Pics I promised!

Lots of people commented and were worried about my emotions. I am good... much better. As I explained to my coach, I couldn't just jump on here, post happy pictures, and ignore the truth. If there is some junior out there reading this, then they just learned something. Elite athletes struggle sometimes. We accept the bad times in order to really appreciate and celebrate the bad times. We learn... and move on!

The pictures from the last trip that I promised:

The trip started back in LA for a training camp. Day 1 and I was just happy to be in the sun.

Some of us were happier then others. Yes, I found him riding his bike back to the hotel like this. Of course when we got to the hotel, he quickly put his jersey, helmet, glasses, and shorts all back to normal so nobody (*coaches*) would see the "other" side. Nice one Guy!

Then we packed up, again, and headed to Columbia. I LOVE this Zuca roller bag. Everyone must get one.

Oh wait, we did have one fun night in LA driving these indoor race car things. The madison partners were doing some bonding. What is wrong with this picture? I wonder how many people will be able to figure that out.

The velodrome is Cali drew pretty big crowds for the night session. Super cool track!

It was covered but open on the sides so we had fresh air, daylight, and some wind.

They packed the stands with kids during the day sessions. They were SOOO loud especially when any Columbian was on the track.

The kids would line up and wait for the athletes to leave... and just stare at us. I think the girls liked Ryan.

Lauryn had been studying her Spanish and decided to practice with the kids. The girls were so cute and so excited!

But, not as excited as the people were about this French guy. Seriously, I happened to walk out with him a couple days in a row and the Columbian people loved him. He soaked it up! I told him I was going to get a picture of all the people around him and he thought I asked to take a picture with him. ha! He said, "sure, I'll take a picture with you." Lost in translation. I didn't want a picture withe him. Thanks anyway.

Well, the media always likes a winner. Sarah killed the Individual Pursuit and won the Gold. She is flying right now :) Watch out world!

The girls getting ready for the Team Pursuit. Notice Red Bull in hand.

US ended with a Silver in the TP. Congrats to Canada... yes, I really like those girls and I am being sincere!

This picture is for Nicola and Shelley. He was so cute playing with this little girl... your heart would have melted right there :)

Facing the Truth

Before I begin... this will be long, lots of words. I do have some more pictures and will post those separately tomorrow.

Ok, the truth was that the World Cup in Cali SUCKED. Sorry all you family people reading this but there is only one way to get the message across.

I haven't wanted to talk about it with anyone- husband, coach, family, etc. How many times can you have the same depressing conversation? To say the least, I haven't wanted to write about it publicly either.

I came to a conclusion though- some people reading my blog could gain something (advice, inspiration, insight) from reading what's it like to fail at this level. I don't care what sport you are talking about but elite athletes don't always win. Ok, that's obvious. But, as an elite athlete, I am used to making progress and getting better. I am not used to taking steps backwards. 2 steps forward, 2 step back. yay, yay.

It's been a long and tough road the last couple months for reasons on and off the bike. I am in transition from being a sprinter to an endurance rider. There are reasons and, in the big picture, it all makes sense. But, to do this in the middle of my first World Cup season is a blow.

I am fortunate to be a part of what USA Cycling is building in order to win a medal at the 2012 Olympics in the Team Pursuit. There is a program and it is exciting. This is all very positive. But, I come from a different background and am a different athlete then the coaches and this is all new to me too. The load of the team camps and increased endurance load away from the camps finally caught up to my body. My body quit... it said done... shut down. I have been told to "look at the big picture and long term" but that is hard. I am too competitive to accept sucking in Cali.

Part of this is hard for me to talk about and much less write because it feels like excuses. But, unless I can analyze what's going with my training and my body, I won't learn from it.

After spending almost 3 weeks in Europe racing (where I felt fine), I came home for less then a week before heading to LA for team pursuit track camp. I stayed a couple days extra for more training (mistake?) before heading straight to Atlanta to spend a week with the husband, family, and friends. I came home from Atlanta for 3 days before heading back to LA for another camp. We left straight from camp to Cali.

So, let me just break down that 8.5 weeks....

1) 2.5 weeks in Europe where I had major sleeping issues

2) took one day off back in Colorado before I hit a tough week of training which included being back in the weight room (I was going to use this week and the next week of camp as a super block of endurance training which I had not done much of to this point)

3) Track camp where the legs were "fine" despite crashing super hard on the 2nd day. I still was in good spirits about training and enjoying the tough load and recovering between training sessions.

4) went to Atlanta where I still had a tough load of training PLUS seeing friends and family everyday. = no rest.

5) home for 3 days trying to manage training and household (things add up when you are only home 3 days in one month)

6) back to track camp part 2 where my body and mind started shutting down

7) on to Cali where I had no body and no mind

8)home for now... until next camp :)

Lessons in order:

1) sleeping pills. I now have a Rx and will travel with these religiously.

2) after all that travel, take a couple days off or 1 day off and 1 easy day. let the body and mind recover. I was so excited about starting this new chapter of training and I felt good... but, don't let emotions take over smarts.

3) my body (I found out 3 weeks later) was pretty messed up from the crash. Even though there was no pain (only soreness), I should have been seeing a chiropractor right away instead of letting the issue fester in my body. It's now taking a lot more work to get things functioning properly then it would have taken had I just seen a professional right away.

4) in Atlanta I was on a borrowed road bike (because I destroyed mine) which wasn't kind to the body and I didn't MAKE myself rest and recover. Mentality now was "I can't skip a workout. This is what my plans say. Must push through this." Listen to your body. Being around family and friends in the holiday season wasn't great for resting... but I wouldn't trade seeing everyone for the world because I needed that :)

5) not much I could change about being home because I had to get things done. My workouts weren't terribly hard these couple days but my body was showing it's fatigue.

6) Knowing I was racing a World Cup the next week, I should have insisted on getting more rest. The track intensity was good but adding the hours of the road rides everyday really was the nail in my coffin. My lesson was that I need to stand up for myself because only I am responsible for my results. So, my one meek effort to tell the coaches that I was tired wasn't good enough.

7) Not much to change here because the damage was done.

8) So, now, I am home and really carefully monitoring training. I decided not to travel back to Atlanta to be with Greg, family, and friends because the last thing I need is more travel and lack of rest. I can revive the spirits and the body but it takes a concerted effort. I am clawing my way out of this hole.

I don't call it overtraining but under resting. There is the fine line for athletes. You push, push, push to the limit, recover, and make improvements from those efforts. But, pushing too far is bad. I know I will be better for the training but I want to be better NOW. ha!

Meanwhile, I am here in Boulder where I am forced to ride indoors. The cold weather hasn't really inspired me to be out and running around either. This is good for the recovery!

I did go up to Breckenridge and spend Christmas with my good friends the Erben family... 6 kids and 2 dog makes for a festive holiday household. They hardly noticed Elke and I were even there :)

Happy Holidays to all!!

No Bueno

Team USA was not firing on all cylinders today. 0-3. None of us (me, Lauryn, Daniel) made the finals. The 2 riders with trade teams (Luttrell and Carney) did make their respective finals. So, some salvation.

Lauryn and I had the scratch race. I was WAY more comfortable today then I was in Manchester 6 weeks ago... that was my first World Cup scratch race. I wasn't over confident but I was comfortable. Didn't that come back to bite me in the ass?

Once again, I played a pretty smart race until I found myself in a bad position with 6 to go. I went back, up, and around... wait, I missed the around part. In Manchester, out of fear, I just went to the front and kept the pace high. Today, I went up and got on a Cuban's wheel thinking she would make a move because she is a pursuit type. Well, she made the move but didn't complete it. I told myself to be patient but that was the wrong idea. I should have just kept going around her. In the last lap I got my bars tangled with someone... or something happened that I thought I was crashing. No crash but it sure did take my head out of it. Needless to say, I didn't make the finals. It sucked! There, I said it. That sucked!

The thing that bugs me is that is wasn't the speed of the race or the fast sprint at the end. I was trying too hard to be calm and patient and I was too calm and patient. I need to find the middle ground because I am usually the anxious one who chases or goes early or something else like that. Tonight, I was the opposite.

Tomorrow I race again. Points. I have never done a points race internationally at this level and have little idea what to expect. Send me smart and fast thoughts!

I have no pictures from inside the track since I have been focused every time I have been in there. Tonight I may make it back as a spectator and take some pictures... but then again, I may stay and get a good night's sleep.

Today they filled the stands with kids. They were LOUD!!! Cool to see.

Girls gawking at the American boy. Good job Ryan Luttrell for lapping the field in the points qualifier and making the finals tonight.

Lauryn was practicing her spanish with these little girls.

Cali- view from the hotel

Ok, actually there are no pictures yet from this trip. Honestly, I have only left the hotel once since arriving almost 2 days ago. Yesterday I went to the velodrome.

It´s a shame really because I can see how these place could be beautiful. We have been warned not to wander the streets alone, especially at night... funny since we are in one of the nicest areas of the city. From my hotel window, I can see we are at the base of the mountains... what a shame that we won´t be able to explore!

The track is fast. The weather is hot and humid. My spanish is poor at best. The people are wonderful. There are lots of strange vibrant colored fruit drinks that taste like nothing. The sirens go all night. The motorcycles seem like the most logical, yet most dangerous mode of transportation. The Dunkin Donuts 2 doors down is supposed to have the best coffee around... today I will venture.

That is my quick update!

Charlotte, I will not be coming to Rotterdam for the 6-day. I am very upset by this but had to make a decision on whether to participate in the National Team Camp that week or Rotterdam. In order to reach my goals, the camp was the obvious decision. I will miss the racing and miss seeing you guys!!!!

Let's Catch Up!

I have been a slacker. There I said it. Not a slacker in training, a slacker in blogging. I will give you the quick run down of where I have been and all the doo-doo that has happened and maybe you will understand.

Last update was Nov. 4th and I had just come home to Boulder from Amsterdam/Manchester.

Nov. 6th-8th leave town for my first ever USA Cycling Board of Trustees meeting. On my way out of town, I drive my bike (mounted on top of my car) into a parking garage. Ruin bike and wasn't kind to car. STRESS!

2 straight/full days of meetings was real interesting and I have some thoughts that will soon surface in an interview I will post.

Nov. 10th-16th Track camp in LA. Tough week. Borrowed road bike. Dealing with insurance from the accident. Crashed at camp on the track (all ok... just put a hurt on the body for a couple days.)

No real internet.

Ok- I am starting to like the idea of a beach, at least a beach ride.

I stayed in LA until the 18th for some extra ADT velo time. I got to see DeNelle!

No free internet where I stayed for those extra days.

DeNelle and I with our personal shopper at Marc Jacobs. Nelle was picking out Christmas presents while I was just playing dress-up.

Nov. 18th- 26th Atlanta. Great visit with family, Greg, and friends. I had not been home in years- about 4 years to be exact. Rode Dick Lane Velodrome for the first time. :) Special. Celebrated mom's 60th birthday, meeting my brother's new kick-butt girlfriend, Thanksgiving, Mande moving back to ATL, went shopping for the first time all year, had a family photo shoot, and seeing Greg for the first time in a month. Rode a borrowed bike- thanks Stephanie!

No internet in the house where I stayed.

Greg trying to avoid an pictures.

Nov. 26th- 29th Boulder. Sweet home, Boulder. I got a new bike built and snuggled with my dog a lot. I had internet but I had no desire to sit inside since in was high 60's every day I was home. Oh, and my car didn't start.

Elke- just as I left her.

Nov. 30th- today Track camp in LA. Lost my credit card in the airport of the way here. Bad bike Karma continued with about 4 flats. Whatever! I am over stressing about small things these days.

At this camp, I hit my limit. Boom! Physically, my body met it's match. It's good though and I am happy to find that point. It's been a while since I have been pushed that hard. I think all the stress of the last couple weeks caught up.

Once again, internet in the hotel is lame. We only have it in the lobby.

I think something weird happens to the body when you push it that hard. It's some strange opposite effect. I should be sleeping soundly right now in bed but instead I tossed and turned all night until I finally got out of bed at 4am. Working hard physically does make you sleep better and I usually (aside from traveling) have very little issues sleeping. But, I wonder what happens physiologically when you push yourself so hard and find that dark place in training. Does it alter the sleep for the worse? Interesting.

Today I lay in bed thinking if I could have gone harder on not blown apart on that last team pursuit. Was that in my head? Could I have pushed through? It's like replaying the finish of a race that you didn't win. How could I have won that? Should I have sprinted earlier? Later? The weird part is that what kept me up tonight was 1 training ride. That's a different level of intensity.

Today we leave for Cali, Columbia and the next World Cup! I cross my fingers for good internet because I know I will have downtime... I will force myself to have downtime!

Geography lesson:

Gratitude

Every time I come home to Boulder, its the same peaceful feeling. There are other very cool places in this world but I have a hard time imagining leaving Boulder. When I am gone I miss the mountains, the goofy people, the thin air, the great friends, the trail, the quaintness, the harsh sun and the cool evenings, the million cyclists on Hwy 36 any day of the week, The Cup, the climb to Jamestown, the bike path, the Chautauqua, the lack of traffic, the Happy Thursday cruiser rides (watching).... my soul is just happy in this place. I am so thankful I live here and still don't take it for granted after all these years.

Elke on a Mt. Sanitas hike the morning after I got home. Tradition.

When I am traveling I sincerely appreciate all the people I meet who are so willing to help out of the kindness of their hearts. I/we have been so lucky to make connections around the world and the US with people who go out of their way to help. It's the only thing that makes this whole professional bike racing thing work. Without the meals, the beds, the helpfulness, the interest, the laundry facilities, the friendship, the kitchens, the directions, the connections... it just wouldn't be possible.

My Amsterdam friends who went out of their way to take care of me with meals, local insight, rides, borrowed cruiser bike, a map (which I lost), and even an Olympic Stadium tour. Thanks John and Charlotte!

Shelley and I were also fortunate enough to have someone let us "borrow" their house in Manchester. Having a kitchen and laundry and space... it was such a blessing! No pictures but thank you Ema.

If you are ever in a situation to help a traveling athlete of any kind, please do. These athletes aren't traveling on a dime for the fame or money. If they were, they probably wouldn't be looking for your help :) These athletes are doing it because they are chasing a dream!

Thanks for all those who are helping my dreams come true.

Homebound

Sitting in the Manchester airport and desperate for internet, I gave in and paid. So, that one huge latte for 2.5 pounds and internet for 5.0 pounds. At the current exchange rate this hour of entertainment will cost me about $100. Ok, not that bad but OUCH the exchange rate is not favorable for my precious American dollars.

This weekend had some great moments and some disappointing ones as well. From the help of my sweet teammate and sport psychologist, Shelley, I am recognizing these kind of moments as the ones that make me better. More on sports psych in a couple days.

The picture above highlights the great moment of the weekend. Shelley podiums in the scratch. We all (myself, Shelley, and Coryn) made the final and devised a couple plans. One of our plans worked and it was rewarded. The enlightening moment was when Shelley and I realized that we could have done so much better and we still made some errors and yet we still pulled out the podium. Wow! My personal results (finishing last of the finishers) don't tell the story of the race. Anyone who races bikes and understands tactics will understand what this means but for those who don't.... simply, when you lay it out there for your team and do your job you are not racing for your own top finish but the teams. I was excited about Shelley's finish as she was. For real!

Thanks to all the staff at USA Cycling for taking care of us... we love Chris De Vos!

I raced the keirin yesterday. Round 1 was a tough draw but of course they all are at this level. There were 6 of us and only 1 went through. In my heat were 2 world class (oh, and world champs) sprinters in Anna Meares (AUS) and Yvonne Hijgenaar. Anna took it from the front and nobody was able to come around. I had my own personal goals for this race and felt good about the result. I ended 3rd and 4-6 were no where around. It was a good sign of my speed despite doing all this endurance work the last month. The next round was my disappointing moment of the weekend. I needed to finish 1st in order to move on. Not knowing much of anything about the girls in my heat, we picked my strategy the best we could. Unfortunately, the wheel I picked and the moves I made weren't good enough. I learned a good strategic lesson though that I know will help me in a keirin in the future- definitely one for the memory bank. It wasn't my speed or my legs but more my racing decisions. It is good to know that the Dutch girl who won that race ended up making the final and placing 4th.

Who's tall? Me? No. They are short. Above: Shelley, me, Coryn.

I miss this guy in Colorado! Above: Des Dickie, one of my former coaches who now coaches the Hong Kong Team. For all those who know Des, he is looking good and healthy. Besides not speaking the language and not loving the food, he is really happy coaching his team and being rewarded with some great results.

The countdown is on.... about 17 more hours until I can see my puppy!

Manchester... backwards to Amsterdam

My internet has been spotty, at best. In Amsterdam the internet was available either by shared computers in the lobby with a time limit of 20 minutes or by pay-per-minute in the room. I dare all of you to time limit your internet use. You will see which websites take priority. My time was occupied by email, Cyclingnews, FixedGearFever, Twitter, and Facebook. The blog did not make the cut. Plus, didn’t have a good way of loading pictures and who wants a blog without pictures.

Now in Manchester and at our host house we do have wireless internet. For some reason, Shelley’s computer is the only one that works with it though. The first night there was 4 of us here all splitting internet time. Same situation, bored cyclists with nothing better to do but wonder when you will get the computer next.

It’s Thursday morning and I have some time to the computer and nothing has changed on Facebook… so here we go! Brief update of the past several days.

We haven’t done much since arriving in Manchester. We have gone to the track (sweet!) and eaten Indian food on Curry Mile (yum!). Our team manager, Nicola, has been having passport issues and has not been able to leave the USA yet. She is super frustrated and Shelley and I are figuring all these World Cup things by ourselves- how to get accreditations, how to cook our food by ourselves (seriously, Niki is the best), how to drive on the other side of the road, etc. Luckily the National team is here and the staff has been willing to help Shelley and I out with all the other stuff.

Amsterdam:

I had one day in Amsterdam to wander around after racing. My adopted family, who I will introduce in a bit, lent me a cruiser bike to ride into the city. One of my favorite things to do in a new city is to just wander with no purpose or direction. I feel like this is the best way to learn and feel the city. At the start of the day my adopted family gave me a tiny map, one that was torn out of the front of a phone book. Somewhere along the way, that map found its way out of my pocket. When I recognized this I didn’t care much because I was pretty confident I could find my way back to where I needed to be. As I started to head back towards my family’s house, I realized I needed the map. Well, I thought I would just stop and buy a map as I got towards the outside of the city. Two factors- it was Sunday and nothing is open outside the tourists areas on Sunday AND nobody sells maps outside tourists areas anyway. Several long and expensive phone calls, a train ride with my bike, long after the sun went down, I finally arrived back where I started. My relaxing day wandering the city ended up being an epic adventure with me on the verge of tears. My adopted family ended my day and my Dutch visit by taking me out to dinner at Meuder’s (Mother’s), a traditional Dutch food restaurant.

A cute couple riding their bike. You see this all the time.

ya...

A quick summary of Amsterdam… tiny streets lined with canals, bikes, coffee shops, and buildings that look like they might fall over. It always shocks me how old European cities are. Our country is a infant in comparison. Pictures don’t do justice on how cool this place is but I can try.

How old does concrete have to be before it starts wearing down this much? Old.

Can't go to Holland without a picture of a windmill.

Racing:
Eva and I ended up finishing 3^rd overall in the 6-day. I am very pleased with this but left wanting more. It took me a couple days but I figured out how to race the Elimination races and ended up finishing 2^nd the last day and had a couple 3^rd places for the week. The skill level in the women’s Madison was better then I expected. The speed of the races was good too. I only wish we either had a longer race or a third race each night. I know that sounds weird coming from me, the sprinter-endurance girl. I am really hoping to get to race the Rotterdam 6-day in January because I feel like I learned so much over the course of the week. 6-days are great because you race, may mistakes, and have a chance the next night to correct your mistakes. You don’t have to wait another month or week to try something new.

Getting ready for quick ceremony.

Ceremony for winners!

I am trying to keep this short which is really tough. I could write so much more about the racing, the city, the people, etc. If you have any specific questions, write it in my comments and I will try to answer them.

Shelley and I are busy making meals ahead of time for race days... then off to the track. Last day of workouts before racing starts!

Whirlwind Day #2 & #3

Racing is great. Tough. Different style from the US.

On day 2 my partner and I took a lap with 2 other teams. This put us 1 lap up on most teams but 1 lap down from the leaders. There is 1 or 2 other teams that have more points but no lap. Therefore we must keep a keen eye on those team. If they lap we move down in the overall placing. That’s a lot of lingo for you non-cyclists.

Day 3 we struggled at first because we once again started in the back. It’s total chaos back there and is great for practicing my survival skills. We were able to protect our lap and managed to finish 2^nd in the bunch sprint and 3^rd over all. Eva and I are getting really good at communicating. Each day we improve drastically. Yet, we still manage to miss exchanges at critical moments. Today we missed an exchange at about 10 laps to go which left me stranded out there for a while.

Today is day 4 and I look forward to a better day. Yesterday my head seemed to be in the clouds. I wasn’t nervous which isn’t always good. It seems to me that if you aren’t nervous then you aren’t really excited. Too many nerves is bad but too few is bad too. Yesterday, I had no nerves and, therefore, no adrenalin.

I finally slept a whole night last night. The last 2-3 nights, I can’t keep track, I have fallen asleep at 5am. Last night I took 2 Advil PMs and slept for about 10 hours. It should help my head today!

The other US contingent showed up today. Although I haven’t seen them, it’s nice to know they are here and I will have some more companionship the next couple days.

Eva and I.. my Dutch partner.

More pictures and reports later… internet is expensive and slow!

Night 1

1 down and 5 to go. I was glad to get the first night under my belt. I had some extra nerves and general anxiety about racing in a situation that was unfamiliar.

We ended 4^th overall on the night. We each raced individual elimination races which gain points towards the team if you place in the top 5. Eva did her job and got some points… I, on the other hand, didn’t. I got in a bad position and eliminated in the middle of the pack. There really is a different style of racing and that was a wake up call for me.

Our Madison together was FUN! We made plenty of mistakes and will clean those up and do better next time. Here were a couple of the learning points:

- don’t miss exchanges. We missed 2 which left me stuck in the race. A team never wants to miss exchanges and really don’t want to leave the sprinter in there in such a high paced race for that long. Eva learned from those misses and we won’t make those mistakes again.

- I needed to be more aware of the lap counter. It was different here because we raced it like a scratch race with time counting backwards and then when the time ran out we had 10 laps. Well, I wasn’t really paying attention. By the time I thought to look up there sign said 2. I thought it was 2 minutes but it was 2 laps. Oops! Our plan was to have me in there for the sprint but instead I threw Eva in thinking we had 2 minutes on the clock. She finished 4^th which was great but that wasn’t the plan. I guess it would help if I spoke the language since the announcer was counting down the laps. But, of course, I didn’t understand at all.

- I was the one who started the race and Eva started on relief. We needed to start towards the front. I had no problem with this but some instructions from a race director before the race had me confused with the rules on moving up at the beginning. I ended up towards the back and that was a mistake. It was a fast race and hard to move up!

Had to include this picture. They do sprinkles on bread as a savory treat. Hmm...

I got home last night and couldn’t sleep until 5:00am- I slept from 5-11am. I think I was on sensory overload and my mind was racing about the racing and what I was going to do differently the next race. Tonight I take an Advil PM!

I am going to try and attach some videos… hopefully it will work. I left my real camera in the hotel room and all these pictures and video were taken with my iPhone.

BTW- reason #42 I really like Europe- even average hotels have really nice Grohe bathroom fixtures. None of this American Standard stuff.

Bikes and Dikes

Travel was somewhat flawless except that my bike didn’t show up on the same schedule.Luckily it has shown up and all is good. This is why 1) you always travel one day earlier then you think you need to, and 2) you always carry on your shoes, pedals, and helmet. You can always borrow a bike!

The first 24 hours and my sleeping patterns were all kinds of messed up. I followed all the rules but the body didn’t cooperate. I am writing this now, after 2 nights here, and I think I am all set. I slept 10 hours last night thanks to the help of my friend Advil PM.

To recap the first 2 days here, I will just show some pictures in no particular order because internet is paid by the minute and I don't want to waste time!

Bicycle parking deck. Everyone rides here!

Waterways everywhere. The city is below sea level.

Love small Euro streets. Don't need big ones when there aren't SUVs!

This is the bicycle parking deck from a distance. 2.5 stories of bicycle parking.

Eva, my Dutch madison partner, standing next to the track. 48 degrees I think.

Eva in the cabin area. Each madison partner is given a cabin. This is the only area in the infield for cyclists. The rest is for paying customers. Oh, women are not given cabins. We are relegated to the locker rooms outside the infield of the track.

Name tags above the cabins. Bos!

Our sponsor for this week of racing.

Every velodrome needs a bar in the infield.

Now, it’s the morning of the first day of racing. Tonight will be a show! For people who don’t know 6-day racing, I like to describe it like boxing in Las Vegas… its all about entertainment. The big names are here and the promoter expects everyone to put on a show. Don’t get me wrong, the racing will be tough. But, it will be fun too!

A couple random thoughts-

- Dutch people are incredibly nice. All of them.

- I am actually enjoying instant coffee. I brought my press but haven’t used it yet.

- My Swiss roommate and I can hardly communicate.

- Internet is not the same as in the US.

- Live cycling on TV!

- The manager of the velodrome wore a Uni of Colorado jacket yesterday in honor of me/them. I still can’t believe they won.

- Congrats to Lorraine Jarvis!!!! Masters World Champion in the 500m. So proud!