Next Sunday morning I will board a plane for the Middle East to participate in the first race of 2010 in Qatar. 

Last year when I went to this race, I didn't actually know where I was going or what to expect until I used "the Google" and referenced a Wikipedia page or two.  This oil-rich country is on a little peninsula on the eastern edge of Saudi Arabia.   I think it switches places annually with Luxembourg as far as wealthiest nation per capita.  I'm not sure whose turn it is this year.  I believe they also rank in the top 3 of number of cranes per capita (Studies have shown 47% of statistics are made up on the spot).  The best way to gauge distance or depth in the desert is by the height of the cranes in your line of sight.  They were building everywhere: condos, high rises, convention centers, and education complexes.  I'm not exactly sure who they are building all these buildings for, but it might be based on a "Field of Dreams" plan.  Tidbits aside, despite the fact the race is in one of the most unusual places I will ever race in, I am most excited about pinning the numbers on the national team jersey for the first time in 2010. 

When I race overseas it will be with the US National team.  When I am racing on good ol' American soil, it will be with the new team, Peanut Butter & Co TWENTY12 professional cycling team!  Our new team was just announced today!!  This is such a unique opportunity for me.  I will be working with an awesome support staff...Olympic Gold medal winner, Kristin Armstrong, is our director and our manager, Nicola Cranmer, has put together an awesome line-up of sponsors to help make our jobs of training/racing so much easier.  There are a lot of things I am excited about, but having a peanut butter company as a title sponsor is pretty awesome.  I've already taken to my new nickname, "The heat is on" which is also the name of PB&Co's spicy peanut butter.  It has cayenne pepper and provides a subtle little kick at the end.  Check out www.ilovepeanutbutter.com to see more of their flavors.  My teammate Coryn Rivera (she's won a few junior national titles) has already dubbed herself "Dark Chocolate Dream."  All signs are pointing towards a fun and tasty year!

I know this is brief and there is a lot more catching up to do, but I will leave that to my next post.  There is a lot to do on the training and work fronts before I pack up the bike and bags for the first trip of the year.  Packing for the first trip seems to bring a sense of anxiety, "Will I need this?  Should I bring this?"  Usually the overfilled suitcase keeps half its contents in place.  By May/June I'll be "traveling light," as packing is such an easy, automatic task once you are dialed on what to bring.