Tour of Geelong

Thanks to our trusty mechanic Ashley (who was good enough to take pictures for all of us during the race) I can show you a view from today. We did a 115km road race with a 1km STEEP climb...we're on our approach here in this picture. And for the the first climb of the season, this was TOUGH! Rachel was right when she described it as everyone climbing at their own pace in their own "personal hell :)".

We made it!

What a flight! We made it safe and sound, albeit a bit sleepy. Luckily we've got a couple of days to get over jetlag until we begin racing on Tuesday (which will be Monday for you guys :). Today we checked out the tt course and drove the "legendary" climb we've heard so much about. Thanks for the phone call Sarah B! Good luck to all the California girls next weekend and congrats to Catherine on the track!

I'm off once again...

I'm sitting in the airport in Rochester (which I must say is the BEST airport ever because it has FREE wireless...small things, I know :) I ususally leave from Buffalo (as it's waaaaay cheaper than leaving from Toronto) but today I got to take a taxi here (compliments of Delta) because of flight cancelations. It's going to be a very, very, very long travel day - as anyone who has made the trip across the Pacific Ocean will tell you. We'll arrive in Australia on Saturday (today is Thrusday) and fortunately we'll have until Wednesday before we start racing. I'm ready though - I made a trip to the used book store and stocked up on a good variety of reading material. I've got a knapsack now (instead of a messanger bag) to carry this HEAVY laptop and lots of snacks for the flight.

The photo above was taken from a lookout along the Ravenrock hiking trail in South Carolina. It was a beautiful day! The trail started from the Keowee-Toxaway State park that my teammates and I stayed at a few weeks ago. Time passes so quickly...it feels like we were just there! Jeff and I had an amazing week hiking and biking. He even rode to the top of Caesar's Head - a 10km climb! It was really good to hang out, as I'll be away for about a month now. Missing everyone already! :)

Obi

I can't believe how much energy a kitten has! Dougy can't believe it either as he sits and watches Obi chase his tail with a look of utter disbelief. Although not yet fast friends, I think Obi's perseverance will bring Dougy along soon enough. More pictures to follow :)

Oconee County, South Carolina

Jeff's arrived and on adventures in South Carolina! He's getting a taste of all this amazing place has to offer...including the dogs! Check out our Youtube video of his encounter with a few of these ankle-biters :). http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=73mFzfSayZ8

Our new bottles :)

Made with 100% REAL sugar, Cheerwine is an anomaly and tastes GREAT!

Our new Kitten :)

When Jeff and I get home we'll be picking up the little kitten pictured on the left side of this picture. Any suggestions for a name for this little guy?

We made it!

The view from Caesar's Head is always spectacular! It's even better when you've climbed to the top by bicycle. Pictured here from left to right are Sarah, Kelly and Laura.

Thanks to Brooke's weather reports for this week, we planned our riding so that today was a rest day! What a sight to wake up to :). The riding up until now has been incredible...warm to the northerns but a bit on the cold side for our southern teammates. Hopefully the snow will be gone by tomorrow!