A decade of remembrance

Believe me, I know I've been slacking.  And I have about 4 different blog posts that mention it, and I haven't even finished them, and by now, it's past the point of it being good anymore.  So instead of writing about the sub-par end to my amazing season, let me Q you in on a little bit about me.  

I turned 30 on Monday March 23rd.  In my opinion, that's a milestone birthday.  All through my twenties I still felt like a kid, just an overgrown kid.  Some may argue with me and tell me that 30 is still "just a kid", but I think for the first time in my life I might (sometimes) refer to myself as an adult.  Leading up to 30 I was in a lot of denial, there was NO way I was going to be 30, I haven't done ANYTHING with my life!  I'm not where 10 year-old Courtenay thought she would be at 30, and quite frankly, I'm REALLY happy to not be there.  As I look back at my Twenties, there is absolutely nothing I would take back.  I lived my life to the fullest and I am so incredibly happy to be where I am right now.

My four years of undergrad at WWU were some of my favorite times, where I made some amazing memories and met some amazing people.  In my four years of college, I partied harder than I ever will again in my life (ever, and I wonder how I made it out unscathed), I met my (now) husband, I made some of the most amazing life long friends, experienced Spring Break in Mexico, I started on my future career path at the age of 19, I was introduced to riding bikes, I ran 3 marathons, and more halves than I can remember.  

It wasn't until after my undergrad and into my Masters at WWU that I discovered the world of racing bikes, I realized I was in love with Chris, I grew to love Bellingham more and more, moved in with Chris, and discovered that I would LOVE cyclocross more than I ever thought possible.  

It wasn't until after I graduated with my Masters that I discovered how much I loved racing my bike, and it wasn't until the year Chris and I married that I discovered I could potentially race at the top level.  It wasn't until my last year in my twenties that I found a family in the entire CX racing community across the country, that I felt like I belonged somewhere.  It was in my 20's that I discovered the reality of life, where I learned to deal with living pay check to pay check.  It was in my twenties that I learned about the world of addiction, I learned I can pave my path, but I can't change others.  

I'm so grateful to be where I am today to have learned the lessons I have.  I'm so lucky to live my life, to know the people I do, to have the friends I have.  I've heard from multiple people how their 30's where their best times of their life.  If my 30's are going to be better than my 20's, then holy cow, I can't wait for the next 10 years of my life.  

A look back at my last 10 years:

20: On the morning of my 20th birthday I learned the valuable lesson, that a car is not a house on wheels.  Do not leave any prized possessions in your Honda Civic, it will get broken into, and your belongings will be stollen.  This was just the beginning of my poor little civiy getting broken into.  

21: I spent my 21st birthday visiting my life long friend in California.  I spent my first night as a 21 year old in a bar in LA, and learned to never go to DisneyLand with a hangover while vomiting up stomach acid.  

22: I spent my 22nd birthday experiencing Spring Break in CABO!  Tequila, jello shots, and chips and salsa will always bring back memories.  At 22 is when I first met Chris and graduated from College.

23:  At 23, Chris and I shared our first "I love you's" and I decided it would be best to go back to school and get my Masters.  It didn't take long for me realize I didn't want to be in school anymore, but I suffered my way through, and I'm glad I did.  This year Chris and I also took our first road trip together (and I believe we haven't done one since….) down the coast to Disneyland.  I had a blast, but that's the last time I let Chris "plan" a vacation.

24:  It wasn't I was 24 that I decided it was time to try Cyclocross.  I saved my pennies and bought an entry level bike, big green.  Big green and I fell in love with CX after the first race, and unfortunately it wasn't until the end of the season that I bought big green, so we had a little taste of what CX was about, and we had to wait nearly a year to race again!  

25:  I graduated with my Masters in Human Movement.  Not much else happened here.  Perhaps, this is when I moved in with Chris.

26:  Dec. 19. 2011 Chris asked me to marry him.  Apparently, I said yes.

27:  Chris and I wed, and I raced in my first UCI CX race in Vegas 4 days after our wedding.  With a last row call up, I finished 13th. That was pretty awesome.  At 27, the entire NW CX community got together and helped pitch my way to UCI CX races.  You guys are the best.

28:  At 28, I ho'ed and hummed over the thought of giving bike racing another shot at the top level.  I just wasn't sure.  I'm certainly glad I stuck with it.  :-) 

29:  You better believe that I spent my last day in twenties, on my bike, smiling the whole time, with people who support me and my endeavors.  The last year of 20's, my oh my.  When Chris asked me what I wanted to do for my birthday, all I said was "ride my mountain bike and eat cake on the mountain with my friends".  Yes, this is what I did.  We went for a nice long 5 hour ride through Chuckanut, Blanchard, and Galbraith and I smiled the entire way.  Thank You friends for joining me.  

Here's to the  next ten years of my life.  Thanks for coming along for the ride!

Persistance Pays Off.

I know I've slacked on updating per every race, but that's what happens when you're me!  I'll update you with the other Mid West races I did, but I want to talk Jingle Cross, because well I know you're all dying to hear about it.  

As you learned in my previous post, I've really struggled with what to write.  I like my posts to have a reason to every post, I like there to be something sentimental, funny, something to learn from.  I haven't been able to find that topic to talk about to wrap my races around.  This weekend, I needed it and I wanted it.  More than any racer, any reader, anyone could ever know.  I've worked really hard the past 12 months.  The past 3-4 months have been an emotional roller coaster and I've done a really good job to not show it.  You know what, lets just say the past 4 years have been an emotional roller coaster.  For the past…I don't know, couple years I've wanted to write a blog post about this, but I never have, for fear that it will get read (ironic right)?  But it's at the point, where this is going to get written and the world can read it, and I'm going to try to write it without tears (failed so far).  

I have a brother, and he's a lying, manipulative, drug addict.  My brother and I have always shared a special connection and bond.  He's 7 years older than I am, and growing up he always knew the right words to say to calm me down and lift me up.  I love my bother, he's my big brother and I'm his littler sister.  We used to have a ritual on Thanksgiving that started when I was in high school, every Thanksgiving we would go to see a movie together.  I will always remember this time together.  Even if looking back at it, he was high for a lot of those times.  My brother is in jail now.  His drug of choice is Heroin.  In 2010 he was on his death bed, and my family convinced him to go to treatment and his life was saved.  Words can't describe the horror our family was put through.  I don't ever wish a drug addicted sibling upon anyone.  He's struggled since he got out of treatment, but it wasn't until this summer that he truly relapsed back on the drug.  He relapsed in July, he lied and manipulated us.  At the end of August he called me asking for help, he wouldn't go to treatment because he had "work".  He tried to detox himself and ended up in the hospital for 6 days because his kidneys are at 30% function from his drug use.  Chris and I spent 12 hours moving him out of his apartment in the pouring rain while he sat in the ER, 1 week prior to CrossVegas.  I slept less than 6 hours a night that week, between work, "training", talking to him on the phone trying to calm him down from his panic attacks, and visiting him at the hospital, I had no time to myself.  By Friday that week I was in tears, I was an emotional tired wreck.  I kept telling myself I wouldn't let him bring me down, the racing season was starting and I didn't want him to be the reason I raced poorly.  I keep telling myself I won't let him bring me down.  I won't.  But sometimes no matter how much you tell yourself something, it just doesn't always happen.  My phone is always on silent now, because of him, because I don't want that phone call that causes the deep pit in my stomach, and I've decided if I just ignore my phone I won't get that pit.  

Once I left for Vegas and the season started he convinced me he was doing so well.  When I got back from the east coast, I was ready for a nice mental break from racing and some time at home.  I wasn't home for 24 hours before he called me to tell me he was arrested for a DUI.  He wouldn't stop calling me that week asking for bail, convincing us that he wasn't under any influence.  My parents decided to bail him out after 4 days, then he went and served time in King County for 7 days (had a warrant for previous charges).  He was released the same day I left for St. Louis.  One week later when I was in Cincinnati I received word from his housemate (at a clean and sober house) that he was arrested for a DUI.  He didn't he even make it 1 week.  1 week and he was arrested again.  I haven't spoken to him since, I don't even know when the last time we spoke was.  He didn't call anyone to tell us he was in jail this time, he knows we can't help him.  I love my brother so much, but this has to stop.  I keep telling myself it won't affect me, and when I'm around my CX family, it doesn't.  I know my brother is proud of my racing, I wish I could share this weekend with him, my real brother, not my addict brother.  

This weekend taught me a lot of things.  First off, this weekend showed me that no matter how emotionally draining your life outside of racing is, it doesn't have to rule you.  You can always stand on top of something that is trying to bring you down.  Sometimes after a race when I'm lying in bed thinking at a 1000 thoughts per minute, I think about my brother.  I think about addicts, I think how can I change the world, how can I increase drug awareness to those that think only homeless, family-less people do drugs.  I wonder how can I race in honor of someone who has a big heart, but is so jaded and trapped in a substance filled life.  Michael, I love you, I race hard for myself, but you're always in the back of my mind.  Your positive, manipulating spirit will always be there, wether you're in jail or not, dead or alive.  Thank you for giving me something to think about.  

Not only did I need this weekend to pick me up from my emotional life outside of cycling, I needed this weekend to prove to myself that this is right, this is the right direction for me.  It is.  I know it, and the best part of the weekend wasn't standing on top of the podium on Sunday, the best part was opening up my email this afternoon and reading this:

"Congrats on the great weekend in Iowa City. On Thursday night at the meet the pros night you said you wanted to be one the podium and I guess you succeeded in that goal since you were on each step of the podium!! My 3 girls had such a great time meeting you and talking with you. Thanks for taking the time with them as they were still talking about the lady in pink and blue clothes this morning. You definitely have a new family of fans from the Midwest. Good luck on the rest of your season and we hope to see you again next year at Jingle Cross!"

It's the people you meet and influence along the way.  The fans, your friends, other racers.  If I can put a smile on someones face and make them feel good then I'm happy.  If I can help support other racers just getting into their grooves, that makes me happy, help support them when they're feeling down, and lift them higher when their feeling high.  Or maybe it's just giving the time of day to those most adorable little girls who just want to say hello.  

I'm proud of what I've accomplished and where I have come from.  I'm proud of what I've done, and I'm proud that I never gave up.  I'm thankful for those that pushed me to do this when I wanted to give it all up.  I'm so happy to have such a strong community of crossers at home that believed in me to get me where I am.  Thank You.  I know I have said it a million times, but words can't express my gratitude.  I will keep racing hard for you guys, I think it's the best way I can repay you right now.  

Onto the "report"

Friday's race was a cold one, it had to have been less than 20 degrees.  As we know, I love racing in the dark, and it was a night race that was really well lit.  We had a grueling run up (or ride if you chose to), with a fun decent, and then some frozen grassy turns.  I had a good start, tried to remain calm, and found myself finishing 2nd and riding with Katerina Nash until the last lap when she decided she was done riding with me.  Up until this day, I didn't ever think that was possible for me.  

Saturday morning my body was pretty tired from the Friday race, but who wasn't tired?  Saturday was the C1 and John Meehan wanted us to know it was the C1.  So he decided we needed to go up Mt. Krumpit 2x.  Up the run up from Friday night, down the same downhill, and then up the backside to the top top and down the face of Mt. Krumpit.  No matter how hard this course was, I think it was my favorite configuration of all the times I have done Jingle Cross.  The decent down Mt. Krumpit was really awesome, the best one, I loved it every lap, and I can't lie when I say I was happy woe nay did 4 laps that day.  I was holding strong in 2nd, until the last time up the climb and was caught at the top of the decent and finished 3rd.  I seem to be really good at finishing 3rd in the C1's.  Just when we finished racing the snow started falling.

3rd step

Sunday I woke up (really late, as in an hour before we needed to leave the house) to a couple of inches of snow on the ground and knew the day would be epic and all about staying upright.  Sunday felt the coldest of all the days, I think it was because of the wet snow.  When I first rode the course it was pretty dicey in sections, and I was riding it pretty cautiously.  An hour later I rode it again and realized it was thawing out a little bit as it was getting ridden on more.  Being the third day I wasn't very motivated to warm up, actually I rode the course for 2 laps and then spun on the trainer for 5 minutes, after all it was the third day of racing!  I knew at the start I wanted a solid start with most of the start stretch being covered in snow.  Turns out I had a pretty good start and took the hole shot, and then Meredith Miller quickly came around me.  I held my cool when I went into the logs about 4-5 people back.  After all I just wanted to stay upright.  When we hit the base of the climb I was about 3rd (i can't remember perhaps it was fourth).  Katerina and Magahlie took off and I did everything I could to try to catch up to them.  Going into the next couple of laps Katerina continued to make a gap over the field and I progressively was catching up to Maghalie and trying to hold off the chasers behind me, all while trying to convince my shoes to clip into my pedals.  On the third lap I caught Maghalie at the base of climb, she was really struggling to get her feet clipped in.  Now I was in the chase, actually honestly when you're racing against someone like Katerina Nash, I kind of get it in my head that I'm just trying to hold onto my 2nd position, so thats what I did, after all she had over a 30 second gap.  I raced to hold my position, until the final time up the climb on the last lap, when the crowds went CRAZY.  I mean CRAZY.  I can thank the crowds for my blazing last lap.  At the base of the climb all of the sudden I hear:

"You're closing the gap"

"she's off her bike, she's running, you can catch her"

I look up and see she is literally running her bike up the hill because she couldn't get clipped in, I then dug that much harder.  I look up again and she's now riding her bike, so I figured she must had gotten clipped in.  When I reached the top of the climb she was already on the downhill, being a World Class mountain biker I thought there would be no way to catch her now, she would rally the decent, so I did my best to "rally" as much as I could.  I got the last section of the decent and saw her seconds away from me, and realized at that moment if I caught her on the downhill there was no way she was in her pedals, so I put in a dig, and caught her at the top of the little rise.  I had a moment of disbelief and realized at that moment I didn't know what to do.  Do I stay with her?  Do I go?  Then I came to and realized I needed to go.  So I put in a really hard dig, really really really hard.  I went hard, well Courtenay hard.  When I passed the pits everyone in the pits started screaming "she's pitting, GOOOO".  The spectators where going even more crazy at this point.  I put my head down and did everything I possibly could to go fast, but keep it smooth to stay upright.  One mistake and it was my race to lose.  The last twisty section on the far end of the course was not my forte, so I knew I needed to be smooth, but yet quick through those.  Katerina was closing in really quickly, I just had to get through them cleanly and to the straight away and knew I could have it from there (hopefully).  I pedaled so hard to the end, and since I don't ride my bike well with no handlebars, and I was 100% gassed I had a 1 handed salute and huge smile.  I can't believe that just happened.  I'm still trying to fathom what happened, and that it happened.  

The race taught me, never give up in a race because you never know what might happen in front of you.  Push through, always work hard, and keep moving forward.  Thank you Katerina for racing bikes with me this weekend.  To have the chance to race against such an accomplished rider is truly a privilege!  


East Coast Post #3, the Grand Finale

Lets say this.  I've had a half blog post written.  I've been racing so much this year I'm bored of writing race updates.  I don't know if it's the weekly update I send to my sponsors, but readers, you can't possibly want to read a boring race report every race, do you?  And not to mention I'm SO behind, that I might as well tell you this:

I finished up my East Coast trip in Rochester, NY.  I had the chance to ride around along the Erie Canal, a small piece of US history.  Aside from racing, that might have been the highlight of the weekend!  Everything seems to have come together this particular weekend.  I'm sure lots of you watched the races online, or watched the highlights.  On day #1 I started out hot, tried to stay consistent and hold the pace at the front, fell back and finished 3rd.  It was my best finish yet for a C1 event and I couldn't have been happier with it!  It helped give me the confidence I needed to believe that I can ride in the front of the race.  Sunday my legs told me I put in a really hard effort on day #1 and I was able to hold on to a 4th place finish.  

Instead of boring you with the play by play and recap from this particular weekend, how about we finish with some photos.  

There always has to be a photo with the Rock Lobster

cute "village" I stayed in

The most awesome rental car ever!

So much stoke on this podium!  First C1 podium!  Photo Credit: Dave McElwaine


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East Coast Post 2.5

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Harpoon Brewery, so many options, even Cider for this Gluten Free girl.

After Providence it was off to do a little exploring in Boston.  I learned a few things for the three days I spent there.  Monday I spent half the day sleeping, then cruising around the suburbs for a recovery spin, hung out with  my Cousin’s (by marriage) 3 year old daughter, and slept hard that night.  Tuesday I had this grand plan for a bike ride, after my bike was fixed (remember I had to pit to my "b" bike on the 2nd day of Providence).  I was recommended to head to the Ride Studio Café in Lexington, MA to get my bike taken care of by Mike Berlinger.  Brendan, aka cousin, drove me from Melrose to Lexington and my plan was to go for a ride and do some intervals out there and then ride back to the house. 

First things first, if you are ever in the Boston area, and you love bikes and are addicted to coffee, you HAVE to go to the Ride Studio Café.  This place is the coolest bike shop/café combo I have ever seen (and the first)!  Bellingham needs one, really bad.  Mike took amazing care of my bike and got her back into working order and he even planned a route for me!  He mapped out the route, and we sent it to my really smart Garmin 500 (hint of sarcasm).  I turned on my courses function and went about on my ride.  It was working great, I ended up on a road and the map function told me I wouldn’t turn for another 15 miles, awesome!  About 3 minutes after seeing that I encountered a stop sign, and could only turn left or right.  This is when everything went seriously wrong, I mean seriously wrong, and all of the sudden I was off course, no matter what direction I rode.  

Keytar Bear is his name…so I hear.  A Boston Staple.

Sometimes I like to pretend I know where I'm going, most of the time I have no idea.  I rode and I rode, thinking I was going somewhere and I would find a beautiful marvelous road to do my intervals on.  Then I ended up in some small like town that looked like an easy place to get lost in.  That's when I decided I should call Mike.  He gave me a great road to do some intervals on, it went by the Hanscom airport.  I went back and forth, back and forth, and then it was time to go home.  I was pretty convinced I followed his instructions very well, and I come upon a road that looked quite busy, and wasn't very bicycle friendly, so I went straight across it, and into a line up of cars stopping at some guard shack.  I decided since I wasn't a car, I didn't need stop, and I just cruised on by.  Then I heard a "MAM, MAM, MAAAAAAM, STOP!!!".  First off, I'm not a mam, but I did stop.  Then this man in a full on Military outfit came running at me.  He asked me for some ID and my first response was "well, thank goodness I brought that with me today", because sometimes I forget things like that.  So I dig into my back pocket, pull out my plastic baggie and hand him my WA state drivers license.  He looks at it with a confused look, then says to me "do you have a military badge" and now we trade looks and mine becomes extremely confused and I respond with "a what"?  He quickly responds as he points to his lovely outfit "This is a military base, you need a military badge to enter, you are not welcome here".  I reply "Well, clearly I'm not from here and I'm very confused".  He then asks me where I'm trying to go and he points me in the right direction, yes he tells me I need to go ride on that really busy looking road.  I told him it didn't look very bike friendly and that couldn't possibly be where I needed to go.  He firmly told me it was, he was correct.  I eventually made it back to the shop safe and sound, after having some words with a women on the side walk who told me I was going to get a ticket for riding my bike on the side walk.  

The next part of the journey was getting from Lexington to Melrose, and a journey it was.  I only made a few wrong/missed turns, but eventually (1 hour to be exact) I made it back to the house.  That adventure was really very exhausting.  I decided my next days ride was going to be in circles around the house.  And that's just what I did.

Wednesday was my all time favorite day.  I took the subway into Boston and spent the day cruising the streets of Boston by foot and bike.  We stopped by the Harpoon Brewery, took the subway to the college district (okay I know it has a better name, but I was surrounded by college kids), saw the water, drank terrible Starbucks coffee and smiled the entire day.  

History, or something

Need a good giggle?  Bike Share in Boston, SO MUCH FUN!  As you can see by my face.

Thursday I made the trek to Rochester, NY for the final weekend of racing on the East Coast!

East Coast Post #2 - Providence

Well, it appears I’ve done a fantastically wonderful job at neglecting to entertain and update my blog readers, although if you follow me on social media, or follow race results, you know what I’ve been up to.

Lets talk the second third of my east coast trip.  Providence.  I don’t know if you remember or not (well you probably don’t), but if you look for my blog post from this race last year you will read all about how homesick I felt.  This year was no different.  Usually around the 10 (+ or –) days of being gone I start to miss home.  Saturday morning of Providence I felt…anxiety, homesick anxiety.  The weather forecast called for rain, and the first rainy/slippery race of the year is always a tough one, you never know where your skills are going to be.  Also, not to mention I read all over Facebook about how “dangerous” the course flyovers where.  I was nervous, I was homesick, and I wasn’t motivated to race.  I arrived at the course at my usual time, pre-rode, and it turns out the course was rockingly awesome!  Yes, the first flyover was a little on the steep side, and if you didn’t have a good start you would be doomed, because a pile up was bound to happen!  I did my usual warm up on the trainer, and about 45 minutes before the start of our race, it started raining.  When the rain fell, and fell, and fell there was something soothing about it, my anxiety calmed, my homesick worries went away. 

With such a stacked field, I didn’t get a first row call up.  I scanned the front row and knew I wanted to line up behind Gabby Durrin, she’s been having the best starts, so I knew she would be a good wheel.  As soon as the gun went off, I was happy to be behind Gabby, because as I anticipated she had a great start, and went into the first corner in second with me in tow.  We hit the first flyover with just a couple people around us, and made it out cleanly, while a pile up happened behind us.  We got a little gap, and was joined later by Katie Compton and Helen Wyman.  Katie did her usual thing and powered by us, and then Rachel Lloyd joined up, and Gabby fell behind.  I found myself slipping and sliding through the corners on the wheels of accomplished racers, Helen Wyman and Rachel Lloyd.  I was ecstatic with how I was racing, actually words can’t express the joy (and sufferieng) I was going through while racing.  Eventually the hill on the backside showed my weakness and Helen and Rachel where able to gap me every lap on that hill, I would make up a little time on the rest of the course, but come the last lap, I just couldn’t power up that hill like they could.  I finished in 4th place, and I couldn’t be happier!  I finished the race smiling and felt like I accomplished what I had come to do.  That night I joined the WD40 crew for a fabulous dinner.  Thanks guys!

Saturday left me with a sense of relaxation for the race on Sunday and I went in with absolutely no nerves and no anxiety.  I did what I needed to do and on Sunday I could race worry free. 

Sunday was the opposite of Saturday.  There was not a cloud in the sky, the sun was shining bright, and the course was dry, hard, and fast as ever.  I knew today would be harder in terms of pedaling compared to Saturday’s race.  I knew I needed to have a good start as well.  My start was so so, nothing amazing, but not horrible.  After about the third turn and into the off camber section I was probably back somewhere in the 10-15 places, and I pedaled my booty off on the off camber section to get by racers to get to the front of the race.  This is when I realized my bike wasn’t functioning correctly.  My shifting was ALL OVER THE PLACE.  Actually, it wouldn’t shift.  Since it was the beginning of the race and there were so many racers clumped together, I didn’t want to pit and get stuck behind riders I didn’t want to be behind.   I once again found myself riding for the third podium spot with a couple of other riders.  After two laps of clanking and jenky shifting, I decided it was time to pit since there was enough of a gap in the group.  I got onto my “B” bike and it was back to smooth shifting, but I had to work hard to chase the two riders I lost when I pitted.  It was fun (but hard) racing on Sunday.  I had to use some tactics and some thinking while racing, which is always fun, but, not my favorite part of racing.  I was outsmarted, out rode, and out powered and rolled in for 5th place. 

I’m SO excited to finish in the top 5 for 2 races.  I finally feel like my legs are under me and have the confidence that I CAN race, and not just follow wheels and hang on for dear life. 

Post Providence was somewhat of a show.  I wasn’t sure when I was going to Rochester or HOW I was getting to Rochester, but I knew I would be better off having only one bike with me for the week.  After finishing up my race on Sunday I worked to get my bike and wheels to different people who where headed to Rochester, it was exhausting.  The week between Providence and Rochester deserves its own blog post, I can’t possibly bore you with a 20minute post!  Stay tuned!

Thank You WD40 for all of your help over the weekend!  It wouldn't have run as smoothly without you there!  

Bwastin. Or something like that.

It's been a rough life the past week.  Last Thursday I hopped on a plane heading to Boston, raced my bike over the weekend, and have done literally nothing but sit on my butt, eat, and ride my bike for the past 4 days.  Did I mention sleeping in until 9am too?  Which means, I've been getting at least 10 hours of sleep a night, compared to my measly 6-7 while at home, I feel like a princess.  The hardest thing I have done all week was decided what to blog about for this post, because lets be real, you don't want to read race report after race report after race report. That would be quite boring, in my opinion.  So instead I'm going to brag to you about my awesome time out East.  

It started with a late plane into Boston (11:30pm Thursday night).  Chris and I then piled all of our luggage into the shuttle to take us to the rental car company.  The shuttle was empty, and there was a ton of room for all 100 pounds of our luggage.  Then the shuttle started to make multiple stops, and before I knew it I felt like I was in a clown car, seeing how many people and bags of luggage can we get onto the shuttle.  I believe I took a picture.  One reason I have Chris around with me (besides for his mechanical skills, and keen sense of direction) is because of his membership perks he gets from being a part of the Firefighter Union.  We're fancy and he's a part of "The Emerald Club" at National.  You know what that means?  Discount on car rentals AND we just show up and pick a car (after we have reserved it online of course).  It's awesome and easy.  Thank you IAFF for having such awesome perks for my husband.  After picking up the car and heading towards Chris's cousins house, I discovered a valuable lesson when using GPS.  It doesn't work in tunnels, or Boston.  Boston has a lot of tunnels, and a lot of roads and freeways.  It was confusing.  A 25 minute drive turned into a 40 minute drive.  Good thing we made it there and had a lovely nights sleep.

The new kit in all it's colors!

Friday we visited with Cousin, had breakfast, built bike and headed up to our Host Housing for the weekend in New Hampshire…at the beach!  Saturday was the big race day, okay moderate race day since it's only a C2, BUT HUGE FIELD!  It's fun to see how big the fields are out here on the East Coast.  It's really great!  Saturday I had a less then stellar start to the race.  I don't know if it had to do with starting in the 2nd row instead of the first (like the rest of the races I've done), or just a bad start.  I was able to catch up to the front group, only to find myself suffering/not having a lot of fun.  The front group consisted of about 8-10 riders, and it was a very tactical race.  I had a hard time trying to find a good position, and had a bad mental 'ttude. With 2 to go I really wanted to pull out of the race, I was suffering!  On the last lap there was still a large group of us, and with about 3/4 of a lap left, there was an unfortunate crash in front of me and Crystal Anthony and Meredith Miller where on the ground in a cloud of dust.  I figured they would get up quickly and pass me, but as it turns out, Meredith cut her leg straight to the bone, she had a knarly gash right below her knee.  I hope she heals up quickly, because stitches SUCK!!  

I ended up 5th for the day.  


Sunday I was hoping my legs would have opened up a bit, they did, so that was good.  When the gun went off I felt like a hard a great start, until the top of the hill when I got boxed out of the turn, and my start on Sunday made my Saturday start look divine.  Before I knew it I was back in the 20's working my way through the field to catch the front group.  This day was weird, the front group was extremely split up after 1/2 lap, and I ended up catching some riders who where dangling off the back.  I stuck with them for awhile, and then we approached a crash which held up about 3-4 riders, with 2 up ahead.  Next thing I knew I was riding 4th wheel and feeling pretty good.  That went away quickly when I passed the pits and realized I needed to pit and was having a mechanical.  :-(  I rode half a lap on my mechanical, losing a lot of time and A LOT of positions,  I pitted for my B bike (even though I contemplated just calling it quits, thank goodness for Chris yelling at me to get off my bike and pit) and tried to chase as hard as I could.  I could only do so much before I ran out of real estate and finished 9th.  Wa WA Wa.  After the race I only had a small panic attack.  It was hot, dry, and VERY dusty I was having a hard time breathing when I finished.  

Thanks to WD40's dry lube my bikes ran smoothly, riding American Classic's carbon tubulars I was comfortable enough on the rocks and bumps, and of course my Rock Lobster frames shredded the grassy turns.  Spy Optics happy lenses protected my eyes from the bright sun and kept them happy.  My KASK Vertigo helmet kept me and cool and protected (in case I crashed).  Of course without GE Capital and SSC none of this would be made possible!  Thanks to my wonderful awesome partners!

There's something really awesome about finishing up a weekend of back to back racing.  There's that sensation of relaxing, you know you put in your hard work and effort, and now you get to hang out, relax and decompress.  It's even better when you know the week ahead consists of doing absolutely nothing.  I've been looking forward to this time out East for SO long.  I planned on Monday for Chris and I to do a recovery ride and then head into Portsmouth to hang out and let him see the cute little city/town.  It reminds me a lot of Fairhaven back at home.  If you recall last year when I was Portsmouth I slugged on an awesome pair of Seven jeans.  I wear them all the time, I love them.  This year I splurged on a pair of Frye Boots.  I love them too, but unlike last year, my prize money covered my jeans, prize money did not cover these boots.  :-)

Monday night Chris left me to head back down to Boston to catch his early flight out Tuesday morning.  I have really enjoyed having Chris around with me on these weekends, it makes it that much harder when he leaves.  Last year traveling alone I was used to it, and now this year having him around for every other weekend feels like a tease.  I see how wonderful it is to have him around, and then he's gone, it's hard.  I like company, so having him around really keeps me company!  

#rocklobstercycles #clementcycling #fizik #lizardskins #amclassicwheels 

The beach!  Last year it was sunny and beautiful.  This year it was just a tad bit wet...