Hello World!

Wow it has been awhile... New Year's Resolution starts now. Start blogging. It's the start of another great year. I am taking some crazy classes, Chem 2, Geology, Physiology, and an Education class. Last week I had 3 exams and a project, and at some point during the weekend before my exams, I started experiencing pain in my hips. I was unable to sleep for two nights, and the following day I could hardly walk!! I wasn't really sure how I was going to make it through the week at that pace. I decided to call Dr. Steve Swann from Swann Chiropractic in Chattanooga. He did some x-rays on my back and spin so we could pin point the source of my pain, and also test to see where muscle/joint weakness was. He did several adjustments and I was on my way. He totally saved my week!! I survived my exams, and left my last exam Friday jumping with joy, and without pain!! Wooohooo!

My new Trek Superfly Elite should be ready soon.... can't wait to test my new ride!!!

AG

My next bicycle will be a lawn mower bicycle

A few days ago I was joking around with Jeff about what I would be getting him for X-mas. I told him the needed a lawn mower, which lead me on a search for an energy efficient mower. I found many of these machines have been made, so maybe, I could create my own!

Other news, Happy Thanksgiving! I am happy to be home with my family. And..extra time to ride my bike.

I have 4 more exams within the next 3 weeks before the end of the semester. Study, study, and try to plan for next semester. I am still trying to get into one class I need for next semester.

I've also been trying to plan for the 2011 race season. I hope to do a few different races from last season, but it's a little frustrating that pretty much all the Big races are on the West coast. I'm not really in a financial situation to fly across the country to race my mountain bike...bummer.

fall=cyclocross

This is a short update, I should be studying for my chemistry exam that's tomorrow. I don't have any fun photos from any of my cyclocross races yet, but I've done three races so far this fall. Fun and painful! More cyclocross racing next weekend, hopefully I can do a real blog post!

Wrapping up mountain bike season

The last SERC race of the season was a couple weekends ago. I was really excited to go into the weekend sitting in the top expert standing. It was going to be a fun weekend hanging out with the team. Apparently my body thought something different. I spent the night before the race throwing up and laying in bed, unable to lift my head up due to a severe migraine. Not how I pictured the weekend. I had to do Sunday's race, no matter what. I was feeling alot better Sunday, but still feeling woozy and sick to my stomach. My laps were slow and painful, but I finally finished and got to stand on the top spot of the podium for the series! Very exciting!

This past weekend was the local TBRA race at Booker T in Chattanooga. Grace Law-Trek girls totally rocked! Kym won the race, and I got second! Star was right on my wheel the whole first lap and finished right behind me! Amy got forth, and she had raced the day before in GA, doing an endurance mountain bike race!

Other news: I am back in school working on my master's! I am currently seeking a part-time job, hopefully this means a lot more time on my bike!!!

A few races have happened since my last post. The first one was Raccoon Mountain. This was supposed to be my race! I knew the course well, and was riding strong. I was flying, apparently a little too fast. I don’t even know what I hit, but I flipped over my handlebars, and managed to hit my chin on a rock. Also, hitting my shoulder and hand (which still hurts). After I fell, I got up quickly, then screamed, once I realized I was covered in blood! At the time, I couldn’t assess the damage to my face, I just knew it was a lot of blood! It wasn’t bad, luckily, just butterflied my chin for a few days. It’s a little embarrassing going into work with bandages on your face and arms!!

The next race was the SERC make-up race at Ft. Mountain State Park in GA. I had to do this race because of my crash. I needed to do well to replace my score. This course was about three-fourths climbing. It was physically demanding, but it was the least technical course I’ve raced on this year. I got second in this race, behind a Pro rider. And Catherine got 4th! She totally rocked!

Last weekend was a local TBRA race at Haw Ridge. This trail system is where I began and learned how to mountain bike!!! I didn’t pre-ride the course, but I was really happy about the trails chosen for the course! It was a hot race, so it was really hard to tell how I felt, I just felt hot! Kym, Emily, and Starr where also there, and a few other girls. I definitely had some competition. I ended up 2nd behind Kym, which I’m thrilled about!

One more SERC race, next weekend!

Catching up

It’s been another long gap since my last blog update. I think I’ve had three races since the last update. The first one was Bump, then two SERC races Jackson and Clemson.

Jackson was my most successful race, which I placed second! It ended up being a super fast course and was easy to keep a good pace.

Clemson, let’s just say if your travel plans sound like a bad idea on paper, they are not going to magically turn into a good idea. I had to work the Saturday before Clemson, so I didn’t even start my journey until about 1:30 PM, and then I had a few stops including Chattanooga to pick up Emily, and Knoxville to pick up Jeff. The total drive was probably 7 hours! Not cool, not good for legs either! And, it totally showed during my race. I won’t be doing that again.

Other news, I have a few new toys including a new set of mavic crossmax wheels that totally rock and a powertap, thanks to Jeff for hooking me up!!!

Now that I have a powertap, I am going to start a real training regimen! Vantaggio is one of our main team sponsors, which everyone probably already knows. Vantaggio coaches consist of Kym and Mark Fasczewski. Kym is the Grace Law team manager, team member, and now my awesome coach!! I’m really excited to work with such a great coach!

Although the mountain bike reason is really almost over, two more SERC races! Wow! I am going to be racing cyclocross this fall!

No race report

Well its been a few weeks since I have really raced my bike. I chickened out of the GA SERC race because of tornados and thunderstorms, and this past weekend's Huntsville SERC was a failure for me. I pre-rode the course then realized that a bolt that holds part of the rear suspension/rear triangle was missing, so I was bike-less for the race. 10pm Saturday night I was able to borrow a bike from a lady down the road. It was a Litespeed Niota, a decent bike. The shifting was working fine just running through the gears. However, on the course which was rocky and rooty, every time I hit a bump the freakin chain was bouncing off the chainring. How horrible! How was I going to ride like that? I then was passed by a singlespeed guy who nicely knocked me off my bike when he went by. And then I flatted about one minute later. Atleast the suffering was over. Yes, my Trek is broken, but I miss her, and she will be mended soon. Riding a bike that's probably about 5 years old, or older really makes me appreciate how awesome my bike is!! My Top Fuel components rock, the shifting is smooth, and the suspension is incredible!

Other news, I just went full-time at work! That means less long fun days on the trail, but the plan is commuting to work. I will have to figure out some logistics of showering and eating, but I hope to be riding atleast home from work a few days a week and my mom and I can carpool to work in the morning. We will see!