It's Here!!!

Rumor has it there has been a shipment of Kona bicycles to Bicycle Experience and a Four Deluxe is among them…

Time for me to cash in my pennies I have been saving and go pick up my new toy.

Also, I was informed last night that the pink Chris King headset I have been dreaming of has been purchased and will be on my new bike when I go pick her up. Thanks to my wonderful boyfriend…Ahhh, Thanks E!!!

Snowcats, Singletracks and Switchbacks

That is the wrap up of my past three weekends:

E and I celebrated our finish to the ski season at Copper Mtn with a fun trip in the snowcat to the top of Tucker mtn and an amazing trip down with boards strapped to our feet.

Going Up:

There is only one way down:

After taking this picture I think I giggled the rest of the way down...stopping once to try to photograph a jump. It didn't work... Damn, why does the season have to be over?
The next weekend we headed to Fruita for E to ride in his first race of the season. I spectated, hiked and soaked up the vitamin D while sitting on the rocks. My body almost went into shock, spending a weekend not wear 3 layers of clothes and finally able to show skin below my neckline.

Here you can see the Semi-pro men taking off (there is one woman in this group too, Georgia Gould--because she is a bad-ass. I met her while waiting in line at the porta potty--nice lady)

The view of part of the course: How different the landscape is one week and a couple hundred miles west of Summit County

This past weekend I welcomed the start of spring with a visit from my parents, my dad's margaritas, and a hiking adventure up the Pikes Peak Incline and down Barr Trail the morning after the margaritas. Nothing kills a tequila headache like a grueling hike up the incline with one's father.
Thanks Dad!

Welcome Springtime!!! Here are my first two blooms in my bulb garden. Have I mentioned how much I love spring?

My Dogs Smarter...

No, not really, I just wanted to say that..

This week Sasha not only completed her first night at "doggy school", which I am sad to say she was not the best behaved in class. But today was her first day at Doggie Daycare. I have to admit I spent more of my day watching her on the webcam , than actually working.

Dropping her off at school this morning was heart breaking. She recognized where we were since her school was in the same building last night, but when the nice lady opened the door to go to the playroom, Sasha got terribly scared. Her ears folded back and she kept trying to back-up to escape. All she could see was a hallway and hear dogs barking. I am guessing it reminded her of the humane society where I rescued her from. My only guess is she thought she was going back to the pound since she was less than a good student the night before. I walked in with her to go to a kennel that lead into the play area. From that kennel she was able to see dogs were not in cages and sad, but romping and playing and having a great time. There was a Saint Bernard in the kennel next to hers, he appeared to be happy to see a new friend come to school. After placing her in the kennel, I left and came to work. Of course the first thing I did was to pull up the webcam, where not only did I see her friend Oliver had come to school also that day, but she had made multiple friends and was running around like the wild pup that she is.

Update: I picked up Sasha from Daycare last night and she was awake long enough when we got home to eat dinner and that was about it. I have never seen my puppy so exhausted. What a great investment! We will definalty be going back to day care next week...

Commited!

I have made the commitment, not only am I doing RAGBRAI this year, but as a training ride I am participating in my second MS150. A 150 mile plus bike ride from Broomfield to my home town of Fort Collins and back. This ride is three weeks before I leave for Iowa, perfect timing for a good long two day bike ride.

Part of the MS150 is raising money for Multiple Sclerosis. A debilitating disease that affects members of my family. This is my personal choice charity and I believe/hope a cure is found in my lifetime. The sooner the better. I have sent out emails to pretty much everyone I know, so if your reading this and you got an email...Please sponsor me here! If you have not received and email you may be receiving a written letter begging for sponsorship in the mail soon. I am working on those letters right now. To my friends that have already sponsored me I THANK YOU! To strangers I don't know that may be reading this blog...Don't be afraid, you can sponsor me also. To make a donation click HERE :). I also accept checks and cash so if your more comfortable with that you can email me at ttaannyyaa at yahoo dot com (you know the right format) and I'll give you my mailing address. All donations are tax deductible.

My personal goal this year is to raise over $1000. On the MS website I put my goal as the minimum amount ($300) since they have my credit card information I am afraid I would be charged any short-comings of my goal. Don't be scared, donate today!

I also accept checks and cash so if your more comfortable with that you can email me at ttaannyyaa at yahoo dot com (you know the right format) and I'll give you my mailing address. All donations are tax deductible. Plus you would get extra cool points for donating to a great cause.

Lynette Knackstedt

I learned today that Lynette Knackstedt passed away Dec. 7, 2007. I was surfing youtube videos for old Skankin’ Pickle videos and came across a comment that said “RIP Lynette”. I was surprised by this and continued to do a google search where I learned that she had indeed passed away. The details aren't clear except that she passed away in her current bands recording space. She was 37 years old.

Lynette was the guitarist and back-up vocalist for the band Skankin' Pickle, and then went on to perform in 78 RPM.

I consider myself lucky that at one point in my life I could call Lynette a friend. Over the past 10 years our communication faded. Unfortunately this tends to happen when people move, bands break-up, relationships break-up and addresses and phone numbers change. Even so Lynette was one of those people who you never forgot. She had a way of making everyone around her laugh and want to spend time with her. She truly was a great lady. My life is richer knowing I got to share laughs with such an amazing person.

I don’t know what else to say. I have typed and erased a million different things, all I am left with is the world lost an amazing person, musician, and friend oh too soon.

Making a List, Checking it Twice

Since submitting my waiver, payment, and officially joining a team for RAGBRAI this week, I have been obsessed with what I will need to bring for 7 days of road bike riding and camping. All in one bag weighing less the 40 pounds. Nevermind, we won't learn until May if our team got in the lottery this year.

I maybe 4 months premature, but the thought of forgetting something haunts me..I do this in preparation of adventure trips. Thinking back to my trekking trip in Peru, I think I started the same process about the same amount of time before hand. (OCD? ME? na...) my list of what to bring is curretnly 4 pages long...

I know I'll need a huge ass duffel bag and multiple pairs of cycling shorts with ''bug cush'' chamois' and ultra comfy clothes for when I am not on the bike. It is the things I am not used to like camping with over 90 percent humidity in the air and 90+ degree days. We don't know humidity in Colorado. Lucky for me my childhood was filled with quite a few summers in Iowa, so I feel I have a slight advantage of knowing what to expect, although, the hot sticky nights, maybe I don't remember how hot and how sticky they were. How do I prepare for that? I wonder if a battery operated fan will fit in planned big ass duffel? At least I have time to think, plan, make my list, and most importantly ride my bike...

Tanya Update

It’s almost like I had a birthday and fell off the face of the earth…

I didn’t

Instead I have been playing and working a lot.

Playing in little forgotten, small ski resorts:



Like Ski Cooper. Outside of Leadville, Co. Where you can still buy a lift ticket at the local Safeway for $30 and ski all day making fresh tracks in powder until the last lift stops and you are unlucky enough to have to walk 15 feet from the base of the mountain to your car. E was lucky and had enough momentum to coast on his board to the car door. Showoff! Although I was able to display my snowboard/sledding skills in the parking lot, most people forget snowboards make great sleds.

Becoming an Official Jack Quinn’s Runner:




Last Tuesday I became an official member and was “shirted”—Ignore the bad picture and the weird spot on my cheek… That is a camera error of some sort. The twisted hair band…that is a Tanya error of some sort.

Spring has been teasing us here in Southern Colorado and the past couple weekends I have been back up hiking the incline trail and riding my beloved road bike. On one particular road bike ride E and I stopped in too see our friend John at Bicycle Experience and I ordered my new mountain bike.

I really wanted the woman’s version of this bike, and was sold on it until I test road it and finally came to the acceptance that I am not built like most woman, at least in the eyes of bicycle manufactures. I have long torso and short legs for my height, versus the stereotype that all women have long legs and shorter torsos.


Speaking of Bikes…I am working on the plans to ride in my first RAGBRAI this year. I am also recruiting any friends that would like to join our team. The bigger the team the more likely we are to get in. Yup, I plan to ride my bike across the state of Iowa in July with 10,000 of my closest friends. Wanna come?

This weekend I also learned an important lesson. I not able to drink like the rockstar I used to be any longer. At least I was a rockstar in my own mind. E and I went out with Matt and Jess for some sushi, sake, car bombs and then to see the Supersoakers and the Railbenders at the Black Sheep. Unfortunately the Sushi, Sake and other drinks did not mix well and I tested my bathroom floor as my bed that night. Not such a good idea. Needless to say didn’t feel so hot the next day. Note to self: Don’t do that again.