Pooh!

I am a nanny over the Winter Break! For a 6 month old baby girl! Pretty much it is a lot of googoo and gaagaaa ing for 8 hours. But the family is moving to Chicago in January so it is a perfect winter break job! And it's not retail. Pretty sure I could not do that for 6 weeks. And she has Pooh, Eeyore, and Tigger on her diapers! Hence the name of the post!

So, enjoy your day! She's currently sleeping, so I must take advantage and get some work done for finals and such! Later!

The Dialogue of Temporalities!

I am writing a paper for my English class right now about the dialogue of temporality in the play Arden of Faversham, a play considered Shakespeare apocrypha, but actually anonymous. the characters in the play are stuck between two time periods, the feudal landed period and the bourgeois merchant period of 16th and 17th century England. The push and pull between the two ages is felt by everyone in the play, some trying to return to previous and others trying to surge into the future. Except for one character in the play, Franklin. It doesn't matter which time period he falls into, he will be fine.

I kind of feel like him right now. I am in the final week of school, with two papers due, and four finals to take by the 19th, then Christmas, New Year's, my research paper, and time off. Yet whether I am on this side of it, having it all to do, I am fine because it will all get done. And if I am on the other side, I will be fine too because it will all be done. It's pretty encouraging to know that I can control my anxiety, workload, and stress to be able to say this and actually believe this. So now I will strive to be Franklin, okay on both sides of time no matter where everyone else is!!

As far as Christmas though, I am getting things done, slowly but surely. Buying a few presents at a time, getting my cards done and ready to send out, and figuring out what I should get everyone. And when everything with finals is over, Amy and I are going to see the Nutcracker! Which I am totally stoked about! And plus another race this weekend at Coyote Point, and a few more with SCCCCX. And lots of good movies coming out! Sweeny Todd, Golden Compass, and lots more! And to say goodbye today:

Il ciclo per la felicità!

C'est la vie! And not in the good way!

With one more week of class to go, meaning eight more times of sitting through lectures, the semester comes to a close. WOW! Despite the extremely long 15 week semesters Berkeley has, it still has gone by relatively faster than previous terms. And as much as I really am ready for this semester to be over, I am not ready for the semester to be over. I have a 7-10 page poli sci paper due next thursay, an 8-10 page paper for English due next week too, and then finals. Plus, my independent study work needs to be codified into a full-length paper to then be sent out, edited, revised and then sent out to hopefully be considered for publication. But that's all supposed to be done by December 19th! Are you thinking what I am thinking?...meow meow Becky's life is hard meow! Well it is!!

On other notes, I am officially moving up to Women's Bs as of the next cross race, which I am excited about. I am working diligently on my Cal Quilt so that I can send it to my grandfather my Christmas. And it's looking pretty good too! All the stitches are getter better and better as I go along. I will have to post a picture of it soon.

Well this must be a short post, because frankly I am tired, I want to read Bangkok Tattoo, and finally fall asleep. And despite me currently walking Clive Owen in King Arthur, which there's no doubt of how hot he is, I am pretty tired meow meow! So enough for now...and I leave you with this: "And so bad johan but busyly wel ofte." If you figure that line out please let me know because I would love an explanation!

The Pictures Show It All...

BEFORE:

AFTER:

See I wasn't even being dramatic about the amount of mud and the beauty of the bike!

The Mud, the Epicness, the New Bike, the Mountain and the Triffin Power!!

This past weekend was UC Berkeley's home MTB race at Lake Sonoma. I don't know if any of you kept up on the weather this weekend, but it rained on Friday night and all Saturday. And when I say rain, I mean RAIN! My uncomfortable, cold sleep on Friday night was interrupted by the soft dropping of rain around 3am or so, to which I said Emma, "Emma?" "Yeah?" "It is seriously raining? Or am I hallucinating?" Well I was not hallucinating, it was raining, and when we stirred to following morning around 6am, the hallucination was continuing. I was running registration, which got off to a rocky start due to some issues I dare not mentally revisit, but by 8:45 I had my people, they were registering other people, and I could go chamois up for our 10am start. Oh yeah, it was still raining!!!!!

Amy just had her gorgeous Velo Bella Kona Kula Lisa built and she graciously allowed its first mud-filled hours to be ridden by me. And granted they were to be mud-filled to say the least! I took a short 15 minute ride through the beginning of the course only to return to the starting line with more mud than anyone ever wish to deal with in a race, let alone a warm up. The roadies who had come out to the race were beginning to look a little peakid, and complaining about how dirty their bikes already were! Well us true MTBers were not juiced for such conditions, but nonetheless ready to battle the God of Mud once and for all! Just as starts were going off the rain picked up and things got interesting!

The first lap of this course was slush, dirty nasty slush, it was a slip and slide on your bike. I slid out on one part and slammed a pedal right into my right inside calf, and it began to feel like a charlie as I continued to ride. As I finally came around for the run-up finish I did not think with my calf and this rain and the amount of mud I had in my mouth I could do another lap. BUT, a Davis chick passed me just before lap 2, and it was on! I couldn't give up, I had Triffin power and I was going to use it! By the second lap, the rain had let up and the mud turned to clay, sticky clay that seemed to attract itself to bikes and never let go! So what you had to go slow for before in order to not slide out, you now had to go slow because you were sticking to the ground! However, Triffin and I made it through, passing the Davis girl within 1/4 of the lap, and holding her off and pulling away 3/4 through. I finished the race running up to the end and then realized a few things:
1. I couldn't breathe.
2. My mouth had more mud than saliva in it.
3. My calf hurt so bad I could barely pedal to the car.
4. I was freezing.
5. Amy's new beautiful bike, didn't look so new anymore! Dirty, muddy, nasty. Doesn't even begin to describe us.

The rest of the day was spent shivering, drinking wine, eating brie, figuring out team pay stuff and rider counts, and figuring out a way back to the City. I was not camping in this weather, no way, no how. I wanted a hot shower, some ice, a clean, mud-free bed, and some food. So back the City I finally made it, but I could barely walk on that calf. But I did get 2nd in the race!

I arose the next morning, a long time after the alarm, with about 5 minutes to load the car and go. BUT , it wasn't raining! With some hound dog barking from Callie upstairs, Starbucks stop, gas station fill up, and some music to begin my morning I was driving to Lake Sonoma, praying to the God of Mud to subside! And then, just as I was driving and the coffee was hitting my system, the sun began to rise! With registration under way, I prepared for the downhill. After shuttling up, unloading, and waiting for the other categories, I was going down the hill fast as I could with my calf still sore, with Triffin power blasting behind me! Cyclocross styling it through some creek crossing and across the finish I went! And I got first! Then it was back to camp to figure out the short track!

The short track ended up being a super short track, but soooo much fun! It was down and around, up and through, to finish line I went getting 2nd again and lapping a few people too! Then came podiums and medals! And finally figuring everything out for the official. Don't fear though, I am pro, organization and preparation paid off and it was pretty painless squaring him away. A little clean up, packing up, and jumping up and down that everything was over, and I was back in the car to stop at Ferrari Carrano for some chardonnay and then to find an In-n-Out.

Overall Recap: The weekend was hard...really hard! Currently my calf is pretty bruised, my ankle seems to be collecting some of the bruising above, but I can walk. After some scrapes, some skins, and a little sunburn I figure that the weekend was a success! Two seconds and a first! I am ready for conferences, ready to battle it out for the omnium and pray for more Triffin power! I'm telling you, the stuff works! Until next time I leave you with this:

Bicycle bicycle bicycle
I want to ride my bicycle bicycle bicycle
I want to ride my bicycle
I want to ride my bike
I want to ride my bicycle
I want to ride it where I like - Queen

Posted Pictures from Surf City!

I posted some of the pictures from my camera to Facebook. Sorry there are not too many of people racing, my camera was stolen from me, pried from my cold dead fingers, near the graveyard, to take pictures of podium boys and girls! So if you podiumed there's a cute picture of you with your arms up and bellies showing! Ahhh! Plus some fabulous graveyard pictures. Check em out!

http://berkeley.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2234972&l=ab670&id=1209959

Chico Weekend Extravaganza!

This past weekend the Cal Cycling team packed up bikes, sleeping bags, Camel Paks, and kits to head to head north to Chico's MTB Race! We were lucky to have some lovely hospitality from the Chico team and were able to crash on some very comfy floors. Due to the rain on Friday, the race was moved from Bidwell Upper Park to Oroville Dam. Unfortunately this meant that the short track was canceled. And we all know how much I love to suffer on a quick short course for 30 minutes! No I seriously do!


The XC was quick and short. It was two laps of a 4.5 mile loop. The first half was smooth and up down double track, followed by a gruesome 10 minute rock climb, and then a 5 minute rock descent, and when I mean rock, I mean ROCK!!! The climb sucked and the end of the race was a climb, but I WON! Then it was a leisurely munching session and bullshitting back at the cars and then gearing up for the Super D. A very fun course that was about 6 and half minutes for me. I barreled down the descents, spun spun spun up the climbs and only slowed for the tight turns! It paid off because I WON AGAIN! I was so stoked! You should of seen my sprint for the end...very strong!


A nice dinner at Sierra Brewery, and a early evening for myself, allowed me to wake up refreshed and ready for the downhill on Sunday. We trekked out to Oroville Dam once again, with coffee and bagels in hand, ready for some downhill practice runs. And for the first time in Cal MTM history we had a shuttle for the downhill...it was awesome. So three practice runs later I was ready to race, a win. My dad came up to Oroville to watch my race which was really cool. However, he only got to see me wizzing by on one of the straightaways. He enjoyed it though. So after waiting for every category to go down the hill, Women's Bs were up! I went last, and simply flew down the hill, pedaling as much as I could, where I could, and taking the turns as fast as I could. I turned towards the final stretch and put on the big burners, going to the biggest gear I could crank out. With the time I got I would have been 3rd in Women's As and beat a bunch of the Men's Cs. So I WON AGAIN! That would be three wins in a weekend! How great is that!

So after a great weekend I am totally ready for this weekend and Surf City CX!!!! I can't wait! See you all there!

Leading Women's Bs Omnium! YAY!

I can't believe it, I am the Women's B Omnium Leader! I am so stoked! Just though I would let everyone know!

http://wccc-info.com/2007/MTB/index.html

It's Raining...but maybe the sun will come out!

Alas the sun has dawned itself on Berkeley, as students, faculty, staff and all the other mishmash make their way across campus. As I tried to make it through Sproul Plaza and underneath Sather Gate unscathed by fliers from who knows what club, the singing group of boys, the people too busy on their cell phones to pay attention where their next step is going, and the random people who you just don't want to go near, I began to ask myself the age old question: WHAT THE HELL ARE PEOPLE DOING WEARING UGGS AND MINISKIRTS???

I will admit, I have Uggs, and I even have a few short skirts. Both are nice. The former nice and fuzzy and great to put on when its chilly and the latter for nice warm summer days that never ever come to San Francisco. But I can honestly say that the two types of weather I just described, are totally different. And it is very rare that you have a nice summer day that requires nice warm and fuzzy boots. So why, I ask, do people insist on putting these two things together. Obviously it is a fashion statement, duhhhh!...but this is Berkeley, people here are supposed to be smart! Right!? Well Uggs and miniskirts together is not smart, it's ugly and weird, and totally five minutes ago! And a SoCal thing! So bizarre and I will never get it!

---

In other news, I have been doing great this season! Best placings yet and I feel great! Other than being dog tired all week, I feel great when I am on a bike! This past weekend I even podiumed, 3rd in the dual slalom. 4th in the downhill, 4th in the short track, and 10th in the cross country. I got a flat! Ick! This weekend we are dragging ourselves all the way north to Chico for a more than likely very wet race! But it'll be fun! Good college fun! Oh yeah, and we'll be cycling too!

And school is going well. Lots of work, but well. Other than hating 3 out 5 of my classes! Why do I have to finish poli sci!? Why? It's kind of like the Ugg miniskirt thing, I will never understand it!

But I am totally stoked, and I totally understand, the Halloween race! I can't wait. Costumes, beer, registration, barriers, maybe even some mud...it sounds fantastic! But for now I am off to office hours with my british reader from my medieval drama class, he should know this stuff, isn't it like in his blood or something! He's english right? Back soon...

Have I Mentioned Lately How Much I Love The Fall! MTBing and CX! Too much awesomeness!

Just thought I would tell everyone! Despite being knee deep in school work, gone every weekend, behind on everything usually, I love the Fall! Mtbing is rocking and CX, what can I say. So here's some more pictures.

Cross Freakin Rocks! Period!!!

Cross rocked this weekend, and an 8th place in Women's C category was perfect for me! I went the whole race strong, consistent, clean, and with a big smile! It was definitely my best race ever! And the cross country race in San Jose on Saturday was pretty great as well! Racing season is off to a wonderful start!

Sweet Riding in SC!

Despite heavy rain, thunder, lightning, and gloomy forecasts, the Cal Cycling team braved the bad weather and slick roads to make our way down to Santa Cruz for our mountain bike training camp this Saturday morning. In Cal Cycling style we were all about an hour later than we were supposed to be. As we pulled up and parked on Old Mission the prospects of a good day of riding were dismal, but we chamoised-up anyways. Then just as we left our cars to head over to Wilder and Campus the rain let up and things began to clear.


As a group, a very large group, probably breaking traffic laws, we headed up Bay Street to start our ride. Once we made it up to campus and over the fence, the 24 of us split into three groups to take on the elements. Tsering led an advanced "death" ride, Nitish led to intermediate ride, and Emma headed up the beginner ride. As we split up the rain subsided and the trails were sweet! The rain had made everything fast and smooth and every loved Upper Campus riding!



The sweet riding continued until around 5 when we all headed to a taqueria on Mission for burritos. Unfortunately the mexican food did not sit so well without me, but everyone else seemed to be down with the after ride food! A trip to the beach, with some crazies going all the way in, and then we were off to our campsite. Yes, campsite. Outside of Felton was the Cotillion RV Park and Campsite where we set up tents and sleeping bags for the evening. Being me, I headed to the showers and then to sleep, even giving my beer away! What can I say, I was tired! Everyone else on the other hand filled the campsite with debauchery and smores before heading to bed. There were a few Chatty Cathys who stayed up afterwards but they finally dozed off too.


As good as the riding was on Saturday, the riding Sunday was even sweeter! We headed off to Soquel Demo for a few hours of climbing and descending. When we showed up the upper parking lot was packed, as so was the road. It was good to see so many people out on their bikes enjoying the trails. The grueling fire road climb to the ridge sucked big time, but once we got to the top it was game on! We descended the first trail, which took about an hour to get everyone down and I was stoked because my technical skills seemed so much better than ever before. I was going down stuff that I never would have done before, and well. On a side note, I didn't fall all day! YES! Then we all did a ridiculous single-track mile and a half climb to descend the Braille Trail. Now this was some awesome riding! Single track that had been built up with logs and jumps, burms and sweet turns! It was so much fun and I raced down it at full speed ahead!



The hellish rolling back to cars was brutal, but Emma hung back and toughed out having to wait for my slow ass! Then it was good byes, some In n Out in San Jose and a short ride back to Berkeley. I got on my scooter and headed back into the City and home. The weekend was a real success! The mountain team is going to be really sweet this season! Fast, good handling skills, great descenders, good cross country riders, we have it all! I cannot wait for the first race this weekend in Reno. The altitude will suck, but doing it all together will keep is all going! Here's to a great season to come and another Conference Championship and all five Omnium Jerseys.

And So It Begins...

The ending of one thing always seems to lead to the beginning of another. The whole if God closes a door, somewhere he opens a window. Well, it seems as though another beginning has begun...cycling!!!! And I could not be happier. No doubt, I came home on Sunday evening a little more bruised, a little more tan, and a lot more exhausted, but I am so happy that mountain and cross seasons have finally dawned upon us.

I counted the number of weekends of cycling starting this last Sunday, and I think it is ten or eleven. It's awesome! Granted I have school and a research paper on top of that, but I couldn't be happier. Plus, on Sunday I noticed how much my technical skills have improved. I can climb tricky stuff that I couldn't last year and descend even harder stuff that even some of the seasoned riders on my team have difficulty with. It rocks! So with that note, here begineth the fall season of scrapes, bruises, exhaustion, long drives, long races, and good dirty fun!

Political Science...Uhhh!

So...I am currently sitting in my 8am poli sci discussion and really wanting to jump up and yell...WHO CARES ABOUT ANY OF THIS CRAP!!!!??? Let's just go read some Middle English, dive into Biblical commentary, see how the Church was regarded in the Middle Ages, and stop talking about this ridiculous political theory crap!! Who's with me?

You might be wondering why I brought up this little tirade. That is because I am a stupid poli sci major and cannot switch to English, otherwise I would be in Shakespeare class wondering how the professor got their PhD. Just kidding. The short of it is that I couldn't switch to English, go to Rome, and graduate on time, so I am finishing poli sci and getting my English minor. But still I am stuck talking about theory in international relations and very bored and would much rather be sleeping in my nice comfortable bed or taking Callie for a walk.

So as you sit and work diligently why don't you think about the paradigms of liberalism, constructivism and realism! Enjoy, your brain might hurt as much as mine does!

Sorry, I am a bad Blogger!

So it has been pretty much forever and a day since I wrote a blog. I cannot try and claim I have been so busy I couldn't get to it, I wasn't in a far away land without a computer, I wasn't taken hostage and held for ransom in order no to blog. The long and short of it, pretty much I have been negligent. So for that I am sorry! If only I'd been captured...

School has now begin once again! Yippee! Right now I am in poli sci 3 as this professor goes on and on about nonsense about research, but hoping to get into this class because I need it to graduate. Don't you just hate that! I know I do! She told me today, at the end of class, that I will find out next week if I am in the class. Everyone think happy thoughts for me please! Thanks!

I promise I will be more diligent about blogging!

Some of my fello CalCycling buddies are putting together a mountain bike race up near Humbolt. So check out the website!

http://www.reggaeriding.blogspot.com/

Commuting

So in the past few weeks I have taken up to commuting to work in the morning and home in the afternoon. Back and forth to Chinatown. Well, to say the least, it has been interesting. Mostly this is because of the interesting people that I always encounter on my way. People on fixies, single speeds, brand new Colnagos, vintage bikes, the works. But most of all it is how unhappy they are on their way to work. No one says "hi" or "good morning" or anything. Even when I say hello to other fellow commuters, they look at me like I am crazy! It's kind of weird, especially when the rest of the bicycle community is so friendly!! But nonetheless, commuting has been interesting.

A normal morning happens like this: I head out of the house with my Cal Cycling Timbuk2 bag over my shoulder and my helmet and gloves on. I make my way down the driveway, out to Monterey, and the breezy ride down to San Jose. Then down Valencia, which is always interesting, considering the double-parked cars in the suicide lane, the people wandering around looking for their first Steel Reserve, and the endless construction always going on. After a right and a left, a little jaunt down Folsom and then Dave drops off to go into work. That leaves me to join the ridiculous amount of commuters, and a five lane change to make a left on 3rd. This is where the bike lane ends, and nearly getting hit by a bus, right-hand turner, or a car who hates bikes beating them to the light. This continues until North Beach where I turn off of Kearny and go up to work. Then all my kids hoot and holler because they love that I ride a bike!

But of the all the ways to get back, I have definitely decided that the part of my commute named so aptly "The Wiggle" is my favorite. It is this certain part of my ride that "wiggles" through a part of the City that normally is up one way and down the other. Instead this ingenious little path, "wiggles" around all of that and instead just is a nice comfortable ride, almost completely flat, takes me from Market St. to the Panhandle with little effort. It is pretty great! All that is left after that is the climb back up to the house.

So to say the least, commuting in this City is nothing but bunch of laughs, dodging a lot of cars and making sure no one tries to run you over because you can dive through traffic and they can't.

Living in the Living Room

So this week I have been living in the living room, in other words on the couch like a true college student. Why do you ask have I left the comforts of the downstairs apartment? Well, the neighbors daughter is getting married tomorrow and her soon-to-be in-laws (that's a lot of hyphens) are staying downstairs. But this is not my point, not that there needs to be one. My point is more closely related to the little thing we all call the remote control.

You grow up, if like me in a large family, clammering for the remote at every possible turn, wrestling down siblings, tackling, biting, pleading, bartering, for that precious little bit of control over the afternoon's television choices. But as you graduate from the school of kick your brothers' and sisters' asses for tv control, you grow older, wiser and more civilized about such things, but more importantly, you get your own tv. Gone are the days of yesteryore when life was at the hands of that dreaded sibling, only to be later relinquished by a parent, or higher being such as homework or food. You are finally able to choose between over 500 channels of absolute crap or spend hours surfing through On Demand, only to second guess yourself when you finally chose a movie. But nonetheless, it is all yours.

So now that I am upstairs for the week I am stuck with Dave's choice of television...in other words: sailing, which is nice, but not for hours, StrongMan competitions, kung fu, bizarre films and weird off the wall choices. Alas I return to the days of being at the whims of others. Yes, there are little bits of tears forming at the edges of my eyes. I must go before I begin to truly relapse. Good bye! And I hope you have your own remote control story, and it is better than mine. Tear. Tear.

Blogging is so much fun!

The Internet!

In this day in age that we all live in, it is all but amazing when everything does not operate at our lightning fast pace and respond in less than a second without any delay! However, every once in a while we stumble across that obstacle that slows down our regularly "blackberry" run, lunch ate our desks, unbelievably go-go-go world! (And I was more describing the lives of people such as Amy, than that of myself, but hey its blogging!)One of those days was today!

So on Monday I received from my little AT&T Yahoo! High-Speed Internet package from the UPS guy and was very excited at the nearing availability of the internet on my laptop. I come home from work yesterday to set-up and turn on my router, to find out what: my service is to be up sometime between 8am and 8pm. Do people actually still run their lives like that? Craziness! Nonetheless, I spent the afternoon reading and watching some tv, starting at the blinking red light from across the room with utter disgust, occasionally giving it the bird, yet pleading with the little green light to come on and turn solid. Yet, no matter how I pleaded, how I begged, how much I prayed, or gave it offerings, I went to bed and woke up with that stupid little red light still blinking!

Then I come to find out this morning from Amy that AT&T is retarded and called Amy asking her if she was "cancelling or moving her service." Nice! After a conversation with them, re-explaining mine was a separate line with high-speed internet. Nothing having to d with Amy!!! Gosh...these people! Don;t they know I have things to do, people to see, etc!

Well, the light shone today about 2pm, when low and behold AT&T came to the rescue of waiting for them to overcome their ridiculous shortcomings and allow me to get on with my important and highly regulated life! All the green lights came on and my wireless signal erupted into full connection! WOO HOO! Yet, this was one of those times where "you shouldn't count your money while you're sitting at the table!" because of course it did not work. However, two hours and a second level tier two AT&T support person later, I was magically up and running with no explanation of why or how it began working all of a sudden! Don't you just love that! I know I do!

So now that my internet is safely able to be taken around the house with me on my adorable Apple, I may once again return to the world of non-stop online window shopping, with my iCal telling me when and where exactly in the house I need to be and what food I need to be scavenging out of the fridge. Oh yeah I guess I can go to work in the mornings and fit some working out in there too, but with my life firmly back in the high-speed lane I am not so sure I will have the time! And now that you have reached the end, congratulations, for taking the time out of your busy schedule to read about how to take it down a notch by merely dealing with the phone company and the internet! Happy surfing!

My New Obsession!

Any of you who know me well, will know that I have a tendency to get slightly obsessed with things that I really like. Not neccesarily a bad thing I guess. It could be worse. But my new little obsession is Bikram Yoga. Someone recommended a place to me and I went and am totally in love with it. I may get out of my 90 minute session feeling like someone bent me into a pretzel fifteen different ways while inside a steam room, but it's great! I do get out of there so sweaty though! I soak through a whole shirt . Yes I know that's probably too much information! I do think it will help my cycling though. It's really helping my complete lack of upper body strength as well as a great way of losing weight, which would be wonderful! And I have not had a coke since February 26 and I don't eat candy anymore, which is great! Anyways, Bikram Yoga is awesome! Just thought I'd let you all know!

On a side note...the picture above is simply there because I thought she was pretty hot!

My Present from Dave!

I came home on Sunday to find this in the back seat and Dave informing me that he picked it out just for me. And he definitely pulled out all the stops to make sure I got the best!!! Maybe it's just me but Tiffany's bracelet from Kresten for my birthday seems a little bit better. But then again I can't weed-eat, edge, knock down a backyard, and make the garden look amazing with a bracelet, now can I? Ah, that Dave, always looking out for me!

I'm Home!!!

Amy reminded me a few days ago that it has been almost a month since my last post. And so I am now posting again, from home...finally. Rome was great and I am so glad I went, but I am sure glad to be back again too. I just got my final grades...two As and two B+s. I was hoping for better, but I guess that is pretty good too!

Now that I am home, living at Amy and Dave's house, and have three months off for summer, I need a plan. So far I have been hanging around the house, seeing my boyfriend, riding my bike and I had a job interview yesterday as an English tutor for grades 1-8. But other than that I got nothing! I really want to get in shape on my bike and be totally buff and shit for the fall seasons. I'm just a little iffy on how to do that totally! So I am trying to iron that out. Any suggsetions please send them along.

But so far I am bumming around and not up to much. Velo Bella needs to have some rides so that I can get my ass kicked on some climbs and appreciate the descents more! Talk to you guys soon!! Can't wait to see everyone!

Less than a Month

So believe it or not I get on a plane at Fiumcino in less than four weeks. I am in the last week of classes right now and next week is finals. After that my mom is flying in and we are in Italy for two weeks and then I get to come home! So I just thought I would share some pictures with you.

No More Coca-Cola for Me!

I stopped drinking Coke on February 26, 2007 and for any of those who know me well, my one true love in life is Coca-Cola. However, I finally gave it up! I actually had to pour it down the sink and give it up for good. So for almost two months I have been Coke free! And it has been hard. I friend sent me this email today and I thought I would share it with you all! Enjoy and don't drink coke! Oh Yeah...Rome's great!

COKE OR WATER? Which should I choose?

WATER

#1. 75% of Americans are chronically dehydrated.
(Likely applies to half the world population.)


#2. In 37% of Americans, the thirst mechanism is so weak
that it is mistaken for hunger.


#3. Even MILD dehydration will slow down one's metabolism as 3%.


#4. One glass of water will shut down midnight hunger pangs
for almost 100% of the dieters studied in a University of
Washington study.


#5. Lack of water, the #1 trigger of daytime fatigue.


#6. Preliminary research indicates that 8-10 glasses of
water a day could significantly ease back and joint pain
for up to 80% of sufferers.


#7. A mere 2% drop in body water can trigger fuzzy short-term
memory, trouble with basic math, and difficulty focusing on
the computer screen or on a ! printed page.


#8. Drinking 5 glasses of water daily decreases the risk of
colon cancer by 45%, plus it can slash the risk of breast
cancer by 79%., and one is 50% less likely to develop
bladder cancer. Are you drinking the amount of water
you should drink every day?



COKE

#1. In many states the highway patrol carries
two gallons of Coke in the trunk to remove blood from
the highway after a car accident.


#2. You can put a T-bone steak in a bowl of Coke
and it will be gone in two days.

#3. To clean a toilet: Pour a can of Coca-Cola into the
toilet bowl and let the "real thing" sit for one hour,
then flush clean. The citric acid in Coke removes
stains from vitreous china.


#4. To remove rust spots from chrome car bumpers:
Rub the bumper with a rumpled-up piece of Reynolds
Wrap aluminum foil dipped in Coca-Cola.


#5. To clean corrosion from car battery terminals: Pour
a can of Coca-Cola over the terminals to bubble
away the corrosion.


#6. To loosen a rusted bolt: Apply a cloth soaked in Coca-Cola
to the rusted bolt for several minutes.


#7. To bake a moist ham: Empty a can of Coca-Cola into
the baking pan, wrap the ham in aluminum foil, and bake.
Thirty minutes before ham is finished, remove the foil, allowing the
drippings to mix
with the Coke for a sumptuous brown gravy.


#8... To remove grease from clothes: Empty a can of Coke
into the load of greasy clothes, add detergent, and run
through a regular cycle. The Coca-Cola will help loosen
grease stains. It will also clean road haze from your
windshield.


FOR YOUR INFORMATION:

#1. the active ingredient in Coke is phosphoric acid.
It will dissolve a nail in about four days. Phosphoric
acid also leaches calcium from bones and is a major
contributor to the rising increase of osteoporosis.

#2. To carry Coca-Cola syrup! (the concentrate) the
commercial trucks must use a hazardous Material place
cards reserved for highly corrosive materials.

#3. The distributors of Coke have been using it to clean
engines of the trucks for about 20 years!


Now the question is, would you like a glass of water? or Coke?

Working in Roma!

So I was out on a Tuesday night after class for a couple of beers with some friends for someone's 21st birthday, which in Rome, and Europe in general, is pretty much an uncelebrated event! So we celebrated! Anyways! So we went to a bar some of the people knew off of Piazza Navona called La Botticella. So we're hanging out having a good time when the bartender/owner comes back and says, "Hey guys. I am short a person to work tonight. I need a girl to work, would any of you do it?" Knowing me, I decided this guy wasn't going to kill me and he seemed pretty cool, and hey who doesn't need some extra cash, so I said yes. Well, Giovanni, the owner, loved me, just as everyone else does...right? And in turn he asked me to come back and work on Friday and Saturday nights, and I ended up working Sunday too. So in four nights I have made 300 euro which is about $415 US. I am pretty damn stoked about this.

This weekend Wales was playing Italia in Roma, and there were something like 20000 Welsh in the city center this weekend. It was insane!!! And this next weekend Italia is playing Ireland in Roma, on St. Patty's Day! AHHHH! Its going to be crazy fun! Now don't worry I am still getting plenty of sleep and all of my work done! So no one be worried! And plus...When In ROME!!! Talk to you guys soon!

Velo Bella Goes to Rome!!

Okay I swear this is not a National Lampoon story, but it does have its comical moments, and definitely ends with that happy feeling you always get after watching Love Actually or The Holiday. On Monday I spent the best 190 euro (the bike was 130 euro, I swear helmets are expensive, but I guess it is my head!) I have ever spent, or whatever that converts to dollars as well! I bought a bike, of course with helmet and gloves too! It’s not a fancy Italian Bianchi or Ritchie and does not have gorgeous Campagnolo components, but it is a new working mountain bike, with basic Shimano components, and today I had the most fun on a bike I have had almost ever! I put on my Bella gear, my tennis shoes, because I don’t have clipless pedals, which is very weird, threw my bike over my shoulder, and headed down the stairs of my apartment to the door. After adjusting my seat and getting the first few pedal strokes and realizing I wasn’t actually connected to my bike, I carefully crossed the street and headed in the direction of Villa Pamphili (Pam-pheel-ee). Now as some of you may know the streets of Rome are a dangerous place for pedestrian, car, and scooters, alike…let alone a bike! So I avoided any mishaps, checked behind me every few seconds, figured the street lights out, and rode off to the park. It’s about a 7-minute ride with traffic, with a good hill to climb. But then I am there!!!



Villa Pamphili is the villa of a family in the Renaissance that built a palazzo, triumphal arch, chapel, and extended gardens, surrounded by 400 acres of lush grass, big trees, good trails, and lots of places to descend and climb, that is now the largest public park in Rome! It’s pretty much a cross lovers’ haven!!! I figured out the shifting, I even have a triple up front, and starting some serious getting dirty in true mountain biking style!!! It rained this morning and some last night, so there were plenty of puddles to ride through, mud to fly up onto my bike (and me), slick road to slide on, and lots of fun to have! The grass here is great to ride through and I found some super cool descents to go down, and yes plenty of nice hills to climb, Hernando! I was practically laughing out loud the whole time because I was having so much fun!! Really! I saw a few other cyclists, and of course waved hello and said ciao! It is so cool riding and you look to your right and there is a 500-year-old statue, and a fountain down the way, a huge casino on the horizon, and gorgeous stuff everywhere! It is very surreal! There’s even a gorgeous lake to ride around, and it being Rome, plenty of water spouts to drink from.



Just as I was flying down another grassy hill about to hit another little trail, the wind changed and I took a look up at the sky and knew that it would not be long before the rain came again. So I pedaled back over to one of the entrances, maneuvered through some cars and I was back on the street heading home. I fly down the street that I take back to my apartment that leads to a roundabout and then a nice little hill to really push me in my last effort. I turned onto my street and low and behold I began to feel sprinkles. I pedaled up to my door, found a hose and rinsed off some parts of my bike that were especially muddy, and then headed back up to my apartment. I opened the door, which takes about five minutes, and parked my bike inside, oh yeah it has a kick stand too!!!, and then took off my long sleeve jersey and my helmet and gloves. I headed to the bathroom to find my face covered in mud! The way every ride should be! Then I decided to have a little photo shoot with my bike (see pictures) and then definitely determined I needed a shower, especially considering my full-length mud pants!!! I had sooooo much fun today! I am so happy that I bought a bike to have here in Rome because I am now so much happier than I was! So to end my story, I know it has been a long one, but a true lover affair takes a while to recount, I just wanted everyone to know that Velo Bella has ventured to Rome for all to see and wonder how they two can become a Velo Bella! Thank you all for making me love cycling so much that I couldn’t even go one month without it before breaking down and buy myself a bike!

Bonjour!

Paris is amazing!!! It is so great and if I ever get the chance to move there I am doing it in a heartbeat because of the following reasons:

1. The food is unbelievable! The bread is the best I have ever had! And they have sushi...and thai, and chinese, and greek, and italian, and everything else!

2. The Louvre! Who can pass up living minutes away from the most amazing art collection in the world that you can actually see, unlike the Vatican.

3. The city is totally bike friendly. There are bike lanes everywhere, signs for cyclists, lights at cyclists' height, and everyone cycles! It's great!

4. The Metro! It is amazing. It's organized and fast and comes really often and stays open till around 1 or 2 am.

5. People smile and say hello...I mean Bonjour...all the time.

6. It's so cute! The streets are adorable and even the touristy busy areas are really nice with a huge mix of Parisians and tourists.

7. It's Paris...the Eiffel Tower is so pretty, the Pyramide is gorgeous, Versailles is amazing, everything rocks!

So although I still do love Roma and all it has to offer, the slower more easy going pace of Paris definitely has me hooked. It was such a change of pace from Roma! I had so much fun, even though I am still sick because I went and it rained on and off when I was there, it still was great!

Pre Paris!

PARIS - CIAO!!!

So I am hanging out at the Study Center on the internet until my roommate Bita and I, that is the one my age, not Grandma!, are jetsetting off to Paris for five days! WOW! I am so stoked! We are staying at a hostel called 3 Ducks near the Eiffel Tower. Tomorrow we are heading to the Eiffel Tower, the area around, the two Notre Dames, maybe St. Sulpice and the Rose Line. Then Sunday we're off to Versailles and if the weather isn't absolutely terrible, we are renting bikes! I can't wait!!! Hope for no rain! And Sunday is my roommates birthday so we will be celebrating! Bottoms up!!! Then Monday its the Louvre and a little more exploring, and the Catacombs! Tuesday in Montmontre and Sacre-Couer and Moulin Rouge! And Wednesday is open right now! Not exactly sure what we will do. And we return home late Wednesday night! The rest of the week will be spent relaxing before core classes start and possibly a trip to Tivoli or Pompeii.

I can't believe I am off to Paris today! And on the 22nd I am going to the Vatican Necropolis, where St. Peter's original grave is! So Cool! For core classes I am taking Renaissance Art in Rome, Roman Art (Ancient), and Travel Literature in Italy, and Italian! I am excited!

I'll take lots of pictures and post them when I get back! Miss all of you! Miss you guys and good luck on your riding and racing! I have been reading all of your blogs and gather that you are all doing fabulously! Keep it up! Ciao!

Ciao a Roma!

Hello all my fellow cycling friends and mentors! Number one: Rome is amazing! I had to move this week out of my apartment into a temporary apartment for four days because the heat in our place has been non-functioning since we arrived. And everytime we turned on any big appliances, i.e. a space heater, a blow dryer, two many lights, the washer, pretty much anything, the power cut out! That was because out apartment only supported 2000 watts. Pretty much nothing at all. So my clothes sat in the washer, 10 minutes into the cycle all weekend, and my roommate and I shivered all damn night because there was no heat! So they moved us to via dei Fori Imperiali for 3 nights. We were pretty much a stones throw from the Colesseum and practically in the damn Forum! It was pretty cool I have to admit! So now we are back at our original apartment, with 6000 watts, working heaters, and clean clothes. Nevermind that practically no one in Italy owns dryers, so everything has to be line dried! It's a wierd country!

I know everyone reading this right now is saying..."shut up Becky, you are in Rome." And I have to admit that even including the apartment in Antartica, and the moving, this trip has been absolutley amazing! I saw the Sistine Chapel last weekend. I have never seen anything more beautiful in my life. I just stood their staring with my mouth wide open taking it all in! WOW! I also went to Via dei Condotti last Saturday...the street with YSL, Gucci, Bulgari, Prada, Fendi, Cartier and such on it. Unfortunatley I did not buy anything. But if you all want to send me some money for a trip to those stores, I will have no qualms about sending you my address. Just let me know!!!

I am having so much fun! And yes I am even learning Italian. We have one more week of Intensive Language classes, and then a week break, during which I am going to Paris for five nights, with my roommate, and then we begin our core classes! I know I am spoiled!!

For more photos check this website! Love all of you! And I miss my bike (I mean Amy's bike), terribly! But I will be back soon enough and on the Bella road team with Michael to yell at me and tell me to pedal harder and Dave coaching me for cross! Ciao Bellas!

Becky

http://berkeley.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2128146&l=834b1&id=1209959

Roma sono molte bene!

OH MY GOD!!! Rome is so amazing! I can't believe how beautiful it is and how monumental every building and piece of art is. I am seeing this stuff and then I just keep saying: "Oh my god. It is so huge. I never imagined it was THIS big!" I have been running all over the city in the past few days, seeing so much stuff, learning the public tranportation system (bus, metro, and tram), buying food, eating gelato, drinking coffee, taking pictures, and oh yeah I did start class today.

On my first day, Thursday, (I slept on Wednesday after my 16 or 17 hours of traveling) I found my way to school, which is 2 blocks, literally 2 blocks, away from the Pantheon. I had lunch outside a ristorante, on a table with checkered tableclothes, and umbrellas. We had orientation stuff all day, and then an apertif that night. Friday was my first true exploring day. I saw the Piazzo Navonna, Bernini's 4 river fountains, Campo di'Fiori, one of Rome's talking statues, some amazing Caravaggio paintings that are in a church a few blocks from school in the Chapel of St. Matthew, the Tiber, one of the bridges, and then had a dinner with the whole program. After which I decided it was proper to introduce myself to Roman nightlife. Number one: never go to Campo di'Fiori at night. It's all American students and it is exactly like being at some college bar that is grosse and dirty back home. But I did find a cool lounge/bar that served good drinks and wasn't dirty. After hanging out with some of my new friends and having a few drinks I hopped in a cab and travelled back to my apartment in Monteverde!



Saturday it was the Vaticano! OH MY GOD! S. Pietro (St. Peter's) is so huge. The basillica and duomo are amazing. The Baldichino is unparelled and the artwork was breathtaking! It was better than I ever imagined. I think I spent about 1 and half just roaming around S. Pietro itself. I did not get to see the Sistine Chapel yet though, because it is in the Museo Vaticano which closes at 12:45 (very early in my opinion). So I have to go back. I also saw the grottoes, where many of the popes are buried, which wasn't all that impressive, but the momument to St. Peter himself, and the box in which his remains are supposed to be was pretty cool. So a little more travelling around the piazza and mailing a postcard from the Poste Vaticano, yes the Vatican has its very own post office, for it is its own country, I had some lunch and headed home early. My feet were tired and so was I.



Sunday was the Forum Romano. We had a school tour that was lead by a really cool professor. We didn't go inside the Colesseo, so I will have to return soon. But the tour was really cool and informative! It almost rained but the sun eventually came out. Then I made my way to the Vittorio Emanuelle II Monument and the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, the Fontana Trevi, and a nice walk. Home for some pasta and bread and then some lounging around before bed and an early morning today.

I am learning Italiano, beginning today. I am loving every minute here! It's been a rush! I already miss my bike! And everyone back home, but my new friends and apartment are exciting and its all a whirlwind. I hope you like the pictures and I will continue my update on Rome as soon as there is more to tell! Ciao bella! Arrevederci!

Friendly Cyclists???

I must be very spoiled...okay, well that might be the wrong phrase to start my blog with, since I know multiple people, including Kresten, Amy, and Dave, who call me "Princess." But what I mean is my introduction into cycling must have been a somewhat odd one, since I was around friendly, happy cyclists who wave to passing riders, cheer each other on, and mainly just want to have a good time. But now that cross and mountain seasons have temporaily passed, and the roadies have emerged, my friendly cyclist theory is waning! I wave to everyone I pass, or anyone on the other side of the road. I stop if someone looks like they are lost. I enjoy supporting others who are out on their bikes! But these roadies, with their heart rate monitors pumping, their eyes fixed on their milage trackers and time splits, their glasses on, and their bikes blazing past, do not seem to share my enthusiasm for friendly roadways! NOW LET ME SAY: I do know many, many roadies and cyclists who are not liek this and I do not mean to offend you...at all! But sometimes these others ruin it. So my rant this morning is make sure you tell all of your friends to wave and smile and support everyone on their bikes! And do not worry I will always continue to wave and say hello because that's me, what can I say, I am a pretty happy person.

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Right now I'm up because I can't sleep! I think it's because I am nervous about flying and leaving for Rome. I am getting packed and only about 27 hours before I leave for the airport! Hope everyone had a great weekend with some warm rides, cause it was freezing here! I'll share everything once I get to Rome!

I am so Excited!

I can't believe it! It's almost here! On Tuesday I leave the house around 11am so El Sexy Boy can drive me to SFO for my flight at 2:10pm. I'm still not packed, of course! I still need to get euros, call Cingular, do laundry, decide what I am taking, clean up, and finally freak out because I am going on a 4 and 1/2 month vacation! This morning it is definitely becoming more and more real to me because it is so close now. Before it was like: Yeah, I am going to Rome. Now it's like: HELL YES I AM GOING TO ROME!!!!

I think I am too excited to type right now! I'll blog more about this later!

Okay, so here is some New Year's Fondue Madness

IT WAS MADNESS ALRIGHT! GOOD JOB EVERYONE WHO WENT TO THE HILL CLIMB, CAUSE NO ONE HERE EVEN CAME CLOSE TO MAKING IT!

Sabine is so adorable!

See how close the chocolates are...I think this was before the main attack on them!

Jeff clark...enough said!

That would be the beginning of two and half bottles of Petron!

It's just a pipe man!

Olaf was a little tired! And had chocolate all over him!

Our vintage ride was so much fun! I don't think any of us have ever peddled slower!

Laura and Jen with Jeff Clark in the park! Yes I was taking pictures while riding!

SO I HOPE EVERYONE IS EXCITED TO SEE SOME PICTURES! AS THE REST OF YOU WERE TOO SHNOCKERED TO TAKE ANY! I HAD SO MUCH FUN! IT WAS DEFINITELY EPIC! ONLY THING I REGRET IS I DIDN'T GET A PICTURE OF BRENT IN DAVE'S GREEN KIMONO OR ANNA AS THE CYCLING SHERPA!

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