Fat bike fun!!!!

So... Picked myself up a new Cooker fat bike for Xmas (from treads of course) and perfectly timed too with all the new snow and Cold temps --We've had since!

 Can't describe how fun this is!! 

CX season wrapped

Last weekend concluded my 2nd cyclocross season and I must say, I feel like in the midst of this year's race schedule, I really started to "get it."  I credit this in part, to racing a lot last year and this year, including often doubling up with the singlespeed race and then my category race.

Around the middle of the season, I began to see my results moving me up in the BAR standings ... (Best all round rider competition).  While it wasn't an original goal of mine, as I began to enjoy some success in the women 35+ category, I started to really focus on trying to win the BAR competition.  After several podiums I began to get some pressure from other racers and women in my field to "move up" to the women open category (elite/pro) however I felt that I deserved the chance to go for the BAR win.  So I raced a LOT and raced hard, figured out the hole shot and several other aspects of the racing that really hurt me last year, and low and behold ... I pulled out the BAR win for the season!

I'm also really proud of my teammates Linda, Cris and I - for working really hard to hold off other, bigger teams, for 2nd place in the team competition in the 35+ category.  Linda and Cris both would normally race women cat 4 however I cajoled them into racing 35+ or sometimes both on a single race day (back to back!) and their points combined with mine got us up into 2nd for the season.  I'm thrilled!!!

I pulled it off! 

So proud of us for holding on to 2nd place! 

Next year, I think it looks pretty likely that I will be moving on up into the women open field (back to getting my heart and soul crushed for awhile until I figure more out!) but I think it's a good move for me and hopefully will continue to test and challenge me at each CX race!  There's no other way to keep improving or getting better than to be stretched by competition that is better than you.

For now - the year is a wrap.  35 ish race numbers pinned on in road, mountain and CX events... My first Ride the Rockies and my first Ride on Chicago (combined, around 1000 miles between those 2 events!)...

It's time to find a new goal/conquest to keep me motivated in 2015!

I'm about 125 bike miles short of beating my car miles for the year so I've got some work to do in the next 9 days to bring them up to balanced.

Super Fun CX video from Regional Champs!

MANY thanks to Shawn Curry for this really fun video!



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jLsvWZJjMS8

A weekend of remembering and racing

This weekend marked the one year anniversary of the tragic death of Amy D.  In her honor, her family and friends put together a CX race here in Golden.  It was a small intimate race and it was emotional but also a happy celebration of her and the new foundation that bears her name.  We wore our Amy D socks in our races and her name was on everyone's minds and hearts all weekend.  She -at such a young age -left such a remarkable legacy. We should all aspire to be so loved and so well remembered and to have each person whose life we touched even in some small way, think of us so fondly after we're gone.  I wish I'd known her better.  We raced against each other for years but I never got to know her well... and I sincerely regret that.  

Rocking the Amy D socks at the start of the womens A race

With Paul, aka Cross Propz, a huge Amy D fan and supporter- he helped make this race happen on very short notice!
Photo Credit: Terry Smith 

1-2-3- "AMY D!!!" 

post-race Amy D sock shot from behind ;) 

Sunday's race was PRIMALPALOOZA  -those folks at PrimalWear know how to put on a CX race!  They hold it each year at the Jeffco fairgrounds and it's got a bit of everything -except this year, thankfully, no mud!  We had 20-25mph winds during our race and fortunately for me, they were in our faces on the longer straight sections, which means my aero-position on the CX bike FINALLY paid off!  I felt weak in the legs during the SS race (Saturday's race was from 515-615pm so I was still recovering!) but by the time our women's 35+ race rolled around I felt I knew the course and found my game face as I tackled the 5 laps.  

And what do you know -- I got my first W of this CX Season!!  

Photo credit: Pay Mayben, PrimalWear

More CX in the books -and Panache Jersey/bibs for sale

More CX racing this weekend...though not as much as i'd planned...
Raced 2x Saturday -Single Speed and 35+ at the Green Mountain CX race - Came up 2nd between 2 sisters in the 35+ race.

Planned to race just the 35+ today at Flatirons but my race wasn't until 4:30pm...it felt almost dark by then!  Nothing like killing an entire day waiting to race... only to have it start pouring rain.  This particular course had several off-camber sections -several on grass, so I opted to bail.  No thanks.  But -it felt like a wasted Sunday after that ;( 

***

In other news, tomorrow is the final day to buy a training/riding kit by Panache with my TCL logo on it.  Order via the link and use the code to take 10% off - on me!

http://teamid.panachecyclewear.com/id/?teamid=261_the-cyclist-lawyer

Use code tcl#10% at checkout to save 10% on your order!

Finding your balance

http://www.powertap.com/blogs/news/15469809-finding-your-balance-by-cyclist-megan-hottman

'Tis the season to get muddy!!!

CX season is in full swing and I've got 4 races under my belt  now - SS and 35+ at Kick-It CX, and SS and 35+ at Xilinx yesterday.  (I missed last weekend's races because I was gone at a yoga retreat).

So far i've notched a 2nd and 3rd place in the women 35+ events... hoping for that top step sometime soon!

Here are some fun photos of the messy muddy races thus far:
http://shotwilliam.smugmug.com/Cycling/2014-Cyclo-X-Xilinx/i-CfjGjTJ/A

http://shotwilliam.smugmug.com/Cycling/2014-Cyclo-X-Xilinx/i-7ZWrz6F/A

Masters Road Nats

The much-awaited 35th birthday finally took place this year, making me eligible to race USA Cycling master's nationals on the road for the first time ever.  I raced Master's 35+ women in the CX nationals last year (well, technically THIS year- in January, but last season) when I was still only 34 but that's how the rules read...

I signed up several months back -hoping the nationals in early September would keep me motivated during the months I tend to drop off in desire for the bike - namely, July and August.  Coming off two massive events in June which totaled over 850 miles in 2 weeks, I knew I had endurance - however I haven't done any intensity this summer... because - why would I, when I haven't been racing?

So I began to put some effort into it in late July and early August.  I started to feel some form coming around.  Then I had to travel in Mid-August and I ended up spending 3 days in airports and hotels due to flight snafus (thanks, Delta)... and of course, I got sick from it.  What should have been 3 hard weeks of training followed by a taper week leading up to my race, became a week off due to illness, a meager week of training while trying to breathe through all the congestion, and a so-so week chasing the moto putting out some decent efforts - which were strong but not long enough...  it's been the headcold that won't quit -in fact I've still got its remnants...

I was committed to the proposition so I did what I could with what I had.... despite feeling good about my last minute cramfest of training efforts, I still had a nagging sense I'd be better off staying at home.  Driving 1000 miles round trip to race one TT that's not even a full 40k, that's quite a lot of work.  I really vacillated between going and staying home... but the machine was dialed and I felt like "I may as well go..." (never a good frame of mind to be in)

The Cannondale Slice TT bike -reliable, trusty steed that she is, with the new PowerTap HED disc wheel

Finally the night before departure time, I decided to load the van up and just act as though I was leaving to see if the mood struck me.  Labor day, I departed the driveway with van locked and loaded to the gills, actually looking forward to the trip and a few days "away."

I made it almost to Fort Collins before the van began acting up -engine pressure dropping on the rolling hills of I-25, which was massively traffic-heavy thanks to the holiday.  There I was in the big white bomb, losing speed and trying to find a place to pull over.  I called husband Rob-who suspected either a transmission failure, bad gas in the tank, or low oil ... either way, after stopping and trying to find places to check it out (ON labor day- everything's closed) I ultimately limped back home via back roads.

3 hours in the car and I'm back home.  And mad.  At this point, intuition said, "stay home."  Nope.

I unpacked the van and jammed it all into my car and took off again.  This time battling laterintheday Labor Day Traffic...  8 frustrating hours later, I arrived in Ogden, UT.  I kept telling myself, "shake off the rough start, you're here, it's game time."

Tuesday morning I woke up early and went to pre-ride the TT course on Antelope Island.

= Quite possibly the coolest TT venue I'll ever have occasion to ride or race -it's an island/mountains/desert/buffalo hangout connected by a road to Ogden.

Honestly, Tuesday's course pre-ride nice and early when it felt like I had the island to myself -was the highlight of the trip.  I should've stopped there and come home.  (I will add that having these giant bison out there roaming around and one crossing the road right in front of me -taking his sweet time I might add- concerned me a bit... what if that happened during my race??).  I was a bit troubled with how flat my legs felt during the spin and how tight my back was, but that's not unusual after driving 8 hours solo in a car, so I figured they'd shake out.

Immediately following my course pre-ride my phone and email began blowing up. My fellow business owners in our office building were notifying me that, unbeknownst to us, the business across the street during its construction mess, decided to close our street.  Our only access to our building. Coming off a holiday weekend!  Commence: 5 hours of calls and emails with the City, the business who closed our road, and my fellow business owners... this is what happens when I leave town!!

After those fires were temporarily put out, I spent much of Tuesday afternoon at Union Station picking my packet up and waiting in line for the courtesy TT bike measurement with USA Cycling and the Jig-a-ma-thing.  It's a contraption to make sure your TT Bars aren't too long and your saddle nose isn't forward of your bottom bracket.  Apparently though, the USA Official didn't read their own race bible and rules, because the official was busting people in the front of the line for all kinds of things-  like level saddles and aero water bottles (say wha?!?) ... such that half of the field went home and moved their bike setup around like crazy, often moving saddles INCHES and removing bottles, etc... and it made the long line move incredibly slow.  So there we stood outside in the hot sun for several hours waiting for bike check...

Only to find an email from USA cycling that evening saying, "sorry, just kidding, those changes we made you all make to your bikes...it was a mistake, our bad....sorry for the inconvenience."  Except as it turned out -many racers never got the email... so all of these time trial enthusiasts who've trained on their TT bikes in that certain position and who paid big $$ for bike fits.... ended up racing in new and wonky TT positions.... That's a recipe for DISASTER for a 50+ minute time trial.

Luckily for me, I was quite a ways back in the TT bike line, so they changed officials by the time I got up there and my bike passed the check w/out any adjustments needed.  So there was that, at least.  Oh and I got a cool train photo that shows just how little my bike is and just how big trains are (duh).

I sat around Tuesday night LAUGHING OUT LOUD watching The Heat on HBO (one upside to hotel stays!).  I'm sorry, but that is good quality entertainment right there.

Wednesday morning I took my time packing up and heading out, since I didn't race till after noon and I knew there'd be no escape from the hot sun once on the island.  I was right.  I did get this cool photo of the mountain we'd be racing around on though:

I connected with teammates Barb and Sue... set up my trainer and found myself parked next to a couple from Kansas - who, no surprise, knew my dad.  Small world, and fun.  Always nice to connect with people at races.  

My warmup went as I'd hoped though perhaps I went a bit too long and didn't hydrate enough.  My TT bike was dialed, tires inflated, shifting, boom boom boom.  It all felt good.  I arrived at the start early, my bike again passed the jig test, and I stood and waited my turn.  Thanks to USAC's "race predictor," I was 3rd from last.  That was good news -to have plenty of women to chase.  I knew that we'd have a mega-tailwind on the way out to the turnaround, so I kept making mental notes to keep it in check.  Two friends who'd already raced -Michael and Phil -both told me they'd been pedaling squares coming back in, so I knew I HAD to be conservative on the way to the turnaround.  

I rolled down the ramp, took off up the first hill, the wind at my back, a nice high cadence, and I thought -"this is going to go much better than I expected."  I kept my RPMs high, watching my power on and off (LOVED having that PowerTap HED disc with powertap/!!!!!!) and really held back, making sure my legs never burned I just let the pedals turn over.  The girls who'd started ahead of me pulled way out of sight, and I panicked a bit, but knew I had to remain patient, since the real work would be in the 10 miles coming back, into that wind.  I saw the guys coming back and they were STRUGGLING.... I knew I had to hold back.  And I did.  And I was pleased.  I felt really good.  

I hit the turnaround which was on a downhill, and came out of it in the perfect gear to begin climbing.  Again I turned the high RPMs, but with the headwind now a serious issue, I focused more on staying low in my upper body, kept my head tucked down into my shoulders, and buckled down for the hard part.  All was well. 

Until it wasn't.  At mile 14, the wheels fell off.  They fell the F off.  (Sorry, that's a Ron White reference)...a classic, I might add.  I can't explain it but it's like the off switch was flipped.  My back locked up, my right knee started killing me with stabbing pain, my right foot -3 smallest toes - lit up on fire and I couldn't stand it. I wanted to get off my bike to rip that shoe off, it was the worst foot fire I've ever had. Oh wait -the ONLY one.  Everything that could go wrong, did.  I shut down. I got into the easiest gear and realized it might take me an hour to ride the final 6 miles to the finish.  I had the goosebumps except I was burning up.  I couldn't get my legs to turn over. I sat up out of the TT bars and veered across the road back and forth.  The 2 girls who started behind me passed me.  One girl I'd passed earlier then passed me.  It was like Time.Stood.Still and I thought "I will never make it back to my car."  I didn't care about the race anymore.  I just wanted to get off the bike forever.

In years past, I could usually pull myself out of a meltdown like this midrace.  I historically have been able to hit the override switch (not always good - I've really hurt myself pushing through when I should have stopped)... but today there was no override.  No ounce of optimism. No thought or mantra that would help me. I was dying a slow painful death on this god forsaken desert island among bison and bugs... it was absolutely awful.  I limped to the finish coasting across the line.  I tried getting off my bike but couldn't straighten up, my back was locked.  I stood there bent at a 90 degree angle, desperately ripping off my shoecover and right shoe to free my fire foot.  I knew I was DFL.  I knew I'd imploded. I knew I just wanted to get into my car and drive to my hotel.  

That is not what happened.  A few yards past the finish line I rode past the USADA doping controls.  They were testing the winners of each category in the TT.  And one random.  Guess who.  Yep.  So I joined the winners and we sat in the sun and none of us could pee.  I tried and only got 20ml.  I needed 90.  I guzzled bottle after bottle after bottle of water and gatorade.  I lost track at 6.  Thankfully no one else could pee either, so we all sat together commiserating about how dehydrated we must be... 

THREE.HOURS.LATER I finally felt the urge and was able to fill my pee cup.  Nothing like trying to pee with a woman standing there watching you pull down your skinsuit in the port-a-potty. But doggone I felt like a winner with my 90ml cup full - I finished up the paperwork and questions, poured my pee into 2 sample containers, sealed em up, kissed em good bye and finally was permitted to return to my car.  Nothing to eat post race. No phone.  Having not eaten since 9am, and finding my car was sitting alone as the rest of the racers had all left -I discovered it was 3:40pm.  I had a massive headache from all the cold fluids and I felt absolutely ill from the TT implosion followed by 3 hours of sunbathing at the USADA tent.  

This was a low point of bike racing for me.  To come to a race knowing in my heart I was not fit enough, to race well until 6 miles to go and then to totally fall apart, and then to get selected as the random when I've done so poorly in my race...and to sit there trying to make urine for 3 hours... 

blech.

I finally got into my car, got my phone and called my husband.  He's been coaching me loosely in preparation for this race and I explained how my body had totally shut down on me 14 miles in.  He asked, "was it dry out there?"  I said "how could it be, we're surrounded by water that smells salty, it's got to be more humid than Colorado."  I don't usually have issues with heat, cramping or hydration, so I immediately dismissed his suggestion that severe dehydration had caused my meltdown.  But then he pointed out how long it took me to hydrate and pee.  "Good point," I said.  

Sure enough - the humidity in Ogden UT the day of our race was DESERT-LEVEL!  Average humidity: 29%. Minimum: 16%!!!  Much lower than in Colorado.  And I didn't have a water bottle on my bike (because historically I haven't needed one during my longer TTs!).  And I didn't drink nearly enough during my warmup.  Whoops. 

Ok... so that perhaps explained the body shutting down -the hot foot, back lockup etc... who knows if that was it or not.  Dehydration kills bike races.

The important and much cooler part of this story, is that BOTH of my TCL teammates there, Barb and Sue, made their respective podiums - Barb 5th in the TT at her first-ever nationals, and Sue 5th in her road race (raced today).  I'm so proud of them both. 

All in all, it was a trip where I should have respected the fact that my headcold ruined my training and my chances, and I should have honored my inner voice that kept whispering "stay home."  Even the van episode was a great sign that I was supposed to stay home and not go.  But I overrode the signs, I muscled it, and things did not go well.

The moral to the story: honor your inner voice. Listen to your gut.  Respect that if you feel like you're forcing something, you probably are.  Stop fighting the tension and relax.  Find the channel you're meant to swim in, and go there.  Stop swimming against the current.  

Second lesson: Always hydrate.  Always.  Especially if USADA is there because if you're chosen and you're dehydrated, you will be at the tent for a lonnnnnnng lonnnnnng time trying to pee.  

The end.  

Time

Women racing at the TDF

Huge breakthrough for women's racing - be sure to watch on July 27th!

http://universalsports.com/2014/05/27/universal-sports-network-to-air-inaugural-la-course-by-le-tour-de-france/

Go get it

Variety is the spice of life

1. Variety is the spice of life.
   

   Prov. Cliché You should try many different kinds of experiences, because trying different things keeps 

   life interesting. I know we usually spend our summer vacation camping out, but I think we should try something different this year. Variety is the spice oflife.See also: life, spice, variety
   

   McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs. © 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

I get asked a lot - like, daily -by people who say "how do you get so much done in a day?"  Or... "you've accomplished more by 730am than I'll get done all day!" ... 

My response is usually two-fold:

1.  I sleep a lot.  I believe in the power of more rest, not less.  Is it "unproductive" time, spent behind those closed eyelids?  Perhaps.  But 9-10 hours of good shut eye and I can charge through a day like nobody's business.

2.  Variety.  If I just practiced law, or I just taught spin classes, or I just rode/raced my bike, or I just taught bike ED classes... I would not be nearly as productive.

Burnout is a productivity killer!  VARIETY is key!!!

There are just days when you won't feel plugged into option A - the creative juices aren't flowing, the drive isn't there, the passion is temporarily "out of order..."  But yet option B - well on that day, you can't wait to attack it!  Having more than one focus or more than one pursuit is critical!  

People tell you to excel at something, you have to make it your singular focus... but I don't agree with that.  Perhaps at the very elite level, yes.  But for the rest of us mere mortals, I firmly believe variety keeps us plugged in, keeps us sharp, keeps us moving.  

From now on - if you're "just not feeling it" on whatever you "A" is, move on to "B" or "C" and just watch what happens.  Taking a break from A and spending a day on C, will ultimately return you to A feeling recharged and refreshed.  It's like a mental health day, except instead of checking out, you moved onto something else that you enjoy.  

Ride on Chicago video released

This was such an amazing experience!  Grateful we now have a video to remember it by ;)

New tshirts ordered!

Since the National Bike Summit in March, this has been my mantra.  So, why not make a tshirt out of it!?!  You can order one now -we'll get them in a couple weeks.


RIDE MORE, DRIVE LESS! from Defined Fitness Training, LLC on Square Market

Vuelta a Keystone Gran Fondo

I was invited to take part in this very small gran fondo -a first year event - in Keystone yesterday. Having not ridden for 2 weeks I thought sure, why not do a 90-miler! If nothing else it gave me the nudge I needed to get back on the saddle and put in some miles ;)

It was FREEZING cold when we started.  Like, I used embro in late June cold... crazy.  It did gradually warm up (50s) during the ride.

As with most fondos, the entire ride is not timed, only the timed "sections" are -usually climbs, as was the case here.  The first timed section was up Ute Pass.  Having done this climb before I did not try to race it I just maintained my steady tempo pace.  From there we came down and made our way towards the reservoir where we did a loop around the north/west side of the lake for timed section #2.  It was into a fierce westerly headwind the entire way. Having not ridden this road before I kept my pace conservative again.  I enjoyed the tailwind the entire way back to the finish!

It ended up being 80 miles and not 90 but that's ok.  I had some lunch and then drove home... only to learn later that afternoon that I'd won the women's 90mile event.  Whoops - should have stayed to collect my award!

I definitely recommend this event for next year - they had tshirts, jerseys and socks in the swag bags, and the small nature of the event made it really intimate -much nicer than some of the bigger events with throngs of riders all over the roads.

Bike to Work Day-Success!

We hosted our Golden station for the 3rd year in a row now and it was the biggest it's been!  Bike to Work day weather was IDEAL and cyclists were EVERYWHERE.  It was awesome.

http://hottmanlawoffice.com/blog/14037762/btwd14

#lookoutweek - join us!

Post by Megan Hottman.

Injured ... and sick...

So there I was, wrapping up the 500ish mile Ride on Chicago ride, followed shortly thereafter by the Ride the Rockies...  almost 1000 miles within 3 weeks and no incidents... just one singular flat tire in the heart of Chicago, otherwise I survived both unscathed....

After lugging my baggage for parts of a REALLY difficult Ride the Rockies, I came home a day early from to rest the legs as I planned to race 2x that weekend... I would have been better off finishing out the ride, as it turned out!

Instead of riding into Golden with RtR on Friday the 13th, I decided to rearrange some office furniture.  In order to slide desks down the hallway I needed to tip them on their side ... As I tipped the 3rd of 3 tables onto its edge, the feet slid out and the edge of the desk came down on my foot.

Or more accurately, on my big toe.

Yumm...delicious looking isn't it?

Long story short, I spent a few hours in the ER culminating in the PA sewing (yes SEWING) my toe nail back on because I'd made such a mess of the toe (which was confirmed broken, BTW) it had to stay on or I'd be in trouble.

Bummer, as I was pumped to race the Hess TT Saturday and Guanella on Sunday.

Alright so I did end up racing the TT -in my TEVA sandal on a platform pedal.

I wouldn't call it racing. Riding is more accurate. However only 3 women showed in my category, so I still got to stand on the podium as 3rd place and take home a few bucks.  That'll help pay off the ER copay ;)

While this was all fun and games and we got a good laugh about it, by midweek the next week, I fully realized this toe issue was not going to be a short-term issue.  I have been able to ride my commuter bike on platform pedals wearing sandals -on short trips... but I have yet to get my foot into a cycling shoe. 

Which means I'm nearing 2 weeks off the bike and it really really stinks.  There's never a GOOD time to be injured or to be off the bike...but let me tell you these warm, perfect June days in CO have been TOUGH to stomach when my bike is collecting dust!

Moral of the story: do NOT underestimate those toes or take them for granted! Without them, cycling shoes don't happen and without shoes, you can't clip in and that means you can't train or really even ride... 

That said -sometimes we get put on the injured list for a reason... and I have to say, while the REASON really stinks, the timing is probably perfect.  Combined with the real need to recover from those 1000 miles and things going haywire with work stuff, the timing of 2 weeks off the bike has been pretty spot-on.  

As soon as I got off the foot-related antibiotics, I discovered my throat was covered in white spots... why hello strep throat... so back on round 2 of antibiotics I went.  I suppose if I'm going to be sick it's best to do while my toe has me off the bike ... 

My shadow: my riding parner!

Post by Megan Hottman.

2014 blog posts Jan 1-June 16 (from old blog)

6-12-14: my Ride the Rockies week WOW what an experience!!!

Check out my instagram account for all of my photos!!

6-7-14: Tomorrow I embark on my first-ever Ride The Rockies, to raise money on behalf of Trips for Kids Denver! Thank you to all who donated to my ride and got me to my goal really early!! https://www.coloradogives.org/hottmanRTR 

"Trips for Kids Denver/Boulder is dedicated to giving underserved, urban youth the opportunity to experience and learn about the natural beauty of Colorado from the seat of a mountain bike." What an amazing, life changing mission -I'm so proud to support this organization on this epic ride!

(I'm riding the event self-supported so packing the bare minimum will be the name-of-the-game -in itself, a challenge). Thank goodness #rideonchicago got me in shape for this event  Looking forward to visiting friends in Breck and Steamboat too! It's gonna be an awesome week!

If you're not busy next Friday afternoon, come greet us as we finish back here in Golden under the arches.

6-5-14:  Check out my instagram account for all of our amazing trip photos!!!

6-4-14: so much for daily blogging during the #rideonchicago!  Ooops!  Too much eating, riding, recovering, chatting and brainstorming.  Here's my law office blog post with links to other worthy reads.  I find myself so full of thoughts that I'm speechless.  Time to process... 

5-29-14: Ride on Chicago day one in the books!! What a wonderful experience this trip has already been... a supportive helpful "group ride" through the back roads of the midwest, cyclists riding with proper etiquette, following the laws, helping each other get over the hills, all while demonstrating to the midwest that cycling has its place on our roads and that bikes and cars can safely and peacefully co-exist.  I can't tell you how many times I said today "this is such an incredible way to spend a Thursday!  Logging almost 100 miles at a steady pace through the rolling hills of Missouri..."  We have amazing support from Skratch Labs, Strava, SRAM, Firefly Bikes and more.  We've all died and gone to heaven eating Skratch rice cakes all day long, sipping Skratch in our bottles... it's just incredible to have these companies watching our backs making this ride logistically feasible for us. 

I truly believe in the mission of what this ride was designed to do, and not just the fundraising component but also the visibility part; we're showing the local communities we ride through.  And I love seeing current and former pro cyclists getting involved in the advocacy realm. Bridging that gap!  Tim Johnson has really made this event meaningful.

My dad and his teammate Steve joined us this morning as we rolled out of Kansas City -they snagged these photos of us today.

Tomorrow is a longer day in the saddle and hopefully we outride the rain yet again!

Again- a HUGE thanks to everyone who got me to my $4,000 fundraising goal before I left Denver !  http://www.peopleforbikes.org/page/outreach/view/ride-on-chicago-2014/meghottman

5-24-14: I had the absolute honor and privilege of speaking Thursday night prior to the showing of the movie Half the Road.  The woman who put the event together knew a bit about my past and my struggle to choose between racing and being an attorney, and asked me to tell my story.  I realized it was the perfect platform from which I would be able to personalize the feats and accomplishments of those women who are racing professionally -and to demonstrate the choices, the sacrifices and the challenges they face in their chosen profession. It was pretty surreal to speak in front of a nearly-packed theater with images on the big screen behind me as I walked the stage and told my story:

I am so grateful for this opportunity.  You don't think about using your own failures to shine a light on others' successes, but that was the unique opportunity I was given.  In so doing, I realized that our mistakes and failures can be lessons and messages of motivation to others.  That sometimes our most devastated, heart broken moments, can ultimately serve as beacons of light to shine on those who are worthy of our respect and admiration -as the present women's professional cycling peleton certainly is.  In so realizing, I saw how my failures could actually be used to inspire others.  And that gave them a new purpose- a new meaning.  Things truly do happen for a reason. 

So I'd urge you -to consider a time you fell short, and to re-evaluate it... perhaps it could be a really great story to someone, perhaps you can inspire someone else to take a bold step, even if your story doesn't always have a "happy" ending.  I find when we feel ourselves swimming upstream, against the current, chances are - we ARE!  It is likely not where we are directed to spend our time and talents... even if it's the thing WE want most.  Open yourselves to new possibilities and you'll be amazed at what unfolds... even if it's not the path you chose or envisioned, it's probably the one you were intended to follow.  And when that internal tension of chasing the wrong things is replaced with a comfortable, seemingly effortless ease...  you will know in your heart you're doing the right thing.

5-17-14: yesterday's morgul TT didn't go even close to as I'd planned, but that's racing. In a sport where "you're only as good as your last race," when your last race was crappy, it stings.

Sometimes you feel good form come in your legs and you gain confidence when you know you can push and your body won't resist.  A few weeks ago I felt like I was coming into some good form after a consistent month of good training, hard rides and some races.  I was pleased with the upward trajectory -both the one I could feel and the one my Training Peaks account showed me.  I was coming back. 

But then - enter a week where "work happened," and I only got in 2 hours of riding followed immediately by going down last weekend with the stomach bug.  I worked hard this week on intervals to try and rebound a bit but of course you can't cram it all into one week; my legs were so dead right from the start last night, I knew it wouldn't be a pretty race.  And it wasn't. 

It's one thing to hurt and suffer when you're fit. It's another to hurt and suffer when your (lack of) fitness puts you on borrowed time. But that's racing, and that's cycling in general.  You work hard to string together as many good days as you can so you can hopefully race at your best, but sometimes life gets in the way.  Sometimes you're taking steps back and the people you race against are taking steps forward and the chasm that opens up between you and them gets huge and you think "I'll never be able to catch back up." ... Again -that's bike racing. 

Despite my disappointing race and result last night, I am thankful to Mary Topping for helping me make lemonade from the lemons with this sweet tweet she posted of me at the finish:

Oh - and hey, 3 days left to bid on my MTB -all proceeds go to PeopleforBikes! 

5-14-14: 15 DAYS TO GO!!    click here if you're awesome.

5-11-14: I've been sicker than a DOG this weekend with some random stomach bug.  Totally foiled my birthday century ride/race plans and massively "buggered" my weekend!  But -never too sick for fundraising ;) 

5-9-14: The PeopleforBikes.org Ride on Chicago fast approaches!!!  I am almost halfway to my fundraising goals and I've just put my 2010 Cannondale MTB up for bid to raise the balance, so I can hit my $4k goal!!  Super exciting stuff happening and unfolding and I am SOOOOO excited for this event I can't even tell you.  Friends in Kansas City, St Louis and Chicago, Please take note of the following events - please come out and join us, I would LOVE to see you!!! 

(1) The BASH in Chicago when we arrive: June 2.  PARTY!!!!! 

(2) The STL Party May 30:

(3) The Departure Ride from KCMO leaving Thies Park:

7:00 � 8:00 AM: Coffee with local cyclists at Thies Park

8:00 AM: Easy roll out (with public riders). 5-7 miles (slow)

8:30 AM: Public Riders peel off.

5-5-14: two races in the bag this past weekend: the Tri Lakes TT down at Palmer Lake near Monument, and the infamous Koppenberg!  What a wonderful weekend of sunny warm weather, tons of TCL team presence and great racing!  Plus I got in a nice big ride home Saturday after the TT, riding back to Golden from Monument.  It ended up being a 95 mile day!  It is so fun to feel a bit of form creeping back into the legs.  It's been a couple years since I felt that deeper more consistent fitness and it's really fun and exciting to feel it returning.  In a new, better, healthier way.  My back feels great and life is more-well rounded, with ample time for work and sufficient time for riding.  #balanceisking

Here's looking fwd to the exciting and challenging events in the weeks ahead!!

5-1-14: Ok, I've got less than one month to raise $2,975.  I know it can be done!  That's only 60 people to donate $50, or 120 people to donate $25!! 

4-30-14: #30daysofbiking done and dusted!  I can honestly say I've never ridden my bike 30 consecutive days in a row!  Feels like an awesome accomplishment! 

4-24-14: Day 24 of #30daysofbiking and today's topic is: What IS a female athlete?  What does she look like?  I met a woman last night who'd competed in over 20 triathlons and during our discussion she revealed she did NOT consider herself an athlete!  What the what!?!?!  She said she feels uncomfortable using that word to describe herself.  This all got me thinking ...

I googled "what is a female athlete" and the only relevant link I found was to this book/series of photographs (which I LOVE, btw): http://gamefaceonline.org/

It really got me thinking ...  and so I made this video for my day 24 of #30daysofbiking -

4-23-14: just one week to go of #30daysofbiking!!  Today I-for the first time ever -climbed lookout mountain 3 times.  Yeah!

4-19-14: 19 days of #30daysofbiking!

4-15-14: happy tax day!

4-12-14: #30daysofbiking day 12

4-10-14: #30daysofbiking day 10

4-6-14: nice long group ride through 2 snow storms! #30daysofbiking day 6

4-5-14:

4-4-14: PRIZE GIVEAWAY!!! 

If you donate $50 to my PEOPLEFORBIKES RIDE ON CHICAGO EFFORT, you can take your pick of one of the following 3 items:  TCL travel coffee mug, TCL Pint Glass, or TCL backpack.  (Must pickup at my office in Golden-no shipping). Promo ends at 8pm Sunday (mtn time) -ready set go!! 

4-1-14: April Fools Day Kicks off #30daysofbiking!  Filmed using iphone -nothing fancy!

3-31-14: the #30daysofbiking challenge starts tomorrow!!  I got an early start on the challenge last week and rode every day, Monday through Sunday... just to be sure I could handle it ;) Of course some days are small days- just running to the store for groceries, and some days are big days, like 4 hour, 60-miler training rides.  But the object is to ride every day and with the exception of today (my one day off inside of a 37-day streak!) I plan on putting my bum on a bike seat every day through the last day of April!  This is totally doable.  [And ps -if the weather is bad -no one said you had to ride OUTSIDE (rollers or a trainer definitely count!!!)].  Join me - it'll be fun!!!  Get that bike all souped it, cleaned up, dialed in and road-ready!

Here's a little silly video I put together last Monday (using my iphone) on my grocery store trip just for fun:

Oh - and here's my fundraising plug/request: If I make it all 30 days in a row, would you consider donating $30 to my $4000 fundraising goal for our Peopleforbikes.org RIDE ON CHICAGO event??  I'd LOVE it if you did that ;)

3-26-14: looking for a new and fun challenge for your month of April?  Join me in this #30daysofbiking challenge!  I actually started mine this week on Monday (why not start early!?!?) Speaking of challenge... Here's a little vid of my MTB ride with mechanical saga yesterday - the moral of the story is to KNOW your equipment and to carry ALL of the tools you may need-not just some of them ! ;) 

3-17-14: shook out the cobwebs after a few years's hiatus from crit racing and spontaneously hopped in the women's open crit at the CSM race yesterday -ended up 2nd!  This was pretty momentous for me since I went out for a big ride (having no intention of racing) and stopped by the crit to cheer on teammates on my way home... found out there were only 7 women signed up so that sealed the deal and I entered -despite my dead legs!  Was super nice to re-enter the crit racing scene with a nice small pack of ladies... funny how sometimes I think I'm even more nervous now before races than I was as a newbie! Self-imposed expectations and uncertainty about fitness will do that I guess.  

Yesterday was definitely one of the bigger rides I've done recently! Slowly but surely, clawing back into shape!

3-16-14: First 2 races of the season are done - last Saturday I raced the "Frostbite TT" in balmy 70 degree temps and took 3rd place.  Yesterday I raced the Lookout Mtn TT in Frostbite conditions -cold and blustery! -and took 6th.  It's hard coming off my February "off season" and working back into fitness but that's how it goes! Each race is one step closer to being race fit again and I'm working as hard as I can to get there. 

Thanks to Sportif Images for this photo of me suffering during the TT yesterday!

3-7-14: GOPRO is LIVE!!!  Here's a snippet of a long ride I did yesterday - it includes a narrated version of lookout mountain ;)

Lookout Mountain 3.6.14 from megan hottman on Vimeo.

3-5-14: So excited to announce that I'm riding in my first-ever RIDE THE ROCKIES tour this June!!  And even better - I'm doing it to fundraise for Denver's Trips for Kids organization!  Please consider making a small donation here: https://www.coloradogives.org/hottmanRTR

Thank you!!!

2-27-14: to ride, or not to ride? ...that is the question...when you're down and out with a head cold.  Which I presently, unfortunately, am.

There are many, many articles on this topic posted by cycling coaches and exercise gurus, all over the internet.  The common saying is, "if it's above the neck, it's ok to train, if it's below the neck, rest up."  A bit of exercise is considered good for strengthening your immune system, but too much can weaken you, making your cold or symptoms worse.  Bottom line, remember that training is catabolic in nature.  It breaks you down, on purpose. So if you feel like 100% of your body's energy needs to be spent fighting the bug that's got you down, don't engage in catabolic -er training -activities.  Training while sick means you will require extra rest, extra fluids and extra calories.  So if you can't afford to stick a nap in after your ride when you're under the weather, skip the ride and just opt for the nap. 

And keep the intensity to a minimum! My personal preference is to focus on more strength-oriented riding/training so that I am not breathing heavy. 

Since I'm battling a scratchy throat and stuffy nose, I've opted to continue riding this week -but at low intensity and with TONS of fluids and extra rest added.  I leave for a trip Sunday and do NOT want to be sick or get worse while I'm there! Other OTC/herbal remedies I recommend: Kick Ass Immune, Echinacea, Emergenc-C, hot water with lemon juice and honey, NyQuil (the bomb) and loads of fresh fruits for vitamins!  Also dressing up super warm (especially for indoor workouts) and "sweating it out" or standing in a hot steamy shower seems to help the head symptoms feel better/flush it out.

Here are a few articles on the topic if you'd like to read more:

http://cyclingtips.com.au/2008/12/training-while-sick/

http://velonews.competitor.com/2010/01/coaches-panel/coaches-panel-advice-on-training-while-sick_103226

http://davebyers.blogspot.com/2011/12/training-while-sick-gray-area.html

2-21-14: REALLY hard to believe the local Colorado bike racing schedule starts tomorrow with a road race up at Carter Lake!  I will not be racing just yet as I'm only now coming off my "off season" post-cyclocross-season, but soon...very soon... let the pinning of race numbers commence!!!  #2014bringiton #tryingnewthings 

2-20-14: I am REALLY excited to announce that Powerbar has selected me for their Team Elite roster for the 2014 season!  I've been representing Powerbar Team Elite since 2006 and can't imagine using anything else for my training and racing nutrition!  THANKS POWERBAR!!  

2-19-14: VITAMIX CRAZED!!!  I can't stop talking about this blender -I'm a true believer!  It makes it SO easy to eat really good foods, really easily!  

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USE ABOVE CODE and GET FREE STANDARD SHIPPING ($25US/$35CN)

1-19-14: I return home from our amazing yoga retreat on the beach and find myself relaxed, reawakened and refocused.  So much to say, so much on my heart, but I feel the inability to express the feelings and emotions of this experience.  Instead I share the below photo taken from the hotel where we stayed, and I pass on this video.  The expressions in this video were shared with me this week and I want to share them now with you. 

1-11-14: all done!  CX season is a wrap! I talked myself into racing the women 35-39 today and ended up 12th.  I sprayed off the bike and shoes, cleaned up my gear and it's all put away until next season.  Now -off season!!

1-9-2014: I can officially say I've now pinned on a number in 3 different disciplines at elite nationals -road, track and now cyclocross!  Yesterday I raced a sloppy muddy tricky women's singlespeed championship race at Valmont Bike park.  No way could I pass up the chance to race CX nats when they are just up the road in Boulder! The technical nature of the course was definitely not up my alley -fitness had little to do with it, the race was skills plain and simple.  I nearly got in my car and drove home from nerves because the course was so far outside my league of skills but I stayed, I managed to pass 3 racers and I finished in 10th place.  I also learned that WD40 on the shoe cleats and pedals helps sooooo much when it comes to getting the mud cleared enough to clip in.  Warming up I couldn't get either shoe clipped in.  After WD40 guys cleaned my bike and sprayed my cleats I was able to clip in the entire race.  Ta-Da!

Photo courtesy of 303Cycling and Dejan Smaic:

I am still on the fence as to whether I will race the other event I signed up for -the SW35+ race on saturday, or not ...part of me is really ready for my season to be over.  By my count I pinned on 33 CX race numbers this fall ...that's a LOT! I feel I made progress but have much to improve upon before next cx season!

In the meantime ... road season is just weeks away and I'm looking forward to some time off the bike before then.  I am headed to my first-ever week long yoga retreat in a warm sunny location to decompress and hope to return with lots of world-ly wisdom to share.  Or maybe just fresh legs and fresh motivation for the bike and for the season ahead!