Thank You For The Years Chase!

I had a lot of time to think and reflect during my recent trip to Laos and Myanmar. I came back more spiritually, emotionally and mentally refreshed and with that, realized it was time to let go of my race gear from my previous life as an Ironman triathlete. Will I ever race Ironmans again? Never say never but it would take a huge "something" for that to happen. I must admit, luck was on my side as my asking prices probably left some room for negotiation but my buyers never asked. Last week, I let go of my Zipp 404s to a woman in the southbay who will put good use of them. Yesterday was a bit tougher as I bid farewell to my beloved Cervelo P2C. I sold it to a friend of mine who shared the same coach as me. She will be using Chase (bike's name) as a second race bike for her trainer and also as her non-racing travel bike. So, already, Chase is scheduled for some wanderlust adventures! 

I bought Chase from a shop that is no longer in business in the Cow Hollow neighborhood of San Francisco, a shop called Bike Nut. When I brought Chase home that July of 2007, I was afraid of it. Intimidated by it. I did my first Ironman that next month on my old Klein road bike (which eventually went to another owner) but soon after, started bonding with Chase and the rest is history as some of you may remember (this blog started as an ironman training blog logging in all my training hours for many years). This bike has been with me through many highs and lows as I road hours and hours of heart rate regulated intervals along Nicasio road in Marin and my favorite Saturday early morning training loop along Panoramic Hwy, Stinson Beach, Olema, Pt Reyes, Nicasio, Fairfax and back to Sausalito. So, with that, I bid Chase farewell. 5 years, 6 Ironman training seasons, 5 Ironman bike legs finishes, countless training races leading up to the Ace, countless hours and miles, laughters, tears, even a little bit of blood (broken blood vessel in my nose during a compu-trainer class) and of course the flattery compliments it received on the road. Thank you for therapy and good times! A gal and her bike.