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!