Live your passion and live life to the fullest… That’s what I live by… Cause before I know I’ll be 90 and looking back either at all the awesome crazy shit I did, or wishing I had gone for it!

   I’ve been cycling for just over a year and even despite having no job, no money in my bank account, and no idea where tomorrow may take me, I’ve never been happier with a sport.
   Last September I competed in my first cycling race.  Most people start a sport by trying it out, practicing a bit, doing a local/easy race and build from there.  The normal road is one of a gradual progression of fitness, talent and experience.  But this past year I have ridden a different road.

   On the 8th of September 2012, I rolled up to the line of my first cycling race.  As it is for everyone trying something new, it was an experience of difficulty and challenge.  I was nervous at the opportunity but took it head on and was excited to see what I could do in this new but still endurance sport.  I have been cycling many years as cross training for running, but never competed in any races.  Well, instead of getting the easy first race experience, I was thrown into something no other race I’ve done can compare to.
   After 7 days of racing and an experience I will never forget, I completed the Tour d’Ardeche in Southern France.

Ardeche region of France

Now when I tell people this was my first cycling race and it was only a year ago, I enjoy seeing the look on their face.  I’ve heard the Tour d’Ardeche to be one of the hardest women’s cycling races in the world.  Looking back I still can’t believe I finished it.  The first day, I feel off the group in the first 10km and did 120km solo.  The second day, I fell on the first descent and was yet again solo. The third day, I fell off the group again as my hip was in so much pain from the effort of day 1 and the fall of day 2 that I thought I was going to drop out.  But that just isn’t me, I don’t think I could ever willingly drop out of a race. Each day of this race had its hurdles to overcome and presented a challenge that I have never experienced in all my years as an athlete.  Maybe had I been more prepared and experienced the race would have gone better, but as I rolled over the finish line the last day and reflected on the previous days, I was just proud to say this was my first race as a cyclist and I conquered it.

Last day Tour d’Ardeche with Noemi Cantele, Giulia Donato and Dalia Muccioli from Bepink

   Now after a year of training and racing I look back on my training and racing and am once again astounded at the level at which we can push ourselves, the capacity of athleticism and how much passion I have for this and every sport I dedicate myself to.  Since I moved back to the US from Italy in November, I took my cycling training to 110%.  It was cyclocross in the early winter, once again throwing myself into new territory of the sport.  Then moving to Tucson, AZ I skipped the Christmas dinners and snowball fights to train among the sahuaro cactus and up Mt. Lemmon to be ready for the summer ahead.  Once the first races of February started I was ready to go and fight my way up to cat 2 and into the national race scene. 

   Once that goal of reaching cat 2 was met I became a ball in a pinball machine bouncing around the US from race to race.  Everywhere from New York, NY to Monterey, CA and Fayetteville, AR to Bend, OR, I flew, drove, and raced.  I met so many people along the way, from my team, other teams, fans, spectators, host families, cab drivers, even the hotel cleaning lady was excited seeing us walk out with our bikes.  Some of the best experiences weren’t even in the race sometimes.  

   Like arriving or staying in a town or city and going out for a ride and finding some beautiful park, bike path or scenery.  Some places I remember the most are along the ocean coast in California, through Central Park in New York, over an endless river bridge in St. Louis, racing cars down the strip in Las Vegas (don’t try this at home), riding along the base of the rockies in Colorado, spinning in the forest of Tennessee, seeing the sunrise in New Mexico over the Sangre de Cristo mountains.

   Or the experiences off the bike.  Like swimming in the Descutes river in Bend, OR, ice bathing with my teammates in Minnesota in our host’s trash can, horseback riding with friends in Arkansas, stopping at the Superman capital of the world in Metropolis, IL, after racing nationals in Tennessee, taking pictures with my teammates at the Idaho state line.

I could go on, but it simply doesn’t give justice to the adventures of bike racing.  It’s the experience of going to the race (or the adventure of getting to it), putting on the kit, spinning the pedals, and racing harder then you thought your body could push.  Seeing parts of the country and world no other sport or profession can take you to.  And meeting people of totally different backgrounds and lifestyles then you. 






This has been one of the most difficult and challenging years, but it has also been one of the most rewarding and exciting.  I am experiencing life, seeing places I never thought I would, meeting people I never would have otherwise, and setting goals to reach bigger and better levels of athletic achievement.


Just some numbers to quantify the little bit of traveling I did.
10,000+ miles driven
57 races completed
19 states visited (at least)
10 times through the Denver airport… and 0 times to Denver
~30 people asking what was in the big box I was dragging around
countless pee stops at creepy rest stops and gas stations