New Blog...

Hey Everybody-- I have a new blog, please change your bookmarks to:

http://thalions.com/blogs/alisha/index.php

I am in the process of transferring all my pictures over to the new blog, however all my posts from this blog have been successfully copied and pasted over to the new one.

My cycling site is also linked to the new blog... just click on the "news" section and you'll get there.

We should have our DSL service hooked up this week, so I will be able to update my site with a fast connection!!! Thanks for your patience...

In the meantime, to read all about what I've been up to in Munich, check out Joe's Blog. He's got detailed events of what we've been doing for the past three weekends.

Off to Germany

This is a much needed update from me, but it will have to be short. I have lots to tell you about... Altoona, a week in NC with my team, and the Bank of America criterium. But most importantly, I am leaving for Germany today and will not be back for 6 months!

That's right, I will be living in Munich with my husband, Joe, and I'm really excited about going to Europe for my first time. Hopefully I will get to do some racing while I'm over there too... still working out the logistics of that.

I'm looking forward to seeing Joe in a few hours! I cannot WAIT! It's been a month since I've seen him and it's going to be fun touring around the city with him all day tomorrow. I promise that I will be updating my website soon, as I have lots to add. Lots of pictures and stories-- it'll give me something to do on the plane trip over the pond.

Until then, I'm out for a quick run before I leave... :o)

From the Mountains to Morganton

I went on a great ride today in Boone with a small group of people. We went around Grandfather Mountain, to Banner Elk, then Old Beech Mountain, to Bethel and over George's Gap. It was a lot of climbing, as usual... just what I wanted to do to train for Toona! ;o)

Afterwards I went to Mellow Mushroom with Deb and Bryan. Mellow Mushroom has to have the best pizza on the planet. If you've never been to one, you HAVE to go if you are ever near by. Here's their locations.

After a yummy pizza meal and watching the Tour on the TV (yeah Lance!!!), we went over to Espresso News for a coffee and chatted for a while, enjoying the nice, mountain summer afternoon. It was very refreshing, and it's always nice to hang out with Deb and catch up. We don't get to see each other that much since we live on different ends of the state, but anytime we can we get together.

Charged up by my coffee, I drove home to Drexel, and tonight my dad is running the Streetlight 5k in Morganton. This is a great event put on by my old high school cross country coach, Robert Murray. They start at 9:30pm, a great time to run during the hot, humid summer and run out and back on this flat road, so there's always fast times. I've run a low 18:00 on that course without any speedwork, it's easy to get into a tempo.

I love watching my dad run. My mom and I are going to go with the dogs and cheer him on from the sidelines. Of course, my dad would love for me to race (and he did ask me to run it) but that'd tear my legs up too bad for Altoona, so no can do. I'm too competitive to run it easy!

Welp, time to take a shower and get ready to leave for the race! I can't wait to see the Tour tomorrow... Lance is going to really tear it up.

Tour Dayz in Drexel

It's been a while since my last post, so I thought I'd write a much needed update.

I haven't really been doing all that much except for training for Altoona. My husband, Joe, left for Munich, Germany last Friday so I have been staying with my parents in Drexel. I didn't want to stay in Holly Springs... I'd be too lonely!

It's been fun staying with my parents though. I have been riding in the mountains a lot with my friend Deb. It's only an hour drive up to Boone, so I've been driving up and back to train three days a week. Last weekend I did some good epic riding with Jim Harmon and company on Saturday, and then with the Boone Bike crew on Sunday.

My parents are all into the Tour just like I am. We've had our TV tuned into OLN pretty much 24 hours a day... even when I go ride my mom will watch the re-airing of the Tour in the afternoons. Then when my dad gets home we watch the expanded coverage. I just hope that there's more interviews and clips of Lance in the evening show!!! ;o) I have to admit I'm a huge Lance fan... *sigh* oh well, hopefully Kristin will be able to get me an autograph someday.

One ride that I've made my favorite and frequent ride is the climb up highway 181 into the mountains. I ride from my house in Drexel up the mountain ridge and then turn around and come back down. It's a long climb (over 11 miles) but I like it a lot. The people at the store in Johnas Ridge think I'm crazy when I tell them I've ridden my bike from Drexel there. All you people in North Carolina know what 181's like... it's the epic climb in the Bridge to Bridge century every year.

I'm headed up to the mountains to ride again this weekend, so I better get some sleep. Here's wishing Lance a good day in the mountains tomorrow!!!

Symba Wins the NC State Games Crit

Symba Wins NC State Games... it was his first ever bike race, so that's pretty good! There were many scouts that talked to me after the race about his talent. They were wondering if he drooled too much, as that's not exactly the type image the sponsor wants to achieve, but I assured them that Symba never drools unless someone really wants him to.

See more pictures of Symba and his victory here.

Any sponsors interested in Symba please email Tom Danielson. He's Symba's agent.

Mt Hood Cycling Classic

Hood River, home of the Mt Hood Cycling Classic, was definitely one of the most beautiful areas I've ever been to in my life... and the bike race was great too!

The team rode great, we all finished in the top 10 and that really made a statement for our sponsors. The race had everything- a perfect prologue (short yet challenging), a long time trial, a technical and hilly crit, and two hard road races with TONS of climbing.

The last day was absolutely epic. We were to cover 75 miles with 3 climbs... each climb being over 10 miles a piece. Tough day, right? Well, throw in classic mountain weather and it becomes even tougher. On race day it was 40 degrees and raining at the start line, and it never let up. We were cold climbing!!! My feet were absolutely frozen, and I think I could feel my hands some of the time, but there's no guarantee about that. ;o)

After the race, I gladly got some dry clothes on and enjoyed a crisp afternoon at the Mt Hood ski resort with my teammates. The race organizer did a fantastic job. There was a cookout catered at the finish line, and a nice big awards banner set up with some sample expo booths and great music where you could relax after the long race.

I wish I had taken more pictures when I was there. I only got a few shots of Mt Hood thru the windshield of our car on the way to the races. We were so busy racing, eating, and recovering for the next race that I hardly had a chance to really see the town. Here are the pictures I took from the race, if you'd like to see them.

Our host family for this race was awesome! They let us borrow equipment we didn’t have, like a trunk bike rack and a cooler, since our team vehicle didn't come to the race. If it weren't for them bailing us out constantly, we wouldn't have been able to make it to the race starts... literally. We didn't have enough room for us and our bikes to make it there! Thanks David and Sarah!!!

It was a long day of travel to Minnesota for the Nature Valley Grand Prix right after Mt Hood. I was so exhausted from the travel and racing that I was happy to take a day off the bike. :o)

Nature Valley will be a tough race because all the strong women's teams will be present since it is a part of the Women's Prestige Cycling Series.

Ford-Basis Bike Clinic in Hood River, OR

Ford-Basis ran a Women's Cycling Clinic for Discover Bicycles before the Mt Hood Cycling Classic. We had a great turn out! After the 2 hour clinic, we went to a local Italian restaurant for an absolutely wonderful meal.

My Brother's Graduation

My brother, Greg, graduated from East Burke High School on May 28th, 2005. It was really nice being there to see him graduate.

Raleigh Twilight Criterium

Nicole, Lauren, and I start the Raleigh Twilight Criterium. See more Raliegh Crit Pictures here.

I had a great time racing in my hometown! It was great seeing lots of familiar, friendly faces. Thanks for all the cheers and I look forward to racing the Raleigh Crit next year!