelli's in Manitou Springs. We've hit just about every place in downtown COS, so we decided to branch out a bit. Our first choice was closed which forced us into the hills. We headed west without a real plan, but once we saw Savelli's we knew we needed to stop. Stacy and I drove past this place the other night and there was some type of bust going on in the parking lot. I'd like to think it was something exciting like drug running or human trafficking, you know, a good reason to get arrested.

It's a fairly small restaurant, so we were all relieved when we were seated on the half opposite the kids. I ordered a hot sandwich that was very good, and others ordered a pizza, salad, and chicken balls. Everything was tasty. For the ranch lovers out there, there was probably half a bottle that came with the chicken. Everyone knows that foods like that are just carriers for the ranch dressing. At about $10, it's nicely priced for a quick bite to eat or those on a budget.

Unfortunately (or I suppose fortunately) there was no bust while we were there. It would've been nice to go along with the conversation from the table behind us. They were talking about how someone had to get married because their mother-in-law had already made the dress. Quite entertaining.

Anyway, I give it a rating of Leather Bound Books (just below Fireworks).

Guidos and Arabica

2010-08-02T16:36:00.000-07:00

No, I haven't started using ethnic slurs, they're the last two places we did ToCS at- Uncle Guido's and Arabica Cafe.

First, Uncle Guido's. We chose it simply based on it's name. It was everything and nothing I expected all at the same time. We walked in and were immediately greeted by a pool table. It took a few moments for anyone to realize we were even in there, then Pat (the only woman working in the whole place) came to greet us. She was beading in the back by the bar. They were also watching House on TV. We decided to stay and eat, and chose to sit on the patio. I was nearly blinding by the setting sun and Taj had to pop his collar to keep his neck from getting burned, but we survived. The menu consisted of a few hot sandwiches and a few cold sandwiches and salads. I got "The American" with ham, turkey, a bunch of rabbit food and of course, american cheese on a roll. It was actually quite good. But first, the service.

Since Pat was the only person working it took a while to get our food. In fact, I went in to get a refill of our water pitcher and just ended up bringing our food out myself. No, no, it wasn't a bad thing, it just added to the experience of Uncle Guido's. Pat was awesome, a lot of fun, and we found out what her work schedule is so we can go back and see her (Saturday-Monday). The food was basic, but the service, when it came, was fantastic, and the name is definitely good for points. I give it a Fireworks.

Next up- Arabica Cafe. I wish I could remember the name of what I ordered, but alas, I have the memory of a goldfish. It was chicken cooked in their specialty style. So, when you go, just ask what their specialty is and get it in chicken. It was pretty cheap and a good amount of food- the entree, rice, and I chose hummus as my side. The hummus was fantastic, but I should've gotten more pita to eat it with.

I thought the food was good, but the atmosphere was too fast-food-y for me. And there were kids there. Kids! I give the food a Fireworks and the atmosphere a gold star, so it balances out to either Rich Mahogany or Leather Bound Books (I can't keep the rating system straight.) It was good, but next time eat outside. Unless kids are around cause then you're SOL.

Happy eating!

Sh*t Happens

2010-07-27T19:50:00.000-07:00

Two horrible things happened to me recently.

The first incident happened about a month ago. Aaron and I were finishing a training ride on a gorgeous day in June. We were riding through the CC campus looking at the hipsters riding their fixed gear bikes on the sidewalk, and the trees and whatever else there is to look at at CC. Then, disaster struck. Something almost as bad as an atomic bomb fell from the sky. It was bird poop and it landed on my leg.

When I realized that poop was on my leg, I could feel my heart rate and blood pressure increase almost instantly. In the span of 1.2 seconds the following thoughts ran through my head: “I’m going to die, a bird pooped on me. A BIRD!” “I can’t rinse it off with my water bottle, it will spread and get on the rest of my leg.” “Surely God is on vacation because something this horrible couldn’t happen on his watch.” and finally “I need leaves!” I acted on the last thought and before I knew it, I’d slammed on my breaks and turned hard across the road to get to the median, amazingly missing all the cars driving down Cascade. I leapt off my bike and grabbed a handful of leaves to get the filth off my leg. I can only imagine the horror (Or possibly amusement) of the onlookers as I was screaming and nearing a panic attack with every passing second. All in all, the bird poop was only on my leg for 30 seconds, but it felt like eternity.

The second horrible thing happened yesterday. On the way back from the Raven’s Nest, disaster struck again. This time, the attack came in the form of a mine. Someone didn’t pick up after their dog when it had left a steamer right on the sidewalk. Yes, I could’ve been paying closer attention, but that’s neither here nor there. The fact of the matter is I came close to death. Again.

I felt something on the bottom of my shoe, looked at it and got weak in the knees. I began furiously scraping it off my shoe. There was a small stone wall and a patch of grass nearby that I was able to use for the majority of the cleaning. The cup of water I brought with me for the trek was also of use to get the remaining filth off my favorite shoes. My teammates were of no help, and found my reaction highly amusing. In the middle of this near anxiety attack, a garbage truck pulled up next to me. The man standing on the back looked over at me and said “Hmm, sh*t happens!” and they drove off. No love, none!

Of course, I was wearing my favorite shoes at the time, and now they’re ruined. After a recovery ice cream cone downtown and a pair of replacement shoes, I was doing much better. I’m not one to look for sympathy, but come on- two near death experiences in a month!

Lake Geneva Crit, SuperWeek

2010-07-15T08:31:00.000-07:00

I'm not a crit racer. I come to SuperWeek because it's a weakness I'm trying to improve, and to gain some fitness by racing everyday. It seems this plan is the opposite of the other girls in my field. They're all crit racers and they're here because they've got crazy jumps, and are wily in a field sprint. Well, that's not me... at all. My training is pretty specific to the time trial, and SuperWeek is a bonus.

Finally after four days of trying unsuccessfully to win a race, and one day of what appeared to be a protest that I missed the memo about, it happened. The Lake Geneva crit is definitely one you should check out next year. It was a two corner course (the other two were cut off so they were just sweepers) and had the topography of a Pringle. The "climb" through the start/finish looked like more than it was, and the headwind on the back side was more of a factor than that "climb" was.

Women's racing is too nice. Nobody wants to hurt themselves or other people, they just roll around and exchange cookie recipes most of the time. Nobody ever wants to sack up and take a pull because they'll get tired, or it's too hot, or they have a hangnail, I don't know. If you figure out why they do that, please let me know because I've been wondering for a long time. When I show up to a race, I want to finish with my tongue tangled in the spokes of my front wheel knowing I had some guts and did everything I could do. This usually means getting in a break, or off the front. After being off the front for half the race on Saturday, I've been marked like a bingo card.

The course in Lake Geneva suited my strengths pretty well, and the conditions played in my favor too- warm and windy. After the atrocity of a "race" on Tuesday, someone put up $100 cash for the first person to lap the field in an effort to get the girls racing. I took my turns at the front, tried to go solo, tried to go with a few potential breaks only to be brought back. I even picked up some points towards the sprint jersey just for kicks. The winning move finally went with 12 laps to go (out of 50). A girl went early for the final sprint points at 10 to go. She got a pretty good gap quickly, but nobody wanted to step up and chase or go with, they were just going to let her go. I decided it was time to go, and accelerated hard in the saddle and was away. I was able to bridge to the girl quickly. She was struggling a bit and told her to just sit on and recover for a bit. I thought I could stay away solo for 12 laps, but just incase, I wanted to have another person with to share some of the work with. She was interested in the sprint points, I didn't care. I told her she could take them all while I worked to establish the gap. After the sprint points, she was gassed and I went on alone. Time to tape the flashlight to my hand and keep running into the pain cave. 9.5 laps to go. My coach was on the sidelines giving me splits each lap- 15 seconds, 20, 30, 35, 40, 50, 55, 1min, over a minute. On the last lap I could see the field going into turn three while I was on the straight away. I wanted to lap the field but couldn't quite do it- I needed one or two more laps. Now that I've had some time to decompress and reflect a bit, I'm still happy with the win, but angry I didn't catch the field.

It was great to finally get a win this week, and a win in an able bodied race is always really satisfying. A big thanks is in order to all of you for the support you give me and putting up with my race reports. Race with some guts people!

Coming Up

2010-07-05T09:44:00.000-07:00

Since I only update this thing once a month now, I figure I can give you a heads up on what I won't be writing about any time soon.

ICC SuperWeek 7/7-16. Matt and I are leaving on Wednesday for the drive to Chicago for a week of crit racing. We race the 10-15 in the Chicago and Milwaukee areas. Last year it was an amazing trip, and I'm certain this year will be just as good. We'll have a few other para athletes joining us once we're in Chicago, so it'll be a little race trip for a group of us.

Track Camp 7/16-26. Road nationals are over and done with so now it's time to shift focus to the track. We have prep camp here in the Springs, followed immediately by track nationals. Nationals will serve as the selection event for the World Championships to be held sometime later this year (It's still undecided at this point).

Road Worlds 8/13-23. Team USA will be heading up to America's Attic (Canada) in August to collect a bunch of medals. While there we'll time trial and road race. The town is Baie- Comeau, Quebec, Canada. Google it. It's tiny and way out there, but the photos I've seen are pretty and it's right on the water which I like.

Road Team Announced

2010-07-05T09:36:00.000-07:00

Your 2010 Road World Championship team

2010 Road Nationals

2010-07-02T14:14:00.001-07:00

Gypsy summer is officially under way! Last week was USA Cycling’s Road National Championships in Bend, Oregon. As is my style, my car was the chosen transportation method. This year, it was only an 18 hour drive instead of the 36 from Milwaukee last year. Taj and I loaded the car with six bikes, 16 wheels, three sets of rollers, duffel bags, helmets, a cooler and of course my iPod and hit the road.

Packed.

We arrived in Bend without incident, other than having to drive through the rest of Oregon, and moved into our rental house for the week. What’s better than 13 people and a baby staying in one house for a week? Throw in the fact that we were all competing against each other for spots on the Worlds team, and you’re getting close. Let me tell you, it wasn’t Sea World, that’s as real as it gets. For sanity, the deck was the “Mellow Zone” and was always in use. We should really have a reality show, the world would love it.

Since everyone in the house was a cyclist (the baby isn’t one yet) it meant lots of bikes. 24 bikes plus about 50 wheels and other miscellaneous equipment meant the dining room was converted to a crowded bike storage room with more bikes lining the front hallway and stacks of wheels against the couches and tables. For anyone other than a cyclist, I’m sure it seemed excessive, but was totally ordinary for us. Wait, you don’t have bikes in your living room? Huh, weird.

Racing started on Tuesday with a road race, a crit on Wednesday and the big show on Thursday. The time trial served as the selection event for World Championships, and the road race and crit were for bragging rights. The time trial course was simple: go out on a road and start climbing, then turn around in the road and come back downhill.

Race day itself was a relief. All the training was done, and it was time to just go ride. During warm up, I nearly fell off the rollers because I was dancing to my love, Lady GaGa. After avoiding near calamity, I finished my dance party in the grass and was ready to rock on the bike. I was the last single bike off for the girls and in my mind, meant I was responsible for catching all the girls in front of me. I almost met this goal, only missing the women’s tandem who I could see the entire second half of the course. It was extremely frustrating to have that carrot out there and not be able to catch it. Next year. The race was over and I was dry heaving in the grass before I knew it. Our coach calls that “An appropriate measure of an adequate effort.” It was a relief to finish the TT and be back at our base camp. The second half of the road season hinges on the time trial at Nationals and to be done with it is always satisfying. The athlete’s part is done, the rest is up to the staff in calculating times and placing. My dance party was enough to help me rock through the race, and ended up, finally on the top step of the podium. The joke of always being the bridesmaid and never the bride could finally stop. It took a long time, but the monkey is off my back.

Everyone rode extremely well in Bend. The strength of this year’s World Championship team will be hard to stop. It’s an honor to be part of such a strong team, and I’m looking forward to seeing more results for the team in the coming months. Before heading to America’s attic (aka Canada, you don’t know what great things are up there till you go) in August, the gypsy wagon will be rolling to the heartland for 10 more days of racing. While I didn’t contemplate washing my hair in a deli sink this trip, more adventures are in store for Gypsy Summer II.

With Clark and Dave

Rasta Pasta- ToCS

2010-06-14T10:31:00.000-07:00

Last Monday we went to Rasta Pasta on Tejon. I've wanted to try it for a while, partly because of their colorful sign, and it always smells really good when I ride past. I ordered the "Rasta Pasta" which had two chillies next to it on the menu. Holy shiz, it was good. And definitely had two chillies worth of kick to it.
The restaurant itself is pretty new, it used to be a wireless store, and it was converted in to a restaurant. It's totally open inside with a really nice mural on the back wall, and has a decent sized outdoor patio. We opted to eat inside since it was 95° outside, but it's always nice to have that option.
The atmosphere was good, the food was really good, and the prices were also good, especially for the amount of food. The also have different lunch and dinner prices which is definitely a plus.
My rating: Sunshine!

Part of the mural.

Emmett

2010-06-12T17:53:00.000-07:00

Got a new car two weeks ago. I thought I should share a photo with all of you. It's a ton of fun, I really like it, and it'll be a great car for bikes.
Ali dubbed it "Emmett" but I've never named a car before, so I forget that it has a name... Good thing I'm not a parent.

Catch Up

2010-06-07T16:26:00.001-07:00

Once again, I've been slacking on my blogging duties. We've done three more ToCS dinners. Here are the reviews. They're short because I can't remember all the clever things I was going to write three weeks ago. Sorry.

Slayton's BBQ
We went to the downtown location which apparently isn't like the original. It's "fancy." Not like steak house fancy, but BBQ fancy. You know, tables that aren't sticky, no paper towels on the table, and no bottles of extra sauce- BBQ Fancy. The food itself was good, I'd say Gold-Fireworks (between Gold Star and Fireworks) The atmosphere took away from the overall rating- slow service, the tables were really tight so we were right up against the other group in the restaurant. I'd say try the original before the downtown location.

Saigon Cafe
Vietnamese Food. Good, light, summer time food. Service was good too, nice atmosphere. Fireworks.

Everest Nepal Restaurant
Sunshine!
Nepalese and Indian food. The waiter told us we were crazy for all trying to order Chicken Curry. He told us what we should order instead, and it was all super tasty. Chicken Curry, Chicken Tikka Masala and a chicken kabab. (The name escapes me right now.) Ali and I also got Mango Lassi which is sort of like a smoothie, but lighter. It's a yogurt-y drink over ice. Really, really good.

2010-05-16T19:30:00.002-07:00

This is one of the best things I've heard in a while: "Be wise enough not to be reckless, but brave enough to take great risks."

The Americans Are Coming

2010-05-13T16:07:00.000-07:00

The final half of Team USA’s “Spance” trip marked my second time to France. This trip was much better than the previous time, despite the weather not cooperating with my mental image of “Europe in Spring” (It’s 75° and sunny, which is my mental image for nearly every place I go.)

The format for the Urt International Paracycling Challenge was similar to the Bira in the fact that they’re both cripple races, and stage format. The Urt race started with a hilly road race followed by a mostly downhill time trial, a crit then a circuit race. Like the Bira, men and women started together for the road race, but we were split in half- Men’s C5-4 in one group and the women’s C5-1 and MC3-1 started together.

The road race was on a distinctly un-paralympic course- there were hills! Now, I’ve never thought of myself as a climber, and none of my past results exposed a hidden climber within. I was nervous, which is uncharacteristic of me, and I mean really nervous, more so than any race I can remember actually. Going in to France, my goal was to race with the men, as that’s how I’m going to get faster, and better race experience. After seeing the course, self-doubt started creeping in- what if I get dropped? What if I totally embarrass myself as a bike racer? Well, I told myself to “Nut up, or shut up and race your damn bike!” It’s just a bike race after all. It’s not something foreign. Once the race was underway, I made sure to have good positioning on the climbs and it paid off on the second lap- the group split and there I was in the front group. Woah, not expecting that. The 5 other guys in the group did double takes when I pulled through, apparently they weren’t expecting a girl. We stayed away, and the day was a huge confidence boost. While I’m not riding away from them, I can definitely hold my own.

The next morning’s time trial was definitely a course for me- 8.6k, slightly downhill, a few bumps mixed in, all ending on a little kick into a tiny town. It’s becoming a trend, but the Americans slayed the TT. To borrow a line from Clark, “Time trials and football- that’s what America does!” Of our six bikes, we won five categories which put all five of us in the GC leader’s jersey for the next stage. Once again, the other athletes on the podium were counting the American jerseys standing beside them. I have to admit, that’s pretty cool to see.

That afternoon, after getting lost in the French countryside looking for the next race, we finally made it to the circuit race. The course was rad- shaped like a bow-tie, it would definitely be a challenge. Luckily for us, we were in Europe where “cornering” hasn’t yet been discovered, we’re all crippled, and we would race in the worst rain we’ve ever ridden bicycles in.

To be fair, it was sunny when we started and the rain didn’t start until probably the 10^th minute of a 50 minute race, so it wasn’t all in the rain. Once it started however, it was on. I kept my foggy glasses on because there was so much rain, I would’ve had to close my eyes. The uphill sections of the course were like rivers, with water cascading down the gutters and ruts in the road. The flat road had 3” of standing water which made it exciting riding through the rough roads. It was like a game of Memory trying to remember where the potholes are. And then the front wheel fell into a hole and you found it. In it’s always good timing, nature turned off the fire hoses and the sun came out as soon as we were finished. After peeling off soaking kits, we threw them all in a trash bag to be sorted and washed later. We just wanted to get warm, and get back to the hotel.

The next and final stage was another 50 minute, plus 2 lap race. Of all the races I’ve done, this is one that I’m most proud of. You don’t often get the opportunity to race as a team in paralympic racing, so when it comes around, you remember it.

I have the greatest teammates in the world, and I would do anything for them. When I came around a corner and saw Sam picking himself up after a crash, my brain kicked in to action mode. He only had an eight second lead on GC, and this crash could cost him the win. TAJ was there too, and after making sure Sam wasn’t hurt, we were like fighter pilots going into formation. The team time trial intervals we did at camp would really pay off now. My race was wrapped up, but Sam’s was in jeopardy. Come hell or high water, the gap was going to be closed. We rolled like a freight train to close the gap opened up after the crash. TAJ’s powertap said we rolled close to 30mph, and closed about a 2 minute gap in under a lap. After a final shove back into the pack, Sam was back in the group and my job was done. It was especially satisfying because he was able to take the stage win, and held onto his overall.

The awards ceremony provided us with the most unique prize we’d ever received- a ham! Each winner got a 25lb salt cured ham and French berets to go with the Spanish txapellas. It was definitely a great experience to go to Europe to race for two weeks. The team was absolutely amazing! Our winnings included 100lbs of ham, nearly 60 bottles of wine, and a bike box full of trophies. I learned that I can race with the men, the training we’ve all been doing is definitely paying off, and 2010 promises to be a stellar season for everyone. The world better be ready because the Americans are coming.

The Rain in Spain

2010-05-13T14:48:00.001-07:00

The Paracyclilng Bizkaiko Bira is a two day, three stage race in the Basque region of Spain. As the name indicates, it’s a race for the cripples (It’s ok, I CAN say that) so I was racing in a USA jersey, rather than a xXx one. The first two stages were short time trials- 11k and 13.6k respectively- followed by a short road race- 42k. Like most of my American teammates, I specialize in the time trial. We got up Saturday to a steady rain, and soaked roads. Luckily we all brought rain jackets as our trainers were broken in transit, so it was a road warm up for us. The course was pretty neat- the start was in the middle of a short, punchy climb, a brief false flat then a screaming descent, a U turn in the road, and back up the climb. All in the rain, under heavy tree cover, so basically in the dark. Unlike my usual style of cooking the descent (ask the people in Peachy Canyon in SLO ’09 about that) After catching my 30 sec girl in the first 5 minutes, I played it safe on the descent and probably gave up a few seconds rather than a minute or more picking myself out of the ditch. Made the turn, and rolled it uphill as best as I could. It was over before I knew it, and was soon back in the parking lot huddled with my teammates for warmth.

Back to the hotel for lunch and quick recovery before heading out to the afternoon’s time trial course which was supposed to be “a traditional paralympic cycling course” which translates to “flat.” Well, we got there and rode what we thought was the course. It wasn’t very flat either, but after riding for nearly 40 minutes, we realized we’d gone more than the 13k that the supposed course was. It took nearly an hour to find our way back to town to make our start times for the second race, on a course that none of us really knew… at all. But at least it wasn’t raining! If you’ve never raced a TT blind (And I don’t mean on the back of a tandem (which I'm sure is fun too)) I highly recommend trying it. What’s the worst that can happen? I feel that it’s a true-er test of your bike racing abilities. The parts that we didn’t ride were the bigger climbing bits, which made it tough to gage the effort, but really, what’s the difference between 350W for 2k or 3k? Exactly, not a whole lot. The afternoon was, on the whole, much better for the team, with almost all of us winning our respective categories (Think weight classes in wrestling).

Sunday brought the road race and more rain. All the bikes started together- men and women of all categories- which made a nice big pack to start. It split up pretty quickly with the higher classes (less crippled) in the front, and the lower (more crippled) classes in the back. My goal for the day was to just race with the men. I’d established a comfortable lead after the two TT’s and the road race was the time to really whip out and measure. My teammate was sitting 2^nd on GC in his class, so I was working to help him in any way possible. The Spanish had a huge presence in the race, obviously, as this doubled as the Basque Country’s National Championships. My race was 4 laps. It was pissing rain again. After the first lap, we rolled through the start/finish and about 3 seconds later, I found myself on the ground, sliding across the fine, granite-like stone they paved the intersection with. An ice rink would have had more traction. I got up immediately and back on my bike to find a bent derailer hanger. No biggie. With the help of the guy that caused the crash, we chased back on pretty quickly without incident. The Brit put in a few probing attacks, and then one that finally got him off the front (the winning move for his class). The pace was reasonably high, but not high enough to weed out all the… less than stellar bike handlers.

Halfway through the third lap one of these people decided he wasn’t satisfied with his spot four bikes from into the pack from the left and took a hard turn into someone’s wheel. Domino effect ensued and I was on the ground. Again. This time my luck wasn’t as good. Something was bleeding, my front wheel was pointing one way and my bars the other, and my bar end shifter (for my front derailer) was hanging on by a thread. It was stuck between the big and little rings but I was able to put it in the little ring, straighten everything out, and get back on the horse so to speak. Luckily, it was still raining.

The last lap I rode in my little ring (I did the previous three in the big ring) and found my way into a chase group. At this point, the pack was long gone, I’d guess 3 minutes easy, so it was just a matter of minimizing lost time, and rolling in to the finish mostly intact. The rain stopped for the finish which was very considerate.

It was a somewhat frustrating day for me because I had great legs, had no problem staying in with the men, and had a teammate to help. That said, I was happy I wasn’t hurt, and the damage to my bike was minimal.

My GC placing was all wrapped up, so it was off to awards ceremonies. It was absolutely awesome to see the podium dominated by Americans in the time trials. From our team of nine, seven people won their category. The other countries on the podium counted the American contingent and I’m sure, felt sad and intimidated by our complete dominance of the race of truth. With a new jersey to take home, came a traditional Basque hat- the txapella (See Horner’s victory photo from Tour of the Basque Country)- and a champagne shower. Leave it to the guy that races the trike to completely drench me. The sun came out just long enough to dry the champagne in my hair and ears. Then it started raining again.

Spance

2010-04-29T07:59:00.001-07:00

The second day is always the hardest for me as far as time changes go, so I'm really just writing this to stay awake. I'm writing from Spain, on the the first part of our "Spance" trip (Spain+France=Spance). We're holed up in a little hotel just outside Bilbao (One of the largest port cities in Spain). Bilbao is in the Basque region in the northern bit of the country. It's beautiful here! Everything is super green, mountains, little euro roads, roundabouts. It reminds me of Switzerland, but not as Sound of music-y. It's Europe! It's raining a little bit now, but yesterday was about 80°F and sunny. I guess today's weather is more indicative of the season than yesterday's and the rain will carry through the weekend.

As per usual, this is a race trip. Nine athletes and staff made the trip over for two P1 events (Smaller than a world cup). Two people are only doing the Spanish race, so our group will shrink when we go to France (huh- huh!). Racing starts on Saturday with two time trials, then a road race on Sunday. Categories are supposed to be combined for the races which I'm really looking forward too. Men and women of like categories will be racing together. I'm so tired of women's racing... this will be fun!

We still have an hour to kill before our afternoon ride. Amazingly, as I was reminded of earlier today, there is even less to do here than at the Training Center. We're all trying to stay out of trouble, and stay awake.

Till next time!

The Cat Show

2010-04-25T22:59:00.001-07:00

Never in my wildest dreams would I think I’d have the material for this blog. Today I went to a cat show. Let me repeat myself, I went to a CAT SHOW. Yes, that's right, a show of felines, hundreds of them, and crazy cat ladies to accompany them. Now, you may be asking yourself Why the hell would she do such a thing? Surely she's gone mad. Well yes, not really, I mean... maybe I have.

Several days ago, I was riding my bicycle- like I do every day- and saw that there was a cat show coming to the City Aud. I thought to myself Greta, this is too good an opportunity to pass up! Think of the mocking you can do at a CAT SHOW! I quickly told Stacy about this and she agreed that we simply must go. After some investigating online, we found that admission was $5- a small fee for the potential greatness to come.

So last night, I was trying to plan my outfit for the show. (I was imagining something like either the Westminster Dog Show, or an ultra trashy convention of crazy cat ladies. I was leaning towards the latter.) I'd planned to wear either an amazingly pretentious outfit (think Westminster), or astoundingly trashy (think crazy cat show). Rather than doing either, I decided to just wear my favorite purple sweater and jeans. My second outfit choice was a sweater vest worn as a tank top. Next time. So we arrive at the City Aud and all the doors are locked. WTF? We weren't as worried about not being able to get in, as having to ask for directions to the cat show. The shame. We find an open door and ask the hip(ster) looking guy working the film festival for directions.

We enter the main hall (where the roller derby team competes) to find it filled with long tables covered in cages and containers, filled with cats. And of course, tons of middle-aged women with cat shirts and sweaters walking around with their cats. The man at the door seemed fairly excited that two non-cat people were there to experience their first cat show. This guy looked like he was straight out of a King of the Hill cartoon or something- high and tight haircut, neon hunter’s orange t-shirt, huge beer gut, wranglers, and a plate of greasy potatoes and eggs. Not at all what I’d expected to see. He goes on to explain that the “kitties” are all lined up here, and the “kitties” are judged over there. I’m thinking to myself Seriously, we’ve been here one minute and I’m about to start hysterically laughing. Great start.

Honestly, the whole thing was quite overwhelming. We weren’t sure what to expect but it was nothing and everything we expected. We started walking around looking at the cats, and looking at people interact with their cats which was amazing. The first cat we looked at was hideous. It’s face was horribly disfigured, which apparently, is how all cats in this breed look. Unfortunate really. The one we saw was a different color, but looked like this:

We walked around, looked at a bunch of cats, too scared and embarrassed to ask questions about anything. We met a woman who makes folk art in the form of cloth, stuffed cats. These fake cats looked nothing like real cats, mainly because they were made of printed fabric, with puff-paint faces and whiskers to match their fabric. Impressive in the fact that she (and her 90+ year old mother) made them all by hand, but really, nothing I would ever want in my house. Ever. We talked for a while then moved on to the other craft tables where there was a skinned cat! Now, maybe it's just me but as (presumably) cat lovers, why the hell would you have the pelt of some type of house cat at a cat show? A trophy? I've got nothing.

Being the smart people that we are, we decide it would probably be best to learn about the cats and the whole deal at the judging rings. One judge looked like he hated cats and didn't want to be there at all, one looked mildly turned on by the cats, and the one lady seemed mostly normal. She talked through the whole thing which was helpful to learn what the cats are judged on. Basically being as close to that breed's standards as possibly, and the personality of the cat.

After about an hour or whispering to each other and getting dirty looks from the cat people, we work up the courage to ask someone questions. The women we asked first were incredibly nervous and socially awkward- cat lady?? They tried to recruit us into showing cats and gave us business cards to help get us started (check out the Cat Fancier's Association).

The second woman we talked to was really helpful in explaining a lot about showing cats. We learned it was much harder to have a Champion cat than dog because of the tournament like competitions you have to advance through. She told us it was the last show of the season, and the new season would be starting up May 1st (which is next weekend btw) so apparently there's no cat show off-season. A good entry level show cat costs about $600, maybe $500 if you're really lucky. This woman was also terrified of my claw. Now, it often fools people because of it's tan shell, but it really is a claw. She was quick enough to notice that it wasn't a real hand, and in fact a metal claw, and it was very clear she had NO idea where to look. So, rather than acknowledge I was standing there, she just looked at Stacy the whole time, and occasionally her eyes would dart to the claw then right back to Stacy. Rad.

She told us basically everything we could ever want to know about cats and then some. We saw huge cats, cats with smashed in faces, cats that looked like you could break them in half, cats that looked like cats, cats that looked like an explosion of fur, cats that use hair product in their fur, and cats with coffee filters around their necks to prevent them from licking their fur and undoing all the hard work their owners had done to style their fur.

All told we spent about 2 hours at the cat show, and as quickly as we decided to go to a cat show, we decided it was time to leave the cat show. Admittedly, I was hoping the cats would have to perform tricks like dogs ranging from jumping through a hoop, catching a frisbee, and walking on it's hind legs. You know, things a good cat would be able to do. After seeing the spectacle in person, I can now say with certainty that I have NO desire to show cats, have a cat, or be a crazy cat lady. Crazy? Sure. Cat lady? No thanks.

April Camp

2010-04-17T20:50:00.009-07:00

April camp just wrapped up in Chula Vista, CA. Most of us have been racing for a while now, but you could say this served as the official kick off to the season. Unlike December or January camp where we log lots of miles at a moderate pace, April camp keeps it short and sweet. By "sweet" I mean painful, and the taste of blood is more prevalent than anything "sweet".

I’m usually excited for training camps because it means the whole team gets to ride together, and beat each other up. Bragging rights are on the line for our time trial tests, and it’s an opportunity to really measure yourself against teammates and your results from previous camps.

This camp I was especially excited for, and I can’t really pinpoint any one reason as to why; it’s the official season kick off, we’re going to Euro-land to race next week, some really fun workouts were planned, and I was ready for some sunshine. The heavy hitters were all there except for the men’s tandem (who we missed dearly) and we all took advantage of throttling each other every day.

The 20 athletes at camp broke into groups each day to do race-like workouts. Team time trial work, lead-outs, attacks, bridging gaps, and good old fashioned floggings were on tap each day. After slaying each other every morning, we’d drag ourselves up the hill into to the training center. (That hill seemed to get bigger and bigger as camp went on.)

Despite trying to ride each other into the pain cave- which we all did very well- everybody stepped up to the plate and rode better than ever.

As usual, the last day of camp meant our time trial up the famous, or infamous, Honey Springs road. It’s a 7 mile, 6% average climb that at the end of camp may as well be Everest. We do it on the last day of camp as sort of a nail-in-the-coffin ride, but also for the coaches to see how we handled the workload of the week.

This time around we had a bit of a tailwind which was welcomed, but meant it would be hot, hot, hot climbing. About two minutes in, my jersey was totally unzipped, and the glove literally came off right after. I’d had a really successful camp up to that point, and wasn’t really looking for a spectacular ride- I decided to just ride my bike to the top of the road. Instead of looking at my powermeter, I just looked up the road, and rode. Soon enough I was catching people, and knew I was rolling pretty well. It didn’t even feel like I was riding uphill. About half way up, a little group of three had formed and we rode the rest of the way together. None of us could drop the other two, but none of us were slowing down any either. It was hands down my best effort, and to do that on the last day of camp was really exciting for me.

I’m not only happy with how I rode, I’m thrilled to come home a little darker, with crisper tan lines. All the work my mother did trying to keep my pasty skin a fine English porcelain was for naught.

After this camp, I’m certain that 2010 will be a fantastic year for everybody on the team. Good things will come, I can feel it. Or maybe that’s just my sunburn.

La Creperie- ToCS

2010-04-08T21:41:00.002-07:00

Monday ToCS went French (huh-huh!) and hit up La Creperie downtown. I have to admit that I wasn't very excited about going French. My experience with French food in France was less than optimal which could've been for a number of reasons- we at all our meals at a hotel, and the only meal I truly remember was fish. When I say "fish" I mean and ENTIRE fish (thankfully minus the guts) head, tail, scales and bones all together and fried then put on a plate. It looked at me the whole time. It looked sort of like this but with smaller fins.

There were six of us, and we each ordered a different entree and dessert which I thought was impressive in itself. My dinner was really good! A chicken avocado crepe with brie. Everyone at dinner thought their crepe was quite tasty as well. Dessert was another crepe, this time filled with fresh blueberries and a drizzle of chocolate. They had a bunch of options for both dessert and a main entree, primarily crepes, but a few other dishes too.

The restaurant itself was small, and I felt cramped. It seemed like our group of 6 took up most of the restaurant. There's probably only seating for 20-25 people in total (indoors). The service was good, especially for only having one waitress.

My rating- gold fireworks (In between gold star and fireworks). The food was really good, but the cramped seating drags it down a bit.

New Rating System

2010-03-31T21:12:00.003-07:00

What do you think of the new blog lay out? Feel free to use the ToCS rating system.

We have a rating system. If you don't like it.... well that's too bad.
Sunshine
Fireworks
Gold star
Goat
Pinecone
Cloudy
Toilet paper

It started with "Sunshine" and gold stars are always good for ratings too.

Sushi and Sword Sharpening

2010-03-29T19:17:00.007-07:00

Taste of Colorado Springs, part 2 took us to Yoo Mae on Kiowa downtown. This was a lunch time outing and again, quite nice. Yoo Mae does a special sushi roll for each of the 50 states. The Colorado Roll is shrimp tempura, cucumber, spicy tuna and avocado. Most of the rolls have an American twist which usually consists of creme cheese. Not exactly my thing, but other people must like it. The outside isn't much to look at, but the best places usually aren't. Their lunch specials are tasty and pretty cheap. I like this place, thumbs up.

Today, like most days, I rode past one of my favorite Colorado Springs establishments. I finally stopped to take a photo of the Prince of Blades which offers sword sharpening while-U-wait! I've never actually been in the Prince of Blades, but the fact that they offer to sharpen your sword right there on the spot automatically bumps it to the top of my list. I mean where else can you be in a sword fight, need to get your sword sharpened, and get right back to the duel? Genius.

Taste of Colorado Springs

2010-03-24T09:13:00.005-07:00

Monday night was the first evening of Taste of Colorado Springs. I'm just going to go ahead and call it ToCS. Some of the swimmers, TAJ and myself decided we wanted to eat at all the restaurants in The Springs. So, each week we're picking a new restaurant and trying it out. It's going to take a while, but hey, what else do we have to do?

First up was Jack Quinn's an Irish restaurant/pub. Don't worry, we went for dinner, not to drink. I was the only one who had been there before, and instead of being adventurous I ordered my usual- fish 'n' chips. As usual, it was delicious. The swimmers and TAJ also enjoyed their meals. Maybe we should come up with some type of rating system if we're really going to do this....

There are actually quite a few restaurants in Colorado Springs to choose from. This is no easy task people, this will take a long time. ToCS is a serious undertaking! More to come on this.

Tucson Bike Classic

2010-03-17T16:40:00.005-07:00

This was my third year racing TBC, and first year in the P/1/2 field. It was also the first race on a new TT bike, and first race back from a gnarly crash in a master’s race. (Avoid falling on your head. It’s not good.) Luckily, I don’t remember anything from said crash, which is probably a good thing. It did however make me a little anxious to sit on wheels, and be boxed in sitting in the pack.

The TT was short- 3 miles- and started with a downhill, then finished with a climb. My time was sort of disappointing and put me 29 seconds behind the leader. The next day, going into the road race, I wanted to get comfortable in the pack again, and not lose any time. The first 50 miles were SO boring! Nobody wanted to do anything, so nothing happened. Thankfully, we raced the last 10 miles. The lead up to the finish was a bunch of punchy little hills, then a downhill left hand turn into the finish. The road got narrow, and sandy through this section, so I moved up to the front to avoid a potential crash. One of the old Paralympic tandem pilots (Cari) was also racing. She jumped with 1k to go, and I followed. She opened a gap that I decided to close, then I kept rolling. Rebecca was on my wheel and I knew I couldn’t hold it from 600m to go. I figured, Why not just try to lead Rebecca out? Pursuit mode kicked in, and drilled it as best I could to the finish. Second for Rebecca, and 12^th for me. No time lost, so it was fine by me.

The circuit race on Sunday was 7 laps of a 5-ish mile loop with some hills, and a quick descent after a tight right hand turn. After the boring road race, Cari and I decided to do something, to make the race more interesting. We took turns attacking, spent some time off the front, got brought back and did it over again. On the last lap, with about 3k to go, I tried to get away but got caught before the last rise into the finish line. At this point, the group split in two with most of the top 10 in the front group. Through plain stubbornness, I got in for 6^th on the stage, and bumped me up a spot on GC. Rebecca took the stage, which was enough to take the overall. It was a great day of racing, and a fun way to end a stage race.

One thing I learned that I need to improve for the future is my (finishing) sprint. It’s an awful habit, but I find myself with my head down. What happens to animals with their heads down? They get eaten. So, to avoid being eaten, keep your head up!

Velonews covered the race as well, check out their article here.

Photo Credit: Mason Ibas

New Bike, New Friend!

2010-03-17T15:37:00.003-07:00

A lot of people say that a carbon bike frame is a carbon bike frame- they’re all the same with subtle differences. Admittedly, I was one of those people. That’s until I got a new time trial bike- a Specialized Transition. Seriously, this bike is awesome!

The time trial is an exercise in pain management. Leaping headfirst into the pain cave isn’t something many people think is fun, but several years of bike racing has changed my outlook. I love it. Maybe I’m a masochist, but to be a proper bike racer, you have to be.

The Tucson Bike Classic was the debut ride for the new S-Works rig, and it didn’t disappoint. The TT was short- only 3 miles, which meant going straight into the pain cave. Between my heart about to explode out of my chest, and my legs feeling like they were pumped full of battery acid, I didn’t notice much- besides the amazingly smooth ride of course. It just felt… right. It usually takes a little while to get the feeling of a new bike, to become friends with it. Well, it feels like the Transition and I go way back. I’m looking forward to the upcoming season and spending quality time in the pain cave with my new friend.

The Expert in All of Us

2010-03-09T10:36:00.003-08:00

There’s something about watching Olympic coverage that brings out the expert in all of us. Never mind not having any previous interest in the sport, you’re now inundated with luge and speedskating coverage. It’s amazing to watch any of the sports really. Maybe because it’s the best athletes in the world competing on the world’s largest stage, or seeing the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat. Simply watching the games is fun. You don’t need to know a damn thing about the sports, you’ll learn anything you need just by listening to the commentators.

I am now a hockey and sliding sport expert. In “real life” I’m a cyclist and stay as far away from ice as possible. After watching all the coverage of the sliding events, it’s safe to say I know exactly what to do. And as a new expert in the sports of luge, skeleton, and bobsled, I feel it’s accurate to say I could totally do that- it’s sledding in a skinsuit. Never mind the fact that it would take me 27.6sec of running (I use “running” very loosely here) to get started down the scariest tube of ice and speed imaginable.

Not only do I feel I could dominate a sport I know nothing about, I could also judge an event I know nothing about. Take for instance freestyle moguls. How hard can it be? First, they have to go really fast through bumps, then flip and twist around like they’re in a wash machine. They land, do it all over again, then throw their arms in the air in victory. Simple as that. They get a time, they’re judged on difficulty of trick (they all look equally hard to me) and the only real thing I can see- if their knees separate through the moguls. Based on these newly acquired judging skills, the IOC should hire me for Sochi. Really, those skills transfer to all the judged events- ice skating, ski jumping, aerials- I’m a jack of all trades!

In all reality, the Games will end in a month and I’ll realize the extent of my Olympic delusions. There’s no way I could do skeleton- I’d get too cold around all that ice and snow! I am going to hold out for a judging position in Sochi though. Anyone can do that!

*The Vancouver Paralympic Games will be starting on Friday (Mar 12-21). Sign up here for daily email updates with results etc, and check USParalympics.org for results and photos. Paralympicsport.tv should be streaming live coverage of events as well. Please tune in and support team USA.

2010-02-28T07:32:00.003-08:00

Yes, yes I always talk about how much I love blogging, and I'm going to update this thing every other day. That lasts about 3 days, then stops. But for real this time, for really really real, I will do a better job.

A lot has happened since Feb 2nd (the latest update). I'm still on the road doing some warm weather training. This month I'm in Tucson, AZ with a few teammates to train in the desert sun. TAJ and I set up base camp in the Crosslands extended stay motel in central Tucson. My room smells like a saloon- booze, smoke, feet, and old people. The air freshener/odor neutralizer is working over time with little success. In the last week it's been significantly eaten away, which I like to think means it's working at killing the odor and not getting it's little butt kicked by a wanna be saloon.

The Olympics have also started, and are coming to an end today. It's been really fun to watch the Games every night even though I started knowing nearly nothing about the winter sports. However, thanks to the wonders of television and the nbc commentators, I now feel that I'm an expert. (More on this later.)

Training was going very well, and I had a good early season showing at Valley of the Sun. The warm weather made it really fun to ride a bike- nothing was better. Then, last week I had the brilliant idea to enter a master's 30/40+ field at a local crit. This is the race for the fast old(er) guys, and supposedly is one of the safest fields of the day. (You may be wondering how I, a 21 year old girl got into a men's 30+ race. Well, ask and you shall receive.) Dave (Clark's pilot) was also racing the 30+ which I was excited about- he would make it fast, keep things interesting, and all I had to do was follow in the group. The race started, my legs felt great, closed a few gaps, followed a lot of wheels, and the next thing I remember is laying in the street. My first crash in a race! (It's a pretty good record since I've been doing this for several years now). Whacked my head, skinned knees and elbows- good thing one's fake, it saved me some tegaderm- scuffed my new shoes and tore my favorite knee warmers! Apparently I informed everyone of this fact at least 12 times with the same surprise and disappointment in my voice.

The next day I flew out to San Diego for the US Paralympic Ambassador Program's training session. As one of the less experienced speakers in the group, I learned a lot of skills and strategies for improving my speaking abilities, and how to tell my story. It was a lot of fun to hang out with the other athletes, and to hear their stories. Getting tips from people that speak for a living was really beneficial. I'm excited to test them out in the next few weeks.

Next up on the schedule is the Tucson Bicycle Classic (TBC) March 12-14. This will be the third time racing TBC. As a stage race it's a little more challenging than a one day race. You have to keep track of people from the previous days of racing, time gaps, time bonuses, who's on what team, and everything you'd think about in a one day race.

For real, I will post more often.

Feb. 2nd

2010-02-02T20:07:00.003-08:00

Today was a good day. Here's a list of what I did-

-Woke up at 10am

-Facebooked/ate breakfast

-Took 3 hours to ride 90 minutes

-Matt had one flat, I had one flat

-Went to the bike shop

-Rode to burrito stand for lunch

-Got another flat

-Went home

-Had flat car tire

-Inflated flat car tire with bicycle floor pump (Not as hard as I thought it would be)

-Got said flat car tire fixed

-Homework

-Glorious pb/j for dinner

-Updated blog

The two highlights- laughing at Matt who rode a midget's bike to the burrito stand, and inflating a car tire with a floor pump. This is as real as my life gets. Love it.

January Training Camp

2010-01-30T21:31:00.002-08:00

Last week was January training camp for the cycling team. Rather than staying at the OTC in Chula vista, we stayed at a hotel in Alpine, CA because the OTC was full. It was nice to stay outside the training center because one, I go from OTC to OTC so a change was nice, and two, the riding is much better there- no Otay Lakes Rd. each day.

Each morning we rolled out after a leisurely breakfast and descended into the valley only to start climbing right away. The road was either up or down, which for me proved to be a little mentally draining. I'm not a terrible climber, but I'm not a particularly strong one either. It's something I need and want to work specifically on this season. One of the team goals this season is to improve communication, so it was emphasized this camp. Both on and off the bike we need to communicate with each other better, and let our voices be heard.

We ("we" being the rest of the group) stayed each other on the climbs each day, and I dragged myself back to the hotel after clawing my way over each climb. To contribute to the group, I'd do my best to drill it on the flats to get the group up to speed and back home faster. Really, I just wanted to get off my bike and eat some lunch sooner.

The grand finale of camp was to be an epic ride up a road called Kitchen Creek. It's a gated road with no car access, no phone coverage, 12 miles long and about 3000 feet of climbing. At the bottom we refilled bottles, grabbed extra tubes and CO2's and warm clothes for the higher altitude. Matt and I prepared ourselves for a long climb, and settled in to a good rhythm and were chugging along. Then came some patches of snow, and frankly, it was a lot of fun! I was channeling my inner Katie F’n Compton to ride through the patches of now. The stretches of snow got longer, and longer, and soon there were no patches of dry road. It was time to start hiking. I was off the back of the front group but was making up ground. I was in the group mentality and was just focused on catching up to the group rather than stopping. When I finally caught up, I asked someone why we hadn’t turned back, but in reality, it was too late to do anything but go forward- we’d already been hiking for a while. If you know me, you know that I hardly walk anywhere, let alone uphill, in the snow, in cycling shoes, with a bike. I tried not to complain but I can’t lie, I did. Clark, being the gentleman he is, carried my bike for a good portion of the hike. We followed Sam like a bunch of little ducks in a row to the top of the climb, through the brush, and sections of knee deep snow, over rocks and up steep embankments. When we reached the top and walked out of the woods past a bunch of people sledding it was definitely satisfying to know we finished the climb. I’ve said before that bike racing makes you dumb, and this just might be a shining example of that. Our epic ride was definitely epic, but in a much different way than originally thought.

While it was a good experience, it wasn’t the best decision to press on, as our group was split in two with no means of communication between us. Something could’ve gone wrong, someone could’ve gotten hurt, but luckily for us nothing really serious happened to anyone and we can all have a laugh over it now.

All in all it was another good camp filled with solid riding, fun time spent with teammates and one more story to add to long the list.

Travel and Tanlines

2010-01-17T17:52:00.006-08:00

Some people would dream of being able to retire at the age of 21, but unless you're some type of bazillionaire, you can't. Now, by absolutely no stretch of the imagination am I saying I'm a bazillionaire, but I do get to live the life of a retiree. For example, my typical day consists of sleeping until I wake up, usually around 8am, followed by breakfast while reading the newspaper. After that I check a few emails, and get ready for a bike ride. I do my prescribed work out, eat lunch, then lounge about for a while. While lounging, I may read, watch a movie, nap, or do some school work. Some days I get ready for my second ride, some days I spend more time on school. Dinner is followed by socialization, another check of the email, and off to bed with a book. It's glorious. There really isn't any other way to describe it.

In fact, it may be better than actual retirement because I'm not old, and don't have to deal with old person issues. I do wake up with sore muscles, and sometimes achy bones, but those are just signs of vitality.

Another one of the perks of retirement is the travel. In 2009 I spent 13 weeks in the car traveling for training and races around the US. 2010 is off to a great start as well with 1300 miles logged in the car so far. Right now, I'm in San Diego (Discovered by the Germans….) with my travel buddy Matt for some training. We train together really well, and by that, I mean we just beat each other up every day. The past 4 days we've dragged ourselves back to the house after destroying each other's legs as much as possible. He's better on the climbs, I'm better on the flat stuff, so we always end up calling it a draw and trying again the next day. Friday is the start of Paralympic training camp, and Craig and I thought it'd be a good idea to get some real training in before camp. The rollers only do so much for the legs, and kill my mind (the little that's left anyway) so riding outside is ticket for me. It's so much better to ride out in the sun.

My pasty, porcelain white skin just looked sickly when I rolled in from the great white north, and after several days in the sun it's tanned to a normal shade of caucazoid flesh. Standing next to Matt, I feel like an egg shell compared to a chocolate bar. Like Ebony and Ivory. I have work to do.

While everyone else is surviving in the cold, I’ll hold down the fort here in San Diego until the rest of the team comes in, and we can all beat each other up. But more importantly, improve on our tans.

Christmas

2009-12-23T19:05:00.003-08:00

Ok I know, it's probably not politically correct to even say Christmas, but don't read this out loud and you'll be fine. Tonight (actually the entire day) is Christmas Adam. Get it? The day before Christmas Eve? It's a religious joke. Anyway, I'm not a religious person (although I did have the fear of god struck into me recently) so the historical meaning of Christmas is somewhat lost on me. We don't sing Happy Birthday to Jesus, we don't even go to church anymore.

To me, Christmas has become something other than a religious day. In my mind Christmas is similar to Thanksgiving, only colder and with presents. (Sidenote, I've always felt that people with birthdays on or near Christmas get gypped out of one or the other. It's just easier to combine them and give just one gift to the kid.) It's a time to be spent with family, and appreciate what you have, and the things you have to give and share. The past year and a half has not been easy for our family, and when things seemed to be looking up, they took a downturn. Our misfortune has made me realize (again) who and what are really important in my life. Although they can be irritating at times, my family tops the list (Whose isn't at some point). As much as we hate to say it, it's true, we need each other. Last Christmas was the first year I felt the true values and ideals of Christmas were apparent to us. It was also the most enjoyable in my book. I have a feeling this year will be the same.

Something exciting is in store for Christmas day, and I can't wait for a reaction. No deets now, but I'm super excited to finally give an awesome gift to a totally deserving person.

In addition to my sappy family Christmas blog, here's a bit of a "Hot and Not" Christmas list.

Hot:

- Augusteen Burrough's You Better Not Cry Christmas book. Read it, you'll laugh out loud even if you're alone in your dark bedroom... Not that I know from experience or anything.

- Real Christmas trees. No it's not "green" to support deforestation one tree at a time, but they look and smell SO much nicer than a fake one. After the season you can take it to the tree recycling station in your neighborhood.

-Ugly holiday sweaters. Please send me photos, I hope yours lights up.

- Casual Christmas dinner. Nice jeans and a collared shirt and sweater are sufficient. The days of the suit or dress are over. Get with the times people.

-The Grinch themed gingerbread cookies.

-Instrumental Christmas music so long as it is played within the three day window.

Not:

- Christmas music played before Christmas Adam. In my opinion, Christmas music has a three day window- Adam, Eve, and Day- and should only be played on those days. It is then acceptable as it reminds me Christmas is coming and I should think about gifts for people.

- Gingerbread cookies with boobs. Real nice mom. (To her credit, they are edible sprinkles this time, not crack-your-teeth ball bearings like years past.)

- Children singing carols/Christmas music in person or on the radio/CD's etc. Most kids freak me out, and when they're singing Christmas music dressed as angels or the dudes in the Jesus barn, I don't like it.

- "Winter Wonderland" Whoever thought that Christmas needed to be white is an idiot. It's like the frozen apocalypse outside. People are going to crash their cars going to family dinner, and that's never a good thing because people get cranky.

Standing Start- Odysseus

2009-12-13T18:58:00.002-08:00

I can't embed this video, but you can click on the link. Check out Standing Start, it's really well shot and I think it's a good look into the cycling world for people that don't know much about it.

Real Life?

2009-12-02T21:15:00.001-08:00

I’m intrigued by people's relationships with a little thing called "real life." Now, I'm real and alive, so I suppose technically, I'm part of this real life business. But not really. Essentially, I live the life of a retiree… at 21, and without any money. By no means am I complaining, no, I love my life, but real life is something I’d like to understand a little better. My reality is much different than most people’s and I’m just curious.

Almost all of my friends went the traditional college route after high school. I did not, and I don’t feel like I missed out on anything at all. (Read my post about The Gypsy Life for more deets.) Now though, they’re all thinking about internships, salaries, grad school and higher higher education. I go to fake school. Mobile school. Community college. School of convenience. Instead of a focus on pursuing education or being able to support myself, I chose to dress in stretchy shorts and ride a bicycle everyday. Let me say, it was a phenomenal decision.

This alternate reality that I live in started when I decided to be an athlete, move to the OTC and live in a fish bowl. In early January, I’ll reach my three year anniversary at the training center. They’ve been the best three years of my life. Of course there’s sucky parts to being an athlete like wanting to cry or throw up in training, and the countless hours spent in airports around the world with the sickest, smelliest people imaginable, but there are far more positives. I get to do what I love, and while I don’t make much money at all, it’s what I love to do. We meet tons of people, travel the world on someone else’s dime, push our bodies and minds to the limit, and get to represent the United States of America.

Each day I wake up on my own, eat breakfast, train, eat lunch, tune in to mobile school, train, eat dinner, a little more mobile school, go to sleep. I never watch the news, rarely read the paper, and change the station in search of music when the radio goes to the news segments. I don’t have to take care of anything other than a few plants, and even that has proved difficult at times. All my financial stuff is set up to go automatically, and the only bill I have is for my cell phone.

Now though, I’m visiting family in Chicago where I’m as close to “real life” as I’ve been in a while. I’m using my sister’s car which means I drop her off at school in the morning and pick her up. The dog needs to be walked, dishes washed, floors vacuumed and groceries purchased. What is this?! It’s about as foreign to me as dentists are to the British (I kid, I love the Brits!). The past week has been a real eye opener, and actually it’s been quite nice. Finally I get a taste of what everyone else does during the day, well, beside that four letter word “work.” Reading the paper with a glass of apple juice, eating an eggo waffle made me feel the slightest bit sophisticated. Then I got bored. But they say it’s the effort that counts right? Sure. While real life is nice, it’s like New York City: good for a visit, but not forever. My alternate reality will be nice to go back to.

What I’m Thankful For

2009-11-26T08:45:00.002-08:00

Thanksgiving- and the general holiday season- is a time to give thanks for everything in your life- family and friends, your job, your home, your health- like not having diabetes after last year’s feast and ensuing gluttony- and good fortune. My feeling is that you should be thankful everyday, but hey, what do I know? There are a lot of things in life that I’m extremely thankful for so I’m just going to make a list.

-My mom, one of the strongest people I know.

-Nadia and Jake for being the two best siblings you could ask for

-My grandma who’s always been my #1 fan and supporter

-My entire family for their unwavering support in everything that I do

-Being raised basically as a modern day pilgrim child in the city of Chicago; only being able to watch PBS and play with “museum quality” toys as a kid

-Ron FW for giving me the push I needed to get into cycling

-My coach, Craig, for helping me become a bike racer

-Having the opportunity to live and train at the OTC

-The staff and athletes at the OTC who make it their mission to help everyone here succeed

-My teammates who have been with me for success and failure, good and bad days and tons of unforgettable experiences

-Everyone I’ve called just to talk (It doesn’t happen very often)

-Everyone else that’s supported me in someway, shape or form over the years (There are a lot)

-Living in the US where everything is much easier than the rest of the world

-Being able to see the world from a two-wheeled perspective (You should try it sometime)

-The challenges presented to me, without which my life would be ordinary and boring

-The 300+ days of sunshine in Colorado Springs

The list goes on, but nobody really likes reading lists. What’s more important is for all of you to think about what’s important in your lives. Maybe this list helps spark your thought process, maybe you just read this list at your Thanksgiving dinner as your own, that’s fine. There are people out there that have much more material wealth than you do, but you are much richer. Happy holidays everyone.

Today May as well Be Christmas

2009-11-23T12:25:00.002-08:00

Or Hanukkah, Kwanza, or Festivus. I don't really care. I'm going back to Chicago and I'm SO excited! I'm staying for over a month which is the longest I've been there since 2006 when I still lived at home. Technically there's a camp in the middle so I won't be in IL the entire time, but... mostly. United was kind enough to provide me with a voucher after a bag was lost, so I got the flight on the cheap. It shows too. My route is Colorado Springs to Denver, Denver to Omaha (New airport!) then to Chicago. The ticket lady saw my itinerary and said something like "Well aren't you going all over god's good creation?!" Well yes I am! Amen!

And really, amen for Premier Exec! I got bumped up on all my flights. In all the flying I've done, and all the plane's I've ever been on, not one has been in first class, so I'm jazzed. (Do people actually use "Jazzed" anymore? It just came to me so I went with it.) Anyway, they're calling us to board, so I'm out! See you in Chicago.

Going Green Smells

2009-11-19T17:54:00.003-08:00

In an effort to go green, and not give myself cancer, I bought a natural deodorant. I thought "I really don't sweat a lot, this makes total sense!" Wrong. I found out that even though Tom's says "Unscented" it actually smells like earwax, "Odor Protection" is code for "Doesn't work worth a crap." Nowadays everything gives you cancer- obesity, deodorant, cellphones, and in a few years they'll probably say chemo causes cancer too. So, in trying to avoid cancer my thought was to revert back to the hippie/pilgrim days when they probably just rubbed a sprig of pine under their arms and called it good. Pine sprigs are copious around the OTC but I'm too lazy to go outside and get some. And it's probably illegal to snap the tender brach of a pine tree off for personal hygiene purposes... that'd be sticky too. So, I'm just gonna go back to using my aluminum riddled deodorant that actually works. Hopefully by the time I get cancer, medical technology will have advanced enough to cure it, and I can keep using what works.