Something To Do While U Sip That Coffee

Woke up this morning to a sore throat and snow falling from the sky. That wasn't the highlight of my life that is for sure. Grrrrrr. I don't even know where it came from but based on how I have been feeling the last few weeks I bet this is what I have been fighting. I am kind of glad I got it finally so I can get it over with instead of fighting it and feeling weird the next few weeks too.

But while I was having my cereal I noticed this quiz on the side of the box. It is good to see the cereal industry is taking notice of the power of cycling. See if you can get these right:


Some of these seem to be worded kinda strange:


And for those that need the answers (ok, I admit I looked just make SURE I was right).........


I am going to send away for this and give it to the first kid I see which isn't that cool but maybe it will make a child's day. Gotta try right?


Alright, gotta hit more of the Green Tea. Whoo-Hoo!

This View Caught My Eye

on the way out the door today.

DV Dinner

So I stuck to my plan and got out last night to a employee dinner which doesn't sound like much fun but it really is especially after being couped up in your house for days. Deer Valley Resort was having their Years of Service Reception for all the employees that have been there 5 consecutive seasons or longer which includes me with 13 years. It also included 750 other employees of whom about 1/2 showed up making it for more of a reunion really. It is good to have the time to talk to your fellow mates and catch up a bit while not at work.




I was reminded of all the time I actually been at the resort as I made my way around talking to the various groups I used to work with...Ski Instructors, Ski Patrol, Human Resources and now Signatures stores. The more I talked to people the more I can't believe how much history I actually have with Deer Valley and staff (although some people have decades on me, having been at the resort 27 years plus).


Some of these people have known me since I moved to Utah basically and that never really dawned on me until tonight. These people have seen me through a lot! That is weird to think about but really cool too. One ski instructor remembered exactly where I used to live my first year at the resort. Heck, I can barely remember that! Another on Ski Patrol reminded me that I bought my first full suspension fork with 1 cm of travel (probably) from him in the 90's when I was just getting into riding (not racing yet). The old timer stories are were in plethora last night making for lots of laughs along with lots of food and free drinks which I took full advantage of as you can see (with buddy, Brooke H).



Everyone at Deer Valley is family no matter how big we are now. I might not be there every day, all day, all year long anymore but you would never know it as I ran across one smiling face after the next asking me how things are. Getting treated by everyone like I was still there as a fulltime staff member meant more than anyone knows.

Deer Valley is a great place to work and I am happy that they want me to be a part of it each year. The crazy thing is that most people remembered that I quit working as HR Manager four years ago now to pursue a dream and they think it is so great. That kind of support is so nice vs. getting the what the heck were you thinking speech. What was I anyway?? Ha ha.

Stein Eriksen, Director of Skiing, got his talk in which is always fun to listen to. He is funny. That guy is 80 if you can believe it. But unfortunately he was involved in a ski accident earlier in the season and broke his wrist, clavicle along with messing up some ribs too. He is hoping to make his debut on skis again later this month. Incredible!

Bob Wheaton, GM of Deer Valley also spoke. He always has the best things to say and the right way to say it. He is so proud of every department and every employee and he knows how to convey that message which makes the resort what it is today - #1 Resort in North America.












We certainly missed the owners of the resort, Edgar and Polly Stern though. This is the first year they were not able to make it to this wonderful dinner that they host. We know they are proud of everyone despite their lack of presence there tonight.

And the best part of the evening? The fact that I didn't have to plan this dinner. I used to have to do that every year as HR Manager (back then it was 500 eligible employees) but it was certainly nice to kick back and relax and not be running around putting out tiny fires like I would have to do in the past!

Thanks for Letting Me Know

that it was daylight savings. Ugh-Hugh......yeah.

My mom just called and asked me what time it was here in UT.

What? It is the same time as always mom - are you losing the plot?

No dear, it was daylight savings last night did your state change? (She gets us mixed up with AZ)

WHAT!!!?!! For the love of the lord are you kidding me?

This was the first time I fell victim to that one in a while. Glad I had no where to be in a hurry. Whoops! I told you I have been cooped up and not into anything this last week including paying attention to minor stupid details like THE TIME. Wow, I definitely have to get out some more.

Spring Has Not Sprung

I haven't been posting lately because quite frankly I have been completely wiped out. I think that last block of training killed me along with topping it off with a race followed by a long ride the next day. Whew. I have been dragging around, barely moving, sleeping a lot and really not feeling like myself with virtually no energy. Guess that is what a rest week is all about....healing the body up from all that pummeling you gave it for the last month.

Spring is trying to make its way to Utah which is nice since its mid March and all. Glad it feels like it may want to make an appearance finally.

The birds are back and out and we are starting to hit 40 degrees. People on their cruiser bikes, kids playing on the one speck of pavement that isn't covered by snow and people ice chipping their way to their front door were common sites today while I was meandering around the valley on my bike. It is good to see people out again - I was starting to feel like I was all alone in the world as I cruised around the barren neighborhoods all winter with no signs of life out there. I guess people were smarter than I and stayed in where it was warm drinking hot cocoa next to the fire while watching the crazy abominable snowman ride by in the snow and sleet!

More Reads

Why oh why do I get these kinds of emails!?

Good lord.

Got this from Adam's site. Interesting read. Hmmmmm???

Where Did All This News Come From?

Check out MTBracenews.com for more on this last weekends Intermountain Cup race, among many others.

More Intermountain Cup #1 race news here too.

My coach was nice enough to let the world know that she coaches me here. I guess she isn't ashamed of me........ha ha! It is a good write up on her and all her accomplishments. Good read.

Some Race - ee Pix

Wind Wind Go Away!

I will tell you what. Race season has started and I forgot how fun it is to hang with ALL the buddies again. We are all back in one spot on a regular basis now for racing and I am psyched about it. We love to laugh, pick on each other, tell new stories, tell old stories and hammer each other into the ground on bikes while we are at it.

A great group of people that I have missed over the winter and am looking forward to seeing a lot more of these next few months.

So last night after the race we all headed to Danny's but beforehand hit the local custard shop. None of us know what the difference between ice cream and custard is though. Here are the thoughts:

Blake, Bob and Ty


CUSTARD IS................
Blake: ice cream is whipped and a custard is not
Bob: No clue
Ty: Duh know?!
Me: It has to do with eggs
Chris: less sugar so lower calories
Kelli: Another duh know


And......we still don't know because none of us have taken the time to look er up.

Then it was off to Danny's where there were no Jello shots but some good beer. I drank my dang sparkling Talking Rain water though instead while Chris may have found someone to take him into the land of Heaps Canyon in Zion National Park which would be fantastic.

Moving on to today's adventures. Long ride. But first it started with a group breakfast OUTSIDE in 45 degree weather. Who in the sam hell said "yeah lets eat outside??!!" I think it is The Chads fault because we make everything Chads fault even when he's not with us like today. :)

Here is Ty and Sara wrapped up in cold weather gear while waiting for pile of hot and steamy flapjacks.


Then it was time to ride Bear Claw Poppy, Stucki, Barrel Roll, Race Course (like we didn't do enough of it yesterday right, but it is SO fun!!) and then back down the four fingers of death, Bear Claw Poppy to the car. Good solid 3 hour ride.

Blake, Kelli and Ty getting ready to fight the wind:


Chris doing the same:


Brad Newby, our tour guide (yet again) arrives:


Hanging out in the 20mph wind at the top of Stucki:


Ty on the Barrel Roll


The whole gang hanging for a moment.


Then it was hit I-15 home where I will be promptly hitting the couch for many days. I need it!

Intermountain Cup #1 - St. George, UT

It was great! Every class including the Pro Women had extra competition this weekend. My extra competition came from CO....."that Emmett!!" :) I finally caught up with her after I crossed the finish line a few minutes back to come in 2nd. Ha ha.

It was great that she was there because I pushed and pushed even though I thought I may not be able to because I have been feeling so toasty lately. And, the best news was that I was 8 minutes faster than last year (same course)!! Wow. Ok....I will take that for sure! I was around a 31 minute lap this year compared to a 34 minute lap last year. Yes!

Bob S had a great day in his new 40+ class coming in around 5th. Bart G. won with a huge group of around 20 guys including Travis Brown and Troy Wells.
Still waiting on Warrens report. I saw him before the race.
As for the very impressive off the couch crew...my Chris, DJ and Ty came in 17th (Expert), 6th (Pro) and 5th (Expert 19-29) .
As for the new kid on the block from St. George, Gary with Red Rock Bicycles....he won his Beginner class by 6 minutes in his first race ever. Nice.
Kelly Glenn, came in 10th ish in the Sport class WITH A FLAT. Way to keep it moving!
Jen Hanks knee held up after tons of Physical Therapy these last months to come in 4th in Pro Women.
Danny with Red Rock Bicycles came in 3rd in Sport.
Jennie Wade decided to listen to her body and not race-she's been hacking a lung lately. So instead she took nice control over the feed zone and fed us! Thanks a ton Jennie!!
B. Newby was psyched with his day too faring quite well in the Expert Mens race.

We all got together after the race and invaded Cafe Rio and now we are all off to do jello shots at Danny's. Kidding. Well......we will see. Ha!

We Didn't!!

Oh yes, we did!! We rode in shorts and a jersey today in St. George while checking out the race course! Ah heck ya! First time in shorts since.......don't know when.




Heading down Provo Canyon......

......to southern Utah

You will see the difference in weather which is why we head south when we can....and this time it was a need to head down because of a race which is fine by us!

Alright, it's time to rest up finally although sometimes I am not sure we know the meaning of rest.

Dopey Deer

The bunch of deer above couldn't figure out what I was doing out there today. Heck, neither could I since it was 37 in Heber where I was and about 50 in Salt Lake City today. I was jealous of those guys down there riding in the balmy weather but I had no time spare today and had to ride from my house. Got up to 40 here though which was nice.

Right after the deer got done checking me out, I ran into a coyote that was grubbing on a dead cow. Yuck. No pictures of the coyote though cuz I get scared easy and thought it was going to eat me next. I high tailed it out of there!!!

You Know a Race is Around the Corner When

you are hanging out with your wheels on the couch at night trying to get them sealed and ready to rumble.

First Intermountain Cup race is on Saturday in St. George, UT. Supposed to be about 70 down there this weekend too but I will believe it when I see it. Utah has had quite the year of snow along with some crazy weather!

LT Test

Went in for an Lactate Test with Dr. Max Testa and crew. For those that don't know what in the sam dang heck I am talking about. Check it here.

The result?

I need to hang the bike up.

Kidding....I am right on target.

Max thinks I should get into more road racing.

Guess I have the make up of something good there so he says. Hmmmm?? I will have to think about that one. Actually not really because I love all two wheeled things so there is not much to think about.

Oh yeah and I learned some Italian while I was there which isn't that cool because I was there for almost 4 hours and if I hadn't learned some, it would have been an eyebrow raiser for sure.

I would almost have to say that the hardest part of the test was saying what your level of effort is at each wattage point. You are given a sheet with the #'s 1-10 on it to describe the degree of pain you are feeling....oh I mean the degree of fatigue and difficulty you are feeling with the various increases in the wattages.

That was hard to do because you make it a habit of telling yourself you feel great, you are light as a feather, etc all the time - all that mind game stuff. So to actually lay it on the line and tell them what you are feeling is hard! You kind of have to wipe away that first layer and really feel it and THEN let em' know you feel like dieing. :)