More pics from California

Here are some more fun pics from our trip out to Cali. Jay's trip was much longer than mine, so he'll hafta throw some of his favs up on his site.

Jay and I at Fisherman's Warf, San Fran

At the Golden Gate bridge for Valentine'sA couple of characters at the barMario Cipollini & Jay

This one's for you Hurl....Johnny Sundt all dolled up w/ the Hwood sign!

Last night in Palo Alto

Valentine's in Palo Alto, CA

The red carpet adventure began on Valentine's Day - I loaded into a cab, headed for the airport to catch my late flight to San Francisco, CA to see my sweetie. Jay left days prior, driving out to the sunny locale to wrench for Kelly Benefits Strategies, a pro cycling team based out of MN, at this year's Tour of California.

With loads of anticipation in my lungs, I found myself laughing in despair as I neared the gate, only to hear that our flight was delayed 3 hours. Chuck Aaron, Melissa, and I hit the VIP lounge to wait it out with free drinks, snacks, and internet. By 11:30, we got confirmation of our departure... by 4:00 AM PST, I was sneaking into Jay's hotel room, trying desperately to remember which bed was his. I poked and prodded at the first bed, but resolved myself to snoop a little closer at the second. In the dark of the room, I made the commitment, and luckily jumped into the right bed. With only 3 hours to sleep, I snuggled my sweetheart until sunrise.

Friday was hot - a nice sunny, upper sixties day that immediately erased the cold from my body. Jay was hard at work first thing, so I found a warm chair by the pool and read for hours on end as people ebbed and flowed peacefully around me.After a long hard day of work, Jay and I left Palo Alto for dinner at Fisherman's Warf in San Francisco. We had a romantic dinner for two along the windows at Fisherman's Grotto so Jay could fill his belly with lobster and crab cakes. Once dinner was completed, we drove across the bay to play tourists at the Golden Gate bridge. It was spectacular as it glowed in the warm evening lights. A light fog softened the background as a cool wind brought us tighter into each other's arms. It may have been a day late, but it was the most splendid Valentine's celebration ever.
When Saturday's sun broke into our room, Jay was up and running back to the lot to prep the team's TT bikes for the next day's Prologue. I returned to the pool to continue my book and revel in the quiet beating of my heart. The energy was heightened from the previous day, as notable personalities conducted interviews on the deck chairs beside me. Team after team checked in at the lobby and quietly strolled by.
We spent that evening swilling beers with an ever-changing cast of characters. Joey C & Blake entertained their obsessions, exchanging greetings in French with the foreign riders. Mechanics, swannies and volunteers alike filled the bar with laughter and rich stories. Jay and I sat with a group of men from Credit Agricole, where I chatted with the team manager about his travels and family back home.

As the evening waned, the men from Credit Agricole parted, making room for none other than Mario Cippolini as he and his entourage pulled up chairs next to Jay and I. Unfortunately, I took a photo of the pair of them with Jay's camera, so you'll just have to wait and see.

On Sunday morning, the hotel buzzed with energy as riders prepared for the Tour of California Prologue. The sky was cloudy and the wind was crisp as Jay and the crew loaded up the cars and vans with bikes and gear. Some 50,000 people lined the 3 mile TT course and side streets of Palo Alto. When we arrived, Jay went straight to work, as I entertained myself by strolling around town. Without a word, I made my way through the streets, crowds of people, and cyclists readying themselves for the race. Once it began, I made my way to the start house to catch the action.

From O'Grady to Boonen, Hincapie to the retro-Zabriski, I had a front row seat to watch it all! Here were some of my favs....

Mustache rides: $50

Boonen is so much bigger in real life!

Hincapie's stature was so impressive.Ever since Europe, I've gotta soft spot for Stewy!

For the rest of the pro's, check out My Pics!

Another Snowball in Hell

Saturday was another fab edition of Snowball's Chance in Hell! Screw the sub-zero windchills.... throw on an extra layer.... fill the flask.... and just get yer a$$ out there.Jay and I headed out to Brownie Lake for the annual Snowball's Chance in Hell & Cold Hard Dash for Cash bash. Being as cold as it was, we didn't last more than a couple hours, but we had a ton of time to enjoy the day with our friends. Wheels, Timmer, KK, Zitox, the BuzzArd, Geno, and about 50 more of our coldest friends took their spots either by the fire or in the saddle on the frozen lake.Jay, the total sneak that he is, signed me up for the frozen crit as soon as we arrived. There I am, numb from the inside out, enjoying the sunshine, when I got called to the line with 8 ice-hungry men for the sweet figure 8 crit. Still on the repair regime, I hung out in back as they dodged and derbied, shovels-full of snow flying in the air. But, I did my part - they can't past the slowest rider - so I pedaled against gravity just fast enough to remain upright until I could get out of harms way and release the hounds.

Jay was having a blast too and made it to the finals.
But it was Wheels who rocked it hard - He made have taken the cake, but I think I was thawing my toes when they announced the champ. Oops.

After the crit, Jay and I warmed up our abs by laughing our a$$e$ off on the pink ski bike (Jay has the pics and vids, so you'll just have to stay tuned until I can get some sort of montage up!). It was a riot, riding down the small banks on the side of the lake on a bike-er-snowboard creation..... just imaging ditchin' yer wheels and boltin a pair of snowboards in their place!

I am so fortunate to live such a charmed life! Thanks baby, for inviting me into your world.
Thawin and playin,
Kristy Kreme

Chilly Chili

Sorry to anyone who reads this for being such a boring blogger lately. What can I say - it's cold outside, I haven't been feeling 100%, and I'm kinda enjoying being lazy every now and then. But don't fret....spring will be here soon and, instead of not having much to write about, I'll just have no time to write it!

Other than running errands, watching the SuperBowl, or chillin' at home in my jammies, I had a fabulous time this past Sunday at the Chilly Chili Ice Race on Bush Lake. This year was cold, but nuthin compared to the 8 degree temps of last year! Schnickies - last year we couldn't drink the coffee fast enough before it froze.

Still no vigorous activities for me, so I joined the rest of the hecklers as Jay, the Chucker, and many more took on the icy lake. The course had a wicked downhill on the back side, causing many a rider to topple over their handle-bars. I know it hurt like crazy, but I'm super bummed that I missed Jay plummeting down it, bull-rider-style on the top tube. (If anyone has pics, PLEASE send 'em to me!) He wasn't having a very good race, dropping from the lead to barely hanging on to the top 10 within just a few laps. Chucker, on the other hand, was crankin' out the watts in second, hot on Ezra's tail in first.

As Jay was about to finish his 4th miserable lap, he saw that Ezra wasn't far behind.....if only he could get passed....Ezra would win.....and Hwood wouldn't have to go around again.....
But, If you're already at the finish line, what do you do? With his deadly-sharp studded tires, Jay proceeded to track stand 15 ft. from the finish for what could've been 2 minutes! Sure enough, Ezra was just about to pass him for the win and allow Jay to be done w/o having to do 5 laps......but that's not was EZ was thinking.

Ezra pulled a sweet move, turning away from the finish and straight into Jay for a gnarly, impromptu derby! EZ, knowing full well what Hwood had intended, tried hard to corale the exhausted rider passed the finish line. Within moments, the two were wrestling each other on the ice, trying to drag their opponent closer and closer to the finish. It was a comical display, as each one slipped and slided on the icy surface, falling and tumbling as we laughed and shouted.

With just feet to go, Chucker caught up, and EZ gave up the fight. He dashed across the finish to keep first, but lost the battle of wits with Hwood in the end. It was by far, the best belly laugh this girl has had in a long time! Thanks for the show, boys!

As for the next adventure....we're in the final countdown to the Tour of California! That's right - forget this sub-freezing crap! We're off to sunshine and bikes, baby.

Warmin' up already,
Kristy Kreme