I was home. Yeahhhhh I got to see my hubby, do local races, and get a good block of training in. It was the first time in my life that I’ve focused solely on my sprint. I did lots o’ intervals! They ranged between 8 seconds to 90 seconds. I was a sprinting fiend! I tried to do every local Colorado race possible to practice my sprint. I did men’s races, women’s races and masters’ races. My coach wouldn’t let me breakaway solo (that means trying to ride away all alone from the group) in any of the races. My typical local race racing style is trying to instigate breaks. I had to revamp my whole game plan locally! I had to have lots of people around, so I could practice sprinting again. Sometimes, I did 3 races in one day. Man, I'm surprised you didn't see me in any kids’ races. I hear they can be brutal. When I first started cycling, I could sprint. Then, for years I developed my engine (thus skyrocketing my breakaway potential ), but I lost my sprint. For the past 4 years, I've lead-out sprinters and I know what they need to do in that last 1 kilometer of a bike race, but I'm just learning what I need to do. It has been fun practicing, and I've been very excited to give her a try in upcoming NRC events.

Thanks Colorado boys for playing with me this past month and trying to make me faster:)

Since I haven't written too many articles yet, I might as well give you a little background about my living situation and what it means to me to “live on the road”. Although I am American, my home (and my husband, Ben) is in Auckland, New Zealand. For 6 months out of the year I live in Auckland and the other 6 months are spent abroad racing my bike. So, when I talk about my life on the road, I really mean life on the road. In other words, for 6 months my life revolves around how much I can fit into my suitcase and whether or not I will be able to use the internet. Seriously, suitcases and internet are the story of my life.

When I left NZ back in March, I had to pack everything I thought I would need for 6 months without packing sooo much stuff that I will have to pay a hefty fee in September (when I get to go home) to ship the extra baggage back to NZ. Last year, I paid 250 Euro (I lived and raced in Europe) to ship extra stuff back to NZ!! Ouch. I probably won't fare much better this year after I take stock of all the cool, Lipton clothing and the 3 suitcases that I have received from the TEAm, but I won't mind so much since it is sweet stuff!

And the internet. Well, for those of you who have heard of and use skype (www.skype.com), you know why I get excited about having internet. For those of you who aren’t so knowledgeable, it is an internet based telephone system. When you call someone who also has skype installed on their computer, you can talk for FREE! No gimmicks, no hidden fees – just talk for hours for free. Considering that calls to Ben are always long distance, whenever I can talk for free is a bonus. I have been known to attract distant stares from strangers when my excitement reels out of control after I find out there is internet. Besides, how else do people stay connected to the rest of the world these days anyway?

Now, just don’t ask me where I live in the US, because I can't tell you with just one simple answer. The irony is that I am American, but I don’t have a real home in the US anymore, so I live in and out of hotels, host housing, and with friends and family. Right now my "base" is in San Francisco. Fortunately my good friend doesn't mind me dumping all my unnecessary bits and pieces until the next time I come around to reorganize. Again, it's all about what fits in the suitcase. And staying in hotels isn't so bad if it has big, cushy beds, clean rooms, good food…and internet. And host families are so awesome to take in a bunch of women who take over their kitchens, washers and dryers, and bathrooms. These special people not only tolerate us but treat us as one of their own and even invite us back again year after year! And for me, staying with family and friends is always an extra special treat since I live SO FAR AWAY! I just don't get to see my family often enough. But, living so far away in the southern hemisphere does mean that I get an eternal summer. Not bad, aye?!

Life on the road can be challenging at times, like when I don't get to see my husband for months on end, but it is very rewarding. I get to travel across the US with TEAm Lipton and across Europe with the US national team. Basically, I get to see the world. I meet wonderful, new people, see fascinating sights, and do all of this with my friends and teammates which will all be part of my life story that I will share with my kids (yes, mom and dad, it will happen one day) and their kids and so on.

But, hold on to your hats, a further peek into my life story is for journal entries yet to come!

'Til then…tail winds, good fortune, and happiness.

Meredith

My attendance at Battenkill Roubaix was a last-minute decision, based on finding a ride up to the race (north of Albany). Leaving at 5:30 a.m. on race day was a little rough but some nice strong Earl Grey tea woke me right up.

The race course was the same for all categories - a single, 55 mile loop. Why the intimidating name, you may ask? Well, the real "Hell of the North" (the spring classic Paris Roubaix raced in France every year) is infamous for the brutal cobblestone sections of the course. Battenkill Roubaix, although thankfully devoid of cobbles, did feature about six or seven lengthy bits of dirt road which made the hilly course even more selective.

The women's field was combined with the juniors and the 55+ men's fields. I recognized a few of the juniors from the New York City crowd. One of them attacked within the first few miles and soon had opened a nice lead. I asked his teammate (one of the young guns I know from training in the NYC area) how strong his teammate was. The response I got ("Pretty strong!") made me think bridging up to him might be a good idea. Luckily, I was able to do this (along with the other NYC junior) on the next hill (another dirt section with a punishing grade at the top).

The two juniors and I worked really hard over the next 20 or so miles, increasing our gap. Actually, the juniors were killing me up every climb - they were both like little whippets sprinting for the top, and all I could do was gasp along in their wake, hoping they'd decide to wait up. As the miles wore on, however, it turned out to be a good thing for them that they did wait. Being unused to such a long race, they both started tiring with 15 miles or more still to race. The strong winds (25 mph, I heard) made things brutal at times, especially up the steeper dirt sections. However, I felt stronger as the race progressed and I warmed up to the effort.

With 8 miles to go, I was nursing the juniors along when one of them suddenly said, "The group is coming!" I looked back, and sure enough there was a small group of chasers no more than 30 seconds back. Without time checks, we had had no idea how much of a cushion we had, and now it was evaporating under tired legs. "We gotta get out of here!" I urged. One of the juniors cracked, so the remaining one and I took off. For the last 8 miles he and I put as much power to the pedals as we could, managing to hold off the chasers by 15 seconds at the line.

What a fun course, and a great race. Those juniors are tough too...I expect to see more from them in the future.

It's about that time that I give you all an update as to how the

cycling season is going so far this year.

TEAm Lipton has given me a refreshing new perspective on racing and

has shown me how a real team should function. It has been wonderful

having the full support of the sponsors and staff with us every step

of the way. With such great support and an awesome and talented mix

of riders, it is indisputable that we will have a very successful

season.

TEAm Lipton started the season with a podium finish at McLane Pacific

and we have been on the podium every weekend since. Even the

constant rains and hail, yes, hail, haven't stopped us. And the TEAm

hasn't just been winning stages but we won the overall at the San

Dimas Stage Race after winning 2 out of 3 stages. Of course, not

every race can be controlled triumphantly, which was the case at the

Redlands Classic where we raced aggressively to take the leader's

jersey on day 2 only to lose it on the last day. However, the TEAm

bounced back and we again found the podium steps this past weekend at

the Thousand Oaks and Garrett Lemire Criteriums. Now there will be a

hiatus from TEAm racing as everyone refreshes and recooperates at

home or wherever the road leads (I never know where I will be until I

get there) until the next TEAm race at the Tour of the Gila in New

Mexico.

Until I rejoin the TEAm in May, I will be racing at Sea Otter this

weekend and then 5 days later I will be flying across the pond to

race with the US national team for a 2-week project. Once again I am

privileged to race the 9th edition (my 4th) of Fleche Wallonne (68

editions of this race have been held for the men so it is a very

prestigious race, even for the women) in Belgium. From there I will

tackle the Swiss race, Tour de Berne, for my first time. This is its

first year as a World Cup event so it will be more competitive than

ever. Finally, we will finish up the European tour with Gracia-

Orlova, a 4-day tour in the Czech Republic that offers good racing

but leaves us hopelessly pining for good food (good food is always

important during a tour ,you know!). After 2 weeks racing in the

stars and stripes on the roads of Europe, I will fly directly from

Europe to New Mexico where I will rejoin the TEAm and our striking

fleet of yellow submarines (that would be our fleet of car, van and

trailer that is highly visible under the darkest of conditions).

Hopefully by May the weather will have straightened itself out and

will prove to be much finer than it has been here in California so far!!