A trip to the grocery.

A while ago, Clare's mom Patricia (or Thea, auntie in Greek) took me on my first grocery excursion... Here are some photos from my adventure:

And, It was pretty exciting that the grocery store was an IGA, which is actually the grocery store that I grew up going to! There are more 'organic' groceries around... but this one is always convenient.I was surprised to see the butcher in the meat department actually butchering... not just slicing cheese and ham...

appetizing! :)

You can actually buy 1 single serving of creamed corn. What a cute, little can! :)

Condensed milk comes in a tube. I would probably confuse it with tooth paste!

The fruit here is TASTY and plentiful! I have learned hot to properly cut (and eat) a mango... and also how to drink Ouzo with Clare's dad Arthur... yum :).

tutu~

k

New Year's Resolution!!

In light of the New Year, I'm going to make a resolution:


I'm going to get BACK on the blog wagon! :) My mom and pop have been bugging me for updates, so here goes!

It's New Year's Eve here in Melbourne- I'll be celebrating NYE 16 hours before y'all! So perhaps, I'll celebrate twice! I'm at Bec and Arnaud's house for an excellent French-ish dinner -- stew and we'll be having CREPES for dessert! I'm excited for crepes.

The other night, Arnaud took out his indoor grill! It is definitely awesome-- 4 meats, including kangaroo! A bit gamey, but it truly reminded me of Venison. They continue to take very good care me here in OZ!

In two days my team here in Australia will be heading to the Jayco Bay Cycling Classic-- a 5 day criterium series in Geelong. I've been here in Australia for just over a month now and have been coming along with my training and some local crits.

Here are a couple photos of some training rides!

Clare and I went on a pretty nice ride on Christmas day- before we headed to her brother in-law's family's house for a traditional Greek Christmas! Very fun- very good food!

All is good here in Australia!

Have a safe and stellar New Years!!

~

K

Epic with a capital E.

~~I wrote this entry on 3 different days... it may be confusing- but after today, it shouldn't be.

Thanks to Garrett for taking me around Boulder yesterday morning… or 2 or 4 mornings ago? I don’t even know what day it is right now. Garrett is planning a 2 week trip to the mountains to climb 15 forteeners. He has already done 10 in the last month—so this will be a big deal for him! Check out his blog and climbing adventures here.
On to DIA/LAX/NZ/OZ!
DIA on thanksgiving... not very crowded.
I asked for 'spicy' tomato juice and ended up getting bloody mary mix-- with 85% of my daily dosage of sodium--

In the LAX bar, I was told by a fellow at the bar that I look very Scandinavian… I think I’ll take that as a compliment-- He was on his way to Hawaii to get married to a woman he met at his class reunion… (30 year I think). They had never met each other before! Funny how things work!

So far so good! I’m currently writing in Auckland NZ—funny thing is that I didn’t even know we were going to stop on Auckland. My ticket said—Melbourne and I didn’t ask questions. I have already learned that American Airlines and Qantas Airlines are both under the “one world” agreement… and basically it means that they are the same thing. ? Who knows... Anyhow, I’m here in NZ for an hour and then getting on another flight over to Melbourne. So far… it has been 22 hours since my first flight- the flight from LA to Auckland ended up being 12 hrs. AND I only remember about 2 hours of the entire flight. I caught some serious Zzzzz’s.

I won’t really get to see much of New Zealand. Just now, I’m sitting in the airport- and some guy just bought a beer-- it is 6:14 am! That is the last thing I would want right now. bleh. I’d like a coffee but haven’t exchanged currency yet- and I have plenty to eat… no need to indulge- I’ll wait for the plane.

Clare was at the airport to pick me up- everything went well and I'm settled into my new room at Clare's house!

~~now the blog is updated I'll be better at posting :)

~~Kate

Tomorrow- OUT.

If you ask my mother she'll definitely agree that I am a professional PROCRASTINATOR. I'm leaving tomorrow-- my flight is at 11:30... I am unsure of exactly what time I need to catch the bus-- but I know that I'll have a ride to the bus stop! (I'll look after I'm done posting!)

Anyhow, despite all that- I have had an amazing November. This fall, overall, has been excellent. I'll will reflect on that tomorrow at LAX during my 6 hr layover when I'm hanging out at the airport bar, while y'all are eating turkey and stuffing!! :) ... but get this. I get 2 bags-- 70 lbs each. No cost. AND my bike bag can count as 1 bag. Awesome. I'm bringing my down comforter AND my full sized french press that serves 20.

plush. high stylin'. for sure.

until then! Happy Thanksgiving! I will miss you all.
~~
xo--K

PS... I just got skype, so search for my email address and add me as a friend! Or just let me know if you have it.

The Albino Deer and the Metric System.

My dad sent me photos of a deer that is living by our house in Northern Wisconsin-- an albino deer-- he said it is one of the biggest deer he has ever seen, with a very well developed rack... and I'm not talking about boobs here... Anyhow, It is always cool to see things like this- especially an OLD albino deer! Thanks dad. I started my ride this morning at 10:15 and decided that today was going to be the day that I switch to the metric system. In order to function well in Australia AND converse with my Norske-esqe friends, I need to speak in metric! I changed the settings on my garmin and headed up the hill to 4th street. The Kilometers just fly by... unlike miles... However... elevation, unfortunately does not fly by. For example... I rode 86 miles (138 k), climbed 6675' (2035m). A bit to get used to, but a good change nonetheless.

My ride to Estes was pretty awesome. Gorgeous day, good tunes and podcasts (http://www.thislife.org/) and plenty of wildlife. Crazy thing though- I only saw ONE cyclist out on the road today, at the beginning of my ride. Weird. Check out the elk hanging out on the side of the Peak to Peak--and the people taking photos of the elk. Always my favorite.

This church is on the peak to peak hwy too- very beautiful!

More rides & metric mayhem to come!

~~

K

Australia and my Mom's blog.

I haven't made the official announcement, but here it is: I'll be heading to Australia from Nov 27-Jan 27 to do some wicked training and racing down under! Check out the cycling news announcement for the "Jayco Bay Cycling Classic" aka Bay Crits... http://www.cyclingnews.com/road/2008/jan08/bayseries08/

More updates to come.

Not only does my mom kick my ass in Guitar Hero and any thing she plays on her Wii... she has started her OWN blog. And it is effffing hilarious. And she is posting more often than I am. But what a surprise since I have only posted ONE time in October. Check it out if you have time: http://www.denterwhalen.blogspot.com/ She calls it 'cornland central'

Here is (in order) Dalton, ME, Dennis (my step-pa) and my Mom. :) Check out her blog.

~~

K

Kate Ross = Lamest blogger ever.

Okay... so... Here are the excuses:

1] I got a new camera... and I can't find my new cord.

2] My computer is using 79.6 of it's 80 gigs and it is running slower than molassas in the middle of January. So, I have been fixin' to go to the store and pick up an external hard drive so I can clean some house!!!

3] I can't be bothered to go to the store or to look for my cord... :)

Party! I have plenty of photos coming-- and a video for my mom if I can get it uploaded, etc.

In the meantime, here is a photo of me hard at work.

tutu-----

k

New additon to my collection...

So, I've been working quite a bit lately and sometimes the days get reallly long... but somehow we all manage to keep busy and help people get on their new bikes! One job that we have a U-Bikes is the greeter... we are often requested to "grab the door." Meaning, watch the door for anyone who comes in and greet them. I usually comment on any bike that is coming in the door, asking if they need service, etc. If the bike is cool, I always start out by saying "COOOOL Bike!" Today this happened. A guy came in pushing an OLD white bridgestone that was definitely "classic." It looked a bit beat up, but I appreciate the 'classic.' I asked him if he needed any service, to which he replied... "No, I just need to give this bike away!" I was SO excited because I have been in need of a commuter bike--- it is just never that great of an idea to commute on a carbon bike in a town where bikes are stolen so readily!

So my wish came true:

here it is.

1991 Bridgestone MB-0 (Zip) Handbuilt in Taiwan #1503


More info from www.firstflightbikes.com/1991_Bridgestone_MB0.htm...

Bridgestone carved out a nice niche by offering nicely built bikes that didn't follow the latest trends. They picked each part based on function not because it was part of a "gruppo". Bridgestone also resisted innovations such as suspension forks and push button shifters which endeared them to the Bridgestone Owners Bunch (BOB) which thrives today even though Bridgestone bikes haven't been sold in the USA for more than a decade. The Zip was the top of the line bike and used a very nice eclectic bunch of parts from many different countries (each represented by their national flag). This one is number 1498



HAPPY NEW (OLD) ((AND FREE)) BIKE DAY!!!

Birthday!!

A big HAPPY BIRTHDAY goes out to my Pa! He's on a road trip in his 5th-wheel camper for 2 weeks... chillin in da UP. (Upper Michigan...)....

Much to my surprise and delight, he has started a blog. Here is the first line of his first post:

"Vacation to the Upper Peninsula!
Ya so den ve deicded it vas time for da vacation and decided to go to da U.P. eh?"

It is called "Hayweird" after the town I grew up in... HAYWARD! (Also known as the greatest place on Earth. Cari would agree). Anyhow, check it out at: http://www.dan54843.blogspot.com/

As for me, I have been taking a bit of time off of my bike for rest, and also for healing! My annoying knee issue has disappeared and I'm feeling better from my crash last week! Lets just say it was a horrible ride to work that day! :) Aside from the bike, my time has been occupied by learning to relax and chill, and also getting a regular yoga routine. I've been doing some hiking-- including a summit attempt to Bear Peak early last week and a successful summit later in the week! Fun times! I'll be toting my camera more often!

I didn't take either of these photos... but we put our names in the canister at the summit. Sounds awesome, but there were numerous papers shoved in and most were unreadable. We could tell it was monitored regularily...

until then...


K


Photos taken from: www.coloscisoc.org/fieldtrips/ft1.html and http://wendyellenms50.blogspot.com/2007/07/different-sort-of-12-miles.html

Favre's Legacy...

My Dad sent this next photo to me in an e-mail... I thought I'd share with everyone...

If you're not from Wisconsin, or you don't follow the Green Bay Packers... this is what they are all devastated about:

I'd say that it is just weird.

~~
k

Boulder Roubaix.

Check out http://www.teamamericasdairyland.blogspot.com/ for my latest race report... and photos... Here's one to keep you interested!

MONDAY, AUGUST 18, 2008

Boulder Roubaix 2008.

After Raining for 3 days straight (which is NOT normal!),

the rain hung around for one MORE day just in time for the Boulder Roubaix. I was planning on doing this race, but since it was raining, the thought about bagging it was looming about.... SO here is the short story...

I was working at the bike shop on Friday and this junior racer kid came in looking for leg warmers-- we joked about how much fun the race was going to be...

... the next morning I awoke to MORE RAIN. Sill raining... I was positive that the course was going to be miserable, so I decided before I totally bagged I would drive out to check out the condition of the gravel. I drove out to be slightly pleased, it was still hard packed- just really wet. Still not convinced I wanted to race, I drove up to the parking area to talk to some people... and guess what I saw. THAT SAME JUNIOR KID warming up underneath the back hatch of his parents' wagon. NOW there was no way that I could skip it.

The race was to be 5 laps, but was shortened to 4 because our lap times were taking so long. Only a few parts of the course turned out to be really mushy, otherwise for the most part, there was just a whole lot of mud spray happening, which made it interesting to draft. It stayed together for the first lap and then Mara Abbott rode away from the field. For real. I jumped on her wheel, but she kept motoring! She is super strong!

The race for me personally-- didn't go all that well- I am beginning to feel some knee pain after the 1st lap and I was hesitant to go really hard. ANYWaYS. It was really fun to be out with all those who showed up! Hopefully next year it won't be so messy! BUT, then again, isn't that what the Roubaix is all about??? :)

I was still able to smile after--- and if you're wondering, I and STILL cleaning all of my stuff! :)

Kate

Dad's Wood Pile...

Last week, I was able to head up to Hayward with Gabe to visit the Hayward Fam! We had an excellent time-- got in some rides, a mini-reunion/bbq, and even went to see the BIG FISH! Any how, here is some photo documentation of the past few weeks! Sit tight...

My dad acquired a whole lot of wood throughout this summer... I have seen domestic woodpiles before, but never this size. You can't see it, but you should know that he has already been chopping wood... 3 nights a week-- gettin' buff. His grand plan is to stay away from natural gas- Pretty cool I reckon.

I am only sharing two photos- I have more, but I think I'm going to bed instead-- race tomorrow- Boulder Roubaix-- hopefully it isn't too much of a sloppy mud fest!

tutu

k

Breif update on the return from Wisco.

After the race on Sunday in Evanston- Clare and I headed south a bit to my mom's and spent a relaxing day chillin' by the pool, basking in the sun. We drove home on Tuesday- through Kansas. We hit some storms- but made it safely. Here are some photos of the past week.

A photo of the Sram guys that worked Superweek... and are probably STILL working superweek- Jose rocks!! Thanks to ya'll for taking care of us.

Before the race, we met up with John Hanson, a good friend of mine from Chicago- he is a pro photographer and wanted to get some shots of us. Check it! http://www.hansonimages.com/

John was able to get some sweet shots during the race- there are more!!

I have some photos from shelbyville and will be posting them soon... sorry Mom! :) hang tight.

This is where we were in Kansas. Kansas is a long, long state. for sure. Almost as exciting as Nebraska.

Clare is a good driver.... I was able to get some rest and some zzzz's.

Off to work.

gotta RUN!!!

tutu,

K

Richton Park!

 

MONDAY, JULY 14, 2008

Richton Park!

We landed in another awesome host housing situation! How do we get so lucky? Dan and Susan live in Naperville and are our most gracious hosts! They cooked up a full-on breakfast and also a dinner too! We couldn't do what we do with out our hosts! THANK YOU so much!! :)

We kicked superweek off tonight with a criterium in Richton Park. It is a new addition to this year's superweek -- and it was an excellent addition at that! The course was fun and most of the people who lived in the neighborhood were out enjoying the race-- always nice to see. The course consisted of four left turns with a couple of chicanes thrown in. The back straight had a nice head wind and some of the corners could be considered, well, undesirable. But nonetheless... we did 50 laps and it was a beautiful day.

The field turned to be about 50 riders deep, with some talented riders showing up. During the race, there were a couple minor attacks and a couple gaps, but nothing would stick. With about 15ish to go, it seemed as if everyone knew that it would come down to a field sprint- which it did. Cari had a great wheel to follow and ended up 3rd- Kate 22ish and Clare 24ish. It was a good race to get our legs under us.

Clare had a nasty crash with about 20 to go. She was off the front with one other girl and while glancing back to check their gap, the girl in front of her slowed down a bit... she ended up overlapping wheels and went down hard. She trashed her helmet and scraped up her back/hip/knee. Ouch. She got back in and continued to race. I'm sure she'll feel it tomorrow. :(

Until tomrrow!
~~Kate

P.S. Cari wants everyone to know that the podium consisted of girls who race the track. (Cari has highjacked Kate's computer and hoping Kate doesn't notice this.)

If you like Eastern Colorado... You'll LOVE Nebraska!

Before heading to Superweek yesterday morning, Clare and I stumbled upon some GREAT morningtime TV while flipping around on the tele waiting for the tour to come back on... We found the best aerobics show ever. Anyone can do these aerobics because they are specifically for senior citizens... they even had big band music to work out too and silk flowers lingering in the background.

Off too Galena IL for the night, then Chicago Sunday morning. We ended up getting a late start b/c our car wasn't ready... etc...etc. We left at 10:00 mtn time and made it to Galena just before midnight (cst). We made good time, listened to a lot of bad music, looked at a lot of cows, and ate some good snacks. Here are some photos. This is what it is like to drive from Boulder to the Chicagoland area...

Hour #1--- excited to be on the road... loving Eastern Colorado.

Hour #2--- still loving Eastern Colorado...
Hour #2.5--- Colorado Cows- probably happier than California cows, but LESS happier than Wisconsin cows.
Hour #2.75 Welcome to Nebraska... Home of "Arbor Day" Thankfully someone had the foresight to plant some stinkin' trees around the Arbor Day sign...

Hour #4-- Clare isn't showing it, but she LOVES Nebraska.

Hour 5--- I love sandwiches.

Hour 6-- Nebraska Cows... See Colorado Cows... (still happier than California).

Hour 8.15-- What is worse than driving through Nebraska ? Driving through NE in the afternoon... worse than that??? Driving through Nebraska with road construction, traveling at 55 when you could be driving 77.
We found this independent burger joint that had a bunch of gorillas in front of it. They were all chained to the ground... We would have probably taken one if they hadn't been secured to the cement ground.

Hour #7-- IOWA

My friends Kelly and Joe hosted Clare and I last night in Galena, IL (where I lived for a good 3 years). We got in around 11:30 and left at 9 am-- her kids are great-- Nick and Mia- Nick is the next Shaun White and Mia the next Picaboo Street! :) It was great to see them-- the kiddos are getting so big! I was also able to make quick stops to see my friends Jim and Josie (and new baby Lilliana Sophia) AND my bud Jennifer!

I do miss Galena! It is a great place. Here is a photo that Peter Fraterdeaus took a couple years ago:

good night!

K