Cross Racing, Road Riding, Friends...

This is the weekend of birthdays (more blogging later to include unmentioned details). The girls and I went out for dessert tonight...the time to catch up was so nice. Dessert was particularly good after a simply marvelous day on the bike (actually both of them). The day began with riding a lap of a cross race in Longmont, followed by 3 1/2 hours on the road bike, followed by another lap at Longmont and watching the women's race. It was a full day, but one that I wouldn't have shortened by a moment. And it's necessary to mention the weather: in the 70s, perfect summer weather, but with the beauty and pleasant scents of fall.

Rainy Days

Have I ever mentioned, that behind the possible griping about rain, is my secret happiness when rain comes? Thank goodness for that since today and yesterday were rainy days and would have been tough to bear if there hadn't been outdoor activities. Both days were spent wandering the trails of mountain-like places near Denver with good friends. The fall foliage is so beautiful and there were red leaves covering much of the ground. Gorgeous!

Pictures (hopefully) to come of the fog. Just imagine walking through a cloud with a tree or two growing in it, and there's the picture for ya.This is from a vista point on the Sunday hike. What do you think is out there, through the cloud?

Found on the tag on my tea bag at lunch today (trying to warm up after the hike) was this:

"All love that has not friendship for its base is like a mansion built upon the sand."

Learning to love the trainer again...

Even though my trainer has picked up some interesting new noises, it's being used again. It's just so easy to get on and get training over with w/o having to deal with traffic. Today I figured out how to use the iPhone as a remote control so as to be able to flip through the podcasts and iTunes without getting off the trainer. Small victory. It's supposed to rain/snow tomorrow. Fantastic. So scrap that hike? hmmmm..... let's see, hopefully not.

No new racing news. Will probably not do much more CX racing between now and next year. Hope to do more in the future, but after learning the technical aspects. Base training takes most of my energy, at least that's how it's feeling now.

This week's exciting news is that my 401k was vaporized...however, it's not gone since I'm not about to sell out. Unfortunately, it's everyone's 401k ($8.4 trillion has been lost in the market this year).

Loving Racing...

CX is not exactly my sport. I was tripping, crashing, derailing today...you name it. But it was soooo much fun out there. I had spectated at this race a couple of years ago (near the Taj in Golden), little did I know that this is where today's race would be. Fortunately, when I had seen it before, it was very muddy. Today it was dry and dusty. Definitely preferred.

It doesn't matter what the details are, it is great being pushed hard and having to overcome fears and having small victories...all part of every race I've ever been part of.

Dreaming of next year's road season, but having fun in the meantime remembering the adrenaline rush of racing...good combo! Still no CX pics. I've been leaving my camera at home for fear someone might get a not-so-smooth picture of one of my amateur moves.

"A pleasant surprise is in store for you"

...so read my fortune cookie tonight. After dinner, I went to visit a very sweet dog who needs a home. I don't think I can possibly take care of this adorable pooch, but maybe you can! (He's a small rottweiler, contact me for more info.)

The pleasant surprise was not the dog (as that wasn't a surprise since I knew I was going to see a dog), but was the place where the dog lives. It's an industrial space (probably meant to be a warehouse) that two guys (brothers of a co-worker) have fixed up into a living space and music studio. It was pretty cool seeing such a different space turned into a home. I really appreciate inspired spaces.

First Race of the Season...FINALLY

I did it...after years of talking about trying cyclocross, I actually went out there and participated in a race. Yeah, I kind of raced it, too. If there hadn't been barriers (that I so gracefully fell before a couple of times), I would have not looked like a total newbie. That was also the very first real interval of the season for me. Ouch, a 45-minute long interval. Barf. No, but almost barf. I added to the collection of bruises on my right leg (must be from hitting the bike against my body when picking it up).

For the record, I'm pretty close to the most non-technical person EVER on a bike. I learned so much about trusting my bike, not being scared and just going for it without over thinking everything that looked scary (which was much of the course). After further review and actually surviving the race, I've come to the conclusion that cross racing IS fun. Yup, and if a total chicken such as myself can say this, it must be true.

The crowd was chill and Colorado Springs put its best foot forward. It was a beautiful (almost too warm) day, absolutely the best way to usher in the cross season (and yes, there was mud in the course).

"It's Going to Be A Great Day"

Quote from my boss moments ago. Then he followed up by saying:

"I'm a little bi-polar, it's all good, until it's all bad."

He works in Boston, must not be raining there like it is here.

Cyclocross Racing Might Be Fun

Everyone says it's so much fun, but the very few times I've tried some CX moves with my cross bike, I can't say I've enjoyed it. However, today a cross clinic turned mini-practice race might have changed my mind. There wasn't time to think about being freaked out about jumping off the bike or care about how silly it must have looked when I was running through a sand pit...but falling just prior to getting to the sand pit.

So maybe it'll happen yet...next weekend are the first two cross races so it's time for me to no longer consider it and just do it. Seriously, today I almost skipped it as I was getting so scared just prior to going! Why is it that grass and dirt are scarier than pavement? We all know which hurts worse.

After cross practice, it was necessary to get some road miles in and after the waaaay-over LT efforts of cross, the 3 hr ride seemed easy. Went up Golden Gate Canyon for some quality climbing. Last weekend's climbing at altitude helped tremendously.

Just finished the first week (er, the first four days) of the new job. So far, I'm liking it a lot. And the flexibility can't be beat (I'm working from home the next couple of days, how cool is that?)

Breckenridge Weekend

I just got back from an absolutely marvelous, awesome, wonderful, cool weekend. Yes, it deserves all of these adjectives. Since I haven't vacationed all summer, it was a much needed break to get to the mountains with a friend (we're in ToastMasters together) and her family. I got to know her so much better. It was a treat to be in the peace and beauty of the mountains, to stay in a log cabin with a good family (read: yummy food, camp-like activities like story telling and singing songs with guitar accompaniment, completely unstructured time and no t.v. or internet) and to be able to play outside a lot, too.

Saturday I took a road ride from Breckenride to Vail Pass. It was a beautiful ride and I threw some intervals in for good measure. Met some fun people on road bikes from NYC and rode a few miles with them. Afterwards, we (my friend and her family) attended church in Breck. The place was full so it felt like a warm Christmas Eve mass.

Sunday found us on a retro tandem cruiser. This thing can move! The picture was taken during a break in Dillon for lunch (we rode from Frisco to Keystone and back).

And today we hiked right out from the cabin, it was quite a distance with her guide dog showing her every step to take. He is even able to tell her when she might run into a tree limb that's face-height. He's such a sweet dog, and he's smarter than most people.

Hope everyone had a fantastic Labor Day weekend!

[Some kinds of] Change is Good

Good Change: Pocket Change, Change underwear, Change in seasons.

Our political system is a bit more complicated, it can't just be changed and all of our problems will magically go away. Please think critically about each issue and what is being proposed by each candidate before deciding who should be our next elected officials.


"My friends, we live in the greatest nation in the history of the world. I hope you'll join with me as we try to change it."

--Barack Obama