Exergy TWENTY12

Big news for the team!

Introducing Exergy TWENTY12 Professional Women's Cycling Team from Exergy TWENTY12 on Vimeo.

Hello SoCal

Well, here, there, and everywhere.

We wrapped up the camp in Colorado Springs and it's kind of been a whirlwind since.

Here's a quick shot of a group ride in the beautiful hills outside Garden of the Gods.

A workout in Colorado Springs with a little extra oxygen for good measure.

2 weeks in Colorado Springs, 1 night at home, 1 day/night in Las Vegas, a handful nights back in Boulder, and the drive out to Los Angeles. I am getting settled here in LA and have a peace now with this city. Although there are things I would rather not deal with (traffic, smog, 4.5 million people, concrete, etc.)... there are things that I can appreciate about living here. (I have now sat and stared blankly at my computer for 3 minutes trying to make that "like" list.) No, really, I have found my little pocket of happiness in SoCal. I have a wonderful friend and house to live in in Huntington Beach, the winter weather actually allows me to train, there is an indoor velodrome, great selection of healthy grocery stores, and the ability to recover and relax between workouts. Being away from home is hard but it allows me to have complete focus.

I will always miss home. Here is a shot from a recent mountain bike ride.

Speaking of focus. I am sitting here on my bed in LA while the first morning of the Omnium is taking place at Elite Track Nationals. Weird, right? Yes, weird.

I LOVE racing my bike. I LOVE the omnium. I am good, really good, at the omnium. But, this winter I am focusing. I am focusing on making the Team Pursuit team for next summer's London Olympics.

"Excellence demands sacrifice." - Kristin Armstrong

We all sacrifice. Greg and I have made major sacrifices (careers for both of us, living in separate cities, lifestyle) in order for me to pursue my cycling career. In the big picture, my sitting out of my favorite races this year at Nationals is a small sacrifice. But, in the moment, it feels like a hard one. Even, as of yesterday, I doubted my decision and almost registered.

Focus. This year is different and I will remain focused on the big picture. I am a perfect A.D.D. athlete but I can and will remain focused on the goal for the next 11 months.

"Excellence demands sacrifice." Thanks Kristin!

Labor on the Labor Day

I don't really get Labor Day. Maybe I should take the time to read about it and figure out exactly why we celebrate labor by not working. With the recent reports in the news about the USA (13 average vacation days and only 56% of people use them), maybe Labor Day is a way to make people take a day off.

Well, not for us! Last week we started our first Team Pursuit camp here in Colorado Springs. It's fun to be back with the girls and get some early season track time in the legs.

With road racing season wrapping up and track racing season on the horizon, there is a lot to be excited about!

More updates with, hopefully, some pictures later in this week!!

Small Glimpse

of what was a lot of work for both us girls and for the awesome crew of Jim and Iri, Brakethrough Media and Panforte Productions.

These are the only photos I have seen so far and I figure they are ok to share since Jim/Iri posted them on Facebook. To see all the other media and photos you will have to wait :)

Oh, and I added this one just to show the winning team for the Aspen Women's Stage Race. From L to R: Alisha, Olivia, KMac, Armstrong, Ali, Me.

Boulder-CoS-Aspen-Vail-Boulder-Cos-Boulder

That was my last week of travel. Looks rough with the number of cities but take a closer look. Aspen? Vail? Boulder? Life is sweet!

I left Boulder to spend some days in Colorado Springs to race.... er, I mean watch some really sweet track racing, Winslow BMW Sprint Grand Prix. World class!

I drove over to Aspen to race the Aspen Women's Stage Race for 3 days. That altitude put a hurt on me. I can't imagine how the girls from sea level felt. It was a successful race for the team- KArmstrong winning the overall and KMac winning the Best Colorado Rider. Some serious beautiful days and nights in Aspen and lots of work to be done for the team off the bike each day. Exhausted but totally excited! (announcements coming soon)

The view from lunch one day in Aspen after the race. Makes me smile.

KMac and O-Wow on a ride in Carbodale pre-race.

From Aspen, I drove to Vail to meet Greg, Nick, and Megan. I know, rough life! Aspen.... Vail... can you pass the Dom please? Thanks to Nick and Megan, we all stayed at the Ritz in Vail for 2 nights. The four of us enjoyed watching some bike racing, riding our own bikes, drinking some wine, eating some good food, and relaxing.

The Pro Cycling Challenge TT started in the Vail Village.

The town was cycling crazy.

Greg and I watching... in the shade!

Nick and Megan making very important business decisions at the Ritz poolside. Seriously, they were.

Greg and I ran into our friends Jon and Beth in the Avon/Beaver Creek area watching some more Pro Cycling Challenge racing. In 2 days, I randomly saw them 3 times.

Home for 8 hours, 5 of which were sleep, and then back to Colorado Springs for some track training. Oh ya, I was tired when I got home last night! After a tough ride with some girlfriends this morning, I am stuck on the couch. The week finally caught up to me and I am ready for my rest day tomorrow! Oh wait, I still need to go to the gym today. Then I can start my resting.

Later!

Up an Over

It's no wonder why people visit Colorado in the summertime. Sitting in the car for 4 hours didn't seem like a chore at all. It was like a vacation.

Yesterday, Nicola and I drove from Colorado Springs to Aspen which took us up and over Independence Pass.

This is one of the routes for this week's USA Pro Cycling Challenge. It seemed hard to me in a car so good luck to all those guys who are pedaling their way.... oh, wait, RACING their way up that little hill. The downhill seems to me like the "challenge" part of this.

For those of you who don't know, Nicola Cranmer is the woman who gets work done for women's cycling. She is the owner/manager of my team but her job doesn't stop there. She is an advocate for women's cycling and development of young riders.

Yes, we took the cheesy tourist picture. Had to.

Today is the start of the Women's Aspen Stage Race which is a 3 day race. It starts with an uphill time trial tonight. Oooohhhh, my favorite!

Yes, I exist.

Usually when I don't keep up with my blog, it is because I don't have anything worthy of bothering you with. My ego is smaller then most bloggers and I tend to underestimate the excitement of my life.

Not so true these days. This summer has been particularly exciting!

Last I updated was June. I hate even admitting that. The couple subtle reminder emails I have received from friends and family has inspired me once again to write.

So, the quick recap:

June:

I ended up 2nd in The Tour of America's Dairyland which was a 10 day Omnium style race. Racing with no teammates and only losing to the legend, Laura Van Gilder. Yes, I was happy with that! Great experience traveling with my friend Jen Triplett too!

From there I went into coaching mode and loved the whole experience. Thanks to USA Cycling for giving me the opportunity to mentor and coach some wonderful 16-18 year olds. Parents- if you want your kids to have a good shot at being quality, classy, respectful young adults, put them in sports!

That was 1 week in Indianapolis, IN (my birthplace) and 1 week in Frisco, TX at Junior Nationals.

July:

One week at home to recover from the WI-IN-TX trip and prepare to leave for Bend, OR to join my team in the Cascade Classic Stage Race. Yes, for those of you who understand cycling, this was a hilly stage race. Doesn't much sound like me? True. It doesn't. The truth must be told- I enjoyed every second of it (well, minus the last road race day) and would do it again in an instant. Racing with my teammates was inspiring! Typically I would have some advantage living in high-altitude Boulder and training in the mountains. But, my month of June at sea level and flat lands put me in the same boat as everyone else. Ouch!

That tough week was followed by a rest week and Greg and I took off for the cabin in Yellowstone. Thank you Rich! This is our secret little retreat cabin. Ha! I said "our" retreat. This is funny since Greg has been escaping here for the last 25 years of his life to meet up with his brother from Montana. So, really, it's the dude's cabin and I only get invited about every 5 years or so. :) Those couple days I didn't do much of anything except.... sleep, read, eat, love on the dog, and shoot some guns. We did see a bear this time around!

We arrived home and the "Mom-a-thon 2011" started the next day. My mom and Greg's mom for 10 days! Perfect timing for my mom to get in town since I promptly got sick. Everyone needs their mom around when they are stuck on the couch for 4 days! I got something called BPPV- Benign Paraoxymal Positional Vertigo. Basically, I couldn't stand or sit without getting dizzy and having nausea. Really, no fun. It just added a couple days onto my rest week but really dampened the fun I had schedule with the Mom-a-thon. Thanks Mom! I owe you.

That brings us to August:

Training and sleeping at home has been AWESOME! I still love Colorado and feel so rejuvenated when I am home.

This weekend I am down in Colorado Springs watching some high level sprint racing at the velodrome. Tomorrow I head up to Aspen for a 3-day stage race with my team. Then, I will stay a couple days in Vail to watch the men's Pro Challenge which is all week in CO. Updates WILL follow!