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)

He's back...
Grand Slam "season" is underway.

Roger beat Sam Querry, a very TALLLLLL American, in 3 sets. I wouldnt put my cash on his winning it all but for now lets just watch his magic.
PS: Yea there are some bike races i need to post on but this is a bit more interesting.

Summer means Cousins!
June 21st, family cousins will gather at 880.
Cant wait, the east coast descends on the north shore.
stay tuned!
No that lady with the arm - warmer on ( or is that a tatoo?) isnt related to me.
How happy are they?

Charity TT and more Arctic TNTT photos compliments of YndeCam
GET A SEASON PASS YNDEPASS...$17.99 and you get all the pics of yourself you can possibly ever want...
I got a new helmet and i got my hair cut. I think that made a big difference between Tuesday night and Sunday at the BlackDog Charity event.

Ok lets see if i can get names right on these neat gals.
Patty, Adele, Racheliraceforsynergy, Lauraiamfastkreuger, Megpinkcoolkitijustmovedhere, Amydontmakemeracetoomuchorigetcranky. amy, i agree 100%!

We had a good discussion of boca burgers that day. We love them but they arent a substitute for the real thing, a juicy grilled piece of TVP doesnt hit the spot the same way a steak does.
Note that I cant use Arctic for this post but we are still pretty covered up, arms and legs.
I seem to find these nice people at all the races. Today we got Dublin ( the dog ) and Julie's sister Heidi in the pic, as well! Charles went by me right at the turnaround. I was pleased since he was 60" behind me that it took him that long to catch me. I also learned watching his turn around. I have never really watched anyone turn around before, so when he actually took it pretty tight and slowed down more thani expected i realized i likely take those corners too hot and swing out more than I need to. Thanks Charles!

Arctic TNTT: Can you say "BRRR!!!" First light boys
Yum, free pizza.

TNTT
Ok i am a few days ( weeks ) late in getting these posted.
And my blog account isnt wanting to download pics, so i am starting with this and will work on getting the pics up asap.
Ihave only a few comments to make on the TNT and the Charity TT.
1st) It has to warm up. That is an order. I am sick of riding in baselayers and gloves. As much as i love the TNT course i had an asthma attack at the finish, partly bc i got upset ( that i was going about 12 mph) and bc of the dry air filled with pollen.
2nd) I miss my Sugoi clothing. I miss it alot. I do LOVE the VERVE kits. But i dont love the champion sysytems fit. Maybe it is just me, but there seems to be an excessive amount of material where i dont want it. And even if they run big i think going down a size wouldnt help either. The Sugoi bibs and the skinsuit, as $$ as they are, are worth it. You feel like a sausage all "cased" up and ready to ride fast. No hiding donuts in the sugoi kits. Gotta love em.

Synergy TT
Some random pics of...Charles and Julie...( sorry Cha, got you with your mouth full!)
Mr. Bernie has a Birthday...and yea i know Jimmer, it looks like a mudslide, but it tasted GREAT!
Oh yea, we rode our bikes in the sufferfest, too. I cant say it was fun, but i avoided the JohnDeere riding mower at the start, and was mighty tempted to hop into the wall of MS riders going into the wind on Manning. They were working hard as well..for a great cause.

Well, here is the birthday boy now! Thanks to Skinny Ski for the bike pics.
And after all that, smiles and no rain. Thanks Now, Ben, Ambrose, Sumo, Mike, Dino, Cubs ( who was likely at the shop) and the nice Synergy gal who alerted me that Ambrose wasin the van at the start "doing nothing," so he could get my rear derailleur back in sync. I owe you...
recovery fuel of...crazy people?

MORE MARTY...
thanks to Flander's Jack S for the pics.

To paraphrase the last lap...Wind...more wind....wind more wind. Hill. False flat...I had been working to get ahead a bit on the hills since they gals with me descend a bit faster than i do. About 4 miles out at the top of the hill on the last lap i turned to my teammates and said.." See you when you catch me." All the sudden i realize they arent catching me. Brilliant time to use some TT'ing and see where this ends up. Either I will get the field sprint or my teammates will have gassed out the other 2 forcing them to chase, and then one of them will get it. Perfect.
I got it, and Alix and Paula were right behind me. Nice impromptu break, that turned out well for the VERVE team. Kudos to all the gals i was with for making 3.5 laps of echelon and wind bearable.
Honey was there waiting for me cheering me on louder than anyone..thanks Honey, hearing you and seeing you ( ok well i dont think i saw anything but the white line and i may not have heard anything other than the referee shout "55!!" my number, but...) made that entire race worthwhile knowing i got to cool down with you and ride home in the nice warm car with you.
Of course we had to stop at the gas station and buy some jerky and some fake hot cocoa from a machine. I hope soon we will be drinking iced recovery drinks.

Verve goes to Marty, MN

I borrowed this pic from Skibby. Thanks Skibby, not sure how you could stand outside in a sleeveless T shirt but more power to you. More updates to come as i get more pics.
Verve did well. We held off a Birchwood, AUC duo and finished 4, 5, and 6 in the womens 123.
Sadly, Casey had a mechanical or she would have been in there with us. It was my longest RR ever and it was hard. amen.

A visit to THE lake.
For those of you that dont know what lake this is here are a few pics for you.
Granted these pics are from august, 2007 but it still, THE lake demands respect, ALWAYS.

This fella is my dad. When we were kids we used to get 1 cent (yep a penny) for every second we could stay in the lake. The rules were loose, but not just wading in there, i mean really IN the lake, body submerged. Your head could be out of the water. Of course you had to dunk your head bc a dry head was a sign of a "too bad you didnt quite do it," feeling.
My dad still goes down to THE lake, with his thermometer, his towel and the dog ( hoping she doesnt swim across the lake after the loons as she did one time), and takes his dunk. At 80 years young i think this is a succesful recipe for a long life ahead.

Since i have to do some racing this weekend i decided to make myself a lake.
Drop myself in and...
Dang, that is cold. I think it took me about 4 tries to really earn even a dollar in this one.

I had to get out a few times and then figured the key was to keep my toes out of the water. My teammates know my toes dont do well in winter, so I think the idea that they would be ok in an ice bath aka The LAKE, is silly. Oops. Luckily i had a nice warm board shirt on...And perhaps this will prepare me for the wind/rain and sleet i may have beating against my legs this weekend.

And for the record, when it is 80 degrees or 90 or even 100, I will say "Bring it."

TNTT's are approaching...watch out for the 4 person teams from GW.

This is for David (rocketman) and Hannah.
Thanks for all your help with my new wheels and the other stuff.

Good news on a rainy day:
Dartmouth 4 Harvard 3

Nice job, ladies.

In my senior year we lost 3-4 to Harvard and tied for the Ivy title. With it went my hopes of having an Ivy ring and and an Ivy title. I remember that day, we were in Cambridge and it was a disappointing day. I think i was so nervous and so concerned with the outcome that i forgot to actually play tennis. It wasone of those days that you wish you could go back and "do-over." I think we all have days like that in all sports or even work, where we lose sight of the joy of what we are doing or why we are there bc we are more worried about the outcome or the pressures that are put on us either by a coach or in may cases, by ourselves.

I also think that as i have gotten older I dont wish i could "go back," but i try to use these experiences to be stronger in situations I face now. And to keep track of what matters most, and that is my joy of the sport ( whatever it may be), teamwork, self discovery and ...fun! Most often if i have done my "homework," the actual race, event, match is the easy part. You just have to let it happen and not try too hard. In tennis, I know that the biggest mistake you can make is to play " to not lose." In cycling, it is a bit different, but you also have to be smart and not panic. Play/Ride to your strengths, bc like a wise coach once told me " it isnt always the strongest rider/player that wins, it is the smartest." So do you think that was a tennis coach or a cycling coach?? How about one of each:)

The Dartmouth women's tennis team downed Harvard 4-3 today at the Topliff Courts
to earn its third win in program history over the Crimson. With the victory the
Big Green ends its season at 16-4, setting a record for victories in a single
season, and finishes with an Ivy League record of 4-3, Dartmouth's first winning
season in the Ivies since the 1999-2000 season. Dartmouth finishes fourth in the
Ancient Eight standings, behind Yale, Penn, and Princeton. With the loss,
Harvard falls to 2-17, 2-5 in the Ivy League.
Dartmouth set the tone early by sweeping the doubles point. Senior tri-captain
Maggie Suydam and freshman Georgiana Smyser were first off the court after
winning 8-3 at No. 3, and senior tri-captain Megan Zebroski and freshman Molly
Scott secured the point by beating Beier Ko and Samantha Rosekrans 8-6 at No. 1.
Sophomores Mary Beth Winingham and Jesse Adler completed the sweep by winning a
tiebreaker at No. 2 doubles over Stephanie Schnitter and Laura Peterzan.
In singles, Dartmouth got straight-set victories from Zebroski at No. 2, Smyser
at No. 5, and sophomore Carley Markovitz at No. 6. Zebroski had a big win over
Laura Peterzan to finish with a 4-3 Ivy record at No. 2 singles. Smyser, who was
undefeated in Ivy League play, put another point on the board for the Big Green
with a 6-4, 6-0 victory over senior Vilsa Curto. Markovitz secured the victory
for Dartmouth with a 6-1, 6-2 win over freshman Margarita Krivitski.
At No. 1 singles, Scott fell 6-2, 7-5 to No. 102 Beier Ko, a former top 300
WTA-ranked player, and Mary Beth Winingham lost at No. 3 to Samantha Rosekrans,
whose only Ivy loss came against Yale. Adler lost at No. 4 to senior captain
Stephanie Schnitter, who was coming off a big win at No. 3 against Brown on
Sunday.
A special thanks to the parents who came out to cheer on the team today,
including Roger Junge, Ellen and Alex Zebroski, Lisa Suydam, and Nardi Suydam.
And an extra special thanks to all our fans for your incredible support this
year. Go Big Green!
Dartmouth 4, Harvard 3
Doubles
No. 1 - Megan Zebroski/Molly Scott (DART) def. Beier Ko/Samantha Rosekrans (H)
8-6
No. 2 - Mary Beth Winingham/Jesse Adler (DART) def. Laura Peterzan/Stephanie
Schnitter (H) 8-7 (3)
No. 3 - Maggie Suydam/Georgiana Smyser (DART) def. Vilsa Curto/Margarita (H) 8-3

Singles
No. 1 - Molly Scott (DART) lost to Beier Ko (H) 6-2, 7-5
No. 2 - Megan Zebroski (DART) def. Laura Peterzan (H) 6-4, 6-1
No. 3 - Mary Beth Winingham (DART) lost to Samantha Rosekrans (H) 7-6 (5), 6-2
No. 4 - Jesse Adler (DART) lost to Stephanie Schnitter (H) 6-2, 6-3
No. 5 - Georgiana Smyser (DART) def. Vilsa Curto (H) 6-4, 6-0
No. 6 - Carley Markovitz (DART) def. Margarita Krivitski (H) 6-1, 6-2

Verve goes to the races: Durand

Lined up and ready to go.
Starting the 2nd lap.
JMS finishing strong about to overtake BW rider and nearly catching spunky DO riding for Planet Bike.
GSG finishes strong in her pack.
Way to go ladies. We are getting the kinks worked out. Chains will stay on in future races and temps will rise. It is only April.
Honey did outstanding as well. Broke a spoke in the first lap and rode solo a good portion of his 3 laps and still never was caught. Finished high in the results despite a questionabley trued wheel.

OPUS Series starts this week and it looks like the spring weather will allow all the anxious riders to get out and stretch their legs. Cant you feel the VERVE?

Verve racing will be out supporting our sponsor Vital Images at its "hometown" of Opus!

What do these two men have in common?



Yup.

Sunday ride to AFTON

Today Verve and a few others hammered it to Afton. It felt like a hammering to me, bc i was used to riding long 8-12 mile hills and the hills we hit today (other than out of Afton) were more like 200-400 yard pushers. Screaming at ya.

Yea this isnt us in downtown Afton but i just had to remember that riding with my head wrapped up, gloves and a jacket that make it hard to reach a gel or some sort of bar while riding, and wind burn will soon be history.
I hope. Sun is out so i cant complain too much and i unofficially retired my cross bike, so coulda been worse.









Afton ought to get a plastic chicken.
I suppose it wouldnt last thru the winter. Love that ride just hope next time the head wind we had that turned into a side wind and then a head wind again is a bit warmer.

Stopped at Ninas afterwards for the best espresso and foam a macchiato lover could want.

MORE MADERA...
(not to be confused with more cowbell)
"ARM WARMERS back on, time to go!" Rich gave me a head start so that he could whiz by me mid-descent.



"Get moving BIG GREEN, no rattle snakes here." While descending we saw the same lady we saw going up in a recumbent with a flag on the back. She looked tobe at least 70 yo and was doing laps up and down the mountain. How cool is that. Then she pulled into the Gelato shop parking lot and it all became VERY clear! What a way to support (or offset!) your Gelato habit !!!

How about a double day of climbing?
First climb was Mcgee ranch off Mission road...about 7 miles steady to this great view....I kept thinking there were rattle snakes in the bushes but luckily i was wrong.

Then it was time to haul on down across town to climb Madera Canyon. If you have never done this climb, make a point to do it if you are in the Tucson area. It is somewhat docile until the last 2 miles where all the sudden you are facing switchbacks and temps/climate more like Colorado.
You cant read that bench but it says "welcome to Madera Canyon."
I think SB felt a bit sideways after she got to the top. But not so sideways she didnt notice the bridge made in Alexandria, MN. Honey is all smiles as the team photographer, and as he and Paula reached the top all that was heard was "water? water? Julia go ride up there ( U turn around about another 100 feet UP)to see if there is any water." Of course being the people pleaser i am, i did. And there was none but the view was AMAZING!
Luckily the Gelato shop at the base fueled us enough to get us home where we lay on the floor and discussed heart rates and thankful we hadnt added another climb to the 78 mile day...Thus fufilling the Triple Bypass...next year??