Andy Schleck is a Pretty Man

He rides a Specialized, he is too young to rent a car, and he speaks nearly flawless English. We have SO much in common! I can totally picture our future together: him measuring out 400 grams of muesli while I stuff myself with Luxembourg chocolate...adorable quarrels when I discover that he has shaved his legs with MY razor...sprinting each other on the way up 215, only to wait in the hopes that brother Frank can catch back up...

Ahem. Anyway. The meat of the matter. ORAMM. OMG. Cyclingnews did a short post on it:

Sam Koerber and Thomas Turner are having a war of words over on Twitter. Turner started the feud by Tweeting, "Like wow, totally crushed the ORAMM record, SK ate my DUST." Koerber replied by re-Tweeting to a follower: "Don't want to name names, but SOME people are not gracious winners." A few members of the cycling Twitterati have joined the fray. Seven-time-Tour-winner-cancer-survivor-out-of-retirement-superhero-words-can't-express-our-love-of-this-man Lance Armstrong Tweeted, "TT just raced smarter--SK shouldn't be hatin'." Andy Schleck responded with the seemingly-unrelated, "SWM seeking American girl--ORAMM finishers preferred!"

All of which is to say, yes, I finished. And it was awesome. And I did it about an hour faster than I expected. And I got 5th. And I'll definitely be there next year!

What I learned:
1: To be in contention for a higher podium spot it is IMPERATIVE that you get to Kitsuma before the walkers. Oh well.
2: Two GUs, two Slim Jims, two bananas, and 160 ounces of water is plenty of fuel.
3: I can climb forever.
4: I am abysmally terrible at switchbacks. Need practice.
5: My bike is PERFECT.

So thanks to Todd B for putting on such a fabulous event! Now I'm itching for a nice short XC race, just in time for the Dam Jam!


P.S. I've been in some pretty places recently. Mostly without a camera.
I wish I also had pictures of the scenery at ORAMM and at the FBCC, the Swiss chalet in Toxaway, the farm house off Crab Creek...


Most recent wall installation in the apartment. "Art" for $5!


On the drive to Marshall


My last house-sitting gig


Pretty little morning glory in my backyard

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...

New Study Reveals...

wicksophilia: a common disease among female cyclists...syptoms include uncontrollable outbursts at national races, unexplainable preoccupation with youtube videos, and dangerously rapid heartbeat whenever the name "barry wicks" pops up on cyclingnews. there is no known cure.
side note: experts have found a startling correlation between wicksophilia and boonenamorosity.


so i'm definitely maybe possibly going to chapel hill on monday...unfortunately i won't see 75% of the people i miss sososo much. however, i will see the beautiful campus, drink coffee at the eight different shops that i lurve, ride the same boring loop i once rode four awful times a week, and get out of b-town for a little while!
and there's a race in south cack this weekend. which is better than north GA, but not really. and there's a speedway race, which is better than no criterium at all, but not really.