I am finally home for the holidays.  Its been awhile since the last update, so I shall summarize:

Last week I spent in LA at ADT riding mostly in circles in big gears.  It was an incredible experience to ride with some of the best women cyclists in the US.  The weather was a bit touch-and-go for the first few days, but the Sun came through towards the end of the week so post-track workouts we had the chance to spin our legs out on the road.  We did some "scenic" LA traffic rides and LA bike path rides - honestly though, nothing feels better than a good spin after a track workout. 

I am beginning to understand how those sprinters feel so spent after just a few short efforts.  Six minutes of all out efforts really tired me out for the whole day!  Regardless, I will still harass the sprinters in the infield.  Unfortunately, I never quite found my legs, but after a week in big gears my legs are HUGE....watch out Beth, my quad measurements may start to rival yours :)

One day we went on a road ride, along the coast on the beach path - winding paths, crazy walkers/"rollerbladers"/riders, and sand kept me on full alert the whole time.  We did a nice "little" climb which had some great views, but I was too busy focusing on my 40rpm cadence to be snapping pictures.  

So after a bit of stressing that I would not make it home for the holidays due to the incoming "weather", I am finally here.  My arrival was complete with the scariest landing I have experienced to date.  The winds were howling, and the plane was getting tossed around like a child's toy.  I had to find my happy place for a little while there.

I have been greeted at home by single digit temperatures and quite an accumulation of snow.  Brrrrrr! 

My parents have shuttled me around (I have no car here now) helping with more errands in the past 30 hours than I thought was possible, complete with bike building, massage getting, violin playing, grocery shopping, gift buying, present wrapping, Christmas song dancing fun.  Tonight was the official commencement of my holiday season.  Christmas Eve's eve is when the holiday traditions begin for me, and Santa has arrived early just for me (and I suppose for my brother too, but mostly for me).  

The Top 5 Reasons Why....

YOU should attend Gio and James's track clinic:
1) Bikes are awesome
2) Hellyer Velodrome is awesome
3) Two awesome guys (James and Gio)
4) Learning new ways to go fast on a bike is awesome
5) Meeting new people is awesome

Your "awesome-o-meter" should be reading a pretty high factor right now. Go to Gio and Jame's clinic.

If you ever want to try riding the track or find new ways to improve on the track (or road), I cannot imagine two more helpful, encouraging, positive guys to teach you the skills than James and Gio. They are both super talented, highly experienced, well-spoken, knowledge and most importantly not intimidating individuals! It should be an amazing clinic where you learn both street-smarts...umm....I mean track smarts and gain knowledge about how to get the most out of your training.