December 29: yep that's right folks, another 3 feet of the white stuff.  This makes snowfall #6 since we've been here.  Within the same week, this is the second time my workplace has closed due to weather conditions.  It's nice having the day off, but I'm starting to worry that I might not remember how to ride my bike!  Being home today also gave me the time to cruise the internet and I stumbled upon this article, which I found worth reading & re-reading: http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/eticket/story?page=olympianpartthree

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December 21-my husband's famous last words: "Honey, it never snows in Denver (just in the mountains), and even when it does, it melts right away."  Well--he's been stuck at the hospital for the last 24 hours and probably won't be home for another 36 hours-the hospital is in emergency mode which means they won't allow any staff to leave in order to keep the hospital functioning.  Luckily, my courthouse sent us all home yesterday before it got really bad, so I've been at home with the pups.  We presently have over 21 inches on the ground and it's still coming down.  Main roads, airports, even the post office--all closed.  The road crews' energy is consumed with towing all the abandoned cars out from yesterday so that they can clear enough road space to actually run their plows.  All main roads in/out of Denver are closed, and the poor folks in the airport have been stuck there over a day already and will be there until at least friday.  I am very fortunate to be home, with enough food and with the electricity--it could be so much worse.  This white stuff might end up preventing my family from making it here for Christmas, which would be really sad--but, better to be safe.

Here is a pic of  a car parked in front of my building this morning (yes, there's really a car under there) and phoenix outside last night.  In my years of living in SD, NE and KS, I have never seen this much snow at one time.

***

December 18--a teammate on velonews!  http://www.velonews.com/race/cyc/articles/11344.0.html  ...and this past weekend, I watched the team CSC dvd...wow, what an eyeopener.  My favorite quote of the movie was along these lines: "sometimes it's not enough just to love the sport."  Watching those guys turn themselves inside out, getting crashed out, watching the team director's angst...man, sometimes we lose touch with the concept--this is just bike racing!!  but for them, I know, it's their profession and so everything becomes much more important.  When a crash ends the paychecks, it's a big deal.  I highly recommend the movie--worth watching at least 2 or three times.

***

December 5, 2006: life's just too darn complicated.  Is it just me, or does anyone else get these overwhelming urges to sell your car, cancel your car insurance, cancel your credit card, pay cash for everything, cancel your cell phone, and sell all of your belongings--more or less putting a stop to allowing companies that cannot provide customer service, from dictating your life!?!?  I swear, it's something new almost every day...it makes me crazy when i think about how much time i spend correcting mistakes that OTHERS make, which affect my life--that energy could be spent training or just sleeping...but not "on hold" with some guy or gal getting paid $.02/hr to care LESS about my life.  Rob has a theory that there are simply too many people in the world..."what, you don't like our customer service!?!?!  Get outta line, we've got people lined up waiting to be treated like crap by our company!!"

***

The team meeting went great-these gals are awesome and I can tell i'm in for an exciting season of racing with them.  It looks like we'll be targeting 8-10 of the NRC races on the calendar, maybe more maybe less...and of course, we all have jobs, so making a point to find races that fit all of our professional schedules is fun ;)  But it's also nice being on a team where I'm not the only one saying..."I can't take that much time off of work or I'll get fired!" 

Thanksgiving 2006: it's been a great weekend so far!  Thursday was spent lifting, riding, and watching as Rob decided he'd definitely thrown his back out while we were in the weightroom.  Ugh.  So Thursday night we dined with some friends of mine from work--SUPER food and lots of laughs.  BORAT was a subject of much of the conversation, followed closely by my favorite: "what's your worst bike crash story..."  it was a lot of fun.  Today I put in some miles alone as Rob "suffered with his back"  (aka watched the CO vs NE game).  I'm hoping he gets better in time for the ride on Sunday. 

(Fri)One of the pro team's new sponsors--SERFAS--sent us some of their saddles and gloves last week--I have been riding on my new saddle-the Carma--and have fallen in love with it; finally, a company has figured out how to make a relatively light woman's saddle that pushes in all the right places, and doesn't, in all the wrong ones.  I also really like the full-fingered gloves they sent-though they'll only be good for 50degrees and up I'm afraid.  Today's ride consisted mostly of just being cold the whole time, but I had my ipod shuffle going and a head full of thoughts and before I knew it the ride was over! 

Tomorrow our team all assembles for a ride and full-on team meeting.  We pick our official team schedule tomorrow and I'm pretty stoked about that, too.

I had to include some pics of my crazy dogs, Sydney (minpin) and Phoenix (mutt)...Syd's sweater says: "there's no such thing as too much bling!"  I couldn't resist!

 

***

HOLY MOLY--KB is on the front page of http://www.usacycling.org/!!  Read about her track adventures on behalf of the good ol' usa over in Australia right now--it is SOOO awesome!!!    

*** 

November 14, 2006: off-season update.  Ok so I get this sweet TREK CX bike and have I used it--no!  Every time I work up the nerve to enter a CX race, it's either been UCI-restricted, the night-before registration has closed, or it's snowed/rained and I always said I would only race on nice and dry courses--no messy bikes for me, I'm too busy to clean it afterwards!  My folks were out here this weekend visiting us from KC and we took them to observe a CX race at Red Rocks.  They thought it was nuts--they happened to see a couple guys in the CAT III event (as they were getting tired near the end of the race) catch a shin, or worse-actually trip and fall-as they attemped to clear the hurdles.  After a nearly 6 hour ride on Saturday, I thought my legs would never survive the CX race on Sunday and so I was --yes--merely a spectator.  Sipping my cider, I felt I'd made the right choice!  Otherwise, not much new.  Now that the NRC schedule is out for 2007, the team and I can begin picking our races.  As we get to know one another a bit better, I really feel excited and happy with my decision to join the team and help it develop.  I also feel--as I do every November--that we spend the entire off season (November-February) making up for our Octobers!! Why is it that sweets and junk food always sound better the less we ride...so not only are we burning less calories, but we're consuming more...sigh, it's back to the serious business now and eating, as well as diligent training, is under way.  Life is good-albeit cold-here in CO.  And maybe eventually, I'm gonna enter a CX race!   

October 26, 2006:

Ok I just spent more time than I care to confess reading other local riders' online journals...theirs are all so much funnier than mine!  but very informative--telling about how they see events and how they prepared, felt, trained, and the other things they do in their lives besides cycling.  It's pretty cool.  Something about cyclists--we all think we need a webpage to babble on, and turns out, we all have a page and do plenty of babbling--myself included!  But hey, I'm in CO where it's snowing for the 3rd time in 3 weeks, so I can't ride outside--what else to do?  Read other riders' blogs!!  Be sure to check out my favorite rider, Kelly Benjamin--she's got herself a new page  (and hers is really funny!).  I've decided to make my online journal non-password accessible starting now...even tho mr. whatshisface really soiled the whole "posting my race stories online"  experience when he sent that nasty email last summer telling me "that's not how the race (that I wasn't at) went down!"  I've decided--who cares-what, does he write to CNN and say "you misstated the facts?"  The internet is the information superhighway and I think I'm entitled to tell my stories however I'd like!  Besides...what fun is it to have an online journal if few people can read it!   That said, I don't see the point in having every single race recap from 2003 until now on here--how boring!!  So...my NEW AND IMPROVED journal will begin with the following announcement about my 2007 plans:

IT IS OFFICIAL!!!!

 After a few months of silence, I can now speak openly about the recent development in my racing career...

I will continue racing for MRRC-Trek/VW at all non-NRC events which is very exciting!  Many thanks to Jay Thomas and Dan Hansen, co-owners of the Trek Store of KC for continuing to support me and my DFT team of ladies, as we pursue our dreams.  I am looking forward to another season racing for these guys, who hail originally from Nebraska and truly are motivated not by the bottom dollar, but by their love of the game--cycling.  The world needs more guys like them, in my opinion.

The new news, however, relates to all of the major NRC events...I will be racing for a pro team called (for now) Champion Systems (formally, Argon18/Champion).  Fortunately for me, I will be racing with a woman that I met towards the end of the 2006 season and absolutely adore--Nicky.  The team is going to provide great support to us at national races and I know we've got the strength on our squad to be contenders on the national level.  Nicky especially brings a lot of racing experience to the team, as you can see from her resume!  What's really great about our team is that we all have careers outside of racing, and we all have different strengths, so that each of us will have the chance to work for others, but also, be worked-for.  It's truly exciting and I cannot wait to see what 2007 holds for us!!!

Our team website is www.vitessecycling.com

*** 

 October 6 2006--commute scare, and CX...

...so I'm leaving our place this morning to ride in to work; it's dark, but I've got my headlight on and I am fussing with stuff to get situated.  As I cruise out a little critter catches my eye--cute squirrel, no wait, maybe a badger, too big to be a squir...oh #$#%^ it's a SKUNK and it's chasing me up the road!!  Seriously--I had a brief vision of him spraying my backpack with my work clothes in it and me stinking all day long!  Luckily for me, skunks aren't fast and I out ran him-hah!  On another note, my new cyclocross frameset arrived yesterday from the TREK STORE OF KC--it's solid black-pretty cool!  The biggest difference between a road bike and a CX bike is the brakes--CX bikes use canti-lever brakes, similar to MTB-so that you have wider clearance for wider tires.  You don't use tires quite as thick as MTB, and you use your road wheels, but a thick and knobby tire to get through the dirt and mud (and snow, where applicable).  I hope to have it assembled by tonight so I can practice mounting/dismounting this weekend and race the next weekend here in town.  I hate feeling like the "new girl" again-not much of road racing carries over and CX is mostly an individual sport; not much in the way of team tactics.  But, it'll be the same deal for MTB and track racing--lots to learn--so I am getting used to realizing how little I really know about biking in its various forms!

***

October 2, 2006: "career" vs dreams...

UPDATE: they've decided to let me defer until fall 2007, so I have one more season to get serious about racing, or get on with my career!  So, I had my big final meeting/interview with the head honcho in Denver from the federal agency I've applied for.  I'd passed the assessment center in SanFran, the polygraph, the written tests, the background investigation, and this was the final sit down with me and Rob, to make sure we understand all that the job entails, before they place my name on the list for enrollment in the next open academy class (3 months in DC).  The interview was very enlightening in many, many ways, and I was a bit (ok, very) disappointed that the chances of me getting to use my law degree sounded slim.  Further, my chances of staying in Denver were even more slim.  Sadly, they made it perfectly clear that owning DFT, teaching spin classes, coaching clients--all would have to stop.  There is no time for side ventures, nor are you allowed to pursue them.  Training, racing, riding with Rob--those things would go from being the norm to the exception...when the job allowed for them.

For the first time in my life, I am faced with the prospect of "starting a career."  Not just one or two year commitments, but a 20-year+ career that would conclude with retirement.  For most people, the prospect of retiring at 50, manditorily at 57, is pretty cool.  The government of course has nice benefits...so what's my problem?  It should be a no brainer--we should all want to make more $ and retire early right?  I think that's the concensus for most.  The problem is--I can't race my bike when I'm 50, I can't do an Ironman in Kona when I'm 50, I can't compete in the Olympics when I'm 50...Sure I'll make more $ but at what point does a person sell out their dreams?  Watching parents, co-workers, family members retire--they all share the same regret: "there are so many things I wish I'd done when I was younger." 

Coming out of the interview last night, I had a lot of things on my mind and felt a general sense of confusion, and urgency to make the right decision.  However as I sat and sort of processed, one thing became perfectly clear to me: I have never wanted to race my bike more--and succeed at it--than I did while I was sitting in that office.

***

Parker, part III: Well, I can't say this weekend has left a positive taste in my mouth for racing with teammates.  Going into today's crit, I was highest in GC at 9th place, of the 5 gals on the CPT team.  So luckily, the team leader (Nicky) approached me with the day's plan: I was to sit in and rest the entire race while they shot off the front and attacked, and when I felt it was time, I was to get off the front in a break--preferably with the gals sitting high in GC.  GREAT PLAN by me!  Rob was not given a radio today, which was a bummer...it would end up costing me later in the race.  I'm not sure if the team director felt that Rob was trying to run his show or what, but anyways, I really missed his voice on the radio...race starts--a crash goes down right there as we leave the line, how stupid (mental note not to be riding next to those girls today!) and off we go.  I'm sitting near the back...rolling on the deep-dishes again today (have I mentioned how much I WORSHIP those wheels!), essentially coasting through the turns and taking it pretty easy.  Dotsie was also hanging out in the back and I could keep an eye on the race developments, so I felt good.  One of our CPT girls takes a $100 prime, then I think another grabbed a $50 prime.  (They announced at the start they would be giving out 4-$100 primes, 2-$250 primes, and 1-$500 prime).  About 20 minutes into the race a crash goes down in the tighest corner--I saw it happening from aways back and was able to slow, and then ride though, the down riders.  They were the big names and the GC contenders.  They all got back in at some point; the race continues.  They announce another $100 prime, which I had no intention of going for--then as we round the backside of the course, my wheels' momentum carried me right up the left side of the course and off the front and whoops--I'm sprinting for, and taking, the $100 prime!  Nice.

  So back to the back of the pack for me, to rest up for the end of the race; the field is mostly single file for the middle 1/3 of the race, lots of stuff going on at the front.  Finally clock reads 12 minutes to go and I'm thinking it's about time for me to pull a breakaway.  Weirdest thing happens again-as we round the back side (which by the way is into this WICKED headwind), the pack sort of checked up and was slightly to the right--giving me just enough room to blow from the back of the pack up the left off the front-by the time I rounded the next corner, Rob said I'd made up 4 seconds on the pack in one straightaway.  Off went I, and my deep dishes, and saw the sign--6 laps to go.  Ok, I'm committed to this and apparently no one's chasing.  I don't know, because no one is telling me anything on the radios, and Rob is screaming at me from the sidelines, but into the wind so I can't hear a damn thing.  So I just put my head down and turned myself inside out.  5 laps to go.  Good god, I am dying.  Snot is running out of my nose, my legs are toast and my HR monitor is showing #s higher than I've ever seen.  4 laps to go and oh crap--they're ringing the bell: "$500 prime on the line for the winner of this lap."  Man they are gonna hunt me down for this $.  But I keep hammering...and I hear "keep going Megan, they're not chasing."  So I keep going and I roll through the line, another $500 richer.  3 laps to go.  Ok, do I have legs at this point-are they attached??  Thank god for these wheels.  I hear that someone is attempting to bridge up to me.  What do I hear on the radio?  "Megan, she's a strong sprinter, so make sure you're on her wheel on the last lap."  Ah, hello, who said I'm gonna make it that long????  How about something that'll help me now--like a time split??  I guess we had almost 15 seconds on the field, but I didn't know it at the time; had I known, I would've taken just a second to catch my breath before laying it down again.  By the time she catches me I am really really hurting.  Spectators are cheering their heads off, and I'm catching small breaks behind this gal as we work together.  We're both so delirious that we're not really working well together though.  I look under my arm and see the pack getting closer.  I see 2 laps to go and I cannot see clearly anymore, it hurts so bad.  We keep it up and then-the pack catches us with 1.5 laps to go and I feel like stopping to cry right then and there.  I hop on a wheel on the back and hang on as the pack stretches out single file for the sprint.  We haul around the final lap and I survive for 27th place. 

Nicky ended up 4th in the sprint, another teammate took 7th or 8th.  They were able to sit and rest while the pack chased me down, so that they could be ready for the sprint--and they were very grateful for that, and thanked me profusely.  I was glad at least something positive came out of me not staying off the front for the win!  So, I ended up in 13th place overall in the omnium, not bad, but not what I wanted from this weekend--and had I played my cards differently yesterday, I think I could've eeked out one more lap from those legs of mine today...it's hard to say.  I have SO MANY REGRETS from the way things went this weekend, but am also looking at the bright side--no crashes, I made a lot of $$$ and I earned a couple upgrade points to get closer to my CAT I status...this was the last road event for me for the 2006 season...(Unless I do cyclo-cross, in which case, I'll be racing from now till December!)

Velo news write up at: http://www.velonews.com/race/dom/articles/10890.0.html

***

Parker Omnium (NRC), September 15-17, 2006, Parker, CO, part I-II:

This is the first time I've ever ridden with a team-we have a group of 5 us of suiting up for CPT-Colnago (www.cpt-colnago.com).  I was asked to join them as a guest rider and I believe the basis for asking me was to add a work horse to the squad to help them with their #1 girl.  However, I set all of that aside when yesterday, totally surprisingly, I took 2nd place in the TT.  It was 7.7 miles long with a nice long climb in the middle of it and I clocked a time of 17:48.  I had the CPT skinsuit going and of course, my bontrager Aeolus wheels (god those things are magic!) and away I went.  I hurt so good the entire time and was shocked when, as I crossed the line, I heard the announcer say I had posted the 2nd-fastest time of the day.  And the few riders that came across after me didn't beat it--so a 2nd place finish in an NRC event.  I've never finished top 20 in an NRC event, let alone top 3--I was stoked!  And so was the CPT team.  After the TT I was promised that the other 4 girls would work for me and protect me in the RR on Sat since I was sitting so high in GC.  The hardest part of the day? I had to rush home and change and get into work...that was tough mentally to make the switch when my competitors were all home eating and napping and staying off their legs!

Today, the plan completely changed.  As we sat and warmed up the team manager, Chris, informed us that the plan was for ALL FIVE of us to begin attacking the field, often, and early.  The race was 63 miles--3 times around a TOUGH and hilly 21-mile loop.  It was up up up with not much down.  Rob advised me to race my Bontragers in the RR--which made me nervous but it paid off.  So doing what I was told (contrary to what i knew about what it would take for me to do well in the RR, which was to sit in and wait for the decisive breakaway to get established and then jump on it and hold on till the end), and I began my attacks on the field in the very first lap.  I could tell I was burning up matches right and left, but the other 4 girls on the squad were all doing the same...it didn't make much sense to me but hey--they're the pros, right???  Fast forward to the end--of the 50 women that started, there were about 20 of us left--only 3 of us still in from the CPT squad.  A break gets off the front in the middle of the last lap and I watched them ride away--my legs were toast and there wasn't a thing I could do about it.  As we neared the finish, which featured a tight right hand, through a roundabout, and then a hard left and then sprint to the line, I went to the front and stretched it out (I wanted to take the roundabout first) and I felt both of my quads seize up.  Not good.  I kept it going, and as we took the roundabout and made our way to the final corner, girls started coming around me and I was helpless to do anything about it.  I ended up in 15th place, which puts me in 9th place overall.  TOP TEN IN AN NRC EVENT--and there are some big names here, like Dotsie Cowden and some of the Lipton girls and large squads of Vitamin Cottage and JR Engineering...and a bunch of other really fast girls.  Tomorrow's crit is fast and flat...not my kind of course, as well all know--but I think I can make up some spots on the overall GC...Sadly, the RR may've toasted my legs too much.  Therein lies my regret.  After the race, our team leader (top rider) advised me that I should've been kept fresh while the other 4 attacked, so that I would've been fresh when the break went.  That really bummed me out, I hate "shoulda-coulda."  But I am learning a lot, so no regrets.  The CPT girls are NICE AND AWESOME!  I just think that our plan today was not well thought-out and was very confused about why it differed so much from what I'd been promised yesterday.  Alas--these are not things meant for my understanding and I only hope my legs will allow me to do some damage control tomorrow...

results at: www.parkeronline.org

 

 

Swanky's crit, September 10:

Ok so I didn't race gore pass.  It was raining, about 30 degrees, and yucky there--and sunny and warm here in Denver...so I stayed home and trained.  Good news though--i'm 2 for 2 now: 2 races in colorado, 2 breakaways that stayed away--I've managed to get myself into the winning breakaway in back to back crits!  This time, it was me that initiated the break.  It was a crit in an office park--wide turns, a good little climb, lots of flat w/ headwind.  I took a couple of the bigger primes and then with 4 laps to go, shot off the front of the pack as we went up the hill and kept on hammering...luckily, 2 gals--one each from the 2 biggest teams (JR Engineering and Vitamin Cottage) bridged up to me.  We had to work our BUTTS off to make the break stick.  (I think I was at over 90% HR for 4 laps!!!)....it hurt!!!  But we stayed off and on the final lap, began our spint, which I of course--lost!  But I was happy to take 3rd place and lots of primes...apparently there was an issue with the gal that took 2nd place--her ponytail covered her race # or something, so they relegated her to 3rd and put me in 2nd.  But I really was 3rd.  It was a great race, and I feel I'm in good shape heading into next weekend--the last NRC event of 2006-a 3 day stage race right here in town.  I am going to be guest riding for a pro team, which is SOOOO Exciting!!  Team radios, team cars, the whole schebang!!  Results at:

http://www.americancycling.org/results/2006/sept/swankys.htm

***

Labor day weekend: LOTS O' HARD TRAINING...

Well the 2006 road season is wrapping up for some folks (check this out--it's great! http://www.kellybenjamin.blogspot.com/) but I've still got 2-4 weeks of hard core racing to go...next weekend is the next-to-impossible Gore Pass RR and Swanky's crit, follwed by the Parker Omnium (TT, RR and crit) the weekend of the 15th.  These are major events with lots of upgrade point-potential and so I chose to pass up racing this weekend so I could put in some very specific and regimented training--hoping to end my season with a bang and maybe earn enough points for that CAT I upgrade I'm after.

This weekend we drove up to Steamboart on Saturday (well, Kremmling, actually, but it's close) to pre-ride the Gore Pass Road race course.  Holy crap!!  It's at elevation over 9000 ft and begins with a 6 MILE CLIMB that will not quit!!  Then it's some rollers, and descents down to the bottom (tiny town can't remember the name) where we turn around and make the ascent back to the top--GORE PASS.  The final climb is a BeAST!!  it's there that I plan to make my final move--if I've still got the legs! 

Sunday we rode from home over to Lookout Mountain in Golden, where I managed to shave almost 2 minutes off my best time--I did the climb in 22:15.  The ride is only like 4.5 miles but it's all up and features several sharp switchbacks that make your legs really cry.  My best time was 24:00 flat.  The fast guys do it in 17-18 minutes..so I'm not far off.  By the end of this ride on Sunday, my legs were toast!

Today then, we decided to finish off the legs by riding Deer Creek Canyon, which is about 12 miles south of where we live.  Yeah, not as steep as lookout mtn, but literally featured a climb that took an hour and 15 minutes!!  Yowzas.  However, that earned us the most fun and exciting descent I've ever flown down--it was a great ride!!!  My legs are officially trashed and I'm looking forward to a few days off the bike and lots of eating to prepare for Gore Pass on Saturday...it's gonna be HARD!!!

August 27, 2006: Longmont Criterium, Longmont CO

Well, my 1st race as a Colorado-an.  2 goals: don't crash, thereby causing everyone to fear my handling skills, and, don't crash because I started my new job the next day.  Other than that, ZERO expectations.  We rode that morning (as afternoon t-storms were certain and we really didn't expect to race), and we'd also loaded and moved some furniture we'd purchased.  We fast-paced loaded up and drove the 50 minutes to Longmont.  When we arrived, my enthusiasm to race on a scale of 1-10 was about a 3.  I just wasn't in the mood and my legs were really tired from the last two weeks of hard training out here that I'd done (man, it's great when I don't have to work!).

Anyways, somewhat grudgingly, I unloaded my bike and got over to registration.  Holy cow--that's when I went from disinterested to seriously nervous--it was a good-sized women's 1/2/3 field, for a "little, unimportant race."  I figured there were at least 20 women, several names I recognized as the ones that are constantly winning races out there.  Then I saw Scott Monniger warming up for the pro men's race and it dawned on me--there is no such thing as a "little unimportant race" out here--even if the results don't matter, big names use these races for training and that's when I realized I needed to race my little butt off--it was the "first impression" I would make on local CO racing, and I wanted it to be a positive one.

So we line up and about 6 gals ask me "are you a mountain biker?"  They all recognized my team kit as that also worn by the national MTB team sponsored by Trek-Vw--and there is a pic of a blond wearing my team kit on the front page of usa cycling (MTB worlds, I believe).  Nope, just a roadie, I replied.  The race starts and immediately, it becomes obvious that 2 teams are going to be dominant: Vitamin Cottage and JR Engineering.  One gal from each of those teams shoots off the front--I bridge up to them, knowing it was way too early, but why not.  We stay off the front for a lap, they sit up, the pack rejoins us and two more gals--one from each of those teams--fly off the front.  I go with them...same thing happens.  I realize that this is a silly little game they're playing to try and wear out solo riders, such as myself.  Pack stays together, girls are kinda squirrely (it's a fast course, wide open corners, somewhat L-shaped, but lots of holes, ruts, etc on the course)...after a bit of just sitting in, I go to the front and take a monster pull for a full lap, stringing out the field to try and maybe dump a couple.    The pace stays high, I sit in awhile towards the front (a crash goes down in the back of the field), and then a prime or something gets tossed out and next thing I know, 2 Vitamin Cottage girls and 1 JR Engineering girl are well off the front.  I make my move, fly off the pack and bridge up within a lap or so.  Now it's the 4 of us-I pull straight through to the front and take a nice long pull hoping to improve our lead off the field.

It becomes all too clear that I've just inadvertently selected as breakaway-mates, 2-3 of the top sprinters in the race, who are NOT at all interested in being in a breakaway for about 27 more minutes.  I beg for some help, one goes to the front and takes a little pull (aka, sits up waiting for the pack), I go back to the front...I ask for help again, another gal comes up, and then the 2 teams start bickering about who is and isn't going to work and I'm thinking "hello, I'm on the front, just pull through, don't discuss it!"  Ultimately, I decided that if I had to do 100% of the pulling until the end, and take 4th place, that was still better than letting the pack rejoin us and possible risk crashing.  So I would pull through the S/F (tailwind) and around the back, I'd pull off as we got into the headwind section, and then would resume my pull as soon as we'd turned out of the wind.  I was killing myself with them sitting on for the ride, but I didn't want to see the pack again.

Finally, it's the last lap, and I know it's stupid to be on the front, but that's where I'm at, and as far as I'm concerned, it's gonna be a 4th place finish for me given how fresh I felt the other 3 should've been.  I hammered as hard as I could up the finishing stretch, didn't have the legs to stand and sprint, so just motored as hard as I could and near the line, all 3 came around me.  I ended up winning 2 primes unintentionally--ironically, one was a $100 Helly Hansen rain jacket (we've been shopping for weeks for a rain jacket since we're always getting caught on our bikes in the rain!).  Payout was only 3 deep so I missed the $$ but after looking at who I lost to--they are 3 of the biggest names in CO women's cycling...

results: http://www.americancycling.org/results/2006/august/longmont.htm

August 13, 2006: Overland Park criterium (day #2 of Tour of KC): it's usually a bit too much to expect two wins in the same weekend, but of course, that was my goal.  I planned to attack on the "hill" (slight rise for a block or so) on lap #3 and attempt to time trial the rest of the race.  Since it was only 35 minutes + 3 laps, I figured that was doable. Sure enough-I attacked on lap 3, and one gal came with me--Stacey Bertsch, the gal that was also in my breakaway on Sat.  She and I took turns pulling, hammering along, all was well.  Then spectators start screaming that Melissa, Stacey's teammate, was attempting to bridge up to us from the pack.  So Stacey sat up and refused to work.  This is classic team tactics, and I understood her reasons for doing so, but I listened as our 24 second gap came down and Melissa was nowhere in sight.  I really began to hammer, knowing that if Melissa caught us, she and Stacey would take turns attacking me until I was worn out.  Eventually, Melissa caught on, at which point I attacked and we immediately dropped her.  At this point, I had been doing ALL of the work and Stacey was resting on my rear wheel.  I was feeling the effects of the efforts...so our pace slowed and again, Melissa caught on.  I wanted her to go through us, off the front, in the hopes of dropping Stacey in a lap, catching up to Melissa, and then dropping her, knowing she'd be tired from chasing us. 

No such luck.  Melissa went off the front of us, and we let her go a ways.  Finally, I thought, ok, now Stacey and I can get back to racing and fight for 2nd place.  Nope.  Stacey REFUSED to work.  She wouldn't take any pulls and when she would, her pace was so slow that the pack actually showed signs of catching us.  I was so frustrated.  Long story short, coming into the final corner to the S/F, I forced her to the front and I was on her wheel as we rounded the corner and began the sprint.  As I began to come around her, it became painfully obvious that I did not have enough sprint to beat her to the line.  So--a sad sad sad 3rd place finish, when at the very least, it should've been 2nd place.  Lesson learned: when in a breakaway and a teammate of the person you're working with is attempting to bridge, the race is between me and the person bridging, for 2nd place.  I would've been much better off just getting into time trial mode with sTacey on my wheel, keeping Melissa off our wheels and forcing her to continue to chase us.  Stacey would've then beat me at the sprint b/c she would've been fresh from not pulling, but 2nd place is better than 3rd!

August 12, 2006: well, it's techincally the day BEFORE my anniversary, but this race is the where Rob and I were wed last year, at the Cliff Drive Circuit Race right here in KC, MO.  A historic area, it features a course approx 2.9 miles long, with a semi-technical chicane/downhill on the back side, and more importantly, a ferocious little climb near the end, that takes its toll one lap at a time.  The women's 1/2/3 race was 7 laps long, not long enough in my opinion, when you consider that the pro 1/2 men did 18 laps, but nevertheless, the race was hard.  Luckily, as opposed to last year, there was no rain, only a bit of heat and a bit of wind...pretty much perfect conditions as far as I'm concerned. 

The women 1/2/3 lined up in front of the women 3/4 group...and we were off.  With 2 gals from Mercy in the group and a field of mainly CAT 2s, I knew it'd be stiff competition.  I sat in for the beginning of the lap, then as we approached the downhill chicane, I moved to the front so I could take my line.  Everyone pulled through and we approached the hill.  Deciding to take it seated, I just pedaled uphill and tried to push a nice big gear over the top; the group remained intact.  Again on the 2nd lap, I moved to the front for the chicane, and we all regrouped and did the hill together.  This time I lifted the pace a bit more in an attempt to wear the legs out on everyone else...as I pedaled over the top towards the S/F area, I realized there were 3 of us slightly off the front: Stacey B, Pam H and myself.  Both are strong gals and I felt sure we could stay away.  We took turns taking pulls, again I took the chicane on the front, and we hammered up the hill for the 3rd time--except Pam scolded me and said I needed to slow down or she would be dropped.  I decided our break was too new to lose a rider, so I slowed up slightly, and then the 3 of us settled into our pull routine and each lap thereafter, I would take the chicane on the front, and the big hill on the front...careful to keep the pace high enough to hurt, but not hard enough to drop either rider. 

Finally we found ourselves in a position where we no longer needed to worry about the chasing pack and our focus turned to the finish.  I began planning my last lap strategy and vowed to start my sprint at the base of the big hill, no matter how much it hurt.  I wanted this win SO MUCH last year, that I was unwilling to take anything less than 1st place.  I was more worried about Stacey than Pam, given Pam's comments, but it actually ended up being Pam rather than Stacey, who came closest to sticking with me.  However, my attack was strong enough that as I crested the top and grabbed a nice big gear, I looked back and saw them both back on the hill, and I knew I had the win.  Everyone on the hill was cheering SO LOUD--my legs were burning like crazy but their encouragement helped immensely!! I hammered a few more feet and then had the sheer joy and privilege of finishing far enough in front of my nearest competitor that I was able to sit up, with both hands up in the air, and smile nice and big...it was wonderful!!! 

Peter Greig, the race promoter, interviewed me afterwards and asked me which was better: getting married at the course last year, or winning this year...my response: my win today was the best anniversary present I could receive (in other words, no comment)!!  (And Rob had taken chalk and written on the hill "Happy Anniversary, Megan" just like on the roads of the Tour de France!)

Great news--this result earned me my first mention on velonews.com!http://www.velonews.com/race/dom/articles/10696.0.html

http://www.truesport.com/Bike/2006/results/tourofkc1.html

***

July 22: Jefferson City, MO Circuit Race (National Guard Evasive Driving course):

This was probably the coolest venue to date, that I've ever raced.  4 lanes wide and intended for automobiles going at high speeds, this circuit was super fun and fast.  It felt a bit like a velodrome, except not...in fact, it prompted a few of the gals to make "nascar engine noises" on the first lap...so that's what we were racing on.  Weather was gorgeous and as is typical with Big Shark-sponsored events, things were well-run and well-organized.  The standard "MO" women's field was there-Molly, Mindy, Melissa, Amy, Carla, Sheri and a couple others...what a FUN bunch of gals. Everyone has a respect for one another that means the racing is fun, no one gets nasty, and we all laugh and have a good time...it totally reminded me of why I like bike racing and erased any bad memories I had of local racing from June.  We started off nice and slow, then about 2 or 3 laps in, Molly jumped and it was down to 3 of us.  The group caught us, we sat up, then shortly thereafter I jumped.  I chose to go as we came through the S/F straightaway, which was into a noticeable headwind.  That brought it down to 4 of us, and one gal caught on, so then the race was down to 5.  We took turns pulling, heating things up, I think we all knew it'd come down to the final sprint.  For a second, I considered jumping on the one hill which was toward the end of the loop, but it was still 500m from the base of the hill to the finish line and I wasn't sure I could hold it that long.  So, it came down to the sprint, Molly and Mindi were duking it out and I was right on Mindy's wheel, prepared to come around--I attempted to grab one more gear and crap, I was in my 12 (39x12)-no more gear... and rapped out my RPMs -but it wasn't enough to come around them.  So, 3rd place.  But a fun race with fun competition!

Pre-move trip to CO, July 14-18: 2 trips up Cheyenne Canyon, Co spgs, CO.

I've done this climb probably 10 times over the last few years and it hurts EVERY SINGLE TIME.  Each trip we take to CO includes a jaunt or 2 up Cheyenne Canyon, which is near 7 Falls in the heart of Colorado Springs, CO.  The best times set on this climb were by Lance Armstrong and Miguel Indurain, clocking around 13 minutes.  We've been told the best "local" rider time is around 17 minutes.  Our best prior to this trip was 25 minutes.  On Saturday, it took Rob and me 23 minutes, which included a stop 1/2way up as I waited for Rob.  On Monday, we took it at our own paces and I shaved off 2 minutes, for a time of exactly 21 minutes.  It is SHEER AGONY.  The road just goes up up up and the switchbacks make you want to get off and walk.  Plus, being at an altitude exceeding 5000 feet makes the air feel so thin to us flatlanders, you swear your chest will explode--BEFORE your legs do--that is.  It's a great climb and we cannot wait to try it again once we're living there and are acclimated to the higher altitudes.  4 weeks and counting, before I'm a "Colorado resident!"

***

July 9: Shawnee Mission Triathlon, Shawnee Mission Park, long course

When the alarm went off this morning at 4:50am, I immediately remembered why I'd traded triathlon in for cycling.  Man, these guys start early!  My bike and backpack were all loaded, it was just a matter of making some coffee and getting over there.  I arrived nice and early, got my body all marked up and got my transition area all arranged.  My heat started at 7:15am, and I was there on the beach with plenty of time to spare.  Water temp was a balmy 84 degrees, so no wetsuit for me today.  The swim was .62mile, which felt more like 2 miles.  It took me waaaaay longer than I'd planned.  I was shooting for 20 minutes, treating the swim as a warm up.  Nope--more like 23 minutes.  T1 was fast, ran out, put the feet into the shoes on the go and I was on my way to 4 laps around the park.  I passed I don't know how many folks.  Those aeolus wheels did all the work for me, it seemed.  I was out for revenge after the time I'd lost in the lake.  The pavement was slick as it had rained while we were in the lake, and of course with any triathlon, saying "on your left" only makes them move over right in front of you, because they tend to be unsure of themselves on the bike.  I missed the "unspoken" rules of cycling then...these folks didn't know how to ride on the right, pass on the left.  It was like a human obstacle course!  The 18 miles took me a bit over 49 minutes.  As I approached T2, I heard this little girl say to her mom, "mommy, there goes the really fast girl."  Bless her heart, that kept me going through the run.

The run was 4.5 miles, but it may as well have been 12 miles.  Lord, how did I ever do marathons back in the day?  It seemed endless and both sides felt as though any moment a debilitating side ache would set in, leaving me walking to the finish.  I could only breathe shallowly, and was afraid to eat/drink for fear of setting it off.  I had to sort of bend over and also push my stomach out.  It must've been quite a sight, but it was all I could do.  I shortened my strides for the hill up the dam, and then settled into a "4 strides per exhale" rhythm for the remainder.  The back 3 miles wind through the trees and it's terribly quiet and desolate; I would've killed for an MP3 player!  I was reminded of one of the coolest parts about triathlons, though--everyone says "good job" as they pass you or encounter you from the other direction.  I think that's pretty neat.  As I approached the finish line, I asked myself "why are you unwilling to hurt running as much as you are on the bike?"  But was unable to determine the reason.  I finished in 1:52, giving me 7th place overall and the win in my age group.  Results: http://www.onlineraceresults.com/race/view_plain_text.php?race_id=3536

Incidentally, all day yesterday was spent nursing these 5 puppies and mommy dogs that I found alongside of the road.  So I was TIRED today during the race!  But I've successfully found homes for 3 puppies and have 2 puppies and the mommy so if anyone is interested, please email me at meghottman@hotmail.com!!

**

July 3: commuting.  As I rode to work today on what seemed desolate streets (did anyone have to work today??), I had the chance to reflect on how truly great it is to get to ride my bike to and from work most days.  There is no greater rush than to race a bus down Main Street, hoping to catch a green before it does, so that it can't pass me and blow smoke in my face.  Or finding myself stopping next to a car at a red light and getting a thumbs up from the passenger...plus, I feel my handling skills improving with each journey to and from the office, as I get bolder and more experimental.  But today, with all of the American Flags flying high and the roads empty, it was almost surreal.  Life is good.  It's good to be an American, and even better to be an American on her bike.  Happy 4th to those of you reading...

***

Reflections on this past weekend, generally: I learned a couple tough lessons in Baldwin City.  And I'm somewhat disappointed in myself.  This sport is about so much more than fitness and knowing race tactics.  It is about finding that fine line between grace and the killer instinct required to win.  It is especially difficult for female cyclists to find this balance, because we women tend to want others to like us, and we generally like to avoid confrontation.  How to reconcile these tendencies with the mindset that you've come to a race to win, regardless of the cost?  How do you burn bridges with your opponents during a race, yet befriend them before and after the event?  How do you eliminate the mindless chatter and backstabbing that ensues after every race? 

There is one female cyclist that stands out in my mind most on this issue: Tina Pic, arguably the best female US cyclist in the pro peleton.  I have yet to hear her say or read about her saying ANYTHING negative about her opponents, and she's one of the few women in the peleton that EVERYONE loves.  I hear people saying all the time "If I was going to lose 1st to anyone, I'm glad it was to Tina" because she's so darn lovable and respectable.  How does she do it?  After the race, when the adrenaline is still high...that's when you feel like verbally ripping your competitors to shreds, for all the crap they pulled on you during the race.  You see it all the time in Nascar, when the guys start throwing things at one another.  IT IS SO HARD TO KEEP QUIET in those moments following the final sprint.  Yet Tina's managed it for 15+ years of racing.  I found myself falling for the traps after yesterday's race, getting sucked into the rants and raves about the race and that's just not the kind of racer I want to be.  I've noticed that some of the pros, when they attend races, will park away from everyone and will pretty much stay to themselves.  I wondered if it was like an eliteist thing, or what?  And now I understand.  You have to distance yourself, both physically and mentally, from the games and the pettiness and the nastiness that can accompany women's racing.  It's sad, I know.  But we all know women can be pretty nasty to one another.  Why aren't we more like the guys?  Where, if it gets bad, it risks coming to blows.  And then once the punches are thrown, the waters are calm?  Women have to harbor resentment and envy and ill will for a LONG time...once a bridge is burned, it seems, it's irreperable.

So...while I won this weekend and am happy about that, I'm sad in the way things FELT to me afterwards...another lesson learned in this crazy sport we call cycling!

***

Stage 3 of BCSR: a couple more gals joined our group today, to give us a nice round # of 8 in the 1/2/3 field.  The course began with a 5-mile neutral roll out; we then did a 12 mile loop 3 times and then began the trek back to the S/F, which featured a 1/2 mile climb to the finish.  The weather was great-a nice north wind, and the course had some great rolling terrain.  The group stayed intact the entire time [I won't get into the tactics that were in play at my expense] and it came down to the 1/2 mile climb (as I'd hoped it would).  I measured out my efforts, and once I saw the 200m to go sign, I opened it up and sprinted to the finish line for the win.  It was enough to boost me into 1st place for the overall GC, so it was a great end to a tough weekend of racing.  MRRC teammate Adam Mills also had a successful race, coming in 1st in the men's 1/2/3 race!  I must confess I am looking forward to the 2-week hiatus I am taking from racing, looking ahead to the SM triathlon on July 9.  [I also received an apology email from Mr. Sheldon tonight, so I'm putting that madness behind me and have decided to make this page password protected, because it really is designed for friends, family and the women's team, only].

*** 

Stage 1 and 2 of Baldwin City SR, Baldwin City KS:

The TT was a "rolling hills"-filled 10K, standard out and back.  Weather was nice--a bit of wind on the way out and a tail/crosswind coming back.  My warmup was decent, my equipment worked great (have I mentioned how much I love those Aeolus wheels!?) and I posted a time of 16:something.  I debated at the end whether to stand and sprint and chose instead to stay seated in the aerobars.  Mistake.  The results showed I missed 1st place by ONE SECOND.  I hate that--100 opportunities to have gone just a bit harder, and of course, falling a second short.  In a points-type stage race, that is crucial.  [In a time based GC system, it wouldn't have mattered].  But 1st place got 15 points towards GC and 2nd place got 12.  So I began the weekend 3 points down on GC.  Less than 2 hours later I was warming up again, for the criterium.  We have 5 very strong women in the 1/2/3 event for the weekend, 2 of which are from Nebraska, and Andi Holste, a KS rider than recently moved out to CO (aside: she and I are Stoked about the fact that we'll live close to one another when I move to CO and she is a blast, so that'll be fun!), and a lady from OKC, OK.  We 5 lined up in front of a strong cat 4 field (they started them a minute after) and off we went.  The course was pretty technical-about 85% on cobblestones, with pretty tight and rough corners.  I went to the front on the first lap and shortly thereafter, I found myself, Andi and the gal from OK off the front.  Andi and I took turns heating it up and bit and soon found ourselves alone.  OK girl dropped back and began to work with the Kaos girls from NE.  Andi and I worked together and then I just physically and mentally began to shut down.  I don't know if it was heat, Nature Valley, dehydration, or what, but I found myself looking at the clock, finding we still had over 1/2 the race to go and debating whether I could continue.  Andi was doing almost all of the work-I couldn't help at all.  She kept giving me pep talks, making sure I was on her wheel--a total saviour!!  I told her-"no matter what happens, I am not contesting the win, this is your win, you've done all the work!"  We found our gap growing smaller and smaller, until the 3 girls were only 5 seconds back.  I suggested we sit up, rejoin the group and sprint it out at the end--I was out of water and feeling like crap.  ..."and then there were 5."  Andi remained on the front for the most part (um, can we say STRONG rider!?) until FINALLY we saw the card for 3 laps to go, then 2, and last lap.  Andi was on the front, OK girl behind her, and then me.  As we rounded the final corner onto the cobbles and slight rise to the finish, Marie Neville (Team Kaos) put her amazing bike handling skills to the test and came up on our inside.  I found myself watching Andi and Marie sprint to the finish and just focused on catching OK girl (she was the gal that beat me in the TT so I had to catch her!).  I caught her and closed in on Marie, but not enough: 3rd place, in one of the hottest and hardest crits I've ever done. 

The coolest part about the race??  Not only were the announcers and my husband and family screaming the entire time, the excitement of the 3 man pack catching the 2 man break had EVERYONE's interest--there were people cheering for us all, all over the course.  Rob said when they finally caught Andi and me, it sounded like someone had scored a TD in a football stadium--there was SOO much crowd involvement, it gave me the goosebumps!!   So--thanks to everyone that cheered, and to anyone reading this.  A great race with great competition--that's FUN!  Tomorrow boasts a fairly flat RR, which ends with a 1/2 mile hill to the finish.  I fear tonight's rain may have foiled the race for my male teammates, as their race was not scheduled until 6pm.  But we had a strong MRRC presence there, so I'm excited to hear how they came out!

Shown here: Dawn and me, post- TT:

***

June 23: this weekend is the Baldwin City Stage race, which features a TT and Crit on Saturday and a nice RR on Sunday.  The KCOI-boulevard team puts this event on and it's historically been very well-organized, with solid payouts.  Their team really makes it a point to bring in new female racers, and this year, they're offering free entry to unliscensed female racers for the RR on Sunday, which I think is fantastic!  It looks as though we'll have 3 women from the DFT competing and I know they'll make me proud...heck, I think helping them prepare will probably be more fun for me than racing my own events.  I am optimistically looking forward to the races, and to what I hope will be roadsides full of POSITIVE spectators, unlike the bunch I encountered last weekend.  I am bummed that Molly Vetter won't be racing, as she and I would've had a lot of fun...regardless, it's shaping up to a good weekend.  My elbow seems to have taken a small step backwards this week in terms of recovery, so I guess I'll STILL be wearing my silly fiberglass cast-thingy, to protect it in case I crash.  I will be so glad when I can put this injury behind me!  2 years ago when I did this race, I was a just-turned CAT 3 and it was my first race in the Kansas area, having moved here from NE just a month prior.  1/2way through the crit, myself and another gal got tangled up in the corner onto which the road becomes cobblestone...I practically tore the right side of my body off and had to nurse that road rash the entire summer while trying to study for the bar exam.  So--I'm hoping I do NOT have a repeat of that performance!  Thanks for reading-

***

Stage 4....5...and the Kansas State Crit Championships: June 18. Well, as of this recap, I'm back in KC.  Around mile 20 of stage 4 of NV, I found myself dangling off the back of the peleton, dangerously close to being spit out the back, and then the inevitable--I was off the back, the caravan was going by me, and then there I was, around mile 27 out in the middle of nowhere near Mankato, MN, with no flat tire stuff, no extra water, no cell phone, wondering how in the hell it had come to this and how to get back??  Long story short, I caught a ride back to Mankato, waited for Dawn to return (she was riding in the team caravan again) and we frantically packed our stuff at the hotel and returned home late last night.  While I wanted her to see Chillkoot hill first hand (stage 5) I also knew there were 2 good races going on today-one in Pittsburgh KS and one near StL, Mo. 

Rob and I decided to do the KS state crit, so bright and early this morning we went to Pittsburg.  5 of us lined up for the 1/2/3 race--2 of us CAT 2s, and 3 CAT 3s.  It's totally unfortunate that more women weren't there, because the Tailwind folks really put on a great race, and the course was nice and technical.  I wonder how we might get more involvement??  On the 2nd lap I took a hard pull at the front, which then brought it down to 3 of us in contention for the win.  It became immediately obvious that they were working together, and with 4 days of stage racing in my legs and still battling a fractured elbow, I wasn't exactly feeling fresh!!  On this day, I was subjected to race tactics which were very well-executed...and I had to pick the lesser of two evils: I was left with the choice of taking 2nd or 3rd place, and I chose to take 2nd.  The two ladies did not race for the same team, but they were working well together, taking turns attacking me...the writing was on the wall-I knew if I continued to chase them both down I would be completely worn out.  I thought I knew which one was the stronger rider, but apparently their deal was--it didn't matter which one of them won, as long as it wasn't me.  So I watched as one rode away with the win, as I sat on the wheel of the rider I had assumed would be the #1 of the pair.  After awhile, I asked her "are you really gonna let her win this?"  When she said yes, I sat on her wheel and that's where I stayed.  Had she said no, I would've WILLINGLY worked with her to chase the breakaway rider down!  But--in this situation, the best I could do was 2nd and I was willing to settle for 2nd to avoid the risk of 3rd.  After awhile the gal I was wheelsucking asked me "are you gonna just sit back there all day?"  to which I replied "you wanted to play teammates, you got your teammate up there, I'm sitting right back here and I got all day, so you ride as slooooow as you want."  And there I sat.  With 3 laps to go, I tried an attack, but she's a strong rider.  So I got myself situated right back behind her and after the last corner on the last lap, sprinted around her for 2nd place.  Here's where the story gets funny.  Her friends, family, etc all started YELLING at me and pointing their fingers in my face when I went to retrieve my wheel from the wheelpit.  I said to one of them--I'm not here to make friends, I'm here to race.  That was racing.  They clearly had no clue that the two gals had made their little bed together and I forced them to sleep in it.  Heck--they all should've been excited--their tactical plan worked and it kept me from winning.  They had raced a very smart, tactical race.  I am pooped, but in one piece and enjoyed every minutes of NV, except the part where I got dropped!

***

Stage 3: the plot continues to thicken.  At 6pm tonight, as we were beginning to unload the bikes, warm up, etc, the skies above downtown minneapolis opened up and one of the worst storms i've ever witnessed, transpired right above my head.  The winds were in excess of 60mph, there was massive flooding instantly in the streets, the manholes overflowing and turning into geysers (sp?) hail the size of peas, and then walnuts, and some the size of golf balls, fell from the skies.  See:

Molly Vetter and I had ridden over to sign in for the stage when the storm hit, so we found ourselves huddled with our bikes underneath one of the only awnings, bracing ourselves against the building with our faces inches apart, asking one another "are we ok?"  We were trying to keep our eyes covered because the hail was bouncing everywhere.  It was nuts...and we stood there in the cold, getting stiff, saying "surely they won't make us race??"  But--less than an hour later, after the rain and hail let up slightly, there we were lined up on the start line.  I had little to no warm up, my pre-race routine was crap and I was thinking the whole time, what are we doing!?!?  The storm had shaken a lot of leaves out of the trees, which were held in place on the wet streets, just waiting to whisk a wheel out from under a rider.  There was standing water everywhere and oh--by the way--you cannot go more than 4 or 5 feet on this criterium course without encountering a manhole, which when wet, feels like glass under your bike.  Luckily, they made the call to shorten our 50 minute race to 30 minutes, and you had to survive 15 minutes before getting pulled, in order to get to go onto tomorrow' stage.  So--that was my one and only goal.  Last 15 minutes, and no crashes.  From the gun, the pack was single file. I think we started with 100 gals tonight and we were all one behind the other.  The course has a lot of corners and a hairy chicane, so the pack started splitting immediately. I found myself in a group of 15 or so, which contained Molly, and it felt comfortable, so I moved around within that bunch and just waited for the clock to reach 15 minutes.  Around minute 18 or so, i flew up the side of our pack and took the next lap just off the front, hoping to ensure my safety, as the pace had quickened.  As I flew through the Start/finish, the head official asked us to retire (official word for "you're pulled")--i looked down--minute 21.  Whew.  I get to race tomorrow!  So--safely home and bracing myself for 86 miles in what's looking to be guaranteed rain and t-storms all day tomorrow.  This week is trying turning into a race of attrition.  As I'm barely hanging on to the bottom of GC, I am excited to hit the hills, starting with tomorrow's circuit and then of course, Stillwater on Sunday with the 23% climb. 

***

Stage 2: two things: wind & crashes.  While I didn't lose any skin today, unlike about 40-50 gals, including tina pic (um, yeah...4 crashes before we even got to mile 16--the first crash happened at mile 3.  Seriously!??), I did gain a lot of time between myself and the front group.  I am now 11 minutes down on the top GC rider.  That's the bad news.  But let me reaffirm the good news--I have all my skin, my elbow hurts but it's no worse, and my bike isn't all busted up!!!  The WINDS were sooooo bad.  Gutter riding the whole time...and we had a 2-mile stretch on gravel, that was fun.  At some point, myself and Megan Elliott (Argon) found ourselves the only 2 out of the draft and in the gutter--add a crash and some gravel and OOPS, just like that, she and I were off the back, with the main group just 200-300 meters in front of us...and into a headwind, we COULD not catch back on.  So we looked behind us and found a group of 15 or so gals coming, so we chatted a while and sat up, waiting.  The nice thing about the smaller group was safety.  Sadly, the group just would not work together to get us into town.  A couple Colavita gals, one Victory gal, and some others...many of whom I could not BELIEVE were that far back...we all did what we could to get back to town those last 30 or so miles.  Gorgeous country roads, beautiful weather (when not into the wind)...we were stopped shortly before reaching the finishing circuit, where we were informed that we would be assigned a time 11 minutes down on GC and would not be allowed to enter the circuit and finish the race.  FINE WITH ME!!  My legs were trashed and mentally, after being behind 4 crashes and witnessing the carnage, I was happy to be done!  So--tomorrow nite, the Minneapolis crit, where I crashed last year.  And there's a good chance of rain, too.....

Nature Valley Stage 1: 4.5 mile TT in downtown St. Paul.  well my time was 10:44, which put me in 63rd place out of nearly 140 women.  So i'm happy with that. it was better than my time last year, and good enough to beat the women I am usually competing against back home.  My equip worked REALLY well--loved the deep dish Aeolus 6.5s--man those things hum!!  weather is decent here, all is well.  our RR tomorrow night doesn't start until 545pm.  Also, for whatever reason, I finally have my nerves under control.  Usually these big NRC stage races get me so nervous I can't eat or sleep.  This time, perhaps because I've been here before, I am calm and collected and can do just what needs to be done!  results, etc at: www.naturevalleygrandprix.com/teams/

shown here with Molly Vetter, Mesa Cycles, from Columbia, MO:

 

and finishing with a sprint:

Nature Valley Grand Prix, June 14-18: yeah, yeah I know my last entry didn't sound so optimistic, but here i am in MN, with my friend Dawn along for the ride.  The hotel is great, location is great, legs feel awesome, elbow is...there.  Tonight is the TT-4.5 miles, mostly flat. The winning time last year was around 9:30...there are 142 women registered for this event, which is 30 more than last year, isn't that amazing!!  I am rider #7 to go off tonight.  Bring on that TT ramp baby--that thing won't freak me out this year!!  I get to run the deep dish Aeolus wheels again-this time in dry conditions-and can't wait to see how they do!  Life is good, and I am SOOO glad to be here!  Dawn and I got out and rode an easy hour this morning, now we're resting a bit before we head to downtown St Paul, where the TT will be right along the water front.

Injury update, and other stuff...June 9, 2006

So I just finished reading up on one of the women in the pro peleton I admire most, Dotsie Cowden.  While I've raced against her at a few of the bigger NRC events, she has no idea who I am, or that I admire her!  I knew she'd overcome some tough times prior to becoming a cyclist, but I had no idea to what extent...you should read about her: http://dotsiecowden.net/.  The other thing about her website, and mine frankly, made me laugh--aren't we cyclists just a self-important little bunch??  We write these little online cycling journals in the hopes that someone out there really wants to know about our training and racing and other adventures...I don't know if anyone out there does or not--for me, it's a way of memorializing what I go through each weekend, for future reference and so I can see (I hope) how far I've come.  And sometimes, what happens to us is just downright funny...

That said, I'm not feeling so funny right now as, nearly 2 weeks after my bad crash in Nebraska, I am forced to come to terms with this fractured elbow.  I spent the better part of 5 minutes last night, stradling my bike, attempting to shift with my left arm and simply could not do it.  The pain was too fierce--it feels as tho the bones in my left forearm will split if I push any harder.  Then my arm hurt the rest of the night and again this morning.  2 things--1) there's no way I can possibly race competitively in Minnesota at Nature Valley if I can't get in and out of the big ring as often as I like and 2)even if I could, the pain I'd be in after a couple days of racing would be tooo much...any bump in the road would have me grimacing and trying to let go of the bars--not good when you're in a pack of 120 women.  so with only 9 hours remaining until registration closes, it is with great sadness that I think I'm willing to admit I can't go, and that this entire season has been a disaster so far...sadly, this was the season I felt was most important of all for me, as it would decide: pursue the law or pursue the bike?  These injuries have taught me to (1) always bring 2 seats along and (2) ride more defensively, even if it means pushing another rider off the road, and most importantly (3) your hopes and dreams can be snatched from you in the blink of an eye, whether from a bike crash, car crash, whathaveyou...so don't take anything for granted and go for everything along the way...in a twisted way, I am hoping these setbacks will help me grow as an athlete, to accept disappointments with grace and to race like a bat out of hell when I'm healthy again, because every race could be my last...

Kansas State Time Trial, Walnut, KS--40K

Well after much careful thought and deliberation, Rob and I decided that it would be downright stupid for me to risk my entire season (by crashing on my elbow, thereby guaranteeing myself a cast and no bike for the next 6 weeks, at the least) on a couple crits (albeit, very WELL-paying crits) in Tulsa.  So around 10am on Saturday, we made the call to stay home, and decided that I would race in the TT on Sunday morning.  While I knew that I would be the only woman in the 1/2 category there, I still wanted to post the fastest woman's time and maybe beat a couple of the men.  So--I drug my butt outta bed at 430am, hit the road by 5 and almost missed the close of registration at 730 (rural roads are SO poorly marked!).  It had rained on and off the whole way there, but it looked as though it would hold off during the TT.  I only had about 40 minutes to warm up, switch out wheels, etc so I was rushed and under-warm by the time I rolled up to the start.  I had my brand spanking new Bontrager Aeolus 6.5 deep dish tubulars on the bike and thought I was all set.  I had a successful start, and was off. 

No less than 2 minutes later, the skies opened up and I found myself in a monsoon, with lightening striking right next to the road (it seemed) and with my deep dish rimmed-wheels, was being blown all over the road, with my left arm of course no help at all.  Nice.  I couldn't even stay in my aerobars, I was so out of control of my bike and felt at any moment the wheels were going to come out from under me--I felt like I was riding rollerskates on ice--no traction whatsoever.  And to top it off, all of my very BEST equipment was getting absolutely soaked.  I couldn't see out of my glasses, and I couldn't see with the glasses off, because the rain was hurting my eyeballs...all I could see was the yellow line and all I could think about was "seriously, I skipped the crits, so I could come to some po-dunk town just to crash on my elbow in the rain during a silly TT!?!?"  About 6 miles in, I actually stopped and got off my bike, to ready myself for a u-turn back to the start-I felt I was just risking it too much.  One of the guys that started after me went flying by and told me to keep going. He seemed so comfortable-I thought maybe I was just being a baby about it.  So I got back on, held onto my drops for dear life, until the course veered right, which put the crosswind at my back and gave me a tailwind to the turnarond.  I started braking for the turn about 1/2 mile out--with carbon rims, you must use a special brake pad, which resembles cork.  You might realize then, that wet cork is worthless, which it was.  I'll bet I gave up 5 minutes on the turnaround alone, just to be sure I didn't tip over.  Here's the funny part: because my left arm is so dysfunctional I could not shift up into my big ring, and when I tried to reach over with my right arm, I about tipped myself over...so I had to do the whole TT in my little ring...that is NOT good news when you're doing a TT.

Of course, with every tailwind must come a headwind, which I battled forEVER on the way back!  As the course veered back left, towards the start/finish, I was FINALLY able to settle into a rhythm and vowed to try and recover some time.  Sadly, as I went thru the finish, I learned my stop and turnaround had cost me dearly--I looked down at my watch to see that it had taken me about 10 minutes longer than I'd planned.  ***

6-2-06 injury update:  ortho doc informed me this morning that my elbow is in fact fractured at the radial head.  they don't cast adults, however, because it causes frozen elbow.  he said i should be 100% healed in 3 months, feeling much better within a month. when i asked if i could race on it, he said "if you crash on it again, you will likely have a bone sticking out of your skin and will spend no less than 6 weeks in cast."  So there it is folks, isn't this a great season so far???  Next weekend in Tulsa features the BIGGEST payout I've ever seen in women's racing.  How fortunate for me.

monumental memorial day weekend race, beatrice ne

It would figure that my 1st crash of the season would be a doozy.  The 1st RR featured combined fields of women, men masters 35+ and Cat 4 men.  The winds were ferocious, everyone desperate for the draft...about 25 miles in, the pack began to split--most of the women were off the back of the main field, except myself and 2 others.  the pace picked up and i could tell many, including these 2 women, were in trouble (tho i was feeling great!)--it was a decisive moment in the race and i was right where i needed to be-- near the front, and in the draft.  the draft was to the right--i was on the very right side of the lane, actually outside the white line--and we're hauling along as the guys on the front realize the distress of many...next thing i know, some dufus is next to me saying "on your right" and when he realizes there's no road for him there, he leans down into me, and we both went down hard.  we might've locked handlebars and he jerked away, or else he just came in on me-i honestly cannot remember.  i just remember hearing my head smack the road hard, followed by my elbow and lower back somehow.  when my eyes opened, i asked him what the hell he was thinking, and looked at my bike.  my left arm hurt a lot and my jersey was torn to shreds; my helmet also sustained some serious damage.  i had a huge knot in my lower back and major road rash on my butt.  but i managed to get on my bike gingerly and began to ride; i wasn't sure if i could, and i had to hold my left arm in towards my stomach-it hurt so bad...i didn't know how long i could continue riding like that but a mile or so later, i came upon all the racers in the road--the races had been neutralized so there they all were!  i had my bike looked at and tried to see if my elbow would function--i couldn't bend my arm or squeeze my hand...not good.  long story short, i bailed on the race and drove the 3.5 hrs back to KC and went straight to the ER, where i feared the worst--an arm cast for weeks.  the xrays revealed no cracks, but some bleeding and major swelling in the soft tissue.  i am in a sling, but basically free to ride as soon as i can stand the pain...gotta love those soft tissue injuries...my bike did sustain some damage, & worst of all, i was feeling so strong and was looking forward to the next couple of days of racing--plus, client Dawn was there, trying her first stage race and i abandoned her... i hope she wins it all, just for me!! 

***

Stage 5: GILA MONSTER Road race

Well, not sure which hurts worse right now: my butt after being on that tiny saddle for 5 days, or my pride. Around mile 12, I got chewed up and spit right out the back of the group today.  I wasn't the first one to blow, that's for sure.  But there I was--12 miles into a 77 mile road race, riding along all by myself.  I knew Rob was at the feed zone around mile 40, so I decided to turn it into a training ride to that point.  A woman came from behind me and she and I took turns taking pulls for those long 30 miles out there.  I almost had myself convinced to finish the race, no matter how far behind I was.  When I saw Rob around mile 40, he told me "heck no you're not finishing--you're going to start getting ready for next weekend's race.  The hardest part of today is in the next 30 miles."  So-reluctantly, I crawled into the truck and called it quits on the race.   After almost 260 miles, with about 37 miles to go, I quit.  I hate being a quitter and I hate seeing a DNF next to my name.  But Rob is right--those 37 miles would've destroyed my legs, which are already destroyed...and I really want to do well at Joe Martin next weekend--lots of climbing, but minus the altitude.  It features an uphill TT that I'd really like to try and win.

Time for a nap before we begin the 18 hr drive back to KC.  Until next weekend-

m

Stage 4: Silver City Criterium

Well, today really didn't change much.  Early on in the crit, I decided that my goal was to sit in, stay in the draft, and conserve as much as possible for tomorrow's final stage.  Today's course had a nice little hill in it, and based on how the women around me were breathing for 27 laps, I could tell their legs are toasted.  So-that makes me feel a bit better...as mine weren't terribly fried.  At a bit less than a mile per lap, this was a long crit--it took us about 1:08 to do the 27 laps (I'm used to 45 minutes!).  The town was super supportive and there were a lot of spectators, which was wonderful.  With about 12 laps to go, there was a group off the front that had been there awhile.  I sprinted off the front of my group and attempted to bridge up--spent about a lap out there and decided to sit up and get back in the draft.  I stayed on the back, until with 2 laps to go, the women I was following let a gap open in front of them, and before you knew it, we fell off the back.  I HATE it when that happens--because you can see it happening and you're almost powerless to stop it.  So I did the last 2 laps alone and that was that. 

Results as of tonight: I'm 46th out of 59.  That means we've lost 10 women since day #1.  I have my work cut out for me tomorrow on the "GILA MONSTER," but I truly think I can manage to get back 8-10 minutes on GC if I play my cards right.  

(there's me on the back)

 (there's me on the right)

Stage 3: Inner Loop Road Race:

Well, thankfully, today went a bit better than yesterday, not that you'd know it by looking at my results.  Today's RR was around 80 miles, and feature 3 category 3 climbs.  Those suckers are TOUGH= long, grinding, unending climbs...but not nearly as steep as yesterday's.  I knew we were in trouble when the pace started high and stayed high--within the first 10 miles, the pack had split and Rob told me later girls actually turned around to the start and announced they were quitting.  I could not stay on the first group, so I settled in and found myself in a nice-sized group of about 15-20 women...we worked well together on the nasty technical descents and straightaways--it was a good chance to talk with some of the gals and make my presence more known.  hindsight--I should've just sat on the back, not taking pulls, and not caring if they knew me or not--i spent a bit too much there on the middle 1/3 of the race in that group.  As we approached the first feed zone, I chucked my one bottle (the other had fallen off my bike at the start) and looked for Rob.  I didn't see him and as I reached the end of the feed zone, in a moment of desparation I asked another team if they had extras-they had one, and bless her heart, the woman ran it up to me.  That bottle was then to last me the next 40 miles--as feed zone wasn't until mile 62.  I knew I was in trouble.  Whereas I planned to get about 7-8 bottles in me, I now would be lucky to get 4.  The race started later in the day--so it was nice and hot...I just knew no matter what, if I started cramping, my week was done. 

After awhile, the group I was in began asking their teams via radio, how far back off the front group we were.  When they learned we were only 2 minutes back, they put the hammer down.  Shortly thereafter, we rejoined them.  Around that time the wind really began to pick up, so I was grateful for the extra refuge.  I was completely out of water, biding my time until the 2nd feed zone at mile 62.  There was my savior--Rob--with 2 bottles, shoving gels into my back pocket.  I said "I know you've got a good reason for not being at the feed zone earlier" to which he replied, "yes I do."  Then I was off, on the first of 3 long climbs.  I stayed in the draft on the back of the group for the first two, but by the 3rd, the lack of water and the work I'd done with the smaller group, caught up with me.  I found myself slipping off the back with a couple other women.  We 3 ended up working together until the finish--and oops--we sorta sat up and chatted the final 1/2 mile or so, which probably cost me about 2 minutes in overall GC.  I was just so tired and exhausted...and the wind--my god, the wind--it had grown so fierce...

At the finish line, Rob explained that the officials wouldn't let him pass our group out on the road to get to the feed zone.  So he had panicked and tried to find another way there, but it wasn't possible.  He felt so bad about it--but it all worked out.  I never cramped up and with just a crit tomorrow, I've got an entire day to rehydrate.  Sadly--Sunday's course is the reverse of what we did today...and those steep nasty descents are gonna look HORRIBLE going up!  As of now--I'm sitting 48 out of 64 women remaining.

 

Stage 2: 73 mile RR, Silver City to Mogollan:

I cannot even begin to describe how difficult today’s stage was. We left Silver City at 8:25am and I arrived at Mogollan 3:50 later, approximately 72 miles and one crash later! I taped the two sprints, feed zone, and beginning of the massive climb to my stem. I made sure to be in the middle of the pack as we approached the first sprint so that I didn’t get dropped; this plan worked very well. Most of the roads were flat, or descents--we rode our brakes quite a bit. As we approached the 2^nd sprint, around mile 35, a massive crash went down right in front of me. The road was wide open, flat, the speed wasn’t even that fast--I have no idea what caused it, but all I know is that one minute I’m chilling in the back chatting w/ a girl from CO and the next, I’m watching girls pile up on top of girls, peel off down into the ditch and as I slammed on my brakes, a little tiny spot emerged, which gave me enough space to stop my bike, get off it, walk through the carnage and keep going. I found myself in a select group of about 10 women, with about 20 up the road, driving a hard pace. I could tell it was going to take a while for the girls in the crash to de-tangle…so we all started hammering and taking pulls, to try and catch up with the front group. I thought “this is it, we just narrowed the field down to about 30-40 gals and I’m in the chase group, this is great!” However--all that ended up happening is that we caught the first group, then everyone sat up and began talking on their team radios to find out who had gone down. The pace slowed, allowing the girls still chasing to catch on and before you knew it, we were all back together, minus maybe a couple of the most injured.

From that time on, the group rode sketchily…it was not nearly as relaxed and calm as it was pre-crash and I made a point to stay towards the back and allow myself sufficient braking distance. We approached the feed zone around mile 50 and there was Rob with handups for me--thank goodness. Even though we started early, it is SO DRY here that I had already made my way through 3 bottles. I grabbed one from him and on we went. At around mile 67, we hung a right hand turn and there the climb began, for the next 6.7-7 miles. I had been bracing for it, and judging by the silence that fell over the women as we got closer, I knew that it was going to be awful. I have done 9 mile climbs with Rob in Colorado at these gradients and altitude, that took us the better part of 3 hours. I knew I didn’t have that option today. As we began climbing, I put my bike in the easiest gear I had--my 27--and kept my cadence up. I passed a bunch of women and just tried to find a good rhythm…I was feeling pretty good for about 3 miles. Then I started to get a bit uncomfortable and knew I’d taken my last gel a bit too soon. I began alternating seated for 8 pedal strokes, standing for 8. I counted with my breaths and just kept alternating. It was tough, but bearable. When I saw the 2 mile to go sign, I thought ok, this is really getting ugly. I was completely out of water, there was no breeze and the black pavement felt as though it was cooking my face. There was one woman in front of me, the team caravan started to come by. I couldn’t tell if I was top 20 or dead last. I really began to struggle. At 1 mile to go, I did something I never thought I’d do--I got off my bike and walked. My knees were hurting, I felt as though I was going to cramp any second and my lower back was spazzing. I was passed by 3 or 4 women. After about 2 minutes of walking, I got back on the bike and everything felt much better. I resumed my 8 counts and caught up with several of the gals who had passed me. Go figure--they didn’t go any faster on their bikes than I did walking.

The sickest thing about this road is that you not only couldn’t see the top (and the steepness was relentless), you could see the women the level above you and you’d think-”ohmigod, I have to go THERE yet?” It was horrible. I saw the 1K to go mark and thought I was going to pass out. Within about 500 meters, I had to get off the bike again. This time I walked for about 30 seconds, was passed by a couple more gals. I got back on the bike and crossed the finish line. Our support vehicles weren’t allowed up there because of lack of space, so I grabbed some water and rode the climb all the way back to the bottom, where Rob had some food and Endurox waiting for me. He wanted to ride the climb, so off he went as I recuperated. According to my HR monitor, I burned way over 2000 calories today. It is an absolute battle to get those calories back in, and I am all nerves as I was at Nature Valley, which makes feeding even harder. Mentally, I cannot get a grip…it’s silly.

I just checked results and I have moved up to 49^th out of 67 gals. So we lost 2 to the crash. However, I’m over 14 minutes down on 1^st place. That said, my ONLY goal at this point is to survive tomorrow and try to make it to the crit. Tomorrow’s RR is going to be nasty. The descents are wicked and these girls have NO FEAR.

After today, I don’t know that anything in Kansas will every seem like climbing again. I am spent!!

Oh yeah--I hear I'm on the front page of the Gila website...thumbs up!

At the top of the climb (did I mention how much this sucked?):

Stage I: 16.15mile time trial.  Oh my, the humbling began already.  The course featured a brutal 4+mile climb, into a headwind, a turnaround, followed by a steep climb and a long long descent.  I was passed by 3 women and I am now 50-something place, out of 69 women.  I finished in around 47 minutes, and according to my computer, averaged about 21mph. (My goal was to avg 24mph-sheesh!).  However--the woman in first place did it SEVEN MINUTES FASTER!  These women had their high-dollar TT bikes, aerobars, aerohelmets, disc wheels...I had a skinsuit and an aero helmet, that was it.  I stayed within my target HR zone though, and feel as though my legs didn't sustain too much damage...in the days ahead, minutes and minutes will be gained and lost on the mountain climbs, so 7 minutes isn't too big...however--it was PAINFULLY obvious today that I am the ONLY flatlander here.  No one else from the midwest came--the women are all from CO, AZ, etc...well--you can see for yourself on the website: www.tourofthegila.com. 

Here was the official post-TT writeup:

Wind and hills was what greeted the riders today in the first stage of the 20th annual Tour of the Gila. It was the typical high desert climate, warm, windy, sunny and dry, and the competitors had to also survive the 6,000 feet elevation of Silver City, NM. Right from the start the course climbed for 4.4 miles with gradients ranging from 2-5%, then there were 2 more good rolling hills before the turn around in which the out-n-back course had the cyclists climb back over the descents they had done to finally plunge back down the 4.4 miles to the finish. With a head wind for the uphill on the way out, the last miles were tailwind, downhill and speeds were in excess of 70kmh.

It was a race where gearing was critical, with small ring climbs and fast and furious descents. The riders were sent off in 30 second intervals with the start order determined alphabetically. This put 2005 World's bronze medalist Kristen Armstrong of Team Lipton as one of the first riders to race, and she set the fastest time to beat early on as she came across the line in 40:53. Her time looked to be the one that might stand until Anne Samplonius of Team Biovail came blistering across the finish in 40:33, 20 seconds faster then Armstrong. No one else would come under 41 minutes, and Erin Willock (Webcor Platinum) rounded out the top 3 with a time of 41:26.

Prologue part II Wednesday morning, 10am NM time: after leaving KC at 2am on Tuesday morning, we arrived here last night around 8pm.  The little cottage we rented is perfect, nice and quiet.  I am sitting on the front patio right now in the sun, typing on my laptop...life is good ;)  We got unloaded and situated, I hopped on the trainer for a second to ride the car legs out, and we crashed. It was a good night's sleep, that's for sure!  This morning, Rob and I got up around 7am and rode to the TT course, rode part of the TT course, and then returned home.  I got to registration right at 10am and got all checked in.  There were 76 women in my race as of 10am--the largest field they've had for the women in the 20 years they've been doing this race.  Silver City itself is presenting a few challenges--there aren't any real chain restaurants, ie Village Inn-and even McD's doesn't serve pancakes.  Seems all they eat around here is fried beans, enchiladas, etc...makes it hard to find race foods.  But the town is cute and people are really friendly.  My TT is sometime around 2:15pm today--then we'll get out and do an EZ ride and probably drive some of tomorrow's Road race couse.  At the end of the race tomorrow, there's a massive climb of about 6 miles, ranging in steepness from 13-19%.  Should be fun!!  Until then--

Prologue to the Tour of the Gila stage race: ok, so the race bible is now available on the website: www.tourofthegila.com.  The race bible explains everything the racer needs to know, and I usually pour over them for a week ahead of time, as you simply cannot afford to miss a start time, miss a turn, miss anything...stage racing is too expensive and too calculated--you really have to spend some time figuring out your approach, your day to day diet, recovery methods, rest, etc.  I will spend approximately 13-15 hours in the car to get there.  Rob and I have rented out a nice little cottage right in Silver city and we're looking forward to the time away, together.  The cool thing about bike racing--it takes you to places like Silver City, NM...a place we might never have explored, but for this bike race.  I'm scared to death and, judging by the list of women already registered, I will have a tough 5 days, that's for sure.  I am hoping I can compensate for the suffering I will endure from the altitude, with my lighter bike and lighter body weight.  This will be the true test--have all of those hill repeats paid off?  ....

Business trip to San Francisco, April 25-27, 2006:

a bit of insight into my personal life here--most of you that know me know that my day job does not require travel.  However, I received a phonecall a couple weeks ago that one of the investigative agencies, to remain unnamed (but for example, Secret Service, FBI, CIA) was interested in flying me out to San Fran for a 2-day assessment.  This comes after nearly 3 years of taking tests and updating my application...to be honest, I'd forgotten all about it.  While it meant taking 3 days off the bike, I agreed.  And, throughout my trip, I was reminded of how being a competitive cyclist (or any type of athlete) has a very positive affect on one's business endeavors.  I found myself doing cyclist-type things (ie, checking out the corner of my eye while walking fast in the airport to make sure I didn't cut someone off!) that I believe gave me an edge in this "widdle-down the candidates" process.  For example-racing has taught me what to eat, when, how much coffee is a good thing, how to go a long while without needing to use the restroom or eat anything while remaining alert, etc...the knowledge of how my body works and reacts to certain foods and fluids enabled me to be alert and focused from 7am until 4pm, straight--while my fellow candidates were running for the restrooms during timed tests.  Further-can any nerve-wracking "let's see how you would handle the following situation"-type scenario REALLY compare to descending in a pack of 100 women at 50+mph?  If nothing else, my racing ventures gave me a frame of reference which had me saying to myself quite often during the assessment, "compared to .... this really isn't that hard or scary."  Furthermore, I firmly believe that my competitiveness from cycling gave me a confidence the other candidates did not seem to possess.  Cycling teaches you to take the line you want, grab the wheel in front of you that you want, take positions, assert yourself...I really felt that carry over into this assessment.  And another thing--flying into a city like SanFran with NO concept of where you're going can be a bit frightening.  Maps of BART and MUNI would ordinarily freak me out-I'm not a map gal.  But it's amazing how my sense of north and south has become innate as a result of figuring out where the wind is coming from, or what direction I'm headed, on a ride or in a race.  It was truly uncanny--I found myself completely oriented once I arrived.  And last but not least--cycling always always provides you a safe place and an automatic connection.  SanFran is a city that is a cyclist's dream.  Bikes were everywhere.  In a city like that, my ankle tan and short-sleeved tan on my arms marked me immediately as "one of them."  It's amazing how comfortable it made me, and I found myself instintively checking out their bikes and team kits, when I should've been admiring the bay!    The best part of the trip, aside from learning I'd passed the assessment phase, was coming home after time spent off the bike...I went out for an easy 45 minute spin and for the first time in a long time, experienced truly fresh legs.  I know now what Lance meant when he said "no chain."

Lincoln Plating Stage Race, Lincoln NE, April 22-23, 2006

I knew this was going to be a fun weekend when I learned last week that both Kelly Benjamin (pro, rides for Diet Cheerwine) and Catherine Walberg (Cat 1, has been racing forever) planned to attend LP.  Even better, there were 13 women there this year--that is twice as big as the last two year's field!  And, our new Trek-VW team kits arrived--they are SO AWESOME!!  The weather was absolutely PERFECT.  Branched Oak Lake is gorgeous--they put the women in with the Men 4s for the near-50 mile road race (4 laps of approx 12-13 miles each).  At the start of the 2nd lap, Kelly made it clear she wanted me to attempt a breakaway with her.  We jumped off the front and much to our surprise, the men chased us down.  Ok-plan B-sit in until the final sprint.  As we approached the finish line, guys got all squirrely and a crash went down behind me, taking with it Andi Holste, a strong CAT 3 from KS.  As we approached the final right turn, another rider went down on the inside, which caused chaos as we all began our sprint. I had very fresh legs and also knew that the finishing stretch was about 400 meters long...so I began to wind it up, grabbing gears, ending up in my 53-11 and passed a bunch of people, almost catching Kelly at the line, for a 2nd place finish.  with the time bonuses (7 sec for 1st place, 5 sec for 2nd place, this put Kelly only 2 sec ahead of me in GC).  Later that day (5pm!) was the time trial, which was one lap of the same course as the road race--rolling hills and a bit of wind, for 13 miles of all out effort.  I didn't have any aero equip--I was "commando" as Kelly put it.  I ended up passing 4 women, and closed in on Catherine, with a time right around 31 minutes. However, Kelly passed both Catherine and I, making up more time on me.  At the end of the day, I was 40 seconds down on 1st place, and Catherine was 40 seconds down on me...

Sunday--the circuit race, pictured above.  The loop was a bit over 2 miles, with a nice long hill in it (approx 60 seconds), which was also into a headwind.  I knew my legs were super fresh, and the race was only a silly 30 minutes long.  On the second lap, on the hill, I jumped hard and Kelly and Catherine came with.  I think we had a few stragglers back there, but it ended up being the 3 of us for the remainder of the race.  I sprinted by Kelly for a prime, and then the 3 of us just worked well for the remainder.  On the final lap, on the hill, I became so obsessed with staying behind a wheel for the draft, that I waited too long to jump.  Kelly jumped me, and I found myself in one gear too heavy to snap after her.  We sprinted it out, but she had me by at least a bike length.  Catherine was behind me somewhere.  So--we held our first, second third places for the overall GC.  A great weekend, beautiful weather, great racing.  My legs and quick recovery told me that my hard winter of training was well worth it.  This is shaping up to be a great season!

Bazaar Road Race, Bazaar Kansas April 2, 2006

Hmmm...well, 27mph winds.  They put the Masters 35 and 45+ men with the women open event, so at least we had a decent-sized group to work with.  Course was an out-and back around a cone, then in the other direction, out and back around a cone, for a total of 53 miles.  Absolutely barren terrain, which meant all 27 mph of wind was blowing us around the entire time.  And because of the way the course was set up, there was only a very short period of time when we enjoyed a tailwind.  About 15 miles or so in, a huge hill and a severe cross-wind blew up the pack.  People were trying to climb the hill, were blowing all over the road causing chaos, and it resulted in a bunch of us getting dropped off the back.  I time-trialed it for quite a while, around the first turn around point and organized 3 of the guys and myself into an echelon.  We picked up another woman and another guy, for a comfortable-sized group and began to take short pulls, working together (somewhat), past the start/finish and towards the 2nd turn-around.  I had just taken my pull on the front and dropped back to the rear and was on the right side of the road when a huge gust came from the left side, blowing everyone to the right, thereby pushing me off the road.  I hollered "I'm off the back" expecting them to slow a bit so I could catch back on but, no such luck.  So--had to timetrial myself all the way around the 2nd cone and to the finish line.  At times the gusts were so strong I could lean on my bike, at what felt like a 45 degree-angle, into the wind.  I literally could not keep my bike upright and once, yelled aloud "C'mON!!!" as the wind was simply relentless.  Ended up in 4th, a very disappointing finish.  This was following a mid-pack finish in the spring fling criterium on Saturday, which I rode with the 3/4 men.  A LONG criterium, and very windy also.  I'm hoping the spring-summer conversion takes the wind with it...

Valley of the Sun stage race, February 17-19, 2006...not exactly...planned to race this event but our truck with our bikes inside was stolen a week beforehand and we could not make the arrangements to get bikes there in time for the race...so we ended up doing 4 days of MTB in the desert at Usery Pass in Mesa, AZ.  (and yes, that IS a Bridgestone you see me riding.  I've had it for over 10 years!!)