ATMO-Licious

NEW BLOG

2008-05-06T21:12:00.005-04:00

Well, along with the hip-detachment comes a spin-off blog... the solo adventures of amy will now be documented at

http://theamywallace.blogspot.com/

... check it out!

Where's the WARM SUN?!

2008-04-10T11:08:00.007-04:00

Today is Thursday, April 10th and its SNOWING. I guess thats ok, but still, I like sunny weather better. Good news is that this is Boulder and the weekend should be in the high 60s! Anyway, lets see, since Tuesday, I've done heaps of riding - Tuesday I had the pleasure of riding 3 hours with a few new friends out here, one whom I'd never actually met in person but had been emailing with since last Fall! Finally! I ended the day with a tasty Chipotle burrito and a tour of the Slipstream headquarters with Daimo. Kim, the friendly financial manager (?), was working late, so I was able to also meet her. Yesterday I got to ride for over three hours before meeting up with Cheynna and twenty little 2nd thru 5th graders for an after school bike program! We took them along the bike path, teaching them how to call out "Rider up!" or "On your left!" They were like little ducklings...very cute. I may also volunteer next week, if my *busy* (haha) schedule can fit it in - Oh, and the kids want some "REAL pros" - so all you "Pros" reading this, you should come too!!! By the time we were done, they couldn't wait to go in for some snack, and we parted ways so that I could also head home for a "snack" (or, rather, a HUGE dinner with lots of ice cream for dessert). I bailed on a night out and sank deep into the creases of the couch. Tomorrow is an exciting day 'cause I get to go pick up Monsieur Lim from the airport. He's got a few weeks home in the states before again heading back to Girona for the big deal Euro races.

Now its time for me to go see if that climbing machine that I follow actually wants to ride in this icky snowy weather.....

And for those of you who know my yiayia (greek for grandma), she's going through her first chemo today, so send good thoughts her way!! ...S'agapo, Yiayiamu!

Finn's 2nd Birthday!!

2008-04-07T22:21:00.002-04:00

I waited until tonight to write a post for Finn's birthday (which was yesterday) because I needed to have a photo to show off my favorite little 2 year old. So here's to you, Finny-finnster on your big 2nd birthday!! I was sad not to be there to celebrate with him and the rest of the Seeber/Huysmanns crew, but I was thrilled to get to actually talk WITH Finn on the phone yesterday, instead of the usual one-sided phone conversations. His vocabulary is rapidly increasing and he melted my heart with a "Hi, Alie. I love you, alie. i miss you....BALLOON!...." and then silence as he dropped the phone in search of a balloon floating around the house. I can't wait to see the boys when I return home for a few weeks at the beginning of May.

Weekend Fun!

2008-04-07T10:59:00.003-04:00

Dear Richie,

This weekend was FILLED with fun times. On Friday, the sun came out and allowed for a beautiful climby ride up to Jamestown and back over Lee Hill, where I even encountered a few familiar faces (although they were slightly contorted due to the strain of monotonous intervals - YUCK.). I spent the afternoon walking around downtown with a friend, eating tasty paninis and then heading out to North Boulder where I was responsible for the care of Ryder, a friend's dog. Saturday morning welcomed more sunshine and a group ride with Steph and some of her co-worker friends. We met at Amante, a local coffee shop in NoBo (yeah, i'm gettin' down with the lingo here). After getting through a very windy first 10 miles, we began our epic assent to Ward. The climb to Ward is 15ish miles with the last 1.5 miles at about 17%, I was told. It is a beautiful climb, and now one of my all time favorites. After a lovely 50 mile day on the bikes, and only one mechanical, we parted ways only to reconvene a few hours and showers later up at Steph's beautiful home. We spent the evening jumping on her HUGE trampoline, cooking tasty food, playing ping pong, gaining both geography AND oceanography trivia knowledge and hangin' out on the 13 grain red leather sofa. Unfortunately, this meant we had to split from another group of folks who wound up downtown for a night of music and drinks - Hopefully next weekend we can figure out how to do it ALL!!

Yesterday was a bit windy and left me with the choice to either ride out to cheer for the folks racing in Superior (I'm still too scared to enter races against these girls just yet), OR go for a 5 mile run. I chose the run and am paying for it in blisters and sore muscles today. Oye. I had a lovely evening out on the town; burgers, sweet potato fries and some drinks with friends. Still excited to get my massage school started, but until then, I'm soaking it all in and enjoying the life of a Boulder-ite.

It's Good To Be Home!

2008-04-04T21:19:00.004-04:00

Party in my cube. Note the disco ball.

It's been just about a week here back on the east coast, and it's nice to be home. I trust that the nice weather will be along shortly. I'm getting back into the swing of things at work, and have even had time to ride my bike most days this week too! Otherwise it's been a productive week - I'm officially suburban now, as I signed a lease today for a new apartment in the center of Andover. I forgot to take pictures of that, but I promise it's awesome. I did, however, stop by Jordan's Furniture on a whim after work, and... several hundred dollars later, I find that I'm already the proud (soon-to-be) owner of some lovely furniture!

I'm looking forward to playing with my new bike team this weekend (don't worry, just a new road team! i'm still on team e-RICHIE), and spending some time in Northampton too.

I took this picture last weekend at home, which, for me or others familiar with Dalton, is hilarious. This house sits at the end of Dalton Division Road, which is the road that runs along the town line between Dalton and Pittsfield for two miles. All my life this house has been just plain white... I get home last weekend, and the house is half scraped-down, right down the middle of the town line. The house is now painted white on the Dalton half and black on the Pittsfield half of the property, as if the town line cut it right in half. ... ... Okay, so it was funny to me.

Reality sets in...sort of...

2008-04-01T22:01:00.008-04:00

Amy and I may have parted ways, but don't worry folks, we still talk/text/email daily. She has made a smooth transition back to the life of an office lady and is happily accepting any and all assignments. The weather back east has even been kind to her, allowing for some outdoor sunny riding while I, on the other hand, was caught in a snowy blizzard after 30 minutes on my bike yesterday!!

As for me, my journey continues to morph and develop, as I meet new friends, potential future co-workers and adorable kids. Yesterday I had the pleasure of taking care of two of the most adorable and well adjusted 5 and 7 year old boys I've met in a long time. (Don't worry, Jack and Finn, you're still my absolute favorite 4 1/2 and 2 year olds!!) The boys didn't bat an eye when they awoke to find just me, a stranger to them, in place of a parent. They welcomed me right away with stories, treats and enticing offers to let them stay home from school to play the wii and read books. Cuteness abound. Below is a shot of my other source of income...

My job as a 'personal assistant' to a local bike racer out here is also continuing smoothly. I've met some great people through him and the team. I use the term "job" lightly, as its more of a "hang out, have fun and support when necessary" role, than a mundane job. Tomorrow night I'll be attending a birthday bash BBQ for my current hostess and a bunch of cycling community members. I've got about a week "off'' now while the boss is racing Redlands.

Till next time...hope this quenches your blog thirst, richie :o)

Homeward Bound

2008-03-29T00:58:00.004-04:00

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 :-(

2008-03-28T15:22:00.003-04:00

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

2008-03-27T11:39:00.002-04:00

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

2008-03-25T11:25:00.002-04:00

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

2008-03-23T00:28:00.009-04:00

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

2008-03-22T11:06:00.001-04:00

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!!

2008-03-21T13:43:00.000-04:00

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

2008-03-19T19:57:00.000-04:00

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...

2008-03-19T00:37:00.000-04:00

...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

2008-03-18T01:24:00.000-04:00

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...

2008-03-17T00:18:00.001-04:00

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

2008-03-15T13:11:00.000-04:00

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."

2008-03-13T23:44:00.000-04:00

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!

2008-03-13T15:34:00.000-04:00

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

I WANT MY MILKSHAKE!

2008-03-12T23:05:00.000-04:00

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...

2008-03-11T23:34:00.000-04:00

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!!

2008-03-11T16:11:00.000-04:00

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~~

2008-03-11T00:07:00.000-04:00

(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

2008-03-09T21:14:00.000-04:00

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!!

2008-03-08T21:44:00.000-05:00

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)

2008-03-07T22:42:00.001-05:00

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!

2008-03-07T19:20:00.000-05:00

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!!!

2008-03-07T01:36:00.000-05:00

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)

2008-03-05T22:12:00.000-05:00

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!

2008-03-04T22:37:00.000-05:00

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

2008-03-02T22:36:00.000-05:00

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!

2008-03-01T22:19:00.000-05:00

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

Dress Like Usmo

2008-02-29T23:12:00.000-05:00

Now you too can wear official Richard Sachs Team apparel! Check out the ebay auction with lots of team gear at this link.

.....

2008-02-29T00:28:00.001-05:00

Sorry for the three-day lapse in blog updating... aside from the usual bike riding, there hasn't been too much going on in the world of the A-Team! We've been doing important things like filing taxes, grocery shopping, and accumulating Facebook friends. The last few days have also been fantastic weather days, and we're not missing the string of nor'easters back home at all... not one little bit!! ha. This warm California sunshine is good for the body and soul atmo.

Miles Ridden Today: 37

Miles Ridden 2008: 878

Home Again

2008-02-25T23:29:00.000-05:00

We've finally returned home to our beds and our computers after a few days following the Amgen Tour of California down the coast. Our friends on the Slipstream-Chipotle team took home the team omnium title and a fat check at the end of the week long race... congratulations on a stylish win guys!

Alie and I watched a rainy finish Thursday in downtown SLO, a mostly sunny time trial on Friday in Solvang, then took a day off the race following to visit Alie's family in Chatsworth and get our nails done with her cousin, Rachel. Sunday we were back on the trail of the race, and our own ride coincided with part of the race route at the top of Big Tujunga Canyon. After watching the guys go by, we were freezing cold 20 minutes later and luckily got a ride back down the mountain from one of the many bike-friendly spectators that had driven up the canyon to watch as well! We scurried over to the finish area at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, and arrived just in time to join the crowds watching the finishing laps of the race and see George Hincapie take home the final stage win in pouring rain and cold conditions.

Post-race activites included finding dinner in Pasadena:

Once we found dinner with the help of the map, we also found Justin Spinelli! Congrats on finishing a tough race and looking good atmo. After celebrating a love of robots and having a few drinks that may or may not have been purchased by a super-pro cyclist, and then having a few more drinks, we eventually turned in for the night and said goodbye to the Tour of California.

Sighhh... back to the routine here at home. We may or may not correctly recall our mileage during the last few whirlwind days, but we're estimating at...

Miles Ridden 2008: 744

Tour of Cali, Solvang Time Trial

2008-02-22T22:12:00.000-05:00

Today marked the first day of the winter where Alie and I set an alarm to wake up in the morning. We headed down to Solvang to watch the Stage 5 time trial of the Tour of California. After saying hi to the Slipstream-Chipotle team, getting an autograph from George Hincapie, and nearly good-gaming Mario Cipollini, we hung out at the start area for a while, and saw the starts of Tim Johnson, Stuart O'Grady, Cipo, and our favorite racer Justin Spinelli. Above is a picture I snagged of David Zabriskie, 5th place finisher in the race today.

JUSTIN SPINELLI, Man of Steel atmo

2008-02-21T21:09:00.000-05:00

Mr. Justin Spinelli himself, warming up in the car after a SEVEN HOUR DAY on the bike in Stage 4 of the Tour of California - he finished with the best of the best today in what had to be one of the most miserable rainy days you could have for a 135-mile race along the California coast. CONGRATULATIONS JUSTIN!!!!! Our hero...

Rainy Day

2008-02-20T21:15:00.000-05:00

OK, so today may have been a rainy day in the morning, but it sure turned into a beautiful afternoon. Not much new to report from here on the central coast. After an exciting weekend, we spent the last two days doing some biking and a lot of shopping. We bought so many stylish clothes, you may not even recognize us when we get back to the east coast! Don't worry, I still bought more than one dorky t-shirt, we're not actually turning into California girls. For now, we both still have brown hair :)

Tonight, we prepare to spend a few days watching the Tour of California, which comes to SLO tomorrow!!!

Miles Ridden Today: 33.5

Miles Ridden 2008: 646.5

Awesome Weekend!!

2008-02-19T00:40:00.000-05:00

For the first time in a while, you get to read about something we did other than ride bikes this weekend!! We were graced with the presence of both Kristina Eaton and Alie's sister, Marina. On Saturday after a delicious sushi dinner, we met up with Rebecca and her two weekend guests, Shawn Milne and Jesse Anthony. A night and early morning of bar-hopping and dancing ensued as we hit a few hot spots in downtown SLO. There are lots of pictures, so check out the album linked here.

On Sunday, the warm temperatures lured the four of us girls to Montana de Oro State Park near the ocean for a hike. After hiking/scampering/racing into the clouds to the top of Valencia Peak, we ran into a random boy with a guitar who took this picture for us:

After racing back down the mountain (so much for a day off the bike!) we made our way to the town of Edna for some afternoon wine tasting at the Edna Valley Vineyard with Shawn and Jesse as well. A trip to a second vineyard was sufficient to complete the afternoon of wine tasting. We wrapped up the day with a homemade veggie lasagna at Chateau-duh-A-Team annnnd more wine with the whole crew, and watched the movie Capote. More pictures are here.

On Monday morning, Marina headed home for San Francisco, Kristina went for a jog, and the two of us got back on our bikes for what seemed like the first time in days. After a solid ride, we came back to rescue Kristina from her studying and headed down to Pismo Beach for the afternoon. We dropped off Kristina at the airport this evening and have been moping ever since :(

It looks like it's back to the routine for the A-Team... until the Tour of California comes to town this week!!!! Stay tuned...

Miles Ridden Today: 45

Miles Ridden 2008: 567

Saturday Night in SLO

2008-02-17T14:18:00.000-05:00

more to follow!!

Men's Colony...

2008-02-15T22:45:00.000-05:00

After yesterday's disappointing Valentine's day, we were elated to discover this place on our ride today. Unfortunately, we left empty handed, as these men just weren't quite up to our standards. Our trusty bikes, however, took us on yet another beautifully scenic ride west of San Luis toward Los Osos and the ocean. We determined today, that our house is located at a merging point of what seem like many different countries. To our north, we have dessert-like dry landscapes. To our south, there are rolling green vineyards, reminiscent of France or Italy. West of us, it is as if we've traveled to the Costwolds or some part of England's countryside. To our east there are lush green rolling hills that look almost like ruffled quilts. We are very excited for tomorrow when Kristina and my sister will be arriving. Kristina is flying in all the way from Reno, and my sis will drive from San Fran. We're looking forward to some quality girl time and have even planned a few fun outings...stay tuned!

Miles Ridden Today: 35
Miles Ridden 2008: 481

Valentine's Day, I Guess

2008-02-15T00:52:00.000-05:00

Today marked our two week anniversary in our new home. It also happened to be Valentine's Day.... ugh. After receiving the usual Happy Valentine's Day wish from my dad, that was pretty much the last we heard about that. We'll be accepting belated Valentine's wishes through the end of the week.

Our afternoon ride took us to the bustling town of Pozo - town center is pictured above. To be fair, the Pozo Saloon is actually a semi-famous middle-of-nowhere concert venue. After the ride we wrapped up the day with another trip to the Thursday night SLO Farmer's Market and got some more BBQ ribs a la last Thursday. And finally - a first for our California trip I think - we went out and drank beer! Okay, so it was only one beer each, and we were home by 8:30, but at least the idea was crazy.

Miles Ridden Today: 39

Miles Ridden 2008: 446

Ocean Ride

2008-02-14T00:24:00.000-05:00

Alie and I were happily reunited today, and celebrated by - yup, you guessed it - immediately resuming our normal daily routine. What?! You don't know The Routine? Well this is how it goes: Alie wakes up around 9. I wake up shortly thereafter, usually just in time for the french to have recently pressed our coffee. We drink coffee, eat oatmeal supplemented with whatever fruit was at the top of the fruitbowl, and I usually have a second bowl of cereal beacuse I'm still hungry. We stare into the abyss of our computer screens for anywhere from 20 minutes to 2 hours (sad, I know). Three days a week we do some stretching and some crunches and even pretend we can do some pushups.

Today we broke from routine only slightly, and we did our stretching and crunches outside instead of inside because it was soooo nice out - sunny, warm, and perfect. Because it was so great outside, we decided to plan a good ride - a fifty mile loop from Templeton, west on 46 to Cambria, down coastal route 1 to Cayucos, and up Old Creek Road back to Templeton. As we headed west, we saw this HUGE walnut-sized disgusting bug, and then we started to see the clouds rolling over the hills as we got to the top of whatever range of hills/mountains we were about to cross. Pretty neat!!

Well, we should've read those clouds as the omen they were... believe it or not, it was cloudy on the other side of the mountains. Really cloudy. A little more chilly than it was under the sun. As we started descending to the ocean, it started to get downright cold. OK, so we were freaking freezing with no "warm" clothing besides armwarmers and had to stop in a cafe in Cayucos to warm up, get a hot drink and some food, and re-motivate for the ride back. Yes, lesson learned. Onward and upward, we started warming from the inside out soon after the cafe stop as we starting climbing back up the mountains to head home. We had a great, albeit cloudy, view of the ocean behind Whale Rock Reservoir on our way up Old Creek Road.

We also passed a huge grove of avocado trees, which looked really neat at the part in the grove where a bunch of them were cut down for some reason. The climb back up the mountains was beautiful, and we rejoiced and sang when we got back to the warm and sunny side of the hills. And again, the roads were nice as usual. In fact the whole ride was beautiful despite the cold spell, and you should check out all the pictures in that picasa album. good stuff.

Miles Ridden Today: 51

Miles Ridden 2008: 407

"Ferme la Vache!"

2008-02-13T23:52:00.000-05:00

I'm back from my two day trip to Solvang, and don't know where to begin with the abundance of stories to tell. I had the unbelievable (but, believe it, ladies and gents) opportunity to spend a few days in the company of six Team Slipstream/Chipotle riders and their traveling circus. Fortunately, I started off my journey not really knowing how "pro" most of these cyclists really were. Had I known, I'm sure I would have been a bit more intimidated at first. The staff and team were very welcoming and I felt comfortable the minute I stepped out of my car. My first task was to go to Allen Lim's hotel room and help him make a rice/egg/bacon/balsamic/SALT concoction to wrap up for the guys to take out on their ride. A "breakfast burrito on the go," I was informed. After a very busy day of making sure the guys were taken care of, we all went out to dinner at a fancy pants Italian restaurant where we proceeded to drink and eat like kings (and queens!). It was nice to have a chance to hang out in a more relaxed atmosphere and get to have a few laughs together. I even learned a few fun foreign phrases. I stayed the night, did more of the same in the morning, went for a ride there, and was taken out to dinner again. Before saying goodbye, Tom, Daimeon, Allen and I dropped to the ground out in front of the restaurant for a 22 push-up challenge. Ok, so the "challenge" was mainly to see if I could do it, but they happily joined and proceeded to show me up. :)

Amy and I will be seeing them, along with our own teammate, Justin Spinelli (he rides for Kelly Benefits, another team in the Tour of California), next week, when they ride through our town! Oh, and one last thing, I feel like one of the luckiest girls in the world to have been able to do this. The team reminded me a lot of the Richard Sachs squad in their family-like atmosphere. Their anti-doping foundations provide the riders with a pressure free environment to perform to the best of their ability, with the understanding that even the best of the best have off days sometimes, and thats ok. Good philosophy, atmo.

Solo Day

2008-02-12T01:29:00.000-05:00

Today was a slow day here in SLO county, as Alie took off early morning for some business in Solvang, and I spent the day solo. My day involved very exciting things like reading a book, stretching, a trip to the post office, and a bike ride in 70 degree weather for the second day in a row. The highlight of the day was Jared's rental of a Nintendo Wii, which I've spent the last few hours playing. I won't bore you with any more details of my day for fear that you'll stop reading our blog entirely. I think Alie's update will prove more exciting than mine when that comes along...

Miles Ridden Today: 40

Miles Ridden 2008: 341... yeah, there's some funny math going on here, we'll work it out...

Sunday night in SLO

2008-02-11T00:54:00.000-05:00

After a tasty dinner at Rebecca and Mary's place, Amy and I decided to go out for ice cream with these superheroes. We ditched Rebecca and Mary for The Flash and Super Naked Camo Girl. The folks over at Bali's were almost as excited as we were to be in their company.

Weekend

2008-02-10T18:27:00.000-05:00

It seems that we forgot to post yesterday! ooops... well, I guess we were too busy riding, wine tasting, cooking, and playing ever more rounds of hand & foot.

We decided on a shorter recovery ride today so that our Saturday afternoon would be left open. That was our SEVENTY degree and SUNNY Saturday afternoon, btw. After our 16 mile pedal, we mapped out a driving route through wine country to do a little wine tasting. There is no shortage of wineries around here, as evidenced by this website that helps to guide you through the local wine country - every dot and bit of text on that map is a different vineyard!! Our goal was simple: find tasting rooms that did not charge a tasting fee.

Winery stop number one, Peachy Canyon winery, was a thumbs down for its $5 tasting fee, so we skipped it after obtaining this free pen. Stop number two was more successful as we found some tasty beverages free of charge at Castoro Cellars, and a room full of schwag to look at if you're into buying wine bottle stoppers, cocktail napkins, olive spread, or t-shirts. Their Primitivo wine was very tasty, but not worth buying a $25 bottle imho... Sadly I have an uneducated palate, and cheap wine usually tastes just as good to me!

Our third stop was a gold mine. The Eagle Castle winery was great for many reasons:

1) free wine tasting, and a long list of wines - they wanted us to try all of them.

2) it was a flipping castle, complete with a moat.

3) we found a great place to take Kristina next Sunday!

4) Alie found a handsome fellow to take a picture with, and so did I! sigh...

After I'd had plenty to taste at Eagle Castle, Alie and I decided it was time to take off after our wine pourer tried to set me up on a date with one of the other wine pourers. huh. We tried one more stop, but found that this place also charged a wine tasting fee. Instead, we took a picture on this big ol' wooden wine barrel:

So that was our Saturday! On Sunday we each went out for solo rides, as I explored a hilly route to the east at Eeyore pace in the morning, and Alie explored a western route in the afternoon at more of a Tigger pace. Tonight we head to Rebecca's house for some dinner and fun.

In other news, we like getting comments on our blog. Anything. Even if you just say hi! We check it frantically and get sad when we see the "0 comments" :( so, help us out if you will. And we would post an update on Richie's success at the NAHBS, but we haven't heard from him... richard? helloooooo?

Miles Ridden This Weekend: 49 - 63

Miles Ridden 2008: 321.5

Today We Rode Peachy Canyon

2008-02-08T21:30:00.000-05:00

Two girls
Over hills and
Dales
Always pedaling through
Yellow sunshine

With
Energy we

Rolled down hills
Over mountains and
Dove through corners as
Eagles dove at us (wtf?!?) it happened, though...really...funny story.

Peacefully we
Eyed the countryside
And
Cruised along
High roads
Yearning for dinner

Cooking was hasty
And oh so tasty
Now we
Yawn
Over tea and say
Night night.

Miles Ridden Today: 43
Miles Ridden 2008: 258.5

so much news!!

2008-02-07T23:06:00.000-05:00

Hi there blog readers. Today was an exciting daiye... this morning we made our first trip to the local Trader Joe's. When we got home from shopping, we found some very exciting mail!! Richard had sent us each a copy of the first ever(?) Richard Sachs 'Cross Reference BOOK! The cover photo of the book is our very own A. Kenzer "polishing" some spots on her cross bike this past season. The rest of the book includes 32 pages of the best photos of the 2007 cross season... because 'cross effin rules atmo.

Speaking of pictures and our team/family of cyclocrossers... check this kid out!!! Our teammates and friends Jon and Alicia Hamblen welcomed their first child, a brand new baby boy just tonight! Here's one of the first pictures of the little cutie, Fox David Hamblen:

Wonderful... hooray for babies atmo. so there he is!

What else. Our ride today started in SLO and headed southeast to Lopez Lake in Arroyo Grande. It was pretty nice, and marked our FIRST ride of the winter in shorts and short sleeves due to the balmy 67 degree weather :). After the ride we went to our very first San Luis Obispo farmer's market (aka street fest), which apparently happens every Thursday night year-round. Between the produce stands, flowers for sale, BBQ pits, Bible IQ test booths, bouncy-bounce castles, kettle corn carts, and pint-sized Irish dancing troupe shows, we were a little whelmed by all the things to see, and then had to decide what to eat!! After doing at least two full laps of seeing the sights on Higuera Street, Alie settled on a giro for her dinner while I went for a meat-meat-meat combo: a beef rib, a pork rib, and chicken on a stick. It was tasty, and the pork rib was bigger than my face, as pictured below:

What a mess... but OH so tasty.

Last not least, we can't forget to mention that Richard Sachs is preparing to show his eponymous bikes at the 4th annual North American Handmade Bicycle Show in Portland, Oregon this weekend. Good luck Richie! The man on the flyer looks oddly familiar...

Miles Ridden Today: 33

Miles Ridden 2008: 215.5

1 Week...

2008-02-06T22:29:00.000-05:00

We've been in our new house for exactly one week tonight! Today was fairly uneventful. Amy and I went for our first solo rides; Amy wanted to explore some alternatives to the major road we live on, for us to ride the 5ish miles out and back from our house and I wanted to explore a road with "hill" in its name. As it turns out, they weren't lying when they named that road...an hour of climbing later, and I was on top of the world. Sorry, no pictures today.

This afternoon, we spent our time reading, playing cards and cooking up some dinner. Tomorrow it looks like we'll be heading to SLO for the Farmers Market in the evening. Stay tuned!

Miles Ridden Today: 32
Miles Ridden 2008: 182.5

License, Registration and a Trip to the Beach

2008-02-06T00:39:00.000-05:00

This morning I was able to finally tie up the loose ends of the car ordeal. Passport in hand (thanks for the reminder, Rhonda), I made my way to the SLO DMV to register my car and take my CA drivers license test. And yes, I passed. After picking up Amy from the Bookstore where she'd been patiently waiting, we headed over to the Foothill Cyclery to meet Bexmo and head out for our warmest day on the bike thus far. After making our way out of town, we were immediately struck by beautiful views of the California hillsides and Ocean views. Our first stop was Avila Pier, where we were greeted by a mass of Sea Lions and a few random seals. They were a little smelly, so we hopped back on our bikes and headed south for Pismo Beach. We looped back and headed into SLO again for a brief tour of the Cal Poly campus and then back home so that Bex could get ready for a job interview (which she got!!) and we could get to the grocery store to purchase the goods for some VERY yummy mexican-style black bean pizza. Tonight we returned Rebecca's dinner favor by serving her at our house!

Miles Ridden Today: 40
Miles Ridden 2008: 152.5

Monday

2008-02-05T00:04:00.000-05:00

Yesterday's adventure to Santa Barbara was worth the short drive down the coast to visit some friends for a Superbowl party. On the way there, we enjoyed some beautiful ocean scenery, some rainbows, and a Taco Bell bathroom stop. We were entertained throughout the Superbowl, both by the game and the commercials, but also by the first-down drinking game that two party guests initiated. We kidnapped Rebecca from the house and brought her back to San Luis with us last night, and we're happy to have her around for a riding buddy and pal. She gets an especially big high five today for showing us a fantastic frozen yogurt place after cooking us a very tasty lentil soup for dinner.

Tomorrow we're planning on doing some riding along the coast with Rebecca, which is sure to provide some more excellent scenery and warm temperatures in the 60's. All you folks stuck back east will enjoy this eye candy from our ride today:

In other news, we are excited to have Kristina Eaton come visit us in two weeks!!! Hi Kristina.

Miles Ridden Today: 31

Miles Ridden 2008: 112.5

Superbowl Sunday

2008-02-03T12:07:00.000-05:00

Well, as you may or may not have guessed, the lives of Amy & Alie have begun to fall into a routine out here. Eat, Sleep, and Ride Bikes. Hence, not always exciting stuff to blog about. Don't worry, we'll try to keep things exciting for our sakes and yours, and to that end we made a California "to-do" list yesterday. I'm not going to tell you what's on the to-do list of course, because that would ruin the surprise! I'll throw you one bone though, because we need help finding a place to fulfill this wish - we need to find a rodeo to attend. All the internet browsing we've done has only turned up rodeos occurring in August-October months :(

Today after our ride we plan to venture south to the Santa Barbara area to watch the Superbowl with some fellow New Englanders, cyclocrossers, BEXmo, and some of the Type 1 Diabetes team riders.

Speaking of bike riding, yesterday we toned down our mileage to an easy 21.5 mile ride... but, after day one's 38 mile ride, the 21.5 miles kicked my ass too. Alie is either going to have to be patient with my getting-back-into-shapeness, or else need to leave me behind pretty soon!

Miles Ridden 2008: 49.5

Rabbits Rabbits Rabbits!

2008-02-01T22:11:00.000-05:00

Today was the official start of biking in california, and we couldn't have asked for a more beautiful day. We greeted each other with a "Rabbit Rabbit Rabbit" first thing when we woke up, since it was the first of the month and we're superstitious. Apparently it worked, because a few minutes later, I got a phone call from the shop where we'd left my car last night, and got the best news possible...FREE SERVICE since it was just a loose wire connection that stranded us in downtown SLO. PHEWWWW! So, after a couple of last minute adjustments to our bikes, we were off on our first 38 "flat" (who are they kidding?!?!) miles of the trip. We took in some amazing views of hills, hillbilly towns, vineyards and crazy ground squirrels. When we got back we were kindly driven down to SLO by Jared and the two doggies. First stop, beer for the mechanics; second stop, pick up the good ol' coche. After a yummy dinner and some tasty $5 wine (we live in wine country, of COURSE there are competitive prices!), we are settling in to watch "Rain Man" and hit the sack early.

*sigh* - this is the life.

Miles Ridden Today: 38
Miles Ridden in 2008: 38

e-RICHIE for President atmo

2008-02-01T13:01:00.000-05:00

NEW HOME!!!

2008-01-31T23:49:00.000-05:00

Okay, so this post is coming a day late, but we've been busy getting settled into our NEW HOME!!! In any case, let's go back a day...

After leaving San Francisco yesterday afternoon, we stopped to pick up a new bike rack for Alie's car and then headed for the highly recommended California Coastal Route 1 for the journey south. After passing a sign just south of Monterey that said "CURVES AND HILLS NEXT 63 MILES" we knew we were in for a treat. This is what most of our drive looked like:

You can see the road up ahead in that photo just carved right into the side of the mountain. It was slow driving for a few hours, but absolutely worth it for the breathtaking scenery. Pictures do it better justice than my text, so check out our album of photos linked here. We even caught the last sliver of sunset here:

2008-01-25T20:58:00.000-05:00

The rain continues to fall today in San Francisco and Alie and I are starting to get a little stir crazy without any promising leads on the car purchase. We did a little shopping with Marina to get ready for her 30th birthday tonight, and then decided we should get out of the house and go for a run despite the downpour. We psyched ourselves up and headed out for a 4.5 mile jog, and that was the highlight of our day -- so far!!! Stay tuned tomorrow for the rundown on tonight's birthday party...

Miles Ridden Today: 0
Miles Ridden 2008: 0

Day 1: Welcome to Rainy California

2008-01-24T20:24:00.000-05:00

After a luxurious flight from east to west, we arrived fully rested at SFO last night. We were on an almost completely empty airplane which allowed us to get plenty of horizontal rest. Along with this much needed rest and a little caffeine, we were ready to take on the 'best' coast.

This morning, we woke up to cold rain and after a leisurely breakfast and brief time at the office, we decided to do some cross training instead of riding. (Our bikes are on route to SLO anyway.) After cross training, we walked to the bus stop, where we waited forever for a bus to take us (and a zillion teenagers) to BART. We then somehow got off BART approximately 24 blocks too soon and by the time we reached Union Square we were soaked and famished. After a yummy lunch and some shopping, we headed back home...

Miles Ridden Today: 0

Miles Ridden 2008: 0

Last Weekend in Boston!

2008-01-21T09:37:00.001-05:00

To celebrate Darcy's upcoming birthday and our last weekend in Boston, the Brian Hayes and Emily Welles came to town for a meaty dinner in Arlington on Friday.

On Saturday the five of us took a trip to the Institute of Contemporary Art on the waterfront in Boston. We decided on the ICA for several reasons - one, they've got a new building which is really big and neat, and two, I didn't want to go to a "museum" and I felt much better about going to something called an "institute" instead. We weren't allowed to take pictures inside, so here's a view of the sailboats out playing in the harbor on this windy cold freezing day.

Two more days!!!

Something More

2008-01-19T18:33:00.000-05:00

theme song #1 atmo

four more days!

2008-01-15T20:54:00.000-05:00

SEVEN MORE DAYS!!!!!!!!!!