Tahoe

Chris has been harassing me for months about whether or not I can ski. In our two years together, we had yet to ski with one another.

This weekend we finally had the opportunity to do so.

My dear friends Jenny and Brett invited us to join them for a weekend at their cabin in South Lake Tahoe. It had been over two years since I saw my former law school classmate and his wife, so it made the Tahoe adventure all the more special. I used to see Brett and Jenny relatively frequently, however, since moving to the Bay area, visits have been far and few between.

It was so much fun to get out of town for the weekend, particularly knowing we were due for some good skiing, as the snow was rumored to be good and the weather, at least on Saturday, was supposed to be sunny.

We arrived in time for dinner on Friday night and enjoyed a night out on the town in South Lake Tahoe. Jenny and I won a free ski lift ticket while at dinner. I just knew we were going to win, as the raffle ticket number was the year I was born.

Later in the evening, we found ourselves in a State Line casino, and Chris asked me what number he should pick on the roulette table. I replied "7" or "4", as those numbers had won us the lift ticket. As Chris went to put a chip down on 7, the table closed. Of course, 7 was the lucky number of that "round" of roulette. We were so close! Regardless, even though we didn't win, Chris said "it's bound to be a good weekend," which it was.

We had such a wonderful weekend - full of laughter, friends and great skiing. A huge thank you to Jenny and Brett for sharing your home with us!

Tour of California

Today I learned that tour riders actually read signs held by spectators. Maybe this is only true when they are climbing a category 3 hill and are almost at the top and probably are quite tired and looking for a distraction, but they definitely read my sign. The sign I held elicited some very entertaining reactions.

"Aww, come on!"

"Basso? Really?"

Floyd Landis glared at me with disgust. Another rider gave me a wink that made me burst out laughing. One rider stuck out his tongue. Some smiled. Others laughed.

My sign was a little homage to my favorite cyclist, Ivan Basso, who has been missing from the cycling scene for a few years, due to some doping issues.

As Chris and I made our way home from our weekend in Carmel, we decided to spectate Stage Two of the Tour of California - the Sausalito to Santa Cruz leg. We arrived in Santa Cruz much too early to wait at the finish line, so we headed further north to catch the riders somewhere along the 115 mile leg. We decided to catch them where we might actually get to see them for more than a fleeting moment - on a category 3 hill climb up Bonny Doon.

We weren't the only ones with this brilliant idea, which made it all the more fun.

We appeared to have lucked out with a brief break in the weather when we arrived, as it finally stopped raining. After scoping out a great spot to take photos from, we, or rather I, stepped back into my sorority sign making days and made an Ivan Basso sign on a grocery bag.

About a half-hour before the racers made their way to our location, a Livestrong van stopped amongst our crowd, distributing signs and chalk, which we all took and immediately began chalking the road. Such fun! I had to wait until the van had disappeared around the corner to start chalking, as it was not "Lance" I was writing on the roadway.

Those of us lined up along the side of the two lane steep grade became more and more excited as race organizers and Highway Patrol zipped by checking the course. We knew the riders were not too far behind.

Sadly, as we continued to wait for the first riders to make their way to our vantage point, it started to hail and then downpour, washing away all of our chalking efforts off the street. We were not sad for too long, as a few moments later the first group of riders made their way past us climbing up the grade.

Levi Leipheimer was in the lead pack, followed closely by a second pack of riders that contained Lance Armstrong, Ivan Basso and many others. They were flying up the hill... and this was about seven or so miles into the hill. Amazing.

Even though it was pouring down rain, cow bells rang and the crowd cheered the riders on. I enjoyed every moment.

Our position on the hill allowed for some quality Tour spectating. I will most certainly make sure to spectate in the mountains this summer, as we watch the Tour de France after we do our own little tour of France competing in Ironman France.

I have 5 months to plan some really great signs...

Carmel

Last year for his birthday, Chris' parents granted him one of his great wishes -- high performance race car driving school. This weekend is the course and Chris and I are down in Carmel for his class out at Laguna Seca.

We headed out of town early Saturday morning, and started our weekend with whale watching in Monterey Bay. I have never seen a whale before and was hopeful that we would see one. Our prospects looked good when we arrived and saw that gray whales had been spotted all week.

We were lucky, as the weather this weekend was supposed to be very wet and windy. While windy, which resulted in some very large sea swells, we managed to avoid rain, with about five minutes of exception. (The storm came in over night, and is still lashing out!)

We were lucky on the whale watching front as well, as we were less than five minutes out when our lively hostess announced a whale off the bow of our boat. Sure enough, first we spotted a shower of blowhole water, followed by a gray whale's tail fins, or fluke, as the whale headed back into the depths of the water. We tracked two gray whales while out in the Bay, although I spent half the trip on the back of the boat, fighting sea sickness. (I don't know when I lost my sea legs!)

Regardless of not feeling so great, it was a really fun thing way to spend Valentine's Day.

As we headed back to the car to make our way to Carmel to check into our hotel, we stumbled upon some street vendors and ended up purchasing two photographs that we loved from a local photographer who printed his photos on canvas. The photos are of very colorful doors in Mexico and perfectly compliment the Jim Nilsen prints I have been collecting over the years. I can't wait to get them home.

The remainder of our Valentine's Day was spent being lazy and relaxing - way overdue for the both of us. I didn't realize how tired I was until I had the opportunity to relax for a few moments and to watch one of my all time favorite cycling events - the Tour of California, which started yesterday with a time trial in Sacramento. (Our Sacramento office was on the course!) Now I knew Lance Armstrong was back and participating this year along with George Hincapie and Levi Leipheimer, but I was delighted to discover yesterday that many other big names are back -- Floyd Landis, Tyler Hamilton, and my all time favorite IVAN BASSO! I literally yelped with joy with the discover. Chris started laughing.

We are planning to watch part of the Sausalito to Santa Cruz leg of the race on Monday, as we make our way back to San Francisco, and now I really cannot wait. I will be on the lookout for Ivan, George, and maybe even Lance.

Speaking of spotting athletes, this morning, as we made our way to breakfast at our hotel, I almost stopped dead in my tracks when I realized the gentleman standing directly in front of me, and who ended up sitting at the table next to us, was Dan Marino, who is in town for AT&T National Pro Am Golf Tournament at Pebble Beach.

I think a cruise around town this afternoon might be order to see who might be seen!

George

I love George Hincapie. I have had a crush on him for years. He's my second favorite cyclist, behind Ivan Basso. My mother knows this well, as two years ago she was a sweetheart and spent four hours with me admiring both Ivan and George (I was doing the admiring, she was laughing).

And now I can say I rode with George, for approximately three-quarters of a mile.

George was in town to host a charity ride, in conjunction with the Tour of California, which starts in a week. I would have liked to have ridden with him a bit longer, but it was quite difficult to keep up with the 26 mile per hour pace. I didn't last long... but long enough to enjoy every moment.

Chris was out taking photos... he got some great ones.

Can't wait for next weekend, where hopefully I will catch sight of both Lance and George, while they partake in the Tour of California.

Where Have I Been?

January is a tough month at work. I like to equate it to April for an accountant. I had no life, and trying to add training and crew to that... well, that's where I have been.

But, there has been some fun.

My friend Dana planned an amazing birthday celebration for another friend, Cheyenne, from the triathlon club. Dana organized a 4.1 or 8.2 mile run to celebrate Cheyenne's 41st birthday in Golden Gate Park. It was such a fun, clever idea, for gathering sporty folk who are mostly all training or some sort of event. Every detail was perfect. The race numbers all included 4's and 1's. The distance was either a 4.1 mile course or double the distance. There was a water/food station! And best yet, those who finished the event were awarded with medals featuring Cheyenne's photo. It was a really fun way to celebrate a friend's birthday, which concluded with a huge gathering of friends for brunch. Happy Birthday Cheyenne.

Crew has continued to be a fun challenge. After a 6 week break over the holiday's, practice resumed mid-January, which has proved to be a challenge with triathlon training. But, I am enjoying it and have been seeing the benefits of cross training in my erg scores. I am looking forward to what looks to be a good season. However, Saturday's are hard. I go straight from crew practice to tri training -- typically a really long bike ride. Saturday evenings I am exhausted.

This past weekend was treat as my aunt and uncle came up, as my uncle had a photograph featured in the Marin Museum of Contemporary Art's Depth of Perception juried photography exhibition. We all attended the opening reception, which we followed with a lively dinner. I always enjoy spending time with my aunt and uncle, as they two of the most entertaining individuals I know. My uncle is becoming quite famous, as many of his photos are being featured in shows across the state.

Sunday Chris and I both ran in the Kaiser Permanente 5K/Half Marathon. I ran the 5K event, which was, I think, a PR for me in a 5K. I really wanted to break 30 minutes, but I didn't quite get there. However, I feel it's close, and the performance motivated me to get running, as time is ticking by to get ready for IM France.

I am looking forward to work settling down a bit and being able to spend more time training and enjoying life outside of work... I just have to catch up first on all fronts.