bring on Texas hill country!

more Boonen...

thoughts/admissions from the weekend

The short version:

1. My name is Sarah and I'm a NASCAR fan.
2. I think I found my calling in life...Texas Hold'em...perhaps it's time to go on the circuit.
3. The thing about having a training program is that you have to train...even when you really don't want to.
4. Cycling is a blessing, addiction, and pain-in-the-ass all at the same time.
   
5. I didn't go outside all weekend.
   
6. We have a kick-ass bike team this year.

The longer version:

1. I spent all day Sunday laying on the couch watching the Daytona 500 with family and friends...and I'm no longer afraid to admit that I loved every second of it. And "my guys" (DJ, Elliott, and Kasey) all did pretty well...10th, 4th, and 11th.
2. For the second weekend in a row, I won the big Hold'em game...and $7 (actually $6 since I tipped the dealer a dollar).
   
3. Hold'em and alcohol go hand-in-hand. After Saturday night's long/late Hold'em game, and the Datyona 500 to look forward to on Sunday, I just wanted to plant my ass on the couch all day...which I did. But then when the race was over and my guests were gone, it was time to get on the bike...and it was the last thing I wanted to do.
4. I love cycling, and it's been blessing for me since it's been one of the few things I've been able to do after recovering from my plethora of surgeries. And it's made my life healthier...I even found out today that my cholesterol is the lowest it's ever been (193...yes, I know, it's still high) and my HDL is a whoppin' 79 (woohoo!!). But it's addicting. And expensive. And it requires a lot of bikes. So, I got a call from Hollywood today telling me my new bike is all built up and ready for me to come and see it (pictures forthcoming).
5. I had a crazy busy weekend, yet I never had to leave home. I rode my bike twice, I had a team meeting, we had friends over for Hold'em, and we had friends and family over for the Daytona 500. It was so dang cold last Friday and Saturday that it was the perfect weekend to stay inside.
6. It was fun to get the team together last Saturday and I'm super excited about the cycling season...we have a great team this year!

Happy President's Day.
S.S.

weekend debauchery

Pretty Paul gambling with the MTs at Elkpoint; the very heated Trivial Pursuit game commentated by everyone's favorite drunk historian (to quote Allison, "I need a drink"); the puzzle (in honor of Russ...Pete hid the cover so there was no cheating...or almost no cheating); the football game on the lake sans SS; bustin' out the ice auger (for no other reason than just drilling holes in ice, and losing a beer down a hole); and Crystal Farm's version of Easy Cheese....Cheesy. Good times.

There's a new sheriff in town...

(this one's for you Marnie).












You've all heard of Lance Armstrong (yes, I know, him and Sheryl split up). But now that Lance has "retired", everyone always asks, "who's next?". While I'd like to say "Hincapie", the truth is, I can't....because there's a new sheriff in town...and he has some really nice scruff!

I know, I know, Hincapie has nice scruff too. But he's married and has a kid now, so I need to move on to bigger and better.

Meet Tom Boonen. He's from Belgium, he's cute, personable (so they say), and kicks ass on a bike--even Pete has a crush on him. He now races for Quick.Step (as his jersey and hat suggest). Ironically, he used to be teammates with Lance and George back in the Postal Service team days.

Why haven't you heard of him? I have no idea, because this guy has quite the palmares: he's the 2005 World Road Race Champion, 2005 Paris-Roubaix winner (you may remember him beating Hincapie in a close race), 2005 Tour of Flanders winner, he won a few stages of the Tour de France, and he just recently won the 2006 Tour of Qatar (check out the photo on the right...there's something you don't see every day).

So no worries (Marnie), there is cycling after Lance. And it comes in a nice little package.

Speaking of cycling, I just recently decided I'm heading to Texas in March to bike for 8 days...I'm going to Hellweek...more on that later.

S.S.

Is 60 the new 50?

Yesterday was Chuck's 60th birthday, so Pete and I headed to the lake to celebrate with him (and my mom, Karen, and my nephews). I must admit that it wasn't that long ago that I thought 60 is really old. But I think my dad looks/acts pretty damn good for 60 (my mom too, but she's not 60 yet). Granted, I may be biased, but the way he throws and totes Brenden and Jaxson around...he just doesn't seem to act his age, so to speak. I guess he doesn't fit the "old curmudgeon" image (yet). It also helps that, as he puts it, "I've been pretty lucky to have good health". Anyway, we had a fun day playing with the kids (I think I did Brenden's dinosaur puzzle with him 100 times), drinking wine, eating a big dinner, and stuffing ourselves with birthday cake.

Then Chuck, Pete, and I watched a movie on my dad's new plasma t.v. which was a birthday gift from my mom. While I can't say that I ever get that excited about television technology, I have to admit, that t.v. is pretty cool.

As you may have noticed from the photos, Jaxson is "Poppa's" boy. He screams if Poppa goes outside or downstairs without him...he always wants to be on the go just like Poppa.

On a side note, we stopped at Fleet Farm on our way out of town this afternoon--that stop is becoming part of our usual departure routine. I normally just get "toe warmers" (to put in my cycling shoes during the winter) at Fleet Farm, but during this particular stop, I hit the motherload--they had their Sorel's on sale. I've always wanted a pair of good Sorel's, but I just haven't been able to justify paying full price given all of the warm winters for the past few years...so I've been watching the Sorel prices online all winter waiting for a good sale. My patience paid off today. Fleet Farm also has an entire "John Deere" clothing line, which included a full display of women's socks (who knew there was such a market?)...I couldn't resist buying a pair of "I love John Deere" socks. Plus, my uncle works there...so I always feel like I'm helping pay for his kids' college when I buy things there.

On another side note, here's my rant for the day: I went to get a birthday card for my dad the other day. It usually takes me forever to pick out a card--I can never find the right one, and I end up reading through all of the them before settling on one that just doesn't meet my expectations. But I figured this year it would be easy...I'd just head to the "60th Birthday" section. So I started browsing through the "decade birthday" tabs--they had 30th, 40th, 50th, 70th, 80th, 90th, and 100th--but no 60th. What's up with that? So, as usual, I read through all of them and had to settle for "The Retirement Village People" (and their song, "A-A-R-P"), which Pete had found for me.

Happy 60th Chuck!!

S.S.

Happy Hour

(photo courtesy of Beauzalot)

Favorite quotes from Happy Hour with my co-workers last night:

Male co-worker: "Are you and Pete still racing at the palindrome?"
Sarah: "You mean the velodrome?"
























**********
Male co-worker: "Sarah, we're trying to get a group of people to go in on buying the NASCAR bus...you in?"









**********

Female co-worker (totally taken out of context, but still funny): "For fun, we either went to play Golden Tee or went to strip clubs."

**********

Sarah: "If they want the Super Bowl to appeal to women more, they need to put hot men in the commercials."

Male co-worker: "They already do!"

Sarah and female co-worker: "Are you kidding me? The commercials are all about fat guys drinking cheap beer and fantasizing about hot woman?"

Male co-worker: "Well the hot guys are on the football field."

Sarah: "Have you seen what football centers look like?"

Male co-worker: "I bet you think Tom Brady is cute."

Sarah: "Fair enough, but he's not in the Super Bowl this year."

(NOTE: on Sunday, the men will see Jessica Simpson and the Whopperettes, and the women will get to see Leonard Nimoy, MacGyver and Fabio...need I say more?)

random list of going-ons

1. Last weekend was busy: (a) going-away-dinner for Jen and Steve/happy 60th birthday for my dad...the whole family at Buca, complete with the kids running around, eating too much, and good Chianti! And Karen thought she saw Wally Szerbiak--turns out he was playing a BB game in Boston, for Boston...that's an entirely different discussion for a different day; (b) Saturday bike ride with about 35 others...it got out of control fast, but I got a nice 2.5 hr ride in; (c) Saturday afternoon meeting with a few teammates; (d) Pete and I spent Saturday night laying on the couch recovering from our bike rides (which means not moving for hours) while finishing the second season of the Sopranos; (e) trainer ride Sunday morning since it was snowing outside, and I'm like an 85-yr old woman when I get anywhere near ice/slippery conditions these days; (f) then work for 4 hrs; and lastly, (g) the annual MN Cycling Federation banquet...social time, dinner, and speaker at The Metropolitan.

2. I need to re-think Simon Delivers. I don't think Pete and I have gotten groceries for a month--it's not conducive to eating well, and it has turned me into NDC at work (i.e. scavenging all of the leftovers from lunch meetings).

3. I pulled my first all-nighter at work last night/this morning...about 3 am I started getting delirious. Everything was funny. About 6 am, when people were starting to arrive at work, and I got all cross-eyed from staring at my computer monitor and could no longer focus on it, I decided to go home. I looked like hell--eyes all bloodshot, clothes disheveled...I didn't need to be seen like that. I think I developed carpal tunnel from clicking my mouse for 20 hrs straight. Why stay all night? Deadlines...and bad project management on my part. I wasn't the only one there...Nathan was there too...and I think the only thing that kept him going was the donuts arriving at 9:30a.m. (today was roll day!). The highlight of the night/morning was when Nathan almost set off the fire alarm when he burned his popcorn in the microwave--it didn't help that he was unknowingly walking around underneath the smoke detector while the popcorn bag was smoking. We figured if the alarms went off and the fire dept came, we'd at least have a reason to go home.

4. The combination of my work schedule and training schedule is exhausting me...I haven't been able to find the balance just yet, and working all night doesn't help matters. Ironically, at 4 am when I was still at work, my February training program showed up in my e-mail...just to rub it in. My body doesn't know what the hell is going on.

5. It turns out I do have a "core"! I guess the fact that my abs are killing me means that I actually have some.

6. My dang hip doesn't seem to be recovering as quickly as I'd like...not much to say about it, except that it's annoying.

7. I've only been "training" for a few weeks now, and I can already tell my cyclist thighs (or quads, as the cyclists like to call them) are coming back...the jeans are a little tight, and it's not from the dryer. Usually the tightening of the jeans in the thigh area also leads to a loosening of the jeans in the waist area...but I'm still waiting for the loosening part. My ponch is fighting this training program every step of the way...it's very stubborn.

8. I missed the State of the Union last night...but on a side note, I got a new calendar full of W quotes, or more accurately, mis-quotes...I'll post the good ones. Carlos, does that count as blogging about politics?

9. Drinking coffee at 3 pm when you wake up just isn't the same as drinking it in the morning. And chips and salsa for breakfast at 4 pm is also just wrong.

10. I know you've all been wondering about this, so I'll just post it...only 17 days until the Daytona 500. It's almost time to bust out the DJ 88 tank top.

on that note, I'm going to go take a shower and eat breakfast finally.

Strats out