I'm now back home after the trip to Rhodes, Greece for the ITU World Cup event. I have to say it was a well-managed event. Rhodes stepped up to the plate within the last few weeks and offered to host a World Cup when another city backed out. With the help of ITU World Cup Director of Operations Thanos Nikopoulos, Director of Events and Technical Officals Gergely Markus, and many other ITU staff, support personnel and fabulous volunteers-the event was fantastic. From an outsider's view, you would never know this was a first-year event with a very short preparation time. Hats off to everyone involved in producing the event.

Before I get into the results from the race, I want to introduce you to the group that went to Rhodes. Because it is easiest to view a large numbers of photos within the blog in a condensed format, I have attached a document that has a photo of each of the athletes and the staff members as well. If you don't see an attachment at the bottom of the page, double-click on the title for the blog. This opens the blog's page and the attachment should be visible at the bottom.

Looking at the smiling faces of the athletes makes me feel great about the opportunity to help with this sport development project. For some of the athletes, it was their first opportunity to travel to a World Cup event as part of Team BG. (BG being the sponsor for the program.)

I have to say I am blown away at the speed at which the athletes bond together as a team, support each other and look to the staff for help and support. They are very polite and thankful for the help they receive. They are quick to say "thank you" and "I appreciate your help" to each staff member. They are easy to like as fellow human beings and as top athletes.

Thinking back to the first race I supported in Vancouver, Canada in June, I recall thinking to myself, "What can I do to speed up the process of helping these athletes? Is it possible to increase the speed of building trust?"

It was a passing thought and I ended up behaving as I normally behave when supporting athletes at World Cup events. I try to be helpful, answer questions, find answers to questions I don't have answers for and share my knowledge. In short, I try to do what I can to help them succeed.

Sometimes, due to language differences and the initial steps of building trust, what I think is a good deed is not perceived that way. On only the second day in Vancouver, I had one of the athletes in tears. Nice, Gale, really nice.

The condensed story is that some of the athletes travel to the races with minimal equipment. Sometimes the equipment is not optimal, by any stretch of the imagination. Seldom do any of the athletes travel with any spare equipment-such as cassettes.

After doing a course inspection, I realized the hill in the Vancouver course was really tough. There were a few of the athletes that were running 23's as their easiest gear. We did have access to some cassettes that had 25's and I suggested they consider running 25's. Really encouraged the 25's. Ranted and raved about the 25's.

The athlete I mentioned was sitting in Dave Coleman's room (mechanic for Vancouver), staring at her bike. I walked into the room and could tell there was a problem. Dave relayed to me that the athlete didn't want to change wheels and cassettes. She wanted to keep her current set-up.

Right as I was saying, "Oh, man I really think it's best if she'd..."

I looked at her face and saw small rivers of tears streaming down both cheeks. Dang.

I told her, "Look, what gears you run is ultimately your choice. I want you to use the 25 because I want you to be able to use your weapon-fast running. I just want you to be successful. I won't be mad at you, no matter which one you use."

I hoped she understood that I only wanted to help.

On race morning I asked Dave what she went with and he told me the 25. I didn't know whether to feel good or be worried.

The women raced first, then the men raced. I thought she had a good race, best I could tell.

While I was standing on the run course for the men's race, she came jogging along for her cool down run. She ran up to me and said in broken English, "Thank you very much. I have good race. Bike work. Best finish ever. Fastest run by two minutes. Thank you."

She gave me a hug and trotted off. Then tears welled up for me. It felt great to make a difference.

At that Vancouver race, there was a wager made, as I mentioned in a previous blog. Since this blog gone a bit long, I'll have to finish in the next blog. I'll let you know about that bet...

I am now in the beautiful city of Rhodes on the island of Rhodes, Greece. I arrived to my hotel yesterday, Tuesday, at 2:30 pm local time (5:00 am Mountain Standard Time). It felt pretty good considering I left my home in Colorado on Monday morning at 8:00 am.

I flew from Denver, Colorado to Montreal Canada. That flight was about 3:30 long. I had to go through customs in Montreal, pick up my baggage and go through the flight check-in process for a second time. With nearly zero layover time, I jumped on a plane to Athens, Greece. The Montreal to Athens flight was 9:00.

My luggage was checked from Athens to Rhodes, so I only needed to go through immigration. The flight from Athens to Rhodes was easy, only about an hour. My total "up" time, from real bed to real bed was 30 hours.

As I was going through the travel process, I couldn't help but think of the athletes that were traveling from all parts of the world to race in Rhodes. Most of them have learned to travel well. This means learning to sleep and eat while traveling across multiple time zones. Then, they must deliver a top-shelf race performance.

In my last blog, I mentioned my travel was to support the ITU BG Sport Development Team. One of the athletes, Lisa Norden was here when I arrived and the remaining athletes are arriving today, tomorrow and one on Friday.

Here are the athletes racing on Team BG:

Lisa Norden (Sweden)

Flora Duffy (Bermuda)

Fabiola Corona (Mexico)

Yuliya Yelistratova (Ukraine)

Mari Rabie (South Africa)

Dan Alterman (Israel)

Zvonko Cubric (Croatia)

Leonardo Chacon (Costa Rica)

Javier Cuevas (Dominican Republic)

As the team continues to arrive, I will post photos of the athletes.

In the mean time, the photo at the beginning of the blog shows one of the entrances to the "old town" of Rhodes that is literally enclosed by the stone walls. Part of the bike course goes around these hand-built, historic walls.

Within the city walls are shops and several historical sites. The first thing that grabbed my attention when I entered the old city was a gigantic stone ball. As I walked through the first courtyard, I saw more individual stones and piles of stones. The photo at the end of the column shows a pile of stones next to part of an old weapon. I'm assuming the weapon was a type of cannon, but I will need to confirm. I have seen the term "bombard" (a type of late medieval siege weapon) used in some of the literature, but I don't know the difference between a bombard and a cannon .

As the story goes, bombards were used to launch 260 kg (572 pound) stone balls some 100 to 200 meters (110 to 219 yards) to defend the city against attackers.

Looking at the defense weapons and the architecture, I am just amazed at the human labor it took to manufacture 500+ pound stone balls and to assemble walls around a city. The chasm of differences between the old world and the current era is mind boggling. Imagine, if you will, what life was like then.

If you would have told them, that you arrived on a "jet" that flew across the clouds and air from a land called USA to their island, what do you think they would have said to you?

Held in the city of glitz, Las Vegas, the trade show Interbike is every cyclist's dream candy store. It is a huge industry show, with the Interbike website boasting 22,000 attendees last year.

I head out early Thursday morning and plan to return back home Friday night. I've been to the show a couple of times now and I believe I'm totally undertrained for the event. There is just too much to see and I'm never completely prepared for sensory overload.

You can have a peek at some of the new products being unveiled at the show by taking a look here.

I'll take my camera and let you know what I find.

I am fortunate to live at the foot of the Rocky Mountains and to have riding pals that are willing to do fun rides with me. Our fun rides are often challenging, which is part of what makes them fun.

I reserve the title "Epic Ride" to rides that are, by definition, "very imposing or impressive; surpassing the ordinary (especially in size or scale)".

Our annual ride from my doorstep to the top of Trail Ridge Road each year is certainly challenging, but I wouldn't normally consider it an epic ride. (Sans the first year I did it. That year, given my experience and conditioning, it was epic for me.) On the challenging side, the round trip is 106 miles, there is roughly 9,000 feet of climbing and the elevation goes from about 5,000 to 12,168 feet. Yes, challenging, but doable with appropriate conditioning.

I have included an attachment of a partial profile of the climb. The altitude isn't accurate and I'm missing about 45 minutes worth of data, but more on that later. You can still get the general idea of the route.

At 7:00 am nine of us left my house, we would pick up one more person on the road, with high hopes of a fantastic day. Everyone in the group that planned to go to the top is well-conditioned and a ride of this type should have posed no problem. The weather at home was predicted to be 85 to 90 degrees F. with a chance of late afternoon rain. Estes Park was slightly cooler, with the same late afternoon rain predicted. Perfect, we'd be off the mountain well before late afternoon showers and thunderstorms.

In the shot below you can see all but one person in the group. The photo was taken by my husband Del, driving sag for us, at the top of the switchback climb above Glen Haven, with Estes Park and Longs Peak as the backdrop. This is one of my favorite scenes in the entire world.

Longs Peak is one of Colorado's 14'ers and we would be heading to a spot directly behind Longs. Notice the clear sky surrounding Longs.

We stopped to refuel in Estes Park and headed west toward Rocky Mountain National Park to ride a portion of Trail Ridge Road, to Rock Cut. Trail Ridge Road is the highest continuous paved highway in the United States and is typically closed between mid-October to late May each year due to heavy winter conditions. Road crews work hard to have the road open for Memorial Day visitors.

Dave McClure (one of the riders with us) snapped the photo below of Peter Stackhouse on opening weekend this year. Peter is riding next to one of the giant snow drifts within a couple of miles of Rock Cut.

Two people turned around in Estes Park and the rest of us headed up, up, up.

The photo below shows eight happy riders. It was taken at one of the car turnout locations. The road, as you will see later has a very limited shoulder and cars can only stop in specified locations because there is no room on the road. Notice behind us that you can see treeline, at around 11,500 feet.

The next photo was taken about two hours after the one that was taken on top of the Glen Haven switchbacks, looking toward the direction that is our goal destination. Notice the beautiful blue skies are gone.

The next photo is looking behind us. You can see a good portion of the road and notice in some places there are decent drop-offs with no guard rails. For Colorado riders this is typically not a problem, but out-of-state folks can be freaked-out by the drops - even when riding in a car. Totally understandable.

The area in the next photo is an exposed area of the mountain that can often host nasty, gusting cross-winds. The snow patch you see in the background is the remains of last winter.

We made it to our turn-around point, the parking area at Rock Cut in about 4:38 ride time. We normally spend some time at the top taking photos and enjoying the scenery, but when we looked west, we could see a wall of weather moving our way.

Everyone put on extra clothes and high-tailed it down the mountain. We weren't even out of the parking lot on top, when it began snowing. The snow was mixed with rain. Now summer rain isn't usually a problem-unless you're above treeline and trying to get off the mountain.

We had to make a short stop for single-lane summer road construction near the top. You can see our weather-related issues just beginning.

All of us expected some rain and/or snow on top, that is just the way it is with riding Trail Ridge Road this time of the year. I put on a helmet cover, ear warmers, water resistant glove shells and Pearl Izumi's version of Gore Tex at the top. I kept my knee warmers and decided not to put on rain pants or booties. I thought, "We should be in Estes Park and off the mountain in no time. The temperature isn't too bad and I'll be fine on the descent."

Once through the construction zone, we could all descend at our own pace. We weren't out of the construction zone five minutes when the serious weather hit us. First, it was heavy rain mixed with hail. If you have ridden downhill in hail mixed with rain, you'll know that it hurts your face. Thankfully there wasn't enough hail in the mix to make the road slick.

This descent can normally be done between 40 and 45 miles per hour on dry roads and with no traffic. Today, for this top section, we were limited to 35 to 40 miles per hour due to the rain.

Then came the wind. Remember the photo of me riding solo earlier in the column? The place I mentioned gusty winds? Yep, gusty side winds and rain now, pulling speeds even lower. Although I couldn't see the drop-off, or rather I wouldn't look for it, I knew I needed to stay well away from the edge of the road.

Recall the narrow roads and nowhere for cars (like a handy sag vehicle) to stop? There are few places to stop, only the designated pullout areas.

By this time, one person had lost braking ability. Luckily, he was near a pullout area and could hop in the Suburban with Del.

The rest of us continued down the mountain and were within a mile of Del when the sheets of rain hit. Things are getting worse. I am now shaking due to being cold. (I can't pedal at all, so I cannot maintain any body heat.) If I try to descend faster to just get off the mountain, I can't see due to the volume of rain. At this point, I figure out I have nearly zero brakes.

I was going down a straightaway at about 30 mph when I could see car brake lights ahead of me. I started to apply my brakes to slow down and nothing. I gripped as hard as I could and there was the ever-so-slight sensation of slowing. I went to the tip of my brake levers and gripped with every ounce of force I could muster and I could feel more, slight slowing. Yes, only slowing.

I could see tail lights getting closer.

My some miracle, the cars began moving in time for me to not run into the back end of one. I could see one of my riding friends ahead of me dragging his foot like Fred Flintstone, trying to slow down.

I managed to grip my brakes long enough that I could actually come to a "rolling stop." When I saw three of our group members huddled under a tree, I decided to join them.

We stood there waiting for Del while the lightening moved in. We had a small discussion between near-convulsive shaking, "Never would have guessed this kind of weather. Not this morning. Not on top."

And so it goes with mountain weather. This is what can happen-what you don't expect.

The four of us saw Del and the first pick-up rider go by and we waved. I wasn't sure Del saw us, so I jumped on my bike to catch them at the Hidden Valley parking lot. I was pretty certain they would stop or turn around there.

Yep, they did turn around there and they headed back to the huddle-tree.

I am now down the mountain a mile or two and decided to wait under a new tree. And I wait.

After about ten minutes, some jumping jacks and a small break in the sheets of rain, I decided to try to make it to Estes on my bike to find the other two riders that were ahead of me. I thought this was a better choice than shivering next to the tree.

I have never been so glad to do a few climbs on the mostly descent route. The small climbs allowed me to build some much needed body heat.

I found my two buddies huddled in a Starbucks. We ordered coffee and sat there shivering.

I called Del and some of the riders decided to descend on their bikes to Estes and one fellow had enough. He was too cold and he was having bike problems.

We all regrouped at a parking lot. In the car, I had dry gloves and leg warmers. I knew if I put on these, along with booties and rain pants I could make it back home. I've done it before.

Four riders decided they were in good shape and would ride down too. Three riders didn't have enough clothes and couldn't stop shivering. They, wisely, decided to call it a day and ride back to Loveland in the Suburban with the heater on high. The rider with the mechanical issue figured out he snapped a cable, adding to the list of reasons to be in the car.

As we headed down the canyon toward home, it was decided anytime the ride is 106 miles and half of it involves unstoppable shivering, driving sheets of rain, hail, wind and limited to no braking ability-it classifies as an epic ride.

I'm happy to say that everyone made it home safely. My speed sensor was so caked with road grime that it quit working in Estes Park on the way down. I started the time clock when I realized it wasn't working, but I lost some data because the sensor was not working. The altimeter works off of barometric pressure and I think the storm caused problems with accuracy. Elevations earlier cited in the column come from map data.

I'm sure we'd all do it a little different, given another chance. That chance will come in 2008.

When I got home, my mom called to see if I made it off the mountain. Then, she told me their mountain cabin was broken into by a mother bear and her two cubs. But, that's another story...

Laura Bennett had a fantastic race to finish as the first USA athlete across the finish line at the Beijing World Cup race, getting the third place spot for a podium position as well. Big congrats to her! She is the first member of the 2008 USA Triathlon Team.

Who will be the first two triathletes to make the 2008 USA Triathlon Olympic Team?

The first female will come from this group, racing Saturday September 15^th, with their current 2008 Beijing Olympic Qualifying Ranking (ranking began in June of 2006) and their 2007 World Cup Ranking in parenthesis - this is only 2007 World Cup Races:

Laura Bennett - 9^th (10^th)

Sarah Haskins - 10^th (13^th)

Julie Swail - 37^th (37^th)

Sara McLarty - 47^th (31^st)

Sara Groff - 53^rd (29^th)

Becky Lavelle - 54^th (53^rd)

The first male will come from this group, racing Sunday September 16^th, with their current 2008 Beijing Olympic Qualifying Ranking (ranking began in June of 2006) and their 2007 World Cup Ranking in parenthesis - this is only 2007 World Cup Races:

Andy Potts - 6^th (23^rd)

Jarrod Shoemaker - 20^th (35^th)

Hunter Kemper - 27^th (89^th)

Brian Fleishmann - 47^th (49^th)

Matt Reed - 49^th (21^st)

Doug Friman - 53^rd (62^nd)

The first USA female and male to cross the finish line at the 2008 Beijing World Cup race will be the first two athletes to make the 2008 USA Olympic Team.

The USA entries, and all other country entrants, can be found on the entry list for the event. This event is and Olympic qualifying race for several countries and this is the final dress rehearsal before the 2008 Games for event organizers.

Can you pick the first two USA finishers?

My first triathlon was in 1986 and it was sprint distance event. When I entered that race, I had no clue how the sport of triathlon would influence my life.

As I continued with my triathlon and multisport adventures, I came to realize I was part of a world-wide family of athletes that love the sport too. I can recall my first experience with a world championship event and how proud I felt to race on a team that represented the United States of America.

When I watched the great ITU video on the ITU main page that recapped the weekend of racing in Hamburg, I see athletes from every country. It could be my imagination, but I believe I see many, many athletes proud to race for their countries and proud to be in the sport.

I think everyone should try to participate in, or attend as a spectator, a World Championship for the sport(s) they love at least once in their life. It's tough to describe the experience; you just have to do it.

I feel the same way about the Olympics. The level of athlete that competes at the Olympic Games is the best of the best. It is worth traveling to see some part of the games at least once.

I will admit that I have had a long-time addiction to the Olympic Games, summer and winter. I've watched the Games for as long as I can remember.

My first addiction to the Olympics was through winter sports, beginning with skiing. Colorado, as you might imagine, produces several winter Olympic athletes each four years.

I can recall the Olympics being in the media spotlight when I was in grade school. Even at a young age, for me there was something about the spirit of the Olympic Games that was attractive. It was intriguing, yes, romantic.

The goal of the Olympic movement, as documented in the Olympic Charter by Pierre de Coubertin:

"The goal of the Olympic Movement is to contribute to building a peaceful and better world by educating youth through sport practised without discrimination of any kind and in the Olympic spirit, which requires mutual understanding with a spirit of friendship, solidarity and fair play."

Pierre de Coubertin was also responsible for the Olympic Creed. His inspiration for the creed was a speech given by Bishop Ethelbert Talbot at a service for Olympic champions during the 1908 Olympic Games. The Olympic Creed reads:

"The most important thing in the Olympic Games is not to win but to take part, just as the most important thing in life is not the triumph but the struggle. The essential thing is not to have conquered but to have fought well."

I like it.

Are there issues and problems with the Olympic Games, international and national organizations? Of course.

But issues and problems do not mean we should give up.

Influence sport where and when you can.