Battery Power Recharged

OK...so I had to follow up on my earlier post just briefly.

I was very excited to open my mailbox today to find the envelope with my batteries in it! Hooray! Funny thing though.

Upon opening the package, I discover that they are NOT THE RIGHT BATTERIES!!!! They are the batteries that go into my old computer, not the new one! Somehow, and I don't understand how, I ordered the wrong ones!

Please...someone smack me.

(I went online and ordered some more...the right ones this time. I triple checked.)

Just When We Thought...

Just when I thought, "Wow...a totally 'clean' Tour!" Clean here, of course, meaning that no one got caught doping...we get this.

Oh, Mikel...what were you thinking, mi amigo?!??! Muy estupido!!!

Greentree

Greentree was fun last night. We had a slew of ladies show up to join in the fun, including regulars like Kelley and T, and relative newcomers Maria, Pam, and Karen.

It was a BIG night. There were a LOT of people out there, which was a really good thing for me. I needed the speed to be UP over there, rather than the tepid 24 mph from the last time I was there. I just kept thinking, after seeing our average, how can I race at the Pro level in a crit that's 26 or 27 mph when the fastest thing I can do around here is going to average 24?! I mean, I was barely winded last time I went.

Usually, when there are more bodies on the start line, the pace of the evening gets bumped up. More attacks, more chases, etc. And, that was true last night.

It was definitely faster than the weeks prior. I could tell that right away when the majority of the night was spent in a 1-2 person wide paceline, streaming through the office park with nice, smooth turns, not a lot of sketchy wheels, and that beautiful sound that is a screaming fast peloton. We averaged about 25.6 for the night. Still not quite fast enough, but far better than 24!! The best part of this was that the only time I hit the top end of my zone (heart racing, breathing hard, legs screaming) was about 45 minutes in, when I jumped from the middle of the pack to the front and attacked up to a front group. It just felt like the right time to launch myself up to 30+ mph to see #1 if I could bridge and #2 if I could then come back into the field and stay in. I did both! :)

Next time...I'll try to sit on the front and pull for some of those laps. :)

Battery Power

OK...so here is a great story for y'all...

About two weeks ago, I got a new bike computer and was very excited about it. See, my old computer had a tendency to become unseated from the bike every time I hit a bump. I would lose speed, distance, time, etc. until I pushed it back into place. Annoying, eh?

OK - so I ordered a new Cateye computer. I get it attached...I really like it.

So, this weekend, I notice something a little strange on Saturday. The numbers are starting to fade, other portions of the display were flickering, and I realized, "Oh, shoot...the battery is dying." Now...I'm not particularly surprised by this. My theory is that whenever you buy an electronic device, you usually need to immediately change the batteries. Except for iPods and Apple computers! So, I don't have time to go look for a battery between Saturday and Sunday's race. This, by the way, is something I get teased about by Alaina when I show up on Sunday with the same flickering screen.

Monday comes along and I run out to get a new battery. First stop, CVS. It's close, it's CVS, they have everything, right? Wrong. No battery. Huh. So, I run over to Walmart. No battery. Staples. No battery. I'm starting to think that this battery type simply doesn't exist. Not only did none of these places have it, but the little stickers on the display didn't indicate that there was a slot for this battery type.

The woman at Staples says, "Did you try RadioShack?" I say, "No! OF COURSE I should try RadioShack (even if they have just agreed to pay Lancey-Pants to race his bike next year - yuck.)" OK, well, I didn't say that last part, I just thought it.

I head to the closest RadioShack. Guess what...NO DAGGON BATTERY!!!! In fact, she looks it up in the computer and can't even find it. What the hotel? She says, "Did you check online?" Grrrrr...the whole point was to be able to go to the store, buy the battery, fix the computer, and have it ready to go! Grrr.

So, in total frustration, I come back home and get online. I find the battery easily enough on Amazon and buy a bunch of them.

Then, I figure...I'll stick the battery back in for the Monday night ride...better a flickering screen than none at all, right? I put the battery back in. The screen is FINE now. No flickering, no fading numbers, nothing. Ummm...okay?!

Well, at least I have 10 new ones coming in the mail, just in case!!!!

Thanks, Bob!!

Thanks to Bob Wellmon for these shots of the Grandview break catching and lapping the field! :)

Pink POWER at the Liberty Crit!

Really tough fields marked the local race scene this weekend. The big guns were coming out to play and that meant we were going to have lots of fun out there racing.

The 1st Annual Liberty Crit (boy, I hope there is a 2nd annual!!)

18 laps of a 1 mile course

Open Field

# of racers: 25 women on the line

# of Sturdies: 7!! (Beth, Jody, Sands, Rhodes, Sally, Barb, and Me)

Course: This course could not be easier...it is a big oval. There are no corners at all! It has one decent sized climb that put the hurt on people, but really didn't affect the field, and a small rise up to the finish line.

Race: We had a lot of tactics set up for today. However, my impatience and the oddly SLOW pace of the race forced me to go against tactics on a few instances! There were moments when we were putzing along at 16 mph and I just couldn't handle it. So, I would attack...HARD. I attacked a LOT. I tried to get off the front again like yesterday...knowing that it probably was not going to happen again. More importantly, the big guns in the race were not interesting in coming along...nor were they prepared to let me go. I got pulled back in pretty quickly each time, but at least I worked hard to try to make something happen.

My team was INCREDIBLE yesterday. It was so awesome to race with the Sturdies again, and especially great to see them all racing to FANTASTICALLY! Everytime I found myself up on the front, I would suddenly get swarmed...by pink jerseys that would sit in front of me, pulling the field at a nice tempo to keep attacks from happening. Sally was definitely our captain on the road. She really added her knowledge and expertise to this race, encouraging the girls to come to the front, follow attacks, and ride smart. She gave me plenty of opportunities to try to get off the front, and I took every one she put in front of me. She was AWESOME.

Our team got a lot of praise from people after the race. At least 6 women and other spectators said to me, "Wow...your team was incredible out there." I just kept grinning and saying, "Yep...I know!" I was so happy to be in pink this weekend. It was pretty awesome.

Oh, yeah...results. After attacking a LOT, I was worried that I would have no sprint to speak of. I had a pretty icky position heading into the finishing sprint, but I managed to dig deep and pass a few riders coming up to the finishing hill. I ended up 8th on the day. Sally was 14th, Sands-15th, Rhodes-18th, Barb-19th (she was really fantastic during the race...WOW), Jody-23rd, and Beth-25th.

Sally and Jody leading the train...you can just see the front of my wheel behind Jody...sitting in the sweet spot behind my teammates was a great feeling.

Look at that pink train!!! Barb and Sally at the front. NICE!

Grandview Grand Prix

Today was the Grandview Grand Prix. To be honest, I was really nervous about this race. There were some "big guns" in the field (including Cassie King, Kacey Manderfield from LipSmacker, a few Kiwi Track girls, Nonnie Howard, etc.). However, I was feeling good today, so I hoped that things would go well.

Race: Grandview Grand Prix

Cat 1/2/3

20 laps of a 1 mile circuit with 6 corners

# of starters: around 20 (only 12 pre-regged, but there were a few more on the line)

# of Sturdies: 1 - ME! Although a bunch of the ladies did the 3/4 race earlier in the day!

Race:

The course is AWESOME. A little crunchy with a few nasty holes in the corners, but the course itself was awesome. You can see the route in the link above...what you can't see is that there is a slight rise on the part of the course with the turns...the sweeping section is slightly downhill.

So...I gave a good kick off the line at the start. I was a bit worried about the first and last corners and so I wanted to make sure I had a good line the first couple of laps. I was up near the front taking turns pulling with one of the Kiwis and Nonnie Howard. About 4 laps in, Nonnie was in front of me and gave me the elbow wave to pull through. So, I did...quickly. I hopped up and pulled through, through the corner, and kept going. When I looked back, I realized that I had created a gap. Hmmmm....so I lept again. Gap got bigger. I kept pushing the pace and after a lap plus out on my own, I realized two things...#1 - that was THE move...I had created a gap big enough to hold, #2 - there were two riders coming across the gap (Yippeee!) and the three of us together were going to be the podium for the day!!

The two riders who came across were Cassie and Kacey...two people that I had planned to mark as strong riders in the field. The three of us worked HARD together to not only maintain the gap, but to build it. And build it we did. 4 laps from the finish, we CAUGHT the field and lapped them. On one hand, this messed up my plans pretty badly. I knew that sprinting against the two of them was going to be HARD...I had planned to try to launch an early attack on the last lap so that I didn't have to sprint against them. Once we were back in the field, that plan went out the window. We all continued to work at the front and I led the two of them around the final corner for the sprint. Kacey just pipped Cassie at the line...but what a GREAT day!

So, 3rd place and an awesome break. That is the kind of racing I like! Thanks to Kacey and Cassie for being great to work with...can't wait to race again tomorrow!

Thanks to Joe Mallis for the AWESOME shots of the race!!! He took some great pics of the Sturdies in the 3/4 and Josh in the 35+....check out his website here!

Sick...and Tired

Of hearing about friends on bikes being run over, hit, pushed off the road, or killed by drivers lately. And I mean this literally. In the past couple of weeks, I have had the unfortunate luxury of knowing at least 4 people who have been hit or nearly hit by cars. One of them was terrified but fine, two suffered serious injuries, and one was killed.

I was nearly hit a few weeks ago while riding around Cooper River. A young girl not paying any attention passes me and then cuts in front of me to park. For whatever reason, she decided that she needed to pull over in front of a parked car that was just to my right. In other words, she left me with no where to go - she was on my left and in front of me, parked car on my right. Her stupid move forced me to slam on my brakes, fishtail the back end of my bike, and scream a VERY loud obscenity (sorry, Mom) to get her attention. She then stops...I manage to get out from behind her and pass her on the left. She opens the window and says, "Sorry." Um, REALLY? You nearly caused me to slam into the back end of your car at 23 mph. Yep, I'd say you would have been sorry if I had been less capable of handling my bike.

I've made this plea so many times on this blog...but I will continue to do so as more and more of my friends end up hospitalized or worse due to drivers simply NOT PAYING ATTENTION or even worse, being so IMPATIENT that they risk the life of a cyclist to get where they are trying to go a few seconds faster.

PLEASE, when you are out in your car...watch for cyclists, walkers, motorcyclists, kids, animals, and other things in your way. It's worth it to Yield to Life.

PLEASE, when you are out on your bike...assume that NO ONE sees you. Think of this as the one time that assuming something does NOT make an ass out of u and me!!!!

That brings me to my second plea...if you can, please check out this website and donate if you can. It's a good cause, and it will help to keep the cyclist you love safe while they are out on the road.

Drive and Cycle Safe, my friends. Please.

Weekend Racing

I am pretty excited to be racing in pink this weekend. It seems like it's been a LOOOONG time since I pulled on the pink for a race. In fact, it has been a long time. The last time I raced in my Sturdy Girl kit was the last weekend in MAY!?!?! Crazy. It will be really nice to don the pink again.

Saturday's race is the Grandview Grand Prix. It started out looking a bit lame, with just Cassie King and me registered for the race. I thought...well, at least it will be fun to finally race with Cassie. Now, we actually have a nice field of racers including a track specialist from Vanderkitten and a Lip Smackers rider. In essence, it has matured into a tough, fast field that will make for a really fun race on Saturday! I'm looking forward to it.

Sunday is the Liberty Crit. This race is an open, so I will actually get to race with a whole slew of pink jerseys, which is awesome. Can't wait, can't wait! :)

When Will They Learn?

Will these guys ever learn?

Apparently not.

Bummer.

Cascade

So, my Salamander teammates Rachel and Amity are out in Bend, Oregon right now kickin' it hard core with the rest of the Domestic pro teams at the Cascade Cycling Classic Stage Race. Amazingly (or maybe not), Evelyn Stevens took 1st in the initial stage of the race. Man...she is WICKED FAST!

Here are a few shots from Cycling News of Rachel attacking the field...nice job, girl! Way to take a risk and get out there!!!

Great shot...and great job to Rachel, Amity, Erica Zaveta (7th in Stage 1 - WOO HOO!), Annie and Evelyn. Excellent racing, ladies!

Restful Weekend

I didn't race this past weekend. Honestly, it felt pretty good to get up early every day, ride as long and as hard as I wanted to ride, and really enjoy a weekend of sitting at the beach and relaxing. This upcoming weekend will be a bit different, as I plan to race both days. Crits, unfortunately, but I guess I will take what I can get. I would do ANYTHING to get to race some nice road races, but the promoters are really jipping the Elite women's fields this year. I have a feeling I will try to race with the men a few times before the end of the summer.

I went to Greentree last week. Had a great week out there before getting pummeled by the rain. The problem is...it has actually become EASY for me to stay in the field over there. I need to get out on the Drives on Tuesday night, because I know that it is a faster ride. Unfortunately, I also know that it is a more dangerous ride and that once you get dropped on it, you are DONE. The nice thing about Greentree is that you can always get back into it if you are having a bad night. Still...I guess the Drives is something I am going to have to do. Alas....

I'm really looking forward to the Tour de Millersburg (mid-August). Especially now that we are organizing our host housing. It looks like we might be lucky enough to get to stay with an Amish family while we are there. :) I'm keeping my fingers crossed that we get to do this...it would be so awesome. At the moment, there are 5 Sturdies headed out for this race - me, Jody, Sands, Sara, and Judi. Should be great fun!

DRPA

DRPA should probably stand for Department of Really Phony Administrators.

Last year, despite loads of protests from individuals, businesses, and others, the DRPA raised tolls on all local bridges. They claimed that they needed to do this in order to ensure the stability and upkeep of the bridges and the safety of those traveling upon them. They PROMISED at that time that ALL funds raised with the new toll hikes would be spent on the bridges. This promise was made due to the fact that the reason the DRPA had no money for bridge maintenance was because they spent millions (or perhaps billions) purchasing land, paying for museums and sports arenas to be built, and basically ignoring the whole purpose of tolls = UPKEEP OF THE TOLLED ROAD!

This recent article explains fully why so many people hate politicians, government lackeys, and other deceitful liars that find people to vote them into office of some sort.

Good job, DRPA...spend our toll money on something else not related to bridge upkeep - can't wait for the next toll hike that you promised was going to come sometime this year or early next. JERKS.

Funny Random Memory

I've always held the belief that more often than not, when someone is mean to someone else, or is snarky, defensive, and otherwise ready to jump down your throat, it is because they are generally unhappy with their own lives. That said...I was reminded of this even that happened in high school today and just had to post it.

Setting: High School German Class

A few students are sitting around discussing the upcoming "talent show" tryouts. Generally, the "talent show" includes the cheerleaders or other miscellaneous popular folks doing some lame dance, lip synch, or other "talent." This year, we misfits decided to get in on the act and lip synch to something not on Casey Kasem's Top 40.

Me: OK - so we want to do this lip synch to a U2 or Depeche Mode song, right?

Friend: Yep. What about doing Black Celebration?

(story teller's note - I can't remember what song we had actually mentioned...but the story remains the same!)

Me: That's a bit morbid, don't you think?

Friend: Yeah, I guess so.

Out of the corner of my eye, I notice that one of the Juniors in the class has begun staring me down like I have just mangled her favorite Gap sweater. Totally unsure of why this is happening, Friend and I continue to talk. Eventually, we begin to giggle about something.

Junior: OH, YEAH...GO AHEAD...LAUGH!

Me: Um, ok.

Junior: So, you think it's funny, huh?

Me: Um...what?

Junior: I'm MORMON...does that mean anything to you?

Me: um.... (finally catching on) we said MORBID.

Oh, yeah...that's a real story. Thanks for reminding me of that one, Karyn!

Oh, and, by the way...we never did try out for the talent show...stupid things anyway, eh?

Pride

I believe that I am a pretty lucky person, on the whole. I have been blessed with a lot of things in my life: good health, an incredible family, a phenomenal husband, and amazing friends. One of them is making me so proud right now, I can hardly contain myself.

Last summer, my friend Christian told me that "Sara from the coffee shop" was thinking about trying out to race for Sturdy Girl. I thought...hmmm...another Sara(h), eh? On a side note, we ended up with THREE Sara(h)s on the team this year! Crazy.

Anyway...back to my story. So, I finally meet "Sara from the coffee shop" and we hit it off immediately. She is hilarious, bubbly, free-spirited, honest and straightforward, strong, independent, fun, and just generally incredible. It seemed like every time we got together for any type of team event, I found myself searching her out (and Jenna) to chat, hang, ride with, etc. The two of them became people that I felt really comfortable with.

Sara had a bit of a rough start to the season. She had a little issue with falling over! ;) Honestly, I think 99% of it was that she was not fit correctly on the bike. She's very tall and her center of gravity was off. I kept telling her that I thought she needed to get a fit. She finally did, and immediately started talking about how she felt better on the bike, felt like she had more control and more power. Anyway...her racing began to improve also. I expected this...and know that it will continue to improve as she gains experience and confidence.

But now to the reason why I am so proud of her...she is currently racing in Israel. Yep...Israel. As part of Team USA for the Maccabiah Games (essentially the Jewish Olympics). She is racing against a lot of women with international experience and national championships. She is facing a road race tomorrow (well in Philly, the start time is 1am) that will really challenge her. And yet, she is positive, optimistic, and charged up. Just check out her blog! It makes me so proud to see her in that Team USA kit. To see her doing something so HUGE like this race. And to know that she's going to do well and make all of us back home PROUD as HELL. I know how it made me feel to hear people say they were proud of me after Philly....now I know how it feels to be so proud of someone else that the feeling actually brings tears to your eyes.

Seriously though...how awesome does she look??

I heart you, Sara! Get out there and kick some butt tomorrow! And then, hurry up and come home! I MISS YOU!!!!!!!

Photoshopped Imagery

I talk about this in class sometimes. When we are discussing concepts of idealization. When we look at Greek images of men and women that are done according to a concept of perfection, it is hard for students to understand that this does not mean that these images look like real people, but that they are a CONCEPT of the IDEAL. I often refer to magazine photos to get them to realize that we do the same thing with celebrity images. That they are not REAL, but are a "fixed" concept of perfection. I often get blank stares when I say this. I should attach this video to my webpage.

This is a great video. Thanks to James for giving me the link.

No Radios? No Way.

So, as Le Tour continues...the soap opera goes on.

Will Astana implode or not?

Will Lance Armstrong's enormously engorged noggin' fit down the corridor of screaming fans on the mountain top?

Will Bruneel continue to whine about not having race radios for a few stages?

When, exactly, will Contador open up a fresh can of Whoop Ass on everyone in the Peloton?

To be honest, while the racing has been great this year so far, I can totally do without the drama. These guys are worse than a dorm full of college sorority girls. They whine, they complain, they passive aggressively back stab one another. And, like any good sorority girl attempting to win a popularity contest, some behave like COMPLETE JERKS but are still LOVED by everyone around them. I've never understood that.

I know that I am always referencing things that my good friend Josh says, but here is another fantastic quote/observation from him re: Le Tour.

Josh: Jen's sister has 2 dogs. They get along really well because alpha-man (Whiskey) is not challenged at all by submissive Linus. Bear with me here!

Me: OK

Josh: Lance and Levi are BFFs because Levi is Lance's Linus...Lance and AC don't get along because AC won't sniff Lance's butt on demand.

His other GREAT observation, which I was thinking the other day when they were interviewing Lance and Levi about Alberto's attack in the Pyrenees...

Josh: Lance and Levi should be saying about Alberto yesterday, "Wasn't that a great move? No, it wasn't planned but he took 21 seconds from all other favorites. Now the team is in a stronger position."

Instead, they both said crap like this...

Who wants the over/under on the impending implosion?

Down Time

I spent the afternoon vegetating around the house. I have absolutely no motivation today. Seriously...none. It's really kind of sad. There have been some interesting updates lately, however.

Update #1 - I finally went out and bit the bullet regarding a new laptop. Yep...not only did I get one, but I turned traitor and went with a MacBook Pro. So far, I LOVE IT! It is totally purty, fun, quick, has a beautiful screen, is so EASY to use, and is just incredible. I am now ready to take this thing around the country to archives everywhere to produce the best dissertation on pictures of deceased people EVER! :)

Update #2 - The other day, Chuck and I were sitting around and the mail came. I opened the cell phone bill to be shocked at $60 worth of text message fees! I now know what it must be like the first time a parent with a teenager opens that bill. Holy crap! Ironically, the majority of the fees belong to my dear hubby who adamantly stated that text messaging is stupid, he'll never do it, and there's no reason for us to have more than 400 shared texts on our phones. This morning, via text message, he tells me to call our company and get unlimited messages. HA! Goofball.

Update #3 - I can't divulge yet, except to say that I got Chuck and myself Christmas in July gifts. I hope he likes it! :)

I also spent time today planning the remainder of my race season. Unfortunately, the bozos who are usually responsible for putting on the races around here have decided that Cat 2 women are not interested in racing. There are several great road races coming up in the next 2 months, and NONE of them have an "Elite" women's category. Crapheads. So, here's what I came up with - assuming that I don't decide to race with the boys!

July 11th - Iron Hill Twilight Crit

July 25th - Zeppelin Crit

July 26th - Liberty Crit

August 2nd - Doylestown Circuit Race

August 15th and 16th - Tour de Millersburg Stage Race

August 29th - Lehigh Valley Winery Crit

August 30th - Lehigh Valley Circuit Race

September 4th-7th - Green Mountain Stage Race (maybe)

The only problem with this schedule is the lack of road races. I would so much rather race road races than crits - but I guess I will take what I can get!

Bring it on.

Fitchburg Recap Part 2

With Thursday and Friday in the bag, I was so nervous for the Road Race. There were quite a few reasons for my stomach churning around like it had a herd of buffalo in it. #1 - this was the longest road race I had ever done. The longest before this was 57 miles, so while it was only another 7 miles more, it was 7 hard miles in a Pro field. #2 - it had some BIG climbing on it. and #3 - it was already the 3rd day of a 4 day stage race (with one more day to go)!

Wachussette Mountain Stage Race
6 laps of an 11 mile course for 64 miles total
104 starters

Course: Beautiful rolling start with a few big ring hills leading up to the real climbing section of the course. When you saw the sign for 3K to go on each lap, you knew that the pain was about to begin. A right hand turn led to the first portion of the climb (which was actually the worst part). A small ring, out of saddle climb led to another right hand turn and a 25 meter "sprint" to the line. After the line was another small ring out, out of the saddle climb that led to the feed zone. After the feed zone, the road continued to climb up to the top of the mountain (another 1.5 to 2 miles?). After reaching the official summit, there was a SCREAMING descent back to the rolling start. And I do mean, SCREAMING downhill - my computer got so overloaded on the descent that it simply gave up trying to tell me how fast I was going. I think it crapped out each lap right around 50 mph (yep, Mom...50 MPH!!!).

Race: I actually felt really good in this race, but knew that I was going to have my work cut out for me on the hills. I stayed with the front field through two laps up the steeper climbs. I was comfortably sitting in the pack and managed to avoid one small pile-up on the first lap. On the second lap, I had a really interesting experience of looking to my left and realizing that I was riding next to Jeannie Longo. That was pretty interesting. She's so tiny and so STRONG! She was next to me for a second or two and then cut across the back of the pack and sped up the left side to the front. I never really saw her again after that. :) But, at least I can say for real that I raced with/against Jeannie Longo! Anyway...I was sitting comfortably in the pack, but knew that was only a matter of time.

The third time up, they punched it at the front and I found myself just off the back. However, I did NOT find myself where I expected. I was with a group of riders that I did not expect to be racing with...I was in a group with Amity, Anna Milkowski, Erica Allar, Kelly Benjamin, Rebecca Blatt and about 10 other riders. I was ecstatic! We stayed together for the next two laps and actually managed (according to Richard's calculations at the Finish line) to gain time on the leading group. Eventually, the men's pro field came past us (what a MESS). They passed us just as we were hitting the feed zone. It was CHAOS! I just held my line and prayed that they would sweep in and out of the zone around me. Fortunately, we made it through the feed zone unscathed and realized that we had a HUGE opportunity ahead of us. Undoubtedly, they would neutralize the women's field ahead of us to let the men pass. If they did this, there was a chance that we could catch back up and catch back on for the last 2 laps! We did.

Of course, my catching back up only lasted until we hit the hills for the final time, but at least it kept my finishing time closer to the leaders. After the final climb up the hill, I was with a small group of 3 for the final lap (me, Rebecca Blatt and Kelly Benjamin). We managed to work our way around to the finish line. I decided that I wanted to be the first one across the line out of the three of us, so I punched it up the hill to the right turn to the finish. I crossed the line in 69th place, 8 seconds ahead of Rebecca and 21 seconds ahead of Kelly. Granted she probably wasn't trying to go hard up that hill...but I'll take it! :)

Surprisingly, I really loved this race. I was nervous for nothing. I should have known that. I am really more of a road racer than a crit racer and I already knew that. I was just nervous about the climbing. If I had positioned myself a bit better for the climbs, I probably could have stayed with the front group on the last lap, but my legs were pretty toasted.

Speaking of toasted, my poor legs were in for a beating on the last day of the race - the Crit.

Day 4: Downtown Criterium
28 laps of a sub-1 mile course for a 25 mile race
87 starters (wow did that road race whiddle down the field!)

Course: FAST, FAST, FAST....slight rise up through the start/finish line to the first turn, which was just about a 180 degree left hand u-turn. Sweeping downhill into turn 2 - another left into an immediate left back onto the main drag. MAJOR headwind on the finishing straight led to riders being shed quickly and completely. Once you were off the back and fighting that headwind, it was OVER.

Race: My rain was painful and graciously short! I was not feeling good at the start - a lot of pain in my legs from climbing the day before and my eating was not right during the trip. Anyway...I was hoping to hold on as long as possible, knowing that they were prorating the times of dropped riders (so even if I didn't finish, I would get a time and complete the stage race). I stayed in the field for the majority of the race. Towards the end, they really began to up the pace (especially when they started awarding $770 primes!), and I found myself slipping steadily back and off the field. It wasn't long before my butt was dropped. I tooled around with two other riders for a couple of laps until they pulled us. Even considering that, my average speed was 24 mph! It was a FAST weekend.

Overall, I have to say that I am really happy about my first Pro-level stage race:

1. I moved up from 100th to 75th in the GC over the 4 days. If I keep working on my TT and my crits - I'm sure that those numbers will be much lower next year.
2. These races keep getting harder and better - my time in the Circuit race was 6 MINUTES faster than the WINNING time from last year. Same course, same distance, same riders. These ladies are really upping the ante and it is making for some really challenging racing.
3. I can only imagine how much better I would have done if I hadn't taught through the month of June. Next year...it's dissertation writing and racing...that's IT! Let's see what I can do with my mind and body really focused.

Thanks to my amphibious teammates...the weekend was a blast with y'all. Can't wait to do it again soon!

Fitchburg

So...the last three days have been taken up with racing the Fitchburg Longsjo Classic up in Fitchburg, Mass.  Tomorrow is the final day - the Crit - and I'm looking forward to everything being over.  It's been so hard, so fun, and so exhausting...but I am really happy with how I have been doing up here.  I certainly have thrown myself to the wolves in many ways, but I know that this is the only way that I will become better and more successful in the pro field.

Stage 1: Time Trial

8.6 miles on a rolling course.

I decided to race on my road bike - I just wasn't confident after the TT debacle at Jersey that the TT bike would be the right choice mentally.

117 women were registered, 113 started

I felt really good on the bike, even though I knew I was losing time for not being on a TT bike.  I tried to keep my cadence steady up the climbs and push it on the descents. I ended up finishing 100th out of the 113 finishers with a time of 23:40.49.  It may not have been the best time, but I was pretty happy with how I felt out there.

Stage 2: Circuit Race:

3.1 mile loop with 100 feet of vertical climbing - we had to do 11 laps

113 starters

The course was beautiful, but mostly climbing.  Flat from the start through a nice left-right turn combo lead to a false flat rise up to the next right hand turn that was about 120 degrees.  A FAST descent lead to a right hand turn to the climb to the finish.  The climb was pretty steep, "wall-like" and worked well to split the field.  

I stayed with the main pack for two full laps.  Then, I just couldn't hold on anymore...the speeds were insanely fast and I couldn't hold on.  I ended up in a nice sized group that continued to pick up riders as we raced to the finish.  I really didn't have the legs to push up the hill the 11th time and ended up finishing mid pack at 91st place.  

I managed to move up to 93rd place in the GC (hey - that's 7 spots higher than 100th!)!

Sorry that this post is not my traditionally in-depth recounting of the race.  I'll try to do better for the recap of stages 3 and 4.  Stage 3 was today...but I figured that I would wait until the official results are posted to blog about it.  I will say this though...today was AWESOME for me.  I am really happy with my performance and my finish.  I will definitely have a lot more to post about today's race once I've had some daggon sleep!  SO TIRED! :)