Dave says: It was Alisha's lunch day this past week at work so she brought in 10 different flavors of peanut butter for some seriously good PB&Js.
I just got back yesterday from a trip to Tucson. It was great to hang out in a place with temperatures in the mid-70s. My family was in town to see the jem and mineral show and I spent some time hanging out with my old friend Alex.
We are now addicted to the Olympics with tons of great events to watch. Go Team USA!
Alisha says: The UPS man brought 100 lbs. of peanut butter to my door today from Peanut Butter & Co. Twelve flavors, jam, peanut butter pretzels, and the I love peanut butter cook book! This is some seriously high quality all natural goodness. Stay posted for taste test results. Yum.
Alisha says: The PCIM gals headed south for a weekend of riding. Tayler and I drove down stopping in Cedar for some dinner at my parents house. I was a little worried when there was a lot of snow in Cedar but once we passed the black ridge things were looking great with no snow on the ground.
Chantel, Aaron and Kirsten showed up the next morning and our Tour de St. George started off with a ride to Zion. Nisie, Steph, Dave, and Nikki joined us in time to rock the Gunlock Loop on Saturday. Dave had some ants in his pants and was driving the pace as the rest of us were hanging on for a ride on the Dave train. There was a strong crosswind that made for a tough ride the whole way back into St. George. By Sunday everyone was ready for an easier ride so we kept the ride flat and did the Bloomington Loop. I think that everyone had a good time and that all came back a little fitter!
Dave says: It's finally official! Meet the newest women's pro team directed by Olympic gold medalist Kristin Armstrong. We are thrilled to have Alisha on such an amazing squad in her first year as a professional cyclist.
San Francisco, CA (January 25, 2010) - After a very successful four-year development program as ProMan Hit Squad resulting in numerous National Championships and international podiums, General Manager Nicola Cranmer is proud to announce Peanut Butter & Co. as the team’s new Title Partner. United By Sport LLC has assembled what promises to be a very strong roster and talented management for the 2010 season with a purposeful balance and approach to the program that will focus development for the 2012 Olympic games in London.
Swiss based ProMan (Project Management) will continue as a supporting partner of the team, along with many returning brands and some exciting new partners that will be announced shortly.
“I am extremely happy to be working with such a dynamic brand like Peanut Butter & Co. Peanut butter is a perfect partner for cycling and the perfect fuel for race day,” said Nicola Cranmer Team Founder and Manager. “The athletes are all highly motivated to race their bikes, its going to be a great year".
While the professional team is a primary focus, the program will continue to develop young American riders providing these emerging talents the opportunity to race with the elite squad, which has proven to be a successful formula. Riders will compete in North America and international races with a focus on World Cup events, World Championships and the 2012 Olympics under the direction of 2008 Olympic Gold Medalist, Kristin Armstrong.
“I am really excited about being part of the Peanut Butter & Co TWENTY12 team. I look forward to helping each one of our riders accomplish their personal goals and dream in the sport of cycling as we head towards the Olympic Games in London 2012,” said Armstrong. Through the partnership, Peanut Butter & Co will be providing product samples to race attendees and prime prizes at select races, along with keeping the team fueled with peanut products throughout the season. Peanut Butter & Co’s products are all-natural and made exclusively from peanuts grown in the USA.
"We are thrilled to be working Nicola Cranmer and Kristin Armstrong on the Peanut Butter & Co.TWENTY12 team. Our cyclists are some of the strongest competitors on the women’s racing circuit, and we fully expect future Olympians to come from our team," said Lee Zalben, Founder and President of Peanut Butter & Co.
With four riders, Shelley Evans (Olds), Cari Higgins, Coryn Rivera and Ruth Winder returning, the roster is bolstered by top climber Mara Abbott, power houses Katharine Carroll and Lauren Tamayo, all rounder Kristin McGrath and rising stars Alisha Welsh and Sinead miller this looks to be powerful combination.
Riders
Mara Abbott - USA Katharine Carroll – USA Shelley Evans (Olds) - USA Cari Higgins - USA Kristin McGrath - USA Sinead Miller (19 years) - USA Coryn Rivera (17 years) - USA Lauren Tamayo - USA Alisha Welsh - USA Ruth Winder (16 years) – GBR
Development Hanan Alves-Hyde Juniors Christina Yglesias Nikka Van Den Dries Claire Jensen
Dave says: We hung out with both of our families and did some great bike rides with friends this holiday weekend. Too bad all I've got to show for it is this cell phone pic on a t-rex at the park in Coral Canyon. The whole trip was almost cancelled when I woke up with the stomach flu on Thursday. It was a rough day but I pulled it together by Friday and on Saturday I was out on the bike for 4 hours getting hammered by Lasse who ejected me out the back of the group before the ride was even half over. Next time I will throw up on his carbon wheels :-) It seems like we see half of SLC every time we're out riding down south and it's great fun to run into a half dozen friends in 80 miles.
We stayed with my family down at Coral Canyon and had a fun time hanging out with them. I hit the ice skating rink with my little bro and sis on Friday night for the first time in a decade. Then, Alisha and I went to the community pool with them on Saturday which makes you feel a bit old when no one over fifteen is in the water. My parents took us to Samurai 21 where the chef showed off his grill skills and my dad suprised us all by catching a shrimp in his mouth right out of the air.
We woke up this morning to rain in St. George and knew our biking plans for the day were not going to happen. My parents salvaged the morning by taking us to IHOP and we cruised back to Cedar to see Alisha's family (although I think she mostly wanted to see Brody). Alisha got her hair cut a few inches shorter and we headed back to SLC where the haze has finally lifted. We arrived just in time to hop back on the trainers for a couple hours before bed. The weekend turned out to be something of a mini-vacation rather than just a training trip with tons of fun stuff going on.
Dave says: It's that time of year when you get excited when the temperature creeps up to 33 degrees and you think some of the snow in your front yard might be starting to melt a little. Kurt came into town last Thursday and we rode to the top of Emigration on a day that was definitely well below freezing. On the way home, we dodged ice patches and tried not to freeze to death. It was the coldest that I've been in a long time.
On Friday we got a text from our friends Taylor and Mary inviting us to head to St. George for some riding. It was a tough decision between another weekend on the trainer in the city with the worst air quality in the U.S. right now and the mid-50s in St. George. Trevor, Eric, Brent, and Chad joined us at my parents' place at Coral Canyon.
On Saturday, we got to hang out with all our favorite Southern Utah riders at the Claire Jensen memorial ride. We met in Bloomington to ride in memory in of one of Cedar's most beloved riders who we all miss. Then, part two of the ride was with Cedar's most notorious rider, Lasse, who ripped our legs off as if it was race day. He had a knee injury during the summer and I think that as a result he is in form during January like most people are in July. Anyways, I need some reason for why I got schooled like a Cat 5.
On Sunday, we joined Nicky for a loop around Quail Lake and Sand Hollow before heading back to SLC. It was a good end to a fun break as I headed back to class on Monday.
Alisha says: Hurray for 2010! We are only a couple of days into it but I can already tell it is going to be a good one. We gave in and paid the big bucks to see Avatar at the Imax in 3D on New Year's Eve. Good movie. January uno started off right with a killer workout. Saturday we busted out the skate skis for the first time this season and boogied on over to Mountain Dell. It was an awesome day and although I seriously need to get some skills we still had a great time.
Later we joined Richard and Brittany at "The Pie" for some eats. It was my first time eating there and I almost felt like I passed some ritual that is required if you live in SLC. Last night we went and watched the Jazz unfortunately lose to the Hornets. Other than that it has been getting back to the routine of things while lucky dog Dave still has one more week of freedom before he starts his last semester of law school. He has been an awesome house elf and even made sushi all by himself for dinner tonight.
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Runner up:
Alisha, Chantel, Tayler, Kirsten, Nisie, Stephanie 
