BYOTP!

When our car got to my parent's house in Evergreen Friday night, we realized that there wasn't any toilet paper. We went to Walmart to pick some up, and the trip suddenly got more dramatic when we got a call from Trevor saying that Jeff N's Suburban had broken down just west of the Eisenhower tunnel. So after dropping the moms off at BeauJo's Pizza and stopping at the gas station, I went to pick up my stranded teammates. By the time I got there most of their stuff had been loaded into Ryan's dad's pickup. I took Trevor, Ethan and Noah to register in Idaho Springs. When we got back to the house, we found that the plumbing wasn't working. Jeff stunk like gasoline from working on the car, so he took a shower under a spigot.
We must have worked out all of the bad karma that night, because the next morning's race went really well for the team. Noah won the entire junior race, even after crashing twice. Trevor took 9th in the 17-18 age group, and Ethan took 6th in the 15-16 boys. Ryan also took 6th and Avivah took 2nd in their first attempt at Mt. Evans.

Memories from PA

Ok, I need to stop making promises about posting stuff. These are leftovers from roadie nats in Seven Springs, PA.


Let 'er rip! Here goes the TT...

The pack before we got blown to pieces I kept finding myself leading through the corners, so I decided to use it I made two or three attempts to break away with Arielle

Working those corners got me somewhere... here's one for the home team. Note Dave (my favorite announcer) in the corner. He was really happy to be able to call a Colorado rider up to the podium.

As for the road race, I should've taken a hint when the announcer told us that they wouldn't be pulling anyone because they wanted to have a full podium! It was hot, humid, long and all around brutal out there. Only 10 girls showed up to the start line (out of 12 registered) and only 8 finished. Guess who was the lucky 8th? My legs gave out. Not my lungs. I didn't know that was possible, but they say you learn something new every day. I'm not too worried, because it's not something I really have to worry about around here.

The fast and the furious

Well, the crit was definitely exciting. The course was everything a crit should be: fast and technical. It was held on a local motor speedway, using half of the track , then cutting through the pit area to include a few ninety degree turns and a one-eighty back into the finish.
A girl jumped right from the gun, and a few of us covered the move. The technical side of the course really worked to my advantage. Going into the race, I had hoped that that would be the case, but I had no idea how much of an advantage it would be. I quickly figured it out as I led the pack through the turns, because I unintentionally dropped everyone. I covered a bunch of moves, but one got me. After a hard effort to make a two girl break, I got caught without enough gas to make the break that did get away. Four girls were in that break, leaving me in the chase pack of four. No one had the strength to pull them back, but I had my mind set on fifth. I attacked on the last lap as we got into the technical section of the course. I hammered hard and took the corners as hard as I dared, and when I looked behind me the next girl back was fifty yards behind me. I loved pushing those corners as hard as I could, and I even got a podium finish out of the effort.
I need to mention that my favorite announcer, Dave from Boulder, is here for the races, so I got to listen to him for the entire race and the awards ceremony. Honestly, the only bad part about the whole thing was that I forgot the camera cords, so I can’t share those pictures until I get home. I promise it’ll be worth the wait.
Now I have some waiting of my own to do, because we have a day off before Sunday’s road race. Good luck to everyone racing in Colorado this weekend. Kick some butt!

Not all dreams come true... LUCKILY!!!

Today was the national time trial, an event I've been anxious about for the last week or so. I'm not a time trialist, and I'd been having bad dreams about that race. I'm pretty sure they involved almost everything that could have gone wrong. The night I checked the final start list online there were only 12 girls signed up for the race, but in my dream I finished 13th.
The TT course was hilly and very technical, so it stayed exciting the entire time. I ended up 8th out of 11, because one girl didn't start. But after my finish was when things really began to get interesting. After rolling out my bike for a second time (to test my junior gearing) I was approached by my USADA "chaperone". That is, the lady who was assigned to follow me everywhere until she could get me to pee in a cup according to the US anti-doping agency's procedure. So I spent an hour or so drinking a lot of water and joking with the winner of my race, because it took a while for either of us to give the officials the sample they wanted.
Right now, I'm really excited for tomorrow's crit. It should be fast and technical, and I couldn't ask for more.

Doubts beginning to surface...

So I'm packing for road nationals, and I'm beginning to doubt myself. But this is no ordinary matter. I'm not worried about missing my start or not being able to hang with the pack. My doubt stems from a nickname that I picked up in Angelfire, NM. I was called "old school". Was Amy right? Am I really "old school" for sticking to the original powerbars? (See Powerbar vs. Clif Bar) Luckily, a month later, I can finally answer that question and stop doubting myself.
It turns out that if I'm old school, I'm dragging a lot of people with me. Powerbar was ranked as most riders' favorite, with the original Clifbar and Luna Bar getting an honorable mention. Favorite original powerbar flavors include chocolate, banana, oatmeal raisin, and choclate peanut butter. Honeystinger was the runaway favorite for energy gels, with top flavors including gold, gensting, and chocolate. POS3 Rehydrate won top honors for energy drinks, but personally I prefer Accelerade.
For anyone who hasn't figured it out yet, the first part was a joke. I'm excited for nationals, and I'm really glad to have the support of the entire team behind me. Special thanks to Jeff, Sean and Walt for all you've done to get the team up and running, and helping me to prepare for my trip to Pennsylvania. Also to my parents, brother and sister for supporting me and putting up with all of my ridiculous habits. And to my teammates and riding partners: it's been a great season so far, let's keep it up!

What you get when cyclist have power tools

It all started when some of the Mesa State cycling riders wanted to build some obstacles for the kids that will being participating in a MTB camp. When you give sick people with visions power tools there is no ends to what can happen. After hours of labor the vision was realized. A jump, a huge teter-totter, and a sweet home-made bridge were built. The kids that will be doing the camp are lucky that the Mesa State team is so talented in wood working and riding. Great job guys. Good Luck to Nate, who leaves for Nationals this week. Kick butt!