So, what can I say...Massey is a great puppy (I mean dog). She puts up with our crazy adventures, like driving two or more hours to some trail that we don't even know if it really exists. Driving to the tops of mountains and joining somewhat random wineries. But at the end of the day, I think she likes our crazy adventures. Here's a few shots of her on one of them. Perhaps some of these shots will make a Thirsty Thursday sometime.
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About That Bike Racing Thing...
Excuse me while I talk a little bike racing on our photography blog. I still deliver photos, but I have some news to share first. This season is shaping up really well so far. First off, I joined a new team this year, Team Bike Station Aptos. I'm really excited to be a part of a team full of so much fun energy. Its going to be a fun year racing with these guys!
I also found out late last week that I was selected into Honey Stinger's Hive Grassroots Athlete Sponsorship Program. I started using Honey Stinger energy products last year and love them. Their organic energy chews are the best energy chews I've had (and I've tried just about every chewy energy product on the market!). A few months ago I saw a post about the Hive grassroots program and filled out an application, not expecting to actually get accepted...but I did! I'm stoked to have Honey Stinger goodies fueling me this year.
The biggest news in the last few days is about the biggest race I'll be doing this year. Monday evening that magical e-mail popped in my inbox saying "Congratulations! Your entry into the 2011 Leadville Trail 100 mountain bike race is confirmed." I'm headed back to Colorado to ride 100 miles above 10,000' in under 12 hours on my mountain bike.
The race has grown exponentially since Lance and the Race Across the Sky movie put the race on just about everyone's radar a few years ago; so much so that you have to enter a lottery to get a spot. I was lucky enough to get a spot last year only to show up a few minutes late at the first time cut-off and not finish. I had mixed feelings about doing the race again this year...on one hand I don't like unfinished business and I want that belt buckle. On the other hand proper preparation means a whole lot of training, which means whole lot of time away from non-bike-riding Terry. We don't often let Terry ride a bike. Things like this happen when Terry tries to ride a bike:
Ultimately, the crazy switch in my brain is always getting flipped to the "on" position, so I'm excited about heading back to the Rockies to race in the oxygen-deprived air. I don't like how last year ended. I need redemption. This means sacrificing backpacking photography trips in the Eastern Sierra this summer and going out when conditions aren't great or the legs/body/mind aren't feeling up to it.
But it also means fun rides in beautiful places with awesome friends. And this year there will be no more icky sticky Lousyana clay mud (see above) at the edge of a mosquito-infested swamp. This year I have real mountains to climb for training. And some of my favorite people will go on rides with me to keep those long days fun.
And how can I not be excited about going back for a pre-race prep ride up the beautiful Mayflower Gulch in Colorado?
See you on the trails!