I'm still around...

Thanksgiving did not kill me off!

I'm just really, really, really overwhelmed with busyness right now. So much new stuff has been added to my life lately:
1) Another job (that makes 3).
2) The U of U cycling study (it's taking up so much more of my time than I expected. More info on the study coming later).
3) More Spinning classes added to my schedule. One instructor quit and another was asked to leave. Just when we felt shorthanded anyway. I've not only had to take on more classes, but have had to sub a lot of extra classes lately too because someone gets sick or goes out of town (usually this happens at the same time and it's up to me to cover everything).

Well, that's all the time I have for blogging now. Back to real life again. Darn!

Happy Thanksgiving!

(Note: Just in case any of you read this earlier and are wondering why it's completely different now: I didn't like the way this was originally posted, so I edited it.)

I have a lot to be thankful for.

1) The ability to ride my bike, even when it's so cold it's probably not a good idea. I went out bright and early this morning for a frigid two-hour ride. It was soooo cold! 22 degrees F to be exact.

2) I'm thankful that I have plenty of cold-weather gear to keep me warm. I was bundled in 2 base layers, arm warmers, a long-sleeved jersey, two jackets, shoe covers, ear warmers, and a balaclava. They did their jobs well. I came home just a bit sweaty, but not overheated.

3) A coach that gives me what I ask for. Back when I asked if I could please ride on Thanksgiving Day, the weather was still really nice and warm. He indulged in my request for some holiday stress relief and gave me a two-hour workout. I hope he'll be just as understanding because I didn't follow the plan exactly as it was laid out. I had a certain workout I was supposed to be working on, and I had stupidly invited some other crazy friends along for the ride. Why was that stupid, you ask? Because I spent the whole ride fighting between trying to keep up with the group and doing what I was supposed to be doing (which wasn't hammering). It was really frustrating. I finally ended up accepting the fact that I was riding off the back, no one was going to wait up, and I really just needed to ride my own ride. Still, even when I was focusing on what I should be doing, my heart rate was way up there. Maybe the frozen air had something to do with it.

4) I'm thankful for good friends. Such good friends that they are willing to ride with me on a day like today. Here's a picture of the crazy cold-weather riders:



Pictured are Sling, Me, Coach Girl, and Phil. (I really am thankful for that balaclava, even if it was scrunching down my eyelids and making me look goofy for the picture.)

5) I'm thankful for family. It was great to see so many of them today. Because I am loved, I got to enjoy not just one, but two feasts today. Good thing I rode my bike this morning!

There are many more things to be thankful for. I'm sorry I don't have the time to list them all.

I hope you all had a wonderful day!

Brrrr!!!

How did it get cold so fast?

I spent the first part of my day bundled in a thick blanket, shivering and whining that I didn't want to go out in the cold.

I talked myself into going out around 1 pm. Rode for an hour. The first 20 minutes was spent trying to talk myself out of giving up and going back home. My fingers were numb.

Then suddenly, it all felt right. By the time I made it back into the house, I was all warmed up. Walked into the house and thought how hot it felt. What a change from when I left the house.

On a side note, how did I get to this point:



Where did they all come from? Are the multiplying in my cupboard? The picture doesn't even do it justice. There are twice as many in there as you can see. It's ridiculous.

Team Me

I may be looking for a new team to race for. As it looks right now, my club may not want to play race games next year.

So, what I need from all of you is suggestions. Do you love your club? If so, why? I want to hear it all -- the good, the bad, and the ugly.

Keep in mind that there is that new UCA bylaw in 2008 about team points leader championship. I promise to bring the team some points (maybe not a lot, but some).

So if you think your team could use a Cat 4 woman, give me a holler. If you're not comfortable giving me this information publicly, send me an email at riosrider at gmail dot com.

Gracias.

UCA Meeting Notes

The UCA meeting was interesting and informational. I was excited to see that they announced the 2008 calendar. Here it is. Subject to changes.

Apr. 5 Hell of the North
Apr. 12 Triple Valley Stage Race
Apr. 19 Tax Day
Apr. 25 East Canyon (I'm thinking this date is really the 26th. I probably wrote it down wrong.)

May 3 Buffalo Stampede
May 17 Bear Lake Classic
May 18 Bear Lake TT
May 24 Garden Creek Gap

June 7 Sugar House Crit (I'm disappointed -- I was hoping to do Little Red)
June 14-15 High Unitas Stage Race
June 21 Little Mountain (State Champ Race)
June 22 SLC Crit
June 28-29 Gate City Grind

July 12 Porcupine Hill Climb/Farmington Crit
July 18-19 Capitol Reef Classic (I'm excited! A Fri/Sat stage race)
July 19 Boise Twilight/ Sundance Hill Climb
July 26 Chalk Creek

Aug. 2 Mt. Ogden RR
Aug. 9 Huntsville 100
Aug. 13-17 Tour of Utah returns!!!
Aug. 16-17 Tour de Gap (tentative)
Aug. 17 Motorpark TT
Aug. 23 Worlds Collide CX (where did Sanpete go?)
Aug. 30 Antelope Island TT

Sep. 6 LOTOJA
Sep. 13 Climber's Cup
Sep. 20 Harvest Moon Crit

Also from the meeting: The Bylaw Amendment changes. Here are the items that passed:

The Team points competition was voted in. Basically, the team with the most points tallied at the end of the season wins.

UCA event fees were eliminated, with an amendment that goes something like this: Promoter pays $200 deposit, and if promoter follows all the rules, they get back $150. UCA keeps $50 and the $.50 per rider surcharge is dropped (eliminating extra paperwork for the promoter).

Race magnitude will now be assigned and set in stone 72 hours before a race.

Amended and passed: Redo the stage race points. Now if a stage race has less than 20 riders the stage point are cut in half.

Amended and passed: Combined fields are now allowed in all fields except masters.

The State Hill Climb will now be a 2.0 multiplier.

There were no changes to the board.

Also discussed at the meeting: They are looking to recruit officials. Apparently Utah is shorthanded on officials. If you or anyone you know would be interested in being an official at the races, there will be a meeting on it in February. Keep your eyes open on the UCA site for more information.

I Need StReSs?!?

I am constantly getting myself in over my head. I must love stress in my life.

First off, this week I had to teach Spinning classes to a couple of groups of high schoolers. I was really worked up over this for some reason. I love teaching Spinning. But, put me in a group of cocky teenagers where the coach is making them come and they really don't want to be there, and I'm going to be nervous. Now that it's over, I can look back on it and think that it really went well. The coach told me that they're not used to being worked so hard. What? I thought teenagers were invincible. Or maybe they just think they are.

This week I have signed on to two things that I probably shouldn't have.

1) I am now the club representative at the UCA meeting tomorrow. Me. I have to vote on all the UCA issues in behalf of my club. I hope I know what I'm doing! If anyone's been to this meeting before and can give me some tips, I would most appreciate it.

2) I just signed on to be a guinea pig for the U of U cycling study. I'm actually looking forward to doing this. I am a bit nervous about the amount of pain I will be in during the study. As they said, "this study will make you VERY sore and you will stay sore for several days." But, they will pay me $200 and give me a VO2max test for my efforts. And they will do the same for you. They are looking for more people to participate, so email me if you want more information (or check here).

I'm not really sure I have time for either of these things. But somehow, it always seems to work out.

Adding to my stress this week is the fact that I'm supposed to meet with my coach for power testing. Somehow he doesn't seem to think that I need to know exactly when this is going to happen. I guess I'll just keep my calendar open....

Next week looks like a calm week so far. Let me know if you have anything you need me to volunteer for. I'm awaiting the chance to shout out, "Me, me, pick me!" while wildly waving my arm in the air.

It's a Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood

Ha! Now everybody will have Mr. Roger's song on their minds the rest of the day!

It was a fabulous day for bike riding. I rode down to Provo to meet my club for a two hour ride. I started out from home with arm warmers on, but by the time I got to Provo, I peeled them off. It was sooo warm.

We headed out south to Spanish Fork. Our ride leader, Lance (who was wearing his Porcupine kit), led a great ride. I'll have to keep it in mind that when Lance leads, I should go.

When we got out to Spanish Fork, I decided that I'd been out long enough and should head back home. The problem was I didn't know exactly where I was. So I pulled out my phone and called my friend, Michelle, who lives in Spanish Fork. I figured that if she could direct me to her house, I would know where I was and could find my way back home. Unfortunately, she was in St. George for the weekend, so I couldn't stop by for a visit. Bummer! So I just turned around and found my way back the way I came. I didn't think I had payed too good of attention since I was having such a good time chatting with everyone on the way out. But, I managed to get myself back home again.

The coolest part of the ride was when we were passing the Spanish Fork airport and a plane came in for a landing right over our heads. It passed so close that you almost felt like you needed to duck down so it wouldn't hit you.

36 miles
2:10

Why You Should Wash Your Bike...

...or only drink water.

I made it out for a late-afternoon ride today. Shortly after saddling up, I discovered that I couldn't shift into my big chain ring. Humm...should I ride to the bike shop? Something is really wrong!

I rode into Provo, all the while grumbling about the easy pedaling. Had to make it a quick ride since the sun was starting to go down and a chill was beginning.

When I got back home, I complained to Sling that my bike wouldn't shift. He took one look at it, flipped it over, and poured hot water over it.

"There. You can shift your bike now."

Apparently, all that Gatorade I've been drinking (and obviously dripping) had hardened onto the bottom of my bike, and had glued the cables solid.

I promise to take better care of Rio in the future.

I didn't Tri

My Telos Turkey Tri team came in second place! Wahooo!

And they managed to do it without me.

I spent last night on the overnight rapid weight loss reduction plan. Lost two pounds. I wouldn't recommend throwing up repeatedly as a real good way to lose weight, however.

Anyway, back to the tri...

Last night I called Binlaw and told her that I wouldn't be biking today and that my team needed her help. Binlaw is pretty amazing on a bike. She said she'd be happy to help out.

So this morning Sling headed over to the tri to get my team put together for me. Since I was the only one who knew all team members, I figured that he could go and make introductions for me. However, Binlaw didn't show up. Decided to sleep in instead. Wouldn't answer her phone or her door. Grrr!!!

My team decided to just roll with it. The runner ran a 5K in under 19 min (I don't have exact numbers yet) and came in with the top five. The swimmer jumped on my bike and did really well, especially since he doesn't normally ride, and he was on a bike he wasn't familiar with. Then he went and did an awesome swim, passing most everyone and coming out of the water second.

I'm so proud of my boys! I wish I could have been there.