Follow along as I drop bits of my life on the blog room floor. Hopefully, some of this journey will be interesting. Most of it, I imagine, will just be downright normal. Alas...here we are.
I simply HAVE to post a MAJOR shout out to my Sturdy Girls!
Today was the Lower Providence Crit. Though they will certainly describe it best on their own blog, I have to brag about the girls a bit here, too!
Women's Cat 4 race:
Beth Fayant won a Prime lap and Lisa Bowerman (in her first year of racing) took 5th!
Women's Cat 1/2/3 race:
Probably best to just let George explain it himself...
"Sally and Becky worked the 1-2-3 almost to the script we envisioned in our pre-race meeting. Sally did her usual job of chasing down any break attempt and Becky sat in and waited for the right break to form. She, Lenore, Kim Geist and a fourth rider stayed away till the last lap when Dana Walton and another Prime Alliance rider bridged up to them ... that put three Prime Alliance riders in the seven rider break. But Becky sprinted for 3rd ... so it was just a really great tactical race for us. Becky is the real deal and Sally is every DS's dream of a domestique."
Course: AWESOME! One, big loop with one easy corner and one wicked uphill. Start/finish was at the top of the climb - from there, you went into a VERY short downhill and a right hand bend into a strong headwind and a false flat rise. Somewhere in the back, there was a descent into the only actual turn on the course, which lead into the climb. You could easily hit 29 or 30 going through the turn and take a lot of speed into the climb. But, the climb was long and "big," so it wasn't easy to keep speed and a lot of folks were spinning out on the climb.
Race: Started out strong. There were a few attacks at the front, but it didn't look like any of them had any real gumption to stick. I stayed at or near the front, it was my job and Alaina's to go with anything that went. So, we did. We were sort of taking turns doing this when it happened. Alaina hopped on a break and it ended up being THE break.
I was just behind her and pulled up to the front. As she was already gapped a little off the field, I thought that it was best to sit the front rather than try to bridge and go with. I thought that if I bridged, I might bring the field with me. So, I sat. The good news was, the two other big teams in the race (Kenda and Fruit 66), both had a rider in the break, so we all worked together to keep the field in line. The bad news was, the break attacked up the climb with 4 laps to go and gapped Alaina.
We knew that she was off the break (thanks, Jason) and tried to organize a chase. Unfortunately, with Kenda and Fruit 66 still trying to keep their rider "safe" up front, it was a challenge. We managed to pull back the break from 1 minute to just over 30 seconds, but that was the best we could manage by the finish. I led the field from the top of the climb through the final turn and then some of the other girls took over - not sure who exactly - jencheng?, Robin?, Wendy? and Mitch and Leslie Jennings. I hung on to them knowing that the finishing hill would be more tactical than power. Shooting off at the base would cost you near the top. I was, perhaps, a bit too tactical and sat in a bit too long before pushing for the sprint. Still, I watched a lot of riders gun it at the bottom and die out near the top and I hung on for 12th. Mitch was 6th and the rest of the girls were somewhere in the pack (not sure of exact finishes). While we didn't have the finish that we had wanted, I feel as though we really raced strong as a team and tried to be smart.
The course was AWESOME! I can't wait to ride it again in the future! Really, really cool.
Chuck was there and took some videos....I used iMovie and put them together into a pretty cool movie. Here it is...
So, when I first began racing my bike, I did this aboard Athena.
She was a great steed. Far too big for me, and quite heavy, but a wonderful bike. After my first year, though...I needed something new, so I was lucky enough to purchase Falco.
Athena stayed on as my back-up bike...getting spun out on the trainer a lot and basically functioning solely as a room ornament in our house. Until my brother decided to start racing. It seemed logical to me that he should have her...since she really was too big for me and she wasn't being used. So, I shipped her off to Michigan to be ridden by my big bro!
He raced his first year aboard her and then he, too, needed to upgrade his ride. I thought it was the end of Athena. I thought that she was going to end up shipped off to the bike graveyard or something. And then, she was reborn! My bro decided that she was perfect for a metamorphosis into a Time Trial Bike!! YAY, Athena!
I think that she looks pretty sweet with her red tape and cable housings...and she sure looks happy! Thanks, Bro, for keeping her in the family and in great use! :)
picture courtesy of Dave McElwaine: www.cyclingnews.com
The Battenkill was a race that I was looking forward to, but also dreading a bit. I've been working on my climbing and feeling pretty good, but this was a lot more than just climbing. There was a lot more to worry about than the hills at the Kill...
We got lucky with the weather - at least a little. It was cold at the start. Cold enough for arm warmers, leg warmers, a hat and long fingered gloves. But, the rain that had been predicted the day or two before never arrived (THANK YOU!!!) It was, however, wickedly windy. Which basically meant that if you were not in a pack, you were in trouble.
The course was AWESOME. Honestly, I really enjoyed it. I need to work on my strength on steep pitches. This is where I always get gapped and I have to figure out how to improve my performance on those sections in order to stay with the leaders next year. The reality is, this is a climbers race. I don't know that I could ever race up front with Patty and the top 5 or 10, but I'd really like to come out closer to the top half! ;)
The first off road section caused me one major problem that would taunt me for the remainder of the race. I hit about 6 GIANT potholes right in a row and my handlebars dropped...about 2 inches. So, I spent the rest of the race totally stretched out with my hands reaching for hoods that were WAY off. Needless to say, I stopped at CVS on the way back from the race to get an Icy Hot patch for my back. Still feeling like I'm 92 today!
When we hit the first big climb, I was REALLY uncomfortable, trying to figure out how to pull on hoods that were too low. It wasn't working out very well. I lost the front pack early. I stayed with Sonja for a bit to try to chase back on, but I just couldn't get my legs going. I wound up racing alone for a little while.
And then my angel appeared. Decked out in a slightly different green than me and wearing a big old smile on her face was Amity! Just as I was settling into the thought that this was going to be a loooong, lonely race, she came up alongside and I had a partner in the sufferfest! Seriously, we shared a huge hug after the race and I told her how much it meant to me not just that I had someone else to race with, but that I had my former Salamander teammate to race with! She was like a second wind for me. It was awesome!
We rode the remainder of the race together and actually ended up in a field of nearly a dozen when we came to the finish. Though my finish was not what I would have liked, I feel really great about the race and about having conquered something that difficult. I'll be back next year with a vengeance and ready to take down that first big climb! :)
It's been many, many years since we even considered the purchase of new furniture. But, with the chair torn to shreds by the kittehs, we decided some new stuff might be needed. So...here's what we ended up with!
4 days from this very moment, I will be getting up and getting ready to get Battenkill-ed. Oh, yeah, baby!
In all honesty, I'm sort of looking forward to the race. I think that it is going to challenge me on so many levels. Certainly, there is the obvious nature of the physical challenges. A 62 mile road race, 25% of which is dirt or gravel roads, climbs that are WICKED steep and screaming fast descents on uneven roads. Please note the course map below and, in particular, the profile of the course at the very bottom of the map.
Then, there are the mental challenges of this course. #1 - I'm not really a climber. Therefore, heading up to a steep climb is not just about the physical (which I know I can overcome), but the mental. I have to remind myself to "Climb within yourself" and that it's only one climb - deal with one at a time and move on. #2 - This is my first real Pro/1/2 race of the year. Jeff Cup certainly had some ringers in it, but this race is jam packed with women who are more than capable (on their worst day) of ripping my legs off.
There are also the fun aspects of this race.
1. It is one of the biggest, one-day classics races in the nation. Right up there with the Liberty Classic, this is one that I have wanted to do for a long time, but just haven't had the nerve. It's amazing to be part of a race that currently has around 2220 racers, nearly 200 of them women. To think that all of these people are challenging themselves on this course is amazing, and I am proud to be one of them.
2. I'm heading up there with some amazing teammates and friends. Not only will I be riding alongside Jencheng, Grizzly Gurski, and the Goat (and Chicken in the Cat 3), but SaraB, Pat, Officer Kulicki, Dana, Lenore, Julie, Peta, Big-Fast-Kate, Patty, Maria, Cass, Emily, Amity, and Amanda will all be up there (plus others that I'm sure that I forgot). Knowing all of these women, we'll all be supporting one another and trying to make sure that everyone is pushed to the limit!
3. My hubby is coming along! It will be so fun to have his support up there with me. Just knowing that he is on the side of the road waiting for me to come by really does make my cadence a little higher, makes my breathing feel a little easier, and pushes me toward the finish line.
I guess you can tell that I am looking forward to this race. Am I nervous - heck yeah - after all, Evelyn has decided to come back and defend last year's title! Am I excited - definitely.
Well, Chuck and I decided that since we already had a houseful of cats, what's a few more? So, we visited a friend whose cat recently had kittens to pick out a new one. Problem was, they were all so cute, we just couldn't decide on one. So, we've decided to take them ALL....
You don't think that having nearly a dozen cats is too many, do you???
Tonight was my first stop at Greentree for the 2010 season! It was a pretty good night to hit the roads over there, with a huge group of guys and a reasonable number of women in the pack (Dana, Barb, me, Kacey, Tricia, and a few other women that I didn't know). It was pretty fast - averaging around 25 or 26 for the night, and things were REALLY smooth and REALLY controlled. I was surprised that I felt so good out there and stayed in the whole time. Last year, my first visit to Greentree was less than stellar, but this is a new year - and I'm liking it so far!
Earlier this morning, I hit the Gladwyne route with Sara. I was trying out my new Specialized shoes and sunglasses....they ROCK! I had to move my cleats once because I found that I was pedaling with my toes and my calves were about to explode, but once I fixed the cleat position, the shoes felt wonderful. They were great again tonight at Greentree, so I am REALLY happy with my new Sponsor Swag! Thanks Mike and Specialized for keeping us looking sweet and riding fast! :)
