Putting It Behind Me

The Mt. Hood Cycling Classic came and went. There were many notable parts, like my fantastic home stay and host family, the weather gods that mostly smiled on us for the hard stages and my fabulously horrible results. But now I'm working on putting that behind me, and looking ahead at the next two months or so. Here's what's on tap:

Banff Bike Fest - 4 stages over 3 days in Canada's gorgeous Banff National Park. Need I say more?

Hailey Criterium - Since I'll be in Boise to help Sammy celebrate his birthday over Independence Day weekend, we figured we'd get in some local bike racing, too.

Boise Twilight Criterium - This race is known for its searing temperatures and big crowds in Kristin Armstrong's hometown.

Cascade Cycling Classic - The name says it all - lots of climbing in and around Bend, Oregon, in this epic National Racing Calendar stage race.

After that, I'm going to try something I've been thinking about doing for a long time: triathlon.

Beaver Lake Triathlon - A short, sprint-distance tri with an "easy" swim, a climb-y bike, and a little bit longer run will test my abilities to make the most of transitions - and see how I measure up against my coworker, Ben!

Lake Stevens Triathlon - An Olympic distance triathlon that is going to be quite the challenge, but I'm excited to see how it goes.

Stay tuned!

Intermezzo

For a wrap-up of last weekend's race, hop on over to my team's blog. It's a pretty good summary of how everything went down, and panned out.

As we drove into Walla Walla on the first day of the race, I found myself thinking, Man, wouldn't it be nice to hang out here for a while after the race is over and just ride, drink wine and chill? Then I realized - I was already planning on doing that! Perfect. So on Sunday, instead of heading back to Seattle, my job and real life, I spent 3 extra days in beautiful Walla Walla with my teammate Cheryl, a Walla Walla native, before heading down to the next weekend's stage race, the Cherry Blossom Cycling Classic. I kicked off the week by partying Sunday night with the Whitman cycling team, then proceeded to ride every day, enjoy the perfect weather and even watch a sweet documentary about human towers, with live Q & A hosted by an actual participant.

But my favorite memory from the week?

Tasting some local wine with Sam & Cheryl, then meeting up with Timbah for the best sauna experience I've ever had, grabbing Walla Walla sweet onion burritos at La Monarca, and polishing them off sitting on the edge of the quad on Whitman campus, watching intramural ultimate frisbee. I'm not kidding about the sauna, either - there was something almost transcendent about it - is that possible?

The next morning, we headed down to The Dalles, Oregon, after stopping at Andy's for some local, inexpensive asparagus and sweet onions. The amazing drive is mostly spent right along the Columbia River, and we were treated to fantastic views of the valley, green hills, rock formations, Mt. Hood, incredibly long and colorful trains and of course the river itself. We also passed one of those tree farms - the ones that are almost hypnotizing with their rows and rows of trees that if you look down the rows to the end, appear like stop-motion photos that barely seem real. There's also something satisfying about the fact that these farms help alleviate clear-cutting of forests.

Once we made it into town, we joined Lang, Phil and Kennet for a quick recon ride of the Stage 2 circuit race course - a great way to shake off the 3-hour drive and stresses of traveling, and enjoy the beautiful weather.

This is the life. Now to figure out how to live like this all the time...suggestions?

Poem-A-Day, April 2nd

At the suggestion of my poet friend Joannie, I've decided to attempt to participate in Robert Lee Brewer's Poem-A-Day challenge. Of course, I'm starting a day late (April is National Poetry Month), and I have no expectations whatsoever, but I think it will be a fun exercise nonetheless. Maybe I'll attempt to keep all the poems related to cycling, in addition to adhering to the daily prompt. Maybe not. I guess we'll just have to see how it goes...

Today's prompt: Write a water poem.

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The rain cascades down rooftops,
And pounds the sides of cars;
The gusts predicted heavy,
By our forecaster Lars.

"I won't be riding bikes today,
Nor swimming in the Sound.
The weather's just too nasty out,"
She muttered as she frowned.

So hopefully tomorrow
The sun will dry the streets.
This lion is not welcome here,
The lamb brings better treats.