Homeward Bound

Yeah, I'm even going to blog from the airport. The separation is going well so far, I guess... at least I'm taking it better than Strongbad did. Mostly I just had to say that the Grizzly Rose is possibly the coolest place ever, and i'm so sad that we only discovered it tonight on my last night in town. We stayed long enough to hear an awesome opening band, and Alie and I decided that we need to learn some country line dancing. We've already got the outfits, so why not! Today was actually the second day in a row we decided we needed to learn a dance - yesterday's decision was this instead of country music. Can you picture it?

Hip Detachment Day :-(

The day has arrived... my winter vacation is officially over, and i'm back to work on Monday morning. Boulder has been lots of fun, and I can't wait to come back and visit!

I've finally retrieved my camera, so a few new pictures are up from last weekend. Last night Alie and I practiced for the real separation as Alie stayed in Boulder and I came to visit Laura in Denver. We are still recovering from last night's pub crawl on Colfax Ave, and we've had an extremely productive day of going to Whole Foods and then sitting in Laura's hot tub. Tonight Alie will join us in Denver for my last supper before heading to the airport at midnight!!

It's Snowing, Again

Well, today is the second to last day for me in Boulder. Alie is settling in here and we've learned a few good ride routes already, but nowwwww it's currently snowing. And we still have no new pictures to post since my camera is still in Denver.

So. While it may seem that we've turned into mega-slackers and don't ride bikes anymore, it's not entirely true. On Tuesday we rode up to Jamestown and around some other hills, and yesterday Alie explored a few more of the local climbs. Maybe we're starting to feel the effects of altitude, or just the effects and staying out later, but we're tired! This snow isn't helping either, so today we're going to go on some kind of adventure instead of a bike ride.

Days Go By

What's wrong with this picture? Yeah, more broken bike parts. It's a talent I guess.

Between a busy weekend, snowy weather, and now the equipment malfunction of yesterday, Alie and I haven't gotten in too many long miles since we've been here. But that is about to change today! The weather is looking great for my last few days in town, so we're going to make the most of them. It may even be warm enough to sport these guys in town!

So while I spent a good part of the day yesterday working on my bike, Alie drove out of town to go check out new apartments. Sorry for the lack of pictures in this post, but my camera got left behind at a friend's house Sunday night and it still hasn't been rescued!

That's all for now I guess. We miss you Oli!!!

Winter Escape Plan Stymied By Snow

It's freaking snowing out tonight. In the words of Michael Cody, "... ... aghhhhh..."

Well anyway. While Alie spent a few hours today driving a support vehicle for some pro guy's training ride (hooray for a job!!), Oli and I spent more time shopping on Pearl Street. A few hats, dresses, shoes, soaps, toys, and tea-straining travel mugs later... oh boy... well, Alie rescued our wallets from Pearl Street and we went home.

Our 5:00 bike ride was abruptly ended, yet again, by the very strong winds around here... but today it started snowing too! So instead we spent some time in the hot tub, and after dinner made some ice cream floats in our Porter's Double Chocolate Stout beverages. ahhhh tasty.

All in all, a good day again. We also thought we'd share some deep thoughts with you:

Amy and Oli, recounting the story of accepting beverages from a stranger on Pearl Street today:

Alie: "So wait - you guys drank tea that some random guy came up and offered you on the street??"

Amy: "Alie. For the same reason that you need to accept beer when it's offered to you in the feed zone of a bike race, you need to accept tea from a stranger on the street when he's pouring it from a blue porcelain teapot."

Oli, on being sad to have missed the trip to California this winter:

Oli: "I mean, I love Paul and everything; he's the best thing that's ever happened to me. But you guys are the second best thing that's ever happened to me."

Stay in Boulder with us Oliiiiiii!!!!!!!!!

Biking in Boulder

It's pretty windy here. We already told you about yesterday's ride, so I guess I don't need to repeat anything other than to direct you to this video. 

After the ride, Alie and I each invited old friends over for dinner - Alie's friend Katie from Vermont, and my friend Laura from Massachusetts both live in Denver, so they came to hang out! Laura and I began with a typical poptart exchange, and Katie found great new uses for the easter egg wrappers while we were dying eggs. OK, actually Alie and Oli did most of the egg dying while Laura and I caught up. And Oli wrote a note for you, Richie.

That's about it. I still haven't finished my coffee this morning so I need to get on that. I also realized that I have one week until I go home, so I should start practicing waking up before 9 a.m. this week...

OMIE is back!!

Early yesterday morning, Alie and I were happy to pick up the final piece of our trio from the Denver airport - Oli is here!!! We found a bike for Oli, went for a ride, and of course did some shopping on Pearl Street after a lunch (and dessert) of crepes at Crepes a la Carte in town. 

After a much needed nap, we ran into Rebecca Menke on our way to dinner at Mountain Sun... coincidentally, she was headed for the same place so the reunion continued at dinner time! After the usual group text and catching up, team Omie headed to The Foundry to play pool again with Mike Cody.

Today we went out for a ride after settling in at our new temporary home on Grape Avenue, and it was probably the windiest ride we've ever been on. Accuweather reports that winds today are blowing at 21 mph with gusts up to 51 mph... Apparently on windy days in town people head up to the mountains to ride for a little shelter from winds. So, at the top of Sunshine Canyon, we reviewed safe descending techniques for high cross winds! Safely back at home, we're excited for a dinner at home tonight and some Easter egg decorating :)

And for anyone else in Boulder, you will soon see us sporting these sweet new threads in town...

Miles Ridden 2008: 1,530... this is now getting pretty approximate!

Home Sweet New Home

Well, here we are in Boulder, Alie's new home. The drive yesterday was AWESOME!!! We woke up early on Tuesday at our hotel in Hurricane, Utah and headed for the nearby Zion National Park. We have so many fantastic pictures of rocks. Lots of rocks! and tunnels through rocks, trees on rocks, us standing on rocks, and water flowing over rocks. Check 'em out here. We could've spent days exploring the park, but sadly only spent an hour or so as we had a long day ahead on the road...

Our long day on the road flew by with gorgeous views, good company, and road atlas trivia. You may now quiz us on any official state nicknames, state capitals, and the rank of the top ten largest states.

We were welcomed last night by our gracious host and fellow former New Englander, Keith Jennings. After immediately passing out for a good night's sleep, we woke up to a day of beautiful Colorado sunshine. We went for an exploratory bike ride around town, met up with Mike Cody for part of our ride, and cooked dinner at Mike's place afterwards.

That's about it! So far Boulder is GREAT. We like it a lot. Tomorrow we welcome OLIIIIII and we can't wait for a fun weekend reunion :)

Miles Ridden Today: 31
Miles Ridden 2008: 1,471

BOULDER...

...is colder than California. for sure. but we're SO PSYCHED to be here! Just wanted to let everyone know that we arrived safely and we'll post a more detailed account of our travels at some point tomorrow...

For now, you can keep yourself entertained with our photo documentation of the journey.

Happy St. Patricks Day from Hurricane, Utah

Well, today turned out to be quite different than originally planned. We decided to hit the road after breakfast rather than staying in LA for another day. Though we were sad to say good bye to Amy's fashionable family and also miss out on The Price Is Right, we were very relieved to hit the road and say good riddance to LA! After a few hours of mountain passes, scorching desert highway, and one rest stop where Amy was bestowed with the alleged good fortune of being pooped on by a bird, we arrived in Las Vegas. Excited at the prospect of stretching our legs and riding the Red Rocks Canyon Scenic road, we parked and kitted up. Thirty minutes of hellish traffic and riding with no shoulder turned us right back to the car and wanting nothing more than to get back on the highway and as far away from yet another "Las" sucky city again. Sad that we didn't even get to drive down The Strip or get near a casino, we stopped at the last chance gambling town in Mesquite, Nevada for dinner and drinks. Amy needed to test out her good luck after being pooped on, so we went to the tables for a game of craps! I guess the luck helped a little today, as she started with $20 and walked away with $23. woohoo!!

You may not get an update from us tomorrow since we'll spend most of the day in the car bound for Boulder, but we promise to have some better pictures after this leg of the journey, so it'll be worth the wait!

Miles Ridden Today: 12

Miles Ridden 2008: 1,440

One More Day...

One more day until we head out of California! It's been a lot of fun spending some time with my family, but we're both looking forward to the trip out to Boulder which begins Monday night!

Today we went out with my sister Kaity, doing lots of sightseeing and shopping in LA and Santa Monica. We rode the ferris wheel on the Santa Monica Pier, had some lunch, and walked around a lot. It was a long day, but I guess that's about all we have to report. We also caught a very nice sunset from the pier as we headed back to our car. 

Tomorrow we plan on actually riding our bikes, watching a filming of The Price Is Right (yes!!!), and hitting the road bound for Las Vegas :-D

Made it to LA

A quick update from the Wallace household in Long Beach, California! We did a beautiful ride up some huge mountain in Malibu yesterday which was actually pretty nice, even though I still claim to hate climbing. The view from 2,800 or so feet was worth it though! In fact, we were so high up, at one point Alie said, "car back" and we realized a few seconds later that she meant "plane up!" 

We finished our ride with perfect timing to drive into LA at rush hour, and met up with my family for dinner last night. Yesterday also happened to be pi day, which I hope everyone remembered to celebrate! We even heard a special pi day broadcast on NPR last night! This morning, Alie and I spent some quality time doing arts and crafts with my cousin Rose, and have decided to take the day off the bikes today! LA is not well suited to cyclists, fyi. ugh.

Miles Ridden Yesterday: 23

Miles Ridden 2008: 1,428

"Whelmed. It's Official."

We find ourselves facing the common problem tonight of trying to pack our bags with a LOT more stuff than we arrived with just a few weeks ago! Luckily we now have a car that we can pack to the gills too.

We did an easy last-day-in-town ride today to Santa Margarita Lake, and stuck our legs in for a refreshing break when we got there. After the ride we headed to town for our last night at the SLO Farmer's Market. After all this time, we finally ate the Tri-Tip steak (SO GOOD!), and figured out the perfect way to wash down dinner at a dry street fest. Last of all, we paid a final visit to Bali's frozen yogurt and headed back home to pack.

Tomorrow, Los Angeles!!

Miles Ridden Today: 21

Miles Ridden 2008: 1,405

Another March Birthday!

Happy 21st Birthday to our new teammate on the RS squad, Williieeeee Dugan!!!!

I WANT MY MILKSHAKE!

Today we got out of the house early despite the overcast skies to begin our first century ride of the winter, and my first ever century! After only ten minutes, we noticed that a huge pack of cyclists was approaching behind us. We held up a little bit to see what they were all about, and the pack was led by none other than Rebecca Much! She came along with a pack of 30 men in tow from the Triple X Racing team on a training vacation from Chicago. After parting ways in Creston and feeling like our ride was now just beginning, we cruised the next few hours and quickly found that our ride was half over already! We spent some of that time debating whether the forecast of a 14-mph Northwest wind meant the wind blows toward or from the northwest... we found out as we headed southeast on Route 1 with a killer tailwind!! A lunch stop at mile 62 brought us to tasty sandwiches and an ocean view at the Little Market in Cayucos.

Back on the road at 2:45, we headed in a roundabout way towards San Luis Obispo to pick up Alie's car from the garage. We were happy as could be, enjoying the sun, feeling great at mile 91 when suddenly POW this piece of metal jumped up and bit a huge hole in Alie's rear tire!! I mean huge! a gash that I could've stuck my whole head in. or Alie's fist? Okay, at least a thumb's diameter hole. big. In a slight hurry to get to the garage before 5:30, the industrious A-Team engineered a dollar bill and electrical tape solution to this minor problem. With some trepidation, Alie mounted her trusty steed with 60 psi in the rear tire... twelve miles and thirty minutes later, we rolled into the parking lot at Landis Automotive to pick up Alie's car. The tire made it!! barely though. 

After 6 hours and 15 minutes of riding, all we wanted were our freaking milkshakes. So we promptly showered and made a beeline for our first official meal at In-N-Out Burger!! They made us wait for our food a long time because it was so busy, but we got our milkshakes. First, I drank Alie's milkshake. Alie was upset about that, and then I drank my milkshake too. And I'd do it again!! You know why? Because!

Miles Ridden Today: 103!!!!

Miles Ridden 2008: 1,383.5

Winding Down...

The number of days ahead of us here in San Luis Obispo County are winding down, and we're hacking away at that to-do list. I didn't realize it this was a goal on the to-do list, and I guess Alie didn't either, but we found ourselves racing for the train crossing today when we heard the whistles blow and the bells dinging for the first time ever on a road we ride every day. So, we were excited to have to stop at the train crossing in town for the first (and last??) time. 

We finally took a picture of The Grade for you all - the section of Route 101 between home and San Luis Obispo. That yellow sign you see is a bicycle over the words "Watch For Surface Cracks"... don't worry, we have not ridden our bikes on this road!

We plan to embrace tomorrow's 70 degree weather (again? yup. really, it doesn't get old!) with our very first 100-mile ride of the whole winter! Check back for a post from two exhausted girls tomorrow after we hit up the In-N-Out Burger post-ride.

Miles Ridden Today: 27.5

Miles Ridden 2008: 1,280.5

BREAKING NEWS!!

Even more exciting than the Fed making money for our stale 401k's today, and ALMOST canceling out the bad news of a $660 car tune-up, we just got the news that OLI IS COMING TO VISIT US IN BOULDER next weekend! Look out Colorado, Team OMIE is arriving in T minus 9 Days. 

~*~AMY'S BIRTHDAY~*~

(Look carefully at the bike...What do you see??)

Today was Amy's 26th birthday and we celebrated accordingly. I was able to quietly decorate the house and bake a cake while Amy got a little extra beauty sleep this morning. Breakfast consisted of a hearty batch of french toast and chocolate frosted FUNFETTI cake. Though I didn't actually remember to get real balloons, these seemed to do the trick. After sufficiently filling our stomachs with sugary goodness, we headed out on our bikes for a spin to the Pozo Saloon and back. We achieved our first 2,000 km for the winter! When we got back, Amy had some birthday cards and a fun new purse waiting for her, not to mention one ZILLLLLION birthday emails. We ate some more cake and then headed off to Paso Robles in search of some cowboys, a mechanical bull and BBQ meat. We actually succeeded in finding all three; although our pre-dinner search for the right attire just may have been the best part. After a bit of practice, Amy and I totally nailed the "podunk" look. We were proud, to say the least. Ultimately, we did end up leaving the "Boot Barn" with some loot that we will actually wear. Dinner was good, the mechanical bull was ridden, NOT by us (by a 6 year old who completely rocked it and got lots of hoots from fellow diners), and the $1.99 margaritas went down like water.  Sunniest birthday for Amy, ever? Check.

Miles Ridden Today: 38
Miles Ridden in 2008: 1,253

Daylight Dinner and BBQ Sauce

Happy daylight savings day!!! This may easily be one of my favorite days of the year, although this year it came without the usual relief of leaving the office pre-sunset for the first time in months. Today we each went for solo rides, as Alie opted for a workout of threshold testing, and I cruised around on a photo adventure ride. I liked these mailboxes:

I also liked these horses, which is saying a lot because I really dislike horses for the most part. After reconvening at the homestead, we were both hungry and rejoiced in the daylightiest dinner we've had all winter! We are very excited to announce to any of our fellow BBQ sauce afficionados that we have a NEW FAVORITE BBQ sauce!! Move over Sweet Baby Rays, meet the local cowboy, McLintock's BBQ Sauce. Yeah, we found the stuff from the SLO Farmer's Market at the grocery store, and we plan on buying a few cases before we come home.

And, props to Trader Joe's for carrying Kennebunkport Blueberry Ale!! yum.

Miles Ridden Today: 35

Miles Ridden 2008: 1,215

Mail Presents!!

Although some male presence would be appreciated as well, mail presents sufficed today. This morning was a very exciting morning in the lives of the A-Team. Not only did we wake up a WHOLE hour earlier than normal, but we successfully assembled and mounted the roof-rack on my car, finally! After waiting over a month for all of the parts to come in, it was about time! My new BRIGHT white shoes also arrived in the mail, and holy white-ness, you need glasses to shield the glare....sorta like you needed glasses yesterday to shield your eyes from the glare of our white stomachs on the beach.

On our ride today, we found ourselves cursing the beautiful new roads we chose, the abundant sunshine and the lack of snow and ice, yet again. Sigh. Life here in SLO is rough, for sure.  When we arrived home this evening, we were extremely excited to find that Amy had received a nice little surprise package in the mail. Ok, so it wasn't TOTALLY out of the blue, seeing as its her birthday on Monday, but still. Her dad, aka, ''The Best Gift Giver Ever'' had sent her her first 26th year birthday present. BIG THANKS from her, you lifted Amy's spirits and made her year...or, uh...life...Dave!! 

Miles Ridden Today: 34.5

Miles Ridden 2008: 1,180

Beach Day and Final News Updates (for now)

Today, we accomplished one of our four remaining goals: We both had our FIRST EVER swim in the Pacific Ocean! We were surprised to not be the only ones on the beach, although it was not very crowded. We even actually got some noticeable tan lines (bikini ones, not biker ones - HOORAY!) and yes, moms, we used sun block. Today was our last recovery day on the bike, wrapping up a week of sub 2 hour rides. Tomorrow we will begin a higher intensity/volume period, and we even get to do a century (Amy's first!!) mid-week! 

In other news, future plans are now officially official...or something like that. I have officially secured a part-time income, lodging and education plans in Colorado for the duration of the year. In two weeks, Amy and I will be saying an earlier than planned 'good-bye' to San Luis Obispo, our wonderful house, pets and roomie and heading to LA for our final weekend in California. We'll be meeting up with Amy's family, as well as our pal and teammate Justin (scroll down to the very last photo on the linked page).  The plan is to leave LA at or before the crack-o-dawn on Tuesday, March 18 and drive to Boulder, CO. After our last week as conjoined friends, Amy will head back to work in Andover and I will begin a month-long stint as an assistant to a kick-ass cyclist in the area while he prepares for the Tour of Georgia. Once my services are no longer needed, I will fly to New England, visit some pals, pack my bags, my 'cross bikes and my coffee maker (what else does a girl really need?) and return once again to CO mid-May, where I will begin Massage School and more part-time work. School will go through December, and by then, I will have hopefully attained "the touch" and be able to work as a professional soigneur. So there's the big news, ladies and gents.

Miles Ridden Today: 24

Miles Ridden 2008: 1,144

NEWS FLASH!

This just in... California's Pacific Ocean in March is warmer than New England's Atlantic Ocean on the hottest day of the summer. Californians are officially voted softies, and the A-Team was voted the hardest pair of girls on the beach. I'll take my Atlantic Ocean, thanks!

Exciting News Release!!!

Well, the plans are now unofficially official. As much as we love California's central coast... and we do... and the San Luis Obispo Thursday farmer's market and the BBQ ribs and chicken... we'll miss it more than you can imagine missing a $6 dinner of meat. And the abundant sunshine has not been bad for our health and happiness either. But we're trying not to think about those things. Life must go on and we're not gonna stay here forever!!

Instead, we've got a new city in mind for the end of March:

It's a destination with a purpose, as Alie will stay behind and settle in Colorado while I fly home to Massachusetts. And why the heck not add another road trip to our western continental adventure? So friends in Boulder, we hope you show us a good time when we show up in two weeks. You'd better, because I realized today only after changing my plane ticket home that the weather in Boulder is not one bit like California!!

Given that our remaining time in California is now limited, we have four very important agenda items to address before we leave the state:

1) Swim in the ocean, as neither of us have ever swam in the Pacific!

2) Ride a century, because Amy has been riding way too long to have never ridden a century.

3) Go to In-N-Out Burger...

  3a) Get a meal at In-N-Out Burger instead of giving into the temptation of the Olive Garden soup-and-salad lunch next door to In-N-Out.

4) Speaking of BBQ'd meat... we have to try out the local "Tri-Tip" steak thing that every place around here has.

Miles Ridden Today: 27

Miles Ridden 2008: 1120

EXCITING NEWS!! (pre-release)

Today we have given in to the temptations of spontaneity. We can't exactly tell you what the master plan is yet because we still have a few things to put in order, so for now, we will give you this info:

1) Don't fret - Amy will still be returning to the east coast and her job on March 29th

2) We will still be riding bikes until above mentioned date, and beyond

3) Alie's job search has proven more fruitful than becoming an employee at AMC movie theaters (although it has not COMPLETELY been ruled out)

4) The end of March will take us on a road trip to a new destination city

5) Alie will be dropping amy off at the airport after our hip-detachment surgery.........

Miles Ridden Today: a whopping 17

Miles Ridden 2008: 1093

Spring in California!

We thought you all might appreciate this glimpse of spring. It turns out that spring comes a lot sooner to California than it does to New England! Trees all over the place are in bloom and it's green just about everywhere.

Not much is happening around here after last week put us on our bikes for 20 hours, so a little rest week is in order for these two atmolicious girls*. Our hours of internet surfing have given each of us a few leads on where to find our next apartments, and has had Alie considering a vast array of job options:

"Wow... working for AMC movie theaters, you get a flexible schedule, health insurance, free movies, AND a fun work environment!... maybe I should apply!?"

We promise to be less lame for the remainder of the rest week and will have some fun pictures to post. One'a these days we're gonna have to find an entertaining joint maybe a little more hoppin than the downtown Barnes & Noble...

And don't forget that you too can wear sweet Richard Sachs team gear, available at this ebay auction which ends Wednesday at 11:00am EST!!!

Miles Ridden Today: 24

Miles Ridden 2008: 1,076

*Sorry, no photos of us tanning are yet available for releasemo.

Just a Sunday

It has come to our attention that there are those of you who have come to rely on ATMO-licious for a daily dose of entertainment, or, at the very least, you need to live vicariously through our enjoyment of all this freaking sunshine. There's so much of it! yeah, we're getting tan...what's the matter, you're not enjoying the thick blanket of fresh white snow back home? Or your frozen mounds of gray icy snowbanks taking up half the street parking spaces in Boston? eh, no worries, it'll melt soon enough. If you're looking for entertainment, you could check out this SNL skit, which is the funniest thing I saw today. We're looking for more entertainment ourselves, since Netflix only brings movies so often and our two TV channels just don't seem to cut it.

So anyway. Sorry we're not more entertaining... today we ate food, rode bikes, and played cards. Heck, we hardly even explored any new roads today! However, we did reach the landmark of our FIRST THOUSAND MILES ridden this year! We even celebrated on the road with a second-day-in-a-row flat tire at mile 1001. ugh. But, we made it home yet again, and plan on finishing up our first 20+ hour week tomorrow.

Miles Ridden Today: 49.5

Miles Ridden 2008: 1,035.5

Happy Rabbits Rabbits Rabbits Day!

Our day began today at 2:45am, when I got up for my middle of the night bladder relief. Amy, having heard me stir, woke up and excitedly remarked, "Rabbits rabbits rabbits!!!!" to which i replied a groggy, "rabbits rabbits rabbits" back. Good luck for the month has officially been secured. Ok, so our day really began at a leisurely 9ish, par usual, with a full french press of coffee and big bowls of oatmeal with fruit (strawberries have now been added to the fruit array, as they are officially now in season and CHEAP!). Somehow we managed to kill a few more hours, and eventually got on our bikes around noonish for our longest day yet on the bikes. After a WICKED head wind for the first 2 hours, a deserted ghost town where the only living beings were two dogs and two horses, we finally found ourselves flying south with the most refreshing tailwind imaginable. This boosted our morale and gave us a surge of energy for the hours to come. Unfortunately, about 15 miles from home, Amy got a flat...but the GREAT news is that this was the first official time that the Wallace had actually changed a flat without the help of a rescue vehicle or studly biker boy at her side, and made it back home without a hitch. I can't exactly say that I helped much, seeing as I struggled immensely to assist in the hand pumping of her tire while she held the nozzle tightly on the valve stem. We were quite the sight. I guess I need to start lifting more weights or something, cause MAN was I winded. Anyway, we made it back before sunset and although we didn't do the 5 hour ride we'd planned, we know that day is just around the corner. We are both excited at the prospect of hitting 1000 miles after tomorrow's ride. 

Miles Ridden Today: 70

Miles Ridden in 2008: 986