Right, I know, it’s been too long since I last updated my blog, but damn I have been busy. Speedweek flew by with each day following a schedule similar to this – sleep in, eat breakfast, try to fit in a short spin before packing up the car to drive to the next race (the drive being anything from 1 to 4 hours), pull up to our next host house, unpack and say a quick hi to our gracious hosts, speed off to the next race, hammer out another race, eat while catching a bit of the men’s race, get home before it’s too late to do laundry, and then finally get a few z’s before doing it all again the next day.

And to top it off, on the last day of Speedweek we raced TWICE! The day went something like this – leave our host house in Anniston, AL, drive a couple hours to Roswell, GA, park the car and then ride our bikes the 7 miles to the Sandy Springs crit (the last race of the series), then ride the 7 miles back to Roswell just in time to pin our new numbers on our backs, recompose ourselves, rethink our tactics since Roswell was NRC and not part of the series, and get lined up to race the LAST race of the week. Whew.

Barely had we crossed the finish line of the bike race, celebrated another podium, and caught our breath before we had to think about our next race - this time in a car to the Atlanta airport! Powers, check; Lang, check; Allar and Miller, damn, missed our flights. Sweating it just a little since we had to wait on stand-by for the next flight to Ft Lauderdale, we sighed a deep breath of relief when we squeaked on to a 9:30pm flight.

Here begins another adventure…Erica and I flew into Ft Lauderdale where we were picked up and then driven to Duck Key. At 2:30am we pulled into the Hawks Cay Resort where we would spend the next 33 hours wining and dining and having a ball with 90 Aaron’s employees. The Aaron’s Rents group was at the resort for their annual manager’s meeting and we were there to meet and interact with the awesome people who so wholeheartedly support the Aaron’s Women’s Pro Cycling Team.

Walking into breakfast the next morning I am sure we must have looked like zombies with just a mere 4 hours of sleep in our tired and ragged bodies, but the appetizing smell and taste of the food spread out before us certainly perked us up quickly. We stuffed ourselves as if, believe it or not, we had been racing our bikes all week, and then we moved on to various activities planned for the day – team building with The Drum Café, pie eating contests, 5 person ski races, water balloon throwing, hula hoop races, and other crazy fun relay races to get the Aaron’s Rents group fired up. Erica and I mingled throughout the day taking pictures and videos of the different events, and we even managed a couple hours on the beach at some point between one of the activities and lunch. That evening we had cocktails and dinner poolside with the Aaron’s group, mingling, chatting and exchanging stories about life on the road as a pro cyclist and life as a manager for Aaron’s Rents. Before we knew it, our 33 hours were up and we were being whisked away to the Miami airport for our respective flights home. I have to admit, as eager as I was to get home I was enjoying the sun and warmth and luxury at the resort.

The subsequent 5 days at home were a blur. Day 1 I had to myself to try to frantically get things done and errands run before chaos would begin on day 2. Collegiate nationals were held in Ft Collins this year and I coach a woman on the Cal Berkeley team so I spent time with the women’s team showing them the different courses by bike and car. Because the TTT started at the butt crack of dawn and the course was just a simple out and back course along the frontage road, I decided to skip it and sleep in. However, I was up at the butt crack of dawn the next day for the road race – it was a hard course and I wanted to see how the women would tackle it. Less than pleasant weather greeted the cyclists that morning – the temperature was hovering in the 50’s and the winds had kicked up something fierce. However bad I wish that I could race on my training roads, I did not want any part of the race this day! Add in the steep climb just 1 km from the start and it was not going to be an easy race. Luckily I got to watch the race from the warmth of Casey Gibson’s (Velonews photographer) car as he jumped from place to place to shoot the race. The last day of nationals proved to be the most exciting with the crit being held over a tough figure eight course in Old Town. Under perfect race conditions the collegiate riders tackled the challenging course with high speeds and flair, keeping the spectators fired up for exciting finishes. And it was CSU’s Phil Mann who brought the crowd to their feet with a spectacular back-to-back criterium win!

Now I am in Hood River, OR, for the Hood River Classic…but that’s a story for another day!