At work this week, I have been doing some patroling around Denver…making sure the transformers, etc on the power lines are in good shape. This, of course, involves going into some interesting neighborhoods. My favorite is the big trailor parks. You will see trailors of every color of the rainbow, and best of all, the front yards are fully equipped with as many gawdy lawn ornaments as it will fit. I have seen it all, plastic ducks, geese, deer, fake flowers. Sweet. I also saw a woman yesterday “walking her dog”, except SHE wasn’t walking. The lazy ass was driving her car, holding the leash through the window, and the dog was running alongside the car. Man oh man. Today I saw two one way signs pointing in oppsite directions on the same street.

For those of you who don’t follow cycling news, there has been a huge bust in Spain for blood doping. As many as 22 cyclists have been dismissed from the tour, including the team of Liberty Seguros, AND the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th place from last year’s tour- Basso and Ullrich especially! All the podium names from the tour of last year are gone. It is almost disgusting that all these guys on on drugs. If these top guys were on drugs, Lance Armstrong was certainly doped to the gills as wells. It looks like the Americans will have a chance this year. I’d put my money on Floyd Landis, Popo, or Hincapie. who knows… maybe more of these guys will get suspended. I can’t imagine preparing my entire cycling year around a race to be dismissed. They are losers and it’s highly unlikely these guys are innocent. This year’s tour will definitely be interesting. I am really disappointed because I really wanted to see Ullrich ride this tour. Looks like it’s all over for him… I tore my poster of him down. I don’t want a druggie on my wall.

I’ve also been really enjoying watching Wimbledon. It really makes me miss my tennis days. I think someday in the future, I’ll start playing competitively again. This will be Agassi’s last Wimbledon and he plays tomorrow. I am very excited to see that Pete Sampras is playing again…not major tours, but some fun matches. He used to be my hero and I was obsessed with him back in high school, so it’ll be fun to watch him again.

My weekend should be fun. Adam is coming in tonight for a quick trip. I’m racing Eldora MSC. Short track tomorrow, XC on Sunday. i haven’t raced in 3 weeks, so we’ll see how it goes! I leave on Thursday to Deer Valley Norba National in Utah. I got a round trip plane ticket for $122! Yes!

I was reading Velonews today on the bus to Denver, fretting about commuting and having a bad attitude. I read tihs quotation by Floyd Landis and it is really good. I try to do this a lot too and I totally agree with him. He just put it so well.

When talking about racing in the rain: “The best thing to do is just keep on smiling and pretend you’re okay, even if you’re not. That goes not just for bad weather, but for any time you’re suffering. Sometimes it helps if you smile, even when it hurts.”

I am headed to Silverton, CO tomorrow and I can’t wait! My family has a tradition of going up there at this time every year since I was one year OLD! Crazy, huh? My grandparents almost always go too and this time, some family friends are joining the party. We camp at South Mineral campground and it is truly my favorite place in the entire world. It is so gorgeous and I love breathing the clean, fragrant air. I’m excited to get some digital photos of this amazing place. I didn’t get to camp the last two years, so it’s going to be fantastic. I have so many fond memories of that place and it’s exactly what I think of when I think about Colorado mountains. I just wish I was there longer than 3 nights, but alas, I MUST work sometime! My employer probably thinks I’m a wack job for being gone so much. I’m so lucky that my boss is so flexible. He is supercool.

Next weekend is also going to be GREAT. I finally am going to start racing again. This one is Eldora MSC and is right in my backyard. Adam is also coming up on Friday!!!!! YAAAAAAAHHOOOOO!! I haven’t seen him for almost 5 weeks, so it’s going to be so nice. :) He’s staying through the 4th of July. I work the 5th, and the next day I’m headed to Park City, Utah for Deer Valley Norba National. I’m really nervous about it, but it’s going to feel so cool to be racing with all the pros this year and I’ll get to participate in all the hype! sweet. Have fun!

Just finished watching Coach Carter…such a good movie. Now I am going to bed. I will write some other day, but I know you probably like looking at photos rather than reading my chatter, so here ya go.

At Long Beach Island in New Jersey. It was too cold for the beach!! I dug this big hole with a seashell. I guess I’m a little boy at heart? That’s kind of scary…

I am so stubborn and I got in the water, up to my neck. It was FREEEZING, but oh well! It was fun, and I got to play in the waves. It was just me and the little kids out there. There were people fishing and they were so irresponsible. Their line seriously was like 2 ft away from me. They just let it drift far away and let it get that close. They needed Adam’s dad out there to show them wassup.

Sonya, Lara, Anna. Lara is the friend in NYC who I’ve known since I was 1. Anna was my best friend in high school and is living in NJ for the summer. It was so cool we could all hang out together. We took this at a cool bar called Zansibar which is African style. It had all these different themed rooms….and 6 dollar beers. I missed my cheap and delicious Colorado microbrews.

Lara and I went to Central Park and rented a row boat for an hour. I am sooo not New York with my sporty Smith glasses….and let me say, thank GOD!

Just got back from NYC…I have some real work now to do… all play and no work makes Sonya a happy girl.

I finished up my training before I left with a bang. I actually rode 20 hours from Friday-Thursday and about 18,000 ft of climbing. Awesome! Adam, I can see you shaking your head at me! Thursday, I got up early, made some delish choc. chip whole wheat pancakes, and headed out on my ride. I was feeling strong, but it was quite evident that I was tired. I couldn’t really get my heart rate up, but was glad that my legs were still working. I climbed Lee Hill(pics from the other day), up Lefthand Canyon to Ward, and up even higher to Brainard Lake topping out at 10,500. Peak to Peak highway is at 9,600 ft, so there’s a road to Brainard from there. About 2 miles from the lake, there is a fee station…and yes…even bikes have to pay. A whopping $1. Last time I tried to go up there, I didn’t have a dollar and those fat bastards wouldn’t let me through. JERKS. But this time, I came prepared and the view (and climb) were well worth it.

This is a natural spring right outside of Ward. The water is some of the best water I have had. it’s not uncommon to see people with huge jugs, getting water just because it’s so clean and good. Of course, I had to throw in a picture of PJ(pimp juice)…my bike.

Peak to Peak Highway

Road up to Brainard

The dude I had take this picture kept telling me over and over how he had lots of money. Good for him.

At Brainard Lake… mmmm. I wanted to lay down and take a nap next to the lake.

I had a SWEET ride today. I love climbing….it’s my favorite thing to do and I am in one of the best places for it. I want to do it all day, and sometimes I really have to have some restraint to not do too much. Let me introduce you to a couple of my best friends. I spend more time riding them than anyone. (haha) Sometimes we have a love/hate relationship, but we always make up in the end. We see each other several times a week…and what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger!

Tomorrow I need to finish up my training week with another long ride. This will be with my third best friend…Lefthand Canyon and Peak to Peak Highway. I’ll be back Monday, so NYC pics. I’ll try to behave. OH BEHAVE…

I just checked the teamtype1.org blog to find out that RAAM has made it’s way into the beautiful state of Colorado. I hope it’s not as hot down south for them as it is here. It reached 101 today in Boulder. WOOOWEEE. After finishing my pb&honeyville cinammon honey(my FAVORITE, from Durango) sandwich, I’m heading out to brave the heat wave. I just hope my Cytomax doesn’t turn into hot tea too fast. I have a hard work-out cut out for me today, but not nearly as much as our pals doing RAAM. I read that the 4 person male team from Vail is in first. I think that is Nat’s team. YEAH NAT! and the 8 person team type 1 is in second. Not half bad for an all diabetic coed team. I am relieved to finish a very short week at work. It’s been a tough couple days trying to work a full day AND get in a 3-4 hour ride. I’m off to NYC tomorrow afternoon to visit my first friend I ever made, Lara. However, that means I have to really push it to get my training hours in for the week before I go!

Today I really will take some pics on my ride…I checked and the battery is NOT dead. More later…

After finding my hr monitor and getting my head screwed in tight, my weekend ended up pretty great. I had a fantastic ride yesterday…almost 5 hours, tons and tons of climbing(somewhere around 30-40 miles of just clmibing), 16 miles of which was on a dirt road(on my road bike..I ain’t no roadie, I ride my road bike on dirt). The best female mountain biker in the entire world is training in Boulder for a couple weeks, Gunn-Rita Dahle Flesja(that’s a mouthful!) and I saw her out yesterday. That’s the thing about Boulder, you never know who you’ll see. I should have gone to bed at 10 PM last night after my antics during the day, but instead decided to go have some fun with friends. Unfortunately that meant me getting home at the wee hours of the morning and getting up early again. One of my good friends, Jess Sanders was in town so I jumped at the opportunity to make some pancakes for her before she headed back to da querque. Pancakes are always so much better when you have someone to share it with. Very soon I will be able to share my weekends with my boyfriend again. I can’t wait! Only a couple more months and I won’t be so pancake-lonely.

Race Across America starts in a few days…it’s only a 3,052 mile race. I’m looking forward to tracking it. I know 2 people doing it this year. One, celebrity Nat Ross(also my friend, Tough Girl Janis Sandlin’s boyfriend). He is on the team favored to win(with Jay Henry, Mike Janelle, and another dude), and is a badass endurance guy. I just met Nat officially a week ago, and he is very charismatic. My other friend doing the race is Steve Holmes. He is doing an 8 person diabetic team (they run it like a time trial relay) called Team Type 1 and their goal is raise a million dollars for diabetes(and of course, to win their category). They have a race blog and the web site is www.teamtype1.org. If you are interested in donating or just reading about their endeavors, that’s the spot. I’m looking forward to all my big rides this week and topping the week off by going to NYC to visit Lara! I leave Thursday night.

OH MY GOSH. Thought I would make fun of myself for a moment and indulge you all in a good laugh. I know you’re laughing with me. I’m about to take off on my ride…BUT I just spent the last 15 minutes + tearing my apartment apart, screaming in frustration, trying to find my heart rate monitor. I know I’m an obvious brunette, but I SWEAR sometimes I should have been born a blonde to at least I’d have an excuse for being a moron. (sorry to the blondes, you know I don’t mean it!)

Where was Sonya’s HR monitor strap?

A) On the bathroom shelf
B) Underneath a pile of clothes in her room
C) On the kitchen counter
D) She was wearing it

Sadly my friends, the answer is D. Yes, I was searching frantically and fiendishly when all the while, it was tucked under my sports bra, right on me. I must have killed more than a few brain cells with those beers I had last night, or maybe it’s the fact that I am fueled on coffee. The most caffeine I generally have in a day is from one teabag of green tea or yerba mate so….maybe I’m a little hyper and neurotic when hyped up on the coffee bean. Hopefully the grad school won’t read this because although I am off of academic probation and almost at a masters degree in electrical engineering level of education, I seem to be a ditz. SWEET.