Happy 13 Years!!!

Today was amazing! Our 13 year anniversary! Kevin and I slept in, rode our cruiser bikes down to one of our favorite restaurants B-line on 4th Ave and ate breakfast burritos and Crepes (they put brown sugar, cinnamon and pecans in their butter) Yum. Needless to say after cake and crepes this morning we are carbo loading for the Tour. We got all wired out on coffee and drew sketches of our up and coming plans to finish the house. Then we worked on the yard all day, excited of our new patio with this perfect weather high of 65 we had today.

After Kevin headed to work I hit the trails for the first time since the 24 race, excited that my butt is fully healed. It was the most beautiful evening, and I had the trails all to myself. It is crazy how fast you lose your skills after being such a roady.

Our new patio. Stucco next!

50??? Age is just a number!Last night I got to hang out with some good friends Kim and Rob. Kim threw a surprise party for Rob that was a month worth of planning and it turned out awesome and he didn't even have a clue. Kim sang while Rob played guitar for all the guests, they had great food, and their yard and house was amazing, it was a big hit!

I've found my new calling, I'm selling my bikes! I'm looking for two teammates. Anyone.......

The 1987 Dance Aerobics Championship - Watch more Funny Videos

A treat to bring on your ride or hike

I saw these nut rolls in the health food store and thought they would be easy to make. Take the pits out of the dates and mash them up or put them in a food processor. Put an almond inside and roll in coconut. Then put a half almond on top. They are really fun to make!

Sahuaro West Hike

Gates Pass

Cooked....

Big week in the books with three, five hours days on the bike. You would think that wouldn't be too hard after a 24 hour race but it was at a much faster pace. I started all three days with a fast group ride and then veered off with other crazy people that wanted to go long. The good thing is it's eating and taper time. I always hated the word taper, last year I started riding around now, two weeks out from the Tour de Tucson. But I have learned alot since last year. Eating is huge! I always thought after the long 5 hour rides that I would reward myself by eating crap. But I have really been doing something right because I feel awesome. As soon as I get home I will down a fruit smoothie and today I ate a whole plate of raw veggies with hummus. Then an hour later a real meal. Hear is a new way to eat beans and rice. Rice pasta, red beans, artichokes, peas, olives, tomatoes, parmesan, oil and vinegar. It has been perfect weather 80-90's for a high. While most people are getting snow and cooler temps, people are still raging on a bike here, it is crazy.
We are finally starting to plan our last push of remodeling the house, Kevin was so excited he crawled up in the attic with his mask and knee pads for a while.

We got a really good estimate for cement and a back porch over hang, so that is one less thing we have to worry about.

Better then candy...

I tested out homemade cookies on my ride today. Really good and all natural.
2 cups dates (no pits)
1 cup coconut flakes (no sugar added)
1 cup raw nuts (I used walnuts, cashews, pecans and almonds)

Half of a lime just juice
Put everything in a food processer until it clumps, form into bars or cookies, bake 350 for 7 min

We finally got a small group together to ride up Lemmon. It was nice to catch up and go at an easier pace then the crazy fast shoot out on Saturday.

Specialized girls Mel, Chloe and Judy. Awesome girls!

We rode our bikes down to 4th Ave on Halloween to check out all the wierdos.

We were going to give all our expired bars to the kids but we only had one group of trick or treaters, so we were forced to give them candy:)

Sabino Canyon Hike

Pure relaxation for us lately, we finally got a few days off work together and we know we should start some more house projects, but we just look at each other and say we will start another day. Saturday was awesome, I got off work early just in time to do the shoot out and made it around unassisted for the first time. Sunday was a ride up Mt Lemmon and then an evening hike up the phone line trail. Our final race of the season will be Tour de Tucson in a couple weeks. Also found out we are due to leave the desert around April. Not sure where yet but we are putting Germany, Italy, Hawaii, Colorado and California on our list, that means we will probably get some shithole.

Higher pain tollerance = MOAB

Check out the video below for an idea of what a 24 hour race is, I felt just like Josh my last two laps with no one to cry to because I was unsupported and he did 5 more laps then I did.


http://www.superhumanmag.com/content/view/1632/48/

Finally feeling more then lively as Kevin and I went out for an awesome ride today around Rancho Vistoso. My pain tollerance seems to be even higher after putting myself through a 24 hour race. The race has come and gone and for a personal accomplishment I have learned so much. I might actually train for this next year with the following left fresh in my mind:

1. A support crew is a must, I had a table set up with bottles and food and just grabbed stuff when I came in, never sitting except to put on my knee warmers. (No one to warm my shammy butter...Sue)

2. Riding at night before a 24 hour race is crucial. I put my lights on all wrong and they were hitting my fork it was pretty funny. The last time I did a night ride was with Sue during our duo race a couple years ago. I had to walk almost 5 miles of the course at night because I was not comfortable riding slick rock. Walking a marathon in sidi bike shoes is not fun.

3. Absolutely do not wear the same shorts the whole time. I was thinking the more shammy butter caked in my shorts the better, not! My butt is still healing.

Overall it was the most awesome experience, moab was true mountain biking, it tested your skills when you least expected it. I was so thankful to not have a bad accident, with almost a crash every lap, with a very good endo into a sand pit that a bunch of people witnessed.

I think I might be hooked on the endurance racing, with next year in WV! We will see!

What a kick-ass trip! We got back last night at about 1 am, almost 16 hrs of driving time. Truckee was beautiful and the weather was perfect. Chloe pulled off another national title in the XC and got 2nd in the STXC. I had a good race and was able to pull off a 10th, I was pretty happy with that considering the altitude and the amount of climbing on the course, it was definitely hard. I also managed to go down pretty hard about halfway through the race and break my right pinky finger, check out the xray below. The good news is it broke between the joints and didn't move much so the doc says I shouldn't need surgery.

It's been pretty crazy lately with racing, work and school. It took tons of work training over the last couple months getting ready for the race but I'm so glad I did it, that's it for collegiate racing for me! Time to start up again on the house remodeling. I'll post more pics as I get them.

Spring, where's the Moab update? Now that you're famous you've got to keep your fans updated.

Spring ragin Moab!

Good news...and bad news!

Kevin and I were laughing earlier this week because I was at work and told him I had some bad news...He thought, oh no, what happened, who died, what's wrong...I told him I had to work 12 hour shifts all week. He told me you never start out a sentence like that unless something is really wrong. Anyways, Kevin is racing Collegiate Nationals right now in Truckee Ca, he told me on the phone yesterday he has some bad news, and we giggle because we have been doing this all week, he said that he broke his pinky finger on the second lap of the race on a rooted section, good news is he finished the race and placed 10th. The other good news is it was already a crooked finger, and he is fine.

I did my first ride today since the 24 hour race, the shootout of course, I love easing into things, my butt still hurt but I felt pretty strong. I needed to excercise after a week long of sitting on my butt and devouring everything in site. Thanks for all the support more pics and updates once Kevin gets back.

Spring can't walk but she just got 3rd at the 24 Hour Woman's Solo National Championships!

A great weekend at the Tour of the White Mountains

Todd Sadow put on another amazing race this year at the White Mountains. We both had a blast this weekend, with Kevin kicking butt with a 3rd in a competitive mens open field. I finally scored a Win with some really fast girls and actually got to battle the second place girl almost the whole time, really pushing me hard. I finally felt good for the entire 65 miles.

Our bikes ran perfect thanks to our most awesome bike mechanic Chris Kroto who also finished the 65 miler with the best hair of the day.

My good friend Kim got first in the 15 miler, awesome!

Rob and Kim having fun at the race.

The dork brothers, Joey and Kevin hit the same exact tree to leave a blood brother mark on their arm. Joey also gave me a monster pull up to a group of guys so I could draft them, it was awesome.

Kevin, Tim and his wife chilling after the race with the recommended recovery supplement, beer!

TJ with the win for the mens open and Chloe monster hanging out.

I decided to go do Tour de Scottsdale the next day for training for the 24 hour solo race this next weekend. 70 miles of pure suffering. Although my teammate Heidi and I sprinted for 2nd and 3rd and won $750, the most money ever. I am really thinking of retiring early with all this prize money. Finishing out the weekend with 135 miles I am ready for Moab, I think........

Finally Cooling down in Tucson!

A good group of guys met this morning for an easy mountain bike ride. I got to see them for a minute and turned off with Kevin to rest up for Tour of the White Mountains this weekend. Should be perfect weather. Then I am going to head to Phoenix for Tour of Scottsdale. Another big weekend in the books before next weekend, I decided to do the 24 hour Solo Championships in Moab Ut. Crazy, I no. It will be purely for fun, I don't even have any support because Kevin will be racing in Phoenix that weekend. I swore I would never do Solo again after my first attempt in 2002, and for some reason after 8 years, it really sounds fun.

Kevin raging some muddy single track in Telluride!

Telluride was amazing!

End of Vaca Racing!

We headed to Gallup NM for a Sat race so Kevin could get some Collegiate points for Nataionals coming up in 3 weeks. He destroyed, with first in Collegiate and 2nd in Pro.
I got second in Pro and 3rd overall with Chloe and Nina smoking me with their fast times. The most money I won yet $150. Kevin and Chloe would of won alot of money but they don't pay out in the Collegiate division.

Chloe Monster won the collegiate category, and then winning Mt Graham the next day. She is only 22 and super fast. Amazing!

After the race in Gallup we finished out our weekend in Safford AZ at Mt Graham the State Championship Hill Climb. It hurt really bad but I finished strong and beat my time from last year with very sore legs. Chloe won and I got third for the Cat 2's.

We made it to Telluride tuesday evening, this place is sweet. It's been raining here for days but we think we're going to get lucky because it seems to be clearing up. Should get four days of epic riding.

Bring on the Mountain Biking!

Well I took the Kueen Kitchen out for a stroll this past weekend with the last time trial of the season the AZ State Championship ITT. I was so excited to put all my aero stuff on and feel really fast. Well it was more like a headwind sufferfest. I got 4th and realized that I have alot of work to do coming off my long break off the bike. My good friend Paul Thomas sent me this picture, he won the Mens Pro/1/2. I still want to win a race on my Kuota for him, he has been a huge motivator with this TT stuff, maybe next year.

A small change in plans, we leave tonight for White Mountains and then onto Telluride CO for some cooler weather, mountain biking, and a Blues and Brew festival. Kevin has to be back for class on Monday, so it was a closer escape then Id. Then we are off again to the White Mountains and Flagstaff for another week of relaxing with a mountain bike race in Gallup AZ and the AZ Hill Climb Champs in Safford at the end of our vacation.

Hopefully we can post pics along the way....

Digging this vegetarian thing...

Tested by Kevin, the first time I made it small, and this time he said go bigger, so we have enough bean dip to last us a month.
Bottom - mashed Anasazi beans (or any beans), onions, jalepenos (mix and warm in pan)
Next - Melt lowfat shredded cheese over
Next - Plain nonfat greek yogurt
Next - Mash avocadoes, salsa, lime together
Next - Cilantro, shredded cheese, olives (warm under broiler)
Next -fresh tomatoes

Forced to relax.......
The first U of A game of the season was yesterday, with the traditional tailgaiting party before hand. I got to hang out with Judy, Cloe, Mel and Kyle briefly before my yoga class. Balancing in yoga is way more challenging after a beer:) And then after I detoxed in yoga I went back to the party and had another. Not recommending this for recovery. I was so rocked from the shootout and yoga that I tried to climb up Mt Lemmon today and had to turn around at the pay station (5 miles). A girl that was climbing it for the first time, raged on me with a camelback. So I am forced to relax, which is very hard for me, I think of all the things I could be doing like ripping out our bathroom sink...lighting...cleaning...etc. But I will try really hard to sit here and do nothing:)

Mel and I reliving our swine flu days at Gila, she is so awesome.

Bring on the long weekend!

We have been enjoying living close to the U of A, Kevin started back school and finishes his MBA in Dec, he wore a tie to class the other night and I had to talk him out of riding his bike to class in his nice clothes. No big plans for this weekend, just to relax and ride as we get ready for vacation in a couple weeks.

Kevin, checking out the horses butthole:)

I broke out my new Queen-Kitchen today, that is what Kevin calls it because it cost as much as our kitchen:) I haven't broke it out since Tour de Gila when I was sick. I look fast, but I was like going 2mph.

Why are bikes so fun???????

This is my new favorite bike, I wanted to take it on the shootout and up mt lemmon this weekend but Kevin wouldn't let me:) There is a whole new perspective to riding when you can go to yoga and grocery shopping all in one trip. People probably think I am crazy because I am smiling the whole time. We are loving our bikes, riding has been like a new found love because we took alot of time off of them. Friends on the shootout made sure I made it around on Sat by them taking turns giving me pushes. I told Kevin not to push me so he was up front, so he was surprised to see me on sprint hill. I am getting closer and closer to making it on my own, hopefully soon.

Climbing has been awesome trying to hang with the guys. Everyone was chilling at Palisades
today 20 miles up in the nice cool weather. We are getting so excited for our trip to Idaho in 2 weeks to see family and live on our mt bikes for a while.

Welcome cute Noah

Jon & Jess had their baby on 19 Aug. He is seriously one of the cutest babies I have seen. After 10 days he is already so alert and strong, as he already holds his head up, that's what you get with two exceptional athletes. Kevin and I brought lasagna and brownies over last night so they would not have to cook, and of course to hold the baby. He loved Kevin!

New Machines

Yea, we needed more bikes!

Homemade pizza on the grill

What a great weekend, Kevin pushed me around the shootout, it was so much fun. At first I was telling him not to push me and then by the end, I was like "hey where's my push." :) Then today Kevin, Mel and I rode up Mt Lemmon again and dropped into bug springs. Primo single track. Finally feeling a little better on the bike after two weeks. I went vegetarian for the last month, well kind of, I am eating fish, eggs and milk. Especially after seeing that movie Food Inc. I don't really miss chicken or beef. I think I can handle eating like this for a while. I dropped a few pounds along with poor Kevin having to eat all these vegetarian meals. Back to work tomorrow!

If only I could do this for a living...

My first prickly pear jelly session turned out amazingly. Kevin even tried it on his english muffin and liked it, the true test. It has a unique flavor like lyche or dragon fruit from hawaii and it grows on you. I have heard it is really good for you also, bonus. Let me know if you want some, my mom and Kevin can only eat so much.

Organic Prickly Pear Jelly from Tucson

I have been eyeing the nice red bulbs on the prickly pears lately when I am riding my mountain bike. Aug/Sep is the season to pick them, they are falling off the cacti they are so fat and happy right now. So as usual I bit off way more then I could chew after work today. I researched online and went to get all the ingredients.
I even called the Pomona's Universal Pectin hotline to fine out how much pectin I should put in my jam/jelly. The lady was so nice, she even told me the difference between the prickly pears in Arizona compared to Florida. Ours are more red then purple.

I found some nice bulbs out in the middle of the desert where no one was around, I was glad to have tongs and gloves, but still got little fine cactus needles all over me some how. I probably should not of used my cloth grocery bags.

I washed and cut the fruit into quarters and filled the pan with water just up to the top of the fruit.

I boiled 10 min and then strained the juice from the fruit.

And then strained again with a cheese cloth.

Then warmed the jars and lids and then put the jelly into the jars, seeled them, and then boiled them for 10 min.

I did one batch with lemon juice and the other batch with lime and mint. I personally like the lime and mint with the prickly pear the best. I can't believe this bright fruit comes from a cacti. We will see in the morning if they all set up and seal. I will make labels tomorrow. Here is the recipe I used.

4 cups prickly pear juice

2 cups organic sugar

1/4 cup organic lemon or lime juice

4 tsp 100% pure citrus pectin powder

4 tsp calcium water (comes with the universal pectin)

fresh organic mint (optional)

Some of the best singletrack Tucson has to offer...

As the home improvement slows to a trickle and we have more time for naps and riding, I ended my first week back on the bike with the shootout yesterday and then Bug Spring's today. Poor Kevin had to work all weekend after having like 20 days off:) Temps are finally staying below 100 which makes the mornings really nice and cool. You have to hike the first part of the trail above and then it is all down hill through the trees and little creek crossings, seriously one of my favorite trails right now in Tucson. Now back to work and Kevin has three days off.

Full moon camping up on Mt Lemmon

Our days always seem longer when we venture up on the mountain. We got to mountain bike twice and choose the best campsite since we went up on Thursday. It was even a little cooler this time and we had to break out our jackets and hats. Awesome.

Rose Canyon Lake

Here's a few shots of the fruits of our labor. Only lights, trim and some more painting left for this phase. Time to relax and attempt to get back in shape for some fall racing.

After with wall removed.

Before

After

Before

After

Before

From 105 deg to 75 deg in about an hour!

We made a trip up Mt. Lemmon this weekend, we forgot how sweet it was! We found a new campsite at Mt. Bigelow and a new trail that goes from Bear Wallow to Summerhaven. We ate 12 lbs of cookies and drank a gallon of coffee at the Cookie Cabin, it's dangerous! We already have plans to do it again next weekend.

Remnants of the '03 fire.

Spring Ragin!

Cooking again with only final steps left

Stuffed portabella's with green onions, cheese, garlic and soy sauce, salmon and corn on the cob.

Putting dry wall around the door and painting the whole house. We are almost ready to relax. Our goal is by 1 Aug to be riding our bikes again.

Owner's Manual Tea


My new favorite, you should try it!
Make sure you check your tea kettle when you buy it!

Tiling takes priority over riding....What?

I feel like I just finished a 5 day stage race and havn't even been on my bike. Kevin and I started last Sunday putting in a new back door and laying 18 inch travertine tile. This was our first at both. We asked alot of questions and crossed our fingers it would turn out. And we are totally happy with both. When we first started it was a disaster and then we got into a groove. The labor is intense, I am so sore, I don't even want to ride my bike. This morning our goal was to get up early and ride and then watch the tour de france and we slept past both we were so rocked. Last step of sealer tomorrow and then we can get back to somewhat of a normal life. Final pics to come.

Kevin had his crack showing almost the whole time, he is a true handy man.

Bug Spring's with the girls!

What a blast we had today riding bug springs. Both Melanie or Molly had not rode the trail so I was so happy to show them. Mel is one of the few mountain bikers on our team and she is awesome, so I am so excited to start doing more rides together. Molly and I only hook up to ride in a blue moon when our schedules match up and I always look forward to it. We had so much fun, you can tell by the big smiles. Now I have to get busy painting, there is always something to do around here.

Ventana Canyon

Kevin and I rode out at Starr Pass this morning, and then I decided to do an evening hike out at Ventana Canyon. It has been raining almost every evening from the Monsoon storms, I love it. It is such a relief by the end of the day and all the cacti are fat and happy.

The lizard was wondering if I saw him.

We put a new humming bird feeder up at our new house. Even in a monsoon storm they love organic sugar. I tried honey at first because we did not have any sugar, no luck!

Big Bear 4 fun!

4th of July weekend went fast, but we enjoyed it while it lasted. We rode, fished, watched the fireworks over the lake and best of all relaxed. But back to work today, we are almost done with our kitchen, we ran some new outlets to the wall today and prepped to run outlets to the kitchen island. I have learned so much about electricity since I ripped that wall out and did not know what to do with all the wires. Now I want to put an outlet and a switch on every square foot of the house. The 4th of July was a mid year resolution for me, no more beer and chips for a while, so the last few days I have been cooking good food on the grill again, steak and corn on the cob, and today was grilled chicken ceasar salad with stuffed grilled portabella mushrooms.

I made it to Albueqerque last weekend to see Jesse's graduation, it was good to see everyone. I got to meet Jesse's mom and dad for the first time. The Combat Rescue Program from start to finish is two years, that's two year's of getting kicked in the nuts! Congrats on getting that done, I never had a doubt you'd kick its ass! Now its back to Alaska for the real fun. While I was in Albueqerque I got to do the Ben Hall Epic, it was three hours of the sweetest single track at 10000ft, I highly recommend the event for next year. We've been super busy over the last few weeks working on the houses. We finally got the big house done and we get our countertops tommorrow, we'll post some pics soon. Friday morning its off to Big Bear Lake, CA for some mtb'ing, camping and fishing, can't wait. Monsoons have finally come to Tucson, bring on the lightning and flashfloods.

Sandia rainbow

Sweet single track at Sandia Ski Slope.

Destruction

Kevin went to NM without me because I was so tired after 6 days of midshifts that all I could think about on Friday was sleeping. After a full night sleep I got on my Mt bike and rode 2.5 hours and then decided to knock down a wall. What? I do these things and I am not sure why sometimes. After I pulled all the wires out of the wall, I thought I should go to an electrician class at home depot to learn how to put them all back together again. I even crawled up into the attic to pull the wires up, it was 200 degrees and I can't stop itching (probably shouldn't wear shorts) Anyway tomorrow I won't be able to move so I am posting now. Electricity tomorrow...Yikes:) Don't worry mom, the first thing I learned is to turn it off:)

More cacti....
I know your proabably sick of seeing cactus pictures, but even cacti look good when the sun is setting out at Starr Pass. I made a rule only mountain biking for me for a while. The last mountain bike race of the season was awesome. Probably the best race that MBAA has put on, people were at every turn and it was well marked with lots of single track. I was pretty sketchy on the down hills but held on to second, which I was happy with next to speedster Sara and Jen and Christina were close behind. It was so fun! I am on a midnight to 8AM shift which is killing me, but to mix it up I will go run at 2AM when no one is up, it is really quiet. Starr Pass is less then a 30 min bike ride to the trail head from our new house so we hit that in the evenings often, there are so many trails out there that you can never get sick of it. We get our cabinets today, and still doing final touches on the main house. We are finally ready to relax with a trip to Albequerque this weekend for Jesse's graduation and then to Big Bear Lake for 4th of July weekend.

Blurry, but me, Sara and Jen

HAPPY BIRTHDAY KEVIN

The birthday boy has been hard at work on the house while I took a break and headed up to Flagstaff this weekend. Kevin couldn't come because he works all weekend. He is accumulating more power tools for the house and has tried his hand in electricity, plumbing, and wood working, and has not blown anything up yet. But I still can't get him to put a shirt or shoes on. I guess he thinks he still lives in Hawaii:)

It is so nice up in Flagstaff this time of year, and the course was beautiful preriding today. I am a little rusty on the technical sections with one ride on my mountain bike, but I am perma smile the whole time.

Should be a fun, lots of single track!

Back on the mountain bike

This weekend was the last road race of the season, yeah! I have to say I went into this last race pretty burnt out riding road and really anxious to get back on the mountain bike. I was happy with the last 60 mile climbing race because although I wasn't with the best climbers, I felt pretty good on the climb and I feel my climbing is slowly coming around, one of my main goals of the season. Kevin and I hit a fun new trail near Starr Pass called Robles Pass, alot of fun. So I am so excited to be back on the dirt. We are getting closer on the house we should have some final pics this week.

We had fun going through the under pass of Ajo rd.

Jon after the state RR giving me his best solute in my camo hat.

What a great weekend!

I was suppose to work all weekend and on Friday was told that I did not have to work! Yeah a free weekend. Well I took full advantage of it and did the Shootout in the morning and then my good friend Jess talked me into doing a 5K yesterday evening. I told her it would be embarrassing to get beet by a pregnant lady because she is super fast. Well I am glad I did it, it was so much fun. Her soon to be husband Jon also ran after doing the shootout, we were so excited to get two workouts in. Then this morning I signed up for a Time trial because I have only got to use my new time trial bike for Gila and I was sick. Paul Thomas the Kuota rep below, set me up on my bike and is really the nicest guy and always willing to help anyone out. Someday I want to win a TT for him on my new Kuota. Paul and Dan won the tandem category with Dan just coming back from a really bad wreck where he had to wear a neck brace. I was so impressed by the both of them.

Paul on the front and Dan on the back smiling.

Got the granite installed in the main house yesterday, it turned out really good. Should be getting the kitchen for the other house in about two weeks.

Painting vs. Picnicking

Happy Memorial day! While most people are picnicking and drinking beer on this day, Kevin and I spent the entire day painting, whew glad that is over. I think the paint high kept us going for hours, I think we went through 15 gallons of paint. The place we are renting is 2300 Sq ft and we didn't even paint the bathrooms or closets. The guy that wants to rent it stopped in again today, he seems really excited, so we are excited. We get the granite this week so we will post some after pictures. Here is a peak at the 70s stove that was in the house, wait until you see the green tub:)
Out with the old...

In with the new, I love craigslist, brand new for $500

It is a good day when...

You get a check in the mail for $1250.
You score a brand new slide in stove worth$1500 for $500.

Looks like all the hard work is paying off, Kevin and I taped off everything today to do some painting this weekend. Everything is starting to come together. It has been beautiful weather here in Tucson with overcast skys with highs of 80 and light drizzle. I ran one of my favorite trails yesterday in the rain, Pima Canyon, it was amazing, everything is blooming, and I am getting stronger running so it is so much more fun. As I decided to start riding my mountain bike again, it has been put on hold as I sheered my durailier hanger off my TITUS, bummer.

A birds nest hanging in the middle of the trail.

Sorry for the delay in getting up pics from my trip to Colorado. It was an awewome trip, everyone had a great time. Just wanted to thank everyone for all the work they did this season. On top of a great racing trip I worked in seeing 3 different sets of friends. Ben and Lisa, Jesse and Kristy and Clint and Danny. It was great to see all of you, next time it will be longer than a day. Thanks for coming out and watching the crit. The team did great this year, especially our women, we ended up 4th overall in the omnium. Personally I was planning on doing better but oh well, I was just happy to be there. After a crazy 4 or 5 months of working, training and school I'm finally able to relax. The plan is to get in some house remodeling and fun mtb rides, yes I said fun mtb rides! I'm off from school until July then only 4 more classes, should be done in December. Next up MTB Collegiate Nationals in Truckee CA in October, better get the climbing legs working.

Fun in the TTT, it was cold, wet and windy. Probably one of the top 3 worst conditions I've ever raced in.

This was the view from the house we stayed in at Longmont, the inside was just as nice. Thanks Chloe for the hook up.

Ben and Lisa's sweet new kitchen!

Got to meet Cadence for the first time. Forgot to get a pic of Jesse and Kristy.

Ben and Lisa.

We had a few bikes.

Mel and Chloe on the podium, our girls kicked ass!

Banquet

Ben, Lisa, Clint and Danny.

Congrats Bro!

My brother done gradgeated and he is more smarter! We had alot of fun within the short few days we had together. Jordan baked Tav a cake, and had us laughing so hard with as much icing as he put on it. I drove back yesterday and had to work at 2AM, I am pretty beat up and need a nap, and it is so beautiful out, overcast and 80s. Kevin went on a good mountain bike ride this morning and thankfully (not) decided to wait until I got home to paint.

We had homemade fettucini alfredo sauce before we rushed off to graduation, and we were all in food coma's.

We had alot of fun with the underwater camera, we got alot of dorky movies.

In Vegas baby...

My brother graduates today from UNLV so I came up for a few days to hang out with my mom, grandma, and my nephew Jordan. I escaped from the home improvement for a few days, it is such hard work, I have been so warn out everyday. Kevin is painting today while I am gone.

Last night I fixed a lasagna dinner for everyone, and pumkin gooey bread for dessert.

My nephew has been having fun at the pool, three times a day, he has so much energy!

Here is an update on the over pass going over Hoover Dam, it looked awesome at night when I drove through to Vegas.

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY

Between Kevin's mom and my mom I have finally relized why we are both such dork's. They are going to kill me for this. But...they are the coolest dork's I know. Thanks for not losing your personality.

I got to run with the newest mom this morning, Jess she is half way through her pregnancy and she ran Star Pass with me 1.5 hours and nearly killed me. We also so saw a Gila Monster, it was awesome.

To all the mom's we know, we hope you have a wonderful day.

This was in the Arizona Daily Star yesterday:

This is truley Kevin when no one is looking, I am so lucky! He has been maxed out with school, moving, work and riding and finds time for this. Thought I would share.

Just gave my final presentation and finished the last class of this semester, I only have to make up 4 classes I missed last year and I'm done. Heading out in the morning for the Collegiate Road Nationals in Ft. Collins Co., we've got a strong team and plan on doing well. I get to see lots of people I haven't seen in a while, Ben and Lisa, Jesse, Kristy and Cadence, Clint and Dani. Should be an awesome week. We're finally getting settled into the new digs. I moved us and Spring unpacked and cleaned everything last night when I was at work. We're super excited to get started on the remodeling. We can't believe how big our garage is, its as big as our whole house was on 3rd!!!!

Go Lance!

This young kid made $300 selling lance heads at the Crit, it was pretty funny! The crit was crazy fast, it was the first time I got pulled from one, its frustrating when your mind wants to do well but your body tells you, no way! One more day 71 miles of pure pain up the Gila Monster!

At Gila with Swine Flu...

Going on my fourth stage tomorrow at Gila with hacking up a lung. Like Tour de Gila isn't hard enough. I started the race out with a scratchy throat and stuffy nose and just progressively got worse. Every stage is so hard because I can't breath, and the altitude doesn't help. It is funny going into the grocery store when you are coughing, everyone looks at you like you are contageous and you have the Swine flu. But for the most part I am enjoying Silver City and my team is awesome. The girls are doing so well, check out the write ups from Mel on the Womens bike talk Link. Some big name teams are here, it is amazing just to be in the Pro,1,2 race with some champion women, and Lance Armstrong and the team really has made an impact, they are putting bleachers around the crit course tomorrow.
http://www.womensbiketalk.com/

Kevin has moved us into our new house, and is already shopping around for kitchen upgrades. I can't wait to get home and start working on the house and running more. I need some quality time off the bike. I guess if I survive these five days I can almost do anything. Don't worry mom, I really don't have Swine flu:)

Whiskey 50 Mountain bike race

We had so much fun in Prescott this weekend. Todd Sadow put on an amazing race this year with the race course marked perfectly, the sag stops loaded down with goodies, and Roger Clyne and the Peacemakers played after the race. Kevin and I got the best camp ground less then a mile away that we could just ride our bikes from. We both felt like we had good road fitness but the technical skills were a bit lacking from not riding our mountain bikes. We both couldn't wait to get on the fire road from skull valley which I usually dread the most. Kevin got 12th with a really competitive guys field, Scott Keller getting second right behind Jay Henry, amazing. I got 5th which I was happy with going into Gila with atleast feeling good on the climbing portions even if the down hills were a little sketchy:) We got to hang out with our good friends Austin and Heather, Austin got 12th in the 25 mile race and Heather helped Todd with the race. I got to ride with there amazing kids the day after the race Avery and Addison, we had so much fun, they are teaching me how to jump. We have so much going on, we close today and get the keys to our house tomorrow, and I leave for Gila in the morning. Kevin is the lucky one that will move us this time:) We are so excited!

Downtown Prescott had a variety of people at the concert, only the classiest cars.

Addison and Heather enjoying the concert.

Avery is an amazing mountain biker, and I think he is 8. I did this jump and almost wrecked and looked like a total beginner.

I got great pictures of the boys going through water, this is Addison.

I just spent a week in Virgina for work so I took a couple extra days of leave and Mom, Dustin and Darin drove down. It was an awesome trip, Darin loved his new bike, we got a sunny day at the beach and we saw lots of wildlife and Navy ships.

Darin at a statue at VA Beach, it got cold and windy Sunday evening.

Trudster

Darin is about to lose his first tooth.

The weather was terrible until everyone showed up on Friday, we lucked out and got an 80 degree beach day on Saturday.

Darin and a snake.

Darin and a shark.

We got Darin a new bike while we were in VA.

Sweet Sunset