Wimbledon is on

Square Lake RR ( above) thanks emily:)

Ok you dont need to eat strawberries and cream and you can wear whatever color you choose in the comforts of your home. But if you get cable ESPN 2 has nearly all day coverage of wimbledon. Sunday (today) is off, but check it out. The surface itself is pretty cool, and now the 2nd week the grass is starting to look like a well worn football field after 4 quarters of rain. Lots of odd annoying bounces.

In other things, yea, i did a road race saturday. Nasson hill was quite unpleasant the 1st time up, but it got better by the 4th time. I think if we had gone up that hill about 4 more times my supurb slow twitch muscles would have allowed me to get the peace coffee hill prime. My teammate Morse got it tho, so super cool for her. She totally deserved it on hill 1. I just had my money on me for the hill prime on the 8th or 9th time up. Maybe some other time.
Race was fun. Verve got 1st, 3rd, 4th and 6th? and I dunno really just know that i loved the cookies and great fruit after the race and the folks doing bottle handups were awesome. Thanks so much to Birchwood and all the sponsors of the race. I will certainly come back.

TNTT (updated in typical fashion, about 72 hours later...)
But before i talk about the pics and the night, i have to go turn the TV down. Serena is grunting up a storm as she is going into a tiebreaker with Mauresmo. Maria is out so Serena has to make up for the grunting and shrieking we wont get from Maria.
And yes, FED is doing well. Ok so there was a TT on tuesday night. Here is GOGO post ride.
She did well that night, other than a chain skip up a hill (freaked me out for a second then i got back into rhythm) she was a good ride. Nobody caught her and she caught a few guys one right about 30 seconds from the finish.
Here is a reminder why i do TT's with less angst than Crits. Just a little RR, and no, you cant see the hematoma on my left saddlebag , even tho it has some pretty hues of purple, green, yellow, black, did i say purple? And i cant sleep on my left side yet and..well..cant run, so i am out of the triathlon this weekend. So did i say i liked TT's more?
Self portraits are getting a bit more centered.
First Light Boys.

More post race chatter going something like this:

" Well when we got so close to Gear West and DKT started to drop back i got nervous that we would have to ride mixed with their team. I didnt think that was right since GW sponsors the race." "Yea and when the Flanders girls saw us coming it was the same way, we sure thought it would be more polite to just let them go, and i am glad we did, otherwise we wouldnt be sharing the church lot with them after the race."

Timmer "I'll get the photo first while Linda and Julia are messing with their cameras."
I hope Shishilla didnt get a neck ache after that turn of the c spine. Or what did Linda call him?
Shisherellla? Shishshishsudio? Good to see John back speeding it up again sans issues.

Looks like Casper is doing the "Denny Tario" Staying Alive dance move.
And just a little reminder to me...when i am hard on myself and when i think i "coulda, shoulda, woulda" in a race or in training....
"Legs were dead, I had no air, It was windy, I didnt PR, I should have gone faster, I should have suffered more..." Ok dont pretend you dont say that to yourself at least once. Maybe not all the time. But racing our bikes, riding our bikes, getting out of bed in the morning TRUMPS Cancer.

I wont go on, just smile bc you love what you are doing, and if you dont love what you are doing on or off the bike, do something else and dont complain about it. Life is too short to not do what you love, and yea, for most of us, this is a hobby, right?

Priorities...



I wouldnt want Iona to think that bike riding is more important than she is.
Notice the ideal foot placement in the above photo. She's no dummy.

NVGP TT and Mpls. Crit Pics:
Lotsa pics of people i dont know, and a few of the cones/barriers/road/police woman who was incredibly serious for whatever reason...but here are a few that actually show riders as opposed to their front wheel or back wheel.
ProMan rider had a flat back..could have served tea on that one.
One of a few non pimped out bikes.
"Hmm, glad I am not a pro."
Another Pro-Man rider.

Cool. One of the pics that did turn out is of Teresa.
Non pimped out bike number 2.
Angie and JT enjoying the mpls Crit. While there is business taking place next to them:

Big VERVE surprise. This is our new recruit talking over race schedules, lead outs and sponsors with Strats.

KEEP an Eye on Dartmouth grad DEVON Haskell at NVGP:
this is an old interview but pretty funny. Riding her bike across the green..sounds like most students....
Dec. 13, 2007
Filed under:Cyclocross, Interviews Comments (1) Previous: Hump day links Next: Hump day links
CBR interview: Devon Haskell
Photo by Luke Seemann
Plenty of Chicago racers had good seasons in 2007, but none dominated a field quite like Devon Haskell (Team Get a Grip Cycles). In just her second year of competition, Haskell cruised to victory in each of the six races of the Chicago Cyclocross Cup, where she raced women’s 1/2/3, including Sunday’s state championship at Montrose Harbor. She also invaded our neighboring states, winning the state championship races in Indiana and Wisconsin.
The 26-year-old had a memorable road season as well. Racing for the University of Chicago, where she is pursuing a PhD in economics, she finished 3rd in the Division II women's road race national championship and 6th in the criterium. That earned her a spot on the Ryan Collegiate All-Stars, a women's squad that competed against the nation’s best professional women at June’s Nature Valley Grand Prix.
This weekend Haskell tackles the next level with the national cyclocross championships in Kansas City, where she’ll slog through the cold and mud not just once but twice. Even though she was busy getting ready for that and writing a big paper for school, she spared a few minutes this week to talk about her season and cycling’s many dividends.
What happened at the Nature Valley Grand Prix?It was a fun experience until Day 4. I don't really remember what happened. The first 70 miles of the race were going along fine, and then I think I hit a curb that according to witnesses launched me about 20 feet onto my head. (Thank goodness for helmets!) I had a concussion that left me out for a bit. I missed out on some summer racing, like Proctor weekend and most of Superweek, which was a bummer.
How did you get ready for cross season?I found a super coach, Brian Conant (Pony Shop), who prepared me well.
Did your success surprise you?I didn't know what to expect from cross this year, so yeah, I was surprised.
You'd think women's cross would be popular: small time commitment, low risk of injury, high risk of incredible fun. Any idea why the ChiCrossCup fields have been so small?I guess people just haven't`[Cross is] like being a kid on the playground while at the same time discovering and redefining your body's limits.’ learned how much fun cross is yet.
What's so fun about it?You get to play in dirt, mud and snow, splash in puddles, dart through trees and jump over stuff. It's like being a kid on the playground while at the same time discovering and redefining your body's limits. It's difficult not to get hooked by that combination.
Will you be going to cross nats in Kansas City this weekend?Definitely. I don't want to miss one more chance to ride my cross bike this year. I'll be racing collegiate and then elite.
With the cross season ending this weekend and the collegiate road season starting in February, you're not left with much of an off-season. You obviously can't do the traditional drawn-out prepare-base-build-peak cycle. What kind of plan do you have?Apparently I have a short plan. It will be better than last year, when I didn't really know about the whole base-build-peak thing until February.
Where do you see your cycling career going?This is a hard one for me. With this being my first full season, I haven't had a lot of time to figure that out. I've definitely developed a passion. All I know right now is that I want to keep riding and having fun.
Is it coincidence that you went to Dartmouth, alma mater of former collegiate national champion and UCVC rider Todd Yezefski (Nerac)? Yeah. The only biking I did at Dartmouth was from one side of campus to the other. That's not very far.
One of your teammates has accused you of being "the sweetest and most genuine person that I have ever met." How do you plead?My teammates are too nice.
I happen to have ample evidence that nice guys tend to finish if not last, mid-pack. Don't you think you'd go faster if you stopped smiling all the time and at least snarled a little?:)

STATE TT and BlackDOG:

First of all, thanks to Tim LaBerge and all the volunteers. Liz, Bernie, Eric P ( for not dropping me and really i had Redmond in sight most the ride, just couldnt get him), and Tim Brown, who without Tim i may have gone into traffic at the finish bc i couldnt slow down. Job well done. and to DKT and Hannah for lending me this: Sweet. I am saving my pennies as we speak. If i didnt have a Cappucino for a year ( and i dont buy that many, that would add up to $4 x 52 weeks = that covers about 1/5 of the wheel...hmm...still want to buy Cappucinos from June at Nina's.)
I digress....Steve Stenzel may have a unique fundraising view on this. I will wait to hear from him.

I am sure without that disc i would have finished way slower. I think it makes you faster bc you think you should be faster, plus it sounds cool.

AmyKline experienced her "welcome to the 40k...nice high hamstring tightness, huh?!!!"
She did awesome taking 3rd in the cat 4 women. She is a great competitor, so gracious and so positive in how she places and in how she approaches competition. I try to learn from her, and to not judge my "placement" but to take it for what it is: Doing the best i can possibly do on that day. Thanks Amy. Honey of course is the solid competitor that he is.
Did you know we had the EXACT same time for the 40k? Is that cool, or what!! I think that means something. And we started about 4 minutes apart so it wasnt like we were pacing each other.

Oh, how did fast man Parker get in here? This is the DOG last week. I think Bernie and i were trying to get some of his drinking water so we could acquire some of Fastman Parker's speed. Did we say PETER parker? He does fly, you know.

Here is my buddy Gordy. He had to juggle some babysitting duties and didnt even get a warm up. Told me he fell off his trainer trying to warm up, so all you folks that think Gordy is super human, remember he and Diane have to balance life as well, not just ride their bikes.

Me and Amy, with our hardware. I liked the stickers we got last year. But the medal is cool, too. I am going to give it to my mom. 2 years ago she had breast cancer and has had some trouble with her right ( dominant arm) arm/shoulder. She has been using her left arm ALOT. And the other day she got a booboo. I didnt know how bad the booboo was until my dad called to tell me she had a blue/green/yellow bruise on her left elbow just below the biceps and " a bulge, kinda like something is all massed up in there." Hmm..that sounds like a textbook proximal biceps tendon tear. So...she is a trooper and deserves a medal. I dont think they will re-attach it but she sees the ortho tommorrow. So state TT GOLD goes to Mom, Tenacious Trooper.
All SMILES! ( He knows DQ is on the way out of town....)The cool down after a 40k isnt as fun as the cool down after a 6.7 mile or a 11 mile TNT. IT hurts and you often spend more time riding around bc you are afraid to get off the bike, because you arent sure you CAN get off the bike.
Bernie sporting the Mello Velo T shirt. Next trip is to Mallorca. We may be there, depends. Trying to balance Mallorca, VERVE trip to AZ, College reunion, Masters nationals, a Cruise to Alaska, OMG this is 2009...can you believe it? I guess i forgot i have to work, too. Drat.

Thanks for reading.

For Ray: "that's it. no more intervals. Back to ending the point with an ace or a winner."

HARD WORK PAYS OFF....Guess who has three team members riding in the NVGP?? Low profile, get the job done training has been constant for these gals.
Jeannette. Paula. Catie.
With you all the way!

GOES TO...NVGP!

INTERESTING turn in the the womens draw.
William's sisters had to get back to their outside interests, fashion, acting etc..
Dont know what is up here. My pick is for Ana Ivanovic or Svetlena Kuznetskova to take it all.

This is Marit Safin's sister, Dinara Safina.


French Open Women's Tennis Update - Jun 2
Paris, France
Total Prize Money: $8,558,000 MONDAY'S FOURTH ROUND MATCHES
Dinara Safina (13) def. Maria Sharapova (1), 6-7 (6-8), 7-6 (7-5), 6-2Svetlana Kuznetsova (4) leads Victoria Azarenka (16), 6-2, 2-2, (suspended)Elena Dementieva (7) def. Vera Zvonareva (11), 6-4, 1-6, 6-2Petra Kvitova vs. Kaia Kanepi, 3-6, 6-3, (suspended)