Normalcy

Picking up where I left off...

You talkin' to me?!?  Oh ya...   (p.s. this place actually exists in Amsterdam)

I ended the Rotterdam 6-day in 5th place overall.  Good?  Well, let's see... 1st place Kirsten Wild (NED) just went on to win 3 out of 4 stages and the overall at the Tour of Qatar which is the first big women's stage race for the road season.  2nd place Leire Olaberria (SPA) went on to 3rd place in the World Cup Omnium that next week.  3rd place Kasia Powlowska (POL) went on to win the Individual Pursuit and the Points race at the World Cup that next week. 4th place Jarmila Machacova (CZE) went on to place 2nd at the Points race and do pretty well in the Omnium at the World Cup that next week.  She's currently the UCI Points Race leader.  So, 5th for my form and timing... I'm not satisfied but I'll take it considering.

Pretty bike and wheels, eh?

 I came back to the States and stopped in Atlanta on my way home.  I was long overdue for some quality family time and to meet one of my besties' babies.  It was a quick trip but I got to see mom, dad, brother, sister in-law, mother in-law, Peter, George, Mande, Kara, Joe... and my old childhood bed.  Ahh.

I did some hiking with my brother and my nephew, Charlie.  Hiking is all relative when you are from Colorado.  But, I miss the damp southern forests.

Back home in Colorado, there was plenty of relaxing going on.  I finished a 5 day cleanse- no meat, dairy, grain, coffee, legumes, or Facebook.  

Then added in some hiking.  

 Now, that's a mountain.  (Thanks Jesse!)

I have been doing a handful of fun workouts at my gym- TRX, Kettlebell, all kinds of yoga.

A couple days in Vail thanks to our generous friends Nick and Megan.  No alpine skiing for me.  Just some days on the skate skis just to remind me how much I LOVE that sport.

Maybe a little costumer party along the way.  70's disco!!

WAIT!  Did 3 weeks just fly by and no mention of riding a bike?  What?

Yes.  I did it.  I finally, finally, finally, took a real off season.  Ok, before someone rats me out.  I was seen on a bike a couple times but only when I felt like it.  It was only twice.

I decided after Rotterdam that I needed to rejuvenate the body and mind which meant giving up the opportunity to go to Pan Am Championships or World Championships.  But, I've been dreaming about doing this for a while.  Last year I took 2 weeks off the bike for the first time ever but made the mistake of still doing 2 weeks of bike related things... wind tunnel and Sea Otter with the juniors and I snuck in an early season TT.  So, in reality, I only had 3 days at home doing nothing.

My training started back on February 1.  I may feel out of shape right now but this is going to pay off big dividends this season.  I'm stoked!

I feel like I have been home forever doing "home" things.  Is this what normal people feel like?