Long ago, I met Abbie at the Sea Otter Classic and have since purchased her bloomers. I also adore her new line and hope to see her get it in the retail markets. You can support her, here, using the KickStarter Program.

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Husband says, “A sedentary lifestlye perpetuautes itself” therefore, crossfit helps me better about myself. I feel like a younger version of myself.

Friend says, to get 1 pull-up.

Another one says, to just get to workout 3-5 times a week.

Another one says, to get a double under…

The list goes on and on…what’s mine? It changes every week!!!! This week it’s to get a muscle up, but in reality, after I get that muscle up, what will be next? I am NOT motivated to get 330 marathon I blew that chance with tendinitis in 2008, and I’ve never wanted to try that again. [To learn more about me and last marathon experience click here}. Since 2008, I’ve earned both a 200 hour yoga training certificate as well as a CrossFit Level 1 certificate. And, as of this writing, my only goals are to see small improvements in my lifts regularly. I don’t really have any long term “Pie in the Sky” goals, really. If I were to truly say something Out Loud, it would be to qualify for the women’s masters division in CrossFit in 2016, but, I’m not even sure that I want that. Right Now, tomorrow, I just want to be a happy mommy with energy to PLAY with My Kids outside everyday. Being the P.E. teacher that is my day job, I just want to sit at the end of the day. Which is kind of sad, I think. I want to have the energy to really play hard with my kids each and everyday. They will remember the play more than the “let me sit here, while you go play”.

As I close this post, I’d like to ask you, what truly motivates you? I can tell you that I get really excited with 5 pound PR’s. I get really excited when I hit a new plateau and when I have time, energy and motivation to ride for 2 hours and then plant new veggies with the boys as our afternoon activity.

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Image borrowed from the Genteel

“Late last year, the BBC aired a segment about Toronto’s plentiful and competitive vintage fashion scene, which the BBC noted “is attracting shoppers from all across the world.” Among the profiled was a group of young Canadian designers collectively known as The Deadly Nightshades (The DNS) which runs The Style Spin, a unique bike tour that takes the public on a behind-the-scenes spin around Toronto’s fashion landscape…”

Go Read the Entire Article HERE.

You can read more about The Deadly Nightshades here!

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Fun ones, that is!

Very excited to be sporting a new kit from Team Redlands this year. Also, adding that riding 2 + hours at least once a week is one of my 2012 goals, because it’s FUN, not really for exercise!

Read a great cycling story, here.

Read more about women cycling and their huge lack of salary and how some women are trying to change it here.

Get a bike and ride in style with mi alibi, clothing for women cyclists.

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Available at Terry Bicycles.

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Have you ever heard of the Bicycle Hall of Fame, in Davis, California?  I hadn’t until my good friend told me she was attending an Induction Ceremony this weekend!  Ruthie Matthes, Marty Nothstein, Mike Sinyard, and Bobby Walthour, Jr will be inducted this weekend.

I particularly love reading about cycling history, especially about the women pioneers who came before and after the 1984 Olympics, and Connie Carpenter-Phinney is one of the members of the Bicycle Hall of Fame, whom I’ve ridden with in years past.

To read more about the Bicycling Hall of Fame or have a particular athlete you’d like to look up, check it out.

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Recently, I blogged, that I was on the fence about competing in the Next Level Invitational as I has a very hard time at the last one. It is still a costly, time away from the family event, but, I must be slightly crazy because I am training for it. Just last week, it was announced that Watt Bikes would be part of our next event, and that was ONE very cool light at the end of the tunnel for me, because I actually have experience with bike riding and happen to enjoy cycling. Not, that I am or was a pro at cycling or anything, but I do have significant cycling experience!! I was actually overjoyed when I was given this news!!

I won’t go into all my cycling history, but, lets just say that I have been cycling as long as I have been running and that time span is longer than 10 years!! It also makes me old (for a woman competitor) competing against girls half my age, but, because of my experience, I feel blessed with having years of competition under my belt. I mean, why should I at age 40, roll over and wait to get fat and old?! It’s a given, as we age, unless we drastically change our diets, will naturally gain weight. I can almost guarantee that I will still be competing in something when I’m 50 and hopefully even into the 60′s!! It keeps me YOUNG.

What about you, reader, what will you be doing when you’re 40, 50 or 60?! Will you be kicking a** and taking names like in a local 5km race, triathlon or a crossfit competition?! There is no time like the present to find something you love, and go do it.

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For those of you women or moms out there who were athletes in school and now, wondering years later…what should you do? Go find the nearest crossfit box in your town, and join up.  You’ll find your competitive spirit come back within three months.  I did, and if you read about lots of athletes in the Crossfit games this year, that you’ll find that they are doing the same.

In college, I ran track and cross country and not that I was addicted, but, I was committed to exercising, because at the time, I also loved food!  For two years, I ran.  Then, I transferred to a 4 year school and found bike racing through a friend.  I got addicted to that real quick because I was good at it without a lot of effort.  I also loved the competition, the camaraderie and the motivation to get better.  This lasted as long as I was in college working towards a goal– to get to Collegiate Nationals.  But once I graduated, I still enjoyed riding, but I lost my way for a while as I didn’t have any set goals.  {gained a few happy married couple pounds}. Few years later, I got married, and set a new goal– The Marathon.  Did my first one at age 28, and finished it in 4 hours or so.  And, I did it with almost no training.  Or, as I recall, it was run for an hour on Sunday, then, run for 1.5 hours on the following Sunday, and so forth until I got to three hours.  Lesson learned, you don’t need to run a marathon before actually running a marathon.  Years later, I got the running bug again, and trained for and ran the St. George Marathon– got injured, but, still got a 10 minute PR on serious training.  That was in 2008 and I haven’t run more than a 5km since then.  Guess that was enough of that, heh?!

Now, in 2010-2011, I’m addicted to Crossfit and loving it.  Why now?! Why must I have a sport now in my 40′s?  Because in order for me to stay fit and continue working on my goals, I have to find new goals to set.  I have to have accountability partner to make sure I do it right, and I have friends whom will say something if I don’t show up for a workout.  And, I have a coach who will text me asking where I’m at?!?!

What the heck is crossfit and why should you do it?

1. It’s a combination of gymnastic movements, weight training, and endurance through the use of a WIDE variety of modalities.  The 2011 CrossFit Games has athletes swimming in open water, throwing softballs for distance, handstand walking along with lots of heavy Olympic Lifting.

2. The cool part of it is you can always set new SMALL goals or new BIG goals to help you stay motivated.  You can compare your scores to other women in your area or just to yourself and see improvements..

3.  You can do it in your living room or you can do it in your backyard or at your local globo gym.  All it takes is time, effort and discipline.  But, I could say that about any sport, exercise or hobby you may find love for.

4.  The best part is that I am a seriously fit mommy and I could jump into any local running or triathlon race with little to no “training” and do just fine and that’s the beauty of it, we get good at LOTS of things we weren’t good at in college or high school.

Were you a collegiate athlete and do you still workout or compete now?

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Check out these bags! They are adorable and can attach to any bicycle, stroller, or piece of luggage! Check them out on Planet Gear today.

Also, My Alibi has new colors for their bloomers! These are not meant to be worn on their own, simply under a skirt. For those of you who like to bike around town, but, come home complaining of a sore bum, then these bloomers are your ticket! I used to use these when I was biking my kids around and they work great!

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Yes, we gave up 1 week of our life, turned our house upside down, emptied the contents of a fridge, and lost a ton of sleep….


However, our children got to meet, greet and play with some of the nicest, most humble bike riders ever. Colby Elliot was our “pit crew” for the children’s races, pancake breakfasts and TV watching. My husband loved hearing stories from old racing days and on two nights we had almost the entire Swami’s Team here for dinner. I particularly enjoyed cooking and feeding everyone and just having some very lively company around. Almost all the out of town racers at the Redlands Classic are housed in host housing and I feel that we were the lucky ones.

For more information on the Redlands Classic, click here.

And, good luck to all of you Swami’s Team members I hope you’ll make it to the big leagues SOON!

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