SEDONA VISTA 2007

The decision is final, our 3rd annual trip to Sedona is set for April 2007 and I cant wait!


Here is a recap of the festivities from last year.

The Food Network

One of my favorite pass times is cooking, I really enjoy exploring new tasty dishes like the one I made the night before captain candies surgery, Tyler Florence Ultimate Beef Stew. The recipe called for an entire bottle of good red wine and the gravy was out of this world. I made enough for a dinner party, so next time I'll have to invite everyone over to join us. Tonight I am making butternut squash soup, I can't wait to see how this turns out, it looks so yummy in the picture.

JUST WHAT THE DOCTOR ORDERED

Last night was almost a call to 911. Captain Candy needed desperately to take a shower and get that dam bandage off his shoulder. The doctor told him not to remove the bandage for three days nor shower, YEW! So I thought we would let him shower last night and it would make him feel a bit better. Never mix beer, percocets and a nice hot shower, this is a perfect combination to vasodilate those arteries and look out! I helped Captain Candy out of the shower to dry off and a few seconds later he was feeling a bit nauseas and the next thing you know, he turned white as a ghost and a bit ashen to the lips. We quickly got him to lie on the floor and I put some cold compress on his neck and chest to cool him off. I thought he was a goner there for a second. Slowly, he started to regain blood flow and he said to me, "felt like I was passing through the Gates of Hell." No more Lakefront for the boy, I think he should stick to Hersheys.

THAT WAS EASY

Ty's rotator cuff surgery was a success, and the Dr said he will start therapy on the 17th. So far, Ty is feeling pretty good since he got a nerve block to his right shoulder before they put him out. This block should last 12 to 24 hours before the "real" pain begins. The Dr gave him some good drugs to kill the pain and I can't believe this stuff only cost $5, it's cheaper than alcohol. We have to put ice packs on his shoulder every hour for 20 minutes for now and keep a schedule with the pain meds. So far Ty is pretty much comfortable but the block is starting to wear off so we are in for a ride.

RUSTY BUBBA TRAILS

Captain candy and I set out for a moon light ride on the Tosa Trails last night, including the new added section of the Bubba Trail. For those of you who want to know how to get to the new section, just after you turn around and go over the bridge on HYW 100 heading south, you turn left into the single track down that little hill off the bridge. Instead of going straight, take a HARD RIGHT just after the little down hill dip, immediately off the bridge. This new section is tight and twisty and quite the challenge. I can't believe for once I was able to make some of this off camber stuff better in the dark, I think if I did not have a brain I could really rock the course. It is amazing how much your head can play with your psyche while riding. While we were blazing down the trails we ran into a few friends, Butt Crack and a little varmint. There is even a nice little bridge to test your technical ability to balance which is placed strategically off a corner. If you have not tried the Tosa trails, you are missing a really fun time.

ICEMAN HEADLINES

What's New?

The only thing that I am excited about is my new Nite Rider HID night lights for my mountain bike. Thanks to Vince at BENS'S and Captain Candy for setting me up with this sweet light set. I decided to drop some cash on a good set, since I am an inexperienced night rider and will need all the help I can get, especially in the dark single track. I was a bit hesitant about buying the lights because I thought I would like to put together an in expensive Cross Bike. One of the Polska guy's has a sweet cross frame for sale, just my size and it was sure tempting. After thinking about how well I did not do, at my first cross race last weekend at Washington Park, I decided Mountain biking is way more fun then spinning in circles for 36 minutes. Last weeks race made me realize how much I LOVE the sport of Mountain Biking and racing, and that I want to do it more and more and can't seem to get enough. I guess if I can get a cross bike for free this season I will use it for what ever other races I decide to do, but in the mean time...I seem to be more excited riding trails,now that race season is over with and I have time to actually enjoy riding without the thought of training. Although, it would be nice to see how I would finish in a cross race with skinny tires. I am out for relaxation and fun at this point and the thought of competition right now is no fun.
I was able to test out my new gadget on the North Kettle trails with MTB GIRL and some of her pals and we had a blast.

Lance to Run NY Marathon this Sunday

AWARDS BANQUET PICS

AWARDS BANQUET ETIQUETTE 101

DON'T MAKE A PIGGY OF YOURSELF


NOT THE PLACE FOR A VICTORIA SECRET ADD


IT IS NOT POLITE TO BOAST ABOUT YOUR TEAM'S ACCOMPLISHMENTS



NEVER PASS OUT AT THE DINNER TABLE

Health Link

ADVICE FOR THE AGING ATHLETE

Today Ty had an appointment scheduled with his Dr for Pre-operative clearance. Everything went well and TY passed with flying colors! So the date is set, November 9th for his Rotator Cuff Repair of his dominant arm. We are trying to prepare for this ahead of time and getting some major house projects done before he goes under the knife. Last weekend he spent the entire day in the rain trying to fix the hole the squirrels made in our garage, dam varmints. Then to top it off, the following day, Ty came down with a nasty cold. I thought I would put in some helpful information about us older "athletes" and how important it is to keep up flexibility and strength training as we age. Ty unfortunately injured his shoulder in the gym trying to keep up with the "BOYS"

DESSERT

Officially off the plan has it's advantages. Ty and I enjoyed some Fromage Friday night and let me tell you, it was DELICIOUS!

From left to right: Ty's favorite,Cloth bound 18 months cellar aged cheddar, my favorite Cabecou which is French goat, Percorino/Parmesan, Tomme De Chevre Usval, goat cheese, Icelandic Gouda.

FAIR WISCONSIN PARTY

Erich and his wife Sue sponsored a FAIR WISCONSIN PARTY Thursday night. E served up some good fire roasted pizza, with his secret recipe he learned on the streets of New York City. While we enjoyed ourselves with some good tap Stein and yummy pizza, we discussed the importance of why the Constitutional Amendment is a whole lot more than gay marriage...

The second sentence of the amendment would hurt loving and committed gay and straight families by outlawing civil unions and by denying domestic partnership benefits and other critical legal protections that help families take care of one another.

This Amendment affects ALL unmarried couples.

Loving couples who have shared their lives together for 10,20 or 30 years would be denied the right to share health insurance and retirement benefits. Thousands of Wisconsinites could be denied the right to visit their loved one in the emergency room and to make important life or death medical decisions.

VOTE NO on the Constitutional Amendment this November 7th.

fairwisconsin.com

no on the amendment.blogspot.com

Train Right Nutrition Newsletter

http://www.trainright.com

Muscle Fitness

The "Boys" were happy to see me back at the gym. The same old gym rats were there power lifting, primping and chugging down Glutamine between reps. Man have I missed this.

Whole Foods

Ty and I spent the weekend catching up on the house chores and getting ready for winter. I have to admit I was too lazy to get motivated to do a cross race on Sunday, but we were able to sneak in a nice ride on the Tosa trails yesterday and it was a beautiful day for a ride. Anyhow... I kept hearing all week at work that the new Whole Foods Store on the fashionable East Side is fabulous. We went down to check it out and purchase a few things for dinner on Saturday, you have to check out the wine tasting dispenser, it was a hot item for the empty nesters that night.

No Schedule

Wow, the end of the race season is finally here and I can't believe I miss it already. I feel like I have all this energy and hate to waste it now. I was thinking of doing a cross race with my MTB to see if I like it. Duckette tells me just pump up those tires. Sounds a bit difficult, 30 mins plus one lap full heart rate, but from what I hear other people talk about, it is a lot of fun. I also won a free entry into the Crystal Ridge Night race for tonight, but I have never rode with lights at night and I think I would need some practice, especially before tackling the intestines backwards. TY was interested in hanging out there tonight to watch and have a beer, that sounds better to me. I am kinda gettin used to not having a schedule and doing whatever sounds like fun and not worry about getting my hours in riding. I was phyched to go to the gym again and work on getting Buff. I kinda dropped off the lifting routine this summer due to race season. My gym bag has sat on the front seat of my car all week, but after work I feel tired and it has been a delight to say **** **, I feel like relaxing, and you know what? I can for once, kick back and do whatever, and it is a great feeling. Teri
my coach thinks I am crazy that I miss racing after such a long season.

Thanks to Teri, Yeah, she's the young one, but pretty smart for her age. I have learned quite a bit about myself, thanks to Teri, over the last year such as my style of racing, and things I still need to work on. Like a good wine, sometimes it gets better with age:) I know for a fact that I can't expect to aspire to a pro mountain biker over night or ever for that fact, but at least I can dream to become the best at this age and still have fun in the meantime. I really like having an organized schedule since I live such an active busy life, Teri is able to adjust it to my lifestyle. She really has done a great job and has made adjustments in my training schedule according to my performance, job, vacation, illness or what ever comes up. Check out her credentials.

So this is about how I felt at the last race.




Going into the last race of the season it was a close competition between Greisbach and I for first place. We both had our share of mechanicals this year as well as victories and I have to say Christine was the better racer this year. Well at least this race she got to the single track first and I got bottlenecked. So I saw her get into the single track before me and that was it, my entire race was spent trying to catch her. I was so FOCUSED that everything was a BLUR. Thanks to Colleen for her motivation on the first lap to keep me going and all the cheers I heard in the background of "GO CHRISTINE", I thank you all for your support. I especially thank my husband Ty for his support and letting me know how far ahead my competition was, it helps. I swear I gave it my all, especially in the back half of the course where it seems I picked up some good time, but unfortunately, Greisbach is good in the single track and it was hard for me to make up time in the front. I had a great race and I am glad to of had such great competition this year. Congrats to Gresibach for a great season! Here is a nice picture of her and her family watching the elite race.

SHEBOYGAN PICS 2006, ENJOY!

Click here to view pictures

ROOTBOYGAN

Tyrine's analysis of the Sheboygan course as of 10/01/06. Fun, Fast, challenging and Root-O-Riffic! The course was dry on Sunday with only a few spots of mud you could maneuver around, otherwise it is FAST! As long as it does not RRRRRRRRRRRRRR. Take a gander at some of the terrain for our final WORS race of 2006. Rumors that we heard over the weekend is that Antonia Leal will be making a comeback to the final WORS race at Sheboygan at the top of the equalizer hill handing out all the cash this year.

Fall is in the air

Recovery

It is hard to believe that something as small and undectable to the naked eye such as a "COLD VIRUS" can take me down for the count without a fight. Once that darn little microorganism penetrates your first line of defense and invades your cells they are out for destruction. So wouldn't you know, they just wait for you to be a little weak before they make their attack. Seven days off my bike due to this little bastard and I can't do **** until it is done Partying in my body. I hate getting sick, I have no time for this, and I do not look forward to getting old, I am impatient! I am tired of chicken noodle soup and living with Kleenex up my nose.

As far as the weekend goes, it sucked watching all of you race when I wanted to so badly to join in, but I can't jeopardize my daytime job for a race that could prolong my recovery from this cold. You all looked great out there and it turned out to be a perfect day for a race.

CHEQUAMEGON FAT TIRE FESTIVAL 06

Thank goodness I had more fun this weekend to make up for the half *** race that I did on Saturday. That is about how I feel about the whole ordeal. We headed up to Cable around noon on Friday with our buddy Eeeeeeeeeeeee. We arrived around 6:30 PM or there about and we were welcomed by Ted and Andrea, Anna's parents who welcomed us for a weekend of celebration. They even had pasta dinner ready for us when we arrived and it was delicious! The night came quickly and it was 5:00 AM when our alarm clock went off. Ty got up and headed out with Sanjay to set their bikes up before the race. I got to sleep in a bit til 7ish which was a nice perk for having a preferred start.

I rode from the house which was just behind Telemark to the start of the Short and Fat. The morning was cool and I wore my winter Alterra jacket hoping to stay warm until the start of the race. After 10 mins on the road and a few warm up drills I was ready. I headed to the start and found it very easy to set up my bike, plenty of room. I started to think, should I put it right up front or a bit back? I know that the massive start it will not matter. I plopped the bike down somewhere in the middle and sure enough it had to be behind that Lobecki guy. I saw more familiar faces, Murphy Kate, Violetta, Karen Deboise Merra and Sara Lucas. One quick trip to the port-a-potty and then I was ready. The weather was starting to look threatening as we approached the start of the race. The gun shot could of not gone off sooner.

The start was a bit slow, I was able to keep in the pack of the top 50 for awhile and I saw people starting to pass on the far left of the pack to get ahead. There were some in experienced riders out there making there way to the front and not calling out there moves. Literally, these guys were coming within inches between me and another almost taking us out. I see this guy swerving in and out like a drunk man, knowing he is going to cause a problem somewhere. I was not the only one PO'ed about this idiot. I inched over more to the left as we were proceeding down the paved road at a pretty good clip, just in time before this huge wipe out to the right of me. I thought to myself it must of been that jerk who caused that crash unfortunately and hoping it was not too bad. Everything was going well, I was feeling great had a good pace and felt I could keep it up for awhile. We finally hit the hills of gravel road and the pace slowed a bit as people dropped off and others from behind caught up. Somewhere after 20 some minutes of gravel road I was feeling a bit tired and my pace slowed and that is where I got ******! I remember seeing quite a few women passing and I felt like I dropped to 30th or something. I kept plugging away and hoping for a miracle. I thought to myself where is the power I felt last weekend on those climbs? Where is the grass? Finally after how many miles of gravel road we hit the grass, my favorite:) I started to see the fun again and some girls in site. I was able to push it to the limit from here on out having fun on the rolling hills and passing all these guys who were making me work around them. Some people love to take the nice paved line at there own turtle pace and you have to learn to work with them by keeping off the beaten path or you will never get anywhere.

All of a sudden I see the sign, 4 miles to go Short and Fat as I looked down at my watch to see how much time elapsed since the start. No, I don't watch my heart rate during a race, but I do watch the time to see if I could beat last years time of 1:11 which was looking grim at that moment. I pushed it as hard as I could feeling like I was going to puke any minute, I caught up to some womam finally and told myself no matter how much it hurt I was going to pass her. I kicked it up another notch towards the end, one last hill climb to go, up and over, and flying to the finish. 18th over all again, must a hit the wall.

At least some of us had a good race, Congrats to Mikey for his 9th overall finish, I really got some nice shots of him at the finish. I had fun taking pictures of everyone that I could at the race, so make sure you check out the link at the top of the page. Thanks again to Anna and Sanjay for enviting us to stay with Anna's parents this weekend in that sweet home nestled just up the finsh line from the race, we had a great time and even made some new friends. Also thanks to Jo and Mike for letting us party it up with them on Saturday night and stay at there lovely pad on Rosa lake. Sorry if we missed the awards but the commentator was dragging it out a bit too long and were anxious to get out of there and have some fun.

Sunday morning we headed back up to Telemark to watch E in the crit. The weather was cold and misty rain, and it looked like it was going to be a muddy race. The rain stopped just in time for the start, and it was really fun watching some of the pros' mixed with some of our WORS's riders in the competition. I think next year I am going to enter this race, you get a chance to race against some of the top notch racers just for fun. After talking to Sara Lucas before the start of the race, I thought to myself that really looks like fun. There were only a handful of women who raced and that is a shame. Sara did pretty good 1st in her age and 4th over all next to Sara Kylander-Johnson. Oh yea, Murphy Kate and her dad Tim did the Tandum race and they did pretty well too! The last race consisted of all the best riders of the day competing for a first place finish which was the most exciting race to watch this year by far. The sun came out in full force at the start of the last race, it got nice and warm, wouldnt you know just as we leave Cable.

Next stop, Wisconsin Rapids.

CONTENDERS

2006 Chequamegon Fat Tire Festival in Cable Wisconsin is just a few days away and I am pumped for a great weekend of fun. As you see in the picture, these are last years contenders of the Short & Fat race, Grabowski, Lembezeder and Smith who I will be racing against this weekend (GOD HELP ME NOW). I know I get shit from others about doing the Short and Fat race instead of the 40 mile, but I say, "the hell with all of you". I am looking forward to racing my *** off this weekend and only hope to be as good as these women.

SUNBURST 2006

check out Carlos's pic's
check out Jo's pic's
check out Tyrines's pic's

Not a bad weekend afterall, considering I did not feel like racing. My favorite moments of Kewaskum 2006 is riding with my teammates
for most of the race, having a blast out on the course and swapping stories at the end,
PRICELESS.

TGIF

Well it's here, Friday at last and I feel fatigued. I got in some good rides this past week but really felt tired riding last night and had to push it with the intervals. SRM battery died before my ride so I had to opt for the HR method which sucks! I am still tired today and hungry as hell. Hopefully no rain in the forecast for Sunday's race at Kewaskum. I would hate to have more mechanicals after another muddy race. Gotta save the bike for Cheq Fat Tire. Well all I can work on for now is recovery.

Tammi and her daughter Schenise are headed down to stay with us for the weekend. We plan on taking the backwoods girls out to dinner at Rock Bottom in the BIG CITY tonight. We then plan to pre-ride in the morning depending on the weather. Not sure if Tammi is volunteering for this one, I should of signed up too. Oh well, chin up........

Mary Poppins

I made plans with Klipp to meet on Labor day to ride at the Kettles to ride unless it rains. I was stoked to ride Monday morning and headed out about 9:45 AM. Just as I was exiting on 83 it started to rain and the sky continued to look nasty towards the west so I turned around and headed back home all bummed out. I got home and tried to get my husband to ride but he was working on a project and then tried to get Duckette to ride with me but he too was skeptical about the rain. So I decided to get on the dreaded trainer. I at least got in my intervals so I was not too worried about not getting in the hours.

I was forced indoors by Mother nature and I decided to make it a Martha Stewart day in the kitchen. Ty's been bugging me to make Lasagna for him since he never tried my version of this tasty dish. I headed off to the store to purchase some fresh ingredients for my special sauce. I decided to make an extra pan for friends and family who are busy caring for infant children at this time. Halfway into making the first pan, I forgot how much sauce this project takes. I think I used at lest 6 quarts of sauce. Making Lasagna is not too hard it is just a process that takes about two hours from start to finish. Well the finished product came out of the oven at 8:00 PM filling the house with delicious Italian aromas. Five lbs later and with full bellies were retired.

After work today, I stopped over to my friends Rebecca and Joe to drop off a piping hot pan of Lasagna and I think they were happy to not have to fuss for an evening. They have a curious two and a half year old son Henry and a 19 day old infant named Charlie. I think this helped a bit. I'll wait to get a report from Henry about the Lasagna. I then headed over to Tony and Ulla's to deliver the rest of the Lasagna and arrived just in time. Ullla had an eventful time at her follow up Dr's apt today and looked like she could use a break. Ulla's in great health but I think little Frankie had a good social visit too. Hopefully they can take a break tonight and enjoy time with Frankie. By the way, Happy 11th Anniversary to Tony and Ulla, oops I forgot. So now I feel all warm and fuzzy inside just like Mary Poppins for the day.

GUILTLESS PLEASURE

I have family and friends always calling and complaining that the entire summer is almost gone and we never get around to do things with them because of our biking. You should hear some of our phone messages, some even go so far as to lay a huge guilt trips on us, thinking that will work, they just don't get it. So Ty and I decided to get together with some of our friends this weekend before we become friendless and head to Chi town for a little indulgence. I find it is not too easy to put the bike aside for more than twentyfour hours, I start to get withdrawal symptoms but sometimes you just have to take a breather and let loose. Good friends, great French cuisine a few drinks and... I swear the devil made me do this....

Remember this ?

INEPTITUDE

If you can't learn to do something well, learn to enjoy doing it poorly.

SUBARU CUP

Tammi and I did the pre-ride together and it went well, at least the first lap on the second I somehow wiped out on the third bridge and fell into the water. I know Tammi was hesitant to come to this race given her hip issues and oh yeah those dam tire issues too. I can't let her fool me though, she may whine and get frustrated on the pre-ride but when race day comes she is balls to the wall no stopping her. This is what I like about her attitude and work ethic. She even finds time to bake or cook something up special for the team for race weekend.

Well it was a great day for a race, temps in the mid 70's and just a little sun.
I started off slow knowing the hill climb is so long. I started to kick it up a notch just as we were headed into the single track passing whomever I could. Feeling good despite my slow start. I kept plugging away and sure thing I was able to see the orange blaze ahead, that of my teammates, Tammi and Cathy. I could see I was gaining time and anxiously awaited to hang with my team members for the first time in a race this season. They usually Kick my ass and I NEVER see the whites of there eyes. All my riding is starting to pay off. I finally caught up to Tammi and passed her at the water hole and just around the corner was able to get behind Cathy. It's too bad that they don't wait for me to catch up :), which would be a nice gesture since we are teammates and all, but I forget this is a race. The technical rocky sections demanded full attention so there is not much time to socialize especially in a race, ha ha I know better. So the course was a bit tacky but not too bad in some sections where it was relatively dry that is on the first two laps. I was keeping a good steady pace and keeping the bike under control from wipeouts. I almost felt like Mikey in the single track for a moment or two. For awhile it seemed like I was just passing Sport Men and so I felt like I was way behind to the front group. My brother-in-law Tony will be upset with me for not being in the top 10 going into the single track, and I would not be in this mess if I would of listened. I think I am afraid of blowing up my heart rate too soon on hill start, I will eventually get over this. I do recall his MTB boot camp lessons as I race and try hard to incorporate this with each lap which is not easy. I started to fatigue on the top of the third lap climb in the single track. It was killing me to ride in the big gears and I tried to shift down and the inevitable happened once again, click, click, click and no luck. I mustered my way up dying in this gear, I felt SOO SLOW, got out of the single track, off my bike to spin my pedals to get it into gear and NO LUCK. I had to walk my bike up the grassy hill to the flats to get back on. My legs were feeling like lead and I was getting exhausted especially since the singletrack turned to peanut butter. Mean while, while I was not shifting into a better gear, low and behold there was Greisbach passing me probably smiling all the way to the finish line. I tried to catch her but I could not for the life of me. The group must of been just ahead because Greisbach caught a few and had a great finish, top 10! Then to really top it off Cathy Passed me somewhere on the third lap and that was it for my Triumph. Well once I got to the top it got better and I could live with the gears for the rest of the race. Felt great to fly down the hill to the finish except for the last twisty steep downhill section that slowed me to a halt. Had to take it cautiously and made my way through. All of a sudden I hear a female voice, turned my head around, behind me was Klipp the famous roadie just behind me. The flight or fear gave me goose bumps and courage I never had before, dodge it to the finish I thought. All of a sudden I see this HUGE mud puddle at the bottom of the hill, no going around it just straight through, praying for life I don't wipe out before the finish. I took a straight line and closed my eyes and I made it! Dashing to the finish line within seconds of Klipp. I have to say it was great to have a bit of glory at this last race even though I did not finish in the top of the field.

RAISING THE BAR

My husband TY has noticed this year that the women racing in WORS look leaner and meaner than previous years of competition. Of course my husband would be so observant of such things as looking at other women:) He tells me that these women look leaner and more athletic then previous years and it appears more women and young girls are taking mountain biking seriously than just your weekend jo. I agree with him and recall races where I am pushing it and think I am fast only to get passed by a younger girl in her pink bike who looks like she is not even hurting. I think this is a great sport and very enjoyable, including the tough competition. Yeah, I have goals just like a bunch of us when it comes to racing. Sometimes we succeed and other times we fail to meet our own expectations, but it is the competition that drives us to behave in some fantastic, unbelievable ways that in the end make us a stronger individuals personally. Keeping this fun and having a personal challenge is what this is all about. Keeping a fresh perspective towards the end of a season is what keeps me determined to push my own envelope.

WEEKEND FREE TIME

Ty and I had a blast this weekend and it was sure nice to have a weekend free from the race scene. We started off Friday night with a nice Italian dinner at Maggiano's just around the corner from us. We like the Rigatonni D pasta and always have leftovers to take home. Having leftovers works out after a long ride the next day. Just pop it in the microwave and, Wa La! We decided not to cook again and actually relax instead of preparing at home. We both love to cook but sometimes it takes up too much time and we don't have time to actually relax and enjoy each others company.

Saturday morning Ty washed the dirt off the MTB from the last race in preparation for hitting the trails at Kettle Moraine today. We had intentions of going early but we both got tied up in conversations with the neighbors and one thing leads to another and it is soon noon time and nothing is done. We decide to pop in on Tony and Ulla to see how they are doing with their new bundle of joy. When we arrived mom and dad were both relaxing in the back yard with Francisco but not for long. I think maybe they were able to sneak in 15 mins or so before he let them know he needed another diaper changed. Good thing Mikey and Chemain brought them those extra diapers. He is a growing boy and is getting more handsome by the minute. Ulla looks great as usual, you would never know she just had a baby.

Here are some pictures to share:

Tony, Ulla, Francisco and Grandma
Uncle TY and Francisco
Auntie Christine and Francisco

After the family social visit, we headed off to the Kettles for some fun riding. The trails are awesome! They have new sections of single track in the beginning that are twisty single track fun and then there is even more new single track on the way to Emma Carlin. We had a blast and I am seriously thinking of doing the Fall Colors Festival this year because it is really a nice course. Who ever put in the new additions of the single track really know their stuff. I think this was one of the rare rides that I am not braking every two seconds due to sharp corners or 360 degree turns. The single track flows very nice and you can really go fast which makes it a hell of a lot of fun! After riding we decided to stop in at the local store La Grange for a quick bite before the long ride home. We happened to run into Doug Baily working, it sure was nice to see him again. He looks great and I think he is back on his bike riding. He is still recovering but overall doing well. He took us out to the garage where his crashed rig was stored, it looks bad. He said he has had attorneys investigating on the crash and they also got an analysis from Trek of what they say most likely caused him to crash. Something is very fishy... How in the world could one just get a flat and crash your bike this bad? He was just riding near a grassy ditch on the road. I hope things work out for him. I think it really is difficult not being able to race in WORS especially after having such a great start to his season.

Sunday we headed down to New Lennox IL where my cousin had us over for a family pool party. We had a blast, the weather was perfect and it was good to see my dads brother uncle Jerry. Karls wife made some tasty Sangria and lets say it was a perfect way to end a perfect weekend.

EPIC MADNESS

No, I did not finish a marathon race, the EPIC "Madness" is this dam new computer charting system Froedtert/Medical College installed. It now takes me 10 minutes to write a prescription rather than a few seconds to hand write it on paper. I spent 3 1/2 hours cleaning out my "computer" inbox on Friday morning, thank GOD I did not have any patients to see or I would of been up shit creek. Every 5 minutes something new pops up in my box that I have to take care of from phone messages to lab results to stress test results and refills for meds, it is INSANE! Get this, I finally cleaned out my box after lunch and at 3:45 PM on Friday I had 8 stress test results clicked into my inbox that I had to address. I work for 5 cardiologists and my partner was gone for the day and I was covering her inbox too. To understand where I am coming from you have to pull the patients chart, review the reason the stress test and why it was ordered, then make sure the patient is ok and if the test was positive, you then have to get them in for an appointment soon or that day depending on symptoms. This process alone for each patient can take up to one hour per patient. I love my job as a nurse practitioner and love to see patients but this has gone beyond to what I call a "glorified medical secretary". I am spending endless time on the computer and it takes away from what I really love. I was so upset the other day that when I came home from work, I went for the best training ride of my life. If I had raced that day I would of smoked the competition. I just had to get this off my chest. I think I would make a better sales lady then a secretary, maybe I'll get a job as a drug rep and can this job. Health care is really getting out of hand and I am getting burnt out on it.

CALUMET

Well it was a great weekend and it looks like everyone had a good time at the final year of Calumet racing. Ty and I arrived on Friday night to set up camp early and relax. Mikey and
Chemain joined us for a few brewskies and a fire to start off the weekend right. The rest of the gang joined us on Saturday making for a spectacular social gathering. A fresh pot of Alterra French Roast was brewing to start off the morning and the best part is Mikey's specialty French toast he prepared for us, I did not know the boy could boil water, he must of been showin off to his gal. Speaking of his gal...It's about time Chemain join the gang for the weekend. She certainly was a trooper and had no problems acclimating to the outdoors, infact
look here what was she thinking of recycling her tissue for reuse?

So with a hearty breakfast in my belly I was ready to attack the course. Anyway the pre-ride went well, the course was dry and fast and the new added single track sections were fun. I accompanied Dan and Cindy on the pre-ride and we practiced the new sections a few times over. Cindy certainly should consider racing one of these days, for someone who does not bike much she certainily ran through the tough sections like a pro without any problems. After the pre-ride I went back to camp to eat and get ready for the shower.
Mike and Jo arrived and they were off for the pre-ride and finally towards the end of the afternoon, Carlos and Sonia joined in.
Tammi arrived with her sister a little after 2:00 pm.
Ty went off to go swimming with Mikey, Chemain and the gang. Dinner time went in shifts and Jo and I were smart to start cooking first before the rest of the gang arrives for dinner. Two gas burners and a dozen hungry bikers all with finicky tastes, preparing pasta several different ways, makes for an eventful evening. My favorite pasta dish is Penne Pasta with a good olive oil, sauted with lots of garlic, fresh basil and chicken, yummy. After dinner we all sat around the campfire and relaxed and headed off to bed at a reasonalbe time.

I think it was around 5:30 Am and I had to get up to pee, just as I got back into the tent I think it started raining. It seemed to be raining pretty steady and I fell back to sleep until 9:00 AM which is pretty late for TY and I on race day. I was already passed my breakfast time and had no caffeine in me so I felt a little rushed in the morning, but I did not let it get to me. Jo was preparing to get ready to race and it was nice to see her so chipper on a gloomy damp morning. I put a pot of coffee on the burner and proceeded to eat my breakfast with some time to relax.

10:45 AM came too soon and it was time to get ready and get on the bike. Sonia and I headed out to do laps on the road and as we were warming up I saw Linda and Katie getting ready in the parking lot unfortunately not getting a chance to chit chat before the race. After the warm up I tried to keep spinning, I hate waiting for the start.

Sometime around 11:20 AM or so, I wait for the infamous GO000000000000000000000000000000! We were off and I was having a great start and got to the front. I remember feeling good and it felt as if we were going a bit slow, but hell, I sucked a wheel and let the leaders pull. Sonia was smart and broke away from the group to be the first one to the single track. Sonia told me later that the person pulling, I think it was a KILLJOY chick was not happy about pulling 30 girls so she held back the pace in the front. This worked out perfectly for those who were conserving their energy for the single track hill climb that was to emerge after the 2 mile lead out. Well, unfortunately the entrance to the single track even though it is wide open, people start to pass on the downhill and you have to keep on alert and call out your moves or someone always gets hurt. Well the downhill went well and we were off to more lead out on the grass along the lake. I was feeling the effects of the grassy lead out and felt a bit of relief on that small section of pavement to pick up some more speed. I was starting to get passed by a few until we hit the start of the grassy climb onto the single track. I was able to step up the pedal strokes and suck it up the hill as best as I could. The first lap on the single track hill had a lot of divits from the runners earlier that day which made it a little tricky on the climb. Finally to the top and down and up again and relief was in site, caught my breath and off I went. I pretty much kept a great pace for each lap and was a bit cautious on the first lap on the downhills where it was a bit slick or tacky on the corners. Along the way here and there hearing familiar voices say hi. I knew that the section of single track that is off camber would be a challenge for some and I took advantage of opportunity and had stayed clear of wipeouts. Shifting problems remain, and was not able to use the granny gear at all, so I suffered on most of those hills. I think I was able to use the granny once or twice during the race luckily on the start hill, although I can't remember. I was back and forth with Greisbach until the last lap hill climb, I stepped it up a notch and was hoping to create a gap. I kept it up and did not look back until I hit the swooping, winding singletrack and rock gardens and no one was in site. I was feeling good all the way to the finish line.

Unfortunately after the race I find out that one of our Alterra members got hurt and no one really new the details. I did not see it happen but Katie went down on the downhill section of the start and then got ran over. I guess from talking to her sister Linda it was pretty bad and it happend so fast it was hard to describe what all transpired. Katie I guess was wisked away to a tiny little hospital and found to have internal parts of her ankle broken, tibia and fibula breaks. She is awaiting surgery this Thursday at St. Lukes Hosptial in Milwaukee. Katie is a mother of 5 children and these times will be tough. Who the hell ran over her?

RECONSTRUCTING TYRINES TAJ MAHAL

I am so excited, our new tent arrived that we purchased at REI the other day. We chose the North Face Trail Head 8 as our new palace. I am glad that TY finally saw it "MY WAY" that the Kelty Mantra 7 was a sweat box and I need room to breathe. One night in that tent and I felt like I was in a sauna. The Trail Head 8 is perfect in size and I will be able to stand up and make our bed and even store our bikes inside the two vestibules. Don't get me wrong, I love tent camping and would never think of the RV thing, but I need space and I don't need a tent that I can carry on my back to go hiking. Hell, maybe now that we have such a large tent it will dampen my loud snoring. Hopefully it will stay dry tonight and Ty can set it up and test it out before setting it up in the dark on Friday night at Calumet. I can't wait for this weekend! Just as I pulled in the driveway tonight, after a bike ride, Ty just finished the set up and it looks like he is quite happy!