Jumping back in the swing of things

Coming back to the bike after a month of infections/fieldwork/finals has proved to be harder than usual. It is amazing how quickly endurance seems to fade from being out of the saddle. I am excited to jump back into training again. This means harder rides and better eating.

Current favorite recipe: Greek Quinoa and Avocados

Ingredients 
1/2 cup uncooked quinoa, 
1 cup water, 2 Roma (plum) tomatoes (seeded and finely chopped)
, 1/2 cup shredded fresh spinach, 
1/3 cup finely chopped red onion, 
2 tablespoons lemon juice, 
2 tablespoons olive oil
, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 
Spinach leaves, 
2 avocados, 
1/3 cup crumbled feta cheese

Directions


1. Bring quinoa and water to a boil in a small saucepan. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 15 minutes, or until liquid is absorbed. 


2. In a medium bowl, stir together quinoa, tomatoes, spinach, and onion. 


3. In a small bowl, whisk together lemon juice, oil, and salt. Mix with quinoa. 


4. Place spinach on plates with avocado slices and quinoa. Sprinkle with feta.

I will keep posting Cara approved recipes in the future.

I was also able to try brand new races this month by experiencing dirt. My first mountain race was at Cranky Monkey paired up with Shawn Geiger for the co-ed duo team. It was terrifying and amazing at the same time with trying to remind myself that this mountain bike can go over much much more than my road bike. I will admit that I walked the big gravel decent each lap…I’m not that adventurous yet. Shawn and I partnered up again on the tandem for the Mountain State Dirty Double for my first dirt race. For 2 days we pulled this tandem through mud and roots and honestly I had a great time doing it. I thank Shawn so much for being my duo and introducing me to the world outside of road.

(Nikki getting ready to start at Cranky Monkey)

(the alpacas along the Mountain State Dirty Double course)

However, I am excited to finally be able to complete my first ABRA road race this season tomorrow afternoon. Coming back from staff infection has sucked tremendously but I am glad to start working my way back towards becoming a better road racer again.

(Team bonding at Cranky Monkey)

See you all at Tucker in the morning!