I Thought I was Going to Toss my Cookies

I thought I was going to toss my cookies.  I mean, shark.

I'm staying at my teammate Alexis' house between the San Dimas Stage Race and Redlands Bicycle Classic in Ventura CA.  I can train outside on my S-Works Amira this way (it's still snowy at home in Québec, I hear) and I save a back-and-forth trip to and from Québec.

Today Alexis took me down alongside the Pacific Coast so I could do my sprint intervals.  I jumped in her draft to recover between each effort.  It worked out perfectly.  Both of us had a double-day, meaning that we were to train in the morning and the evening.  Later on, Alexis would go motor pacing behind her dad's Harley, and I'd go to Santa Barbara Crit Practice.

Taking a quick break after intervals on the Pacific Coast.

In between workouts we had a nice afternoon at the marina in Ventura.  I learned about the Channel Islands and went in some touristy shops.  I always check to see if there's a mug or a keychain or a pen with LEX written on it, and I still haven't found one.  Yeah I know those things are tacky, but I still want to find one...just because.  Most importantly, we found a place down there that sells shark tacos.  I had my first fish taco a couple of weeks ago in Santa Barbara with Olivia Dillon, and it was delish.  Shark tacos sounded even better.  So I bought one.  I ate it. Verdict: shark is bland.

Marina in Ventura, California.

Katie, and another bike racer, Dillon, picked me up to drive to "Crit Practice" in Santa Barbara.  Crit Practice means: un-official criterium.  There's not really a winner and the finish line isn't clearly defined, but the guys who ride this puppy really crank out the watts like it counts.  And hey, it does count.

I love travelling to race and train, but there are a couple of things that I miss and one of them is driving my boat-of-a-car the way I like to.  Dillon was one efficient driver and navigated the highway lanes on the way to Santa Barbara the way I like it.  It was a real pleasure to be a passenger.  I'm not kidding.  So when I started to feel a little funny in my gut it wasn't because of him.  I was ready to blame that shark taco though.

The crit practice was fun.  ...fun-ish.  It was hard.  My average power was pretty high for a short little kid like me.  It didn't "tickle" holding those numbers (that means it was somewhat uncomfortable).  Most of all because my lunch was acting up.  20 minutes in to the 60 minute practice-race, I thought I was going to toss my cookies.  I mean shark taco.  40 minutes in I was sure I was going to ralph all over the road, and when there were 5 laps left I was convinced it was game-on for a full-on puke fest. 

What do you know, I kept everything down. 

I like Santa Barbara crit practice.  Thanks to all of the friendly riders for letting me join in tonight, it was a nice experience and a quality training ride!  I'd love to come back some day. 

I love fish.

I'm at training camp with NOW and Novartis for MS Womens' Pro Cycling Team. 

My life has been changed forever.  Okay I'm kidding.  But I tried something new.  A few years ago my dad told me that I "needed" to try a fish taco in California.  I'd never heard of a fish taco before, and it sounded like a greasy, deep-fried  fast food item on a value menu to me.  Had he not suggested I try one, I probably would have just stuck with eating pickled herring out of a jar.  Mmm.  My favorite.

So after riding, we took the FORD C-Max Hybrid team car and drove out to State Street Santa Barbara, and found me a fish taco.  I had been putting it off for 3 years, and that was long enough.

 So what's the verdict?  Ah, they're alright.  But they sure do not come close to beating NordSee's pickled herring sandwiches.  I hope franchises start opening up on this side of The Pond ... SOON!

Team Training Camp

Check out a few of the things I did at the beginning of NOW and Novarts for MS Pro Cycling's training camp in Santa Barbara, CA!