New Zealand here I come!

New Zealand here I come. Here I am sitting on the first flight of my epic journey across the world and of course I get stuck next to the biggest 16 year old boy I have ever seen and he happens to be a very heavy breather. I keep telling myself this part is only 5 hours and if I can just keep my head buried in my laptop long enough maybe he won't lean over here and breathe on me. So here it goes along with a little background on me.
Last night, I waited till 11pm to pack my bike and gear for the trip. If any of you know me, I am sure this comes as no surprise. Normally, I would wait till the morning of my trip but I thought I would get a head start on it. It's midnight and it occurs to me that this monstrosity of a bike box might cost me a small fortune on the LA to Auckland leg of the trip. I call Qantas Air at least 10 times waiting for a live person to pick up. Finally, a guy answers and in his best auzzie accent gives me a number but turns out it was to a fax machine. GO FIGURE...I give up and decide it might be a good idea to get a couple of hours of sleep. I hit the hay with way too many thoughts running through my head, but the main concern was OH PLEASE GOD let Nashville airport be up and running tomorrow. We all know Nashville isn't know for it accessibility in the snow and "black ice" plus I just can't stand one more day in these Arctic temperature. It's just not good for the racing legs!
I wake up ready to go, finish packing and head for the door when i realize I can't find my wallet which has my passport, cash, VISA card and most importantly UCI license which allows me to race. I have a major freak out, tearing through my bags, car and every bag I was taking. After 10 minutes of pulling all my hair out, I find it neatly stashed away in a side pocket of my ever-so-huge piece of luggage. During my late night packing I had put it away to make sure i wouldn't forget it. Instead I hide it from myself. I get in the car with my mom and drive in silence as I decompress from my meltdown. All is well now and I am ready to be there. Too bad I am only an hour into my first flight of three and 18 more hours of flying to go.
The reason for this trip around the world is that I have the wonderful and quite possibly the chance of a lifetime to race in the 2006 New Zealand Tour and Women's World Cup race March 1-5th. The last week in Jan, may team director from Kenda Tire got word that a NZ based team, Wholly Bagles, was looking for a guest rider from the US. I sent the director an email along with my race resume and the next thing i knew I was planning the trip for the race. Once the Wholly Bagels director and I started discussing the race and the caliber of riders that would be present, I knew this would be a fantastic way to break in the legs and lungs for the 2006 season. I say that now but in a week when i report back and tell you how my legs are being ripped off from numerous attacks on the climb of stage 2 of the tour. Oh by the way, if any of you are familiar with the US PRO's Munyiak Wall they say this climb on stage 2 is very similar. OH JOY! It's a good thing I have spent some time in the mountains of NC working on climbing. Hopefully that will pay off.
I have realistic goals for this race. I am not kidding myself about getting big results as a 3rd year racer. I am looking to learn as much as possible and tune up before I come back to the states and race the NRC's. Some of the best riders in the world will be here and this is one way to test yourself against them.
For those of you who don't know me, I am 28 years old and live in Middle TN for most of my life. I have played just about every sport and went on to play volleyball and tennis in college. That didn't last too long and I decided to pursue the business side of sports. Out of college I moved to Atlanta to work with the Braves and then came back and worked for the Nashville Sports Council. This past month I have taken a position at Juris, Inc. otherwise known as the TriStar Cycling family. This opportunity came at a very good time. This job is allowing me flexibility to train on the bike, travel when there are races and keep my foot in the corporate door.
I started riding in 2004. Cumberland Transit, the very popular outdoor store and greatly improved bike shop, took me in as their lone female rider and were kind enough to let me train with the guys. Cumberland Transit Cycling has been very instrumental in allowing me to pursue bike racing at the highest level. I started out as a Cat 4 racer and Expert mountain biker in 2004, and with some local success in 2005 i was picked up by the DeFeet, a southeastern women's based team. I soon learned that road racing was my strength and it is very difficult to be highly competitive at both disciplines. I progresses quickly last year by starting as a cat 3 and making my way up to cat 1 by the end of the season. 2005 was a good year for me but with moving up quickly comes a much higher level of cycling. When you ride with the best racers you find that everyone in the peleton has a killer instinct. For the 2006 season, my racing schedule is much more demanding and will require me to be in the best shape of my life. I have worked hard this past winter and believe I have what it takes to be highly competitive in the NRC's this year.
With that being said, I am going to quit yapping and start riding. Now i am sitting here at LAX International and have about 6 more hours before heading to Auckland. I will get there around 6:30 am and then catch a flight to Wellington where a teammate and team director will pick me up. It will be Wednesday when I arrive and it's monday now. I have never skipped a whole day of my life before.
My next diary will be during the stage race. I hope to have several pictures for you to see NZ. Quick thanks to everyone who helped make this possible! The party/fundraiser that was thrown for me was great and the support from everyone who came was overwhelming. I am so excited to represent the US and Nashville in this tour and World Cup race. If you get a chance, you can check out my website at www.robinfarina.com