Moment of Silence.

I never really know how to talk about tragedy. After having experience loss that has greatly affected me, I empathize greatly with the family and friends who have experience loss or tragedy.

All I know is there were two incidents this past weekend that left one cyclist dead and another in serious condition in the hospital.

My heart goes out to the friend and family of Mark Pendleton (C4 Racing) and Ileana Garcia-Parker (Alto Velo).

Mark was killed in unincorporated Contra Costa and Ileana collided with a car up on Skyline/35 and 84.

Here is a link to the article on Mark: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/11/25/BADV14C2V3.DTL

There has been no press on Ileana's accident, only information passed amongst friends.


Please keep both in your thoughts as you celebrate Thanksgiving this week with your family and friends.

Thanks for reading.

You know times are bad when...

You can get a latte and a reverse morgage at Starbucks. What is this world coming to?!?

Back to Work...

Yes folks, it is that time of year when the fun and games are over and it is back to work for me. November 3rd was the official start of my training and I kicked it off in grand style by going to the gym. Ouch. All those muscle groups that have been dormant for the last several weeks were abruptly awoken by the end of the lifting session. Hello muscles, you are no longer in vacation mode, I need you again! I keep reminding myself that I am not out of shape, I am in off-season shape. ;-)

But allow me to digress for a moment while I try and recap the past couple weeks of my off-season.

Visit with the family:

For the last several years my family has gathered on the East Coast in October for what we call O-giving (traveling during Thanksgiving out to the East Coast sucks so we celebrate a month early). No tradition is spared - lots of good food - and new ones were started - running in some local foot race.

James and I had an uneventful trip out save one note worthy story... I had to book James's and my itineraries separately as I was staying on the East Coast for a week longer and this resulted in us being on the same flights to Hartford, CT but not seated together. On the leg from SFO to Charlotte, NC we asked the woman who was seated next to James if she would kindly switch seats with me so that he and I could sit next to each other. She looked at us and flatly said, "No". I explained that I too had a window seat and she asked where it was, I told her (it was in the back of the plane but whatever) and this time she said, "No way". WTF!? I was flabbergasted, who is that rude? Fortunately the guy sitting next to me was kind enough to switch with James and she got to sit next to rude lady.

Our trip to CT was great. We went apple picking with my sister, Anne and her kids, Clara and Eric, hung out family and ran in the Kent, CT annual Pumpkin Run. My sister won the women's overall, her husband, Jim, got 1st in his age group, James and I finished 2nd in our age group, and my brother finished 5th in his age group. Yeah, we are not a competitive family at all, eh? hahaha






I'm in a New York state of mind:

As James had to fly back to CA for work, I made a trip down to NYC by myself to spend some time with friends from CA who were running in the NYC marathon. Instead of being stuck in a hotel for a week, my friend Allie managed to secure us an apartment in the Bedford/Stuyvesant area of Brooklyn. It was a great set up as there was plenty of room for Allie, her husband and their son, Allie's parents, Stacy, who was also running the marathon, and myself. We were also about 6 blocks away from the subway, which allowed us to get around the city very easily.

The first few days in NY I think we must have walked around the whole island of Manhattan. Stacy had never been to NYC and Allie had a very ambitious agenda for us. We started by taking the subway into Grand Central Station, then headed off to Metropolitan Museum of Art, then Rockefeller Center where they had set up the ice skating rink already. Then it was to the craziness of Time Square where we were overwhelmed by throngs of New Yorkers and tourists. And that was only day ONE!!!

We toned down the t0-do-list as the focus was on keeping Allie and Stacy as rested for the marathon as possible. There motivation to run the marathon was spurred on by the loss of Pat Caurant in 2006 in a tragic cyclist vs. car accident. They ran Boston together last year in memory of him as well.
Stacy, me and Allie

Watching the marathon was awesome. To see tens of thousands of participants and even more spectator was awe inspiring and I was so proud of both Allie and Stacy for being part of it. Their determination and strength also motivated me to want to get back to training and ready for the 2009 season!

Off season...

By the time September rolls around, many cyclists who have been racing all year are ready for some time way from the bike, taking full advantage of being at home to visit with friends and family, do some cross training, and actually unpack their bags.

As I earned a spot on the Worlds team by winning the Geelong World Cup, my season was extended through the end of September. This was my third trip to Worlds with the US National Team and despite having a bad day on the bike, wearing the red, white and blue jersey was an honor.

My husband, James, and I spent some time in Italy afterward, visiting Madonna de Ghisallo to sprinkle some of my friends ashes, Florence, Cinque Terra, and many fine gelatarias around where we were staying in Lucca. Although we did do some riding, it was with the purpose of site seeing, not fitness.

I have now been back in CA for two weeks and already packed in a lot. Despite it being the "off season" the only thing I have been "off" is my road bike. I have aquajogged for 2 hours with my close friend Allie who is planning on running in the NYC marathon but is recovering from a stress fracture in her foot; been to a birthday party for a 3 year old, complete with a homemade Thomas the Train cake; taken a 2.5 hour walk/hike with a friend who is 9+months pregnant and a friend with a broken arm; done 3 mountain bike rides; held a PJ party where we served breakfast for dinner; gone to San Diego for one of James's teammate's wedding; attempted to run but it is more like shuffling; and am now planning a 10 day trip back East to visit with my family in CT and then watch my friends run in the NYC marathon. Whew, when does the training start?!?! Seriously, I have really done my best to embrace the off season and catch up with friends/family.

As I meantioned, I have dusted off my mountain bike as along with being a wonderful area to train on the road bike, where I live is also a great place to hit the dirt roads and trails. I find it mentally stimulating and peaceful at the same time - no way to allow the brain to drift as you careen downhill at breakneck speeds but the views of the Pacific Ocean that I am greated with at times is breathtaking. I started my racing career mountain bike racing back East in Vermont and although the trails out here are nothing like back East, I love not having to fight aggressive drivers (only the possible mountain lion!).

I get back to training on the 3rd of November after I return from NYC. I am hoping by then I will have the hunger to get back on the road bike and rest needed to get to work. 2009 looks to be a great season.

Thanks for reading.

Welcome..

Okay, I don't know exactly what possessed me to start blogging. Maybe the impetus is due to laziness on my part to email people and it is a quick way for my family and friends to keep track of me and know what is going on in my crazy life. Whatever the case is, I am blogging!

This past weekend James and I traveled down to San Diego to attend the wedding of one of his teammates, Dirk Copeland. Traveling without a bicycle was a luxury and how nice it is to have only carry on luggage. Especially after doing two transoceanic trips with a broken collarbone (New Zealand to the States and Europe to the States), dealing with only a small rollerbag and my hand purse was awesome!

The trip south also provided us with an opportunity to visit with my friend Jon and his girlfriend, Nicole, who moved down to La Jolla in Septmember. I have known Jon for several year, we met in Vermont, and he lived with James and I for about 6 months. A little known secret about Jon is he is an amazing cook along with being a very good mechanic (a great combination in a roommate for a busy cycling couple, ha!). Our friend Dan, who recently moved to Pheonix, AZ, drove to SD to visit with us as well. We had a great time hanging out and catching up. (Unfortunately I have no photos of the great weekend - will work on being better about posting photos along with my blog.)

Well, thanks for reading and I hope that you find my postings somewhat entertaining so you come back and see what is new.

:)