Handlebar

Handlebar Coffee Roasters. We go there a lot. I go there a lot. Been every morning and twice after our rides. 5x in 3 days.

It's good. Good coffee, good pastries, good people. 

Erik and Chef Amy enjoying a cappuccino and baked good yummyness.

 FNG Lauren and I sharing the best GF muffin I've ever had.

 Cute border collie dog getting coffee. Sorry Lucy Dog, I pet this doggie too.

 Post very cold Gibralter descent. Handlebar warms the sole.

a long time

Ok, wow. I have not updated the blog in a long time. Actually, I forgot about the blog. Oops. Sorry if there are any readers who read this. Anyone out there?

If there are any readers, I'm in Santa Barbra for team camp. It's awesome. Well, ok, it's only been one day- but so far so good. Slept in (till 6am), layed around in bed, got up, went to Handlebar for two espresso's and to see Kim and Aaron. Breakfast, internets, recovery ride with the team, Handlebar stop #2, home, lunch, coaching work, massage, shower, coaching, dinner (we have a Camp Chef!!), team meeting.

Yes, our first ride was a recovery ride. We raced in Merced from Thursday through Sunday. It was a giant shock to the system to be back in host housing, racing, eating for racing, and general craziness. But, it was awesome, and I can't wait to do it all again- plus I rode really well! Redlands...one month away.

Yes, Captain Kurt hired Amy to be our Camp Chef. She's great and the dinner she made us was A-maze-ing. She's also taught me about Nutritional Yeast. Through some experimentation, book reading, and movie watching, it seems I'm heading more and more toward being Vegan, (plant based diet for the past month and I already don't eat dairy) so I need to make sure I get proper amounts of B12 and protein. I'll try it in my oats tomorrow.

If there are readers, I promise to try to blog more often. More blogging brings more readers, so I'll try.
Bed time now. I have my own room! Queen bed, and mini bathroom with a toilet and sink. It's awesome. I wish every housing situation could be like this.  

Fun with Friends

 I went to California to get out of the wind, out of the cold, and to train with Pups. As an added bonus, I got to see The SMRP and the Meriwether. It was awesome. 100% adventure.

It was simple, really. Ride from Kurt's to the new DVR. However, on day 1, my mind was preoccupied with other stuff and I made some directional mistakes. Thank goodness for my day old 5. It saved me and 75 miles later, I arrived at the new DVR.

 Day 2 brought more adventure. Not in a directionally challenging way, instead in a let's explore a new road kind of way. The sweet pavement turned to dirt, lush, quiet, descent. It was awesome.

The best part of adventures is not really knowing what you're getting yourself into. If you keep your mind open, and your pockets full of snacks, you never know what fun you'll find.

Simple

I made a New Year's resolution. It's inside my head as I have not told anyone about it.
Keep things simple. No stress. No running around like a chicken with my head cut off.
KISS- keep it simple stupid.

I ride bikes. I coach people who ride bikes. Done.
I live in Colorado. I have a man. I have two dogs. Done.
I like coffee shops. Done.
That's all. This is my simplicity. If it doesn't involve something in those three categories, then I don't need to worry about it. Selfish, most definitely. But, I am an athlete and being an athlete means being selfish. I'm ok with that. It feels good to be ok with that.

Since my last post, things have been getting better and better. I am happy, I am healthy, and I am riding my bike!!

I went to Retul for a Time Trial bike fit. Truth be told, I wasn't happy with my fit last year, but I didn't want to admit it as that can make for serious "head-case-ness".
Now was the time to dial in my TT fit.

BAM! It was awesome. Complete with ski bend aero bars and, yesterday,  I had the most enjoyable TT ride I've ever had. Bonus-- I could breath!

 Last week, I visited The Mother Ship--Fraser. It was a really awesome two days. I got to sleep in, food was made for me, it was like a mini vacation.

Two of my favorite people- Grandmother and The Mom (even though Mom beat me by one point at Scrabble).

 Before going Nordic Skiing with The Mom.

KISS.

Not All Rainbows and Butterflies

I have not updated the blog in a long time. Honestly, I have not been that into it and haven't felt like I have had anything good to blog about.

The other day, I realized I don't have to have good news in order to blog. I can blog about any damn thing I want to. So here it is-

The past few weeks haven't been that great. I hurt my wrist, I got stressed with too much going on, I got sick, I couldn't go to Zolo on my birthday, my hip has been hurting, and I don't enjoy working at the coffee shop anymore. All I want to do is be healthy and to ride my bike. It's been a struggle to do even that and I've been pretty bummed out.

Despite the lackluster month or so, there have been some good things.
- Steel*Wool on the 13th to celebrate my bday was friken awesome and fun.
- Spending time with He Who Must Not Be Named has been a special treat the past few days.
- I have a new coach, Bruce, who I'm pretty excited about.
- We had NOW team camp in December and 2013 is going to be awesome.

Hopefully, the sickness, the stress, and the injuries are beyond me. I really think this has been the worst off season I have ever had. Thank goodness for the simplicity of training and riding bikes. The past few days have been awesome. I've had some of the best bike rides I have had in a long time. My fitness is really awful and I mean really awful, but I'm more motivated than I have been in years, so getting fit will be pretty dang fun.

Finally, I'm feeling optimistic and excited.

On Christmas Eve, I did one of my favorite rides. It was super fun and I enjoyed every single minute of it. 

Happy New Year!

ALP Cycles

ALP Cycles is officially official! It's pretty cool to have a kit with my name and my business on it- that people are wearing!

The ALP Cycles kit from Pactimo is the best and most comfortable kit I have ever worn.

 Yes, coaching is going well and it makes me happy. Plus, it keeps me motivated and excited to create new workouts (and torture myself with them).

Thank you most awesome ALP Cycles athletes for your continued support and success! Here's to a successful 2013!

Now that I can't, I want to

A funny thing happens when you can't do something- you want to do it.
When you can't have something- you want it.
When you're told you can't - you want to.

Due to a spastic wrist injury sustained last Thursday, I can't ride bikes- and now I want to.

I took at time out in October, but come November, I still wasn't ready to begin training. I started to train anyway. Then came the signs. First, I crashed my CX bike- hard. Then I got major tendonitis in my knee from the gym, and I broke a mtn bike mid ride. The signs were there- it's not time to train yet. It's still time out time. But, I didn't listen. I felt like I needed to begin getting ready for 2013, despite not really being into it.

Then came Thursday's over the bars, lucky to not break my wrist or anything else crash. Now, I have a brace on my right hand and can not ride. If there was snow, I wouldn't be able to ski. The universe sat me down and forced me to rest more. It's perfect actually. Now, I'm hungry to ride, hungry to train, and hungry to get the party started for a successful 2013.

First I have to wait and heal. My wrist is making improvement everyday, but riding is out of the question for another week or so. It's ok, the more I sit out, the hungrier I get.