Sucker that I am for Miss Lucy

This is what happens when you go to Lowe's on Saturday mornings. Instead of coming back with home improvement supplies, I come home with Lucy. Now she is a sweet as could be but I am wandering what I am going to do with her with all the racing and travel i have coming up in the next few months. Some things in life are hard to resist. She needed to be rescued and I got suckered but who can seriously resist a face like this...Any suggestions?

The only way i would part with her is if I knew she was going to a good family who had time to spend with her. She is very mild-mannered and a great cuddler. She likes to lie on the couch, watch tv and she likes long walks in the forest. AND she is a sprinter!

Here is another pic of miss lucy doing what she does best.

My teammate's lovely nostrils...

Joe Martin has come and gone. It was not a great race for me but the hospitality of Arkansas is one of the best. I stayed with two different host familes during the weekend a both treated the team and me super well. Big thanks to Steve Friedman and his wife Deb and 3 kids for making sure I arrived safely to Walmartville and that i had a group ride to stretch my legs out with when i got there. The Lisle's took us in during the race and kept us constantly entertained and fed. Steve and Chris have two great kids Jack and Lucy Kate which made me stickers and drawings to cover my jersey and refridgerator when i got home.



The race was less exciting than our host housing. I got caught in a crash 2 miles before the base of a 9 mile climb on the first day. The peloton went through a rain storm and i made sure i was either on the front and near the front during that time. No reason to waste all the effort to go down in a crash in the rain. A few minutes after the rain, I went to middle of the pack to rest up and grab a bite when all the sudden i rounded a corner and found myself running over another rider. She had gone down right in front of me and i had no where to go but over her. I jumped up and went for my bike. No major damage. Chain had come off and some minor scratches and scrapes. I jumped back on and tried to play catch.



When a crash like this occurs, your chances of saving a GC spot is slim. I time trialed 10 minutes to the base and still didn't catch the group. The 9 mile climb was miserable. I kept catching riders but these riders weren't going to make it back to the main field for the finish. My finish was a disapointing 65th for the day. The rest of the race I would work for my teammates and try to salvage the weekend by gaining some fitness for the upcoming races.

Joe Martin is a hard stage race. 4 stages in 48 hours is always physically and mentally tough. This was the first race that my full team has raced together. We are still learning each other's racing style and communication skills. It was fun but at the same time it shows we have a long way to go if we want to get on the top of the podium. Saturday's circuit race was an impressive day for our team. Although we did not get on the podium, we freaking lit that race up like a fire cracker. Our director, Greg Wolf, had us attacking the race non-stop. We had Leigh Valletti in a solo break for a long time. Every rider played an important part. Cheerwine and Aarons were working their butts off to bring back attack after attack. It was fun and it was the way women's cycling should be. Too many times we race negative and wait for other teams to make it exciting. Not that day. Now we just need to do this everyday in a stage race. Our time will come. The season believe it or not is still new. So much more racing to go.

I am happy to be home for two weeks and really looking forward to visiting my family in Nashville on Memorial Day weekend. The 2nd Annual Edgar Soto Memorial Day Stage Race is taking place and it is a great weekend for all racers. Check it out and come take your chances on this race. I doubt you will be disappointed. Last year this was a classy amateur stage race and the prizes were worth it so I am sure they will try to outdo themselves again this year.

Stay tuned for more race recaps and adventures. Thanks for reading. At the top, you see a pic from the tough crit at Joe Martin and here is a team pic at Joe Martin with our Host family.

Stay tuned for the introduction of the Targetraining Women's Pro Cycling podcast that will soon be available for your listening pleasure. These are some of the lovely personalities that you will get a chance to hear. So if you don't recognize the nostrils, that's Mandy Lozano and you have to say it like the announcer Dave Towle in a loud voice while she is on the front of a crit, and the ever so popular and very fast Leigh Valletti.

Finally catching a break

Last week was the SE Crit Series. It was a whole lotta crits in one week. Overall it was a great experience and so much fun. There is something about racing a one hour + race every night for a week straight that gets me pretty pumped. Besides getting to race every night in a different city with a different crowd, I discovered that racing your bike can also lead to the most effective way to waste time.

The past week was spent driving, eating, sleeping, doing laundry and checking emails in between races. Sounds like the life huh? Racing in 7 different cities over 8 days requires some serious logistical mapping. That is one thing i try not to do. In fact, i decided that the easiest thing was to just get in my car and start driving. That was all fine and good until after the last night in Decatur, AL when i found myself finally arriving back home at 3:30am. As if the races didn't provide enough suffering, I thought I would torture myself a little more and keep driving until I couldn't see straight. Made it home safe but that is the last time I pull that trick again. All i had was Veronica, my Garmin GPS system, to talk to me after dropping Christina off in Greenville, SC. Veronica only talks to me when i have taken the wrong turn or wants to take me on some alterantive route. She comes in handy most of the time but man when she is wrong, SHE is SOOO wrong.

So back to the races, since that is why you read this. Athens went over ok. I had a little crash Thursday night before the race so I was sore and a little timid. The trick about coaching is that you should always let your athlete either ride in front of you or behind you until you learn their riding style. I was out on a training ride with one of my athletes and we turned into each other. My fault i am sure since I did not no where i was going. I went down and he stayed upright. Minor road rash all over my arse and the new Aegis bike was acting silly. I had a small breakdown, gained composure and found the neosporine. I thought until this past weekend that it cures all, well maybe not. I put too much of that crap all over my road rash and had a huge allergic reaction. Friday night driving to the race my feet and hands started swelling and I had hives all over me. My feet were SO fat i couldn't even walk on them that night or the next morning. I woke up the day of Athens and thought that i wasn't going to be able to start since I couldn't put my fat feet into my cycling shoes. After popping several Benadryl and taking a nap, I was some how back to normal. I raced Athens but wasn't happy with my ride. I was suffering bad. Made it to the front once and decided to just ride it out. Lots of crits left this week. No need to blow myself on this one fantastic race. Athens is one of the most exciting races EVER and i will have revenge on it next year.

The rest of the week was pretty uneventful until Sunday. Everyday was a field sprint finding Tina and Laura battling it out at the end. I would try to get in breaks over and over but the field did not want to let anything loose. Finally on Sunday, the break I was waiting for formed and stuck. It made my week. I knew if i could just get in a break that it would be to my advantage. My sprinting is coming along but my timing is still off. There were 6 of us in the break with 2 Cheerwine riders stirring things up. There were several attacks in the break. I tried to conserve but it wasn't happening. With a lap to go i was 6th. I moved up to 4th in the last 2 corners. The sprint went from the last corner and I didn't jump soon enough. I finished 4th in the break which was a HUGE bummer. I wanted a podium spot bad but apparently not bad enough. Another lesson learned. Experienced riders will try to take advantage of riders like me in a break. I did not work too much but they were giving me hell about pulling more. They were trying to wear me out. Good work on their part. Next time I won't be as timid in a break like that.

Speaking of next time, I fly out for Joe Martin tomorrow morning. This came as a surprise. I thought I had a weekend to decompress and train in the mtns for the upcoming stage races but instead my team needs me in Arkansas. After this weekend, I am planning on visiting Nashville on Memorial Day weekend, which i miss dearly. The 2nd Annual Edgar Soto Memorial Day Stage Race is taking place and it is a great weekend for all racers. Check it out and come take your chances on this race. I can promise you, you will not be disappointed. This is a classy amateur stage race and the prizes are worth it.

Stay tuned for more race recaps and adventures. Thanks for reading. Here is a pic of my break from Sunday afternoon in Decatur, AL.