DNA Racing Team 2013

Changes for 2013...my mom has been helping me with my blog in the past. But, this year...it's all me! Well, she'll probably help with typing she's faster than me! Thanks for everything mom!

I'm on a new cycling team. It's called DNA Racing. Their website will be updated soon. I think they will really help me get stronger and be a better racer. There are great guys on this team. They work really hard. I'm really honored to be a part of their Jr. Development Team!

Time Trial

I was invited to the team camp. We stayed at a ranch house. Thank you Mr. Little! Thanks to Chad, Andy, Andrew, Steven, Aaron, Beau, Evan, Tony, Erin, Rob, Biff, Mark, Ryan, and many others including sponsors for making camp possible and super awesome! We had so much fun! We introduced ourselves to our new team members, Chad and Mark talked about what we needed to work on this year and we put in a lot of miles on our bikes. One night Mark brought a movie for us to watch about Team HTC Columbia, Chasing a Legend. It was amazing! I felt like a star with so many photographers...it was like we were getting a lot of press!



Crit

Getting ready to start road race

This past weekend I went to Mineral Wells and they had a big stage race--a crit, time trial and a road race. I have been getting up so early to go train with my team on Saturdays. We start at Elemental Coffee, ride out and around Lake Hefner and then back to Elemental Coffee to pick up some additional riders and then put in more miles. I think this is really improving my speed and confidence. I think getting up early is paying off. I was happy with my results from the race in Mineral Wells. My road race I placed 6th, crit I was 9th and my time trial I came in 5th. I ended up 6th in the GC and 4th in the Team GC! Lee McDaniel took this awesome picture of me at the top of the BIG climb! Thank you Mr. McDaniel!

 

2012 Racing Season Debut

Well, the 2012 racing season is underway in Oklahoma. It always starts with the Salty Creek Criterium/Tall Chief Cove Road Race. I had signed up to race in the Jr. category for both days but when I got there, on Saturday, they informed me that the Jr. road race had been cancelled for Sunday due to bad weather being forcast. I was really disappointed. So, my coach Mark Teruki suggested I race in the Men's 4/5. I was excited to be able to race, since I wanted to see if I had improved since last year, but I was a little nervous to be in my first men's race.

Saturday's criterium went OK. I made a major mistake at the beginning and although I finished closing the gap and feeling really strong at the end it was too late to make up the time I needed. I took third and learned something for future races. One thing about racing is you are always learning and getting more chances to do better!

Sunday I woke up feeling ready for the road race! I ate my new race breakfast, courtesy of Biju Thomas, and knew I was feeling better today. It was cold and wet and started pouring just before our race began. I felt really good and when the day was done I had taken 29 minutes off my time from last year and placed 11th. It was a long way from a win but it felt like a victory in a small way to me. I overcame my nerves, raced with men and showed a significant improvement over last year. I know I haven't come even close to my full potential and I will continue training hard but I will take small victories and build off them!

Next race...TIME TRIAL...this weekend!

LIVESTRONG

Is August Already Over??

OK...another month went so fast! I had a great August! Let's see I had a birthday, I had a photo shoot for the Edmond Outlook magazine, I raced and went to THE RACE and continued to raise funds for LIVESTRONG!!!

I had a couple of birthday parties to celebrate me turning 14! The first was my family going to visit my Grams. We had so much fun! The best was our bowling match...I even got a few strikes. No one in my family is a really good bowler which is probably why we had so much fun. I can't remember anyone's scores but I can tell you we did LOTS of laughing! It was cool because they turned off the lights and we all glowed under the black lights!

Me, Grams and Dad (mom's taking the pic)

My second birthday party found my Grandma and Grandpa coming to my house. We went to dinner at one of my favorite restaurants (Red Rock Canyon Grill) and I opened my gift from mom & dad. At first, I thought I just got a t-shirt but under the shirt was the rest of my gift. A TRIP TO GO WATCH THE USA PRO CYCLING CHALLENGE!!!!! I was totally shocked!

TdF podium pic "Want to see them race? We are going!"

I was chosen to be featured in the September edition of the Edmond Outlook. So, I had to go for my first photo shoot! It was super cool and Marshall (the photographer) was really nice! Take a minute and read it! It won't take long...PROMISE! Check out pages 6 and 35! http://www.edmondoutlook.com/digital-edition/

I also raced, this month, at the Owasso Criterium and I could really tell I have been training. I got a really good start off the line and lead everyone through the first turn. I can tell I'm getting faster and feel really good on my bike. I took fourth so just out of the money but I did my best and I will just keep working to get even faster! I still got a medal and it was pretty cool. I thought it looked like a Greek fire caldron!

Well, I want to tell you all about my trip to Colorado to watch the race but I think it will be a separate post because I have so much to tell you and some great pictures! I will just tell you this...I got some pretty cool autographs!!!

As for my LIVESTRONG fundraising it has been going really well. I set a goal of $5,000 and I know I am going to go WAY over that amount! I held a LIVESTRONG garage sale one weekend and another weekend I set up a table at Schlegel Bicycles (pro shop)! I also sold several things on Craigslist! I know this is posting in September so I will tell you my current amount is $4,666 but I have sent in some more donations so stay tuned for my new totals! My buddies, Noah and Biju, are helping me by hosting a BBQ/Auction in September! I am getting really stoked! I think I will really blow my initial goal out of the water! STAY TUNED!