Stage 6, Palmdale to Big Bear Lake

I enjoyed a beautiful day in Sunny California today - I'm back in the LA area to see stages 6-8 of the 2010 tour of California. Once again, I watched from the KOM point at Millcreek Summit in the Angeles National Forest. I was surprised at the lack of participation this year! Last year I braved the cold with several inches of snow still on the ground along the side
of the road - this year I joined a small crowd of about 20-30 people who lined the sides of the road along the route. The Angeles National Forest has lost its beauty since last year due to the recent wildfires that charred the natural vegetation but it still has it's vantage points when watching the race!



Here's a view of the action:

An eight man break developed early in the race as the group climbed Millcreek Summit. At the front you can see Andy Schleck and Thomas Rabou.

A two man chase by Darren Lill and Ben Day of VAustralia followed shortly behind the breakaway.

HTC-Columbia led the peloton as they approached the top of Millcreek Summit. As they rolled through, I noticed that Chris Horner was enjoying a conversation with one of his teammates. I couldn't help but remember the photo I took last year as Lance climbed the same peak. If only I could climb while carrying on a conversation...

Being here makes me miss my bike. I'm looking forward to the time trial later today - I can't wait to see Levi pull off a win and take control of this race!

New Year, New Challenges

I have the bicycle blues. I wouldn't say that I don't want to ride - but I can't quite drag my butt outside, either. I think about riding several times each day but I can't get motivated to swing my leg over the top tube and clip my feet into those pedals.

I've blamed it on the weather but it's beginning to warm up, technically - the days are already getting longer. I say I'm not riding b/c it's supposed to rain, because it's too cold, because I need to take the tree down, because I can't hang on to the tail of that ride, because my bike needs some work, because my shoes are too small and my feet hurt, because I need to focus more on my family (my husband, my job, my knitting, my cleaning, getting some sleep...you name it).... but it's all just another excuse.

What happened? Where did my urgency go? I miss my bike but I seem to have the most amazing lack of energy...

I need some motivation.

Happy New Year!!!

Most bloggers post an entry on January 1st to "warm up" for the coming year. For me, I'm a little more literal. I thought when they told me to write a "New Year's" post, they meant that I should write a post in the "New Year". And since it's still the "New Year", I'm not exactly "late" with this post....

I've had writers block - the kind that comes in the form of two jobs, a demanding hobby, a husband, and most notably: children. That being said - I want to reflect on a moment of brilliance. They come rarely and I do like to savor them...

On New Year's Eve I had a spark. I remembered how fortunate I've been for the last decade and how much I have to look forward to over the course of the next. I posted a status update to my facebook page that is a pretty good summary of how fortunate I am; I wish I had hashed it out a little more for some deeper reflection but....baby steps. Unfortunately, FB doesn't allow enough characters for me to credit to all of the individuals who were important to me over the past 10 years. This being said...I figure if you're really that important...you probably like me and therefore will forgive me for having only enough spark to post on FB and not enough to elaborate in a long sappy post on my blog. Anyway...that spark went as quickly as it came but before it completely extinguished, I posted the following status message on my Facebook page:

"The Last Decade: Got married, bought a house, earned a degree, had a brilliant baby girl, divorced a drunk, got a great job, found a great man, earned another degree, married a great man, bought a house with a great man, had a beautiful baby boy, got another great job, earned a third degree, took up the best sport in the world, and learned that life isn't always what you thought it'd be...sometimes it's even better!"

What better way can I say Happy New Year!! Here's to making another decade of memories and remembering to find the silver lining no matter what challenges come my way. Thank you to each of you who have been a part of my life until now (even if you weren't mentioned in my fb post!) and I hold even more gratitude to those who will be from here forward.

With Love,
-C

The day Murphy's Law applied

I have seen some crazy crap on my rides: a dead boar on the side of the road (yep, no joke...), a scooter that we were passing as we rode along Peachtree St. (!!), a gruesome car accident (still dream about that one), bike crashes (I know...BORING!!!), children throwing rocks at us as we pass, and more wildlife than I can remember (turkeys, deer, birds, turtles, frogs, lizards, cats (they're wild too...sometimes), horses, pigs, snakes, etc. etc).

Today I can add two things to my list: three deer attempting to run over a paceline of 8 cyclists (I swear they were aiming for us!) and the collision of three bikes - all of which managed to stay upright. Oh, and I should mention that one of those three cyclists in the collision somehow put his foot through the front wheel of the guy behind him, taking out two of the spokes on his Zipp 404s. After we changed wheels and rode the remaining 20 miles home - we realized that the guy who put his foot through the Zipps - he had two broken spokes on his rear wheel and rode all the way back!!!

What a crazy day man...the fun never stops!!

For all of these things, I am Thankful.

On any given day, it's easy to forget that my beautiful daughter is the result of a marriage to a man I try frequently to forget. I often forget that my husband is the most supportive man I've ever known; I could never be who I am without his support. I have an almost three year old son who smiles more than any child I've ever known and loves his sister so fiercely that he I hear him tell her so at least 5 or 6 times each day. He brings each of us more joy than we've ever known. I am married to a man who is giddy when I'm near and makes me giggle more than anyone I've ever known; I love to giggle and feel happy. My husband is an amazing artist and I am lucky to be exposed to such talent; I could watch for hours on end as he creates beautiful drawings and paintings (each greater than the last). I am fortunate that I have a beautiful home in a friendly neighborhood where my daughter can ride her scooter safely without me having to worry. My parents are still a very big part of my life, along with my sister, my mother and father-in-law and my sister-in-law who is also my friend. I have a family and they love me for who I am - how awesome is that!?

On any given day, it's easy to forget that I have career that brings me a significant amount of joy; despite the stressful moments that I face each day. My boss is approachable and supportive and her boss is understanding and knowledgeable. I am blessed with co-workers who keep me sane, even though many of them may actually be less sane than myself! I am fortunate to work in schools where the teachers I work with love children and come to work because they want to. It's nice to have a job where I know I make a difference each day, even if I don't see that difference in my bank account each month.

On any given day, it's easy to forget that I have two best friends who support me, overlook my idiosyncrasies and insist that they love me - even when I'm not being lovable. One supports my obsession with life while the other supports my obsession with cycling which takes up a whole lot of my life! I am fortunate enough to have forged friendships with people who I suspect I will still talk to on the day that I draw my very last breath. Without them, I'd certainly occupy a lonely and uneventful existence!

On any given day, it's easy to forget that riding my bike is a privilege that isn't afforded to everyone. I am good at riding my bike - more importantly - it makes me feel free and at peace with every pedal stroke.

For all of these things, I am thankful. I pray that each day forward, I will remember to be thankful.

Rain Outs Suck!

Nothing stinks more than looking forward to a ride, driving at break-neck speeds to get there in time and then watching as the rain clouds roll in. Why does it only rain when I have time to ride?

A "Membership Drive" and other random thoughts

What a relaxing weekend! I spent Friday afternoon w/ my husband and my best friend, Saturday I went on a good 50 mile ride in perfect temperatures, followed by a party in the evening to celebrate my best friend's birthday. Today I cleaned house, shopped with the "most boring man" and cooked a delicious seafood paella for dinner. What more could a girl ask for?

Well, how about a buyer for my Jamis? I may have one...but I'm not as happy as I should be. You see, my dh and I have made a financial commitment to get out of debt as quickly as possible. So selling the Jamis makes this easier since I could apply what I make from the sale to what I still owe on my new bike, right? Well....sort of. You see, I don't want to sell the Jamis and I'm not being offered what I decided to ask for it (which I think is a very good price - a steal, as a matter of fact). The bike has sentimental value and although I don't ride it, I don't really want to get rid of it either. I posted it on Craigslist because I feel like it's unfair for me to have it sitting around when selling it would pretty much pay off my Ruby. I gotta keep thinking on this one...maybe I should try ebay?

And while I have your attention, could someone tell me what is the big deal with Vampires? Dh tells me that women love vampires and my recent survey of Borders tells me that he must be right since the teen section (which is geared towards girls b/c boys don't like to read apparently...) AND the romance section AND the sci-fi/fantasy section all seem to be oozing with books about vampires. Not to mention the number of vampire related T.V. shows on lately. I have to admit that I just finished watching season one of True Blood with dh and although I think most of the acting is really bad, I look forward to the next episode. I never realized vampires were such a big thing...?!?!

The birthday party that I attended on Saturday night really got me thinking about my blog's readership. While I was there, a girl named Amy introduced herself to me. When I explained that I was the best friend of the birthday girl, she immediately followed it with "Oh, are you the cyclist with the blog that Heather links to? I read your blog and I really want to become a cyclist". Besides almost peeing on myself because someone I had never previously met admitted to reading to my blog, I got to wondering exactly how many people actually read my blog. I've hinted on more than one occasion that I actually only have two readers but I know for a fact there are at least three...or maybe even four! So I've decided to have a "membership drive" (Hey Roby, get it? LOL!!!). I need for every person who reads my blog to "follow me" or comment to this post so that I get a general count of how many people actually read my blog. If you have a google account and you are logged in, you can click the "follow blog" button you see at the top of my page and I'll be able to easily track my followers. Because some of my readers aren't bloggers (or tweeters, facebook users, myspace aficionado's, or even regular email users), I'll track you guys through your comments. So what's in it for you? Check out all of these great perks:

1) You get a 10% discount on all items purchased at Cristy's bike shop*
2) Free advice
3) Excellent discounts at local restaurants and retailers**
4) The good feeling of knowing that you are amongst a group of people who breathe AND enjoy reading my nonsense.
*Availble for online orders only, excludes the following: bikes, maintenance, sports nutrition, lights, clothing, saddles, water bottles, bike fitting, pedals, shoes, lubricants, tools and all other items.
** Excluding those that maintain reasonable security for their customers who are credit card users


So whose in? :) Seriously.