S.A.D.

I have some bad news to share. I've been diagnosed (read: in a chain email I saw this and decided it fit my personality quite well) with SAD (Seasonal Affective Disorder). Yes, this is a real disease (or mental state, or excuse, take your pick) see link here http://www.nmha.org/infoctr/factsheets/27.cfm

I hate winter, there isn't a think about it I like. Snow is nice the week of Christmas but I have to say that last Christmas in AZ I didn't particularly miss it, I still enjoyed the lights and presents and music just fine. I don't ski, I don't snowboard. Sure, I could learn, but that costs bucks, and unless someone is willing to donate the money, the equipment, an instructor, and TIME then I will not be learning to ski/board in the foreseeable future, and I'm fine with this because as I mentioned, I hate winter.

Its mostly the cold that gets me though, it can snow all it wants, as long as its above 55 degrees (I am willing to withstand that slight bit of cold just to truly be able to appreciate summer when it finally drags its lazy butt out again) that of course is 55 as a low, not a high. I even quite enjoy the rain. Again, as long as its above 55.

By some unfortunate series of events I was born in Utah. Not southern Utah with the red rock, hiking, Lake Powell, and heat. But the Salt Lake Valley (yes, I really do love it, I'm just in a bit of a funk) Where we get cold (humph) snow (gasp!) and inversion (gag, cough-cough). Somewhere in me there is a beach bum sunbathing on the sandy beaches of wherever.

Here is the depressing, sheltered side of me. I've never been to a beach. Not a real beach anyway. When I was 12ish my family traveled to Fortuna, CA (link too long to post, check out mapquest. BTW if anyone knows how to post a link but have it appear as the text you desire, please let me know) in the winter months, and we played in the water there. It was freezing cold, but we did it anyway because it was the ocean and we were kids.

So one day, hopefully while I still have a youthful physique (sort of) I'd like to visit a nice warm beach with hot sun, blue water, and no day planner to attend to. Until that happens I guess I'll be sitting here in fabulous SLC- where the snow falls, the temperature drops, the inversions settles in, and we're all warned to stay inside for the health of our lungs- waiting for the slow 6 months of winter (October-March it seems some years, yes this might be a bit drastic, but you forget I'm in a funk and apt to rant. And, as far as I'm concerned if its not summer, it's winter) to painfully slug by so that I can again bust out the flip-flops.

Ah, you know me so well. Yes, the flip-flops will certainly be seen before that. I wear them any day the temperature is above 60, or if its just a quick trip somewhere and the weather is dry, or if I'm being defiant and trying to show winter who's boss.

For fabulous flip-flops see the link at the left sidebar.

P.S. Sorry for the blantant mis-use of the parenthesis, that's just how my brain thinks, and I wouldn't want to rob you of the experience of the authentic me.

How To Scavange

We did it! Bob and I have purchased our first home. We've also purchased our first piece of furniture/appliance, a fridge. We've been married for three years and until last week had never purchased so much as a mug for ourselves. Thanks to some wedding gifts, thriftiness, and hard work we've managed to put together quite a charming little home at no cost to us. Except for the home that is.

I know, I'm sorry I still don't have pictures, there is currently an issue getting them off my camera, onto my home computer that doesn't have the internet, and to my work computer that does have the internet, but no place for disks or USB drives or cameras due to the secure nature of my work.

So if there is anyone willing to take, transfer, and email pics to me, I'd appreciate it. That is assuming anyone is actually reading my blog.

So, I'm going to share with you some savy scavenging tips. I say savy, becuase anyone can pull something out of a dumpster (no, I have not actually done this) or pick up a busted piece of whatever at the local D.I. I, however, will show you how to score stuff that is truly usable and attractive...or at least can be.

#1- Get married.
This was a big one for Bob and I, and we thank our many generous friends and family. What we didn't get as actual gifts we were able to purchase with giftcards or cash from wedding guests. If you're already married, you know what I'm talking about and you should take care of those gifts unless you plan on doing the whole over again, although I hear the take isn't quite as good the second time around. If you're not married please see this amusing link http://library.lds.org/nxt/gateway.dll?f=templates$fn=default.htm . Type in "Dating vs. Hanging Out 2006" and search in the Ensign, the first results from Elder Dalin H. Oaks is for you.

#2- Be creative.
If someone wants to give you a table for example, but it doesn't currently match your decor, what do you do? God gave us Home Depot (more especially the paint deparment) for a reason. Sand it down, slap some paint or stain on it, and if you're really daring maybe a decorative flourish or two, and you've got yourself a lovely, custom dining table your friends and family will ooh and ahh over. Which is the ultimate goal, right?

#3- Have a variety of (financially sound) friends.
This is important for two reasons: a) you need people who have various tastes in home decor so that when the time comes for your new acquisition you have a plethera (that one's for you Kendra) of options. b) if you have nothing but poor friends you're not likely to get very good hook-ups. But acquaintances in different tax brackets will be willing to give up more/less quality items at different intervals of time.

#4- Beggars can't be choosers.
If you need a couch and all someone has to offer is a mauve, sea-shell-esque, 80's wonder...take it! Unless you really want to fork out the $500 plus dollars to Furniture Warehouse (even though I've never bought furniture I prefer this store to any other I've ventured into- that's affordable anyway).

That is the story of how Bob and I have decorated our little space so quaintly and so cheaply. How many other (non-rich) people can say they've decorated their home without one credit card/store credit line/loan from Daddy?

Ok, so there are probably quite a few, but I'm still proud of us.

For more tips on scavenging furniture, tools, clothing, food, etc. leave a comment!

Wear Your Helmet...You Putz!

I am just as appreciative as the next of the wonderful feeling of the wind through your hair, the sun on your face, and the distresses of helmet hair. However, I like my brains just as they are. I doubt they'd be any more useful spewed out across the pavement.

A little graffic? Perhaps.

In this wonderful state of Utah we have seatbelt laws, carseat laws, and DOT certified helmets. So why is it not law to wear them? WHY?

I can't emphasize enough how disturbing it is to me that so many motorcyclists, scooterists, and cyclists continue to go out on our congested streets. Which, FYI have had more traffic accidents this year than 2005
(see http://deseretnews.com/dn/view/0,1249,645193259,00.html end of the article for stats).
What would their mothers think?

While I'm on the subject of thinking, no doubt these bare-headed commuters are thinking that they are safe, they follow the rules of the road and drive defensively. In response I'd like to refer you to a recent Deseret News article, http://deseretnews.com/dn/view/0,1249,645193961,00.html
please note the statement about half way down by Tim Buche. You may be smart (though if you aren't wearing a helmet then you probably aren't) but other drivers aren't.

Maybe they are just too cool?
Not likely. Unless they are part of the Emergency-Room-Rules gang. To my knowledge, no such gang exists.

My point, wear a helmet, someone out there loves you and doesn't want to plan your funeral. As far as I'm concerend those who go without helmets are about as bright as those who continue to smoke. Both do stupid, life-threatening, insurance raising, preventable bad habits. At least smokers can pass some (actually, very little) blame off to addiction.

Note to my brother who smokes...with love, please read above.

Promised Pictures

Here are some pictures that I have previously promised to post. At some point in the future I'll create a photo album where you can browse through all my posted photos. Unfortunately, this function is not available at this time.

This is Bob getting his waterbottle for third place up the Snowbird Hill Climb (see related story http://roberttaunyalofgran.blogspot.com/2006/08/weekend-race-report.html )

This is Bob on the Snowbird podium with L- Norm Bryner,2nd and M- Nate Page, 1st. Note the weenie water bottle in hand. Yes, I'm still a little bitter.

Bob, with Bill & Celia Underwood, two of his most supportive fans.

But here is Bob's #1 fan! The traditional good luck kiss, I can't let Bob race without it. This is one of my favorite pictures ever and it is actually from the front page Deseret News article Bob was featured in which ran October 2005. Sorry, no link available.

A House Is a Home When It Shelters the Body and Comforts the Soul

- Phillip Moffat

Bob and I are soon to be homeowners. With very patient assistance by Travis Pugh our brother/realtor we have found a home that is just about perfect for us. I say "just about" becuase there doesn't exist a house in our price range that would be absolutely perfect for us. We should close in a couple weeks and I'll make an official announcement then complete with pictures.

Today is Bob's last day of his EMT class. He had some in class tests today but will take the official State exam in a couple weeks. After that its back to school and starting to test with the different fire departments. He'll also be trying to get work as an EMT and then coaching will start for him in fall as well. I think that should keep him sufficiently busy enough, don't you?

As for me, school starts Tuesday night with Geography. It is my last class that I need to get my Associates degree. I do have to test out of a computer class, but I'm reasonably confident that I can do that. I'm so excited to have finally accomplished something with school that I think I'll throw myself a party. Hey, its been six years in the making, I deserve it. Work is also going well. For those of you who don't know I work for Merrick Bank, an industrial bank that issues credit cards primarily to the sub-prime lending group. Its a great company with great benefits and perks, like the massage chair.

Bob is more or less done with racing this season. He'll be taking some time off the bike before he starts training for next season where he'll be riding for a regional team yet to be named. It should be a really good opportunity and should cover nearly all the costs of his racing. Yeah!

Thanks for checking in. Come back before too long and see pictures of our new home! If you leave comments, I might even invite you over for a BBQ.

Tour de Gap- Parowan, UT

Ah, good 'ol Parowan. Where else can you stay in comfort at a localized national hotel chain with small town America spread out around you?
Alright, so you can do that just about anywhere between Salt Lake and St. George. But Parowan has something distinctive, and unique; the annual Tour de Gap bike race. Allow me to regale you with the adventures or our weekend:

After waffling back and forth about whether or not he was going to race (possible school conflicts didn't help the waffling any) Friday evening we were packed and on our way to Parowan. Due to lovely Happy Valley traffic and a potty stop for the dogs, then a pit stop for us we didn't arrive until 9:50 PM, 10 minutes before packet pick-up closed. We checked into the lovely Days Inn and immediately crashed trying not to think of the looming 6am wake up call.

Saturday started bright and early for room 120. Blanche and Zeke (our dogs. Remind me to post a picture) knew something was up as Bob and I criss-crossed the room gathering the days essentials: water bottles, race bible, butt cream, etc. I don't know why, but they seem to like to go to the bike races. Which is beyond me because they spend a good majority of the day sitting quietly (yes quietly, I have wonderful dogs) in the back of the scion.
The race was 48 miles and mostly flat. Bob said the pro/1/2 field had a max speed of 45mph! I sped to the feed zone; only to find out I didn't know where it was, found myself on the race course as the lead rider started coming though. He was only a single rider and not a threat for the GC or the stage win. I only had a short while till the group was to come through and I still didn't know where the feed zone was. So I sped ahead and followed the cardboard arrows the racers follow until I came across a section of road with a large shoulder which contained several SUV's and women with water bottles. This was the place.
After last weeks feeding fiasco (http://roberttaunyalofgran.blogspot.com/2006/08/weekend-race-report.html) I had to make sure I got this right. By the time the racers came through the single rider had been caught by the pack and there was a new group of five off the front. I didn't know any of the riders, and had full confidence that they would be reeled in by the time the race finished in 20 miles, which they were. Here comes the pack, with Bob on the front (yes, he was pulling in the break with little to no help by any of the teams there. No, none of the teams had a man in the break so they should have helped pull. This important scenario will be a factor in the coming stages) The feed zone was flat and fast. I had to jog a little to lessen the impact of Bob ripping the bottle out of my hand. I thought he was going to knock me right over. Impressive speed, no? By the time we wait for the next field of racers that my friends husband was racing in (c'mon a Sunday ride in the park could rival their speed through the feed zone); sped off to try to pass both fields, and have a potty break we managed to miss the sprint finish by a matter of seconds. All that really matters is everyone got the same time. Which is a good way to go heading into the afternoons criterium.
Between the road race and crit there was very little action. A shower, leg rub, pb&j, and excessive amounts of vegging.
Not much happened in the crit. Not unless you count a breakaway of Swindlehurst (Burke, a pro rider who lives in UT) Flynn, and _____ (I never did find out who the third guy was) lapping the field and taking the time bonuses, and another break of two only seconds from lapping the field and a crash of two teammates in the final lap. Bob worked hard to bridge up to the gaps twice. Each time he got painfully close then they noticed him and rode harder so that he couldn't jump on, dang it. These efforts combined with pulling in a couple early breaks and the work in the road race would eventually lead to his demise.
Oh! and some kind of bug stung me or bit me or something and left something in my neck GROSS!
We did get some great Mexican that night though.

Sunday's road race went from Cedar Breaks lodge by Brian head and back. Very rolling, and high elevations. Flats are but a dream on this day. After the first climb Swindlehurst was away (big surprise) and the pack containing Bob was only a minute or so behind. As per Bob between there and the feed zone an attack got away and no one was bringing it in. Bob wants to race for first, not fifth. He worked with Harward to bring them in and after a couple surges by the pack Bob was done. At the feed zone he was by himself a few minutes off the pack. He tried chasing for a while and when he realized he wouldn't be able to catch back on he called it a day and just rode in at a steady tempo.
The same steady tempo was applied at the time trial which was good enough to get Bob a finishing time. No one likes a DNF next to their name.
Taunya sniffed and sneezed all the way home, excited to be away from whatever hellacious allergen that was plaguing her all weekend.

Ah, nothing like Monday morning after 4 races in 2 days and 1000 miles on the road.

That's "Coach" Bob To You

Congratulations are in order (again- see race report) to Bob. He has just recieved his coaching license from the UCA (cycling authority) He is currently licensed for club riders but will be recieving his Elite license in November. As many of you know Bob is a virtual gyser of knowledge in regards to fitness and diet. Don't shy away, he's still the same great guy willing to talk to you about your training and racing, now you just have to pay him! Don't worry, we will be giving a family/friends discount.
I'm very proud of him (is it that obvious?) he had to do a lot of studying to get his license.
Next week is the last week of his EMT course, and he'll test a week or so after that, wish him luck and keep your fingers crossed.


If you are interested in having Bob coach you he'll be working for J.R. Smith Coaching (www.jrsmithcoaching.com) check out the website and talk with Bob.

Weekend Race Report

My apologies, I was going to post pictures with this but I'll have to add them in later as I haven't downloaded them yet. I also was going to have Bob write this since he knows better what happened during the race then I do. But alas, you're stuck with my simple, picture-less race analysis/recap.

Snowbird Hill Climb- 3rd place
(Disclaimer: Taunya didn't do the race and is merely trying to sum up what she thinks Bob told her happened, actual events may vary. But the result and finish times are accurate)
Saturday we got up bright and early- 6:30am, not easy for a weekend- and headed to 9400S. and 2000E. for the start. It’s always fun to go to the start and see all your friends. Do a little schmoozing and trash talking, whatever the occasion may call for.
This is one of the races that I have to leave before Bob or else I'll get stuck behind the racers and the cars and an aged man on a mountain bike will beat me up the canyon (not kidding, this happened once). So I gave him his good luck kiss, and an encouraging butt slap and he took off.
It was a beautiful drive up the canyon with my windows rolled down and some Capital Inicial (Portuguese punk band) on the radio; it was very Zen or something. Bob started up at 8am with Stormin' Norman driving the pace the first few miles. A small group of four got up the road a ways but the peleton kept them near enough to bring them in when the time was right. Norm decided the time was right and attacked with Bob jumping on his wheel (you think riding the canyon is hard, try attacking up it) they started to gain on the lead group up the road and were able to pass them as Nate Page started powering away from the peleton. Nate just kept ramping it up until he passed the chase group and the now lead group of Bob and Norm. Not to be beaten so easily Norm attacked again after Nate and Bob pursued. And there is your top three. Nate broke the 48 minute mark, Norm came in about 20 second after and Bob finished 3rd with a time of 48:23.
So then we waited around for 2 hours for awards. Not too bad because we got to enjoy a nice brunch with JR (coach) Jill (his wife) and two of Bob's biggest fans, Bill and Celia (sp?). Awards finally rolled around and Bob received.... (Oh, the anticipation)... a water bottle. What! I know you're in shock, we were too. Surely a race that brings in over $15,000 can do better than that for a podium finish? Nope, apparently not. We didn't even get our entry fee back, we were not happy. Maybe they just gave extra to 1st and 2nd you ask? Nope again; 2nd got sunglasses in addition to the water bottle (which all prizes given away are always just donated schwag, they don't cost the organizers a red cent) First place did get a sweet northface tent, but he wanted cash too. So we were bummed, but compensation was on its way.

Before I continue- Note to race organizers: Cat 4/5's love schwag they are usually the rich lawyers/doctors/accountants on the nicest bikes. Cat 1/2's are poor twenty-something’s usually supported by doting parents or an incredibly awesome wife. We're poor, show us the money!


Wolfcreek Road Race- 4th place
(see Disclaimer above)
Up and at 'em 7:00am. On the road to Francis at 8:00am. Neither of us are feeling so hot. Bob is worn out from yesterday (I forgot to mention that after his noble race efforts he still mowed the lawn for me. Yeah! My husband rules!) and Taunya is dizzy or light-headed or something. But, we've already paid for the race so off we go. Or at least off Bob goes, Taunya sort of lolly-gags about and eventually makes her way to the feed zone 20 miles up the road to 9,507 feet elevation.
Bob comes through the feedzone only a minute or so behind the lead rider, no big deal since there is still 60 miles to race and the lead rider is on his own, and we don't know who he is which is usually a sign that he's going to blow up. Of course, he could be that new young talent that blows everyone else away; he wasn't. So back to the feedzone; Bob comes whizzing by and $*!@# (yes, sorry, I really did swear. I'm pretty sure Bob did too) I missed him! He now has to ride 40 more miles up and down canyon roads on the single water bottle left on his bike. I now spend the next 2 hours worrying about whether or not he's going to bonk as I wait for them to hit the turnaround and come back to the feedzone 20 miles before the finish. Norm comes through one minute ahead of a small group which (yeah!) has Bob driving the pace on the front trying to bring Norm back. So I'm ready this time, I've got his water bottle I hold it out, Bob is reaching for it... snatch! The guy in front of him takes it from me. Not only that but he dropped it! Here is where I'd like to give a special "thanks" to the girl up the road who successfully hands Bob a water bottle so that he can go on to claim 4th.

So it was a great weekend. We were wiped out by the end, but we had fun. Thanks for checking in and feel free to leave any congratulatory remarks for Bob.

P.S. Where was the compensation you ask? Bob won $85 for 4th. Not bad, at least we broke even for the weekend.

The Man of La Mancha

I just got back from a relaxing weekend in Idaho. My mom and I made- what we try to make an annual- trip to the Festival Opera in Logan, UT. While there we stayed across the border with our very good friends Becky and Dennie (special thanks to the Giles). In brief, here is our weekend.

5:00PM Friday, August 4th
Taunya gets off work. Waits for mom to leave for Logan.

5:10PM
Mom finally makes it, late because of traffic. What we are about to find out is that 10 minutes makes an hour of difference in traffic.

5:45PM
We finally make it to Bountiful. We have been crawling ever since downtown and are hungry. We stop at Village Inn. My compliments to the chef on the orange marmalade/cream cheese stuffed french toast topped with strawberries. Yes, they were good, even better than they sound.

6:20PM
On the road again. In the next two hours we will have discussed everything from politics, family, the environment, fashion, etc. Girls know what these conversations are like. You start out talking about what you did that afternoon and through twists and turns in conversation you’re crying your eyes out while discussing the innermost parts of your soul. OK- wasn't quite that dramatic. But great conversation.

8:00PM-ish
Finally arrive at the Giles beautiful country cottage and head to watch the softball game coached by Bro. Dennie and then to the ice cream place, forgot the name. I had a strawberry creamy. I have been craving strawberry things a lot lately. Had a strawberry smoothie yesterday and have been consuming more strawberry yogurt than might be healthy. Don't ask, girls are just weird.

1:00AM, Saturday
Finally make it to bed, stayed up playing dice game, 10,000. These baby boomers are hard to keep up with.

9:00AM, Saturday
Time to get up already? I muster the courage and dress to go run. It’s a beautiful canyon and a sunny morning. Those false flats will kill you I swear. I made it about 3miles total, not bad. I didn't run the whole way, but a majority. I thought it would make me feel better for the rest of the day; that ended up being mostly true.

12:00PM-3:30PM
View Man of La Mancha the story of how the story of Don Quixote came to be. Very fabulous. Score was great, performances great, music stirring. Plus we had great seats. Thanks, Logan Festival Opera, www.ufoc.org , we always have a great time.

4:00PM-7:30PM
This was a dark time in my life. I don't like to talk about it, but as you are good friends and faithful readers...I've been dying to get my hair done for a while, just a trim and color. Strawberry-Blonde (more strawberry than blonde) yup, more strawberries, again I don't know why. We tried at least 8 different salons in Logan and no one could fit me in, some weren't even very nice about it. So where did we go? I'm embarrassed to say...let's just say it was a super retailer with a less than desirable reputation.

7:30PM
My hair is orange. If you know Boden, yup just like that. Cute cut though. But orange is not my color.

9:30PM
I've bought some cool blonde color to take the orange out, it doesn't work, and I’m still orange, just not quite as harsh. A girl might be able to tell the difference of orange #1 and orange #2, but no man on earth would ever notice. No, not even the swishy ones.

12:30AM Sunday
Off to bed late again. Watched Dreamer good movie, made me laugh, made me cry.

9:00AM Sunday
I can't go out in public with orange hair. Thank heavens I had the foresight to get a box of my original (if not slightly darker) hair color in case plan B (for those of you unable to keep up plan B was the blonde) didn't work.

10:00AM
Yeah! Plan C worked. I'm now slightly darker than my original color (with a little bit of those orange highlights poking through, but its kind of pretty) and slightly poorer too.

The moral of this story- don't get your hair done on a whim and only go to someone you know and trust.

BTW- Does anyone have someone they know and trust? Because the person I knew and trusted has closed up shop. The winning referral could be worth a handsome reward (though I wouldn't bet on it if I were you).

HUD for 100...please?!

Buying a house isn't all that much fun. Not when you're destitute anyway. Alright, we're not destitute, but trying to buy a house makes me feel that way.

Recently a saw a picture of someone's new home under construction and it made me a little jealous. Not that it was big because after living with our coach in his spacious home I've decided that is too much square footage for me to take care of. And it’s not because it’s new because I'd rather have an existing home that has some character and big trees in a well established neighborhood. I'm jealous because they can afford it.

Bob and I both work hard and make fairly good money; especially when you take into account the lack of degrees we hold. So why when we're looking for a home can't we find anything in a nice neighborhood and that isn't falling apart? We're really looking primarily in West Valley, though we'd love something in Taylorsville. We have awesome credit and the only debt we have is our car. We're not looking for anything too big or too lavish. But man our choices are limited. We've been looking mostly at foreclosure and HUD homes because that is all our budget will allow.

I am confident that if we're patient we'll find something that works for us. It’s just a little depressing in the mean time that two very hard working people who have tried to be smart financially can't afford a reliable roof over their heads. It makes me really wonder how people out there less fortunate than us make ends meet. It is upsetting to me that while interest rates, housing costs, gasoline, health care, and energy costs are all rising (some quite rapidly) that wages remain stagnant and in many companies (airlines for example) they are taking pay cuts. Though I'm not sure many CEO's would say they are feeling the pinch.

Bob wants to be a fireman (starting pay around $30,000); I want to stay at home with our kids- is that even realistic? Thankfully we pay our tithing, we know how to be frugal, and my mom taught me to reuse sandwich bags. We'll work it out. But not everyone out there is as lucky as we are.

Please, post a comment, I like reading what people have to say about the topic, or what I wrote.

Scooter Courtesies

Being the gas-conscious consumers that we are a couple years ago we purchased a scooter. Actually, my fabulous husband surprised me with one for Christmas! The scooter is number one, a lot of fun. Number two its cheap to buy, insure, and drive- getting 80 something mpg. When Bob purchased our scooter he really shopped around as any smart buyer would do. But of course, he is a guy and can't bare the thought of puttering around at 30 mph on a toy sized scooter so he buys an often mistaked for a bullet bike scooter. A 150cc (don't ask me what that means, all I know is so far I haven't met anyone with something more powerful) Vento R4i. The Green Hornet we affectionately call it. It can easily do 50 with us both on there, and more with only a single rider.

What's the point you ask?

Ok- If I'm driving my merry-self to work on my scooter doing 45 in a 40mph zone why does every other shmuck on the road feel the need to buzz by me in a huff and hurry like I'm crawling along? Do they not realize that to pass me they are going at least 10mph more over the limit then I am already going? This is proof of the egotistical society (note to self- write humble commentary on egotistical society) that we've become. When just the site of a smaller mode of transportation keeping up with your superior machine sends you into a flurry of speed (which, I shouldn't even need mention, causes the little scooter driver a bit of fear that the passing driver is possessed of some fit of rage that could likely endager said scooter driver)

So next time you see a scooter on the road pass (only if needed) with kindness as the typical scooter driver is no more than a happy-go-lucky, laid back citizen with concerns for finances and the environment and wishes you no harm or disrespect.

Remember the Golden Rule, and Karma, and what goes around comes around, etc.

P.S. Yes, I use parenthesis a lot which just goes to show how often I ramble, get off topic, and talk to myself. I wouldn't want you to loose the spirit of Taunya by using proper grammer/punctuation.

A Commentary on the Controversies of Cycling

So if you've been watching the news at all in the last week or so you are undoubtedly aware of the public humiliation the sport of cycling is currently enduring. I've had numerous people ask my thoughts regarding various allegations and operations that are currently underway. So here is my take (and if I may be so bold as to add Bob's name to this opinion as he and I have visited these topics as of late and seem to be in agreement upon the subject)

Landis:
Et Tu? I never would have pictured small town Floyd as a doper. (Although I said the exact same thing about our friend Tyler) Yes, I know nothing has been confirmed yet. But to point out the obvious: 8 minutes down one day, gains it all back the next? While watching the live coverage of the now infamous stage 17 of the Tour de France I commented to those associates with whom I was priveledged to be watching such a momentus occasion that "...seems kind of odd. With all the doping scandals lately, can we still believe in sports miracles"
To make yet another reference to the currently suspended Tyler Hamilton- In a recent interview aired during the 2006 TDF Hamilton agreed with a comment his wife made to the effect that "this is all very confusing and we've been working with lots of doctors etc. to help us understand" contrast that with a statement Landis recently made while on Larry King Live, this is a direct quote "Well, I don't know. That's why I have some experts helping me out to try to understand what's going on here...I have a lot of very intelligent, experienced people helping with this" Face it, its not looking good. I think an historical tour win is turning into an historical embarrasment.

Operation Puerto:
I would have thought a disorganized, secretive, and so far essentially ineffective operation like this would have been in French territory, not in Spain.

So here is a basic update in my limited cycling knowledge:
- Operation Puerto announced late spring/early summer
- Unrealeased list of those implicated includes cyclists and other sportsmen
- Day before TDF Jan Ullrich, Ivan Basso, and others name's released. Team managers hold meeting that evening and decide that any implicated rider will not be allowed to start and will not be replaced. As a result three top contenders of the Tour are suspended by their teams and one Alexander Vinokourov was unable to start the tour becuase five of his teammates were implicated. Vino was and has never been named.
- Two days after the TDF the five Astana (Vino's team) riders are cleared of any wrongdoing.
- A few days later the entire Comunidad Valenciana team was cleared by the investigation.

Anything look a little fishy to you?
#1- Officials had the names for weeks and they announce key players the night before the Tour begins? Could this have been a publicity stunt? No, they wouldn't dare do that to the racers, the teams, the fans, it must have simply been an oversight.

#2- Five members of Vino's team are implicated thereby keeping one of the favorites out of the Tour de France only to find out two days after the tour that, oops sorry, you're all clear? In the meantime the tour is won by an american (no complaint there) that potentially has permanently disgraced the greatest race in the world.

#3- 13 members of one team are now cleared after they could have raced in the Tour de France (had an assistant director not been implicated and arrested) and in the Vuelta (again denied admission due to the operation) and has now had sponsorship pulled no doubt in reaction to the allegations which have recently been recinded.

And the operation isn't over. I'm sure many more mistakes and should-be apologies are on their way.

Will cycling recover from this rash of injustices? Only time will tell. In the meantime sponsors are in a sweat, potential sponsors have had their check books sewn into their jacket pocket with a secure 10 digit- mixture of letters and numbers, with at least one symbol- password to keep cycling out. Cyclists themselves are donning baseball caps and dark shades to make it to the grocery store and back before someone can recognize them and question/chastise/lament the current state of the sport. The fans, oh the fans! The pains we have endured. We defend our sport enthusiastically to anyone who will listen. Despite our embarrasement we soldier on in the hopes that one day we'll have something to be proud of again.

Thank you middle-aged man in the red SUV

This is Taunya; I'm taking over this Blog. Don't try fighting it, my domination is complete!
Guess what happened to me this morning? I'm riding my scooter to work and it was sprinkling just a bit, enough to get some drops on my helmet's visor. At a red light I tried wiping off a few drops so I could see more clearly. When all of a sudden a middle aged man climbs out of the red SUV next to me with a hanky and wipes off my visor for me!
Chivalry is not dead! (I already knew this because my husband is quite the gentleman) But to do something so kind for a complete stranger, while he was no doubt rushing on his way to work. So if anyone knows how I can get his address from his license plate that I memorized, let me know please.

Cycling:
Bob was unable to race the entire Cascade Classic. Time cuts this year were 10%. Just to give you an idea of the amount of pressure that puts the riders under- one of the mountain stages had a time cut of 18 minutes. Needless to say many people were cut along with Bob who suffered from the heat combined with having his seat 2 cm too high. Lesson learned I guess. At least he got to practice his feeding skills as he helped support some other Utah racers while he was there. There really aren't any more big races on the horizon, just some local Utah road races and crits.

Life:
Two weeks ago I got a new job. I am an administrative assistant (please, why can't we just say secretary?) for Merrick Bank. I work in the risk department with a pretty good group of people. The bank offers pretty good benefits and other perks that has really made me feel pretty welcome here.
Yesterday Bob started an EMT certification class in Provo (good thing gas pricing aren't climbing huh?) It’s only a four week course and only four days a week, so not too bad. Hopefully it will open some doors to other possible career opportunities.


Dreams:
We are still living with our coach but have started looking for our own place. With any luck we'll find a house, but there is a good reality that we'll still have to rent for a year. We'll see how it goes.

Alright, I know I'm slow at updating this. I don't have quite as much time back here in Utah as I did in Belgium.
I've taken a couple of weeks off racing to get in some good training miles and a family reunion. It was nice to relax a bit and spend some time with the Fam.
This last Saturday was the Porcupine Hillclimb, a race up Big Cottonwood Canyon. I got 6th place, not too shabby. It was pretty brutal, tough competition. I missed 5th by a hair, got outsprinted right at the line. Lesson learned I guess.
Today I'm off to Bend, OR for the Cascade Classic. I should get a fair butt-whooping there but if my form continues and I ride smart I'm hoping to get good enough results to put in for my Cat 1 upgrade.
Well, that's about all. Thanks for checking in and feel free to leave a comment. I appreciate your support.

Back into the swing of things

Well, thanks for checking in. Sorry its a been a while since I last updated anything, we've been pretty busy.
I'm back at Taylor's Bike Shop at least until school starts. And I'm working on getting my Elite Coaching license. In the meantime I've been racing every weekend since we've been back. We've also been back to AZ to pick up all our stuff. Here's a quick recap of all our goings-on since Bear Lake.

May 25-29 Thanksgiving Point Omnium
A fast Cat 2 crit in downtown Provo. I was feeling awesome, unbeatable. I knew I was going to win. I was having trouble with my gears slipping though and to avoid a possible mishap in the thick of the sprint I went with one lap to go. I downshifted and stood up slightly to launch my attack. Right then my gear slips, and down I went. For a skinny cyclist I can sure clean up those road barriers. My bike was more or less totaled, I was able to salvage some parts is all. Luckily I went almost completely unscathed. A few very small bits of road rash was all. But it was enough to pretty much bury my chances at the overall in the stage race. I continued on to help a friend pull off 5th overall and I took 13th. After three days in rainy and windy weather I was glad to be done with it.

Monday 29- Right after the Suncrest uphill TT and awards Taunya and I immediately packed some lunch and did a marathon move. In 48 hours we drove down to AZ, loaded our stuff, cleaned our old place, drove back, unloaded our stuff into storage. Considering its about a 12 hour drive each way, we made some good time, but it knocked us out for a couple days afterward.

June 3- I came back in time for a day or so of rest before I took on the 100 mile State RR Championship. It was over 90 that day and the heat just killed me. I cramped up and came in with a small group off the back of the pack. The heat has been killing me here.

June 10-11 Sugarhouse Crit, Downtown Sate Crit Championship
I was feeling pretty good for Sugarhouse. It was only about 85 that day and I was riding very well. I was patient, on the right wheels and just riding smart. It came down to the final sprint up the hill and I was on Burke Swindlehurst's wheel, someone else shoved me out and that was that. For the downtown crit I had a teammate in the lead break so I was trying to help out in the pack as much as possible. It was a 90 minute crit and I got off the back of the pack about an hour in and got pulled a couple laps later. Luckily the work paid off, my teammate Cameron Hoffman won. It was great to see him not only lap the field, but win the sprint as well.

That brings us up to date. I have High Uintas this weekend and since I haven't climbed consistenly for a very long time we'll see what happens.
Adios!

Sorry, no pictures this time. They are on another computer.
So, we're back in Utah now! It has been a tiring journey to get here though, let me tell you. Taunya and I left Belgium Monday morning, arrived in Phoenix Monday night, but still had to drive three hours to home. We woke up Tuesday around 4am, we were too used to Belgium time. So we decided to just pack up and head out. We got to Moab and camped that night then woke up at 4am again to finish driving to Salt Lake.
We'll be staying with our coach, JR smith (see www.jrsmithcoaching.com ) until we can get work and a place to live. What a guy- took in me, my wife, and our two dogs!

Here's the race report. Went to Bear Lake Classic Saturday, got a killer sunburn, and some serious cramps. I drank about four huge water bottles during the 100 mile race but it just wasn't enough for the heat. I cramped up bad with about 10 miles to go and had to actually unclip my left leg and go 0ne-legged for a while. It wasn't the strong come back I had in mind. The heat just wiped me out, I got to accustomed to the wind and cold of Belgium I guess.
Next up is the Thanksgiving Point Stage Race. I'll update later with some pics and a report.
Thanks for checking in.

A Day in Brugge

This is Taunya and me in front of the canal in Brugge. Not too far from here we had the best pannini sandwich you could imagine. We spent most of the day in Brugge exploring, taking pictures, and picking up a couple souvenirs.

This is the Chapel of the Precious Blood. Just to the right of this picture was a priest with a sacred relic, a golde caped crystal vial containing what is said to be the blood of Christ. People were lined up to pray to or kiss the relic that has been kept at this church since 1147. See http://www.sacredspiral.com/Database/blood/untitled-3.html for the full historical story. You can also see a picture of the relic at http://www.terragalleria.com/europe/belgium/bruges/picture.belg30133.html You can't tell in the picture but it looked like an old dirty, possibly moldy, wadded up rag.

The lovely canal road near the city of Oostkamp where we've been staying. We walked down this very historic road after getting off at the wrong bus stop. The far side of the canal was patrolled by German soldiers during WWII. The left side that we were walking on was U.S. allies territory. We passed by three large cement bunkers covered in grass and moss, one of which had a large rupture on one side from what we're guessing was a german grenade.


Even with all the sightseeing training has been going well. I woke up Wedensday morning to the most dense fog I've ridden in while being here. I was pretty nervous to ride down the farm roads because I wasn't able to see very well.
Tuesday I rode with the team for just over 5 hours on a new hilly route. It was nice to get a few hills on my legs before I head back home. We were supposed to have done a Kermese, but new rules were put in place just a couple days before stating we had to have a signed paper to participate, which you usually only need for the big UCI races. The paper was left at the CC and so we were left to our own devices. Since I hadn't been living at the CC for the last week I didn't know about the new rule. There was also a German team there who wasn't allowed to race becuase they didn't have their paper either.
So that's it for now. Taunya and I are going out to explore some more.

Race report from kremis

The team had a good race this last Friday. The Belgians were up front and ready for whatever they could hit us with. Since our kit is the stars and stripes we all have a big target on our backs every time we show up to a race.
The race was going pretty smooth for the first couple of laps then a good break formed up the road about two and a half laps in. Since my title sponsor Taunya was at the race I was really trying to ride my smartest race. While the break was establishing up the road I found myself on the wheel of a couple guys taking off to bridge to the break. It was a harder effort than what all three of us were planning on though. I was the only one who actually made it on to the tail of the break. I got on and tryed to recover but the Belgians soon noticed an American flag was with them and they ramped it up some more. I hung with them for about a lap. We had a fairly large break and I don't think the big guys liked that. Quite a few guys started getting spit out the back and after that one lap of being with them I was one of those to get spit out. I was surprised at how long it took the main field to come up. Once back in the field I sat in and recovered as best I could but the peloton was finally in chase mode and I was thinking I was going to get worked over again. Luckily I got in a sweet pocket out of the wind and I was fine. The rest of the race for us was a lot of surging and small groups of guys trying to make it up to the break. I went with a couple of them feeling that the pack was slowing too much. If nothing else I figured I could help up the pace enough that the peloton could stay within close range of the break. All in all I guess it worked out. I didn't get anything special as far as placing goes but I sure worked hard for what I got. I got 38th. Heck I was even still in the money. I won a whopping 10 euro. Still beats the pay out back home though. A kremis only costs 8 euro and you even get 5 of that back when you turn your number in after the race. Much better deal than the $30 on up for a crit back home. Have to really hand it to the Belgians on the organization of their races.
I would like to thank my coach JR Smith for all of his help to make all this happen. JR is one heck of a guy and an even better coach. Thanks!
Robert Lofgran

Giro photo gallery #5

Henk Vogels, a real hard man. From what I hear this guy has been racing all over the place the last few weeks. Last week I heard he was hitting some local races in Colorado.
To bad Vino didn't come to the Giro.
Savoldelli getting ready to rock the TT.
Cunego was one who seemed a little stressed. He almost litterally ran to his team bus avoiding all contact with the fans.
Michael Rasmussen. There were guys like Robbie Mcewen who rode pretty standard road bikes with clip on aero bars but Rasmussen rode a standard road bike with no aero bars.

giro photo gallery #4

Taunya and me hanging out at the riders village.
Allessandro Petachi, Mr. Italian style
Ann, who owns the CC with her husband. Then You've got Wesly who's from South Africa. Then good old Derek Timmeraman from Michigan I believe. That's me on the end I guess.
Ivan Basso getting the engine reved up before he heads to the starting house. Focused on being number one. We also saw Bobby J. and Jens Voight put in their TT's.
Illes Balleares. Now these guys had some sick TT bikes.