Women’s top 5

Check out the results for the Olympic TT and remember that Jeannie Longo is 49 years old and participated in every Olympics since LA in 1984, the site of the first EVER women’s Olympic Marathon event.

1 Kristin Armstrong (United States)                 34.51.7 (40.459 km/h)
2 Emma Pooley (Great Britain)                          0.24
3 Karin Thurig (Switzerland)                           0.59
4 Jeannie Longo-Ciprelli (France)                      1.00
5 Christine Thorburn (United States)                   1.02
A huge congratulations to Kristin Armstrong, a person who has been a source of inspiration for me.  I still remember our first road race together in Whitefish, MT prolly 11 years ago, where the two of us were away in a two up break and we shared a Coke given to us by someone in a car…  She deserves this Gold more than anyone I know.

BB

I always thought I was pudgy.  Gangly, but pudgy.  Turns out, I’m not. Probably have never been. I’d guess I’m normal, like average Strangely, even though I don’t train like I used to, I’ve gotten smaller.  I eat as much, drink more wine, and sit more.  How the heck does that happen? Well, it doesn’t.

I’ve been tricked into thinking that I’m tiny by vanity sizing.  My experience at Macy’s last night indicated that I now wear a size XS top and my pant size is 4 (when they’re long enough).  A few years ago, training full time, I wore a M top and size 10 pants, in fact, I pretty much have worn that size for the bulk of my teenage/college/adult life.  Now, all of a sudden, I’ve shrunk.  Then, as I was leaving, I took a look at the mannequins in the window and to my surprise, they were portly.  If I wear an XS, what do little people wear?  And if I wear an XS, who the heck wears an XL?

This diet plan is the best! I’m gonna call it the Put Your Head in the Sand, America! Diet Plan. Can’t wait til I’m miraculously a zero.

To the skinny, counter-culture freaks swimming in your clothes,

BB

This guy’s dad, Marcel, taught me how to ride and race in 1994 on my first road bike in Bozeman, Montana..  If I remember correctly, TeeJay was maybe six years old and had his first bike, too.

I’m so thrilled to see your success!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Tcp5OmQOzM

I am fairly certain that no one even checks anymore, but, in light of a few emails asking me, I thought I’d give a brief discription of why I don’t contribute to my blog much these days.

First of all, although I know my blog had little to nothing to do with cycling in the first place, it still was technically a cycling site.  That being the case, I don’t race anymore, so I’m having a hard time coming up with any Ride, Race, or Rice fodder to make fun of or complain about.  For the most part, I ride my trainer in the early mornings and run or hike later. It’s just enough to keep me from jumping off the bridge that I walk across most days on my way to work.

Which is the second reason: I work.  I know, it’s been forever (literally) since I’ve had a career.  My other life has been as a designer and I am finally of the right mindset to point my career in the direction I want it, and have the energy and motivation to continue down the path of financial and personal success.   Having several big, exciting, historical, and expensive projects in the works keeps me always looking forward and scheming the details of how I’m going to swing it all. Sounds strange to me, ’cuz for the last several years there wasn’t much I cared about other than me and making me happy during whatever fleeting moment I happened to be living in. The tide has turned and I can actually think about me tomorrow, or me next month, or me next year, as opposed to me tonight. I also kind of wonder who googles me professionally and how this blog looks to them.

Which brings me to the next reason: I have a boyfriend.  It’s been almost five years since that phenomenon occured.  ‘Course there were people that I cared about along the way, but no one that could potentially make an impact on the way I lived, or inspire me to unpack my bags.  It’s nice, but I’m no good at it.  Like most everything I do, I want to get better at what I do, so I’m thankful to have found a guy that is patient enough to give me a minute or two to learn how to be a little less self-centered.

Then there’s school.  I’m in my second year in my Master’s program at the Academy of Art in San Fran for Interior Architecture and Design with an emphasis on Green / Sustainable Design.  I will be among the first LEED certified interior designers in the state of Montana. I’m taking classes full time, but will take the summer off and sit for the LEED exam.  I’m hoping that will also lead to consulting opportunities, as well. This program is no picnic and for the first time in my life, I find I have to do the homework.  My deadlines are Mondays at midnight, so most of my weekends are reserved for facing the backlash of procrastination.

And finally, at the bottom of the list is cycling and other sporting activities.  I ride when I can escape, but shy away from things like The Hell Ride because my head isn’t racing anyone.  My head is,however, into escape and being relatively healthy. I’ve been known to sleep in before work, then cancel a workout for happy hour.  But, more often than not, I’m known to ride before work SO I can participate in happy hour(s). I did jump into a 10km run last weekend on a whim and found out what my genetic ability is as a 10 km runner.  At 46 minutes, I was a mere 9 minutes off my PR.  Turns out training does do something, after all, especially in terms of pain management.

I miss the clowns I’ve hung with for the past several years and wish you all the best. Keep me posted as to your whereabouts.

Kisses, hugs, and an occasional shove into the fencing,
BB

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22479324/?GT1=10755

Shoutout to my homies in cellblock 520. Go Tucson..

I was having lunch with my old buddy, Charlie, the other day.  Not only does Charlie own Big Dipper:  http://www.bigdippericecream.com/, the best ice creamery in the universe, but he used to train for marathons with me back in the day.  I mentioned to him how the snow had forced me to partake in running ‘hill repeats’ over the covered pedestrian bridge spanning the tracks, where a couple of homeless Native Americans drinking a gallon of milk looked at me around peat number 8 and one of them said, “I’m glad I’m not the only one that does stupid shit on this bridge!”.  I refuse to join a gym, you see.  Charlie mentioned the secret of the decade: YAKTRAX PROs.  They are like snow tires you put onto your running shoes and you fly over everything.  I picked a pair up at Ace Hardware for $22 bucks and headed for the national wilderness area trail that is a mere three miles from my front door for the first test of the Yaktrax.  Unbelievable.  It was like I was a 4 x 4 monster truck, going and going, over everything. Finally, I think I found a way to make peace with the voices that tell me to run no matter what.  Granted, I’m sure I looked more like one of those ‘joggers’ I cringe at being referred to, but I did pass a woman on classic skis on a downhill. Although, she was probably pushing 70 years old.  Still, she said, ‘Gutentag’, so that’s something.

If you’re in snow country, I highly recommend buying yourself YAKTRAX Pros for Christmas. They are the snowshoes of the new millenium.

BB 

The Department of Homeland Security and the TSA have released an advisory ordering Americans to pack our carryons in an orderly manner, like some 1940’s housewife.  We are supposed to fold our clothes and lay them in layers, as well as wind up all electronics and place them on the top of the pile.  I don’t even think my dad, the most orderly person alive, has ever packed his bag like the model they showed as an example of how bags are to look this Thanksgiving week.

Perhaps this was the final straw for this influential woman: http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2007-11-19-townsend_N.htm    ….I bet her bags explode like mine, and she’s proud of the fact that she has more important things to do than micro-manage the folding of her underwear, as she’s slightly behind schedule, in accordance to some ridiculous rules dictated by our government under the guise of personal safety while fishing around in the dark at 4:30 am at a Hyatt Regency on day 45 of her business trip.

Dumb.  I’ll keep non-packing my bags, thanks anyway.

BB

I’m going to get beat up for thinking this even mildly funny, but, perhaps this is what I recently overcame.  I’m 10 pounds lighter now from running, walking, and minimally riding home from bars, as opposed to riding 25 hours a week.

The only question is, hey, what about the skinny muscular people, like cyclists?  Are they Mediumorexics? Suffering from Mediocroexia?

Check this out: http://www.findingbalance.tv/videoserver/video.php?clip=FBA1194

BB 

P.S. My gubernatorial campaign is coming along nicely.

I won this event years ago, and The Naked Quarter the same night, too.  I have been training hard for this one.

The annual Western Montucky beer mile championships will be this coming friday, october 12th.
Where: the dirt track next to the river on the kim williams.
time: Meet on time @ 8:30 for announcement of rules.  Racing starts very soon after.  (only thing this team does on time)
What:  Four unopened/untampered cans of beer.  At least 5% alcohol, and no wide mouth cans. 

We’ll be drinking four beers and running four laps around the track. 
The less revered beer two mile (on bikes) will follow the run.  then most of the guys get naked for a quarter mile and most of the girls watch and pretend to be disgusted. 

Ride your bikes there, and afterwards the party will spread to whoever offers their house up.  

See you there and spread the word.