Always check your equipment...Twice!

So one of my favorite parts of the season are the LWV circuit races. This year I missed the first one while I was in Durango the second was a new coarse that should have suited me pretty well. Before the start I jokingly said better check and make sure nothing is rubbing. Which to my surprise my front break was! I thought I fixed it right before we moved down the hill to start. Apparently I did not. My speedometer was no working I must have bumped it while changing out my back wheel. I didn't realize that I had a problem until it was far too late. We did the neutral roll out which seemed hard, duh! Up the first hill the ladies attacked I was with them but my god was it killing me! We turned the first corner into a head wind and I felt like I was standing still. The lead group road off without me and now just about every other rider was catching me and passing me I couldn't even jump on a wheel of women I usually only see at the start and no more. Shit I am out of shape I was thinking among other things like, damn you suck! I ride around the first lap slightly humiliated to even pass by the corner marshals finally I reach the decent before heading back up the hill, this is when I realize that my break is rubbing I can hear it and I don't accelerate on the decent. I turn the corner and see a teammate on the hill I stopped and asked him to check for me. He does and yes the break is rubbing very nicely he fixes it for me and now the hill aint so bad but my race is long since decided so I am going for a tempo workout all for the bargain price of $20 + gas and time. Oh well got to love it anyway.

Next day after a very fun but late night BBQ w/ a wee bit too much vino I went on a ride w/ my pals. Alki loop. Didn't know we were doing tempo w/ hills. I did great! Only dropped on the long climb and not by much. Just a slight vindication for the previous days performance. Maybe I don't suck all that bad.

Elkhorn

Wow! Never did I think I could suffer so much and want to go do it again. Winning for me is obviouly not why I race my bike although I wouldn't be opposed to the idea. Weekends like Elkhorn are why I race my bike. Challenge, physically and mentally I didn't know if I would survive this race and with only 4 miles to the finish both challenges became acute. The specifics of the race are limited since I was never a contender for much, it ended up being a weeknd of TT's really, not only for me. What little time I did get to actually race I enjoyed, the women were strong and handled their bikes well. I got to experience my first pee breaks, although they hurt me by being the last person back on my back the first day and having to sprint to catch back on on new chipseal (not sealed) right before the first climb unadvertised. I survived, barely, with a higher max HR than I have ever seen on my bike, dizzy and ready to puke. The next climb I made it about 1/2 way up and began to get very dizzy and could only concentrate on keeping my bike upright. I got some encouragement from Martha but I was done and I knew it. Thank goodness for the scenery what a beautiful ride.

iTT ugh! I need to practice this I never do well I don't know why.

Crit I love crits! I am starting to get the hang of this. I get off the line fast and gun it. In the future I need to think about conserving energy more don' ttake on the roll of pulling 1/2 of the 1/2's to the leaders along with the 3/4's let someone else do that! Move up move up move up hold a wheel get out of the wind. I am getting it.

101.2 miles to Dooley Mountain I am counting the .2 that my odometer read because I was whatching every .01 tick over for the last 4 miles. Started the race with bad saddle sores and worse yet a GI issue that never got better durring the race. Got dropped on the first major climb, no surprise. Thought I could catch a couple of women I saw ahead of me but took a water feed bumbled the bottle and came to a standstill in the last section of the climb whatching my teammate dissapear around the corner. Dang it would have been nice to ride with her. Stopped for my own pee break this one was successful didn't know I had stage fright until this weekend. Both pee breaks were a waste with the for me couldn't go and it expended extra energy right before a climb both times. Always learing...

The final 8 miles of this race were the hardest miles I have ever done on a bike. It was hot, 90+ by the end of the day. My body was exhausted my arms hurt my foot was cramping the GI was still cramping my legs were shot. At mile 97 I started to cry momentarily which made me laugh I couldn't belive that I had been brought to tears! My laughing didn't last long returning to crying and stopping my bike. I can't do it I thought for a second, all this way and I am going to quit now? Well no I couldn't It was going to take a while but I was going to finish. A master rider passed me and stopped himself in the one spot of shade up ahead. I got back on my bike and passed him. He cought up to me (not a difficult thinkg to do at that point) and asked if I was OK I told him I would survive. He then asked again are you sure you aren't reaching a critial state? I said yes just wishing I was 4 miles further up the road. Eventually I made it with people cheering me on. How great to be so far off the back and still get that kind of reception! What a great race.

I caught a ride down to Baker with Claire Hopson, she was great and very supportive of keeping the women's feild alive for next year. I'll be there I told her and I will try to get others to join me.

Iron Horse Classic

I arrived in Durango Thursday night for the Iron Horse Classic on Saturday. Durango sits at an elevation of 6700ft it is a great town and the weather was beautiful, 75-80F and very dry coming from Seattle. My plan and goals… Don’t get altitude sickness, finish the road race (hopefully in front of the train), save something for the crit on Sunday and most importantly have fun.The idea is to beat the old Coal train that goes to Silverton Co. it takes about 3 H 30 Min for the train to get there. This ride has a race and then the citizens ride much like STP, they are supposed to start after the races have been sent off but many people were already on their way up the roads well before the race including the dude on the mtn. unicycle. About 150 women P123&4’s went out the Valley together we were doing a very easy 18-20mph. We started hitting a few rollers things would speed up a bit but not much until we hit the first climb. Very quickly my fear of not even finishing this race was being realized, my heart rate zoomed to max and everything hurt; lungs, legs arms, and face (no joke my face muscles went into this weird quivering thing no idea what that was about) About half way up this first climb I thought there was no way for me to finish I still had 5000+ feet of climbing ahead of me. I tried talking to a Group Health gal that I saw passing me we said “hi” and she said keep going or something and my response was “I am going into survival mode” I made it to the top of the climb where it flattened out. I drank and concentrated on spinning out the pain from the effort I had just finished. I actually felt good got in my drops and started pushing past people and trying to find a good draft and make up time. Hit a couple of small climbs each time I went from feeling OK to pain. The extra effort of climbing took it out of me within seconds. I concentrated on spinning my gearing was quickly maxed with my 39/27 nowhere else to go just spin and deal with the pain. At this point I reminded myself to look around and at least enjoy the beautiful scenery all around me and it was amazing. Soon I saw the next climb coming around the bend this one was the steepest and longest of the day up to Coal Bank pass sitting at 10660 ft. There was a steady stream of people either passing or being passed I kept an eye on the women with 600-800 on their backs because they were part of my race. I was trying to find a carrot of some kind or someone to work with not many options. I found a pace that I could hopefully maintain for the duration. At this point I felt like I was a drone, no rhythmic distraction like counting a song or any of my usual methods of getting through these kinds of things ( albeit I have never done anything quite like this before) I just looked ahead and pedaled. I saw a sign, 4 mile to the pass, OK only 4 miles! OMG that was the longest 4 mile of my life not only did I have the muscle fatigue but my left leg and toes were cramping I could feel my toes trying to curl up in my shoe. From experience I know not to take the shoe off it just lets the toes completely cramp and curl so all I could do is keep going. At this point there were some people walking their bikes or stopped stretching and what not. Finally I was at the summit there was table of food and drink as well as volunteers handing out cups Power Aid and water. I grabbed my bottle opened the lid finished the contents and started grabbing cups of whatever I could get and dumping them into my bottle. My only though was there is no way I am stopping, if I did I knew that the cramping would only get worse, best to keep moving and start spinning down the decent. Relief!!! 800 ft of descending it was sweet! At the bottom there was one last sweeping u-turn before heading up the final climb as I entered the turn the tail wind that I hadn’t even noticed became a very strong crosswind that sent me almost off the far side of the road I kept control of the bike (barely) and realized as I finished the turn that this was now going to be a very strong headwind up the climb! Find shelter get behind anyone, good plan it helped I stayed behind whoever I could find but if they were slower I would go around to find the next person each time I moved out from behind a slower rider I knew I needed to find another wheel quickly. This climb was about 4miles long up to 11000ft from driving the route the day before and talking to my sister who had spent all spring training on it I knew that at mile post 62 there was about 2 more miles of climbing and the pitch kicked up just enough to make it the hardest part of the day. I decided to try to push a little harder to get it over with. I spun faster and tried to stand but there was nothing to breath, I was forced to sit down and keep my respiration rate as low as I could. Finally, the summit of Molas Pass yee haw!! Some flats and a very nice guy who let my draft for the next couple of miles before we hit the decent, I tried staying on his wheel but it was mighty scary at 45 mph for ~9 miles. I was a little chicken to keep that speed up on roads that if I goofed on a corner I would plummet a good 500 or so feet to my death (beside I had to survive to do the crit the next day) Silverton at last! 3H24min I placed in my age category for the Cat4’s 31st out of 51. Not at all bad for a sea-level gal who doesn’t really like climbing. Side note: I finished 4min in front of one of my sisters, surprise!! My sister Steph came in 2nd in here age category for the W4’s and 16th overall W1234 at 2H55min. She is an animal. The crit was a blast... more so once I was done (it isn’t really a blast to suffer more that I ever have well, besides the day before) watching the other races was fun. This is such a cool course 8 corner crit with an uphill (similar to Wenatchee length and pitch) at the first corner 6 more smooth corners and then the last on the downhill to the straight away finish. The crowds were energetic the Beer garden sat at the base of the final corner full of people all day. The cruiser crit was hysterical, people in costumes on all kinds of bikes tandem tall bikes a 4Xtandem with the whole family in diapers to even grandma with her walker and roller skates quite the spectacled! My crit 45min + 5 laps of pain against ladies I knew I had no change of hanging with, including Shonny Vanlandingham Luna Chicks pro MNT Bike racer (on Velo News Cover last month) and Allison Powers US Ski Team vet. After pre riding the crit and knowing how few women there were my tactic was to get to the front and up the first hill as fast as I could. Good plan cause that is what the ladies did, FAST. I did pretty well was at the front of the group for the first 2 laps but the the pace blew me off the pack third time up the hill. What I didn’t realize is that the initial move of going really hard at the start had dropped 5-6 riders from the gun. I thought I was dropped with no one behind me (counting when red lining isn’t a skill I posses.) I road as hard as I could for the next 20 minutes contemplating quitting but not wanting to with people on every corner cheering for me by name, many of them I didn’t even know but met later, I couldn’t quit! I looked back and saw 4 riders coming up behind me I slowed thinking I was getting lapped then it dawned on me there was no motorcycle. Sh*t they had been behind me that whole time I tried getting on the wheel but the head wind and my still O2 deprived body couldn’t push the envelope any further I dangled and then fell off after the hill. I finished up 7th out of 8, Woo Hoo I wasn’t DFL!! Good enough for me. Where is the food and beer?After the P12 crit there was a food(free) and beer (not free) reception/ award ceremony for the P12 and 3’s the president of US Cycling was there and even the town Mayor. It was a great event and I will do it again. Next time I will train on hills and get to Durango a few days early to acclimate I may even partake in the cruiser crit.

Elma State Road Race

Well I was up to my usual old tricks, I attacked too hard too soon. My legs were very tired from no rest since Methow. Monday "recovery ride" Tuesday 2 1/2 hours on the track, Wednesday 40/20's mind you only 2 sets of 3 plus hard hill sprints. Thursday ~22 minutes of the 6PM Seward race basically intervals as I was dropped every other lap. Friday I road to work and took it easy, I did not think I would race on Saturday but things worked out so there was some one there to watch my girls while I raced.

The race, I felt OK, but I burned up way too much power before the second time up the hill and got dropped at the top. Kirstin from TGH was laboring at the same point I told her to take some deep breaths and that she could do this. She did, she got infront and started pulling she asked me to come around I tried but my stomach and legs were cramping badly, I told her I just couldn't do it. I tried to hold her wheel but to no avail. We started to descend I was already gapped and couldn't make up the distance. For the remainder of the race I could see the chase group and the lights from the main group. I used this as once again TT practice, it hurt. I got to the hill for the final time up, I had been looking back occasionally to make sure no other dropped riders were going to catch me, at this point I had suffered alone for long enough that I didn't want to compete for what ever placing I was going to end up with. No one behind me so I slowed down and just started spinning on the hill. I look back and all of the sudden there are two women gaining on me, heck no! It's not much but I wasn't going to get caught even if it is for essentially nothing. I geared back up and got up the hill with them back out of sight. Not my greatest accomplishment but I managed to get 11th only a couple minutes off the chase group.

lessons learned.
1. Recover after stage races
2. Drink more, eat more
3. Be patient! No more attacking until it really counts
4. Decide if I really want to win and race like that's what I am there to do

Methow Stage Race

My goal in this stage race was to learn and build on what I did learn in the two previous SR I have done this season. (Walla Walla and Frozen Flatlands)

This was such a great place to have a stage race, thanks so much to Broadmark Capital for putting this one together. The Valley was amazing, just getting there was part of the fun. Next year hopefully the North Cascades Highway will be open, that is an even more scenic drive.

This was a combined Woman's field, Cat1-4, this by it self seemed like more than I was ready for. I was so glad to have my teammate Amy there as Cat 3 with experience but mostly because she is so much fun to hang out with. The TT started right outside our hotel, gosh that was nice getting up eating a good breakfast putting on the sausage suit ;-) jumping on the bike and warming up on the road. We were so tired from the drive that we chose not to pre-ride the course, I think that I am glad that I didn't this time the hills would have psyched me out I think. 10 mile TT with multiple rolling to climbs. I got the best TT time ever amd considering the wind and terrain I was pleased but felt I could have done better. My legs were cramping on the hills and my postition must have been off a bit because my siatic was irritated cause pain and fatiuge in my right leg. I was feeling OK till I hit the last hill on the way back, at that point my legs completely cramped up, now I understand what cramping is really like, I couldn't turn the peddles I was pusing too hard of a gear I dropped to 7 mph, omg that sucked! My 30 second person passed me then I crested the hill and started the last strech. As soon as I started spinning my legs again the cramps went away and I began to gain on the women that had just passed me. I kept her pace and she came in a second or so in front of me. All in all I was pleased and I learded from the experience.

We bought sandwiches and went back to one of our teammates place to eat and hang out. I could barely eat, I felt awful. I knew I had to because we had the crit in a couple of hours. We didn't stick around long both Amy and myself were nervouse and wanted to pre ride the crit. (This is one of the best things I have ever been tought in racing it makes such a difference to actually get on the corse and ride it before the gun. Thanks Gina! )

Twisp was windy! It was a 4 corner crit bumpy pavement pot holes lots of dirt and debris. The corners were going to be brutal only because they weren't smooth but it was doable not really scary stuff like grates and manhole covers just bumps. I have only started two combined crits in all of my years of racing (ha! well all 4 years plus this season) I knew it was going to be fast and I had to clip in and get moving, I did that but opps I was inthe second row and the ladies in front of me did not get going as fast so I did my best trackstand and waited as the fast ladies took off. Still with the pack but towards the back I knew were to be for the corners but I didn't get the choice several laps in things started to spread out I was nervouse about some of the handling around me in the corners, breaking and bad lines I backed off, should of sprinted! Not sure if I would have hung for the entire 45 minutes but I felt good and the pace up front had slowed but the group I was with was also slowing and I souldn't stay at the front with the wind. The lead rider Lisa Dunwald was going to lap us so we were pulled, DNF'd! Suck Suck Suck! On the brightside pretty much every Cat 4 was in the same boat, only two servived the crit so our GC remained pretty much unchanged.

We hung around to watch the boys race poor guys got hammered by wind and worst of all dust and dirt for 60 minutes. It was parching to just sit there let alone racing sucking that all in. Good job to all the guys who toughed it out it must not have been pleasant! Afterward we went to the Twisp River Pub, great food, I never even set my chicken club down when they brough it to me, I devoured it and manged to have a good beer too. I like beer and even though I needed to hydrate I also needed to remember this is all supposed to be fun!

Next morning, god awful start time of 8:45, still we got up ate got in the car and drove madly to get to the start to warm up. I felt bad, not sure but probably more nerves than anything. I already felt defeated, it was windy, I know from my lack luster performance at Walla Walla and Frozen Flatlands that I am not good at holding a wheel in general wind exasperates this shortcoming of mine leaving me dangling, popped or chasing in all of my races. Today I knew I was racing with a strong field and I felt very out classed. We rolled up the hill nuetral the first time, they honked and we started racing about 400 meters from the finish by the time we passed the line I was thinking to myself maybe I should just skip this, I feel like crap and I am too far down for it to matter. I didn't things got moving and I soon forgot to be negative and I began to race. My thoughts switched to "move up, tuck in, hold that wheel don't give it up." I have got to say this was my first RR with the 123, (I don't count TST I did a couple of years ago) it was great to ride with them, they were smooth and Mindy, TGH quickly began to organize the race, so different from the 4's were everyone just clusters and then yo yo's about. The terrain was mostly rolling hills curving decents and an unexpected crit like jaunt through downtown Windthrop. Yes, I realize this was in the race bible but I didn't fully get what we would be doing until we were there. That was so exciting and fast! On the second lap after the climb I saw Amy Freker attack. No one went after her, she is a Cat4 so I am not sure if the other teams didn’t care or they just simply missed it. She stayed away and not too long after Mindy jumped and bridged to her. Again no one seemed to respond. Both times for me I was trying to stick to my game plan of not attacking or chasing this being my first real combined Cat race. (I had chased Mindy down in the pervious lap and didn’t want to burn all my matches.) So off they went, TGH had the majority of riders a didn’t need to work for a while with teammates up the road but they didn’t do much the entire race after that point except chase me down after I attacked on the hill the 3 time up, yes this is where math skills and looking at my speedometer would have been a good thing. I was so happy to not have been dropped thus far or to even have to chase back on that I didn’t realize we still had an entire lap still to go and one more time up that darn hill! I was about 400m from the finish line when things started to become clear. One, Mindy and Amy just kept riding past the finish line with the lead car and two, a swarm of Group Health gals surrounded me one of them saying “just slow up they are going to catch back on anyways.” This is when it hit me, I said “aren’t we done yet?” Someone said nope one more lap. Hmmm I thought that probably was my last match. I was hurting, the TiCycles girls and a few more riders plus Amy caught up and we stared our final lap. I was just barley hanging on at this point, good thing the race was moving pretty slowly so I was able to recover. The remainder of that lap Amy, me, a couple of W.A.R (Wenatchee) girls, and a Velo Bella rider worked at the front. The final time up the hill the TGH girls busted up the hill taking the top placing. It was a good hard race.
They broke out the Cat 4’s for placing and I got 3rd in the RR and 4th place GC. Best I have ever placed in any race.

Getting Started

I don't have much to say yet. I am not able to boast any great results but I can say I have done one TT, three road races and two stage races so far this season and have done a fabulous job of falling of the back, getting caught in crashes and fumbling my TT's. But I am having fun non the less.