A New Team for a New Year

Notice the new link to the right. Ski Utah will be my new cycling team for 2008! I looked at some other teams, including ones that would help me pay for my races, but decided on Ski Utah (formerly VMG). Brandi (Black chick on a bike) raced for them last year and was very happy. She said there are lots of great women to race with and to learn from. So I'll be paying for my own kit and race entry fees but it will be worth it to have teammates out on the road with me!

Merry Christmas!!

The kids had a great time Christmas Eve opening presents but the most fun is just being with family.

Here is a sweet video of Isabelle on Christmas Eve. She dressed up in her new Dora dress up clothes and had fun playing with her new interactive baby.

The New Hair Do

Before and after. Ashley used the giftcard her Dad gave her for her birthday to get her hair professionally cut an colored. It looks great. The only problem is she looks too grown up!

CX Finals pics

Here are some great pictures of Sam. It was slick and muddy. Notice the mud streaks up the guys backs.

Video from Saturday

Not video of Sam or me but you get the idea. More video and pics of us to come!

http://myspacetv.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&videoid=23616100

http://myspacetv.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&videoid=23615413

More cycling in a Winter Wonderland

More Pictures are coming! They are all on Sam's computer.

Ft. Bueneventura 12/7 race report. I felt good at the start. I rode with my big fat Kona flat pedals and hiking boots instead of trying to clip into pedals full of mud and snow. I got off to a good start (one of my less cordial starts) but fell back off the pack once we hit the slick mud. I forgot to change my back tire and was racing on a very slick, almost road tire on the back. Any time I geared up and tried to use power my back tire just spun and slipped. My only hope was to gear down and spin through the course. Brandi got a good lead on me but thanks to her fall and the barriers I was able to catch her. We went back and forth for a while but I was finally able to drop her in the last lap for a 5th place finish.

Sam raced well. As usual he was hot off the start line. However, by the time he raced the entire course had turned into a big mud field. By the end of the first lap his mountain bike was no longer shifting and he was having to work hard to cut those fat tires through the mud. He switched to his cross (really more of a commuter bike) and got back on course. He held onto third for most of the race but towards the end the mud drained his power and finished 4th. Watch for muddy, snowy pictures coming soon!

Tag! You're it

I've been tagged by my sister Casey! The name of this game is to answer the following 10 questions and then tag 4 other friends to do the same on their blog pages...

1. Best thing you cooked last week. This is bad but I don't think I cooked at all. Okay, Stauffer's frozen lasagna really can't count. Pathetic!

2. If money, time and babysitting were no object where would you go and who with? I would like to go ride my bike in Europe for a while. I'd take Sam with me.

3. When was the last time you cried? Yesterday when Sam said he just wanted to be alone on Christmas.

4. 5 things you were doing 10 years ago. Being a Mom to an 8 and 3 year old, teaching aerobics, managing a clinic, married to Brian. . .

5. 5 things you were doing 5 years ago. Being a Mom to an 8 year old and a 13 year old, trying to make ends meet as a single Mom, teaching aerobics, managing a clinic. (Okay, now you can see why I only write about biking- everything else is the same old stuff!)

6. 5 things you were doing 1 year ago. Riding my bike, being a Mom to a high school senior and a 6th grader, managing a clinic and teaching aerobics.

7. 7 of your favorite hobbies. Road cycling/racing, cyclocross, hanging out with my kids, hanging out with Sam, reading, watching movies, playing video games with my family.

8. 5 favorite foods. Sushi, pizza of any kind, pasta, chocolate, strawberry shortcake.

9. 5 places you've been. San Francisco, Tuscon, Las Vegas, Florida, So. Cal.

10. 5 favorite memories. Giving birth to both of my amazing children. Seeing them grow up into the wonderful individuals they are today, all of the beautiful things I've seen on my bike, finishing Lotoja.

I don't know too many bloggers so I guess I'll tag Brandi.

Tomorrow is the last cross race so you'll get a little break from all of the bike stuff. You may have to hear about trainer rides and some cross country skiing.

Over the River and Through the Snow. . .

Cycling in a winter wonderland!

What a stud. Be sure to read full details of the race in the previous post.

Here are the awesome cross pics from last weeks snowy race. There is also a great video on Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iuxnUZyzs30

Oh the Weather outside is Frightful- so let's go race Cross!

Soon I will have some awesome pics to go along with this post. . . .

The race was insane. I changed my pedals right before because after half a lap I couldn't clip in anymore because my shoes and clips were full of snow. My heart was pounding the whole time but it wasn't because I was working hard- just scared. On the gravel roads there were big ruts in the snow that would grab your tires and pull you in different directions (usually one tire in one direction and the other the opposite way). Because of the snow you couldn't tell where the dirt ended and the pavement started until you hit the icy pavement and started sliding. I went down so many times. I felt like I was trying to stay on a mechanical bull! My shin is black and blue from one fall and on another I got my calf run over by someone on another. I went back and forth with one girl for a while and thought I had 6th wrapped up. Then on the last stretch I wandered off into some deep snow and couldn't pedal my bike up the hill. The girl in 7th passed me so I quickly got on my bike to chase her down for the finish. Well, the chase didn't work so well and I crashed again 10 yards from the finish line. I didn't even try to get back on my bike I just ran across the finish. The really awesome thing is Sam got my whole terrible finish on video. I'm so proud.

Here's the really crazy part- Sam killed everyone in the snow. They started his field an entire minute behind the pros. He caught all but 5 of them. He lapped his own field 2x!! Everyone else is slipping and sliding and he's just riding along like it's a bright sunny day. It was unbelievable. Everyone in the crowd was cheering for him because they just couldn't beleive how fast he was going. Of course I'm jumping up and down and running around and screaming my lungs out for him. It was a blast! I got some great shots of him but he downloaded them onto his computer and then erased them off my camera. So he'll have to email them to me then I can update my blog. Brandi got some cool pics check them out on her blog at http://blackchickonabike.blogspot.com/ Everyone crashed several times and lots of people had snow packed into their helmets! Insane!