Fitchburg Day 2: Circuit Race
So I have not been all that impressed with the "oldest Stage Race in America" this year as they have messed up on some big things; however, this man sweeping the street by hand may have just redeemed the race. He was pretty dedicated to drying the road up!
Marci and I survived stage 2 with the big hill...seriously, the hill was long!
This is the bottom part of the hill, there is a right hand turn onto the pitch that these riders are just cresting...you have a tiny break and then you go up again....
And you keep going up...
And up...eventually you get to the top and then have a false flat for more climbing! For some reason it did not seem as hard this year though...either I am stronger or the girls did not ride it as hard. Maybe a little of both? Probably! :)

Tour de No EPO!

"The list gets longer
On the eve of the Tour de France, Spanish radio Cadena SER has published a more detailed list of names that are among the 58 (56, according to the radio station) cyclists implicated in Operacion Puerto. The list still includes big names such as Jan Ullrich and Ivan Basso, as well as a sizeable representation from Astana-Würth and Comunidad Valenciana. The riders are alleged to have used the services of Dr Eufemiano Fuentes, who is alleged to have prescribed them with detailed doping programs.
The Spanish Civil Guard collected four boxes of papers, according to Cadena SER, and has deciphered three of them, identifying the riders by using the key to the codes hidden in Dr Fuentes' notebooks. In addition, El Pais has published copies of the alleged doping programs of Comunidad Valenciana and Joseba Beloki.
The Spanish Secretary of State for Sport, Jaime Lissavetsky, is meeting with his French counterpart Jean-Francois Lamour today in Strasbourg to discuss the implications of the official 500-page court report, which could lead to the ejection of 22 riders from the Tour de France.
The list so far (31 riders)
Astaná-Würth: Michele Scarponi, Marcos Serrano, David Etxebarria, Joseba Beloki, Angel Vicioso, Isidro Nozal, Unai Osa, Jörg Jaksche
CSC: Ivan Basso
Caisse d'Epargne-Illes Balears: Constantino Zaballa
Saunier Duval: Carlos Zarate
AG2R: Francisco Mancebo
T-Mobile: Jan Ullrich, Oscar Sevilla
Phonak: Jose Enrique Gutierrez, Jose Ignacio Gutierrez
Comunidad Valenciana: Vicente Ballester, David Bernabeu, David Blanco Rodriguez, Jose Adrian Bonillla, Juan Gomis Lopez, Eladio Jimenez, David Latasa, Javier Pascual, Ruben Plaza, J.Luis M. Jimenez
Unibet.Com: Carlos Garcia Quesada
Retired/suspended riders: Roberto Heras, Angel Casero, Santiago Perez, Tyler Hamilton"

For more info: http://www.cyclingnews.com/

Back to the Races: Day 1 of Fitchburg-Longsjo Classic

So today was the first day of Fitchburg's four day stage race, it was a 6 mile point to point TT race. We lucked out as the weather was fairly nice, the rain held out and it was not too windy. I was excited for that as my pre-race ride yesterday was a bit sketchy on the TT bike. Today I felt solid on it and (hooray!) my HR finally hit 170bpm again during my warm-up, 180 during my race! I had a good race, it was the best I have felt since pre-crash days (bike and car) and first on the full TT set-up. Get this though, Marci put 15 seconds into me on course...look at her set-up versus mine...I have some work to do if I have to "cheat" with equipment to keep up with these girls! (Marci is a pro mtber though!)

As for my hair, it looks a bit like a lion's mane...that might be a top priority when I get back to Colorado!

Who Wants Ice Cream?
Beggars can't be choosers, and in my case when you total your car, you take any ride you can get.
That is exactly why I hopped a ride to the TT course this afternoon in an ice cream truck! I packed my bike in the back with the ice cream freezer and hitch hiked with Ryan, a friend of Marci's who I am staying with.
After a really wet and windy pre-ride on the TT course, we returned home to be serenaded by Bert and Manni...Manni has quite the howl going while Bert plays the guitar! I have not laughed that hard in quite some time! :)

Peace Out Ohio!
We had another impressive field at our race yesterday, a whooping 10 girls instead of 9! Long day with a big hill and then we hit the road. I noticed as we trekked across Ohio that the Buckeyes are very fond of personalized license plates. This one is somewhat creative!
We stopped in the middle of Pennsylvania last night. You would never believe the excitement of an "Oasis" that was shared between us...getting off the road into a bed was the best thing that could have happened. Renee's car was fully loaded (this is the view from her rearview mirror) and we were both tired! We woke up this morning to RAIN! You can imagine how excited I was to drive through PA in the rain. Renee graciously drove the whole way while I had my face buried in the atlas...I had to keep my mind occupied. We did learn some interesting stuff from my study:
**Alaska has the highest peak on the Nation (Mt McKinley 20,000+ft)
**Florida has the lowest high point (349ft)
**California has the highest peak in the contintental US (Mt Whitney beating out Colorado's Mt Elbert by ~10 ft!)

Ohio likes personalized plates, New Hampshire natives seem to be fond of shoe polish! Wierd!
Colorado crew this one is for you! Marci and Bert have the Travel Edition of Settlers! I might just have to play while I am here and brush up on my strategy! :)
This is their dog Manni. He was very excited to me and I think Renee was quite happy to drop me off and head on her own way. I am ready to sleep...a WHOLE LOT!

Checking out Grandview Heights
This morning Renee and I went for a little ride...I had to fix my saddle and test it out as it was not tilted correctly, that was pretty painful in my race yesterday! (I had to replace it as a result of my car crash, the roof landed on my saddle and broke the rail.)
We rode all the way into downtown Columbus on a bike path...which was about 4 miles from where we are staying! :) The race starts at 3:30 pm this afternoon and then we are off on our way again...twelve more car hours to MA and then we will part ways, I am sure Renee will be sad to say goodbye after we have spent every day together for a week straight! :)

Making New Friends in KY

This past week I got to stay with Renee and her sister's family. She has two adorable nieces...and they remind you what is important in life: food, fun and sleep. A good lesson after what happened on Monday! This is Caroline, she just turned one and man can she eat!
And here is my buddy Jordi, she is going to turn three pretty soon. We got to spend a lot of time together working on projects on her computer and watching Backyardigans...she even told me I should get Backyardigans braces, before this week I had never even heard of the show but it seems to be pretty popular among the Pullem household.
Today we drove up to a race in Grandview Heights, OH which is a suburb of Columbus right by OSU. After the race there was a street party. I thought this little trailer was particularly interesting: Daiquri Shack II "Port-a-Party." Never heard of such a thing! The race was okay, only 9 women showed up including four pros, two national champions, me and two other girls...sweet! I got 8th but I already paid for today and tomorrow's entry fees...now there is a bonus! :)

Joey Post Mortum

This is Joey at the body shop to get the estimate for repairs...the Collision Center manager did not even start the estimate as it was obvious he is totaled.
I am somewhat of a local celebrity now though because the body shop happened to be a Jeep Dealer as well. They were all excited to meet me in person as I literally walked away with a couple of small scratches and minor whiplash.
Looking at Joey, you can understand why they were so impressed. They asked if it was okay to use pictures of Joey to show the Jeep's stability and safety. I said of course!
All of the damage was thankfully on the passenger side. Otherwise I (and my bikes) would not have walked away unharmed.

And I'm Off...Again!
Sunday was the first day of my mid summer adventure. This was my starting odometer reading...I was planning on taking a final reading at the end of the trip but that will not happen...you will see why in a minute.
This is the first five miles of my drive and will be the view my entire way to MA. Renee and I caravanned together and I got to stare at the back of her car all day long! 9 hours later we stopped in Kansas City to stay with Jim and Joan (family.) They made us an incredible dinner and delicious breakfast!
Day 2 was more of the same...staring at Renee's back end...this time through blog splattered glass...gotta love the Midwest!
I got a real good shot of the STL arch...considering we were stuck in traffic, I had a complete HOUR to stare at it!
And we kept passing back and forth with this group...for some reason they had saran wrapped their bikes? I guess to keep all of those bugs off...not a bad idea!
Eventually we crossed into Indiana...one of my favorite states (well Bloomington anyways!)

The destination was Ashland, KY. About 30 miles before we got there I got into a bad accident. Joey is likely totaled (still waiting on the insurance adjuster) though I am 100% okay. I was driving through rain, hydroplanned and then bounced between a rock wall and guard rail...I got out and walked away, incredibly blessed I know!

Opening Weekend
So I have been to the movies twice in two days. Yesterday we went to the dollar show to see "Ice Age 2." I was not a big fan of it. Today we went to the afternoon matinee of Nacho Libre...
I have to admit, it's pretty darn funny. Pretty dumb, definitely does not make you any smarter, but it will more than likely make you laugh at least once! Though, go with this warning: Jack Black spends a good deal of time in baby blue spandex...lycra does not highlight his best features! xxooxxooXXOOXo (If you have seen the movie you will understand this!)

And the Bruise Update!
The bruise has taken advantage of the colors of the rainbow. I have affectionately named it "Jr" since it is not only bruised by swollen as well. When I ride, I can feel "Jr" jiggling on my side...not something to be desired!

Something to Ponder...

Last night I raced up a Meridian. It is a training race around a Denver office park every Tuesday and Thursday through the summer. You don't pay any money and get to ride with a bunch of guys, which hurts and makes me faster! Anyways, I tried to discretly take this picture last night (hence no flash or zoom.) You would think if you had the $$ to buy a brand new Porsche Carerra, you would also have the money to buy a car to put your bike on...who would put a roof rack on their brand new Porsche?! Even better, take the money for one car and buy two: a sporty, fun car and a practical bike car. After the Spyder, I would never own a car that my bike did not fit easily into...well at least not until I quit racing.
As for this, Mandy got it as a gift for working Vacation Bible School this week...it is supposed to be Aslan from "The Chronicles of Narnia." If you ask me, it doesn't look anything like him!

Settlers of Cataan!

Last night we all got together for an evening of summer fun. I learned how to play "Settlers of Cataan." It is an interesting game of strategy and somewhat like Monoply in that you are trying to build up. The difference is common game lingo includes "Does anybody want to trade a Sheep for an Ore?" or "A wood for a brick?" I would have to say I was a little slow at picking up the game, next time I will be ready to fight sheep for sheep! :)

Not for the Weak Stomach...

Everybody keeps asking about the road rash from Sunday. The worst of the crash did not results in road rash but rather big, old bruises. This is my shoulder, it was the second point of impact.
My hip was the first! This was last night...
And this picture was taken this morning! I will definitely not be hanging out poolside for awhile!

Hail!

Yesterday afternoon we got two bouts of hail in addition to the crazy hail storm I drove home in on Sunday afternoon. Colorado seems to be a hot spot for summer hail storms, I can't remember a summer without them!
The crazy thing is that the only cloud in the sky is the one producing hail...everything else is blue!
I got to drive through the hail storm to meet one of my favorite people at one of my favorite restaurants. This is Ashley, we used to work in the CTS office together. You can see I had her pose by the "Build Your Own Salad" sign at Poor Richards...not only do you get to build your own salad but you can order your pizza by the slice as well! It's a win-win and everybody loves it!

New Belguim Crit

Sunday's race was up in Fort Collins, it was sponsored by New Belguim Brewery which meant a beer tent and bigger crowds than some races. I liked the course, it was completely flat and lots of turns!
For some reason I was dangling at the back here...perhaps I was subconciously helping Mandy perfect her race picture taking. Today was the first bike race she has ever been too...
And she was a great fan! Every time I came around she was yelling for me...she even got the words right (I clued her in what to yell if I got too far back!) :) She must have taken her self portriat while I was tangled up in a crash...
Yup, I crashed today. Actually the crash was caused by a girl two bikes ahead of me, my friend Laura crashed and I had nowhere to go but right on top of her! And just as I sat up another girl crashed onto me! This is some of the roadrash...the worst of it is hidden under my jersey and shorts...I did finish the race of course!
This is right after Mandy got to clean out my roadrash (the paramedics were pretty busy as a lot of girls went down in our race.) She looks pretty happy after getting to scrub my road rash out!

Happy Birthday Crystal!

Last night we all got together to celebrate Crystal's birthday! We had to ring in her final year in the 20's in style. Aside from celebrating Crystal, I learned how to use the timer on my camera!

We Officially Have a New House!

This morning Mandy, Anne, Mary and myself all signed the lease to our new house...we can't wait to move in next month! There does not seem to be any faulty structure, skunks underneath or bad landlords. Our landlords will be a realty company as the family that owns the house lives in Mexico...that means they cannot come down and take our washer/dryer away again! Best of all, it is in the same neighborhood which we love!

Back on the Track!
Today was my first day back on the track since last August...I rode with the Paralympic team. I am sure they enjoyed my first few wobbly starts out of the block!

Somehow I managed to include this picture twice...and it won't delete!
I love the track! Getting back on the fixed gear wasn't so hard as getting my out of saddle position back on the banks.
This is the thunderhead building over Pikes Peak this afternoon...I sure hope it does not rain, I still need to do my afternoon endurance ride!
Mary, this one is for you...Mandy was wearing her new shirt at her own will! :)