2007 Pullman Cyclocross Race

Pullman Cyclocross Photos, all courtesy of Michael Costello.

A shot of the spiral, which consisted of 3 in-going and 3 out-going spirals.

Me, entering the "spiral of death," unable to stay in touch with race winner Jenni Gaertner.

The "spiral of death" was Ted's idea. It took 2 hours to set up, but was well worth it.

One of the race promoters, suffering after a long morning of course set-up.

Kevin Bradford-Parish, the Men's A winner made our heinous "run-up" look too easy.

We ladies had to suffer too. A 'cross run-up, Palouse-style.

The shorter, and easier, of our two run-ups.

We had a pretty good turnout.


Our race went off fairly well today, though there were some times when we were scrambling. We were pretty shocked with the turnout of 65 racers, as we would have been happy with 40.

Rollercoaster Day

Today's been a bit of an up and down day. The cool part of the day was when I got a new car. My little Ford Focus was starting to have more and more problems, along with a soon-to-expire warranty, so we (being Mom, Dad, and me) decided to trade it in. They drove up to Pullman today to go to a dealership in Moscow. We began this process last week, so we had a good idea of what we were looking for today. None of us actually expected to drive a new car off the lot today, but that's what happened! I'm now driving a brand new Toyota Rav4 and I love it. I'm going to get a roof rack for it, and then it will be complete. I think it will be a perfect bike race car. Plus, I think it looks cute. Thanks Mom and Dad!

Ted and I were playing fetch with Hitcher in the yard this morning right when Mom and Dad arrived. I heard Ted yell that Hitch had hurt himself, and I discovered that Hitcher had stepped on an old nail. It was sticking out of his paw. Ted pulled it out and I called the vet. They suggested I bring him in, which Ted kindly did. Ted called me later to say that he was going to be put under to have the paw cleaned. Anasthesia always scares me with my pets, so I could barely eat any of my lunch. Was it necessary for them to do it? I don't know. He's home and awake, which is all I really care about. He's super groggy, but just fine. I decided today that I definitely need to get another dog because I need to have two to split my love between. That way, if something happens to one, I will still have another one. Ted says I can get another dog... as long as I'm willing to get another boyfriend also.

We're working on our race also. I keep thinking we're forgetting some crucial element, but hopefully not! The forecast looks decent, so I think it'll be a lot of fun. I'm off to have a cup of tea and sit with my groggy pup.

Done with Raw

The raw diet was over for us after only 5 days. We were invited to a get-together at a friend's house Friday night, and everyone was going to be eating onion soup, cheese, bread, and more. We decided to take a break from the diet for that evening, and never ended up returning to the raw diet. This doesn't mean we are totally done with dieting, as we both still want to lose some pounds, but we are done with the super strict raw diet.

I was feeling a bit weak on the 4th and 5th days of the diet, so I think my body was ready for a more well-balanced diet. I am feeling less weak now that I am getting more protein and more calories.

Pygmy Rabbit

Tater Tot, a female Pygmy Rabbit at WSU.

My friend Laura, a wildlife biologist at WSU, showed me around some of the facilities here yesterday. She works with a variety of animals, so I got to see the grizzly bears, baby deer, and Pygmy Rabbits. The grizzlies are always impressive and it was really cute to see the cubs brawling. I had specifically asked if I could see a Pygmy Rabbit, and boy are they cute. They are so small! Laura told me they would make Cottontails look ugly, and they pretty much do. The Washington population of Pygmies is extinct, so WSU and other facilities are attempting to crossbreed and increase the population.

The Great Tahini Crisis of 2007

My one concern with this diet is that it's hard to take in enough calories because all of this fiber makes me feel so full. I was feeling a bit weak on our ride today, so we stopped at the local food co-op to grab a banana and a smoothie; we were actually going there anyway because it is impossible to purchase tahini on the Palouse right now, and we want to make hummus. Call it the "Great Tahini Crisis of 2007," as the major tahini brand has been recalled for the past few months due to Salmonella.

As we were leaving the co-op, we were approached by a rather portly girl, who said she has noticed two things about this area: 1) everyone in this area rides a bike and 2) everyone who rides is thin. She then proceeded to ask us how quickly she could lose weight if she started cycling. What she really needs to realize is that she was at the co-op, which is frequented by "green" health nuts, so of course they all ride their bikes around town, and they all eat their health food. Upon realizing that this girl found us quite thin and trim, I had to ask, "Why are we doing this diet?"

Still doing it....

Raw Ravioli

We have successfully made it through two full days of raw food. One thing about this diet is that it forces you to be creative and try new things. Breakfasts are really easy because I am perfectly content with eating a bunch of fruit and nuts. Lunch and dinner get a little harder. Cold soups, hummus, guacamole, smoothies, fresh fruit juice, and raw "ravioli" are some of the things planned. I tried the ravioli tonight (see photo above), which wasn't bad, and was surprisingly rich. Here's the recipe, just in case anyone else out there decides to go raw:

Raw Ravioli

Wrapper:

4 turnips

Peal the turnips. Slice the turnips into very thin slices by cutting them in half and then using a spiral slicer, mandolin or other vegetable slicer to make thin round disks.
These will be used as the wrapper which would normally be the pasta dough.

Cheese filling:
1 cup pine nuts
1 cup macadamia nuts
1 cup walnuts
6 t Braggs or Nama Shoyu
8 t lemon juice
2 cloves garlic
1 cup parsley

Blend the pine nuts, macadamia nuts and walnuts in a food processor until ground. Add the rest of the ingredients and blend well, until creamy.

Tomato Sauce:
2 large tomatoes
1/2 cup sun dried tomatoes
1/4 cup fresh basil
1 clove garlic
6 dates
dash of olive oil (optional)

Soak the sun dried tomatoes until soft. Blend in food processor: the tomatoes, sun-dried tomatoes, basil and garlic until well blended. Add the dates and olive oil and blend until smooth. This sauce should be thick.

Directions for assembling the ravioli:
Remove a single turnip slice from the batch. Place a teaspoon full of cheese filling in the turnip slice and fold the turnip over until all the sides meet. Squeeze the edges together. Some of the filling will ooze out; but this is what will hold the edges together. Just put the excess back into the bowl to reuse. If you don't have enough filling in them they will not stick together. Place them in a single layer on a large plate and drizzle the tomato sauce on top; allow to sit for a few hours. The turnip will become soft from the tomato sauce. Use a spatula to scoop the raviolis up and serve.

Weekend o' Cross

Through the barriers at Starcrossed.
Hitch was tired after a weekend of cyclocross.

The start of Ted's race in Steilacoom.

The heinous run-up at Steilacoom.

We're back from a pretty busy, but fun, weekend. Starcrossed was fun, as always. The course was good for me because technical sections were pretty minimal. Right as we were heading out to pre-ride the course, Hitcher escaped from Ted's grip and took off through the busy parking lots. He would run toward us when called, but then dodge us at the last second. I felt sick to my stomach because he could have just kept running and been gone. Thankfully, Ted was able to tackle him (literally) to the ground. Needless to say, I was not at all happy with him. Something similar probably happened when he was out hunting with his previous owner, and that's how he ended up starving and cold. Dumb dog!

Anyway, the racing was good. Ted's field was really big, with about 85 guys starting. I didn't get to watch too much of his race because I had to warm up for my race, which followed his, but I could see some of the action from where we were parked. It was his best performance at Starcrossed, so he was relatively happy with it.

For my race, my goals were to avoid being lapped and to not finish last, and I actually accomplished them both. I would lose time each lap through the barriers, but would then gain some back on the faster power sections. I ended up beating some women I had not beaten before in cyclocross and did not lose as much time to the winners as in years past.

We, of course, stayed around to watch the elite men race, and it had gotten really chilly by then. Neither of us even had a beer because were so cold that it wasn't very appealing. Plus, we had that post-race upset stomach. Hitcher sported his fancy coat, which got some laughs and points from some people, as well as a comment that he looked like a "thoroughbred." It did stop his shivering, though!

Since Ted's team puts on Starcrossed, he stayed and helped with course takedown, so it was pretty late (and cold!) by the time we left. Hitcher and I eventually hopped in the car to warm up and the coonhound in him was raging when two raccoons ran in front of the car. I had to plug my ears until he stopped howling.

Ted had some bad luck at yesterday's race. Right before his race started, he threw my rear wheel on his bike. His race started and his chain was skipping all over the place, refusing to stay in any one gear, so he called it quits. He was frustrated at the time, but is glad in retrospect that he stopped because his chain was about to snap, which would have likely launched him over the bars.

By the time my race started, it had warmed up considerably and the sun was shining. I didn't feel great at the start, but began to feel better as the race progressed. At one point, I was sitting in last place, but I managed to rope a few girls in, and actually felt pretty good toward the end of the race. I was shocked when I was handed a check for finishing in the top 15. Me? Making some prize money in cyclocross?

Ted and I have both come to the realization that we have gained some weight since the road season ended, so we are officially on a diet. We are doing a raw food diet, so we basically will be eating a lot of fruits, vegetables, and nuts. We don't know exactly how long we'll keep this up. Chances are good that I'll be the one to crack. We'll have to get creative with our meal prep. Hopefully it jumpstarts our weight loss, as we'd each like to lose at least 10 pounds.

Cross and More Cross

We're heading over to Seattle tomorrow to do Starcrossed, which is such a cool event. Cyclocross races begin in the afternoon, and continue into the evening, with the elite women and men finishing up under the lights of the Marymoor Velodrome. By the time the sun sets, the crowds are big and the beer garden is full. Speaking of the beer garden, it is situated in the center of the velodrome infield, with the course snaking around it, which makes it easy to spectate and have a drink at the same time. The beer last year was PBR, so it left a little to be desired. This year, however, Deschutes is the sponsoring brewery, so it will actually be worth it to have a beer or two.

I'll be racing with the elite women. Since I have a cat 1 license on the road, USA Cycling insists on making me a 1 in cyclocross also. I'm in a rough spot because I tend to place at the top of the B women category, or at the bottom of the A category. I guess I might as well challenge myself by racing against all those women who are better than I am, with hopes that it will rub off on me eventually!

We'll do another race in Seattle on Sunday, which has a super long run-up. I believe it's about 80 meters long, and it really does make the legs burn. If it rains, I imagine it will be super sloppy and muddy.

It looks as if the race we're promoting in Pullman will go off okay. We have our officials, our course, and all of our permits. I think we'll even get some turn-out from the local mountain bike community. In fact, there seems to be more and more interest for cyclocross in Pullman and Moscow, as we have had random people ask us about the sport during our practices. Now if we could just get some more women to give it a try!

Photos

Pullman Cyclocross Race

Ted and I are promoting a cyclocross race in Pullman on October 7th. It will be the first race in the Inland Northwest Cyclocross Series. Let us know if you want to come and do it, and we can try to find a place for you to stay. Here's a copy of the flyer:

2007 Inland Northwest Cyclocross Series Race #1 – Pullman, WA

Military Hill Cyclocross

October 7, 2007

Held under USCF, permit #s in progress

Organized by Allison Beall and Ted Chauvin, with help from Emde Sports LLC




CATEGORIES / START TIMES / CYCLO-CROSS 700 cc (mass start)

Men A 12:00 noon - 55 minutes (+/-)
Men B 12:01 pm
Master Men 40+ 12:02 pm
Women, Juniors 18 under 12:03 pm
"Total Rookie" 12:04 pm "NEW" Female "Rookie" Category!

Mountain Bike Categories (Men A, Men B, Juniors and Women) 12:05 pm



Directions to venue: Take WA-195 south to Pullman. Once in Pullman turn left on N Grand Ave and proceed to NW Stadium Way and turn left (Dissmores IGA will be on your right side). You then will immediately veer right on Hall Street and drive all the way up the hill to Military Hill Park. Parking is at the Pullman Aquatic center which is at 500 NW Larry St. Do not park at the high school.


For more information or questions see:

http://www.emdesports.com/Race_Flyers/2007_cyclocross.html

Moose Marbled

We successfully completed our mountain bike race today, which was Ted's first mtn race in 6 or 7 years, and my second ever. We both finished with all skin intact, though I don't think the same could be said for our pride. Thankfully we both entered the race with just the right level of expectation... none!

Ted and I can both catch people on the climbing sections, but even more people seem to pass us back on the singletrack sections. Frustrating at times, but a year ago I would not have even considered trying the race, so I have definitely improved. I remember a ride I did a few years ago with my good friend, June. It included some of the trails from today's race, and I literally walked 3/4 of it. She was such a good sport and waited for me. I can honestly say I rode at least 3/4 of it today!

I did get into a little "tiff" with a guy in the race today. I had come to a sudden stop, so I allowed at least a handful of people behind to pass. I knew I couldn't let everyone pass, so I finally attempted to jump back into the race. The guy coming up behind me yelled at me for not letting him pass. I thought of what Ted and Lorena had told me at the start, which was to hold my own, and to remember that it is not my responsibility to stop and let everyone pass. I told the guy that I was racing too, to which he gave a somewhat nasty response. It wasn't my finest moment, but I told him to shut up. By this time he was past me, so I just made sure to pass him back on the next uphill section. This went on for the rest of the race. I caught him at one point when he had a flat and he said, very sarcastically, "Congratulations, you finally got me." Sure enough, the final section of the race was descending singletrack, so he beat me to the finish. I'm sure it made his day to beat me. He should be so proud - he beat someone who practically walks down anything even remotely technical, and a girl, no less. Okay, rant over.

Seriously, though, it was fun to do a mountain bike race for something different. It was a beautiful day too!

Moscow Mountain Madness

Two nights ago we headed up to Moscow Mountain in an attempt to find the course for this weekend's Moscow Mountain Madness mountain bike race: http://palouseroadrunners.org/RunningRoutes/MMM-Map.htm.

Since the trails on the mountain really are not marked at all, we managed to get ourselves a little lost, and darkness was coming quickly. We found a descending gravel road, which at least got us off of the singletrack, and was definitely taking us to the bottom of the mountain. We got to the bottom and ended up on back roads, but it was so dark that we could barely tell where we were. In any case, we were not near our car. A few miles on dusty gravel roads brought us to familiar territory, and we made it back to the car well after 8 pm.

We were starving after our adventure, so a stop at Patty's (http://www.pattysmexicankitchen.com/) for burritos was in store. FYI: Patty's has the best, and most authentic, Mexican food on the Palouse. Their tamales are particularly good!

We never did get to ride the whole course for Sunday, but we're still going to give it a try. It's practice for cyclocross, right?

It's cyclocross time!

The first cross race of the season was yesterday at South Seatac, which is definitely not a venue that suits me. With several sandy sections and some twisty singletrack, I would lose ground every time things got a little more technical. On the plus side, I would make up lots of ground on the run-ups and pavement. Both Ted and I finished the race with burning legs and heaving lungs. It was, afterall, the first race in weeks for either of us. We both had fun, but also realized that we need to really get in shape and work on our technical skills, especially me!

Tia and Andy's wedding on Sunday was very nice with a lakeside ceremony, good food, and lots of conversation. We were very glad that we could make the trip over to be there, and the opportunity to do a cross race was just a bonus.

I am riding for the Vanderkitten cyclocross team this fall, which I'm very excited about. More to follow on that.

A Few Photos

Here's a photo from the little cocktail party we had at our place last night. Here we have me, Ted's boss, John, and our friend Karl.

It didn't take the animals long to check out the new sofa/futon.

Shamus has always liked to sleep on plastic bags. This is where Ted found him a few mornings ago.

A Very Random Assortment of Things

These little buggers hang out in our trees each morning, causing Hitcher to spend hours looking skyward, and, of course, to howl.

Mmmmmmm.....uffaletta. We had some authentic New Orleans-style olive salad on hand, so I made this muffaletta for dinner one night last week. Well, actually, it lasted for more than 1 meal - more like 3.

I finally met our 98 year old neighbor two evenings ago. She said, "Your dog is the best behaved dog. He never barks at me." Ted says her comments are proof of her senility.

Hitcher came darn close to eating my parents' parakeet yesterday. The poor bird was all ruffled and worked up. Apparently, later that evening, the bird got loose in the house after biting my dad, and both the dog and cat were chasing it around.

I've never really been allergic to anything before, but I am certainly suffering from seasonal allergies right now. I had a bad reaction in the middle of our group ride last Saturday, so I'm now taking OTC Claritin. It seems to help a bit.

We're having a cocktail party on Friday night. I think we're both hoping it will force us to organize the spare bedroom/office, along with being fun, of course. After having a few weekends at home, we're heading toward Seattle this weekend for Tia and Andy's wedding (http://cannondalegirl.blogspot.com/) and a cross race.

Today is Pazza's birthday. She's 2!

We've been doing a fair amount of mountain biking lately. Lord knows I can use all the practice I can get! The nice thing is that I can actually see the progression as I get better and more confident. Don't get me wrong - I'm still a wuss, but I'm less of a chicken than I used to be.

We went up to Moscow Mountain yesterday morning with Chris and Lorena, who offered to show us some trails. We had been doing the same loop over and over, so it was fun (and a little scary!) to try some new trails. Seeing as my first cross race is probably a week from today, I need to get myself heading into off-road mode... and fast.

Lots of people walk by our house since it is in a neighborhood full of families and is directly across the street from the park. Hitcher howls at anyone passing with a dog, and even quite a few without, which is what the bark collar is for. There is only one person at whom he never howls - our 98 year old neighbor who walks to the park with her walker. We have yet to meet her, but other neighbors have told us that she lives alone and walks all over town with her walker. Hitcher will quietly watch her, or walk along beside her as she passes our fence, but he has never howled at her. It's almost as if he knows better than to bother this old lady.

Rafting

Rusty and his girlfriend, Deborah, came back for a few days to visit this week.
Since Rusty and Deborah were in town, we all decided to take a raft trip on the Salmon River. Mom sat this one out. Left to right we have: me, Ted, Dad, Rusty, and Deborah.

Ted was first up in the kayak since he was the one who was most enthusiastic about it. He ended up kayaking when the sun was directly overhead and forgot to put sunscreen on the fronts of his legs, so he has some very red shins right now!

Rusty was sure that Ted was going to end up in the water, so we were all waiting for Rusty to have his moment of glory. Surprisingly enough, he made it through without turning it over.

Finally, it was my turn in the kayak. I had never gone kayaking before, and it turned out to be really fun. Our guide forgot to mention that I would have two rapids to go through, rather than one. The 2nd one sure looked big to me, but I made it through without capsizing. My arms and torso were very sore the next day, as were my legs from running, so I was pretty much sore all over!

Greedy scammers

We knew there would be a lot of cleaning to do when we moved out of our old apartment. Ted lived there for eight years, so almost nothing had been replaced or tended to in that time. We both cleaned the place for several hours during our final day there, and Ted continued cleaning until 3 am that morning. We had received our list of what we needed to clean and we made sure to do all of those things.

Unfortunately, we made the mistake of trusting our apartment managers. We have dealt with them a lot in the past few years and always thought they were great people. When Ted talked with them on the phone, they told him not to worry about cleaning the blinds because they would all be replaced. They also said the walls would be primed and painted, so we got the major scuffs off, but not every little mark. Finally, they told us we only needed to vacuum the carpet, as it would all be replaced. We trusted them when they told us all of these things.

When Ted got his damage deposit check in the mail, he received a whopping $8.64 out of $500! They charged us for every little thing, including the unclean blinds, the marks on the walls (they supposedly spent 12 hours cleaning the walls alone), and the carpet. Ted immediately called the apartment owners and complained about the charges from the managers. The owners completely backed up the managers, but Ted got them to back down a bit when he threatened to take them to small claims court. We did have in writing that we did not need to do a thing to the carpet, so we knew we had a great case for court.

While we could not prove the cases for the blinds and walls, we did at least get them to refund the money for the carpet. We also discovered that the managers keep whatever money is not refunded to the tenants. Conflict of interest? Hmmmm.... Scammers. I will never again trust people in this position. The owners also said that they are no longer willing to give us a positive recommendation. It's hard to believe that people are so deceptive and greedy.

Um, it's a CAT tower, not a dog tower!

Our little house that we are renting.

Here's a lovely photo of my brother from a few years ago. He was trying to get rid of his tan lines before his trip to Europe.

And, Miss Pazza is starting to feel at home too.

Shamus is feeling at home in the new bathroom.

home and ready to exercise!

This is the result of Ted going through his T-shirt drawer after we moved.

After a week of way too much food in Chicago and Wisconsin, it's nice to be home and getting back on the exercise track. I let all dietary caution go out the window and enjoyed cheese, cheese curds, frozen custard, deep-dish pizza, wine, and Chicago-style hot dogs. I guess that explains why light salads have tasted so good the past few days.

We got back on Friday, which ended up being a very long, frustrating travel day for me. I used my family perks for Rusty being a pilot, which meant a free ticket, but also put me flying standby. I was unable to get on Ted's 9 am flight out of Chicago because it was overbooked. Nor was I able to get on the 11 am flight. I finally got the last seat on the noon flight, which took me to Minneapolis. By that time, Ted was long gone on what was supposed to be the last leg of our trip. After searching around for someone who would actually be willing to help me find a new flight to Spokane, I ended up getting the last seat on a flight to Seattle, with hopes that I would then catch a flight to Spokane or Pullman.

Since the only flights out of Seattle were Horizon or Alaska, and my family benefits are through Northwest, I was essentially stuck. In order to get on a flight to Spokane or Pullman, I needed to have a paper ticket, which I did not have! I was told to call Rusty and have him get me some sort of pass, which he had never heard of; with some research, he discovered that he needed to order the pass two weeks prior to the flight, and it would then be mailed to his house. Obviously, that was not going to work. My options were to rent a car and drive 5 hours home (I had already been traveling for 10+ hours), or purchase a ticket to Spokane or Pullman. The only Pullman flight had left by this time, so I had to buy a ticket to Spokane. This meant that poor Ted had to drive up to Spokane and pick me up.

Ted had gotten into Spokane at 1 pm, so he drove home to pick up Hitcher and do some stuff around the house. I didn't arrive in Spokane until about 7. Long day! We had a good dinner in Spokane at the Latah Bistro (thanks to Mom and Dad for offering to treat us) and then drove home.

It was really nice to have nothing planned for Saturday and Sunday since my clock was so thrown off. We went mountain biking both days at Moscow Mountain, which is something I really need to do consistently to help me get ready for cross season. There's still a lot to get done at the new house here too, but it's slowly coming along.

While in Chicago, I was emailed by a potential personal chef client. The woman is a recent widow, who is pregnant and has a five year old. She is also Jewish and Vegan. If she ends up hiring me, it'll definitely be a challenge; all meals will have to be Kosher, Vegan, and kid-friendly! I also have a new business idea in mind, but I'm not going to divulge any info until I research it further.

That's all for now!

We passed this lady one day in Pullman recently and just had to take her picture.

In the past couple weeks we have squeezed in:

- one trip to Philadelphia for both of us

- one trip to San Antonio for Ted

- one short visit with our friend Naomi in Spokane

- one trip to the Seattle area for Kari and Dan's wedding, along with a visit to Ted's sister and her family

- one move across town in Pullman

- one evening with my parents in Clarkston

- one trip to the movie theater for The Simpson's Movie

- and... we leave for Chicago tomorrow morning

The house is still full of moving boxes, but everything is slowly getting put away. Shamus is adapting surprisingly well and has already made himself at home on the bathroom rug. Ted's hopes of breaking him of his habit of drinking from the bathroom faucet have been dashed, as it only took a matter of hours before Shamus was sitting in the sink asking for the water to be turned on.

Of the animals, Pazza is having the hardest time adjusting. She's such a meek little kitty to start with, so she has spent most of the past few days under the covers on the bed or inside a closet. She seems to be getting a little more adventurous, though.

Hitcher could care less that we moved out of the old place. He's loving his new fenced yard, as are we. Who needs to take him for walks when he runs laps around the house at full speed?

It'll be a nice break to go to Chicago tomorrow. Ted's parents are celebrating their 40th wedding anniversary, so everyone's heading back to visit. It will be a relief to get away from the moving process for a few days!

This adorable little bunny was in the yard a couple days ago.

This is what happens when Hitcher gets bored.

I absolutely love having the daily Tour de France coverage, though it does cause me to spend much more time in front of the TV than I normally do. It's been really hot here lately, so we've kind of been stuck indoors for the most part. I can't wait for a cool down.

Ted's in San Antonio this week for a conference, so I'm just hanging out here with Shamus, Pazza, and Hitcher. We move in a little more than a week, so there's going to be quite a lot to get done around here soon, including a major cleaning. Ted has been in this apartment since 1999, so a lot of living has happened here.

The racing season is pretty much over, aside from a few small local things. Time to start getting ready for cyclocross season! Well, this has been a boring update. Hopefully there will be more exciting things to write about here soon.

Philly Trip

Back from Philly. We had a great time with our good friend Tammie and her boyfriend, Carlos. We drank some good beer, had some fantastic food, rode our bikes a little, and visited a lot. Oh yeah, and I did a bike race.

The problem with one day races is if you have a bad day, your race is over. I felt awful on the bike. My legs just didn't want to turn the pedals over. Why? Who knows? Ted has been sick for over a week, so perhaps I'm getting that. I've had a sore throat for a few days now. After I dropped out of the Nationals road race, Ted commented that I reeked of ammonia. I've never had that before. Ted had it happen once before and it was also at a race where he felt awful. A Google search basically says that no one really knows why it happens.

If you go to Philly and like tapas and martinis, this is a good place to try, but be prepared to drop some $: http://www.continentalmartinibar.com/

Ted's win in Boise

Treasure Valley

The past weekend found us in Boise where it was really hot! Ben, Ted, Hitcher, and I drove down to do a stage race, which turned out to be the most horribly organized race any of us had ever done. The race "packet" pickup was really just number pickup; there was no race information or anything else given to us. If we had not had access to a computer, we would have had no way to know the directions to any of the stages, let alone any other race information.

When we arrived at the start of the first stage, we were greeted by the lovely fact that there was one porta-potty... for over 100 people. They had to start the races late because so many people were still in line for the bathroom! On top of that, the race organizers had made no provisions for water to be at the start/finish area, and it was nearly 100 degrees. Unacceptable.

There were even more problems, but I'll stop there.

Ted had an amazing criterium on Sunday. He made a perfectly-timed attack and got a good gap ahead of the pack. His gap grew to nearly 40 seconds and he stayed off the front for the last 10 km of his race. He scored his first win in impressive style and made some money in the process, so that was really fun to watch. Pictures will follow at a later date.

Ted and I are leaving on Friday to go to Philadelphia where we'll spend a couple days with our good friend Tammie and her boyfriend. Then, on Monday, I'll do the elite women's national road race in Seven Springs, PA. It'll be tough - hopefully I feel good! It will likely be my last big race of the year since I decided not to do the Tour de Toona afterall. No matter what, it should be a fun trip!

More Races on the Horizon

Just last week I decided to do the national championship road race in Seven Springs, Pennsylvania. It was a very spontaneous decision, which was largely due to the cancellation of the women's race at the Cascade Cycling Classic; I'm still highly disappointed with the race organizers for their choice there.

I was also searching for a team for the Tour de Toona, which is a 7 day race in Altoona, Pennsylvania. I've done it the past two years and was hoping to do it again, but I had pretty much figured I wasn't going to find a team. I just got an invitation this morning to race Toona with a team, so it turns out that I'm going to do it afterall. July will be a bit hectic, but it'll be fun to do these races.

Poor pooch

It's been a stressful week for the Hitch man... and for me! We were scheduled to leave around 8:30 am on Saturday to go to Olympia and race, but Hitcher was still having severe stomach issues, so we made a trip to the vet around 9. A fecal test didn't show anything, so we decided to go ahead and go on with our trip; unfortunately, we got to Olympia too late for Ted to do his race, and barely in time for me to register for mine. With no warm-up, my legs weren't ready when the ladies starting pushing the pace off the line.

We bought some Pepto Bismol for the pooch, and fixed him a bland meal of rice and boiled beef... yummy. When he was still having problems on Sunday morning, I was starting to get worried. My concern only increased when the afternoon had arrived and he had refused to drink anything all day, so I bailed on my race and we headed to a vet clinic (thanks to Suz and Eric for the recommendation). Ted did get to race yesterday and had a really good crit, so that was good.

The vet in Lynwood did some bloodwork, did another fecal exam, put him on more antibiotics and an anti-parasitic, and gave him a bunch of subcutaneous fluids. He walked around with a giant fluid-filled hump on his back for a few hours! The poor guy wasn't too happy, but he had a great time playing fetch with Ted's niece and nephew for a little while before we headed home. We were all pretty exhausted by the time we got home, which was around 1 am, so we slept in a bit this morning.

Our local vet clinic had called this morning to do a follow-up, so I filled them in on everything from the weekend, along with the fact that Hitch hadn't pooped in over 24 hours. That made them a little concerned, so he went back to the vet here again this afternoon. He got more subcutaneous fluids, another fecal exam, and lots of pokes and prods. The vet here says she doesn't want to get into any expensive diagnostics at this point, but if he's not significantly better by Thursday, he'll be getting more work-ups done. I think he's on the up-and-up. I sure hope he is because the past few days have been horrible for me!

On another pet note... Shamus turns 14 tomorrow, so he'll be getting some catnip and extra belly rubs tomorrow. He also got a dog-free afternoon today, which Ted says is the best gift you could give him.

The plan is to race in Boise this weekend (as long as Hitcher is doing okay), where it's supposed to be over 100 degrees. Yikes! I haven't been to Boise since 1998, so it'll be fun if we can make the trip.

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.