Cozy November

November is a perfect time to embrace the cozy spirit of fall and winter...and I've been doing just that. After getting healthy from the flu, but not feeling quite 100%, I realized I'm walking a thin line between residual lung inflammation and potential walking pnuemonia. The answer? Get cozier, be more restful, embrace meditation time...yes, one of my favorite new hobbies is meditating. Last week I intended on meditating for 15 minutes and the next time I opened my eyes to check if my fifteen minutes were up, it had been 50 minutes! I was all, "WHAT THE WHAT?!" - Tina Fey

My nagging lung inflammation may mean few other cyclocross races this fall, such as this one from last weekend's UCI event [Becca and I in the sand pit!]. But the good news is steady, fun mountain bike miles are still a-ok. And I can feel legit in giving myself permission to be as cozy and cuddly as I'd like, just like this little doggie...

"Doing your best is the surest way to remind those around you to do their best. But to be worthy requires the continuing practice of mindfulness. That is a certainty. Only by practicing mindfulness will we not lose ourselves but acquire a bright joy and peace. Only by practicing mindfulness will we be able to look at everyone else with the open mind and eyes of love." Thich Nhat Hanh

Looking for a laugh? Check this out...

Brian Regan Phones and Codes

Long Time, No Blog!

The motto for my new wave of blog posts? Short and sweet.

What's new? I love Boulder and I've been learning lots of great things here.

Last month my best friend got married at the NY Botanical Gardens (the same weekend as 'CrossVegas). I was lucky enough to be her Maid of Honor! It was an amazingly beautiful wedding and an incredible party. Rachel was gorgeous!!

My sister, Rachel and Me on the Dance Floor

My Mom and Dad :)

My two sisters and Me

Rachel is a Gorgeous Bride!

Cheers!

I got to reconnect with Colorado Springs the week after Rachel's wedding to help run our USA Cycling National Talent ID Devo Camp as ride leader, dorm mom and coach-in-training. We had forty 14-17 year old talented cyclists in attendance! Despite poor weather it was a great camp! Unfortunately I came down with the flu (yes, the infamous H1N2) the following week. And only now - about three weeks later - am I really feeling 100%, without any lung-congestion. Amazingly, after weeks off the bike, I was able to race well yesterday at the UCI Boulder Cup Cyclocross race! I guess I needed to lay in bed for a few weeks after all! Here are some pics/articles from the race...

This is a link the our Mafia Racing/Felt Website that includes our team's successes for the weekend!!

http://www.feltbicycles.com/USA/News/Mafia-overcomes-mud-mechanicals-at-NACT-Boulder.aspx

And here's me on CyclingNews.com!...

http://www.cyclingnews.com/races/boulder-cup-c1/elite-women/photos/94220

I'm looking forward to trying out skate skiing soon!

Crested Butte Mountain States Cup and CU Boulder Short Track!

I finished writing my previous post just before beginning my warm up for the Crested Butte Mountain States Cup cross country race. At the time it was a pleasant 60-65 degrees and sunny.  Very quickly, that changed. It became windy, the temperature dropped into the low 50's and bouts of heavy rain were followed by lighter rain which were followed by heavy rain. It made for very messy, slick conditions that made most off-camber sections of single-track unride-able. The first lap was great since I went out conservatively from the start and everything was still rideable. Over the course of the first 7mile lap, which climbed over 1600 ft, I made my way into 7th or so place. On the second lap, when it began raining harder, I figured they'd cut the race down to two laps, so I rode hard to leave it all out there...and forgot to eat a gel.  Then when I came through the start finish area, expecting to be finishing, they said "ONE TO GO" at which point I was like, "WUH-OH!"  I quickly got a Clif Shot and some energy drink in me.   They also told me I was in fourth place! I'd made up a couple of spots on the long, tricky descent! I hadn't gotten a top 5 in the Mountain States Cup pro field before, so I was determined to hold my position, no matter how hard the last lap felt.  

As I began my last long climb, it became apparent that the steep road they sent us up in one section was no longer going to be ride-able. Our tires were clinging to the wet dirt like it was their job and it got to the point that you could barely PUSH your bike up it.  For a couple of minutes, the lack of glucose in my body and the pain of struggling to push my bike up an incredibly steep, long, muddy hill almost cracked me. I felt like this...

But soon enough the Clif Shot kicked in, I got into the single-track climb that you could still ride, and I regained my motivation to race my bike to the finish line.  I rode well, especially on the climbs where I was able to maintain a strong focus and in the fun, technical, slick single-track.  I lost one place on that final 1600ft of climbing - not too shabby - and finished in 5th!  It was a great day.  My high-altitude climbing and racing legs are really coming along. As I like to say, "Good job, legs!"  They worked really hard.  

I felt like a dorkus when I rushed to clean up, take a shower and get to the podium where they USUALLY call up top five...but this time they only called up top three. I had a camera and everything, all excited for my first Mountain States Cup podium. The sound to describe that is: BWAAA BWAAAAAAAAAA (higher note BWAAA and lower note BWAAAAAAAAAAA). haha.

I could've taken more time at the bike wash where my bike and my body needed some serious mud-removal!  Luckily Shimano, one of my incredible sponsors, were supporting at the race and helped me with getting my bike in working order for the next day where I trained on the mountain.  I needed all sorts degreasing, regreasing, grit removal and some new parts!  Thank you Shimano for getting my bike working perfectly again!  

That night I decided to camp out along a beautiful creek in Crested Butte... (see picture below...)

...but I should've checked the weather forecast. I woke up in a big puddle and had to laugh. I'm sure it looked funny. Needless to say, I was at a coffee house early Sunday morning and treated myself to some yummy hot beverage and scones as my pre-high-altitude-training-ride/post-hard-race-day-and-night-in-a-freezing-cold-puddle-tent fuel. lol.  I actually was able to train really well, so maybe I should camp out in a puddle more often?!

This week has been a nice busy one, and I've needed to sleep  a lot.  I was either going to go to sleep at 5:00 wednesday night, or go do the CU Cyling Boulder Short track race...and it was the first one that wasn't rained out since I've moved to Boulder, so I went and raced.  These fun, local races are a great way to get in good training and get to know more people.  It was a great course and the event attracts lots of good people who love racing bikes. We had a solid field for our Women's A group; around 20 women!  I worked hard off the start to get in a good position. I was feeling good but knew my fatigue level was going to kick in at some point in the 30+ minute race, so I got into the lead and just raced hard.  I figured if I cracked I cracked, but if I got a good enough lead, I could potentially hold first.  I got caught on the second to last lap and finished 2nd which I was still happy with!  

After cooling down (my ride back home...all on bike paths :)!, I prettied myself up for a cruiser bike ride into downtown for a beer and burger with some Mafia teammates. What else could I ask for?! Yep, still lovin' on Boulder!  Becca Blay, one of my teammates, and I decided to race the FireCracker 50 up in Breckenridge as a two-woman team next weekend, but I'm looking forward to having this weekend off from racing!

US CUP in Colorado Springs & USA Cycling Junior Development Mountain Bike Camp

Last Thursday I packed up for ten days away from home: Friday and Saturday I raced short track and cross country at the US Cup in Colorado Springs and Sunday through the following Friday I was a coach/ride leader/dorm mom for the Junior Development Mountain Bike camp.  Both were nice successes!

My short track race on Friday evening began strong. There was a small but super stacked field including all of the Luna Girls, even Alison!  But I MAY have gone out a tad too hard the first couple of laps and popped about half way through. It was a fun short track course though and a great opener for the cross country race the following afternoon.  I recovered well Friday night with an ice-bath in a creek paralleling Cheyenne Canyon – while simultaneously enjoying a Date-Pecan-Bran muffin from Wooglins (the best muffins EVER), followed by a spectacular noodle bowl from one of my favorite Colorado Springs restaurants, Saigon Café. Bellissimo.

Saturday morning I pre-rode the cross country course as a nice, long warmup for the relatively short race – it took about an hour and a half.  I got a great start and went hard from the gun knowing the course suited my strengths well.  It was more technical and rocky than most US Cup courses. I loved it and pushed myself to stay with the group.  We fell off the pace of the leaders by a bit on the first descent but I managed to keep my cadence high and pace strong for all three laps and rode the techy sections pretty well! I was all sorts of amped up after I finished around 20^th! (22^nd?)  Here's a picture of me from the XC race (thank you Jesse!)...

 

The following day the campers began arriving at the Colorado College Campus by 10am and it was a fun, busy week with the 28 talented 14-19 years old mountain bikers.  We had a packed schedule, breakfast by 7am each morning, ride by 8 and another by 2, followed by a different presentation after dinner each evening.  Each ride targeted a specific skill or had a goal, such as our time trial day where we did field testing with them.  Other days we worked on climbing, descending, cornering, switchbacks, race starts, bottle feeds, etc etc.  Being dorm mom was easy since the campers fell asleep between 9 and 10 each night!  I absolutely love helping with these camps. It’s a great combination of my love for riding/racing bikes and for teaching. 

 Right now I have two hours until my start time for cross country at Crested Butte which I’ll write about in the next couple of days! It’s unbelievably gorgeous here, and very very high. The start line is somewhere around 9,000+!

Teva Games XC (and a sliced sidewall :( ) & Denver City Park Crit (my strongest crit yet!)

I haven't been hailing many taxis lately. Instead I've been in cruiser biking heaven on the incredible system of bike paths and lanes here in Boulder. But I liked this picture so, yeah.
I also liked this one. Plus I can make it relate to my racing...

The confidence and independence of this little goggie reminds me of how I felt when I was able to take care of my sliced-tire situation during the XC race at the Teva Games at Vail on saturday.  I've only had a flat during a race a couple of times.  Last year, needing to fix a flat would still rattle me a bit. Yesterday I was able to keep my cool and quickly figure out that with enough CO2, I'd most likely be able to make it through the second half of the race by refilling the tire every 2omin or so. I lost the group I was working on catching in the process of stopping and going, and just felt like I lost my rhythm and momentum = not a great finish. But the course was super fun. The descent was one of my favorites I've ever ridden! And our Mafia Racing team trailer made for a great spot to hang out at the venue!  We had a nice group out racing yesterday! 
THIS ONE relates...um...because...OH, because I come with two kiddos now! The family I'm nannying for now have a little girl and boy who are officially on summer break now, so I'll be training bright and early most days through the summer!  

And this one is just to class up my blog a bit. 

To get back to racing...my lackluster day at Vail made me hungry for more racing this weekend so a couple of hours ago I drove to Denver to do the City Park Criterium and finished fourth!

I wish I'd had a GPS on the way there (I'm still not completely familiar with Denver), but once I found the race, I knew I was going to like it. The course was pretty twisty and there was a strong field of women competing.  I wanted to get in a hard hour of riding so I raced very aggressively and won two of the four preems.  For the first time in a 1/2 crit I was able to attack and stay away for a few laps! And in the sprint finish, I worked super hard for fourth and got my power higher than I've ever done before!  Pretty cool :).  

I'm looking forward to US Cup in Colorado Springs next weekend, followed by a week in the Springs to be Dorm mom/coach/rideleader for the junior mountain bike development camp, followed by the Crested Butte Mountain States Cup!

To New Jersey and Back!

Just after arriving back home from the Angel Fire, NM “Chile Challenge” Mountain States Cup last weekend, I unpacked and then repacked to hop on a plane.  And I’m currently flying my way back to DIA.  I’m having some unexpected bouts of giggling as I’m beginning to write this, trying to decide what to write about.  My friends and family are absolutely hilarious. Not “ha ha, that was funny” type of funny.  They’re more like the laugh so hard you keel over gasping for air, trying so hard not to pee-your-pants type of funny.   

 Rachel, my bff from baby-hood and reason for flying home this time, is no different. As kids at the Lake we never had a dull moment. Like this one time, we changed our beds into bunk beds so we’d have more room for activities. That was last summer actually. I can’t wait to be Rachel’s Maid of Honor in September!!!  

 She’s completely supportive and understanding of my current life as a bicycle racer. For instance, she’s okay with it sometimes taking me four days to return her call when I have no reception on mountains like Angel Fire.  And when I call her after a bad crash or a tough race she never lets on that she’s sipping on margaritas with my sisters at the lake.  And she just assumed it would be too difficult for me to get home for her Bridal Shower this past weekend.  But I was not going to miss it.  She was completely surprised and freaked OUT!  And the shower was gorgeous.  I may have come close to breaking a plate or two as I tried to simultaneously repackaged them as I handed her the next gift…but nothing even chipped! WHAT WHAT!? Fine china is not my forte. But anyway, I love you Rachel!

 I even got to do some mountain biking with Audrey on our favorite trails that are right outside our door.  The mountain biking in NW Jersey is seriously so much fun.  The entire northeast has great technical, roller-coaster-ish riding.  And the motorcycle sounds Audrey has mastered makes the riding that much more fun J.  OH, we also saw a big black bear while we were riding in the woods yesterday! I also saw a beautiful little Red Fox up Left Hand Canyon in Boulder on Tuesday!  Great luck with seeing cool animals.  I’m getting off track here.  ANYWAY…

 Time to get back to my Colorado-an life! US Cup in Colorado Springs in two weekends is my next big event!  Can’t wait! 

I've Officially Moved to Boulder!

These are a few pictures from my race yesterday that I'll talk more about below...

I call this one "Bye-Bye Colorado Springs":

Thank you Bill Broidy for this photo!

And this one is called "Hello Boulder! I Heart You!":

Thank you Bryan King for this great shot!  

I seriously love riding and racing bikes. And Boulder is a spectacular place to be when you seriously love bicycles.  From the spectacular places to ride to the cruiser-bike friendly culture of Boulder and the masses of of other people who love bikes, it doesn't get much better. 

 

This picture spoke to me...and slightly relates to what I'm talking about...or maybe it's just funny:

So I haven't posted in over a week because I've been so busy during my last week in Colorado Springs and moving to Boulder.  But I'll catch you up. Last weekend I did the Sand Creek Series Opener mountain bike race in the Springs. It is a SUPER fun course and I was racing well, staying with Kelli Emmet and Judy Freeman...until I took myself out in a random flat section for no reason other than figuring I was holding up Kelli who was right behind me. It had been maybe 20 minutes into the race so I yelled back "Do you want to get by?" Just as she was saying "No, you're good" I crashed really hard, straight down onto the gravelly trail. I have no idea what I did but afterwards Kelli and Judy said I wasn't holding them up at all and that I shouldn't have worried about letting them get past. Rookie mistake. I'll never do THAT again!  

 My face has some scratches and the next day my chiropractor had to realign my jaw a tad.  But the worst part is a big deep scratch on my left hip, some big bruises down the side of my leg, a bruised rib and some deep gashes in my knee and knuckles. Owee!  But we still had over an hour of racing so I jumped up and tried to catch on to them again and couldn't close the gap but kept Judy in my sights!  I finished 3rd overall and 1st in the 19-29 female category :).  

I'm still a little ouchy and I can't sleep on my left side yet but it was totally worth it...
So that was last Sunday.  And now, just 8 days later, I feel like a month has passed.  Lianne threw me a fun going away party, I did a farewell Incline (which I'm still a little sore from!) and got to spend some quality time with Leah, Sami and Rudy, my beloved first nanny family.  I love you guys!  

I also got fitted on my road and mountain bikes at RETUL in Denver on Wednesday.  I feel SO much better on my bikes now.  Thank you so much Retul.  You guys are awesome!  

On Friday morning I packed up for the last time, stopped at Wooglins for my last muffin there as a Springs resident and headed up the road to my new home and new life in Boulder.  And I love everything about it. A wise individual told me it's "the gods apologizing for (some of the things I went through last year :)" and I think she's right.  This is where I'm meant to be right now for sure.

Yesterday I raced at the North Boulder Park Crit, a mere five minute bike ride from my new abode, and I placed 10th in a super strong field!  My new bike fit absolutely made a big difference!  Here's me again...

Sharing is always good, so I just felt a connection with this...

And I also felt an affinity for this one, don't ask me why...

Here's to finding joy in all the moments that are life.