December 23, 2005 – Exciting news of a European adventure came my way mid-November when I was offered a position on the T-Mobile women’s squad. This year the women’s team will replicate the men’s ProTour squad, as the sponsorship has come from the European division of T-Mobile. We had our first get-together on December 2-3 in Munich, Germany. Everyone from the management, to the T-Mobile marketing team, sponsors and teammates came together with energy and enthusiasm for the upcoming year.

The team came from all over the world to congregate for two days of meetings, clothes fitting, photo shoots and lots of yummy meals. We all arrived on Friday morning, Dec. 2 (most of us travelled through the night) to get fitted up for sizing for both casual and bike wear provided by Adidas. We met with our staff and sponsors and were introduced to our new Giant bikes that we will be riding next season (TCR advanced LE). The bike is super light and stiff, made of carbon with an integrated seat post. I was very happy to hear that there is still an option to adjust the seat height by 20 mm, so you have some room to play with.

Kimberly Baldwin (my roommate for the weekend) and I decided to resist the urge to nap in the evening, and took a stroll to visit the Christmas markets that were set up in Munich’s downtown streets. I was amazed at the number of people out on the streets shopping for Christmas on a cold evening. We treated ourselves to a German tradition, gluwein – a hot wine with spices. Gluwein stands are found all over the market area with large numbers of people conversing and drinking. We finished the day with a meal at a Bavarian restaurant and lots of sausage, pork, cheese, sauerkraut and of course there was beer. Finally we hit the sack for a much needed sleep.

The 7am wakeup call the next day came quite early. We shuttled off to a photography studio where we began with the normal team photo shoot in our jersey and shorts. From there it got pretty funky. We had individual shots, where we were treated to supermodel status, if only for a few hours. We had our hair and makeup done and were outfitted in unique outfits by our stylist. I ended up with some adidas sport pants, a hot pink top with some accessories and the tallest stiletto heels I have every seen (in hot pink!), and a gangstah silver chain with a big mirror at the end of it. I had fun laughing at myself in a situation that I would never have expected to be in. All the photos were very unique, and I look forward to seeing how everyone’s pics ended up. The photos were a great way to portray women in sport, as something more than just competitors.

I had time in the afternoon for a short run on the treadmill, and some time in the hot pool and steam room. It sure felt good to get moving and to sweat a little. Dinner on our final night was at an Italian restaurant where we were treated to a four-course meal with lots of wine. We were told not to get used to this kind of treatment, as it will only happen twice a year – this weekend and our training camp in Mallorca, Spain.

I am psyched about my upcoming season and very motivated by my new team to train smart and to be as strong as I can in the upcoming year. Our next stop is at training camp where we will stay together with the entire men’s squad. It should be a fun affair!