The one and only

Kids, don't go looking for this shirt in stores; it is a one-of-a-kind. Designed by, hand-printed (in the singular quantity), and personally shipped to ME from the owner of Vanderkitten. I even got to pick my own color scheme - baby blue.
Do I feel special?
Yes.
Are you jealous?
I would be too.

"Off Day" Activities

I've got to get my competitive kicks some how! Riiiiiggggght.

We went up to the fast go-karts up in Burlingame and we got to wear these awesome suits, and real-deal helmets (see bottom right hand corner of picture).
In the picture: Megan, Manuel, and Gio....in the boy's locker room. Whoops. Mom, yes I wore my "hiking" clogs, just for you. The high-waters are precious as well. And no folks, your eyes did not deceive you, Gio's jumpsuit is indeed purple.

I didn't know what I was getting into. People that actually race things with motors go to this joint to practice their driving skills, and goofy me just wanted to go fast. I guess I don't have that Y chromosome that makes me have to win everything. Can't we just have fun? People took this seriously. That and the fact that we went on "Supertrack" night, which is apparently the super technical track.

We drove for 30-40 minutes straight. I am told that's nuts as its super intense, every one but me was exhausted. Maybe I didn't try hard enough?

I was sooooo bad - I decided that the brakes were worthless, and when I actually wanted to use them, my foot would slip underneath it anyway, so it was a bit pointless (darn little feet!). I pretty much skidded through every corner - straight up shameful. Maybe it was the cliche pink helmet that I had to wear because that was the only color in extra-small. Actually, my driving skills were so steezy that the pink helmet ensured that no one was addled about my gender....or sex....or whatever the politically correct term is for the fact that I am a female. My best driving moments were when I was in the mix of people, which was few and far between as I was as slow as molasses. But every chance I had, I went full tilt......usually leaving me scrambling for the brake and in a bit of a panic (ending in skidding through the corner, borderline spin out). Yay speed! Yay go-karts!
Next time boys, next time.

Thank You!

Thank you to everyone for coming out this weekend to the ProMan "Ride the World Cups" fundraiser. It was great to see everyone out there, and I know that for both Shelley and I the racing that took place is crucial to our training plans and development.

(I "heart" suffer fests.  It was incredbily fun and fast, and incredibly painful.  Yay!) 

Being relatively new to the whole track scene, for me, there is nothing better than racing at those speeds with a number of people. The experience I have been gaining through racing with the people of Hellyer has been increasing my comfort level, speed and strength. I cannot thank everyone enough for taking the time to come out to the track and play.

In addition, I want to thank everyone for making my Bake Sale a success! I would especially like to thank Beth Newell and Donna Woods. These two women went above and beyond in ensuring that there would be delectable treats for all! I cannot scratch the surface of how grateful I am for the support from the people of Hellyer as I pursue my cycling dreams. I have truly fallen into an amazing place where I sense that everyone wants to see me reach my fullest potential. Thank you again!

Beth and I pre-race/pre-sale.  (We didn't get enough pictures of the whole table, I mean both tables.  Yes, we needed two tables for all of our treats).  Thank  you Donna and Beth!!!!!!!!

Be there or be square!

.....another one of those popular sayings. From the "old times" when a square person was not so cool, or outgoing, rather they are reserved and not adventuresome. Not to say this is a bad thing, but I think avoiding squareness this weekend might be in your "fun factor's" best interest.

Come check out the track. There is a huge list of National and World Champions that will be gracing Hellyer Velodrome with their presence. You will be surrounded by greatness. Apparently there is a photo-shoot with these top-notch athletes as well. And who doesn't like to document their beauty? (I kid.)

And my favorite part (well, second favorite to racing) - the bake sale. MMhhmmmmhhhmmm. Delectable.

It was pointed out to me that this weekend there are severe weather highs in the 70's. It will be the most pleasant day to do all of the following: drink some beer, eat some barbeque, mingle with the greats, indulge in cookies, watch some racin', and most importantly have a grand ol' time!

More information about the happenings can be found at: http://proman-paradigm.blogspot.com/

Shake-n-Bake!

I was recently invited by the US National team to race at the Manchester Revolution Track races in the UK on January 10th and February 21st. As you can probably imagine, I am very excited about this opportunity and I am back to training hard in preparation for my upcoming adventures.

Most of you are in your off season and might be sitting around wondering "What new and exciting outing can I embark upon this weekend?" Well I have the perfect answer for you. Saturday at 2pm (PST) sharp (....or not so sharp as it is going to be quite the eventful shindig) at the Hellyer Velodrome in San Jose (995 Hellyer Ave) there will be some fast and furious track racing at the Ride the World Cup series put on by PROMAN as a fundraiser to help Shelley Olds attend the World Cup Track Events. (Track opens at 12pm). Its just like NASCAR, but better. For everyone who is sitting in the stands, you can laugh at the suffer fest.

Here comes the SWEET part. On top of the track racing, I will be holding a bake sale with not only my own breads, but even better than that, Donna Woods and Beth Newell have promised to contribute some delectable treats as well. Yes, your eyes did not decieve you, there will be a bake sale and I promise it will be amazing for your off-season indulgences.

So there will be some shakin' on the track and some bakin' in the stands.

The profits of the bake sale will go towards attenuating the expenses of travel to the Revolution Track races as I continue to pursue my dreams as a cyclist. Racing in Europe is an extremely important step as I continue to progress in my cycling development and every little bit helps. My support network that has developed in California over this past year has been incredible; it is such a good feeling to know that there are so many people who want to see me realize my cycling dreams.Thanks so much for your time and I hope to see you Saturday!

A plug

I have to put in a plug for this band, Old Crow Medicine Show. They are a bluegrass band from the one and only Nashville, Tennessee and it is a must see concert. You may or may not be aware of how critical I am of the whole concert experience, but this show was absolutely amazing. The energy of the band is unrivaled, the lighting was incredible, the people were fun (no agro concert-goers here) (and of all ages), and I hope you like to dance because I don't think you can make it through this concert without swingin' your hips at least once. I personally couldn't stop dancing - but that's probably not surprising to you either. SO GOOD!
You need to check out the link, see if they are rolling through your area, and if they are, BUY tickets NOW - the SF show was sold out.
If you can't get to a show, that's unfortunate for you, but I do highly recommend getting some of their music.

For all of you who are too lazy to click on the link, the next show dates are listed below. The links do not work; it was a hodge-podge copy&paste job. But if you see your city, see link above :)
TOUR DATES
November 2008
Tue 11 McDonald Theatre, Eugene, OR
Wed 12 Crystal Ballroom, Portland, OR
Thu 13 Moore Theatre, Seattle, WA
Sat 15 Wilma Theatre - SOLD OUT, Missoula, MT
Mon 17 Knitting Factory, Boise, ID
Tue 18 The Depot, Salt Lake City, UT
Wed 19 Ogden Theatre, Denver, CO
Thu 20 Boulder Theater, Boulder, CO

December 2008
Wed 3 Legends at Appalachian State, Boone, NC
Thu 4 Orange Peel, Asheville, NC
Fri 5 Tennessee Theatre, Knoxville, TN S
at 6 Neighborhood Theatre, Charlotte, NC

Explain this one:

This is how I feel.
The origins of this phrase are unknown, however, it is believed that the entire phrase is actually: "As happy as a clam in high water." Apparently during high tide, the little mollusks are free from predation. I would be happy too.

(I am not citing any specific sources, I might be plagiarizing as I would not categorize this as "general knowledge", but then again I could be completely mistaken. So take it for what it is worth and hopefully the silly little image made you smile too :) ).

(I pulled the image from Jelene's (some unknown artist's) website - I thought it was cute, so I am giving credit where I know credit is due.)