New Vroom Vroom

Chuck and I went out shopping again tonight. We decided that we really needed to go drive the Versa. It's such a nice car on paper. It's got great standard safety features, decent extras for a reasonable price, and it's exactly the kind of car I am looking for.

So, we headed out to the Nissan dealership just after he got home from work. Sitting in the lot was the most adorable red Versa I ever did see - with a perfect sticker price to boot. As I stood there making sure I wasn't drooling, the salesguy came over to tell me that, alas, this one was SOLD! :( What a bummer.

So, we decided to drive one of the other Versas on the lot. It was great. Had excellent pick-up, tons of room, comfy seats, nice extras. I was pretty well hooked by the time we got back to the dealership. The Versa is an awesome car. Still...we had to sit down and crunch numbers. Always a problematic stage to car shopping.

Not this time. The guy we were working with was AWESOME. He is totally straightforward, totally on the level, and totally ready to sell us a car. The other places acted like we were doing them a favor by walking in the door. This dealership recognized that it was up to them to sell to us, not up to us to buy from them. He immediately acknowledged that he was going to drop at least $700 off the sticker price (and that was before the rebates that were already on the table for the month). Essentially, we got the car for WELL under invoice once we factored in our trade-in, rebates, and incentives.

All that was left to do was choose a color! :) I was partial to two colors, but since we already have a blue Sonic, I decided to go with the one that really got me when we walked onto the lot.

It felt great to buy this car.

So...without further adieu...here she is....in her red-headed splendor...VIVIAN THE VERSA!!!!!

The Search Continues

Chuck and I went out car shopping together. We drove three cars yesterday (well, I drove them). The Yaris, the Hyundai Accent and the Scion xD. I was really impressed with the Yaris and the xD. Though I wanted to like the Accent because of the price and warranty...it drove like a go-cart. No pick up, no real power, and it whined like it was about to explode when you hit the gas. Granted, I expected that from a small, cheap car...but neither the Yaris nor the Scion felt that way at all. Both were full of power, had a lot of "get-up-and-go" and were fun to drive. Alas, they were also several thousand dollars more expensive. Still...my favorite out of the three was the xD.

The Scion xD. Drove great...had LOTS of room. And, comes with a lot of standard features that are big extras on other cars. Still - the price was a bit high and Scion (for some unknown reason) does not have ANY rebates or incentives...it's just THE sticker price. Still, I LOVED driving this car. Ironically, as we started to walk out the door (rather unimpressed with the fact that we couldn't get "a deal" on the Scion) they offered us $1000 for Esther. Hmmm....$1000 for a 95 Escort Wagon...pretty nice incentive. One that we certainly didn't expect. We told them we would think about it. We're so tough. ;)

So, coming home and doing a bit more research online today, I have added two cars to the list for test drives this week.

#1 the Chevy Aveo. Again - a cute little hatchback that falls into our price range. It's not ranked too high on the Consumer review list of small cars...supposedly not spunky to drive, but we'll see.

#2 - the Nissan Versa. When I was reading about the Aveo, the reviewer suggested the Versa as a better alternative in the same price and size range. It has better reviews and MOST IMPORTANTLY, better safety features. The Aveo does not come with side airbags, the Versa does...for a lower price.

So...that said...I will try to head out tomorrow to drive these two and see how they fit.

First Race - First Podium!

Under a rainy sky, I left my house yesterday morning for the first of many yearly treks to Lancaster County. I was headed out for my first race of the season, a road race in Millport. The big goal for the day: try to finish high enough on the podium to get the 2 points I figure I needed for my upgrade.

The race: 34K (21 miles for those of you unfamiliar with the metric system)
The course was described as rolling. It was really nice, with a lot of turns and a few big-ring climbs. A small incline up to the first turn, a sweeping second turn into a headwind. Then, there was a long false flat with a rise (similar to Union Grove) that was actually a pretty tough stretch. A turn after that led to the only really major climb on the course (still a big-ring climb). A fast descent into a sharp right turn made the next corner tricky, but then it was smooth sailing to the finish line. The finish was actually pretty tricky. A chicane led to the straight to the finish which was actually very short. Once you got around the last bend and were headed for home, there was not a lot of time to bump up the momentum. I found this out the hard way by NOT being the first one through the chicane, but hoping to use a lead-out on one of the riders ahead of me. It didn't work and they both stayed in front, putting me 3rd on the day!

The field: Cat 3/4 - 18 riders at the start (only 1 Sturdy!)

The Race:
There was a large squad from Team BBC at the race (8 of the 18). So, I decided early on that I wanted to shed as many from the 18 person field as I could. Luckily for me, there were a bunch of other riders who felt the same. We ended up chatting before the race and 6 of us agreed to work together to pull the field down to just us. It was awesome to race with a tremendous bunch of women who were excited by my chance at an upgrade and voiced the fact that they were willing to help me get there. Very cool bunch of ladies on the road yesterday!
I started out at the front and immediately bumped the pace up to 19 or 20 mph. By the time we hit the rise of the false flat, we had broken up and strung out the field. By the mid-point of the second lap, Jen looks around and says, "Hey! It's just us!" Our goal was met early. The best part was, we continued to really race the race. We never dropped the pace and sat in, we never took the break in the field for granted, and by the time we hit the finish, it was a REAL sprint that REALLY hurt!
I finished 3rd, just behind Ruth from Cadence and Cheri from Spinners (aka The Hair - I love her, she's great!), with Dana Cuomo finishing 4th behind me.

All in All:

• It was a great race. I worked hard and was at the front a LOT, which certainly hurt me in the sprint (as did my misjudge of WHERE I wanted to be on that sprint), but I am REALLY happy with how the race worked out.
• I felt great, considering it's not even April. My fitness for this time of the year was good, I was feeling strong and confident on the bike.
• I got a great workout and had a lot of fun with a great group of women, and I got my 2 upgrade points.
• Assuming that I have not made any "errors" on my upgrade form, I should be a Cat 2 very soon! Still...considering last time, I am not counting my chickens just yet! ;)

Car Shopping

I enjoy car shopping. The internet kind of car shopping...where you hop onto various websites and build your car. It's fun. I enjoy seeing just how much it might cost me to replace poor Esther the Escort who is slowly kicking the bucket. She's been a great car. I certainly can't complain about her. For $5000, we've driven her pretty much into the ground. Unfortunately, it's to the point now that it just doesn't make much sense to put a few hundred dollars into her to fix all the stuff that's broken or breaking (clutch, rear wiper, entire interior panel, strange rattling noise coming from the undercarriage, etc.).

So...we have begun the internet search for a new vehicle. I have only a few minor demands on my new machine.

1. Must be a hatchback. In order to carry bikes and gear to and from races, I need a hatchback. No sedans for me!
2. Must have power locks and windows - I am more than tired of climbing around the car to open windows and unlock doors.
3. Must be cheap but safe! I want a car with a nice warranty, nice safety features, and a nice price tag. Is that too much to ask for?

Here are a few of my options and my opinions about the options:

Hyundai Accent

Uber-cute. Very small, very cheap. Great warranty. Not the snazzy-est car ever made.

Honda Fit
I personally think it's UGLY! Although it is rated #1 on the Consumer list of small cars.

Toyota Yaris
CUTEST THING EVER!
Totally love it...perfect car for someone MY AGE! :)

Kia Rio
Nice...cute...a little pricey.

My DREAM car...Volvo C30. Droooooool.

Who wants to help me pick out my new baby?

Handing out the Props

I totally have to give props to my teammate, Anne Rock. Way to go, Rock! I hope that your trip is fantastic...you deserve it. Take tons of pictures and crazy videos, and pack an extra suitcase so that you can bring T-shirts home for all of your adoring fans!

Way to go Anne!

For further explanation of this post...check out Anne's blog!

Birthday Boys

This is nephew-birthday-week! Noah's big 3rd Birthday is today and Nick's 5th birthday is Thursday. We are very lucky to have two adorable nephews (not to mention the other nephew and two nieces)!

Nick - being a bike dork like his aunt! ;)

Noah - so darned cute!

Tonight is Nick's birthday party. I'm sure it will be a blast to hang out with the family and celebrate the little dude's big day. He's so adorable.

I wish that we could be in Michigan to celebrate Noah's birthday, too. Alas, he'll have to settle for hugs and kisses via the phone and my blog. Have a beautiful day, cutie. We love you!

Mexico

Just a few photos to be posted soon from Mexico. I tried to do this the other day, but was having computer trouble...couldn't load the pics. So, I'll try to post them as soon as I can.

In short, the trip was fun, warm, exciting, infuriating, exhausting, exhilirating, educational, and beautiful. Our students were great and my faculty members were phenomenal. All in all, a pretty great week.

Going to DC

Yesterday was the annual bus trip to Washington. Here's a little photographic journey.

Oscar the Grouch!

Chuck and Sarah self portrait!

That's all folks. Now...I'm hopping a plane in a few hours to Mexico. See you on the flip side!

Snow Day!

I can count on one hand the number of times that my school has canceled classes due to inclement weather. Somehow...today was one of those days. Refusing to even go outside, I took these pics from the windows! :) Brrrrr....

I guess March is coming in like a lion, eh?

New TV = New Glasses?

We didn't really get a new TV, but we did get a new TV service. We recently got Verizon Fios hooked up. For those who are wondering...it's pretty good so far, although we have had to place a few calls to tech support since it was installed a few weeks ago. I'm hoping that this is primarily due to the service being new in our area and not due to the fact that the service is crappy. I guess we'll find out as we go along.

Anyway...the issue is that the TV is now essentially our TV guide! All of the channels are listed on the screen and you can see what's coming on next in the menus and such. Since we do not have a 12-foot-wide-flat-screen-HD-cooks-dinner-and-does-the-laundry-but-I-only-paid-$16,000-for-it TV, but an "old fashioned" 30-something inch *gasp* it's not even a flat screen, I realize that I am having a heck of a time seeing the TV from across the room. Especially the little text that appears when you click on the menu. Oh, crud. I have had glasses to see far away for years. Although, the last time I had the prescription changed was probably 6 years ago. I've come to the realization that I need to go back to the eye doctor and have them checked out. Phooey!