Tour De France...

The countdown begins. The race begins exactly one week from tomorrow! I'm really looking forward to a great race this year...hopefully one without a lot of attention paid to the doping crap that is pulling cycling into a nasty spiral. All I do know is that Dave Z will be racing for CSC again this year!! The team was announced today, and I can't wait to watch this crazy man burn up the Time Trials during this year's tour. GO DAVE!!!

So Much For THAT!

Well, so much for previewing the Dutch Country course. An email today confirmed that the women's races have been cancelled due to low registration. The race is more than a week away! EVERYONE, including the promoters, knows that most people sign up just before the registration deadline. The Brownstown race went from 10 riders to 21 riders in less than 24 hours. Why can't he give it more time? MAN, I AM ANGRY!!!!

Dutch Country Preview

Yesterday, George and I spent the morning in Lacaster County, previewing the Road Race and Time Trial courses for the upcoming stage race. It was a nice day, albeit EXTREMELY hot and humid. We had two days of 90+ degrees out here.

We got to the first course around 10 am. It was warming up, but there was a breeze, so it didn't feel so bad. The course is beautiful. The roads are smooth and don't bear a single pothole, ridge, or blemish for the entire course. The only part that needed work was one corner with gravel in it...hopefully the race promoter will sweep it before the races start (otherwise, I'm going to be packing...a broom to sweep it myself!). The course is essentially flat, with a few minor, big ring climbs that take you to some minor sweeping downhills. It looks like it will be a very fast circuit with some prevailing headwinds, but not a lot of technical issues.

After leaving the Road Race course, I was pretty excited. I figured that this was going to be a set of races that were right up my alley! We headed to the Time Trial course (about a 20 minute drive), which is described in the race packet as follows:
"This 7.5 mile course on rural roads is mostly flat with one small climb and one longer, out-of-the-saddle climb follwed by a fast straight descent."

OK...so I thought, no problem...this sounds like it has one semi-tough climb and the rest will be cake. HAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHHAHAH! NO!

The course starts off and sends you up an incline toward the first turn. Just before the turn, the incline becomes a 10% grade. Once you turn the corner to start down the back leg of the course, you are CONSTANTLY climbing of descending! And these are decent sized climbs...nothing that will kill your legs, but definitely tough...especially considering that what you want in a Time Trial is rhythm, and there is NO RHYTHM to be found here.

Finally, after a swift descent over a narrow bridge, where you can get your speed up to 30+ mph or so, you reach the "longer, out-of-the-saddle" climb. You'd think that you could use your momentum from that descent, but you can't because the first thing you encounter (after a short 10+% grade, is a sharp right turn. Then you hit the main part of the climb. The climb has grades ranging from 4% where is levels off to 12% at the steepest point, and is about 1K long. It is full of gravel bits and is not straight, but an S-curve shaped climb. It's going to be a killer of a climb! Once you reach the "top," there is a false flat leading to the turn (bless this bloody turn!) that leads to a 16% DOWNHILL...where you can easily push the bike to 40+ mph and will pull you through the entire section to the next turn. This is the only section where you might be able to relax and bring your legs back from the brink before....turning the corner for home and encountering those dag-gon prevailing headwinds! :)

This has been renamed the "Torture Trial" by me. It's going to be a GREAT race, but it is going to be HARD!

For the time being, however, I am focusing on the Brownstown road race tomorrow. It should be a great race for me and the team. Of the 21 women entered, 9 of them are Sturdies. We're going to blind them with pink tomorrow! :)

Bun buns in my Veg!!!!

I am in need of Anti-Pesto! Apparently, there is a momma bun-bun who has spawned off a plethora of little bun-buns in my backyard! They have decided, smartly enough, that my veg garden is a good place to fill their little tummies with yummies! So far, the only casualty is the top of one of my beets!! I'm keeping a close eye on the buns...I sneak up on them...real quiet-like, like a fish!

P.S. For those of you who have not seen the Wallace and Gromit movie...DO IT! SOOOOO FUNNY! :)

Tell Me How Your Garden Grows!

Ok...so I have been gushing to my mom and dad about my garden. Here are some recent photos of my newly growing veg!

Gypsy Peppers - there are at least a dozen on each plant...I just have to wait for them to change colors so that I can EAT them ALL! :) OK...maybe I'll share with the neighbors or something! MAYBE!

Check out them whoppers!
This is my current lone Squish! That's Sarah-speak for my Hasta la Pasta Spaghetti Squash. There are a few other blooms on the plant, so I am sure that there are more yummy squishes to come! :) Finally, my tomatoes...I have four plants growing in the garden. One is not doing so well...currently there are no fruits on it at all. It's alive, but it seems to be caught in a growth time-warp. It doesn't get any bigger and it doesn't seem to want to grow 'maters! The other three, however, are going to keep me up to my eyeballs in tomatoes for the summer! First, my little Mama Tomatoes. Not looking so little at the moment!
This is one of the Porterhouse Tomatoes...these are monster 'maters that are supposed to be really meaty and yummy!
The waiting game begins. Now that my plants have fruit, I have to wait for them to ripen. I'm SOOO not good at waiting! :)

New Photo Link

Hi All...

Yahoo! Photo has shut down operations! However, I have moved everything over to Flickr, so the link at the right still works, it just sends you to a page that looks a bit different! It's still easy to navigate, so take a peek...there are new photos uploaded from our big Sunday ride!

Chuck's Big Win!

I forgot to post these earlier. When the Pro Race was in town...Keswick (our sponsor) held a big party on Friday night with 4 pro teams in attendance. Health Net, Priority Health, Sierra Nevada and the Aaron's Women's team. It was great fun to see those guys and get to chat with some of the riders, and then they had a raffle. Chuck (of ALL people!!!) ended up winning a jersey signed by the Health Net team! This is particularly funny since Chuck spent most of the evening mumbling, "Bike Dorks" under his breath and he does collect autographs, so this item, though not one of great interest to him, fits his collection quite well! Anywho...I think it's a pretty cool win, so here it is! Signed by Karl Menzies, Frank Pipp, Rory Sutherland, Kirk O'Bee, Shawn Milne, John Murphy, and Kyle Gritters. Nice win, Chuckie!

Big Sunday Ride

Sunday was George's big ride out to Montgomery County. With a crew of about 15, we headed out from Manayunk on a BEAUTIFUL day! It was gorgeous out...full sun, low 80s, it was perfect. I have no idea where we were half the time, as is typical, but we traveled through some excellent areas outside the city. Great roads, great company, great day!

The crew meeting in Manayunk!

During our stop at the "Kiwk-E-Mart," Dana decided to buy everyone gummy hot dogs! Boy, were they yummy! :P It wasn't really a "Kwick-E-Mart," but that's ok!

We made a stop at the Farm Park to refill water. The funny part was that the bottles don't fit under the fountain, so the only way to fill up was to fill the cap and pour it into the bottle, then fill the cap again, etc. It actually worked quite well once you got the hang of it!

Including our water/potty break and stop at the Mart, we were out on the road for right about 5 hours...4 hours and 10 minutes of which was on the bike. We covered 70 miles at a leisurely average of 15.6 mph. Pretty good, considering we had a tandem with us and we climbed a lot of hills! :) What a great day...I'm so happy to be a Sturdy!

Now, it's time to get ready for my next race. Brownstown is this weekend, so I am looking forward to the course and the race. George and I are headed out to Lancaster on Thursday to check out the course and preview the 3 courses for the stage race next weekend. Wow...I have a stage race next weekend!!! Yikes!

Near Collison!

Wowza...yesterday morning was an interesting ride for me. I'm at the shore, so usually the traffic is light, although people are generally in a hurry around here. Anywho...I was heading back into town through a small construction area. I was coming up on an intersection, lots of cars parked on the right side of the road blocking crossing traffic from seeing who or what might be coming towards them. I DO NOT have a stop sign, crossing traffic DOES have a stop sign. You would think that, considering the characteristics of the intersection, that someone coming to it at the stop sign would be a little cautious so as to avoid getting hit by a car, or a bike?! NOPE! Guy in a big, red truck pulls up to the intersection, stops for a split second and proceeds to pull out right in front of me as I am traveling 20+ mph on my bike!

I begin to yell out, "Yo! Yo! YO!" He looks over at me and stops...directly in front of me! I slam on my brakes, my bike fishtails beneath me like crazy...but, with my newfound bike handling skills (THANK YOU, GEORGE!!) I managed to #1 stay upright, #2 stay clipped into my pedals, and #3 NOT run smack into the side of the big, red truck. As I'm fishtailing toward the side of his vehicle, the guy sits there and watches me, and then lets out a sheepish, "Sorry." as I scoot around the back of his truck, cursing him out under my breath.

I learned two things from this experience. #1 - I really do ride smart. I saw him coming and in many ways was ready for him to pull out in front of me. I'm usually really aware of cars around me. Now, this is not going to save my heiney every time...but at least I know that I am doing what I can to avoid injury! and #2 - I really have developed strong bike handling skills. I was surprised after it happened to realize that my heart rate hadn't jumped, I hadn't freaked out, I had just reacted to a bad situation. That was a good feeling to know that I have the abilities to ride safe and smart.

So, to all the riders out there...be careful! Be aware! Be Smart! ALWAYS assume that the cars are going to pull out in front of you...and ALWAYS ride on the right side of the road (with traffic, never against!).

And to all the drivers out there...be patient with cyclists! We belong on the road, we have rights on the roads! Be aware of where we are and treat us as you would a car. If a cyclist is coming toward you, imagine that they are a car. If they are close enough that you wouldn't pull out in front of them if they were an SUV, don't pull out in front of them! You'd be amazed how fast some of us are going and stopping on a dime is not possible or safe!

That's my public service message for the day...Happy Driving and Happy Riding Abound!!!!

Intervals...yeah....

I spent the morning doing some rockin' intervals around Cooper River and Knight's Park. I hopped over to the bike shop to check out some new shoes (and to drool over my dream bike a little more). I like to stop in and say hi to him once in a while, just in case I ever collect the cash to buy him. This way, he knows who I am ahead of time. It's like getting used to a new friend! :)

Dinner with Heather and Greg last night was very nice. They're so much fun to talk to and hang out with. I test rode Heather's Litespeed so that I could compare Titanium to Carbon. Honestly, maybe I am not as savvy as other people, or my toosh doesn't have the same reaction, but most bikes feel pretty much the same to me. There are very slight differences, but nothing that would make me absolutely rule one type of material out. For me, the concerns are more about weight, fit, and componenets. I would like something light, something with Ultegra at least, but ideally Dura Ace, and something that feels good. As far as I'm concerned, it can be made out of styrofoam! As long as it's going to hold up to a good race beating, I'm not overly particular with material. I am partial to Carbon, but not averse to anything else. I guess we'll just wait and see what I end up with, if anything! :)

Rest Day!

Ahhh...a day of rest...everyone should have one! My Wednesday off. I visited my mother-in-law to just sit and chat for a while. They had to put one of the dogs to sleep over the weekend (don't worry, they still have 8 living dogs...and three cats:) ). Weebles was 18 years old! She was a German Shepherd mix and was the sweetest dog. She was completely mild mannered and adorably cute. She loved attention and always wanted to be at your feet so that you could scratch her. She was brought home by my father-in-law while he was on duty as a police officer. She was just a little stray that they took in to give a good home. And a good home, she had! She lived a long and happy life with my in-laws.

I spent part of the day doing a bit of shopping...I needed to pick up a few last things in order to send a goodie-box to my mom and dad. Lots of big days for them this month...wedding anniversary, Father's day, mom's birthday, and today, mom had surgery to remove a nerve bundle from her foot. This thing has been causing her a ton of pain when she walks, and so she finally went to the doctor and they diagnosed the nerve bundle. Turns out it's only a minor issue to have it removed, so that's what she's doing. The surgery was early this morning and she was home and sleeping by noon. I hope that she ends up feeling great...that is, after the do the OTHER foot! :P

Tonight, I am headed to Heather's house for Sushi dinner! Yum!

My favorite Hill!

I have to take a photo or two of my favorite hill! Aptly named George Rd. (makes me think of my coach every time I ride it! :) ) it's a great hill that rises with a few great sweeping curves in the road. I don't know why I love this hill so much. I think that it's just the perfect combination of grade and curvy lines that makes me happy when I'm busting my behind up it! :)

I'm gushing over my hill because he and I had a nice workout together this morning! I did about 5 repeats...all seated and all hard, up the hill. It felt pretty good, and I am trying to get my hill climbing legs back before hitting the Brownstown course on the 30th.

Monday Ride

Luly and I met up again this morning for a nice, easy paced ride out along the Valley Forge path. We always have some great adventures together. The last time we rode the path with Leah, we saw a fox and about a dozen groundhogs. This time, we nearly killed 3 different species of animals!

As we were coming along the path at Kelly Drive, a huge gaggle of Canada geese were milling on both sides of the path. We were trying to make noise to keep them away from the path, but managed to have about 7 young geese (born this year, young) run in front of us! Alas, we did not hit them! Later, two groundhogs were hanging out along the path and decided, right as we were passing, to run into oncoming traffic (us!)! Again, we managed to avoid groundhog suicide bombings and continued along. Finally, and undoubtedly the one that would have been least dangerous to me, two tiny chipmunks ran out into the path chasing one another in little circle patterns. Good thing that I zigged and they zagged, missed them, too! WHEW! That's 0 for 3...pretty good record!

We're planning a hill workout for later in the week...maybe we can round up a few deer, some squirrels, and a wombat or two! :)

Cargas Crit

Sunday was the Cargas Crit. It was a scorcher out in Lancaster. By the time we hit the course at 3 pm, it was over 90 degrees with full afternoon sun. The course was fantastic! Broad sweeping curves to the road and essentially one real corner. Even the real corner was wide and sweeping, but it led into the uphill stretch to the start/finish line. Essentially, this meant that this corner was always taken at a decent speed in order for everyone to push it up the hill. There were 5 primes (pronounced preems - essentially means a lap in which the first person to cross the line gets a prize - a little "sprint" lap) in our 25 lap race, and I nearly got one of them! I was up near the top of the hill and saw someone on my wheel. I thought to myself, I can either bust my butt up to the top of this sucker for a box of chamois cream (which I don't use), or I can save my legs for the remaining 12 laps of this race. Decided on #2 and let the woman coming up along me take the lap.

It was an open race with a field of 18, and there was at least one Cat 2 rider in the field. It was a great paced race, but too hot for anyone to make a real threatening move...everyone was pretty happy to settle in for a group sprint at the finish. As we came up to the final 2 laps, a Breakaway rider jumped off the front and happily pulled along the rest of us! She picked up the pace and eventually a small break happened, in which my teammate Sally situated herself perfectly. I got stuck behind some people coming up the hill to the final lap...by the time I got around them, the break was off and I was not! :) Anyway...I held my own, and hopped on Jody's wheel when she came by me. She pulled me up to the finish corner/hill, and I took off. I ended up eeking out a 10th place finish. Sally took 2nd, Jody 12th, and Doreen took 15th. All in all, a great day for Sturdy Girl! Sally brought home $65 for the doughnut pot, and we all had a nice day in Lancaster. I'm glad I decided to do that one and am already looking forward to racing it again next year...I just hope it's not to hot!

One good thing...I was working on drinking a lot so that I didn't cramp up! I did a good job...finishing one bottle during the race (and drinking a LOT before hand and after). However, to give you a sense of just how Africa-hot it was...my water bottles got so warm that I felt like I was drinking electrolytes that had been prepared in a HOT TUB! EWWWWW!! It really was a miracle that I managed to drink as much as I did. Good on me!

Hilarious!

For those of you who know my dad, I'm sure that you will enjoy this! For those of you who don't, let me say that the guy in this comic looks just like him! The funny part is that he sent this comic to me. The funnier bit is that my sister sent the same one to him!! Keep in mind that my dad is well known for wearing socks with his Chaco sandals. He is NOT, however, known for wearing undies under his Speedo! (Not that he ever wears a Speedo! :) )

What a Weekend!

This was a great weekend for Bike Dorks everywhere! It was a great weekend for racing, particularly Sunday, which was cool and overcast in the morning with the sun peeking out later in the day for the finish! The pros looked awesome coming up Lemon Hill, but not nearly as awesome as Liz on Friday night at the Manayunk Wall Climb! Liz took 1st for the 3rd year running. I do not, however, have photos of her climb yet, because I took them with film (yes, they do still make FILM) so that I could shoot multiple shots in a row! I'll post them as soon as I get the film developed!

Leah, Dana, Liz (climber extraordinare!) and ME!
Dana and Brian

On to Saturday! Saturday morning was the Individual Time Trial. I had several teammates compete in this event. Dana was the highest finsiher, coming in 6th out of 40 women! Leah, Dee Anne, Marianna, Jody, Jenny, and Bonnie also rocked the house! It was fun to watch them start and finish in front of the museum. Great job ladies!

We then did a nice ride out through Lower Merion. On our way out through Manayunk, the Specialized guys were out with Demo bikes, so Luly, Leah, and I test rode a few machines. I rode the S-Works Tarmac. Holy Moly! GREAT BIKE! Takes hills like they are nothing, and really flew over the cobbles. Really nice ride.

Finally, on Sunday morning, I found myself standing on Lemon Hill. This was my first time at the pro-race, so I was really excited to watch these great guys and girls take on this course. I'm sure it was a great time at the Wall, but I thought that Lemon hill was really the place to be!

Slipstream-Chipolte team in their rockin' ARGYLE jerseys take the field up the hill...trying to catch a breakaway.
Here's J.J. Haedo!
I was rooting for him from the start...and he ended up winning!
GO CSC!! :)

For more photos from the Time Trial and the Race...click on the Our Photos link and check out the Philly Pro Race Folder! Fun times!

Friday morning ride...

Preparations are well underway for the big race this weekend! There are dozens of tents lining the Ben Franklin Parkway and the fences are up! There are so many people out riding right now...it's really very inspiring! On our way back to the car this morning, Luly and I passed one of the Kodak riders (not sure which one!). GAME ON, KIDDIES! :)

Luly and I headed out to Lower Merion this morning...intending to do a nice easy ride, we charged up a ton of great hills before being rewarded with a beautiful downhill run (41 mph, baby!) and across this beautiful scene. You can see from the haze that the words of the day today are HOT and HUMID!! :)
Well...this is me...
and this is Luly! Ain't we cute?

Nothing Better

There is almost nothing better in life than careening down a 10% grade road on your bike hitting 41 miles an hour! Now...if I can only get to Europe or haul my bike out to Colorado for Julie's wedding, I can experience something better. Careening down a mountainside at 50 miles an hour! :) Happiness is riding...FAST! :)

Zoo Pics

I finally uploaded some photos from our trip to the Zoo on the Photos page! It took me a while, but I need to clear my camera disk for the race this weekend...so I guess I finally found some time to do it! :)

Results Posted!

Just in case anyone thought I was telling stories out of school (as they say)...Team Beacon's website has the results of the NJ State Road Race posted! Category 4 women are listed last...also look for my teammate Dana Hanchin's name in the Category 1-2-3 women's race! Woo Hoo, Dana! :) I also received an email from the race promoter, who is sending me a new set of tires for my bike along with my 2nd place medal! :) Yippee!

So Cute!

So...I was out riding this morning with one of my teammates, Luly. As we were cruising down a street in Philadelphia, we had an encounter with a driver. Normallly, this would mean that we were honked at, yelled at, something was thrown at us, or we were otherwise "abused" by a driver who thinks we don't belong on the road. Not the case this morning.

This woman is coming to a stop at a red light and we are off on the right shoulder. She rolls her window down and yells, "Good luck on Sunday!" Sunday is, of course, the big pro race in Philadelphia. We, of course, are not Pros! But, the simple fact that she was aware that there was a bike race coming up (as far as I could tell, she herself was not a cyclist...no bike rack, stickers, etc) says a lot about this upcoming weekend.

As Luly and I pulled away from that light, we just kept repeating to one another, "Man, that was SO cute!"

So, to my bike-friendly stranger...Thank you...you put smiles on our faces for the rest of our interval training! :)

Garden Update

Grow, little garden, GROW!!! :)
Detroit Beets - what other kind would I plant?! :)
My tomato plants!

In addition to my cycling excursions of late, I have been cultivating my green thumb in the backyard with my veggie garden! It has really been showing some progress...check out them 'maters! yum, yum, yummy-yum-yum! I can't wait to actually get some goodies off of the plants! My belly is already excited! :)

NJ State Champ Race!

Here we go...official race report from Saturdays grueling 38 mile scorcher!

I was pretty psyched up about this race. My legs felt good all week leading up to Saturday, and I followed good protocol Friday (eating well and spinning on my trainer for about 20-30 minutes).

It was a scorcher. Very sunny, very hot (although not nearly as steamy as it was in the city). There were a dozen women in the field (all from Jersey...so the title was on the line). There were two teams with 3+ riders, so I expected them to do a lot of work on the day. I felt uncannily confident on the starting line...to be honest, I kept saying to myself "Don't overestimate yourself or underestimate your competition!"

We started out at a snail's pace - quite literally pushing about 14.5 miles an hour. So terrible because I really wanted to bump it up...but I kept my patience (I thought of you, Sally!) and sat in to wait for a move. Eventually, the pace picked up and we settled in for the long 38 miles! By the end of the first lap, I was feeling great! Having taken a look at the rest of the competition, I knew who was going to be a factor at the finish, and set my sights on those 5 women for the final lap. About 10 miles out from the finish, 6 of us broke from the pack and started the race for the Jersey. We had a nice paceline going, averaging around 22 or 23 for the remainder of the race. When we took the final turn, the pace line broke down. 3 miles to the finish and we started to shuffle around, slow down, and wait for the big sprint. Two girls (one of whom was the #1 ranked rider) took off the front a bit, but I sat in the back (patient again!)...actually unsure as to whether my legs had it in them for the sprint up the hill to the finish.

When we hit the bottom of that hill...something took over. I shot out from behind the three riders in front of me, passed the two women who had pulled off the front, and took my butt up that hill. I realized on the way up that I HAD IT! I HAD FIRST IN THE BAG!

Well...ALMOST! :) No excuses, but my left calf cramped up like a brick. I couldn't do a darn thing with that leg, and one of the other riders got me just at the end! Needless to say, I am THRILLED to say that I took 2nd place in the NJ State Champ Race! I really felt like I rode a smart race (although I got stuck pulling a lot more than I would have liked). The only other thing I could have done was DRINK, DRINK, DRINK! This is something I have to work on, and might have saved me at the finish from cramping up.

Thanks to Dana and Robin, and especially Heather and Greg for being there at the finish line! It was great to share that experience with you!

Official stats from the race:
Distance: 37.53 miles
Duration: 1 hour 52 minutes
Average Speed: 20 mph
Course: Beautiful big-ring course, nice rolling hills - very easy - one of the other riders told Heather after the race that she couldn't understand how I was going up those hills without breathing hard...THANK YOU, LANCASTER COUNTY!!! :)
Interesting Points: The winding section in the marsh...very beautiful and nice to ride through. Only downside was getting bit on the butt my greenhead flies...now I know why horses have tails! :):):)