blurhaze

Garmisch--
This is a sorta long post....(make up for not posting..haha)

The past week was rollin by so fast, that i didnt get to savor each flavor, i just kinda rolled along on the roller coaster called life.

Friday we headed to Regensburg, an hour drive from our house to watch the World Cup of Baseball. We got there early enough to watch Venezuela play China, which was pretty cool to watch, then we stuck around for the first inning of the USA vs. Germany. USA won the game and it was a lot of fun. We ate a bunch of bratwurst and drank some good bier, the kids ate a lot of candy and drank cokes, which is a treat cuz i dont buy that crap for them too often. We did a lot of hootin' and hollerin' and the Germans looked at us sorta wierd, but in a good way.
We had to leave early because we had to get up to Garmisch and at least sleep a few hours before our race in the a.m.
Getting into Garmisch around midnight, we realized we were not prepared AT ALL. We didnt buy groceries and had some meusli for the kids, but we needed more sustenance for racing. That night I felt nauseated and almost threw up a few times, I figured it to be all the crap i ate and drank at the game, but the next night Justin was sick, so I guess we had some bug, cuz my oldest missed some school this week because of it..

Up and at em, we headed over to the venue, it was at Keane's Lodge and all the super fast German locals were on hand, including Andi Stroebl, the marathon phenom racer, super fast and amazing cyclist. I didnt feel like eating really, and managed down a power bar, Justin the same, and then we warmed up. The highlight was that Justin and I led the kids race out. Gavin was really excited because he has been training, he rides every chance and he loves it.

So Gavin, my 7 yr old rolled up to the line with his two competitors, two older girls. He was so little compared to all the kids, they had the under 13 year olds on the line too.
He might have been towards the back in the beginning, but he put his game face on....
The little guy passed all his competition, he rode all the singletrack and had a blast. First Place for another Koppa. The next generation is gonna be fast!!
So it was time for me and Justin to race, I did okay, I got first in my category, but third place overall. There were two other girls, I know i coulda probably passed the one girl in second, but i just didnt have it in me, then the first place chick was Andi's wife and super fast. It was her race and she deserved it. Good job!
The real excitement was watching my husband. He got 5th place, missing first by 4 plus minutes. That is exciting, expecially it being Andi Strobel winning. Justin played cat and mouse i guess with another American riding a 29'er, being a guy named Ken who is the Indy Fab distributor here in Germany. I was glad to see Justin have some hearty competition and it was exciting to see. We all ended up getting First places in our classes because it was a US forces race and those with US id cards get the points for that I guess, so that's cool.
We headed back to the cabin, changed in our swimsuits and headed to the resorts indoor pool, hottub, sauna and steam room. It felt really good. Then had a nice dinner and some wine and went to bed.
Up early for the Ritchey Marathon race, we could still hear the rain pouring down, just as it had all night long. Justin and I headed to Oberammergau and saddled up, somewhat prepped, but neither of us had CO2 or a pump, forgetting about it and depending on our Stans'd up tubes.

I went first, as I was doing the US forces Nato race, Justin would go 2nd doing the 80km race. It was cold, wet and rainy, I knew this would garner some good carnage, hopefully not on my part, but nonetheless, it would be exciting.
My race was awesome, I loved it! it was super challenging, beautiful along the alpen countryside, cows with bells eating the super green grass, little alpen huts just sitting alone amongst the company of wildflowers, fog, hovering over us in the mountains, yes, we climbed a mountain. Before the ascent, there was a descent, that is when I noticed my front tire was flat. SHIT!!!!!!!! I was coming to the base of the climb in my best most polite, but freaked out manner, I asked some specatators if they had a pump, I used big arm pumping motion, i didnt know the word for PUMP in german, what a douchebag, so anyway, they understood me, the Stans held up and i was on my way. I probably lost at least 5 minutes due to this little fiasco, but I perservered and I managed to pull myself to a 10th place finish. There were 30 women in my group, so I am super happy with that result!!! YAHHHHYEEEHAWWWWWWWW!!!!
on a bummer note, my husband got a flat about 13k in, he was waiting for me at the line. He always has the most positive attitude, it lifts me up, but I know he was pissed and I would be too. We were not happy with our unpreparedness, and by luck did I get a pump, so always be prepared!!!! The morning of:
I like mud, its good for you and it tastes even better....
We headed back, rested, slept good, then headed out to do some eatin' and drinking. Went to Ettal to the 700 yr old monastery there. We had some of the schnapps they produce. It was herbal and so good, not making you feel wierd, actually we felt so good, it is supposed to be healing. After that we headed to a cheese place in Ettal, it is where they make the cheese and you can eat bread and cheese and beer there. Fresh alpen milk, all that, I never felt so stuffed on so little, it was hearty and good. You should go there if you ever make it out here!!
Cheese...mmmmmm
mmm...dunkel bier...
We had a pretty good time, despite a few bumps in the road, but that is what makes it real, and racing with some pretty stiff competition makes it even better. I will never forget this weekend or the prize i won:
Cool, huh, u know u want one...

This weekend I head to a wedding at a castle tomorrow, then a race sunday, most likely watching Justin. Then next weekend is the final in Hohenfels. Thee championship race, so looking forward to that. More to come soon, and thanks for reading this novel if you actually felt so inclined....Peace!!@ angie

Gear'n down

Summer dwindles on the slow turning leaves of a fallen branch here in Bavaria. The days are getting shorter and so are the rides, even the temps begin to do the up and down dance, up one day, down the next, who knows what tomorrow will bring, the morning fog is back and it is chilly in the a.m.'s, enough for a jacket, definately leg warmers.

Today I leave for two of the last 3 races i have left in the season. As summer comes to an end, so do the training days, the many logged hours on the bike, the intervals, the sacrifice of fun. And now is when I sadly thnk about the season, coming to an end, its bittersweet, but less bitter, because each year I do this, i love it more and more. Its all good.

Pondering the off season has been occupying my brain a bit lately. I have a list of to-do's, we'll see how many i excecute. Swimming, hiking, skiing, climbing, and running are big on the to-do list. I need to be outside as much as possible. It will be hard when the temps dip to the bone chilling cold and when it is dark at 4pm.

The last race for me is Sept. 26th, it is the US armed forces championship, so that will be it for me for a while.

I will post pics from our trip when we get back next week. We rented a cabin for our stay in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, and im really happy that we get this opportunity to race and explore in this beautiful land.

Peace, hope everyone is happy and enjoying life! Ciao!

picture dump

the winners! my daughter made me hold her and i was too cold to just wear my jersey..
my favorite pic!!!
roundin' a corner..
my style looks just a tad off...maybe cuz im hurtin' a bit at this point..singin "i gotta feelin..that tonite's gonna be a good nite, that tonites gonna be a good good night"..




the finale the follwing day

woooohooooooo

the tube was awesome, had to ride up it fast, see the guy behind me...



Here's some great pics from the race last weekend.

The Alps and a bike race

Its been a while since ive updated this old thang, so i'll dust out the cobwebs and tell u the shenanigans ive been up to..

first, two weeks ago, we went back up to the alps to Garmisch-Partenkirchen. We camped with some friends and went to the real lake eibsee, well, last time i told you that is where we went, I was wrong. Justin and I rode into Austria to Plansee, not eibsee, which is still in germany, right under the zugspitz. Im a doofus, wish someone would have told me, but i guess looking like an idiot is funnier...haha!

We hiked up to partnach gorge, its beautiful. Justin and I rode with a friend, who never rides, to Eibsee and he almost died. I almost died. I was hauling rylee in her baby bike trailer, on my cyclocross bike, and we went straight up for like miles and miles. At some point Justin had to put the baby trailer on his bike because my tires kept sliding out on the climbs. it was a good weekend though.

Then this past weekend was the six hour race. It was tough, but i kept on going and i actually won! Yeah, and this race was not your typical through the woods race. This race was in an abandoned old industrial park. With smokestacks and crap. Well, some of the course actually went into the old abandoned builidings and they would have these disco lights and flashing lights and music and twisty obastacles, straight down drops, dark halls of wooden planks, strobe lights in the dark, it was the NUTS< but it was soooo much fun. Oh and I even rode through a giant pipe, it was neato! then it would throw you out into the forest for some quick and fun twisty climby singletrack, then back around. I ended up doing 91km, and 13 laps, in six hours. What a blast! I owe it all to Justin though. He fed me and kept me drinking every 30 minutes with fresh drink and gels, etc. and watched the little ones. Im a lucky girl! At the awards ceremony that night, they even had fireworks at the finale, it was unreal!

I feel pretty darned good and am ready to finish out the season next month with four more races to go. I am excited for next season because i feel like i am finally getting my fitness back after having my last baby. Its ABOUT freakin TIME!!!

Well, i will blog more later, but that is whats been up lately. hope everyone is doing good! Peace and happiness always! angie

you know you been training....

when you dont update your blog in a long while...

I have been busy, the days that im resting, im trying to get caught up on the multitude of things that i've neglected, like my house cleaning, my children (kidding), etc...

Bamberg was another first place for me. I only raced against two other ladies, and they were beginners pretty much, so I put forth the effort to race with the men. That was sooo much fun, excpet the part where I almost took out about 5 of them, due to my sloppy technical skills. When the gun went off, I was in the lead pack, there were about 10 of us. The boys did not want me in the group, many kept looking to see where I was. It was HILARIOUS!! Well, those boys, the ones that kept looking back, eventually would fall back, and i would pass them with a nice smile. I played cat and mouse with several of them throughout and it was a lot of fun. The course was a 10 km loop that was fast, with fireroad, singletrack and some nice technical patches. We did 30k, roughly 18 miles, but it was an all out effort and I was definately pushing my limits most of the race. The last mile of the race, my rear derailleur hangar snapped. I had to RUN my bike all the way to the finish! It SUCKED> i am not a runner,,,,imagine a troll trying to run with a bike all verklempt and stoopid looking, thats me!

anyway, I came in 8th overall. 1 hour 27 minutes. It was fun, minus mechanical and I still got the points for first place in the womens cat.

I am leaving tomorrow for a training weekend in the alps, for camping and fun too. Then the weekend next is the 6 hour race. I have had serious probs with post race recovery and my body seems to need a lot of sugar, i need a doc that knows crap about exercise physiology, but for now, we are doing our best to counteract the effects of hypoglycemia after riding. im not diabetic, what the hell!

i will do my best to update more frequently, hope everyone is having a good summer.