Challenges

Cycling (and any endurance sport, I would expect), is the kind of sport that allows for a fair amount of introspection, requiring the athlete to look inside herself for the next stride, the next stroke, the next finish line, the next race, the next goal. What's more, I am constantly asking myself if this is all I have to give, and whether I can - or WANT to - give more. And when I don't want to? Then what comes next?

Then I start looking at my options.

I just finished the book Born to Run. I don't want to go into it too much right now because I'm gearing up to read it a second time, after which I plan on having LOTS to say. But I'm beginning to realize what I really want out of cycling, sport, my life and myself. (Yes, those last two in particular are BIG, and certainly not prompted solely by the book - I've been stewing on all this for awhile now.) I want the challenge of the race, I want the relationships that racing brings. Equally important, though, is my desire for something new. Perhaps that is part of the challenge, but as I race the same races over again with the same competitors and the same courses, I can't help but think it's time to move on.

And perhaps this time the challenge will be just that - letting myself try something else, stray outside the lines I've drawn for myself, find my own new path. The saying goes something like, "You'll have more regret for the things you never tried than the things you did." But how do you pick what to try? They don't teach you that in kindergarten.

Stages

Stage racing lots these days. And it seems like I'm going through the stages of being a new Category 2 racer, as well.

Climbing, sprinting, cornering - at all these things I keep improving, gaining confidence. Now I just need to perform to my abilities, and beyond.

It's coming. Soon, I hope. (I guess that part is up to me.)

June's got some good stuff on tap: Mt. Hood Cycling Classic and Banff Bike Fest. Both of these races I'm doing more for the beautiful scenery than for anything else. It's going to be a great month.

Michelob Ultra Circuit Race

After spending an early, stressful morning volunteering at our team race, frantically registering Cat 4/5's and Master C/D's and Cat 3's, we got our turn.

Two-lap solo breakaway. See me there in green? Too bad it was a few laps too early.

Photo credit: My fantastic boyfriend Sam who spent a lap waiting with his camera ready for me to come by.

It was fun. Can you tell?

Photo credit: Amara Boursaw, Wheels in Focus

Rhae Shaw took the win, in her own solo break, minutes ahead of the field.

Also check out some other great photos over at Wheels in Focus.

P.S. You ain't seen nothin' yet.

Is Altered Reality Still Reality?

Yesterday, with some of my distribution of the team winnings from the Tour of Walla Walla, I treated myself to an almost 2-hour long massage under the magical hands of Angela. She had me start face down, and as we progressed, with my deep breaths in and out through my mouth, my nose became more and more plugged up. Allergies? Perhaps. Turn over, face up. Continue. Breathe. In, out. Through the mouth. Deep sighing breaths. Feeling amazing. Almost falling asleep. So relaxed and rejuvenated.

After we finish, I sit up, stand, reach for my clothes - and realize my ears are plugged. But not really plugged. More...altered. It's not the plugged ears you experience when you're flying or climbing up a mountain, where everything is just muffled until they "pop". This altered my hearing in the strangest way, making it sound like Angela was speaking to me from inside a deep cavern. And I could hear my clothes make sounds against their own wrinkles and against my skin as I put them back on. Sounds I've never heard before - hardly even realized they were there.

After being upright for another few minutes, my hearing returned to normal. But as I drove away in my car, taking big swigs from my water bottle, I pondered what had happened. Because I knew that what I had heard with my altered hearing, I was actually hearing. I wasn't making it up, and it wasn't me going crazy (or at least I'm pretty sure of that). I was actually hearing my clothes. And I was actually hearing Angela's voice echo in my ear canal. And I was actually hearing my own breath from inside my body.

This event makes me question reality even more than I have been lately. Are there really many versions of reality? What I see and hear and smell and touch and taste every day must truly be just one of many possible ways to interpret my experiences.

This afternoon I'm planning on attending an art exhibit of a friend's sister, Margot Quan Knight, at the James Harris Gallery in Seattle. The title of the exhibition is "Mirror, Mirror," and I expect there to be some pondering of reality while I'm there, too.

Enjoy your weekends, everyone - whichever forms of reality they decide to take.

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?

Clean and Ready

I've washed away
the pain of today;
it's flowed down the drain,
and out with the rain.

I know that I'm strong,
that tomorrow is long.
We'll do what we can,
we have a good plan.

And in the end,
with positions to defend,
we will finish the race
at the fastest of pace.

KR in WW

So here we are, the Keller Rohrback team, in the grand old city of Walla Walla, Washington. The 3-day, 4-stage race began yesterday with a late afternoon/early evening, 37-mile road race out of Waitsburg. This race is notorious for severe winds that explode the pack to pieces. Well, yesterday was certainly windy, but no one really seemed up for anything big, so the few attacks that went off (from our team, and maybe 1 or 2 others) didn't last, and the pace was relatively calm. Things split up over the QOM climb, and I ended up having to chase back on (as did quite a few other people), but there were 37 pack finishers out of a field of 49 starters. I was pleased to finish with the peloton, but even MORE pleased that Cheryl pulled off the sprint and took FIRST! Go, Cheryl! TB and Kele lined it up for her, but it started to get pretty crowded at the front, and Cheryl knew just how to maneuver to cross the line ahead. Fantastic!

This morning we raced the 9.3-mile time trial. Slight winds, a climb in the middle, and a lot of descending afterwards keep this an interesting course, with a fast finish. I worked as hard as I felt I could, and bettered my time from last year. My teammates managed to all nab spots within the top 10 (TB 2nd, Cheryl 4th, and Kele 10th?) to potentially take the lead for Team GC. We'll find out for sure when we head downtown for the crit in a few short hours.

In the meantime, our amazing hosts Shannon and Doug (Cheryl's sister and brother-in-law) have cooked up some amazing barbecue fare - grilled chicken, homemade rolls with homemade raspberry and strawberry jam, caesar salad, pasta salad, potato salad, strawberry lemonade and of course dessert. Can you say YUM?