Argentina- photo highlights

 In no particular order...

Alexis and I went 1-2 on Stage 3. Check out our sweet trophy's!

 I stole this photo of me winning the stage. Cycling Illustrated posted it on FB. It's a good one!

 This is 80% of the terrain around here. Flat and desert.

 We were in the newspaper after the team presentation. The media love us and especially Mara- who speaks Spanish.

 We found coffee! It looked pretty

 But tasted awful!

It was nothing like this place.

Mountains!! We rode up and over three times on day 2 of training.

 More newspaper time. Pretty sweet.

From Winter to Summer in 40 hrs

 One week ago, I was snowshoeing. It was 8 degrees and snowing.

Fast forward 4 days to a 4:30 am wake up, trip to DIA (thanks LP!), and a flight to Miami. It felt like Miami was the final destination. I was with Mara Abbott and we had a 7hr layover before flying to Argentina for the Women's Tour of San Luis. Mara and I caught a shuttle and went to a hotel to hang out.

 7 hrs turned into 10 hours as our flight kept getting delayed. Finally we took off and, luckily, I was able to sleep most of the 8hr flight. We landed in Santiago, missed our flight, and got to wait 5hrs in that airport. It would have been nice to go outside, but the customs line was at least 2hrs long and, being American, we get to pay $190 to enter Chile. So, we chilled- inside.

A 1hr flight over the Andes (super pretty) brought us to Mendoza where we got to wait an hour in the customs line, pay our $160 visa fee, and get on the bus. We were told it was a 2 hr bus ride to San Luis.

2hrs later, the view still looked like this-- flat and barren and San Luis was no where in sight.
Finally, at 9:30pm (3.5hr bus ride) we arrived at our hotel. 40 hrs of travel.

1 week ago, I was snowshoeing in 8 degree weather, and today I was riding bikes in 88 degree weather.

And, seeing a family of pigs.

Plus, I attacked and dropped a teenage boy who was trying to stay on my wheel today. :)

Oh ya, the blog...

Once upon a time, there was a blog that was neglected. Often, it was forgot about completely. The blog never did anything wrong. It just sat there, waiting to be loved. Once and a while, someone would look at the blog, but it went a long time looking exactly the same, so people lost interest and the blog got more and more neglected. 

You see the owner of the blog tended to forget about the blog completely.  Busy with coaching, splitting/stacking wood, enjoying #hermitlife at home, hanging out with friends, and eventually getting back to training, she didn't feel the need to update anyone on what was going on. Life was going on and extra time on the computer didn't seem necessary.

Some things, however, seemed very blog worthy-- but for different reasons never got posted.
ALP Cycles Coaching is kicking ass and growing, but this news didn't get put on this blog- it went on another blog...
2014 kicked off in 2013 with UHC training camp. This is definitely blog worthy, but due to contract obligations, nothing will be posted until Jan 2014.
34 years old happened-- at training camp.
A sweet snow bike happened and has been getting used.
Training has been happening. Racing in 3.5 weeks (what?)!

Photos of blog worthy things-- sponsor correct.

Birthday celebration. My new teammies treated me well. 

 Birthday espresso and baked goodies. YUM!

 We were in Arizona. Lots of cactus, sun, and good rides

 Fancy hotel

 Pretty lake view. We were to take photos here, but the Johnny Law didn't like us and instead of saying "cheese" he gave us a ticket.

Stay tuned for more blog worthy info-- and to not let this blog feel neglected.

Another Powers

We went to Florida.
He Who Must Not Be Named's sister was getting married-- to a Powers. That's right. No relation to me. Just seems Harrods are attracted to Powers'.

It's been a while since I have been to Florida, so I did my best to see the sights.

It started with "The Best Coffee in St. Petersburg". 

I think not. It was nasty. I walked a long ass way on concrete and in the sun to get there. It was disappointing.

 Next was the Museum

 I never knew geese tucked their heads in to their wings.

 Horse petting

 Pelican. Though, I've been told they are mean, so I'll call him a Pelican't

  The wedding was super fun. These are the groomsmen waiting for the Powers Groom

 It was a bit weird to be at a Harrod Powers wedding that wasn't mine. But, it was fun and someday there will be another Harrod Powers wedding.

2013 XXX Cyclocross Extravaganza

A couple of years ago, for the first XXX, we invited some local Boulder "CX guys", who upon completion of the ride determined it was too hard and too rocky for their delicate bodies and bikes.

They weren't invited this time. Only tough and fun people were invited- i.e.- our friends from not Boulder.

 

 We made 3 "loops" - each loop being hard, steep, challenging, and fun.

Honey going down Honeybadger. The whoopdies at Valmont are nothing compared to Honeybadger's whoops.

Yep, it was fun. And hard. 4km feet of climbing in 28 miles all above 8,000ft.

 In the end, there were 5 of us left and Ned Brit Peter won the Pink Wool Jersey.

We celebrated at the Double-A with a BBQ, chips, and beer-- and roasted veggies from Tups garden.

The XXX rules. I'm looking forward to the next edition, whenever it happens, and rest assured no softies will be invited.

Tony P, thank you for your really nice comment on my Crit Nats win. You're kicking butt on your bike riding! Keep it up. Keep riding, keep getting healthy, and keep having fun! See ya next year. 

The Off Season Continues

Is it weird to enjoy the off season so much?
Well, weird or not, I'm happy and having fun.

CX bikes in the snow is Fun! And good for bike handling skills

 Hiking is Fun! Especially with a friend and nice weather.

 Hiking with doggies is Fun!! Even if she barks at all white people.

 Creating a new logo for ALP Cycles Coaching is Fun and Exciting!! We're growing and it's awesome.

 Splitting and stacking wood is... not as much fun but needs to be done (and it helps prevent the off season fat layer from forming on the body). All finished, we have 17 stakes of split wood for this winter. WOW!

A Change of Pace

The season is over. No more races. No more training. Done.

I like the "off season". I like not racing and I like doing non-bike racing things. Things like drinking wine, hiking, skipping stretching, or not doing anything at all. 

I've had two awesome hikes this past week.

 The first was to Blue Lake. Due to all the canyons getting flooded, there are no Boulder people anywhere. It's great. We had the trail all to ourselves.

 Hike #2- up Hessie Trail. Again, not a person in sight. We did have some wind, and snow.

 It was awesome.

Being a "normal" person for a while is pretty nice. Hanging out with friends is more fun when you don't have to do intervals the next day. Splitting wood is more fun when it's the only exercise you'll get for the day.

Cheers to the off season.
Shot out to Dr. Andy at Peak Sports Chiro. He fixed me up yesterday. Seems like forever ago, but I crashed myself twice in one day in France and got a little jacked up. Dr. Andy is pro at un-jacking and I feel much better. Thank you!