Crazy Weekend

So, this past weekend was intended to be my first double of the season...the Murad Road Race on Saturday and the Bunny Hop Crit on Sunday. I was looking forward to a weekend with the team and a weekend of great racing. I ended up with a race and a half of good racing. Allow me to explain.

The Murad Road Race was on Saturday. This had the potential to be a great race for me...nice rolling course with a strong field that WANTED to get a break going.

Plan A - Get In The Break

I was super attentive to what was going on at the front and what was happening around me in the field. It was a strong field and I spent a lot of time at the front, setting tempo and covering attacks. I launched a few attacks as well in the desperate attempt to get something going. There were some drawbacks to the race - the yellow line rule (though necessary) kept it tightly packed and made moving around in the pack very difficult. If you found yourself at the back, you needed to be REALLY aggressive to get back up to the front. So, I tried to make sure that I was never more than halfway back in the pack. The yellow line rule also made it so that people were really squeezed together. This, of course, causes people to get a bit sketchy on occasion and twitchy. There were more than a few moments when things looked like they might get nasty.

Still, there were moments. Like this one...

Where it looked like there was a CHANCE of getting away from the field - notice the gap between us and the group behind (that's me on the front at the right). But, it just never happened.

So, I turned to Plan B. Get the pack strung out on the final lap, make sure no one attacks, and get Mitch to the finish line. Alaina and I came to the front for most of the final lap. We tried to keep the pace high and keep the group together in the hopes of getting our sprinter to the finish straight in good position. Again, with the narrow roads, we had no idea that Mitch was boxed in at the back. We came through the final turn in good position with me at the front and Alaina behind me. I was cooked and the field started to come around - that's when I realized that Mitch wasn't there! I tried to punch it as much as I could to the finish, but ended in a disappointing 17th place. :( I worked hard, raced well for my team, but I hate that my finish was poor. Alas, we had another day to work it out.

Bunny Hop was destined to be a fun race. A fun race that was made brutally fast by the arrival of the Kenda Team (in force), Leslie Jennings, and the fierce ladies of Fruit 66 (Amanda and Erin). The course was a three corner crit that should have been smooth and fast. Unfortunately, we had some riders in the field that seem to still be getting their pack legs and it took its toll. About 15 minutes into the 60 minute crit, there was a pile up in the final corner. I managed to eek my way past by doing a track stand as riders fell to my right and then sneaking through on the inside of the corner. Alaina touched tarmac on that one, but hopped right back up and chased back onto the field.

Not more than two laps later, there was a touch of wheels coming through the start/finish line. I saw it all go down and had enough time to think the following:

1. She's going down. And she's right in front of me.

2. I know I can't go left - the peloton is there.

3. Looking over my right shoulder, I now know that I can't go right - rider there, too.

4. Oh, CRAP, I'm going down!

I hit the brakes...hard. I turned the bike to the right and fell to my left, landing directly on top of Wendy and Amanda. It took me a moment or two to realize that no one was going to land on me, so I jumped up. One look at Wendy and I knew that things were not good. I also knew that I was bleeding from a few spots and wasn't really looking to get back into the race. I got my bike to the side, got Wendy's bike to the side and then went back for her. We got her off the road, but she was not in good shape. We later discovered that she has fractured her pelvic bone in three places and has a fracture to her sacrum. Definitely NOT good.

I cheered my team on from the sidelines for the remaining 30 minutes...Alaina ended up the top finisher at 9th - a nice finish for her weekend, for sure!

Sonja taped me up afterward to help minimize the bruising on my scraped up hip. Let me tell you, it WORKED. Here's the hip that night.

It's a bit more black and blue than that now, but only in between the taped areas...thanks to Sonja, it didn't balloon outward or spread across my entire bod! YAY!

I guess I should be pretty happy that my first crash occurred about 4 YEARS after I first started racing and ended in only a few cuts and bruises. I just wish it hadn't coincided with what looks like the end of Wendy's 2010 season.

I've already been back out there training...so, I'm looking forward to a tough month of training and racing. After all, in a few weeks, the local NRC races begin and...

CAWES got in to the LIBERTY CLASSIC! Looks like I'll be hitting the Wall again this year! HOORAY!

Sturdy Girl Shout Out

I simply HAVE to post a MAJOR shout out to my Sturdy Girls!

Today was the Lower Providence Crit. Though they will certainly describe it best on their own blog, I have to brag about the girls a bit here, too!

Women's Cat 4 race:

Beth Fayant won a Prime lap and Lisa Bowerman (in her first year of racing) took 5th!

Women's Cat 1/2/3 race:

Probably best to just let George explain it himself...

"Sally and Becky worked the 1-2-3 almost to the script we envisioned in our pre-race meeting. Sally did her usual job of chasing down any break attempt and Becky sat in and waited for the right break to form. She, Lenore, Kim Geist and a fourth rider stayed away till the last lap when Dana Walton and another Prime Alliance rider bridged up to them ... that put three Prime Alliance riders in the seven rider break. But Becky sprinted for 3rd ... so it was just a really great tactical race for us. Becky is the real deal and Sally is every DS's dream of a domestique."

AWESOME job, Sturdies!!!!!! YAY!

Carl Dolan Circuit Race Report

Carl Dolan Circuit Race

21 miles

Cat 1/2/3 Race

29 women at the start line

6 CAWES riders - Alaina, Badger, Mitch, Wendy, Me, and Jencheng

Course: AWESOME! One, big loop with one easy corner and one wicked uphill. Start/finish was at the top of the climb - from there, you went into a VERY short downhill and a right hand bend into a strong headwind and a false flat rise. Somewhere in the back, there was a descent into the only actual turn on the course, which lead into the climb. You could easily hit 29 or 30 going through the turn and take a lot of speed into the climb. But, the climb was long and "big," so it wasn't easy to keep speed and a lot of folks were spinning out on the climb.

Race: Started out strong. There were a few attacks at the front, but it didn't look like any of them had any real gumption to stick. I stayed at or near the front, it was my job and Alaina's to go with anything that went. So, we did. We were sort of taking turns doing this when it happened. Alaina hopped on a break and it ended up being THE break.

I was just behind her and pulled up to the front. As she was already gapped a little off the field, I thought that it was best to sit the front rather than try to bridge and go with. I thought that if I bridged, I might bring the field with me. So, I sat. The good news was, the two other big teams in the race (Kenda and Fruit 66), both had a rider in the break, so we all worked together to keep the field in line. The bad news was, the break attacked up the climb with 4 laps to go and gapped Alaina.

We knew that she was off the break (thanks, Jason) and tried to organize a chase. Unfortunately, with Kenda and Fruit 66 still trying to keep their rider "safe" up front, it was a challenge. We managed to pull back the break from 1 minute to just over 30 seconds, but that was the best we could manage by the finish. I led the field from the top of the climb through the final turn and then some of the other girls took over - not sure who exactly - jencheng?, Robin?, Wendy? and Mitch and Leslie Jennings. I hung on to them knowing that the finishing hill would be more tactical than power. Shooting off at the base would cost you near the top. I was, perhaps, a bit too tactical and sat in a bit too long before pushing for the sprint. Still, I watched a lot of riders gun it at the bottom and die out near the top and I hung on for 12th. Mitch was 6th and the rest of the girls were somewhere in the pack (not sure of exact finishes). While we didn't have the finish that we had wanted, I feel as though we really raced strong as a team and tried to be smart.

The course was AWESOME! I can't wait to ride it again in the future! Really, really cool.

Chuck was there and took some videos....I used iMovie and put them together into a pretty cool movie. Here it is...

Athena's Make Over

So, when I first began racing my bike, I did this aboard Athena.

She was a great steed. Far too big for me, and quite heavy, but a wonderful bike. After my first year, though...I needed something new, so I was lucky enough to purchase Falco.

Athena stayed on as my back-up bike...getting spun out on the trainer a lot and basically functioning solely as a room ornament in our house. Until my brother decided to start racing. It seemed logical to me that he should have her...since she really was too big for me and she wasn't being used. So, I shipped her off to Michigan to be ridden by my big bro!

He raced his first year aboard her and then he, too, needed to upgrade his ride. I thought it was the end of Athena. I thought that she was going to end up shipped off to the bike graveyard or something. And then, she was reborn! My bro decided that she was perfect for a metamorphosis into a Time Trial Bike!! YAY, Athena!

I think that she looks pretty sweet with her red tape and cable housings...and she sure looks happy! Thanks, Bro, for keeping her in the family and in great use! :)

Battenkill Recap

picture courtesy of Dave McElwaine: www.cyclingnews.com

The Battenkill was a race that I was looking forward to, but also dreading a bit. I've been working on my climbing and feeling pretty good, but this was a lot more than just climbing. There was a lot more to worry about than the hills at the Kill...

We got lucky with the weather - at least a little. It was cold at the start. Cold enough for arm warmers, leg warmers, a hat and long fingered gloves. But, the rain that had been predicted the day or two before never arrived (THANK YOU!!!) It was, however, wickedly windy. Which basically meant that if you were not in a pack, you were in trouble.

The course was AWESOME. Honestly, I really enjoyed it. I need to work on my strength on steep pitches. This is where I always get gapped and I have to figure out how to improve my performance on those sections in order to stay with the leaders next year. The reality is, this is a climbers race. I don't know that I could ever race up front with Patty and the top 5 or 10, but I'd really like to come out closer to the top half! ;)

The first off road section caused me one major problem that would taunt me for the remainder of the race. I hit about 6 GIANT potholes right in a row and my handlebars dropped...about 2 inches. So, I spent the rest of the race totally stretched out with my hands reaching for hoods that were WAY off. Needless to say, I stopped at CVS on the way back from the race to get an Icy Hot patch for my back. Still feeling like I'm 92 today!

When we hit the first big climb, I was REALLY uncomfortable, trying to figure out how to pull on hoods that were too low. It wasn't working out very well. I lost the front pack early. I stayed with Sonja for a bit to try to chase back on, but I just couldn't get my legs going. I wound up racing alone for a little while.

And then my angel appeared. Decked out in a slightly different green than me and wearing a big old smile on her face was Amity! Just as I was settling into the thought that this was going to be a loooong, lonely race, she came up alongside and I had a partner in the sufferfest! Seriously, we shared a huge hug after the race and I told her how much it meant to me not just that I had someone else to race with, but that I had my former Salamander teammate to race with! She was like a second wind for me. It was awesome!

We rode the remainder of the race together and actually ended up in a field of nearly a dozen when we came to the finish. Though my finish was not what I would have liked, I feel really great about the race and about having conquered something that difficult. I'll be back next year with a vengeance and ready to take down that first big climb! :)

New Furniture Post

It's been many, many years since we even considered the purchase of new furniture. But, with the chair torn to shreds by the kittehs, we decided some new stuff might be needed. So...here's what we ended up with!

5 days...

4 days from this very moment, I will be getting up and getting ready to get Battenkill-ed. Oh, yeah, baby!

In all honesty, I'm sort of looking forward to the race. I think that it is going to challenge me on so many levels. Certainly, there is the obvious nature of the physical challenges. A 62 mile road race, 25% of which is dirt or gravel roads, climbs that are WICKED steep and screaming fast descents on uneven roads. Please note the course map below and, in particular, the profile of the course at the very bottom of the map.

Then, there are the mental challenges of this course. #1 - I'm not really a climber. Therefore, heading up to a steep climb is not just about the physical (which I know I can overcome), but the mental. I have to remind myself to "Climb within yourself" and that it's only one climb - deal with one at a time and move on. #2 - This is my first real Pro/1/2 race of the year. Jeff Cup certainly had some ringers in it, but this race is jam packed with women who are more than capable (on their worst day) of ripping my legs off.

There are also the fun aspects of this race.

1. It is one of the biggest, one-day classics races in the nation. Right up there with the Liberty Classic, this is one that I have wanted to do for a long time, but just haven't had the nerve. It's amazing to be part of a race that currently has around 2220 racers, nearly 200 of them women. To think that all of these people are challenging themselves on this course is amazing, and I am proud to be one of them.

2. I'm heading up there with some amazing teammates and friends. Not only will I be riding alongside Jencheng, Grizzly Gurski, and the Goat (and Chicken in the Cat 3), but SaraB, Pat, Officer Kulicki, Dana, Lenore, Julie, Peta, Big-Fast-Kate, Patty, Maria, Cass, Emily, Amity, and Amanda will all be up there (plus others that I'm sure that I forgot). Knowing all of these women, we'll all be supporting one another and trying to make sure that everyone is pushed to the limit!

3. My hubby is coming along! It will be so fun to have his support up there with me. Just knowing that he is on the side of the road waiting for me to come by really does make my cadence a little higher, makes my breathing feel a little easier, and pushes me toward the finish line.

I guess you can tell that I am looking forward to this race. Am I nervous - heck yeah - after all, Evelyn has decided to come back and defend last year's title! Am I excited - definitely.

See you on the flip side!!!

Too Cute!

I just got these photos from my sister and I had to share them. Is she just adorable, or what?!





She's getting to big and is just changing so quickly. I can't wait to get out to CO to see her in person! :)

The More the Merrier

Well, Chuck and I decided that since we already had a houseful of cats, what's a few more? So, we visited a friend whose cat recently had kittens to pick out a new one. Problem was, they were all so cute, we just couldn't decide on one. So, we've decided to take them ALL....

You don't think that having nearly a dozen cats is too many, do you???

Greentree

Tonight was my first stop at Greentree for the 2010 season! It was a pretty good night to hit the roads over there, with a huge group of guys and a reasonable number of women in the pack (Dana, Barb, me, Kacey, Tricia, and a few other women that I didn't know). It was pretty fast - averaging around 25 or 26 for the night, and things were REALLY smooth and REALLY controlled. I was surprised that I felt so good out there and stayed in the whole time. Last year, my first visit to Greentree was less than stellar, but this is a new year - and I'm liking it so far!

Earlier this morning, I hit the Gladwyne route with Sara. I was trying out my new Specialized shoes and sunglasses....they ROCK! I had to move my cleats once because I found that I was pedaling with my toes and my calves were about to explode, but once I fixed the cleat position, the shoes felt wonderful. They were great again tonight at Greentree, so I am REALLY happy with my new Sponsor Swag! Thanks Mike and Specialized for keeping us looking sweet and riding fast! :)

Jeff Cup Report Follow Up

Follow Up Part 1 - they changed the race results! :( Not that it's a big deal, but when we looked at the results at the finish, we sat 3rd, 7th, 8th and 10th. The results posted online put us in 3rd, 8th, 9th and 11th. Not sure who was missing from the original list or what happened there, but I can't say that I'm too bummed out either way.

Follow Up Part 2 - I forgot to mention in my earlier post that I also managed to hit a pretty massive pothole on the last lap about 2 miles or so from the finish. When I hit it, I knew that it was a doozy. I was certain that I was going to end up flatting out just meters from the end of the race (wouldn't that just stink something fierce). I kept a close eye on it for a few hundred meters, but all seemed well, so I just kept on keeping on.

After the finish of the race, we had the lovely experience of getting back to the parking lot of the school. It wasn't a long ride, and it was all downhill, which should equal happy riders. But, since we were soaking wet and it was COLD out, it was actually a pretty miserable trek back to the cars.

I made it back to the car without a second thought about my wheel and tire. In fact, I didn't think about hitting that pothole again until I took my wheel out of the car upon arriving back home.

Flat. As. A. Pancake!

Turns out, I had pinched it in that pothole. Somehow, someone was watching out for me, though, and the tire did not go flat until after I had finished the race and gotten back to the car. Can you say, "Lucky Duck?" Phew.

Jeff Cup Report

Today was my first race of the 2010 season and it was certainly memorable! The race was the Jefferson Cup in Charlottesville, Virginia. Obviously, the first interesting thing about the race was the 5 hour drive down. Of course, stupid me just checked directions online and Alaina and I ended up driving just blocks away from the Capitol Building in DC and adding more than an hour to our trip. The way home, thanks to Robin - we made it back in just around 5 hours with barely any traffic issues! :)

OK...but about the race. We got down to VA and got ready this morning under cloudy skies. Still, we managed to laugh our way through warm up...

We hit the road at 9am with a rather lengthy neutral roll out. It was actually pretty fun, with everyone in the peloton laughing and chatting and just getting relaxed on the bike. We hit the start finish, lined up for an official start and headed out on the first of four laps of 10 mile course.

There were about 40 women at the start line - half were Cat 1/2, half were Cat 3s. It was a strong field with 4 riders from Fruit 66, 2 Vanderkitten women and our team. The course was really, really fun...lots of rollers, one longer climb and a wicked fun descent. It also had a few potholes, just to make it interesting!

The race, in general, was really nice. As a team, I thought that we really worked well together and made a good impression on the race. We attacked, we covered, we countered, and we worked (as did the other big teams and riders in the field). I was pretty happy with the few jumps that I made off the front. I really didn't have a Jump (with a capital J), it was more like a jump (with a little j), but I think that if I'm making jumps like this now, I'll be really happy with the jumps I'm making in May and June! :)

After the first lap or so, it started to rain and continued to do so at different intensities for the remainder of the race. Keep in mind that it was chilly to start with, so rain made it feel a lot like Mt. Joy last year. Brrrr...

The team worked really hard to try to put Mitch in a good place for the finish, sitting at the front and trying to control the pace. This worked pretty well up until about 500 meters to go. As some of the riders started to get excited about the finish, they started to get twitchy. A touch of wheels caused a large section of the peloton to hit the tarmac. I ended up staying upright, but riding off the side of the road into the grass. Managing to get back onto the road, I had lost contact with the leaders and just pushed myself home to the line for 8th. Alaina was 7th, Mitch podiumed with a 3rd place, and Sonja finished in 10th. All in all, I thought that we had a GREAT race and we worked well together. Not to mention, we had a BLAST together! It feels so RIGHT to be on this team and I'm really proud to be GREEN!

Packing is Easy

Getting ready for the first race of the season! The team is racing Jeff Cup this weekend (sans Wendy - sad face). So, in as I try to pack to head out for the race, I get a lot of help and support from my family....

Oh, yeah...packing is easy.

Pretty Cool

I received the following message in my inbox today from one of my grad profs...I think that this is pretty awesome!!

"I want to share with you some exciting news.

Several years ago, the Art History Department was included for the first time among the evaluation process by "Academic Analytics." As a relatively young PhD program, AH had finally accumulated enough degrees to be ranked officially. "Academic Analytics" ranks the quality of PhD programs by measuring the scholarly productivity of faculty using their book and journal publications, journal article citations, federally-funded research grants, and honorific awards.

The results have just come out:

For '06-7:
Art History was ranked 4th at Temple among the University's more than 50 PhD programs.
Art History was ranked 11th out of the 57 national Art History Doctoral Programs,

For '07-8 (AA's latest statistical result):
Art History was ranked 1st at Temple among the University's more than 50 PhD programs.
Art History was ranked 2nd out of the 62 national Art History Doctoral Programs.

This national ranking is the highest of any PhD program at Temple.

Art History is extraordinarily proud of this achievement. It is a testimony to the dedication, hard-work, and commitment of this highly productive department.

Best,
Dr. Silk"

Awesome, awesome, awesome!

Continued Cooking Escapades

My cooking escapades continued yesterday. I made a deal with myself that once a week (at least) I would try to make something new that I'd never made before. This is tricky when I'm trying to feed both Chuck and I (we have very different ideas about what is *yummy* sometimes), but it so much fun! So, while I spent HOURS grading exams yesterday, I worked in the kitchen getting ready for dinner and for lunch for the remainder of the week.

Chuck started to freak when I made my shopping list! For one thing, he knew that this particular shopping list could only mean one thing...Wegmans! Oh, how he loathes Wegmans. I can't completely blame him for that. It's a strange place...in terms of the people who are there. It never fails that shopping at Wegmans is a lot like entering a world of individuals who have absolutely no concept that there are other people around them. They run into you with their carts, they block entire grocery lanes, they block the entrance/exit to the store, it's really very strange.

I, however, LOVE Wegmans. It's pretty cheap, they have great, fresh produce and have all of the special goodies that most of my recipes call for.

I promised Chuck that my grocery list would be less than $100 worth of food. He was not convinced. Turns out, I spent less than $80 and not only got fresh veggies and meat for our meal, but some items that will last quite a while (oils, brown rice flour, cashew butter, etc). Last night, I made Sesame Steak with mushrooms and baby bok choy for dinner. It was delicious! Chuck really enjoyed it and I think we both went back for seconds!

I also made a new Clean Food recipe that was Sweet Potato, Kale and Corn Chowder! Nom, nom, nom, nom! This is going to be my lunch for today at work, so I'm pretty excited about it. It's a BEAUTIFUL orange soup with dark green kale leaves swimming around in there. Pretty and delicious... I LOVE it!

I'm really enjoying cooking these great new meals. I can't wait to cook a whole ton of soup for Sturdy Girl camp in April! I hope everyone else likes it all as much as I do! :)

The Orange Person

I almost called this "The Orange Lady," but the reality is that I'm not sure that the missing Orange Person was a lady. It could have been a man. Still, in my head, she's a lady, so I'll refer to her that way.

The Orange Lady is gone. I don't know what happened to her, but she has disappeared. She has been a visual treat for me for the last 7 years as I walked the route from the train stop at Broad and Spring Garden to work everyday. There, in the last cubicle, in the last window, of the last business before campus, sat the Orange Lady. Her desk was a visual caucophany of orange items: orange flags and banners, a stuffed Garfield, a stuffed Orange M&M, a stuffed Kenny doll from South Park, orange toy cars, pumpkins around Halloween, coffee mugs, orange pen and pencil sets (complete with the pen with the fluffy feather poof on the end), mouse pad, mouse, and even an orange cardigan neatly hung over the back of her chair. All of it glowed under the florescent sun of their little cubicle village - a bright spot amid a vast array of white and gray conformity. I always intended to take a photo of this tangerine dream, but never managed to turn my camera's eye that way. Suddenly, it was too late.

One day, it was gone. All of it. The orange Post-It notes, the Nemo doll, the Tigger Happy Meal Toy, the orange drawing made by someone's son or daughter, and the orange cardigan sweater neatly hung over the back of her chair...gone. Now, the easiest answer is that the Orange Lady was laid off or fired from her job. After all, in seven years of walking past that one desk, in the one cubicle, in the one window, of that one building, I never actually SAW the Orange Lady. She was never actually THERE. But, I prefer a happier ending...

The Orange Lady, on her way home from her orange cubicle one warm fall night, stopped at the corner store (the one with the orange sign of course) and spent $5 on a scratch off lottery ticket called "Orange You Feeling Lucky Today." To her surprise, she won the jackpot of $5 million Greenbacks (she wished that they were more of an apricot color, but who was she to change things like that)!

She immediately walked across the street and purchased a vintage 1955 tuck, mint condition and painted bright orange. She then drove down to the local mall and tried to recapture her youth by picking up a new pair of Chuck's (in orange, of course). Quite contented with herself, she went home to her little white house with the cantaloupe colored shutters and planned her next day.

She went into work at 9am the next morning and promptly quit. She packed up her orange cubicle, plunging the office into a permanent state of monochromatic monotony and walked out in her new Converse to her new truck parked at the curb. She drove to Florida (one of the orange capitals of North America) and soon opened a highly successful shop next to the Florida's Natural Brand Orange juice company called "Orange You Glad To Be In Florida" that sold only orange items.

She's still there today...still wearing her Chuck's and driving her truck...happy as can be. Her formerly orange desk still sits empty....maybe a Blue Boy will move in there sometime soon.

Videos from our trip

OK...so, I am still trying hard to catch up on all of the stuff on my To-Do list, but I took a few minutes in between grading papers to upload a couple of my favorite videos from the trip. Here they are....

This is just a panorama of Uxmal - with us talking about wanting to eat! It seems like that's all we did in Mexico...eat! :)

This is the cenote at Telchaquillo. You'll have to excuse my silly laughter in the background, but the kids REALLY started showing off once we got down there!

Adios Mexico! Hola HOME!

So, I got home from Mexico yesterday. We landed in a downpour that had been going on for the past 48 hours. It was a pretty rough landing - one of those landings that you're grabbing a hold of the arms of the seat and the arms of the person next to you just to keep your mind off the fact that the plane is dipping and diving like a dolphin in the water. Ugh. Still, we made it home safe and sound and had a very nice time all in all. Photos and lots of videos will follow - but for now, I have to catch up on life, grading, riding, and other things.

It's nice to be home, although with the rain continuing today, I am really missing the sun and beautiful warm temps of the Yucatan right now.

The Slavedriver!

So, after months of attempting to schedule a team ride with Mike, we finally got most of the team together for a good butt-kickin! Grizzly, Badger, Mitch, Wendy and I headed down to Mike's place for the first official team training session. I admit that I was a little nervous about meeting the man that Wendy and Badger refer to as "The Slavedriver."

We arrived at Mike's place and were greeted at the door by his son Aaron, who took one look at us, screamed at the top of his lungs, and ran away laughing! This kid is so cute...and gigantic. I thought he was at least 4 and he's only 2 1/2. Of course, when your dad is 6 foot something-or-other, I guess you don't grow slowly.

Eventually, we got everyone together at the house, geared up, hot balmed the heck out of our legs (promoted by the off and on snow that was taking place outside), and talked a bit about the day. Mike was great. He spent some time talking to Alaina and I - getting to know us as people and as riders. Asking us about our strengths and weaknesses, our goals for the season, and just watching us on the bike. It reminded me a lot of the first time I met G - these two are shaped from the same mold.

We hit the road and spent some time just riding together. We did some paceline work, which was great, because I think it was the first time that we really *rode* together the way we might ride in a race. It gave me a sense for how the other gals handle their bikes, what they look like when they're cranking a steady pace, what they look like when they're twitching up for a sprint, etc. That, to me, is so important. I want to be able to look down at Mitch's legs and think, "Oh, yeah, I can see the sprint brewing there, let me get up and lead her out."

In fact, it was the first time I had ridden outside with Mitch! In fact, the last time I saw her was back in October when I had my first visit (tryout?) with the team. I've MISSED her! We had a great time giggling and laughing together.

I realize that somehow...not sure how...I managed to find another team that has what Sturdy Girl has - that *thing.* It's that unquantifiable element that allows for strong bonds to form between women. Not only is it immeasurable, but it is RARE. I've been on teams since I was 6. Once I hit high school, I saw the opposite of this *thing.* Girls that just cannot handle the successes of other women, the badmouthing, the team that really isn't a team.

But, somehow, as I've reached my late 20s and 30s, karma turned around on me and helped me to find not one, but two teams on which I feel such amazing camaraderie, such honesty, such strong but reliable personalities. I THOUGHT that I had found this with CAWES when I first met the team...but now, I KNOW that I have. I'm so thankful. I hope that I can be the teammate that I want to be for these women. I know that I will give EVERYTHING within my self to be that teammate.

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.

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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!).

Evil Weekend Weather

OK - I thought I was just being paranoid, but now I know for sure that Old Man Winter is in a seriously SNARKY mood this year. Just as I was packing my bags to head to Baltimore, I start getting messages from Robin and Wendy. The messages begin with, "hey, you know it's snowing a bit down here?" and essentially ended with, "You really can't come down here, it's an absolute MESS!" This whole time, we hadn't gotten a single snow flake. And then, it started snowing here. Major sad face due to the fact that I couldn't head down to ride with the girls.

Crazy part was, the whole week was pretty nice up here, until Saturday. The weather for this week? 40s and sunny nearly all week...we hit the weekend and temps drop, clouds come in, and they're calling for snow and rain showers. What the heck, Old Man, what's your problem? Did Mother Nature dump you for a younger hunk or something?!?! Grrrr....

I really just want to get out and ride my bike...is that so wrong?

Anywho...I got my February training calendar from the Big G and I'm LOVING it! I know that it's not February yet, but I just had to start in on some of the workouts. My legs are sore today after 2 days of intensity, but I am really looking forward to this month's workouts! :) Gotta get ready for Battenkill!

Chuck and I were down at the beach a few weekends ago for the Polar Plunge and I tried out the camera he bought me for my birthday. As I mentioned, it takes pretty nifty photos that are intentionally out of focus and blurry or dark around the edges. I think it takes some skill to make them look intentionally "wrong" rather than just bad. Here are a few from the roll that I shot that I thought were pretty cool.

I have a few rolls of color film to try next. We'll see how these work! :)

18

The current temperature outside my front door is 18 degrees. Now, that's just "frickin' freezing Mr. Bigglesworth!" While I am so desperate to get out on my bike that I am willing to forego my 40 degree cutoff to head out with the team tomorrow, I cannot even consider putting rubber to the cement today. Holy cold!

I just got my new training calendar from G, and it looks great. I'm looking forward to February being my month to put the hammer down and start getting ready for Battenkill. I've never done this one, so to start the year with a REALLY tough Cat 1/2 race is going to be interesting. Still, Alaina and Jen are (I think) in with me and Chicken is doing the Cat 3 race, so we'll at least have one another! :)

So, despite the cold weather, Alaina and I are heading down to Baltimore tonight. We're going to spend the night at Wendy's and then have a nice team ride in the am. I'm looking forward to hanging with the girls again and certainly looking forward to braving the chilly temps with them in the morning. Gonna pack up all my warmy gear for tomorrow though. Watch out Baltimore, the wool weenie is coming down!

Roasted Squash verdict

The Roasted Squash and Kale last night was AWESOME! I had to resort to acorn squash because Wegman's didn't have kabocha squash when I stopped by the store. The acorn squash was delicious however, and I was really pleased with the mixture of flavors from the balsamic vinegar, oil, kale and squash. The flavors all came together very well and made for a lovely party for my taste buds! :)

I'm hoping to help Dana out with some easy meals for camp (we have to feed 25 people every night, so easy things are good) and I think that this would be a PERFECT side dish for one of the nights. It's so easy to roast the squash in the oven and using a giant soup pot to make the kale would be quite simple, also.

On another note, I got home to find an exciting package waiting for me...my new bar tape!! :) I had ordered it the other day and was very excited to see that it had arrived. I ordered two rolls of tape so that I could put one on Falco and one on the new Amira (whenever she arrives). Falco was excited about the change (although, I think he's more excited about a chick-bike moving into the house!). So, while I loved the pink bar tape and will certainly miss it, I think that the boy looks pretty swanky with his new lime green and schnazzy bar ends. You can see the bar ends a bit in the first image...the image on them is the CAWES girl rider! :)

Topia went into the shop to get her wheels trued (I would love to have the tools to do that here at home...maybe next Christmas!) and to throw on a rear rack while they had her. The guys were impressed at what great condition she was in other than the little wobble in the wheels. I'm super excited for her to be totally tip top and ready for full-on commuting! :) Gonna check out some grocery bag paniers for local grocery getting!

New Clean Food

Since it is now nearly February and I know that in a month or two, I will have to drag my booty, race speed, up some pretty nasti (yes, the misspelling is on purpose there) hills, I figured I better CRACK down on my diet. So...that's the plan.

From here on out:

• little to no sugar (I MUST have sugar in my morning coffee - but that's going to be about it). All sugar cravings will be satisfied with fresh or dried fruit. Unless, of course, Jencheng makes her mom's incredible oat bars at our next clinic!
• removal of a lot of starches/simple carbs. To be replaced with clean grains and complex carbs - quinoa, bulgar, veggies, veggies and more veggies
• lots of water. Lots and lots of water. Did I mention lots of water?!?!

I've never been particularly good at dieting. It's not that I'm not disciplined enough, it's just that I LOVE food! Food is one of the great things about being alive and able to taste! I honestly think that's why I work out like I do...so that I can eat whatever I want and then just burn it off on the bike! Still...it's time to drop a few pounds and get ready for race season. After all, I have to take on the "big girls" again this year. Don't want to get my butt handed to me at EVERY race, now do I?

So, with this in mind...I'm trying out a new Clean Food recipe tonight. I hope that Chuck will eat it, otherwise, I'll have some leftovers to finish on my own. Tonight's menu will include Roasted Kabocha Squash with Kale. Nom, nom, nom, nom! :)

Back to School....

Today was my first week back to classes. It was a crazy week full of meetings, interviews, trips to DC and bike commuting!

So...my first week of bike commuting went pretty well. I just rode over to the train here in town, but it was good. I'm still testing out the bike to make sure that everything is working well, and so far so good. She shifts like a dream, even if the wheels are a tad bit wobbly. I rode home in the dark the other day, so I got to try out my new headlights. It's a little weird riding with headlights...when you can only see a short way in front of you. Still, I really like the fresh air and the quiet of riding home in the dark when no one is really on the road.

Alaina and I spent today driving down to DC to hang with the team. Actually, we went to Robin's house in Bethesda. From there, we met up with Jen, Wendy, and Chicken and headed out for a really beautiful 42+ miler through the rolling hills of Maryland. I was surprised at how good I felt out there. I've been feeling a bit "heavy" lately and not really like I was going to be up for some big races in early April. But, I surprised myself by feeling really good today. I admit that when I tried to punch it up a hill, it didn't feel super great, but I think that's to be expected at this point in the year for me. I guess I know what is going to be on my February calendar from George - hill repeats! Ugh!

Sniff, Sniff...What's That Smell?

I leap out of bed last night. And, I do mean, LEAP out of bed last night after Chuck wakes me up saying, "Honey, I don't want you to freak out, but I think I smell gas." Oh, yeah, sure...don't freak out! EEK! Oh, and by the way, it was 4 am when this started!

I walk out into the hall and he is absolutely right...the WHOLE house smells of gas. Holy CRAP! I come downstairs and check the stove. I don't hear any gas leaking and don't smell any concentration of gas in the kitchen. I walk down to the basement, I hear the furnace kick on - that's clearly not it. Again, no concentration of gas smell. Huh...this is weird.

I go back upstairs, but I can still smell it. Deciding to err on the side of caution, I call the gas company to report a gas leak. When I finally get a human on the phone, he says, "Are you reporting a gas odor?" I say, "Yes." He asks where I'm located and he replies with, "Yeah, we're actually getting a TON of calls from your area. I'm writing a ticket for you and someone will be out soon, but be aware that it's probably not your house, but part of a larger issue that we're trying to figure out."

Ok - that seems like both good and bad news, I think! At least my house is - hopefully - not going to explode if I light a match.

Chuck and I are now sitting up in the living room, waiting for the gas company to show up and watching the news when we see this. Yeah...looks like this is the issue. A few minutes after we see this on the news, the gas company shows up. The guy was really nice and he actually came in to watch the news a bit so that he knew what was going on.

We went back to bed and woke up a few hours later to a pleasantly non-stinky house. Weird, very weird.

Birthday Shout Out

Happy Birthday to my favorite member of the Men's Pro Peloton!!!

DZ ROCKS!

Gas Sucks, Ride Your Bike!

For as long as I have been riding my bike, I've never been a bike commuter. In part, because I've only ever had bikes like my racing steeds that really can't be locked up on a side street in Philly for very long without losing 95% of their easily removable parts! That is...until TODAY!!!

I started looking around for cheap, old Schwinn-type bikes. I found a few on Craig's List, contacted the sellers, but got cricket chirping for a response. I looked up a few estate sales and went to a few "junk shops," but didn't find anything.

There was a glimmer of hope as we passed a shop that had a bunch of old bikes in the window. Sign on the door said, "Coming Soon - Used bikes, electronics, etc."

So, I asked Chuck if we could stop at this little bike shop down the street from our friend Sherm's house. It is an old Schwinn shop called Ricco's. We walk inside and I stumble across the bike I had literally seen in my dreams the night before! Well, almost exactly the bike I saw!

I pulled it out and took a look - turns out the bike belonged to a woman who had dropped it off for some alterations several years ago and never came back to pick it up. She wanted the road bike drop bars replaced with a flat bar. On this old steel frame, this was a pretty big changeover. Though the parts used are obviously old and used, the bike has all new cables and housings and is in really nice running condition. The shop had spent about $100 fixing it up and I got it for a little under that.

All it needs are some fenders and a rear rack (maybe a basket on the front) and she is ready to FLY!!! I am REALLY looking forward to letting the car sit in the driveway and riding her to get groceries and get to work.

Taking a line from one of our favorite movies, The Emperor's New Groove...she is my birthday present to me! I'm so happy! I shall call her "Topia," as in Utopia, for I will be in heaven not driving a car all over! :)

And...here she is...

Note: Made in Allentown, PA!!!! Oh, yeah!

More Photos

Here are a few more images that I've worked on over the last day or so. My friend Simon suggested that I download a trial of both Photoshop and Aperture 2 to see what I think of each. I think it's a great idea, but I should probably hold off on that until the summer or I will spend all of my time taking photos and playing with them instead of doing the work I should be doing! hehe! Good thing I spent a few hours doing dissertation work today to make up for the 30 minutes I spent goofing around with photos! :)

Just remember...all work and no play makes Jack a dull boy!

Courtyard at the church in Mani, Mexico

Bicycle

Single Speed way of Life

Johnson's Farm - Fall

Photos

I've been playing around with my photo program on my Mac to see what I can do with some pics that I have taken over the past couple of years. I'm still old fashioned - I'd rather be using film than digital. BUT - I've been having some fun with these images none the less. Now, the trick is that I need to get Aperture 2 for my Mac so that I can REALLY get some work done!

A shot in Smithville, NJ. I was at a friend's wedding and looked to my left during the ceremony. I liked the light that was playing off of the hostas, so I shot this.

The garden at the Barnes Foundation in Lower Merion, PA. The Barnes has since begun its move to the Ben Franklin Parkway. I'm VERY glad I had the chance to visit there while it was still in its original location.

Of the bunch, this is the only one that I did not manipulate in any way. This is just a shot that I really liked. May try to play around with it later.

The Topkapi Palace in Istanbul.