Long Time No Speak :)

Well I just realised how long it has been since writing- I guess school getting out and the anticipation of training has made me loose track of my blogging!

Of course Kevin and I have been racing quite a lot. This includes the MSC as well as a few local Summit Mountain Challenges and the Pro XC Cup in Colorado Springs.

Kevin has been doing excellent- his first year in the Pro Elite field.

I, however, am not. I can't really express my feelings for what has been happening, but the only thing I can say is that coaching is the biggest difference in the world. Last year I thought it was a little rough because my coaches wern't really there for me 100% but looking back it was so much better than this year. Having to train on my own is so difficult, but I have no other choice. Kevin took charge of coaching me, but as helpful as it could be, I can't go out alone and do efforts. I try, I really do. It just doesn't seem to be enough. Showing up at the numerous races I always have a little hope, a little spark inside me that thinks I may in fact be able to keep up. As soon as the race starts my flame goes out... I just can't compete with these girls. It destroys my mentality to go through the races, and well really I've only been able to finish three this year (two of which were short track). Sure injury and mechanicals come into play, but even so I am miles behind my friends. The only thing keeping me going at this point is the fact that these girls are my friends. I do not spend time with anyone outside of cycling. The girls and guys I race with are the only people that matter anymore, the only thing keeping me going. I just wish there were some way I could once again race alongside them, instead of in the back. It was my goal this year to make it to worlds- a goal which would require winning nationals. I have long since given up on this hope. Reality has settled in and I have to face the facts. I ride because I love it, and the racing is my dream... this year has been, and I'm sure will continue to be the hardest ever.

The pressure I put on myself is too big to imagine so I hope I will live up to it by the end of this year. If anyone needs a riding buddy I'm always free-

Love Megs

The Unlucky Penny

Moab & Fruita Spring Break 2009

Day 1- The Penny

Saturday, we started our trip out to Moab, Utah for a much needed spring break. I was so glad to get away from the snow covered Summit County. After a long car ride we sought out our usual campsite under the Elephant Foot.

I am not much of a superstitious person, but when I saw a penny heads up, I was ecstatic! I pronounced it my lucky penny and put it under my bed. My dad and I headed out for a ride on Slickrock finishing with a faster time than ever! When we got back I taped the penny into my helmet.

Some lucky penny!

Day 2- Pineapples and Milk?

Monday I was eager to ride my favorite trail- Porcupine Rim. With my penny snug in my helmet we rode the climb to the lookout. I felt great and realised all the early season training had paid off. As we started the descent, we caught a group of riders, boosting my competitive side so much that I was flying. It's amazing how much faster I go when people are around. My dad and I got to a section with various drops across the trail.

Of course, I didn't think twice about launching myself off the biggest one. I landed and a second too late noticed the large rock in the middle of my path. There was no way my wheel would make it over. I've crashed many a time while riding, but this had to be the slowest endo I have ever experienced. A string of thoughts crossed my mind... as my back wheel began to lift off the ground "Oh crap", my bike became vertical "wow this will hurt", looking at the rock my face was headed for "Please don't get hurt", and the final impact "Damn that penny". I was okay, my shoulder hurt and I had a scraped up chin. I still finished the ride, a little slower of course :)

This kind of crash deserved a milkshake in town... Pineapple? It was actually quite good!

Some lucky penny!

Day 3- Slickrock Squared

After a rough nights sleep I wasn't feeling up to a ride with my parents. I slept, walked around and decided to go ride Slickrock. I only was able to complete the short loop due to my shoulder.

Later we went to town, picked out stickers for Matthias and Katrine, and went out to dinner. The food was great and enjoyable with a live band playing. That night was the biggest, most insane windstorm ever. Sleep was not possible and I thought the camper would blow away with us in it!

Some lucky penny!

Day 4- Like a little headwind?

Wednesday morning we popped down the camper and drove to Fruita, Colorado. Unfortunately the windstorm followed us. My dad and I went out to ride the course battling the headwind all the way on the rim trail. I still felt great, and we did the whole ride in two hours- much faster than my race time last year!
Popping up was cold and windy, while the remains of Moab dust were swept away from camp. While playing with my parents, I got a Yahtzee in one roll.... but I had already crossed it off.

Some lucky penny!

Day 5- What do you mean changed?

Kevin's instructions said take a day off... so sleeping in and relaxing was all that was on my mind. After the parents left however, boredom reached a new high. I never realised how boring it would be without Kevin there. I played Yahtzee with myself, drew random objects and at one point I sat at the table, staring at the ceiling for about an hour. I thought I would go insane! Finally my parents returned from their ride... with some bad news. The race was unable to get a permit for the rim section of the course. They ended up changing it so it was now 28 miles and completely different. So much for a day off- I headed out with my dad in the car. We drove as far as possible and then proceeded to ride the new course.

Now when I say the course was epic, I mean it was an EPIC ride. The scenery was amazing, and apart from the 70% of road, it was fun. I just couldn't imagine it being a race. It was just... crazy! The ride took over 3 hours, but in the end, I still felt strong.
I was okay with the new course but I still liked the old one better.

Some lucky penny!

Day 6- Cyclist Shaving

With one day left to rest and prep for my first race, my dad and I rode a quick lap on the time trial course. It was the first day I actually was tired. We rode it slow, and it took over 30 minutes to complete.
I was happy when my mom, dad and I went to the town of Fruita. The local park had washing machines and showers- finally a clean feeling! I only had 4 minutes of shower time, so saving time, I ended up shaving my legs in the bathroom sink. What a sight it would be for a tourist to find a girl in spandex sitting on the sink shaving her legs...haha :)

Later we found out that Summit had be receiving massive amounts of snow in our absence. Lynn Bush, Tough Girl and team creator, was supposed to bring my new kits, but she was stuck at home. I wouldn't have my new kits for the next day's race.

Some lucky penny!

Day 7- Three Seconds

My race didn't start until 11:15 so I had time to sleep and time to get really nervous. I warmed up with Ellen, Ellie, and Wesley from Tokyo Joes. (Jill was also stuck in the blizzard) I was so glad to see them I really didn't care about how I did.

My dad came up and asked my preference on start order. I said I would like to go in the middle or last, but not first. We looked at the start sheet.... guess who was first?

The climb was awful, but once I got to the top I felt great. Alicia caught me on the road back to the finish, but I didn't care. In the end, my time was 22 minutes- 8 minutes faster than last year, so I was pretty happy. Alicia was first, Wesley was second, and I was third. Wesley beat me by three seconds.... ha ha... oh well, maybe next time I'll get her!

Jill made it down in time to race and had to get my permission to race- stupid officials make a big deal out of everything- It's not like I would have said no she can't race. Jill ended up having a great race, bumping Wesley to third and I was fourth. I was glad but I still had the XC to worry about the next day.

The good news was Lynn made it down and I picked up my 2009 kit. Christmas in April! Green and pink cables and housing were probably the product that I was bouncing off the walls about... But the kits are amazing!
Some lucky penny!

Day 8- Five or higher

So much for sleep- this race had me shaking in my shoes. I don't know why I was so nervous! I got ready about 3 hours early and tried to calm myself by some pre-race sleeping.

I warmed up, and went to the start. I had to face it one way or another. The Cat 1 group ended up being about 50 riders so our start was intense. I got caught up in the moment and had a great start. When we hit the sand, I don't know what happened... I just sort of fell off and started riding in the riverbed. By the time I got back in a position, all I could think was how far back I was. All of the girls started passing me and my fighting didn't seem to do any good. Every climb we came to, the pack would pull further and further away. We got to the first descent and I blew down it. There was a drop halfway through- it was easy, but I felt a burning pain in my shoulder afterwords. It began to worsen, but I just kept telling myself to suck it up. Its the worse feeling when you know you can't finish. The pack was long gone by this point, and getting to the climb I was mentally and physically exhausted. My shoulder throbbed, but I wouldn't let myself go. My mind was telling me how much I sucked, how far back I was, how I was slow, and how people would think I just wasn't good. I pushed through it until I got to my dad. He told me I was 14 minutes back and I just mentally gave up. I couldn't do it.

I got a ride back and went to the ambulance about my shoulder. I told them my pain was a four without moving it and a 7 with moving it. The guy said if it had been 5 or higher they would have rushed me to the hospital right away- what a wierdo. They put a glove filled with ice on it... don't you just love that? After I was released, I had to walk through the finish back to camp. That was the worst- having to face your peers on the peak of defeat.

Currently my shoulder is healing, I don't need any kind of surgery! I'm glad it's not worse and I'm ready to get riding again!

Some lucky penny... I think I'm throwing it away :)

Snow Biking

Finally was able to get some quality riding last week with the Tough Girls. We rode for a good 3 and a half hours on awesome singletrack! I was so happy to be out on the trails that I was hammering the entire time. I felt great! The rest of the week passed very quickly. Freshmen and Sophmores were taking CSAP so we were able to sleep until 11 for three days! It was so much better than a regular school day. I trained in the morning and the afternoon, getting a lot of riding in. I love CSAP! We should have a schedule like that everyday! :)
Each week it has been getting hotter and hotter up here and the snow is melting like crazy. I was so ready for the trails to dry out so we could finally have spring riding. Unfortunatley Thursday rolled around, along with a HUGE winter storm. Of course, Summit High went to school and toughed out the conditions being the ONLY school in the entire state to go to school. We got to sit inside watching a raging blizzard outside for the entire day. Heaven forbid we get stuck in the snow, so they let us out a whole 30 MINUTES early... man that 30 minutes just made the biggest difference ever (Note the heavy sarcasm).

Today I was instructed to take a day off the bike by my lovely brother Kevin. However, this "day off" was spent skiing with Erik. There was some good snow, but as usual some really really annoying tourists. I have come to realise how spoiled I am when it comes to skiing. I find the snow horrible when most people are jumping for joy. I get frustrated with the "crowds" of 20 people in line. Maybe I should think again about where I live and relax. :)

Well looks like I should go out and enjoy the snow. Again. For another couple months.

Trying to think postive about biking!

Miss you Kevin!

Snow snow go away!

The past week went by slower than imaginable. It started off with me getting detention!! The greatest part is that I got detention for eating an apple... in the commons... which I guess is not allowed. Our school is insane! Watch out though, I'm really a bad kid now! :)

I spent the rest of the week dragging myself to school, and attempting to get motivated by riding the trainer. While it was snowing outside, I was inside riding the rollers... again.

On Saturday morning I drove down to Golden with Brenda for a Tough Girl ride. Brenda, Lynn, Janis and I rode our mountain bikes on Lair of the Bear. It was a great trail and I was so happy to be back on my mountain bike!

After our ride we went back to Lynn's house and started putting together the "Christmas presents". I was overwhelmed by how much stuff we got this year! Unfortunatley the jerseys are not in yet, but I got some awesome green grips that I am excited about. (I bet that when Kevin gets back he will steal..or try to steal some of the millions of stickers we recieved) The helmets this year look great also. Tough Girls will be bigger than ever with 20 riders on the team!

The group went on a ride Sunday morning, but we were bummed none of the new members showed up. After having a team meeting and discussing this years plans, Brenda and I headed back up the hill to the snow. Oh joy....

Kevin has sent me another weeks worth of riding- I see now that I have to ride the rollers for 1 hr 45 min. I'm pretty sure I will die of boredom before then :) Haha- I just can't wait until we can ride the trials!

Tough Girls go GREEN...

We just recieved the layout for the 2009 Tough Girls kit. We're going to stand out more than ever this year!

I just got back from a Boulder ride with the Tough Girls. I drove down with Brenda M. and we were both glad for the nice weather! The team (10+ girls) went for a nice 2 hr 45 min road ride up to Fruit Loops and worked on some climbs. I wasn't feeling too good by the end of the ride and was glad to turn back with Brenda.

I'm not so ready for another long week at school, but excited to head down next weekend to Boulder for the team meeting where we will recieve these awesome kits!

See you on the trails!

Rollers and Bosu Ball

Hello everyone!
Just finished a week of training. The snow is coming down as I am writing this so it looks like this is going to be a long spring!

Fortunately, the weather early in the week was good, so I was able to ride on the roads! It was windy and cold, but it felt good to be on the bike outside for once. The tourists did seem to like having to deal with snow and a biker, as shown in their reactions as they passed in their gas guzzling cars.

Training is difficult when I have to find the motivation without thinking about the snow! I spent most of the week running, riding the rollers, and stretching on my new Bosu Ball!


tbs... The Office is the best show :)

Flexibility!

My training also includes driving a lot... (trying to get my license finally)

along with eating healthy,

and getting a lot of much needed sleep.

Going to Boulder to ride tomorrow! Hopefully the weather lets up this week so I may be able to ride outside some more!

Cactus Queen and Arizona Heat

Hey everyone!
So I just got back from camp in Suprise, Arizona. I must say it was rough having not ridden for these past few months. I probably should have trained a lot more! Riding proves to be a lot more difficult when faced with 5+ feet of snow.

Lucky for me the Boulder Junior Cycling Team (Jill, Ellen, Brae, Ben, Coach Ann, Coach Nick and Coach Alec) leg me tag along on their annual trip down to AZ. The car ride was long but Ellen and I were able to entertain ourselves with endless games of 20 questions and I -Spy. We also came up with a great story about Steve the Pirate and his pet monkey, but that is a whole different story...
The first day we started off the morning with stretches, pushups and situps. We then went out to White Tanks, 12 miles from the house and rode the race course. We saw a rattlesnake on course but being excellent bike handlers, we were able to avoid it! :)

When we got home we ended up waxing brae's legs for most of the afternoon and evening. This was very entertaining for us girls and after 3 different boxes of wax, we were finished!

Day two consisted of a hike-a-bike for about 2 miles... asthma was not working well with me at this point. Once we got to the top of the climb, we came down on some sweet smooth single track- I think the hiking was totally worth it!

Brae crashed on some sprints and cracked his helmet, but he ended up buying a much more attractive one!
On day three we drove out to Estrella Mountain Park Competitive Tracks. Really hot temperatures so we went swimming when we got back! By this time of the week I was starting to feel the burn :)

We worked on technical skills on day four over in White Tanks. Rode a section of the trail countless times to practice our lines and speed through them. I loved this part because of the great downhilling! Later on, we played battle ship, and did homework... or at least tried to!

On day five we went out for one last look at the course. It was a great loop with some technical sections, a nice climb, some desending, and flat rolling sections. I loved it! On the way home we picked up some lemons from the trees along the road. Ellen, Jill, Brae, Ben and I squeezed the lemons, added water... and realised we were out of sugar. Maple Syrup was added making it the most disgusting drink ever.... everyone thought so except Brae and Ann- crazy!

Day six- Race day was finally here! On the first lap, going around a corner I fell over into a cactus and was able to sit my whole butt into the plant. It takes great skills to accomplish a move like that. I started walking back to the car with 15+ cactus in my butt, leg and foot when Nick caught me. He stopped and was able to rip the plants out one by one with some rocks. It was probably the most pain I have ever experience in my life. Much worse than last months road crash!

On a lighter note, Jill, Ellen and Ben all finished the race!

They did great! Ben and Jill won themselves a spanking machine and we finished off the night with ice cream!

The next day we packed up the cars and headed back home to the snowy mountains of Colorado. The car ride was enjoyable - we listened to Umbrella and Hips Don't Lie over and over again. The songs will be stuck in my head for the next couple of months I am sure.

I miss camp a lot already- riding isnt much up here and the boulder kids are so awesome to hang around. I wish I could hang out with them more than anyone because we have so much in common!

(PHOTOS- thanks to www.boulderjuniorcycling.org aka Nick- I forgot my camera and needed some life to the blog!)

Kevin is still in Europe :( I know he is having fun but I have never been this lonely in my life. It just is so boring at the house now. I dont think he realises how much I miss him!

I can't wait to ride again- Snow, snow go away!!!!

Spring Headaches

One of the first rides of the year unfortunatley ended up being another stressful day.
I was riding in Bear Creek on my road bike when I crashed, slid into a ditch, and totally shattered my helmet. Nothing seemed to be majorly harmed except my leg and head. Of course, I was more concerned about my bike than my physical state. I ended up hitching a ride to the pay station where we then tried to contact my brother. Unfortunatley he was on another "epic" ride and was out of cell service.... for two hours...

The park ranger was able to help me get to my car and told me not to sleep because of the minor concussion.

After eating a massive Qudoba, we headed home to meet my dad. Of course anyone who knows my dad would know he took pictures.

The leg didn't hurt too bad....

My face and head hurt the worse...

And of course I had to deal with the black eye for the next couple weeks. No fun :(

Really the most dissapointing thing was my favorite helmet was in peices...

Ah well- life will go on!

Just got back from camp in Arizona. Will post blog when I have a chance!