Memorial Day Weekend

Bruno the Berner has already grown since we saw him 2 weeks ago and he's becoming quite the little terror. He's adorable as all can be but I know everyone will be excited once he's over his teething stage!

After a short hike and MTB on Friday, Ben and Flora drove up from Boulder to join in on some fun festivities. We planned to road bike what most people call the 'Copper Triangle' on Saturday. It consisted of 80+ miles and just under 7000ft of climbing.

Brent (Bryce's dad) turns 60 this summer and did the entire ride as well. Such a trooper!

 All smiles riding my new Litespeed L1R. This thing is a climbing machine.

Everyone had a great time and came back really excited. Ben even whipped out the AWESOME hat.

As always, Barbara fed us like kings all weekend. Nothing but homemade, fresh, and delicious food! She's the best :)

Sunday morning we went for a fun hike just above the Bingham's house in Edwards.

This was Bruno's first 'off-road' adventure. It was very short lived so Barb had to bring him home early. The little guy gets tuckered out very quickly these days.

Later that morning, we met up with Tony and Bobby for some dirt biking at Bocco Mountain. It was Bobby's first time on real singletrack and he absolutely killed it. Super fun day with those guys.

Sunday morning we met up with good friends, Bob and Melissa, for some mountain biking in Eagle. Other than a few small crashes, everyone came back in one piece.

Bryce took the day off work today so we took advantage of sleeping in then went for another fun hike above Singletree. Afterwards, we rode dirt bikes at Wolcott and got a few fun pics.

Overall, the long weekend couldn't have been a more perfect blend of activities, relaxing and enjoying great company.

Thinking outside the box

I've been seeing Maia at Massage Boulder for weekly body work lately and she's noticed several muscular imbalances. I've been battling a really tight right quad for some random reason and the root cause may be from other muscles not actually functioning - i.e. my butt :) I do a bit of strength work but apparently not the right stuff to get my glutes firing properly. Maia also teaches Foundation classes and suggested I give it a go since I was someone who could really benefit from it.

Foundation training is a series of exercises based on integrating the muscular chains of the body. The exercises begin with the Posterior Chain of Muscles to quickly stabilize your spine and core because our modern lifestyles leave most of these muscles weak and imbalanced. I gathered a few others and we jumped into Maia's Tues evening class. Although it's only 45min with nothing other than a mat, it was extremely challenging. It took a bit to find the correct postures but eventually I was able to trigger and activate all the muscles that hadn't been working. I plan on continuing this class weekly and have confidence it will be a great asset to my overall fitness this year! Click on the logo above to learn more on Foundation Training and to see if there are classes offered in your area :)

Who says accountants can't be creative!?!

Now that all athletes are tied to their electronic tracking devices of choice, several smaller companies are thriving off the various accessories needed to make these addictive computers visible and functional. There's no secret that Garmin is still the leader in cycling GPS units so most of the aftermarket accessories are only suited that brand. I haven't had any issues putting my computer on my stem but this year I'm running a +6degree rise which tilts the screen, making it difficult to read.

My friend James, tech editor for Cycling News, tested the above mount made specifically for Garmins a few weeks ago. Other than being way too expensive for what it was, there was nothing wrong with it. He already had another mount that he preferred so he said I should see what I could muster up. Since I was looking for something just like this for my Timex Cycle Trainer, I decided to pull out my creative card.

It's definitely not the fanciest alteration out there, but it's fully functional. Unless you bend over and look underneath the mount on my bike, it's completely camouflaged and works like a charm! Even Bryce, Mr. Engineer, was slightly impressed!

Welcome Bruno!

What more could an empty nested momma want for Mother's Day than a brand new Bernese Mountain Dog?!? This might have been Barbara Bingham's best mother's day present to date!

It took a few days to name the little guy because they wanted to match the personality appropriately but Bruno was the winner. He's only eight weeks old and growing faster than anything I've ever seen before. He's also probably the cutest puppy I've ever seen too. Looks like the Binghams will have their hands full for the next couple months :)

New Road Bike Love!

 

Hooray, I finally got my new Litespeed L1R road bike built up! Complete with the new Shimano 11-speed components and wheels, this thing is a climbing rocket! It's been a while since I've used mechanical shifting but the Dura Ace 9000 shifting is like butter so I can hardly tell the difference. I'm still making minor tweaks to get it totally dialed in but you better believe I'll have a full review shortly!

Definitely one happy girl :)

Hooray! Flora D is a college grad :)

After several long years of balancing academics, a full time training schedule and two Olympic Games, Flora finally had the honor of walking across the stage at CU this past weekend! Her adorable parents flew out from Bermuda to help celebrate as well.

We threw her a fun party on Friday night with all of our friends and it was a total blast. She even got a gluten free chocolate cake that said 'Go Me'!

To top off an awesome weekend, she got a chance to take her new Scott Scale out for it's first ride. If Flora tries to tell you she can't mountain bike, she's full of it. That girl can ride!!! Congrats Flora, we're all so proud and happy for your great accomplishment. You have so many great endeavors ahead of you :) XOXO.

Finito!

Yes, the fireplace project has come to a close. We are very happy with how it turned out and really look forward to using the new EcoFuel fireplace this fall/winter.

It's hard to imagine that this is what it looked like just a few months ago but I think we can all agree that the remodel was a big upgrade :) Now we put the house projects on hold to play on bikes and motos for the summer!

Massage Boulder

I received my first massage since last summer this past week and holy moly did I need it. My body, and legs in particular, have had a serious shock since I've started doing harder than normal bike sessions recently. I've always gone to a good friend/cyclist for massage but now that he's a new daddy, his world is a bit more consumed. I didn't think twice when I needed another go to person. Maia Ignatz is not only a good friend but a phenomenal massage therapist. Her attention to detail is beyond visible in her work and the fact that she's an elite athlete makes communication and understanding of body issues seamless. If you're in the market for a good massage, definitely check out Maia at Massage Boulder!

Fun in the kitchen

I've been doing my best to embrace this whole 'cooking every meal at home' thing and I have to admit it's really not all that bad. Definitely time consuming but I'm trying all sorts of various GF/DF recipes and trying to replicate some of our previous favorite dishes. Pizza was the one thing we ate all the time and even though you can find gluten free dough options at many local Boulder restaurants, dairy free cheese hasn't quite made it that far. Luckily Whole Foods is a 10min walk from our house so we've got plenty of DF alternatives right at our finger tips. The two pizzas above were made with Bob's Red Mills GF pizza crust but there are several other recipes that are delicious as well. I promise they taste as good as they look :)

Allen Lim and Biju Thomas recently came out with their second cookbook! The Feed Zone was a huge hit and we still make several items out of it on a weekly basis. This new book is comprised of recipes designed to bring along as ride/training food and is my new go to for snacks on the bike.

Powerbar has been one of the best sponsors over the past 7 years but unfortunately, all of their bars have gluten and dairy in them. Their gels, fruit smoothies and gel blasts are fantastic but sometimes I just need something with more substance. The Feed Zone Portables has numerous recipes that fit our dietary needs and are fun to make. This week we made the Blueberry/Chocolate/Coconut Rice Cakes. It's as simple as making Calrose rice, mixing in coconut milk/raw sugar/salt/lemon juice then putting blueberries and DF chocolate chips in between two layers of rice in a 9x12in pan. Cut them up, wrap 'em in foil and you have ride food for several days...it's AMAZING! Bryce made French Toast muffins over the weekend and they might be his new favorite. Check it out if you are in the market for good and wholesome goodies while working out.

Back on the home improvement front

After a little hiatus from working on the fireplace, we got back on it this past weekend. Hosting Flora's graduation party on May 10th may have been a little motivation to crank it out :)

After some drywall work to cover up the gaps on the old fireplace, we covered the bottom brick with some 3x6in marble tiles.

Then we started working on the wall tile. The mosaic is definitely tricky to work with but definitely worth the extra hassle!

We still need to grout, touch up and mount the TV back up, but it's almost done! I know Bryce was a bit concerned about the mosaic but we both couldn't be happier with how it's turning out. 

After seeing Bryce's Mom's placemats in Vail, I realized that was the missing piece to our new dining table. We found some square and modern ones that really accent the other colors and are pumped how they look!

A weekend with a the little bro!

It's been since last summer that I've seen my little brother so we planned a little meet up in Fruita this past weekend. It worked out perfectly as Bryce had a moto race in Grand Junction on Sunday and it was the exact middle meeting spot between Boulder and Salt Lake City!

Before joining up with Jerry, his girlfriend Karen and their new pup Riley, we went for a fun MTB ride on Mary's Loop. We did the Horsethief and Steve Loops then made our way up and down the 'More Fun' trail. It was super technical but well worth it!

After meeting up with our SLC crew, we went to dinner at a cool Mexican place where inevitably we ran into a few friends from Boulder. We then headed out to the camp grounds where Jerry/Karen/Riley slept in a 2 person tent and we crashed in the van.

After making some coffee and finding a great breakfast joint, we headed out to 18 Road for a little mountain biking.

Since Karen is very new to the world of riding bicycles, she was on Jerry's old bike and used his helmet. Jerry in turn wore his skiing helmet and looked like a giant goober :)

With zero experience riding a bicycle on any form of singletrack, I couldn't have been more impressed with Karen. She is such a trooper and did awesome!

Although their new pup is a bit scared of people, she's still super cute and really fun once she warms up to you. After dinner and some bowling, we drove out to the race site to meet up with the usual suspects.

It was a bit chilly camping but the morning sunshine was warm and felt awesome. We helped Bryce get ready for his race then sent him on his way. After watching the start of the first test, Jerry and Karen took off to head back to Utah and I went for a nice jog. Bryce had a rough race but got through it safe and sound. We made a pit stop in Vail for some dinner and a much needed shower then finally made our way back to Boulder. It was so fun seeing Jerry and getting a chance to meet his adorable girlfriend and their new doggie!

Stages Power Meters

It's no secret that I'm a big time numbers fan.  Whether it's sorting through Quickbooks files or looking at numbers from a workout, I never get tired of looking at the information.  Luckily, my coach Neal Henderson is the same way, and he loves looking at results from a good training session or race.  I've always been a fan of training with power measurement tools, but until recently, it's been a challenge.  Typically power meters have been in heavy wheel hubs and limit your wheel choice options at races and on training rides.

Boulder based company Stages Power has developed one of the smartest, simplest, and economical solutions to the power meter dilemma.  Rather than measuring torque through the rear hub, the stages meter measures strain on the crank arm through a very compact box attached inside the left crank arm.  It transmits though a variety of wireless options, typically ANT+ or Bluetooth.  After mounting my Stages equipped XTR crank arm to my mountain bike, syncing the power meter to my Timex Cycle Trainer was incredibly quick and easy.

 

The above picture shows some of my data from my first ride with the setup.  How cool is it to have power, GPS data, heart rate, and just about anything else you want with nothing more than a small box mounted inside your crank arm and compact bar mounted computer?!?! Better yet, I was able to run my lightweight 29er wheels.  If I wanted to switch to something else on race day... no problem!  Have a couple mountain bikes and want power on bother... just switch the left crank arm over!  It's such a clean, simple solution.  I love it!

 

It's awesome to have Stages just a couple miles from my house.  Our friend Matt Pacocha is working for Stages and even hooked me up with this sweet CO themed t-shirt :)  If you're in the market for a power measuring crank, Stages is definitely the answer.  Give Matt a call and enjoy the new simplicity of such a powerful training tool!

Bake Off Round #2

With the not-so-successful outcome of Flora's Hot Crossed Buns on Easter weekend, she was really hoping to seek redemption this past Saturday. This is quoted directly from Flora via Facebook "Bake off round #2. I lost again." - Can you guess who's cinnamon rolls belong to who?

Like the hot crossed buns, I've never attempted to make cinnamon rolls - especially not gluten and dairy free ones. However, my GF/vegan recipe using only agave as the sweetener surprisingly didn't turn out too bad. It did make a massive mess, but well worth it!

The bake off was in conjunction with some GF/DF pizza making with my friend's kids who are 4 and 7. We kept them quite entertained with Supercross and letting them judge the bake off...it was great success :) We've been using the Bob's Red Mills GF Pizza crust but I decided to try out the Gluten Free Goddess's recipe that night. It did not disappoint and highly suggest it! Check it out - http://glutenfreegoddess.blogspot.com/2011/02/gluten-free-pizza-crust-my-new-recipe.html

Back to ''Training''

April 1st marked my first official day back with Coach Neal Henderson and the rest of the APEX Coaching crew. After destroying my quads on a run/hike last Sunday, I really couldn't do too much in terms of intervals and pushing myself but probably a blessing in disguise. 

I'm really excited to be back on a schedule but truly looking forward to seeing progress in my fitness and mental state. I don't plan on racing until mid June so I'm taking it slow and steady. I need to keep telling myself that I don't want to be be fit and fast now, I want to crush ass and take names Sep-Jan for the CX season! In the meantime, I'll keep chipping away and continue to fuel myself with my favorite Powerbar treats. If you haven't had a chance to try out their new Energy Blend Smoothies, you need to. They have great flavor and a perfect consistency for any type of work out. Let me know if you want a sample :)