MIA (where have I been?)

I have been MIA from blogging, tweeting, face booking and working out. I feel a little out of sorts, so let me tell you what I have been up to.

The past week I was in beautiful Monterey, CA for The Sea Otter Classic. With over 8,500 participants and 50,000 spectators, it is one, if not the, largest cycling event in the country. I was there with my company, Tough Chik, along with 350 other exhibitors. The event was 4 days and consisted of every possible race for a bike. Gravity Mountain Bike Races, Elite Road stage races, grand fondos for the road and the dirt, plus kid bike races and nearly 200 classes of road and mountain bike races for amateurs.

Me and Skipper the Sea Otter

I met so many Tough Chiks and Tough Guys over the past week and their stories truly inspired me.

I met a man who placed 2nd in Cross Country Mt. Bike in the age group 65-69! He along with a few fellow racers wrecked and he showed up with a black eye and 2 bandaged knees. He was buying a jersey and t-shirt for his wife, I bet she is pretty tough too!

We met a lovely gal who was a hard core cyclist, growing up along the central coast, it was a way of life. Her husband and her were avid racers and toured the country racing on the road and in the dirt. On a typical group ride along the Oregon coast, she was descending along a 10% grade at a pretty high speed, 46 mph. As a well seasoned cyclist, this was not unusual but she felt her back tire lifting from the road. As a mountain biker she had great bike handling skills, so she got back behind her seat to get more of her weight on that back wheel. But it was not enough and she wrecked. She separated her shoulder very badly, broke her collar bone and every bone in her right hand. She had surgery on her hand and something went wrong resulting in a paralyzed right hand. So what did she do? Moved all of the gearing and breaking to her left handle bar and she is still riding! She doesn't have the ability to mountain bike, but she can still ride the road and is now working to qualify for the Paralympics! BIG TIME TOUGH CHIK!

I met so many women who are in their 50s, 60s and 70s who could kick my butt on the bike! That is one of the great aspect of the sport, you can do it forever! I also met little girls who were already passionate about cycling, I really wished I had started at that age! They even had a little bellas event for the little girl cyclists.

It was a great time and I was motivated and inspired by so many women. Below are some of the photos from the event.