oh my...

I am in a state of total shock right now.

I received an email yesterday informing me that I had been upgraded to cat 2 in cycling which means that I have the opportunity to compete in the U23 National Championship Road Race on June 26th.

Let's rewind a little here. I have been blessed to ride with an awesome collegiate team here at Clemson. The guys on my team have motivated, inspired, and pretty much taught me how to train and race. With their help, I qualified for Collegiate Nationals and had a decent finish as 27th. After nationals, I planned on doing a few races but focused my physical and mental energy almost entirely on my internship. I didn't think that I had a shot at even qualifying at U23 Nationals. My training suffered due to other time commitments and lack of a training plan.

After talking with a few people... including an ex pro cyclist from Canada, I realized that cycling is a huge part of me and that I had nothing to lose by applying for an upgrade so that I could register for U23 Nationals. I had zero expectations for actually getting any response.

So here I am... 20 years old, with a racing experience of approximately 3 months, preparing to race 120 km (72 miles) against America's top cyclist. Oh, and did I mention that the women's U23 race is combined with the Elite women's road race? Yea, it's going to be intense.

One last crazy factor goes into this race. Last year it was in Oregon. It could have been anywhere this year, but it is Georgia this year. Coincidence? I think not. Only my all-powerful, all-knowing God could have facilitated this. His strength is the only thing that will sustain me during this race.

Termites.

Right now I'm sitting in a coffee shop on a corner street in Asheville, NC. If I could get a penny for every hippie i see walk past I would be rich.

Over the past two weeks I have been learning so much about termites I feel like they are crawling out of my ears. Why, you say? My internship is with the urban pest management division of Dow AgroSciences and I have been blessed with the wonderful assignment of working with a new termite protection product that we are launching. Thats right. I am pretty much a termite expert now. Should I be proud of that? My dad laughs because the many, grueling hours that I put into our landscaping business during high school is actually paying off. Speaking of paying off... have I told you about Clyde? Clyde is my beloved truck for the summer. He is a handsome black 2011 Dodge Dakota. His counterpart is a GPS that I have lovingly named Bonnie. They are quite the pair, those too.

Back to business, these past couple of weeks have been spent getting acquainted with some of the offices that I will be working with. I tell you what, there are some interesting people there! The Technicians definitely get kick out of a 20-year-old, female intern, showing up to tell them how to use our new product. The comments and teasing can be both funny and slightly offending. However, God didn't give me red hair for nothin'... if the need arises, I am not afraid to show a little attitude.

Ah... cycling, how I miss you! Tonight I am racing in the Ring of Fire Crit in Asheville, NC with my teammates Matt Johnson, Austin Hilliard, and Jesse Miller! Can you tell I'm excited? The thrill of racing is unmatchable.

Details to come.

A busy week.

Last Sunday, I packed up my bags and flew out to Indianapolis, Indiana where I joined forty other interns from across the country for Intern training at the headquarters of Dow AgroSciences.

We started our first training promptly at 7:30 am on Monday morning by going through introductions which included where we were from, and the type of internship we would be doing this summer. There were interns from California, Nebraska, Illinois, Georgia, South Dakota, Wisconsin, Michigan, Georgia, Iowa, and many other states throughout the US. The different internships include seed sales, public relations, chemical sales, and urban pest management sales (me!). The first thing I noticed that everyone had was a lot of confidence. They seemed to have a really good idea of who they were and what they hoped to accomplish in life. After introductions, we launched right into our agenda which included sessions on business skills, expense management, safety, sales, and a tour of the campus. The campus tour would have been a lot of fun if I hadn’t been wearing a brand new adorable pair of shoes that gave me a dreadful blister. If you think I am exaggerating, then think again. In all eight years of my running career I never had a blister this bad. The worst part about was the fact that those shoes were so cute! Beauty is pain.
Despite the monotony of sitting and listening to speakers for long periods of time, we managed to have a little fun playing games and getting to know each other during breaks.
Although the schedule called for the group to go through Advanced Driver Training on Friday, I attended the training on Tuesday since I would be leaving on Thursday for a Student Advisory Team meeting in Kansas City. Driver training was mandatory since we are given company cars to drive during the summer. Little did I know, I would be joined by two hilarious sales reps who were required to take a driver refresher course. Oh boy. They cracked jokes right and left as we completed a very boring course.

On Wednesday, I joined the rest of the interns for yet another day of listening, learning, and socializing. At one point we practiced sales techniques by role-playing while utilizing our some of our freshly-learned knowledge about farming and various crops. Of course, I had no CLUE what I was talking about. Obviously I did not give my lack of knowledge because I volunteered to go FIRST in a group role play. Thanks to a handy-dandy little booklet and mad page-turning skills, I pulled off the role-play without making a complete idiot of myself among a group a farm-savvy individuals. Success!
That night we had a cookout at the hotel where we played a corn-hole tournament and were entertainment by a few people who happened to consume a large amount of alcohol. It’s funny how people who might normally be shy become totally different after several beers. I also had a long conversation with a fellow intern about life, relationships, farming, childhood, and our career ambitions.

Thursday morning started bright and early at 5:30 am. My supervisor and district sales manager arranged for me to meet some of the key people who work in the urban pest management division. Although I knew this was a privilege, I also knew that I was tired and exhausted from a week of getting a fraction of the sleep that I normally get. Fortunately the excitement of the opportunity kicked in and gave me the burst of energy I needed to engage and energetically interact with some of the top people of my job.
Thursday afternoon, I flew to Kansas City to join the Student Advisory Team for our second meeting.

This meeting was unique in that the four campus ambassadors would be joining us. They brought so much enthusiasm and excitement to an already great group of people. It continues to amaze me how tightly we have bonded together in the short amount of time that we have had. Of course, I realize that this is no coincidence. We were selected based on how our individual personalities, strengths, and weaknesses would mesh with the rest of the group.
We spent the next two days going through media training, facilitation training, working on conference planning, and taking group pictures.

Friday night, we went to a bbq place that had a karaoke bar. As we were heading out we saw this little kid who looked to be about 8 years old, rockin’ out to a Brittany Spears song. Definitely not expecting that. Furthermore, this kid was GOOD! I decided to sing a song along with a few others. Not that I could top this kid or anything… anyways, after we sang, the kid came up and told me that I made him nervous.. haha. I need to go back and take singing lessons from this kid. He could take Justin Bieber any day.

On Saturday night I flew home after a lengthy layover in Dallas, Texas. As I walked on to the plane, I caught a whiff of the warm summer air and was once again reminded of why I love the south so much.

2011 Collegiate Road Nationals

On Wednesday, Austin, Matt, and I loaded up Matt's jeep and headed north for the collegiate cycling nationals road race. Unfortunately we were not able to leave until 8:30pm because Austin had an exam late Wednesday afternoon. Matt drove the first 6 hours, Austin the next 4, and I drove the final 5. Minus the restroom and fast food stops, we drove straight there in order to make it to Madison, Wisconsin in time for registration packet pickups.


On Thursday, we arrived at our hotel where would be rooming with the Tennessee-Chattanooga Cycling Team members to save on hotel costs. After 15 hours of driving we were more than eager to head out for a good bike ride.

Little did we know... it is not difficult to get lost in Wisconsin. Who would have predicted that there would be a PDQ gas station on the corner of every street?
Who would've guessed that all of the gorgeous bike paths would lead us astray?
Thanks to the directions of the cashier at a gas station we managed to find our way back after a half hour of wandering.


On Friday, we raced the road race at Blue Mounds State Park, Wisconsin. The course had over 8,000 feet of climbing. 60 miles for the women and 75 miles for the men. Intense? Yes. Suicide? Possibly. Fun? Absolutely. This was the kind of course where you knew... no matter what... you were going to finish knowing full well that you worked hard and deserve a good meal and some rest. Gotta love that post-race feeling. Anyways, back to the race. From the start whistle to the finish, it was an all out battle. At first, it was a battle to stay upright as 67 eager cyclist poured down the mountainside at 40mph. Then it transferred to fighting for a good place as we approached the first few hills. With the advent of hills came the roar of gears shifting and people panting for air as we sprinted up and down the hills. Finally, we approached the two massive hills that concluded lap number 1 out of 4. These incredibly steep hills easily separated the strong from the weak as the large group of cyclist quickly became strung out over the entire course. As I neared the end of lap 1, I crested a giant hill to find a group of about sixty people cheering, blowing horns, and handing out water. I struggled to maintain composure, but failed miserably. Sweat poured down my face, and my head swung from side to side as I gasped for air while struggling to catch the group in front of me.
Velonews photographers apparently thought the misery on my face was worth posting on their website:
http://velonews.competitor.com/2011/05/road/2011-collegiate-road-nationals-a-casey-b-gibson-gallery_171505/attachment/usa-cycling-college-national-championships-2011-5
The speedy descents that followed climbing brought a thrill and cooled me down. Lap 2 and lap 3 were not as hard as lap 1. I knew what to expect, and the exercise endorphins had kicked in. Each lap separated the groups of riders. By the time I had gotten to the final lap, I had passed most of the field and was with competitors I’d thought I could not have kept up with. We took turns breaking the wind and worked with one another. I could tell that my competitors were constantly gauging how tired they were in relation to the rest of the group. At one point I glanced over to see a girl smiling to herself. All of the sudden it hit me, this is fun! We are not only challenging our physical and mental strength against the best collegiate cyclist in the country, but against ourselves. Sure, my legs were tired, but my body’s natural pain killers had already kicked in. Each breath of air seemed to penetrate my entire body with life and energy. I glanced down at my watch. 3 hours. Every second of those 3 hours had been spent covering as much ground as possible and was utilized to it’s maximum capacity by balancing effort against strategy. I knew the last twenty minutes needed to count more than any of the others. No more strategizing, all effort. My legs felt like the gears on a broken watch as a struggled to shove each pedal down. Much to my amazement, riders started dropping back and I began to move farther up the field of competitors. I honestly did not know that it was possible to go any slower than I was at that moment. Before crossing the finish line I heard my teammates yell at me as I passed a girl from Indiana University. I crossed under the USA Cycling National Championships Banner in sheer elation. I had finished!

I finished 27th… with 67 of the top collegiate cyclist in the country still behind me.








That night we went out to “Noodles” in downtown Madison, WI with two of guys from the College of Charleston Cycling Team. We joked and laughed about how silly cyclist can often be. Bryan from College of Charleston finished 7th in the road race, his teammate Brooks finished 34th. Way to go!

Saturday was a delightfully relaxing day which consisted of; wandering around downtown on our bikes, checking out the bike shops and ehem.. accidently spending a lot of money, watching a magic show, drinking Boba tea (that stuff is WEIRD), and talking with the locals just to hear their funny accents. Don’t judge.

That afternoon, I had the privilege of seeing my dear sister LAURA and her wonderful husband John who live in Eau Claire, Wisconsin. That’s right. My sister moved from SC to WI after graduating from Clemson. Gutsy right? God has indeed blessed her as she is now surrounded by a wonderful church family, friends, job, and husband. Praise the Lord! We went to the pound to check out a potential dog to join her new family, went shopping in downtown Madison, and then met up with John’s brother Pete and his girlfriend Jessica along with my teammates for dinner! After a tasty dinner at Dotty’s, we went to a lovely terrace that overlooks the lake. It was gorgeous. The students at University of Madison, WI are pretty darn lucky to live there… during the summer that is. I’m not sure that I could stand it in the winter.

After a tasty dinner at Dotty’s, we went to a lovely terrace that overlooks the lake. It was gorgeous. The students at University of Madison, WI are pretty darn lucky to live there… during the summer that is. I’m not sure that I could stand it in the winter.



Sunday consisted of our final race… the CRIT! Stephanie and I got up early and drove to the course in silence as we contemplated finality and significance of this race. Crits are scary and dangerous. Winning a crit depends less on fitness and more on luck and positioning than road racing. This was my second A’s crit and I was nervous. I was tempted to bail on the race but knew that I couldn’t let myself or my teammates down. As we rolled up to the start line I fought to readjust my attitude.

I worked hard for this. I chose this. This is an opportunity. I honor my Lord and Savior best by giving my all and leaving the rest up to Him. From the “go” whistle, it became absolutely chaotic. My mind instantly switched from dwelling on my anticipation to race mode. Every corner I turned required concentration and strategizing as I struggled to remain upright and move up the massive field of cyclist. Before I knew it, a small breakaway group had lapped us. That was frustrating. Girls I had whipped in the road race were ahead of me. Every time I tried to move up someone would block me or I would have to break to avoid running into someone else as we rounded the corners. Regardless, it felt so good to sprint out of the corners and race in front of a crowd. I just need to brush up on my crit skills, or lack thereof.

After the race, I toasted in the sun while chatting with Laura, John, my aunt and uncle from Chicago, and the friends that I’ve made this season through cycling. The cycling community is full of incredible people from all over the world. Some cyclist from Mars Hill who originally hail from South Africa happen to be pretty crazy. Talk about team spirit! They blared those annoying horns from South Africa and painted their bodies and faces. Obviously they did something right because Mars Hill College won the division 2 team omnium! Congrats! Job well done.

On Monday morning we packed up and headed out for a 15 hour drive home. As I watched the rolling Wisconsin countryside change to the flat fields of Illinois, it struck me that we have a very creative God who is the master of beauty.

If he can make the earth beautiful, how much more can he transform those he calls his own? His very breath has the power to move mountains and build oceans. A God this powerful is certainly one who can be trusted.



“God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth should change and though the mountains slip into the heart of the sea; though its waters roar and foam, though the mountains quake at its swelling pride. Selah. The LORD of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our stronghold”. Psalm 46:1-3,7

Why do I so often forget this astounding truth?

On the way back we stopped in Kentucky to go for a bike ride through the rolling hills.

So beautiful.

So full of life.

So peaceful.

We arrived home around 1:30 am. I am thankful for a safe and successful Nationals trip!

William & Kate

Right now I am sitting in front of the tv with my lovely roommate Audrey, watching William and Kate's royal wedding. 
The best part of the wedding has been the tweets sent in. About 75% talk about how the newly married couple must be bored out of their minds. The other 25% are either a) adorable "ohmygosh you can see the love in their eyes" b) cynical "I wonder if all their kids are gonna be bald like William" or c) stupid "I just KNOW they're gonna get up and start making out".


As I predicted, this week has been challenging! Each exam that I have to take seems to shackle with a ball and chain until I find out my grade. Pathetic right?

On the other hand, cycling this week has been quite the stress reliever.  I managed to keep up with the front group of TNR this week by selecting a tall triathlete to draft behind during the majority of the ride. While many others who are stronger than me struggled in the wind, I hunkered down and enjoyed the free ride up and down hills behind a guy who is twice my size. If I knew who you were, I would thank you. As it turned out, many of the cycling guys were frustrated by the slower pace and the triathletes who wouldn't lead. Me? I was just happy to be hanging on... I kept my eyes glued to the tire in front of me as we raced around the countryside at an average of 24 mph. I can honestly say that it was a rush, both literally and figuratively.
Wednesday consisted of hill repeats with the one and only Matt Johnson. Pain. 

Wednesday night I walked to Wendy's with my dear roommate Courtney to get Frosties! YUM!

The picture below is of Courtney (Court-Snort), Audrey (Princess Audrey), and I (Carrots)... I love them so much!

As we pulled up for prayer group on Wednesday night at Tillman Place, Corey Koon pointed out a 4ft long black snake in the parking lot! We caught it, put it in a Captain Crunch Box, and delivered it to Elise's front door with a note that said, "TO ELISE, YOU ARE HYSSSSTERICAL- anonymous" (Thank you Lauren Fasbender for your stroke of genius). In case you may be wondering, it was payback for the lovely dead squirrel that Elise wrapped and left on my front door with a note that said, "to Molly, I'm NUTS about you- anonymous". Needless to say, it was quite epic. Word on the street is that she took it to class the next morning.

Other minor details of this week include a safety conference call for my internship... about the dangers of walking. I had to spend an HOUR on the phone listening to a lecture about being safe. Of course, given my track record, it was probably necessary. I also had a conference call with the Student Advisory Team about our conference theme.... more brainstorming to do! I caught a baby shrew, drug testing for my internship, made cookies, and saw a cemetery that is named "Little Hope Cemetery" ...made me laugh.

God is so good. He has showed me his love and forgiveness throughout the week. During the stress of exams I am simply horrible about praying and spending time in the Word. Does this affect how much He loves me? Absolutely not! I love that my Savior is bigger than exams, bigger than sin, bigger than religion, and bigger than I can imagine! His love and pursuit of has nothing to do with me and everything to do with his grace and mercy. "God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us" Romans 5:7b


....wow.

2 weeks before school gets out and NATIONALS!

This week I have a fairly full schedule.. 4 exams, 1 final project, and an essay due! Also, this is the last full week of training that I have before nationals. Time to pack in some good, hard training along with some hyper focused study sessions with friends. Sleep? Pretty unnecessary at this point. This is one of my favorite parts of the season because I have a pretty good idea of what I should be doing and how I should be doing. The challenge is actually doing it.
Tomorrow evening is one of the last TNR rides of this spring. TNR is "Tuesday Night Ride" abbreviated. It is basically a training ride every Tuesday that is treated as a race. All of the fastest cyclist in the community (sometimes on pro teams) come out to Pendleton and ride a 30ish mile route as fast as possible to a planned destination. It is exhilarating and challenging as everyone is trying their best to win. It's during times like these that I feel so alive and free of the worries and distractions of life. It will be a nice break from studying.
Wednesday and Thursday will consist of meetings and Friday I will go to the RUF end of the year party!
My friendships within RUF have challenged me in a lot of different areas this year. I am so thankful for my dear friends who are passionately pursuing the Lord and how he intends for us to live life! Recently a group of 5 or 6 have started praying every week together. It is ASTOUNDING how encouraging this has been to me. His promise is true that when two are more are gathered in His name, He is there! I can feel His presence during these times.

This is a picture of some of the RUF people I am so thankful for!

We're playing Rockband... and rockin it out to T SWIFT!

Science and Faith

So this week I have fallen in love with the band "The Script".  One of their songs titled "Science and Faith" is about being so in love with someone that they become his science, faith, and reality. This is what society tells us that our significant other should be. It embraces the idea that that person can fulfill our deepest needs and provide us with a frame through which to view life. The book, "Twilight" embraces this same idea that the one we love becomes our reality. In the book, love is pictured as permanent and more fate than choice. To fight or resist giving ourselves to that one other person would be denying our very selves and going against the force of nature.

Is this how God intended for us to be? Does this mean that single people are missing out on science, faith, or reality? What truly defines us? How are we to be truly fulfilled in a society that constantly feeds us these lies?