Germany tomorrow!

I leave tomorrow for Germany. The movers came today and took all my stuff. Well, most of it. I couldn't get the pedals off my mountain bike, put a huge gash in my arm trying to undo them, and ended up at Sun & Ski because they have a big sale going on. Then I ended up buying an entire Yakima rack system. But at least it was all 15% off!!! But enough about that...

I get on the plane tomorrow, and meet up with Dad in Frankfurt! And if I'm lucky, I'll catch the Elite Men's Time Trial of the UCI Road World Championships in Stuttgart on the 27th! How SWEET would that be?! We'll have to wait and see, though. The timing could be off.

And when I head back to the States, it'll be to Seattle. I'm becoming so drained, though, that the anticipation is wearing off. I just want to get my last box of stuff shipped off to FedEx and my luggage loaded on the plane to Germany, and I'll be off daydreaming and relaxing. This stress is starting to get to me. Being on edge 24/7 is not always the best policy. Plus I haven't ridden my bike in days (Don't tell Steve!) and I miss it. Can't wait to go riding in my new 'hood...

Catch y'all lata!

Oh and...

...apparently my name is on this. Still not sure how it got there, really.

Alkek Elite Regionals

Yesterday and today. Lots of racing. 200mTT, 15k Points race, Keirin, Team Sprint, Sprint, Pursuit, 500mTT, 7k Scratch race, and a MADISON! I am toast. Again - much like FSA. Anyways, the usual suspects showed up: Shelby, Cristin, Cyndy, and even Maureen. Unfortunately Julia crashed hard on a ride 2 weeks ago, and though her broken nose and face are healing, her concussion is worse, so she was not racing. I took 3rd in the points race, pursuit, Keirin, and scratch race. Cyndy raced the team sprint with me, so that was a really fun new experience. And of course the Madison! Now, I wasn't *planning* on doing the Madison, but only 3 or 4 teams had signed up, and they needed 5 to actually make it worth running. So at the beginning of tonight, Jameson came up and asked if I'd be his teammate, so they'd have enough teams. For some reason, I said yes. So there I was, racing a 60-lap Madison after I'd already raced 9 times this weekend, and had JUST finished my 7k scratch race. Well, it was a BLAST. Jamison and I agreed to just do the hand-tap exchange, but halfway through we decided to try a sling, and it ROCKED. He slinged me, and it was so much fun! We tried it again the next time, with me slinging him, and it didn't work so well, but I've never done this before, so I was rather happy with our performace (and no crashes). All in all a great race weekend. I came home with a few extra bucks, and some hardware to boot. I actually took Cyndy and the finish a few times, which was a little encouraging since I was off the bike for essentially a month for Africa. It's nice to know I haven't lost as much fitness as I thought. And this whole thing just reminded me how much I LOVE racing. It just makes me feel so awesome.

I said goodbye to everyone at the track tonight, and it was a little hard. I almost started crying when I said bye to Leigh. And he told me he'd introduce me to some really awesome racers in Seattle (whose names I actually recognize from FSA), which simply ROCKS. I'm definitely taking him up on that offer.

Well, now I have to get ready for Andy to arrive, finish organizing my stuff, finish my last day of work, get ready to move, and pack for my trip to Germany - all in the next 5-and-a-half days. Aaaa! Wish me luck...

Moving to Seattle!

So, on the 19th or 20th of September, the movers are coming to take my things. On the 21st I travel to Germany for a week. When I return, it's to Seattle! I'm starting a job with Boeing, to live in a place where I can ride my bike on hills and mountains, and compete in bigger and stronger women's fields. I can NOT wait! This is a dream come true.