Heat effects

Yesterday was one of the hotter days of the year in Seattle - right around 82. I know, I know - for all you out of town readers, 82 isn't that hot at all - but for around here, that's hot enough to get your basement to finally dry out after a long winter of rain!

Ryan headed up to North Bend to do some bouldering with some buddies - a perfect excuse for me to ride out East and meet them. This photo shows Mt Si - and little Si, the bump of a mountain to the South of the rocks. The hike to the crag takes about 30 minutes, and the summit to the top of Si takes anywhere from 3-6 hours.















Thankfully I decided to just hang out at the car for an hour waiting for Ryan and his crew to show back up. My tummy wasn't feeling well and for the first time in forever, I didn't feel the need to eat while riding. Strange. We headed to NBBG afterward (a local pub) to get some grub and by then I was hungry enough to eat. But at about 4am, my body let me know that eating a hamburger wasn't the smartest choice and next thing I know, I'm running laps back and forth between our bed and the bathroom. I know, too much information.

So I'm thinking either a) dehydration from the heat or b) food poisoning. Maybe a little bit of both? Either way, I think my gym workout has been canceled for the day and a little R&R is what's needed before I do any kind of exertion. Yep, I'm being a big baby.

Methow Bound

Things to do before heading out of town:

Grueling Track workout - Check
Ride to North Bend and meet Ryan tonight -
Locate a luggable Loo -
Gather up all the things we thought we'd take to the good will, that are now worthy for the cabin - check.

Should be a nice week of relaxation, biking, hiking and enjoying our new property!

Again - mad props to Donna and Annette who duked it out for the sprint final with Donna prevailing for the national title. It's so cool to see that the two top ladies are from Washington State!

Some hardware

Way to go Annette who has brought home two master national jerseys so far on the first day of competition in both the 500m and 2k pursuit!










And nice job Heather for posting the fastest 500m TT for the day and winning her age bracket. Excellent work.













And to Donna Smith who rocketed her TT and with the 4th fastest time of the day - you go girl! I can just imagine you doing a celebratory dance in circles with Heather.




And of course, I can't forget Christiane and Jane who both placed 6th in their age categories for their 500m TT. Nice work ladies.

Office Drama

The nightly patrol crew found some stuff strewn across the parking lot last week. Items include several Navy papers, diving gear, camping gear and some random Video Isle DVD cases. I called Video Isle to see if we could figure out who's stuff this is - and the strange thing - both videos were returned without the cases and were rented by two different people.

The mystery deepens.

I looked deeper into the garbage bag of belongings and found some naval papers - including Matthew's phone number and gave him a call. Apparently he's out to sea right now. The video people live on Queen Anne - and were at work so I left more messages.

Here's my prediction - the navy guy got totally wasted, broke into the video cases homes, stole their video cases, decided he was leaving on duty at 6 am and dumped all of his belongings in the parking lot a 3:45am. No wonder that guy isn't calling me back. :)

Long weekend recap

I love playing hooky, it's the best. :)

Friday I babysat my nephew Coleman (he's three, and turning four in October). Since we had a good time picking blackberries between our house and grandma's, I decided he needed a big dose of North Bend and I wanted to make some more jam. We headed out to Fall City and picked roughly $18 worth of strawberries. Some how in the process, Coleman managed to lose his sunglasses. But we sure had fun and his mouth was definitely stained red by the time we left. I wasn't satisfied with only strawberries so we headed up to Bybee Farms in North Bend again and picked a lot of delicious blueberries. Coleman went into orbit, and so did his auntie!

He slept during the car ride back down to Magnuson Park, where I did the kid hand off with my brother. He brought his power boat up and Ryan and I were fortunate enough to have a Thursday evening free from volunteering and climbing and got to enjoy the nice weather. It was my first time to swim in Lake Washington this year! I have to make a point of going out in the water more often - we had a blast.

Anyways, I came home, busted out a lot of jam batches, which unfortunately turned into syrup (screwed up the jam equation somehow) and then got ready for Friday Night Track racing. I could tell during warm up my body was feeling good and ready to go. We started off with a 10 lap scratch race - a warm up really. I placed 9th - not bad considering we had 25 starters. The Cat 3 men's field has gotten large. Then we had a Miss N' Out - I played it smart and patient and it paid off! I made it down to 4 guys to go - gave the last effort too much juice and didn't have anything left for the final sprint. Oh well - much better on my behalf. And I forgot to mention - since the Cat 3 men's field is large - it's sketchy. Several guys are freshly upgraded 4's and don't know how to handle their bikes. I almost had two of them collide right in front of me - thankfully they kept the rubber side down and pulled out of that one. No one needs a late season crash.

Our last race was a 5x5 points race. The tempo was fast - and I had a hard time getting into position. I was playing it patient - but didn't have the gumption to contest the sprints, until the final go and was pipped at the line. But my big HUGE accomplishment for the night? I got my first Omnium point of the season! YAHOO!!!! Why did it take me so stinking long? The important thing - I got one and am now put in the Friday Night print out. Sweet!

My bro and family came out to watch and Bilko made a comment about me "being available for autographs after the race as she's one of the top endurance riders in the country." Ha! I just laughed. Thanks Bilko, you're my biggest fan!

Saturday we woke up to a slight drizzle and got to go to Ryan's company picnic. He works for Pacific Ridge homes and they are so generous to their employees - it's great. We walked away with a new blender, which we made fresh blackberry smoothies with this morning. I only had 1.5 hours available to get a ride in with but relished every minute of it.

Then this morning we slept in till 10 am and had Coleman over again for smoothies before heading out for a late afternoon workout. My pursuit efforts went really well - even though some kid almost crashed me out. A little yelling and they were off the track in no time. I ran into Jeff Pyatt and did a warmup/cool down with one another. He's a cheerful soul and has done a lot for the local cycling scene.

All in all - a great weekend. I'm headed upstairs right now to eat our freshly harvested onion soup - should be amazing and watch season three of Deadwood. Hope you had a good weekend too!

sore toosh!

3 + hours of riding in the saddle - I haven't put those kind of long slow, steady miles in for quite some time! The body felt good though and I was able to make the south end and Mercer Island in under 3 hours.

I ran into Liz on my ride - she shouldn't be riding her bike right now because she injured herself again this past weekend. It's hard to call it quits but her body is going to force her if she doesn't back off and let it heal. I know, I know. I'm one to talk - but if I could've done it again I would have stopped sooner to let the healing begin. But I guess she'll have to come to that conclusion on her own.

It's absolutely gorgeous outside right now. Not a single cloud in the sky. Time to go for a spin!

Points race training and geeked out analysis

Hit up the track yesterday afternoon after a dreary moist morning. Luckily the sun poked out from the clouds and dried up the moisture from the track so Kenny and I could do some points race training. I love motor pacing - racing is the only thing funner! We swap driving so we both get a killer workout.

We started off with a 15 minute warm up - ramping up the speed to 33 or so. The legs were feeling good - despite how sore they felt after the TTT. After warm up Kenny had me do two 20 lap efforts with sprints every five. The goal is to sling shot around the motor with 200m to go and stay seated while surging. Top speed is usually around 34/35 mph. I soooo badly want to see 36! Maybe a bigger gear? Maybe more weights at the gym? Maybe no chocolate chip cookies right before workout? Nah. :) If I see 36mph then I will be well on my way...

I have a tendency to point my right foot - which may be to prevent my low back from tweaking. But the real question - does it effect my power? I was feeling a little taxed after the efforts and slightly numb in that area. My upper body form is coming around - during the sprint I definitely utilize my biceps and get the "bulldog" stance, with a slight tilt of the head. Grrr. It seems like it's all about the power game and getting the most out of how your body interacts with the bike - making it efficient and smooth as possible. I love it!

Other than a slight nag by my back I was able to dig deep and get right back on the motor (which was cruising steady at 28 mph) for the next efforts. You can really get into a rhythm with these efforts - and with two laps to go, you start to feel recovered from the last big hit and can relax about a lap before focusing on the next sprint. The overall goal is to go hard enough where they don't break the bank but just hard enough where you feel like racing is getting easier. The sprints are hard as you can go - but the recovery is what you really need to be concerned with. And I must say, other than my tactical idiosyncrasies, racing with the men is getting easier (solely from an engine standpoint).

Kenny did his efforts behind the moto - averaging around 30mph between sprints. The last sprint effort we ramped it up to about 33. He's an animal. Some fan came onto the track and asked if that was Kenny the cash machine? Ha! I laughed. Oh, you mean the cash register? Yes. That's him.

Today is a LSD (long slow day) ride - 3 hours in the saddle and then a baby shower for the evening. Should be fun!

The Family Visit

My bro and his family are in town for a week of playing in the sunshine (hopefully it comes out!) and water play. They brought their stink pot up and we're planning on getting some water time in this week once the weather warms.

Here's a picture of my niece Ellie and bro George. She's adorable, even when she's crying. ;)

TTT

Friday night I raced track, as usual. The chariot race was a joke - I don't know why I couldn't pull it together for a standing start one lap effort. Instead, I pedaled in behind the guys, shaking my head at how silly that was. No final for me - and I was happy to sit that one out.

Next on the agenda - a 10 lap snowball. These races really make your lungs bleed. Especially if you have poor positioning and have to chase chase chase back on to the right wheels. No points for old Juicey but I did get my lungs to feel like they would collapse.

But the beauty of track racing - 15 minutes later you'll have another chance to redeem your self. Our finale was a 5x5 Progressive race. This is similar to a points race, except the points are handed out slower. The first sprint is for one point, second for 2 to the first person, one to the second, third sprint - 3, 2, 1; fourth - 5, 3, 2, 1 and fifth 7, 5, 3, 2, 1. Brian Duvall from Recycled joined us and a few other fast roadies thrown in the mix, along with the usual suspects, meant fast and action packed racing. I was able to hang on no problem, but had lame positioning for any of the sprints, getting pipped each time. Had I had a little more patience and craftiness, then perhaps I would have placed better. Regardless though, it was an awesome workout. Fred from Wines told me he couldn't let me beat him - and I thanked him for that. Next time I will try harder and I appreciate people pushing me to the limit. It's all part of the process. ;)

Saturday morning I woke up and didn't feel too bad. We were scheduled for a track workout in the mid morning and Kenny said to bag it since I raced like garbage the night before. He's the coach - so I listened and didn't touch my bike at all on Saturday. Instead, I went blackberry picking with my neighbor (the same one who helped pick 53 pounds of blueberries a couple weeks ago) and my friend Theresa from Ti. Poor Theresa's legs were torn up from wadding through bushels of prickles - but it was so worth it! We ended up with 3 cases of jam. Yum!

But that also meant I was on my feet and not resting enough for the following day at the State TTT.

We woke up to rain at 5:45am and I headed down to Liz's house in Seward park to carpool. Once we got to Elma, the rain had stopped but the roads were super slick. We were only racing against Wines - they had a team of three with Suz, Trish and Gina. Initially we thought sweet! We have a team of four and should be able to give them a run for the money! About 1/2 way through the course, Liz dropped because she couldn't feel her leg anymore and knew she had injured her hammy more. Annette wasn't feeling well either due to working long weeks at her job without adequate rest. So the remainder of the work fell on Michelle and I. Michele rocked it - she would do monster 2 minute pulls, then Annette would pull through for 5-10 seconds and then I would pull for about a minute. All I remember is counting and setting mini goals to get there. At one point Annette had to tell me to slow down when I pulled through or we would lose her. I have never been so happy to be a mile from the finish - and we drilled it in the rest of the way. As soon as we crossed the line, I felt like I was going to fall off my bike. My inner quads and groin were screaming at me. They're still screaming at me, as a matter of fact.

Wines rolled a 1:15:20 and we rolled a 1:15:55. Not bad considering our four woman team whittled down to two and one hanging on for dear life! I felt super happy about my performance and know my body did as much as it could judging by how sore it is today.

Later that night we headed up to Stanwood for Jimmy and Alynda's wedding. The ceremony was special - and the reception afterwards back down in Burien. It was fun seeing them so happy and all of their families come together to celebrate their love. I even got some dancing in! Congrats to the two newlyweds.

Booked!

Just booked our tickets for Elite track nats in LA. Super cheap deals right now - $89 one way fares and $224 for a mini van for a week!

I'm getting super stoked!

Taught the last ladies track session of the year last night. It was good - a whole new crop of ladies showed up (as they do every week). Yeah! I get my Thursday nights back and don't have to be at Marymoor Tuesday through Friday and again on Sunday. Yippee!

No mouse....

It's been four days now and no sign of the mouse or Jazzmine even coming close to finding it. I wonder if the furry little rodent escaped already. I left Makiah's dog food out to see if it'll take it as bait and will wait and see.

I picked 12 cups of blackberries from my neighbors yard yesterday and didn't even come close to denting their supply. Yeah! That means tons of jam to be had this weekend. :)

I got some more sleep yesterday and think that may have been why I felt run down.

We have a TTT this weekend - should be a blast! Let's just hope it doesn't rain.

Feeling it

The weekend certainly caught up with me last night. Since Kenny couldn't make our motorpace session I decided to try Wednesday night track racing with the master men. With a combination of high speeds and lack of food in my system, I ended up calling it a night early during our final 25 lap scratch race. Some nights you're just not feeling it, you know?

Only a month and a half before track nats. I should be feeling tired right now - and I am. This is the last big build push before a rest and then some fine tuning. I'm getting excited!

On another note - we hired my mom's cat Jazzmine to patrol the house for mice. I saw one scurry underneath our pantry the other day and then saw it again two nights ago book it under our stove. Makiah isn't that interested in rooting around for mice - she just sits by her dog bowl and growls at them. Ryan doesn't think Jazzmine will do it - but I have faith. Every day I come home thinking I might see a mouse hanging between her jowls and everyday I find the cat fast asleep on her back, paws askew on our bed.

Cucumbers

I just harvested my first cucumbers of the season and boy are they tasty!

Things really haven't slowed since the weekend. I woke up Monday morning and dragged myself to the gym. The body felt pretty tired but I was still able to push the weights around. Work as usual followed by a short spin afterward to flush the legs. I ran into Liz and Jeff on the trail and we headed to Zoka's. Then I booked it home to cook a salmon dinner for Gary and Anita (Ryan's dad and step-mom). My mom showed up too and we laughed the night away. It's nice to see Ryan's folks.

In the morning I woke up and took the van in for a standard oil change. Unfortunately they discovered our transmission is leaking fluid all over and will need to be replaced. (Can you say 2-3k? OUCH! That's going to take a while to fix...) I headed out to Kenny's house by 9 am and picked up his bike and while he got ready I watched Makiah chase their kitties. (Don't worry Annette, she didn't get one!) We headed to the track and did some motor pace efforts. The legs were feeling heavy - so we kept the gear light. Oddly, I sprint better seated then when I stand up. Hopefully we'll get that figured out before too long.

Gary and Anita came out to watch and caught the tail end of our session. Afterward I headed to eat lunch at Ray's with them while Ryan slaved away at work. Mmm... smoke salmon salad while watching the eagles dive bomb the Puget Sound for lunch. Rough life I'm telling you! We met up again once Ryan got off work for a canoe and kayak ride around Lake Union. Gary quickly found some low hanging blackberries and we carefully picked them from the boat. The lighting was amazing and the temps were just right - one of the moments that you etch in your brain forever. Luckily Gary had his camera ready to capture it.

We paddled our way between the house boats and under some piers to I Love Sushi and dined on some sashimi. Lake Union was filled with about 200 sail boats for the Tuesday regatta. The multi-colored spinnakers were amazing to watch as the sun danced along the water. Gary enjoyed it a lot - reliving his sailing days via kayak. After dinner we paddled home and caught the tail end of the sunset illuminating the Aurora bridge. It was so relaxing and peaceful. Just one of those days that you know you couldn't have spent any wiser.

Don't blink!

This past weekend flew by - it's hard to believe I'm sitting back at my desk in recovery mode from it all. Here's a quick little recap...

Friday night racing with the Cat 3 men. The pace was high. We have some horsepower that needs to upgrade to the 1/2 field soon so it keeps things interesting. I attacked and won a preme in the scratch race with three laps to go. But couldn't climb back on the fella that made the move with me and ended up getting swallowed by the field in the last lap. Had I looked around a little more, I might have been able to jump back on his wheel and brought in a top placement. Lesson learned - look around more!

The Keirin was interesting. I got a little too aggressive too early and attacked when the motor pulled with 500m to go. The field again swallowed me with 150m to go - and I ended up last. Apparently my super human sprinting and endro power wasn't turned on - and I came back to the infield discouraged, wondering what's wrong with me?! Both Kenny and Woody told me to be more patient and wait it out - let the guys do the work and race smart. At one point Woody told me to approach racing with the attitude of being a racer, not a woman in the men's field. To which I responded, that's how I always think Woody.

Then Matt came up to me and said that my attack was perfectly time and everyone was looking at one another and he said something about not chasing a chick down. Um, excuse me? Maybe you haven't noticed but I always go for the sprint and try my hardest to win time and time again only to get pipped by the guys at the line. I don't think they ever think, I shouldn't chase a chick down. You're full of shit and just got beat by a girl! How you like them apples?

(Sorry - just a little drama... but come on! He asked for it.)

The points race was hard - the majority of the field dropped out by mid way through the race. I managed one point, which placed me in 8th. I was happy with my performance but frustrated by the way the men were unwilling to work together to chase back the lead group. Oh well. Lesson learned - attack them and leave them behind if they're unwilling to work.

We got into Bellingham at 12:30am and had to get up the following morning at 6:30am for the TT at Lake Padden. I felt solid on the bike - made one wrong move by not being in the aero bars for one downhill section, but felt pretty good. I ended up 5th - not bad!



The crit was hard. It was definitely a climbers crit and technical. It had 8 corners and a really fun fast descent. Ryan's entire family showed up to cheer me on - it was fantastic! (We had a Triplett family reunion on Saturday between the races. I'm really really good at burning the candle at both ends!) Wines dominated the race with Trish and Lise off the front from the gun. With about 5 laps to go Suz hit it and secured third place. The rest of us got to race for 4th. Annette gave me a killer lead out and I delivered the goods. It felt great to have teammates working for you and to be able to deliver it back to them.


The following morning was the final day - a 40 mile road race on a hilly course. It was gorgeous out. Unfortunately we were delayed by an hour because some poor soul from Ti broke his collar bone about 300m from the finish line. Ouch. During our race the same Wines ladies took off right away and probably had 5 minutes on the field. They're in a league of their own. Nice work ladies!

The rest of us were fighting for 4th in the GC. Carrie managed 4th and the rest of the team in 10th, 11th, and 13th. It didn't go as we had planned - but oh well. I'm surprised I can walk today to be honest with you! My legs were exhausted from the weekend. Did that stop me from going to the gym this morning? Absolutely not! Nationals are coming....

Hot off the presses...

http://lavelodrome.org/Races/TalentPool20070821.htm

Talent pool opportunity in 11 days down in LA. California here I come!

My man is THE man!

This past week Ryan's been the wife of our relationship and I've come home late 3 nights in a row to a hot dinner waiting on the table. It's so nice not having to come home and figure out what to eat. The best part? No grudges or control issues associated - he does it out of pure love. (Did I mention we have a kick ass relationship?) Last night he surprised me with a sausage, onion, mushroom, sweet potato stuffed pepper and caprese salad that was to die for.

So tonight I got to reciprocate the lovin' and went to town with what's in the kitchen. We're on a budget now since our funds are tied up in the property so I made the most of our pantry and odd sauces leftover in the fridge. He told me he'd be home around 9 - so when the hour came, I couldn't help but call him to find out his status.

Low and behold, I asked him how climbing was and he redpointed Extended Illness AND Black Ice - both rated 5.13c! What a freakin' stud! For those not familiar with the climbing grading scale - that's nearly impossible for mere mortals. Not to mention he did not one 5.13c but TWO! Unbelievable! He said he went in with a beginner's mind - and no expectations. Funny how that works.

Way to go Bubba - you are THE man!

Hot Damn in B'Ham

Traveled up north to the land of Bellingham to preride the Omnium race courses. The road course is hilly - and should be interesting to see if a non-climber wins it. There's some serious hills and for someone with track legs, it's not so friendly. The TT course will be hard too - with a gradual uphill start into a head wind and then mainly downhill with a wicked right hander and some more rolling sections. It's in a beautiful part of the country though and I'm really looking forward to.

This weekend is all about an ass kicking - Friday night out at the track and then Sat and Sun up north. Not to mention the family reunion on Sat. Sweetness!

4 hour Cinnamon Rolls

Tried a new recipe this morning, which ended up dipping into the afternoon. Caprials Deserts is the mecca for anything sweet - and I had a hankering to spend a little domestic time in the kitchen today.

So what took so long? First you have to mix up the dough, and don't forget the mad dash to the store to pick up more eggs and flour. Then you let the dough rise for an hour while domestically cleaning up your house. (I was actually able to dust! That only happens like twice a year.) Then you punch the dough down and roll it out into a 10x14" rectangle, dress it with melted butter, sprinkle a sugar/cinnamon mixture on it and then roll it into a big fatty. Cut it into 2" pieces and then let it rise another hour. For that hour of downtime I decided to work on adding some links to my track chain, which took FOREVER. A little bit of swearing, several tools spread across the dining room table, grease on my clothing and hands... but I got it. And before I knew it, it was time to stick the little buns into the oven. 25 minutes later I whipped up the sugar glaze and was popping the tasty morsels in my mouth with a serious sugar high. Yeah, I danced around my kitchen. That happens every time I put something delectable in my mouth. (My mom said I used to dance when I was little, somethings never change.)

Ryan called me later and asked, how were the buns? To which I responded, they took forever! And they're not that good. Ha! They taste like there's crack in them, they're so good. He's doing double time to get home to taste one.

If your in the neighborhood and low on sugar, stop on by and I'll give you a tasty bun.

Ryan's Weekend

Ryan headed out to Index, WA this weekend to complete his new bolt project on Zeek's Wall. He said it's probably a 5.13 or so and one of the most beautiful lines in Washington. Here's a photo of it.



From my understanding, it goes through the roof and then up a lay-back crack. Bolting a line is not easy and requires hours upon hours of manual labor. The first person to successfully climb the route gets the honor of naming it as well as subjectively grading it. And trust me, Ryan's already working all the moves and should have before summer's end.

Blueberries

53 pounds. Yep, I said 53.

24 cans of blueberry jam, 8 freezer bags full of 6 cups of berries each (the perfect amount for either pie or cobbler) and a lot of them already in my belly!

My neighbor and I drove out to North Bend today at the crack of dawn and picked until we both filled two five gallon buckets worth. Crazy, eh? Then we came back and started the canning process. Oh I can't wait for fresh blueberry pie tomorrow night!

Tomorrow's a track morning, followed by a baby shower and then a board meeting. Phew, what a weekend!

Nutsack Omnium

Yay! Nothing says August more than doing my first stage race of the year. Yep, you heard me right. I had to bypass every weekend of down-right torture in the nice soggy months of spring and wait until the summer to do some stage racing. Darn!

Not only am I excited - but the race is being held in Bellingham, the coolest city in Washington. And we're going to our Triplett family reunion that same weekend - meaning I should have a cheering section out there. Yippee!

Seriously though - it's only as good as the people who show up. So dust off your tt bike, pump up those race tires and head up North for some kick ass racing.

http://www.norkarecreation.com/omniumindex.htm

Glue. Ew.

Some how I managed to get glue not only all over my hands, but also on the top of my feet.

I decided to glue my new Vittoria tires myself - which is no small task. Ryan helped me remove my old tires but unfortunately we managed to rip one of the tires into shreds, meaning I had to remove a lot of residue and build up from my rim before re-gluing it. I used my oyster tool to remove most of the build up - and had several near misses in jabbing myself. And then, when I was almost finished, I put a huge gauge in my left hand. Ouch. Talk about a puncture wound. I'm surprised I didn't seriously injury myself.

The tire itself went on fairly easy - but while I was gluing the rim I had to rest the wheel on my feet so it wouldn't stick to the floor. And now I have tons of glue all over me. Oh well.

Other than that - the tires went on fairly easy. Yay! That means I get to try them out on Friday.

My mom's off in Hawaii visiting my grandmother. I need to get over there and see her - she's 91!

Details, details

On Thursday before the FSA GP, a teammate posted his sweet cruiser bike for sale. I've been looking for one for a while - for the right price, and finally here it was! I contacted him and told him to hold it for me - and if I scored enough cash from the weekend, then I'd buy it.

And although I scored some cash this weekend from the race, I unfortunately had to pass the bike up. 1 - I don't really need another bike and 2 - since I did do well, but not well enough, it's time to reinvest in some expensive track gear to make sure I'm getting the most from my equipment.

I've managed to spend about $600 in the past three days on various gear - it certainly adds up quickly. Sure I didn't need top of the line stuff - but I want to know I used the best I could at the time and have absolutely zero doubts in my gear.

So what could possibly be that expensive? Tires - Vittoria Pista CV (made exclusively for track riding with a supple dimpled black surface = low rolling resistance = FAST) $110/tire. Glue for gluing onto the wheels $3.95/tube x 2 tubes. New saddles (remember my 40k incident?) $99/each x 3 (and I need another for my pursuit bike!). Chain - the Wipperman I bought for my new Naked frame sucks balls. Yep, you heard me right. You can hear that thing across the track on a super windy day! So I coughed up the big bucks (thank goodness Ryan has a full time paycheck!) at $60 for the Izumi Model V. It rides like butta. I highly, highly recommend them. Oh, and then there's the new pedals I had to pick up for the new track bike $130. Ouch. Talk about an expensive week.

Oh, and don't forget about the plane tickets for track races and housing costs. I'm tempted to take David up on teaching some motorcycle classes to help pay for my out of control racing habit.