Tales from the Wheels (and other hallucinations)

Tulsa III

2009-06-06T11:49:00.000-07:00

Ready to go! (photo by Ronee van Deemter)

Saturday evening we were treated to a lovely BBQ dinner at Tim and Melissa's house. There home is gorgeous and it was great to sit on the patio and enjoy the evening and the food was delicious!

Waking up Sunday we were hopeful to battle back after a rough start. With 5 out of 7 of us having hit the pavement our host house is more like an infirmary. Last year Sunday morning we were treated to a huge storm in the morning. This time the skies were clear and the sun was shining. I particularly like the course with the short power climb in it.

As was typical, we took the Riverwalk bike path to the race and this time had no dog or drunken cyclist encounters. The temperature was over 100 when we started the race. Today I actually had a new friend coming to watch. It really is a small world. A friend in France has a friend in Tulsa and she put us in contact with each other. And never having met her right before the race, I hear someone call out my name and it was Ronee, she had found me!

It is already strung out (photo Ronee van Deemter)

As is typical the race started fast. Melissa on her SRAM pit bike dropped her chain on the first lap and went to the pits but was a lap down. As the race progressed we kept dropping riders thinning out the pack. With about 18 laps to go I got stuck at the back of a crash on the climb and had to stop my bike. Due to complete race brain I tried to chase back on not even thinking that I should have gone to the pits having been involved in the crash. Dumb move on my part, as I never made it back to the front group and just dangled off the back. So my race was done. We only had Melissa, Leigh and Melodie left in the race and they held their own and finished with the front group.

Suffering! (photo Ronee van Deemter)

I actually got to chat with Ronee and her girlfriend Carrie which was nice since we had been Facebooking and texting before. It was great during the race to have someone cheering for you. Ronee took the photos in this blog which are awesome for her first time as a sports photographer!

After the race it was back home to pack up the bikes to fly home that evening. Never a dull moment when racing. Our flight from Denver to LA was delayed and X and I did not get home until about 3am. We had quite the adventure at LAX with the Flyaway bus to Van Nuys driving past us. Thanks to a great Prime Time driver who stopped and drove us to the Flyaway or we would have had to wait another hour. Luck and miracles do happen every day.

With Ronee the famous photographer!

The past 4 days have been filled with work and laundry as I am currently on my way to Philadelphia for the Liberty Classic race. As always, Ashton and Tren at Sundance have saved the day for me as Tuesday evening while putting my bike together I broke my seat clamp bolt. The fun never ends with bike stuff but they totally helped me out so I was able to do my sprints Wednesday on my rockin' Storck bike. Sundance Cycles is also one of those miracle things.

Check back for the update from Philly. Life is full of adventures!

The kittens, X, Liz and myself! We survived.

Tulsa - Part II

2009-06-03T09:30:00.001-07:00

Well, the girls made it home from the hospital at 2am. Melissa received 9 stitches in her arm and Virginia has a broken collar bone and 2 broken ribs. Not good.

VK Club member Brittany in the 3/4 race

Saturday we got up and those of us not “broken” went on a morning spin where I was chased by this crazy dog who bee lined for me though I was the furthest rider from him. That was a fun way to get the heart rate up quickly. Then on the Riverwalk bike path we were almost taken out by a guy on a bike holding a mysterious brown bag which I think would explain why he was weaving. Eventually we made it down to the race course to see the end of the Women’s 3 /4 race and cheer on Brittany a Vanderkitten club member. It was then back to the house to rest up for our afternoon race. The weather was not too hot but on the ride back you could feel the mercury rising!

Melodie, Leigh and X on the Riverwalk trail - beautiful day!

At 2:30pm we left for our race. Melissa, the brave soul that she is got set up on a SRAM neutral bike and we were back to a force of 6. We were determined to have a good race today and I wanted to be aggressive. My legs were feeling pretty good and the other VKs were keeping good position in the front of the pack. I did a mini attack up the hill and felt pretty good. Just after that lap going through the start/finish straight there was a huge pile up of girls probably 30 on the floor. I was able to unclip and jump off my bike but then someone hit me from behind and I ended up on my behind. No injuries for me but a lot of the other VKs went down including X right next to me. Liz is the only one who has been pavement free. The referee neutralized our race which I thought at first was due to the crash but actually it was so they could bring an ambulance on course to assist a spectator who had heat stroke and was apparently having seizures. We had to wait about 15 minutes.

We were eventually restarted to race for 40 minutes. My legs felt like crap which I’m sure was a mutual thought throughout the peloton. I could never seem to get my rhythm back but fought hard to get my body to turn around. The race was crazy and the pack was moving in strange ways. I have to admit this has been the strangest racing I have ever done as far as pack movement and bike handling. With 5 laps to go I was sitting in a great position on Laura Van Gilder’s wheel but then everything shifted and I was back in 25th place again. With 2 laps to go Melissa made a huge move to the front and I got on the train about 4th wheel and fought to get into the pack. I was not very successful and the pack slowed causing a massive surge and I was swallowed up. I could not get out and just suffered finishing a poor 48th. Liz held good position for a top 30 place.

I am very frustrated and I think all of the crashes have gotten to us mentally. I have never seen so many crashes on nice big open roads.

Today is another day and we are hoping to have some good come out of it. I am off to go to the race now. Ciao!

X soaking her wounds after the crash

Tough Going in Tulsa

2009-05-29T21:23:00.001-07:00

The Arkansas River!

At least this trip did not start off like Speedweek with an 8 hour flight. And, our bikes made it as well. We are staying with Brent again this year in his amazing house and living in the lap of luxury. It is also really cool because the entire team can stay in one house. Thursday night Brent treated us to the most amazing diner at “The Local Table” where of course I had a steak, very rare. Would have loved to have had a bourbon with it but no way with 3 days of racing ahead.

Liz always looking for the "cross" experience.

X explaining how to move my seat, funny!

Friday we all slept in a little, built our bikes and then Brent took us on a great ride on the Riverwalk Trail to Turkey Mt. and back home. The weather was beautiful in Tulsa warm but not too hot with a slight breeze. It was great to be back with all of my “teamies” and hang out. Back home to shower up and head to Whole Foods for another round of shopping. Racing is all about riding, eating and sleeping, nothing else. Thank goodness though for Whole Paycheck as I like to all it so I could get my goat yogurt.

The brawn of VK!

Love this photo, Liz on the crackberry while Mel and Brent fix her flat. LOL!

At 5:30pm we headed downtown for the first race. It is a figure 8 course with nice wide streets. Downtown Tulsa is coming along as they are renovating it and the pavement was so much nicer than last year. VK was riding a good race and being very attentive to attacks. I was feeling good (finally!) and did my rotation on the front making sure nothing got away that we were not in. During the race there were several crashes which I could not understand with such wide roads. Teammates were going down right and left but luckily were getting back in the race. Awful to see. With 12 laps to go there was a big crash on the last turn and the next time around I noticed there was a VK rider on the ground and not moving. Ugh! She was there several laps and I kept trying to figure out who it was. It is the hardest thing to keep racing when you see one of your own on the ground and not getting up. It turns out Melissa went down and the rider on the ground was Virginia. We tried to make something of the end but I have to admit my nerves of steel had softened to liquid form. The girls in the race were all over the place and it was one of the sketchiest races I have done. Out of our team of 7 only 3 of us stayed up. Not a good ratio. It turns out Melissa will need stitches and it looks like Virginia has a broken collarbone though we are unsure as the hospital is busy tonight (go figure) and the girls are not home yet and as I write this it is 11:14pm Tulsa time. Leigh and Melodie are banged up and have road rash but doing okay.

Liz sporting her Sammy Hagar hair - just awesome!

Thank goodness for X’s cooking earlier in the day as we came home to warm pasta and a salad. We sent Dave off to the hospital with clothes for the girls and food.

Tomorrow is another day and I am hoping a much safer race. I am bummed at my lack of mental fortitude as I finally feel like my old self on the bike. When will my head and body meet up this year? I am off to bed hoping that we will hear good news about Virginia. This definitely deserves a big “Cheese and Rice!” And yes Robin, we did get fisted this evening!

Ventura County Stage Race and Barry Wolfe Crit

2009-05-27T07:20:00.000-07:00

The standard!

Boy how time flies. Last weekend I did the inaugural Ventura County Stage race which was a 3 stage 2 day race. Since my season has been a little up and down my coach wanted me to do it to continue to work on my race legs.

Saturday the 16th started off early with a drive to downtown Ventura for a time trial start time of 10:13am. I brought Murphy my time trial bike and my disc wheels. The course was a 1.7 mile out and back with a steep little power climb in the beginning. I debated using Murphy but opted for him in the end. I went gang busters off the start and felt like I was going great and felt powerful. I started my watch when my 30 second girl went and finished with a time of 3:16. I did however accidentally cut the course short on the turn around as it was not clearly marked and therefore ended dead last on the GC. Bummer as I felt I would have had an excellent time.

I then spent my day resting in my car and found a great little bakery that made sandwiches to eat at. Thank god for my iPhone and a good book which helped the time pass until the 5:30pm criterium in the evening.

Before the race I went and got a Starbucks coffee and ran into Neil Brown from Road Magazine and Phillip Chang who I used to dance with back in the La Danserie days. Crazy how small the world is. I did a great warm up for the crit and off we went. The course was a 4 corner with a climb after turn 1 and a screaming downhill after turn 3. As usual La Grange with there 8 squad (or which seems like 8 riders) team kept launching attacks. I tried to be smart about what I went after hoping that some of the other teams would chase if they were not in it. This was not the case and a La Grange and a NOW rider went up the road. I waited and finally decided to launch an attack to bridge. Since the GC was out of reach for me a stage win would be fantastic. The NOW rider fell off the pace and I nearly caught the La Grange rider who was 8 seconds off of me but for some reason I could not quite close the gap. I found out later that La Grange after a bit went on the front of the pack to reel me in. Crazy to be so marked. Near the end of the race the attacks were furious and just being one rider it was really hard to mark everything. The field came down to a sprint for 5th place and Beatriz nicely rested came around me to take it and I got 6th. More importantly though I felt like I was finally coming out of this crazy start to the season I was going through and my legs were feeling like the old me. Good news!

The next day was a 40 mile road race in Ojai with an afternoon start time. It was hot in Ojai and my frozen bottles were melting even in the cooler before the race. Scott Searway and his daughter Emily surprisingly showed up to watch which was great. We had to do the circuit 7 times which meant climbing the 1 mile climb 7 times. I felt good during the race which was the typical slow pace until the climb and then slow pace again, until lap 5 when my body just over heated and said stop. My water was warm and neutral feed was few and far between as well as having warm water. Cheryl Roth from Helen’s and Alexis Ryan from Major Motion and myself rode the last two laps together. Mostly Cheryl and I wanted to do the descent again which was totally fun. I even survived a bad feed from the neutral feeder who held the bottle incorrectly and I almost went down. I was really happy when the race was over. I finished 16th overall starting from dead last after my wrong turn so not too bad but not great. It is very hard to do road races in the heat without the help of a feeder with cold fluids. On the way home I stopped off for the traditional In n Out Burger. Yum! Didn’t really deserve it with the way I rode but it still tasted delicious.

Memorial Day Weekend – Barry Wolfe Criterium

Another weekend, another race. Luckily for a very intuitive wise friend and the brilliant knowledge of Ashton at Sundance Cycles my bike is finally feeling correct after a long hard time of getting it to fit. Jenn X and myself rode from our homes and met in Warner Center for the race. X brought me a 100mm stem to switch out on my bike (I love my friends!) which I did before the race but ended up having headset issues right before we started. I couldn’t seem to get it to lock down but the stem was on tight. I had a slight jiggle in my headset but decided to try and race anyway and if it was too bad to pull out.

The race started and I took the first turn hesitantly and then from there on out figured all was good and I was back to whipping it through the turns. X of course thinks I am crazy! I think I was super frustrated from the headset ordeal and rode the beginning of the race like a maniac going after all the attacks and being super aggressive. My bike was feeling good and I was feeling like my old self so why not ride super hard, right?

I then heard the magic word of a free haircut prime to the winner of the next lap and I was motivated knowing this was coming from my hair stylist, David Alva – the best in the business. I had to sprint for the prime and got it. I continued to ride hard and X was being very aggressive as well. Not bad for being only 2 girls against the many numbered local teams. X finally got in a break of 5 girls with all the teams represented. It was weird though because they never got more than a 35 second lead on the main field. Girls from the main field kept trying to jump to the break and I was covering the moves. A group of 3 or 4 got off the front of our group a little and I pulled them back to only get attacked again. Eventually though there was a melt down in the break and with just over 5 laps to go we were back together. Cheryl Roth from Helen’s attacked once the break was caught and X did a great job of reeling her in. Funny how the teams with more riders were not so concerned but X and I wanted to practice everything we could for our upcoming weekend in Tulsa so riding hard was on our agenda. With a couple of laps to go X was back on the front doing a great lead out and keeping me out of the bubble. Between turn 3 and 4 Pam Schuster (Helen’s) jumped and I was on her. We went into turn 4 hard and I immediately jumped off her wheel and went for the sprint and won! Excellent! X finished 9th which was awesome after all the work she did for me. In addition, while she was in the break she won a haircut pime as well. We could not be happier! My headset held up (fixed it correctly when I got home) and finally my bike is like home again. I can’t wait for Tulsa. Stay tuned.

VK in the house!

Southeast Crit Series Thursday April 30th - Monday May 4th

2009-05-05T08:06:00.001-07:00

A park in Spartanburg

Thursday April 30^th

We made it to the Hawley Company in Lexington, SC. Their place is great and it is like a candy shop for cyclist. The company is expanding which is always great to see. We got to meet the entire crew. It was wonderful to actually meet in person the people who are supporting and believing in us and it is fantastic to be associated with such great people and such a wonderful company. Andy, our main man for our bike support wanted me to challenge Colin to an arm wrestle which if anyone knows me I am always up for. I guess Andy and Colin have a little banter going on and I was more than happy to help Andy out. I have to admit Colin got a little red when I met him and immediately mentioned that I heard he was quite the arm wrestler. Colin did not want to arm wrestle at first but Andy was insistent and so the table was set up. I gave Colin a run for his money but he eventually won. I think my arm could have been raised higher as he is bigger than me but it was all in good fun. To check out how it went down you can go to the Hawley blog link and see a play by play.

Steve Hawley took us to lunch at this great bistro with Derrick and we got to chit chat and get to know each other a little better. Steve and Derrick are awesome and we had a great time at lunch. We went back to Hawley and hung out with everyone a little more and then hit the road for Spartanburg.

On our morning ride in Spartanburg

Jenn X, Melissa and myself stayed with Angela again in Spartanburg which was great. She is so nice and I love her house. The other girls stayed up the street from us and we all went out to dinner where we officially determined that I have T-Rex arms and Jenn X has an extreme wingspan and obviously has some of my arm length, lol. Friday AM we got up and did a little ride on the hunt for coffee. Angela had mentioned that all of the coffee shops downtown had closed and so we ended up going to the Little River Coffee Company. We took a nice little ride through a park and then it was back home to rest. It seems like the trip is just filled with riding, resting and eating. We went back out again for coffee before the race at 6:30pm.

Spartanburg’s course is a 4 corner fast circuit with turn 4 really narrowing and the start/finish straight being tight. VK rode a good race with Jenn X, Virginia, Haley and myself covering the moves in the first 20+ laps. The other teams were super aggressive and we had to be very attentive. Jenn X got a prime by rolling off the front on the first lap. Near the middle of the race the pace stayed high and the other VKs Leigh, Liz and Laura kicked into gear. The race heated up with 5 laps to go and with 3 laps to go there was a small group off the front. I knew we had to get Melissa up there so Laura and I hustled to pull them back. After that I was toast, job done and Mel sprinted to 6^th place. Still not feeling quite like my normal self on the bike which is very frustrating but glad that I could help out the team in anyway.

It was back to Mellow Mushroom for dinner and a drink together as on Saturday our team would be splitting up to cover both the NRC race in Alabama and the other race in Dillworth where are sponsors would be.

Virginia and Andy

Jeff at Mellow Mushroom

Saturday May 2^nd

In the AM we were packed and hit the rode by 9am. Luckily for us Dillworth was only 1 ½ hours away from Spartanburg, SC in North Carolina. The course was a fast loop around a park with a tight turn in to the uphill start/finish. Our goal was to get Liz in a break with Rebecca Larson who was riding for Jittery Joes knowing that she was a strong rider. Virginia, Haley and myself worked hard in the beginning to make this happen and it did. The girls stayed away for most of the race holding an 8 to 12 second gap. I radioed to Liz to keep the gas on as the chase and attacks from the pack were aggressive. Things were looking good when all of a sudden I saw Liz coming back to the pack and I knew something must be wrong with her as she is such a fighter. VK then tried to bridge up to Rebecca but could not get successfully away so then we tried to pull her back by working together. With 5 laps to go we knew Rebecca was gone and it would be a field sprint for 2^nd. Virginia and Haley did a great job of keeping me at the front and then the pack started to come around on the long haul to the finish. I got a little jumbled in the mix and think I was in too big of a gear and got 3^rd in the field sprint for 4^th overall. I was very frustrated not feeling quite like my normal self in the sprint. My legs were also super tired from the weeks racing that we had been doing so far. It was great though to have Steve Hawley and his wife Jan at the race and hang out with them a little more. Also Steve’s son came by from college to check out the racing and cheer us on. We are very appreciated of their support.

Liz was okay but suffered a severe asthma attack and had to go to the medic. Having asthma myself I totally felt for her and understood the fact that she could not get any air. There must be something with North Carolina (no offense) as last time I raced there I got heat exhaustion or perhaps it has to do with the barometric pressure. As we were driving the 4 hours back to Georgia this crazy intense storm hit us and I could barely see the road in front of me. Cars were even pulling over under the over passes just to seek shelter because the rain/hail was so intense. All I can say is that I have never experienced rain like that back in So Cal.

Four plus hours later we made it back to Georgia and finally got showered and got some more food. We went to the Grange where Jeff knows the owner Steve (an Irishman!) where I had a great meat pie. The Alabama girls got in around 11:30pm having a pretty successful day with some primes and Melissa got 8^th place.

We were back together again and ready to hit the last day of racing in Sandy Springs, GA on Sunday!

Sunday May 3^rd

Melissa and I stayed and Jeff and Leigh’s place and we were treated to an awesome breakfast made by Jeff, an omelet with fresh veggies and amazing pancakes. I needed the big breakfast as the weeks worth of racing was catching up to me and I think my food intake had been down during the week due to the stress that racing puts on your body. Fueled up, we hit the road for the ½ hour drive to Sandy Springs. This course is a tight circuit with a downhill chicane and a tight downhill turn into the up hill finishing straight. Knowing it would be hard X and I did a longer warm up than usual through these great neighborhoods. Both of us forgot to bring our camera so we don’t have any photos L. Positioning was everything and we were all at the line early. My rear brake was attacking up and Jeff was able to fix it for me right before we started. I tried to do all I could in the beginning to keep the race under control unsure how I would feel near the end. Every time up the hill we were flying out of the saddle averaging 26 – 27 mph. There were some breaks up the road but the usually only contained one rider so we were able to spread the load of bringing them back with other teams. With 10 laps to go X and I went to the front to set tempo for a couple of laps and then it was gas on. Leigh helped Mel as much as she could to drop her off near the front and she got 9^th. We were done. Also, this is the course last year that I crashed really bad on and had that horrible concussion. I was happy to see the countdown under 7 laps to go as that is the lap I crashed on last year.

Sad :( no more beer.

After the race we collected are winnings as we actually had riders in the overall for the week as well as the individual races and headed to Meehan’s the Irish pub on course to watch the men’s race and get a well deserved drink.

What I love about this photo is the Motor Tabs bottle behind my drink -- hydration and a crown and coke, lol!

It was home to shower and then back out to the Grange for a post race party. The Colavita girls hung out with us as well as some of the guys and our ever handy support team of Andy and Brittany from Storck. Dave from Storck also joined us which was great. I have to admit we all got pretty toasted but had a great time. Luckily Leigh and Jeff just live down the street so we got a nice walk in afterwards.

So now I am on the plane home and have just over 2 more hours left (it is 10:29am Cali time).

Thanks for staying tuned and I hope you enjoyed the journey. Back home to tune the body up a little more and meet with my coach, continue to work on my house and back to work. I race again in Tulsa at the end of the month.

At the Grange Sunday evening, we made it!

To some up the weeks worth of racing I will quote the ever hilarious Laura, “cheese and rice”.

Monday - Thursday Southeast

2009-04-30T08:11:00.000-07:00

The VK girls on the morning Beaufort ride, looking awesome!

Monday 4/27/09

From the backyard of the Thompson's house. I could stay here forever!

We finally made it to Beaufort, SC after our jail incident. I love Beaufort, it is completely southern. We were staying with Gary and Pat Thompson who have a beautiful house on the waterfront. We were treated to a wonderful salmon dinner. Melissa and I took the guest quarters above the garage which we named the “man cave” as there was all this workout equipment and a huge screen TV. I slept like a log. I think I am finally catching up on sleep.

Another view from the backyard. Stunning!

The next day we went on a morning ride to a school where Vanderkitten, Colavita, Richmond Cycling and some other teams spoke with K-5th graders regarding cycling, helmet safety, etc. Jenn X tore it up and had the kids going. She is great at these types of things and stole the show. The kids seemed to have a good time and were excited about the race that evening.

Jenn X showing off how are shifting and gears work.

6pm race start in Beaufort. This course is crazy and short with many turns. The first corner is super tight and narrows extremely. I felt great in the beginning of the race but then the slow sluggish legs came upon me and I could not seem to recover or get on top of my gears. I eventually fell off the pace and was extremely upset. What is happening with me, I am fit and ready to race and yet. In the morning, Erica Allar from Colavita mentioned to me that she was trying to fix my rear brake way back at Athens at the start because it was rubbing. I had checked it prior to the Beaufort race but when I pulled out my rear brake was plastered against my rim. Ugh! I think with all of the bumps on the road and my crazy riding it must have come off center. My guess was that in every race it must have been doing this. I opened the cable and hoped that in the next race this would be the answer. I was very upset with my performance up until now as it was not typical of me. The VK team did an awesome job and Melissa got 5th. Things are starting to come together.

The good thing was at the race I bumped into Nancy and Steve Kessel who hosted us last year. It was great to see them. The Beaufort community is so nice and I chatted with several of the spectators and thanked them for hosting the race. Gary and his wife Pat cooked us up some wonderful steak and potatoes. It seems everyone who lives in Beaufort is a wonderful cook.

We love Andy, Brittany and the Storck van!

Wednesday 4/29/09

View while having our morning coffee in Beaufort.

We went on another quick spin in the morning to open the legs and the traditional coffee stop. Coffee is a must if you cycle. We then packed up to head for Walterboro or as X kept calling it, Waterloo. No host housing for this stop so it was the motel stay.

Virginia on my bike. Hilarious! She is so tall that my bike looks like a clown bike.

The other teams had heard about Jenn X’s jail break and we won’t name names here to protect the innocent but somehow handcuffs got attached to her bike. It was hilarious. She rode the race with them attached to her seat. Every time I saw here I cracked up.

Since I did not know what was going on with my body my job was to cover all the early moves. I was on it. I felt good during the race and could recover. It must have been my brake all along. I was ecstatic and it felt good to be back in the race. It was crazy fast as usual and the course has a narrowing into the finishing straight which seems to be a theme during Speedweek. There were some crashes and Tina Pic went down right in front of me. I was able to skid to a stop and just go around her head. I couldn’t believe I made the move without hitting her. Since I kept feeling like my normal self during the race I continued to monitor moves to the end. Melissa ended up 13th. We just needed a little more leg power at the end to help keep her near the front. VK was riding well though and I feel like we are really getting it together. I was toasted, but mentally happy that I had finally solved my problem and was back to my old tricks. I can’t wait to race Friday evening.

Dinner at Ruby Tuesdays was fun as we finally got to relax a little bit with Thursday being a rest day. A lot of the other teams were there and it was great to hang with them.

Making the VK logo, pimpin'

Thursday 4/30/09

I am currently in the van as we are on our way to Hawley in Lexington, SC who is one of our sponsors. We are going to have lunch with them and it will be great to meet all of the people at the company.

We did a morning ride before leaving to get coffee and keep the legs moving.

Stay tuned as there are 3 more races left in Speedweek.

Update - Athens Twilight, Roswell and travelling

2009-04-27T12:46:00.001-07:00

Laura on the attack

Saturday 4-25-09 Southeast

On Saturday morning we did the Hub Bicycle ride with the guys from Storck. We did this great loop through some great countryside (did not bring my camera!) and I meet some really cool people. After that it was back to Travelodge where we had one room to hang out it for the remainder of the afternoon until Athens Twilight at 7:45pm. It was great to hang out with the entire team even though the room was less than desirable and also to have Dave and Mark with us. At 6pm we suited up and were out the door to ride to the race. We had our primo spot again on turn two and the Storck guys hooked me up with a tune up on my bike as my cables were stretching (typical of a new bike). We also meet Steve Hawley and his wife Jan (more sponsors) which was fantastic.

Down to business. As is usual of Athens you line up to start the crit about 30 minutes before it actually starts as placement is everything. Even though I was ready early I ended up starting in the second to last row but the good news is that I got a call up for getting third there last year and for being 2^nd overall in the USA Crit series last year. Thank god for that! It was game on right from the start and the pace was wicked fast. For the entire 40 laps we did an average of 26 mph. Last years race was not nearly as fast. Tibco was very active on the front attacking but nothing was getting more than 11 seconds ahead of the main field. And, as usual at Athens there were plenty of crashes to keep the drunken crowds entertained. Luckily all but one was behind me. The one that was right to my left happened as I found out later because a spectator jumped over the barrier and a rider hit him. All I saw was a rider up in the air. Crazy stuff. VK did a great job of keeping things under control and was very attentive to the race. It was great to feel all of my teamies around. With 5 laps to go Melissa and I were sitting in pretty good position for the field sprint. With just about 2 laps to go there was a crash directly behind me and Melissa went down. The pace was furious and I was doing all I could to fight for my position. Girls were leaning on my in the turns and it was all bumping and shoving. With ½ a lap to go my legs gave out and I gapped off the front group. Ugh – frustrating. I ended up 16^th. The other VK girls finished well and we had a couple more in the money. Melissa ended up being generally okay with just the typical road rash and soreness that occurs after hitting the pavement.

We had a rough drive home after a meal at Applebee’s. Poor Laura started to feel sick and we spent our drive home pulling over for her. Our hearts went out to her. And then, after pulling over on the highway we thought Ludo the pug got out of the car but luckily we found him climbing out from under a seat in the mini van. What an evening. We finally made it back to Decatur and to bed by 2am.

The Lizzer killing it

Wheels finishing Athens

Sunday 4/26/09 - Roswell

Our hot looking support vehicle - Rockin'

Usually we would have gotten up and gone on a morning spin but we all opted to sleep in and hopefully recuperate from the past two days. Our Storck van met us at Roswell which was awesome. We got there in plenty of time to do a really good warm up on the road and get the cobwebs out. The sun was out and the temperature up. The race was hard again from the start and Tibco was launching attacks. VK rode a really good race and covered a lot but in the end a break went up the road and we were not in it. We chased as best we could but never got it back. It was a rough day for us and for me especially. For some reason my lower back started to spasm again and there was not a lot of power coming from my legs. Frustrating! Hopefully after Mondays rest/travel day I will feel better and with a couple of more adjustments on my awesome Storck bike.

After the race we ate BBQ at Swallow in the Hallow in Roswell. Pretty good BBQ but I miss Fox Bros in Decatur. It was great though to hand with the VK girls and Liz’s parents.

Pre race madness

Monday 4/27/09

Our hot Zero Gravity VK brakes.

Travel day – always on the move. We were able to sleep in a bit Andy and the Strock van meet us at 10am for a ride. We did a great 1 ½ hour loop through the suburbs of Atlanta and then had lunch at the Java Monkey. Legs felt much better today and I raised my seat which seemed to help my back. I think I am ready to rock it tomorrow night in Beaufort, SC.

Sweetness!

Stay posted. I will try and keep the blog up to date between traveling, racing and running the studio. However, while writing this blog we are just now getting pulled over for speeding, ouch. It has been a wild trip. We are now driving to jail to bail Jenn X out. Apparently being out of state she can't be written a ticket but needs to go to jail so we can pay the ticket and then will be let to go. Will update the blog with more photos in a bit..

On the ride around Decatur with Steve (Liz's dad) and Andy from Storck

Hopkins on his cruiser on our way to the Java Monkey

Okay we survived the Macon County prison after I had to take the van and get some cash from an ATM at a Shell station to get X out. Apparently they only take cash. Crazy stuff. While leaving the jail we were serenaded by the prisoners tapping on the windows.

Getting X outta jail - jail house rock baby

Friday Georgia 2009

2009-04-24T19:08:00.000-07:00

Leigh at the Java Monkey --classic looking

The trip got off to an interesting start with me bagging all of my food Wed. evening for the termite fumigation on Fri. After working Thurs morning, Jenny X and I headed off to the flyaway to LAX. Our flight had a crazy ending as the air tower in Atlanta was struck by lightening which caused a fire. We circled for quite a bit of time then had to land in Huntsville, AL to refuel and did not land in Atlanta until 1am. So our 3 hour 45minute flight turned into 8 hours. We did luck out and get food at the Majestic Diner where there was a diverse mix of interesting people at 2am and I got my southern grits!

A wake up call from Jeff at 10:30am felt like 5am. The four of us, Virginia, Melissa, X and I managed to get up and get in our kits to meet Liz and Leigh for a quick spin. We went to Avondale Lake and ended up at one of my favorite places the java Monkey for a cup of joe. Back to the hotel for a shower and then hit the road to Athens.

Our new Spinergy carbon wheels and Kenda tires. Hot looking!

We went to a Vanderkitten party this evening at Hub Bikes, the bike shop who built our race bikes (thanks guys, awesome job!) and meet some locals and signed autographs. It is odd to feel like a rock star but great to talk to fellow cycling enthusiasts. Tomorrow we will do the shop ride at 9am and then in the evening is the Athens Twilight race. I love this race because of the crowd and I am also nervous as I want to do well.

The kids Vanderkitten artwork.

Signing off now but check back for race updates as the week progresses.

Typical Jenn X

Tour of California 2009 - Santa Rosa

2009-02-19T21:18:00.000-08:00

The season has started!Though I thought I would be more prepared here it is and I am excited. Like last year, our first NRC race of the season was the Women’s Criterium at the Tour of California in Santa Rosa, CA. Lucky for me, my good friend and partner in crime, Jenn X is guest riding with Vanderkitten for this race so we drove up to Berkeley together on Friday morning. We left at 7am and made the customary stop at Starbucks in Valencia and off we went. The grapevine was open and the mountains looked beautiful with the snow on them. The iPod was hooked up and we were rockin’. We arrived in Berkeley at 1pm and promptly got dressed and went on a ride with some of the other VKs, Liz and Leigh. It was great to see them as I had not seen them since Vegas in September. We attempted to get an easy ride in to loosen the legs but the rain came and we jetted back to our hotel. We were treated in the evening to a team dinner at Dave and Jennie’s house which was magnificent. Thanks again for a great evening!

The next day we all drove to San Jose to do a local criterium to get the legs open for the BIG race the next day. Even though it was a local race, most all of the big teams were there doing the same as us. It was a course with quite a few turns and the wind was picking up. VK did a great job of making sure we were in nearly every move off the front and we were working well together. It was great to be back in the mix. Our “guest” rider Jenn X got a prime during the race. I got myself in 3 moves off the front but nothing stuck. Even though the sun was out we did experience a bit of ran which caused a crash; only a prelude to what we would endure on Sunday. I was feeling pretty good for my first race back with the “big” girls. With 2 laps to go I made a bad choice and took the wheel of some girls cookin’ up the inside to a turn which I had taken the inside of nearly every time during the race and found it to be the fast. However, this time was different and we got pinched and I had to ebrake. I spent the last lap fighting for position. Ugh! I bungled the sprint! The important thing was that I rode at the front and was able to position myself into moves.

The VK gang went out to dinner that night at the Pyramid Brewery where I enjoyed a yummy Kobe beef burger. It was great to be hanging with the gang again. After dinner it was back to the hotel to rest up and gear up for what was going to be a very rainy day if the weather channel was correct.

Typical Jenn X

Guess what? We awoke to gray skies and rain. We packed up the van and headed north for Santa Rosa. After a quick stroll through the vendors it was down to business. We had wonderful help from Emma and other Vanderkitten’s and it was great to be surrounded by so many well wishers. I got a good warm up in and somehow found myself rushing at the end trying to figure out where the time went. It turns out they were starting the race 10 minutes early, strange. And, of course as our race start came so did the rain in a torrential down pour. Because the race started early and we were unaware of this, we all started the race at the back of the pack. Not the best place to be when you have heavy hitters like Ina Teutenberg and National Champion Brooke Miller in the peloton.

Myself and Jenn X "racin" TOC 2009 photo courtesy Larry Rosa

The pace was pretty fast from the start though we were careful through the turns due to the rain. To add to the “fun” there were tons of bot dots on the course which you had to navigate even while turning. It took a little bit of time to get to the front of the race since I started way in the back. The only good news about starting at the back was that when Versus showed the seconds of coverage there was my butt. Hot! Within 12minutes there was a break from the pack. I was sitting on the opposite side of the peloton pretty boxed in when it happened. Twelve riders went free and I did a quick check, all the heads of state were still in the peloton: Ina, Gina, Tina, Brooke and LVG. There was a lot more time in the race and I thought for sure they would be brought back. Jenn X decided not to wait around for that and launched herself off the front I was on her wheel and made the decision to sit up and let her go. In hindsight, it would have been nice to have 2 VKs in the

break to help each other. After killing herself she eventually bridged to the break, now they were 13. I stayed up at the front to monitor and block as best I could should anyone decide to take the leap. There were mini attacks and LVG was anxious to try and break free. I was on them all figuring if anyone was going to bridge they were taking me with them. The race organization started to give pack primes and after I realized that the break was going to stay away I decided to go for one. Lucky or unlucky for me the one I went for also appeared to be on Ina’s check list and I got second behind her. Bummer, but not bad considering she is such an animal. Next on the list was to prepare for the finish. Even though we were not sprinting for the win I knew it would be an all out sprint for the finish considering who I was with. The rain continued to come down heavy and it seemed to be getting colder.

How do I get so dirty? photo courtesy Dave Verrecchia

I really took to heart Jeff “Hoppy” Hopkins words of advice and was able to stay on Tina’s wheel through the last couple of laps and only started to lose it when Ina who was in front of her lit it up entering turn 4 and exploded away from all of us. I was pretty gassed at this point having done so much work to stay at the front and suffered during the sprint. It was so cold outside and I could not feel my fingers having no clue what lever I was hitting to select my gear. Jenn X did a great job in the break and finished 11^th. I held

my own in the sprint and got 10^th in the field for a 23^rd finish overall. At least now I have more confidence in being able to hang with the top sprinters to the line.

Are we having fun yet? photo courtesy Kurt Harvey

Jenn and I went to the Russian River Brewery after the race to try and finish my gift card that I won last year in a prime. We did not do much damage because we were driving home. After a coffee at Peet’s (my favorite) it was back to the van for the long drive home. The iPod was roaring and the caffeine flowin’.

At least we didn't super size!

Last Days of the Southeast Crit Series

2008-06-13T17:52:00.000-07:00

I am so behind in my blog! Just a brief recap of the last days of the Southeast Crit series. My cold turned into a chest infection and every day I raced worse and worse. Ugh! The frustration! On the last day of racing in Sandy Springs I crashed hard. In fact, so hard that I do not remember the crash or where I was after I came to. All I can remember is that is was really green wherever I was. My teammates were great after the crash and took care of me. The flights home were a little rough as my neck and shoulders were all bruised and sore. My head was constantly throbbing. Luckily I made a call to Dr. Wells from the airport and knew that relief was on its way the next day. Sure enough, on Tuesday Dr. Wells started his magic and I was on the road to recovery!

Leigh with the wild flowers of Greensboro behind her.

My helmet after the crash. It broke in about 8 places! It did its job.

Melissa at our Decatur hang out, the Java Monkey!

SE Crit Series – Walterboro Wed 4/30 and Greenwood Thurs 5/1

2008-05-01T20:50:00.000-07:00

Wednesday

So sorry for the delay in the blogs. Sometimes there is so much stuff to do that just resting becomes an issue. Well I have finally admitted that I have a slight cold. It is only in my nose so that is good. Our host family is so awesome and they let us stay one more night so we commuted a little over an hour to Walterboro. We did the usual AM ride and then rested and ate some lunch. Then it was time to hit the road. When we arrived at Walterboro the main highway was blocked. We thought it was for an accident and then found out that the Walterboro Courthouse had a bomb threat. Wow, a bomb threat in the little town of Walterboro? Once we routed our way to the race course we found out that the Courthouse is on the race course. Our race was supposed to start at 5:30pm but we started after 6:30pm.

Bad picture from the car of the front of the Marine Air Corp in Beaufort

The start/finish line in Walterboro

The race was fast paced as usual and the course had some rough spots and sand. The usual teams Aaron’s, Colavita and Cheerwine were aggressive on the front and we were doing our best to go with things. I even felt spunky and attacked on the backside but everyone was on my wheel. The course was a hard course to stay near the front as there were some narrow roads and as the race went on the course was pretty dark. A break of 6 girls got up the road and we unfortunately missed it. I had just gone with 2 primes/attacks where gaps had occurred and then it went. On was on the right side of the road and it went on the left. Ugh!!!!

Our team did a gallant effort to bridge and pull it back but since all of the 3 big teams were represented we did not get any help. As the laps clicked down I realized a field sprint was our best bet. I fought hard on the last couple of laps to find Tina Pic's wheel. On the last lap I gave a little inch to Jenny and suffered for it. I spent the rest of the lap hustling to regain position and came in 15^th overall. Jenny was able to get 9^th overall. I have to admit I was pretty bummed and ended up getting dropped down to 9^th overall in the series. Tomorrow is another day. Luckily we headed back to the Kessel’s who had the most amazing pasta dinner waiting for us. I have to say they are the best host family ever!

Thursday

We got up earlier this morning to get a ride in. Melissa led us on a great path towards these golf courses and great homes. We even had a deer run in front of us.

Right before the deer crossing.

Some cute homes along the way.

Back to the great house to eat all of the leftovers from all of the great meals and then we hit the road. We had a 4 ½ hour drive to Greenwood which is north of Beaufort. It was a beautiful drive through some great country roads. I did not take any photos because my camera was in the back and I drove part of the way. I kept thinking, where are we going?

We got in early and were able to check in to our hotel for some R & R right before the race. Today we were joined by Leigh (yeah!) so I was trainer less. X would have been proud as I warmed up on the road and felt great. I was happy that we were racing a little earlier at 5:30pm and the temperature was warmer. The course was great with a little rise to the finish and a chicane on the back side. We were also joined by Sonja, a regional Vanderkitten rider. More legs for us.

Our goal today was to not let a break get away without one of us in it. Success! We were all attentive on the front and were very good about staying with things that would go away. It was great to have Leigh with her fresh energy. Melissa nearly got in a break but it was brought back. Two times I was with a good group up the road but the pack caught us. We were all very encouraging and helping each other. I was feeling good despite my clogged nose. I was jamming it up the side on the front straight up the hill and a rider put their front wheel into my foot which totally ripped my buckle off my shoe. Now my shoe was just held on with the Velcro. I asked on the radio if I could go to the pits and Kele heard me and was not sure. I did not want to risk it as I would be a lap down. I suffered through the rest of the race. I tend to pull up a lot when I sprint especially up hill and each time my foot kept slipping out of the shoe more and more. I tried as best I could to retighten the Velcro but it always seemed to come loose.

As the lap cards went down I knew we were going into a field sprint. I had great position with 3 laps to go and then had a bad position. I started to freak out a little bit about my shoe concerned that I would sprint and fly out of it. I think my mind kind of freaked me out and I had horrible positioning into the last turn. I past a bunch of riders and held up at the line to not pip Jenny Trew. It is not classy to pip a teammate. We came in 14^th, 15^th and Melissa came in 16^th. She rode a great race and her and Leigh got some primes!

My poor buckle or lack of one I should say!

Leigh and I enjoying our Spotted Dick dessert and the pub.

Well it is off to bed for me. I hope that I can find a Sidi buckle for tomorrow. If not it is duct tape for me to keep my shoe on. I hope tomorrow is a better day. I know I am better than how I am racing. I am so frustrated!

South Carolina – Mon 4/28 and Tuesday 4/29

2008-04-30T09:37:00.000-07:00

Monday

Well today we woke up to rain. We packed up the car and started our road trip to South Carolina. It was pretty uneventful but we encountered quite a bit of rain on the way. Luckily we have an iPod adapter so we were cruising to some tunes. The drive took about 4 ½ hours.

We are staying on Lady’s Island in Beaufort which is just the most beautiful town. Our house is gorgeous right on the bay and our hosts the Kessel’s are wonderful. We went on a 1-2 hour spin to open our legs up and we ended up getting rained on. I think the storm must have been following us from Georgia. The rain was pretty intense and the wind kicked up quite a bit. I know I should have turned around sooner to go home and I think that is why now I am feeling like I am fighting off a cold. I was completely under dressed for the rain and quick change in temperature. Luckily we were able to get our wet clothes off right away and jump straight into the shower.

Ridin' in South Carolina

Jenny showing off our host house

Nancy and Steve are hosts are so fantastic. I feel like every night we are eating at a 5 star restaurant. We had the most wonderful Salmon, pasta and salad the first night. Nancy has an herb garden and so everything had that extra added fresh taste. Our accommodations are also wonderful and we have plenty of room to spread out and relax.

Sunset off of the back balcony!

Tuesday

We awoke to much better weather but it was still pretty windy outside. We went on our morning spin and ran into the Colavita men’s team again at the same point where we had seen them the day before. Our morning spin ended at the Waterfront Park were we did a school talk with the Colavita guys and a team from Virginia. The kids were great and they were very impressed with Luca’s bike tricks that he performed for them. We mostly talked about safety, the importance of wearing a helmet and nutrition. I think we might have gotten some kids interested in doing the kids race that happens right before the women’s race that evening.

Downtown Beaufort

They have carriage rides downtown. Beautiful horses!

At the school talk

Back home for some R and R before packing up to head back across the bridge for the race. The course was a shorter course than Athens and had some rough sections with a tight narrow street after turn 1 and some rough really bumpy sections in the road. I was sitting 3^rd overall in the series so I got my second call up of my career. Yeah! Off we went and as is usual the pace was fast from the start. Colavita had some fresh legs on their team so I knew there would be more to look out for, etc. Attacks were very fervent off the front and quickly into the race I started to develop a spasm in the left side of my back by the lower part of my ribs. This was debilitating and I found myself suffering at the back end of the pack. This is not a place that I usually ride so bad news for me. The other 3 Vanderkittten's were riding great and staying near the front. After one break got away that was reeled in by Kele M., Tina Pic (Colavita), Laura Van Gilder (Cheerwine) and Rebecca Larson (Aaron’s) got off the front. I should have been with this but was suffering so much that at this point I was just happy to still be in the race.

The other VKs Kele, Jenny and Melissa did there best to bring it back or bridge but the front break had just enough manpower to stay away by 25 seconds. With about 20 laps to go I started to feel better as I had been trying to stretch my side out during the race. I launched an attack up the side but was immediately pounced on by the pack. We were getting down to the wire and now I started to think of the finish. We were actually gaining on the break and several girls tried some really hard jumps near the end of the race to bridge up but were unsuccessful. I tried my best to stay near the front but the pace was not too fast and so it got very bunched up. I was able to sprint at the end for a 6^th place in the field sprint and a 9^th overall. Not quite what I wanted but giving the circumstances it was palatable. Jenny T finished in 10^th place right behind me with Melissa S. in 19^th. Kele who had continued to try and catch the break finished I believe in 23^rd place. She is making best friends with the SRAM pit guys as her seat post broke in the middle of the race so she had to get that fixed and get pushed back in. Crazy stuff. Currently overall in the series I am sitting 5^th and Jenny Trew is 10^th.

We came home to a lovely dinner made by our hosts of lamb chops, mashed potatoes, grilled vegetables and collard greens. Yummy! I do not believe that I have ever eaten so well.

View of the bay from downtown Beaufort

Backyard of our host house! Absolutely gorgeous.

Flower picture for X.

USA Crit Series - Sat 4/26 and Sun 4/27

2008-04-28T20:18:00.000-07:00

Saturday

Luckily we race at 7:45am tonight so we got to sleep in this morning. We were treated to a delicious pancake breakfast and yummy coffee thanks to Jason and Jennifer our hosts. After breakfast we hooked up with all of our teammates and went for a little spin to open the legs up. Jennifer, our host, is just getting into cycling and it was great that she went on the ride with us. We did a little out and back to Avondale Lake which is really cute. What is so cool about Decatur and adjoining towns is that there are actual little neighborhoods.

The VK girls on a morning ride in Georgia!

Avondale Lake

After the spin we all went home to relax as much as possible and get ready for our trip to Athens which is about 1 ½ hours from Decatur. We wanted to get to Athens early so we could get a good parking spot and eat some food. I knew the race was going to be crazy because the people were already starting to party and the streets were getting crowded. Just seeing all of the barriers being put up on the streets was starting to make me nervous.

Willie the Weimaraner keeping the host house guarded!

Since I flew here I do not have a trainer but the guys from Kelly Benefits were kind enough to lend us a couple as our race started way before theirs, sweet! The SRAM guys were there for neutral support and I immediately took my bike over to Jeremy who I eas told is a whiz with the zero gravity brakes. My rear brake was not re-centering itself and was rubbing the rim. He was the “man” and hooked me up with a quick fix of re-cutting my cable. I love those SRAM guys. Back to the car for the pre-race readiness and to start getting warm as if the hot humid air was not enough. When I finally got on the trainer I noticed that my headset screw had dropped down. My headset did not feel loose but Mandy (a friend of Vanderkitten) kindly took my bike to the SRAM guys again. They checked it out and I was good to go. At this point I was just trying to remain calm and relaxed. I did a quick warm up and then it was time to go to staging. I must say that coming from California it is weird to see so many people smoking and I found myself searching for fresh air while we waiting and watched the 5K runner’s race that was going on.

Finally it was our turn to go and as usual the typical fight to get to the front of the pack for the start. Each time we moved up a bit I seemed to find myself further back. I decided not to focus on this and just on the race. The whistle blew and we were off. The town was completely crazy and people were screaming. The pace was hot from the gun and as usual it seemed like it would never let up. Each turn was a learning experience as I was on my new BH. Since I now have a normal size stem I had to readjust where I put my weight in the turns. Quickly enough though I felt like I was one with my bike. I love the BH!

Kele Murdin who is riding with us as a guest rider was aggressive from the start and got herself in a good break. They were working well together and then I looked ahead and saw Kele hit the pavement. Ouch! The pace picked up in the pack and we quickly caught the break just around the next 2 turns. I knew that another move was going to go and even though I was hurting I was being attentive. Soon enough on the back side, Rebecca Larson (Aaron’s Pro Cycling) took off. I was able to fight my way to Tiffany Cromwell’s (Colavita) wheel. There were five of us that made this group with Catherine Cheatley (Cheerwine) right on Rebecca Larson and Jacquelyn Crowell (Team Kenda Tire) joining. Once we realized who was there heads went down and off we went as the right teams were represented. Everyone was pulling hard and working together. There was a slight mix up with Kele Murdin and another rider getting put back into our break. Last that Kele knew she was in the break. She had no idea that the break she was in got caught when she went to the pits after her crash. The referees made a slight error in putting her in our break which did cause some confusion amongst us in the break. Kele did not work or do anything to help me in the break and just sat on the back which was the smart thing to do considering the situation. We definitely got clear pretty quickly from the pack as we were all pushing the pace. I was suffering but tried to pull as much as possible knowing that you have to pay to play. I knew too that it was only going to get harder as the laps trickled down from the 23 (?) to go when we got away to the finish. The crowds were going crazy and I was getting sprayed by beer several times as I went through the start finish because we would slightly hug the barriers. I knew at anytime that anyone of these girls could attack and I was just trying to be very attentive. Liz Hatch (Vanderkitten) was on the radio and was very helpful in boosting my confidence. With 5 laps to go my legs were screaming and I started to think of the finish. The girls kept rotating through and I knew it was going to be tough. Entering the last lap my heart was pounding and I wanted to do the best I could for the team. Right after the slight climb on the back side Rebecca took off with Catherine on her wheel. I booked it up the inside and was on Tiffany’s wheel through the last turn. I took the turn tighter than her and gave it everything I could in the sprint. I came in third and couldn’t believe it. I really wanted the win and in hindsight felt that I should have gone earlier. Every race for me is a learning experience and I consider this a huge one. I was very excited to get on the podium being the first podium finish for me in a pro race. Also, Athens is such a prestigious race so I was super excited for the team!!!

The podium at Athens!

Sunday

We had a day off from racing today and it was great. The weather was a little sketchy with rain coming on and off. Melissa and I hooked up with Jenny and Kele and their host Amy and tried to go on a ride. However the rain picked up and was extremely heavy so we went to the Java Monkey of course and had a cup of coffee and a muffin. The rain picked up even more so our ride was way delayed. Eventually is lightened up and we headed out for a 1 – 2 hour spin. Amy took us on a great ride and we made it back just in time to catch the boys in the Tour of Georgia scream by with 3 laps to go in their circuit. My friend Jacob Erker was in the break and I was very excited for him.

A typical Decatur home

The break in the Tour of Georgia

When then had a great lunch at the Highland Bakery where they know our teammate Leigh super well. The owner brought us some delicious muffins and jalapeno bread. I ordered eggs benedict with crab (yummy) and had the best grits ever. I have never eaten so well on a bike trip. The food here is just delicious and so fresh as well as the people being super friendly and nice. I am loving it.

Georgia Thursday and Friday

2008-04-25T19:55:00.000-07:00

Firstly, all I can say is that I am so happy it is not cold here. The weather is great, a little hot and a little humid, but beautiful. We arrived on Thursday evening and went to dinner at a place called the Brick. The beer list was so long and I knew that Grant would have loved to have stayed the night trying all of their beers. We all hung out and had dinner together including Leigh’s fiancée Jeff and friend and fellow racer, Iona. The food here is so tasty and inexpensive compared to Southern California prices. We are staying right now in the town of Decatur which is just adorable. Leigh and Jeff are showing us around and every place we have been to has been fantastic.

Melissa and I are room/bed buddies and are staying with Jennifer. Their dog, Willie (a weimaraner), has taken to us and he is our new buddy. Melissa and I hung out this morning and put our bikes together. We took a quick jaunt to Starbucks and then hooked up with Jeff (Leigh’s fiancée - team Inferno), Tim (Jittery Joe’s), Jenny T (another teammate) and Jaime (Inferno) and went for the most gorgeous ride. I can’t even tell you where we went because we took so many turns but it was really nice. Also, most people here are very into cycling as it is Jittery Joe’s hometown and they wave and call out to you as you go by.

This is the city for me. A scooter only parking sign!

We ended our ride back in Decatur at the Java Monkey where I had the best Panini sandwich and fresh fruit. Again, fresh food but very reasonably priced. The café is way adorable and we are meeting there tomorrow for a team ride. I am looking forward to a cup of joe there and a pastry.

After our meal, we all headed to our respective houses for a shower and rest time. Willie hung out with us again. We then went to dinner at Fox Brothers Bar-B-Q where I had the best pulled pork and beans. I am loving the South, being the meat lover that I am. I must say that everyone here is really friendly and they all chat and talk with you on the street. Love that!

Well, it is off to bed for me as tomorrow after our morning spin it is off to Athens for the Twilight Crit. I am so excited and it is known as one of the best crits on the circuit. We race at night and the crowds are just crazy.

Jenny and Jaime at the Java Monkey

Sea Otter - Sunday April 20th

2008-04-25T15:58:00.001-07:00

X had a free entry to do the mountain bike cross country race so we were up early. I thought I would go with her to help her and then while she was racing, go on my easy recovery ride to spin the legs out.

Of course, today’s weather was much better than yesterday's and it was already in the 50s and there was barely any wind, just a breeze. X was all kitted out in her pink Seigler gear and looked hot on her Jenn X mountain bike. Her race was delayed, so we rode around awhile with Tracey from Bike John’s.

X all pinked out

From the top of the course looking out over the valley.

Off they went and I headed out of the raceway and took a spin to Highway 1 and back. I was all bundled up but happy it was not in the 40s. X ended up getting 11^th in her race which was awesome considering she has not raced a mountain bike for a long time.

As of today, I am officially a member of my new team, Vanderkitten. So I spent my day visiting with them at their booth and meeting customers. I went and saw some of my new sponsors and introduced myself. A busy weekend. I picked up my new BH bike and Vanderkitten gear and off X and I went home. We were pretty tired and desperately wanted to get out of the cold.

Group class on nasal irrigation.

McDonald's iced coffee. The only thing you need for a long trip.

I am very excited about racing with my new team and we are off next week to Georgia to race in the Southeast Crit Series. Yeah!! I will miss my SBW sistas though.

Sea Otter - The Circuit Race, Sat. April 19th

2008-04-25T15:44:00.000-07:00

For some reason I do not think I was meant to do well at Sea Otter. We woke up early to eat the breakfast of champions, eggs, toast and coffee and looked to see that the weather was going to be. High of 55degrees with high winds. We bundled up and pre dressed and off we went. It was awesome being so close to the course. We went straight to the pro parking which is on course and put out the trainers and chairs. Burrr! It was only 46 degrees and the wind was howling probably dropping the temperature quite a bit. We sat in the van as long as we could to not get too cold. Morgan meet up with us and we were back to hanging in the van. I thought I would get on the trainer as close to the start as possible in order to be warm.

Even “warming” up with the cover of the van from the wind was freezing cold. Our host family kept mentioning that it is never that windy in Monterey but of course we were racing so it had to be. At the start we were all shivering just waiting for the whistle to blow. At least the climb got you warm but then the quick descent down the corkscrew would make you freezing cold again. X stuck some newspaper down her jersey in the front which was a smart move. As the laps went on (we had to do 22) the pace picked up. On certain laps it was a Queen of the Mountains competition and on others a sprint competition. I was suffering with my asthma as the cold air was hitting my lungs hard and I was wheezing horribly. I was hanging with the pack suffering on the climb and then would move up on the downhill. Each time we hit the down hill the wind would push itself into your lungs which made you hyperventilate as you were gasping for air from the climb. This pattern continued on and I was suffering. Due to my asthma I knew I was not getting enough oxygen. A group got off the front on one of the QOMs and the chase was on. X was very aggressive and riding super well. I was suffering just trying to hang on. The sand from the race course was blowing so hard across the finishing straight you could barely see. I considered it a free but miserable dermabrasion. The entire time during the race our host family was cheering for us on the side of the road and it inspired me. They are great for sticking out the cold to watch us.

The race continued and some of the girls from the break were caught as the pace ramped near the end of the race. I knew if I could just hang on I might have something left for the bunch sprint. With about 3 laps to go there was an attack on the climb and that just broke me. With not having oxygen for 2 hours my body was spent. I rode with 3 other riders until the end of the race. Bummer day for me. I finished in 36^th place. About 70 girls started the race and only about 40 finished. Ugh! So far my trips to Sea Otter have been very much influenced by the weather. X and Morgan finished jut outside of the money and rode well.

Showing off the Nuun product. I love the stuff!

After the race X and I walked the festival and visited our sponsors to say hi and thank them for their support of our team. The wind was just so strong that it was miserable even walking around the festival. Everything was covered in dirt and the vendors were suffering just holding onto their easy ups to keep them down.

Sea Otter Classic - Friday April 18th

2008-04-25T14:51:00.000-07:00

What to say about Sea Otter? It is a beautiful place on the coast however the weather is like Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. Our weekend started with us (Jenn R) and myself leaving in the afternoon on Friday. All set in the van we headed out the 5 fwy. Our intention was to take the 46 to the 101 however; we completely missed the off ramp for it and finally realized much later that we must have passed it. It is always in adventure with X (Jenn R). However, this error turned into a wonderful one. We took the 198 over and had the most gorgeous drive. Below are some photos of Priest Valley. I could imagine having a ranch here, it is so beautiful.

The Tejon pass with Lupin!

Priest Valley! So green!

Finally we hit the 101 and had only lost 30minutes in our travels by taking the 198. We picked up our packets but another adventure was at hand. There were no more pro parking passes so we contacted the race director, Kendra. She totally hooked us up however on the way to getting this little situation resolved we had another adventure. We had already left the raceway parking and were trying to take a “shortcut” back and found ourselves on a road that was really narrow, had no other cars and lots of people walking. And of course, the two guys we stopped to ask if they had seen any other cars on the road were foreign. Below is the sign that we finally reached at the bridge. When we got to this sign we were dying with laughter. Like I said before, never a dull moment!

See the big NO?

Does this look like a road cars should be on? The van fit!

We finally made it to our host family house which was only 5 minutes away from the course, rockin’!

The Vollstedts were the best family. We had a great pre-race dinner of pasta and meat sauce and a wonderful homemade cake dessert. I called it “hotel Vollstedt” because when we went to bed they had put on the mattress heater and the beds were cozy warm. With the weather in the low 50s this was awesome. Off to bed we went as we had an early rise with a 10:15am start time.

Redlands 2008 - Stage 3 The Sunset Loop or Crit as I like to call it!

2008-04-06T20:27:00.000-07:00

Well I made it to the fourth and final day. Unfortunately our team was down to only 3 riders for a variety of reasons. But what was great is that they all hung around to help us out and cheer us on. That is exactly what I love about a team. It is not only about winning but most importantly it is about camaraderie. So to all of you Vanderkitten girls, you rock!

Even though I had the hugest piece of lasagna for dinner thanks to Dave V. for taking the team out to dinner, I woke up at 4:50am starving. I tried to drink some sport drink to subside the hunger pains but that only lasted until 5:40am. I heard footsteps and when I went downstairs to the kitchen, I ran into Flavia. Stage racing does strange things to you and you burn so many calories. After a quick snack and a little chatting it was back to bed. Our race started at 10am so we did not need to leave the house until 8:20am. Ah, sleep!

I awoke again to a cloudy day with a high hitting the mid sixties. Where are the sunny 70 degree California days? We bundled up and rode down to the crit course as this is where the race starts with a parade out of town before the gun actually goes off. The “boys” already had the Vanderkitten trailer and easy up all set up which rocks. We had our meeting and then the 3 of us went to sign in.

The “neutral” for Sunset Loop is never neutral. We basically cruise uphill at 22miles an hour. I am suffering before the race even starts! Knowing that once we make the turn for the start it is hard to move up, I felt the best thing I could do is help Flavia, our highest GC rider, in the neutral. I could see that she was stuck and not able to move up so I pulled up to her side and pulled her to the front. I was already maxed at this point but hoped that what I did would help her. Bummer for her that the 2 racers left on the team were sprinters.

Off we went. I was actually able to slightly reintegrate with the pack as we got to the climb. With a QOM points competition on the first lap the pace is crazy fast. I pushed my body as much as I could, maxing out both my lungs and my legs, just falling off of a group of riders up the road. It looked like I would have a lonely ride the rest of the day. Sunset Loop is a 9 lap course and you have to finish 3 laps to get a prorated time to have it be considered that you “finished” the race.

The lead group of the race as they pass through the finish line.

On I pushed by myself and I finally got into a good rhythm. Scott mentioned over the radio that it looked like I was making up time. This will always help boost your morale. Yeah! I was with a Dolce Vita rider, Karla, for a while and did a lot of work. By the time we hit the climb again I was toast and she rode away. Back to being alone again. I kept pushing the pace, trying to stay in as long as possible for the team since there were only the 3 of us left and I knew out of the team I was 2^nd on the road. Up the climb I went for the 6^th time. When I was about ½ the way up, I heard a rider behind me and it was Hannah Banks from ValueAct. My OTB buddy! She was in the group of riders I was in on Friday’s road race. We worked together very well and kept encouraging each other. We decided not to completely blow up on the climb and just ride a nice high threshold pace and then we would fly on the descents and flats. On our last lap Karla from Dolce Vita caught us. I had passed her on one of my laps and she was to the side of the road with a Rock Racing rider. The three of us forged on and near the end of lap 7 an official told us that the leaders were coming and the race was over for us. One day, I hope to not see the fire station and to actually see the finish banner downtown. In we pulled to the fire station where they quickly remove one of your numbers to prorate your time. How demoralizing!

Flavia finished 43^rd on the day and ended up 38^th in GC. Excellent job for her first time in Redlands!!! It was a fun weekend of good and very hard racing. Now I look forward to Ojai this coming weekend and Sea Otter the next! Out to go on a recovery ride!

Redlands 2008 - Stage 2 the crit!

2008-04-05T22:27:00.000-07:00

Well I made it to the crit my favorite race. I woke up early starving wishing that I could sleep more but my stomach had other ideas. I made some eggs and toast, prepped a little for the day and then went for a spin and a cup of coffee and a muffin. The day was brisk and the high today was only supposed to be 69 degrees. I would prefer warmer but I figure if it is not raining it is a good day.

Since our host housing is so close to down town we all rode our bikes to the course and Dave, Scott and the guys already had the Vanderkitten trailer their waiting for us. Awesome!

Team meeting and warm up and off we went to the start. I always like to get there early as placement is everything. Even though you start in the 1^st row by the time they do all of the call ups you are in the 2^nd row and sometimes the 3^rd row. There was a great rendition of the national anthem by a very young girl with muscular dystrophy which touched all of us. Then the gunshot and we were off. Once the gun goes in the Redlands crit you are going over 100% for the next 60 minutes. This course is very technical with 8 turns and a slight chicane in it. Placement is everything. I was able to mostly stay in the top 20 the entire race and only periodically would I drop below that. I was watching key riders and tried to place myself around riders like Laura Van Gilder (Cheerwine), Emilia Fahlin (Highroad), Lara Kroepsch (ValueAct) and Nichole Wangsgard (Colavita) knowing that they are good finishers and good wheels to follow.

Just another glamorous day riding. Free dermabrasion!

As is typical at Redlands I think there were about 4 crashes in the race. Luckily for me I was in front of all of them. Whew! It was great to see Jenny Trew my teammate up in the mix and both of us placed well during the race. You are so busy racing and your eyes are so wide eyed that you forget how long you have been in this state. I took a glance up and could not believe that we were sitting at 8 laps to go. The race was filled with attacks from Cheerwine and Aaron’s as they fought for time bonuses for their GC riders. Now I had to think about the finish and placement for the last time bonus which is at 5 laps to go. Everything was starting to get even crazier and you had to push just to maintain position.

With two laps to go I was constantly working the left side to move up and hold my place as riders for other teams moved to the front to pull hard for their sprinters or pulled off when they were done. Cheerwine had an amazing train going with Highroad sitting on them just waiting like a cat. With one lap to go there was a crash on the first turn which is about a 130 degree turn but luckily it was right behind me. We surged ahead and I was all over my bike digging in for every extra inch I could gain. Into the second to last turn I sprinted so hard out of it my back wheel skipped hard. Into the final turn and I put my head down and gave it everything I had left for an 11^th place finish. Emilia Fahlin (Highroad) took the win. She is so fast. It was a hard day but oddly fun. Last year I finished 20^th place so this year was a pretty good improvement.

My teammate Melissa kickin' it after the race

The Vanderkitten camp.

One more day left, the Sunset Loop. More climbing! Stay posted!

A picture from yesterday's race of myself and the other Vanderkitten you see is Heather Sborz. Also here but not clear in the photo is Melissa Sanborn. Our group climbing San Timeteo working together to make the time cut.

Redlands 2008 - Stage 1, Beaumont Circuit Race

2008-04-04T22:43:00.001-07:00

Can you say suffer? That is what I did today. The course as I mentioned yesterday was narrow and technical. A lot of energy could be spent just staying in the front which was important to do since the roads were narrow. The pace started off pretty tame but then quickly ramped up as the 1^st lap contained not only one of the Queen of the Mountain points but also Sprinter points at the finish line. As is typical of me I fell off a little at the QOM climb but was able to reconnect with the pack with a pretty big group of riders who caught me on the long slight downhill section of the course, a good couple of miles from the start/finish line. I caught back onto the pack just in time to start the ramp up again for the climb. Ugh!

Team parkin'

The beginning of the lap until the QOM seems to be just a constant gradual climb and the pace was kept up by the big teams. Aaron’s was super active which kept the pace up. We made the left turn on to San Timeteo and we started the climb. I was able to hang on but got a little caught up in traffic on the descent and lost a lot of speed in the sharp left hand turn leading into the park (I think it is Bogart park?). Not good for me. As we entered the park the pace picked up again and I was struggling. Not to help matters I was wheezing like a banshee from my asthma. Right as we were getting close to the top of the climb I blew and that was it. I hustled to the top in hopes that my descending skills would come in handy and I sat just off a group of girls. They were so close but no matter how hard I tried they were so far away.

On the long slightly downhill section I felt a tap on my butt and it was Heather, my teammate. We rode together for quite some time almost catching the riders in front of us. As we made the first left turn past the finish line Heather noticed that there was a group of riders behind us and it contained a teammate, Melissa Sanborn. Sweet! We were now a group of 8. We started to work together and figured that staying together would help us possibly make an extended time cut because we were such a big group. Off we went for the next 2 laps (total of 4 in the race totaling 66miles). We kept the pace pretty tame on the climbs so as not to drop anyone and diminish our numbers. As the race went on the wind continued to kick up so pulling and being in the front got a little harder. We all took pretty short pulls on the front and rotated through in a double pace line. Heather earlier in the race when it was just the two of us quickly did the math (amazing with race brain) and figured that if the winners finished in 3 hours we could be no more than 18 minutes behind them in order to make the 10% time cut. Entering lap 4 we knew we had to hustle and the 8 of us focused on the job at hand. After the climb we hit it a little harder knowing that it would be close. On the slightly downhill section back into town and the finish line we picked up another rider so now we were 9. Excellent!

After the last turn there was a heavy headwind all the way to the finish and Heather was awesome in bringing us home. I did some pretty hard pulls knowing that the finish was close and that every second at this point would count.

After this evening we realized that the 3 of us from Vanderkitten in that group had made the time cut. It was just like Heather had anticipated. Katherine Carroll (Aaron’s, their work paid off) won the day and completed the race in 3hours 4 minutes. We finished 15:46 behind. Awesome we were in! Overall Vanderkitten had a pretty good day with Jane and Flavia making the move and only finishing 5:48 off the leaders. We only lost 2 riders on the day (Leah, hope your knee gets better soon!). Good work ladies!!! It was fantastic to have teammates to work with. Six of us will continue on to tomorrow.

Tomorrow is the crit which I am so excited about. Even though this crit is considered one of the hardest ones on the NRC circuit I love it!

Redlands 2008! Prologue TT

2008-04-03T21:20:00.000-07:00

Well, I woke up early, packed the car and headed out to Redlands very excited to start the race. On the way out on the 10 fwy I hit some rain (probably because I washed my car earlier in the week) that got pretty heavy at times. All I could think was better today then later in the race.

I met the rest of Team Vanderkitten today and all of the girls are great and saw Melissa Sanborn who I had not seen since last year which was awesome Up went the spicy pink Vanderkitten tents and it was time to get down to business, pin numbers and warm up. The weather held in the low 50s with cloud coverage and it looked like it could rain at any moment. Even though the effort today would be under 15 minutes, my coach has me do roughly a 60 minute warm up. You go out of the starting gate with the engine in top gear.

Grant grabbed this from the live streaming video of the start. It is me on the ramp just about to go.

The girls were really amped up and we had some rockin’ music pumping out of the car which was great to warm up to. As usual I arrived pretty early to the start line as I am always nervous of being late. I rode around a little bit and then got in line to get my bike weighed and the geometry of the seat to the cranks checked. All was okay. After you enter the start area time goes by pretty quickly and then it was time to get on the ramp. Another count down 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 and I was off. I was in the perfect gear off the ramp and got a good spin up with my legs. I settled into my pace and focused on the road ahead. This is my third year doing Redlands so I knew the course well. I felt more prepared than ever with how I was going to attack it. Up the first climb and I was still feeling good. Through the orange grove section by the freeway which is basically the only flat part of the course I caught and passed my 30 second girl. I had never passed anyone on this course before so that added to my confidence. Now for the big grind to the finish. I turned the corner and hit it as hard as I could. There was less than a kilometer to go so I put it all out there. The climb is pretty steep and your legs and heart scream at you to stop but you know the end is near. With about 400meters to go I was passed by a Webcor rider and a Colavita rider. Ugh! Not bad though for me. I finished in a 13:29. I am 2:19 off of the leader and sitting in 56^th place out of 99 women. Our Team Vanderkitten did pretty well for today which is great.

Tomorrow is a crazy circuit race with tight narrow roads and gravel. Wish me luck!

Flavia checking out the road we are going to go down tomorrow.

San Dimas Stage 3 - Old Town Classic Crit!!!

2008-03-30T20:10:00.001-07:00

Pre race warm up. X crackin' up and me breathing hard!

The final day of the stage race! Oh, before I forget, yes I did get 8^th yesterday. There was a mix up with riders and this morning before the crit I asked the referees to check the video and I just got pipped at the line. There as a lot going on with me being right next to the barrier and a photographer leaning out right at the finish. Oh well, still top 10 which is good.

I love crits! It had rained in the morning and rained while we were driving to San Dimas but luckily for our race it was just cold and real windy. After the call ups of the top 10 in GC the whistle blew and off we went. The pace was fast from the start with Highroad hitting it hard. I stayed near the front ready to go with what I could and the one time I was not in great position 2, not 1, 2 Highroad riders went off the front, Kim Anderson and Alex Rhodes. Their gap was not that big and again ValueAct tried to bring it back but the cards were not in their favor again. All I can say is Lara Kroepsch (ValueAct) is a stud. Yesterday she spent all of her time on the front trying to bring the break back and again today. Once the pack realized that they were not going to be reeled back in it became a game of who could bridge. My teammates X and Morgan were all up in the front and for 3 riders we covered every move we could. It was exhausting but we love hard racing. Both Morgan and X got primes which was cool. Lara K. kept attacking and I went with her in hopes that the string between us and the pack would break but not today as the other Highroad riders were very attentive. At one point Morgan got away with a ValueAct rider very casually off the front and X and I were at the front to block but then the pack clued in and they were caught. Too bad! There were a couple of crashes in the race but no SBW riders were involved. It seemed that some cones on turn 5 had a magnet on them as both times riders seemed to dive right for them.

X at the front working to bring the break back

Ever since Superweek I am used to riding 1 ½ hour crits so when they announced 4 laps to go I was shocked. Now I had to start thinking about the finish. I went to the front of the pack and spent the rest of the 4 laps constantly getting on any wheel that was going faster than the one I was on. Both Morgan and X did a great job of helping me by going to the front and keeping the pace high. When the pace is too slow and the pack bunches up I do not like it. Fast and strung out is the way to be. I was actually in great position (better than I ever have been) sitting 4^th wheel entering the last turn. Out of the turn I sprinted as fast as I could but with the wind and everything we finished exactly how we came out of the corner and I got 4^th in the field sprint and 6^th for the stage because of the two Highroad riders off of the front. Still not the result I was looking for but still top 10. Morgan did an awesome job and finished 8^th!!!!!! X held on after pulling hard from 2 laps to go for a solid 20^th? position. She is a stud. Have to check results to get the final on that. All and all I thought us SBW women did a fantastic job and I am very proud of us!!!!!!

Me throwing at the line to protect my finishing place!

Morgan throwing down a nice 8th place finish!

Afterwards we hung out to check the official results and watch the podium. Mara Abbott (Team Highroad) gave SBW kudos stating that we rode very well and were strong, especially since we only had 3 riders. It is always great to here things like that when you spend so much time suffering! Almost forgot to mention our overall GC placings - X held onto her 12th place, Morgan moved up to 16th and I moved up to 23rd.

The glamour of cycling. Post race vaseline removal and changing room!

Intent search on "Jill" for the nearest In n Out Burger!

Now to rest for three days and get ready for Redlands which I am so jazzed about. I will be riding for Vanderkitten and am very excited to meet all of the girls and race hard! Check back for updates on Redlands! Peace out!

San Dimas Stage 2 - San Dimas Hospital Road Race

2008-03-29T19:37:00.000-07:00

Another day another stage. Although it is great to sleep in your own bed the 6am alarm clock hurt this AM. I woke up starving and since we did not have eggs at home on my way to Jenn X’s I have to admit that I stopped off at good old Mickey Ds to get an Egg McMuffin. I know it is bad but I figured with a 56 mile road race those extra calories would be used up. Picked up Jenn and off we drove to San Dimas. There was cloud coverage on the way out and we noticed that the temperature was hovering around the mid 50s. I actually would have preferred a little warmer.

We parked and went to sign in and gave Morgan and Christen the heads up to where we were parked. The usual pre-race prep was on with determining which clothing to wear weather wise and when to start warming up as they were about 20 minutes late on the start time for the day.

At about 10:25am we were off on our journey. With such a high level field I knew the pace would be high from the start and I immediately worked my way up to the front part of the pack. We completed the first lap (7 miles with climbing) in just 20 minutes. The 2^nd time up the climb was a Queen of the Mountain points sprint. Morgan wanted to try for this jersey and placed herself well up the climb but just missed out. She did a great job as the pace was pretty intense. Myself not being the best of climbers I tried to start every climb at the front of the back and then maintain contact with the group to the top. This was working well for me.

The 3^rd time through the finish line was the first Sprinters jersey points competition. Game on! From the climb two riders (ValueAct and Team Highroad) had gone up the road in an effort to break from the field for the points. The chase was on and I decided to go for it. You cannot get points unless you are there to get them. We got the two girls and I ended up being in the front too soon and got 5^th in the competition. No points for me! However, I felt good about taking the chance and going for it.

Every other lap there is some type of QOM (even laps 2,4,6) or Sprinters (3,5,7) competition. Jenn X, Morgan and myself were riding well near the front of the pack during the entire race and it is still a mystery how 2 Highroad riders Kim Anderson and Alex Rhodes got off the front. It appears that they went on the 2^nd QOM on lap 4. Entering the 2^nd sprint point on lap 5 I was able to get myself in great position and then my teammate Jenn X gave me a great lead out. I misjudged the distance to the finish and was passed by Rachel Tzinberg (Bicycle John’s) at the line. Ugh!! That frustrates me to no end! Afterwards Rachel and I think realized that there were two riders up the road and she got the last points as they only go 3 deep. Bummer for me!

The chase was on now by team ValueAct as they had a rider sitting in 3^rd place GC. We rode the rest of the laps at a pretty good pace. On the 7^th time up the climb Mara Abbott (Team Highroad) took off and we did some chasing but she is so fast uphill that she took the 3^rd place sprint points that were available. At least I was up there ready to sprint again.

Lap 8, finally! The pace was a little on and off and Morgan took advantage of this and took a flyer off of the front for quite some time. I was so hoping her move would stick but unfortunately the pack was attentive. Rachel motioned to me to have a go and I kind of went with her but was thinking that I really did not want to blow my wad because a field sprint kind of works for me. Off of that move Tracey Kubas (Bicycle John’s) attacked and her and Leah Goldstein (Team ValueAct) went up the road for a bit. Being the last lap the pace was fast and they were eventually caught. It was great to see my teammates up the road and I hustled to try to get to the front again for the last time up the climb. I dropped off the group but was able to fight my way back on the downhill and the flat before the finish. I went straight up the right side and was in pretty good position and then Jenn X went right to the front and drilled it. This time I was patient and sprinted for a 4^th placing in the bunch sprint and a 7^th placing overall for the day as there were the 3 other riders up the road. Although I did not accomplish my goal of getting sprint points I felt that I had a pretty good day. Team Highroad is an awesome team with very talented riders (they race in Europe) and considering the pace I feel pretty good overall. My teammates finished 18^th and 19^th. Pretty good for three local riders to finish in the top 20! Rock on sistas! We finished the 56 miles in about 2hours and 40 minutes. My computer showed that our average was 21.7mph.

Back home we drove after getting some food. After a good shower I am resting and writing the blog. Next I have to do some laundry and get things ready for tomorrow. Luckily our start time is at 2pm so I can sleep in a bit! Tomorrow is the final day of the stage race and it is a criterium which I love! Wish me luck for tomorrow.

Myself – 7^th for the road race and now 23^rd overall in the general classification

Morgan – 18^th RR and now 15^th overall in GC

Jenn X – 19^th RR and now 12^th overall in GC

Christen – 52^nd RR and 52^nd in GC – Christen’s chain came off twice again and she is just coming off of an excellent track season (National Jersey in the Scratch Race and medaling in the team pursuit so she picked a doozy of a stage race to do for her first road race back. Kudos to her as she is doing an awesome job!)

Morgan showcasing the Advil needed after a rough day in the saddle.

San Dimas Stage Race 2008 - Stage 1 - Glendora Mountain Road Time Trial

2008-03-28T19:26:00.000-07:00

Spring is here and that means it is stage racing time. Even though San Dimas is a local race and not on the pro circuit a lot of pros participate in it because it is right before Redlands which is next week. The women went off later in the afternoon which was fantastic as I got to sleep in a little bit. What is also great is that we have more SBW riders now that track season is over and it was great to have Christen K. join us today so now we are a squad of 4.

It was a typical TT day. Get there, get your registration packet with your number, synchronize you watch with the official race clock, pin your number and get on the bike to get warm. Even though the effort today will be under 20 minutes a full hour warm up is necessary as it is full throttle once the countdown goes for you. Instead of being first off today like I was at Visalia I was close to the end of the women with a 2:12:30 start time and last of my team to go. Jenn X who I drove with started 4 minutes ahead of me so we were able to do most of our warm up together which is always nice.

Bad picture of our view while warming up.

Off to the start line I went to line up behind the best climber signed up for the race, Mara Abbot (Team Highroad). I knew she would be a good carrot if I could just keep her in my sites. Off she went and I was next 30 seconds later. 5, 4 3, 2, 1 and off I went. The first part of the TT is a false flat for about 500meters and I went as hard as I could knowing that it would help my overall time. I could see Mara up the road however once she turned to start the climb off she went. I still pushed on hard attacking the climb every chance I could get. My heart rate started to go up and after 1 mile I was in the 200 bpm area and over. I was in and out of the saddle trying to maximize every ounce of power I could get. The wind started to pick up which is always bad and I tried to get smaller on the bike and use the hillside to try and block it by hugging the side of the road. Luckily living in the valley I am no stranger to wind. I kept pushing on and all of a sudden I was at mile 2 and everything was pounding, heart, legs, etc. I think mile 2 to mile 3 hurt the most and seemed to take forever. I kept trying to get my legs to turn the pedals over faster and faster and if the gradient let up a little to shift and push a bigger gear. The total climb is 3.8 miles and with .8 of a mile to go I thought my lungs were going to pop out of my chest. With about 500 meters to go an old teammate of mine, Sandra Kolb was on the side of the road and she was very encouraging letting me know there were a couple more turns and then the finish. I pushed the pedals as fast as I could go and when I saw the blue tent of the finish line I stood up to sprint as fast as I could to the line. My legs had nothing left in them and it was all I had to stay on the bike. I finished in an 18:20:00 almost a complete minute faster than last year. Yeah! My teammates rode awesome times and here are our placings after day 1:

Jennifer Reither (Jenn X) – 17:33:56 - 12^th place (Rockin”)

Morgan Kapp – 17:54:15 - 16^th place

Myself – 18:20:00 – 29^th place

Christen King – 19:20:19 – 50^th place (she had a chain mishap)

The "Cuban Missile" Ivan Domiguez on a cool down ride form Toyota United

Jenn X showing off her Crocs in another classic X outfit

Check back tomorrow for an update on the road race. 8 laps around Bonelli Park totaling 56 miles!

Scooter!

2008-03-22T16:10:00.000-07:00

I picked up my scooter today! It is so beautiful. I woke up early and went on my bike ride and the weather was gorgeous although a little windy in the north end of the valley but then when is it not. Came home, showered and off we went to Noho to pick it up. It was all ready sitting right in the front of the showroom with a SOLD sign on it. Love it!

After all the paperwork I got the low down on all (ha ha) of its functions. Since I had to drive it home from Noho all the way to West Hills I drove it around the side streets from the dealer to at least get used to it before hitting the busier roads. It took me just a little bit of time to get used to the throttle and how it handled in the turns. Once I felt comfortable off we went home. Grant followed me in the car which was nice to know at least I had someone on the road on my side. I went down Magnolia as far as it could go before getting on Ventura Blvd. The ride home was not too bad. I am already programmed to look way down the road for hazards and just assume that everyone will be doing something stupid which is usually the case. It appears that my speedo may be off as I was indicating 35mph to 40mph and Grant said I was doing 28mph. I’ll have to look into this. Anyway, I had a blast riding it! Zoom, Zoom! Oh, I purchased a personalized plate, “CiaoAmi”. Since you have to say ciao on a scooter and it is the Saint Tropez which is French I felt it was appropriate. Here are some photos of the scooter!

The side view!

Me on my ride!

The scooter company's logo.

Sequoia Classic Criterium

2008-03-19T16:42:00.000-07:00

What a great host house. I had a wonderful nights sleep and woke up to hear birds chirping. Time to go on a ride to spin the legs out. Bob had told us the night before a route we could do that had a wide shoulder and was dead flat. Exactly what my legs needed. X and I bundled up as it was 36 degrees out and off we went. From the explosion of clothes in the van the day before I could not find both of my awesome Adidas gloves that are so warm so I was suffering a little with long gloves that were not quite as warm. Even though it was cold it was a beautiful day with bright sunny skies and a couple of puffy white clouds. On our ride we came across a couple of dairy farms for the Land O Lakes company. They looked to be pretty happy California cows.

After about 40 minutes of riding we stopped for the traditional Starbucks coffee and a pastry. The good thing about Starbucks is that they are everywhere. After filling our bellies, we rode downtown to check out the criterium course and to see if we could get our numbers for the race. The universe was on our side as when we rolled up a race was just finishing and the course was open so we got to ride it. Even though the road was wide I knew after taking a spin on it that it was going to be a rough race with 6 turns. We were able to register and off we rode home with our numbers in our pockets. We timed ourselves as our host house was so close to the course that it appeared that we could warm up there and just ride over. We were right; it only took 8 minutes to get home.

Off to a shower to get warm. The Havard’s had hooked us up with some eggs, cheese and bread and off to work I went on some pre-race fried egg sandwiches. The snack of champions! After our snack we pinned our numbers and laid down to rest the legs. Resting and napping is the best thing to do prior to a hammer fest.

A thorough warm up on the trainer and off we road to the course. I had the usual pre-race butterflies but was also excited. All of the teams were there in full force and I knew it was going to be exciting. After all of the call ups of our star studded field and a moment of silence for Kristy Gough (she was killed while on a training ride, very sad) off we went. As I predicted that pace was fast from the get go and as I was to find out, throughout the entire race.

I unfortunately started the race in the back of the pack so it took me about 5 – 7 laps to get myself to the front. The race was going as usual and then about ¼ of the way through it there was a crash on turn 3 the only right hand turn in the race. I did not see what happened but was slightly held up by the crash and had to unclip. Twelve of us rode on and were able to catch up to the main pack in about a lap. Morgan was ahead of the crash (excellent riding) so I knew she was okay. Going through the pits I saw Jenn X being brought back into the race in one piece with about 40 other girls. Just crazy! I heard afterwards that Liz Hatch and Laura Kroepsch were both hurt in the crash but are okay. Crashes are always horrible. On we went with several primes being offered of $50 to $100. I wanted to go for one but did not want to completely waste myself since there were only three of us there from South Bay. As the race went on my legs started to open up and one time after turn 5 I saw an opportunity on the left side and took it to do a little attack. I immediately had riders on me. Today was not a day that anybody was going to get away especially with full squads from the best teams in the nation and world (Team Highroad). On we went with a very high pace (after downloading my computer information I found out we kept an average speed of 25.3mph). A $50 prime was offered on one of the laps and I was in good position. After turn 5, three riders pushed hard up the left side and I jumped on it. And then the strangest thing happened to me. The intersection between turn 5 and 6 had a bump in it and previously in the race water bottles had flown. Now another one went and the way it fell on the ground it squirted sport drink right into my face going into my eyes, covering my glasses and all over the front of me. If it was planned this could not have happened. My eyes stung and my hand slipped on my shifters. In the 2 seconds it took me to regain my barring I was no longer in a good position and the prime opportunity was over. Bummer! Then from slippery to sticky I went and rode like that for the rest of the race.

Morgan drilling it on the front

Jenn X ropin' a turn

The pace continued to be high and Ina Teutenberg was on fire constantly launching attacks and taking primes. Other teams like Aaron’s and Colavita were active in winning primes. Many primes were given in the last 15 laps which always makes things a little crazy. With about 7 laps to go Jenn X came out of the pits, again. Strange! Later I found out she had a flat and then a cable break in the pits and finished the race on a Litespeed neutral bike. Thank goodness for Shimano neutral support.

With 5 laps to go I was sitting in perfect position about 5^th or 6^th wheel. However, with 2 laps to go this became harder to hold as all of the teams were screaming to the front to lead out their sprinters. I kept fighting for position and did the best I could to maintain my position. I did not have great position entering the last turn but felt that I could fly up the inside, scream into the last turn and then just jam. However, on the straight before the final turn I had a strange feeling that it was not going to be good and I was right. I eased off as we approached the turn and in front of me there was a huge crash as riders slid out. I had to brake and lost a lot of speed. I put my head down and sprinted to the finish line and came in a disappointing 11^th place. Darn! Not quite what I had wanted but not horrible. At least all of the riders on the ground were basically okay and no one was seriously injured which is always good to hear.

Ridin' in the pack

As usual, I love racing the NRC races as they are such a blast and the competition is so fantastic.

Back to training and working. On Saturday I pick up my scooter. I will take photos for ya all! Oh, if you want to see full coverage of the race check out www.ibnsports.com.

Sequoia Classic Time Trial

2008-03-15T19:02:00.000-07:00

Time trials, ugh, my favorite event (ha ha!). Jenn X and I drove up from the valley this morning leaving at 7:30am. We hit some snow going through the Grapevine at Gorman which was crazy. Then there was heavy rain and then it was over. The rest of the ride was uneventful with the typical pee stop along the way.

We made good time and had time to pre-drive the time trial course. The countryside was so beautiful. I took a lot of photos and below are just a few of them. By driving the course we knew it was going to be a hard day and the climbs were pretty intense.

The climb!

Back to the start finish line to get ready. I was the first pro women to go which is not the best place. However I find it kind of ironic since time trailing is not my event although I am trying to have a better outlook about them. I got nice and warm on the trainer and headed out to the start line deciding on no leg or arm warmers since the weather was in the 70s and we would be doing some climbing. I left my teammates Morgan and Jenn X back at the van still on their trainers as they started 16mins and 24mins after me. While waiting to start I wondered if the no leg and arm warmers choice was a good idea as I was getting cold. But soon enough I was getting my countdown and off I went.

Since we were going 40km (26miles) I started off moderately but fast enough to get the engine going again as the big climb started after about 1 ½ miles. Within the 1^st mile Sandra Kolb (Bicycle John’s Serious Cycling) passed me and being a local girl we cheered each other on. I knew that Sandra would pass me as she started 30 seconds after me and is quite an accomplished time trialist. I continued riding my pace which is just at my lactic threshold pushing as hard as I could but reminding myself that there was still a long way to go and that there would be a headwind on the return. On the way out about 3 other riders passed me. At times I was burning up climbing and at others I was a little cold which was not good for my legs and I even had warming gel on them.

There were several photographers on the course and they snapped pictures as I went by. As usual my nose was running badly and it seems that I always have snotty time trial pictures. I kept forging on as best I could but realized that today was not my day. As I hit the turn around I was excited to start heading back as there was a lot of down hill. As I was on the return I saw Kristen Armstrong flying going the other direction and knew that she was going to do a great time. The head wind was pretty strong and my shifting started to really act up (I had changed gearing for the TT just the day before and realized I should have ridden it hard to kind of break it in). I kept my pace up but didn’t completely blow myself because tomorrow is a criterium race which is much more my style.

On course

Several more riders passed me on the way back and I just kept my pace pushing against the wind. I have to admit that it is very demoralizing to have so many people pass you. I missed my teammate Morgan but did see Jenn X on her way out. Back I went up the climb and I was just praying that it would be over. My legs were tired. The decent was a blast even on the TT bike and finally I saw the finish trailer and line and was glad to be back. I finished in a 1:18:31, a horrible time and second to last on the day. Jenn X rode a great TT and finished 30^th getting some money and Morgan finished 33^rd. Awesome job by my teammates!!!! They rock!!! Especially since the field was pretty packed today with a lot of great time trialists.

X in a typical "X" outfit

I cannot wait for tomorrow. Right now we are heading out with our host family for dinner. They are just great!

Check back for updates on the crit!

Santa Rosa Grand Prix - Monday Feb. 18th

2008-02-29T23:35:00.000-08:00

X and I treated ourselves to room service for breakfast and Morgan went to the buffet, I am sure for more fruit.

Off to the race! We could not believe that they actually made real signs for the women’s parking!

While perusing the course we road past Phil Ligget and Paul Sherwin which was rockin ’. I caught up with Scott a friend of mine and we got a photo op together with my teammate Morgan. Then it was back to the car to warm up.

Morgan and I with Scott (photos courtesy of his sister Susan, thanks!!)

There was an amazing crowd lining the streets for the women’s race which was really cool. It was great to see riders w ho I had not seen since the end of last year. After the national anthem was sung, off we went! The pace was fast from the start and I had to hustle to get to the front in the first lap. Negotiating the bot dots continue d to be an issue on the back side of the course. Since cycling does not help your bones I think the jarring of the bot dots definitely helped with that. For the first NRC race of the season I felt great. My legs were tired from my training the week before but they appeared to be opening up just fine. As the race went on I started to feel more confident and f eel the rhythm of the race. It was also great to see Morgan up in the mix and riding really aggressive. At some point I saw a rider go wide on turn 2 and slam right into the hay bails. Horrible! The next time around X was coming out of t he pits so she must have been involved but appeared to be okay which is always good news.

I thought I should test my legs out just a little so I attacked one time on the front straight. The crowd was going wild an d was really into the race which really inspired me. However, no one was going to let anything go and we were caught on the backside. Legs were still good though.

Knowing that the payout was high and there were many primes I decided that if I was in the right place and the opportunity arouse I would go for one. Well, the opportunity came and I took it. There was an opening on the left side and I shot up it going long and had it. Then Dave Towle said prime on the next lap and I thought “ugh, what an idiot was it not a prim e on the lap I just took?” I often get race brain and think that I am not hearing things straight. However, as I reconnecte d with the pack both Morgan and X said good job so I guess I must have gotten the prime.

Going for the prime. I think I am being chased by Leah from Vanderkitten, she is making me work! Awesome racing!

The race continued to be fast and there were many attacks off the front but you could tell that the sprinter’s teams wanted a field sprint as they were very diligent on the front. I looked up at the finish line and noticed it was 7 laps to go . Where did the time go? I immediately started to think of positioning for the final lap. I continued to move up through the field and was in pretty good position for the final lap. We made it to the back side and I was holding my position when all of a sudden someone slammed into me from the right hand side. This caused me to go into the bot dots and my left foot unclip from my pedal. My left foot went into the bike of the rider next to me and all I could think was that I was not going to crash again. With all my might I pulled my left leg back and got straight on my bike again as I had everything going in all directions. It seemed like everyone and their uncle had past me. It took a couple of pedal strokes to get clipped in again and I sprinted with all my might on the left side of the peloton to try and regain position. By turn 3 I must have been sitting in 25^th place and was already fighting off oxygen deficit. After the turn I hustled some more to place myself higher and was looking for openings and good wheels. Then we were sprinting and my head was throbbing. The finish line seemed so far away but I just kept telling my legs to keep turning over with all the strength I had left.

Sprinting for the line!

Finally we hit the line and I was glad it was over. What a great race! The crowd was on fire. Everyone road a really good race, what a blast!

I was not sure of my placing right after the race but knew I was in the top ten!!!! Upon hearing the results I found that I had finished 6^th place! I was very excited. Also, for the prime I had won a gift certificate to the Russian River Brew Pub, how fun! After we watched the men finish which was so exciting, Morgan, her mom and I headed to the brew pub for some well deserved beer and a pizza. Overall, what a great day.

Our trip home was uneventful and fun but tiring. We kept trying to take time off of Jill’s estimated time of arrival but are stops to refuel not only the car but ourselves as well as get coffee to stay awake kept Jill in the lead. I finally pulled into the driveway of my home at around 2:15am and made it to bed by 3am. Tuesday was a rough day at my Pilates studio but by today Saturday I have finally recovered from lack of sleep. Yes, I am so sorry to be posting this so late after the race but the week was super busy. I hope this post finds you all well and stay posted for future updates as the race season unfolds.

Let the NRC Races Begin!

2008-02-23T16:33:00.000-08:00

Sorry for the lateness of this post but life has been pretty bus since the race in Santa Rosa. Anyway here is how it all went prior to and during the race.

After hustling around the house the past week it was time to get organized for the beginning of the traveling season. The first NRC race is to be held in Santa Rosa and will be a part of the UCI Tour of California where all of the big “European” pros are competing. Since most of my teammates are racing for the track and in Denmark, it is just the three of us remaining who will be battling it out in Santa Rosa.

Since we race on Monday we left on Sunday to save money so we only had to pay for one evening at a hotel. Morgan and I left on Sunday at 1pm so that we could get our ride in before sitting in the car for about 7 hours. Our teammate Jenn X was already up there doing some work for Road magazine. Morgan and I had a great drive in the mini van which was pretty uneventful. Per X’s advice we stopped off and got one dollar bills for the bridge much to the delight of the attendant at the mini-mart thinking that we were on our way to a strip joint. Our faithful GPS unit “Jill” kept us on track and even put up with our many pee stops on the way. Below is a photo of the hills around Anderson’s in Santa Nella.

As the drive went on, Morgan’s compost pile of fruit kept growing. I have never seen someone eat so much fruit. I think a new nickname is in the making. Our dollar bills never got used because the mini van has Fast Track in it thanks to Morgan’s dad and we flew through the toll. Score!!!!! X called with updates on the hotel which she said was rockin’. She was eating the warm chocolate cookies that they give you and was on her way to get a massage because they had a masseuse there. “Jill” said our estimated time of arrival was 8pm and the masseuse left at 7pm. Oh well.

The hotel room at the Doubletree was nice and my rib eye steak with sweet potatoes really hit the spot for a pre-race meal. After dinner we caught the Versus TV coverage of the prologue of the Tour of CA which was awesome. Go Fabian!

St. Valentine's Day Massacre Crit

2008-02-18T08:20:00.000-08:00

Another weekend another race. Today’s race was in Brea, CA and on a race course that I actually crashed real badly on two years ago so there were some bad memories there. However, since my last crash in Superweek I have decided that I am done crashing and have turned over a new leaf – so on with the race.

The usual local women were in full turnout today with Helen’s and Rock Racing sporting if not full almost full squads. We were also joined by Anna Lang (local racer who now rides for Aaron’s Pro Cycling Team). The women were keyed up to race today and it was aggressive from the start. My coach wanted me to use this race as preparation for the NRC race next weekend so I was to ride aggressively and be attentive. I tried not to let anything get up the road unless myself or my groovy teammate Morgan was in it. Considering there were only two of us, I felt we covered moves well and road aggressive. I got in a couple of breaks but they did not stick. It always has to be the right mix of riders in order for one to get off the front.

A $50 prime was given nearly mid-race through. I launched a huge attack up the hill and into the finishing straight but did not want to fully blow myself for the prime wanting to participate and keep active in the rest of the race so I sat up. Three of us ha d a gap from the field but as I mentioned before, the right mix has to go so shortly after the pack caught us.

It looked like it was going to be a field sprint even though Helen’s launched Jamie Hughins off the front with about 5 laps (maybe 4 laps) to go. There was not really a reaction from the pack however our pace remained high and we eventually caught her so back to field sprint plan. I kept to the front of the race as we entered the final lap. I had to keep accelerating throughout the lap. As we entered the final turn I had good position though in the middle of the turn a Helen’s rider clipped her pedal causing her bike to jump. Amazingly she kept her bike up as I braked hard losing about 75feet of placement. After this little hiccup I sprinted to a 4^th place finish. I road right around the course and Morgan removed one number and then I road about 45 minutes in the men’s Pro race for some speed training. It was a fun day and a great day for training.

Stay posted for more blogs next week while we are up in Santa Rosa!

Red Trolley Criterium 2/3/08

2008-02-03T22:12:00.000-08:00

Well rain it did. In fact the wind was so strong that it woke me up at 5:30am swaying the motor home. The high desert has so many fun experiences. We left the campground to head back into San Diego for the Red Trolley criterium at about 11am. Highway 8 was pretty treacherous with the wind but we just took our time and kept very aware. At exactly 12:30pm we pulled into the parking lot for the criterium which started at 2:20pm for the pro women.

View of the Outdoor World RV Park in Boulevard

Our drive on Highway 8

There were pretty heavy winds and the rain was off and on. I yearned for the sun but it was not going to happen. It was actually much warmer than Boulevard hitting 59 degrees which made me very happy. Because of the weather I warmed up in the motor home. This was fantastic because I got nice and warm which was great for my legs considering how cold I was the day before. All was going well until I changed my rear wheel to my race wheel and was clicking through my gears to check them when my gear cable snapped at the shifter. I basically had about 12minutes until the start of the race. Grant suggested I run over to the Rock Racing truck to see if they could help me. Tony their mechanic helped me out which was so sweet. I owe him big time. He changed out my cable and off I went to the race start. What an angel he is. I found out his favorite beers and will have them with me the next time I see him or Rock Racing. After you read the rest of the report you can see why I dedicate my finish to him.

Considering the weather, the women’s field was actually pretty big at around 30. In fact, we outnumbered the men’s fields. It was wet but not raining when we started. From the get go Liz Hatch (Vanderkitten) was aggressive and testing the field by going to the front. I knew she would be a rider to watch based on her performance yesterday and knowing that she is a good rider. The pack stayed together for about the first 10 minutes of the 45 minute race. Then a prime was given away to the winner of the next lap and Lea Guloien (CA Pools) and Liz Hatch were antsy to go for it. I knew I had to stay up with them and held tight to their wheels. Liz won the prime and we kind of sat up. I looked back as we rounded turn one and realized we had a gap on the field. I mentioned this to them and we put our heads down and worked together. We were flying around the course and just trying to drill the pace. There was a heavy head wind on the finishing straight but we kept powering through it. It seemed the more time we gained the more it started to rain, ugh! Thank goodness for my trip to Montreal where every day it rained so I was comfortably miserable in it.

Grant was just past the 4^th corner giving us time checks which were hard to hear with the wind. We had about 1:20 minutes on the field and then all of the sudden we could see the back of the field. Lea wanted to catch the field and I have to admit that I was hesitant not wanting to risk a field sprint with all of the riders in the rain. Things can get sketchy at the end of a race and with the rain pouring down and it being so early in the season I did not want to risk anything. Lea was determined and she pushed to the pack. We sat on the back of them for a couple of seconds and then went past them around the side. We kept up the vicious pace and Lea was really intent on just racing hard. With 5 laps to go some of the girls from the pack had latched on to us when we passed them. They took a couple of pulls and we sat in and then Lea just picked the pace up and off we went again and it was back to the 3 of us. With 2 laps to go Liz and I were trying to play it safe for the sprint. Lea lead out the last bit of the last lap up the hill to the finish line. I was sitting on Liz just trying to time my sprint knowing that the head wind was very strong. After the short climb after turn 4 I ramped it up and went left (into the wind) to try and pass Lea. I nearly had her at the line but she held strong and won and I came in 2^nd. Props to Liz and Lea for an awesome job in the break. What great riders to ride with. I still do not feel 100% after yesterday’s crazy asthma attacks and my lungs felt a little raw but overall I felt pretty strong. Check out the video below that Grant took of the finish.

Again, it was great to see riders that I had not seen since last season. I love that we can all be friendly and yet race each other. It makes it so much more enjoyable. Cheers!!!

First race of the Season -- Boulevard Feb. 2, 2008

2008-02-02T17:15:00.000-08:00

Well, racing season is here once again. My usual first race of the season is Boulevard Road Race, a 67 mile course that is done in 3 laps and has a total of 6,488 feet of climbing. This means every lap we climb 2,163 feet. Fun! The previous years I have done this race the temperature has been relatively warm in the low 70s. This year is quite different with the high of the day hitting 44 degrees. Add in wind chill and often the temperature is in the low 30s. This always leads to a clothing dilemma because you are freezing on the downhill sections and flats and burning up on the climbs.

Morgan (my teammate) drove down in the morning and picked me up at the motor home which was awesome. We could not believe how cold it was and prepping to race was pretty miserable due to the temperature. It was great though to be back in the swing of things and hanging out together. It makes racing so much fun when your teammates are such great people and we can have so much fun together.

We started the race without a follow car so if you experienced a flat your day was pretty much done. Bummer! It was great to see friends on other teams at the race start and quickly catch up as we rolled out to start the day. The race started off pretty normal and the first lap had no incidents. Liz Hatch (Vanderkitten) took off the first time on the big climb and gained a lead of 1:30mins from the pack. Below is a video of the pack (I am sitting second rider) chasing her. She was eventually caught on the second lap. It is hard to stay away on a course like this with such heavy winds and with such a long way to go.

Meanwhile on the second time up the climb (Las Postas) leading to the final climb of the lap I was experiencing my own problems and having an asthma attack. My lungs can handle the 50s but I think the 40s were pushing the limit with too much cold air for me to handle. I promptly was off the back and struggling. I maintained my tempo pushing hard and eventually caught the pack half way through the 3^rd lap. Ugh, not a good day for me at all. My lungs were on fire and I sounded like the string section in an orchestra. I was only able to rest for a little bit and it was back on Las Postas road and with the huge effort the asthma worsened and off the back I went. I was struggling and thanks to Anna (Leader Bikes/Big City) who was really strong and did a lot of work we got back onto the group just before the final climb on the last lap (the race finishes on this climb). I dropped from the group but was able to maintain my tempo wheezing all the way. At the end I caught Anna and felt horrible but passed her before the line. I am a finisher and when I see the finish line I just go! After the race I apologized to her and we thanked each other for the good ride. After being the come back kid all day long I finished a disappointing 9^th! Weather plays such a big part in road racing. It can make or break you since last year I finished 4^th. Morgan was a rock star and finished 6^th. She stayed with the pack all day and had a great ride. Way to go sista!!!

Tomorrow is a criterium race in Mira Mesa. I am looking forward to it except for the rain that is in the forecast.