Category — Just Riding Along

Most mornings I wake-up excited to get to spend another day in the saddle, and without fail, within a few hours the excitement is shattered when I land behind my desk. The endorphins that were once pumping through my body wane, and are hastily replaced by caffeine as focus is shifted to the matters at hand. I miss the taste of a solid ride, the salty crust baked onto my helmet straps after descending Lemmon, the sweet taste of my recovery Fluid and knowing I deserved every second of the nap that is about to consume my entire afternoon. I guess it’s no secret what I do on the weekend

This past week however, and increasingly in the past few months, I have been on the road for work – which has been AWESOME! Give me a laptop and an air-card and call me productivity! What sane cyclist wants to be in Phoenix in the summer anyways?

I returned today from Temecula, and while I don’t think its quite Napa, the riding was awesome and the weather was spectacular – 95 and sunny! The roads were rolling to downright mountainous, there was little traffic in the rural regions and best of all, there was SHADE!

I had never heard anything good about the Inland Empire but I am sold on the plethora of excellent riding!

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Ok, I know the famous “Bicycle” song by Queen is a little bit cheesy, but you have to admit, the bicycle flash mob in a train station in Brussels (in the video below) is pretty cool!  I couldn’t help but share…  Enjoy!

Via Cyclelicio.us

We get stopped every time we are out with Owen on his bike.  People are amazed that a kid so young can ride without training wheels and have a lot of questions.  I decided a post on the web could help some of you out there who want to get your kids into riding and are looking for ways to get started.  Here’s what worked for us…

We started Owen on the Specialized Kid’s Hotwalk.

He got his balance bike when he was 2 1/2.  It took about a week to convince him to get on it, but once he did it only took a couple of days for him to get the hang of it.  He was cruising around the neighborhood with his feet high in the air, jumping curbs, and going off road in no time!

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I’m not a mother yet, and I don’t expect I will be for quite some time.  I can barely take care of myself sometimes!  However, I am always so incredibly impressed by women who are able to ride and be mothers at the same time.  It’s often hard to find the time to train and race when the little ones need you by their side night and day, so major props to the moms who get out there and make it happen!  Mary, for example, gets tough by training as she pulls her son Owen along in a bike trailer.  No wonder Mary wins so many sprints…  Ruth and Heidi are also mothers, and they routinely kick my butt on the bike!

Anyways, I have family cycling on the mind because one of our sponsors – Bike Shop Hub – recently opened a new online store dedicated entirely to family cycling and child transportation by bike.  The shop is called Bike Kid Shop, and its got a great assortment of bike child trailers by Burley Trailers, Chariot Carriers, and Croozer Trailers, as well as family cycling gear from Xtracycle, for the little ones in your family.  While the store is focused on bike trailers at the moment, it will soon expand to include helmets, glider bikes, and all kinds of other great gear for family cycling.  Take a look at their great “Bike Gear Combo Deals” on trailer like the Chariot Cougar, Chariot Cheetah, Burley Bee, Burley Encore and Burely d’Lite.  They also have a really great closeout on the Burley Solo ST for only $339!

It’s great to see that the idea of family cycling is really taking off!  I definitely plan to keep on riding for many years after I “retire” from the whole racing gig.    So it’s really cool to see what kinds of options are out there for family cycling.  Because after all, kids on bikes are so much fun!

Snow anyone?

Riding in Colorado during the winter can be tricky, especially because we all know the weather guy is not always spot-on when predicting the forecast. If you’re a fair weather rider (defined as: will not ride outside if the day’s high is below 40 degrees) and you have raynauds in your hand and feet like me, you might be spending the better part of the winter months inside on the trainer and/or rollers, which translates to losing your mind after watching one too many Tour de France and Giro DVDs.

As someone  who has now proudly survived two winters in Colorado (thanks to snowboarding), you can imagine my excitement this year when April rolled around and I was able to hit up the trails, which I  hadn’t seen since November. Problem is, my favorite trails are often times not-so-quick to dry out, hence the snow patches at high altitudes. Last Saturday (4/17/10) I decided I’d had enough of driving to Boulder and Lyons  (where the trails tend to dry out much more quickly), so Francis and I headed out to  Deer Creek Canyon Trail outside of Morrison. This trail is tough but fun, with big rocky climbs and fun single-track descents through pine forests. Overall, the trail was in great shape although I have to admit I was a bit skeptical of the snow patches like the one in the photo. However,  once I figured out how to ride over snow (no, you will not die!), I hardly even noticed the vast array of  mud and wetness covering my bike and entire body until I attempted to get into the’ car (sorry ’bout that, Francis). All and all, it was a great spring ride.  Thanks to the Jefferson County Forest  and Trail Service for keeping the trails in top-notch condition.

We would like to wish you Happy Holidays and a Happy New Year from all of us at Women’s Bike Talk and the Specialized Designs for Women p/b Bicycle Haus Cycling Team!  May the new year bring good luck, good health, and good riding!  Check out this awesome video from our sponsor Specialized!

Found this at Austin on Two Wheels.

And if you are looking for some great blogs about bicycling written by and for women, in addition to this one, of course, check out this list over at Eco Velo!

I love the Tucson Bike Swap Meet!  I got my 2nd road bike there for like $650!

It’s this Saturday, November 14 on 4th Ave. from 8am – 2pm.

Sell your stuff or buy some new-used stuff.  Best of all, have fun and mingle with cool bikey-folk.

Also, if you can’t make it but need to get ride of some old gear, consider donating it to the UA Cycling Club.  Contact Us for more details.

It’s always fun for me to read the blogs that my teammates put out there when they’re traveling to races…Gila, Mt. Hood, Cascade (coming up).  I love to hear about what’s going on and how they’re doing.  It’s a huge motivator to keep training and to keep making my (often failed) attempts to race out of town.

Now that the season is essentially over here, traveling is essential if I still want to race – and I do.  After a two year break (to have Owen), I can’t seem to bring my season to an end.  I’m completely burned out with training, juggling everyone’s schedules to train, etc., but for some reason, I just don’t want to stop.  Maybe I’m trying to make up for lost time or maybe it’s that I’m starting to feel like I used to on the bike – I’ve missed that!

I tried to go to L.A. to race this weekend.  I managed to make it happen in May.  Cody was out of town for a month and I decided I would bring my parents down for a visit and take off for a day to race.  I made it to Palm Springs the night before and stayed there because I was too tired to continue, drove the rest of the way to Long Beach in the morning, raced, and drove home.  24 hours away from home with 12 hours of driving and a race in between then back to chasing a toddler the next day.  It wasn’t perfect, but I would say it was worth the effort.
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All cyclists  know that crashing is part of bicycle racing/riding.  Unfortunate but sometimes you just don’t keep the rubber side down.  About two years ago I was in a horrible pile up in a crit.  I am not embarrassed to say that  I have had a hard time coming back mentally.  My teammates and friends have all been wonderful supporters.  They offer advice, support and encouragement.  One bit of advice took me two years to try.  I am writing to share it with anyone else that may be trying to make a comeback that is working wonders for me.
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Yesterday, I rode the new Sweetwater Trail system in Tucson, AZ, for the 2nd time.  I must say, that despite getting dropped by a pack of MTB-riding dudes, I thoroughly enjoyed myself.

The Sweetwater Trails are on the west side of Tucson just north of Tucson Mountain Park and Starr Pass.  The trails are on Pima County land, and believe me, I was singing the county’s praises during the ride.  I am glad that they are open and friendly to mountain bikers, hikers, horseback riders, and full-out shredders like myself. 

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