it's not just about having good hair: January 2007

Wednesday, January 31, 2007

Okay, okay. I actually love babies

um...no. but i wanted to clear up a little misunderstanding brought to light by my readership. i do not condone the murder of ivan basso's offspring. or anybody's toddlers, for that matter. except some baby spiders. they creep me out.

i was just trying to point out that ivan and i belong together; not he, me, michaela and whatever the new one's name is. i just can't bring myself to feel maternal. the last time i got maternal was when i hugged adam mcgrath (with his broken clavicle) and tried to be careful not to crush his healing bones. here's the only thing i know about babies: you can't leave them unattended in a hot car. that's it. over and out.

some kinds of babies i do giggle over (plus kitties):

Tuesday, January 30, 2007

Good morning! Time to cast your vote

who looks better? as if it's even close...

ivan basso, are you blind?

Sunday, January 28, 2007

Home again, Home again; Jiggity Jog

i am so excited. i am going home today. my soul is plum wore out from 9 months of travel. i know i do this myself, but i'm tired just the same.
i'll update in a more respectable manner when i have my own 4 walls around me. i've owned my condo over a month and slept in it 6 nights. nice.
peace

Friday, January 26, 2007

Weekend destination: Hadley, Mass.

this past weekend i ventured further northward (resisting the urge to dive south of the mason-dixon line for some much-needed warmth!) to visit part of my east-coast-cross-crew. i have missed them so!
we did some of this:

Wednesday, January 24, 2007

Updates in chronological order? Whatever...

so my time in berkeley, california was fun fun fun. the vanderkitten krew is rockin. i had such a good time. and i got a kittyfix: ophelia, the queen vanderkitten; and chubby belly kitty, the junior heir to the throne. niiiice.

something else i got my fill of: hybrid cars and people in dansko clogs. i swear to you, on the damn bible, that every single block in berkeley had at least one toyota prius . no joke. trust me. here is a photo of the only non-hybrid car i saw.

mark z., vanderkitten higher-up, came up with "pre-i: noun, a collection of toyota prius automobiles, usually seen in the western part of the united states".
he and i even played "slug-prius" on the way to dinner one night. i won. remember "slugbug"? same premise. then it was the endless joking: "betchyabite-a-prius".

oh, you're not laughing. i amuse only myself sometimes.

Tuesday, January 23, 2007

I stand corrected

i am so guilty of making faces at my buddies from northern climes when they talk about training in the cold. it's preposterous to think of going outside in sub-50 temperatures! but they roll their eyes at me because they used to know something i didn't. but now i do: training in 32-degree weather is awesome! i went for a 3-hour ride yesterday. all by myself. with a ton of warm champion system clothing. on a semi-busy road. and my water bottle froze in 45 minutes. but i loved it! it was amazing! i can't really explain it. i guess it helped that connecticut is gorgeous any time of year. that the reservoir was icing over at the edges. that the trees are bare and dramatic against a grey sky. that i had a great day up until that point and afterward. all those things.
and today, more of the same:

so, i stand corrected, friends from up north. you know who you are:
adam myerson, dan vaillancourt, keith jennings, amy wallace, alie kenzer, pat walsh, mike cody, matt white, steve weller, john hanson, tim johnson, john walrod, richard sachs, lyne bessette, adam bergman, kyle douglas, tara ross, stephan kincaid, mike hebe, jeremy powers, kirstin robbins, jonas & jame carney, cristoph herby (from switzerland, for christ's sake!), smess, garrett peltonen, frank pipp, rebecca wellons

oh, and my team photo. i hate my big chin. see, that's where some of the winter weight resides. yuck. ps: we will have aegis bicycles, not gt. they are sweet!

Monday, January 22, 2007

Cyclo-Cross Nationals Recap!

it's monday. i'm a bit bored. i'm in connecticut, (wo)manning the targetraining tri & cycle shop for the week while jeff is (playing) in boulder. i don't know enough about bikes to really help, but i'll smile and try to blind someone with my pro-ness. ha.
so i thought i'd recap nationals, albeit a month later. it was freakin dope.
i started the weekend (december 15th) by doing my first (and possibly last) master's race. the 30+ master's national championship. yes, i'm technically 30 in the eyes of the uci with cyclocross. sandbagger. anyhoo, it started out hot and anna milkowski (tt teammate this year! see warm fuzzy photo below) owned the hole shot. we were in hot pursuit, and soon it was me, rebecca wellons, dede winfield, kristi berg, and betsy shogren chasing anna.

anna made our jobs easier, however, by crashing herself really hard (i was worried as hell when seeing her laying on the ground, holding her head) on a section running into some dirt/tree roots. she survived but she broke her helmet and that really sucked. soon, dede took off and me and kristi berg chased after her. it was me and kristi for the rest of the race, and i would attack her but 1 lap later she'd claw her way back. dangit! so, on the last lap, i attacked on a steep section, knowing i was powering up those faster than her. i held it for the rest of the race and took 2nd. it was a good lesson for me. i told myself i could do it, took the risk, and it worked, damnit. i rode like the devil himself was chasing me. again, a good lesson: don't piss off the devil or you'll think he's chasing you in a 'cross race.
check the podium. notice the gratuitous cheerwine can in hand. sweet! ps: i am 10 lbs overweight in this photo. but it was 10 lbs of fast so whatever.

cara got top 10 after getting the 'reverse hole shot' (last). girlie can ride a bike.
my master's performance gave me confidence going into sunday's race, and i was happy and relaxed. i got a callup, and gave richard fries (announcer homeboy) a hug before rolling down to the start. i still get chills thinking about it. the cheers, the crowd, the warm weather. aw yeah!
the race went off, and i was about 10th wheel going into the hole shot. we all chased katie compton, as per usual. then, on the backside where there was a paved section, i used my newfound confidence to tell myself: 'damnit, mandy, you don't have to settle for riding 10th wheel! get your ass up there!' so i attacked the group i was with and caught up to ann knapp, national champ of 2002. big deal-yo for me! i rode with ann for a few laps, attacked her a few times, and was stoked to make up ground on her.

at one point, i was in 6th place moving in on 5th (rhonda mazza at the time), and killin it (see photo). but, i derailed myself a bit when ann attacked me on a straight stretch, and i couldn't quite claw my way up to her. so, i was sitting 7th. this was good. but then i did the ultimate rookie mistake. i crashed. not because i can't handle my bike (though pendry and storm would argue otherwise), but because i was riding carbon wheels i'd never ridden till 30 minutes before my race. i locked them up going around a tree, fell over, and was passed by christine vardaros shortly thereafter. bummer! i was doing so well!
on the last lap, i was blown (which doesn't usually happen; i get stronger as time goes on), and some girl passed me in the last 500 meters. i was so bummed!
i settled for 9th, but was assured by my buddies that it was an impressive result no less. i guess i agree. i was freakin stoked to hear dave towle and richard fries yelling my name, and to hear people i didn't even know cheer for me.
nationals was amazing. gimme more. fellow charlottesvillian dede winfield got 4th and she is amazing! 1st was katie compton, 2nd georgia gould (who i beat once 2 years ago for my first uci win), 3rd kerry b. from tokyo joes, 4th dede, 5th ann, 6th rhonda mazza, 7th christine, 8th (a girl who's name i forgot), then me...there you have it.
okay, recap over. thanks for readin!

oh, and as always, there was some of this during saturday's men's elite nationals race. thanks, pezcyclingnews.com:

Thursday, January 18, 2007

update...

i am (stuck) here.

i want to shoot myself.

but today is "send mandy cute picture of yourself" day. so these were in my inbox. nice.

All is good in the Daniverse

so dan vaillancourt has his own universe. the daniverse. he even has a university: daniversity. and all is right in dan's world. as myerson says, the daniversity is kinda like the hotel california: you can drop out anytime you like, but you can never leave.

so the daniverse delivered us to an awesome mexican breakfast joint this morning. despite the other universe's best efforts to have us not find the place (and much complaining by me and myerson. we're old), the daniverse came through. then i embarked on a 5 1/2 hour ride up (and down) tucson's mt. lemmon. here's one view from about 4000 feet. we climbed to over 8! 25 miles of climbing and we were rewarded with a piece of pie (rhubarb strawberry for me, sour cream apple for adam) and a rippin descent. niiiiiice.

i depart for the east coast tomorrow (oh, that's today) and will be home for about 5 hours before driving to connecticut for targetraining team camp, store opening, hanging out, working, training...and then i'm home on the 29th and you have to promise me about 4 lbs of gummi bears for me to leave my condo in a car. a bike is a different story: i hope that ian ayers and christoph are ready to ride a lot with my new alter-ego, the mandykitten (people, vanderkitten is more than just cute clothes. it's a way of life for women who kick ass).

off to bed. i haven't slept in forevvvvver.

and for those who can't understand my itinerary. it is best not to try. just go with it. trust me. i'm a professional ;-)

Tuesday, January 16, 2007

Artist's proofs

sunday night. usually one for rest and relaxation and reading the bible. instead, we kicked off vanderkitten's line of intimates. photo shoots are fun.

and we didn't have to retouch the haircolor. thank you, mom & dad, for the hair genes. too bad i refuse to do situps.

Sunday, January 14, 2007

So, today I...

did some modeling. see? don't i look great?
more pics to come. for real this time.

Friday, January 12, 2007

I dream of Ryan

i had a cool dream about ryan trebon last night. he and i were in a 'cross race, and he flatted his front tubular and i gave him my wheel cause he had a _slightly_ better chance of winning the race. duh.
upon careful consideration of the above two sentences, i realize that my dream was lame. but trebon was in it, so it couldn't have been all that bad.
but i digress...
lo and behold, i awake this morning to find this _adorable_ pic in my inbox of my b.f.f. cara and the tree farm. awwwwww....

see, mom and dad: i _do_ hang out with clean-cut people, too!

Thursday, January 11, 2007

It's Thursday night, Mandy. Do you know where your pillow is?

answer: no. i haven't been sleeping much. my east-coast work schedule (read: wake up at 530 or 6 and work for 6 hours) coupled with a west-coast ride and social schedule = no sleep.

on another note...here's some shameless self-promotion.

okay, end self-promotion.

sleep well, america. i'm off to berkeley tomorrow to rediscover hippie culture, drink some peet's coffee, ride my bicycle, and hang with the vanderkitten kittykrew. it's gonna rock!

on a less-related note: while standing in line at rite-aid yesterday (be sure to shop there: they sponsor a pro cycling team!!!!), i saw that the national enquirer has the first published photos of hell. this makes me feel better. at least i know what my destination looks like. now i can decide if i want to change my behavior to alter which side of the heaven/hell allocation i deserve. if it sucks (like yuma, az), then perhaps i'll join the nunnery after all. anything to avoid yuma.

Wednesday, January 10, 2007

Letter to the Yuma, AZ Board of Tourism

you guys have to do something about the smell. here i was, minding my own business on I-8, rocking out to madonna's "hey mr. dj" and my nostrils did a double-take. the air for 40 miles preceding and proceeding your quaint (i'm being generous here) hamlet is foul beyond belief. therein lies the reason nobody just "hangs out" in a pit toilet. it's awful! i felt like i was locked in one for40 minutes in the middle of summer. thank god i had madonna to keep me company. it's the desert, people. how in the hell does smell travel that far and linger so long? what, pray tell, are you growing? and please tell your friends in el centro, ca; to light a damn match. horse poo isn't what i want to immerse myself in on a tuesday night while my cell phone is dying, madonna is singing, and i am trying to get to my sister's house in san diego for some g.d. shut-eye.
sincerely,
mandy lozano
alarmed one-time (and only time) visitor
/end rant.

on a totally unrelated note: people sometimes ask me how i became a professional cyclist.
it's the things pictured at left. my abnormally long (for a girl) femurs. sure, heart and grit and determination and enthusiasm and stick-to-it-iveness and spanish genetics and gargantuan calves (thanks mom) factor in. but mainly it's the femurs.
aren't i awesome at photoshop?

Monday, January 8, 2007

Bumper stickers seen while riding in Tucson

"Everything about her spelled trouble, but it was dark, and I thought it spelled 'truffles'."
"I pick my nose in traffic"
"Where are we going, and why am I in this handbasket?"
"God loves Missourans, too"
"Animals and trees are dying to make room for your fat ass"
"Coke is it"
any more?

Sunday, January 7, 2007

Myerson is God

so, there seem to be some rules to blogging that i do not know, as pointed out by adam myerson, the guru of all things related to an effective presence on the web. i didn't sit through that class.

rule 1. apparently, i must keep a healthy distance between myself and my readers by NOT commenting on THEIR comments within my own comments section.

i tuned out rules 2-47. potato potahto, whatever. myerson is so last week.

i promise to have a better entry tomorrow. really scraping the bottom of the barrel here, letting myerson lecture me and all...

Saturday, January 6, 2007

Think you can one-up me?

funny vignette: i was on a ride the other day with some buddies from raleigh. it was beautiful weather, fine company, and a great route. we met up with a really nice guy who i will call john dohickey. he and i started talking and it turns out that one of his dreams in life is to have a ranchette and raise cattle. naturally, hick mandy emerged and we began to discuss breeds of cattle, cuts of meat, etc.
i didn't really notice at the time, but it was pointed out by another ridin bud that dohickey and i were engaged in a subtle game of "i see your knowledge of bovine genetics, and i'll raise you to..."
funny stuff for a wednesday morning ride: animal husbandry one-upsmanship.
so, moral of the story: do not engage in a battle of wits/knowledge with the species countrygirlicus mandycus because she will win. the record will come to a screeching halt when you find out that she knows how to castrate a bull calf. NO GUY who is not a blood relative of a cattle rancher or married to the daughter of one will know how to do that. no matter how much of "hobby" cattle ranching is. if they aren't the real thing, they don't know.
and i win.
so there.
now, if only i could win at yoga.
ps: i'm in tucson, riding with these cats. much fun-ness.

and hoping for a sighting of:

Thursday, January 4, 2007

Mandy's To Do List

-fly to tucson at 330
-finish some projects for targetraining
-ride my bicycle for 3 hours
-drop the integra off at tommy's for a timing belt change
-stay on my carrot juice diet
-save the world
-recover from the aftermath of riding with mr. curtis staples yesterday. that guy rocks. he is a constant stream of southern expressions. but what i am referring to when i say 'recover' is staring at his unc tarheel cycling shorts. i hate the tarheels.
i know, i'm about to start a war with that one...
i'll update y'all soon. like when i'm sitting in the airport.
oh, here is a new pic of me. it's old, actually (from a modeling shoot of years past). but i thought it'd be better than too much lycra.

Tuesday, January 2, 2007

New personal record

so, yesterday being new year's...i logged a whopping 14 hours of sleep. that was soooooo cool and much needed (and put my sophomore year hangover napping to shame). my awesome mandibular lymph nodes have receeded a bit in the swelling department...though i still want to sleep for a few more days.
and i didn't even drink.
at the stroke of midnight, i was distracted and someone stole my pimpin, rockin, warm, long-suffering faux fur coat. wtf? how does that happen...at a brewery, no less? i would understand if i was at a biker bar...but a brewery full of yuppies? i am pouting. i got that coat from my phi delta theta big bro, mike miller. yes, i was a sorority chick once upon a time.
sadly, my new year's wish did not come true: i woke up today and W was still president.
time to fire up the road bike again. wish me luck. 3 hours today in the southern sunshine; so i won't look like this: