Not a day too soon

I am finally home - I have been away for almost 7 months. I am getting confused as to where "home" is; last night I was packing, "packing for home." All of my belongings are in CA, so technically that makes "home" CA, but then again haven't we all seen the magnet that says "Home is where Mom is" or is it "home is where the heart is"? Either way that makes home Upstate (NY). I definitely identify myself as a New Englander (yes, I know Upstate isn't technically New England, but Lake George has much more of a New England feel to it than what is commonly thought of as "Upstate". I also lived in VT for four years, where I quickly assimilated into that lifestyle). On the other hand, I am feeling a bit more settled in CA, as settled as one can feel when they have no idea where life is taking them.

I packed many many raincoats - it actually rains here and I am going to have to train in more....... one might say.... "exciting" weather (rain, humidity, hot-hot-hot, cold, lightening - I don't know! Bring it on!). Its convenient to train in CA, that's for sure....when there isn't an ash haze that you have to plow your way through.

Which brings me to my "post title": When I walked out to my car this morning and saw a layer of ash on my hood, it brought the message home that training outside last week was stupid and if I were to train this week in CA I would be doing it inside. No, the horrible wheezing noises I was making during intervals didn't stop me. And, yes, I knew about the warnings that stated "avoid strenuous outdoor activities" but I guess it took the visual of seeing the layer of ash on the car to realize how horrible the air quality has been and how damaging inhaling all of that mess can be.

So my message to all of you who are still out there, please be careful, and use your noggin'.

Happy Birthday Bike!

According to Google's "This day in History"

History for June 26

1819 - The bicycle was patented by W.K. Clarkson, Jr

I am declaring today Bike's official birthday because everyone needs their special day. This means we get to go out and celebrate! Chocolate cake anyone?

Health Advisory

After yesterday's ride I felt like I smoked 2 packs of cigarettes........I am tempted to do my workout inside today.

"Unhealthy air forecast for Bay Area today": http://origin.mercurynews.com/breakingnews/ci_9692766

Photo shoots

I have come to the conclusion that racing at the track is the equivalent to going to a photo shoot. If I summed all the photographs ever taken of me on the bike, I don't think that number would come close to the number of photos that were taken this past weekend.

It reminds me of that song "Your so vain".

As I was saying, the track is a really cool scene with a lot of supportive people.

Just a couple more pictures.

Pre-Scratch race: Kelly and me. Yes, I am holding onto that railing for dear life.

Scratch Race: Keeping things quick at the end. My pain face isn't flattering, but I like the pain faces behind me....lovin' it!

Pictures can also be found at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/otbphoto/sets/72157605773469556/ (Rob's photos)

http://www.wheelsinfocus.com/2007/TrackPhotos.htm

"Look Ma!"

No, I did not unknowingly launch myself off any cliffs this time. Nor was there a 'yard sale'. I've been there, got the t-shirt.
Nope, this time I raced my bike in circles and instead of yard sales and t-shirts, I have come away with a few pictures.
My first "mass start" races were interesting, scary, and fun. I have a bit more time before I get comfortable racing without brakes. I was bumped around a little bit but kept rubber side down.

I liked Garret Lau's comment on my blog so much that I had to re-post it in this entry: "In the points race, you were on the front for so long, that I took many photos of you. I hope the flash didn't bother you too much."

No Garret, the flash didn't bother me.....I relished in it :)
Check out Garret's photos at: http://garrettlau.smugmug.com/gallery/5222911_efCu6#317795223_UfAqN

The points race was fun, because I got to go hard. And thanks to Garret my Mom can see pictures of me racing.

The "Miss-n-Out" was as sketchy as predicted, and I almost pre-maturely called it a day. Good thing I didn't because I was the last to be "Out" before the final sprint (I suppose one could say I was fourth, that landed me on the podium...hahaha). Its a strange little race.

I met many great people this weekend and I am grateful for all of you who gave me advice, explained the nuances of the track, or just cheered. I had a blast and hopefully you will see me out there a bit more in the future.

This should be interesting

As you may know, I have been dabbling in the track world a bit over the past month. Well, lucky for me Hellyer (the track that is 20 minutes from me) is holding the "equivalent of an NRC race" this weekend, and I am entered. I don't like to mess around; I like to get right into the thick of things.

I am slated to do four races: Points, Scratch, Sprints, and 'Miss and Out'.
Since 2 weeks ago that jargon would have meant nothing to me, I have included some definitions for those of you who are in the same boat (don't tell Middlebury that I am referencing Wikipedia!):

Points: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Points_race

Scratch: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scratch_race

Sprints: One on one, you get a few laps to look at each other and then you try to cross the finish line first. There are multiple rounds. Essentially you have to win to move on.

Miss and Out: Mass start, and the last person across the line every lap gets pulled. The race happens at the back of the pack until the pack dwindles down to 3 and then its whoever crosses the line first.....I think.

Here is the event schedule: http://www.ridethetrack.com/avc_schedule.html
I am entered in the 'women's' races (there are no category splits other than masters). I wish my Mom could come out here and "sit in the stands and knit" while being the "perfect" swim/bike parent (personal communication, John O. 2003). If I am not mistaken, she still has the sweater that she began knitting when I was in high school. This will be the perfect place to continue her masterpiece! Maybe she would even bring out her green stopwatch that she may or may not have figured out how to use by now :) I think my Mom's mentality is: Who needs a stopwatch? Just go race and have fun.

Tonight is the points race, not only will I have to be pedaling my bike, but I think I am going to have to be doing some math in my head. I wish we could use radios; "race brain" isn't conducive to performing addition.

Breaking Records

I am realizing that I am breaking all sorts of records.
The first and most significant PR is that I have been away from home for over 6 months. That is a long time. But have no fear, I will be returning home for the month of July and I am sure my family and friends will get a good dose of me.
The second record can be found here: http://money.cnn.com/2008/06/18/news/economy/gas_prices/index.htm?eref=rss_topstories
California is topping out the charts. I am so glad I can be a part of this booming economy.

And we'll call that a wrap

The final stage of Nature Valley, Stillwater "Criterium" can be summarized as insane. The hill was crazy steep, and a bit long if I do say so myself. We had to do the circuit (about 2 miles) 12 times, but 13 times up that evil hill. Despite my most valiant efforts, I started in the last row again and things shattered right from the gun. The hill was a shocker to the system and I didn't pre-ride the course, because I just didn't want to know. On the second time up the climb there was a crash, which helped separate things quicker than Kristen Armstrong's smack down. I ended up being in the second group of women, and I held on like crazy. The climb was absolutely ridiculous and I am so very thankful for all of our fans on that hill - I think they gave me that extra punch that I so dearly needed to keep those pedals turning. I am a bit of a dunce, and I thought the start line/sprint line was the finish line, so at 1 to go, we crossed the sprint line and I thought we were done. But that was a cruel little trick the race director pulled on me, and the women who know what was up continued to climb the hill, so I thought "alright, I guess we have yet another lap to go" so I dragged myself up the hill one more time, thinking we still had a lap and that the other girls were just drilling it to break things up, but I was wrong. They crossed the finish line and stopped pedaling, it took me a few seconds to realize what happened - you know how "race brain" is.

I should have gotten pictures of this incredible hill, but that wasn't the first thing on my mind after the race. Sorry.

Post-race I rode down the hill that we had to climb, and I am so glad that I didn't do that before the start of the race. That would have been straight up mentally defeating. It was so steep! Absolutely out of control.

After leaving the crit the team ate lunch with one of the BMC reps at a nice little restaurant along St. Croix River. I had a burger. Yea, your eyes did not deceive you - I, Megan Guarnier, ordered a burger.

Now for the more fun and exciting things: Last night we went out to dinner with all of the BMC guys at a German restaurant and we were serenaded. The BMC guys were a huge help this past week and we had a great time at dinner.

It was Virginia's birthday, and I am glad she spent it with us. I know she could have probably come up with a million "better" things to be doing other than climbing that treacherous hill, but she is a trooper and we got to have fun later.
The food was great and the "ice-breaker" game was hilarious.

Virgina, Me, Derek, Linsey (our AMAZING host), and Clay

The whole group of us - BMC and ProMan, what a team! Good times.Host house girls: Kristin, Virginia, Me, and we are missing Helene - she jumped ship, or more appropriately hopped plane to book it home after the race. She missed out on some good fun.

We then found ourselves at "Miami" an interesting 80's Bar, with weird mixed drinks, with odd names. But no the party didn't stop there and we continued onto a bowling alley.

I must admit, bowling shoes and socks rival spandex in awesomeness.

And lets face it people, bowling wouldn't be any fun to watch if it weren't for the "post-strike dance" so we had a competition. And the winner is:

Sam busted some crazy moves. Yea, don't bother trying to top this one. Its just not possible.

Minnesota Bike Racing

Lets see. 5 stages down, 1 to go. No blog updates.

Stage 2 - Road Race 1: Fast the whole time, got stuck behind a crash on the 2nd to last corner.

Stage 3 - ITT: I still love time trialing.

Stage 4 - Minneapolis Crit: Some hilarious British guys entertained us for awhile before we started. People started staging 30 minutes before start time. Ridiculous. I staged at the back of the pack 20 minutes before start time and did not get to pre-ride the course. It was a fun, smooth course, and the hammer was down for the entire race, keeping things fast and safe. I was pretty relaxed since the pack was not too jumpy. I had bad positioning and did not place all that well, but I have some kick in my legs.

Warming up in the Expo before the Minneapolis Crit.

The BMC guys have come to a few stages and have helped us out before and after the races. Its key. They are a huge help and lots of fun. They were great to have cheering on the sidelines for us as well - big motivation. QBP hooked us up with Kreitler trainers which was also amazing because because we didn't have to trek our trainers across the country.

Stage 5 - Mankato RR: The 2 mile finishing circuit climb was as hellish as everyone predicted. After 80 miles of flat (maybe slightly rolling) and some killer head, cross, and tail winds, we entered finishing circuit and things shattered. Despite sunscreen, my tan lines are looking superb. I was one of the lucky ones to be picked by USADA, but I don't mess around when it comes to hydration and things went smoothly.

Picture from Cyclingnews.....nothing special and not all that flattering. I didn't get my name with it, but I guess I will take what I can get: http://www.cyclingnews.com/photos/2008/jun08/naturevalley08/index.php?id=/photos/2008/jun08/naturevalley08/naturevalley084/IMGP2278

Stage 1: Downtown St. Paul Crit

Wet, so wet that my SRM computer decided to go home. Yes, thats right, my computer is waterlogged and no longer working. Really, really sad considering its only 3 months old.
My race? Well, I started too far back because I was one of the "good girls" and took a lap like the officials insisted. Then I was too relaxed about getting forward. Too relaxed, and maybe just a bit unmotivated to go flying around everyone because it was so sketchy; there was a crash almost every lap. I was comfortable doing a time trial effort off the back. I never was in the thick of things - shame on me. But I stayed upright which is one thing that a lot of ladies cannot say about today.

You Betcha!

I flew into Minnesota yesterday. Yet another case where cycling brings me to places I never otherwise would have gone. Amazing.

Immediately upon my arrival we built up the bikes (thank you TSI for rifling through my bike case and completely undoing all my careful packing) and headed to QBP headquarters. QBP is a huge bike parts distributor in the US and the sole distributor of BMC in the Americas. QBP is also a ProMan sponsor: http://www.qbp.com/.
(The bike racks outside QBP)
At the headquarters we went on a nice spin with employees and ate some delectable grub. Buffet style catering is key before a stage race. Thanks to the hard work of QBP I am well fueled. We also took a tour of the facility; the behind the scenes of bike inventory, builds, and shipping is somewhat mind-boggling. Its a huge production. Seems like a good environment to work in too.

Today was a bit slow since I didn't have the most amazing night's sleep. We went for a spin on the "Minniehaha" bike path. Brings me back to the ol' LG (and that means Lake George my friends). It was very green and the people here are so nice! Between actually stopping for people at crosswalks and just being out-right friendly, I am a fan of the general demeanor of the Minnesotans (minus the fact that our rental Magnum with tricked out BMC stickers and bike racks was egg'ed last night - but then again, it might have been an actual bird egg that fell from the tree, and in that case it would be sad, but we can't quite tell).

Since Kathie still remains more eloquent than me

http://www.usacycling.org/news/user/story.php?id=3602

Kathie's follow up article

http://usacycling.org/news/user/story.php?id=3634

"If I could tell the world just one thing..

it would be: 'We're all okay. And not to worry because worry is wasteful and useless in times like these.' I won't be made useless."
Thank you Jewel (oh how I miss the music of the 90's).
Today I went out for a spin, just one of those rides where you just get to ride, and not think about intervals, or going super easy, or anything but riding. Shortly into the ride, Jewel's words of wisdom came through my ipod headphones loud and clear, and things just seemed to come together.
I know its super cheesy, but sometimes I need a reminder that I can't "sweat the small stuff".....just keep rolling with the punches. Today was one of those days that reminded why cycling is one of the greatest sports. Despite my hip still being a bit irksome, it was nice to be on my own bike - as Mike always said to me, "Your bike is an extension of you." And its true, I spend more time with that bike than I do any other animate or inanimate object (besides my bed). While soaking up the sun and scenery, I remembered to appreciate the fact that I happened upon cycling.

I've learned my blogging lesson

So I now realize that you have to keep your blog updated to actually keep your readership. Nobody wants to keep checking a blog that isn't updated. Lesson learned.

I am hesitant to post if I don't have any pretty pictures to go along with my story. So here is a picture of the rose bush in the back yard.

This past week was interesting. I have gotten sucked into the track. Friday I showed up at the track with the intention to race, but between having hard intervals that morning and traffic not cooperating I ended up spectating. Since Danielle was passing through the area, I had company in the stands.

I also had my first glimpses of responsibility. Danielle left me with her new puppy for 30 hours , Tango. Danielle flew out of San Jose on Saturday and the pup couldn't be shipped until Sunday. I think I should be sent to remedial dog sitting classes. Good thing Tango really "adored" me, because otherwise we would have been in trouble; only one of us knew how to care for a dog, and it certainly was not me. In the end, I was sad to put the pooch on the plane. I can't wait to get one of my own, someday. And for everyone who is wondering, all that adorableness is a Belgian Tervuren (that is the breed).

Today I went to the track and did some "time trials" - what a blast! Brings me right back to swimming events.....I think I could get used to this.

I know this entry is a bit scattered, much like my thoughts at the moment. Sleep has not been coming easy, and with sleep deficits I become a little frazzled.