Silver City, NM

Right now I'm in Silver City, a beautiful town in Southwestern New Mexico. Chrissy, Kele, Nicole, and I are all getting ready for Tour of the Gila, a tough 5 day stage race.

We are staying at a really cool house on top of a mountain in downtown Silver City. You can see out for miles from the house... there's windows everywhere so you can maximize the view. I love New Mexico. I would live here in a heart beat if Joe could find a job somewhere. The roads are so nice, lots of mountains, there's no cars, you're at elevation... what more could you ask for?

We went to talk to kids at Cliff Elementary School this morning. Chrissy, Kele, and I were split up into different rooms with different grade level students and did question and answer sessions with them for a couple hours. It was so much fun... we got some crazy questions, but at least now the kids have a better idea of what cycling is about and they are really excited to see the race come by their school on Thursday.

We also pre-rode the TT course today. It's a 16 mile time trial, which is the longest time trial we'll do all year. Except for maybe nationals, but I'm not sure on the distance for that. The heavy winds are sure to be a deciding factor in times tomorrow... it's going to be a hard race but I'm ready to get it over with!

I miss Joe so much. We've talked several times today. He says our dog is hogging the bed and won't let him have any space. :o) We took Symba to PetSmart to have a haircut before I left and he got a shave... he looks pretty funny! Oh well, his hair will grow back.

It's time for bed for me... if you can't tell, I'm pretty tired writing this post. More later!

Happy to be Back in NC

Nothing like a hard stage race clear across the country to make you really appreciate home.

I think I look forward to the end of races just about as much as I look forward to going to races. It's hard to leave behind my husband, Joe, and my dog, Symba... but I'm excited to see all my teammates and catch up with them once I'm in the air. Each race it's like I'm going "home" to my family away from home. Our team is that close.

At the end of the race, it's hard to leave. We always have wonderful host families who take us under their wing and they become like surrogate parents during our stay. Saying bye to my teammates is also difficult... even though I know I'll see them again in another week! We always keep in touch with our host families once we leave, and we call eachother usually the day after our flights just checking up on what everyone's doing.

However, there's nothing like seeing my husband for the first time when he comes to pick me up at the airport... no matter what time, day or night, Joe always picks me up. I don't think either of us would have it any other way. I love seeing his face as he catches his first glimpse of me standing on the side of the curb as I anxiously hold my luggage. He has a big smile on his face and a twinkle in his eyes, and I'm hopping up in down on the sidewalk before he gets out of the car. Since my luggage is so massive (a big bike bag and a big rolling suitcase), I usually just leave it on the sidewalk and run over to him to hug him before dragging it over to the car. :o)

Joe always puts my luggage in the car, and he takes it inside for me when we get home. We talk all the way home in the car, like we haven't talked for ages, even though I talked to him several times all day long (airports are boring and I usually end up sitting around talking to Joe or to my best friend Deb... she's probably tired of me calling her at work! hehe).

I know Joe cleans up before I come home so I don't have to worry about doing it myself. He's so sweet. Even though I'm a housewife and I keep the house, he knows how I like everything and always has things perfect before I walk in the door.

It's funny because the kitchen is completely empty of food. He hates going to the grocery store, that's something I always do for us, and that definitely doesn't change when I'm away. The fridge is always bare and the pantry is dwindling on any kind of food item. If he does go to the store while I'm gone, it's guaranteed that he's only going to buy a couple items... like bread and milk... and wait until I come home to get the big stuff.

Sea Otter ended well for our team. We ended up with 4 riders finishing in the main pack in the Fort Ord Road Race, an 84 mile gruelling stage. It was fast and very hilly! I was so happy to finish with the main group. That was my goal for the day since I had been sick, and I was even able to help pull Chrissy back up to the main pack and cover an early attack so I did some teamwork as well! Wee!

I'm going to meet Joe for a group ride tonight. My friend Diana and her husband are coming along too, so it should be a fun one!

I'm still recovering from the strep throat I had during Sea Otter, so I get to take it a bit easier this week than normal. Just gotta give my body time to heal up while being on antibiotics and then I'll be ready for Gila!

How's this for keeping up to date?!

Two days in a ROW! I can't believe it myself!

Tomorrow is the last day of Sea Otter. It's an 84 mile road race over a hilly, HILLY circuit and then finishing on a difficult climb. Word of the day for Alisha who is currently under the weather: "SURVIVAL."

Today was a hilly circuit race on the Laguna Seca raceway in Monterey. 17 times up this really steep climb... oh man. My medicine legs didn't help. Whew... talk about J-E-L-L-O! But I don't want to complain. Everyone was hurting. It was hard and fast and it was hot too. I got dropped, but I was never lapped... one of the few that can say that. And considering that I'm racing being sick, I'm quite pleased with how it's going. I just smile on the inside knowing how much stronger I'm going to be at my next race, which is Tour of the Gila, when I'm finally healthy again.

My teammates today were absolutely amazing. Kristin and Chrissy finished up with the main group. Kele never gave up and was super strong, riding at the front and covering attacks. Lauren and Nicole gave it all they had. Nicole was going so fast down the corkscrew that she would drop everyone in her group! It's so wonderful being around a group of supportive women. I strive to be a better racer so that I can be there to help my teammates whent they need it. It's totally selfless. I don't think you'll find that on many women's teams. It's true though- I want to be a better rider for my teammates and my team, not for myself.

We walked around the expo afterwards. I love all the expo booths and seeing all the sponsors out at the race. It's so fun to go mingle and talk with the people that work SO hard to support your career all year long. It's also neat that they are there to be able to see some of the race. A lot of our sponsors make it over to at least see the start of our races and then they have to get back to their booths... but I love being able to tell them about the races afterwards. I'm sure they feel a lot more a part of what's going on being at the event, instead of hearing about our races thru email or on cyclingnews.com.

Oh yeah! And I was 18th in the TT... ha! That's crazy because I totally didn't expect that and I was so happy (my throat hurt SO bad that day).

So time for bed for me... it's going to be a long, hard day tomorrow.

Long Awaited Update from California

Hi from sunny Monterey, California! I am here with my Ford-Basis teamates, hanging out at our host house in Camel Valley. We're staying in a beautiful house on a small farm... with donkeys (yes, donkeys!) and cats and dogs... complete with a mini bike shop shed (our mechanics are in heaven).

So I haven't really written an update since umm... yeah, my first race in California which was San Dimas. I'll keep this short and sweet.

San Dimas was unusually wet and cold... much like the weather in North Carolina this past winter. I froze on the time trial, and then in the road race my teammate, Chrissy, got a flat and I stopped to pace her back on. I ended up completely wasting myself, sacrificing my race in the process, to get her back in the group. I didn't finish the race. It's the first time that I didn't finish a race. I was upset and disappointed... but I put on a smile and played a big support role the day of the crit. I had fun helping the team even though I wasn't in the race.

Redlands was also difficult. This is one of the hardest stage races of the year, and coming into this race not in the best physical race shape is NOT fun. I felt more prepared for this race than San Dimas since I had a week to train with my 'mates in Redlands in between the races. However, luck didn't shine on me for this race. I faced horrible cramping (it being the first hot weather I faced this year) and two crashes two days in a row. I managed to finish, but it was definitely rough around the edges.

I'm happy to say that I came out the other end of my first two California races more fit and closer to my teammates. I'm so excited to be with this team... as Chrissy would say "I can't even tell you." ;o)

I loved being at home the short time I was (a week). I spent the evenings with my husband walking our dog to the park, training my butt off, and hanging out with my friend Gina in the North Carolina mountains for a short while.

Now I'm in California again. This time the northern part. Unfortunately I have come down with strep throat... BUT fortunately we have an AWESOME team doctor who called in some antibiotics for me and I started them this morning (the day of the time trial). I'm hoping they'll kick in and I'll feel better, but for now I am going to be realistic about the race (in that it probably won't be my best race, but I can give all I have to the team).

I gotta run now because it's dinner time! Our amazing hosts cooked us dinner... :o) Miss everyone and I promise I'll write more again soon. :o)