LTLOL

Coaching

2011-10-12T17:55:00.000-07:00

With excitement i'm pleased to write I will be coaching under my current coach, Felicia Gomez of Pinnacle Training Systems! This is a great thing for me as a new coach, and for my future athletes because Felicia has established a great, proven program. My motivation to coach stems from my own experiences of training at the highest level as a short track speed skater and as a cyclist. During my career I've learned and worked with the worlds best coaches and the worlds best athletes which leads me to believe I have a wealth of experience and information to offer. Having raced professionally on several American teams, in additition to European teams, I've come to learn about the dynamics of great team work, the importance of building networks and the intelligence of learning our own bodies. Not only is cycling a performance based sport, cycling is largly a mental sport with a plethora of varied races and options. My skillset would lend it self nicely to writing programs and coaching my athletes as they go along their own unique path. It is my belief a great coach-athlete relationship is built on communication and the ability to 'click' with one other. If you feel you would benifit from working with me, please write.

For details refer to the Pinnacle Training Systems website. I will be coaching at the 'Level 1' Package.

www.alisontestroete.com

I welcome all inquries and questions.

-Alison

This, that, and the other

2011-07-14T19:23:00.002-07:00

It's been a while of silence, some dreary songs played repetively and some intense searching. My natural tendensy is of curiousity and searching, but i think in this case, all the searching in the world wouldn't bring the answers i'm looking for. Hopefully time will. I certainly like blogging, and it's a hell of alot easier blogging my journies throughout the world. My lackluster turned life isn't a whole lot to blog about, but i'll keep up the blog because i like it and my life will sparkle with luster again with out doubt.

I've consciously lived my life with intent and forward thinking. I am no longer bouncing from Italy to Spain to the Netherlands, nor am a meeting a plethora of fun and exciting people. Now I am sitting at a desk from 8:00 - 4:30, which i clearly had not intended on doing. After breaking my pelvis and my collar bone (at the same time), i spend a bit of time (or alot of time) woundering about the plan i'd clearly set out for myself. While doing that i was also wishing i was one of those people who shrug these things off and bounce back and keep on keeping on. I tend to think things happen for a reason, one door closes a new one opens ect ect. With breaking those bones at the end of April, it's certainly thrown a big wrench in my whole plan, not to mention i wasn't over my last accident. Thrown in to the mix of circumstances was the high death rate of pro-cyclists this season. I don't believe in fear based thinking, but i do believe in reality and gratefulness. What is for certain is i am grateful for my life, and my full recovery from both accidents. With a mid-season accident, I was no longer 'busy', ambitiously motivated and driven. Simply put, you can't really be when your using several forms of crutchs to get around. Essentially that freed up alot of time to consider what i want my life to look like. Even if i did all the goal setting, lists and motivational quotes on the mirror, I would be riding back into fitness around the end of August - lining me up for a few European races. That option was quite an investment for an already hand to mouth lifestyle. Also mindful of not taking my body forgranted. Options and independance are far too important to me. I have a deep love for cycling and a deep love for life. It seems time will hopefully bring some type of clarity. Obviously i would never have chosen this for myself, and we never do, but i suppose it does offer it's benefits. I hope my option to race again is just as vibrant as other options.

Thanks for reading, and thanks for your messages and comments. Don't go too far my dear readers, my blog will sparkle again ;-)

-Alison

"sleutelbeen en bekken zijn gebroken"

2011-04-25T14:28:00.005-07:00

Despite some challenges I wanted to update my blog in efforts to show gratitude for the people that follow my journey through this platform. Last Thursday in a training race in my new home of Maastricht I was involved in a crash and suffered breaks to my pelvis and collar bone. Knowing how hard I hit my head, I certainly am grateful to know I will have total health within a reasonable period of time. There’s not much I can write to express my disappointment and total lack of understanding. In the last few months I’ve ridden some of the most beautiful Tuscan roads, raced in the middle east, travelled to Spain, France, and of course The Netherlands. I’ve developed relationships with incredibly kind and beautiful people. It’s truly been and experience, and with all the ups, there’s been a fair share of downs. The struggle of coming back and racing in the highest level of our sport after a facial injury while watching other serious accidents occur around me. Also, of course living the culture difference and the continual resourcefulness needed to accomplish daily tasks. I do look back and feel proud of the hurdles I’ve learned we as humans are capable of overcoming. Knowing this, I'm quite sure i'll find the strength to move forward. At this moment, being so physically limited, it’s important to me to publicly express my appreciation to the people that believe in me and offered me opportunities.

SRM Training Systems
Skil-Koga including my team mates
My coach Felicia Gomez
Pacific Sport Fraser Valley
Wenting Cycles and the Abbotsford cycling community
Dr. Vie Superfoods
My family and friends across the globe that consistently cheer me on

Alison

My other European Life

2011-04-14T12:27:00.004-07:00

Hey There,

Now seems like a good time to update since time is of the essence and my Italian life is somewhat become the distant past. I've been living the Belgian life recently where brootjes, beer, bellies, and maybe the blues are in full availability here. The italian hills and winding roads are replaced by concrete slabs that i would think were just as inconvenient to build as they are to ride on. Not only do they create a slit in the middle of the road the same size as a road wheel, every 10 or so meters one slab ends and a new begins, and this you can feel constantly when riding a bike. Another thing that quite contrasts italy is the coffee shops, actually you may as well get a waffle (or 5) for the price of a coffee or tea. In my downtime, coffee shops are usually where i get my day dreaming done, but here in the Tielt-Winge there are none. There is however a Disco-tech. Also on the positive, i think you could say we're friends (?) is the doctor 1.2km down the road. He works out of his house, on my way home from a ride, i swung on in, i'd caught him taking out the recycling, and briefed me on my values. It's a small town feel here in Belgium, i can't imagine how they keep busy with their little hills, little bakeries, brasseries and campgrounds in the 'woods'. They could, however, teach us N. Americans a thing or two about public composting.

Maybe you're woundering why i'm spending so much time in Belgium. I started this trip with Vlaanderen, i should say is one of Belgiums finest events i've attended. And cobbles are really something to get used to, they can shake you up pretty good on the bike. Another thing, is the women racing bikes around here want to win and can get pretty fiesty about it. The culture difference couldn't be more noticable at these races, my thought is it's really a skill to keep yourself in the front of the bunch, it's also a risk. You must multi-task, and be very aware. For those non-europe racing readers, let me brief you on my experience. As soon as the race starts, actually before the race starts 160+ women, and at these races they're all pretty strong women, would like to be in the front of the bunch, the ones in the back also miraculously want to be in the front. Most of them willing to do almost anything to achieve this, like bad, bad bike handling and cutting people off, or riding up the gravel then suddenly jumping back infront of you all while dodging parked cars, signs, reflector bubbles, also, the road splits, the round abouts, not to mention meridians separating the bike paths and the actual road. Even though we race on a full enclosed road, the bike paths are still up for grabs so long as there are no pedestrians or leisurely cyclists riding on them. So one would ride these bike paths despite no draft from the peleton purely to move up in the bunch. Not to even mention crashes that happen about every 45 minutes, if you're not caught in the pile up, then it's some kind of sick race to get past the people flailing on the road back up to the peleton. It seems caotic, and when it's flat the group doesn't always separate like in climbing races, this type of caos can last 3-4 hours. For me, knowing full well accidents can and do happen, these races need to be raced at 100 or 99% good health. And i would say having a stomach flu is about... 30% good health, and that's all i should say about that. I'm so very sorry to one specific team mate that saw me in the bathroom in the night, i certainly was not at my best - i owe you something nice! So that my friends is the long story to why i am in Belgium. At this point, i'll keep on the journey and hoping for better health next time!

My next stop is Maastricht, that will be the official start to my Dutch life, it will be nice to learn about my heritage i do suppose. I really do think Maastricht is a really nice place. Don't eat a full box of 'truffles' though, and only with a sound mind and a good mood ;o)

Alison

It's getting hottt in heerrree

2011-04-01T14:00:00.000-07:00

Hello!

Spring has sprung, and with that, comes all the inspiration, excitement and of course the races, and pretty spicey races at that. Believe it or not people, it seems some have actually e-mailed about my blog not getting updated, fancy that! In the last month i've been living the italian life to the max, knowing full well i'd be transitioning to the Netherlands. When spring hits Tuscany, it's beautiful, just like the post cards. It's a place i absolutely love and will miss; but i will be back! Another great thing about Europe is everything is as close as a decently priced Ryan Air flight. In the past few days i been pretty pumped to visit some great friends in Girona and have a look at Spain. Next stop is the Canada house in Belgium, then Maastricht. I've had a quick looksie at my arrangement in Holland, and it's quite nice, Maastricht looks to be a beautiful place with nice roads. My last race, Parkrooding race was about 8km from my future home, and the roads are NOT flat!! If any of you readers are living around this area and would like to make a new friend, send an e-mail!

Just to update real quickly my race sched for the next bit, till i update again

April 3rd – Vlaanderen
April 4th - Grand Prix de Dottignies

April 7th - 10th - Energie Wacht Tour

April 14th, 15, 16th - Ronde van Drenthe

April 17 - Ronde van Gelgerland

It's quite the heat to enter into, it's all new, and all part of the journey. Lets get a real update in the works after a few of these heavy hitters.

Thanks for reading!!

Alison

Where's Wenda?

2011-02-28T03:42:00.002-08:00

When mom ask's in e-mail with the subject, "Where in the world is Alison?", it's time to update the blog.... uhhh, not that i communicate entirely to my parents via blog, i really don't. I insist!

The answer is, i am in ... Italia (!). Semi-recently i got back from LA, California after training with the National team for a pre-Olympic training camp. It's very cool to see the planning and the resources being made available to Canadian athletes, which of course i am grateful to be included. It was a great 6 days of training with fellow Canadians, working with the coaches, sports psych, sprinter extraordinaire, media guy and just being in the US of A. I really do heart America, everything is just so available, well probably too available for my ADD mind. More picture are to come, here's my only photo with us and Gord (don't ask me what kind of outfit he's got on)

Pisa to Los Angeles isn't exactly a hop, skip, and jump away, I was pretty tired from all the travel and it's taken me a little to get my body set back on Euro time. With getting sick, i had to pull the plug on 'that newspaper race' (as my dad called it) or Omloop Het Nieuwsblad. More pictures to come.

Ok, thanks for reading!

Cheers,

Alison

Desert + Wind + Oil = Monaay & ...

2011-02-09T03:16:00.000-08:00

Qatar and a 'lil bike racing.

Aside from the somewhat annoying flat-windy style of racing, the organization sure took good care of us. It's like we were some kind of celebrity over there. The trip started off with a bang, with us flying Qatar Airways inaugural flight out of Brussels that was celebrated with cake and champagne at the gate. Then staying in the Ritz Carelton, daily delivery of cookies & laundry, not to even mention the food, which by the way included sushi, all these unique salads, dips and stir frys - sorry no photos :( there. I was almost fooled in thinking i was in America by the wide roads, tv programs, new buildings and the growth. My photo capturing was less than sub-par - so thanks Angela van Smoorenburg for these awesome pics. You'll notice there aren't many pictures of the women, which apparently is considered rude. That explains the glare i got from the customs woman i tried to sneak a photo of with my phone. She was sporting some pretty flare worthy style with long fake pink nails, painted on eyebrows, extra spicy eye lashes and bright pink lipstick, and of course, the arab robe. Definitely some tips to add to the style bank. Lastly, one word of caution, the local drivers are Crazy (yes with a capital), they're all driving their SUV's in a real hurry, that's like 100-120km/h on a regular street... say leaving the hotel. Lets not even brief on how the roundabouts are working. Alright, there really is a million and one things to write about, here are some photos to make up for my lack of description. And as far as race report goes, check out cyclingnews, stage 3 i get a mention, heh.

familiar??

view a la Ritz

What a life. Next stop Oxnard, California.

Alison

A date with Brussels

2011-01-31T00:09:00.008-08:00

Tomorrow I leave for Qatar and yesterday I arrived from France; so that gives me a full day to grab Brussels by the balls.

I started the day off pretty pumped on the free continental breakfast pretty properly equipped with wheat free options.

Then I jumped on over to the holiday inn where its fancier and offers free Internet while I 'slum' it overnight at the express version.

Next up I rode my bike over to Leuven where I pounded a couple stellas. Nah, I kid. Rather i (vice versa of) pounded a couple watery cappuccinos along the way. Which by the way were awesome since it was really cold, yes, and in my world that means -1. Then I came back to 007 (my hotel room) that I so un-economically had the heat set on max while I washed my bike in the bath tub. Which I'm sure is a definite no no, not to mention the hotel towel I swiped from the cleaning trolly that's unfortunately no longer white.

I confess, I stole jam on a Sunday

Dad, where were you??

Very bad but I think it's so damn funny. (by the way, the kogas great, and the selle Italia is money or should I say babies in the bank)

Tell me these are not the cutest jars you've ever seen with a straight face!

Then my darling readers, that is if you're still reading :-S I jumped on the airport shuttle for dins at the airport, since after all there is selection and lots of people to observe. I quite like the arrivals area, preferably international. But no long distant lovers reconnecting this time. Boo.

Well lucky for my finances it's a Sunday and everything is closed. The worst damage done is a greasy towel, some pocketed tea, jam (and honey) and pissing the pissy waitress by using credit for a 2.40€ cappuccino. And who said Belgium was the armpit of Europe - whoops my fingers slipped. Did you notice how sunny it's been!?

Best,
Alison

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhonio

G's & B's

2011-01-29T12:49:00.003-08:00

In the last two weeks I've been traveling from Holland to Spain to France and currently the Holiday Inn in Belgium. The weather has been rain to sun, cold to warm. In this time i've met and trained with my team in Spain, then visited my Canadian friends in France and now i'm on my way to Qatar. It's crazy to think and hour and half's flight can mean a complete change in weather and culture. Despite all the differences, the common 'denominator' among all these places is biking, it's equally important in each country. Even though we can't verbally communicate, there's always the language of cycling. Only on the bike would you wave or say hi to another person, opposed to driving a car or walking on the street. Would it be considered normal to start drafting a person that's power walking down the street? I'm not so sure it's even normal on the bike?

So now, it's time for another exec. decision at atrizz.com, and that's the introduction of a more regular post series called G's & B's. It'll be a general overview of the experiences in my life, that's right, the goods and bads, if it's even fair to categorize them. So in no particular order. Annnd, knowing i took most of these photes with my phone, they are pretty.... goood :o)

Gooood - italian cap.

bad... no wait good? no bad

Spain - very gooood :o)

Italy at night - goood

Florence - Good, Amy - also good!

More Florence and more goodness

Fire = warm = good

Good - chocolate

Amber, training partner, friend - Great!

Fireworks on new years in Italy - Good

My lack of care for plants - bad

Italian fluffy jackets - baddd

Pizza party with the pizza oven - good

leaning tower of pizza, i mean Pisa - it's good, but if it falls, then it's bad

Fluffy jacket, still bad, even on men

Pisa, good

Spanish cap. - also good

My soon to be home - it's good, of course, right?

The guys on the team, they're nice, i mean good

Goood - chocolates, er, i mean my friendlings!

Carcassonne castle, well good of course!

French cap. haha, it's awesome! but the price is bad

A free snack, it was good

Le Ble Noir or buckwheat flour crapes, unfucking real

Shani and i Rendezvous, oh yeah, gooood

Italian bars during bike rides, goood

Italia - goood

My new team mates - goood

Bikes in Belgium at the train station, very good

A sunny day in Belgium, oh so good

Biking in the free metro paper - yaa good

La new team, goooood

Chocolate, did i already mention good?

Selling cigarettes on a Ryan Air flight, really? - badd

And more goood chocolate

and the best for last...

Good, great, incredible - Carla Swart. To have known Carla, makes me very lucky. Carla was truly a very special person, she had this energy that would light up a room. Even though we weren't able to see each other often, Carla was one of those rare people that really left an impression. She would make you breakfast, then go out and win a bike race, all while she went to school, raced in Europe, South Africa and the US not to mention the outpouring of love she had for others. When I was in the hospital last September, Carla cared soo much and sent me messages to make sure i was ok. She really inspired me and enhanced my life. This fund has been set up to continue to carry Carla's wishes: http://highroadsports.com/carlas_circle

I love you Carla, and i really miss you.

Alison

Dusty Camera, Dusty Dutch

2011-01-16T12:16:00.001-08:00

Either my Dutch is dusty or... I’m a whopping 3 levels behind in Rosetta Stone. An C.B. inspired post, how do we really know if a situation is actually challenging or it’s in our mindset? Not to associate a challenge with negativity, rather, associate it with realty. It has been said leaps of growth stem from being comfortable with being... uncomfortable. And coming into a new team, new people, and a new language is very exciting and also challenging. Thrown in the mix is accepting the unpredictability of cars, not to scare, but yesterday almost a replica of my accident happened on the beach road with my team mates, with a car suddenly breaking and 3 of my team mates actually running into the car, so people, please, please, please, be careful! Seriously, thank god everything was fine.

Now, OK! I’ve been here in Malaga Spain with my Skil-Koga team mates and Skil-Shimano men. Sorry for all the readers who aren’t enjoying the cold, but it’s been around 20-22 degrees in the day, and seriously beautiful. It’s a huge tourist area, it’s easy to think you’re in a non-rainy England. Unlike the parts of Italy I’ve seen, time hasn’t stopped here, there’s all different kinds of stores, foods from all around the world, it actually reminds me of parts of the US. It’s been a good time to get to learn about my team mates, and get in some good training. And SO, despite not being a native Dutch speaker, and coming to embrace the excitement of change, missing my friends, my network, it is for sure, riding my bike throughout the mountains of Spain, and Italy, and the rest of Europe really is a dream. An experience to fully take in... like the weightlessness of floating in the dead sea, or paragliding in the cloudless sky... wait i haven't done any of those things, so soaking it in like the sun, heh.

Here’s a bowling ball grip of pictures - i promise i'll post more later

-Alison

There's home and then there's Euro

2010-12-30T02:05:00.003-08:00

Well people, it's time, and for what you ask? ... many things! It's time to get on blogging, it's almost time for a new year, and it's also time for the start of something new, something very different... something great!

I will not lie, or even pretend i wasn't living with my dad since early Oct. b/c quite frank, it's awesome. Being home within a reasonable time span is great. I can make my way around Abbotsford like molding play-dough from the one of two (!) additions of 'Cranium' i own. Aside from the fact there really is no place like home, it's good for the self esteem - it's comforting. Coming back to Europe, after a first sweet, sweet jet lag sleep i really wondered umm... why i was here and uh, can i still go back?! The reality of my plan quickly set into real time. Even though it's all totally new, it's different, and sometimes it's nice to just keep doing the same. After being in The Netherlands for the weekend, and dragging my feet... just a tad, I would say i'm starting to embrace the change. Not to mention the abundant opportunity and recourses skil-koga provide; turns out I'm a pretty lucky lady. The Netherlands is totally flat, and pretty jam packed with people, therefore towns, roads and houses. Despite the fact, almost everybody and their dog are riding bikes, and not to mention the country has produced many of the worlds best cyclists, I did question how I will manage to train there, yes i did. We have many flat roads at home, and when i ride them, i usually mentally compensate with knowing there will be a climb at the end of the flat road. In The Netherlands, i will need to keep riding a bit farther, and south, and a bit farther yet until i am no longer in the country, and at that point i will have ridden so far that maybe should consider taking the train home. In addition to the hills being far away, so are all my friends and family, if i really wanted to i could ride my bike to my friends in Italy, but I will not try to swim to my friends and family in Canada. Sometimes it feels like i spend just enough time to get comfortable then its time go to another... country. Nice and exciting and difficult at times, it's a good thing I can tolerate myself on a pretty good level most of the time, b/c i'm the most consistent thing in my life, hah. That's where I'm at, doing some bike training, whereabouts management and a little of this and that.

Happy New Year!

Alison

Oh! Also, Gordon @ Pez - thx for the press!!

Kids and Sports

2010-11-22T12:21:00.001-08:00

Here's a video i stumbled upon the other day. As and athlete, especially these last few years with my main focus being on cycling I've questioned my place in society. How being an athlete contributes, it's certainly a unique path, and in the sport of cycling a very entrepreneurial path in which it's your constant responsibility to generate opportunity. In my opinion it would compare to a sole proprietorship business in which you are constantly evaluating your net worth, you are selling yourself, you are managing your schedule, resources and career; which team to go with, which direction you want to take. It's simply not just about training hard, racing hard - riding a bike, you need a team, you need a network; you need to be savvy. So with all this effort into myself, I've wondered alot about how that's considered contributing. And I wouldn't say i contribute enough. But I can say that i'm happy, following my heart, and my gift happens to be in athletics. After spending some time working at a desk in an Architecture office, i came to realize, maybe it doesn't matter so much what you do, but what kind of person you are, and what kind of energy you carry. So i don't go about my day being a grump and dumping that on people, if you know what i mean. Perhaps it's living proof that anyone can achieve what they set out to do with a little planning and discipline. And like the video, it's kept me out of trouble and it's been a test to see what the human mind and body is cable of. I live a pretty awesome and privileged life, where I get to ride my bike all over the world, meeting new interesting people, and like anything it does come with a price. With every country i travel to, i have the pressure to perform, the pressure to keep it in the budge, and the need to succeed within an allotted time span. Sport has given me the opportunity to fully show up for my life, expand my perspective, be disciplined, set and realize goals, believe in my assets, communicate and succeed as a team; which are all pretty good skills for life in general.

space in the teeth no bigger than Madonna's

2010-11-09T22:50:00.004-08:00

According to astrology, it's a happening time for Cancers, and I have experienced this. Please don't laugh, but my Cancerian friends are noticing it too. Things in my life seem to be changing, some forcefully and some things i can just tell. Most notably i now have a space in my teeth, no bigger than Madonna's, the Italian surgeons said this to me right after surgery. They also said, 'I'm sorry to say this, but it could have been alot better AND it could have been alot worse". They are so right. I got into an accident with a car 4 days before i was supposed to go to India for Commonwealth Games. From this, i can say breaking your face is not the same as breaking an ankle. This one changes you a little. What i know for sure, is how important friends and family are, and how grateful i am it was not worse. Also, what is for sure, is that everything will be alright, my front teeth are a little loose, which i will pray those two babies survive. In the meantime i came home sweet home to Abbotsford and have been recouping, revamping, and re motivating for the new era. The future, as always is very promising. I'm so excited to be joining a new Dutch team called Skil-Koga. The team has a great focus and great management and i could not be more excited and motivated for next season. I've always wanted to live in Europe, and with this, I am going to go! It's certainly been interesting, the people i've met, the experiences and the opportunities along the way have created this path. There's alot to be grateful for, times got pretty rough, and not that i understand so much, I do feel like i've got just a few more layers. I'm certainly glad i tried ;o)

Alison

Bikes for Sale

2010-11-01T21:16:00.004-07:00

*** all bikes sold :o) ***

Just wanted to post to craigslist.alison.ca

I have some bikes for sale, they're all nice lady ridden bikes, and i of course, take great care of my things :o)

2010 Specialized Amira Size 51
2010 Specialized cross bike - comp, size 49

Priced reasonably, I'm not in a position to give out deals, but i am in a position to take generous offers ;o) Will throw in riding clothing if you'd like.

Please e-mail alison.testroete@gmail.com for photos and specs.

Eat Pray Bike

2010-09-28T01:51:00.007-07:00

From Italy to India with Holland, Germany, Czech, Switzerland, Belgium, Austria, Poland in between.

Testroete steps out of her comfort zone, embarking on a journey around the world that becomes a quest for self-discovery. In her travels, she discovers the true pleasure of nourishment by eating in Italy; the power of prayer in India, and, finally and unexpectedly, the inner peace and balance of true love in Bali.

Oh wait, Alison's not going to Bali and she's biking, but unexpectedly anticipating inner peace and true love just like her pal Gilbert. That's right people, it's time to bring the 3rd person back. Life's too short to not write about ones life in the third person. As owner, operator, writer and top reader, Alison makes all executive decisions at atrizz.com. Including recently updated layout and colour scheme due to readership demand.

Ok ok, writing in the 3rd person is just not sustainable. Enough. It's been a crazy ride and i'm sure most of you are reading and wondering what it's like in India. The first round of Canadian cycling athletes go in about 2 days and i go on the 5th. It sounds like the floods are drying up and they're cleaning up the athletes village, my mother read there were even some children doing the work. Doesn't get more real than that. The dengue fever, malaria, terrorism and whatever else over there is a little frightening, but that said commonwealth games staff and CCA staff are pretty on their game and I trust their discretion. India is not an easy country to go to, with all the shots, and 20%+ DEET insect repellent and spraying your clothes before you go not to mention a 20h plane ride. I was under the impression just stepping into the country would raise my level of consciousness and enlightenment, but now i think if you can get through the shots and not getting malaria, and back out of the country alive, maybe it'd make one less self absorbed. Maybe i should be less of an ungrateful pansy and just pony up.

Yours in blogging,

Alicat

I.Got.Ho's

2010-09-12T01:46:00.002-07:00

And i don't mean garden utensils.

This is for sure, the ladeees that have come to be my friends here in Italy are some pretty stellar people. They're sort of my net, so i didn't have to fall too far, or my therapy, so i don't have to get too entrenched in bike talk, bike people, and bike stuff. Scuola was awesome, not that i learned much Italian, but i picked up some pretty sweet chicks over there. Being in a foreign country, Italy, where the Italian men are slicker than their hair gel, having these girlfriends is pretty money in the bank. Not to get too philosophical, but I'm game on for strong independent type thinking women. I don't really consider myself a trouble maker or difficult to get along with but the shoe didn't fit with my Italian team. Where we couldn't find a middle ground with the curfews and the training rides, or riding with people outside the team. So seriously, here's to independent women, esp. when the goes gets tough.

Here's a journal in pictures of maaa life.

Moi e Kellaaay

Sonja and meee

my buds at my old team

Scuola ladees

Now to theme this post with some songs

When i was asked to leave the team, Sonya and I went out and purchased me a white team Trizz jersey, and hit the podium with it in an Italian race on the way to Holland Ladies Tour.

Now i'm living the Tuscan life until CWG, i f'ing love it alot. Things have been very difficult in some ways, and it's taken some creative thinking, and some really generous friends, but man, am i lucky. Things sort of linked up with each other and i landed into a pretty sweet nest.

Loooove all waays,

Alison

Help Moi find a team?

2010-08-24T10:28:00.009-07:00

Here's to networking myself. I am searching for a European based UCI team. My goal is to move to Europe and race my bike on at team that's cool, positive and that wins bike races. It's my dream to go to the 2012 Olympics. However, my main ambition is to race my bike and will help anybody on my team win the race. Here's what i can do:

I have been Canadian National Champion, I have been 3rd at National Championships. I have podiumed in Europe, i also have many top tens and i have a fair amount of UCI points too. I can climb but am not a pure climber, I can initiate breaks or I can follow breaks. I can attack on my own or i can ride tempo. I can descend really well and i can also corner very well. I don't crash often unless someone crashes me out. I can sprint or i can lead your sprinter out.
I can take direction very well. I can almost always comprehend your instructions the first time you tell me. I work very hard and don't expect anything for free. I can draw any architectural drawings you may need. I can cook and clean. I can listen to house music, rap, or classical music. I can discipline myself to go to bed at ten or rip the party scene too. I have a coach and I am motivated. I am independent and form my opinions independently. I'm not very well networked in Europe but fairly networked in Canada and the US. I'm resourceful, resilient and savvy. I am Canadian and have dual citizenship to The Netherlands. I speak English, bits of Dutch and Italian and can learn your language over the winter. I am pretty quiet when you meet me, I have a dry sense of humor, I'm positive, I'm social and listen when spoken to. I'm pretty normal but quirky like anybody is. I'm content by myself and very happy to be around other people. I like to see other people succeed and will contribute to that anyway i can. You can use my image in any ethical advertisement and I would be happy to model in any ethical advertisement. My image has been used in Bicycling Magazine, Specialized and Vera Bradley. I am open minded and very quick to learn. I am direct and expect the truth in return. I am real, i've fucked up alot, and i've also done many things very very well. I can take risks and seize opportunities. Also, I understand if i don't perform, i am of no use. Of course this is only the tip of the iceberg, you know. I think i've got alot to bring to a team, hope you do too.

This is a blog and of course filtered through my own bright coloured perception. I have been very humbled lately with lifes challenges and my blog also has an upwards of 140 readers a day. Soooo if any of you think you can help me find a team, i'd be ecstatic to hear about it! Please e-mail me at alison.testroete@gmail.com

Thanks for reading. This is a brief resume. Photos courtesy of Brian Black Hodes

Itialia Parte Due

2010-08-13T00:15:00.002-07:00

Ciao Ciao,

Since I somehow slept until 11:30 am this morning, i can't seem to sleep now... and... it's thunder storming outside, seems like the perfect equation for a blog post. Plus i might as well capitalize on my good readership lately, believe it or not people, I've been getting readers from more than just 2 countries! My picture taking has been horrible, so hope you're ok with my words for now, also, it's late, so might as well spill my deepest darkest secrets and make fun of Italians who don't speak English. Because quite frankly, i'm pretty sure they've been making fun of me.

Today i was thinking to myself how good it is to be Canadian, and that could partly be because I have met some really weird Italians. What i love and miss about Canada is the appreciation for technology, the ability to find almost any piece of information online. Plus when you meet someone for the first time they're not going to interrogate your space by kissing you on both cheeks. And i still don't know if it's going to be 2 or 3 times. In my opinion, that's pushing on second maybe 3rd date. Or i'm the awkwardly stoic person in the bunch. Human contact is great, a hand shake to start is cool with me.

Another thing that sorta sunk in today when i few of my friends wrote me saying how cool it is to see me living my dream. I mean just thinking of all the places i've been and i'll go from spring to summer to fall; it really is a dream come true. From racing throughout the states, to living the Italian life to ending the season in India. It fully is what i'd wanted to do. It's easy to get caught up in the bike races i could do better at, what i still want to accomplish and my temp. living arrangement (small apartment with now... 6 highly emotional females) but in he big picture, people, now listen up, it's not always going to be glorious perfection now is it?

If i could sum up my experience to date, coming to Italy has been a pretty good challenge. It really is totally different here. With no straight roads, the language barrier, culture difference, it's really opened up my mind a little bit more.

Alison

Italian Immersion

2010-08-09T02:08:00.005-07:00

Caio Amici e Familiari,

My life has been totally immersed in Italian. I'm not going to even pretend I'm one of those brilliant people that learn languages in the snap of a finger. Latin languages are completely foreign to me, it's pretty much gibberish. So even though i went to a language school for 20 hours, I'm proud to say I can start to understand what people are saying. It's definitely a good challenge to attempt a language, for someone who basically speaks English and toddler Dutch. I'm still liking it, the roads are unreal, i mean it's a dream riding a bike in Tuscany. The only problem is Italians don't quite have the same appreciation for technology and science as i do. They don't like to train my way... dammit. So that's probably the most challenging thing. Most of my team mates aren't Italian, it's pretty interesting seeing how each of them function given their background. For example they are hyper anal clean, i mean, I'm pretty organized, but my stuff keeps getting re-arranged, i'm starting to get slightly annoyed i can't leave my book in the kitchen, hah, oooh well.

Anyhow, now it's starting to feel like reality that I'm here in Italy for the next little while, I'm in Italy training until Aug. 24th. So 2 more races, then India baby!!! I qualified for Commonwealth Games, and i'm so f'ing stoked about it! whooooooo

-Alison

My European Life

2010-07-24T01:10:00.012-07:00

Hey There,

I’m having a small battle with the internet, which is not a priority in Europe (that's a good thing for me)

Anyways, enough, here an update on my life here and now if, of course, you may be interested. I’ve been loving Italy; as soon as I got there I felt like it was a place where I could unpack and stay a while. I love the weather, the land, mountains, roads, the shops, and the culture in general. It’s a bit slower to just do stuff, and I love doing stuff. My new team is great, I feel pretty lucky to have Liza, she’s been an angle in translating and filling in the culture gap. For whatever reason I’m pretty keen to learn the language, next week I might find a language class, or better yet a cute Italian tutor? My team is really nice as well, the girls are all quite nice and the director is just crazy. Don’t mistake his D & G ‘purse’ for Loui Viton b/c that’s from France, sheeeesh. BUT: if I win a race in Italy he will give me a D & G purse, which, yes I would like. A few of us stay in a little apartment inside the walls, and everything is in walking distance. The only downfall with the heat is the mosquitos at night, it’s so hot I feel like road kill laying in a bed. Ah, not so bad. It’s the Italian life baby, and it’s a good one at that! I’m a lucky girl.

Here’s a bit of a picture summary

Your Truly,

Miss Thuringen Rundfahrt 2010

From Ottawa - Banff - Edmonton - Abbotsford and... Italy (!!)

2010-07-02T08:04:00.000-07:00

Dear Bloggy,

Here's a little update on my world. Nationals was just last weekend in Edmonton. It was quite successful I'd say with a 3rd place, not too shab at all. It was a downhill sprint, and there were some pretty fast sprinters there so i'm pretty stoked to snag the bronze.

Now, i'm pretty happy to type i am in Italy. I caught some planes, trains and automobiles to get here, but alas i am here! One of the Italian dudes working on the train actually seemed to think it was a good idea i go to his house with him b/c he said he liked me and i was very beautiful. Then moments later i saw him as i was dragging my bike bag and duffel bag up the stairs and the slime ball didn't even offer a hand. Sheesh. So far, Lucca has rubbed off a really nice first impression. There's a health food store in town, cute little shops, it's actually a (stone) walled town. There's supposed to be some American singers coming into town too. I'm really quite excited about it all. I joined an Italian team (in addition to Vera Bradley) and will do a UCI race schedule with this team. I will also try to learn Italian....

Here's some pictures so far.

Pretty dang good if you'd ask me - super Italian clothing

Moi, Liza (american), and Caroleina (Brazilian)

anti-depressing bathroom in Amsterdam airport

Bye for now,

Alison

Alberta, Alberta

2010-06-26T11:29:00.006-07:00

This song reminds me of 2 things: living and riding in Calgary, and driving up to Hemlock mountain with my dad, brother and sister, each and every time we went skiing while my dad sang along. Your a great singer dad.

Next up, I've been in Alberta for say about 2 weeks. Raced Banff, won some races, lost some races and made a bit of cash then stayed at the Brown resort between with Laura B and her fam. Here's some evidence:

My good day, got the leader jersey, then lost it in the dang Time Trial the next day

photo cred: Tim Sherstobitoff

Nationals TT -it would appear i should be a good TT'er, but for some reason i'm just not, send your advice via my contact e-mail. Please and Thanks. Guess i'll accomplish the TT goal... later

Photo Cred: Rob Jones

Tomorrow is our nationals road race. Today i checked out the course, and it's pretty sweet, right downtown through a park, a great area to have a bike race. Hopefully lots of people come out to watch. It's a bit hilly with a sprint finish, soooo could be a nice course for me to defend my title. For now (and last week) i've been sleeping and eating in my little red kit. Feel free to cheer for me where ever you are ;o)

Now, i wouldn't want to have Eric Clapton stuck in your head. Of course, i really like these songs, and are probably a good choice over the house, techno beats right now. Courtesy of my darling, musically inclined friends.

My Best,

Alison

Ain't no place like home

2010-06-15T09:19:00.004-07:00

Ottawa is like my second home, considering I've stayed with my friends quite alot. I know the Carling Ave strip, the paths, endured some intense motto work and even had my own room (until baby George came along) - i'll wait till he's old enough to fight him for it back, so lets say 5-6 years from now. I raced with the National team there. It was def. a great event, and pretty cool to see after Canada lost a few major UCI races. Then i flew on over to Calgary to race Banff Bike Fest which is technically also a home to my former speed skating existence. Being at home with the local flavour is just awesome. Nothing like inside off-side jokes and shooting the shit with old pals. The energy is palpable, which compensates for the rain.

Here's us gals, and a disc wheel:

That's all i got for now.

Alison

Canada!

2010-06-09T20:32:00.006-07:00

Holla to tha people,

Yesterday i made my way from Tulsa to Ottawa, quite the contrast. The racing was pretty fun, most notably the last day, which had a bit of a climb in it. I actually raced 2 of the 3 races b/c i wasn't quite feeling all there, a little sick. The last day was my best day with a five-o place-o from the break.

Canada customs opened me with welcoming arms, by that i mean, I didn't get interrogated or searched, or asked my life's financial questions, where I live, where my money comes from like the US did back in February. So I am a happy camper. Also, my darling friends at CCES greeted me ASAP, good thing my whereabout was up to date.

I got to Ottawa yesterday, and there's just something about this place that i really like, maybe it's the hot summers they get, or the beautiful down town area, or the river, or my super cool friends not sure but I... just... like it! Or maybe it's b/c i only see the city in the summer! A new UCI race is in town this weekend, I was really hoping it'd be in the Gatineau Park where I've got experience riding loops, hard loops, easy loops, lots of loops. Doesn't look like the course is of the loops i'm used to. Ahh well.

Slaying the QOM Prime - $200 cha ching

On the way out to Tulsa, my best travel bud, Lauren and I got held up and stayed the night in Denver (i stole all the free aveda stuff) then had a longish day to get to Tulsa bringing us there about 3h's before the race started. It def. wasn't ideal, but Laurens a bit of a fire cracker helping to make lemonade out of this situation. I will miss you teamy... for now, xoxoxo ;o)

Well that's enough talk of me and my life for this edition. Here's a song i'm loving, courtesy of one of my darling besty's - thx for the music, big time!

Cheers,
alison-o

the life

2010-06-02T12:02:00.000-07:00

Sup Blog,

It's time to cut the slack on the blogging, exit my colourful wonderland and enter the real world. Mops and Pops wanna get the lowdown.

I sill haven't left Durango, not til tomorrow. It's been a great altitude training camp. That's basically what i've been up to, which is quite boring on paper. Lets get a bullet list anyways:

bike training
sitting in the river; in my shammy
eating food, primarily green food
one night of over-consuming wine
riding Lauren's cruiser bike to my private 'tanning rock'
watching hulu (please bring this to Canada)
doing pilates
video skyping
listening to music
planning and organizing my life
hanging with the locals

I mean i did some other stuff too. Iron Horse Classic was in town, it's a huge race for the town, it was a great event. There was a road race that went up a few passes and finished in Silverton at around 11,000ft, woweee, a crit and a time trial. The crit was my best, I had a team mate there, she attacked, i felt i owed her a counter, and that was it. I was off the front from minute 7, tried to slay the corners and just keep it going which was good enough for the dub, whooo, first win of the year, YES YES YES! That put me in 1st on the GC, so it came down to the TT, and i went to bed thinking i lost it by a road helmet rather than tt helmet. joking, i think i was out of 1st by maybe 25 seconds of 36mins or so to get 3rd. Would have been great to win rather than get 2nd, but seriously, i was happy to even get third in a time trial! Anyhow, i'm hoping the race is an indication of me doing something right !?

Next up i'm heading to Tulsa, Oklahoma, yes. There's 3 crit/circuit race type races that offer some good prize money. THEN: i'm coming baccckkkk to Canada!! Ottawa, there's a new UCI race in town. I love Ottawa, i've got some great friends there, and something exciting always seems to happen when i'm in Ottawa. So lets bring on the excitement!

Crit, the crowds were all cheering, isn't that nice !

The view in my life, which is a pretty good one at the moment

Cheers,
Alison

It's a resource ladeees

2010-05-23T19:26:00.009-07:00

Hey Readers,

It's about time this blogs see's something a little deeper than the stream that dries up every summer. Over the last little while, my recent 'globetrotting' life style has brought me to Durango, Colorado. I've never been and have always wanted to come because of the great cycling and community of like minded people. Durango's a small town that's the home of a number of Olympians and just outdoor enthusiasts. And by the way the mountain biking f'ing rules!

It's in cycling where I've met the most overwhelmingly generous people. People who are complete strangers that open up their beautiful houses for cycling teams to take over during the course of a stage race. At one house the kids slept on the couch (while racing as well) to free up their beds for us, while at another house, the owner actually left town and fully trusted us with their home. It's quite unreal, and it happens all across this diverse American country. And so here in Durango, a friend and former team mate has opened her doors to me while she's away racing in France. As a woman cyclist who doesn't make a whole tonne of money, it's pretty safe to say I amongst other women race for the love and passion of the sport. It's an incredible feeling to know that people understand what it's about and stick together and offer what they can when they can.

Which is really nice lead into my next topic. Another person which is really an organization of people that's welcomed me to come on over is US Women’s Cycling Development Program. I want to mention it, because I've felt making my way in this sport is not nearly as straight forward as I found speed skating to be. Any of the lady racers that read my blog can always check out Michael's web page/contact details and go ahead and fire him an e-mail if you'd like.

As we are such a small community, and a passionate one, I think we need to all stick together and raise the bar for each other. You know expect great things from one another which intern brings great things to each of us.

Alison

Sorry bout the self shot, but you can see the scenery too!

More Biking

2010-05-13T18:17:00.005-07:00

Hey Blogaroo,

Well, it's been alot of bike riding as of late. And by alot, i do mean alot. Most notably I finished with Joe Martin. Our team, my team, whichever, won the GC, and the race with Powers. The gal likes to win, and win she did. And me, a couple top tens & I'd fancy if i did a little sumthin' to support the W.

Now, to balance out the biking, I literally balanced out my numbers. I take pride in the fact i now fully know my net worth. Yeah, not counting my priceless personality and of course my many assets, the number may be considered low by some. However, quality of life and net worth in my mind are not directly related. Which brings me right into my next topic. I flew on over to Durango, Colorado to check the scene while taking a mini training camp/hiatus. Lauren, another darling team mate of mine lives here and easily convinced me to come. USWCDP/Michael Engleman has also been an incredibly valuable recourse to women's cycling, and intern ME! He's been my newest besty, showing me the town, takin' me for lunch and hooking me up with the locals. So in a nutshell, that's what i'm up to... might be more exciting in real life then online?

Alison

Hey DJ - put that record on... allllll night looonngg

2010-05-04T13:01:00.005-07:00

Hey Mom & Dad, I’m in ArKanSas!

Pronounced AR-kən-saw, messed that one up, whoops

Gila finished up yesterday with occurring events that may or may not be blog worthy. I’d hoped for perhaps more success but for whatever reasons it didn’t quite happen :o/ My readership is important to me, so I’ll cut the excuses. To my family, this is what happened :o)

Stage 1 – going good until I landed in a pile up at the base of the climb and swapped up both wheels and waited a couple secs till I could bend my knees again
Stage 2 – didn’t make the selection at 10 miles, but it’s not my damn fault... Or wait, it is
Stage 3 – rolled the TT in hopes to materialize something in the next 2 days
Stage 4 – Crit was decent, but no break was ever going off the front, so we kept it hard to put pressure on PB if at all possible
Stage 5 – probably my best day, team mate in break till climb, so closed a gap or two on the climb for Powers, to finish with a fairly decent climbing effort.

I just got done with being zonked out in the middle seat of the van for a day and a half to get to Fayetteville. Dad - check it on the map, it's faaar from home, and we also drove through Texas, you missed out ;o) I’m pretty excited about Joe Martin, it’s not at 6200+ ft, woop.

Now next topic. D.j.Sparls mixed me my very own mixtape (!!) Essentially he took a bunch of songs I like, and tha d.j. played the tune... allllllll night long, over and over again. Well, I’m no music connoisseur, but I quite like !! It’s possible the female audience may appreciate it more than the male. Big time thanks Jamie!!

DL free here.

Jamie’s just expanded his tool kit with a set of turn tables, I like his style, it gets my heart pumping and the boy knows what he’s doing. Here’s another set without the atrizz flavor, I funken like it ALOT. All house music enthusiast are encouraged to download both and give them a turn on the ipoodle. You can follow him and his music at Jamie's blogaroo.

DL free here.

All my best,

Alison

Kickin' it in New Mexico

2010-04-25T18:43:00.001-07:00

Hey. So. I wish i had something really cool and exciting to tell, but i just don't. Well, I'm in New Mexico, Albuquerque to be exact, and I certainly couldn't spell it without Google if you paid me a hundred bucks. My team and I came over to race the Road Runner Classic which was pretty good. It's a one day race with a windy as fock TT in the morning then a 60km road race in the afternoon. We were all sitting pretty with 1st, 3rd, 5th, 7th and 11th i think on GC in contention for some good cash. Then a twist was thrown in, and by that I mean goat head thorns. For something so small and unassuming, they cause alot of damage. The goat heads caused us 6 flats on our TT pre-ride and claimed Powers in the last lap of the road race, and so I swapped my wheel out for her useless flat wheel, pushed her off, then I threw my helmet on the ground a kicked it, just kidding. I just rode to the start/finish, and some guy gave me a wheel from a bike that just happened to be there, and i took it. We wanted to win, and with that we sacrificed, but Powers delivers so no sweat, she hung onto 2nd and we all put some cash in our pocket. Money which was debited to my clothing budget and partially credited this afternoon on it's allotted expense, well sort of.

Our host house are really nice people, and here's their cute puppy

A typical house here

Tomorrow morning we're all heading out to our next big race, Tour of the Gila starting on Wednesday. Exciting. With the race this weekend, it's been valuable to get used to the altitude which is around 5000ft.

All my best,

Alison

That's a wrap People

2010-04-19T10:14:00.009-07:00

I'd say the early season racing is wrapped up, in addition to a good block of training, my most valued possessions are also still wrapped up in a suit case.... and I suppose I could also say my finances are wrapped up in ... investments.

My life much of the time feels like a round of spin the bottle, it's hard to know what you're going to get next. Exciting :o)

Here's my weekend in photos:

View of the short track mountain bike course at Sea Otter

photo cred: ME!

Moi sittin' pretty in the circuit race

photo cred: Brian Hodes, VeloImages

Us ladies descending the 'cork screw' where my team mate Ali Powers attacks to win the race solo

photo cred: Brian Hodes, VeloImages

Ali celebrating her win. After a dismal crit, we needed to end the weekend on a high note. And we needed Ali's horse power to do it.

photo cred: Garrett Lau

What the lens didn't capture was our very tight airport drop off for Ali P. We had all underestimated the California - San Jose traffic. We left from Monterey at 4:05pm to get at the airport at 6:54pm for her 7:20pm flight. Brian switched up the route, Ali took out all of her metals and liquids, then I had her suitcase right at the sliding door. Then we dropped her off with 26mins before take off, she busted a fast move to security, caught her flight as if nothing even happened in the first place. Ali's such a great bike racer partly because when the moment heats up, she doesn't stress and follows the plan of action. Caught flight: check.

All my best,

Alison

Race

2010-04-16T14:43:00.003-07:00

awww.

Yesterday 2 team mates and myself raced the criterium here in Monterey, CA. Everything was going great, I got into the winning break with a Colavita and a Tibco. So far so good. Then the 2nd Tibco bridged up and baby was put in the corner, bahaha. The blame is on my shoulders, I haven't been feeling that snappy this season yet, so it sucked, i couldn't respond to any of the pressure. Good on Tibco for doing that. I suffered big time. On the flip side, it's good to feel like that, the feeling of letting your team mates down, getting dropped from the break, the feeling of frustration and disappointment. The shoulda, woulda, coulda voice in the head. It's one to be fully absorbed into the memory for future races. The fuel for the fire.

Photo cred: Brian Muck

We just finished up a 'ride with the pro's' which Ali Powers was wondering who the pro's were?? Guess that's us! Tomorrow we back in the game with the circuit race.

Cheers,
Alison

Efficiency

2010-04-12T17:00:00.008-07:00

a. Acting or producing effectively with a minimum of waste, expense, or unnecessary effort.

b. Exhibiting a high ratio of output to input.

I focking* love efficiency. I could dedicate many more blog posts to efficiency. Not to say I am always efficient, but i still really like it. Some forms I like:

In communication: using minimal words to get the point across in the most direct, perhaps blunt way. Eliminating the need for sugar coating, fabricating false hope/lies and extreme patience.

In spending money: I strongly dislike paying more for something than it's worth. I'm Dutch but not cheap.... :o/

In stuff: Eliminating clutter probably gives me more satisfaction than the average person. There's nothing like looking at a newly organized space that's been eliminated of useless crap. The stuff vs. use ratio is a big part of my life. Cherished things are a whole separate category.

Last weekend, Lauren, Lisa and I did the charity ride. It was pretty awesome to see, my guess is 3000 women come out and ride the 100k on a really windy day. The only thing that i don't understand is why all the pink tutu's, tiara's, and helmet flare? These items are one hit wonders, therefore the efficiency drastically decreases. Or just call me a party pooper, that's cool too.

Us with Amy from Specialized and Orangey from Betwixt

On Sunday Lauren, Kelly (where i'm staying) and I all went to Menlo Park Crit. It was pouring rain and I was feeling pretty tired. But i would like to say i was pretty proud of my efficiency on that day. It wouldn't have been too difficult to just write the day off... pouring rain, caught behind 2 crashes, feeling shotty*. So I'm pretty stoked to maximize the result after chasing for 45 minutes off the back then finishing it up with an 8th. Not only that, Lauren got her first podium for her cycling career! Good on ya girlfriend!

I like cheese, quotes, you name it. Lets all wrap it up with a solid quote:

'We all suffer one of two pains: pain of discipline or the pain of regret. Difference is discipline weighs ounces while regret weighs tons'

Alison

* = "no swearing on your blogs" guess who said that

Spring Babee

2010-04-09T15:37:00.008-07:00

Hey Blog Readers,

Spring is in the air here in Cali, and i looove it. The days are just whizzing by. Actually they were kind of at a stand still when it was pouring rain last week. Time especially stopped when i was standing on the side of the road wearing thin gloves getting splashed by BMW's driving by as i waited for Lisa to pick me up :( ... freezing hands, flat tire and non-long stemmed valve tube + rain = bad combo. oops. Lisa: please don't call me a wimp for the rest of the year, thanks.

Things have been pretty calm, mostly been riding and spending some time solo. I did however re-accept the universal force into my life in the forms of black coffee and Pete Tong's Essential Selection. Which made today's ride especially good. The roads around here are seriously to die for. I wish i had some pictures to show you, but i was doing intervals and had to lighten the load (camera = 100grams).

For now meet my newest furry friend:

Music, among many other things is the oxygen of life.

My teamy just got here, tomorrow morning we're headed out for the 'Cinderella Classic' charity ride, then the Menlo Park crit on Sunday. Hott diggity.

xo,
Alison

New Day, New place

2010-03-30T13:13:00.002-07:00

This morning I spent, i'm guessing an hour walking around with 3 grocery bags and a backpack trying for find my way back 'home' from the store, when it took me 15 minutes to get there. Alison is in wonderland once again.

The great thing about racing is you get to see and experience so many different places. I've found myself just down the street from Lisa in San Rafael this time. And, no joke, i am a pretty lucky lady right now. Kelly's got a beautiful little place right outside of San Francisco. In my opinion, or my personal standard, I feel any house, or livable space should have... windows, and lots of them. Humans should be able to access the light of day from the entirety of the building. And that's just how Kelly's house is, i love it.

I like small modern houses alot. This one (as shown) is prefab - sustainable, energy efficient. 'Method Homes' out of Seattle

LOVE the windows

Lauren and Alex were here before Redlands, now i'm here on my own for a solid 2+ weeks. It'll give me some time to train, find & buy random access memory, see the city, eat, sleep, train some more and search the depth of my soul ... and/or ... make new friends.

Please weather, stop raining - thanks.

Alison

Stranger than Reality

2010-03-28T21:15:00.000-07:00

Due to popular demand Alison has reluctantly agreed to start writing her blog in the 3rd person.

... just kidding...

Redlands wrapped up today. I’m totally digging the team. The girls rode really well, making it super motivating to up the anti and bring more to the table come Gila/Joe Martin. A happy Huntress means a happy team.

We all got back from the hospital to visit Leah tonight. With no surprise she's one tough cookie, and in good spirits. Send some love her way for a speedy recovery.

Check out some photo’s:

Team GC win, oww oww !

3rd GC : Alex is on fire

Smiley queen of the mountains, powerful Alison

Molly and Muck (pls don't make that face ever again - thanks)

'stay in the circle' - our motto

Bring it San Francisco!

DJ atrizz in the Hizzzouse.

2010-03-25T16:39:00.000-07:00

atrizz loves house music. House music in the morning, house music on rides, she just wants house to rule and LOUD. She raced the Redlands time trial this morning, since she got 49th this takes precedence.

I'm posting to inform my release of my mix tape d.jsparls feat atrizz. Or a potential build to disappoint but not likely. Anyhow, what's important is that recently new resources have been brought to my attention which i intend to diversify my non-existent portfolio.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xtpi-KsMO1g&feature=PlayList&p=BB294918C6FA3D0A&index=3

Annoyingly yours in the 3rd person,

atrizz

Let the Races Begin

2010-03-22T19:16:00.000-07:00

Hey People,

So last weekend was my first race with my new team. It was a really fun race with nice weather & with some good competition. We were not the only team looking to tune up before Redlands, so it made out for some hard racing. I would say the most notable difference is the new radio ban. It sure spices things up a bit, and keeps you on your toes a bit more. It'll be interesting to see how it plays out. Anyways, I'll spare the diarrhea; i mean diary, we finished with Robin 5th on GC, Alex with a 2nd place on stage 2 and in the sprint jersey. I'm excited about it. Here's some pictures from Lyne Lamoureux.

I really love those all out attacks when you get the reality check that you're not faster than almost anyone in the field. heh. I'll try that again... later
The Peloton on the major climb in the road race

Next race is Redlands, starting on Thursday.

For the non cycling junkies get the full scoop at CyclingNews, PodiumInsight, or CanadianCyclist.

Till then,

Alison

Condition my Condition is in

2010-03-15T17:08:00.000-07:00

Hey Blog Lovas,

2 more San Diego days then it's hello 2010 race season kicking off with San Dimas/Redlands. Good team, sunny weather, and nice little red racing kit should make for some good road racing fun.

I like the song, Jamie likes the scene.... time to see what condition my condition is in.

The last few days the weather has gone from good to flawless. Here's some photo's:

Best,

Alison

This is Japan

2010-03-10T09:16:00.000-08:00

Hey People,

This is a video my brotha, Eric, made after his trip to Japan. He's very talented, he's self taught, and he's ... related to ME. I mean I'm related to him. I like it big time and I think you will like it too. It's inspiring, it's creative, and of course, i would like to go to Japan now.

P.S. The featured lovely lady is his girl friend, Jen.

This is Japan! from Eric Testroete on Vimeo.

xo,
Alison

Team Vera Bradley Foundation Training Camp

2010-03-08T10:32:00.000-08:00

Hey Readers, Just sitting in the airport heading back to San Diego from our team camp in Santa Cruz (brace yourself, it's long). I couldn't be happier about the whole situation. I've found myself in a spot to have great team mates, great sponsors, and really great staff. Lisa Hunt, aka Huntress runs a pretty awesome show. She also leads a mean yoga/stretch on top of pool tables. Another thing that I'm super excited about is our title sponsor, Vera Bradley Foundation for Breast Cancer, which presents us the opportunity to connect with others beyond the cycling circle and raise money for breast cancer research. I will write more about the Foundation and our efforts to raise money later.

So, next topic, we all went to Specialized to get BG Fit s, which i must say, is a pretty nice resource. It takes all my jitty guess work out and now I feel pretty good on my bike even though my sit bones, aka ass is bigger than I .. uh... thought. And i say jitty b/c they made some notable differences that made my previous position look like i was... a jit bag. I believe my watts have increased, I'll have to confirm once i get a spare second to analyze my power files with a magnifying glass. The biggest thing Aaron (as shown) helped me with was my leg length discrepancy. My right femur is roughly a cm longer than my left one, so i took it upon myself to shim my cleats (since speedplay manufactured them and I got it free), and that's entirely wrong, b/c the missing length is not in my shin area, so the cleat has to be moved instead of lifted up. Anyways, huge peace of mind now. For all you un-even legged people out there.

Another sponsor I want to touch base on is Personal Best who were able to come out to our team house for dinner. They make a line of all natural sunscreen (Zealios) & chamois cream (betwixt). Anyone who knows me, knows how high maintenance I am, I don't eat wheat, soy, or dairy really. As said earlier I'm a highly sensitive individual, and these products don't have any harmful preservatives or chemical which absorb into the largest organ of your body which is ... your skin everybody ! They are pushing the bar in the sunscreen industry which in the past has been a total misconception in terms of skin protection and on a health standpoint. Like many of our other sponsors, Personal Best will be donating 5% of sales generated by the team to the foundation and the team.

In addition to that, one of my previous sponsors, Dr. Vie, has generously sponsored our team with her super food bars. They taste really good, and totally jive with anybody who has food sensitivities. A portion of her revenues help to prevent preventable illnesses and promote happiness. Her philosophy is to support kids and people in general to lead healthy, active and happy lives. As a women cyclist, I hope to represent a strong minded, independent person.

Now for the photo section. Santa Cruz is beautiful, we got caught up in a bit of rain, however, it's some of the best riding I've ever done.

Dinner with Heidi from the Foundation- breast cancer survivor,  incredibly strong and inspiring woman.  Plus our really cute Vera Bradley things.

Some teamies sippin' some coffee. Don't underestimate the personality on this team.

Some of ze Lovely Ladies:

Brian increasing the quality of my life, but probably not his right now

Ok - if I've still got you here, thx for reading.  My skill set certainly does not include selling things to generate revenue, uh, even though i could use it.  But what's great about our sponsors is they would like to donate a portion of their sales which are linked to the team.  And of course, I'm pretty happy to be getting the support they are all offering.  It's going to be a great year :-)

Cheers,

Alison

Spread the Joy

2010-02-25T15:26:00.000-08:00

Hey On-liners,

Bring it in, bring it up. Personally, I love pounding, pounding techno music with thick bass and f bombs to intensify life. As a great addition to spicify intervals, or to shake it on the kitchen table, here's some beats I recommend mixed by my boy-toy D. J Sparls ... thx for sharin' the love !

Mix 1 DL here.

Mix 2 DL here.

Not for the delicate ear,

Alison

P.S. - that's a grapefruit peel

Alison Wonderland

2010-02-20T18:11:00.000-08:00

You gotta get down to move it up. Life has ebs and flows, or should i say, as a highly emotional - sensitive - introverted - thinker type - Cancer my life has ebs and flows. One of my least favorite things about sport are travel days and feeling tired days. I suppose these are the moments to really bring it down a notch, and keep it simple. Which to say at the very least is not easy for me. This week is the time to take is easy, and next week I'm going to meet my team in Santa Cruz for our team camp! So here's to reminding myself you gotta get down to get up.

Favorite Thing

2010-02-17T18:52:00.000-08:00

Hello again,

Since my time has been abundant lately, I'm going to keep the posts coming, to... say... develop more traffic to atrizz.blogspot. With of course the risk of boring myself... and hopefully not you.

Anyways, this is a one of my favorite things post. Which is......... juicing. Juicing is just so awesome, you can literally put anything in the juicer and it will instantly produce juice. Like garlic, I'm sipping on one of the sickest concoctions because I don't want to get sick. I challenge all my readers to juice romaine lettuce, celery, a beet, 1/2 cucumber, a carrot, ginger and 3 cloves of garlic and try to choke that down. Holly shizzle that's a stiff drink. Anyways, it gets waaaay better than that - just don't add garlic. And you'll probably keep your friends too.

Here's a picture of my dream juicer:

I have the magic bullet meal maker express. Please don't laugh. The magic bullet is in a league of it's own, so the meal maker was just best bang for the buck.

Ok - gtg, tonight there is a tonne of good Olympic coverage on soon.

xoxo,
Alison

Video's NEW !!

2010-02-15T22:22:00.000-08:00

Hey Readers,

Oh wait, my shiny stat show's I read my blog most :-/ Anyways - I'm an out of the closet geek, and here's more living proof . Thanks to Apple, I made a movie of my riding with my team mate, Kristin while I was there in January.

Check it out : beginner movie maker (moi)

Now! If your slightly disappointing with that, check out a video of our trip to San Diego, made by not so beginner movie maker, Jamie.

San Diego on a ten point scale

2010-02-13T10:52:00.000-08:00

Weather : 8 points going on 10 points
Residence : +/- 7 points
Riding : learning curve on an upwards of 10 points
Hilly Terrain : 9+ point
QOL : 10 +++

So that's San Diego on my ten point scale so far. It's been great, everything I ever wanted and more. The people have been super friendly, the views, the weather, the hippy cafe's - besides the economy I can't see why not to be happy!? Yesterday Black Mountain Bikes totally hooked me and my SRM up which made me ultra happy. Training has been great so far, no matter where you go there's climbing, it's difficult not to finish a day with less than 1000m of climbing. So this is perfect for me!

The only downfall is missing out first hand on the Olympic magic back home. I can remember exactly where i was and what i was doing when we all found out the Olympic Games would be coming to Vancouver. I was in working at (one of my least favorite jobs) hanging witlof on the factory line to get chopped. Anyways, being a winter athlete for 10 years, it was hugely exciting news. As a kid, my family seemed to watch the Winter Olympics more for some reason, it was Kurt Browning and Elvis Stojko fighting with the Dutch LT speed skaters that brought out the bedroom tv next to the living room tv. And so it's very cool to see my old speed skating acquaintances living the magic in Vancouver. Unlucky for me, NBC has blocked ctv.ca for my own Canadian streaming pleasure. Fist pumps for 'Team U-S-A" might get overwhelming.

Cheers, GO CANADA GO!

Alison

Only in Florida

2010-01-25T16:53:00.000-08:00

Hello,

Tomorrow is my last day in West Palm Beach. My darling team mate, Kristin, and her family were kind enough to have me for 3 weeks ... good riding, good company, and of course, good weather. It's the time of year when things are picking up and getting exciting (which might improve the quality of my blog?). My partner in crime is being unleashed from his work term and we're road tripping it to San Diego to keep soaking up the sun. I'm getting excited about the season, and my new team, Team Vera Bradley Foundation.

Wind: Kite Boarder's Paradise - not so much for me
Down Town West Palm Beach

To swim in ocean or pool?? Pool... or Ocean? hummm...

Mini-Dose of Joy (Puppies dressed as cats):

Cheers!
Alison

Happy New Year!

2010-01-17T11:35:00.000-08:00

Hey Fellow Blog Readers,

Hope everyone had a great holiday and getting into a good two thousand, ten groove.

Things in my world are great. I spent most of the holidays in the cold, cold winter of Calgary, and now i'm enjoying the hot hot heat of Florida. Here are a couple photos to make up for the thousand words I have no interest in writing:

From this:
To this:

and...

really good:

to, great!

It's shocking these two places exist on the same continent at the same time. On another note, technology is one of my most favorite things, over the holiday's i was the lucky to receive a *new durable Pentax, waterproof camera* ! woooooooo! Which is hopefully going to bring my image journal to a whole new level. And... just maybe I'll have the competence to make videos too. Yaaa, raise the roof for technology!

Also, maybe you've seen this video, but I like it, check it out:

LOVE,

Alison

Work

2009-12-09T00:48:00.000-08:00

hey!

Motivation has been lulling a bit, with the cold weather and a zillion distractions that are so enticing. I've been trying to add some new flavors:

- Pilates work out vids on YouTube, so good, free, includes overly enthusiastic instructor, other workouts are available, but yoga is just too boring.

- audio books for longer rides, there's a time and a place for this, and it's winter

- lastly Kelly's sayin' to Work, i just throw this on repeat until thoughts become reality

And a special shout out to my super coach, DP, for being such a solid coach.

Yours Truly,

Alison

Romance Faves

2009-11-23T00:47:00.000-08:00

Hey blog readers,

Life is pretty calm, and blog material is sparse. The weather around here isn't the greatest, there's been more than a couple weather warnings. Regardless, I've managed to get out on my bike. The gym going has, as per usual, entered a mind numbing trance-like-state. However, on a more exciting note, I have a very soft spot for good romance movies, well good in my opinion.

Check out my top 3 current faves list:

numero 3 - just classic and i love it

numba 2: Not gonna lie, i'm a Hugh Grant gal...

and.....

todays champ: Pretty Woman, can't believe i haven't seen this until last week

Next up, for any J. Sparls fans. He's made me my ... very own individualized mix! What a darling.

D.L. here. 15 mins in will cure any funk.

Peace, love and harmony,

Alison

Turn up the Volume

2009-11-05T21:51:00.001-08:00

Hey,

If your into mixed music, you should give these sets a whirl. My friend, Jamie, mixes them up, and i quite like them. I like the housier stuff, and it's house rules, so I'll post my faves.

To download, click here.

Happy Listening,
Alison

A rough day in the life of Alison

2009-11-03T22:07:00.000-08:00

Today my main goal was to go to Vancouver for a 2:45 appointment. Since the Honda Civ is uninsured and at the mercy of aircare, I decided to use my air miles and rent a car. The complexities of my mind/options make things difficult sometimes. I thought I'd swing into Metrotown mall to revamp the wardrobe a little bit. But the price was loosing my car. I totally forgot where I parked it, I spent 50 minutes speed walking around P1 and P2, then broke into tears after hitting my head on a metal hanging sign that looked alot like heavy fabric. I don't understand how I can endure hard bike races but not find a damn car in some stupid parking garage? Whatever. The security guy helped me find it in about 10 seconds when he used the alarm sound on the key. It was dark grey, not beige, whoopsies. My sad story was even sadder because on my way to Vancouver, I was lightly rear ended by a nice Chinese man who was glad i was safe. I didn't really care at the time, until I couldn't find my car and hit my head on a metal sign. I heard bad things can come in 4's: 1. loosing my car, 2. hitting my head. 3. getting rear ended, and 4. being 1.5h late for my appointment. So now something really really good is just around the corner :)

Less than favorable time change time of year

2009-11-03T00:59:00.001-08:00

Dear Blog,

It's about time I keep my August/September hobby alive. In October, my interests reverted to over ambitiously running, slaying dragons on the animated stationary bike at the gym, and then hating running. Now I'm anticipating my new cross bike (!!), pounding some iron with my enthusiastic Abbotsford friend, and perhaps even.... speed skating.

Last week I was in Calgary, my friend organized a group hike hut. It was super fun, I dealt with the frigid temp really well (0 degrees). Check out some pictures.

Hope you all are well. The comments portion is working now I think, keep me entertained, please :-)

Alison

From Suisse

2009-09-20T06:37:00.000-07:00

Quickly, an update from Switzerland. We are here in Mendrisio ready and excited for worlds. The weather is nice and it's beautiful here. I'm writing from 'Online Chat Cafe', house beats bumping and all. Within the span of writing these 3 sentences, about 10 cyclists rode by. Today I pre-rode the course for the first time, it's a Sunday and all of the master men were out riding as well. They really helped my confidence, as i was doing most of the passing. The course is pretty tough, climbers paradise - 13.4k loop with 2 substantial climbs, not much flat. I don't have much time so i'll add some photos. Julie and Tara are racing the TT on Tuesday and then all of us the road race on Friday !

Wish us all the best,

Alison

typical riding in Ardeche

Hill intervals with this view
The dock outside our hotel in Medrisio - nice huh !

Three cheers for the finish ribbon

2009-09-12T11:37:00.000-07:00

Ardeche is where it's at. As far as bike racing, vacationing, camping, rafting, cliffs, warm weather. It's beautiful here. Vacation central with 'camping', swimming pool lounge type 'resorts'. According to my standards it's pretty nice, but I see how it can get cramped. Today was the last day of the race, I'm not sure how much of the results you've seen. For myself it was pain central, day after day of pure suffering. The beginning of each race was practically the hour of pain - yoyo'ing off the back of the peleton holding on to that glimmer of hope in the caravans, unfortunately I never made contention for the winning sprint. The tone was basically set by the Cervelo pain train, day in and day out, they rotated at the front. About a hundred and forty girls started, to see only 69 finish - so my finish ribbon will be hung next to my national champ jersey at the end of the year. Erinne was our best finisher in 17th - i asked her if she suffered, and she said yes, but it didn't seem apparent.

On another note, from both my experiences of racing Ardeche, the things that go on are a kind of their own. Caravans pulling and pacing their riders up the road, for no good reason, that i can think of since they'll just get dropped again anyhow. I've always found bike racing to be about personality, and in races like this, there's a whole lot of personality. But when I eventually found myself in the groupetto, the common type is incredibly annoying. Girls holding onto the team car and flinging themselves ahead to just open up a gap again, or the groupetto finish sprint - i witnessed too much of this. My favorite is probably the aggressive fighting for 90th - 100th position. Only in France you take a wrong turn off the course then have your own personal motto find you, then bring you back to the course and push you up the next GPM at 40k/h while pushing 225 watts - sympathy or superfan? Regardless the experience was priceless.

The team stays here in the camping for the next 6 days then drive 8ish hours to Switzerland. During this time, suffering will be transformed into exceptional fitness gains. Pictures to come, it's an absolute must since it's so beautiful here!

Sending my best,

Alison

Carcassonne

2009-09-01T05:54:00.000-07:00

Dear Blogaroo,

The temptation to blog is hardly resistible since there is so much blog worthy material. This morning we set out to see 'Cite Medievale' in the town of Carcassonne. There is a tonne of history here, it's really the truth.

Cyslists transformed 2h tourists

Heather maximizing the sites

Next up, I have to fully emphasize how beautiful Limoux is. Despite having no interest in the French language and being intolerant to wheat, I quite like !! There is a lifestyle i think Canada should consider adopting, everything is basically closed on Sundays and Mon-Friday the shops close from 12-2pm so that people can just relax a little bit more? Don't even consider getting a toGo cup of coffee because it just doesn't exist. It's huge wine country, if one plant equals one bottle of wine, then there are millions of bottles of wine so long as the locals don't pick the grapes like certain foreigners do.

Tour de Ardeche starts on the 8th.

all my best,

Alison

Trophee d'Or and more France

2009-08-31T03:52:00.000-07:00

Hey There!

Writing live from Limoux, France !

It is certainly beautiful here, there is much more action here than any of my previous French experiences. Chris Georgas has welcomed the entire team to stay here until we leave for Ardeche. His 'condo' is located right in town, close to the shops and restaurants, it's quite nice actually.

Trophee d'Or finished on Saturday. For myself there where highs and lows, as a team we fared quite well, Joelle picked up a stage win (!), 5th on GC, and the young riders jersey - pretty awesome. The racing was fast and it took some time to feel good. My highlight was Stage 5. Our plan was to have me attack right away and see how far I could go with it. About 2km in, i got away and was on the solo mission until 12 bridged up at around 60km. The break was caught at about 4km to go (from 112km) since 2 teams missed the break. That's when Joelle took charge and pretty much killed the sprint winning by several bike lengths.

The most intense superfans I've ever seen, they know who you are, your stats, and come ready with photos they found on google.

I'll snap some pics in town over the next couple of days.

Alison

From Plouay to Trophee d'Or

2009-08-24T08:58:00.000-07:00

Hey friends and fam,

Updating blog from France here. Last night we arrived to Orval which is precisely the center of France. Tomorrow Trophee d'Or begins with a 72km stage at 4pm.

Saturday we raced Plouay, which was a bit lackluster as we were all in a bit of a jetlag funk. Nonetheless, it was quite cool to experience Emma Pooley's solo win and the battle for the WC jersey between Johansson and Vos. Plus the pro mens race was the next day, and in true Euro fashion, super fans were everywhere.

The team in front of our hotel just outside Plouay plus little baby Crouton

out on the bikes
Lance getting a photo with Leah

Ok, i'll check back into blog world a little later.

Alison

Blog world ENTER

2009-08-16T14:37:00.000-07:00

Hey Internet Users!

Two of my favorite things: technology and internet have enticed me to maximize the WWW dots in a whole new way. Welcome to the 'A-Files' - patent: Marns Hambleton.

Plus, there are some exciting things going on in the very near future. Today was my last race with Total Restoration. Jess took her first win of the season to be crowned BC Provincial Champion with me taking the pack finish with a bronze. The team will be missed - i suppose i am quite fond of them all. Moving on - Tuesday I'm heading out to Euroland - specifically Belguim, France, and the potential of Switzerland for, of course, bike racing.

Grand Prix de Plouay, August 22. Check www.comitedesfetes-plouay.com for info
&
Trophee d'Or, August 25

With this new outlet of technology I hope to include you in my racing and travels if, perhaps, it may interest you. So, stay tuned. I'm hoping for an abundance of those golden interwebs.

Bye for Now,

Alison

LTLOL

Coaching

This, that, and the other

"sleutelbeen en bekken zijn gebroken"

My other European Life

It's getting hottt in heerrree

Where's Wenda?

Desert + Wind + Oil = Monaay & ...

A date with Brussels

G's & B's

Dusty Camera, Dusty Dutch

There's home and then there's Euro

Kids and Sports

space in the teeth no bigger than Madonna's

Bikes for Sale

Eat Pray Bike

I.Got.Ho's

Help Moi find a team?

Itialia Parte Due

Italian Immersion

My European Life

From Ottawa - Banff - Edmonton - Abbotsford and... Italy (!!)

Alberta, Alberta

Ain't no place like home

Canada!

the life

It's a resource ladeees

More Biking

Hey DJ - put that record on... allllll night looonngg

Kickin' it in New Mexico

That's a wrap People

Race

Efficiency

Spring Babee

New Day, New place

Stranger than Reality

DJ atrizz in the Hizzzouse.

Let the Races Begin

Condition my Condition is in

This is Japan

Team Vera Bradley Foundation Training Camp

Spread the Joy

Alison Wonderland

Favorite Thing

Video's **NEW** !!

San Diego on a ten point scale

Only in Florida

Happy New Year!

Work

Romance Faves

Turn up the Volume

A rough day in the life of Alison

Less than favorable time change time of year

From Suisse

Three cheers for the finish ribbon

Carcassonne

Trophee d'Or and more France

From Plouay to Trophee d'Or

Blog world ENTER

Video's NEW !!