Aw Shucks

Just when I feel all comfortable saying that Missy Giove is one of my heros, she has to go and get busted with a truck-laod, literally, of Pot in her truck as well as a ton of cash in her house and well is now staring down the barrel of 5-40 in the clink.

She still is one of the raddest chicks ever on a bike. I won't take that back.

What's the obsession?

For some reason, people are obsessed with my hair! I know, its short, odd colors and just plain weird! But serious, I am perplexed at how shocked people are with my hair, and in some cases, how taken back they are by it. Here you have it, how the hair ranks today. Katrina, Kendra and I rockin' out at senior graduation!

Here are some of the most recent comparissons. All of which i find completely hilarious and borderline insane.

Fantastic!! Syndrome from the Incredibles!! Although I do not feel that my jaw-line matches his, nor my belly fat, but the style is epic.

PINK, must be angry at Mr. Hart...this one the kids at school drop more frequently, because they are wrapped up in that pop-culture crap.

A Hershey's kiss...not sure who came up this one, but I will roll with it!!

MIssy Giove: 1994 World Champion Downhill racer...I will TAKE IT!! Only the few and the proud have dropped this name. Missy was/is one of my FAVORITE cyclists EVER, a hero of sorts, and one whose example and Will for the Wacky I always admired! Rock on!! This chick OWNED her style, her name, and promoted it to the full for the good of the sport. A complete self-starter and do-er. Rad.

Jackie Warner. Another common reference, Jackie is big in the fitness industry, and last year, reality TV. She is pretty BA, but a bit too caught up in the Hollywood scene for my liking. Although she does sport quite the solid sixpack, I would much rather welcome a Giove comparision than a Warner one.

Hair grows back my friends, it ain't nothin' but a thing. What "inspired" me to change my hair? Bordom with the norm frankly, and my bi-daily showers and extremely active lifestyle left my long thick hair unkempt.

That's my story. And I am sticking to it.

The Costa Rican Saga Continues...

Other than flatting on the Saturday World Championships where my "team" all left me, only to be picked up out of Charity by the Santa Crew, and being left off the Power Rankings, nothing much is new in my small world of Cycling.

So, I will live in the past, like many others, and dredge up racing wonders that are now nothing but jpg's on my desk top.

DAY 1 of Racing!

Check HERE for race profile and my Garmin file from the stage!! Over 8,000 ft of climbing in 27 miles...do the math!

Despite high temperatures, the day began in a deep fog. There were times I couldn't see 20 feet ahead of me, climbing up the side of the Volcano. I remember seeing a form ahead and having no idea what it was until i was about 5 feet behind....a wild horse. I seen realized I was in a small herd of them and I could think of was getting decked in the Dome Piece by one of their hooves.

Riding up, up, up. No iPod, nobody to talk to, no idea how much I was about to hurt. There was a switch that I found way down deep inside that opened up the reserves and allowed me literally and figuratively, go where I have never gone while racing. In races since then, I have told myself "Go to that Costa Rica Place" and reminded myself that a 600 foot climb in a road race is chump change compared to what we experienced here.

I think this picture sums it up. No option to wear my shades due to high levels of humidity and sweat. 2 hours plus of straight climbing. Mind numbing climbing.

Javier came each morning to the hotel to fetch us! He waited during the whole stage for us, and carted us "home." Not a single bent rotor....amazing. En Ingles Por favor! Getting race instructions from Henry prior to stage one. Notice i was taking the picture, thus never got the instructions. Everything panned out however. Covered in dirt/volcanic ash from an epic endo while literally glisading down fire roads covered with literally 5-10 inches of silt. We had rooster tails behind us! Thank goodness for all that riding in Fontana sand, otherwise i could have died. The large machine: Cleaning up from January earthquake.

Driving back to the hotel DOWN one of the climbs we came UP earlier that day...



Traffic on the trails was amazing. It puts the Paint Ballers of Fontana to shame!

We all had NO idea what to expect. We were thinking 40 miles for this stage, it was only about 27. BUT...an epic 24. Its hard to gauge efforts/food/recovery when you are in completely unknown territory! Maureen took a CamelBak with a small cot in it (i joke, but that sucker was huge) and I opted for the lower cage mount. which, i never touched. That bottle was completely black after riding through cow pastures, coffee plantations, trash, single track, mud, town roads, and silt. Support for the national riders...

Bike after the stage...SUPER dirty!!

Elated to have finished, coming in second overall for women, and even more stoked have lunch hot and ready!

Getting HOOKED up at the bike shop with wash, detail, and delivery. for $6.oo US!!! It was like the bike came right off the Fisher truck at a national, i kicked down a 20 for the efforts! Awesome!

When in doubt, throw it ALL in the bathtub!!

I believe we all come in just about 20 minutes apart...Maureen decided the camelbak was a BAD idea, and I chose to take off the extra bottle cage and throw everything in my pockets for round two.

Then it was back to the hotel, to plot our attack on volcano #2!

Don't question it, just roll with it!

I started this whole cycling madness on a Mountain Bike, and each time I take that bad-boy out on the trails, I remember WHY!! I can't think of any other way to achieve so much fun!

The last couple of weeks have been Chaos - which i completely embrace - but it has not left me a lot of time or mental capacity to put into racing. I have had the "privalage" of attending awards banquets, fundraisers, beach outings, or school parties every...single...night since last Tuesday. Saturday I cracked and agreed to go wake boarding...SWEEEEEET.....oddly, this is NOT part of my pre-race rituals!

Side note: I haven't attempted wake boarding since the summer of '98 on Hayden Lake in Idaho. Cousin Kiff kept telling me, just sit on it like your a frog on a lilly pad. Come again? I never got up. This time, Brian and Nich kept asking if i wanted to a try and i pulled all the "no' answers i could find, which was like 3, then cracked and went for it! Totally fun!!!

Rolling up to Big Bear I was sore, fatigued, and tired. But happy...dang that goes a long ways! The usual FAST suspects showed up as we began our 24 mile quest through fire roads, forests and single track.

Somehow, from somewhere, I tapped a secret store of "I can do it!!" and started the race with the hole shot and was able to complete it with the win.


Racing and riding with these girls is so much fun! Too bad Heather had to leave, otherwise she would be in here too! Allison Mann, Carolyn Popovic, me, and Sarah Kaufman. Pretty much a who's-who of SoCal womens racing! It is always such a blast to catch up with all the racers!
Sarah is about to move to Ogden UT...boo....and super stoked that Carolyn is back and fighting on the bike!!
Besides the National Podium in Vermont, this is hands down the coolest blocks i have gotten to stand on!

We got to do the long course, which eventually popped back onto the short course, where we were encircled by lower category riders. You probably couldn't PAY me to ignore them as we rode side by side or as i passed. One guy was like, hey, your the cheerleader. NOpe, I just teach PE and can't NOT talk.

Complete highlight of the day:

Climbing up, I am passing a ton of kids. Some pushing their bikes, some riding. I come up to one kid who is so small, their XXS cycling shorts look like baggies. They have a curly blonde/brown fro spilling out from under their helmet.

I say: "Way to go man, your doing awesome"

She replies: "I'm a GIRL."

I couldn't help but laugh, and tell her ROCK ON SISTA!!! I get that ALL THE TIME!! (My favorite - "way to ride it out BRO")

I found her post race, medal around the neck and slapped her a high five! She is 10 years old and all bummed out because she can't seem to win. She keeps getting beat by a 14 year old. Puhleeze!! That 14 year old should watch out!! Little Brawlers!!! LOVE IT!!!!

Fast Forward

You would think that Shelli and I never see eachother. Quite the contrary. She will literally run by the house and pop in, we talk almost every day at 7:28pm and we drop texts from time to time. And she lives around the corner.

We finally sat still long enough to photo document the progression so we could fast forward the past 6 years...

Have we changed a little?!?!?

I got to work early in order to post something so JT has something to read today

The day before the race in Costa Rica was rad. We met our International Cohorts! Jason from Florida, who is going to bang out La Ruta (Four day MTB stage race in Costa Rica...legends say the hardest in the world. Maybe....next year?!?!) in the fall showed up in the morning. Breakfast found us sitting next to Danny and Tami from Mexico City. These two have traveled the globe! Whether racing bikes, kayaks, or Adevnture races, they are all over the place! Later this year I will be following their progress as they race the BC Bike Race...a team MTB stage race in Canada! (7 days, 7 stages, you gotta stay with your homie...next year?!?! who wants to be my homie? I stop talking after like day 3...)

The 7 of us were the only racers staying at the host hotel. All our food, transportation to and from each race start, and ride logistics were included in our deal. I would have been LOST and probably still riding through random cow pastures had it not been for this set up!!

We had no idea where the stages were and frankly, did not want to climb a volcano the day before the race. We opted to ride around and check out the grade % of the area, the vegetation and local

set-up. Approximately 13 minutes from the hotel, Justin - left, sheered his rear derailleur hanger off. Yes, it takes four to convert the brand new Super Fly to a single speed. We rolled into Santa Barbara and went to the bike shop. Funny thing, they were at lunch, which turned into a Siesta...lucky!! The little green car housed a fellow racer, Costa Rican national Jose...He was AWESOME!! Perfect English, acted as our guide, translator, protector, and friend!! This guy was such a blessing!!!Maureen NO!!! No touchy-touchy of street dogs!!! Especially right before climbing the stairs to the Pizza Parlor!!The Po-Pos!!

This Pie saved our lives!! I don't think i have eaten pizza since...weird

Then the shop opened!! COOLEST Mechanics ever! The one on the right is an amazing racer as well, and made sure to point out the pictures of him in magazines and on the wall racing La Ruta!! They rolled out the red carpet, found a der hanger for Justin, and fixed everyone elses bikes!

The ride "home" fighting Scooter Traffic!

Amy, Justin and Maureen - scoping the sky for rain, and sizing themselves up to the Banana tree!

These kids were WAY amped to have us ride by! You would have thought we were part of the Giro...

At Home Base, prepping for the Unknown..check out my STACK of tupperware "supplies"! I Brought so many snacks and reinforcements! you never know...

It is time, yes?

COSTA RICA!!!!!

Before delving into the wonders of the Ventura County Stage Race...I am going to flip the pages back to Costa Rica! I have had to let the experience simmer for awhile, in order to fully soak it in. And let me tell you, it will remain and career and lifetime highlight for me!!

Henry and the crew from el Reto did an amazing job! They picked us up at the airport, with those placards that say your name on them...super cool! We would have been hosed! Neither Maureen nor I speak Spanish, although she tried much more valiantly than I to master the language. Most of the streets are not marked and it was super dark. The 30 minute drive would have taken me all night!

We are brilliant, so we arrived in town with a day to spare. This gave us just enough time to build the bikes, swim, spin around town, and take in the scenary. Amazing! and So beautiful!! Top picture is view from the hot tub under a "waterfall." Below was the view from the hotel deck looking out onto San Jose, coffee plantations, and volcanoes!

Justin and Amy Mace, from Tennessee, had arrived a few hours before us so were all amped out for breakfast on the porch!!

Classic Costa Rican fare! Rice, beans, toast, quesadilla....and of course AMAZING COFFEE...

24 hours into the trip and ready to spin the legs out...

That's all I got for now. It's time for a snack and some work! Stay tuned, I promise to cough up the good stuff!

Just a few weeks...

And I get to Meet my little niece Gwen!!


And I get to cause a mess of trouble with Griffyn!!!

I pretty much Can't stop Laughing...

This is the best problem to have.

Tuesday began my One 8 oz Cup of Coffee a day campaign. Each day I have succeeded, and had a ton more energy at the end of the day, and had a bit more *spark* weird, and a little bit liberating.

There are other things that make me laugh that are SOOOO blog worthy, yet completely un-bloggable....ah.....

I did this race in Idyllwild, where there are trees and rocks and stuff. Not the normal things we come across on Mountain bikes these days. So it was a bit techy for my newly developed apptitude for the pavement, but what a blast it was! I got to pull the sling shot for Allison and then promptly realize I had burned a few too many matches, or I had only brought the small book with me. The pin-ball effect of me descending rocky terrain is always hilarious especially when I had Shalyn in hot pursuit. I had her almost in stitches talking smack to the land, catching maaaaaad air off of rocks and roots and going all "Gnar Gnar" on the Cat 1 men!

The post race festivities landed smack in the middle of the block-o-sphere! The Mann's, Justin and Allison, were super cool and invited me to an awesome post race dinner with Dan and Stephanie, Luke and Charressa. These folks are pretty crazy and no matter how much we tried to divert the conversation from races, training, food, food for training, places to ride when are not training, we continued to fail miserably!

Carolyn back on the scene, Sarah back from killing it at Whiskey 50, Pua, Allison and myself. I think its rad to pay $45 to ride around in the woods with my friends!

More good times to come!

WackaWacka

So there was a race, I bridged some gaps so I didn't get beat as bad as the numbers show and I had a great time and delicious dinner at Ellen's Danish Pancakes. Ya, that's right, I eat breakfast for dinner.

Quote of the weekend: From 4 year old Ryder Freeman between squirting his eyes with a water bottle to get the dust out, to his mom Denise as I came through on lap 2: "Joy doesn't look good at all. How is she going to make it to the finish?!?!"

Oh the love of children. Thanks for thinking of me champ, and us racers never look like we will make it to the finish line.

Quote of the week: And yes, I know it is only Wednesday, but she has it in the bag: "Don't take this the wrong way, but I think it would be crazy to have you as my teacher." Well thank you, and yes it would be. Pua Sawiki pre Tuesday night National Championships.

Photo of the weekend, courtesy Leslie Hart...

No I was not racing alone, it just looks like it. And yes, the dead grass is the same color, and perhaps the same texture, as my hair.

I almost forgot.
Got a bit of a plug at Training Peaks! Woohoo!

Aw Shucks...

I may actually do a race report. But that would get Foist all bent. At least I don't have a cold or Poison Oak for that matter, and the only person I can logically blame for my ill-fated attempt at racing is myself. So, I think I am in the clear.

Sea Otter is like a black hole. It's like being in a vortex for three days. Nothing outside of the Otter exists and if it does, it really doesn't matter. It's just plain weird. I haven't been to The Void for about 3-4 years for reasons before mentioned and really, it just dredges up a lot of, shall we say, "memories."

The drive there was uneventful, although pulling into the venue, 4 bikes on the car, 4 people, and a LOAD of stuff, we were asked: "Are you carpooling??" Um....ok...

Shelli and Jesse kept me laughing with their "pronunciation" of Cannery vs Cannery Row...bird or can? Or Carmel By the Sea, but what about Caramel? It all comes down to semantics guys...

On Sunday I got hot. Bottom line. I was rollin' with my homies about mid-pack which i was stoked with considering...well life. We had a train going with Maureen and Sarah two chicks I have ridden with a lot and we were having a blast! Then I got the chilly bumps on my arms, shakes, blurry vision and I was cold. Weird. Because it was high 90's and sweltering.

I knew the day was going to be interesting when I saw my FAVORITE, all-time hero Wendy Simms pull to the side of the trail in full on vomit mode. I stopped for a brief moment to make sure she could get out ok and wished her the best...

I decided to "DNF" while riding through a forested single track. Usually these are places of refuge from the sun and heat. Not this one. All I wanted to do was get out of there! It felt like I was being suffocated by the oxygen from the plants. Heavy, HOT, thick air. It was disgusting.

It was also in this Void within the Vortex that I started thinking about 8am Monday morning and facing a freshman class of Health students and having to admit to them I had succumbed to Heat Exhaustion. What a hypocrite! I preach to them daily about hydration, heat safety, taking care of your body and being able to LISTEN TO WHAT IT IS SAYING!! So I bucked up and listened. The body said NO!

One small caveat on this course. If you DNF, you might as well ride your bike out, if you aren't too broken to do so. On my pilgrimage back to the raceway, I found a casualty. So odd. A bike on the side of the road. I got closer. Two feet laying prostrate on the ground. It seemed as if the racer had been caught under the house that squished the Wicked Witch of the West. I stopped and saw Sarah Piccolo completely down for the count. She was talking wacky talk, covered with sweet and salt and dirt. I quickly told her to take her helmet and gloves off and I pilfered as much water and fluids from nearby water bottles. While I did that she took the opportunity to continue puking and dry heaving into the weeds. Help arrived after about 10 minutes, just in time for Danae York to ride through.

I jumped at the opportunity to have someone to pedal home with. We talked about heat, the rancid water I had put in my bottle from random bottle on the trail, poison oak, college boys, life at CU Boulder where she is at school, and the balance of life. Super cool girl. I was glad to ride with her!

Hopefully Wendy, Sarah, Krista, the 52 men that abandoned their race, and all the racers that probably should have abandoned the race, are recovering well. The sun can be quite the life-sucker.

Mr. Freeman made an excellent post about the weekend, just the way things go sometimes!!

Sunny Days!!

Sea Otter - working on our infamous "farmers tans" as my students call them!! Hot, hot hot!!!

Highlight of the weekend: Showing Jude and a side kick from Magura my rotor brand. They were VERY impressed.

Oh, let's have another highlight: Seeing the Lombard family by the bouce house!!! It has been over 5 years!!

And, well, there were a lot of highlights!! Reports in some semblance to come...

but this is what i was doing at 10 pm the night before heading to the Otter:

Kickin' it crazy style with Paige, my wanna-be-step-sister at the spring formal thingy...check out the chocolate fountain behind us...

Oh, and some of you may not have known (or cared) that i changed my fabulous hair color!!