velomom

Our dog Haley

2008-11-26T13:53:00.000-08:00

There are moments in life that are not worthy of being recorded in a photograph. They are too deep, meant only to be etched and stored in the banks of our memories.

One week ago we didn’t even know Haley. Jon had no inkling he was about to have his little heart and compassion wrapped tightly around a helpless furry creature… that in three short days he would gain and lose the best friend a boy could ever have.

It was only last Saturday night Rolff placed a wrinkled sheet of newspaper in front of me, “read this….” he said. I scanned the paper to try to catch his meaning. Golden Retriever puppies. Rolff continued,“Call if you think it’s right…check them out but keep your head.” Twelve hours later we were at the home of the puppies and we left with a little angel.

There are moments in a child’s life that a parent will replay over and over in their heart…moments of great joy when you realize life doesn’t get better and moments of despair, hurt and pain, when as a parent you pray that God will indeed use everything for good and you have faith that God is making your little person better for it.

Last Sunday morning right before purchasing Haley I asked Jon if he would like our new puppy to be his. If you can picture fireworks bursting against a dark summer sky then you saw my son’s eyes and the joy behind them.

He stayed home from church to care for her and keep her safe. After spending a full day of romping and getting to know each other, boy and puppy settled in for a night’s rest in the living room. Early in the morning - must have been around 2:30 - puppy cries woke me with a start. I climbed out of bed but stopped at the end of my dark hallway. Jon walked past the lit entry way and out the front door to let Haley use the lawn. I marveled how Jon will make a great dad one day when he takes turns in the night watches over his own children.

The next night Jon woke me up. “Mom, Haley threw up, what should I do?” He cleaned her up with paper towels and put her back to rest. She got worse and in the morning we took her to the vet. After much mind wrenching and tests it was realized that she must have ingested some mushroom and her little body couldn’t handle the toxicity. That evening she died in our arms, in our living room surrounded by our prayers, our tears and our love. She slept peacefully in our living room last night – the toxins having finished their evil work and all our love, our pleadings and hope could not be the antitoxin.

Ten minutes before Haley finally lay still, no longer suffering with pain, Jon touched her head and said goodby. We wanted him to hope – keep praying, but I knew in my heart he was right. He released her and she was gone.

She is buried under a young redwood tree. She should have grown big and strong like the redwood, but she is planted there with all the memories that would have been.

It is raining today. Have you ever seen a soft November rain laying a blanket of mist over a green pasture? Then you’ve seen my son’s eyes today and the sadness behind them.

the bad and the good

2008-08-07T20:08:00.000-07:00

Nano Junior 17/18 Road Race (77 miles)

the bad....
Yesterday's time trial was a bust. Not one of the kids felt like they had any legs. And of course, Nano being so sick two days before didn't do much to help him. He really started getting sick again after his TT finish and we still had Jon and Abba to go so we had no way to get him back to our hotel. It was miserably hot and we had strangers hanging out in our tent and other juniors using our shade to "warm up in." I learned from this experience that a great way to meet people and make new friends is to have shade provision in the middle of a hot parking lot jungle and have lots of ice water available!

Finally we were able to leave, and by now Nano is on the verge of losing his past three meals...which he did in the landscaping of our "apartment" because our key wouldn't work - both events added greatly to the "boutique" appeal. We were discussing the option of Nano not racing the crit today....but this morning he felt well so the decision was he would warm up and then see how he felt. He raced and it was awesome fast!

the good...
Today started with Jon racing men's 10/12 with a field of around 44. It was a fun race to watch...a bunch of little pros hitting the course and putting out everything. Jon brought home a top 10 victory with 7th place! That felt really good!
Abba took off feeling like this was going to be the hardest race of her life. She was feeling good and rode most the race with the pack until she was caught behind an accident had a mechanical with no free lap so spent the rest of the race playing catch up. She finished the race and was not pulled. Abba says that this was the first race where she had the confidence and felt the ability to stay with the pack. She feels good going into tomorrows road race.

Joe rode a great race. Stuck with the group the whole way - there were some crazy crashes that looked really scary from where I was standing. His front wheel got a direct perpendicular hit - he was pushed against a fence by the pack dragging his shoulder and hand along the crating of it resulting in a trip to first aid. The amazing thing is Joe did not go down! That kid has killer bike handling skills and it takes a lot to shake his confidence, plus he loves the physical side of the sport. Joe raced an awesome race coming in 29th out of about 80 guys.

Nano's race was crazy fast. I did not really watch it until 6 laps to go because I was freaked out by the speed and the large pack. The race started with a group of 133 riders, Nano was midpack most of the race and finished really strong. All the riders were spent and you could see it as they came over the finish. After the race Nano was covered in soot from the road getting kicked up from so many riders and the fast pace. When the pack road by it felt like you were standing in front of a fan. It is pretty scary for mothers! One of the fathers asked me how I stand it.....my answer, LOTS OF PRAYER!

Want to get this posted to update everyone...so excuse my writing mistakes! Please feel free to comment and I will pass on any encouragement.

Upcoming:
Tomorrow - road races for Jon, Abba and Joe
Sunday - 77 mile road race for Nano

the trip down

2008-08-05T23:29:00.000-07:00

Sorry - no photos to share. :(
My camera will not download for some reason and I don't have the patience right now to figure it out.

Today we arrived in Anaheim after a 6.5 hour drive which was very uneventful. We drove our large van with four bikes up top and two inside. We arrived at the athlete check-in around 1:30 and did not get to our hotel (about 7 minutes away) until 4:30. The Time Trial bike Nano is borrowing has to pass a certain criteria since his time trial is a qualifier for Worlds. Anyway - he switched out the stem, twice, and it finally passed. A big thank you to Martin Messersmith (an awesome triathlete!) for taking the time and giving up his road bike stem for nano to use in the Cervelo. Karen took some great pics. which I'll eventually post here.

Tonight the kids and Martin and Ryan Messersmith met and rode part of the time trial course. On the way home we got lost, taking an hour to find our "apartment" instead on the necessary 20 minutes. Our place is impossible to find in the dark....it is a "boutique" hotel with "apartments. I guess part of the ambiance is low outside lighting!

So, here's the line up for tomorrow:
11:50:00 - 15/16 Joseph
1:34:30 -17/18 Nano
2:17:30 -13/14 Abba
3:11:00 - 10/12 Jon
and our fellow JETS:
2:39:30 -13/14 Stefan Fuller - JETS
3:04:30 - 10/12 Ryan Messersmith - JETS
3:07:30 - Robert Terra - JETS

Looking forward to some great racing and tough competition!
BTW- Nano started feeling better a few hours ago after a tough day of stomach flu yesterday. I was really happy to see his race time in the afternoon - every minute of recovery time is helpful!

By for now - will write more soon!

the road rash contest.....

2008-07-25T10:29:00.000-07:00

Which body part received this "crush injury?"
A. the knee
B. the elbow
C. the heel

If you guessed B, you are correct!
What you see is Abba's swollen elbow right before she recieved 5 stitches....no big deal, no broken bones - it just looks really disgusting which compels me to want to share it with everyone!

So while in the urgent care waiting room one young man thought Abba's jersey was really awesome (was it the argyle or the blood stains?) and he wants to look into cycling with the JETS. The folks at Urgent care were great to us - and Abba is doing fine today. A little sore from getting banged around but she'll be up and training on the bike by tomorrow.

the fundraiser

2008-07-20T21:58:00.001-07:00

One week ago we had a fabulous fundraiser to help get the kids to nationals...it was a lot of fun and the pancakes were SO delicious - thanks to Mike Tech, who not only cooked for us but scored the pancake mix as well!

Teck - the pancake machine!

The weather was perfect and I know everyone had a great time! Thank you to everyone who made nationals possible for us!

Coach Fuller and the JETS! (not by Elton John)

Our coach with great friends!

Campbell Creek tops the morning with footstompin' bluegrass

Today all they guys (from Rolff to Jon) went to Albany where Nano and Joe raced. Afterwards all four of them climbed Mt. Diablo - rather rode up Mt. Diablo. Nano called when they were done to let me know everyone was safe and shared that they were so cold coming down that it was like waking up in the middle of January. Brrrrrr! On the way up they were all talking about the chocolate milkshakes they were going to get on the way home, but Nano informed me they all changed their minds to hot chocolate! Well, it is cold today....so this morning I told all of them to bring something warm to wear. Rolff was thanking me- don't know yet if the rest of the guys "listened to their mother!!"

2008 Race Season Began....a while ago!

2008-06-20T13:22:00.000-07:00

The 2008 cycling season began, sort of, with the Cherry Pie Crit back in early February - Nano was unable to compete because he was bedridden with the flu. Nevertheless, we held out hope that he would suddenly turn healthy until we left at 5 AM! He was one sick puppy! Obviously, Rolff was gone that weekend or he would have given me a reality check!

After the race we rushed back (within the speed limit, of course!), to get to church on time - then Joe and Abba had a youth symphony concert to perform. That very day all of us proceeded in shifts to be sick in bed for two months. So, really, our season didn't take off for another few weeks.

Jon is beginning to come into his own placing second in the Dunlop State Time Trial championships. He has his eye on next year's state jersey! He also took first place for the second year at the Copperopolis Road race!

Abba is racing more this year than ever and getting stronger every time! We just need to get her away from her horses long enough to train. Doing the elite 4/5 crit in Santa Rosa with the fabulous Claire and teammates mentoring her has gone a long way. Abba is serious about trainig for nats.

Joe has it tough this season racing against guys like those 16 year old specialized boys! Not to mention Farina from SJBC - that is one kid on a mission! Early season had us missing Andrew L. - taken out by a truck pulling a trailor last November which broke his femur, and Brentley who was taken out by playing varsity basketball. Both are back strong now, so I am officially having a great time with all my boys back in the "real" game!

Nano just called to tell me that he got 1st place overall at Regional Development Camp (31 athletes from western states) - I don't know how that translates, but he got some cool sunglasses. I'll be sure to post about what that means for Nano's racing when I get the word.

Looking forward to seeing how the season pans out and how things go at Nationals down in Anaheim in August. I am thrilled to be re-establishing my friendships from last year. Generally speaking, cycling parents are awesome and really plugged into and devoted to their kids. (I mean, who gets up at 5 am to drive 2.5 hours to a race? You have to mean it!)

Stay tuned because I will update more as we get closer to nats!

Be blessed and thanks for reading!

the formula...

2007-09-25T12:37:00.000-07:00

one mustang + one little girl (love x patience x time) + trust =

best friends forever

On Sunday we were able to bring the two mustangs to our neighbor's roundpen. The roundpen is a safe environment in which to work the horses.

walk across the front pasture

Nano worked with Caspian on suppling .
Nano and JT in the arena

In the roundpen:

Our neighbor and wonderful mentor, Lisa

The kids have put many hours into the horses from the ground. Lot's of handling, brushing, picking up feet, petting...as you can tell Abba has paid her dues and has gained Apache's trust:

Abba and Apache wait their turn

It took a lot of encouragement to get Apache to lope. It was a new thing to run in the roundpen, he has always run in straight lines, so to actually get him to lope took a lot of running on Lisa and Abba's part, they got a workout too!

whoa...

the month of blogging lapses!

2007-09-17T14:37:00.000-07:00

WOW! It has been over a month since I last blogged....wonder why? Here's a glimpse into what has been going on in our corner of the world these past few weeks:

One daughter goes to India:

Two triathlon events:

Two new horses added to our herd:

Three days with friends:

Four wheelsets from Williams Wheels:

Five new puppies born:

and a great day in the sierras with friends:

not to mention the bike races all over norcal!

Hopefully now I can be more up-to-date on the blog!

the Lodi News Article

2007-08-14T19:21:00.000-07:00

Lodi News Sentinel ran an article on our family and our involvement with cycling......

Here is the
article:

(Jennifer M. Howell/News-Sentinel)

Chains that Bond

By Anthony CusumanoNews-Sentinel Sports Writer

Laura Christensen jokes that her family's bicycling endeavors would make a good reality television show.
More like "Eight is Enough."
The Christensens, all eight of them, have been known to take over the streets of Clements en masse aboard their bicycles, as some siblings train for road races.
Nathanael, 17, Joseph, 14, Abigail, 12, and Jonathan, 10, all race competitively, while sisters Ashton and Adrielle and parents Laura and Rolff bike simply for recreation.
"We're a large family and we've always cycled as a family," Laura Christensen said. "We did swimming, but we had to be on one page. We couldn't be going to six different sporting events. With cycling, all the events are in the same place."
While eldest brother Nathanael set the standard for competitive cycling in the family, Joseph is quickly making his case for bragging rights. In fact, Joseph is coming off two top-20 placings at the USA Cycling National Championships.
There, he finished 14th in the criterium, 16th in time trials, and 29th in the 30-kilometer road race in the boys 13-14 year-old division.
"The races were really fast and I was surprised the competition was so tough," Christensen said. "It was definitely an awakening experience. I wasn't sure how to prepare for nationals. I just did shorter rides faster, and did a couple sprints."
The criterium portion of the race consisted of short, circular laps at a park, while the time trials were on a closed-off portion of the freeway. The road race was the most challenging with many hills.
With Nathanael and Jonathan also competing at nationals in separate divisions, Joseph had the support of his family behind him.
"This is a team sport for sure," Joseph said.
"At my age, you don't have a big racing team with you. Since I don't race in the same categories as my brothers, we're not against each other — it's a team. We're against everyone else, but together out there."
With so many of her children involved in cycling, Laura Christensen has perfected the role of "Team Mom." She and her husband usually get up at the crack of dawn to drive their children to races, while Laura prepares the high-energy meals they need for competition.
Just as her children are committed to the sport, Laura is as well — but in a uniquely non-competitive way.
"When the Tour of California came through Stockton, I took pictures of the feed boxes to figure out how to do mine," said Christensen, who also happens to hand out water bottles to the pros on occasion.
Joseph, whose first race was only three years ago, has fond memories of racing around the family's property in Clements with Nathanael. Shortly after being referred to local USA Cycling coach Robert Fuller, his racing career took off.
As a member of Fuller's Sprocket Rockets youth racing team, Christensen began competing in road races nearly every weekend.
"My first race was so much fun, I had to keep doing it," he recalled. "I did six races the next year, and they kept getting more fun."
Joseph, who placed second in the Northern California and Nevada Cycling Association juniors point standings this year, and Nathanael also participated in an Elite Juniors Camp at the end of June.
Attesting to his family involvement in cycling, Joseph was recognized for having the "best genetics" by head USA Cycling coach Chris Davidson.
"Joe is one of the most gifted athletes I've been able to work with," Fuller said. "He's a phenomenal athlete and one of the top juniors in the western states."
Earlier this year, Christensen won the Davis criterium and placed second at the Copperopolis road race, Cats Hill (Los Gatos) criterium, and the Northern California Criterium State Championships in Morgan Hill.
"Cycling is not real easy to pick up," he said. "This sport is full of suffering, but it's really worth it. I'm getting faster and faster, and learning how to train better. I'm mentally stronger, knowing how to take pain a little better."
Although discouraged by the negative spotlight placed on cycling with the recent doping allegations, Christensen insists his determination and motivation have not waned.
"I want to do this my whole life," he said. "It's a great sport I can stay in forever. One day I'll be a pro and hopefully race in Europe."
Christensen thanks his racing sponsors — Pacific State Bank and Anderson Homes — the Stockton Bike Club, coaches, and most of all, his family for their support.

the horse show #2

2007-08-05T20:23:00.000-07:00

Today was the last show for awhile. These shows were organized by Mustang Magic which is non-profit outfit benefiting Bureau of Land Management wild mustangs and
youth.

Abba's friend on a mustang named "Magic."

the trot...

THE END

the family time trial...

2007-08-01T22:07:00.000-07:00

aka Glory Hole Time Trial in Angels Camp....this summer we have not done much as a whole family - lots of traveling but not the eight of us together. So, today we hung as a family and went to the Moaning Caverns where we climbed 165 feet below the earth and experienced TOTAL DARKNESS! Since Rolff planned the day :) it also meant everyone (as in non-option) participate in the Glory Hole Time Trial. It is no small feat to get 8 bikes and 8 people's gear loaded up and ready to go! Rolff and I are really thankful for our sons who totally made sure the bikes were set to go.

Two flats to fix right from the start!

Warming up!

It was a great day! Stay tuned for the

Rattlesnake Story....

you don't want to miss it!

the horse show

2007-07-25T15:47:00.000-07:00

So, here begins many digressions from the cycling world! Abigail showed Buddy last Sunday in the Western Pleasure - walk/jog/lope class and the trail class. It was her first show, just a local fun thing to do. Buddy did awesome, he is a trained Western Pleasure show horse and I saw him change when he walked in that arena - he loved being there. Many thanks to Lisa T. who worked with both Abba and Buddy.

Western Pleasure

Trail

Stay tuned for the rattlesnake story!!!

50 years old!

2007-07-20T19:43:00.000-07:00

Well, I know this is rather late, but since our family wasn't able to celebrate until last night...

HAPPY BIRTHDAY
to an
AMAZING MOM!

love,
Your "kidlets"

the end...

2007-07-18T12:41:00.001-07:00

...of an amazing experience! We are leaving town!

See everyone tonight!

more road race pics

2007-07-18T12:30:00.000-07:00

13/14 boys start (field of 70)
Joe and Andrew

13/14 start
Hillside view - still early
Warming up

Joe at the finish

the road race

2007-07-17T19:05:00.001-07:00

The results - just click and scroll!

The road race was BRUTAL. Joe got sick a lot on his last lap. He threw up all the way around. Below you will see photos of Joe getting aero -Joe's top speed was 54 mph.

Yes, he was going 54mph while in this postion. Nano, who was standing at the bottom of the descent, said he would not have been surprised to see Joe's bike come by with out him on it.

the crit

2007-07-17T18:38:00.001-07:00

Sorry I am behind on my updates. We have been going strong and I am exhausted!

The junior TT (Joe 16th, Jon 24th) results are up as well as the criterium (Joe 14th, Jon 20th) results. Just click and scroll to check them out.

The criteriums for 13/14s and 10/12 were fast and furious. Every one did great, and there were no crashes.

By the time the junior girls races started we were hit with a huge rainstorm resulting in the boys standing in the portapottys lining the course and watching out the back vents. They came out and stood in the pouring rain for the finish.

the fun

2007-07-14T16:48:00.000-07:00

So what do we do the day before the criterium?

Spin around the course!

And get speed on the Alpine Slides!

the crash

2007-07-14T16:06:00.001-07:00

This morning was our most relaxed since we've been here. We took our time getting up and going. We still had an hour before meeting with Andrew and Brentley to spin on the crit course so we decided to drive out to the site of the Flight 93 crash. It was a moving experience for all of us. We learned quite a bit about the last moments on that flight, how the courageous men broke through the cockpit door with the serving cart, how the stewardesses boiled water to pour over the terrorists, how there was a passenger pilot who would have been able to retake control and how the terrorists were the ones to crash the plane after the cockpit was rushed by the passengers. There was only one recognizable item left from that crash that made a 25 foot deep crater...it only had a slightly burned cover - but other than that was completely intact. It was a Bible.

There was an awful crash today during the 17/18 road race that resulted in two riders being airlifted. One of them was Justin Williams from Rock Racing who was preparing for Worlds. He was severely hurt. I spoke with a mom of a rider who was one of the front 20 in the original wreck...by original I mean the first who went down. 40 - 50 came storming down the descent and happened upon the wreckage and ended up hitting, wrecking and landing on those who were down. You can imagine how traumatizing that would be. Some riders who weren't in the carnage quit the race. It took over an hour to clean up and clear everyone out. The mom I spoke to said her son told her that a rider in the very front corrected away from the side of the road (they were going about 50mph on the descent) and it caused the others in the line to move to the side and two bikes connected and that's all it took. Other people told me that bikes were flying up in the air and everywhere. So, again, please pray for safety out here on the courses.

the time trial

2007-07-13T12:47:00.001-07:00

Team Slipstream support

The best rider in today's 17/18 time trial goes to Worlds - so the best juniors in the United State are out here. What an opportunity to get out there with the best - throw down what you can do and see how you stand.

Don't know what Nano's standing is - he did the 20k in 30:07 - the fastest time was in the 25 minute range. I could not believe the equipment!!! The photo above shows the support for the junior slipstream. Rock$Republic was

also there with $upport cars, van$, "monogrammed" di$k wheels. Wow.
Anyway, just a side note to give you all an idea of how "big" this race is. I tend to down play stuff like this and wasn't really thinking about it in terms of "the nation." But after this morning, seeing my first real race, I am a bit in awe and realize more than ever how great it is to be here.

Here are some photos of Nano warming up and about 150 meters from the finish:

warming up

the hurt

Here are some photos of Jon at the start:

Jon with 3 seconds to go

Nano helping Jon to stay loose

Jon completed the 10K in 21:20 (18mph average). He says, "it's because of the bike I did so well." (shout out to Stefan!) The finish was a gradual downhill to a 700 meter gradual uphill. I was standing at the 200 meter mark yelling to Jon to shift to an easier gear and to spin.....he was standing up and just working his bike in a hard gear. After words he told me, "mom, I was too tired to take my hands off the handle bars to shift."

Brentley with 9 seconds to go.

Joseph had a great start. His challenge in the time trial is finding the right balance between going hard enough with out going too hard. He got off the start before I could get a photo. :) He placed 16th out of 57. There were records being beat out there today. The fastest 14 year old did it in 14:50.

Joe spent the afternoon with Andrew's family and Brentley. Those young men finished the day as 14 year olds will...more bike riding (including getting caught in the rain), going FAST on Alpine Slides, watching Myth Busters at the AMD condo, and of course eating.

As soon as the results are up on USACycling I will link the page from my blog.

Thanks to all who are keeping up on the races.
Sunday morning - crit
Tuesday morning - road race

Will keep you posted.

Here are some photos of Joe's time trial start that I was able to copy from Jennifer's camera:

count down begins

down with 10 seconds to go...

and he's off!

the lite training day

2007-07-12T18:54:00.000-07:00

It is really beautiful. Seven Springs is like a piece of heaven on earth. It is so green here and so many trees - it is amazing to look at the landscape and realize that the Civil War was fought amongst forests like the ones we drove by today. You could not see 15 feet deep into the forest. That was one of our topics of discussion as we drove toward Seven Springs.

So, I must tell you that Tim and Andrew Sr. went the second mile with us today! We met at the criterium course and all the kids rode it easy for awhile - Stanley and his dad Greg rode the course with Jon. Thank you Stefan for letting Jon use your bike!!

Then we drove the 1/4 mile to the TT course and spent awhile (along with some other cyclists) just trying to figure it out. Andrew Sr. blessed us with his track expertise to show a proper start - hopefully I will get some good start photos tomorrow. Andrew, Joe and Brentley are working on their "team" strategies. (Those three were the 1st, 2nd and 3rd, respectfully, in the Lance Armstrong junior point series.) Today is the first day I began to get very excited. Anything can happen. Fast kids from all over the US. Just pray for no technical difficulties or injuries.

About this time it was 2pm so we grabbed lunch at Subway where I realized that I actually had Abba's USA Cycling license - not Jon's. We grabbed our food and ran to find a computer with printer....eventually we were sucessful at the public library and printed out his permission to race thingy. Like I said Tim and Andrew were awesome and waited for us so that we could follow them to Seven Springs.

There we registered, checked out the TT starts, drove the road race course and the guys then rode the descent twice. (According to Joe's computer he hit 47 mph - this is just from not using his brakes, he didn't attack it like he loves to do.) Like I said please pray that there will be no injuries. The rules: have fun. no getting hurt.

It was cool watching those young men today. They are so healthy, focused and really nice kids.

Good news - for those who don't know, Nano and Joe built up a TT bike with
the help of Robert, Eric, City Bicycles, Joshua, Garrat, Dan, Brian P. and are sharing one bike. We were hoping that the timing would work for them in regards to the bike. It does...Joe races at 9:26 and Nano doesn't start until 1:13 or so.

Tomorrow will be very interesting. Joe, Jon and Nano are already asleep, the bikes are ready, Gatorade is made, numbers are on the jerseys...so...
Let's roll!

the arrival

2007-07-11T18:21:00.000-07:00

Here we are in beautiful Pennsylvania!

Finally!

After packing:

and weighing,

and wondering how it will fit in the rental van:

from our driveway
to the airport!

Everything barely fit, thankfully! Soon we were on our way traveling the Pennsylvania turnpike!

Two of the bikes were put back together tonight....tomorrow morning the other two will be completed. Already received a call from Brentley's dad and tomorrow we will meet up with them and the Laniers for some training rides. Both offered to help us with the bike mechanics, but it looks like Nano and Joe are doing fine. Nano gained a lot of experience working for Erik at City Bicycles and it has come in handy for this trip!

This is the end of a very long day...we are excited and looking forward to some great racing!

the profile pic

2007-07-09T11:05:00.000-07:00

The profile picture, of me throwing water on a cyclist, was taken at the Livermore Hills RR in 2006. It was over 108 degrees that day; I thought I had brought enough water, but one of the juniors had virtually no water and we ended up sharing. Needless to say we ran out real fast. The volunteers finally brought water to us and we quickly became the neutral feed and spray zone. It was so hot my daughter and I were huddled for shade under the umbrella I happened to keep in my van. One official came over and asked to use our shade for a cyclist on the edge of heat exhaustion. I then became nurse as I applied wet cloths to her and poured water over her hair. Just a few minutes later the official brought another lady who needed our shade - same story.

Meanwhile, our 9 year old who had just finished his race was being tended to by Dad. I wondered what was taking so long and found out it was because Jon was throwing up - he actually threw up 8 times. Just this week, Jon and I were reminiscing about that race and Jon said, "Yeah, it was weird because even while I was throwing up I kept thinking how much fun I had and I couldn't wait to do it again."

We were so miserable that day and irritated on the way home. I was never so happy to get home from a race and forget about it.

I noticed that the race isn't happening this year. It's a great course, maybe a sunny day in November would be better!

TODAY WE PACK!

the peloton

2007-07-05T22:59:00.000-07:00

Bike racing is a team sport. I realized that after my first observation of a criterium. There is drafting, blocking and untold other strategies that go into play. Although my kids have few junior teammates, their racing is absolutely the result of a team effort. Our ability to even consider going to Nats is the result of a group of people, some of whom haven’t even met us, helping to make it possible.

Coach Robert is such a great example to the kids. They would not be racing without his input, resources, encouragement, and help. (Our kids began with Coach Robert through Sprocket Rockets.) We appreciate you so much...thank you, Coach Robert!

City Bikes is the most awesome store on earth. Eric has been over the top kind and generous. Same goes for all the guys there. Dan is not only a top mechanic but an awesome rider as well and Garret, Boz, Robert, and Kenny are the best!

Robert N has been an endless source of encouragement to the boys. They take to heart every bit of advice he gives. He is a wonderful mentor.

I also want to thank Don of Stockton Bicycle Club and all the club members. US Lodi, Delta Velo and the DV sponsors. Folks like Josh who lent the boys his shifters for the TT bike, Candy of Stockton Bike Club for the bike box, Robert from City Bikes for his bike box.

Brian P, who began Team in Faith, and was with Nano on the ground floor of his triathlon competing, I can’t even begin to thank you for the extra wheels and bike and wheel boxes. Also, thank you for your prayers! :)

All the cyclists who have encouraged the boys, like Peter the Punisher, Robert Knaggs, Mike P from Angels Camp, Andres, Damian, Rodrigo, Steve S, Matt Millar, Erim - the time you have taken to give tips and encouragement have helped us along the way. All the members of Pacific State Bank/Anderson Homes Cycling team – Thank you!

You all are part of our peloton…no one gets any where without the help of others. My boys are blessed because of all of you!

the start

2007-07-03T10:00:00.000-07:00

Four-thirty in the morning is a beautiful time of day - sadly, rarely experienced by me in a vertical position unless something amazing is happening like skiing, working in our blueberry field or heading out to a bike race. I don't know, maybe I am strange but I love getting up early and going on adventures, like bike racing, with my kids. So, we have two teenagers in bed EARLY on a Friday night because of a race - gotta love it!

We got started on this course 3 years ago through dabbling in triathlons and last season that transitioned into pure cycling...we got our feet wet and now we are fully immersed. That's the short version. In a week we leave for Nationals in Pennsylvania, which is why I started this blog. This will be my way of communicating to family, friends, and whoever else is interested in our journey.

Will keep you posted.