First, I have broken my record for consecutive days ridden outside in the last month - 3!!  I am over the moon, ecstatic!  This week has been beautiful and I have now been able to explore the area a little more on my bike.  Yesterday I went north and east and today I went south and west.  Today’s ride was exceptionally beautiful - I rode around Carter Lake and through Milner Mountain - and the hilliest ride I have done yet.  Lots of ups and downs today, which was especially nice since I have been riding flat for over a month now.  And I still can’t get over how blue the sky is here.  I wish that I could bring my camera with me on every ride because I see so many shots that I would like to capture - the red rocks dusted in white against the blue sky, long haired horses and alpaca (yes, I saw some of those today) grazing in the white fields, and the long spine of the snow capped mountains extending beyond what the eye can see. 

Now, I think I have self diagnosed myself with Raynauds, which is a condition in which the skin on the fingers, toes and sometimes ears and nose turn white from an overreaction to cold and/or stress and then might turn blue, cold and numb.  As circulation returns, the skin turns red and throbbing, tingling, or swelling may accompany the redness.  So far, I have only experienced white fingers and numbness - still not terribly alarming but certainly a bit discomforting.  As long as Raynauds isn’t secondary to another disease then I am in the clear but if I find that I have Carpal Tunnel Syndrome, which is entirely possible since I do put a lot of continuous pressure on the nerves in my wrists and hands, then I might begin to experience these sorts of episodes more often.  Basically, what I need to do to avoid these episodes is to get to warmer weather, QUICK!  I guess that ain’t gonna happen too soon since Albuquerque isn’t going to be too warm these next couple of weeks, but I am in the preliminary stages of making plans to go to Valley of the Sun.  If Phoenix isn’t warm, then I just might have to move to Mexico. 

Has anyone else noticed the multitude of geese around?  Honestly, when did these birds stop flying south for the winter?  Just a few days ago I actually had to stop in the middle of the road to let a flock of geese cross.  What is so appealing about cold weather, snow covered, frozen ground, and nothing but ice to eat?  It’s January - shouldn’t they be in Florida getting a sun tan?  Jeez.

One more thing to add.  One of my old friends and former teammates from the UW soccer team is in Germany working on her Ph.D.  Even as undergrads I never quite understood what the hell she studied but now as doctorate student she has me even more stupified.  I asked her the other day to tell me AGAIN what it is she is doing and this is a short excerpt from her reply: ” working on a preliminary assessment tool for Superfund sites that evaluates both risk reduction options (e.g. analytically determines mass fluxes or contaminant concentrations from source zones to designated receptors, such as a public drinking water supply well that might be located a couple of miles from the contaminant source zone and be in its pathway–where contaminants are flowing in the subsurface, aka aquifers) and costs of different remediation technologies that are under consideration for remediating a site”.  Now if any of you understand that, then I think I know of a university in Germany that would love to have you.  Actually, it’s probably better to keep you here because you must have an IQ higher than anyone in the Bush administration so we need your help pronto!

Wait, one more thing.  I have become a mentor for the US Women’s Cycling Development Program.  It’s a rather recent undertaking but soon you’ll be able to see my bio, etc on their site, http://www.uswcdp.org/mentors.php, along with several other great women like my teammates, Kori and Grace.

Ok, that is enough rambling for one day.

Ride hard…

Meredith

Yep, I had to do it today.  I had to break down and go to a spin class today.  Something to break the monotony of sitting in front of the TV.  But I had to ride in running shoes because I couldn’t get the damn pedals off to put my own on since my cleats didn’t fit in their pedals.  And Ben used his own shoes with cleats that were too small for the pedals so his shoes were moving all over the place.  Lesson learned - make sure I have a better pedal wrench next time.  I do have to say that spin classes aren’t all bad, it’s just that I want to be outside sooo bad!  And this was a good class, only a few “aerobics” moves, and of course you can make of it whatever you want so I put the hammer down and went for it.  You should have seen the pool of sweat around my bike.  Nice.  And I am sad to say we got more snow last night so riding outside in the next couple of days is looking rather unlikely.  I just want at least one day outside before I leave for camp next Saturday.  Please!!

Ben and I went to our first CSU basketball game last night.  His boss gave us tickets so we met him and his wife there and then had a nice dinner afterwards.  It’s been awhile since I’ve been to a bball game and this one was exciting.  CSU played BYU and we won by 20 points.  Good crowd, good game.  Although, I have to admit that I’d rather be watching my Badgers play right now.  They are 2nd in the nation so every game has got to be a thriller. GO BADGERS!

Alright, so how many of you cried while watching Grey’s Anatomy Thursday night?  Come on, admit it.  It was a tear jerky and you know it.  George is going to be crushed.  What will the crew have to do to pull him out of it?  Maybe Meredith will finally come around and give him what he wants.  Ha ha.

One thing that I have really found that blows here in Ft Collins is the radio.  Man, they play the same stuff over and over and over and over…  Really, for the wicked live music that gets pulled in around these parts, I’d think they could play more variety.  If I hear that Hinder song one more time, I will scream.  Oh, I’ve already done that.  I’ll just have to learn how to enjoy classical or something then. 

See ya’s

Meredith

Well, well, well, Tommy D (or Tom Danielson of the Discovery Channel team as most people know him) has kick started a fantastic cycling series devoted to juniors in the great state of Colorado.  I say great state of Colorado for many reasons and here are a couple…one, it just is and you can’t argue with that; two, there are quite a few cycling “greats” who are native Coloradoans or who have smartly made CO their home.  AND last night we went to Boulder to see and hear from a few of these “greats” at Tom’s kick off for his “Tom Danielson Junior Cup Cycling” series.  The event was held as a fund raiser for the series and it was pretty cool how many people turned out to show support for junior cycling.  I mean, we’ve all had to start from somewhere, whether we were still throwing tantrums because our mom wouldn’t drive us to a bike race instead of soccer practice, or whether we were old enough to drive but at the tender age of 25 didn’t even know what a road bike was.  So, I applaud Tom and the ACA for the effort and enthusiasm they are putting back into the sport to help these kids realize their potential.

So, let me tell you about a few of these “greats” that I have mentioned.  First off, there was Connie Carpenter-Phinney (aka husband to Davis Phinney) who proudly took home the first gold medal the Olympics had to offer for women’s road racing in LA in ‘84.  Not only did she take home the gold but she beat her US teammate, Rebecca Twig, in a tight photo finish - two Americans on top ain’t bad.  Alright, so Connie is a Hall of Famer for the US Olympics, US Bicycling AND the state of Colorado (I believe that’s what they said last night), BUT what ranks her in my book is that she was born in Madison AND she got her bachelor’s degree from George Brooks at UC-Berkeley.  Ben and I went to school in Madison and George was Ben’s Ph.D mentor.  This chic had it goin’ on.

Next up was Alexi Grewal.  Now, I had no idea what to expect from this man and I am still not really sure I do now either.  I think he might live in a cave now.  And although I have heard his name a thousand times, I would never have been able to pick him out of the crowd.  Actually, I wonder how many people were there last night who’s name I would have known but face I wouldn’t?  Anyway, Alexi.  Hmm, quite a character.  Won the first gold medal for the US men in cycling right after Connie became the first American woman at the ‘84 LA Olympics.  Great climber.  In the US Bicycling Hall of Fame.  A man of few words.  Shy?  I don’t think so…and I just can’t put my finger on it but definitely quirky.  The sharpest he was all night was when asked if he could give the kids advice on how to have fun and he said “I never did it for fun”.  Spoken like a true competitor.

Following Alexi was Ron Keifel - lead-out man extraordinaire.  This was a guy that I had never heard of before, but it’s not for a lack of his accomplishments.  Ron is also a US Bicycling Hall of Famer, a 7-time Tour de France participant, multiple national champion, and a bronze medalist at the ‘84 Olympics team time trial.  Plus, he was, as we were told in the summary of his career, number one lead-out man for superman himself, Davis Phinney.  Oh, and he is also legendary for winning the valuable 10 sec bonus sprint to solidfy Andy’s (more about him later) victory at the Tour of Switzerland.  An all-around good cyclist who laid it down for his teammates and sacrificed himself again and again and again.

The next guy on stage was and STILL IS indeed a “great”, a super great, really.  I mean, this guy has done it all.  He won the inaugural mountain bike world chamionships in Durango in 1990, won the NORBA series too many times to count, won the XTERRA series mutiple times, won the Mt Evans Hill Climb multiple times and was Colorado road champion in 2004.  He’s even the winter triathlon national champion - jeez!  And I should mention that he is 52 years old and he finished SECOND in the Mt Evans Hill Climb just last year!!!!  Any guesses as to who I am talking about?  You can call him “The Lung” or “Deadly Nedly” - he is the one, the only Energizer Bunny, aka Ned Overend.  Booyah!

To finish off the evening for the “greats” was the first non-European to win the Giro by taking the leader’s jersey on top of the Gavia Pass in a blizzard and sub-zero temps, two-time winner of the Tour of Switzerland, and first American to win on top of Alpe d’Huez - none other than Andy Hampsten.  This guy is no doubt a gregarious guy.  He could have held the stage all night long talking cycling if wasn’t for that cane dragging him off stage.  Really, he loves to talk and he’s great to listen to.  Come on, this guy rode on the same team as Lemond and Hinault the year that Hinault “stole” the Tour de France win from Lemond - yeah, he’s got some stories to tell I am sure of it.  I would have loved to have been a fly on the wall during those team meetings.  During the Q&A someone asked about some incident after one of his wins and all I could gather from Andy’s answer was that he should apologize to Cola-Cola and something about some gorilla attacking him.  Anyone know that story??

After all the “greats” of old had spoken, Tommy D, a “great” of today, came on stage to lead us through a few of his career highlights like winning a stage of the Vuelta, winning Brasstown Bald at the Tour of Georgia, and the biggest highlight of all - being touched by Lance Armstrong, his own teammate.  There is no question that Tom is a talented cyclist, but what impressed me most is his passion and love of the sport and his willingness and enthusiasm to give back to the juniors, the ones who we will look to in years to come to lead the US to more victories at Worlds, at the Tour de France, at the Olympics.  A big kudos to Tom for helping dreams come alive.

Wait, wait, the name dropping hasn’t finished yet.  Dave Towle, the voice of American cycling, was there to help get the party started right, AND he tells me that he might be at our camp in Albuquerque for some interviews, etc.  And now that I have mentioned it in my blog, it’s fact.  Really he justs wants to rub shoulders with some cool chics from Lipton, I know it.  See you in New Mexico, dude.

And for any of you who are familiar with the Red Zinger and Coors Classic, than you might just know who Michael Aisner is - probably the best all-time bike race promotor.  He did extraordinary things for cycling in the US and helped catapult many young riders’ careers.  Michael was the MC for the night and he did an awesome job helping the “greats” tell their stories as well as demonstrate to the juniors how hard work, dedication and commitment pays off in a sport full of pain.

Also in attendance was Beth Estes, who I gathered has seen the careers of these cyclists and many others come and go.  She’s been an icon in Colorado cycling for decades and now teamed up with Tom will continue to encourage the growth of cycling starting in the junior ranks.

Hats off to all of these great people for their contributions to cycling and their desire to see the development of the young kids in the sport continue to grow.  Whether these people make waves on the bike still, pestor the state Senator for better cycling conditions, guide tourists through mountain passes in Europe, or scream cycling 101 into the mic for the crowd at a bike race, they are all an inspiration.  These are the type of people who make me proud to be part of cycling.

I think I need to start training for Beijing now…

Meredith

technorati tags:Cycling

Thank god for HBO, or at least its show “Entourage”.  Since it is still freezing cold and it snowed AGAIN over the weekend my chances of riding outside are slim to none for a few more days so now I have my boys on “Entourage” to keep me company.  One DVD is 6 episodes, 2.5 hours - just what I needed for my morning workout today.  Pathetic but true.  Has anyone else noticed how Kevin Dillon is EXACTLY like his brother?

Over the weekend, with Ben as my driver, I had a chance to get out to take a few more photos.  Although Ft Collins is buried under snow drifts right now, at least it is sunny - blue skies give an enormous boost to the morale.  A few of these pictures are of the Horsetooth Reservoir which I posted last week, but now you can see just how much more snow we got since you can’t even see the water in these recent pics.  

Got a membership to a health club in town yesterday - now maybe I can watch life actually moving around me while I am working out.  I might get to have conversations with more people than just the actors in the TV now.

It’s cool being a college town again but one thing I haven’t figured out is whether being surrounded by all these students makes me feel older or younger.  Younger because I am probably in better shape than half these young punks anyway and older because, well, I graduated from undergrad 10 years ago!  But either way it’s all good because now I don’t have to put make-up on to go to the grocery store either - you know, that just takes me hours to do.  Whew, that’s a big relief.  Hell, I can even wear my pajamas and slippers and fit right in.

Righty-o, I’ve been on this damn computer enough today.  Catch ya’ll later…

Meredith

Horsetooth Reservoir

As you can see, it’s pretty and pretty cold in Colorado. This is even an old picture in the sense that more snow has fallen since this was taken AND the temperatures have dropped considerably. The temperature today is about 10 degrees F and MINUS 10 degrees C with the mercury not expected to move above freezing until the middle of next week. Geez louise.