Friday, May 30, 2008

Dog Talk

I'm not sure what's worse - people filming their dogs saying things and posting it on you tube - or me taking time out of my day and surfing the web until I found them filming their dogs. Either way - this is some pretty funny stuff!

Thursday, May 29, 2008

So I'm pretty sure my kitchen smells what it would smell like in my heaven - with a freshly baked and bubbling lasagna just pulled out of the oven. Garlic, onions, ground pork, toms, basil - mouth watering ricotta combination about to be tickle my taste buds on its way down the gullet. Fresh and hand made ingredients - carefully layered and popped in a warm oven.

But wait, I can't indulge. First I have to teach a track class. Then I get to come home and feast...

And I must add - it was certainly worth the wait! TO DIE FOR! This is certainly the best one I've made yet. I wish I had like eight stomachs so I could eat more!

Wednesday, May 28, 2008

Have you ever had a workout where after your efforts you had to sit down to gain some composure? Where you went so hard you thought you would ralph up what you had for lunch over 4 hours ago? Where your core was so tight and you pushed so hard you thought you might lose your vision?

Welcome to track cycling. Or at least my version of track cycling.

I know my workout was good just from the sheer amount of hours I slept last night. I didn't wake up until 8:45 this morning - a solid 10 hours. Sounds like I'm doing something right.

And today? Some speedy sprints along Golden Gardens. Fabulous!

Simple Life

Cruising back over the 520 at sunset after an amazing track workout that left me feeling complete. I smiled to myself as I listened to Deb Talen's Simple Life.



Just another amazing day in the Pacific Northwest doing what I love and surrounded by people I love. I am so lucky.

Tuesday, May 27, 2008

Team Boulder Hood Hooligans

Ryan, in his post celebratory stupor, came up with the next name of our Ski to Sea team for 2009. A combination of our initial 2007 team (Boulder Holders) and this year's High Country Hoodlums - it's pretty fitting.

The good times started last Wednesday when Cam flew into town and accompanied Ryan and I down to SeaTac to watch Ryan race. They had to first try and fix Ry's bike though - he was having some shifting issues.



Cam helped dial him in though. As we were driving south we hit some major rain clouds and got dumped on - to which Cam fully offered Ryan the bail option. But Ry was game for some muddy punishment and the skies actually ceased raining when we arrived! Game on! Cam and I chuckled as we watched the BRI guys chug a bear each lap, expanding one dude's belly to the point where it looked like he was going to explode! Mountain bikers have got it figured out - that's for sure! Do you think you'd ever see a roadie do a chug a lap during a practice race? No way! Something to aspire to, I suppose.



That night we had Cam and Roanne over for a yummy dinner and laughed the rest of the night away. Turns out they may be moving back from SLC! Yay!!!

A little gardening out in my amazing yard - see if you can spot Makiah amongst the weeds!


Fast forward to Friday - racing got canceled due to rain so I headed to Karen's house for a roller workout. We spun away to the hilarious comedy Knocked Up.

Saturday morning we slept in - something that NEVER happens on the weekends since one of us is usually out and about climbing or racing. We loaded Maggie (our '90 VW Westy) down with three bikes, and a canoe and headed North to B'ham.



Traffic was surprisingly light and we cruised right up the five. Ry's grandma was visiting at his mom's house so we got to chat and catch up with her and Molly for a little while before heading out on a 4 hour tour of Whatcom County. We headed out Chuckanut, toward Alger, around the south end of lake Whatcom, back around the north end to pre-ride the North Shore Circuit race course - and admired all of the green green grass and blossoming Rhody's. People were out everywhere! It was an amazing day!



These are the train tresses we used to jump off of in college. It's probably been about 10 years since we were both out there last!



Self portrait of Mr. T.



Part of the North Shore Circuit race. Boy am I glad they moved the race date from snowy March to August! They should hold it at that time of year anyways...

The following morning we woke up at 5am and headed East on 542. Cam was our ringer for the skate ski, Bryan did the downhill, Roanne ran and handed off to me. Go Team!

I ran into Guy at the biking start and hung with him until Roanne came in. It's funny how nervous people get! A friend of mine was doing the biking for the first time and came up to say hello as I was spinning on the rollers and grabbed my handle bars. Apparently she was so nervous, she didn't even notice I was on them! She packed three powerbars, 25 cliff shots, and two water bottles - I told her she'd be fine. :) Then another dude at the transition was so nervous, he lost his balance and fell into me. It was chaos!

I zoomed down the hill and enjoyed the turns - they were much easier this year! I must say though - I spun out quite a bit and need bigger gearing for next year. :) I came in 4 minutes faster than my time last year and handed off to Ryan. Unfortunately the officials decided to cancel the canoe leg because of the high water mark - which was probably smart. But it let a lot of people down who had made the long journey to Bellingham.



With a two hour start delay for the mountain bikers, John was raring to go! He crushed it on his bike and placed 34th overall! Not bad out of 440 people. He then handed off to Reif who battled his way through a white capped Bellingham Bay to the finish. While we were walking down to Marine Park, we ran into Tom, Trish and Riley.



Normally the mayors of Bellingham, Trish couldn't believe they didn't run into a single person they knew down in Fairhaven! It was madness. Not that Riley minded though.



We made the drive south on Monday - and Ryan went climbing with Patrick at New Halem. Later that night we met back up with Cam and Roanne and went to see Gonzo: Hunter S. Thompson the film presented by SIFF. It was super entertaining. Gonzo was a trip! What a way to end an incredible weekend...

Thursday, May 22, 2008

Bike love

I just finished my last leisure ride of my rest week - and it was refreshing! The skies looked like they could open up at any time today - but I managed to avoid any precipitation. I feel rejuvenated and refreshed - and ready to tackle another block of training. Tomorrow night's racing should be an awakening back into the pain cave and I'm honestly really looking forward to it. :)

I had one of those bike love rides today - where spinning the pedals took little effort and I could go slow enough to stop and smell the roses. Seattle is absolutely gorgeous in the spring. The flowers are super fragrant and the colors are bright and cheery.

Cam and Roanne are both in town for Ski to Sea this weekend - so I met up with Cam at the Husky to do a short tool out to M.I. He continued on to climb the Zoo hill and I retraced my steps, thinking how lucky I am to be able to ride my bike. We have a mixed team last year, as opposed to last where I was the only female. A bunch of couples and Andrew. The guys talked about getting a racing canoe this year - but logistically weren't able to pull it off. Good thing though - I think our Old Towne canoe will give them some extra stability in the swollen and swift waters. Let's just hope it's dry this weekend!

We're headed up to Bellingham Saturday and I was going to do a nice long ride if anyone's interested.....

Tuesday, May 20, 2008

Ode to D-dog

My friend Dave is like a brother to me. Ryan met him in a computer class while enrolled at Western and they quickly became friends. He's the type of person who would rescue you in you were ever stranded - just a stand up guy. And he LOVES golf. It's his passion. He says his season is kind of ending right now - because there are too many yahoos out on the courses these days causing massive delays in playing a round of golf.

Dave used to work in grocery. He entered in sometime after high school and then continued through college. I got him a job at the iFloor.com when I was working there and he had immediate success. We worked next to each other for a year or so and really bonded.

One of the funniest moments (and there are many!) was explaining to him the wonders of being a woman. He grew up in a household of all men and had no idea what women have to go through on a monthly basis. I was the lucky sister to inform him of such - even his wife hadn't treaded those waters. One day while the phones were slow, I pulled out a maxi pad and showed Dave how much water it could hold. He was amazed that it almost soaked up 3/4 of my Nalgen bottle. "That's amazing Jenny! Simply AMAZING." Not sure what to do with the soaked pad, and playing my sisterly role - I couldn't resist whacking him with it. He was just as shocked as I was that I had smacked him with it - we got water everywhere and laughed our asses off!

Dave also has a very stiff spine. He basically can't bend his back. But that doesn't hold him back from skiing, golfing or biking. He goes kamikaze downhill on his skis - usually eating shit and yard sailing everywhere. I remember one time we played hooky from work when a storm hit the mountains and did laps at Snoqualmie. The best snow was on the far skiers left - but at the bottom it leveled out. Dave heads straight for it, buries a ski in the 4' of Washington mashed potato powder and endos. I'm laughing so hard I nearly pee my pants and watch as he struggles for a good 1/2 hour to free himself from the quicksand snow. He came out with a big fat smile on his face.

Earlier this year Ryan and Dave went night skiing at Alpental. They like to hit the upper roped off sections to get a few turns in the powder. At this point Dave's wife Kristin has bought him a helmet to hopefully protect him from any serious injury. Down Ryan goes (mr. I've been skiing since I was 2) and Dave follows - with his non-bending back and doesn't quite make the clearance between two trees. He managed to spread eagle them, landing in the tree well. Ryan was further down the slope, yells up to Dave to see if he's ok to which Dave responds, shake shake shake of the tree, a few grunts, "I'm fine." Ryan then couldn't stop laughing as Dave continues to shake the tree lose of all it's snow, grunting the entire time, swearing, shaking, and then finally gets loose a half hour later. He gets to Ryan totally soaked in sweat. And of course Ryan takes off like a bat out hell, "what took you so long, dude?"

All of this to say - we hung out with Dave last night. We were originally planning on a bonfire down at Golden Gardens to usher in summer - but instead went to the driving range. Ryan's been maybe 4 times - I had a couple lessons a few years back and Dave, well Dave is an amazing golfer. He was our coach - "you're doing a lot of things right, Jenny. Impressive. Ryan's a natural. If he would just stop hitting it like a hockey puck and keep his lower body still.... impressive. You are by far the most gifted 4 time golf range person I've ever come across. See I'm really good at coaching people in this sport but can't hit the ball worth shit myself because my spine doesn't bend. I bet you I hit the ball physically harder than the pros do but it's because I compensate for my inflexibility." And then he proceeds to whack the shit out of the ball with a 6 iron out 270 yards.

If you need flooring - Dave's your man. He opened his own store in Tukwila - check them out on the web at www.simplefloors.com.

Looking forward to hanging and laughing with you again soon bud!

Sunday, May 18, 2008

The end of a build, the beginning of a rest week.

Sitting on the couch with my feet propped up has never felt so good. Sipping a well deserved beer after eating some dinner - life is good. :) My windows are open for the first time this year - to cool the house down. Summer is definitely here.



On Friday Brenda and I loaded up the golf and headed east to Karen and Anne's place in Leavenworth for the Wenatchee Omnium Stage Race. Their house is right on the Wenatchee river which is super high right now with all of the snow melt and unusually high temps this weekend. The house is amazing - with three bedrooms and lots of room for family and friends. A welcomed oasis for a weekend of racing.



Brenda is still racing in the Cat 4's and had a different start time then the rest of us - so that meant for an early Saturday morning. We headed to the staging area and it was super windy and starting to warm up quite a bit. She did really well though - and I'm sure with a little more experience and dialing in her TT position she'll be a force to reckon with. She borrowed Linda's 1989 Lemond aero bars - those things are sweet!



The TT is only 9 miles with rolling hills and an out and back. The pavement is a little rough in some spots but generally good. You have a kick ass tail wind on the way out and then a severe head wind on the return. It messes with you mentally and unfortunately I didn't have any rabbits to chase. Despite feeling pretty crappy and starting to feel the week's efforts - I managed a 5th place effort. Not bad.

On the way back to Leavenworth, Karen's Jetta died. We pulled over just outside of Wenatchee and parked it. We crammed the bikes inside with all of our wheels and gear - and called a tow truck. $189 later - the car was returned with all of it's belongings to their place. Apparently though if the car had been left there another 5 hours, the guy said it would have been stripped and everything stolen. I bet the gear alone was worth more than the car itself. Thankfully that didn't happen.

The crit was later that night with the HEAT. Temps hit 100. Poor Brenda raced at 4 - probably in the heat of the day. Our race was delayed luckily until after 7 - which was still super warm - but not as warm as hers. I gunned the pace from the start - taking the corners first and picking up the pace. Group Health had more than 8 ladies in the race - and I kept expecting them to throw more and more attacks. I stayed near the front the entire time - especially to prevent Karen from losing any positions to other Cat 3's. It felt like a one woman show though - covering everything that went up the road. I captured two primes - one of which I went head to head with Beth and won. Though I'm sure it cost me some snap in my legs for the finish. The final sprint came - and I managed 5th. I remember taking corner two so fast and wide that I almost ran into a building. It was easy to gap people though on the corners and then spin up the short kicker between corner 3 and 4. Honestly, I felt like it was one of my best races yet. Super aggressive - smart and fast racing. That alone was worth the drive east.

After the race, I immediately sat in my chair and dumped two full water bottles over my head to cool down. Morgan from Wines had to get an IV to avoid heat exhaustion. It was hot, yo! Mr. Nettles battled it out though - crashing three times in his crit! And still managed 5th. His wrist was swollen Sunday morning - but he still kitted up and started the road race.

Our race on Sunday didn't start until the afternoon - in the heat. The climb is super long - and I swear at one point I considered turning around. Things were going good for about the first mile and then it was like I threw out the anchor and didn't have anything left in the legs. People kept passing me - and I couldn't do anything to jump on their wheels. And part of me didn't give a shit. :)

Jeff drove by at one point asking if I wanted water on at the feed zone and I told him I was good. When I approached the church, he was the first person I came across and he had peeled a power bar back like a banana, probably left over from his sweaty jersey - ready to give me a boost. I graciously thanked him and told him I was good. He cracks me up.



Then the dousing began. First I went by Kele - she dumped a nice cold bottle all over me. Then I saw Christi - she squirted me with another bottle. Then Annette - who handed off my icy beverage and then Anne who gave me another one. Who cares if it's 8 pounds per gallon? I wasn't going thirsty up the rest of that wretched climb! Then to top it off I got hosed down by a kid on the side of the road. It was awesome!

Brenda snapped a photo of this cutie while she watched the racers stroll by...



I caught Michele shortly after the church and we worked together, first catching a group of 4 right before the descent. Then we caught another group of 4 - then were joined by more ladies. Next thing we know we're sprinting for the finish. My feet were on FIRE by the time we finished.

To top it all off - Pete came over to chat about the race just as I was taking off my shoes and socks and put on my flip flops. I then watered down my feet with my water bottle to which he commented, "so that's how the pros do it! Water down their feet in San Paligrino. Sparkling water is the ticket." Yep. That's how I role.

The journey home was short - and beautiful. We returned via Hwy 2 and saw very swollen and gushing rivers and streams from the unusually high temps and snow pack. It was absolutely stunning.



Great weekend - Karen won the Cat 3 GC! Brenda got 14th in her GC! I have no idea how I placed overall because we left early - but I can't think of anything better to do end a build cycle and start a rest week.

Thursday, May 15, 2008

Whoa, no posts since Monday? What's wrong with me?

Here it is Thursday - nearly the end of the work week and it nearly passed me by without a mention....

My mom is gone in Africa - leaving me to man the fort for several weeks. And it has certainly left me busy - well, not really. But I started a new paint job for a new tenants space so my normal blogging hours have been drastically reduced. And when I get home, I have to hop on my bike and get my mileage in. This week has been a build week - with nearly 10 hours so far in the saddle, sans the weekend racing. Revisiting those long four hour endurance rides has been challenging. How did I manage to do them during the winter?

So what's new?

I've been working on my track legs. They had race shock initially that did them good - and now it feels like I'm pulling bricks around when I'm on the bike. I'm headed to Minnesota with Christine in a few weeks and better start turning things around! I'm not that worried though... give me a rest week and I'll be golden.

My grandmother turned 94 today - Happy Birthday Gam! I guess you could say I have good genes.

Ryan raced down at SeaTac again last night and held his own against the experts. He said he could keep up with them on the grinding - but when it comes to taking the right line down a technical section, those guys have the upper hand. It's really beautiful watching those guys ride. And I'm sure Ryan will be there in no time. The bonus of the night? Makiah didn't get peed on.

Headed to Wenatchee for an omnium stage race this weekend. Temps are going to be in the 90s! Yowsa that's hot! And it looks like Hood has been brutal already - with a Mt. Tabor crit ass kicking. Way to go ladies!

WE GOT OUR CAR BACK! Finally! After a month of it being in the shop. Remember the drama? Well when they replaced the timing belt, something happened breaking a head gasket and back in the shop it went for the past 10 days. Ryan and I picked it up last night. Do I dare drive it to Wenatchee?

It's a busy day out in the canal - with boats parading by my window, tooting their horns for the Fremont bridge and taking advantage of today's sun. Everyone is smiling - welcoming in summer with both arms.

Monday, May 12, 2008

The legs are screaming at me right now - feed me! feed me! feed me!

Two times up the zoo hill certainly builds up an appetite. Today's burn? 3100 calories. I can't wait to EAT!!

HUUUUUNGRY

Based on my calculations, I burnt 3800 calories during a 70 mile 4.5 hour ride from Arlington to Newhalem. I got chased by one Kujo, saw 45 black banana slugs and splattered myself from head to toe with road mud causing my drive train to sing at me for the second half of the ride. The last 10 miles were a killer - where fatigue starts settling in and the poweraid started to make me nautious. I swear I saw big foot while I was on Highway 20.

For the next two days I ate like a horse - filing up and then about an hour later, feeling hungry again. I ate everything in site -luckily it was all healthy food. Talk about a tape worm!

And today? Another 4 hour burner with some hills thrown in the mix. I ordered up one big can of kick-my-ass-training. But it should pay off in the long run.

Oh and my pseudo hangover wore off - nutrition and water are always the cure.

Hope you fulfilled your weekend warrior status with gusto.

Saturday, May 10, 2008

I feel hungover this morning. My body is achy and I don't feel like doing shit. It started misting and I've got a 4 hour fun enduro ride this morning going from Arlington to Newhalem. Fun times!

Racing last night was good. I upped the gear to a 92" which was great for the scratch race, not so good in the tempo. Add the fact that I tried pulling up to the break away for 3 laps solo and when the group swooped underneath, I had zero gas to catch back on. I saw my speedo register 22mph and I knew my race was over. Pulled and frantically switched gearing to a 47x14 - which proved much better in the points race. Though it was fast from the gun and strung out the entire way. It's been awhile since I've had a motor pace session like that - a few more and I should have my track legs back.

Friday, May 09, 2008

Results are up!

After a year of trying to get the results up and on the web - we finally broke ground today and posted last Friday's preseason races. A HUGE enormous thank you to Mr. T - without him we'd still be posting excel spreadsheets.

Check it out... www.velodrome.org

Thursday, May 08, 2008

Wonderful Wednesday

Yesterday was the funnest Wednesday I've had in a really long time.

Highlights -

1. My Tiemeyer frame came in the mail! It's GORGEOUS! They call the color Black Cherry but in the natural sunlight it's a beautiful shade of dark purple. It's HOT. Now I just have to piece it together....

2. Did my first Wednesday World Championship down at SeaTac. Ryan did a couple races last spring while I watched from the sidelines due to my hamstring injury. Well not this year! We piled man, dog, bikes and spandex into Maggie (our 1990 VW camper) and headed south on 99. As soon as we pulled up, Makiah bolted out of the car to greet the other pooches and got peed on right on the noggin. GROSS! I thought it was funny - Ryan must have had pre-race jitters because he said if that dog would come close to him he'd pee on it.

We did get there a little too early - and when we registered the guy called Ryan out and said NO SANDBAGGING. Who? Me? Mr. I kick ass climbing 5.13's and have a VO2 max that rivals Taylor-Phinney? Nah, this is my first race of the year and I couldn't even finish one last year because my back would freeze up. (I can attest to that - I witnessed him and Orion pull over and quit complaining of old man injuries.)

The race started - it was a mad dash to the front and Ryan started 3 from the back. I had great positioning - and I'll have to admit I thought I was going to win against Mr. T. A lap later I hear this, on your left Jen. Damn! He passed 20 people in a matter of minutes. So we did a lap together and when push came to shove, he passed me and left me in the dust. Turns out he passed everyone else too and crossed the line first. Immediately the promoter called him out on it - no more beginner class for the natural! I rolled in a few minutes behind - on the tails of another woman. 5th overall, 3rd for the ladies.

Meanwhile Makiah, ms I have dog pee on my head, cheered from the van. It was a good day for Team Triplett.

Then to top the night off - we stopped at Freddies on our way home to get some food for the week. This sweet ass chopper was parked just inside the entrance. I thought it was a display or something so I rode it around the produce stands. Just as I was putting it back on its center stand and noticing there wasn't a price tag on it or anything, a small guy walks up and says, "you're welcome to take it for a spin if you like." I laughed, saying I already did a drive by - and thanks!

Oh - and to put the cherry on top - we watched Juno, a super funny movie. And yes, makiah had her head cleaned.

Wednesday, May 07, 2008

Tuesday, May 06, 2008

May Days Haze?

Pedaled in circles around a circular track today. It felt good to reacquaint myself with my track bike. I took a quick peak in the pain cave and then backed right out of it. Oh track, my other love.

I'm debating jumping in with both feet into MayDays at Burnaby. A last minute decision - but I think I'm game to jump start the track legs....

Here's what their schedule sounds like (BRUTAL!)
Friday: Chariot, 40 lap points, 40 lap scratch, 60 lap madison
Saturday: 80 lap madison, 25 lap scratch, 1k TT, Keirin, Miss N Out, 60 lap points, 50 lap tempo
Sunday: Miss N Out, 40 lap points, 30 lap scratch

Friday and Saturday would be raced with the men's B field and Sunday would be ladies only. Hmmmm.... sounds heart pounding and lung bursting. Maybe a 4 hour enduro doesn't sound that bad after all.

What to do, what to do...
No way! At first they thought it was a few thousand people dead - and now the toll could reach 60,000. Thank your lucky stars we don't live in a cyclone prone area. This makes Katrina look like a fairytale.

Monday, May 05, 2008

Missing the flow

An excerpt taken from, "Flow in Sports" by Susan Jackson:

Many coaches and athletes believe that the only goal worth striving for is winning. There is no question that competition is at the essence of sports. The reason goals are so clean in sports is that the objective is to run the fastest race, score the most goals, jump the highest, throw the javelin or discus farthest. Everyone can see and evaluate the performance. Victory is the crowning moment of a dramatic performance that has been full of unpredictability and tension. The winner is elated, and the spectators vicariously share in the resolution of the staged conflict. Without competition it would be easy to lose concentration, to become distracted or uninvolved - to all out of flow.

On the other hand, if the only goal of the athlete is to win, flow is also endangered. If your attention is focused exclusively on winning, you cannot pay attention to what is happening at the moment. (Amen!) You don't notice the speed of your stride, the rate of your breathing, or what your opponents are doing. You become anxious, and in the effort to achieve the only reward that counts for you - victory - you miss the opportunity to enjoy the rewards that come from a move well executed or a play well made, or simply feeling the doing its best in a difficult situation."

What a good perspective.

The newest addition to my brother's family - Kona Bear. I can't wait to dog sit!

Sunday, May 04, 2008

So stinking close!

By all accounts, I should be totally satisfied and happy with my performance today. But I'm not. And I'll tell you why - the last 400 meters, which I have practiced countless times on the track (probably 100 or more times in race scenarios alone, not to mention training), got completely botched. I went early, way too early and screwed it up. Had I waited another 200m - things might have paned out differently. But as it was - I ended up 5th. And didn't even give Liz an appropriate lead out.

After enduring the hills 5 times (5 TIMES!)- all the pain and suffering to stick on with the group through the grinder of a feed zone, roller punishment, etc - I managed to hose the finish. This feeds into the hunger again - big time. I could taste it today - so close yet nipped at the line by not one, not two, not three but FOUR people. With this new found approach toward racing I've also found I've become more competitive with myself. And I'm definitely not satisfied with it. I know better! Dang it!

Time to start working on a long 400m sprint I suppose. And when that form starts coming - watch out! Superwoman!!!! At least I gave it a go I suppose - better to have risked loss than nothing at all...

Fish Head Sighting!



Molly and Tom Harding displaying our fish head costumes - courtesy of the Bellingham Herald.

Saturday, May 03, 2008

Kentucky Derby

I just watched the Derby for my first time. I saw the big hype that surrounds it with the women in their enormous hats and the frenzy of the betters putting cash down on their favorites. Hours of red carpet appearances, TV coverage, speculation, etc. All of it coming to a crescendo in those quick 3 minutes pronounced by a loud bell ringing and the horses come shooting out of the gates.

The jockeys poised and pushing their horses to perform in the 134th annual race - seeing them come around the turn and then the final 1/4 mile into the finishing straight. Big Brown handily won - with filly Eight Bells in second three lengths behind him. Coverage immediately pans onto the winner - yet a tragic end for the filly as she collapsed down to the dirt track. Moments later a veterinarian informs the interviewer she had sustained front double ankle breaks - one of the most painful injuries a horse can have. A split minute decision was made to end her life.

The camera quickly pans away from the filly, now surrounded by vet carriers and ambulances and back to the trainer of the winner. The horse is a little spooked - nipping at the person guiding him. I bet Big Brown sensed the tragedy. It seems so wrong for the celebration - the whooping and hollering when one of the players was severely injured and put down to rest. My eyes welled up with tears, my heart crushed. Thoughts go out to those who raised and trained the magnificent horse.
First the protests and now this?

It's a crazy world we live in, crazy!

Friday, May 02, 2008

First Friday Night

Tonight felt great! I was humbly reminded that eating during track racing is essential - you must keep those energy levels up (rookie move!) and a 50x15 seemed a little small of a gear. But I was also reminded positioning is key - and being in the right wheels before a sprint can pay off huge dividends (thanks Guy!). I managed to win a points race sprint for the first time ever - and hopefully that's just a taste of what's to come....

I'm glad I saved riding my track bike for tonight - it made me giggle like a little girl again. A huge smile paned across my face. And thanks to all those people who braved the cold tonight and watched!

11 ladies showed up and had fun too - I loved watching Amara put on that pain face for a big sprint during a couple of the races. I missed seeing her kick some ass! And it was awesome have Alynda there too - she and Jimmy will be missed when they make the big move to AZ...

Due Date 5/7/08



Yeah baby!

Thursday, May 01, 2008

Newbie Bike Love

I went and watched the Thursday night track training session tonight on a whim that some ladies might show up for the Ladies Only Track Class from 7:30 - 9. It was nice and dry out - a perfect night for some early season punishment. I shivered my ass off on my bike on the way over 520 and saw my odometer click over 1,200 miles... in two years. The poor steed hasn't even been broken in yet.

But alas, no ladies showed so I got to observed Bilko lead the newbies through some drills. Watching them reminded me how fun this sport is and how rewarding it can be. It was an absolute pleasure seeing them laugh with glee from a full out effort and exercise outdoors.

It was so inspiring - I might actually dust my track bike off tonight in hopes of racing tomorrow. Nah, that can wait. :)

With a 40% chance of rain tomorrow - your guess is as good as mine...

What's the world coming to?

130-million-year-old poop sells for $960

And a 500 year old shipwreck filled with treasure was found off the coast of Namibia.