Love that Fresh Air

It's a beautiful day in Santa Cruz California. The sun is out, the rain is gone and I am back on my bike. Brent took this pic while he was running circles around me on his single speed up a massive 2% grade. Today was very frustrating. I have no power to push the pedals. When your knee or ankle is messed up you still have power going to the cranks it just really hurts. When your back is messed up it not only hurts but also takes away the ability to push. It's going to be a longer recovery than I had originally planned. But hey, it was a beautiful day and I was out on my bike.

Brent and I rode this loop in Scotts Valley on Bean Creek Road today and on the decent we came across a few cyclists who had passed us earlier going up a small climb. They were both off their bikes and the woman had blood all over her face from apparently hitting her nose pretty hard after taking a fall. We asked if they needed help but the man waived us on and said they were okay. My first thought was, "If she's standing she's okay". I didn't think too much about it until later on when I realized I should have been horrified at the sight of her blood covered face, but I wasn't. It was just another in the many spills I have witnessed over the past 4 years of racing.

Oh man, I promise the next posting on my blog is going to be fun and positive.

Back on Track

1 entire week off the bike. I can't remember the last time that happened. Last night I hopped on the trainer again to test the legs and more importantly the tailbone. My arm is surprisingly weak and I only lasted about 20 minutes on the trainer. Baby steps I guess. Been there before, I know the drill. Bike racing is such a crazy sport. You spend so many hours in the cold and rain over the winter to prepare yourself for the season. You train for specific races so that you can build your form and fitness to peak at that time. If you get to have a life outside of bike racing or training it's very minimal at best and usually you feel guilty about missing your rest or training. Then you have fall and suddenly all of those plans have to be rearranged, new training programs have to be created, different races have to be evaluated. Cycling requires a lot of patience, patience and determination.

My teammate Kele is sitting on the trainer watching a cycling video while she does some one leg intervals. Teammates Jane and Alicia are outside riding in the rain for about 3 hours up in the Santa Cruz mountains. The dogs are sleeping on the couch and the cat is scratching at me for attention. Just another winter day in the life of a professional cycling team. Life is good.

Jen