Author: Allison

First day 1.5

So my story should start with a calm walk around the Tower of London. After a good ice cream, I was on the tube heading to Westminster where I got to walk along the River Thames and see the London Eye. I then strolled around Westminster, including Westminster Abbey – the church where royals have been married or buried. After that I popped into the Red Lion pub where I had a good BLT with proper English bacon.

I then returned to the Tower of London where I got to hang out with John, Chief Yeoman Warder of the Tower of London. Did you know the Tower of London is 18 acres and more than 20 towers? The Crown Jewels are also kept in the Tower. I was then able to enjoy some sensational and risky ice creams at The Icecreamist. You could get flavors from lemon grass and chili pepper to caramel vanilla bean. You will have to venture there to find out which ice is on fire, literally. I then joined Henry Cejudo for some curry at the St Katherine Dock next to the tower bridge.

This morning I went to Cambridge. On the way up we drove by the Olympic Park where i got my first glimpse of the Velodrome. Absolutely amazing. The whole complex is still getting the final touches applied. Once in Cambridge my first stop was The Eagle pub where pilots burnt their names into the ceiling and where DNA was chatted about for the first time over a lunch. I then went to admire the crazy scary enormous clock Stephen Hawking had displayed on a corner street at Corpus Christi College, the grass hopper is truly frightening.

I then went on to hear how the past has an impact on today. I saw the place where George Washington`s great uncle is buried. There, I was in a little church seeing where the stars and stripes for our flag and the eagle became a cornerstone of American culture. I was then able to walk about a typical Cambridge College and see King’s College Chapel.

After a bite of lunch at Ta Bouche, I went punting. No, I did not kick a football, but instead I floated the River Cam. My guide Joe gave me the backside view of several colleges. He also let me steer, or punt, the boat down the river. Once back on land, I went on a bike tour along the River Cam. Did you know there are 80 miles of bike lanes in Cambridge? I got to ride a bit and enjoy more breathtaking views.

I then made the short journey to the Cambridge American Cemetery. I learned about Lt. Col. Hitchcock, Medal of Honor recipient Vance, and Flight Nurse Price as well as various service members who either went missing or gave their life during the world wars. After lowering the flag at the cemetery, I went back to the eagle to round out the trip out and enjoy a good plate of fish and chips in The Eagle pub. And, not only did I eat in The Eagle, but I sat at the very table where James Watson and Francis Crick announced they had “discovered the secret of life” – DNA.

Day 2

An early start for an exciting day! Today I started by going to the Olympic Park and to the Velodrome. I must say that I was most excited for this. It is not every day that an individual gets to go and just sit on the wood of a brand new velodrome, especially one that will be hosting the big event held only once every four years. Driving through the village or Olympic Park was fun. To see all of the venues, finished or under construction, was awesome to see knowing that the next time I will be there it will be a full functioning city within a city. The velodrome itself is amazing. The curved suspended roof, 360 degree seating, new pine, and natural lighting is just breath taking. I was able to just sit where I would be starting my races. Just sit and take it all in. I could hear the crowd, see my coach screaming in the corner, and feel the bike beneath me. It was kind of eerie in a sense but very exciting at the same time.

After departing from the velodrome I was off to Parliament. At Westminster Hall I met up with Alister Burt, Minister of North America. Minister Burt is a very enthusiastic gentleman who was kind enough to give us a mini guide to normally off limit areas around the Hall of Lords, where the real government works. The rooms are really amazing places. It was amazing the detail of all the wall and features. The whole place burned to the ground and was reconstructed with immaculate detail and care. The Westminster Hall did not burn down and has the history all the way back to Kings being sentenced to death.

After Parliament I had lunch at the Red Lion across the street from my next destination, 10 Downing Street. I would go out on a limb and assume that most American’s don’t know what 10 Downing Street means. Well it is the equivalent to our White House. No 10, as the locals call it, is where the Prime Minister lives. It is also where he meets and greets foreign dignitaries and where he runs the government. To gain access to No 10 you get to knock the knocker and gentleman will let you through the door, well that is after all of the security that you have to get through to get into the area. Though I didn’t meet the Prime Minister I was told that he was literally feet away in his office working. I thought that was pretty cool.

After No 10 I was whisked off to a social gathering at Deputy Chief of Mission Barbara Stephenson’s residence. Minister Stephenson was a wonderful hostess and I had a grand time getting to know her and her husband. I look forward to hopefully to meeting with them again I while I am back in London next year.

Day 3

My final day of touring around the UK took Nastia Liukin and myself traveling the country side. We left early to drive the 2.5 hours to Stratford-upon-Avon, the birth place of William Shakespeare. We were able to get a tour of his home and learn a little bit about what his family did for a living. After seeing his home we made the short journey to the Royal Shakespeare Company where there are daily Shakespeare performances held. Our tour guide was Steve Toussaint who plays a role in Macbeth. He was a great tour guide taking us back stage, through a warm up session with other actors, to the wig room and the wardrobe department. I had a good time for sure. After leaving the stage we were off to Broadway.

The origin of Broadway, NY is from Broadway in the Cotswolds, very gorgeous area to visit. Our tour guide for this region was Jeremy, who is one of 12 artist choose for the 2012 Olympic Games. He grew up there, so he was a perfect guide for trekking back behind the main street in to the more picturesque fields that surround the village. After a pet of the pony Chips we were off to his studio where he showed us a few piece of his work. Amazing!! He surprised Nastia with a painting that he had done years ago of her from a photo taken at a competition. He was also generous enough to create small painting of Nastia and myself to take home. Truly a nice guy. After Broadway we were off to the kitchen.

Rob Rees is also amazing. He is a culinary genius, well a thousand times better a cook then I am. He walked Nastia and I through a great desert, Mix Summer Berries, Meringues, and Tarragon Custard. I am not a good chef compared to Rob though I am looking forward to showing off to my friends the next time I get a chance in the kitchen.  Rob was also all about using local product of the Cotswold. He had everything from Plum Butter to Muddie Wellies Beer.  A great way to end the trip and head back to the States to start another chapter of this year multi city road trip.

“What in the world?” is a phrase that I like to use from time to time. I have been saying this a lot in my head as of late for the fact that I always seem to bite of more then I can chew. I am about to embark on a five week adventure to four countries, including different regions of the United State, drive more then 3000 miles and fly more then 24 hours. I am stoked!!! How do I get ready for this multi destinational adventure. First I have to pack a car that I am not driving to Reno but will carry everything that I need for the second half of my trip. This will include my mountain bike, things I need for warmer weather, equipment for mountain biking, food for LA, and what ever track equipment I need for racing. Second I need to pack for the first trip. I am going to Denmark and London. The weather is not supposed to be all that warm in Denmark so I will assume the same for London. I will need two bikes, all my new team USA clothing, my clothing for the Team USA Britain Bound trip, my World Championship TT and Road Race attire, and then everything else you bring on a two week trip to Europe and the UK.
Then again I say to myself, “What in the World” am a going to do. I need to get all of this done while I train and prepare for the races that I am traveling for in the first place. I know that I will be able to do this but it is just getting it done and my do it the night before probably won’t cut it this time. Needless to say, “What in the World am going to do?” I am going to do it with style no mater how I end up doing it.

There is a chair hanging from my window because it stinks. The chair smells like camp fire and I don’t want my room to smell like smoke. Don’t get me wrong I have nothing against camp fire smoke because it means that I just got back from camping where I built a camp fire. I cooked sausages and made smores. I read my book and had hot chocolate. A perfect little get away. I could not ask for more nor wished for anything different. My last camping trip of the summer and I had a grand time. I hung out with my mother’s dog Raleigh and my dad. I camped near Buena Vista along Chalk Creek a super secret spot. The quite time with just the dog was what I have needed for a while. I finished a book that I started what seems like ages ago and started a new one, hopefully won’t take as long to finish as the last.
I am glad that I was able to get this chance to escape because this next eight weeks are going to be a rush. I am going to four countries in five weeks. Ten days in Denmark, five days in London and Whales, three days in Reno, ten plus days in LA, and hopefully a beautiful week in Rossland, BC. I might tag on NY at the end of that to get a new socket. I am really glad I took the weekend off.

My latest trip is a two city destination full of adventure. I am proud to be apart of Team USA Britain Bound. A really cool program that is a partnership between the USOC and Visit Britain. Through their partnership five Olympians and two Paralympians are going to visit Britain before the games and not for competition. We are going to be visiting the venues for the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games and historical sites around England, Wales, and Scotland. So on July 26th the two groups got together and launched the www.TeamUSA.org/britainbound in New York City. I got meet five of the other athletes going that are apart of the Britain Bound. Both the athletes and the organizers for the Visit Britain and USOC are amazing people. I had a lot of fun and look forward to going over to London, Wales, and Stoke Mandeville.

On the 27th I had another wonderful experience, well two for that matter. The first was riding in Central Park and the streets of New York. It is really awesome that in the middle of a concrete jungle there is an oasis for those who need the green. The second was much more exciting. My sister and I went to the United Nations to be at the start of the one year count down to the opening ceremonies of the 2012 Olympic Games in London. We were apart of something much bigger then either of us was expecting. During the ceremony we both met UK Ambassador and Permanent Representative, Sir Mark Lyall Grant, the Secretary-General, His Excellency Mr Ban Ki-moon, and Olympian and now UN Goodwill Ambassador Carl Lewis. The main The three of them unveiled Olympic Countdown Clock at the United Nations Headquarters. I was awesome to be apart of such an amazing event. I don’t think I can remember ever being in the presence of such amazing and courageous people. I met true world leaders and they are very humbling.

On the 28th I had another amazing day. I got to explore the surrounding area of Huntington, NY where my sister and her Fiance live. That afternoon I made my not so annual visit to A Step Ahead where my prosthetic was built. My prosthetist, Erik, always gives me grief for not coming by more often but he always seems to take care of my leg. Expecting just an alignment fix I walked away on a new to me knee, shock, and accessories. He also fixed the socket so that it would fit better. So until the next time I show up for a new leg, if I can get the support, I will at least be able to sneak up on people again.

The next day I went into the city with my sister and went to the Met. I went to the Alexander McQueen exhibit. A must see. He was a brilliant fashion designer that tore the standard apart. His works are amazing. If I had just an ounce of his ability and apply that in my engineering or sports I would be untouchable. After the museum I went for a long ride in the park. I can’t ever say that I have sweated that much while riding outside, New York is just out right muggy right now. It was a good ride and good people watching even on a bike. For dinner Haley, Mike (fiance), and I went for Hibachi in Huntington. After that they showed me around town and Mike gave me a quick history of the area.

On a beautiful morning Mike took Haley and I out boating. We had breakfast sandwiches, mini donuts, and coffee while out on the boat, perfect. Mike caught a fish and Haley and I nothing but it was a gorgeous day. Great last day with Haley and Mike. I was then off to Chicago. I went to Chicago for the Beyond Water Beach Party with Adaptive Adventures. I got to stay at the Hilton on Michigan Ave in downtown. It was beautiful hotel and great hospitality. A crossed from the hotel was a summer concert and I found a great place for deep dish pizza. At the beach party there was Kayaking and Cycling and BBQ for all to enjoy. The party was on the lake and it was another beautiful day. The party was a great way to finish the week.

This blog will be a shout out to all of my supporters, fans, and mostly family. I was nominated for an ESPY award. For those that don’t watch tv that is the ESPN Sports Performance of the Year awards. A good excuse for ESPN to throw a really big party over two days and invite amazing athletes. I had a blast. My mother and I both flew in style sitting in first class to LA. Once in LA we were picked up by car service to the W Hotel on Hollywood Blvd. I was absolutely loving life. Once at the hotel I wasn’t excepting what I was about to go through. I knew that there was a gift bag pick up but I was treated like someone that was important. I have been semi pampered before but nothing compared to this. The staff were amazing.My mother and I were put up in a very nice room and escorted through the procession with a certain entitlement, which was hard for both of us to fully embrace being very polite and modest when it comes to exploiting the situation. After checking in and getting the tickets for the first evening we were escorted to the gift bag pick up. I thought it would be a small duffle bag with a bunch of promotional gifts but I was very wrong. My first gift was a duffle bag full of everything. Now I thought that this was amazing and also thought that this was it. Again I was wrong. We walked across the lobby to what would be a corridor of rooms where each room was dedicated to individual companies. After an hour or so my moms arms were full of additional gifts, a few were even given to her. I was completely over welhmed with every thing. Returning to the room I actually went through all of the bags and survey the gifts. I am very grateful for everything because this was truly an experience and I hadn’t even gone to the award ceremony yet. Before that night activities mom and I went to the pool on the roof and had a grand time hanging out with Melissa Stockwell and her boyfriend. That night was the first party. Neither of us stayed out to late knowing that the next night was going to be even longer. I wore a very cute little pink dress, yes folks a dress. No shoulder straps and thanks to a spray on tan I looked like I could be at the beach.
The next morning was a little bit more chill. We slept in just a bit and headed to lunch at the ESPN Zone next to the Nokia Theater where the ceremony was going to be. The place was packed and the band was going through the sound check for that nights event. After lunch we both got ready for the awards. Transporting that many people is a lot and time consuming. There were three waves of people and a lot of well know athletes getting onto shuttle buses to head over to the theater. I went down early to check everything out and hang with other athletes before the craziness of the evening. I had a ton of fun. Usually my camera would be out but I was so over welhmed that I only got a rare few photos. I was having way to much fun.
Once at the theater I got to walk the red carpet. That was awesome. I had know clue what I was supposed to do or what was excepted, I just went with the flow of it. There were a ton of cameras and lots of shouting photographers. Good news I wasn’t the star of the show. Thanks goodness. There were other attendees that were just going through the wringer trying to appease all of the journalist. I very nice escort walked me through all of the media interviews and that was fun. I got to answer a ton of media questions, some were easy and some I had no clue what angle they were going for. I was definitely an experience. Once in the theater I had a grand time in awe and amazement. I star studded packed theater full of famous athletes and there guests. The ceremony itself was fun with Seth Meyers hosting. The stories and awards given were touching and amazing at the same time. After the show we all went to the post party and listened to a couple of awesome concerts, one of which was CeeLo Green. The deserts and food were amazing. The whole experience was absolutely amazing.

The only reason I was there was because someone nominated me and I give a huge Thank You. Thank you for the amazing trip and the ability to share it with my mother.

My summer has been amazing. I have traveled all over the world racing for Team USA. I am very lucky that I have been able to do these travels with the coolest people. Since my last entry I have been to Australia, back to Baie-Comeau, Quebec, down south to Augusta, Georgia, across to LA, and now New York.
In Australia I competed in a World Cup for cycling. I won the TT and the Road Race. I got to stay at the Olympic Park in Sydney, where all the major stadiums and venues still are that were used for the 2000 Summer Olympics and Paralympics. I stayed at the Pullman, a really nice hotel and really nice people there. I also got to hangout with Brad Washburn, my ski teammate and friend that I grew up skiing with, and his wife Cynthia. I took a little vacation while I was down there and crashed a teammates college buddies couch for a week. The couch is located right next to Bondi Beach. To get to Bondi I took a train to the end of the line and then thought I could take a bus. Well… I had my bike and a bag of gear but the buses don’t allow bikes. So I improvised. Got on my bike and started riding what I thought was east. Eventually I found the beach and made my way. For a little while there I had no idea where I was going or what I was going to do. Luckily I was up for a little bit adventure.

My next trip was to Augusta, Georgia for road nationals. I decided to make it a true adventure and drive there instead of flying. Great idea on paper. Long time driving there though. To help out a teammate I let him come along. That was an adventure within its self. The drive was boring until Tennessee. That region of the country is beautiful. Mountain biker’s dream. Nationals was fun with a TT, Crit, and Road Race. I had a horrible time in the TT but there was nothing terrible about the ride. I was the only girl in the Crit, Greta was out with a broken collar bone, and the road race a blast. I rode with all the guys for the first 4 rolling hills and then rode the rest of the first lap with a new girl. Cheered a teammate up another hill and then rode the last lap with a twitchy army guy. It was a lot of fun. The drive home was complete illuminated by lightening. Made the national news with how big the storm was.

A week after returning from Georgia I was off to Baie Comeau, Quebec. Bikes in tow and ready to go, back to where I won my first World Championships last year. I was excited to be going back. B-C is hard to get to but the locals are absolutely awesome. The training day was packed with folks along the course and the race day was standing room only. I won both the TT and the road race. At the start of the road race the announced that because of the heat we were allowed to take water each lap. Normally you can’t on the last lap. This announcement made my coach and I chuckle cause it was 70F and gorgeous. The announcer noticed and proceeded to add that I might not feel hot for those from southern California. Colorado or California I’m sure that 70F would still be comfortable for anyone. The rest of the team did really well. Oz, Monica, Muffy, Dave and Clark, and I all won the World Cup Overall. Not bad at for a small American team.

So… I am still horrible at updating my blog whilst on these trips I take. My latest trip was to Montreal, Quebec and Sydney, Australia. I was technically on business trips, but when your business is riding bikes in short and long circles, it is hard to call this trip business. I am really looking forward to sharing my stories though.

It’s all started on April 25th when we got on a wee airplane and flew to Montreal via Chicago. The trip started off great with our newest teammate announcing that he didn’t sleep the night before travel because he was afraid that he would not wake up by 6am. So being half punch drunk the rest of the team couldn’t but make fun of him. Needless to say I enjoyed the travel with the team. Half the group met up in Chicago and the other half flew through Denver, don’t ask cause I don’t know why those who live in Colorado Springs didn’t fly through Denver cause I don’t know nor care, I didn’t pay for the ticket. Once up in Montreal we were greeted with the weather that we were going to be facing most of the weekend, either cold and windy or cold and rainy. The race in Blaineville, just outside of Montreal, was a large oval race way, with head wind one side, tail wind the other side. The ride was quite boring if you asked me but again can’t complain for I was in Canada riding my bike. We all went in circles for different given lengths and finished.

After a day off we were then racing at the F1 track in Montreal, but this is where things get funny. Time Trials were going to be under the lights at this race circuit, only problem is that there were no lights. So the organizers moved the schedule up 45mins but fail to tell anybody. Our original plan was to drive one wave down then the second. Unfortunately with the change in schedule and rush hour traffic through downtown Montreal there was no certainty that the van is going to make it. In short notice the entire team changes and gets ready for an urban time trial. The only way to beat rush hour traffic is to break most traffic laws. We saw no option so on we go. As soon as a hole would open it was taken. We never ran any lights, though we did cross with the pedestrians on occasion. I must say that I enjoyed it. Probably a better warm up then had the vans been able to get us. After that amazing adventure we all managed to win or podium. Good night for the Americans. Next day was the road race on the same circuit. All of the single bikes started together and I had a blast. I was able to keep in the group for half the race and then I was done. I just couldn’t keep up with the accelerations which is fine considering I was the only girl riding with one leg. Sam, Greta, Mike, Oz, Muffy, Monica, Matt, and myself won our classes and Anthony, Dave and Clark, and Vince made the podium as well.

Next thing you know we are rushing to get all of our bikes packed and off to the airport because they and us won’t fit on the transport to the airport together, but once that is done we get to relax a bit and enjoy a good sleep in with an 11am departure.

You can never stop looking for success. Never. You must always find little bits of fun in everything and that is success.

I just got back from the 2011 UCI Para-Cycling Track World Championships in Montichiari, Italy. I had a blast. I can’t say I saw much of the city which is a shame, but I had fun. I also had a blast riding my bike. The track there is a little weird. I can only describe it like a bowl. the steepest bits aren’t until you are fully into the turn. The straight-aways are super short but because the full steepness of the turn does not come right away I felt fully able to take my time starting. I was feeling great. Our bikes, well the majority, did not arrive until the morning of day two. So for the first day I got to ride a teammates bike. Thanks to jet lag I was awake when the truck showed up with all of the bikes. Unable to sleep I set out at 5 am to build my bikes. By 6 I was back in bed to get another couple hours of sleep. Going down to breakfast at 8am the first thing one of the coaches asked, “So did you build your bikes, cause I walked in the room and there they were. I was pretty sure that I was the first one down there.” I responded with, “What else do you do at 5 in the morning when you’ve been awake since 3:30?”

So with bike built I was able to go out on a group ride through the county side. The Italy country side after the thaw has occurred smells awful. The natural fertilizer is down right pungent. Despite the smell it was nice to be riding outside. We were then able to get onto the track in the afternoon. It was nice to be able to ride the track bike. Most of the others did their warmup on the road, where those visually impaired and those like myself who do better warming up on the rollers or trainers. The workout was nice, it was also nerve racking because it would be last workout before the first race.

Basically all I did for three days were recovery rides. Lots of time spent on the rollers in the basement just biding my time. It is tough just waiting. Trying to fill the time. Trying to keep the mind busy. I was able to time things well and did a lot of TV watching on the laptop. The Italian’s do know coffee so I was never without a good cappuccino. I am glad for that.

Race day came early though. As much as I was ready for it, I was not ready for it. Barb and I were on a 7 am bus ride to the track was a little early. Our event was the first one in the morning on Saturday. I was in the 4th heat against a Chinese gal that I have been racing against for the last couple of years. So if it could go wrong some how it did. I almost forgot my gloves, realized it while I was on deck. Next thing to go wrong was my rear wheel slipped during my start. So during the ride nothing went wrong, though I did scare my coach with a really, well not completely, slow starting lap. About one second slower then what I had been doing. I was then able to move straight into the schedule that I had been training in LA. Next thing to go wrong was quickly after getting off the bike find out that I just raced on a gear that was huge for me. 6 inches bigger. For those not in the cycling world that is huge. So now I have almost forgotten gloves, pulled a wheel, and rode the wrong gear. Not bad. The bright news was that I did a personal best by 4 seconds and qualified first. So that means I get to ride a second ride against a Spaniard who qualified second.

So for the afternoon I tried my best not to mess up this time. I remembered my gloves. I was under the assumption that I was on the right gear, and I got a little obsessive with every one making sure it was the gear that Craig, head coach, thought was appropriate. One of the hard things about finals is that you can’t dow the same thing you did in the morning for the afternoon. You are already fatigued from the morning and you have to manage your energy for the second ride. I was hard not to get on the road bike and do the normal warmup. I again gave all of my faith to Craig and basically did what he wanted me to do. I did a very short warmup with a couple of efforts and next thing you know I am back on the bike getting ready for the second ride. So this time I get off without a hitch. Another slow start but the next three laps were fast. I was almost scared that I had gone out to fast and that I would be able to hold onto it. I just yelled at myself in my head that I wasn’t going to loose because I went to fast. I did my all to chase her down. In the end it worked. I managed to set another personal best. Not to bad for my least favorite event.

Unfortunately riding two pr’s in one day seems to tax my system. I woke up the next morning feeling like poop. I knew that morning when I woke up I was going to have fight for everything in that 500m. I did my best under those conditions and not that I am not happy with my time I know that I can go faster with better conditioning and preparation for that type of situation. I will be ready next time.

After a good evening with the team we were off at 3:30am to the airport where it took the team a couple of hours to get checked. From there is was smooth sailing all the way back to my couch and TV. And that my friends was a successful trip. I had fun, I hurt, I cheered, I won, I had fun.

I have been racing all of my life. I have had hundreds of starts and hundreds of finishes, and I still get the Jitters. I hate the Jitters. I know what I am doing but I always go into the start nervous. I guess that is a good thing because I have had my share of success. I have also had my share of failures. I don’t dwell on the failures but it is a reality. I am glad to have the Jitters right now. I am excited. I am ready. I look forward to the future. I can’t tell you the outcome but I am going to do my damnedest to do everything to do my best. I have no doubt in my ability but I am always nervous. I know in the end everything will work out. Everything will be fine and dandy on Monday so no worries about the pain and commitment that I am going to put myself in on Saturday and Sunday.

So quick synopsis, I have been to LA three time, Chula Vista once, and AZ once. After the third LA trip I made the decision to go to Tucson and hang out with my teammates, Dave and Clark. In other words I decided that I would like to ride my bike outside and not in the little work room down stairs. I was so happy when I got off the plane and was comfortable in a light shirt at 8pm. That was also right after I got word that it was below freezing in Colorado Springs. I had made the right choice. I took a couple of days off and did this really nice loop ride that took just over an hour and a half. Greta arrived on Thursday and we got in one more ride just before leaving for Phoenix. Why were we going to Phoenix? We were going to go racing. Yes racing bikes in February, how awesome is that. This race is also my first able-body cycling race. The race was a three day stage race all around the Phoenix area. The Time Trial was first on Friday and I started at 10:06. I wasn’t expect a bad ride but the ride that I had was awful. It wasn’t miserable on the ride but I knew it wasn’t special either. Cool bit about the TT is that I was 16th out of 28. Not bad, knowing I had an off day. Next up was the road race. My longest race that I have competed in yet, 41 miles. Most are just around 50 kilometers. I did well for the first half lap and then we came up to a 4km climb. The field decided to sprint for some dumb reason and I wasn’t able to keep on. I did though keep my pace up as long as I could. I managed to pass those who dropped later and basically time trial back up to the field, which with the help of others we managed to do. The second time up the hill I made it half way with the group and then got spit out the back. I tried hard to catch up but the head wind was a lot worse. I ended up just riding the rest of the ride at a tempo and was happy with what I was able to do with the group at the beginning. For the Criterium I had a ton of fun. Greta was able to hold me so that I could get a really good start. I hung with the fast group for the first ten minutes and then there was a field sprint for a prime (pronounced Pre-eem) and I wasn’t able to match. I rode hard for another 5 minutes staying in between groups. By the end I pulled up and finished with the second group. By all accounts the weekend was a success for me. I finished 17th over all and was super excited. After the Crit we made our way back to Tucson, stopping off at a dirty Mexican restaurant 20 miles south of Chandler, where I got a 12 inch 9 pound burrito and a Mexican coke. It was wonderful. On Monday we took Greta to the airport and then had a pretty chill day sitting outside enjoying a cold beverage. On Wednesday before flying back to Colorado Springs Dave and Clark took me out on a ride through a local national park and it was beautiful. No cars, calm yet cool air, and good company. That last ride was a nice way to finish the week in the sun.