Public Apology

I looked back over my previous posts and Steve was right. I am guilty of trash talking. What I meant to be funny was really mean spirited and I am so sorry. There are some great cyclists on the BCC and I still consider myself a part of that group. The BCC has been very supportive and friendly to me and I honestly would not be the rider I am today without them.

So please accept my apology and I look forward to suffering through another century with you soon!

Aaaah finally.

My cross bike is finally home where he belongs. We are still in the getting to know you stage and he's going to need a few more adjustments. I think the bike shop was grateful that I had to leave to go teach my class so that I would leave them alone and quit having them tweak this and that.

It is weird but even though it says it is a 52 cm it feels bigger than my 53 cm Lemond road bike. Now that I'm comparing both frames I can see that it really is bigger and it feels taller from the beefier tires. I'm not sure if the frame difference is because it is a cross frame or maybe the bike shop put a 52 cm sticker on it. (Once again my mistrust of bike shops rears its ugly head!)

So I had the shop put a shorter stem on it, throw on my pedals and adjust my seat height. I still need to flip the stem. It is weird to ride that upright. I need to take off the labia killer of a saddle that is on it and move it forward and probably up. I also need to get rid of the stupid reflectors that are still on the wheels. I was hoping to do all that tonight but instead of playing bikes I had to write a paper.

Tomorrow night is RMR and I get to try out my new shoes. I put the cleats on all by myself so hopefully they wont fall off. But that means it will be Wednesday before my new cross bike and I get a little one on one time to bond. Maybe I should call in sick to work tomorrow. . . . hmmmmm.

Whew! Intervals

Today was a great workout with the ladies on my team. Laura H. got us together at Sugarhouse Park. We took turns leading out down the hill and doing hard intervals up the hill. After a quick recovery we'd push hard up the last short hill. Then we'd do it all again. It was an awesome workout and good to get to know the course and see how we can work together to to do well next month for the race.

Thanks Laura! Your leadership is appreciated!

A bit sad. . .

I received a bit of news that made me feel bad on what was otherwise a really great day. One of my best friends that rides for the Wasatch Women told me that she passed a Ski Utah girl today and the Ski Utah girl shouted at her "we are going to kick your butt!"

What!? Honestly, I cannot imagine which of any of my teammates would have said this and it makes me sad to think that this person is representing us. We are an awesome team! And yes, we do kick butt a lot of the time. But trash talking? Come on, let our racing speak for itself.

I searched diligently for a team. Some of my best friends race for Porcupine, Mazda One and Wasatch Women's. But I chose Ski Utah. I chose Ski Utah because I saw lots of people from this team at every race. I also saw in them a group of cyclists that race hard, race fair and are good sports. I've seen them be good sports in winning and in losing. As an official last year I saw all of the teams in action. I saw a lot of really crappy things like dangerous racing, yelling at officials, or divas throwing temper tantrums because of something that happened during the race. I never saw any of it from Ski Utah (VMG).

Since racing for Ski Utah I've only become more and more proud to race for this team. I've been dropped off the back in races but still had teammates fly by cheering for me. I've had teammates get up early to drive me to my race when theirs wasn't for hours and I've had teammates go out and kick ass and still be good sports.

So to my good friends on other teams, I apologize. Please note that this behavior does not represent the majority of my team. And to whomever said this, the woman you shouted it to was back on her bike today for the 4th time in 6th months since recovering from a crash last year. She's struggling with extra weight and getting her fitness level back. Yes, you probably could kick her butt at this point. Aren't you proud!

Ogden BDO Criterium

Today was the Ogden Criterium. Not a huge turnout for the Cat 4 Women. Also, completely different women from last weekend. Jamie, Kris and I were there representing Ski Utah. We raced against Diane (Mazda One), Jillian (PCD?), and Melanie (WWC). They put our field together with the Jr. Men and we were off for 30 minutes of fun.

We started off at a reasonable pace until the boys picked it up a bit and we gals followed along. The first Prime spread things out a bit but soon we were bunched back together. Then something happened. I was zoning out watching the wheel in front of me and when I looked up the rest of the pack was gone down the road. They were going hard so it must have been another Prime. I chased hard, mentally kicking myself for letting this happen. I soloed the next lap thinking I was pretty much out of the race at this point. Melanie had dropped off the back too so I focused on catching her. Soon I could see she was back in the pack and I dug deep and finally caught back on with 2 to go.

I spent the next lap and a half sitting on trying to recover for the finish. Melanie tried to attack halfway through the last lap but I easily pulled the rest of the pack up to her. I hung on her wheel as we headed into the last corner. As we rounded the last corner, still with 300M to go, Diane took off and Jamie jumped on her wheel. Melanie took off after them and I attempted to just catch Melanie. Once I reached her I realized I was going faster. I gave it all I had to the line and finished half a wheel length in front of Melanie to take 3rd.

Finish was as follows: Diane 1st, Jamie 2nd, Me 3rd, Melanie 4th, Jillian 5th, and Kris 6th. Once again I made mistakes, but I will learn! I am really happy with myself. Jillian and Melanie are both really strong racers so it was great to beat them and I certainly can't feel bad about coming in behind either Diane or Jamie, they are both awesome!

I'm looking forward to the next couple of races since we'll be staying out of the mountains! Next weekend is another crit and the following weekend is Bear Lake. Lots more fun pack racing! I love it!

Snowflakes on my tongue. . .

As a kid I used to love to catch snowflakes on my tongue. Yesterday I did it again. For all of my complaining about the weather it was a unique experience to be riding my bike with the sun shining and the snow falling slowly down. It was cool. . . . but now I still want it to be 70 and cloudless. . . I'm still ready to not have to put on layers and choose the appropriate thickness of gloves to wear before each ride. Yes, we have the GREATEST SNOW on EARTH. Now go away for a few months so I can appreciate you again at Christmas time.

This snowflake was courtesy of www.snowflake.com and is only a representation of the actual snowflakes that fell on my ride. No snowflakes were harmed in the making of this post.

He's on his way!

Ah finally, a cross bike. I get to go pick him up tomorrow. (Yes, Mistress Julie, you'll be happy to know this one is a guy). A beautiful mix of carbon and steel and Ultegra/105 components. I thought I was going to get a deal on a Felt but I also thought I was going to grow up and marry Prince Charming and live in a Castle. Lesson learned (again) get your own castle (or cross bike) and quit growing old waiting for Prince Charming.

My new Poprad and I will have such fun playing at the park tomorrow. And as for Prince Charming, if you're out there, I can be found at the races, on the open road or flying through the fall leaves on my cross bike.