Banner week!!!

Free form update . . .

got my new license, got my official United States Anti-Doping Passport and schweeeet! USADA tote bag, got a surprise visit by two exceedingly tall Polish-American USADA Anti-Doping officers, had to bring them to training with me. Imagine two 6′3″ tall heavily accented drug control officers, one in all-black, watching you warm-up on a Lifecycle while waiting for you to pee. It’s a funny scene, definitely not something the folks here in Lehighton are used to. Sparked a great conversation on drugs in sport, though. Won my first race with my verducci-breakaway teammates (more on that later). It’s awesome. They’re awesome. Went camping in French Creek with friends, my man placed 6th overall in his race—first singlespeed, Selene beat the pants off everyone—guys included, Christine won her first race @ sport class, Joachim got 2nd . .. 30 seconds behind 1st!! Aaargh. I feel for him. Lockwood drank a beer and still finished not last. Lath and I pulled in $135 bucks American total for our efforts. I love, love, love waking up in a tent. Got to take the Giant Anthem W tester out for another ride on the French Creek trails on Sunday. Felt so good to wake up in the woods. The weekend lasted forever.

I’m not happy, don’t film me.

I’m so new to traveling to the other side of the world to race bikes, I touch down in a place like Beijing and go into energy conservation mode. I’ll take in sights and sounds within walking distance of the hotel, but I know I’m there to race. Once I get it down to a science, I’m so going to start working a day or two into the plans for sight-seeing.

In the meantime, I’ll learn from the seasoned pros. Was trolling on YouTube and found this SPOT ON behind-the-scenes look at the world cup scene, as well as an inside-the-bubble view of what being in Beijing was like. It was made by the Team Canada . . . (you tube handle: therealmckenzie)

Gina Grain, who’s super cool just scored a start spot for herself in Beijing. According to my calculations, only 23 women will race the points race in Beijing. WC winner (x2), World Champ (x2), B World Champ(x2) from the Points and Individual Pursuit, then the top 9 pursuiters and top 8 points racers. It takes a degree in calculus to figure out the selection process—trust me on this—and it’s a slugfest to secure a spot. so BIG, HUGE congrats to Gina!

Inspiring, eh?

Special guest star . . . the Fitness Chick!

Check out Selene Yeager’s (aka the Fitness Chick) Every Woman’s Guide to Cycling: Everything You Need to Know, From Buying Your First Bike to Winning Your First Race!

I’ve known Selene since we were pups in this sport, have shared many hotel rooms at Interbike, and no one works harder, is more dedicated and takes their approach to health, fitness and everything bike-related more seriously—while keepin’ it real and entertaining.

Every Woman’s Guide to Cycling is packed with Selene’s first hand knowledge and characteristic self-effacing humor about the growing pains of learning and mastering this sometimes mystifying sport.

If you’re new to cycling, buying a bike, riding a tour, lining up to race, can’t figure out how to eat for riding, or have questions you just don’t know who to ask . . . get this book. I bet you any money the answer will be in there.

I’m still waiting for my personally autographed, signed copy.

But I know she’s good for it.

midlife, schmidlife . . .

Check out my latest Livin’ the Dream on Bicycling.com. It was pretty fun to write…feedback was good for my soul.

It got me thinking about what devoting 2, 3, 5 years to sport is about for me. Can’t help it. I’m a thinker. Though Coach Ben & I agree that this sport means checking your brain at the door sometimes. Who goes diving into corners 40mph behind a moto on purpose!?

I definitely know it’s about wanting to go to the start line as prepared and dialed in as the women I’m racing. It’s also about realizing what you got. In 2002 and 2003, I stood on podiums next to Chris Witty, Jennie Reed, Tanya Lindenmuth, Becky Conzelman . . . women who were going at it full time. I was there with OK training on my week off. If you’re any kind of competitive, you have to wonder ‘What if?

Bikes used to be about going places, seeing new things. I’d never been to the other side of the country and didn’t have a car. Bike-Aid solved my predicament. Call it wanderlust, call it a vision quest. I just knew I’d learn way more on the road than going home and working a minimum wage job for the summer.

Best thing I ever did. Even I look back and can’t believe how brave we were. So many memories. We rode 110 miles across the Great Salt Flats after leaving Wendover, UT at 5am into 110 degree heat. We weren’t organized, like a peleton or anything. Everyone rode at their own pace. Midway through the day, we found a highway overpass surrounded by sky and sun and grabbed some much needed shade before finishing the miles in brutal conditions. Some highway workers spent their day watching out for us, stopping to fill our water bottles out of care and solidarity.

At the end of the day, we rolled into another small town. A couple living in next to the Fairgrounds where we camped opened their doors to us, offered food and let all 19 of us shower in their cluttered trailer.

An epic day. I dug this out of the archives, (not from the same day). Sportin’ the tie-dye! If you look close, you’ll see a Mother Earth sticker pasted on my helmet.

Then there was the dirty old church-going widower who collected lawn ornaments and hand-crafted heirloom quilts—in kansas, I think. He took advantage of giving us a personal tour of his quilts to corner a couple girls in his basement and plant a big, sloppy kiss on them. Cre-e-e-e-epy. But a good lesson to learn.

Remember ladies, always travel in packs.

Catchin’ up!

Whoa boy, it’s been a whirlwind. My last post was during the boston marathon.

Lath and I just returned from Colorado. He had to go to Denver to bowl with some museum designers! too cool! His company threw a party at the American Association of Museums convention . . . We took advantage of the travel to catch up with long lost friends.

First stop was CoSprings to see Sarah Uhl. Sarah starts a new job at New Belgium Brewery in Fort Collins this month. Stop in and see her. She’s managing their tasting room. New Belgium’s a great company, and tasting beer is never bad.

I also got to see my coach, benjamin sharp, and have a margarita or two. When we first started working together, the Olympics weren’t even on our radar. It was the first we had the chance to sit down since the whole process began. It was a much needed pow-wow. Felt good to take stock of what we’ve learned, nail down some goals and sketch out a plan. He’s the mastermind. I just follow his lead.

Had lunch with Denver’s best photographer, Tim DeFrisco. Then jetted up to Boulder, CO to have homemade lasagna with friends from Backpacker magazine. There we were, thousands of miles from home, hanging out in Jon’s living room, surrounded by everyone we knew from back east . . . surreal. (SIDE NOTE: I used to work for Backpacker, which moved to Boulder last year—half the staff followed.)

I’ve never had a batch of friends pack up and move half way across the country together. Consolidates the visit, too! Update for Peter and Dave: It was so great to hold the new babies. Shannon and Emily bought a house, Matthew and Melanie just settled on one and are in the middle of moving, Noah and Rhys are sweet boys. They just got sand for Noah’s sandbox. The Dorn girls love swimming and their new schools. Hadley said EMAC was much harder. Abby is taller than Jon (kidding, almost). She loves to read. Jon was recently named “Boulders’ Commuter of the Year.” He hasn’t driven his car to work once since moving there. In the winter, he skied. Heather looks like she was made to live out there. And Bronwynn is the cutest little thing I’ve ever seen. She’s got Kris’ goofy hair, Gina’s beautiful eyes and a smile that lights up the room. Gina & Kris are awesome as parents. Easy going. Gina’s doing really, really well, and Genny’s beautiful and getting married this summer. Jason is getting married and moving back East any day now. Dennis, Jen & the boys were away, unfortunately. Mylo’s stopped wearing dresses, though Zigg is into them now. Backpacker was nominated for a general excellence award.

And Mark Harrison now works for AIM media & Backpacker online. Who knew?

Whew. I haven’t had this much social interaction in a year. It was as exhausting as it was exhilarating. I came home on a high. A perfect break. Now I can go back to focusing on training . . .

Breakfast, rollers, yoga, lunch, work, ride, dinner, rest, repeat.

Something like that anyways.

cheers!