WORS WOMEN HITS THE NEWS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

http://worswomen.org/

Out with the OLD and in with the NEW!

The weather certainly put on a new twist to Dreaming of a White Christmas this year. Ty had just finished shoveling and plowing the driveway for the umpteenth time Christmas week and a few hours just before the guests and Santa is to arrive...the snow plow came buy and wished us a Merry Christmas buy piling a two foot mound in front of our driveway. NICE!

For some reason this year, Christmas came buy way too fast and it seemed like a chore to get the tree decorated. In the end it is always worth all the great times with Family and Friends.

Emily and Lauren are learning new party social skills.

Chandler, Christmas Trivia Champ!

Frankie enjoying the gifts of others.

Henry displaying his musical talent

So, as Fast as the holidays are slipping by, time is but the essence to get our home in order for the 2009 race season. More projects on the list pending doom to get done ASAP! THE BASEMENT PROJECT! First on the agenda was to get rid of shit that we don't use and forever hang on too. So after a few arguments as to what we were going to throw out, off we went to the City Dump. It was a perfect day to clean the basement. Pouring rain and 50 some degrees outside.

Project # 2: TY's move to the new Derse building and setting up his new office. I here they used 100% Green materials in the entire construction. This building has LEED Certification which sets tough standards.

Front entrance wall display
Pretty spectacular place for the employees of DERSE. They took into consideration many of the employee's ideas such as a work out facility, showers and lockers for the commuter's and plenty of natural light to work by. I am jealous.

I am looking forward to the 2009 season of WORS racing and all the awesome people that surround this community. Now it's time to get back to work! I can't wait to get outside again because my arse is getting sore riding the frickin trainer and I am sick of looking at the fan. Yesterday during my ride, I had to get off and change my shorts and socks cause I was so flipping hot. Any suggestions on keeping cooler this winter and surviving the indoor trainer rides would be much appreciated!

next on the list:

• update profile for WORS women
• sort pictures
• wash basement curtains
• ride
• continue to load up on tylenol for this never ending virus

Grown up toys for Christmas

Nothing like getting stuck in grid lock traffic and surffin the web :-) Check it out! The Apple iPhone3G is better than ever! Now with the new 2.2 software upgrade, it's even faster!

Think inside the box

Had to reload the Shuffle for the anticipated road ahead.

Nothing better than rewarding yourself with a little chocolate now and then.

Sad News

Not sure if you all knew Kyle but he and his family are pretty active in the local mountain bike scene and this sad, sad news from the other night.

Here is a link to the news post

Our thoughts and prayers go out to the Guerra Family during such difficult time.

Gluttony

belly courtesy of Phillips

My Christmas tree, Holiday cards and gifts are all half done since I seem to have more time for this. The Peariso's sure know how to throw down one hell of a partay! I had quite the belly ache after drinking too much double espresso the morning after but it sure was tasty. I even got free lessons on how to use their fancy espresso machine by the Barista Master herself.

Addiction

I heard on the news this morning that researchers are coming up with a new disease for those of us who are plastered to the Internet on a daily basis. They are calling it some kind of addiction problem and that anything over four hours a day qualifies you for the white suit and rubber room. That is totally silly.

Well my computer is still at the doctor and it looks grim. That darn face book bug ate the shit out of everything. Looks like I am getting a hand-me-down from my husband in the mean time. I can tell you I am having withdrawal symptoms from not being able to post my recent pics and it is driving me absolutely crazy. Who ever said the Internet is addictive? :-)

how the grinch stole xmas

Last night we sat back, put our feet up and enjoyed some good laughter.

WARNING

Face Book has sent out a malicious VIRUS!

The message is sent out to look like a Face Book friend stating,

" You've been Filmed! Haven't you noticed?"

(the video looks like a You tube link but it is spelled wrong) yuo

You then click on the video and you are F*****!

So for now, I am opting out of answering any F****** e-mails sent with Face Book on it.

Regular e-mail and phone calls work for me.



Free Anti Spy Ware: http://www.superantispyware.com/ (suggested by our IT guy) to get rid of this nasty virus.

Harass me

Researchers at Stanford University found that people who received automated exercise reminders by phone were as likely to go to the gym as people who had real life trainers harassing them. Keep yourself honest by registering for prodding e-mails from hassleme.com.uk. Plug in your e-mail address, how often you want to be nudged, and a direct order ("Get to the GYM! Now! Love, your incredibly Skimpy Bikini") you get the picture. You can create your own reminders.

Anything helps at this time of the year.

Black Friday on Michigan Ave

Slide show

Perfect ending

5 Days of Thanksgiving Prep

Saturday: watch the Food Network channel most of the afternoon while recovering from self inflicted illness. Get excited watching Ina cook all these fab desserts. Make a mental note of a few things I would like to try, especially Tyler Florence’s Cranberry relish with Grand Monier. Pull out cook books, old recipes and scan recent Bon Appetit for more ideas. Remember to 86 those old recipes that did not taste good. Make a list of ingredients that we will need to take with us to the store.

Sunday: Shopped early and secured a nice big fat fresh organic Turkey minus the feathers. Stop off at Crate and Barrel for a new chopping knife so Ty and I don’t fight over the only good one we have. Really get spooked and think twice about the after life. There was a beautiful table all dressed up for the holidays that had three place cards arranged with the names displaying, Brian, Veronica and Ron in front of each place setting. After seeing that I almost started to cry. How ironic to have my two deceased parent’s names set on that table as well as my brother. It is funny how they must know how much I truly miss them during the Holiday Season. After that I went out an bought a lottery ticket.

Monday: Power flex class. Clean house. Watch program, Rape of Europe, The story of Nazi Germany's plundering of Europe's great works of art during World War II and Allied efforts to minimize the damage. Contemplte once again, about taking French lessons.

Tuesday: Make cranberry sauce from Tyler’s recipe. WOW, only took 10 minutes to prepare. 1 bag of cranberries uncooked, 1 cup of Bakers sugar, 1 fresh squeezed orange, some grated orange zest, and a tad of Grand Monier. Place in food processor for a few seconds, done!

Wash batch of French string beans, snip ends and place in frig.

Put feet up on sofa and watch Vicky take revenge on Amy on the Biggest Looser

Wednesday: prepare buttermilk biscuit dough, roll out dough, cut out rounds and place on wax paper in frig. Find time for stretching and core strength workout. Think about cleaning office desk before tomorrow. Not sure if I should prepare some of the stuffing mixture tonight.

almost prepared for a full day of great food and festivities and thankful I have a roof over my head and good health.

Tosa Trails in the Fall Rock

Trek introduces Chainless Bicycles

Read what the press what Associated Press has to say about the new Belt System.

and for the rest of the story...

I was excited to head up to Traverse City Michigan for the Iceman race for the first time. We got up at 3:00AM on Friday morning and hit the road by 4:30 AM. We scathed the Chicago traffic by a hair, turned east and then north to wide open highways. It felt like we were up North Wisconsin once we left Grand Rapids. We secured a great spot in one of those very nice condos at Grand Traverse Resort and Spa which was located approximately 7 miles from the finish line of the course. Our condo offered more than we expected. A nice cozy fireplace, a very large well stocked kitchen, large screen plasma TV, and a lovely view of the golf course. We picked up our race stuff and meandered around the expo center for a bit on Friday evening.

Saturday morning came round fast and I was soon faced with the issue of what to wear for the race. The anticipated rain that was forecast was only a little bit of drizzle during the start of expert race and a dash of cold ice pellets here and there during the pro race. The weather was cold but not breath taking bitterness and that was a huge relief. I opted for my Craft long sleeve pro zero undershirt and the tried and true Alterra winter jacket that I usually wear for my winter rides. This worked out perfect instead of the Pearl Izumi Polyester rain jacket I purchased the night before at the Iceman Expo event. Somehow, the thought of plastic fibers did not equal warmth or comfort for the race.

Ty and Regina were off to their start as I decided to check over my bike and dial it in. I wanted to ride with a bit firmer rear shock for the anticipated long flat sections of the course. A few clicks to the rear brain specialized shock and that should do it. I then pushed down on the rear end of the bike and it did not seem to respond. TJ took a look at it and had me take it over to the Specialized tent for a quick check thinking I may need more pressure in it. It was set exactly at 70 PSI just as I had it dialed in previously. The nice mechanic took one look at it and said it was shot. Yes, brain death again. This was approximately five minutes to the start of my race. He said he would replace it no problem or we can pump it up with more PSI to get me through the race but there was no guarantee that I would not have any problems during my race. So we made a quick decision to have it changed. By now, Patti Kaufman’s husband is standing at the specialized tent telling me Patti is lined up at the start and we have three minutes to GOOOOOOOOO. The rear shock is half off and I can’t believe this is happening to me. TJ had a great idea and sent me to go stand in the start line and wait for my bike. Luckily, the specialized tent was exactly at the start line. As the clock was ticking and they were cranking down the last bolts. I felt like an idiot for not checking this earlier, but I usually just deal with it and not let these little things bother me. I have raced several races recently and the shock has just not responded well to my climbing despite taking it in to get checked for this back in August. Just as the announcer was counting down to zero, TJ was there handing off my bike over the rafters, I grabbed it with the assistance of another only to have me set the bike down, clip in and GOOOOOOOOOOO just as they called it! Holy Shit, off I went.

I had a pretty good start and punched it right out in front with the others not knowing where this was going to lead me. I had only pre-rode the back 3-4 miles of the course on Friday afternoon and did not know what to expect for the first half of the race. Well my punch started to dwindle and so did my effort. I just don’t seem to have that pep I had mid summer and it was a struggle to even keep up a good tempo. They had mile markers counting down from 27 and I remember clearly that after mile 15, I was starting to come back around. I started to pass some guys in a mission to catch some girls. I finally came across one woman just ahead and I could see her fatiguing after the climbs. I caught her and made my attack, one down, more to go. I was feeling pretty good now on cruise control, passing more guys on my way. TJ warned us of the great big sand pit some where in the race, and would you know, I for sure made the hit to the bottom and could not save myself. I unclipped and sure enough, that girl came back to attack me. I got out of the mess, made a new water bottle switch and I was off to catch her. Sure enough, after a few minutes, I passed her again. That was about it for me catching anyone else, the lead pack went off strong and stayed strong and that’s the way the cookie crumbles. The last half of the race I kept up a steady pace had a blast in the single track sections and fast down hill descents but that was about it.

Mile two marker came into the final picture, I unzipped my jacket, took off my gloves and punched it once again to the finish line. I am not too happy about my time but its fits in with the way I felt for the day. I think top ten is pretty darn good considering my first year in expert and I am content knowing I had some pretty good competition out there. I was even more surprised at the size of the field for the 45-55 Expert women age group, I think at least 30 women showed up. This was the largest field of all the expert women which is totally awesome.

A big Ya Hoo goes out to my husband Ty for an awesome finish 1:51:42, 21st in 112 expert men 40-44. Way to go honey!

Don warming up with Regina 4th place SS extraordinaire and young Sarah Lukas who beat her overall time from her previous Iceman race in bare legs.

Warming up after the race at the one fire pit for the thousand and some racers. Earlier I accidentally hit the Gary Fisher VIP tent to use the bathroom (there were no lines) and they had nice fancy fire pits with peeps sitting around the fire sipping Martini's. WTF? Next year i will have to get me one of those yellow hats :-)

We patiently waited all night just to see Regina get up on the stage for her award. left to right: Cole House, Dallas Fowler, Sarah Lukas, TJ woodruff, Me, TY, and Regina


Finally some dinner at 9:30 PM



Followed by the ICEMAN POST RACE PARTY at BELLS

Jeremiah Bishop

Michelle and I enjoying a sip of the magical potion

Phillips as usual

Chris going for the gusto

God only knows what they poured in that trophy

Stu Alp from Windsor Canada

The nice drive back home with a few snow flakes on the ground. I can't wait for 2009 Iceman!

Behind the scenes

ICEMAN 2008

Top Three Fast Pro Men

Mike Anderson, Jeremiah Bishop, Brain Matter

Pro Finish Photos here

Iceman 08 Top 6 Pro Men Finish

Estabrook Cross

I went back for more pain on Sunday and I had more fun taking shots of these guys. It feels good not to take this cross stuff so serious and I can have fun with it. I got lapped again but the intensity is what I was looking for and it was worth it. These are a few of my fave photos from the race. I miss taking pictures of these guys and hope to get some good shots at Iceman too.

more pics here

Kletsch Cross

I finally pulled out the new Cross Bike from last year that I never raced and got my lazy arse to the show. It was a beautiful fall day and it was great to see a lot of familiar faces. Team Polska put on a fun race.

I think this was my final lap and I requested the band to play Taps for me. I thought this would be appropriate since I would be rolling in DEAD LAST! Don't worry, this motivates me even more to come back for more PAIN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Jeff Melcher keeping the heat on for the entire race

Holly Rockin as usual

The PRO start with Marko incognito

The battle begins up the steep polish hill

Kevin making his way towards the front

Jeremy climbing like a goat

Ronsta and Jerry in hot pursuit

The tables soon turn

My camera chip was full at this point and this was the final picture for pretty much the rest of the race with Matter keeping the heat on Marko. It was a very exciting race to watch. I can't wait for ICEMAN and all the action. For once this year I will be able to watch the pros come in and snap shots of the finish. SWEET!

Race pics here