Odds and Ends

I don't have any clear and concise things to tell you all, but there are a lot of odds and ends I wanted to share. I got a splinter the day before Galveston. It was in the tip of my right index finger. I couldn't type on my phone with that finger. I almost died. Clint and Clints dad looked for the splinter and poked around with needles and such, both determining there was no splinter. 5 days later, I got it out. Amazing how much a tiny fleck of wood can rock your world.

I met Biju Thomas and Allen Lim. I found out through twitter that they were going to be at an event less than a mile from my house! I had a ride to do so I threw my Feed Zone Cookbook up my jersey, rode out to meet PIC and we went and met the guys. So awesome!!! I got to talk to Biju about the recipes I have made and get a few tips on the one that flopped for me. We talked to Allen about the secret drink mix, Skratch Labs, how he developed it, and how he means for it to be mixed. These dudes are pretty freakin' awesome and I'm stoked I got to meet them and pick their brains.

Biju, Michelle, Me, Allen

They even signed my book for me, then I rode around with it the rest of the day up my jersey...not an easy feat.

The funny thing about it all was when I started cooking from the book and tweeting pictures of the food I was making I said to someone...was it Beth, or PIC?? I said..."Mark my words, I will meet these guys" I just knew I would. I'm sure it's only the first time. Oh, and if you ride in Boulder, you have to swing by the corner of Broadway and 36 on the weekends, because Allen is usually out there with his rice cakes.

This last weekend my athlete Katie was in town visiting and we had some fun rides. On Friday we went to Ward with a fun little group. The descent down through Raymond to Lyons never gets old, but the howling wind from Lyons back to Boulder got a little old! It was one of the top 5 windiest days I've experienced out there, but at least it was warm wind!

Then on Saturday Katie got to ride again, but I drove the car providing SAG support this time, Troy rode as well. I have a whole new appreciation for all the times he has driven support for me, it's boring! I spent some good time with Annie laying on the roof of the car looking at the clouds, that was fun!

At the top of Highgrade I had to take a picture of these guys. There were so many jokes that I wanted to make here, something about writing your phone number on your ass...dating advise...that sort of thing. But then I started wondering why on earth these guys were painted and I put it together. We just had a really bad fire near here with 900 homes evacuated, 27 homes burned, and 3 people died. So when you ride up Highgrade there are all these signs saying "Thank you Firefighters for saving our home." I realized these animals were probably quickly evacuated in the fire and they just spray painted numbers on them so they could track who they belonged to. Such a hot and dry spring this year, everyone who lives in the mountains is already worried.

On the way down from Highgrade I saw a sign for eggs. EGGS!!! Like farm fresh, happy chicken eggs! Yes Please! I bought three dozen and will be bringing a backpack every time I ride Highgrade from now on. Fresh eggs...so happy!

Then, since I had all these wonderful fresh eggs I had to make the Frittata from the Feed Zone Cookbook. It turned out really well. I made it in my cast iron skillet, super yummy! It has a red pepper sauce on it that was really easy to make, just some EVOO, roasted red peppers (the ones in the jar) salt and lemon juice in the blender....whirl...and done! Nom!

I had the strangest ride yesterday. I am definitely still recovering from Galveston so every ride feels like a threat to my ego! Haha! Michelle dropped my ass (not the Donkey kind...but oddly on the same climb that the Donkey lives) last week. I always think I should recover quicker than I actually do. The wounds heal, and the legs aren't sore, but there is always still the hidden fatigue, the kind you can't see until your really strong training partner drops the hammer and you are left with choices...ride all out to keep up, or get dropped. Off the back I went, to wallow in self pity as we all do when we get dropped.

So yesterday, still nursing my legs and my ego I was out riding some hills when I passed a turkey on the road. Man, you can imagine how disapointed I was when I couldn't get my phone out quickly enough to take picture of a turkey on my wheel. So sad I missed that one.

BUT THEN, I'm climbing up and I get passed by a girl like I'm standing still. That's cool, I'm cool with that, you can't stress when others pass you, especially if you don't know them, heck, they could be Chrissie Wellington. At least you can convince yourself of that. But, here's the deal...she's wearing a boot. YES A BOOT. You can bet that I was pulling out the phone, and riding my tail off to get a picture of this. I don't get passed by a girl on her bike in a boot without photo evidence. OFFICIAL BAMF!

Wait...here it is a little closer....

So, let's just assume that my my ego was dealt the final blow on that one. I am reminded daily in this sport that if you take yourself too seriously, you will be humbled beyond belief. Just look around. You may pass a turkey...but then a girl in a boot will pass you back.

Lastly, spring has officially sprung here in Colorado. The pollen count is 5X higher than last year due to the early spring and my allergies have been worse this year than in the last 10 years. I'm not a fan of taking anything but I had to break down and take some medicine. We did have one random snowstorm and I got this shot on my phone. That tree is in full bloom, with snow all over it, I thought it was pretty.

Well, folks, that's all I've got for now! 2 more weeks until NOLA 70.3. 2 more weeks of finding my legs again!

Oh, and Kompetitive Edge is doing a Newton clinic this weekend on the 14th. I'll be there for sure, sounds so fun! Come out if you are in the area and have fun with us (click to enlarge)!