I’ve been back in
Canada for a week now and it’s COLD! The
California sun has spoiled me! Alex has
been out biking in shorts and a t-shirt and I’m bundled up in wool socks, shoe
covers, leg warmers, jersey + long sleeve jersey + winter bike jacket + neck
gater + doubled-up gloves! (All labeled with the team name
TWENTY16 p/b Sho-Air thanks to
JL Velo an eco-friendly sport clothing company).
I can’t complain for
long though because I am so enjoying riding my bike, spending time with Alex,
crafting, wedding dress shopping for my sister, and packing up property – yes,
we are moving! To spur on our life of
adventure and bikes we are moving to Alberta to be farmers for the few weeks
that we aren't chasing bike races across the globe. We have the best employers out in Alberta
(thanks mom and dad!) that allow us to work and travel as much as we need to so
I can work as a professional cyclist.
The cycling? Yes! It
has be fantastic! I am so thankful that
Alex and my parents got to meet a few of the amazing people that I've had the privilege
of sharing a meal with during my first block of training and racing down south. First off,
I've joined many new fan clubs for
people I love. One for
Mama V (Julia), a
former USA mtb pro, a mother of two craaaazy boys, a successful business woman
with an enormous helping heart and living powerfully at an age that puts a
twinkle in my eye because I know what I’m going to be like at that age too
;) And another fan club for
Chef John
for his kind heart that spills over into deliciously cooked meats, chill
conversation and his all-in attitude when he approaches a challenge. This is another big thank you to you two.
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| "This is a road bike." (photo: VeloImages) |
Training camp was
awesome. When spending time with such
amazing people and athletes you are bound to soak up something – especially when
you are as curious as me!
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| TTT practice on our FELT bikes (photo: Nick Kova) |
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| team cheer - #powerpose |
Valley of the Sun was
our first race weekend together as a team, and I have to say that
I LOVE RACING
AS A TEAM! The tactics are so fun and I
love being a part of something that is bigger than me alone. I was so excited to race my amazing
FELT TTbike with the cool sound effects made by the
ZIPP disc wheel (I’m doing things
I only dreamed of before).
Unluckily, I
got a flat at the turn-around and waved to every person, car, and cactus that I
saw until someone picked me up 6km later.
Ugh,
so I became nobody’s threat to their GC standing but I did become a
grrrrREAT teammate! (heehee) My job for the following road race and crit was
to watch and bridge and chase and listen to my teammates for what they needed
me to do. It was great fun! We got to practice lead-outs and I got to
feel what it is like to lay it all down 3 laps to go to make it easier for the
next teammate to lead out our sprinter for the win (and we did win)!
Two weeks later a
small portion of our team (4 athletes) drove up to
Chico for a 4 event stagerace. This was fun because we were all
fairly new to pro racing and were forced to figure it out together. It opened up a few new opportunities and
I
was able to take two stage wins for the team!
At the first stage, I was not ‘one to watch’ but when the pack opened in
front of me on the climb 2km to go I went with all I had in a solo break that
just barely kept off the masses for the finish line.
My teammate Andrea
had suggested I channel energy from my last race when I got a flat at VOS TT to
push hard this weekend which was really helpful to find focus for this final
effort on the front. Every race that weekend
TWENTY16 p/b Sho-Air had at least one person on the podium and in the end we
took home all the jerseys: Yellow – GC winner, White – U23 winner, Green –
points/sprint winner. After two stage wins and some hidden sprint points collected
during the crit I found myself in the green jersey! I love that cycling is dependent on having a
good team – the whole team earned those jerseys, not just the person wearing
them in pictures.
It’s been fantastic working with the
TWENTY16 p/b Sho-Air directors Mari and Nicola, my bestie team mechanic James,
all of our hosts that housed us for training camp and races, and I’m honored to
get to work with my favorite Canadian athlete Alison Testroete on my training
program.
Amgen Tour of California - May 8-10, 15
P.S. One of my favorite memories of of California is from building a box maze for the boys in our host house.
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| Oh yeah, two levels, multiple dead ends and only one way out! |
