Thursday, July 22, 2010

Happy 7th Birthday Noah!!!


July 17th was Noah's 7th birthday. We asked Noah what he'd like to do for his birthday and he wanted to go camping...again! We didn't complain. We love it. He had very specific requests while we were there and we did our best to fulfill them. They included kayaking/paddle boating, mountain biking, and a pinata. It was a great weekend.



Steve thought it was great getting us all wet with the paddles. Not nice!



The boys' first paddle boat ride.


Noah found the perfect birthday party rock where he perched and opened his presents.


He started things off with what he already knew about, the Big Bakugan.


Yep, it's close to school starting again. That means new socks, shoes, and clothes.


Noah's favorite present, a Calvin and Hobbes book (suggested by his dad).


Noah picked out a new backpack for 1st grade. His other one is too small for the big stuff he has to bring home now, according to Scott.


We let Joshua and Noah open a combined present since it's almost Joshua's birthday.


X-box Lego Indiana Jones on one side and...


X-box Kung Fu Panda on the other.


Noah tries to hit the pinata.


Steve is having way too much fun tricking Scott.


Joshua got some of the biggest hits!


The mother lode!


I let Noah choose anything in the store, anything from homemade cake or cupcakes, donuts, bakery-made cupcakes, etc. He chose Hostess cupcakes. Made my life easier.



Crazy kids on the birthday rock.


The boys all made their favorite Calvin face.

Wednesday, July 14, 2010

Mad Cat Angels


I went on a mountain bike training ride on July 8th to Granite Bay and we took a little dip in Lake Folsom to cool off. Just what the doctor ordered!

Courtney Troy, Erin Upchurch, and me. I promise I'm not that fat. My pockets are full of tools, food, and a water bottle.

Prairie City Awards BBQ--July 7th




The annual awards BBQ was held at Beal's Point. I received a medal for 2nd place in women's expert age 35+ category. Whoo hoo!!! I worked hard for that! Deron and Teresa joined us in hopes for free stuff like they gave out last year, but we weren't so lucky this time. Last year I won a bike, helmet, and gloves. This year I won a date with Steve to the local rock climbing gym. Can't complain!


Elizabeth 2nd place, Asa Salas 1st place, Duv Cardenas 3rd place expert women age 35+.


Booyah!!!


Steve and Elizabeth.


Teresa and Deron


Noah, Joshua, and Scott.

Can't Get Enough!


We headed for the hills again for the 4th of July weekend. It was so much cooler up there than it was down in Folsom. This time Uncle Deron and Aunt Teresa joined us for the weekend and stayed in our cozy trailer with us. Grandpa Peres and Phyllis stopped by on Sunday for a BBQ. We didn't see any parades or fireworks so it didn't feel much like the 4th of July, but we had a great time anyway.


Hiking on the Rim Trail at Lake Tahoe.


Joshua and Daddy on the Rim Trail.


We made an attempt to get a good family picture. Scott decided not to cooperate. Oh well. I still like them.



Deron and Teresa


Cute picture!

I had to hold Joshua's hand on the way down the trail because he got going way too fast and kept falling on the rocks every few seconds. Poor knees!



Mountain biking the Pioneer Trail, one of our favorites. Noah, Scott, Joshua, Steve, Teresa, and Deron.


Scott, Noah, Joshua, Steve, Elizabeth, and Deron.


Mommy and Joshua biked together while the others went ahead. Joshua was absolutely incredible on his little bike. What a biker!


Phyllis and Grandpa Peres join us for the evening.


Scott reads while Steve tastes the hot dogs.


Deron and Teresa trying to keep the mosquitoes away.


Scott loves reading Harry Potter.


Noah limbering up for dinner.


Joshua's usual pose.


Joshua playing at Lake Tahoe.


Scott playing at Lake Tahoe.


Noah skipping rocks at Lake Tahoe.


Deron and Teresa making lunch.


Steve chillin' in the shade at Lake Tahoe.



The boys found a shovel on the shore and Joshua had to have his turn digging.







Thursday, July 8, 2010

A Grueling Race...to say the least.

July 3rd was the Leesville Gap road race. This is 63 miles of the worst roads you can imagine. Potholes, poor attempts at pothole repair with blobs of black top everywhere, dirt and gravel roads, deep gravel, and a gnarly 3-mile climb thrown in for fun. Of course there were other hills and such goodies, but that was the worst of it.

It was pretty evident in the first 10 minutes of the race that the visions I'd had of dominating the race with my teammate, Asa, and helping her cross the finish line in first were pretty much out the window. There were 13 of us cat 4 women at the line and 1 master's woman who got to start with us. I overheard her talking to the race official and she told him she was technically a pro. Well, the race started and in the neutral section she takes off ahead of everyone. I just let her go because 1) she's not in our category and 2) this was still the neutral section...we weren't supposed to be racing yet. Well, it didn't take long before a few girls took off after her. I didn't jump, because of reasons 1 and 2 above. Asa and I both mentioned that to those who were passing, but they still went. Well, in all that confusion they turned the corner and I got dropped. Crap!!! We turned right into the wind and they are tearing off down the road, finally catching the pro. Now I have to spend a few minutes burning myself up just trying to catch the group. I'm mentally kicking myself as I do this. I finally catch the group, feeling sorry for my teammate Stephanie who got dropped, and did my best to hang in there. They were going at a killer pace and we're riding way harder than we should be for the first part of this race, especially knowing what's ahead...the potholes and the long climb. I keep thinking "what are they doing?" We rode in a double paceline and I didn't really feel like I was getting much rest. Once the "pro" girl sees that we are about to catch the master's men age 55+ (who left 5 minutes before we did) they stop the paceline and tear off after them. Oh goody! Let's ride even faster! I never thought I would be so glad to see the highway crossing and start the fun potholes just so I didn't have to stay in this insane paceline.

We cross the highway and all chaos erupts and the riders split up all over the road. We had caught the men and a few of our women were able to sneak through them, but after they realized they were being passed by women they didn't allow that anymore. It was every woman for herself at this point. You couldn't ride behind anyone because all you could do was just try to stay up on the bike. I stayed with the group for as long as I could, but they were still keeping an insane pace and after killing myself trying to catch them in the beginning I didn't have it in me to continue so fast. I backed off a little and let the leaders go, including Asa. At this point I had switched from winning mode to survival mode. All I wanted to do was finish.

After a while I ended up riding with a few girls, one from UCLA and the other from UC Davis. We took turns pulling when the road allowed and then in the deep gravel section they couldn't stay up on their bikes and decided to walk. I rode through it like a champ, thanks to my mountain biking skills. Of course, I let them catch me again because I still wanted someone to work with.

A few miles later a girl who had flatted earlier goes screaming past us trying to catch the leaders. The UCLA girl and I jump onto her wheel, but after a few minutes I decide it's too fast for me and back off. Just as I am wondering how Stephanie is doing she pops up out of nowhere and catches us. I couldn't believe it. Go Stephanie! She informs me that I'd lost a water bottle. I bought a 2-bottle cage for the back of my seat so I could carry 4 water bottles, but those bumpy roads were too much for it. Dang! I needed that! It was one of those expensive insulated ones too! We finally reach the big 3 mile climb and the UC Davis girl, Stephanie, and I start the long grind up the hill. Fortunately, hills are my strength so I was able to pull away, pass a master's guy, and reach the top way ahead.

I start down the bumpy decent and, sure enough, out pops the other water bottle from behind my seat. Dang! I stop and go back for it. I can't afford to lose so many expensive water bottles and I'm going to dehydrate before the feed zone if I'm not careful. I stuff that water bottle in my rear pocket with my tubes and stuff and ride on. However, now I'm riding slower because I'm afraid to lose the water bottle out of my pocket. I finally reach the bottom, settle in, and ride several lonely miles by myself. Finally, out of the blue comes the UC Davis girl who says "do you know how hard I've been riding to try and catch you?" We end up working together which was nice. Mile after mile we ride, I continue drinking my Cytomax, eating my Honey Stingers, and hoping for the feed zone. The race director said it was at mile 35. No. It was at mile 42, thank you very much. The race director also said the race was about 60 miles. No. It was 63+ miles, thank you very much again. They need to get those details down better because people count on it when they are racing.

Anyway, mile 36 comes along and boink!, there goes a spoke on my rear wheel. Perfect! Stephanie pulls up along with the guy I had passed before and he doesn't offer much help. None of us have a spoke wrench and it doesn't want to come out. Fortunately, the SAG vehicle comes by and stops. A guy who had flatted out twice and was along for the ride helped me wrap the spoke around another spoke and true the wheel a little so it wasn't so wobbly. I had to have the brake released because the wheel was so off balance. Great, I still had a big descent ahead of me. The guy driving the vehicle had some extra water and gave us each a bottle. Thank you! We were all out.

I was grateful to Stephanie and the UC Davis girl for waiting for me and we rode the next climb together. At this point, with my wheel the way it was, I was just trying to finish the race safely. We got to the top of the climb and I said my good-byes because I wouldn't be able to fly down the hill like I wanted. I had to try to take it as slow as possible. Not an easy task when your rear brake isn't working. I had visions of my whole wheel falling apart. It freaked me out and I was glad to make it to the bottom in one piece.

At mile 42 I happily switched out my water bottles and had two fresh ones. Thanks to Scarlett and Kyle for being there for us!!! Scarlett offered to follow me the rest of the race because of my wheel and I gratefully took her up on her offer. I cruised along until there were about 13 miles left. I could see the UC Davis girl in the distance and was slowly catching her. I thought it would be nice to work together again to the finish, but when I almost got there she turns around and sees me and takes off. Huh! Well, I'll show her!!! I kicked it into TT mode (that's time trial mode) and rode as hard as I could the final 13 miles. I passed her and then some. It wasn't so hard with the tailwind behind me, but as soon as I made the last left turn into the wind it got harder. It was seriously the longest 4 miles ever. I was super glad to finish and not to have finished last! I took 10th out of 13. Not quite the race I had planned, but they never really are.

PCRS#12--The last race!


June 30th was the last race of the season. I was extra nervous because I had to beat Duv in order to secure my 2nd place overall. It was all up to me and Asa wasn't about to ease up on another race. I rode as hard as I could, kept Asa in my sights, and took 2nd. I was proud of my race and happy it was finally over. It's stressful! So...I took 2nd place in expert women age 35+. YES!!!



Talking with my friend, Chris Patterson. She was my biggest fan this season and showed such enthusiasm for my races. I loved talking to her! She was always so encouraging. So glad to have met her this year.


Cruisin'


Hydration is very important!


I was one of the only riders with a Camelbak, but I'll bet I was one of the best hydrated riders out there!


Asa and I coming up to pass our friend Chris Patterson. She races single speed sport with the guys! She rocks!


In hot pursuit of Asa.


Grunting up this hill.


Love the fast downhills...especially when I pass the guys! Woot-woot!


I was asked to pose. This was not my idea. But...who doesn't like to show off every once in a while?


Chris and me.


Team Mad Cat rocked Prairie City this year! Go team!