Turkey Day - Port St. Lucie, FL

This whole week in Florida has been great. It is pretty crazy training too. Kind of like you are in a jungle or something with all the squeaky and squawky birds and whatever else is out there making noise. Quite different than riding through cow pies like in Utah and I like it! Only thing that I don't like is the amount of geckos that I have squashed with my tires so far. Poor little guys.

When not riding I have been hanging out a lot in this area of the house. Every house has a screened in porch like this to keep the mosquito's at bay. When not riding I have been deep in decompression mode, that is for sure. Life has been so crazy for me lately and to just not be dealing with that all right now has been so nice. I think removing myself completely from the situation I had going on at home has been good for me in a lot of ways.

These two HUGE (at least 4' tall Blue Heron) hung out in the yard by our place. Pretty neat.

Also been getting a chance to train right on the ocean. On A1A to be exact. They have a sweet bike lane that just goes and goes and goes endlessly for miles and miles. And yes, you guessed it, it is straight and flat as a pancake. Made for some good but super painful intervals. Painful for 2 reasons: one can go way harder at sea level and the scenery and road is pretty much the same the whole way not giving you much to think about, do or navigate while in the pain cave.

On that note, there were actually these 3 houses to check out as I went by. So colorful and cool! Right on the ocean too, wow.

"Rubbish" hugh? Not everyday you see a sign that has that on it.

Chris has been getting his fair share of kiteboarding in although he has turned into what I call the "windwatcher". All he does is study the wind on the computer and then goes to chase it. But that is what he wants to do so I let him do it but it equals LOTS of driving.

After training in the pain cave then having Thanksgiving dinner it was off to Miami and then the Keys because...yep you guessed it...that is where the wind is supposed to be for the weekend.

Florida Cyclocross - Clermont, FL

We found hills in Florida!! Today's race was completely different than yesterdays because it was all hill. We started were I took this picture and went up to the top towards that tower on the left every lap.

Today the women started on the line again with the Junior Men but this time the Junior boys were after it and gave me a run for my $$. What a blast!

We were going back and forth the entire race with each other. It was perfect training! I won the Womens A but got beaten by one of the juniors. That kid was fast!

Hills and off camber turns!

And, just like yesterday, afterwards, Chris and I headed to Cocoa Beach so he could Kiteboard. We took a wrong turn and then another and kept having to pay tolls just to turn around.

But once at the beach finally I dropped him off up wind and picked him up a few hours later a few miles down the beach.

While waiting for him I started chewing on an apple. At first I was all alone hanging out, then one seagull arrived....

Then another... and another...and soon after that I was surrounded! Did they really want my apple of all things? They can forget about it!

Ok, racing is done so Chris and I can officially start the vacation!

Florida Cyclocross Race - Orlando, FL

Instead of going to bed at 3am like we did last night, we got up not too long after that! The cross race was early and we had to drive a few hours north from the beach to get there and I wanted to get there with plenty of time. We forgot about all the tolls around these parts too. Ugh.

We got to the race with plenty of time and it was great! The Florida Cyclocross Series is still pretty new getting about 100 people total to the races.


That didn't stop them from putting together a great course! Wow it was fun. VERY flat, UCI regulation height barriers, tons of low cut grass, lots of turns, a bit of an mtb section that had singletrack with some drop offs in it, a log to jump over and even a tiny run up. The weather was beaming with sun and the humidity wasn't too bad.



Sign for the pit zone:


They even went as far as putting in a mud section. And how do you get mud in Florida? You break out the hose of course! This guy was in charge of the mud bog.



As I lined up I had no idea what to expect of myself or of anything really. It's been one heck of ride with my life being turned upside down on me and there has been nothing pleasant about it. Training has been a joke, emotions have been on a roller coaster, I just got done burying my parents last weekend, I was extremely tired and here I was ready to race. Why, because I wanted to. But could I handle the stress of racing again? Will my body implode? It could have been good or it could have been bad very easily.

But off the line I jumped right into the lead and never looked back. How in the world did that happen? Cool! I certainly wasn't expecting things to go well, let alone THAT well. Ok, I will take it.

So with that I guess now you can say I am officially on the other side of this hell I have been through. My thoughts during the race were good, I seemed quick, I had the fire again to race and win .....all of which I didn't know was still there. But it is! What a HUGE relief. I am still in there somewhere beneath the layers of loss and pain.

Because the race started so early we got a chance to head to Cocoa Beach afterwards so Chris could Kitesurf. On the way there we went across Cape Canaveral and saw this big ole cruise ship. Not something you see everyday in Utah!

One of the biggest surf shops there is Ron Jons with a Starbucks inside. A Green Tea Latte and a beach is the perfect recovery food and venue - I will take it!

Ron Jons sells it all!

Chris got his wind while I hung on the beach.

Never seen this kind of kite before!

Chris kited until super late and then we had to drive back home about 2 hours. Repeat it all again tomorrow.

Port St. Lucie, FL - Day 1

I am FINALLY going to slowly start updating my blog...

After dealing with the death of my father, burying both parents 12 days later, having a Catholic Service and then Celebrating their lives with a party I was reminded by my husband that we were supposed to be headed to Florida for fun in 4 days!

I hadn't even had a chance to THINK about that trip and practically forgot about it all together. It was going to be good to gather with some family for Thanksgiving because this was bound to be a difficult one, that was for sure.

So completely switching gears in the blink of an eye I packed for Florida and headed away for what was going to be a pretty long vacation. Oh did I mention that this vacation was going to include some cyclocross races too? Yep, took my bike!

We got to the Florida airport late Thursday night and it was a nice one with palm trees everywhere inside!



We were quickly reminded that we were in the land of gators and lizards! This little guy came with our rental car.



We got to bed around 3am and the next day which it technically already was we settled in and tried to figure out our plan of attack. Chris's whole purpose was to Kitesurf while in Florida. My purpose was to get some good training in because I was eyeing nationals in December in Bend and I hadn't really been training........just taking care of family business. So it was pretty important that I get on a bike daily especially since it was super nice out (70's) unlike at home!

Chris found some good Kitesurfing not too far from where we were staying and the only thing that I found for training was this road with no shoulder. When I say no shoulder I mean it! It was scary.



At least there was some reprieve of the road with some sidewalks here and there!



Next up, is a double race weekend in Orlando! That should be fun considering how much I haven't trained. Can you say ouchy?

Dad is Gone

The last time I saw dad we "had dinner together".

Today was a strange one. I didn’t ride today which was weird in of itself. I was supposed to train but something was driving me inside to not train today and to instead follow up with everything from mom’s death.

I just felt like I needed to get things done, make phone calls, wrap things up, do my thank you cards, answer tons of emails, get moms Celebration of Life in order, print programs, etc. I worked tirelessly all day on everything which kind of came out of the blue for me because I wasn’t planning on doing it all day like I did. And when I say that I worked on this all day, I mean ALL day.

I finally got to a point at 8pm where I felt really good about things, where everything stood with moms stuff and my own stuff as well. I felt like a weight had been lifted and that I was in a good spot because of all I accomplished today. I got a lot done and it was time to chill for the night.

I got an hour of chilling in and at 9pm I received a phone call from my brother about dad.

Dad was showing signs of probably not living more than 24 hours and the nurses had called us to let us know. The signs were that he stopped eating in the last few days, his heart rate was up and his blood pressure was down. The classic signs.

What to do now with this news??! I was supposed to be leaving for mom’s Celebration of Life in WA in 10 days and now it was looking like I was going to be leaving for a plane in 8hours heading to WA.

Ok.

I booked my flight for 8am and started packing for what could be an insta 2 week trip to WA. Dad could possibly last longer than just a few days and I needed to be prepared to stay up there for days and/or weeks. Whatever it took.

So with my flight booked I started packing frantically at about 11pm. I needed stuff for the next couple days at least, possibly my Celebration of Life attire if I was there that long, ALL (and I mean ALL) of the Celebration of Life stuff in case I was up there for a few weeks. That would be a disaster to have me there in WA and all the finished stuff in Utah!!

And then I needed to think about the possibility that dad could pass while I was up there and his obit was in Utah, his pictures (for any Power Point that I would want to do at the Celebration of Life) were also in UT, nothing was set for him to be a part of the Celebration of Life and I now I had to start thinking about scanning pictures, making copies of things and going through his stuff to find things that represented him.

Talk about having to plan ahead and this was VERY important to me. VERY. I was taking moms Celebration of Life party extremely seriously and I would do no less for dad. No less.

During the night I took several calls from the nurse that was caring for dad. I also spoke to hospice at length at about 2:30am. Both were helpful, understanding and insightful.

I was in a daze, focused at the task at hand. I was running on pure energy and/or shock and I never got the least bit tired while doing all these things all night long.

At 4:30am after a long night of getting things completely ready for what may lie ahead I laid down for just an hour. Woke up at 5:30am and was off by 6am for my flight.

I was just hoping and praying that my dad would make it at least long enough for me to see him. I had booked the earliest possible flight as soon as I knew what was happening. I was also hoping to just call dads care unit and have them put the phone up to his ear so I could say any last good byes but I was waiting for a more reasonable hour. I didn’t want to wake him.

On the way down to the airport at around 6:25am I got a call from my brother and I knew what he was going to say.

Dad had passed 25 minutes earlier.

No Boulder, CO

I got all packed, the car packed and everything all ready to rumble down good ole I -80 yesterday for the Boulder, CO cyclocross races but the weather had way different plans for me.

I -80 was closed due to snow and high wind yesterday and actually still is today! Ok, I can take a hint already. I won't go to Boulder.

Yeah I could have gone I-70 but that is a longer drive (10 hours) and Vail pass even got hit lightly too. And if I am going to drive 10 hours, I am heading to the beach!!! It is only about 7 hours going on 80 to Boulder.

So I stayed home and ended up just riding and not racing. Chris, Chad and I hit Dutch Hollow Trails today. Dang it was nice out here! Amazing weather on Halloween in the Wasatch.

Wind Catcher

Chris is still getting in as much Kiteboarding as he can when the wind is good.

Let's see.....the doctor was supposed to release him next month for this but he has been at it since August!!!

I don't say anything to him because I know how it is to be laid up. Had I not gone through that myself last year he probably would be getting an earful . There is a lot to be said for feeling happy emotionally while healing broken bones and ligaments instead of being disgruntled about it. Plus, he is taking precaution - HA!!

Utah Cyclocross Race #4 - Draper, UT

Today was interesting. I felt like absolute junk. I hate to say that since I won but it is the truth. While warming up I kept lieing to myself trying to convince my head and body that I felt good. You know, those mind games you play? But they didn't work - I suffered.

Erika P. and Tiffany P. had rippen starts off the line which started the drag race up the pavement for poll position going into the more technical part of the course. My goal was to get in front before the technical section and I accomplished that. Then I accomplished maxing myself out enough to eat it in one of the singletrack u turns. I got up pronto and hopped back on my bike luckily still in the lead. Was feeling the love for whatever reason on the run up which was a great thing! Then proceeded to crash AGAIN on the next lap in some gravel. It amazes me how much you can fall all over the ground and get up MOST TIMES with only dust on your leg!

It was at that point that I started telling myself and admitting to myself that I was indeed TIRED and that I probably need to back it off some. But really.....try convincing any pro racer to back off. Yeah right.

As I went through the start/finish area for the 3rd time the announcers started talking about my mom and all that I have been through with losing her last month. They were saying that this was an important race and I am going for the win and doing this for mom today. And that was the only sign I needed.......to slow down!!!!

What my mom would have wanted was to have me slow down and to just be careful. Anytime I ever called her after a race it wasn't to tell her that I won or lost it was to tell her I was ok..........and THEN to tell her how I did. She was always more concerned that I was having fun and in one piece over anything else.

And THAT was all the convincing I needed to back off today.

So I did back it off just a hair. Just enough to get me through the corners safely but to keep the pressure on for the rest of the 40 minute race. It was pretty obvious to me that I needed to back off anyway with the fatigue I was feeling but trying to convince myself of that was a joke, until the announcers chimed in that is. That was my sure sign.

It won't always work that way for me (slowing down) if I think of mom during a race because I have certainly gone harder just thinking about her. It will just depend on the situation during the race.

And, a big shout out to Karl at Revolution Mtn Sports who I cornered in the parking lot TWICE before my race because, first, I couldn't unscrew my tire valve (it was stuck shut with sealant) and then again to put on a chain guard. Both times he dropped everything to help me out even though he was getting ready for his own race. What a guy! I think I owe him more rice krispy treats!!

Jets raced across the sky several times during the men's race.

Resting up big time then off to the Boulder Cups in CO.

Overwhelmed

View from our house as I do everything I need to do right now. At least it is a pleasant one!

So at this point I am feeling completely overwhelmed with how much my brother and I have to do. I am in charge of planning moms Celebration of Life that is on Nov. 14th which is like planning a wedding minus the invitations - the obit served as those.

Don't get me wrong, I want to do this for her, but throwing this together in a few months time is a lot. But that is only because I want to do it right. I want her celebrated in the best way with a power point (which I need to learn how to do) of pictures of her displayed from childhood onward, her awards and other things organized and there at the party, the things that she loved (favorite books, favorite poems) there too, etc. This has all meant that I have had to go through everything at a rapid pace and reproduce it somehow whether by scanning, copying or just writing it again on my computer.

I have learned more about my mom by going through everything and really I am loving it. It has been a really good process to go through and it hasn't been difficult. In fact, more times than not, it has put a smile on my face.

I am celebrating her life the way I would like for me one day. She deserves to have all her accomplishments out for everyone to see. She was an amazing women!

But that said, the 14th is turning into a big all day event to include a burial service because moms marker (as they call it) for her grave site MAY be in by then, then having the party itself and after that maybe going out to eat with all the family......all things that need coordination. And if it were only that simple, life would be good right? Gotta figure in wheelchair access, appropriate places to go, timing, who, what, when, where, blah blah blah.

No really, it is all good, I am just up to my eyeballs right now and my mom is very worth it. She gave me everything she had and now I am going to do the exact same for her no matter how much it takes. It is the least I can do for her to see her out of this world in the best way possible.

So the party is only one portion of it right now too because my brother and I are also in the middle of attorney hell, guardianship junk, car insurance that is expiring and all the rest to include taxes that need to be filed for 09. Mom got an extension but we know what happened there......

Everyone keeps asking if the dust is settling but quite frankly, the longer she has been gone, the more we find out and really, the dust is stirring!

It will all be fine I know. Just will take some time as we muddle through everything.

Riding Park City

This was one of those days where everyone had the same thing in mind.....get out and ride before you can't anymore this year. There were probably over 30 or so people that started the ride in our group at Park City Mtn Resort. Pretty cool.

The leaves were gorgeous on Sweeney Switchbacks




Taking a water break at Deer Valley Resort


Great day with great friends!

Utah Cyclocross Race #3 - Heber, UT

Dayna was hot on my tail today!

It was so nice to race only 6 blocks from my house today! It got super warm too. So warm that I thought I was getting sunburned at one point. That is crazy at 5600 feet in October.

So today it was about goatheads. No, not goat heads...goatheads..little pointy thorny like deals that sit on the ground waiting to be picked up by the next $90 tubular tire. Nice. I think I could have set up a booth selling Stans Sealant and made some serious cash. But even though it was goathead fever, my rear tire decided to stick with picking up a tiny staple instead while I was warming up. For my warm up I was only getting 5 minutes out of it before I had to find a pump. Why didn't I get my other bike? Because poor Chris had been recruited by me to help help help with the goatheads that were in that bikes tires. What a cluster.

Once the race and I got going, I was a complete tool bag. I couldn't find my my technical abilities over the barriers and on the run up to save my life. Sometime I think that too much cyclocross practice during the week is not a good thing. I think I over did it quite frankly. And I think that because I was the same way during practice on Thursday (tired, stumbly, timing was off). Did I mention that I was a tool bag today?

I went to bed 2 hours early the night before the race and wasn't sure what to expect today from myself. I guess I should have seen the signs but they are signs that you just don't want to see the night before a race, you know!!?

Mount Heber

So tool bag and all, I somehow got out front right away and raced around the course running up "Mount Heber" (a large pile of dirt) and going over the barriers that were set right after a corner. I was able to somehow maintain my lead as I practiced my corners and other skills that seemed like they needed a brushing up on. Oh and I chose to have my chain drop too while I was at it.......and I have a single ring up front so whats up with that?! Like I said, nothing went too smooth today but I did take home the win and I am happy.

Sly was out there in full force handing out the cash but also sneezing away I would imagine too!

Race Video:

I Love Riding In Heber!

Get your pumpkin and/or gourd here on the honor system to pay.

09 Cyclocross Clinic

A big thanks to everyone that turned out for the Cyclocross Clinic that we put on again this year. It was so fun to have you all out there and it was fun to see how much you all improved over the course of the day!! Amazing what practice and hard work will do. Nice work to everyone!

See you at the races!

Good luck and go get em!!!!

Utah Cyclocross Race #2 - Odgen, UT

I didn't know what the heck to expect today. It had been 2 months since I have competed and a lot has happened since then namely my mom passing.

I was off the bike for 1 month total with only a few sporadic rides in before my mom passed unexpectedly. And after getting things "settled" with the estate and to some extent, my life, I started to train again with what time I had left to do it in.

So I am kind of wasn't ready to be racing yet since I officially started training 5 days earlier but here I was getting ready to do this thing! I was a bit uneasy about it all because I had no idea what to expect. Not training can be a good thing when done at the right time but it can also be a total and complete disaster. As for any high end training?? Yeah....maybe I did that like 2 months ago and we all know you lose that faster than fast if you don't train it. So not only was I going to hurt today badly I might suck too. Awesome thought prior to a race eh? A thought that I haven't had in a very long time. Not a great feeling.

I got to the venue early and just took a chill pill. I mean what is a girl to do? I have only done what my body has allowed and whatever...it is what it is and I have done what I was able to do when I could. I have unfortunately had bigger fish to fry this last month or so.

I lined up on the line getting ready for go time and getting ready to do my first race pace effort on my new pretty Ellsworth Roots bike (notice the flat section of the top tube to allow for easier carrying/shouldering up hills- NICE).

The start took everyone right into the wind and I thought since I didn't know where I stood fitness wise that taking the 3rd wheel would be smart since I didn't want to stick my nose in the wind right away either. So I did just that as planned, taking 3rd wheel and as the leaders turned into the 4th corner all I could hear suddenly was squeaking brakes!! Next thing I knew I was hearing the sound of bikes hitting each other as everyone slowed suddenly causing quite the pile up including myself and Tiffany. About 6 people went by us as we gathered ourselves for now what was going to be the chase to get back on the group.

At least at this point I had Tiffany, who is a superior sprinter and criterium racer to share the work with. She rocks. We fought and pulled our way past everyone again to get near the front which is always quite an effort. We got to the race leader at the barriers/run up section on the back side of the course and this is where I found out that all my cyclocross practice every Thursday was a super good thing. I dismounted for the barrier and passed the race leader in the least suspecting place for me to do that in - the barrier section! I was psyched.

From there I just put my head down and hammered around the course for the next 40 minutes. I really wanted/needed this win for soooooooo many reasons. After asking my mom for help while I was leading the race I realized too that it was up to me to put the effort in. She can't help me with the physical part but I will say that I felt effortless the rest of the day on the course so bless her for that! If every race could feel like that I would be happy.

And with that, I secured the victory!