New Kits!

We got our new kits! Thanks to Carlos Cabalu for helping us create an amazing design. Thanks to Alaina for working her tail off to make the deal happen and to get some amazing bonus goodies. And, finally, thanks to VERGE for giving us some sweet threads to wear when ripping things up!!!

So, without further ado, here are the kits.

front

back

I was going to post a photo of our "Secret Weapon," but I don't think I should. Let's just say that we will be riding with a little Mojo in our pockets! :)

Here's Alaina modeling the kits....

First Race....

I just signed up for my first race of the season. I think that the best way to describe this decision is, "Go hard or go home." Essentially, for my first Pro/1/2 race of the season, I have chosen one of the notoriously most difficult races in the entire eastern region of the United States, The Battenkill Roubaix. I mean, seriously...the name of the race has KILL in it. That just CANNOT be a good thing!

The race itself is based on the famous Paris-Roubaix race in France in which riders cover a course that includes large sections of unpaved gravel road, cobbles, nasty climbs, and other notoriously evil race elements.

So, our race is 62 miles of pain, including several miles of unpaved road, numerous climbs (some unpaved on both the climb and the descent), and lots of bone jarring holes and bumps. Here's the course map (note the profile at the bottom). Oh, yeah...it's going to ROCK!

Thankfully, I am heading up to Battenkill with some of my new teammates: Jencheng, Grizzly Gurski, Chicken and Goat. So, at least I will be suffering with some of my favorite people!

I have only three words:

BRING IT ON!

Missing Stamps

About a month ago, Chuck went to the post office and bought two rolls of stamps. He warned me not to put the stamps on the desk because the cats were playing with them when they were downstairs on the table. Like a butthead, I put the stamps on the desk. Sure enough, the stamps soon disappeared. Enter...yesterday...

Chuck decides that he wants to clean the office. In his mind, he is imagining that we are going to find the missing stamps as we're cleaning. We clean the room from top to bottom, wash the floor, move furniture, etc. No stamps. Alas...

And on to today - we're watching Jeopardy and something comes bouncing down the stairs batted by one of the cats. Chuck says, "Did you just throw that for them?"

I say, "No...whatever that was, they batted it down the stairs."

Jokingly, he says, "It's probably the roll of stamps." And gets up to investigate.

I end up in tears from laughing so hard because, of course, it IS the roll of stamps!

Colorad-NO

I was supposed to be in Colorado tonight. Well, last night actually. I had planned to head out there to visit my sister and niece. I have been looking forward to it for two weeks (ever since Eloise was born) and just dying to go out there and fawn over the little darling.

Just one problem....I recently got sick. I NEVER get sick. Or, at least, I get sick about once a winter. Of course, as my luck would have it, my one time getting sick is now. So, I had to cancel my trip and not go out (can't risk getting anyone out there sick!). I am terribly disappointed, not to even speak of how bummed my sister is.

For now, I will have to satisfy my desire to see little Ella by looking at photos and videos that have been promised to be sent my way. I'm hoping that they come out with her sometime soon and that we will get to see them at that time. For now...I have to just sit around and mope a bit and then move onward.

To Julie, Scott and Eloise...I love you guys, miss you terribly, and can't wait to see you all soon!

Winter Wonderland

Now that the sun is out and the snow has stopped, we are left in a beautiful winter wonderland. It really is gorgeous! :)

Snowmageddon Part 2

Well, it snowed a bit last night. Sometime in the middle of the night, Chuck got up and said, "Hey - it stopped snowing." This morning, I thought that the weather guys had officially blown it, since it was no longer snowing, the roads were clear and the sky was overcast, but dry. And then...it began. Snomageddon Part 2.

First it was the rain...which then became sleet, and about an hour ago became a HEAVY snowfall. Hmmm...guess they were right. So, what do you do on a day like today...

- get up and shovel the slushy snow that fell last night and got sleeted on this morning. Also known as, weightlifting workout #1 for the day

- eat some deliciously fattening breakfast foods with yummy coffee

- get on the bike for wicked workout #2 of the day - over-unders provided by G-Money (ouchy - in a good way)

- make some deliciously yummy veggie soup to be enjoyed in front of the roaring fire

- paint my toenails purple and green to match the new team kit. I know the purple is not exactly right, but I had to work with what I had in the house!

- shovel again

- make a snowman. This is the first snowman I've made in years! So much fun and so much work! :)

- do some work - both dissertation and teaching work

- get BACK on the bike for workout #3 for the day - a leisurely 45 minutes of spinning to work out some kinks in the legs....ahhhhhhhhhh

- make shepherd's pie for dinner

Please note the wine brand - Cycles Gladiator, baby!!

- eat the Creme Brulee that I made for desert!

- watch a movie

- go to sleep

- dream of riding long steady climbs and screaming fast descents in WARM weather with my teammates!

Walkin' in Da Snow

One of our traditions of walking in the snow was fulfilled today when it began to come down around 9:30 or so. Here are some videos. Since this is supposed to continue through midnight tomorrow, you can imagine how much snow we're going to get. Especially since the hard stuff isn't supposed to come down until tomorrow...

SRSLY?

More snow? SRSLY? Oy vey.

It looks as though we east coasters are going to get pummeled again! There's another snow storm on the way, expected to hit tonight and into tomorrow and drop another 12-18 inches on our already white behinds.

Honestly, it's not that I mind the snow. I really don't. In fact, it's quite pretty to look at and makes everything look so pristine and clean. In that respect, I really like the snow. However, it does put a bit of a damper on being able to ride your BICYCLE! Grrrr..... And, since I am trying to get my bum in gear for NRC races again this year, I need to be out there, on the road, with my team, getting in shape!

I'm doing what I can on the trainer for now, but it's certainly getting a bit silly around these parts. Bring on Spring!

Putty Tats

I thought I would post some recent pics of the purrs. Here they are....

Sturdy Girl Parties On!

Last night was the Sturdy Girl annual fundraiser cocktail party. As you can imagine, with the threat of 18 inches of snow looming, the turnout was a bit less than stellar. Still, many of the club/team's fans were out to show their love for the pink and we had a great time!

The party, for me, was the beginning of a bit of a bittersweet year. Though I'm REALLY happy and excited about my new team, it does feel strange to not be a Sturdy Girl this year. I don't want to give away any team secrets, but I hope that the local peloton keeps an eye out for these ladies. They have an AMAZING team this year, with some really powerful and impressive riders. As usual, the team also banks on the amazing relationships that are developed between members, which seems as strong as ever. I'm happy to still feel like a major part of the team - Becky referred to me last night as a watermelon (pink on the inside and green on the outside). I thought that was hilarious!

I was really happy to donate a few bike related photos for the silent auction. They were a hit! It was fantastic to hear that so many people liked my photos and were interested in bidding on them! A few people have suggested I do a show, which Sara and I have already talked about doing. So...keep your eyes peeled, folks, for the Sara(h) Squared show! ;)

SNOW!!

This is mainly a post for my parents, who are out in Colorado with my sister, brother-in-law and new niece! We thought you would want to see the snow so far....

Pretty awesome, eh?! I'll post some other photos later. Keep in mind that this is supposed to continue ALL day today. They're calling for our area to get 18-24 inches of snow!

Another video for your viewing pleasure...since loading the first one, they have changed the forecast to 24-30 inches of snow for our area. Oy vey!

A NAME!!

I'm proud to announce that my niece has a name!!!!

Eloise June Newbold

I like it. :)

Although Chuck and I still might call her JJ for the rest of her life! wink, wink!

New Niece!

Though I can't supply y'all with a name (as Julie and Scott have yet to decide what to call the little munchkin), I can supply you with the following information:

My new niece was born on February 1st, 2010 at 5:02 am (Colorado time). She is 9 pounds 2 ounces and 21 inches long (I call that a little chubber!)! Mom and baby are healthy and happy, although very tired - about 18 hours of natural labor to introduce LittleGirl Newbold to the world!

Here's a photo of the Little Girl... I can't wait to get out there in about two weeks to hold her myself (and give my sis and Scott a huge hug!).