The Normal Life

24 days off the bike and counting...

It didn't feel so strange at first. I just noticed that I had more free time, free time that I spent doing things other than laying with my feet up against a wall.

Then I noticed I wasn't eating as much. In fact, my weekly grocery bill went from about $75 to $50 or less. And that made me realize that I spend heck of a lot of time (1) being hungry, (2) thinking about food, (3) not being able to think about anything but food, and (4) eating food.

So far, one of the best parts of the off season is that there's a TON less laundry to do. When you think about it, the non-athlete goes through about half as many clothes as I do. Food is pretty good-tasting, but laundry is never fun. Especially when you have to spend as much time as I do searching for quarters to run the washer and dryer.

Not everything is getting better though, now that I'm off the bike. I have to admit that along with the decline in the amount of food I eat and laundry I do, the number of times I shower each week has taken a turn for the worse. In my mind, if there's no sweat then there's no shower. But I'm gradually learning that that doesn't rule doesn't really hold past two days or so.

Other things:
I've lost a little weight
Had time to go mountain biking for the first time in two years and the third time EVER.
I only crashed once.
And this weekend, I'm about to participate in my first mountain bike race: The South East Collegiate Cycling Conference Championships! Wooooooo!

If I can get motivated enough, I might actually try to document this race with my digital camera. Then there will be pictures for my next blog!

See ya!

Almost Home

The first week of summer, I went to Alabama.  The next weekend: Colorado for Collegiate Nationals.  Then Delaware and Maryland, New Jersey, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Massachusetts, Idaho, Oregon, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, and Illinois.  I was supposed to be racing in Indiana today, but didn't because I got sick.  Tomorrow, however, I'm finally headed back to Gainesville!  

And it's a good thing, too!  I've been off my bike for a few days now, and in place of riding I've taken up eating large amounts of Wisconsin's famous custard.  Yum yum.  If I weren't flying home tomorrow, I might consider staying here longer until, perhaps, it became "too late" so to speak for my growing bottom!  

Home means it's time to start getting serious again.  Looking at my class schedule, it's hard not to slip back into serious mode.  I'm not sure how much I'll be joking around when I'm taking exams in classes called "Compressible Flow" or "Controls of Mechanical Engineering Systems."

Elite Road Nationals

Thanks to Sean Weide, I now know how to link YouTube videos to my blog. That means more blogging excitement for everyone!


The first video is from the U23 Criterium on Sunday. Sam and I broke away from the group 13 laps into the 35-lap race. And if you do the math correctly, that means 22 laps off the front by ourselves! We'd planned all along to break away together; we just didn't know that the right moment would come so early in the race. Ally and Rachel had attacked and were dangling off the front while the other girls tried to bring them back. I was itching to do something, but knew I had to save my energy for the right moment. Luckily for us, the break came back in the most technical part of the course. We were able to attack and get a gap pretty easily.

From there, it was pure pain. We held it at around 28 to 30 mph down the home stretch and 25 to 26 on the back stretch. The only place where we slowed was on the slight rise through turns 3 and 4, the corners we initially attacked through.

The pack chased surprisingly quickly. I kept waiting and waiting, hoping and hoping for the moment when they gave up, but it didn't come until 4 laps to go. Jack said he was surprised by how organize the chase was. With 10 laps to go, I began to question if we'd be able to make it. The gap was staying consistently at about 15 seconds.

Having Sam there with me really helped both mentally and physically. When we made the initial jump, she yelled at me "GO GO GO," and I knew that meant we'd made the right move. When the pack realized they weren't going to catch us, the gap went quickly from 15 seconds to 30 seconds all the way up to over a minute and a half. Crossing the finish line was the best feeling in the world. As Jack told me afterward, this was one of those races that you never forget.



And this is an interview the day after I won the U23 time trial. I was asked if the victory had sunk in yet.

Nature Valley Grand Prix Diary

To follow my progress at the Nature Valley Grand Prix, click here

As of yesterday I'm 14th in GC and Best Young Rider!

The Big Summer Question

It is officially summer. The stress that comes with exams and nationals is long forgotten. I'm traveling the country and, for once, don't have to bring along my text books. Don't get me wrong, though, my life isn't completely stress free. Each morning, I wake up with a serious question to consider: should I ride and then watch TV or watch TV and then ride? haha. Yes, this is the essence of summer. Better enjoy it while it lasts.

My Apologies

Alright, alright....so I know I haven't updated in awhile, and I'm sorry. My sister has given me enough grief about it to account for everyone who has ever been upset about my infrequent blog posts - alright, maybe that's not so many people - but still. I guess it was just a surprise to me that my sister actually reads my blog enough to get upset when I haven't updated it. Maybe the problem here is I don't talk to my sister enough. Sometimes my frequent blog posts and the Team Type 1 Twitter updates are they only way she can be sure I'm still alive! How tragic! Actually, just today my mom was telling me a story that'll give you an idea of how the family copes with my constant traveling.

Before today, I hadn't called home in a few days because I was busy traveling and preparing for collegiate nationals. Wednesday morning, my parents dropped me off at the Orlando (MCO) airport, and that was the last they heard. Of course they'd asked me to call when I got here, but there was so much going on that I didn't have time! It isn't that uncommon for me to forget to call them so they didn't freak out, but I'm sure they couldn't help but imagine the wreckage of my airplane or the wreckage of my rental car or the wreckage of the airport shuttle! But as my dad always says, if they don't hear from the highway patrol men or the news guy, they just assume I made it there safely. They hadn't heard from either, and I DID get here safely, so their assumption was correct, as always.

This morning, they go on a bike ride with one of their friends who informed them that not only was I safe and sound in Colorado, but that my legs were also "feeling good." How did she know this when my parents didn't? We can all thank Sean Weide, the TT1 media superman, for keeping the fans updated on the status of my legs via our team Twitter. So yes, my parents sometimes hear about my doings from other people first, but I think of it as a blessing that they can be so laid back (or at least pretend to be) while I'm off roaming the country and potentially breaking bones.

ANYWAY...

I got 3rd today in the Division 1 road race behind Carla Swart (Lees McRae) and Anna McLoon (Harvard), both whom I race against on the professional circuit. They're both very strong riders, Carla especially, and I suppose if I have to lose to someone I guess I'm glad it's her. The three major factors we had to cope with in this race were the wind, altitude, and hills. It was windiest race I'd ever done (I found myself practically coasting on an uphill we had such a strong tail wind - of course this meant that the head wind was absolutely brutal). On the decent toward the finish, I thought it was going to pick me up and throw me over the guard rail (something that actually happened to a girl in one of the chase groups). The altitude was rough on me, but I coped better than I did last year. At the end, it came down to a group of four. Carla and Anna came in a bit ahead of Melanie and me.

Now I am "home" at the host house. We're staying with a really nice couple. I've been lucky with host families so far this year. Will post pictures from South East Crit Series when I get back!

Redlands Crit Day

Woke up today and checked the email. Went for a ride with the team at 9 to spin out the legs. Got back and relaxed. Left for the crit via bike at noon (it's all downhill into Redlands from the host house). Got set up with the radios during team the team meeting. Warmed up on the trainers next to the port-a-potties.

Mechanic, Chris, is standing next to me while I'm on the trainer. He says: "have any of you been to the bathroom yet?" Routine pre-race question. "No," I say. "Well everyone is reading about you while they're in there."

Come to find out, our media guy posted this inside the port-a-potties so people could read about us while they pooed. Not sure how I feel about that.

Then I raced. We did well as a team. Led Kori out for the first sprint and covered some attacks. Got a flat tire, went to the pit, got back in. Covered another attack. Then got swarmed and rode the last few laps at the back. Alison got top 10. Kori is doing well in the sprint competition now.

Went home, showered, stood in the freezing cold pool as an alternative to an ice bath. Saved a lady bug from drowning. Tortured an ant by encircling it in a ring of water and slowly making the ring smaller and smaller. Thought about the convection heat transfer coefficient between my legs and the water and tried to increase it my moving around.

Got a massage.

And now I'm here, about to go to dinner with the team at another host house, the one some of the staff are staying at.

All in all, a very good day.