Wednesday, October 9, 2013

Europe and home


Poof..... and just like that it’s over.  It’s such a bittersweet ending, I’m excited to go home, go on vacation, be a normal person - walk too much, drink too much, eat foods I know are bad for me without feeling guilty, go to sleep late, visit my family in Mississippi - but man I was wanting to race more.  That’s a good sign for a rider, no burnout at the end of the year....

After Toscana and all of it’s fiascos, we settled back into our apartments in the hills, had a couple of days of recovery, grocery runs and laundry runs then it was time to get set for the world championships team time trial.  This is a race against the clock, 6 riders on aero bikes, with aero helmets and clothing, riding as a unit and as aero as possible for 42kilometers.  We averaged just under 50k/hr, it was fast but not fast enough.  We ended up 8th, not what we wanted but what an experience.  We raced through the streets of Florence, right in the heart of everything!!! The crowds, the noises, it was all a blur to us but I could feel the buzz.  I really hope I get to experience more world championships....Once we finished the race, we changed clothes and hung around the expo and watched all of the men’s teams come in before having dinner with our men’s team.  20 people trying to eat at one table in Italy means dinner doesn’t start till 9pm and lasts till 1am - longest. day. ever. (but so much fun)

So the next couple of blogs will be of off season and what’s to come in 2014, it should be an interesting next couple of years - it always is in the crazy sport I imagine.



 Riding around in Villard de Lans, France
 Janel being silly...
 Top of the climb, it was so beautiful!!!!  Villard de lans was by far one of the best places I've visited in France - quiet, people were friendly, the roads were amazing, the town was wonderful.
 Another fun ride with the girls....
 Every afternoon we would pile into the car and drive here - the tourist information center - for free wifi to connect with loved ones back home and to check FB of course!
 Winter Olympics....
 Getting goofy, for some reason the soap dispenser was funny?
 2 vehicles, 9 people, bikes, bags, coolers - yup, filled to the brim.
 Doing laundry - how exciting!
 Our apartments outside of Montecatini Terme..
 The beautiful bridge behind the apartments, the flowers were so pretty.
 We found the pot of gold!!! All kinds of yummy sweets...
 Post race - double fisting gelato...
 One of the guys behind the scenes, my friend, Anton Vos.  He is a wonderful photographer....
 A coffee shop in town, he is called the cappuccino king and it seems the place for all cyclists to stop.
 Number pinned for the race.
 Post race BEER!
 I won! I won!!! I'm always winning;)
 Here come the RadioShack guys...
 A couple of my goofy guy teammates - Chad Haga, Mike Friedman and Tom Zirbel - sillies...
 VACATION!
I had so much fun picking apples!!!!


Reading: The Silver Star by Jeannette Walls and I just finished Mudbound by Hillary Jordan - I recommend them both!
Watching: Football, baseball and the weather(supposed to snow soon)
Eating: apples fresh from the tree, homemade hummus
Website: while we spent many a hour on the internet I introduced the girls to www.thisiswhyimbroke.com