Photo by: Manual for Speed Courtesy of Bicycling Magazine

So for positive fun things. If you haven't seen it yet, there was a really rad article about me in Bicycling Magazine last month! They've been killing it lately putting women on the cover, and filling the pages with women including a few women of color in the magazine lately. Good work guys, keep it goin!

I was also able to grab another NY State Championship Track title for the Team Sprints with Rosael! Pretty Freaking Rad. I keep taking out my gold medals and looking at them with pride. In real life, winning is fun, and it's nice to see the fruit of your hard work reflected in a symbolic piece of hardware!

For the less sparkly side of things, I'm back. I disappeared for a while, but I'm back. Just in time for the very end of the season. A lot has happened in between now and the last time I posted. I've gotten married, moved to california, and am currently funemployed. That's a nice way of saying I've completely uprooted my entire existence and am starting from scratch. The only thing that's really familiar at the moment is my new husband. He has been super supportive, and encouraging while i'm over here trying to keep all this curly hair on my head.

As far as biking, it's a bit tough. I had to sacrifice racing and training in order to get all the packing and wedding planning done. In real life, the packing didn't REALLY get done, many thanks to my mom and sister for literally finishing up after Will and I gave up and decided to hit the road after a night of napping and packing as much as we could. Despite all of the stressful situations I've put myself in over the past few months. I'm honestly really happy and very excited to embark on these new adventures.

Will and I drove our tiny little Ford Fiesta across the country with as many belongings as we could fit and our two beloved kitties. It was a fun trek, with a lot of beautiful sights and a LOT of boring ones too. I'm glad we did it, but I'm not sure it's something I'd care to do again. Planes are great, use them.

All of the huge life changes are done for the most part, and I'm finally able to get back on my bike. It's a bit foreign but I'm slowly getting back to it. It's pretty frustrating to have that feeling of being so fit in the beginning of the season, and basically having to start over now. I'm not completely out of shape, but I'm definitely not where I should be for racing. Not even close.

There's also the fact that my stomach has been rebelling against me lately. I just can't keep anything down before/ during/ after a race. It's beyond upsetting. This morning I literally had to pull out of the peloton to blow chunks on the side of the course (all while moving of course). Still. super gross. Super not fun.

Was it worth it? Totally. I got to marry the love of my life and share that moment with so many of my family and friends. I also got to plan my own wedding and make it exactly how I wanted it to be. I wouldn't trade it for any other setup. It was wonderful and totally worth taking some time away from bicycles.

But now, Now i've got work to do. Now i've got to get off my butt and train, and I'm so excited to finally be able to do it. This past winter was such a test of mental strength for me. Committing to training everyday, working out, being better than I was before. It felt so good, I want it back, and I'll get it. It's going to be so good.

I'm a point away from my cat 2 upgrade, which naturally couldn't come at a worse time, with me being out of shape and all. I've placed 7th last weekend and 5th this morning in my races. I've got two more races this season, Monday is the Giro di San Francisco, and Sept 20th is the Okland Grand Prix. The points are there, and I want them, I need to be way more aggressive and take what I want (safely of course). Regardless of the outcome of this season. I'm ready to put in work on the off season and come back next year like a friggin wrecking ball. It's going to be so fantastic. I say that wholeheartedly. I can not wait.

Getting back out there.