My favorite fall ride

Can you see Hight Point Monument up there? Love this loop de loop hill too!



Actually I love this loop de loop road better! Wahoooooo
Tomorrow I'm going on a reunion ride w/ the very first Advil-ChapStick team...well most of them. :) Can't wait.

A Wise Woman Once Wrote:

Get up.
It sucks.
Then it doesn't.
Go train.
It sucks.
Then it doesn't.
Always.
In that order.

http://www.throughth3wall.com/

Some photos.....

My new friend at the NJ fair....oh yeah I got my haircut...didn't you notice ME!!

Hiking on the AT

Maddie can hike to the top!

Rock Band!

Rock Band up at the lake house!

Quick update for the family members that still check! We had a great family reunion in Westchester, NY last weekend. Nice to see my Mom's side of the family. This weekend we sadly have my grandmother's memorial here at the Chateau Hawthorne in Warwick, NY. I am excited to see my Dad's side of the family! Have not seen some of them in a LONG time.

Trying to adjust to becoming full full time teacher (up at 4:00 AM most mornings), Maddie's full full schedule of school, soccer, CCD, social events, etc. and trying to get some sort of consistent exercise in. Running seems to be the fastest/easiest. I am swimming again about once a week too!

Following the race season via www.cyclingnews.com and rooting for the US at Worlds

5k race

We had Maddie's birthday bbq on Saturday, went to a friend's bbq on Sunday and got up to run in my first race on Monday. I had NO expectations b/c I don't really run...seriously anyway. I made Bill do it with me. He moaned and groaned all the way to the start line. We started in the wayyyyy back. So far back that when the starter shot the gun we just stood ther for like :15 waiting to actually move. We were back by the the guy being pushed in the wheel chair, the moms w/ strollers and the blind guy ( who Bill says I cut-off and that's why I dropped him!!) I don't remember that one! Anyhow. We had fun. I ran the 5k in 23 minutes, but at the first split they were off by about :30 (the difference from me waiting and finally starting my watch when I crossed the start line...I guess :30 after the start!~ so I ran under 23 minutes. Bill did awesome. He was like a minute behind me.

I by no means won any trophies for the day. I think I came in 170th overall...men and women. But next time......I'm pushing my way to the front! I did learn that I can do 5k without my knee really hurting too much. That's a good thing.

Bill's cousin, Diane cheered us on w/Maddie. She got one photo of me so maybe I'll post that when I get it.
Finished the day up at John and Diane's lake house for an awesome day of kayaking, swimming, filets, shrimp and MORE birthday cakes. Ahhhh.

OFF to work tomorrow! Time to hit the ground running every morning. Wish me luck.

One Step Forward....Two Steps Backwards

This is Maddie putting on her OWN pedals to her new Fuji Mountain bike! Don't mind the messy garage...yikes!

I've been going into my school all week to get my classroom ready for my second graders. OMG there is so much work to do! This was not the first that I've been in the school mind you! I had gone in 3 days before. I seemed to take one step forward and two backwards all week! The
following ordeals slowed me down:

1. Jammed the copier and stuck pencils, scissors and protractors inside of it to solve the jam for 45 minutes...didn't work!
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2. Trying to laminate some posters, etc. when my letter "O" went into the piping hot laminator twisted...it knocked into some medal bar and the medal bar got sucked into the hot melting plastic! I quickly pushed stop and reverse only to double the plastic wrapping around my "O" and the medal bar.....oh no! I got help from the librarian but we had to cut and run! Cut out the objects, leave a sign "Broken" and run! Oh jeeze.

3. I hung my word wall to the closet doors (5 posters hand-made taking hours to make and hang) for them ALL to slowly peel off and fall to the ground AS my new principal was in my room talking with me. She was very friendly and brought me to a senior teacher's room to show me another way to do the "word wall." I chucked my old ones!

4. I had to call ALL of my students on the phone b/c I sent them each a postcard telling them how much I looked forward to our new year together and that I looked forward to seeing them on the 4th......one day later than the ACTUAL first day of school. YUP, wrong day!

OK, there's more, but I do feel that I'm boring you now.

Bill and I have been running 5 days a week. It's awesome b/c Maddie rides her kick-butt Fuji mountain bike around this HILLY (short 12% grade hill on it) 1.2 mile path w/ us running after her. She is getting the hang of using gears and hand brakes. She's a stud. She actually ran one lap today and rode 3 laps on her bike. It's fun to get the exercise together.

Still Digging Deep...Just Moving On!

The blog probably won't last much longer. I'm officially completely done w/ professional cycling. I'll be teaching full-time this fall. I will be doing some cross and I've been running 3x a week to see if the reconstructed knee will hold up for a triathlon! We'll see. I'll tell you this, running 6 miles 3x a week destroys my cycling legs. I was pedaling squares the other day on an "easy" group ride. 50 miles never felt so miserable!!! What's that about? Any tri people want to give me tips? It's only natural for me to try. I swam in college and ran in high school....add that to my cycling and well, it's worth a try right????? The bum knee is my only fear. Maybe I'll have to speed-walk my way to the finish line..ha!

Pedal Power.....Priceless

Vermont Part II

This is the backyard of Kevin and Ellen's beautiful Vermont house! Sweet jet skis!

Maddie had a lot of fun w/ Jessie (Kevin Kean's son).

Maddie and Jessie at dinner...Thanks Stew and Blake for a great birthday dinner!!!!

This one is for my friend George! Passing Breadloaf College...where George spent many summers getting smarter!

VERMONT!!

On an 80 mile gap climbing ride! Had to be my favorite ride ever. One, because Kevin Haley kept me laughing and two, Bill was there!!

OUCH! The Brandon Gap was an awesome climb. Gradual (kind of) and long!

What a treat the cool water was after a day in the saddle. We went Kayaking (thanks to Stew and Blake) and splashed around. I have more photos that I checked off but for some reason they are not uploading to the blog. I'll add another blog entry w/ photos only. We stayed in a "ski house" w/19 people! The entire trip was organized by Skylands Cycling Club (With most of the leg work done by Buz)! Bill, Maddie and I packed our butts into Blakes SUV w/ her husband Stew, adorable son Sean and wonderful friend Catherine. Yup, 5 adults, 2 children, 4 bikes, a kayak, food, sheets, blankets, you get the picture. Actually it was quite nice. Lots of gutt laughing and slap happy giggling. Thanks Blake!

3 Generations of Advil-ChapStick

The well-deserved ice-coffee stop! Check out the 3 generations of kits! Gotta go with the sleeveless! No horrible tan lines.

Today I met up with 3 generations of Advil-ChapStick for a nice long ride. The ride was hosted by Mara and her husband Randy. Three years ago we started this team and Emma, Mara, Reem and myself were all there pitching our idea to the CEO of Wyeth and an entire board room! We started this team. Emma left after the first season to begin a family with her husband. They now have a 10 month old beautiful boy, Sebastian. Mara raced one more season and left to help support her CRAZY...ultra distance runner husband, Randy! They are quite the team. Reem and I are hanging in there...the final two from the VERY beginning.

It was a great day to be on the bike with great friends and teammates!

Philly

Photo is after Liberty Classic 2007

Anna told me to update my blog! So nothing new here, just another chest infection! Like I said, nothing new here. I pulled out of Philly and will go and support the team in any way that I can (other than actually riding my bike).

I asked the doctor if there was a reason why I'm always getting sick. He looked at me and asked if I was serious. Ya, I'm dead serious. Other cyclists are busting a gutt and destroying their immune systems...but don't seem to get sick so much!

I guess the combo of teaching 2nd grade full-time, my awesome daughter bringing home her first grade germs and trying to race/train just aren't great for the immune system. Go figure. Oh yeah, he said one has to average more than 6 hrs of sleep a night to have a healthy immune system. Guess I'm SOL!

Positive Attitude

This weekend I zoomed out of my second grade classroom to meet up with Reem, Anna and Natalie. We jammed ourselves in Anna's car and off to Maryland for Bike Jam. We would meet Kirsten down there. We stayed with Mo, Reem's brother. It's always nice to see Mo!!

The race at Bike Jam was...well.... well Anna broke her leg in a very stupid crash (on a straight away). The race actually stopped for a couple of minutes to get all the wounded off the course! The rest of the team continued to race while thinking of Anna. We were setting up for the sprint when yet another girl was sliding across the road! I narrowly missed running over her head and skidded to a complete stop. Kirsten almost t-boned me and Natalie flew towards the grass. Reem was able to ride around the carnage and continue. When the sprint started I was standing next to my bike trying to step over screaming girls still attached to their bikes. OK, trying to remain positive!

Anna came home from the hospital that night. She remained positive and upbeat! She never complained about pain, never complained about lost opportunities, never complained about waiting for the rest of us to race in DC the next day and then come back to get her for the long trip from Maryland...and didn't even complain when I cracked into her leg with my elbow while she had it elevated in the car! He comments were, "It's OK, don't worry about it, but we should all be careful!"

Our race at DC was nothing to write home about. Another bad crash with ambulances called. I tried to get in some moves to be in a break...my best chance of getting a good result, but nothing stuck and I probably wasted too much energy. I'm still trying to race into fitness and it's humbling but it's coming...it's coming!

Anna continues to inspire me!

Numbers Back ON!

Raced in Deleware this weekend and had a blast. Brought back all the bike love that was lacking in my hustle and bustle life. The promoter was great for this race. He made sure we were taken care of and set us up in an amazing host house. It was a huge playground for Maddie and Bill :)

We got second for the day which was pretty cool, but know that Jen would've taken first if we had a director with us to help us figure out who that Juice Plus girl was in the break. We didn't realize how fast she actually was...ooooops. It was nice to pin the numbers back on and suffer. Great weekend ended with a micro brew tour (Twin Lakes Brewery) mmmm mmmmm goood beer!

New Generation of Advil-ChapStick!

Maddie's first "REAL" race was on Saturday! It had all that a race should have. Downhills, steep uphills, single track and of course a spectacular crash. Maddie was flying down a hill and caught the side of a LOG and flipped right over her handlebars! She was wedged between the log and her bike and still managed to get up...continue racing and WIN! That's my girl! I had a blast. I might bust out the fat tires for a while. It was so much fun.

Sunday we had a 2 hr Mother's Day hike and topped it off with dinner and chocolate peanutbutter cake! What a weekend.

Podium at Sunny King

Photo by: Trish Albert/Southeasterncycling.com

I don't know what to tell you about the sox! You'll have to ask Jen about those guys. :)

CHANGE IN PLANS

My Second Grade Classroom. Maddie came in to help me get organized!!!!!

My new job! Franklin Elementary School and my number one helper...Maddie!!!!!

Lots has happened since my last post. I decided to interview for a teaching position. I got it, accepted it and started one week later! I'm teaching second grade full-time at Franklin Elementary School. I'm exhausted with the major shift in life.

I had to help my family financially. Cycling and part time preschool just weren't enough. The timing of this job was perfect and horrible at the same time. We needed it...perfect! I'm headed to China and won't be able to go now...horrible!

I'm adjusting to the new schedule:

5AM Wake and get myself a HUGE cup of JOE and shower/dress, make my lunch, Maddie's lunch and breakfast

6AM Wake sleepy Maddie and get her dressed/breakfast pack our bags and

6:45 out the door with the dog (Beans). Drop Beans the dog off at my parents...she's a spoiled Weimaranner

7AM drop Maddie off at her friends house and her BRAND new bus stop since the change!

7:30 at my school

7:55-2:30 Teach 2nd Grade

2:30-3:30 Finish up work/lessons, etc

4:00 Bus stop to pick up Maddie go pick up the dog

5:00 then homework, dinner, (Maddie's softball practice...blah bblah blah

9:00 in bed and get ready to do it again.

Please help me figure out where to train! I train on the weekends and will try to do 1 or 2 days a week through June. The summer will be different and hopefully I'll be able to find a little fitness to help the team. I'll be doing some local/regional racing here and there and then some races with the team that I can get there and back by Monday AM ready to teach again. (Maryland, Deleware, Philly, etc). I'm doing a 6 mile hill climb TT on Saturday that I might die attempting!

I'm struggling a little bit with not training. Super frustrating and I'm quite irritable once I'm home!!! Just a big transition.

I've only been on the bike a handful of times and ran a few times (horrible pain that I don't recommend) since I started my new position 3 weeks ago. I think I will get better and faster at finishing my school work/planning etc and then there may be more time to ride. We'll see. Thanks for wondering where I went and if I was OK.

Amazing Women Who Can Do it All! Podium at Redlands!!!!

Brenda charged for third place at the Redland's Crit yesterday. Awesome job for anyone, but even more impressive for someone with a teen ager and a full-time career!!!! We are proud! This is what Advil-ChapStick is about, amazing women who CAN do it all!

Tuesday Night Crit

Team Photo from camp

It was 63 degrees yesterday!! I decided that I would race the Tuesday night crit in Augusta. I love this training race. I thought it would be a huge turn-out due to the warm weather, but not too many were there, well no women anyway. I guess the rain scared some away. I was told by the coach NOT to do anything in the race. I was instructed to sit in and go for the ride. WOW, that's hard to do. I just patrolled the front, took really weak turns at the front and watched others animating the race. I hated not being able to attack, or bridge or anything. I understand the reasoning. My body is still recovering from being sick and for some reason, I'm having a time at just recovering from a hard workout.

I ended up pulling off with one lap to go. My reasoning was....if I'm not going to "go for" the sprint, why the hell mix it up with these guys. I didn't want to hit the pavement and regret staying in that lap. Thankfully I pulled off and the rest of the guys sprinted to a great finish. NO CRASHES. Great job to Dave F., he was in the wind a lot and still won the sprint.......finger to the nose!

See you next Tuesday!

Back on Track..............

Yeah, not sure why I can't fight a common cold off. I'm super frustrated, but trudging on. I was off the bike for a week with a stomach virus...my second one of the winter. I'm on the mend and back at it. Last weekend I went for a very nice, but chilly ride with Reem. We found some nice new roads (by accident). Sunday I rode with Teresa and her great teammates Audrey, Anne and Kristy. Watch out for them on the regional scene. They are strong, motivated and fun to be around. They slugged it out for almost 3.5 hrs in the hills and cold.

Advil ChapStick...More than just bike racers!

Advil-ChapStick Mommies!!!

CHINA...OH THE PLACES I'LL BE!

CHONGMING ISLAND
HONGKONG
SHANGHAI

I'll be racing in China in April. I will be going with a composite team for Champion Systems. More to come but some of the places I'll be are Shanghai, Hong Kong and Chongming Island. I'll be competing in a 6 day UCI stage race. Any traveling tips from those of you that do this all of the time????? Someone mentioned compressions socks....?