Where Are They Now? : Anna!
Posted on Jan. 14, 2010 by Uncommon Grounds in Where Are They Now?
Anna in the lead!
At Uncommon Grounds, we are proud and excited to learn about the places that some of our workers go after working at our stores. We recently caught up with Anna D. who worked at the Saratoga Springs store in the early 00s. She was one of our best bagelers (yes, we made our own word for “person who makes bagels”) of all time, and always had a smile, a few words in German or Spanish for anyone who would understand it and the most gigantic hoop earrings on quite a little person. We were pleased to hear about her travels and adventures as a cyclist and language teacher/obsessionist.
Uncommon Grounds (UG) : How are you, Anna? It’s been awhile!
Anna D. (AD) : I’m GREAT. I’m living in southern California, training and working.
UG : When exactly did you work at Uncommon? It feels like a long time ago, but…
AD : I worked at UG for four years, on and off. 2001-2005, give or take. Some of the greatest years of my life!
UG : While you were working at the store, I remember your obsession with cycling starting. Can you detail how you started and what your path has been with it?
AD : Well, I bought my first bike from Blue Sky Bicycles in Saratoga (and later upgraded to a Serotta, also from Saratoga!) and started going for recreational rides around the area. A friend suggested I try racing, and after coming in 15th at my first race, I just got hooked. I’ve been racing ever since!
After leaving Saratoga, I moved to Costa Rica for 6 months to train, race and teach ESL. While I was there, I was signed to a pro team based in New Jersey, so I moved to Philly and spent a year doing continental races with them.
After that I moved to California so that I could train year-round. I’ve been having a blast since I’ve gotten here. I started in Santa Barbara, then moved to LA and am now in Orange County. I’ve been doing mostly road racing (like the Tour de France stuff, but much less cool!), but this year I’ve gotten into track racing too. It is easier for women to go farther on the track (professionally) than it is on the road, so I am really hoping to go far with that!
UG : Sounds excellent! Rumor mill says that you are now a sponsored rider. What does that entail?
AD : I am an elite, or semi-pro, rider. This means that we are paid to ride. I also get all my equipment (bike, helmet, shoes, pedals, clothing, etc) taken care of. The team also pays for my race entry fees and travel expenses. I also get an additional stipend, or salary. Cycling is different than other sports in that you don’t have to get individual endorsements. At the end of each season, around November, we all apply to teams. We send a race resume which is very similar to a job resume, stating our results and goals and have to do interviews with the team directors. Then they review them all and select their teams. So, whatever team we sign with dictates what our sponsors are–they come with the team. This year, I will be on team Herbalife-LaGrange. Herbalife will be one of our head sponsors.
Anna (on far right) and her team for 2010.
UG : Oh that’s an interesting process. Sounds a lot different than other sports… Have you kept up your language studies?
AD : Yeah, my German is suffering, as I have very few friends who speak it, but I’ve lived in two Spanish-speaking countries in the last few years, which has helped a lot, and there are TONS of Mexican cyclists in the area, so that helps too!
UG : Since we’ve reached 2010, do you have any resolutions for the next decade that you’d like to share?
AD : Going to the Olympics! Or….I’d settle for international racing. Also, I’d like to try to live in one spot for more than a year–I’ve had a hard time doing that lately.
Anna wins!
UG : I wouldn’t be surprised to see you in the Olympics someday! You are certainly very motivated and competitive. Finally, do you have any UG memories you’d like to share?
AD : SO many. Mostly I remember the little stuff. The regular customers and how well I got to know them over the years. How we’d refer to most customers by their order: ex. “pot of English Breakfast…or “burnt pumpernickel”….etc.
What I liked best, I think, is that most of us were on our way somewhere else, but were having a blast during our time with Uncommon Grounds. We were musicians, artists, athletes, massage therapists….we were all people with bigger goals, but having a seriously good time working until we got on our way.
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