Epic Ebbetts!

Markleeville has got to have some of the best road riding in the World. World class. Sigh. I did bring my camera--unfortunately I didn't check the batteries and they were dead. In any case, there is no way to capture the beauty of this place on film. Even Ansel Adams would be challenged to do that--still, next time we go I will check the batteries first.

After a couple of weeks of building a decent base of "cycling legs", I set out to do both Monitor and Ebbetts today. Just to be safe though, I rode up Ebbett's first, (in case I only did one). The climb begins at about 5000' and tops out at 8730' (where you cross over the Toiyoba Forest and into the Stanislaus Forest. ). Ebbett's is surrounded by two higher mountains, Raymond Peak (11,010') and Highland Peak (10,934') and the road that is carved into the side of the mountain is pristine. The snow is melting and I didn't even see any until I got passed 7500'. There are waterfalls everywhere. The only sound I heard was the rushing water down the mountain and a random bird chirp! It's amazing to go from the high desert to the Alpine climbs.

About 700 feet from the top, there is an Alpine Lake nestled into the mountain rock which is still frozen and has snow on top---but I was riding in shorts and a jersey (of course, climbing uphill keeps your body temperature up) and there were waterfalls of snow melt pouring in. Once I passed the Smokey the Bear sign, I descended a bit to about Pacific Grade Summit, and decided to head back up and then down.

At the bottom of the pass, I saw Mike heading up (he did both sides of Monitor as a warm up). So I figured I had some time and decided to fill up on water and try Monitor. These two passes are so different---yet right next door to each other..Monitor is like a "moon climb" and Ebbett's is Alpine. Monitor may not be as high (8315'), but it is always a tougher climb for me for some reason.

Amazingly, a couple of hours later, Mike and I arrived back at the foot of the pass within seconds of each other. We both just smiled, said "good timing", and followed it up with "this place RULES!". Thoughts begin to pour into our head about buying a Euro-Van so we can come and camp on the passes and ride forever. And of course we're entertaining the thought of buying a house sometime again, somewhere around here! We really like it!

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!

Northern Nevada Love

It's like everyday, I wake up and feel like I am on vacation! Not sure if it's the West, the mountains or the perfect weather, or what. The air is so clean that you can smell how clean it is. Mountain air. When we first arrived here we were thirsty all the time. It's the elevation combined with the dry air (it averages between 5% and 20% humidity), I guess. But now we're more like camels and don't need to drink so much.

I think getting out and riding everyday also helps you acclimate to the thinner air. The only time I notice the elevation now is when I'm out walking the steep terrain with the Scrap---I can climb out of the saddle on the bike and don't get thrashed anymore---4 hour rides are no problem---and the climbs are everywhere! It's like a cyclist's Disneyland!

I don't think I will ever get tired of waking up to these mountains that surround us. They're everywhere I look. The sun rises over them in the East and then sets in the evening to the West. There's no "plop" into the Pacific Ocean---it just sets over the Sierra's. But there is no haze or smog and everyday there is blue sky above, with the pink and orange hues in the morning and the evening.

Mike and I are headed to Markleeville again tomorrow. The next best thing to "being there" is to Thank God for our Mom's on top of the big California Alpine Peaks! Happy Mother's Day! Happy Saturday.

I could eat a horse!

A sure sign that the riding is good where I live is that I have that "hungry all the time" feeling. I love it! The weekends are chock full of hours in the saddle and the evenings are spent eating a bunch of food. Today I rode towards Virginia City. I still haven't gone all the way over Geiger Pass---but I am getting my climbing legs back at last!

Now when I say that---I'm still not fast on the bike. Never have been and probably never will be. I just like to go uphill for hours---and that's a good thing. You're almost always going up hill in Reno. I wish we lived a little closer to the passes sometimes, but I am not complaining one bit!

There's this one ranch I pass on the way towards the two passes that has an unusual variety of livestock. Llamas and ostriches. And four cute pregnant burro's. I can't wait until the baby burro's are born. I will have to remember to bring carrots next weekend.

Mike cooked his famous pasta with artichokes, sun-dried tomatoes and loads of garlic and olive oil and we ate a big fresh loaf of sour dough french bread. Life is good in the mountain desert!

And how about that Kentucky Derby! Happy Sunday!

Mt. Rose Highway & Boy Scout Troop 7322

As the crow flies, Mt. Rose is "just over there". Mike quickly discovered the bike routes over to the two big climbs in Reno--Geiger and Mount Rose. It's the same route, either way---but you head West to climb Rose and East to climb Geiger. The desert winds were forecasted for the afternoon, and even though I got on the road a little after 8am---I knew that riding home into the wind might just put me over the edge. Right now I've worked myself up to 4 hour rides...but I'm still acclimating to the altitude and I begin to lose it after 4 hours. Throw in some wind and I begin to wonder why I even like riding my bike.

It took me over an hour to get to the Mt. Rose highway---but what a wonderful ride it was! There are llamas, donkeys, ostriches, work horses, wild mustangs and various cattle ranches that entertain you along the route. It's a steady grade up (steady grade up is what I call a grinder), but the million dollar homes with the million dollar views takes your mind off the work.

In the distance you can see the snowy peaks behind the big old brown mountain ranges. It looks like a godzilla movie---where you see all the big buildings and then towering over the big buildings is an even bigger monster. Given the wind direction (and my out-of-shapeness), I decided to go up Mount Rose. There's still snow up there...and traffic, but I wasn't up for an over 4 hour ride after yesterday (Geiger Pass is easier, but the ride home would be pure headwind).

Sigh. I wonder if I will ever acclimate? It's hard to explain. I used to be able to climb out of the saddle for hours. Not the most efficient way to climb (my husband re-emphasized this to me again and again). But I love it. It's like lifting weights without it feeling like exercise. I can't do it here. My legs are fine; I gasp for oxygen. Each and every time I make an effort, I am fine---but then I sit down and it hits me like someone punched me in the stomach. I even make "grunting" sounds -- not very attractive. Granted---my lack of riding in Boston didn't help. Patience, another sigh.

At about 7000' the air gets even thinner and the shoulder disappeared completely. Snow on the sides of the road makes for an even smaller piece of real estate to ride a bike on. I could see for miles and miles in every direction. And given the picking up of the wind speed and the traffic---I'd decided that I'd seen enough! Ha!

On my way home I ventured off on a side road that meandered passed more mansions. I think a bunch of golfers must live up here---there are "Greens" everywhere---and mansions galore! Who knew?

Just as I arrived back at our home on the hill, I spied an Army Black Hawk flying overhead! Local Boy Scout Troop 7322 was presenting "American Hero's" at the nearby Middle School. K-9 & SWAT Team members, along with some of the dedicated men and women in the U.S. Armed Forces were answering questions. Smokejumpers, Navy Rescue Helicopter pilots, US Forest Rangers, Firemen, Search & rescue and more. What a way to top a Sunday afternoon, huh?

Markleeville, California

For many, Markleeville, CA is unknown. "Where?" If you enjoy fishing and camping, Markleeville might mean some quiet time along the Carson River Valley, underneath the big trees which surround the Sierra Nevada Ranges that separate the Golden State from the Silver State. Clean mountain air, nice camping and artsy little towns with corner general stores along the way.

Markleeville is a historic mountain city named after the first permanent inhabitant of the area, Jacob J. Marklee. Nestled in a small
valley on the east Fork of the Carson River, it is at an elevation of 5,500 feet. It has a backdrop of the majestic 9,000 and 10,000 foot
peaks of the Sierra Nevada. Formed during the silver mining boom of the 1860's Markleeville became the Alpine County seat in 1875. Alpine remains California's least populated county.

It is also home of the infamous Deathride...A one day cycling sufferfest in the California Alps. We woke up early and hit the road, as our plans were to go and ride some of the passes. Both Mike and I have participated in the Deathride in the early 90's---but I haven't been there in ages---and now it's about an hour and a half a way from where we live. According to the signs, Monitor Pass was open and Ebbetts was still closed.

It was indeed an epic day. I stayed on Monitor. My least favorite as it is an open grinder up to 8315'. I went up and over and then back again, remembering the steepness of the "otherside" (from 395) on the way back over. Still it was awesome. There were patches of snow as I got passed the tree-line...but nothing like what Mike found on Ebbett's.

He did Monitor and as much of Ebbett's as he could before running out of food and water. Once he rode beyond the fence that doesn't allow cars to pass he had the road all to himself...4 foot snow drifts. Reminded him of the Giro stages where you see guys in shorts riding by snowy Dolomite's!

For those wondering...SONORA pass is open! We'll have to go do that one soon!

We arrived home hungry, and worked....but in a good way! Happy Saturday!

And Taylor Joseph had his communion today!! Congratulations to Taylor and all the Rooney's!

Mountain Weather

Our front yard faces the Sierra's (West), and as you can see we had some weather blow in last night, and most of the day today. The grounds around our house are snow free, clean and dry though. I like it because I get to have my cake and eat it to. I love watching storms...I just hate not being able to ride my bike.

We've had a gathering of quail in our yard since we arrived, but over the last couple of days, there are two couples (I call them Lucy & Ricky and Ethel & Fred) who've been hanging out and carrying on a regular basis. Lucy will find a snack and go tearing down the yard with Ricky hot on her heels. Ethel & Fred just squak at each other and then follow Lucy & Ricky. It's hilarious. We also have Jack Rabbits who tower over our beloved Jack Russell. Desert wildlife. The animal I saw yesterday (and again today) was a big cute ground hog!

Today I headed out into the SouthWEST breeze...Dodging black clouds, but the rain evaporated before touching down. The clouds come so close you can reach out and touch them. When I rode up to the California-border-Henness pass, a bunch of snow blew off the mountain. I could hear it on my helmet, but it just evaporated by the time it touched down. It was wild! I have to say that, as usual, the wind is ferocious. It is nice to have the valley's surrounded by mountains to ride around in though.

When I headed back home I had a "Marshall-style" tailwind. I was in my big ring flying along the road. Then when I reached the foot of the 1000' foot climb home, a big hail-cloud that was following me exploded and I rode up into the monster gusts and ice pellets. The twisty part at the bottom is kinda cool...but then there's this wide open straight up stretch that was less fun. Closer to our house, the wind took a turn and rolled around behind me to help me up the hill. How cool is that?

Life on a bike in the desert is pretty cool!

Morning ride in Verdi

Woke up to a brisk but clear-as-a-bell mountain air morning! We've had this strange weather pattern this week. Snow blows over the Sierra's but doesn't ever stick. So you experience the beauty of the snow falling, but the roads are dry and clear and clean. In fact, one of the squalls that blew in did stick, but only to our grass. It was like some invisible man was out there shoveling the sidewalks/roads.

Anyway---the wind was already blowing this morning, but Mike was suiting up for a training ride. I was chickening out (I don't know what's come over me---I am suddenly a fair weather rider), but I really love my new bike and wanted to ride. So I geared up in all my new Campagnolo clothing (for a girl who's been selling the best for years I can't believe I never knew about this Campy line---it easily surpasses anything Assos/Castelli that I've ever used---both performance AND the way it looks---very Italian!)

Mike was heading to Verdi to do intervals. Verdi is so nestled into the mountains that I figured the wind might be less felt---so while I was certainly NOT planning on doing intervals, I'd head there as well. The other nice thing is that the wind was blowing from the West--so I could ride as much as I wanted into the wind and would have a nice tailwind on the way back home (Mt. Rose and Geiger Pass would have meant a head wind home).

There's just no traffic here. It makes such a difference to not have cars everywhere and to always have my own lane even if there were cars. I dropped a thousand feet into the Verdi-valley and just as I passed Sinclair I followed the Truckee River and warmed up in the small housing developments along the way. I ran into Mike hammering away like a skinny beast. How a skinny little body like his can go so fast is amazing. He thinks he weighs 170lbs...but I bet he's 165lbs. Anyway, there are these private roads that lead no-where...but you can climb for a mile or so and it begins to feel very "alpine". The air is crisp...and I think this time I am slowly integrating into the altitiude so my recovery is better and I am not as bothered. There's one climb that ends at Hennessy pass(?)---a dirt road that crosses into California. (You can ride the dirt on your road bike---).

I saw this little "beaver-like creature along one of the passes. I have no idea what it was, but it was cute. It looked like fat fur running across the road. It's all uphill back to our house...but this Ridley machine makes the climb up fun! I arrived home to a true Sydney Greeting (you'd think I was gone for 2 days instead of 2 hours!) and settled in to write to you. I hope your Saturday is lovely!

A Mt. Hamilton Ride

One of my favorite rides is to head up to the Mt. Hamilton Observatory in San Jose. By car it is a twisty ride...The Scrapper once got car sick when she was helping me in the feedzone for the 2004 Mt. Hamilton Road Race. By bike it is still twisty--challenging but fun...20 miles up to 4500' or so---and at the top you can see the entire Silicon Valley. On Monday morning, before heading back to Reno, Mike and I headed up. We rode from my folks house and had to stop at the post office to mail our taxes.

We rode our bikes to the post-office and when we got there of course there was a line out the door (even though we were early). I could see the frustration on Mike's face and so I told him to ride on and I would stand in line and I would follow. (Knowing of course my ride would be cut short...) Once I got the "post mark" on my forms I headed South and East. The first mile at the bottom has a little bit of traffic (but nothing really compared to out East) and after that you're pretty much car free for the next 19 miles up to the observatory.

Living at altitude for the last few weeks has made my riding iffy-at-best. My legs are fine...but it's like breathing through a straw and so my lung power is weaker. And the recovery time is tough---because you're always in the lack of oxygen zone. So I figured I was really out of shape and going slow. I didn't feel like I was as smooth or something. I don't know. It wasn't hard at all---just not snappy.

But it was lovely and warm and quiet and beautiful. So I just enjoyed the ride and the views and figured any minute now my racer husband would come screaming down the hill and I would have to turn around. I passed Grant park (which is further than I thought I'd get), and just kept plugging away on the Ridley machine. Up and up and soon I was passing the 6 miles to go bridge. Hmmm? Where was Taylor? It starts to get steeper here. And windy. And even cool (dare I say cold? Nope!). Finally---maybe a mile and a half later I see my Giant Strawberry heading down.

"Wow sweetie...you're climbing good!" Were the first words out of his mouth. I started way behind him and almost made it to the top shortly after him. So I think there is something to this altitude stuff. I didn't feel like I was snappy or climbing well...but I was faster than I thought. Maybe it was my new Ridley Helium ultra cool bike? I don't know. I will say that I had a buzz and lots of energy the whole time I was in California. Like a permanent feel-good-buzz. BUT...I rode every day and I love it there and I was energized seeing all my peeps! And this altitude stuff is I think more of a recovery thing--according to Jeff Angerman (Discovery Masters Rider and Sports Medicine Doc here in Reno). Anyway---it's interesting.

Sea Otter & Santa Cruz Crit

To some of you, this photo just looks like a couple of handsome guys hanging out in the Ridley booth at the 2007 Sea Otter. To this girl though, this photo means I am home! Two of my favorite people on earth! The Sea Otter was a mixed bag for the Sinclair folks---Mostly the weather (sun, wind and rain). When your in the dirt with an expensive lot of Campagnolo clothing, rain can be a big buzz-kill. But for me it was a winner because Alan joined us for a day. My first venture out of the booth and I head to the BIG air jumping dare-devils! Those guys are incredible. But even more incredible was spotting Alan with his iPod watching the brave guys on bikes. I immediately felt like I was HOME!

On Saturday, the rain came and we had a mudslide coming into our booth with thousands of dollars of Campy clothing about to get ruined. So we loaded up and salvaged most of it and headed out. Mike and I were staying in a lovely cottage (belonging to a dear friend of mine, JR, from my SGI days) on the 17 mile drive. We cleaned up, took a nap and awoke to sunshine and went for a ride! We enjoyed the million dollar views, the lone cypress and Big Sur and then decided to race on Sunday in Santa Cruz!

Santa Cruz was Mike's second race ever when he was a cat 4 or 5 in 1992---the old Pepsi-Cola challenge (or something like that).
He won the race as a cat 3...but hasn't done the race in a few years. He hasn't raced in field this large in about a year...and it's been a LONG time since he raced with a field of so many guys---110 guys lined up for the Pro 1/2 race on this breezy but warm Santa Cruz day. California Blue Skies. I saw friends I hadn't seen in 2 years. One of the best days I'd had in almost as long! Terry, Sarah, Tim Noakes, Dave Jueng---and the whole Strawberry Team (Worm, Mattis, Briggs, Eric Wohlberg...Andy Jaques-Maynes...the list goes on and on!). Anyway---this is too much to take in for a real race report. But Mike finished strong (15th) in the hugely talented and deep field. Not bad for his first big race of the season!

Ride around Reno

Literally. That's what I did today. There's basically one road that circles the entire town of Reno, called McCarren. Think Foothill Expressway with less than half the stoplights and two big climbs with the rest of the miles being rolling. There is a BIG bike lane the entire length with the exception of 1/4 of a mile where North McCarren becomes South McCarren near it's eastern most point.

I've spent the last year in the North Eastern "flatlands", and the last three months riding in my basement, so I had planned to take the easy route for my maiden voyage. On a map, it all looks flat. There was maybe 1 mile of flats for the whole 3 hours. Sigh.

Anyway, this kind of riding is the best way for me to get my bearings---and get familiar with my new surroundings. No matter where I was, I was surrounded by 7000' to 9000' climbs---with the bigger peaks of Mount Rose in the distance. The air is dry dry dry. The whole ride I had that dry throat feeling. I loved it!

Something Mike had mentioned yesterday, but which I really hadn't experienced before (I never "push it!), was the feeling where my legs felt great---but I felt like I was breathing through a straw. Usually my aerobic conditioning is good and my legs give out. Altitude training. Funny thing was I felt fine on the climbs, but the flats were where I was feeling "tired".

In any case, I had a lovely ride. Reno has that small town feel---very spread out. I suppose in the bay area we call this "sprawl"---and perhaps in a few years, they'll call it "sprawl" here too. But right now it's pretty nice.

As I turned onto Mae Ann and headed home, I had that headwind to deal with. But it wasn't quite as bad as I thought it would be. The climb home is about 1000'---it reminded me of my ride home in San Francisco.

We start working tomorrow officially! Happy Sunday!

UNR Criterium - Racing Ridley!

On Wednesday when we were visiting our new "headquarters" for work, we found out that there was a local race happening this Saturday---less than 5 miles away from home! Sweet! We decided to make it a "work event" and get some Ridley publicity at the same time. Mike is overseeing the Team bike /custom program and a local (collegiate series with a USCF event included) race seemed an appropriate way to kick things off.

Mike's new ride is still not built, but luckily he can ride the same size as our new boss, Lance, and so he was good to go with a sweet Ridley bike to ride. Since the focus for this weekend event was the collegiate series, the Pro 1/2 race was the first race off---an 8am start. The field was mostly local Reno/Wheelman, but there was also a familiar looking Discovery Team rider, Mike's old team mate from his Webcor days, Jeff Angerman. Cool.

Rules read and they were off around a hilly 1.7 mile loop around the University of Nevada, Reno, campus. The start/finish was up at the top of a long, seemingly innocent, but in fact a leg-breaker (lung breaker to be more exact) climb. Mike and Jeff shared winning primes and Mike ended up winning a 5 gallon keg of locally brewed beer, amongst his other prizes...including a UNR Rugby shirt for me! He also rode in for a solo win---Taylor's still got it---even for an old guy!

Speaking of "old guys", Mike decided to par-take in the Pro 1/2 Masters race. Why not? This was a much bigger field, including Angerman and another Disco teammate---plus a plethora of Reno Wheelman riders. This local club (Reno Wheelman) has experienced a rejuvenation of the sport (I imagine Jeff Angerman who is a Sports Medical Doctor and key sponsor for the race team has something to do with this.) The club has approximately 130 members, and the race team has about 40 members.

The first few laps and the field was pretty much together---but a decisive break formed with some strong riders (including Taylor and Angerman and maybe 3 other guys) with a pretty strong chase. The last eight laps though were like a beautiful team time trial with Jeff and Mike taking turns on the front and smoking the field---and lapping the chase group. After such a team like effort, no one felt like outsprinting the other for the finish and they slowed down and rode across the finish line side by side together---complete with a sportsmanlike handshake! It was awesome.

And given the Belgian flavor of our bikes---Lance, our fearless leader, showed up with a few big bottles of Chimay---the recovery drink of choice for all Belgian bike racers and Belgian bike race lovers! And Mike really loved riding this new bike---can't believe how light a bike in his size is---

Afterwards, Mike and I came back to our new home and took the Scrapper for a walk along the hilly trails right in our backyard, marveling at our spectacular views of the Sierra Nevada's.

I think we might just might have found our niche!

What's in this box?

Sigh. The question of the day. You have to remember we moved from a big huge house into a not so big flat. With stairs. And all of our belongings were either up a swirly staircase into the flat, or down an equally swirly staircase into the basement. Needless to say, we never unboxed some things we brought from Minnesota. Mike tried to pull the old, "well you haven't needed this in a year. let's toss it". But it didn't work. I am emotionally attached to pieces of paper that do indeed look like trash to everyone but me.

Like that postcard Grandma sent me from Monocco or Greece or somewhere else. And Minnesota Dad can attest to my book addiction. I'm keeping all the Dostevsky, Pynchon, Abbey, Rand, McPhee and a bunch of other ones. I don't know why but I am. This is the last time I haul them though. Each time he barked at me about my books I pointed to the 12 bike boxes and told him to "can it!" We have no real furniture...but we have bikes and books and cycling clothes. Sigh.

We bark at each other but we made "hey" today and actually got the truck all loaded and so I think we're heading out a day early. The guys who rented us a truck yesterday were the same two guys who were working the day we dropped off the truck a year ago. Only they were smaller. Much. One of the guys, Rob, said "aw you'll become a Patriot's fan before you leave!" He weighed about 300 lbs last year--maybe more. I asked him, "Hey---did you lose a ton of weight?" He grinned and said he lost a 100lbs! I told him he looked great and he gave us a 12% discount on the rental. Our truck going all the way to NV is now cheaper than the one we drove from CA to MN or MN to MA! Not only that, but we requested a GMC because the one we drove from MN to MA almost tipped over when Mike would go faster than the speed limit. We not only have a GMC---but it is brand spanking new!

Our backs and legs and arms ache---but the Taylor's are departing Massachusetts sometime this morning and heading to points West---back across this land we love. Back home. Or at least close!

This is Joni, reporting live from just outside of Boston---over and out!

Last day of winter

And the second to last day here in Boston. We're hoping to hammer through the East at a pretty good clip. Mike wants to make it to the other side of Cleveland the first day. Cleveland is a lovely city. But 80 goes right through it and we don't want to encounter the rush hours when we can avoid them. From Cleveland we're going to attempt to make it to Des Moines. Over 1200 miles in two days. Sigh. From then on though, we're in the heartland. More familiar. Less people. Predictable traffic. Unpredictable weather. No toll roads after Illinois. America's "Freeways" are West of the Mississippi.

We'll see how it goes. Many of you have asked about why this "dream job" in Boston was so frustrating. Did we really dislike the East coast so much? It's a little complicated and a little touchy. But we never wanted to live on the right coast. It was always our plan to take our jobs West. That's what we were told when we signed on. Business is business though, and the guy who brought the idea to us, and pretty much got us here, left the company shortly after we arrived. No matter how hard we worked to make it happen, the idea was too challenging to the folks left in charge.

So rather than stay and be bitter, we decided to cut our losses (expenses) and head back to where we feel at home. Our time here has been like being in school. Expensive, yet invaluable training for our future. "If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is." Mike never thought it sounded too good to be true, but I did. I really thought that I was going to be making a living in the Bay Area, peddling & pedaling a great product. Our own East coast education has been just that.

Our new opportunities are exciting, but we are a bit more level headed about things. We're more grounded about what to expect is all. So the gist is that our disappointment in what we were initially offered somewhat skewed our experiences here in the East. There are some lovely sights to see, and the culture has been quite an experience. Ivy league and blue blood. Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Brown, Dartmouth, Tufts...Sigh.

Mike and I are looking forward to life in Nevada. Many unknowns. But unknowns that are a 3.5 hour drive from what I call home. back to my boxes. Happy Tuesday!

A "Happy" pill!

Luckily for us, cycling is a sport you can participate in for most of your life. I remember when I was spending so much time in The Netherlands, and for that matter most of Europe, and you'd see folks in their 80's and 90's out pedaling away. I knew yesterday that a ride was all my grumpy husband needed. That and a nap.

Anyway---the reason that this is lucky (this being cycling into old age) is because the after-effects of going for a ride is along the lines of taking a "Happy" pill. I always knew that it worked for me---but the difference it makes in MT is equally as strong. When we first started going out, some 7+ years ago, we were both riding so many miles---250-400 a week and more, that we were both so perpetually happy it wasn't funny. Since I first got into cycling, I've ridden less miles this year than I like to think about. In fact I barley did 10,000 miles.

We were smarter this time. Riding is in our job description. Or at least "time to ride" is. And the new mountainous terrain, and good weather in Central/Northern Nevada is conducive to some epic rides for sure.

Mike is much happier today. We got most of the heavy stuff downstairs. No more stairs for this girl. The only climbing and descending I plan on doing will be on my bicycle. We're picking up the truck tomorrow evening (they weren't open until 11am on Wednesday, so I need to try and get a free day since we are picking up at closing on Tuesday for their sake.)

I haven't felt like writing this much since we got here. I usually write when I'm happy. So this is a good sign.

Wild wild wild West. It's like having a happy pill!

Packing with MT...

...is about as fun as getting your wisdom teeth pulled without the happy gas! Actually, my Marshall dentist, Dr. Paul Johnson, probably made getting your wisdom teeth pulled MORE fun than packing with my grumpy husband. For example, we had that big snow storm on Friday and I pulled the car in "WRONG!" and now there's a pile of snow where there shouldn't be. He was out there when I did it and could have said something then. But I think he thinks it's way more fun to berate me on a Sunday morning. He'll say he did tell me. But I didn't know what he wanted me to do. I am pretty naive about these things.

I also forgot the "trail mix" ingredients when I went to the grocery store (of course I should have read his mind beforehand). It doesn't help that he can't get outside and ride his bike allowing me two things; Time to pack in peace without him and he can get some exercise outside so he feels like he's not losing his fitness. I may try to persuade him to ride today. It isn't warm, but the sun is out. I also picked up the WRONG kind of newspaper to pack the kitchen with. He's beside himself. I keep reminding him that one day I might really give him something to be mad about. But I don't mean it and he knows it.

We sent in our deposit on our new place in Northwest Reno. About 12 miles from Incline Village in Lake Tahoe and up in the hills above Reno. Less of an unknown than Boston was for us. I'm much less organized, but much less stressed about this move out West.

We have so much to look forward to---but this packing with MT project isn't one of them. OOOps! The chief just started growling again. Even the Scrapper is steering clear of the big Chief Guard!

Back to my boxes. HAPPY SUNDAY!

Last day at Seven Cycles

There is always a bit of nostalgia when you leave something. Even when you know it is the right time to move on---and everything is right. Growing pains. Remember how when you were a kid and you'd get those actual, physical pains? Yeah, those. Amazing to be *my* age and still dealing with them. There is certainly more excitement than pain though. "Way" more.

Something about this time of year---right after my birthday and right before Mike's. We are packing and boxing and hauling and loading. Again. But this time we are heading West. Homeward bound. We found a place in Northwest Reno---an arms throw from the California border. Elevation (5,500') and mountains and high desert.

To further motivate us, a Nor Easter just dumped about a foot of snow and ice and now rain. Boston, up to now, was on pace to have a record low snowfall this year...by several inches. But the last 24 hour totals have eliminated that notion and now we're not even in the top three.

In any case, Mike and I have accepted exciting new opportunities to work for Sinclair Imports in Verdi, NV. We're very excited. We should be packing up a moving truck and heading West sometime next week (Thursday?). In the meantime we are boxing up stuff and trying to get organized. With both of us working over full time, we've left it all until now. The last few times we've done this, one of us had a little more time on their hands to get the house in order to move. Not this time. So we've allowed ourselves a little time to get it done.

The Taylor's are moving West! The first to be packed and ready is Sydney. She wishes everyone was as quick to get it together since now she just remains a little nervous while she sits on the couch and watches.

Happy Saturday!

Sierra Nevada

Not the Pale Ale. The real thing. The mountains. Who'd a thunk it? The Taylor's are heading West at the end of the month. That we are moving West is perhaps not the story here. Moving to the "wild wild West"---well there's the news! How about that? Verdi, NV...a small community nestled right next to one of the big mountain ranges that separates the golden state from the silver state. High Desert! High elevation. And still in the bike biz. How about that?

And, of course, true to Taylor fashion, once we make up our minds, things happen quickly. In fact, in the next 18 days, we will be packing up and driving West, to those big mountain ranges. 30 minutes from Lake Tahoe. 10 minutes from Reno. 3.5 hour drive to the Bay Area. We're excited, a little nervous, a little overwhelmed, but mostly thrilled!

More news will be forthcoming. Happy Tuesday!!

"Because if YOU were snow...

...where would you want to Fall?" Brilliant advertising for the tourism board of the state of California! Mike and I watched yesterday's stage and I even enjoyed the commercials on the Versus network---although there were too many. The coverage is excellent and makes me homesick. Dry sunny desert scenery has that effect on me. Especially if you throw in a bunch of lycra cad skinny cyclist!

I spent a fabulous 4 days in my home state---with my peeps! Unseasonable warmth was a treat, especially since I flew the morning after the big snow, ice,rain, sleet and wind storm. Mike was a champ. He went outside and shoveled the heavy wintery mix off the driveway and de-iced the car so that he could get me to the airport for my early 6am departure. Minnesota Dad called the night before, and he confidently said, "Michael will get you to the airport!" Not having ever flown "in weather", I completely forgot about all the travelers who's plane was cancelled the day before. The airport in Boston was wall to wall people.

Thinking I was going to be there early, quickly became a fear that I would not make it in time. I waited in line for over an hour just to get my boarding pass (even if I had done it electronically, I would have to wait as they were busy booking and double booking seats on the planes.) 30 minutes into my wait, this older couple cut in front of me. Said they were waiting in the wrong line, surely I wouldn't mind. I told them I was waiting for a long time too. They said, "Did I think it was fair that they should have to go to the end of the line?" I was grumpy, it was like 5 in the morning so I said "Yes!". But they cut in front of me anyway.

They were on my plane so I was glad I didn't say anything too mean. I did think (to myself) that if it was Minnesota, they wouldn't have been so rude...but I guess that is a form of labeling that I am glad I didn't voice. Spending my birthday with my Mom & Dad was a great gift. It was a short, busy trip home...but totally worth being tired all last week!

It's in the 30's most of the week. Mike did a 4 hour ride outside yesterday. I made it for an hour and 26 seconds in the basement yesterday. The track is all ice and so I can't run yet. (I ran at the track in California with my Mom and it was 75 degrees with no wind and a California blue sky...the same track that my Mom used to drag me to...it was so fabulous) Sigh...

California dreamin' me! Happy Sunday!

One romantic evening...

...in February, in chilly-cold New England, a certain girl's husband treated her to a surprise sushi dinner, complete with a birthday greeting card from the small hound and a Dove bar for dessert (that her husband ate!) and beer. How about that? My birthday is not until Thursday, but I will be flying to California for a long weekend and so we celebrated Saturday night.

The last couple of days we warmed up to the freezing mark and so Mike was thrilled to have such balmy weather to ride in for a change. The fact that he's still riding outside in Boston in February is pretty amazing, huh? The fact that the first big snow storm of the year is forecasted to touch down when I am heading West is amazing too, though in a different way. (Sigh...)

I actually went shopping on Sunday---venturing out to the "not too far from home", Arsenal Mall. There's a Gap outlet, Filene's Closet, and a few other retail outlets.The cool thing about the Gap there, is that the prices looked good on the price tags---but they were discounted even more, up to 40%! The Mall is right next to the "Arsenal building", an old brick Military base. Very New England in an old kind of way. And in a very typical way, the Mall was full of teeny boppers hanging out at the electronics outlets and older folks hanging out at the Dunkin Donuts. I eaves-dropped on the conversations.

"Didja hea about Mahvin's mahtha? It was herh bahck! Benn that way fer fohty yeas o so" or "Check it out Linder! It's wicked fast! Come hea!" The accent is starting to grow on me, though it isn't one I can replicate very well. When I got home I blared the Cowboy Junkies and rode my bike in basement, dreaming about California and warmer days. To really get into the feel of my "dreams" I sweated like crazy (Our basement is the warmest part of the house as it is), and finished my ride just as my guy finished his. He stepped out to get some stuff at the drugstore and came home with piles of sushi, beer, dessert and a card from The Scrapper with a Scrapper on it!

There are many things in my life that I wonder if I did the right thing, or that I learned from and improved upon later on, or "wished I'd done better"...but Mike is that "face in a crowd of strangers that lights up just for me!", not to be improved upon!

California here I come! (Pray for the weather to not snow on my parade---like it is forecasted to!" Happy Monday!

Fumbles & Turnovers

What's the world coming to when an avid cyclist who hasn't watched much football since Joe Montana played for the 49er's (although she was a "gag" Dallas fan even then) decides to write about the Superbowl? I suppose when you plop that said cyclist down in Boston, where riding outside in January is for crazy nuts like her husband, she has more time to "veg in front of the TV" and watch football on TV like her millions of American counterparts.

What a game, huh? Of course the weather tops my list! Can you believe the downpour? It never quit! If I'd paid the thousands of dollars for superbowl tickets only to have to sit in the rain for four hours, I'd have been a bit peeved. Better to watch it in my freezing living room, yes? I don't remember football having so many turnovers. When did that happen?

Mike was not happy that Prince didn't play "When Dove's Cry" during half-time. "Weak!" was his reply, after he added, "Hey sweetie, did you know that Prince went to North Minneapolis High School? His studio is in Chanhassen, MN right near where I picked up the moving truck. I drove right passed it!"

Dan Marino kept referring to the Superbowl he went to and how the win of the national Championship forever eluded him. So my claim for the night was that I was at that said Superbowl. It was at Stanford and it was Miami vs. San Francisco...with Apple being the main sponsor. But like I said...I was a Cowboys fan.

Anyway---I'm thrilled for the Colts. It was an exciting ball game. Have a wonderful Monday! Mom, please add Sheldon Haaland's name to the prayer list tonight.