Solo Saturday Picture Blog

A beautiful day

at some of my favorite trails

~ 26 miles of Muir and Emma.

"Fine dining" at my favorite east side eatery.

How the spicy meat kisses your lips.......

Kickin' it with da pooch.

Nothing like a little box wine in front of the idiot box....I know....I'm a classy chick.

Border Battle

Picture courtesy of Mountaingoat.


It was a long drive to River Falls, but the single track was well worth the trip. I'm very happy to report that I didn't end up laying on the ground, dehydrated, writhing in agony like I did at Alterra. Unfortunately I didn't ride my bike very well through the single track...so once again I'm managed to bring up the caboose in the women's field. I meet with the surgeon on Friday so he can evaluate my MRI and EMG tests. If I put in as many hours on the bike as I do the doctor's office, I'd probably have my pro license by now.

At least my coach had a pretty good racing weekend. There is really nothing like a SSWC tattoo to top off your race.

Natasha Kai, I'm your biggest fan...

5 reasons why I'm in love with Natasha Kai













TK is just one of those charismatic people who brings a lot of flavor to the Women's National Soccer team. It makes me miss all the years that I played soccer - the crazy fantastic people that I met, the friendships that I made and the great memories that I will take to my grave. I might be a cyclist, but I do appreciate team sports.

US Women's National Soccer Team.

I absolutely love soccer. I started playing soccer when I was six years old.....until I hit my mid-twenties then changed over to cycling. I played on recreational teams when I was younger and competitive traveling teams as I got older. I was a decent player and athlete....I had lots of heart and lots of speed.....I just didn't have the kind of skill set that it took to be on a high quality Division 1 team like UW-Madison, where I went to college.

I've been getting back into soccer again now that the Olympics are in full tilt and all I have to say is that I've become a huge Natasha Kai fan.

What's not to love about the Flyin' Hawaiian.

It is truly amazing that anyone from Hawaii could make the national team. Hundreds of women are trying for 20 or so spots. You can't let off the throttle for even a minute because someone else will take your job. It's simply beyond competitive, its cutthroat. Hawaii doesn't have the the level of competition or the Olympic Developmental Programs (ODP) that most soccer driven states do. So props to Natasha Kai and her fantastic OT header in the quarterfinals against Canada. We're two games away from the gold.

What is even more interesting is that in my google search for all things Natasha Kai, I ran across an interesting picture.Here is a picture of Natasha Kai, Marci Miller Jobson and Carli Lloyd. Marci Miller was a friend of mine from college. She played at UW-Madison for two years then transferred out to SMU to finish her collegiate career. I've been so self involved the last few years with all my cycling endeavors that I hadn't realized that Marci had been playing for the Women's US national team. Marci stepped down from the Women's national team last year to coach women's soccer full time at Baylor University. Congratulations Marci on all your successes as a soccer player and coach. It couldn't have happened to a nicer person.

Alterra and everything else.

I have been a bad summer blogger. Life has gotten way too busy and it's hard to find time to do anything else other than go to work, ride the bike and go to all my stupid doctor's appointments. So I guess a short recap of my summer is in order.

In June and July I tried to pass myself off as a cat 4 road racer. I've been putting quite a bit of training in since the spring, but unfortunately I still don't understand the fine details of racing on the road. So my results weren't exactly reflecting the shape that I've come to be in.

I tried my hand at the last two Wors races and my attempts were pretty unsuccessful. Leading up to the Alterra race, I'd been very sick. I ran out of water on my third lap and had to soft pedal my fourth lap sans anything to drink. I figured I drank over 70 ounces of fluid during that race and when I finished I really needed an IV. I'm probably not recovered from that episode.

Last week I showed up to Sunburst which has to be one of the most boring courses on the WORS circuit....which is super fine with me because I've only been able to mountain bike a handful of times in the last calendar year (stupid swollen wrist) and my technical riding skills have diminished to that of a citizen rider. After two laps, I pulled myself out of the race. My hydration was fine, my heart rate was fine, but my body was so exhausted I just couldn't continue. I've never experienced anything like that before. Plus I had a terrible stomach ache that wouldn't quit. As much as I love Muddy Cup coffee, I think that it is best consumed after a race and not before.

I finally had my appointment with the wrist surgeon from UW-Hospital. He is a sports medicine orthopedist and is also an avid cyclist. He ran me through a bunch of physical tests, looked at my x-rays, ordered an MRI and a nerve test. The MRI was actually pretty painful. I was in a super-contorted position for 45 motionless minutes. When the MRI was over I was numb wrist to shoulder....well, at least I'm not claustrophobic because that little tube they stick you in is pretty damn tiny. My nerve conduction is set for Tuesday. I'm a little concerned as I understand that this is an exceptionally painful test involving needles and electrodes. Whatever doesn't kill me makes me stronger, or something like that.

What all these annoying tests boil down to is that either my wrist is irritated or it's damaged....the surgeon is not sure which it is. So that means either complete rest or perhaps surgery followed by complete rest. The doctor said my "version" of rest isn't the same "version" of rest that is need to rest a ulnar nerve. At least he is a cyclist and understands how obsessive we can be.