Halloweenie

I love Halloween. It gives those who need the excuse, a reason to break free a little...or a lot.

Merchandising sets up camp, complete with marshmallows.





These are some of our seamstresses. They all made their costumes. The Chess Queen was spectacular. Unfortunately, our judges don't know a hand made creative costume from a store bought package costume (wig included!)


The clothing design department did the "Downward Spiral of Britney Spears" It was pretty funny. All of them made their costumes as well.


We did Heaven and Hell. There were two gates you could go through. We convinced our CFO to be St Peter. He didn't let anyone in to heaven. Which was okay, because heaven was just a broom closet and all the food was in hell. Thats me up there doing my gargoyle thing to those that walked in to hell.



The Call Center beat us this year, but they totally deserved it. They made their area look like a frat house and they did this Revenge of the Nerds vs the footbal players thing.




Random other shots:

Another day in hell

There's an opening in our department that I have been interviewing for. I blocked out Halloween because I will be too busy to do interviews tomorrow. I am busting out the gargoyle wings and hoping to repeat my costume win from last year. So, no time for accounting stuff. Besides, gargoyles can't do math.

So that meant I had to do a few interviews today. Well, I should have blocked off today too because we were very busy making pearly gates and gates of hell with only cardboard and trash bags.

And there is cardboard and glitter and cotton batting and red crepe paper and strapping tape, and ladder and glue all over the office.

And there is my box of wigs that I brought in to help others with their costumes. And white tulle, and cheap pitchforks and, of course, gargoyle wings.

And its pretty chaotic.

But I managed to get through the day and the interviews and was about to turn off the computer when I saw a shadow from my head. Caused by the angel halo I have had on all afternoon.

I guess they go with the mammo pasties.

Was there even a race?

I know I am going to get in trouble for doing a thank you thing, because in my haste and addled state, I always leave someone important out, but I gotta do it anyway....so be it.

Thank you to:

Amy Hall - for being registration queen! She is the captain of the reg ship. She also brings over lots of bottles of wine. She stays up all night making a costume and then is too busy to wear it. She makes fondue. She makes me laugh. This sport introduces me to people like her. Cross season = get to spend time with Amy

Dave Charles - stake pounder and sign maker extraordinaire.

Susie Barbor - food booth, and results, AND volunteer coordinator and Miss Mary truck driver. Susie was everywhere with the helping this year. But she learned from the master.

Linda and Erika - Kiddie Kross organizers! They even got Andy Jacques-Maynes to design the kiddie kourse. Of course, they did have to call a couple of mommies for ideas about prizes (sticky eyes!!) and helped with a smile as we pulled them to and fro all over the place.

Soni Poulson - Clinic organizer. We were a little worried that with the USGP happening this weekend, we would not have enough instructors. Soni worked her magic and we had 10 awesome instructors lined up and participants were just beaming from the learnings.

Antonio Diaz - The DJ. If you need a DJ and you are in the Monterey/Santa Cruz/South Bay, let me know and I will put you in touch with him.

Russell the Canuckian - Tireless. Russell is tireless. Again, the wonderful thing about this sport, meeting someone you might not have otherwise ever crossed paths with.

Natasha Perry - sponsor coordinator. I hate sponsorship stuff...just not my gig. I was going to give up on it this year and just hand out empty bags (well probably not, but felt like it) Natasha took over and took care of everything!! I think we had the finest one day goodie bags thanks to her. And she found our EMT within like, 45 minutes!

Tim Watson - Graveyard maker. Tim has the best decorations. And showed up before sunrise to set them all up. Thats after helping all day the day before. Our vibe wouldn't be the same without our now signature graveyard.

Steve Litvin - Expo set up. It gets crazy in the morning, and we need to keep the sponsors happy! Steve used to put on UCI CX races in Jersey, and we are lucky to have him and his great hair helping us out.

Steve Gile - I love Steven. If he weren't my best friends man, I would kidnap him for myself. He does everything and does it with the cutest sweetest smile and then asks what else he can do.

Liz McAfee - for designing and coordinating our awesome tshirts and doing it with two weeks notice! Count Triffen!

Course Marshalls - probably the ickiest job at the race, and especially when you find out last minute that a Pop warner tournament is happening in the middle of the course. The VOS team and Jen and John See came to our rescue!

Jeff Clark - make him tell you stories about the olden days of NorCross!

Our clinic instructors (who volunteer their time for this!):
Rob Evans
Kathleen Bortolussi
Linda Elgart
John Elgart
Sheila Moon
Stella Carey
Carmen D'Aluisio
Chris D'Aluisio
Mark Abele
Andy Jacques-Maynes

All the bellas and friends of bellas and VOS guys who helped set up, tear down, reg, course marshall, cheer, make sandwiches, pound in stakes, collect course tape, buy sandbags, take pictures, judge costumes, pick up cones, and make me laugh. You guys are all what makes this team so damn fun.

Racers - thank you for coming to the party, and thanks for telling us you had fun. Thats the reward right there.

Costume Crossers - 70 racers in costume cross! 70!! That makes me all verklempt. I shit you not, but I used to be the only person who dressed up at Halloween cross races, just ask Keith And Rod. And then I met Laura and make her dress up one year. I lied and told her everyone did it. Imagine her surprise when she found out we were the only two. Life is too short to not dress up in something ridiculous and race a beefed up road bike around schoolyard berms and ditches.

And to Michael for getting it and enhancing it and yet allowing it to be ours (the bellas) while helping a shitload behind the scenes. And for being so damn sexy.


And to all the photogs from whom I stole these pictures:

She cares

What the Fluff?

My back hurts. Its amazing how frail cycling makes you. I can ride my bike for hours or miles, but put me to a little physical work and I am a wimp.

And its only prize bag packing I am talking about.

I could never be a strawberry picker. I would just cry.

But its worth it, the prize bag packing I mean. I may be biased, but I think we have the best prize bags ever. Especially if you like fluff and silly. Not everyone likes fluff and silly, but we are velo bella and its halloween and you will get fluff and silly and you will like it.

Too much fluff can give you a headache though. I have feathers in my hair and glitter on my nose and kitty ears on my head and sparkle bracelets on my wrists, and its giving me a migraine.

You all better like your fluff is all I can say.

Squish, Splash, Smoosh.

Or is smoosh spelled shmoosh?

The Squish
Yesterday was the day I rode over stuff. I rode over everything. Just rode right over it. Log? Ride over it. Rock? Ride over it. Curb? Ride over it. If it was in my way I just rode over it. The ride over shit ride.

God damn it was fun.

I thought the Dawg would help teach me some skillz. But I don't think I am learning any skillz here. No skillz are required in riding over shit.

The bike does all the work. Really. I just sit there and pedal. I don't pick a line, or lift my front wheel or shift my weight or modulate the brake, hell, I probably don't even have to look where I am going if I don't feel like it.

The Splash
And its that kind of attitude thats going to get me in trouble. I have already found myself in mini-trouble a couple of times. Once I got all over cocky about riding over logs and I tried to ride over a wet log at a 45 degree angle. I don't normally ride over logs, so I didn't know that this is a bad thing.

I fell into a puddle. That was a bummer. But it was still better than getting my boobs smooshed.

The Smoosh
I had my first mammogram yesterday. I really didn't think about the date when I scheduled it, but let me tell you, scheduling it the day before your period (guys this is where you can tune out)starts is not a good idea.

They take your boob, put a really unattractive pastie (is there a more medical term for this?) on the nipple, and plop (okay, my boob didn't really plop, but I would imagine that larger boobs would plop)the boob on a shelf attached to a big old machine.

But thats not all. There's more.

I once had a pressed flower kit as a kid. Now I know how those flowers felt.

While your boob is plopped on the shelf, another shelf comes down on top of it. And the Xray tech starts clamping it down tight. And just when you think they can't possibly clamp down any more, they clamp down some more. Fortunately your head is turned so you can't see what yor boob looks like smooshed back into two dimensions.

Then they xray tech tells you not to move. Like, where am I gonna go?

Then they do the same thing in the other direction. But that didn't hurt as bad for some reason. Maybe because all the blood had already been smooshed out of my boob.

And then they do the other boob. But by then, I was glazed over and delirious and don't remember much and it was over pretty fast.

Then the tech told me to get dressed and she reminded me to take off my pasties. (she called them pasties). If I wasn't so busy trying to pop my boobs back into shape I might have remembered that. Instead I rode over shit with pasties on.

Aaachoo

I shouldn't ride in the rain when I have a cold

I shouldn't leave work early when there is so much left to do

I shouldn't leave work early because I am sick, and then go ride

I shouldn't ride on trails while they are still wet

I shouldn't get a brand new bike all muddy and dirty



I shouldn't be blogging about it or I might get caught

Babbling elsewhere again

Free moments are being spent on the cx race. This place will have to play second fiddle for a bit. There's a few updates here that are worth checking out
http://surfcitycxnews.blogspot.com/

Have you pre-registered yet?

Halloween Party!!

Surf City Cyclocross Registration is OPEN!!

Make Amy happy (because its very important to keep Amy happy) and preregister!!

Have you figured out your costume yet? Michael has a few ideas and they scare me. Soni's been sewing all summer, Laura will think of something last minute and it will be fabulous. I have no idea.....yet.

Coming soon

In case you don't see me out on the track, cx race, or crit anymore....you know why.

bbbrrrr-ap!

I want to be Sheila Moon when I grow up

Sheila Moon goosed me today during the cross race.

We came up a run up together and she was giggling and laughing and sure as shit gave me a good ol goose on my arse as I scrambled up the climb.

Her sense of fun is infectious and try as I might to be in a foul mood because cross hurts and makes me drool, I giggled around the rest of the lap.

And after the race, I swung by her booth to help myself to the Speakeasy keg, when I see Sheila sitting all comfy. She is surrounded by about 8 handsome men that all call themselves Sheila Moon's boyfriends. They seem to be attending to her post race needs. She is radiant and relaxed while she props up her bare feet on a nearby chair. Her toes are all painted a delightful red and Gary Fisher, adorned in Sheila's latest skinsuit, is happily rubbing them for her. As if this is but an everyday occurance.

I love cross season.

Ping me baby, ping me

this is just a test of the new scribblins. Don't mind this post. Nothing to see here. Move along now.

I lied

When I said that track was really hard, and maybe even as hard as cross....I lied.

Cross is still harder.

Infinitely so.

The race this weekend was like a dusty slap in the face.

Whhaaaaaack! How easily you forget, let me remind you with a little of this (SLAP!) and a little of that (SLAP!) You think your silly velodrome training can prepare you? Bah! I spit mud on your fixed gear and dribble snool on your fancy track bars. And then I show you some real suffering.

Yeah, so it was hard. Crazy hard. The course was super fun and I dug the zippyyippies on the backsection. But the barriers, the damn barriers, I had forgotten how much I hated them. Especially that one little lonely barrier after all the 180s, that barrier I had special hate for.

I can't wait for the next race.