Another Tiger spotted

This time, I think he was waiting for us.  Maybe stalking us?   Almost as soon as we arrived, he showed up with his friend Stuart. 

Clare, Missy, Kate, and Bunny... Cari is the team photographer.

Best seats in the house and for free.  

Lip Smacking Fun!

We love our new sponsor!  Which flavor is your favorite?  Let us know.

Clare's-  Cherry 7-up

Cari's- Strawberry Gloss

Kate- Kiwi

Bunny- Skittles Tropical Fruit

Missy- A&W Rootbeer

Rebecca- Mango

Training in Tucson

Kate Bonita at Gates pass showing her stuff.

The reason our 3 hour ride turned into 5+ hours.  Can you say bonk?  Never trust the free map.

The beautiful mountains!

How come we always take pictures with anything that has a cow?  This day we rode to Biosphere 2... really cool.

You see anyone familiar in the background?  

Rode over to say hi to Tiger on the 17th hole of Dove Mountain's Match Play Championship.

At the start of our Mt. Lemmon ride, here was the warning.  "Snow Warning.  Chains, 4WD Advised."  Hmm... should we?

Cookies and pizza at the top of Mt. Lemmon.  Oh, there was also lots of snow but no chains or 4WD needed.  

We are happy now that we are descending!  Three hours of climbing (7,344 total ft. of climbing) and less then one hour descending.  Oh, team bonding.

Pure Goodness!

This week has been like Christmas in February.  Check out what we found under the cactus.

Team Mascot?

Over coffee this morning, our team was trying to have a 'serious' meeting.  Instead, this is what we saw outside our window.  A wild javelina!  We stalked it and chased it and had some good laughs.

See ya later our little friend!  Come back and visit us- we are here all week.

Valley of Sun Race Report

Well- that was that!  It felt good to have my first race of the season under my belt.  Valley of the Sun is such a perfect race for the early season.  This year, our new friend Paco provided host housing for Kate and I.  Not only are he and his wife Mary totally fun to hang out with but Paco was also the director of the race.  He was so chill and not stressed the whole weekend... amazing!

Friday- chilly and a little rainy for the TT.  I came in 14th.  Ok for the only girl around with no TT bike and fancy-dancy wheels.  It was nice to actually enjoy the pain of a TT for the first time ever.  I have never been much of a TT person.

Saturday- perfect weather for the 50+ mile road race.  The sweet and short story: the race was a tea party and I concentrated on staying in the front and away from the chaos.  As instructed by Missy, I was in the top 10 each time up the hill.  Since I am used to being dropped on every climb, I wanted to be in front so I would only get dropped to the back of the pack and not off the back like last year.  To my surprise, I was able to stay in the front.  I even managed to win the QOM.  Wow- don't ever expect that again!  Third time up the hill (we went up this hill 4 times), I flatted at the bottom.  Oh no.  After getting a spare from the neutral support, I TT back to the peloton.  (This is what I get from the cycling spirits for always saying that I can't TT.  They want me to learn the hard way.)  I had about 5 minutes rest before the final hill and finish.  I was convinced I didn't have any gas left so told myself to play smart and finish with the pack.  Playing smart was easier then I thought by picking good wheels the whole way up the hill.  Before I knew it, we were at the top and the sprint was on.  I came in 3rd.  Darn!  I wish I would have trusted my fitness and had the mentality that I would be sprinting for 1st.  It came as a surprise and it was too late. 

Ended the day at 7th in GC.  With time bonuses for both the QOM and 3rd place, I could only move up to 7th.  Darn that TT.

Sunday- perfect weather for a crit.  I listened to Rebecca and went for 1 early prime.  Won my $50 bucks and then restrained myself from sprinting for any more primes the rest of the race.  I wanted to win more then I wanted primes.  As usual, they were throwing out big money towards the end and it was all I could do to not sprint for them even when I was in perfect position.  The race had great action and was never boring.  Attacks and primes were frequent but nothing got away.  On the last lap, my old teammate and friend Betsy G. rolled up beside me.  Oh ya!  The best lead out- great wind up and perfect lines through the corners.  Thanks Betsy!  I took the win for America's Dairyland.  Good day at the office!  

Betsy G. racing for Helen's Cycles.

Overall GC- 6th.  Next time I take the TT a little more seriously. 

This picture is for Kate.  She and I had a lot of fun joking about this little "interview" from Rock Racing.  Let's just say that I don't think he got my humor.

More later from team camp!

Cari

Warm Weather Training

Kate and I have spent the last week in Tucson, AZ getting some warm weather training under our belts and having tons of fun. After Kate drove from WI to Boulder, CO on Saturday, she flew to Tucson on Monday. She is quite the traveler.

Tuesday was a ride to Sonoita, AZ. We couldn't figure out why there were a million Border Patrol Agents passing us on the way down there. Was it because we were that close to the Mexican Border and this was normal? Or, was it because there was huge (2,200 pounds) marijuana bust in Sonoita? Um- yes. Wednesday Sonoita caught fire. I didn't realize the desert could burn like that. Thursday the fires were put out by the snow that fell on Sonoita. Looks like we picked the right day to ride there. I would rather run into 2,200 pounds of marijuana then fire or snow.

Some pictures from our adventures.
Sunny Sonoita, AZ.





After climbing and climbing, we were rewarded.




Random cyclist with no helmet (not smart) and snot on his shorts (gross.)

More adventures soon! I am finishing Valley of the Sun today and team camp starts tomorrow!

Cari

New Blog Home!

Please... come with us.  This is our new blog since we were having so much darn trouble with the last one.

Over the next couple days, we will have this one up and running.