Life in Boston

[The first part of this blog post was written on 11/16. As usual, I wrote what I could & never published it. I have countless posts in this same state of not being finished. The second part of the post is written today 12/8.]

Tuesday I made it back to Upstate NY - this is the place where I started my adult life and it had become somewhat of a dreamland in my mind as it had been so many years since I've been here. I've  spent a few thoughts thinking back to this little wonderful place and missing it to a degree--as I always said that I knew I belonged back here when I lived here before so to leave definitely wasn't in keeping with what I felt. (The move was supposed to be temporary, there were other factors. Long story.) There are a lot of very special places here that set this part of the country apart. For others it may be different, but for me, it's a best-of sort of place.

Who would guess that this is the place to eat well - I've been all over the country looking for a co-op as good as the Honest Weight Food Co-op (HWFC) found in Albany. The HWFC is the best. And they've expanded significantly since I was there last (years ago). This is a place that practices what it preaches, is fueled by the community caring about local sources of natural foods. It's what people think they're buying when they go to Whole Foods. But this is the real deal. They've kept their standards high, prices low and they've been profitable enough to move locations in now what should be a year or less.

So that's the place to buy groceries. Period.

I wrote most of this blog in Saratoga Springs in a fantastic coffee shop & bagel store. Since the last time I was here, it's doubled its size. Located right across the street from Starbucks, it's thriving. They roast their own beans & the coffee is good. Not sure I ever drank their coffee before, but I've enjoyed their tea and bagels immensely.

But before I came here, it was necessary to stop at the Four Seasons, a small health food store. It's fairly average except for its vegan salad/food bar. It's the best lunch and dinner. So I picked up some to-go food for the drive home. I've had countless meals at that place.

There's nothing too remarkable -on paper- about living where I used to. It's a quiet place (now I have Boston to compare it to...I see how much quieter and simpler it is here). Something I needed to figure out during this trip is why I have so often thought back to life here and wondered if I should have ever left. I know the answer to the question: absolutely. I did the right thing. I wouldn't be in Boston now had I not left. It's good to live close to here. I am thrilled I'm a short 3-hr drive. It's an easy drive, so long as it's possible to get out of Boston traffic. It's a nice life, to be sure. I have been able to sort out the reality from the dream...well, maybe.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
12/8 - Now to resume the blog! FINALLY. I've been dying to get back here, but with too much going on at work, this has had to take a back seat. When I get time away from the shop, the last thing I want to be doing is writing. Reading has catapulted to the top of my list, actually. It's something I've missed very much and once I got out of the nearly-perfect rhythm of my Denver loft life, I haven't been able to get back in sync since. This past Tuesday I had the day off from work. I promised myself I wouldn't get out of bed for hours so I could read. My plan was interrupted, but I did make reasonable progress. Every day is about making progress, I've learned to accept that I can't make a full change in anything instantly for many reasons.

One question that I've been working on answering since I've been living a rather unsettled life is what makes a place home. When I lived in upstate NY, I felt like I was home and at home. When I was in Seattle (Bainbridge), my life situation was similar, but I wasn't home. It never quite felt right. I never missed that part of my life after I left it. Was that a mental attitude I had toward the place? I went with an open mind & moved there without ever having seen the place before. And no, I wasn't going in scared about the stories of all of the rain.

For a few reasons, I never really had close friends in Seattle. One of those reasons was that I lived a very long way from work and I did have friends there - but none I could spend any non-work time with. In NY, I made true friends. This is likely a big reason for the difference. But was there something about the Seattle itself that prohibited me from calling it home?

Denver was easy to call home because it was home. I think there's a special relationship anyone has with the place they were raised. I remember the one or two days every summer Mom would take me and my brother to downtown Denver. It was typically the highlight of the summer. The best part was when the sun would go down on us as we were walking around town - through the sometimes scary streets  and sketchy neighborhoods. To catch a glimpse of the Denver skyline at night was absolute beauty. I got cold chills being there and seeing the silhouetted buildings. Just thinking about them now gives me the same cold chills. Back in those days, I didn't care much for nature, but I loved the city.

Italy was a whole different story. I started getting into "nesting" mode when I got to Italy. Basically, after traveling for such an extended period of time, it felt like it was time to settle down. It would have been easy for me to stay there for a very long time except that I got deathly homesick right around this time last year. I had friends and a good community there so for the time I was there, it was home-like. I still never felt perfectly comfortable due to the language barrier and the fact that it was devoid of my U.S. family and friends. The ocean is too big and not being able to drive to/from my family really didn't feel good. On top of everything, the political situation there makes the U.S. look like a perfect system. I really started to appreciate what we have in the U.S. more than ever. And it felt good to miss my family so much. Life is not a string of high moments. The melancholy sprinkled in with awesome times gives life its flavor and depth. My time in Italy can definitely be characterized with more emotional highs and lows as I tried to make a life there truly from scratch.

Now this brings us to the present day of life in Boston. Last year at this time I could never have dreamed that I would be here now. It's Dec. 8th. and not that many days from Christmas. This year I'm going to try to suck it up and be here on Christmas. I love being in Denver at my folks' place on Christmas. There's nothing like it. I have been there almost every Christmas since I was born. Same family room, almost the same tree.

My relationship with Boston remains uncharacterized so far. I don't have words to explain my experience here yet. Boston has a personality all its own; it's like a quiet, attractive introvert--it takes some time to peel back its layers to truly get to its heart and understand what it really is--and discover what it is exactly that makes it attractive. Many of these types of people live in Boston...a lot of really intelligent people whose life stories are all interesting and not even remotely obvious from a casual conversation.

The cost of Boston is frustrating. After living very comfortably for years, I have to live with others in a cold house to afford to live. Fortunately, the company of others keeps me from getting too lonely and it's good for me to not be too comfortable. Every day I make a conscious decision that I am living the life I want to live not the life that is simply too comfortable that changing it would be the hard thing to do. Slipping back to my old Denver life would be so easy, there wouldn't be challenge in it. I miss my friends and family there, but I'm not stagnated by this. It is what it is. Again, experiencing the various emotions associated with being in a new place, removed from the comfort of knowing people and places (and the roads!) is part of the human experience. I don't have a comfort zone established here yet where I can get a hug anytime I need it and sometimes I do really need a hug--like everyone. This lack of external comfort helps me step back and ground myself in things interior, not in others. It's a chance to get to know more deeply my faith, God and self. And it certainly helps me appreciate those who do give me a hand when they don't realize they are offering one. I've always been surrounded by really good people and here is definitely no exception. I am really, really thankful for the wonderful people I've met and had a chance to spend time with in my life and I regularly remember how very, very lucky I am.

This is something like the 20th blog post I've written on many of these topics but I have yet to publish any of them as they ended up unfinished--without conclusion or graceful end. This one I'm posting. Someday it'll be interesting to go back and read. It's possible someone will read this and relate. I should have gone to bed hours ago but I've needed to put these thoughts down in some sort of coherent form; it has needed to happen for quite a long time. So I'm just going to keep writing, feel free to stop reading.

Why I always end up taking the hardest path is not clear. I believe it comes down to boredom avoidance. When every day is easy and fun, it's also boring and accomplishing great things only comes after big challenges have been overcome. I tend to force myself to do the things that I know will scare me. And no, I won't be jumping out of a plane anytime soon, but you get the point. Nothing that worthwhile is obtained very easily. When I say this, I'm talking more about everything but my personal relationships. If there's one thing I don't like it's tricky personal situations. In fact, I avoid them like the plague. I've been fortunate to have an almost drama-free life. I welcome a simple, easy personal life that is constant day-to-day. Right now, it's easy being alone--the one way to guarantee a drama-free existence. Eventually, though, it makes sense to incorporate someone else into the day-to-day. As much as I try to convince myself that I should stay single forever, it doens't quite feel right. So we'll see what the future holds. I'm not worrying about it or trying to engineer it, though I'd be lying to say I don't think about it and what I want it to look like.

The one thing I have yet to mention is work. Work is the greatest part of my life right now and it consumes almost all of my waking time. I like it this way. I can't say for sure that I'll always want it to be all-consuming, but I feel that if it weren't, it would be hard to do it well enough to feel good about it. Right now I can say I'm giving it everything I have to give and when I take time off, it's only to ensure proper focus and energy for when I'm back at it. What I'm doing now is partially everything I have ever wanted (awesome team, creative freedom, ability to take ownership, cool toys (in this case it's bikes), hands-on work, not sitting at a computer) and partially everything I've always tried to avoid (sales, long hours, retail). This odd mix makes for the perfect job for me and I relish it every day. In every tricky situation, I learn so much and it's finally a place where all of the theory presented in business books has real application. Finally. Now I read what I can but do wish there were more time to do so. I'm having fun, am constantly challenged and really appreciating the times when it's appropriate to just laugh out loud to break the intensity.

With that, you've heard the very latest and I have finally been able to put my thoughts in logical enough order to publish them. Thank you for the chance to do so, I somehow feel significantly better now than when I started this back on the 16th of November. Good night and good luck.

A moment to catch up

First, happy fall. Where'd the summer go? Not fair to ask that question, this summer was full and I can't complain that the summer has rolled into fall. No, I'm not completely ready for winter at all or the cooler temps, but this is life and the seasons are important. I'd get stir-crazy without them.

The last part of summer was been completely consumed, basically from the moment my uncle and bro left town, with a significant change in my life. I'd mentioned a blog post or two back about the blogging that I've done that were a series of unfinished posts I felt unworthy of publishing to the world. In a few spare moments, I went back and read those posts. It was a bit eerie, they were all centered around my burning desire to do something that very closely resembles what I am doing now.

Actually, what I'm doing now is something I've wanted for a very, very long time in concept. But being the Curator for a bike and coffee shop was not what I had in mind. What I had been thinking, in all honesty, never looked as good in my imagination to the reality I have found myself in now. There is a lot to accomplish in limited waking hours; it's work. But work where effort yields results is sweet. And doing work in an area where one is passionate and making forward progress: it's the definition of fun. This is that kind of work. It's quite similar to what I experienced back in college with the senior design project with the Sharp Shooters. I've been chasing that experience ever since. It's not going to be easy, nor did I expect it to be...would it be fun if it were? Nah.

Since my lifestyle hasn't truly been defined here yet (too new to town and haven't established any patterns with friends), it's so much easier to not feel like I'm giving up anything to spend time working. No, no, this is not to be confused with any kind of workaholism tendencies. I've proven that I know how to take time off and relax; however, I finally get to dictate my own schedule without being on the schedule of someone else...I'm liking this degree of freedom...a lot.

Sure, I would like to have more time in every day to see and talk to everyone who I should, but that's a losing battle no matter how many more hours there are in every day.

This post is something I wrote a couple of weeks ago & it's high time to get it published. There are a few more posts to go up soon (maybe tonight?) too. As fast as time is flying, I know if I don't get this up there *now* it'll just never happen. A little is better than nothing. Part of my job involves maintaining a blog...which I need to write soooo much more for, but I guess this is the only part of my personal life that I am investing time into, so it's important. Then I'll get into blogging some cool bike stuff. There are about 1,000 things to write about. For as long as I've ridden a bike, every day is a new wealth of info, a real insight into so much, and so much of that is worth sharing. In time.

The Next Bike

This post was written July 12, 2011, modified slightly to be appropriate to post on Oct 12. As you may be aware, I got the itch a few months ago to start checking out new bicycles. Why? Not because I need a new bike. A typical person waits until their bike breaks or gets stolen before getting a new one. Everyone (er, almost) everyone I know who owns an Orbea got it as a result of insurance money after their bike got stolen. This isn't saying anything one way or the other about bike theft or Orbeas, just a point of observation. I bet you have secretly hoped your bike would vanish for the opportunity to buy a new one. I left my Giant in Italy partially for that reason...and sometimes two humongous suitcases and a backpack are all one can humanly handle at the Rome airport.

Note carefully that I chose to take the carbon-fiber Giant (TCR-0 T-Mobile race bike) and not steel Serotta to Italy in the first place. I didn't go with the intention to race or even ride fast so the reason boils down to wanting the bike I cared for less in the foreign country. In this example, the expensive Giant had less value to me than the Serotta at one tenth the cost. 

Some bikes actually feel like they have a soul. Others do not. They all have their place, depending on circumstances. But be forewarned, buying a bike with a soul is a commitment and putting it up on Craig's List could be emotionally impossible. 

Back to my steel steed. This bike has a soul. It asks me to ride it and is proud to go. But it's growing long in the tooth and when it sees a hill, it is reluctant. Its paint is chipped and has old components (though I discovered with a good tune-up, it could pass as being much newer than it is). It's more "mine" with its candy-cane handlebars and I do take some pride in it. 

But yet, I remember the joy of my first bike, the yellow and black one. It, too, was steel, but it fit me pretty closely (it wasn't custom, but was built for me when I ordered it)--it felt like it knew it was mine alone. The day I went to pick it up from the bike shop was so exciting, though I don't know why because before I rode it, I didn't care all that much for riding. Maybe it was because of the investment & my hope--it was an expensive bike and I had a lot of friends who were die-hard riders and their words of encouragement helped get me excited. 

Credit must be given to the sales guy who helped me in 2003, who explained it plain as day, I remember him saying something to this effect: "If you want to like riding, you need a bike that will give you a great ride. Otherwise, it will just sit there, you won't ride it and then it will be a waste. Get a good bike, you'll be addicted." Good advice. That's what convinced me the bike would be a reasonable investment and I committed to buy a bike then. (Turns out it was a good investment: it held its value so when I sold it to a woman who needed a bike to show her the thrill of riding as I had needed when I got it, it had only lost a few hundred dollars in value. So it was like buying a great bike for 4-5 years for ~$500.)

Before that bike, I didn't even care much for riding bikes. Most people have stories from when they were a kid, when they took their bike out and explored for hours in the woods or went to meet up with friends without their parents. My experience was a little different: I rode in circles on a short street and once in awhile got out on the bike path, but it wasn't something that ever became part of my lifestyle. The suburbs weren't friendly to kids on bikes, in general, especially someone who tried to always play it safe like me. 

Once I got on that first road bike, it happened instantly: I was so happy to ride...it felt like flying. The freedom, fresh air, joy, everything. It was amazing. How'd I live for so long without it? 

Only a few short weeks after I got the bike, it was my birthday. That night I went riding with the Wednesday night ladies group who always rode together. It poured the rain and we were somewhere miles from where we'd originated. But we rode through it and got back soaking wet, but happy. That evening when I was on the bike, I remember the feeling of true elation: there was no other place I'd rather be than on that bike. I was alive and it was good to know how that felt. That was 8 years ago now.

Now I feel it is time to have a truly cool bike, one that rides great and fits me. By this, I mean in style and in geometry and I don't care to see another bike like mine on the road. Ever. At this stage in my life, when I buy something, it needs to be right, or I will wait. 

This is where the trouble comes in. I have waited to commit to getting this new dream bike thinking that one magical day, I would sit down and figure out what the perfect bike will look like. (I'm only talking about paint/decals, etc., not the actual design of it.) Unfortunately, I never have a whole day in which to sit and ponder. Being a deadline-driven sort of person, and with my current road bike that rolls just fine, there is no "deadline" staring me in the face. I skip hilly races, that is the one thing my current road bike limits me from doing. I know it's holding me back sprinting, but that isn't too critical, especially if I'm just trying to keep up with the guys.

Case in point: my kitchen island. I found the glass that's on the island (shown below) two years prior to this island coming into existence. A perfectly good card table was used in the interim. Yes, here's me drawing a comparison between a steel road bike and a card table. Forgive the analogy.

Back to the island: I knew the glass was perfect for the island (it had been the surface to a coffee table), but I didn't have a clue as to what the base would look like or even what material would be needed.

Long story short, it took two years for me to find myself in a welding shop where I learned how to weld and the design only then came to life. This was my first project after I'd decided to stop chasing the dream of being a pro bike racer and have a little time on the weekends for something other than training. In a way, it was swapping one form of fulfillment with another. Note the steel with copper braised into it on the right wasn't part of the design. It was a mistake turned into a neat feature.

That's the beauty of creativity--being okay with not knowing the exact end result, but modifying and adjusting as challenges are placed in the way and coming out with something far better in the end than what had been originally planned.

It's going in knowing perfection isn't the end goal: it's solving the problem and being able to deal with the speed bumps gracefully as they present themselves.

So this is what I'm facing with the bicycle. I want the next bike to be really cool. Wildly cool. It needs to be not just the bike that rides well, but one that is clearly mine by design. There are other parameters, too, but these are the ones most relevant to this discussion. This bike needs to be the one I can never sell because it will be right for me forever. It won't be the perfect bike for everything, of course, but it will be the road bike of my dreams. I know that now, I just don't know what it will look like when it is done. The deadline now exists & friends are offering their opinions.

I wrote this post back on July 12th--that was the day when I finally decided to say it out-loud and commit that I would be getting the bike. So what bike am I talking about, anyhow?

I did a week-long test ride of the Seven Axiom SL, full-titanium frame, custom built for someone not all that different from me in size. I couldn't believe the quality of the ride and the speed of the bike. It was even better road feel than steel (which is tough to do because steel has such good road feel) and was almost just as light and responsive as my race carbon-fiber bike. It didn't have the serious snap of carbon-fiber, but that snap for me means not wanting to ride day after day in the saddle. I remember hating my carbon-fiber bike after a long road ride. After a time trial, I'd have to work hard to convince myself to get back on again the next day. I rode the Axiom SL really hard in a five-day time trial race and every day my body felt just as good as it did the day before (where it comes to sitting in the saddle). Unreal! The bike helped me win a week-long time trial that involved all sorts of climbing and all solo riding. I took the bike through the paces and it felt incredible. It even let me hit potholes without quivering. That sort of handling translates to a safer ride, too. I didn't expect to see the differences like I did, but it was significant. It was pretty obvious to me that after the test ride, that this is the ideal bike for me.

Now it's mid-October and am making final decisions on the paint design. The bike is built: the guy who built it told me so today. Now it's a matter of days before this bike rolls out of the factory shining, asking never to be ridden in rain. I will want to promise it that it will never be ridden in bad weather or over a pothole. Alas, it will be. But we're going to have some pretty awesome times together exploring the world and getting dirty together.

Deliberately Riding Dirt

Every year on my birthday, I go out in search for something that is a nice token of a good way to look at the coming year. I try to take some time to take a glance back to the previous year (always wondering where the time went but yet wonder also how I was able to squeeze everything in) and then think about what's coming up.

Eight years ago (on my b-day), I had just gotten my first road bike a few weeks prior and I went on a great group ride where I ended up getting soaked by a surprise storm. I celebrated being out there, feeling alive on the bike; I knew there was no better place to have been that night.

This year I was fortunate to be able to go on a wonderful 70-mile ride with a group of friends and finish the ride having breakfast with my uncle, bro and friend (who was wise to sleep in & show up to breakfast in street clothes). To have the guys in town over the weekend was a treat. The sun shined all day and that was welcome, naturally.

We ended up at Walden Pond later in the day, thus the Thoreau quotes. I relate the time I spend on the bike with the above quote. To me, it's my time away from the static of daily life. Bike time gets me into nature, in touch with friends and it is quality time to be alone, too. It allows me to feel the sensation of living and being deliberate about it.

There has never been a time when I've ridden where, once I was finished, I didn't feel somehow renewed, happier and left with a better perspective.

I've mentioned so many trips and experiences in this blog through time of all of the places I've gone, people I've met and things I've done that would definitely have never have happened if I hadn't had a bike and a reasonable "excuse" to travel to out-of-the-way towns, back roads and even wind through familiar neighborhoods, but at a much slower pace being able to say "hello" to people outside and imbibing the fresh air into my soul.

I keep expecting the amazing times on the bike to end - like there should be a time when, after having ridden the best ride, that all of the others will pale in comparison and then it should be time to switch leisure time activities. But it doesn't happen, I am confident now that it won't. Having the best ride ever doesn't seem to cast a shadow on the ones following it--somehow the memory of it adds to every experience thereafter.

A trip through the Concord museum found me unable to resist purchasing this journal, the b-day gift to myself.

This year this is exactly what I am doing: going confidently in the direction of my dreams and living the life I've imagined. Both. You're likely to think I have been doing this all along. Yes, to an extent that is true, but not entirely. I went to Italy because I knew I needed to--I was living the dream many others have had. It wasn't ever a dream to me to live in Italy, though once I was there, I realized I was living a dream in many senses and I appreciated very, very much that I had the opportunity to be there. So much of that experience has gotten me here to where I am now.

My dreams from long ago have changed only a little as I've grown older, and there are many basic elements that are what they have always been. This year, the path to those dreams has been clearly set before me. It's a dirt road; there are bumps to be navigated over and around...but this is yet another amazing place the bike is taking me with an outstanding group of people. I'm having fun on this ride, pedaling without hesitation knowing I'm headed to where I need to go and am going to get there.

Allez.

Blog catch-up

I shouldn't be blogging right now. There are many other blog posts which have been written but I haven't felt like publishing to the general public. Forgive me for wanting to take the blog in a direction other than a what-am-I-up-to blog...and then finding that everything goes right back to what I'm thinking or doing so I choose not to publish the article. It's the trick of making a semi-personal journal online instead of taking pen to paper like the good ol' days.

Because I can't sleep and I have a whole bunch of other things to get done, I will write, again about racing. Because I'm not publishing the posts previously mentioned, here's a quick summary of what they are all about:

1 - Current Progress of the Great Test Riding. After taking a bunch of bikes out for test rides, I have determined that titanium is the sweetest material known to man for a bike frame. The other half of this is I'd like my dream ti Seven bike, but figuring out if it should be painted or remain unpainted is holding me back from making a decision.

2 - There are numerous posts about how I've been searching for a good project. It was really starting to bug me that I wasn't getting my hands dirty with anything. Well, somehow it came to be - I found it in the form of a whole new life focus & job change, more details forthcoming once it's in place.

3 - Visit with my aunt, uncle and cousins in upstate NY a few weekends ago. Just the absolutely best time with everyone and a true vacation. Was so neat to drive to NY in just a few short hours and magically be there. Still used to things being so far away, but here, everything is always closer than they appear.

4 - Raced weekend before last with the A/B (combined fields) men, 60 total racers, two other women. Took home a $30 prime and a serious race-high from being able to hang with the average 27 mph field, as well as attempting to get in a break, causing the bike to go 35-40 mph for 3/4 of a lap. Fastest race of my life. Finished in the top 1/3rd and enjoyed meeting guy teammates, too. Racing with the men is far more to my liking than the women, even though the women here are very nice from what I've seen so far.

5 - Birthday weekend this past week with uncle and bro. Seriously good time, a little of everything to give them both a great sample of life here near Boston.

6 - Raced tonight with a solid group of fast women. Due to very challenging work/sleep/other schedule lately, decided there would be no way to do the race, but would be best to just watch the men's race. Somehow got talked into it and was very happy to be out there. It's Wed, so did the 6 am training ride this morning for two hours. Also, got to the race with just enough time to change out cassette to proper race wheels. Long story short, it was a fun race where I tried playing near the front while staying safe most of the race and I came in 9th...basically, racing is so much more fun than I ever remember it being in the past, though I'd tell you in the past that it was fun (how could it have been? I was always in the back of the pack suffering like a dog.)

That's all folks!

Race Report

There are two words I didn't know I'd ever put together again: race report! I hardly feel the race last Sunday is something giving the blow-by-blow on, but the fact that last Sunday happened is what is significant.

Last week was full of fear-facing. I stared it in the face and saw who flinched. Not I. Er, well, outwardly I didn't. Inside was a different story, as it always is. Facing fears doesn't mean not being afraid, but getting through it and, hopefully, feeling less the next time.

Last summer of racing Italian Gran Fondos never felt quite the same as racing an American criterium. They were so much fun, but there wasn't much fear of getting dropped or of not doing well as neither of those two things could ever happen. If that's confusing, I'll explain offline, but it's true.

Racing a men's criterium (cat 3/4 men, mostly) is a whole other scenario. I used to train really hard to feel ready to take on such a race. Granted, training hard often meant resting well. I didn't train too hard, but how many intervals were there when I used to train for real? Last weekend, I went into the race with the prep of many fun rides with friends. Maybe it's all of the rollers here that are what added up to be good training, who knows. But it's been ages since I've done a real training ride or a set of intervals.

It's compelling to write this only because I've found it really fun to go back to the earliest entries in this blog and read them. My experiences from racing and training (this includes the fun rides!) have added so much to my life throughout the years, it's nice to capture the moments and how I'm thinking about them as they're happening. Memory does change the story somewhat.

The long and short of the race is this: my goal going into the race was to not get dropped. When I'm scared of getting dropped, I ride like a maniac to stay up front so my position was pretty good most of the race. They called a women's prime (meaning only women could contend to win it) and I used that as drag-race-sprint practice. Too bad there was a girl on my wheel who was able to pull around me. But at that point, we were way off the front of the field. So I kept going. Yeah, I know that wasn't smart, I wasn't trying to race smart. I will attempt that when there are real prizes at stake (more than a muffin, though they looked tasty). If there's one thing my coach taught me that has served well is that when it's not an "A" race, experiment. An attack group came up after a lap and, digging deep, I caught onto their train. We weren't away too long and the field caught up. Around and around we went, each lap was short with only a small rise in the road and hardly a corner to worry about. There were attacks and at times I would catch onto a small break. Even went to the front and pulled. (I know that's not smart racing, but the guys were yelling at the people at the front to pull, so I thought it would be amusing to play along with their request).

The race ended (1 hr long, avg 24 mph) with staying safe and finishing in the first third to half (have no idea where, exactly). The point was, I am back racing and it feels very good to be back, though this time, I am committed to keeping a much better balance. Balance: some racing, lots of fun rides with friends, time in street clothes doing good things in work and life. This is what I need and it just so also happens to be my definition of happiness.

Race Report #2

I was nervous going into the race with the men last week (finally just posted that race report). The goal of that race was to finish with the pack. If that was nerve-wracking, today (Saturday) was far, far more so.

Today was my inaugural get-to-know the women racers of New England race in Attleboro, MA. Of course, it's a new place to me as it is, seemingly, every time I go anywhere even slightly out of the routine.

Why was I so nervous? Because of expectations. Racing with men is easy. There are no expectations for an unknown woman who enters a men's race. If you get dropped, no biggie. If you hang in, wow, good for you. However, racing with cat 1-4 women of whom I have no idea of anyone's strength is intimidating. Which wheels are good? Which are sketchy? I have experience, but I haven't trained to race in a loooong time. I've been riding for the sheer pleasure of riding a bike with friends, that is all. This means that I haven't done any intervals, no sprint practices, nada. And, funny enough, I've really been having fun every time I go out on the bike. I refuse to burn out on something that is so important to me.

First thing this much-too-early morning, I saw Sara-Jane, a friend and wife of one of the guys I ride with. She was nervous about officiating her first race ever and I was nervous about racing. It helped calm me to know I wasn't the only one jumping in head-first. Huge kudos to Sara-Jane and all of the officials out there (Jay, etc...) We wouldn't have racing without you out there.

8 am was simply too early to start racing for my tired legs. A four-day work week meant having to squeeze 5 days worth of things in 4 days. Not complaining, last weekend was a good holiday weekend. Can't remember, though, the last time I got to sleep in. This is the way I like it.

Tomorrow is going to be a mellow start, but I do want to get this up before any more time transpires. Previous race reports have meant a lot to have in the archives, so this needs to go there, too.

Turns out, the women in the field are pretty cool here. I had no issues with anyone in the race, I saw a lot of camaraderie between racers on different teams and it wasn't a problem being totally new out there. After the race, everyone was friendly and I got to meet a lot of the ladies I'd just raced with. On a side note: the cat 3 and 4 women seemed satisfied with the race, too. Many were proud of how they raced and I didn't hear anything negative.

Will tell the rest of the story in pics:

After the race, the girls I had warmed up with were cooling down happily. They both raced great and were so fun to have out there. We will be training and racing more together. Now I've just got to not get sucked into cyclocross (they're really into it, the CX racing here is all the buzz right now...I think lots of people race on the road just to get ready for the dirt).

 

Here's the starting field...~30 women total, not bad! Combined 3/4 race, 30+ and 45+. Interesting, huh? Very different from Colorado. It wasn't timed, either, just a set number of laps from the gun!

Was able to get in a break with these two girls, but it didn't last very long. We needed to commit a bit more and I think it would have stuck. I bet the other two are known out there as girls to not let get away. It was so interesting to race as a completely unknown entity.

I spent most of the race riding at the front just trying to stay safe and ride smart. Finally - FINALLY - I figured out how to go into a sprint on other people's wheels and ride around to cross the line first. Yes, it was like breaking some impossible barrier: won two primes, the first time to win a prime since I raced in teeny-tiny cat 4 fields 5ish years ago. One was $10 cash and the other prime is for embroidering a race jersey so that the safety pins don't ruin the jersey. So as soon as my Ride Studio Cafe jersey comes in, I will want to take advantage of it.  A nice wool Rapha jersey needs to not be destroyed by safety pins!

The final result: 2nd place in my cat and a whole lot of relief to have that over with.

Afterwards was a fun ride on a gorgeous bike path in Rhode Island (hello, Rhode Island, my you're close to Mass. and I can't believe we just met for the first time today!) Lunch of seafood, ravioli and fabulous veggie burger (very green, all that much better) was enjoyed over the water and then there was still time to get home, read, relax and get a few other things done.

In New England style, the day ended with ice cream. This is ridiculous...can you even tell what it is?

That's right, it comes in a cardboard box because it's guaranteed to drip everywhere. Banana split with a single banana but pints of ice cream and whipped cream....it is not humanly possible for four people to eat something this size!

With that, it is definitely time to sign off. Tomorrow is a day I have been looking forward to quite some time...going to test ride a Seven bicycle (full titanium)!!! Can't wait to see how it feels as compared with my steel steed. Considering that my steel Serotta bike is doing great keeping me happy in the saddle for loooong 150-mile rides and it's hanging in there for the crits (and I haven't forgotten the carbon bikes that I've ridden recently--TCR-0 Giant and Trek Madone), this is going to be interesting to add a whole new dimension of bicycle in the mix to those I've experienced up to now.

Some things never change...

I've been writing a lot lately, but nothing that is publishable. Someday I'll piece all of these bits and pieces together, as I'm sure they'll fit together eventually but at the moment they don't.

Here's an attempt to capture some images and thoughts from the past couple of weeks. Gotta do this fast--I feel my immune system has been a bit compromised and with an upcoming trip and a go-go-go schedule, there's no way I can fall victim to this.

Will work backwards here. Last night was a big bike block party in Davis Square. I was skeptical when I first arrived, but then, by the end of the evening, it was clear that it was a good party as it was totally packed and it wasn't just the young hipster population--there were people of all ages and backgrounds. I found some friends to hang out with and it was a work event, too, so there was always the comfort zone of the table and tent.

This past weekend were good rides, Sunday was a particularly great one. It ranks in the top 5 of fun rides of my life...yes, that's pretty high considering there have been lots of terrific rides. It was a good composite group of people that pushed a decent pace the whole distance - to Mt. Wachusett and back to Concord: 102 miles, average speed of 17 mph.

The morning of the ride started particularly well. The bike was happy as was I (read: clean & tuned bike).

Breakfast was carb-rich and excellent to keep me satisfied for the better part of the ride.

The Ciclismo crew came out and partook in portions of the day. Turned out we had 3 guides on the ride.

Into the ride, we were rolling along...

And we finally made it to the 2,000 ft climb to Mt. Wachusett--a bit steeper than Colorado mountains...ouch! I will never, ever be a climber. (Not complaining, there are rollers all over here and I like those.)

Everyone was all smiles just after we hit the 100 mark. Really, we should have kept on going! No, no...the point of this was to train for a 148 miler coming up soon. Wouldn't want to be too toast after a training ride. 2 weeks and counting down...

I still want to post about the Burlington trip over Memorial Day weekend, it was really cool to go there and spend most of it being rained on. Meeting up with friends for a marathon that they were participating in was relaxing and good.

Also had a BBQ at my place, it was super fun to entertain and hang out with friends in street clothes. Entertaining is something that has been a bit of a challenge for me for....hmmm....now that I think about it, my entire life. I've never actually been in a situation where I could entertain very well. (Now I do remember packing in bodies in my wee-little loft for a couple of gatherings, but to be able to sit outside and fire up a grill...doesn't get better than that.) Pics and stories will have to wait for another day.

To complete the post, a couple of interesting things to mention before I forget. The first is that I met a really nice woman who's been reading my blog ever since I did the Gelato Diet flick. She read the stories of my life, packing up and moving to Italy & everything that ensued there. It was wild to meet her yesterday & she knew me from those stories. I wonder what kind of image she had in mind, as she's learned who I am from what I've written. Cool, eh? Thanks to her and you all for reading. And I know these posts are long, I know I need to cut down on the length significantly. And I'd like to shift the focus. There are some cool things to be writing about and my day-to-day stuff can take a back seat. Really, though, I will say this: it is really eye-opening to go back and read old entries. I suggest everyone keep a journal or blog of some kind. I really surprised myself at some of the things I said YEARS ago that, if it weren't dated, could have been said last week.

I might have changed my situation by moving, doing the Italy thing, etc, etc, but I didn't change who I am. Nor was I trying to do that. Yes, I wanted to learn and discover more outside of my world, but I wasn't looking to turn into someone else.

Here's an excerpt that I found from the last post of 2008.

What's up for 2009? Once again, I can't foresee the future and that's okay. I'm comfortable not knowing what surprises are in store. If this year is anything like the last four, it will be anything but boring...I hope to race a lot more, help the company I work for thrive, have many adventures in Colorado and abroad with my friends, (finally) travel to Europe, squander time less and make every moment matter more, stay positive and optimistic and have fun every day.

I guess I could say almost the same today as I did back then. Of course, I'd change a few items: get rid of the racing part and the Europe part can go away, too. Looks like I'll likely be guiding in Italy this fall, but if that were to fall through for some reason, I would be happy to stay right where I am. There are too many days I've had here when I wish time would stand still because I don't need anything more than what I already have. Sure, there are still unfulfilled goals that I yearn to reach...those will be completed in proper time. Finally, though, I think I'm coming to find here what I've been looking for my entire life.

Just a little time off...

Nice to have a little time to step back during the week. After a red-eye back from the Tour of California, it is time to finally post some pics (yeah, sleep, too, but not quite yet). I put together a photo album full of the past six months, but that'll have to be completed before posting. Here are a few from California. Will attempt to say more with pics and less with words this time!

Yesterday was a day of visiting bike shops and seeing who I could find in the SoCal area. Shockingly enough, I met a lot more people than expected, considering the day started with me believing that all the good shops were closed on Mondays.

But before doing anything, it was necessary to take a stroll along the beach! Okay, so this shot was meant to be a play on the whole Bay Watch thing, me in my Ciclismo Classico shirt and all.

I'd previously been freaked out about driving around California. Turns out it's a whole lot easier than driving in Italy or Boston, so that was a very pleasant surprise, but trying to change over 7 lanes of traffic at a time can be quite intimidating. The drivers do seem to be a bit more relaxed, however, maybe it's out of necessity for health and personal welfare reasons.

Lunch was here (above), a bike-friendly craft brew pub in Santa Monica. The woman I was sitting next to (randomly) has a brother who lives really near here and works for a nearby bike shop. That was small world story #1. I found out all this about her when I overheard her talking about cyclocross racing. Of course, I had to interject at that point in her conversation and see if she's a racer.

After lunch, this lovely gentleman made an absolutely delicious & creamy smoothie...he'd be rich if he imported his business into this community. 

Then it was off to find all of the shops in LA. What a trip! Cool feeling to be making "sales" calls. Not that it was totally salesy, but close enough. Everyone was nice to talk and I have a lot of data points to consider. This was reminiscent of the work dad did for work, and there's a certain pride I felt in being able to try my hand at the same kind of thing.

Small world story #2: I was chatting with the guys in one Santa Monica bike shop when suddenly appeared a couple who I'd met a couple of days prior (they're clients) and they were there for a bike fitting. It's shocking in a place the size of L.A. to see familiar faces!

This is me with Nancy and Nate Loyal, bike fitting & coaching guru. She was so happy to feel the significant difference of a pro bike fit. (Note: If there's one thing that everyone should put $ into, it's doing a proper bike fitting...I say this as someone who cares about your knees, back & general well-being, it's super important!)

There were many other bike shop visits, but nothing in particular to report from those. Oh yeah, maybe one thing: have you ever heard of the Wonderful Pistachios Pro Team? Me neither before yesterday, but they race in Europe as well as the U.S. They have green/black kits. Their website will make you want to eat pistachios. One of the guys at an L.A. shop is affiliated with them. Just a random piece of trivia to share. I was chuckling at the mascot for the team: an over-sized pistachio.

Being at the Tour of Cali Sunday for the final stage of this HUGE U.S. Pro race was awesome, of course. Thousand Oaks was a very supportive town of the race & racers. I noticed quite a few people who were very unlikely cyclists but out there cheering like mad. That's a good sign, in my opinion, for the sport, in general.

Here are a few pics from the day:

Yes, I was close to Levi & all of the winning cyclists, got a lucky spot behind the podium during the final awards ceremony. I've been a fan of Chris Horner for a long time, so I enjoyed seeing him take the yellow jersey.

Chris Horner is in the midst of the crowd.

Sooo many people!

Now it's getting time to wrap this blog up. As you may or may not know, I use this more as a personal journal so I don't forget some of life's highlights (without the nitty-gritty personal stuff). If it happens to motivate you to travel, do something cool or have a good day, cool!

Here's the most beautiful image from last weekend's riding. This is Hidden Valley in SoCal. Home to lots of famous people & people who are really into very well-bred horses.

On Saturday, we rode with the Old Kranks, a group of people who are anything but old cranks!

Here's the group shot mid-ride:

What else to say about the weekend?

It was delicious and yet another wonderful set of experiences had thanks to bikes and the terrific people who are into them. [Note, this was written yesterday, a couple of extra pics added today.]

Feeling Inspired

Now that I write a lot for my job, writing for personal reasons has gone way down on my fun-things-to-do list. Most of what I write for work is awesome: it's cool to talk to a guide and hear all about where he's from, his family, stories from tours, etc. and then write about it for the world to read. Other assignments involve researching a destination, again, talking to a guide about it, then putting words and visuals together to make the place come alive. There are newsletters, events, Facebook, Twitter, and a million little random things that keep it interesting. I like variety and this is definitely that. A lot is fun, but it's still work. There are deadlines and responsibility--the point is for people to have a dreamy travel experience that's right for them. When you add the biking part to the mix, that complicates everything significantly. It's nice to get it all just right and, of course, always avoid any discussion of the weather since that's so impossible to know. Heck, the weather could be great and a volcano could explode, you never know in this business.

Life in Massachusetts has gone well beyond my expectations. Boston was never on my list of cool cities (Montreal is at the top with NY, San Fran and Denver not far behind). Every day I'm here, I'm warming to it (I'm referring to the city itself). The town I live in, I adore. It didn't take much before I was in love with this community. Technically, I shouldn't like it all that much. I live in a place where most everyone is married with kids and anyone my age is, minimally, married. But I guess I'm enjoying everyone's company enough not to care a whole lot. Everything takes care of itself, so as long as I don't go live in the wilderness, Mr. Wonderful is bound to jump out from behind the rock he's been hiding behind someday. Everyone has an interesting story here and it's a friendly population. Whatever reputation Bostonians have earned, I think those people must be just in the city, because those on the periphery are very warm, good people.

This area is not all that different from where I lived in upstate NY. It has many of the same nice qualities of a good community without the craziness...but it's not all that far from a city of some size. Note that when I was in upstate NY, gas prices weren't a concern so it was nothing to jump in the car and drive for 3 hours to NYC or far less than that to get to the mountains (big hills for you Coloradoans), lakes, skiing, etc. I'm very happy to be here and it seems to have the best of the things I liked about Italy and the U.S. It was also quite helpful to have my mom drive out here with me to get me all set up & see her enjoy the area. I guess I needed that, mom's approval has a lot of weight, still, and possibly more than ever. The time with her was the best time I've ever had with her and it was not too different from a two-week long slumber party. We (and she, in particular) had so much fun. I had to work much of the time she was here, but we still had solid time to spend together.

After a very long winter of traveling and not touching the bike (it was good for me, the break, though it killed my fitness, was healthy and, simply, had to be done to manage the traveling, visiting and living situations I found myself in). Now, I'm absolutely thrilled to be back on the bike, loving the nice, comfy ride of steel and not missing the jarring of the light race bike. I just want to ride long, fun miles with people who are interested in conversing during the long ride. I'm absolutely done (ummm, at least for a year) with training rides where I have to worry about my cadence, heart rate, etc. every moment of it. Right now my thing is to train for a long almost 150 mile ride coming up in June. Good excuse to get long miles, explore the area and work towards something tangible. It's a brewery-to-brewery ride, so you can imagine what edible tangibles there will be at the end of that long day in the saddle.

There's pretty much the coolest bike shop/coffee shop combo in the world (as far as I'm concerned), in the area. It's my happy place, where I go to start rides, have a really tasty cup of coffee after rides (Italians would be impressed), hang out and chat with other cyclists, and simply be with nice people. Every time I go in there, I know at least one person, if not more. For being new to an area, that's an awfully good feeling. I likely speak for a lot of cyclists--that it is the dream of a cyclist to have a shop where they can go and simply spend time without feeling like a shop rat. This place invites you to stay awhile. So I do.

It dawned on me today that I really need to get out a bit more socially--you know, in Saturday night clothes. It's easy to not go out when my social life is at work (I am fortunate to like my co-workers a lot) and through bike riding. I have a few other things that I've managed to find to do and if only I'd start going to Toastmasters, my life would closely resemble life in Denver...though, of course, Denver & other friends, you will never be replaced...just added to. :) It's impossible to keep up with everyone and there is so little time. Tonight I got lucky and had to do something for work near home so I got home well before dark. Few evenings are like this one.

Well, on that note, it's time to sign off. After starting the day with a very hard road ride, my metabolism is going crazy and I'm hungry. Will go pet a very cute kitty that I'm pet sitting and get it all together for tomorrow. I know I owe you/the blog pictures. Will try to make that the next post...one with waaaay fewer works and many more pics. Ah, there's the kitty now, nudging and purrrring, gotta go! Hope this finds you all well!!!