Sick Hitch

Hitcher's not feeling so well today - he has what we affectionately call "race stomach." We awoke to a sick dog this morning and a major "accident" in his crate. After a bath, a walk, and a major crate washing, he spent the day napping before going to the vet this afternoon. They're guessing he picked a bug up from another dog in the kennel last weekend, so they didn't charge us for the visit.

He's on antibiotics and a probiotic now. I asked the vet if Pedialyte would be a good thing to get him since he's not a good drinker, and she said it would be fantastic... if I could get him to drink it. Since I knew he liked Fuzzy Navels, lemonade, and Gatorade, I figured it wouldn't be a problem. Sure enough, he's had a lot of orange Pedialyte tonight!

helmet for wine

I hopped on the trainer for a cool down right after my Elkhorn TT and was approached by a guy with a charming Kiwi accent. He asked if he could borrow my TT helmet. I was hesitant to loan it out because it's new, but the guy explained that he was the leader for the 1/2 men and didn't have a helmet. He seemed nice, so I decided to let him use it. My helmet must be lucky or fast because it was used by both Tuckerman and me, and we ended up being the G.C. winners for the 1/2 men and 1/2 women.

Later that day, when he gave the helmet back, he handed me a bottle of wine from a local Oregon winery. Very nice of him, and the wine has received very good reviews, so it'll be fun to try it here soon.

Racin' and such

Another stage race is officially complete. The Elkhorn Classic took place over the weekend in Baker City, Oregon: http://www.elkhornclassicstagerace.com/ This was the 6th year for the race, and I believe it was also my 6th trip to Baker City. The course for the first road race was different this year, due to road construction, so no one really knew what to expect. Heat and 40 miles of climbing with a severe crosswind were what we got. I really wouldn't say that I had fun in Friday's race, as I was plagued with severe abdominal cramps early on (thankfully they subsided a little bit). A breakaway went about half-way into the race and I simply could not respond, so I ended up in a good-sized chase group. Thankfully, my teammate Kari was with me and she pulled us along, letting me rest until my stomach felt better. A frustrating chase ensued, as only a few of us would pull through, and no one was putting much effort into keeping the pace high. I became incredibly frustrated, as I was not content to let the race just ride up the road. After several attempts/urges to get people to work, I attacked the group and decided to go the last 10 miles solo. I certainly questioned my decision a couple times, as I thought I was going to blow up, but it ended up being the right move. I caught some stragglers from the lead group who had blown up and moved into 3rd place for the day.

Saturday morning was our time trial, which I was excited about after Friday's suffer fest. Once again, I was not able to maintain the wattage goal I set for myself, but it ended up being a good enough effort to take the win. My teammate, Michele, took 2nd place, so it was a great stage for the team!

A local Baker City gourmet shop sponsored the women's criterium Saturday afternoon, matching our prize list to that of the category 1/2 men. This is pretty much unheard of, so it was awesome of Bella's to do that for us. Carrie was the only one from our team to get a prime, even though I tried a few times. The woman in 2nd place got off the front in the crit and managed to stay off, with the rest of the pack finishing together.

Yesterday's final 101 mile stage began early and stayed mild until the final climb. Right after we rolled away from the start, a woman informed me that I was the new leader since the women who had been in first and second places did not show up. While it's nice to hear that you're the leader, it's not ideal to gain the lead because the people ahead of you don't show up! Rumor has it that one of the women cannot race on Sundays because of her religion, so she was never planning on starting the final stage. The other woman? Not sure, but I heard that she was concerned about the distance. Who knows? Tia's fiance, Andy, was very kind to go to the feed zone and give us all bottles, which I definitely needed. Thanks Andy!

On the final climb, the woman in 2nd to me started pushing the pace, so I just sat on. I knew I had over 3 minutes on her, so I was going to be defensive, rather than aggressive. Plus, I was having stomach problems again. Note to self: Do not eat a Lara Bar in the middle of a race. Yes, they're tasty, but dried cherries, dates, and nuts are not a good idea. Hmmm... too much fiber. The top of the hill, complete with porta potty, could not come quickly enough!

The girl in second got away from me and all I could do was try to minimize the losses to her. Thankfully, she only gained a portion of what she needed to overtake me, so I kept the lead. Carrie had a great finish too, coming in 4th up the climb.

Ted had some problems with his lungs in yesterday's race, coughing very hard and having a tough time breathing. He has had this same problem a couple times in the past, and especially in dry, hot climates. He had a chest x-ray done once before, but nothing showed up. Time to see someone again. He's very frustrated and not sure what's going on, so hopefully he can figure something out with his doctor this week.

We picked Hitcher up this morning and he was super excited to be home. He's had a lot of time in the kennel the past couple weeks, so he's been a stressed pup. He shouldn't have to go back for a while now, though, as he should be going with us to our next few races.

Our friend Ben, a vet student, just came over to show me how to take care of Hitcher's anal glands. Fun, fun. Apparently, they're just a problem for some dogs, while others never have a problem at all. Now I know how to do it myself, so hopefully we'll have fewer vet visits.

Rusty comes home for a super quick visit tomorrow to help Mom and Dad with their move, so I'll head down a couple times in the next couple days. Dinner time!

Methow recap

We're back from our weekend of racing in the Methow Valley of north central Washington. It's a beautiful area, known for its cross-country skiing in the winter, and its hiking and camping in the summer. Ted and I drove over with our friend Ben from Pullman, and met up to share a room with my teammate, Carrie. Our hotel was a cute "mom and pop" place that had one of the best breakfast spreads I've seen, and they went out of their way to have breakfast out early enough for all the racers staying there.

Ted had his best time trial effort of the year, finishing 8th and putting him as the top rider on his team, so that was a good start to the weekend for him. I had an okay time trial too, but it was definitely not my best effort. While Ted put out his highest wattage for the season, I was way off from where I have been recently... and where I should be. A little disappointing, but at least my leg wasn't bothering me, which I had been worried about.

There wasn't much time to relax before we had to head to the crit. There were some ominous-looking clouds and some thunder, but thankfully the rain held off for all of the races. My crit was tough, as I got in a break off the front with four other women. Two of the women were teammates and were working hard against me. For a while, I held my own pretty well, but eventually they got the better of me and one of them got off the front on her own. Since this race is based on points, rather than the accumulated time, it didn't really matter how far off the front she got; it was more critical for me to finish highly and get the most points I could still get, so I stopped chasing. I ended up 3rd, so that was okay.

Ted's crit made me nervous, as I heard the horrible sound of a crash and then didn't see Ted when his pack came around the next time. Thankfully, he had not actually gone down, though he had gotten stuck behind the crash. His teammate wasn't so lucky and hit the ground pretty hard. We all came home with all our skin, and that's what really matters!

We woke up to lots of wind for yesterday's final stage - the 71 mile road race. The course was sort of an out-and-back course, with a little loop thrown in the middle. We had a stiff headwind for most of the way out, and it was a super fast return trip. The women's race was pretty slow and inactive, especially for the way out, but the activity picked up for the last 15 miles or so. There were several hard attacks, which saw the field shattering.

My teammate, Carrie, ended up off the front with two teammates (the same two who were beating up on me in the criterium). I didn't think I would be able to bridge the gap up to them, so I told Carrie to go for it, but they slowed a little and I was able to join them. Carrie and I were on the defensive, as the other team launched a steady stream of attacks for the last 5 miles. It became pretty obvious that they weren't going to go anywhere, but they still kept attacking, which was fine with me since I was hoping it would wear them down a bit. Carrie and I worked well together, chasing down alternating attacks. We saw the sign for the final kilometer and then suddenly saw the 200 meter sign (the final kilometer was definitely short!). Carrie and I sprinted, with Carrie taking the win and me taking second. It was fantastic for us to finish 1 & 2, and I think it showed that we raced smart. Carrie was riding super well, so that was great to see.

Carrie was concerned that she had kept me from taking the overall win for the weekend because she got the top points for the weekend, but it would not have mattered. Even if I had won, the woman ahead of me would have had to have placed several places back for me to pass her. Carrie, on the other hand, was able to move up in the final results, so that was wonderful. Overall, it was a good weekend of racing, and our team is starting to show our strength.

Busy Summer

As part of the moving process, I've gone through a lot of my stuff, and decided to try putting some of it up on eBay. Amazingly enough, a lot of it has actually sold, and it's stuff I don't even want! Most of it is cycling clothing and components and they seem to be fairly hot items. Who'd have thought?

I received the rough concepts for my business logo yesterday and they look very cool. I'm excited. My logo will definitely be unique and will stand out, thanks to Ted's friend Daniel. He also has a lot of marketing ideas. For now, I just have a very basic web site: www.uspca.net/wa/personalpala

I just finished looking at a calendar for the rest of the summer and it's going to be busy! The next weekend at home appears to be 8 or 9 weeks from now. Yes, there is a lot of bike racing ahead, along with a trip to Chicago, a move to a different place here in Pullman, a trip to San Antonio for Ted, and more. Busy, busy, but that's how I like it.

I've had a problem with my leg this week, so I'm hoping it treats me okay for racing this weekend. My left quad became sore on Monday and it's been bothering me when I ride, and especially for hard efforts. I'm just resting it now, with hopes that it'll feel fine by Saturday. This weekend's racing is in the Methow Valley of Washington, which is supposed to be a beautiful area.

That's all for now!

Old house near Hood River.

Friends?

Miss P

Hood River and the new place

We're back from our busy and hard week of racing in Hood River. It was so hot there! I'm actually not minding our 50 degree weather here today after spending the last week sweating.

The racing went pretty well for both Ted and me, with both of us having our best races there that we've had there. I had my best showing at an NRC (National Race Calendar) race ever, so I was very excited about that. I walked away with two top 10 finishes in individual stages, which is something I've never done at an NRC race. Too bad I completely blew up in the final two stages, or I could have left with an overall top-10 finish. Oh well. I still walked away with 20th. I have a fantastic coach this year who is really helping me to come around, so many thanks go out to him.

The time trial stage in Hood was probably the coolest TT I have ever done. For starters, at 18.5 miles, it was longer than almost any TT in a stage race. Then, to make it tougher, it included almost 2000 feet of climbing, a stiff headwind, and it ran through the historic tunnels of the town of Mosier. Very cool!

We signed a lease for a new place right before we left for Hood River. We pretty much stumbled on a small house that suddenly became available. It's probably about the same size as our current apartment, but it has a big fenced yard that goes all the way around it, which will be fantastic now that Hitcher is here. Plus, it'll be nice to be in a house, rather than an apartment. We'll move at the end of July, so there's a fair amount of stuff to get done before then. It's forcing me to go through all of my stuff - I just put a bunch of cycling gear up on Ebay. We'll have to have a party once we get all moved over.