A win is a win!

As I preach to my own athletes, "A win is a win, no matter what!".  I experienced this feeling this past weekend as I took the women's title in the local Durango Squawker Classic Road Race.  Despite the absence of a large "pro" field, there were several very strong women that made me have to earn and work for the win-never allowing me to let off the gas completely.
 The road race circled the beautiful Fort Lewis College campus many times and made the group have to climb the local beast of a hill-"the front college hill" complete with two gnarly twenty-plus percent grades several times before the finish.  The day could not have been more spectacular with our stunning Colorado blue skies and almost perfect 75 degree temperatures.  The perfect backdrop to this race was complete with loads of friendly fans lining the streets cheering the riders on.  Is this what Alp Duez feels like?
The last month and a half I have spent at home here really getting my "bike legs" back from an almost year long hiatus, training hard in the high altitude climbs with the amazing riders that Durango hosts.  It has paid off, as I finally feel lean, sharp and snappy again!  My next event is the coveted
Iron Horse Bicycle Classic race that will ascend to over 11,000 feet before dropping us into the small mining town of Silverton, CO.   The plan is to train hard for that and then use those bike legs to then power me into the multi-sport racing the rest of the summer and fall.  So far all things are perfectly on track.  Thanks also to my teammates on the Naked Tri-bella team who are busy up on the front range grabbing more cycling points-so glad to be involved.
The most important aspect of all of this...is once again I can truly say "I love this!".

 Bike love is back.