My day was grim and difficult. I felt so good, yesterday. I woke up feeling nervous, and after hardly eating, and drinking a cup of coffee, threw it all up. It caused me to wonder how fast one assimilates caffeine. Is it a few minutes after you drink it? Thinking it's not, I drank another cup, to replace my caffeine loss. I don't know though, I feel the effects of coffee immediately. I drink WAY too much coffee, anyways. It's like a cult ritual reminant of my messenger days. I'm still way straightedge, too! Just the coffee kick is a major part of my mornings... especially on race days. The Rez was sandy as usual. I started in the back, because I was a moron, and didn't register until Friday night. I guess you have to register way early these days, to get a spot up front in a Boulder Cross race..... didn't used to be that way, at all. I got two flats last afterwarming up. I had the ultra tire combo-- plastic shields in my tires as well as tubes with sealant. Unbelievably, I got a flat warming up, even with all that jazz. My cool, bad ass, ex-Boulder Denver Courier, OA team mate, conspirator in crime, Tim, was my pit crew. Some confusion passed regarding who had the spare tube.... some excitement that I actually brought the extender thing for the valve. Tim's a great pit crew. I offered to buy him dinner in return, and he kinda saw through the line. Like it'd been used time and time again... without me actually buying the promised dinner. True enough. Effective, but not much of a commitment. I am known well, though.... that's always comforting. My angelic reputation in full effect, I successfully found my way to the starting line. Good things about the race... I was feeling kind light headed from not eating, and actually like that feeling somewhat. Although it doesn't translate into particularly good performance... I felt kind of shakey in the corners. Glad at the start my tires were still holding air. Apparently they forgot to add me to the list of riders. The ref was quite nice about taking my UCI license #, and got out of my spot just in time for the whistle. We hung out (those of us starting in the back) while Katie and the others picked their way through single track corners and sand. Had quite a party. I rode with Monique Hein, my short track buddy for a while. Luckily, today Monique knew where the course went. Once in short track, I was sitting on her wheel, and she took a wrong turn, and I was like where are we going??#!!?$? And she was all sorry ( but I think she thought it rather weird I was following her around, without watching where we were going!). I saw Compton coming many laps later. I only had one or two to go. Much sand, gravel, mud, cornering, sweat, tears, bruised ass hurtin', bunny hoppin' later, there the persona was, racing only a bit behind like a truck who lost its brakes. Recalling one sad day when I was sick, and she lapped me, and was quite upset at my derier being in her path, I ran through the sand, and chilled, pulled way left, and watched her ride the packed sandy path that lay a corner and the other side of the deep sandy part. It was over..... I did successfully ride through this one brutal sand pit, earlier. I still feel kinda proud of that. I'm a light weight, and I usually don't swim well in deep sand. Hell, I don't usually swim well with national mtn bike champions and silver medalists at cross worlds this season, much this season, anyways. So, at least I got a good workout, and had a blast at it. I've had some oatmeal, now, and am about to make pasta for dinner with Broccoli. more racin' tomorrow. Tomorrow I'll hit Harlow Platts park where I've had a evil encounter with a neighbor who doesn't like bikers in the park much. But as long as we don't train there, we now know we can race there once a year. I can imagine her standing in her yard overlooking the park and scowling, now. Tomorrow might be enough to send her to the mental hospital, perhaps. Trebon and Wicks have been known to impact the grass in the past..... we'll see!

The second Boulder UCI race was pretty exciting. I was tired, and bailed on most of the race, but Jeremy Powers and Tim Johnson didn't fail in spicing up the day by threatening to beat up my friend Doug. Doug is the most loyal water feeder in Boulder, I think. He endlessly stands out on the side of race after race of mine, feeding me water. He takes all sorts of abuse from my tempermental personality, and never lets it get to him. Never fails to be encouraging, or timid in cheering. Really, the guy's invaluable. I have known Doug since I was a messenger in Denver and he worked for Quicksilver messengers. He actually took me to my first cross race. He's a Cat 4, and there's not much in coming for him, but a bit of messenger pride. He makes fun of me jokingly, enough that I'm kind of used to him. You have to have a sense of humor about yourself, anyways, or there's really no point. He was trying to cheer me up, and heckling the crossworlds.com team, once Ryan broke off the front. Ryan and Barry had a minute or more on them, and Doug screams, " he's only six minutes ahead, you can get 'em!" at them, and such things ( or maybe it was just that) lap after lap. It was really funny. We were cheering for Brandon, Whitey, Colby, Mike and Justin. We were pretty good fans, really. I admit, I still find it funny, even when on the last lap of the race, Jeremy Powers yells back, "I'm going to come find you after the race, you idiot!" as he's riding past. Really classic. It wasn't really that funny, or that mean until then. I don't know what's up with those guys. Tim gave Doug the finger. People would pay to see that stuff, I swear, the comic relief in them taking themselves so seriously, and letting it all get to them was invaluable. It reminds me of that video I watched before I delivered for Domino's long ago ( I know?? a vegan? delivering for Domino's? ... a job's a job sometimes)... don't let having a bad day effect those around you. Haven't those guys ever really had a low-grade job like that? And learned how to handle themselves under moronically stressful conditions? Tim apparently was really upset after the race about it. Oh well,.... !!! No offense to Tim and Jeremy. No one was trying to be mean. Apparently cycling was not ready for such humor. We are somewhat on the skids with the Parks and Rec for erosion at the Elks club and for riding near prarie dog habitat in Valmont at Wed morning cross practice. I am left to throw on the charm and sweep up the pieces for that one at a meeting this afternoon. Nice of everyone to volunteer to pitch in on the deposit, though. I hope the meeting goes well..... Off to Gunnison and Durango to race this weekend... I am bringing Willow with!

I went to Gunnison last Saturday to race ANOTHER UCI race in Colorado. This is really unprecidented! That one can get UCI points in Colorado! I'm so psyched, because the cross racing scene has favored East Coast riders for so long. Everyone in Colorado has moved onto Mtn Biking or Road Racing by now, but it's still cool that we can get points for all our efforts! That, and it saves a trip or two to the East Coast, because it seems to justify racing here in Boulder. The cross scene in Boulder is so excellent, recently. There are at least four really fast riders that moved here in the past year (in the women's category), and a bunch of pro mtn bikers that have come out of the woodwork to race this year! This makes for a much more exciting local scene. Myself and 9 others showed up for Ken Bloomer's Gunnison race. Ken's wife, Sandra is a super-fast races for Independent Bicycles, who just had a baby. She strikes fear in the hearts of many, still. I hear her bicycle is nearby, and ready to be raced next year, too. I jumped myself into 8th for much of the race, as people crashed around me. I don't know why I didn't crash, myself, but I will chalk it up to my skills. I was bumped to the back on the last lap, but Megan Monroe's head over bike crash spared me 10th, and I got 9th, and made $70. This is a lot for a women's cross race. They were even giving away skate skiis for the Women's Open. Those guys know how to throw a race! I got underway with the drive to Durango after cheering for the Clif bar sustainable team, Brandon, and kickin' it with Tod Well's wife in the pit. She's quite a pit crew! Little did I know the drive to Durango was up an endless mtn road with major drop offs... and it was dark. This was a little stressful, but I am mastering night time mtn driving. Scored some hummus and guac at the City Market, and settled into the Comfort Inn for the night. Willow was a great travel buddy. I watched a movie about Herbie the racing car, which was kind of cute. I didn't feel good for the girl who won the race at the end. I haven't won a race all season. It wasn't touching to me like it was supposed to be. Why do we glorify the win so much? It's the journey that matters, right? Representing the vegan community, and such great things?! Yeah! I finally felt not-nervous for a race in the morning. I managed to scarf some breakfast of bread and peanut butter, and hotel coffee with soy milk. I think theoretically it's better to eat before you race, but logistically, you don't want to throw it all up. I cater to my mood on that one. I felt good about my first UCI point. It seems special, because I got it in Colorado. I drove around the Fort Lewis campus trying to find the course for a while. It's a small campus, but the park is tucked into the campus, and I passed it on the way in. Backtracking worked, and I was warming up in no time. I ran into Nina Baum, while warming up, and we chatted it up. We got in a nice easy warm up, and she broke my skills in a bit with her quick lead. There were only eight of us there. Four of the group were on the Velo Bella team, which prompted a # of jokes from the rest of us. Like, 'what is this a Belo Bella practice?!'. I accused Melissa Thomas of having a secretive race plan at the start of the race. She claims to have no secretive adjenda at all. And she was running the berm that was in question. Definitely, the trickiest part of the course was a switchback on a hill, that descended down and up the hill 2x, with the barriers at the top of the second switchback. The other point of note on the course was a steep hill after a sharp corner, that took you into a really tight ... hey we're going the other way.... corner. The hill was a demon on my sore legs. I was riding it fine, but I would have had a lot more power had my legs not ached from the day before. The start went without note from the ref. All of a sudden he said quietly, "go.". There was no one minute time mention, as there ususally is, nothing! Melissa immediately started complaining. I, of course, thought I could use anything the world gave to me against her, and happily shot in front of her for once! She pushed me into the corner, like the agressive Melissa I know, and it all seemed so serious all of a sudden. I kept up for a few laps, before the girl in front of me crashed, and bailed. Or quit. Whatever, the race went on. Lap after lap. The Durango crowd rocked, and cheered supportively in the double-berm section. They were way cool. Natasha Cowie and Jen Tilly were not far ahead for most of the race, but I lost them at the end, and they ended up a minute ahead of me, at least, I think! I gave it all I had at the end. Happy I was 7th and not 8th at least! 3 min off the leader, who trains full time, and 1 min of Natasha ahead of me. It was a tough field with Dombroski taking the win over Melissa and Kristin Danielson in the group. Again, I got a UCI point!! And my start for Nats should be better than it was looking! I was faced with the drive home that night, so I took Dave Towle's advice, and left before the end of the Men's race, to get over Wolf Creek pass before it got dark. I drove quite a while in the dark. It's a six hour drive, at least. I find it hard to be tired and drive in the mountains in the dark, because people tend to blind you with their brights, and it's hard to see where you're going temporarialy. It's hard having to get up early to work the next day, but it's life. I am learning to quit my complaining a bit. I am staying in Boulder to race this weekend. I have hit every USGP race for the past two years, and am trying to allow myself some recovery before the USGP in Portland and Nats. There has been so much racing in Colorado this year, I'm not complaining, at all. And even if I'm tired from mtn biking this summer, too, it's totally worth it! Cross is a good off-season sport, but you can't let it run your life. It's a good bouncing board for roadies to get into mtn biking, too! (like myself!). I am in no way quitting, but it seems like the local scene will provide me with some competition, and I can rev up for Portland in a few weeks. Everyone I know, practically, is going to NJ to race, this weekend. I'm going to have to try to get the win in Boulder this weekend, to offset my absence! Kerry, Anne, Heather, Laura, Amy, Rebecca and I threw down in practice, today, which was a ton of fun, and got the legs moving in the morning where the high in Boulder was 44! Cold!

This past weekend was pretty restful for me. I really felt like I needed a break, and stayed home rather than go to the USGP in NJ. The local Red Rocks race on Saturday was cancelled, so I just slept in and went for a ride up 4-mile Canyon with OAer Tim Barns. It was pretty uneventful, except for the fact that my wheel was wobbling about, and we stopped to fix a flat for a kid who was probably around 10 yrs old, and said he was a roadie, who's gettin' into cross. Too cute. Sunday I picked up Justin T. early, and we drove down to the Springs for the cross race, there. The course was really long. Nothing really too technically demanding. The sun was shining. I was feeling kind tired, and ended up keeping up for the first part of the race with Ann Lenan and Lauren, but dropped back towards the end of the race. Laura K. and Heather had jumped off the front, and were apparently about a minute ahead of the rest of us. Heather said she dropped Laura on the climb for the win. Basically the course had some technical switchbacks, berms, barriers, and then did a little dirt criterium # before some more technical dirt riding. It was fun. The descent somewhat sandy, and twisty. I felt good overall, for the most part. Mostly 'till there were two laps to go. I think I ended up 8th, but haven't yet looked at the results. I watched Justin's race while it got cold. Colby Pierce dropped JHK who was having a chain problem. Justin put in a really good effort. There were only 14 guys there, but it was also fast. Snow is predicted here, tonight and tomorrow. I am off work for the rest of the week! Yippie! I plan to motivate tomorrow, and get some food for Thanksgiving. I promised my neighbor, I'd make him vegan pumpkin pie, as he is a vegitarian retired pro bike racer.....currently a barefoot marathon runner, and made me vegan brownies not long ago. I have been eating a lot of oatmeal with fresh fruit and maple syrup. It's so good, and the kind of oatmeal I get has Omega-3s in it... hemp plus with flax! Omega 3s are used to treat chronic fatigue disorder. Not that I have that, but in my head, I think Omega 3s are good for you like that, and will help me recover faster, and be more energetic. It couldn't hurt, anyways.

Well, the weather has finally gotten cold and snowy. Always, around Thanksgiving, it snows each year, here. I wish, though there could've been a few more weeks of sunshine and warmth. My trainer has been my spot for the past week. Today I put in an hour and a half of easy riding while listening to the radio play Christmas music and other stuff. I'm kind of in the mood for Christmas, recently. Certainatly, to go home and see my brother who will be in DC, too, in a few weeks. I haven't seen him for about a year, and it's hard to be so far away. Thanksgiving was a great time to catch up on sleep and to catch my breath. I didn't end up doing much, which is what I completely needed. I raced on Saturday at the Boulder Cross race in Louisville. It is just a few minutes away from my house. I love the course there. There's a steep descent that leads into a great run up, a killer downhill switchback, and a nice sand pit. It's a great mtn biking type course, with a really bumpy climb. It's a good one for people like me who like the bumps, and feel the terrain push them on, somehow. I got off to a tough start. There was mud in my peddle, and I had trouble clipping in, for one thing. For another, the start headed into a sandpit that created complete chaos. I, of course, was one who was forced off my bike due to circumstances outside of my control. I did a fair amount of passing people, before I settled in to my pace for the race. I was actually lapped, at the end by Kerry and Amy. I didn't really expect that. The course was a bit muddy. I've been lapped there before, so it didn't kill me completely. It wasn't that big a loop. Thankfully, Heather Irminger didn't get me. Salvaging some self-respect!... I contemplated using my new spikes on my shoes. They are pretty long, and I decided against them because, 1. they are on my new shoes and 2. they are super-long and make clipping in difficult. I am into the idea of using smaller spikes in the future, though. I had a good ride. I felt really good. I am still waiting for the results, as I do not know how I did, exactly. There's nothing like a good, muddy, cross race. I can't wait till the Portland USGP races!