Bun buns in my Veg!!!!

I am in need of Anti-Pesto! Apparently, there is a momma bun-bun who has spawned off a plethora of little bun-buns in my backyard! They have decided, smartly enough, that my veg garden is a good place to fill their little tummies with yummies! So far, the only casualty is the top of one of my beets!! I'm keeping a close eye on the buns...I sneak up on them...real quiet-like, like a fish!

P.S. For those of you who have not seen the Wallace and Gromit movie...DO IT! SOOOOO FUNNY! :)

Tell Me How Your Garden Grows!

Ok...so I have been gushing to my mom and dad about my garden. Here are some recent photos of my newly growing veg!

Gypsy Peppers - there are at least a dozen on each plant...I just have to wait for them to change colors so that I can EAT them ALL! :) OK...maybe I'll share with the neighbors or something! MAYBE!

Check out them whoppers!
This is my current lone Squish! That's Sarah-speak for my Hasta la Pasta Spaghetti Squash. There are a few other blooms on the plant, so I am sure that there are more yummy squishes to come! :) Finally, my tomatoes...I have four plants growing in the garden. One is not doing so well...currently there are no fruits on it at all. It's alive, but it seems to be caught in a growth time-warp. It doesn't get any bigger and it doesn't seem to want to grow 'maters! The other three, however, are going to keep me up to my eyeballs in tomatoes for the summer! First, my little Mama Tomatoes. Not looking so little at the moment!
This is one of the Porterhouse Tomatoes...these are monster 'maters that are supposed to be really meaty and yummy!
The waiting game begins. Now that my plants have fruit, I have to wait for them to ripen. I'm SOOO not good at waiting! :)

New Photo Link

Hi All...

Yahoo! Photo has shut down operations! However, I have moved everything over to Flickr, so the link at the right still works, it just sends you to a page that looks a bit different! It's still easy to navigate, so take a peek...there are new photos uploaded from our big Sunday ride!

Chuck's Big Win!

I forgot to post these earlier. When the Pro Race was in town...Keswick (our sponsor) held a big party on Friday night with 4 pro teams in attendance. Health Net, Priority Health, Sierra Nevada and the Aaron's Women's team. It was great fun to see those guys and get to chat with some of the riders, and then they had a raffle. Chuck (of ALL people!!!) ended up winning a jersey signed by the Health Net team! This is particularly funny since Chuck spent most of the evening mumbling, "Bike Dorks" under his breath and he does collect autographs, so this item, though not one of great interest to him, fits his collection quite well! Anywho...I think it's a pretty cool win, so here it is! Signed by Karl Menzies, Frank Pipp, Rory Sutherland, Kirk O'Bee, Shawn Milne, John Murphy, and Kyle Gritters. Nice win, Chuckie!

Big Sunday Ride

Sunday was George's big ride out to Montgomery County. With a crew of about 15, we headed out from Manayunk on a BEAUTIFUL day! It was gorgeous out...full sun, low 80s, it was perfect. I have no idea where we were half the time, as is typical, but we traveled through some excellent areas outside the city. Great roads, great company, great day!

The crew meeting in Manayunk!

During our stop at the "Kiwk-E-Mart," Dana decided to buy everyone gummy hot dogs! Boy, were they yummy! :P It wasn't really a "Kwick-E-Mart," but that's ok!

We made a stop at the Farm Park to refill water. The funny part was that the bottles don't fit under the fountain, so the only way to fill up was to fill the cap and pour it into the bottle, then fill the cap again, etc. It actually worked quite well once you got the hang of it!

Including our water/potty break and stop at the Mart, we were out on the road for right about 5 hours...4 hours and 10 minutes of which was on the bike. We covered 70 miles at a leisurely average of 15.6 mph. Pretty good, considering we had a tandem with us and we climbed a lot of hills! :) What a great day...I'm so happy to be a Sturdy!

Now, it's time to get ready for my next race. Brownstown is this weekend, so I am looking forward to the course and the race. George and I are headed out to Lancaster on Thursday to check out the course and preview the 3 courses for the stage race next weekend. Wow...I have a stage race next weekend!!! Yikes!

Near Collison!

Wowza...yesterday morning was an interesting ride for me. I'm at the shore, so usually the traffic is light, although people are generally in a hurry around here. Anywho...I was heading back into town through a small construction area. I was coming up on an intersection, lots of cars parked on the right side of the road blocking crossing traffic from seeing who or what might be coming towards them. I DO NOT have a stop sign, crossing traffic DOES have a stop sign. You would think that, considering the characteristics of the intersection, that someone coming to it at the stop sign would be a little cautious so as to avoid getting hit by a car, or a bike?! NOPE! Guy in a big, red truck pulls up to the intersection, stops for a split second and proceeds to pull out right in front of me as I am traveling 20+ mph on my bike!

I begin to yell out, "Yo! Yo! YO!" He looks over at me and stops...directly in front of me! I slam on my brakes, my bike fishtails beneath me like crazy...but, with my newfound bike handling skills (THANK YOU, GEORGE!!) I managed to #1 stay upright, #2 stay clipped into my pedals, and #3 NOT run smack into the side of the big, red truck. As I'm fishtailing toward the side of his vehicle, the guy sits there and watches me, and then lets out a sheepish, "Sorry." as I scoot around the back of his truck, cursing him out under my breath.

I learned two things from this experience. #1 - I really do ride smart. I saw him coming and in many ways was ready for him to pull out in front of me. I'm usually really aware of cars around me. Now, this is not going to save my heiney every time...but at least I know that I am doing what I can to avoid injury! and #2 - I really have developed strong bike handling skills. I was surprised after it happened to realize that my heart rate hadn't jumped, I hadn't freaked out, I had just reacted to a bad situation. That was a good feeling to know that I have the abilities to ride safe and smart.

So, to all the riders out there...be careful! Be aware! Be Smart! ALWAYS assume that the cars are going to pull out in front of you...and ALWAYS ride on the right side of the road (with traffic, never against!).

And to all the drivers out there...be patient with cyclists! We belong on the road, we have rights on the roads! Be aware of where we are and treat us as you would a car. If a cyclist is coming toward you, imagine that they are a car. If they are close enough that you wouldn't pull out in front of them if they were an SUV, don't pull out in front of them! You'd be amazed how fast some of us are going and stopping on a dime is not possible or safe!

That's my public service message for the day...Happy Driving and Happy Riding Abound!!!!

Intervals...yeah....

I spent the morning doing some rockin' intervals around Cooper River and Knight's Park. I hopped over to the bike shop to check out some new shoes (and to drool over my dream bike a little more). I like to stop in and say hi to him once in a while, just in case I ever collect the cash to buy him. This way, he knows who I am ahead of time. It's like getting used to a new friend! :)

Dinner with Heather and Greg last night was very nice. They're so much fun to talk to and hang out with. I test rode Heather's Litespeed so that I could compare Titanium to Carbon. Honestly, maybe I am not as savvy as other people, or my toosh doesn't have the same reaction, but most bikes feel pretty much the same to me. There are very slight differences, but nothing that would make me absolutely rule one type of material out. For me, the concerns are more about weight, fit, and componenets. I would like something light, something with Ultegra at least, but ideally Dura Ace, and something that feels good. As far as I'm concerned, it can be made out of styrofoam! As long as it's going to hold up to a good race beating, I'm not overly particular with material. I am partial to Carbon, but not averse to anything else. I guess we'll just wait and see what I end up with, if anything! :)

Rest Day!

Ahhh...a day of rest...everyone should have one! My Wednesday off. I visited my mother-in-law to just sit and chat for a while. They had to put one of the dogs to sleep over the weekend (don't worry, they still have 8 living dogs...and three cats:) ). Weebles was 18 years old! She was a German Shepherd mix and was the sweetest dog. She was completely mild mannered and adorably cute. She loved attention and always wanted to be at your feet so that you could scratch her. She was brought home by my father-in-law while he was on duty as a police officer. She was just a little stray that they took in to give a good home. And a good home, she had! She lived a long and happy life with my in-laws.

I spent part of the day doing a bit of shopping...I needed to pick up a few last things in order to send a goodie-box to my mom and dad. Lots of big days for them this month...wedding anniversary, Father's day, mom's birthday, and today, mom had surgery to remove a nerve bundle from her foot. This thing has been causing her a ton of pain when she walks, and so she finally went to the doctor and they diagnosed the nerve bundle. Turns out it's only a minor issue to have it removed, so that's what she's doing. The surgery was early this morning and she was home and sleeping by noon. I hope that she ends up feeling great...that is, after the do the OTHER foot! :P

Tonight, I am headed to Heather's house for Sushi dinner! Yum!

My favorite Hill!

I have to take a photo or two of my favorite hill! Aptly named George Rd. (makes me think of my coach every time I ride it! :) ) it's a great hill that rises with a few great sweeping curves in the road. I don't know why I love this hill so much. I think that it's just the perfect combination of grade and curvy lines that makes me happy when I'm busting my behind up it! :)

I'm gushing over my hill because he and I had a nice workout together this morning! I did about 5 repeats...all seated and all hard, up the hill. It felt pretty good, and I am trying to get my hill climbing legs back before hitting the Brownstown course on the 30th.

Monday Ride

Luly and I met up again this morning for a nice, easy paced ride out along the Valley Forge path. We always have some great adventures together. The last time we rode the path with Leah, we saw a fox and about a dozen groundhogs. This time, we nearly killed 3 different species of animals!

As we were coming along the path at Kelly Drive, a huge gaggle of Canada geese were milling on both sides of the path. We were trying to make noise to keep them away from the path, but managed to have about 7 young geese (born this year, young) run in front of us! Alas, we did not hit them! Later, two groundhogs were hanging out along the path and decided, right as we were passing, to run into oncoming traffic (us!)! Again, we managed to avoid groundhog suicide bombings and continued along. Finally, and undoubtedly the one that would have been least dangerous to me, two tiny chipmunks ran out into the path chasing one another in little circle patterns. Good thing that I zigged and they zagged, missed them, too! WHEW! That's 0 for 3...pretty good record!

We're planning a hill workout for later in the week...maybe we can round up a few deer, some squirrels, and a wombat or two! :)

Cargas Crit

Sunday was the Cargas Crit. It was a scorcher out in Lancaster. By the time we hit the course at 3 pm, it was over 90 degrees with full afternoon sun. The course was fantastic! Broad sweeping curves to the road and essentially one real corner. Even the real corner was wide and sweeping, but it led into the uphill stretch to the start/finish line. Essentially, this meant that this corner was always taken at a decent speed in order for everyone to push it up the hill. There were 5 primes (pronounced preems - essentially means a lap in which the first person to cross the line gets a prize - a little "sprint" lap) in our 25 lap race, and I nearly got one of them! I was up near the top of the hill and saw someone on my wheel. I thought to myself, I can either bust my butt up to the top of this sucker for a box of chamois cream (which I don't use), or I can save my legs for the remaining 12 laps of this race. Decided on #2 and let the woman coming up along me take the lap.

It was an open race with a field of 18, and there was at least one Cat 2 rider in the field. It was a great paced race, but too hot for anyone to make a real threatening move...everyone was pretty happy to settle in for a group sprint at the finish. As we came up to the final 2 laps, a Breakaway rider jumped off the front and happily pulled along the rest of us! She picked up the pace and eventually a small break happened, in which my teammate Sally situated herself perfectly. I got stuck behind some people coming up the hill to the final lap...by the time I got around them, the break was off and I was not! :) Anyway...I held my own, and hopped on Jody's wheel when she came by me. She pulled me up to the finish corner/hill, and I took off. I ended up eeking out a 10th place finish. Sally took 2nd, Jody 12th, and Doreen took 15th. All in all, a great day for Sturdy Girl! Sally brought home $65 for the doughnut pot, and we all had a nice day in Lancaster. I'm glad I decided to do that one and am already looking forward to racing it again next year...I just hope it's not to hot!

One good thing...I was working on drinking a lot so that I didn't cramp up! I did a good job...finishing one bottle during the race (and drinking a LOT before hand and after). However, to give you a sense of just how Africa-hot it was...my water bottles got so warm that I felt like I was drinking electrolytes that had been prepared in a HOT TUB! EWWWWW!! It really was a miracle that I managed to drink as much as I did. Good on me!

Hilarious!

For those of you who know my dad, I'm sure that you will enjoy this! For those of you who don't, let me say that the guy in this comic looks just like him! The funny part is that he sent this comic to me. The funnier bit is that my sister sent the same one to him!! Keep in mind that my dad is well known for wearing socks with his Chaco sandals. He is NOT, however, known for wearing undies under his Speedo! (Not that he ever wears a Speedo! :) )

What a Weekend!

This was a great weekend for Bike Dorks everywhere! It was a great weekend for racing, particularly Sunday, which was cool and overcast in the morning with the sun peeking out later in the day for the finish! The pros looked awesome coming up Lemon Hill, but not nearly as awesome as Liz on Friday night at the Manayunk Wall Climb! Liz took 1st for the 3rd year running. I do not, however, have photos of her climb yet, because I took them with film (yes, they do still make FILM) so that I could shoot multiple shots in a row! I'll post them as soon as I get the film developed!

Leah, Dana, Liz (climber extraordinare!) and ME!
Dana and Brian

On to Saturday! Saturday morning was the Individual Time Trial. I had several teammates compete in this event. Dana was the highest finsiher, coming in 6th out of 40 women! Leah, Dee Anne, Marianna, Jody, Jenny, and Bonnie also rocked the house! It was fun to watch them start and finish in front of the museum. Great job ladies!

We then did a nice ride out through Lower Merion. On our way out through Manayunk, the Specialized guys were out with Demo bikes, so Luly, Leah, and I test rode a few machines. I rode the S-Works Tarmac. Holy Moly! GREAT BIKE! Takes hills like they are nothing, and really flew over the cobbles. Really nice ride.

Finally, on Sunday morning, I found myself standing on Lemon Hill. This was my first time at the pro-race, so I was really excited to watch these great guys and girls take on this course. I'm sure it was a great time at the Wall, but I thought that Lemon hill was really the place to be!

Slipstream-Chipolte team in their rockin' ARGYLE jerseys take the field up the hill...trying to catch a breakaway.
Here's J.J. Haedo!
I was rooting for him from the start...and he ended up winning!
GO CSC!! :)

For more photos from the Time Trial and the Race...click on the Our Photos link and check out the Philly Pro Race Folder! Fun times!

Friday morning ride...

Preparations are well underway for the big race this weekend! There are dozens of tents lining the Ben Franklin Parkway and the fences are up! There are so many people out riding right now...it's really very inspiring! On our way back to the car this morning, Luly and I passed one of the Kodak riders (not sure which one!). GAME ON, KIDDIES! :)

Luly and I headed out to Lower Merion this morning...intending to do a nice easy ride, we charged up a ton of great hills before being rewarded with a beautiful downhill run (41 mph, baby!) and across this beautiful scene. You can see from the haze that the words of the day today are HOT and HUMID!! :)
Well...this is me...
and this is Luly! Ain't we cute?

Nothing Better

There is almost nothing better in life than careening down a 10% grade road on your bike hitting 41 miles an hour! Now...if I can only get to Europe or haul my bike out to Colorado for Julie's wedding, I can experience something better. Careening down a mountainside at 50 miles an hour! :) Happiness is riding...FAST! :)

Zoo Pics

I finally uploaded some photos from our trip to the Zoo on the Photos page! It took me a while, but I need to clear my camera disk for the race this weekend...so I guess I finally found some time to do it! :)

Results Posted!

Just in case anyone thought I was telling stories out of school (as they say)...Team Beacon's website has the results of the NJ State Road Race posted! Category 4 women are listed last...also look for my teammate Dana Hanchin's name in the Category 1-2-3 women's race! Woo Hoo, Dana! :) I also received an email from the race promoter, who is sending me a new set of tires for my bike along with my 2nd place medal! :) Yippee!

So Cute!

So...I was out riding this morning with one of my teammates, Luly. As we were cruising down a street in Philadelphia, we had an encounter with a driver. Normallly, this would mean that we were honked at, yelled at, something was thrown at us, or we were otherwise "abused" by a driver who thinks we don't belong on the road. Not the case this morning.

This woman is coming to a stop at a red light and we are off on the right shoulder. She rolls her window down and yells, "Good luck on Sunday!" Sunday is, of course, the big pro race in Philadelphia. We, of course, are not Pros! But, the simple fact that she was aware that there was a bike race coming up (as far as I could tell, she herself was not a cyclist...no bike rack, stickers, etc) says a lot about this upcoming weekend.

As Luly and I pulled away from that light, we just kept repeating to one another, "Man, that was SO cute!"

So, to my bike-friendly stranger...Thank you...you put smiles on our faces for the rest of our interval training! :)

Garden Update

Grow, little garden, GROW!!! :)
Detroit Beets - what other kind would I plant?! :)
My tomato plants!

In addition to my cycling excursions of late, I have been cultivating my green thumb in the backyard with my veggie garden! It has really been showing some progress...check out them 'maters! yum, yum, yummy-yum-yum! I can't wait to actually get some goodies off of the plants! My belly is already excited! :)

NJ State Champ Race!

Here we go...official race report from Saturdays grueling 38 mile scorcher!

I was pretty psyched up about this race. My legs felt good all week leading up to Saturday, and I followed good protocol Friday (eating well and spinning on my trainer for about 20-30 minutes).

It was a scorcher. Very sunny, very hot (although not nearly as steamy as it was in the city). There were a dozen women in the field (all from Jersey...so the title was on the line). There were two teams with 3+ riders, so I expected them to do a lot of work on the day. I felt uncannily confident on the starting line...to be honest, I kept saying to myself "Don't overestimate yourself or underestimate your competition!"

We started out at a snail's pace - quite literally pushing about 14.5 miles an hour. So terrible because I really wanted to bump it up...but I kept my patience (I thought of you, Sally!) and sat in to wait for a move. Eventually, the pace picked up and we settled in for the long 38 miles! By the end of the first lap, I was feeling great! Having taken a look at the rest of the competition, I knew who was going to be a factor at the finish, and set my sights on those 5 women for the final lap. About 10 miles out from the finish, 6 of us broke from the pack and started the race for the Jersey. We had a nice paceline going, averaging around 22 or 23 for the remainder of the race. When we took the final turn, the pace line broke down. 3 miles to the finish and we started to shuffle around, slow down, and wait for the big sprint. Two girls (one of whom was the #1 ranked rider) took off the front a bit, but I sat in the back (patient again!)...actually unsure as to whether my legs had it in them for the sprint up the hill to the finish.

When we hit the bottom of that hill...something took over. I shot out from behind the three riders in front of me, passed the two women who had pulled off the front, and took my butt up that hill. I realized on the way up that I HAD IT! I HAD FIRST IN THE BAG!

Well...ALMOST! :) No excuses, but my left calf cramped up like a brick. I couldn't do a darn thing with that leg, and one of the other riders got me just at the end! Needless to say, I am THRILLED to say that I took 2nd place in the NJ State Champ Race! I really felt like I rode a smart race (although I got stuck pulling a lot more than I would have liked). The only other thing I could have done was DRINK, DRINK, DRINK! This is something I have to work on, and might have saved me at the finish from cramping up.

Thanks to Dana and Robin, and especially Heather and Greg for being there at the finish line! It was great to share that experience with you!

Official stats from the race:
Distance: 37.53 miles
Duration: 1 hour 52 minutes
Average Speed: 20 mph
Course: Beautiful big-ring course, nice rolling hills - very easy - one of the other riders told Heather after the race that she couldn't understand how I was going up those hills without breathing hard...THANK YOU, LANCASTER COUNTY!!! :)
Interesting Points: The winding section in the marsh...very beautiful and nice to ride through. Only downside was getting bit on the butt my greenhead flies...now I know why horses have tails! :):):)

Officially Registered

Well...I am officially registered for the NJ State Championship Road Race. It's really no different than any other road race that I have done so far, so I am unsure why I am so nervous about it. I think that it may be that I have no other teammates in the race. Dana is racing on the day, but she is in Cat 3, so we will not be on course together.

I'm headed over there tomorrow to preview the course and see what exactly the promoter means by "New Jersey hills." I would imagine that he means that the course is essentially flat with minor, big-ring bumps in the road. This would be fine with me, and would play to my strengths as a big-ring rider. It's also 38 miles in length - the longest race I've ever done. I'm really not too worried about the length though...since it's not on Lancaster roads! :)

I think I may have a cheering section of Heather and Greg, which would be really great since I'll otherwise be all alone at the race! I really hope that they are able to make it!

Look for a race report soon!

Considering NJ RR State Championships

After looking over the NJ State Championship Road Race flyer...I sort of want to do this. I think it would be fun to race in NJ instead of Lancaster for once. So far, there are not so many people registered, although I'm certain that this will change in due time. It's a 19-mile loop that we would do twice to give me the longest race I have ever done at 38 miles. Wowza! It's in Bridgeton, which is between our house and the beach. I have to take Chuck down to the beach on Friday, but it would be easy to drive up to Bridgeton and then back down on Saturday. I have to talk to him about this tonight, but I think that I am going to go for it!

:)

Memorial Day Weekend

It's now Tuesday morning. Our first big summer weekend has ended...I have to teach my first summer class tonight, and Chuck is finished will full days of school! I'm always amazed by how fast the years go as I get older. It always seems like we've just begun a year and then it's over. This past semester was a little tedious due to the Strike, but all in all, it went by pretty quickly.

I also had another race this weekend, where I fulfilled one of my goals for the year! My two simplest goals were to finish a road race and to finish a crit. I was unable to finish the crit at Lower Providence due to a flat, but I finally completed one at Hellertown this weekend! It was a CRAZY race, too!

The day began with me getting up nice and early. Eating my breakie, and getting ready to head to the race followed by a good 3 hour drive to the Shore to see Chuck. On the way to the race, I encountered several omens (still not sure if they were good or bad!). In the distance of about a block, I saw a HUGE male turkey on the side of the road, a TINY chipmunk in the middle of the road, and a deer that raced across the road directly in front of my car! Needless to say, I slowed down a little on that road and made it to the race in one piece!

I came in 9th our of 25 riders, and was VERY happy with a top ten finish. The course was really short - only .49 miles to be precise - and we did 32 laps! It had four corners, one of which was a true 90 degree turn. Half of it was downhill and half was a minor incline uphill.

We knew what we had to do. Try to control the pack, keep an eye on Kristy Swope, and try and protect someone to the finish. Didn't exactly work out that way since Kristy took off from the start line like a bat out of hell and never looked back. She's a really amazing rider! Another woman tried to go with her, but didn't last long. At one point, Kristy had about 30 seconds on us...we pulled her back in to 11 seconds, but were never able to catch her. Essentially, what this meant for the pack was that we were hauling butt the entire way! No resting, no settling in, just constant hammering! It made the race really difficult. I didn't quite have my legs about me, but I feel like I did pretty well considering! It was awesome to hear from people after the race that it was the best women's race they had ever seen! This was partiuclarly directed to our team since we were often on the front working to catch Kristy! It was a great feeling to know that we had been part of such an intense race! We ended up with 4 Sturdies in the top 10 - Naomi was 5th, Jody was 6th, Doreen was 8th, and I was 9th. ROCK ON STURDIES!

Trials and Tribulations of Women's Racing!

Well, it appears that sometime between last week and this week, the Mount Penn race discreetly removed the women's category from the roster for next weekend's road race. There were only two Sturdies planning to attend the race (myself and Naomi), but it's a real stinker that we keep losing races rather than gaining them!

Tonight is going to be my last evening ride with the girls for a while. I'm going to make sure to enjoy myself immensly and try to make sure that I drink in the motivation of my teammates. It's going to be tough to train on my own for the next 6 weeks, but I am going to make sure to do it! I am doing really well so far this year. I feel good, I know that I can feel better, and so I have to keep myself on track.

Now, if I can only figure out how to lose a few pounds so that I don't have to drag all this weight up those hills, I'll be set! I'm trying to get some pointers from Zabriskie, who managed to weasel himself down to 140 pounds for the Giro this year! Hello!!! That's less than I weigh, and he's 4 inches taller than me! CRAZY! I'd love to be 140 pounds! In all honesty, I have no idea how much I do weigh right now...my scale doesn't work very well, I don't think! :)

Anywho...

Birthday Week!

Happy Birthday Week to my big bro - Aaron and my bestest pal - Karyn! I hope that you both have smashingly great birthdays!

Memorial Day weekend is upon us! Thus starts summer and the season of the Beach! Chuck's already counting down the days until his school year is over. And me...well, my summer semester hasn't even started, and I'm already counting down the days! :) I'm ready for a little vacation and to start planning my Humanities course and studying for my prelims! Should be an interesting year!

This weekend is the Hellertown Crit. I'm hoping for a nice weekend. The weather is set to be beautiful, albeit HOT. We've got some good competition, and I'm just hoping to settle in to a nice spot and try to hang in there until the sprint.

Union Grove

Wow...that was a tough race! We had a rough day as a team, with two crashes (one pretty minor and another that left Naomi with a pretty nasty road rash), an encounter with a runaway horse and buggy (we were in Amish country after-all), and Betty the Bear! It was a tough day. High winds kept you feeling like you were either being pushed off the side of the road or someone was standing in front of you pushing you back. The hills weren't too bad, although the "hump" managed to break the pack up pretty well.

The race promoter is an unfortunate butt-head who cares very little for racing and very lot for $$$. Therefore, he basically blew the women's race off completely. We were the only category on the day that did not have a winner's purse. They were taking up a collection at the registration table so that the winner could get something. However, after paying $30 to register, I really didn't feel as if I should be responsible for the creation of a winner's purse! We were supposed to do 5 laps (23 miles). At the start, the guy didn't even want to give us directions, he simply said, "Well, you heard what I said to the guys, right?" We all yelled "NO!" and he begrudgingly gave us directions. However, the directions did not include the number of laps, even though I yelled twice, "How many laps?" So, after the third lap, I hear a bell. I ask the rider that I am working with if that was for us, and we both decided that it couldn't have been because we were doing 5 laps. Well, turns out that it was for us! As we are climbing the hill to the finish, I get passed by three riders because I think I have another lap to go. Basically, in the middle of the race, they took a lap away from us and we only did 4. This is problematic for several reasons: #1 - in order to count for upgrade points to Cat 3, the race has to be a certain length. This one was advertised as an upgrade race, but since we only did 4 laps, it isn't upgrade worthy. #2 - the butthead screwed me out of three places higher than I was!

Other than that...I felt as though I rode a good race. I was the top Sturdy finisher, and even through I was not with the front pack, I felt as if I learned a lot. Most important lesson...LOOK AT THE LAP COUNTERS!!!!!

They're BAAACK!

My legs, that is! Last night, I had a bonking crisis! We did a team workout intended to get us ready for the race, and our jobs, this weekend. I totally BONKED! I had nothing in my legs, couldn't stick with my job up the hills, and found myself red lining the entire time! It royally sucked monkey butt!

I was really disappointed when I got home last night. Chuck did a good job of picking my sorry butt up off the ground and telling me that everything would be ok and my legs would bounce back for the race.

Expecting rain tonight, I got up this morning, ate a good breakfast (yummy, Grape Nuts!), watched a few minutes of the Giro and headed out for my workout. Immediately, my legs felt better. They felt loose, warm, and strong. What was supposed to be an E2 workout (easy to moderate pace with a few hard sprints) turned into a nice strong ride with bursts. I'm looking forward to the weekend again, now and hope that I can post about what a great sled dog I am! :)

Catch Up!

Ok...so it's been a few days, and a lot has happened! I'll start with the cycling update and then move on to other stuff!

This weekend, we have a race at Union Grove. I've been asked to be a major work dog for the day. Alison and I have been given the job of leading the race (we're supposed to sit at the front of the pack and drive the peloton throughout the race) in order to protect Naomi and Sally, who will hopefully make a great finish if all goes to plan. I'm nervous about this, but ready to put my butt on the line to see what I can do! I'm ready and willing to bonk out if necessary! :) My legs have been feeling less than perky, so I have to make great strides this week to eat a lot of protein and carbs and get them back into form.

School is now officially over for the semester! Yippee! I'm quite excited to be done and looking forward to getting a new crop of Summer I students in a little under two weeks. I like teaching in the summer. It allows for being a little more relaxed and goes by quickly.

Finally, Chuck and I finally built our vegetable garden in the back yard! :) So far, the plethora of bunny grabbits who live in our vicinity have steered clear of my veg, but we may have to call Anti-Pesto if they get all munchy-like! :) Here she is:

Basso Admits...

Wow...just read the VeloNews online and found this article. Looks like Ivan Basso is a big old cheater-butt! I wonder who else will step up and admit the truth. We know Jan Ullrich won't...but he has already conveniently retired so he managed to keep his name partially clean. I wonder what this means for Floyd and his defense? He wasn't involved in this Puerto stuff, but someone like Basso admitting to doping certainly changes the atmosphere for Floyd's case. I'm sure that the UCI figures, "Hey, if we got one of them to admit it, the rest (including Landis) will simply follow suit." I guess we'll just wait and see!

Top 10 Finish!

I finally have a great race report to share! After almost 26 miles on a GREAT course at Turkey Hill, I finished 9th out of 38 riders in my field! To top it off, the field was a Cat 3/4 race, so I feel like I did pretty well! Here's the proof!! Just scroll down for the results! :)

It was a great day and a great race. The weather was perfect and I was feeling really good and on form. I managed to stick with the main field throughout the race and when we crested the last climb, I held on and made a bid for the finish line. Considering that this was my first finish sprint, I was pretty happy, but I know that I could have done more. I have to work on my gearing for sprints and my form. Who knows, maybe I can pick off a few more at the finish line next time. There were 9 Sturdies in the race, and we all did really well! I'm really proud to be part of such a great team. Go Sturdies! :)

I got up this morning and did a 45 mile ride with Dana and Sally. We rode out to Devon, PA and back. It was nice with a few challenging hills. All in all, I'm feeling like I had a great weekend and am looking forward to my next race, which is Union Grove on the 19th! :) Happy, Happy, Joy, Joy!

Ready or Not!

Here we go! We have been training hard for Turkey Hill this weekend! We did some hill work again last night and tomorrow night is flat threshold work on the Diamond. I'm actually feeling really great. I've been keeping a close eye on my diet for the last couple of days; really paying attention to protein and carb intake, drinking a lot of water, energy drinks, and recovery drinks, and staying away from sugar and junk carbs. So far, I am feeling GREAT! It's amazing what a little change in your diet can do to the way that you feel.

We are talking tactics about the weekend as well. We're hoping to break the group into two cells that will work to get one girl to the line feeling strong and able to sprint to the finish for a place. We'll have to wait until race day to see who feels the best in the group and who is ready to be the "Queen Bee," but I'm looking forward to riding a race with a tactic in mind. That should be a great change from Mt. Joy!!! :)

On another note, we are going to be an Aunt and Uncle two more times this year! Chuck's step-sister Kerry is having a baby, as are Ken and Cheryl. Looks as if they are both due around the same time (November), so we'll be welcoming new family members very soon. I can't believe that Ken and Cheryl are on number 3! Wow...I'm still having trouble considering #1! We'll be thinking about that sometime in the future, but not just yet! :)

Semester is Over!

My latest graduate semester has now ended. I am two classes closer to becoming a Dr.! Wow...that is such a strange idea to me still. I mean, it's still a long way off. I still have to take one more course in the Fall, pass my prelim exams next Spring, and complete a dissertation! No big deal, eh? Yeah, right! But, the closer I get, the more realistic it seems.

My presentation at the Penitentiary went really well yesterday. They set us up in the middle of CellBlock 2, which was great because those cells have the "dead eyes" in them that I use for a great part of my paper. Then, we had the chance to walk around and visit the rest of the site. It was a beautiful day and a really great time to walk around and talk about the construction of this really influential building. I can't wait to go back there and take the 'Rents and whoever else wants to visit! :)

I finished off my day yesterday with a Sturdy Girl ride. 27 miles of nice, easy paced riding with some decent climbs. Tonight is monster climb night with the Turkey Hill Racing Squad. I'm really working hard on getting my legs to go up these hills at a reasonable pace without futzing out after one lap of the course, but it's pretty tough! I'm looking forward to the race on Saturday, but I am also nervous about doing well.

Happy Monday!

Happy Monday to all,

Today, I have to give my final presentation for my 19th century Graduate Class at the Eastern State Penitentiary. I'm nervous but very excited because it has been a really fun project on which to work. I hope that the presentation and visit to the Pen go well and as planned.

Then, I'm going to ride with the club tonight. It should be a fun evening of riding with a group of ladies (not the racing team, but the club itself) and just enjoying a night on the bike. Tomorrow night is Turkey Hill Training Night on the hills in Fairmount Park. I really need to work on hills! While I love going up them, I'm not very fast at it, so I really need to work on that! Tomorrow will be another chance to do so. I need to start getting over to the city on other days of the week to work on this as well!

That's it for now....ta-ta!

One Sturdy Down!

Well, it looks as if Mary's crash on Sunday was worse than we first imagined. Turns out that she broke her clavicle and is unable to ride for about 4 weeks. She can spin on a trainer, but cannot put pressure on her arms and shoulder for a while. While the injury is certainly unfortunate, the worst part is that she has decided not to return to the team after her injury heals. She is a really strong rider and a very sweet woman, and I am sad to see her reach this decision; although I understand that she feels that it is best.

So, my best wishes to Mary and her bones! Weather these few weeks on the trainer and then get back out on the road, loving the bike!

Update on Mt. Joy Results

So, they finally posted the Mt. Joy results this morning! I was very excited to click on the link and scroll down to the Cat 3/4 Women...unfortunately, I was greeted with the same list that appeared the day of the race on site. Only 15 of the 30+ women who raced that day are listed. Yet, there are 59 men listed for Cat 5, and over 40 for several other categories. I guess women don't matter as much as the men at this race? I sent an email requesting the remainder of the women's results, but I am sure that I will be sufficiently ignored by this group of race promoters. What a shame...I will undoubtedly never ride this race again. If I do hear anything, I will be sure to eat my words and post another update!

Another Race Report!

Well...here I am, decked out in my Sturdy Girl Cycling Uniform! Awww...ain't I cute?! :) And here I am below getting ready for the crit today!

The race was AWESOME! I had an absolutely GREAT time...for the first 5 laps! After the last turn, my bike suddenly became very wobbley! Turned out, I had gotten a flat. The great thing with Crits are that you can stop, change the wheel/tire, and then get back into the group on the next go 'round. Of course, that is not easy to do when the spare wheels that we had DIDN'T FIT MY BIKE!!! Wrong cassette! So, I was done. I was feeling REALLY strong, having a great time, and working hard! It was a worse day for other teammates, though. Someone bumped Naomi on one of the turns and knocked her entire rear derailure right off the bike! And Mary crashed out on the first turn of the last lap. All in all, I can't be too upset about a flat!

I should add in the good news as well!! With 11 Sturdy Girl racers in the pack, we did a GREAT job controlling the group and ended up with our own Sally Poliwoda taking 2nd in the race!!
WAY TO GO, SAL! :):)

I've posted more pics of the team on the Photo Gallery. Thanks to my professional sports photographer...my hubby! He was so sweet to get up at 6am this morning to come with me to the race today. Because of him, we actually got some nice photos! :) Thanks, Baby! Enjoy!

First Crit!

So, a week has past since my ride at Mt. Joy. They still have not posted the official results, although an email was sent out to let us all know that they would be up early next week! Nothing like waiting a week and a half to find out how you did in a race! :)

Tomorrow morning is my first crit! I've been working hard this week to get my legs back in shape after Monster Hill! I was really amazed at how much recovery I needed to do to get them feeling better. But, I think that they're back. I spent all day yesterday working on my cornering skills. It's a little hard to do that when you're the only one there, but I was working on taking my turns straight and then pulling out of them with some speed (attempting to simulate what might happen in a race). I'm already nervous, as I know that the race tomorrow is going to be 15 miles of sprinting and pain, but I am excited to be riding with the majority of the team! 11 Sturdy Girls are riding, so we should have a lot of fun controlling the pack. And, Chuck is coming along, so I am very excited about that as well. He'll be in charge of getting some photos of me before and during the race so that I actually have something to post! :)

I suppose I'll be writing more tomorrow. For now...I'm going to be getting myself ready for bed. Nice bit of rest tonight for a big day tomorrow!

Happy Weather!

Finally!!! I have to say this quietly, so as not to jinx anything, but i think that spring is finally here!! We are going to hit the high 60s today, and be near 80 on Sunday! Even better, it looks as if the weather is going to stay pretty static through next week. Athena has been getting mighty peeved about being on her trainer, so I know that she is staring out the dining room window today anxiously awaiting my getting home from work! She and I are going to go out and do some cornering drills today for the race on Sunday. There are now 34 women in the race. 11 of them are Sturdies, but that is still a big field for such a short, quick race.

I actually had a funny dream last night about the race. I dreamt that I got there and it was on a high school running track, which meant that we were going to have to go around that damn thing 60 times to get in our 15 miles! There weren't any sharp turns, but I was so dizzy that I wound up catching my tire in the grass and going down! Not a good dream, I tell ya!

In other news...two bike thiefs were caught last night. They stole two bikes from Keswick (a Sturdy Girl sponsor!) in Glenside and tried to get away with it at a shop outside of Lancaster! When the owner thought that they might be the theives from Keswick, he called the cops and they were arrested. Turns out they were college students from University of Delaware and were ripping off high end ($5,000) bikes.

Finally, the Tour de Georgia is currently underway. It has been interesting to have the video feed to watch, although I am looking forward to the televised version in a few weeks. Dave Z took second in the Time Trial yesterday to Levi, so that's pretty cool! GO DAVE! He rocks!

Anyway...that's about it from here...enjoy the weather, don't steal bikes, and keep on rooting for CSC! :)

Rain, Rain, GO AWAY!

It started raining sometime Saturday night. It stopped this afternoon around 6pm! In the last 36 hours, we have had rain, sleet, snow, driving winds, and thunder and lightning! The nor'easter that clambered up the coast really popped us a whallop! The main drag along the Schuylkill River was completed flooded and shut down, as were a lot of other roads in the area. Rivers up north are still pushing their banks and causing some tremendous damage. To wake up to snow of the slushy variety on the ground this morning really stunk! I want to be out on my bike, not sitting in the living room on a trainer! Yucka-Mucka!

Anywho...I'm still waiting for the official results of my race to get posted on BikeReg. I must admit that I am getting a tad bit annoyed that it is not listed yet, since races that took place yesterday are already on there! GRRRR....I just want to know how I really finished. I'm happy regardless, but it would be nice to have a number to think on!

Race #2 is this upcoming weekend. The Lower Providence Criterium in Norristown. I'm really looking forward to trying my first crit and seeing how I do on this. This week, I have to practice cornering and busting out of the turns. At least I won't have to worry about hills this time! I won't have to worry about those again until Turkey Hill on May 5th! My cheering section is going to be coming to the race this weekend: Chuck, Greg, Heather, and Joey! It will be fun to have so many people there yelling and cheering! I just hope I do as well as I felt that I did at Mt. Joy! I hope I don't have performance anxiety :)

My first Road Race!

My first road race took place yesterday! It was the Mt. Joy Road Race in Mt. Joy, PA in Lancaster County. It was a little chilly and windy with temps in the mid 40s and a headwind down the first quarter of the race. A 23 mile race, the course was a 5.7 mile loop that we did 4 times. The course was pretty awesome with great rolling hills and one MONSTER hill on the back side. This thing kicked my butt right into the ground, after going over it four times! The course also had this great winding section in the last quarter that was really fun and made for a great way to pick off a few ladies for me at the end. I really enjoyed that section the most!

The field was a good size, somewhere around 30 women. We started out in typical fashion. Lots of moving around the group, people playing games with the pace at the front...speeding up, slowing down, lots of braking. When we hit the rollers, the pack slowly began to spread out. Still, we were climbing slowly and shotting down the hills fast. No one seemed to be making a big leap until we hit the Monster Climb. One woman took off the front and stayed out for the remainder of the race. Amazing rider. Anyway...the rest of us, plodded our way to the top and continued on. We weren't really chasing her, just holding our own. I stayed with the pack until we hit the Monster for loop #2. Not really ready for a climb so steep that you think the bike is just going to topple over, I had some trouble with it. By the time I hit the top, the pack was down the other side and I was officially dropped. I did consider for one brief moment that I might not make it up that puppy two more times, but I quickly pushed the thought out of my mind and lumbered on.

I managed to finish my first race! On the final climb up the Monster, I do think my bike physically stopped moving forward between pedal strokes, but I MADE IT! I'm not yet sure how I finished overall, but I know that I beat at least 4 women, plus those who did not finish the race at all. It was a really tough race. But, I had a GREAT time! I loved the pain and I loved the feeling of crossing that finish line and knowing that I had done EVERYTHING I could to push myself. I wish I could have stayed with the pack, but I learned so much about racing and myself that I can't be the least bit unhappy about my performance. I'll get 'em next time for sure!

Unfortunately, since I am the one with the camera all the time, I don't have a photo of me from the race. However, here is a photo of 3 of my 4 teammates who raced with me. Bonni, Dana, and Sally. Dana took 4th on the day and Mary (who is not pictured here) took 5th. ROCK ON STURDIES!

Car-Blooey

So, I have an important meeting this morning...in about an hour.

However, I am stuck at home because my car decided that it was an ideal time for the clutch to go! Not only that, but it's POURING down rain! So there I was, not too far from home (less than a mile), stopped in the middle of the road, calling everyone I knew to see if someone could come pick me up. I finally got the car to start again and drove home, without stopping at stop signs or red lights so that I could try to make it home. As I pulled into the driveway, the car stalled! Thank god I made it home!

Ah...the joys of automobiles! :)

New Photos

Just to let you know...there are some new photos on my site - click the Our Photo Gallery link on the right. Check out the 19th Century folder to see what we've been doing in class! Last week, we visited the Laurel Hill Cemetery, so the photos are there. Plus, I have put up a few teaser photos of the Eastern State Penitentiary. I am lecturing there on the 30th and already have several non-classmates who are going to be joining the group. I'm very excited about it....now, if I can only finish the paper!!! :):):):)

Sturdy Bar Tape!

So, here she is...new and improved! Athena got her new pink bar tape the other day along with a brief tightening of bolts, lugnuts, and other fittings. She is now set and ready for her first race next weekend! I just hope that we have better weather than they are predicting for tomorrow morning (snow!!!!). She's really a Sturdy Girl bike now, considering that the team colors are pink, yellow, and blue. She doesn't have the blue, but she is ROCKIN' the pink and yellow! I must say that we look pretty awesome riding in a group with our kicking jerseys and pink tape! Athena is totally pumped (no tire pressure pun intended) for her first big race, as am I. She's not nearly as nervous as me, so I'm hoping that her chilled attitude rubs off! :) I'll ceratinly have a race update for y'all after the day ends.

Dinner Party!

Here is our post-Mexico dinner party! Clockwise around the table are Maria Luisa, Stan, Chuck, Suzanne, Matt and Cara. It was a really great night with lots of good food, great conversation, and lots of laughing! We really enjoyed having everyone over and hope that we get the chance to do it again soon.

Next big social event at our place...Friday the 13th Movie Night! I have to make it a point to take more photos at these things than I normally do! For as much as I like to take photos, I never seem to do it at everyday types of events. I will do my best from here on out!

"Sir" Bono

Even though we can't call him "Sir" (because he's not from the UK), Bono has been knighted! Pretty smooth from a guy from Temple Bar who joined a punk band at 16! I mean, the guy has been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize, acted as a major human rights activist and fronted one of the best rock bands that has ever existed. He's certainly been a major influence on my little existence!

Congrats!

Three weeks Gone!

Well..as many of you know...I have had an interesting couple of weeks....here is the timeline, in a nutshell...

March 4-10th:
Sarah goes to Mexico! It was a great trip with facutly and students from CCP. We stayed in the city of Merida and visited a few beautiful Maya sites nearby. We spent a day at Uxmal, Dzibilchaltun, Chichen Itza, and another day visiting the villages in the area. I'm working on getting all of the photos downloaded to my Yahoo! page, so stay tuned for that. There are some currently on there, but only those that were on my digital camera. There are a lot more where those came from! Plus, I have promised to post some of my journal entries from the trip, so those are also on the way!

March 12:
I taught classes...only to find out that night that we were going on strike for a better contract.

March 13-23rd:
I spent several days a week walking out in front of the Mint Building with a placard on my chest! The weather was generally cooperative, fortunately. Although, we did have one day of rain and one day of snow/sleet. Ewww....
Certain aspects of the strike were actually fun! Spending time with my colleagues in an arena that was not work but not fun either. Marching on City Hall was fun, especially because I got to bang on an AWESOME bucket drum that we borrowed from a local street performance group! I have rhythm, people! :) It was a lot of fun, even if the situation was less than desireable.

March 26th:
The Union votes to return to work! YIPPEE!!

March 28th:
I have my first day of classes with my students. Everything went very smoothly and they were all very happy to be back in action! The semester has been extended, but they don't seem to mind too much. It was great to be back where I belong...in the front of my room!

Today:
I spent the morning cleaning the house and grocery shopping. I'm having a dinner party tomorrow with some of my colleagues from the Merida trip! I'm excited to have them over and to spend the evening just chatting and having a great time! Not to mention, drinking great Mexican beer that I picked up today!

In other news...I also signed up for my first bike races today! I'm very excited and very nervous! My first race is the Mount Joy Road Race on April 14th, followed by the Lower Providence Criterium on April 22nd. I will likely be doing about 8 other races this year...so I'll be sure to post photos and take videos! :)

Well...I'm off to a department meeting at school. I'll be sure to post some journal entries and get those photos from the trip up ASAP!

Bike Dork Returns!!

ESPN...what does that station cover? Oh yeah, anything "sports" related as long as it is Football, Basketball, Baseball, Boxing, and NASCAR. Oh, let's not forget Golf and Tennis. They certainly couldn't even run a bottom line tag about the Tour of California going on right now for those of us on the east coast who might just want to find out if their favorite rider, who crashed out of the race last night, is ok or in the hospital in traction! Dumb Sports Channels! :)

When All Else Fails...

Do something really, really weird and you'll be back in the spotlight! Take it from Britney...it works!

Amazing the things that become news!

Wilders Wrap Up

Whitney and I had an excellent evening last night, checking out the Wilders at the Sellersville Theater in Sellersville, PA! They put on a great show, as was expected and we had some time to chat with Ike and Beste after the show about the upcoming wedding festivities of Scott and Julie! :) Sounds like they will be in attendance for the wedding and the reception, so we will be rocking out to some Bluegrass music all day long! :)

The other band that played was the Red Stick Ramblers. They were also really really good. They played Cajun-style music, so a lot of it was sung in French. They were so good, I had to buy a CD on my way out. Great great!

I didn't take any photos, but it was an excellent evening. I hope they both make their way back to Sellersville or other points nearby soon.

The Wilders

Lucky for me...Chuck is much more attentive to certain parts of the newspaper than I am! Tonight, as he is reading the paper he says, "The Wilders are going to be in Philly?" And I say, "WHAT?!?! When?!" Turns out, they are playing a small theater venue in a city called Sellersville, which is about a 45 min to an hour drive from here. For those of you unfamiliar with the Wilders, please click HERE to find out more! For those of you who do know of them, you know how much they ROCK! :) After a lot of pleading, and the recruitment of my friend Whitney to go along, looks like Chuck and I will be attending the show. In an additional twist, the Wilders are going to be performing at my sister's wedding in September...so that's also pretty cool! Can't wait to see them...I'll post some photos if I can take pics!

YEE-HAW! :)

Really Pathetic

I have been a pretty busy young lady! The semester has begun...my classes have met once so far...second meeting is today. So far, they seem to be pretty great. The students seem interested and involved, the classes should really come along nicely, I hope! I have some challenges ahead of me...like the 25 page research paper for Dr. Gold's class, but I am thinking positive and feeling good about all of it!

Chuck and I were down at the beach over this past weekend so that he and Reuter and Barry could do the Polar Bear Plunge! I will post photos as soon as I download them :) Fortunately for them, the real cold (and snow) held off until yesterday, so it was actually in the 50s over the weekend when they did this. Although the ocean temp was only in the high 40s. They dove in and actually rode a few waves before coming back to the beach. Chuck was bright red from head to toe when he got out! Crazy! I stood on the beach with Reuter's girlfriend and laughed at them, while taking a video, of course! You can actually see footage from it on the Cape May County Herald Newspaper site.

Crazy boys!

Pre-Christmas Christmas Dinner Day!

Today is the pre-Christmas Christmas Dinner Day! Woo hoo! I have my 18+ pound turkey in the fridge getting ready to go in the oven...I have been cleaning the house for the past few days (except for the office, which is hopeless), and have already chilled my favorite wine for dinner! I'm really looking forward to having a bunch of friends and family over tonight for some good food, good company, and good times. I will be sure to post follow up pictures when all is said and done and everyone has stuffed themselves silly with turkey! :)

Recent Events

Well, here we are...on the verge of December, which is on the verge of a new year! Wow...I'm going to be 29 soon...that would be on the verge of...yeah, ok, I guess you get it!

We had a nice Turkey Day at the Mother-in-Law's house. Pretty uneventful from my point of view...which is a blessing considering the distasters in which I have found myself at previous Thanksgiving dinners! I even managed to get out with only one jab at the fact that we don't have any kids yet. I'd call that a successful holiday! :)

I have been riding a lot! This is a good thing, because it makes me feel good to be on the bike, and because it means that I have finally found myself a TEAM! :) Hooray...I am now a Sturdy Girl Team member and will be racing for them in the Spring and Summer of this upcoming season. It's really exciting to finally be able to say that not only do I ride, but I race as well. Plus, for my own sake, I'm really looking foward to the challenge of racing my bike. I personally think that I am going to SUCK ROCKS for at least the first year or so, but I don't usually give up easily and I don't plan to give up on this!

Christmas is just around the corner, and Chuck and I are excited for the trip home to see the whole fam damily!! Julie, Scott and Finch (the new puppy) are driving in from Fort Collins, Aaron and Liz are already there with the kids, and with us home, mom and dad are going to have a full house! I know that my mom is thrilled about it and can barely wait for us all to be together. Should be an exciting and fun trip...can't wait!

That's about it for now...Whitney and Caleb are coming over tonight to pick up their new puppy, so we have a trip to Petco ahead of us to buy him some goodies! Should be fun...but now...off to get a hair cut (Yippee!). Auf Wiedersehen!

I am a Bike Dork (Part II)

Well, I am still a bike dork...no big change there. If anything, I am now a bigger bike dork than I was before! I have officially joined a racing team for the 2007 season (and hopefully many years to come). So, how does this make me a bigger bike dork, you ask? Because now I have to go out and buy all my GEAR! :) Jerseys, shorts, socks, a skinsuit for time-trials, jackets, etc., etc., etc.!! Oh, the joy of spending hard-earned money on biking gear. Makes one get the chills with happiness! Unfortunately, I won't be seeing any of this stuff until February, so I have a long wait in store, but that's ok! I don't mind. I'm going to be riding with the girls tomorrow, so I'm really looking forward to a great winter and racing season.

On another note...the Pro Cycling world is changing a bit as Ivan Basso has just been picked up by the Discovery Team. This should make the Tour VERY interesting, considering that Disco now holds the contracts for George Hincapie, Levi Leipheimer, and Basso. They're going to clean house (as long as no one gets charged with doping!). Meanwhile, Basso's old team (my faves) CSC are banking on Zabriskie to kick everyone's butts in the time-trial and Carlos Sastre and the Schleck brothers to clean up on the hills. Should be a great race next year. Will Floyd be back? Time will only tell! :)

Check out the new photos of my mother-in-laws recent puppy adoption and my sis's new pooch! ADORABLE! Welcome to the family, Finch!

I am a Bike Dork

As the Bike Dork that Chuck always likes to remind me that I am...I have to post a very happy event in Pro-Cycling that was soon followed by a very sad one (for me!).

Happy Event: The allegations of doping against Ivan Basso are dropped. Yippee!!

Bad Event: Ivan has now "cut ties" with CSC, which is my favorite cycling team!! This makes me very sad... :( Hopefully, the rest of the team (particularly Zabriskie!!) will remain intact for next year. They are announcing the 07 roster soon...so I have to keep my fingers crossed.

Bike Dork signing off!!

No Excuses!

Absolutely no excuses for my lack of posting! I can give you a list...working 2 13 hour days a week, ususally working 8 the other three days. Weekends being taken up by trips, homework, and housework. Getting MONO! Yes, somehow I got myself a case of the sickies and was daignosed with mono. Funny that the day before the doctor went over my labs, I ran a great 5 miles on the road!?! Who knows...

Anyway, a lot has been going on with me...many things are good...

I have been accepted to be a part of a faculty/student Spring Break trip to Merida Mexico. Woo Hoo!! Spring BREAK!!! I have never gone away on Spring Break, so I'm excited to be heading somewhere warm...even if I am going as a teacher! :)

I was accepted as a part of a new NEH program for next Spring/Summer. It will be a 20 day long workshop dealing with the cross-cultural influences of east and west. Should be very cool.

While this one is not in the bag, I hope to be racing with a local women's bike team for next year. I have a few more steps to go through in order to determine my place on the team, but I will definitely be decked out in pink and yellow next year and riding with a team! I'll post more when I know the facts! :)

Other than that...work and school are going well. Only a few more semesters of busting my hump and all I have to do is write a book! :) HA! Then I will be a Doctor! Interesting...

Back to School, Back to School...

Well...here I am, spending the majority of my weekend doing homework!!! :) I feel right at home, sitting in my office, listening to Enya and reading until my eyes go numb (obviously just a euphamism)!! At least I am keeping on top of things...I have already translated the German article that I have to read and summarize for one class...and that' s not due for two weeks! Hooray! Of course, I still have one to translate from French...but I'll deal with that next weekend! :)

C'est la vie!

LiveStrong Challenge Wrap-Up

Well, the LiveStrong challenge was last weekend (I know, I know...it's been a week, post already!). It was a great experience. I want to thank those of you who helped me out by donating to my cause. I fully expect to ride it again next year (hopefully, with my Mom and Dad in tow!!), and will most likely be begging for money again at that point! Start saving your pennies in the nearest piggy bank! :)

The ride went from Montgomery County, PA down into the city of Philadelphia, and then back out to Mont. County College. It was a tough route...lots of hills and some road conditions that left a bit to be desired. Coming downhill on a road that had been ground down in order to be repaved, but not yet repaved, hurt like a son-of-a-gun!! I can now begin to imagine what it feels like when the Tour de France goes through those cobblestone streets...yow-za! Personally, I loved the hills. What a feeling to charge up one of those suckers!! Makes you feel like you're really working!

In addition to the ride, the experience itself was great. It was touching and highly inspiring to see so many people participating in a great event. There were people like me, who have lost close friends and family to cancer...there were people riding who were survivors of cancer....and there were those who were still battling the disease who were riding. It was so incredible to stop at a rest stop and speak to a woman who finished her last round of chemo 10 days earlier. 10 DAYS...and she was on her bike riding 70 miles! Incredible. Again, thank you to those of you who helped me to complete the fundraising for such a great event!

I'll try to get a hold of some photos that a fellow rider was taking and post them...we'll see how that goes!

Whirlwind Weekend

Well...it has certainly been an interesting September so far!!! I have been busy at school with many, many things going on. I am taking two grad classes at Temple and teaching a full schedule, so it has been an adjustment (that I am still making) to the life of a student again! :) All in all, things are good though. I am enjoying the courses that I am taking and my own classes seem to be going pretty well so far.

Yesterday was the LiveStrong Challenge ride. It was really great. The weather was perfect, the course was difficult but fun, and we had a great time. It felt so good to be involved in an event like that, and I hope to do it again next year with the 'rents!!! Some friends took photos, so I hope to get a hold of copies soon and post them. All I know is that I was in bed and asleep by 9:30 last night and did NOT want to get up this morning! :)

Saturday was Chuck's birthday, so we had a nice dinner and birthday cake...so it was a nice day for him! I have to get to class...I'll post more later!

Batton Down the Hatches!

As Tropical Depression Ernesto heads into town...we are faced with 40+ mile an hour wind gusts, incredibly rough waters, and (of course) RAIN! The wind is really the most incredible thing when you are on the coast during a storm like this. It shakes the windows, rips loose shingles and siding off houses, and basically makes you want to stay locked up inside with a warm blanket and a nice hot cup of tea!

I am going to head down to the beach patrol headquarters tonight to take some dinner to Chuck. He's working the late shift with a few other guards, so I will try to take some photos of the water and such and post them later. It really is pretty crazy out here!

The 'Rents are Coming!!!

So...I have been frantically cleaning my house because my parents are coming to visit! :) It's always nice to have an excuse to clean the inside of the fridge or get all those dust bunnies out from underneath the bed! :) It's very exciting to have them coming out to visit...plus, my dad built me an incredibly beautiful wine/liquor cabinet and they are driving it out. I cannot wait to get it out here, finish it off with a beautiful stain, and put it in our dining room! Hooray! Of course, I also am very excited to have my mom and dad out to visit! It's going to be so nice to have them here to do fun things and just have a great time. It's too bad that Chuck is down at the shore, but I think we'll manage to get down there for a day or two to visit!

Other than cleaning, I have been riding and running every day and trying to finish off a paper that I am working on for the Fall semester. I have about 12 pages written so far, and I'm shooting for around 15....so I am almost there. Plus, I think that the 12 I have so far are good pages, not crap...so that's a plus! In fact, I'm going to get back to work on that now instead of procrastinating by posting on here! :)

LiveStrong Challenge

Well, I tried to do this ride last year and it got rained out!! Washington D.C. was so flooded that though we could have ridden in the rain, we wouldn't have made it through the streets!

This year, the LiveStrong Challenge is in Philadelphia! Woo Hoo! Heather and I have both signed up to ride 70 miles on September 10th. We have to raise $500 each in donations in order to ride, and we're working on getting sponsorship from a company so that we can ride as a team. A two-person team, but what the heck!?!? Anyway...I figured I would post my fundraising website address here so that anyone who happens by could check it out and donate if they'd like. So, if you're feeling donate-y...click the link and pull out your credit card! Thanks!!!!

http://www.livestrongchallenge.org/06pa/siepson

So Sorry No Posting!!

Boy, have I been lax in putting anything on this site. Part of the problem has been that I am so darn busy! Not typical busy stuff like work, but fun-busy stuff like traveling and going to the beach and going to my 10 year high school reunion!!! It has been a wacky month!

I was in Colorado for a week and a half. It was incredible. SOOO much fun. My sister moved to Fort Collins, so we went out there to visit. We hiked up to 11,000 feet...we went fly fishing in Poudre canyon...we went to the Big Horn Mountain Music Fesitval in Buffalo, Wyoming!! If you like rockin' kick butt bluegrass tunes, you have to check out the Wilders. They ROCK!!! It was a blast because part of the trip consistd of surprising my mom and dad for their 60th birthdays. They didn't know that my brother and I were going to be there, so we showed up at their restaurant table as the waitress and waiter! I thought my mother was going to have a heart attack! It was great. There are photos of all of this trip posted in our gallery.

Then, I went home to Michigan for my 10 year reunion. It was very interesting to see how some people hadn't changed AT ALL...neither their looks nor their personality, while others were so different that you hardly recognized them. All in all, it was a great time, and I caught up with a few friends that I am really going to try to keep in touch with!!

Then, of course, we went to the wedding to end all weddings! It was incredible...sushi bar, caviar bar, open bar!!! :) We drank, we danced, we ATE, we had COTTON CANDY for desert from the cotton candy machine. Zach and Lori...that was an incredible night..thanks for inviting us!!! :)

Today was a busy day as well...although rather light on traveling. Got up this morning and ran...about 3.5 miles. Then decided tonight to go meet up with the Outdoor Club for a ride. It was my first ride with their B-class group, and I was alone, so I was a little nervous. It started out a bit rough with a small crash 2 miles into the ride. Fortunately, it was behind me, so I remained unscathed. Several people then decided to split into a B and a B+ group. Deciding to be adventurous, I sped off with the B+ crew, only to blow a flat about a tenth of a mile up the road! They all left me there, save for two guys (Thanks Ben and Andrew) who came back to help me change the flat and then KICKED my butt for the next 3o miles!! It was a great ride. Especially since I DID NOT run over the stupid shihz-tzu dog that ran out into the street 25 miles into the ride!! Dumb Dog! I will be sleeping like a baby tonight...can't wait....need a shower!

New Photos

There are some new photos added to the gallery! I added a folder of images of the work being done on the mural at school. This is part of a Mini-Grant project and the finished mural will be placed in the art history classroom!

I also added some photos to the miscellaneous folder of the Shark Tournament in Cape May over the last weekend. They caught a 480 pound Thresher shark and a 600 pound Tiger. Crazy what's in our water!

Finally, in the Istanbul images folder with the black and white Whirling Dervished on the front are some photos of my rockin', hand-made, Turkish boots that I wore tonight to my sister-in-law's 8th grade graduation...she loves them! :)

That's it!!

Return to Turkey Travel Posts

I guess that I should return to posting about my travels in Turkey. Sorry, it's just been a tad bit busy around here. OK...here goes!!!

Friday, May 12th in Turkey

Today was our big day off on our own! No official events taking place in the afternoon after our set of lectures this morning. We had two lectures, both of which were interesting...the second was from an art historian (yeah!!) who showed slides of the city and it's many changes over time. It was really interesting for me in particular...finally something to LOOK at! :) Once the lectures were over, we were set free on the town to spend the day doing whatever we wanted. And what a day I was about to have! Wow!

Today is the Holy Day for Muslims. Technically, this is the first day of the "weekend," and it was obvious from the numbers of people who were out on the streets today! The sidewalks are packed with people doing their shopping, enjoying the warmth of a spring day in the park, or just hustling off to pray. It was much busier than the past few days, but it was great to see so many people out on the streets.

I struck out with Mary, John, Cindy, and Suzanne again...our little group of adventurers!! Our first stop of the day was the Museum of Islamic and Turkish art. It was an interesting, but odd little museum. They didn't tell you much about the works, often not even listing dates or what the object was made of! I have to remind myself to look up the story of the two deer. Suzanne asked me about it, but I drew a blank...I just know that it is important symbology.

We then strolled down to the New Mosque and the Spice Bazaar. Wow! Both were pretty spectacular! The New Mosque was busy with worshippers and tourists alike and was really splendid. The Spice Bazaar was a hoot! It was so great to wander through the covered market and seeing the beautiful piles of vivid and fragrant spices piled up in every shop! We spent a bit of time bartering for tea sets and pashminas and even a bit of Turkish Delight (YUM!!!)!! I brough a bit of Turkish Delight home with me for Chuck and the family to try. They liked it! It's really a great little treat! The fruit flavored kind tastes a bit like Ju-Ji Fruits, but much softer in texture and covered with a sort of powdered not-so-sweet sugar. Really, really interesting.

We left the Spice Bazaar and headed to a small cafe that John and Cindy had tried earlier in the week. It had a sort of deli-style counter at which you could order a little spoonful of this or a little spoonful of that. The had sausage wrapped in grape leaves, pasta salads, sardines, raw octopus...you name it, they probably had it! The food was great, and soon we were off to visit a little local mosque called Rustem Pasa. It's a very small mosque raised up above the street level and built on the roof of the shops below. It was an amazing space. By far, one of the most spiritually charged mosques that I visited on the trip. It was covered in tiles from floor to ceiling and was a very quiet space, not normally found by tourists unless they are taken there by guide! While we were standing on the rooftop, preparing to walk back down into the throng that was the street, we realized that the Suleimaniye mosque (one of the largest in Istanbul) was not too far away. At least that's what we thought!! :)

We trekked up through the local area towards the mosque, which stands at the peak of a hill. The local area was full of shops and people. It was a nice area, and the everyday activity and local color made the walk all the more interesting. At certain points, I again got the feeling that the city was both oddly familiar and strangely foreign all at the same time!

When we got there, the tombs of Suleimaniye and his wife had just been closed, so we couldn't visit those. However, the mosque was open and we were able to spend quite a bit of time inside, just enjoying the space. The magnificence of the interior was partially created by the bareness of the walls, which suggested strong prayer rather than pomp and ostentation. Despite its enormous size, it seemed intimate and comforting. We sat quietly in the mosque for quite some time, just appreciating the space. Then, we started on our hike back down the hill. But...not before a run-in with some of the local gypsy children who wanted us to pay 1 lira for packages of tissues! We tried to decline, but they were amazingly persisitent. I think one of them may have cursed Mary in Turkish at one point for saying no!!!

We headed back through the winding streets of Istanbul. We literally just walked, not really knowing exactly where we were, but knowing the general direction that we wanted to head. (I know, Mom...you want to kill me for this!!!) Eventually, and without incident, we made our way back to the hotel and then decided on a dinner strategy. We headed back over to Taksim Square and Beyoglu. We surprised Mary with a birthday dinner at a nice restaurant down an alley off of the crowded Istiklal (a pedestrian shopping street). The restaurant alleys are interesting because they are very narrow and lined with outdoor seating areas. As you pass by a restaurant, the maitre-d, will harange you to come inside. This happens every 5 feet or so the entire way down the street. The best thing to do is walk quickly while scoping out the places briefly as you pass. Once you have passed them all, you discuss quickly which one you liked and then go back directly to that one! Otherwise, you'll be yelled at the whole time you're there! :)

The dinner was great and we were back home and in bed a few hours later, getting our beauty sleep for our next big adventure!

Kids Weekend at the Beach!

Over the weekend, we headed down to the beach...as is usual for this time of the year. Ken and Cheryl were down with Ava and Nicholas, so we got to spend a lot of time with them...which was great. It rained all day on Saturday, which was a bit of a shame, but by that evening, the sun had finally come out and we went up to the boardwalk to entertain the kids...who had spent all day indoors! Also to our good fortune, Sunday was a sunny day...although it was breezy and cool. We took the kids to the beach and they had a great time. I've added some photos to the gallery in the Nieces and Nephews folder...enjoy!