I got the opportunity unexpectedly this past Sunday to race the Chattanooga criterium, part of the River Gorge omnium, when my plans for NY fell through. I had debated about what to do for training since I had been preparing all week for a very hard Sunday, so when we woke up in Birmingham to [...]
UPDATE – Nevermind, I made the mistake of taking the last flight out of Birmingham. The flight has a flat tire, which they are replacing in about an hour, which means I miss my connection to NY. There is no way I can make it to the race in time! I’m privileged to be racing [...]
Wow – I just had my first omnium win thanks to amazing teamwork by Tria Cycling this weekend at the Cuba Meridian Challenge Omnium. Quick summary Saturday criterium – 3rd place, I initiated 4-man break that lapped field, went too early in the finishing sprint to finish 3rd. Sunday road race – 1st place, I [...]
Been traveling a lot this season … just over 12,000 miles to be exact! Check out the map of all the places we have driven with one flight shown as well from Birmingham to Baltimore. 2010 racing season travels through Presbyterian Invitational (Aug 7) Plus, 305 different commutes/commute routes on my bike totaling 5,000 miles [...]
Here’s my heartrate data from the race … survived 58 minutes including the ceremonial half-lap after I was dropped back to the start/finish to be pulled by the officials. Manageable first two laps At the back, struggling Easier, but exhausted Pace ramping up again, the death knell…
Well, I’m a week late on posting his huge milestone (sorry, second-child-syndrome!), but here it is! As Analise was riding in the driveway on Monday of last week, her 2nd day on 2-wheels, Josiah begged for us to take his training wheels off, too. We thought, what the heck… but imagined we’d be putting them right back on. Lo and behold, I held his seat and he literally just rode away from me! It must be in the genes! He’s amazing to watch! The learning curve was a bit steeper, and he wasn’t as quick to catch on to braking. But now he’s got it down. He still can’t get himself started, but we’re getting there. He pedals so fast on his little wheels! I love watching both of them ride! We rode tons last week during Spring Break! More videos forthcoming, but these two are great to start with, Josiah’s first ride and my pro girl, Analise, on her 2nd day.
On the outside, it didn’t look very promising. 40’s and intermittent drizzle, at a 2.5 hr bike race. But we took warm clothes and rain boots, as well as the kids bikes, with us to Guntersville. Over the course of waiting for Brian to come around for each of his 4 laps, the kids rode and played on the damp playground. Despite my warnings, they ended up sliding down a slide into a puddle, and Analise was completely wet. Of course, I’d packed lightly, with no extra clothes for anyone. She had to change into Brian’s cycling tights, vest, and rain boots, and she shivered the rest of the day. Then, Josiah told me too late he had to go to the bathroom. Damp and chilled, I wasn’t impressed with the state of the day halfway through the race!
We’ve been talking it up for a while, and so Analise asked me to to take her training wheels off and help her ride. And so we did…
At the end of the day, my sweet girl can ride a 2-wheel bike without training wheels by herself… and even stop! And Brian won the race! The soft rainbow we saw summed up the day!
A few more pictures…
Learning to get on and start by herself (a work in progress)
Blurry, but the most obvious photo of riding on her own.
Josiah tears around on his little bike, over gravel and grates, flying around the corners, coming at you full-speed, and screeching to a halt. And of course, he is asking for me to take off his training wheels, too. Man oh man, can the world handle 3 Toones on 2-wheeled bikes? Watch out!
A few iPhone pictures that didn’t resize right… Email me if you want a larger version!
Brian's on the right... His teammate, Sammy, is an amazing sprinter. Brian led him out in the sprint, but when Sammy looked back and seen they had a big gap, he sat up, and Brian stayed in front. A Tria 1-2!
The promise of a good day
Exhausted after a hard day of riding... and working hard on falling asleep without sucking her thumb. All these milestones!
Brian raced the 100-mile Rouge Roubaix in Louisiana today. This epic race models itself after the famous Paris-Roubaix spring classic race in France with mile after mile of cobblestones, and the local version includes 20 miles of gravel. No, I’m not sure why anyone would want to race on roads like that, but that’s another post for another time.
Anyway, I just got a brief text/phone update from him, so I don’t have all the details. But it appears he finished pretty well, maybe 12th. His teammate, Mike, was in the first group just ahead of Brian, and finished in the top 6. Yeah, Tria Cycling!
Almost even more exciting for Brian, this 3ft printed version of his beautiful colored TopoCreator map of the race course was on display at the race! He’s been working on TopoCreator.com for a long, long time, and the website is so close to going live. I’m really excited to see such a great response to all his super hard work.
We made a make-shift velodrome out of the leaves in our driveway — although our velodrome also had a Nascar style pit row.
Today we asked Josiah to say our Thanksgiving blessing. I was hoping to get a video of him with his eyes shut really tight the way he normally prays but I think the video camera was a distraction.
Also here is a couple pictures from our biking adventure around a running track near our house. The kids had played all day at Grandma’s house after biking in our driveway in the morning. They were tired and ready for bed early!
Hey Everyone – we’re still alive and getting near the end of our trip. Right now we’re visiting friends and family in Chicago and northern Indiana while I’m racing the Tour of Elk Grove. Read all about it on my cycling blog … http://toonecycling.wordpress.com
Here’s the map of our trip thus far … only one more leg to go after the race this weekend — back to sweet home Alabama!
