Ode to Facebook**

Ten years ago, how I did cry.

He dumped me, I've never known why.

Many times I wondered about this love of mine.

Oh! He was so fine!

Now, thanks to Facebook I see,

He's fat and bald, teeheehee!

**Any resemblance to real persons, living or dead is purely coincidental.

Capitol Cross

Was having crap race.

Then, crashed.  Went from bad to worse. 

Still in the money**!  

*** I guess it needs to be said that all women finishers were in the money.  Still, when you have such a crappy race, topped off with a good crack across both knee caps, you've gotta look on the bright side somehow.      :o) 

Now, it's off to KC, where I get to race 3 times!  

Taneytown MABRA CX Finals

Classic conditions

Slippin, slidin' in the mud

Didn't use brakes much.

I heart the MABRA series.

Thanks for doing the laundry, Nars.  

Tacchino Cross

Bus broke down en route.

So glad to get there and race!

Libby nipping heels. 

As stressful as it was getting to the race, I was impressed by the fix-it job that Chris and gunnar devised.  You would think some cougars would have been impressed by their prowess, but alas, there didn't seem to be any in the area.   Poor Chris.  

We'll just stick that little jumper cable in there and wrap it all around the engine.  What could possibly go wrong?

(p.s. nothing!  The bus purred like a baby all the way home.  Good job, team Bi-Atch!)

Urban Cross

Country roads took us.

Neat course, but hard on sore knee.

Heart Vitamin I.

Rockburn Cross

Do not lose that wheel!

Crash! Darn, Arley's down. Go now!

Plan for the sprint, WIN!

Marilla Cross

Heart my singlespeed.

Nice cheers everywhere, thanks!

Really had fun time. 

DCCX

Scored some free socks!

Have no focus, on cruise control.

Frites are heavenly!

Iron Cross Weekend

 IC Lite:

What is wrong with me?

Feel slower than molasses.

Love spiral of death.

IC:

Fun night, amazing start.

Damn, Sonja is maniac.

FAVORITE WEEKEND!!

Kelly Acres Cross

Noisy wet camping.

Spin up hills, save the legs!

Heart the old school course.

Breast Cancer Awareness Cross

Can't miss this, good cause.

Many bumps zap energy.

Nearly blow the end!

Liliypons Cross

Adventurous camp.

Wow, DeeDee creamed us all. 

Wish I was faster.

Mountain State Road Classic

Still sick, can't miss it.

Glad to have big group of men.

Happiest for Nars.

Big Bear Ultra

Very sore throat, OUCH. 

How I love the pretty pines!

7th place overall???!!!

Fool's Gold 100

Not fueled up, tired.

Hey Cheryl, let's ride together!

Great time, will be back.

Shenandoah 100

Wow, I am flying!

Darn-it, two flats, not happy.

Yay for Cheryl, though!

Wilderness 101

Hate having bum thumb.

Happy I got to race, though.

After, fun keg stands.

Mountain Bike Nationals Haiku

Singlespeed Race:

Don't like front row start.

Wow, these hills are really steep!

Hurt thumb, but all's good.

Pro Race:

Oh no, not again

Yes, these hills still suck badly.

Will finish though, dammit.

Haiku Race Reports

Well, to nobody's surprise, I have decided that I hate writing race reports.   It came to me in the shower the other day that I should write the darn race reports short and sweet, in Haiku form.  I am certain I am not the first to think of this, but I am quite pleased with this idea.   So, during the interminable drive to/from Charlottesville this weekend, I wrote a Haiku for every cross race and most of the major mt bike races of 2008, too.     I heart Haiku! 

Disclaimer:  I am not exactly strict with the 5-7-5 formula.  Oh well.  It's more like 5-7-5 plus or minus 1 or 2.    So, 17ish syllables.  

I'll start you off with the Mohican 100:

Did not sleep a wink

Look, Floyd! Got to ride with Nars.

Miss turn, barely won!

Facebooking

Who wants to Bee my friend?

Happiness is...

Chips and Bob's Salsa right after a cross race!!!  yum! 

Or, for some people, beer in bed!!

Sorry folks

Betsy has finally gotten a Facebook account.

She is now deeply immersed in the TimeSuck and may never be right again.
It wasn't my idea.

Again, my apologies...

gunnar.

Today is the Off-Season

Better enjoy it while we can!  Road season ended yesterday, and cross preparations should begin tomorrow, at the latest.  So, that leaves today to enjoy the off-season!  Bring on the double-stuff oreos!!!

Not Exactly a Quick-Change Artist

This is my race report for the SM100:
MUST LEARN TO CHANGE FLATS FASTER.

Yes, unfortunately, I really really stink at changing flats. I must say, a big part of my massive time loss was trying to get the back wheel back in. I know that sounds really stupid, but in my defense, I hardly ever ride with those darn derailleur thingies, and even gunnar struggles with that SRAM derailleur (which was part of the reason he missed the start of the Fool's Gold).

Anyhow, up until the first flat, I felt like a million bucks, so at least I had that going for me. At some point during the 1st flat change, my hand slipped and my pinky wacked the cassette. OH Dear Lord Baby-Bi-Atch, THE BLOOD!!!!! I just stood there mesmerized by it for a moment or two. The sheer amount of blood sort of freaked me out, and the dripping certainly did not make the task at hand any easier. So, being the former Girl Scout that I am, I fashioned a bandage out of a LaraBar wrapper and stuffed it all back in my glove, and didn't think about it again until after the race. (side note: it gives me the willies to look at my maimed pinky now, though.)

Carrying forth, I couldn't find one of the Team Bi-Atch drop bags at Aid Station 3, and I didn't have a second spare tube. So when I flatted again, I felt royally bummed out, thinking I'd have to ride all the way to Aid Station 4 before I could fix it. That's when Chris Scott came flying by and gave me a 26 inch tube (Thank you Chris!!!) (Side note: did you know you can use these to fix a 29'er flat? I didn't, but now I do). I was standing there trying to figure out why Chris gave it to me (yes, the brain sort of goes on hiatus during these hundred mile things), when a Gary Fisher 29'er guy came by and gave me a 29'er tube. (Thank you, 29'er guy!!!) Life was good again, and when I finally got rolling again, I was in 6th place. So I chased, but had to be happy with third.

Despite my embarrassing ineptitude, it was a great time. As they say, Chris Scott puts on the "best of the best" races, and I couldn't agree more. And gunnar won, with Goose coming in second, so that makes me happy. There were so many of my favorite mountain biking buddies there, and it was great to see Sue H. Congrats to Cheryl for a well-deserved NUE series win. WOOHOO!

This picture makes me laugh every time. I love how Cheryl and Trish are cheering as I chug the champagne. I had such fun racing with them this year.



gunnar and I found this bike on the highway. If you happen to know the owner, let us know!



Jackie and her mini-me.



The family heads home after another adventurous weekend.

I forgot to mention that Monday was Potato-Overload Day. I had hashbrowns, french fries, potato chips, and mashed potatoes all in the same day (but not all at the same time). YUM.

GOOOOO Mom and Pop!!

This past weekend my parents came up for the Sprint, Splash, Spin, a triathlon right here in Morgantown. If ever you are going to try a triathlon, this would be the one to try. At 72, my dad was the oldest competitor, and my mom tied for the second oldest woman. I think it is safe to say we were all a bit worried the night before, but they looked great through the whole thing, and finished strong and happy! JOY!!! Needless to say, I was so proud of them that my heart was about to burst.

Here are some snappies from the event:

The obligatory "before" shot.

Here's a close-up of Dad's cool swimming shoes.

Can you feel the nerves?

The bustling venue.

"The Pass." (sorry, Dad)

Mom, finishing! She was running faster than I've ever seen her run.

Dad, finishing a minute later! Looking good on that fake hip!

YAY, MOM!!!

The obligatory "after" picture.

Mom and Pop even medaled in their age groups. YAHOO! GREAT JOB Mom and Pop!! I can't wait to cheer you on again next year.

Abe is thinking about the Kiddie Tri next year.

This Crazy Life

HOME. This week, my friend, was a bit too much.

I spent Sun.-Thurs. in Connecticut, getting the details on various people's cough with phlegm. The good news is: by the end of the week, I was able to say "cough with phlegm" without pinching myself very hard to keep a straight face. But, I also foolishly tried to save my per diem money and ate like crap all week. I pretty much begged and pleaded with the powers that hold my fate in their hands to come home on Thursday (instead of Saturday) so I could race the Fool's Gold. So, they bought me a ticket that had me arriving in M-town at midnight Thursday night. Not so good when you need to be in GA by sunrise on Sat.

Fortunately, I noticed my layover was in Charlotte, so I had the good folks of Team Bi-Atch pick me up there, en route to the Fool's Gold. JOY!!! What a perfect plan, except I gotta admit I was plumb tuckered out even before the race started.

Jackie's first hotel room! How exciting!

Regardless of feeling like I was running on empty throughout the race, it was a great adventure. Cheryl was also having some issues of her own, so we rode the 2nd 50 mile lap together, which was much fun and took the stress of it all away. We chatted and laughed and commiserated about various body parts together. I think she had a good time, too.

A Chipper-looking Cheryl!

Some days you've got it, some days you don't. I'd still prefer a day of riding my mountain bike with friends over a day at the office, no matter what my spunk-level is, though...

Some other good things about the weekend were:

• venturing out of our stomping grounds and meeting all sorts of new people (including the O'deas).
• there were some sections of the course that were TOO MUCH FUN, like being on a roller coaster. I highly recommend this race!!!
  
• having Jackie along for the trip. She was a trooper and also really enjoyed the meat lasagna! I can't believe how much I heart that little lovebug.

• finally getting home. There is nothing like a good night's sleep in one's own bed. Heavenly, I tell you.
  

Pretties

Look what arrived in the mail yesterday!!!
Kerry Van Den Combsie is about the best friend ever.

Not only did she give me a super great pep-talk BEFORE the Wilderness, she also sent me these gorgeous flowers as a "good job." I must say they arrived at a great time. After every 100 miler, there comes a time when the "high" wears off, and a meltdown ensues. Meltdowns are easily avoided whilst in the presence of these flowers. THANK YOU, Kerry. And a huge congrats on your new job. See you at the Shenandoah! :o)

I never claimed to be the sharpest tool in the shed.

Last weekend, I stubbed my thumb really hard on the 2nd lap of the singlespeed race up at Mt. Snow. Fortunately, adrenaline got me through that race; then I popped some ibuprofen and lined up for the pro race. Unfortunately, the adrenaline wore off pretty quick during that race, and by laps 5 and 6, I was having a hard time holding on to the bars. boohoohoo.
Fast forward to the next weekend, and I had a lovely removeable splint on my thumb. The nice doctor that splinted it, said-- "there, you should be able to hold on to your bars with that." I heart that doctor.

Being the stubborn Cycle-Dumb athlete that I am, I decided I would just do the Wilderness 101 on my SS (couldn't shift) and with my thumb nicely splinted to keep it from jiggling about. I suppose it worked fairly well ( I didn't crash at all, amazingly), but the flats and downhills were torture for me on the SS. I'd pass 15 people on a climb, then watch them all zoom by me and out of sight a minute later. I can't spin worth a darn. boohoohoo again. The thumb did jiggle about somewhat, but overall, I'd say it did decently. It hurts like the dickens this week, but I'm blaming that on labwork, not racing!! :o)

The good thing is I felt relatively fresh at the end and am rearing to go again. It was a darn good time, and riding with no real intention of trying to win was sort of relaxing and enjoyable, to tell you the truth. Thanks very much to Chris Scott and Cathy DeSantos for their massive efforts in organizing these wonderful events.

Timbuk2 Dogs

gunnar got me a gift certificate for a new Timbuk2 bag for my BD. This is mainly because after 5 years of commuting, mine SMELLS, and it just needs to go away for awhile. After having lots of fun fiddling with color combos and such, I caught a glimpse of a photo of little dD on the fridge, and you can probably guess what I saw--- a Timbuk2 bag! Same goes for little Jackie! How cute!

Back to Reality

The past week has been full of adventures, and not a lick of work. In fact, I didn't even think about fungi and other nasties at all. That familiar feeling of dread is starting to set-in, though, as tomorrow it's back to the grind. :o( BOOHOOHOO
Hopefully you've all been keeping up with the Team Bi-Atch adventures, but here's a few additional items.

• First thing we did was attend a double baptism in OH for Addie and Ellie. gunnar and I are lucky enough to be the godparents of little Ellie.(Ellie = top photo, Addie = bottom photo)
  

Creepy man lurking in the back. (Take note, Ladies: Look how nice Goose cleans up!)

• I learned one REALLY good lesson this week and that is: don't try to pass on the inside during a sprint. That was a dumb move, and one I keep reliving in my mind. Oh well, it seems there is something to learn at every race!

Abe was happy with his silver medal.

• Gunnar and I went to the Louisville Zoo on Wed., the day between my races. Probably walking around in the heat is not the smartest thing to do whilst preparing for a big race, but it was well worth it for this moment alone. This beaut certainly recognized his kindred spirit.

• These little guys were at the race on Tues., and pretty much stole my heart!! SO CUTE. It was good to get a doggie-fix when Jackie was off at her grandparents.

• Seeing and hanging out with some old friends and meeting some new ones was a definite highlight of the week. Congratulations to all that won a jersey this time around!!
  

Anyhow, MUCH fun was had all week long, and the fun continued today with the last "parade stage." The only good thing about being sick is when it is finally all gone and you feel like a million bucks. Today's ride was absolutely glorious, despite the 4 races in the past 5 days. I feel like I am finally back in shape and it's a joyous feeling!

I Heart Gov't Travel

A couple weeks ago I submitted my travel voucher for $831.00 from the AIHCE conference through the proper channels. Imagine my sweet surprise and elation when I got the official document back, saying they were paying me $83,100!!!! SWWWWEEEEEETTT!!! New bikes for all my friends, and you, too, Mom!!!!

Unfortunately, they noticed the misplaced decimal point before I could submit my two week's notice, so my joy was shortlived. :o(

Splinter Be Gone

Last night, Nars had the pleasure of digging a deeply embedded splinter from the sole of my foot. This splinter has been the bane of my existence since the Mohican 100. Since then, I was so convinced I had torn my plantar faschia, had a plantar fibroma, and/or had some extreme arch defect, and my season was OVER. It about drove me crazy during the 24 Hours of Big Bear, and I was afraid to take off my shoes between laps. Thank goodness Cassie didn't mind doing the Lemans style start. I was so impressed with her run and her gutsiness (she did the extra lap AND the most night laps), btw! I heart being teammates with Cassie!!!

Anyhow, back to the most evil little shard of something-or-another...I am not even close to being flexible enough to have a look at the bottom of my foot to see that it was just a splinter, until misery drove me to contort my body to new positions to have a look last night. And there was a little itty bitty splinter. Talk about the Princess and the Pea...!!!
I must say getting that little devil out was quite possibly the most painful experience of my life (knock on wood). My feet are sooooo sensitive, and let's just say Nars has no mercy. I'm sure the neighbors thought there was some domestic violence going on. I would have a picture, but I was really a sniveling mess, and that splinter was so tiny it probably wouldn't have shown up anyhow. Thanks for getting that sucker out, Nars!

Memoirs of a Gila

I am waaay overdue for a Gila report, but it's pretty much been non-stop since I got back. It was such a good time and such a big thing (for me), though, that I want to write something quick about it, even if it is bulleted fashion. I guess to sum it up quickly, I would have to say it was really hard, and I was so happy to have finished it in one piece. My team did well, and none of us crashed, so that makes it a big success. There are definitely some things I would have done differently, but it was a valuable learning experience, indeed.

• New Mexico is really dry and the air is oh-so thin. My nose bled.
• The wind out there is FIERCE. There was a wind-advisory for a few of the days-- 50+ mph gusts! The 1st day I got blown into a ditch, just like a big old tumbleweed.
• The 2nd day I had a panic attack (couldn't breathe!) on one of the big climbs, got dropped, and had to chase for 30 miles!! About 15 of those miles, I could see the caravan, which was complete torture. But I made it. :o) Then I threw up at the end.
  
• My contacts actually blew out of my eyes three times.
• I don't know how you lose 7 minutes in a 16 mile TT, but I did it! (It would have helped to have some bigger gears-- some women were using 56 tooth chainrings.) But mostly I just did really bad. DOH!
  
• Thank you, John Verheul for calling me up to the line for the crit!!! That made my day! Incidentally, this crit was probably one of the most fun races I've ever raced.
  
• I wish I hadn't used a 27 on the last day. It was nice to have, but I am much more of a grinder than a spinner. And if it's there, you can't help but use it.
  
• I was sooooo sick of pasta (I couldn't eat it for breakfast, but the other girls did).
• Thank you Missy and Kate for all your help with bike maintenance n'at.

• I really heart racing with my team. I wish I could do it more often. :o(

I don't know what else. It was just fun. However, it did feel really good to come home to the green lush hills of wild and wonderful WV. I know WV often gets a bad rap, but I love it, and it feels like home. I just wish I could convince my family to move here.
Here are a few pictures.

The cliffs:

The town that we stayed in (not much going on):

Me, trying to suck in some thin NM air:

Me, about 1 minute later, when I realized that woman over there was dishing out ice cream:

We stayed in the House of a 1000 Frogs (this is a small sampling):

Killer snapped on the last day and tried to eat them:

After the last stage, I got a ride to the El Paso airport with the owner of the Rio Grande team. We drove in the night before the flights left, since his left at 7 AM. Anyhow, this angel of a man paid for a hotel room for me in the El Paso Wyndam. Let me tell you, happiness = your own plush hotel room after stage racing and staying with 5 women for a week. I truly love my teammates, but there is nothing like your own king-size bed, room service, and Animal Planet!!!

More Farm Pictures

The thing I like about working on a farm is that you have something to show for your hard work, as evidenced by that beautiful pile of freshly shoveled horse poo.

More often than not, I don't have much to show for my 8.5 hours of hard work in the micro lab (and it's not for lack of trying). That's just sort of the nature of the research beast, I suppose.

Here, Missy and I try to reenact American Gothic. I think everybody visiting a farm takes a picture like this.