Birthday Ride

It's been REALLY nice to take a week off without any real riding schedule to keep to.

Jansen got up really early and made me an awesome homemade sticky/nutty/cinnamony baked breakfast treat for me on my birthday. He rawks! It was great and we got to sit and eat together at 6am before I headed in to work. Priceless.

The boys and I went for a birthday xc ride at Chicopee on Sunday and it was sooo hot, but we had a blast!

Everett helped Shey pick out a really great little digital camera for me and I like it alot. Here are some shots from it.

Shey has needed one that would take close ups of the frames and this one seems to work pretty well. Thanks guys, it's perfect!!

Nationals and all that.... 2010

Nationals were in Sol Vista - Granby, CO again this year at 7,000 ft.

All our guys had strong races this year, even at altitude!

Picture of the day: Cory with the redneck smile! U23

Jansen Cat 1 15-16

Wes U23

Seth Cat 1 17-18

Matt Cat 15-16

Jansen finishing Cat 1 15-16

Jafer Cat 1 19-24 2x short track nat. champ

Crashed on the xc after leading the start of the first lap

Shey Cat 1 35-39

Jenn Cat 1 34-39

2nd at xc and super D

Ethan and Andy

"Miss Andy" and Bren in their Sorella jackets

Cory, Andy, Matt, Wes, Jansen

Dave on the far left got a great condo for us this year! Huge thanks!

Shey's dad came to watch our races.

Jansen, Shey, Everett and Glenn

Ethan tried to stay out of the sun...stylin' guy that he is.

Shey supported on Friday while the juniors raced.

The flights were tight, so we didn't get to Denver until a little later in the day.

Seriously, Ethan sat with two Amish girls on the plane. It was hilarious.

We picked up a mini van rental and took Cory and Ethan and their bikes to the condo.

This was our hot rod. Unfortunately, our bags went on the Colorado Springs, so Everett and I ended up spending 9 hours on the road so that we could get all our equipment to the condo. Fun!

Everett and I stopped at the continental divide to use the restroom. It was about 1 am and I thought it was the perfect place for a killer to show up and dump our bodies, without any one knowing...

This place made the most awesome burritos!

I got to go for a long ride, at Winter Park, on Saturday. It was amazing! Long, long, long climb to the tree line.

The single track was cool.

There was snow above the tree line.

These guys descended with me. Really nice guys from Boulder. The descent was awesome with table tops and tons of berms.

Great little Thai place in Fraser.

Pisgah & SE Region XC Camp

All three guys headed up to Pisgah for the week for the USAC southeast regional xc camp for juniors. Andy ( www.cycleyouth.com) runs the camp and this year he had Andy Applegate, Jeremiah Bishop, Shey, Cory and Wes helping out. Other years, he has had Tristan, Thad and Chris Herndon work with the juniors.

All had a great time riding the amazing trails at Dupont and Pisgah. They called on the fairies, swam with the snakes and did NOT make an emergency room trip! Somehow the young riders survived, what I'm sure was, some unusual meals. (I've seen those guys cook....)

I spent a fun week riding locally, then headed up to Pisgah on the Saturday the camp ended. I got in a little ride that morning, after sitting in traffic for 2 hours between home and Atlanta. Then I had a lovely lunch with the family. The guys then headed home and I stayed in Pisgah and rode through Monday.

The cool thing about Pisgah is there is water EVERYWHERE. You can always camp by the river and fall asleep to the sound of rushing water.

Sunday morning, Anet met me at Dupont and we headed out for a 4+ hour ride.

Anet, wondering if I have any idea where I am going....

The local wildlife.

Anet did this with one hand tied behind her back.

Road trippin'

Pretty mountains up here.

I stayed by the fish hatchery, which is pretty cool to tour.

Jansen picked up some fireworks on the way home from that camp to set off on July 4th.

BUMP & CLEMSON : The Good The Bad & The Ugly

Two really great races are BUMP and Clemson.

BUMP, Oak Mountain, Alabama - Shey and Jansen raced this one. We had ducklings hatch that Friday, so I stayed home to take care of them and build an addition to the chicken coop (pictures of that later), then drove to AL to watch the guys race Sunday morning. Everett decided he would start the beginning of his summer by chillin' and ridin'. So, he rode Saturday with the guys and Sunday with me.



I LOVE this course. In fact, everyone I talk to LOVES this course. It's long and fast and hard. There is a new section that they threw in at the end of the course this year. So, if you have raced there over the past few years, you think you are about to finish, but then there is ......more.



The Good: * Shey had a solid race again this year. (I finished my Sunday ride in time to see him on the podium, but didn't have my camera.


* Tristan had a killer race and took third in pro, Travis 4th, Wes had a great race and finished in a strong 6th, Cory flatted and finished 9th. (Cory will practice tip-toeing around those rocky sections for next year)
* Andy raced in Jansen's age group and the start was uber fast and exciting. The front group, including Crazy Chase took off like a shot and it was a great show for us.


* There were lots of Sorellas on the podium in the women's categories and I got to hang out with Bren again, who is training for a the Bike BC 7 day stage race, but this time she is going solo!!!
* It was hot, but good weather.


The Bad: *Jansen flatted and didn't have a second CO2 cartridge, so had to pull out. He was really bummed, as mechanicals and heavy rains have plagued his races this year.
* Tristan hit the last really slick bridge and crashed pretty hard. Uh.....more Tristan crashes coming soon.....that story later.
*Cory flatted and he was riding REALLY strong. Bummer. The fitness was there, but so were the rocks...


The Ugly: I almost skipped even spectating this race, because my poison ivy and bug bites and rashes, etc looked so disgusting. Fortunately the trail was dusty and I think all the dirt and stuff on my legs covered the grossness, while I was visiting with friends after my ride. At least that is what I am telling myself.

Snitchin': I know for a fact that Anet has not been cleared by her orthopedic surgeon to race......shame on you.




CLEMSON, South Carolina: Again, really fun course. Not as hot as it is down here, but still toasty. Place to get ice cream right down the road.

The Good: *Jansen had his day. No mechanicals, no storm, just great racing. He raced smart and had a consistent lap times.


*Everett stayed off the line at the start and filed in behind the guys, as he hasn't been riding as much lately. He probably would have done well either way, but had a good strong race.


*I think I convinced Sven's oldest son that he would do very well to join the circus.


*The expert women's podium was Norma, Tif and Jen. This was really awesome, because I watched Jen race expert for the first time at Clemson last year. That chica has seriously been training and I'm sure she and Tif were happy to hang together through the laps.


*We got ice cream. It was awesome.




The Bad: *Shey broke off his derailleur hanger. Yep, right before regional camps starts. Not sure what he is riding for the week. Bummer. So, he wasn't able to finish and wandered around the venue in a daze, mumbling things about needing points and a bike.



The Ugly: *Ugh, the excuses on the line in some of the categories. Seriously, just get out there and race already!!!! We all have to work, most of us have families and chores. Just be super thankful that you are able to be a part of this amazing sport! Most people have completely forgotten how to accomplish their dreams.....we are living one!


Oops, I almost forgot about Dauset!

Great race on the weekend in between these other races.

It was freakin' HOT and HUMID!! I mean it was bad. Although, Thomas was racing like it was a cool 70 degrees.

They cut out Huff n Puff due to the heat for the pro/experts.

Shey and Jansen had good races.



Austin and Everett hanging out.