It's Been Awhile...

There's so much to write about that the thought of sitting down and writing out all of the "and so-and-so attacked on the left" definitely doesn't interest me. Here's some quick little highlights, so I can move on to the interesting stuff.

Went to collegiate nationals in Colorado, the Mt. Hood stage race in Oregon, and did mediocre in both. I got 10th in the division I road race and 8th in the criterium. The altitude killed me. My best result was 8th on Stage 1 of Mt. Hood, and for that I got to wear the best young rider jersey on Stage 2. Then I flew home to Orlando, hopped in my car, and made my way north to Kutztown, PA.

Now that I'm Kutztown, it feels like I never left. Everything is just the same as it was last summer. Even the house we're staying in, the little house on Whiteoak street, is pretty much unchanged. I did laundry today and - what do you know- in the 10 months since I've been gone, they still haven't gotten around to fixing dryer #2. The same little sign is taped to the inside, but the paper has a yellowish tint to it now. It reads: "do not use - clothes will catch on broken rim." It was kind of comforting, seeing it there when I opened the door.

I threw my clothes into the wash, and walked down Main street looking out for any "help wanted" signs. I had this great big plan to get a job while I was up here, but things are looking grim in that department. I've got the triple crown next week, Nature Valley the following week, Fitchburg, and the OTC in July - hardly time to find a steady job. Plus, slaving away for a measly $7-8/hour isn't very appealing when I made about $600 in an hour last weekend. Am I being lazy?

So I walked around Kutztown for quite awhile (which I later regretted because it made my legs sore). I walked down the little alleys past the clothes lines and the flowers. Does this place really exist? After growing up in Orlando, this small-town life is only something I've read about in fairy tales. The cute little houses, the small little diners, the Amish with their horses and buggies. I'm half expecting an evil witch or a scarecrow or a dashing young prince to appear.

(yeah, you know it, Amanda)

So I just got some Skins in the mail a couple days ago. I napped with them on yesterday and my legs felt great today on my ride. Is my mind playing tricks on me or do these things really work? Rebecca said that they don't really do anything for you (and that's her department, so she would know), but a bunch of people I know swear by them. Any thoughts?

Collegiate Nationals

Here we are before the road race start, freezing our butts off. My father found this picture on velonews.com.