Oh Wow

at tuesday night worlds i got dropped before the first county line sprint.
natz is going to be uugggggly.

The Weekend

i won't say i hated the trails at fort yargo because that wouldn't be true or fair. they were a lot of fun. but the course somehow managed to tap into every one of my weaknesses.
it was long and repetitive
and there was sand
and tight corners
and crazy whoopdeedoos
there were no long climbs
and it required hard tires...anything over 30 psi is not my friend
i need some practice on florida-style courses, obv.
i spent the entire second lap blowing snot rockets, apologizing to the sport riders behind me (not for the snot, but for my sketchy maneuvering), and debating the merits of a pit stop. occasionally i was passed by a chick and my thought process went as follows: oh, heavy breathing. glance behind. oh dear. it's a chick. glance again. i think. oh dear, she wants to pass. ok. stay on her wheel. you got this. ohhh...or not. sigh. i suppose that's as it should be.
i won't say i was gripped with paralyzing apathy, but i knew once i had been passed by two women in flowery sleeveless jerseys that i should probably relax and let it go. and oh wow did i let it go...tenth place. sick burn. but once again, my plucky epic proved its loyalty and gave me not a moment's worry. i love my bike.
hey, that was a race report! i hope it had a good blend of excuses and feigned indifference, like all the best ones do.
t.cowie, pinnett, and the saint all had podium finishes, the hobbit broke her heart, and the manimal went off and sessioned the slalomy sections on his road bike...yeah, he belongs at brevard...pinnett totally stole the glory/champagne

ok, rewind. aside from those two hours of pain, it was a great weekend. after working au boulangerie, the saint, chris j and i packed up the oh-so-dilapidated minivan and we were off to the GA! we joined forces with em, tristan, and marshal for sweet pre-ride action and sweeter twilight criterium action! so very exciting. perhaps we were all a bit (well...very) short on food, water, and sleep, but i didn't mind. i can't imagine racing for such a huge crowd and for such glory. honestly, it terrifies me. good thing i have nice low aspirations because i couldn't handle that pressure.
to sum it up: a less than thrilling xc race, but adventures in georgia, accompanied by wonderful people!once again, mugging for the camera instead of going fast...

In Brief

for the embarrassingly me-centric newspaper article check here

what i'm excited about this week: the trip to GA to watch the twilight criterium (cool! downtown night crit! 150 insanely fast pros! potential shitshow!) and race at fort yargo the next morning (cool! xc race! very little sleep! potential shitshow!)

Oh Lordie...

i am not the most decisive person. i go back and forth like a game of pong. i will make the most definitive-sounding statement ever (i.e.: i'm NOT going to nationals. you can't MAKE me) but with very little persuasion my iron determination will corrode faster than an underwater penny. actually, this very frequently involves national races. fer'example:

collegiate mountain bike natz '07. i shilly-shallied trying to decide whether to make the trek from CH to LMC for so long that i finally got left. really. i said 'yes', he said 'later'. i had to cool my fury by going off and partying at ASU all weekend.
collegiate road natz '08. i pretty much said no to this one. and then maybe. and then 'ehhhh....'. and then no, again.
open mtb natz '08. i was totally going to do the french broad classic instead. totally. it was in town. i could win money. it was so duh! except then...someone suggested vermont. why not? because...oh, okay.
collegiate mtb natz '08. no question! go brevard! woooot!

so what's my point? um, it seems in this eleventh hour that i am actually going to fort collins for road nationals. ick. oh, it gets worse. we're driving. oh, it gets worse still. i can't even race road!! i get dropped by fat-bottomed girls! i'm also missing miz squirrel's stumpjump (but everyone else should go. it'll be superb, no doubt.)

there are so many reasons why i don't want to do this! i haven't even listed half of them yet! but the weirdest thing? i'm actually starting to kind of look forward to it. i told you i'm indecisive.
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Nothing To Do With Bikes

my life is not one-dimensional! yesterday tasha and i went exploring in asheville, managed not to get lost, were only slightly intimidated by the hipper-than-thou vintage shop atmosphere, AND had great sartorial success. she bought pumpkin-colored leather boots...need i say more? well, yes, actually, i DO need say more: i bought a vintage lacoste polo and some luscious pink suede charles jourdan peeptoes with amazing architectural heels...sometimes i give in to my inner brand whore. these shoes will spend some quality time in my closet nestled next to my coquettish green satin j. crew pumps and scary scarlet 4-inch steve madden sandals...i buy gorgeous heels all the time and never wear them! it is unfortunate that i ride or walk to school and never sit down at work. nothing in my life is conducive to any heel higher than an inch...but very conducive to ronald-mcdonald-vomited-on-my-feet kicks, so i can't complain.

i imagine every bike-riding boy who reads this has run screaming at this point. shoes? ick.

we also ate at salsa, which remains one of my fave restaurants ever. instead of branching out and trying new places, i drag friends there every time i get the chance. and their mojitos are the jam.

well, i guess the title is a lie. i do want to talk about bikes. the saint and i rode daniel ridge again today and oh lordie lord, i officially LOVE that trail. LOVE. 1: i love prolonged singletrack climbs and 2: i love pick-your-way-through downhills. therefore, daniel ridge is perfection. except then i slit my tire on the bottom super-fast razor-rock section. whenever i get a flat i revert back to 12-year-old julia...i stomp my feet, act frustrated, and wait for someone to change it for me. fortunately matt, playing the role of ever-patient wrench/soigneur/boyfriend, talked me through it (and possibly helped a bit). yes, i am an idiot. it's okay. i've come to terms with it.

fortunately, the ride was not over. onward to long branch! i shall weep when cat gap closes this wednesday.

and tomorrow we and the cowies are venturing into the great unknown: bent creek!! hold me, i'm scared. despite riding in brevard since fifth grade, i've never been to bent creek OR the old fort/black mountain area. i need to expand my borders. which leads me to announce with great pleasure my plan to do ORAMM this year. frankly, i'm terrified. i've never even ridden a mountain bike for over four hours. it's going to be awesome.

oops. it would appear that this post actually is all about bikes. but also shoes. glorious shoes.

Hit It UP

the best bakery ever, online now!!
Oh yeaaahhh

"You are what you love"...

..."and not what loves you back"

this weekend was fabulous. it was like a spanish sentence: ¡exclamation points at both ends! wonderful ride on friday, pleasant low-intensity hill climb on saturday, and road race on the (almost) best course ever on sunday. everyone had really good races and the manimal finally shook out his stanky legs and secured a suitably high placing. i love hills. i love hills so much. they make me smile. the tar heels also make me smile. however i am not smiling at the prospect of missing the INSANITY and ENERGY of chapel THRILL the night of the big game. i almost don't want them to win because i'll be so jealous of the aftermath. e.g., 2005:
madness, glorious madness.

congrats go out to b-towners, who represented all across the region this weekend. whether it was shredding the gnar at clemson, crushing the competition at tsali, destroying souls at lees mccrae, or just throwing down in brevard's big beautiful backyard, you guys all did awesome.

also: coolest thing ever. i had a dream about doing wheelies and finally managed to pull one off. yes, totally weak that it was the first time i'd ever done one, but still. very exciting.
also also: thad is now apparently the fashion police and will call you OUT for wearing the same dress three days in a row...

No More Complaining

it's impossible now that the fabulous weather has returned! 1: brevard is an amazing beautiful place. 2: pisgah forest is an amazing-er, beautiful-er place. 3: i got to fat tire ride with my nice teammates and nice boyfriend this afternoon. 4: off to the LMC road race...we're all going under weak protest, but at least it's a hilly race on a pretty weekend. and i don't have to pay. it could be much, much worse.

You've Made the List

things that i love:
-gazpacho! and pudding! and cold-brewed coffee! and whipped cream! all of which i have in my fridge right now!
-BMB hangouts! let's just make this a weekly thing
-my huge compost pile
-when st marie does the dishes...what a nice guy
-marian keyes=best chick-lit author EVER
-getting paid to build pillow forts and eat chips'n'guac with a 3-year-old
-when a customer at the bakery sez "oh, are you new here?" and i smile and say "no...actually been workin' here for 6 years..."
-the highly inappropriate conversations we have in spanish class
-highland black mountain bitter, omg it's delicious. getchew sum!
-gossip girl. it's so terrible. so wonderful.
-did i mention beets? roasted to perfection?


things that i don't love:
-rain! sorry all you optimists and romantics and paddlers...the glass is NOT half full, i know we 'need it' but i 'don't want it'!
-getting dropped at tuesday night worlds...i just don't have it in me right now
-april fool's day, when for one sweet hour i thought this weekend's road race was canceled and i started planning up a lovely weekend filled with hanging out and tsali-racing and playing host to emily and etc etc etc...only to have my dreams crushed
-not knowing what to do with my life or, more pressingly, my summer. internship? live in mt shasta for awhile with my wonderful crunchy relatives? just hang out and ride and earn money?
-the stigma that comes with 'roadie'...in CH everyone had their heads crammed up their own booties (and i don't mean shoe covers) but here everyone is desperate to seem like they're not trying at all, that they don't care. i prefer the latter, definitely, but c'mon. i ride bikes. that's all.
-my INSANE global history teacher

to be continued later, i'm sure. there are lots of things i love, and also things i don't love.
and as you might've noticed, i LOVE exclamation points!...!!...!!!