Dr. Danimal

Congrats to Dan, who successfully defended his doctoral dissertation, "Laboratory Measurements of Scalar and Momentum Structure in Turbulent Aquatic Benthic Boundary Layers," yesterday.

Nicole, Amy, and Nicole's parents were there, and Ed even flew out from Vermont for the occasion. Definitely a cause for celebration after years of skiing and cycling hard work! ;)

Way to go, Danimal! We are so happy for you!

holiday haikus

A trio of haikus I wrote for Title Nine:

:
sunlight falls on snow
glimmers, so many rainbows
breathtaking beauty

::
tiny snowflakes fall
every day we hope for more
want to nordic ski

:::
holiday baking
crave the tastes of the season
oven keeps us warm

Vote for your favorite at http://www.titlenine.com/.

Good luck, Amy!

The current NACT leader going into this last weekend of racing, Amy will pretty much be wearing a big bull's-eye, as she competes against the likes of Georgia Gould and Sarah Kerlin at this weekend's Whitmore's Landscaping Super Cross Cup on Strong Island.

Those girls ought to know better than to mess with a Dombroski! We are rooting for you, Amy. Good luck and have a great time!

Yes we did.

Yes we can.

Get out and vote...then celebrate!

Today's the day--get out and vote!

I got up at 4:30 today to work at the Ballot Processing Center, reviewing Boulder County residents' ballots for quality control. A few take-home messages from this:

1) Get your ballots in early!

2) Be sure to completely fill in the boxes on your ballot.

3) If you make a mistake on your ballot, it's ok to change the answer, and write your intentions on the side for clarity. (i.e. "I vote no")

4) Thank the election workers and volunteers for being out there helping democracy work!

After the election, John McCain will be holding his election night party at the $400+-a-night Biltmore Hotel in Phoenix, where he and Cindy had their wedding reception:

(photo courtesy about.com)

Obama's celebration party will be held at Chicago's Grant Park:

(photo courtesy of wikipedia.com)

Hmm....

Are you a Yankee or a Rebel?

Take this quiz to determine your linguistic roots.

Poking fun at politics.

In the final stretch of the 2008 presidential elections, it was heartening to see both candidates poke fun at themselves (and each other) at the Alfred E. Smith Foundation annual dinner.

Watch McCain roast Obama, then see Obama's response.

Hope.

Yesterday, Alan and I, along with 45,000 others, saw Barack Obama speak at the Colorado State University campus in Fort Collins. Forty-five thousand students, teachers, parents, grandparents, and children walked in a two-and-a-half-mile line to hear our next president.

After eight years of being angered at our administration's rollback of environmental protections and ashamed of our foreign policies, disregard for the Geneva convention, and underfunding of initiatives for the future of this country--our nation's children--we have a candidate who literally represents America's promise.

Here is a man who takes time off from campaigning to spend time with his ailing grandmother; who doesn't stump about being a sports parent, just quietly is one; who has a clear plan for helping the nation's poor; who can inspire Americans to be the best we can be.

Compare Obama's speech at the 2008 DNC with John McCain's at the 2008 RNC. Read their websites and learn about their proposed policies. Check out votesmart.org and educate yourself about their issue positions and voting records.

Vote for hope.

Amy takes New England by storm!

Amy's been in New England for the past couple of weeks, spending time with her dad, Ed, and competing in a series of UCI cyclocross races. I say "competing," but the more appropriate term would be "kicking @$$."

It started with the Green Mountain Cyclocross Weekend of races at Catamount ski area in Williston, VT. On Saturday, September 27, Amy scored gold in the elite women's race--family friend Lea Davison, who's a professional mountain biker for Trek/VW, was second! Amy repeated her top-o'-the-podium performance in Sunday, September 28th's elite women's race.

This past weekend, while the Boulder contingent huddled inside, cursing the freezing rain and pea-soup skies, superchamp Amy swept "New England Worlds" (the Erdinger Gran Prix of Gloucester), winning both Saturday's and Sunday's races.

I'm telling you, Ed's cooking is that good.

Way to go, Amy!

Veep...eep!

Everyone knows Sarah Palin is a hockey mom, and wears a brand of glasses that are suddenly very popular. They know she supports abstinence, and has 5 children, including one who is pregnant. How much do you know about her ability to lead, to develop and understand policies, and to serve as second in command of the leader of the free world?

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/14/us/politics/14palin.html?_r=1&partner=rssnyt&emc=rsshere&adxnnlx=1221866232-SR%200quR7F0WUuKlpR77mRA&pagewanted=print

Sweet!

Savory Spice Shop, purveyors of the best and freshest spices anywhere, now has a shop in Boulder (2041 Broadway), in addition to their locations in Denver and Littleton.

My top three Savory favorites are:
1) Sequoia Canyon Parmesan Peppercorn--this elevates mac & cheese into a dining experience!

2) Spiced Vanilla Bean Sugar--use some of this in your next cookie recipe in place of plain sugar.

3) Wen Chocolates Dutch Hot Chocolate--make with 16 oz. milk--it serves 2. Top with whipped cream and chocolate shavings.

Also new to the Boulder culinary horizon: Tee & Cakes. Beautifully crafted cupcakes, pastries, and custom cakes by pastry chef Kim Boos.

It's a good time to live in Perfectville.

Fun on the Run

Now that road cycling season is over, Alan has decided to get back into running. On Saturday, September 13, we did the Sombrero Trail Run with Norah and McGurk. 4.5 miles, 900' of climbing (starting elevation 7,450', max elevation 7,950'), and included a slick lucky horseshoe t-shirt and all-you-can-eat pancake breakfast afterward. The prizes were pretty slick, too: the "coveted" mountain goat bobblehead trophies. McGurk smoked the competition and won the race with a 33:50; Alan was 13th (39:48), I was 38th (44:57), and Norah was 86th (50:23) out of the 450 people in the race. Go, us!

For comparison, Sam and Lauren McFerran and I did another 4.5-mile trail race, the Race to the Top of Vermont at Mt. Mansfield on September 5th--4.5 miles, 2,550' climbing (starting elevation 1,750', max elevation 4,300')--I ran a 54:07. What I need is a race that's solidly downhill--that would be awesome, except I would probably totally break my foot instead of just make it sore for a week.

Yesterday, as we ran to the grocery store to get stuff for dinner, Alan complained that he was "Hun-GRAY!" I told him he could help me make dinner instead of working on projects in the garage, and that way he'd get to eat sooner.

His response: "Me man. Me use power tools. You woman. You cook."

My response: Fwap! (Sound of hand slapping Alan's left 'tock)

Glacier photos

Photos from our trip to Glacier National Park are posted on My Picasa.

Enjoy!

Glacier National Park

To celebrate our third anniversary, Alan and I took advantage of one of United's e-fares to spend a long weekend at Glacier National Park. It was sunny and gorgeous the entire time, and certainly a much-needed break from what has been one crazy summer of work, more work, and a little bit of running thrown in on the side (minus the cute and fuzzy bunnies).

Humans are so efficient at destroying the planet that, if climate change continues at the current rate, Glacier will lose all its namesake glaciers by 2030--see them while you can.

Photos to be posted soon on My Picasa.

Autograph, anyone?

Date: April 12, 2008
Place: Boulder, Colorado
Event: The 2nd Annual Haystack Mountain Time Trials

Months of planning, a dedicated group of organizers, eighty volunteers, generous sponsors, and great racers made Haystack a success! Oh, and did I mention one outstanding full-time rocket scientist and part-time race director who orchestrated the whole thing?

For us, the day began with a 5 a.m. wakeup call. Alan jetted off to the race course, while our housemate John and I packed the car with Alan's TT bike and seemingly endless supplies. By the time I got to the parking area at 6:30, there was already a line of people waiting to register.

It was a cold morning--our ball-point pens were uncooperative, which made filling out forms a challenge. A non-stop crush of riders for most of the day meant that I stuck to the registration table from 6:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.--it was then that I realized that I hadn't had anything to drink yet that day. Slightly dehydrated....

One of the cool things about working registration is you get to meet all the cyclists doing the race. The majority were great--enthusiastic, chipper even with the chilly start to the morning, and patient with the rate-limiting factors of: 1) updating the master start list to ensure results are timely and accurate (this means that everyone working the registration table needs to record any rider additions, payment info, etc. on the one 35-page master list); and 2) completing the required ACA liability waivers for each rider. This is an ongoing frustration: over 650 riders, and even if they preregister, we're still required to have them fill out another sheet of paper on race day, so they still have to wait in line.

It was cool to have both the Toyota-United team and the Slipstream development team competing. The Toyota-United team did the TTT on their road bikes in preparation for the Tour de Georgia. The highlight of the day for me at registration was having the members of the Toyota-United and Slipstream teams each personally request my autograph. "Were they floored by her unique block print design on the race posters, and wanted a treasured keepsake of the race?" you may be asking yourself. Nah... they just needed signed receipts of payment to get reimbursed by their teams. Still, it's not every day that Taylor Phinney, Henk Vogels, AND Ben Day ask for your autograph.

The superstar of the day was Ben Day from Toyota-United, who was so moved by my blue-lipped, uncontrollably shivering 6:30 a.m. registration table self that he offered to give me his warmup jacket to wear, then went out there and won the Pro/1/2 race by a landslide. Thanks, Ben.

Also, a huge THANK YOU to all the racers who came out for the event, for the incredible volunteers who put in a long day, and to a super race director. Way to put on another great one, Alan!

Divide and conquer...

...was the theme for this weekend. The team was all over the place: most of the crew was at training camp in Moab, but a few people stuck around town for the Oredigger Classic (hill climb and crit) at the Colorado School of Mines in Golden.

On Saturday, Alan's teammate Chris Carr won the SM3 Lookout Mountain Hill Climb, finishing 33 seconds ahead of the second-place finisher. Alan opted to do the Big Thompson ride instead, with friends John Ortega and Tasha Cowie. Lefty and I did some planting in the garden, and friends Kat and Max came over for shortbread and tea, followed by a tour of Boulder Creek Winery. It was my first time making shortbread--it's actually super easy to make--and ended up being pretty tasty. Tip: I went with the Better Homes & Gardens recipe, and substituted some whole wheat graham flour and 3 T. Savory Spice Shop Spiced Vanilla Bean Sugar instead of the regular sugar. Buttery, Madagascar vanilla-beany goodness!

Sunday, Alan and Chris represented GS Boulder in the Oredigger crit. Things blew apart within the first 10 minutes, but despite being tired from the long ride on Saturday, Alan hung on to finish 4th overall. Chris put in a strong showing, also, and ended up 5th (I believe; they haven't posted official results yet).

After the race, I ran from CSM to the top of Lookout Mountain and back; it's a great route from the Front Range Frenzy trail race series, about 8.5 miles round-trip, I think. Most of the trail is in good shape; mountain bikes have torn up some of the mudded area in the middle third, and there's still snow in most places in the trees on the top third, but there were lots of people out hiking it.

In the pros this past weekend, Amy's team, Webcor Builders, put in a solid performance at Redlands. It looks like they had beautiful weather: check out the results and pics at cyclingnews.com here. There are some great pics of Amy in action, styling her Kaenons. With the team's help, Webcor's Alex Wrubleski was able to score some key bonuses, and squeaked out a one-second victory over former Webcor racer Mara Abbott (High Road) in the GC. Amy's teammates Christine Thorburn, Erinne Willock, and Rebecca Much were 8th, 16th, and 20th, respectively; Amy finished 37th overall, in this, her first year of pro racing, when it's all about working for your teammates. Have I mentioned lately that Amy rocks?

On the men's side at Redlands, Danny Summerhill (Slipstream) posted an impressive 11th in the GC--you've seen the Slipstream & 5280 teams around town--they're hard to miss in their argyle kits. Chris Baldwin (Toyota-United) was 13th, and Andy Bajadali (Kelly Benefits) was right behind him in 14th. Nice job, Baj! Toms Danielson (Slipstream) and Zirbel (Bissell) and Chris Wherry (Toyota-United) also made top 25 in GC. Way to represent, Colorado! Tyler ended up 33rd overall.

All in all, a successful weekend.

Bunny bear cookies...

...fuel of champions.

A couple of weeks before Easter, we spent the day making sugar cookies to give to family and friends. It was a solid team effort: I made the dough and frosting, and was in charge of the frosting application; Alan did the rolling, cutting, and decorating. He is surprisingly tolerant of my cookie-making ventures, especially my AR insistence that every cookie be patisserie perfect. Notice the attention to detail: applying sprinkles with tweezers.


Happy Spring!

Quite possibly the best cycling quote ever.

"The bicycle is just as good company as most husbands and, when it gets old and shabby, a woman can dispose of it and get a new one without shocking the entire community."

-Ann Strong

It's coming.

March in Colorado. There is still fantastic skiing to be had in the mountains. There's still frost on the grass in the morning. It's still flannel PJs weather. But I've seen them: the spandex hordes are beginning to swarm. It's starting. Cycling season in Boulder is upon us.

Don't get me wrong. I applaud cycling as alternative transportation. It's a great aerobic activity. I used to really enjoy doing it. And then I moved to the capital of competitive cycling in America, and it got a whole lot less fun.

In Boulder, there is no such thing as a "casual ride." It's about the route, the hours, the watts, and most importantly, the bike. In my adopted world, Oz is the VeloSwap, and Dorothy would chant "Dura-Ace and SRAM Force and Record, oh my!"

Of course, my view on this may be slightly skewed, as my husband Alan is one of the spandex-clad multitudes. In fact, so are most of our friends: wonderful, otherwise sane people who just happen to think it's fun to spend four hours in a chamois the size of a Huggies #3, God love them. It's a unique understanding: I think they're crazy for spending thousands on a bicycle and its accoutrements; they think I'm crazy for doing trail races that involve thousands of feet of climbing.

These days, my bike riding is limited to the occasional spin around town; it's on two feet, instead of two wheels, that I explore the terrain of the West. Being the supportive spouse that I am, though, I spend a fair amount of time in cycling-related activities. No job is too small: everything from making sure Alan's race kit is clean and ready to go (for the olfactory health of those riding around him) to cutting block prints to advertise the races his team promotes.

There are others out there who fill this role, I've noticed: running wheels to the pit, taking photos, filling water bottles, and digging around in a backpack for that last Carb Boom. They're there, behind the scenes, cheering, supporting, and encouraging.

This blog is for we unheralded few, whose skills at feed zone handoffs, pinning numbers on skinsuits so they're totally aero, and making killer post-ride recovery shakes go largely under the radar.

Sagwagoneers, I salute you.