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Riding the Hog


Sand Hollow, Utah

It's that time of year. 
Time to ride the bike. 
A lot. 

Riding bikes happens to be my favorite pastime, so I am one happy camper over here! 
Especially on days when I am not just holding on for dear life because of ridiculous winds. 
Those days are few and far between during spring up here in Flagstaff, so they are very much appreciated. 

But after a while the wind and cold gets to me and then it's time for a little escape to a warmer place! 

early morning in front of Steve's house

I have loved visiting Steve, Fuji rep extraordinaire, and his wife Nancy in Fountain Hills (down by Phoenix) a couple of times for some excellent riding. Unfortunately, my first race of the season got rained out and canceled during my second visit but that didn't keep me from riding my bike all day. Such great weather down there! 

top of Snow Canyon

In January I went up to St. George to pick up my new bike and to ride with friends and I was lucky to be able to go back with the family over spring break and get in a whole bunch of more miles now that the bike is all dialed in. I am having so much fun on that thing! I knew it would be fun to ride a new bike but I didn't know just HOW MUCH fun! I am loving it. 

photo by Amy Perez

Over spring break I rode by Gunlock reservoir many times. Three out of five times I saw wild donkeys on and by the road. Lots of them. Just hanging out. I am not a fan of cows on my road but I will take donkeys. Really, I will take (almost) any distraction after riding on my own for hundreds of miles in one week. 

 After another windy and chilly couple of weeks, I can't wait to pack my bags and head to Tucson for 3 days next week. With KH in her VW bus. Oh yeah. A mini training camp where we will ACTUALLY be camping. Mt. Lemmon is calling my name! We are in for a treat! 


The view from my bed. Oh the joys of apartment living. But I don't mind having the Fuji on one side and the husband on the other. I like 'em both. 

In other news: 

I crashed on today's group ride. It was 100% my fault and luckily I was the only one going down. Totally lame and quite embarrassing*. I will spare you the details. I got some nasty road rash but nothing that won't heal rather quickly. Or so I hope. The status of the knee is to be determined but considering I rode another 50 miles after the crash and ran an hour when I got home and the knee is not in terrible shape, I am hoping for the best.

The bike seems to be in good shape. PHEW! 


Racing season has started for many, so a big shout out to everyone competing! 
I love following races and reading race reports. I am a nerd that way. 


*Yes. I rode a TT bike on a group ride. No. The reason I crashed is not because I was in aero position while drafting. Duh! 

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