Golden State Criterium

It's been a long week. I jumped right back into my normal bike/teach/drive cycle without pause after the Davis Double. I did suprisingly well recovering considering everything I do. About Tuesday I decided to sign up for today's local crit.

Rolling out of bed this morning, I got a shocker looking out the window. RAIN!!! You've got to be kidding after last week's scorcher. I thought about riding over but felt like the trainer might be a warmer and more consistent warm-up.

I was happy to see my teammate April looking fly in her Bella kit. I missed having Dino with me. We were both a little more nervous with the rain and the 180 put into the course. We had a nice field of mostly experienced 3s in our 3/4 field of about 25 so it turned out to be pretty safe in the rain. We had a couple of crashes, but no one was taken out too badly.

The four Metromint girls were active as usual and there were some good attacks that made it more interesting. They are fun to watch. I spent most of the time up front guarding and chasing attacks. I focused on staying up front, especially through the 180.

There were three girls who attacked through the final corner and I couldn't quite get on a wheel. I ended up getting 4th place. April was behind me at 8th place. One of the Metromints who won the blueberry prime generously shared them while we waited for the results. After a mediocre start to the season, it was nice to have my form back. I think the rest of the season is going to be great.

Davis Double Century 2008

Double Century #14 (Davis Double #6)




Spiritual Observance
After doing these many, I had to think to myself, "Why?" I don't exactly have to prove that I can finish. I guess they are kind of the equivalent of religious holidays (church of the rotating mass). Not doing them is like not celebrating Christmas. Sure, it would be a lot less hassle, but something would be missing. I both look forward to and dread them. I get to see people I only spend time with once or twice a year. They are markers in my life. They make me take stock of myself and come face to face with my limitations. They make me grateful for my ability to finish. Each one has its own character and story.

This Year's Highlights:

• Tandem train freebie averaging 22 for the first 45 miles
• Seeing 1000s of butterflies swirl around the riders up Cardiac Hill
• Dino singing Oscar the Grouch's "I Love Trash"
• Tube Socks filled with ice around my neck
• Seeing the same tube socks littering the back roads from Clear Lake to Davis (someone probably wonders about their origin)
  
• Knowing the route by heart
• Being mistaken for Sabine at one of the last rest stops
  
• A bike that ran as smooth as butter
• A beautiful TAILwind for the last flat miles (riding 20-25mph)
  
• Having Logan finish his first double incident free
• Watching Dino's calves
• Awesome support of the Davis Bike club. The best ever.
  
• Having two strong, devoted ride mates (D-train and the newly dubbed L-train) looking out for me (keeping me cool and pulling me along) SPOILED!
  

Low-Lights:

• 109 degrees on the climb after lunch (up Resurrection). I have never gotten along with that hill!
  
• 3 hours lost to getting cooled and hydrated at rest stops
• blisters from the heat
• seeing people abandoning the ride, looking dejected in the shade

Scroll through the pictures to see me impersonating a T-Rex.

Whut's Crackin'?

Buy now... Pay Later!
Wednesday brought me some great sprint #s (in the 800s). Then on the Thursday south river ride I died a slow painful death, sucking wheel as if it were my last breath.

Coolest 24 hour/Lake Loop Virgin
Friday I stocked up on Groceries to feed the cycling calorie consuming machines. Saturday I rode up to Cool via Salmon Falls Climb to witness my first ultra mountain bike race-- The Coolest 24 hours! It was a party! I heard soo many people say "Hey Bella!" and "Go Velo Bella!". I saw Yvette C. who I haven't seen forever in a team relay for 24 hours. I saw Marion J. line up with the 8 hour group. We saw each other grinned and I said "I didn't know you were going to be here!". She said "I didn't either!" I was happy to cheer my lungs out at her start. There were lots more friends to see including the awesome Brad C. and Dezi! It was a great way to get 101 miles in. It was my first time doing the Folsom Lake Loop (hard to believe considering all the times I have ridden the different parts).

Back to Back Benjamins
Today was another 101 miles off to Davis and then up to the lake. I felt okayish. We saw some people riding up to Folsom on Penny Farthings and one unicycle. There are some interesting people on the parkway. I was toast by the end but had Bandera Cluck and Moo for dinner which made it all worth it.

Why all the miles? It's May!

http://www.mayisbikemonth.com/

Dino is going to take it all!! Yeah baby!

No rest for the wicked...

The numbers from last week:

• Approximately 270 miles
• 16 hours of riding
• 37.2 mph on the River Ride on Saturday (somehow I always get a little push that helps me hang on). A new land speed record for me in a pack in the flats.
  
• Hitting in the mid 700s for my sprints (getting higher).

I'm right on track for the Doubles coming up!

On the Personal Front:
Dad is doing well (although he's a little stir crazy). He got a new bike for my birthday (yes, my birthday). It's what I wanted!

Breathing Room

Today was the first time in the last few weeks when I feel like I have really been able to catch my breath. Thank Dino for talking some sense into me about taking a day off riding if needed. Quality training is more important than grinding yourself into the ground.

Where do I even start?

My healthy exercising dad had a quintuple bypass surgery the Monday after my Spring Break of fantastic riding. I am so bloody lucky to have pops around. Life is precious (underscore, bold, exclamation point to infinity). It was a good wake-up call and brought the family closer (and Dino and me). I am heading up this weekend to check in on him and get in some good climbing in Grass Valley.



I went down to the Madera Stage race last weekend to support Dino. I still got in over two hours of quality riding. I had soo much fun!! I love seeing the fancy TT bikes (and fantasize about putting Dino on one). I could hardly stand watching the crit I was so anxious (spectators counted 17 flats during the race). Dino had great position until he got a flat and other people in some breaks wouldn't commit. I watched Kyle, my student and friend, pull off a great sprint to win it in the end.



That night I hung out with the Bellas at the Vineyard. I am so happy to be a part of the team. They are tough, beautiful, funny and have the right attitude. We crowded the 35+ podium when the weekend was done and made a good showing with the 4s. After that it was an Italian dinner with Team City-- more neat people even though the food stank (and I'm not that picky).

The road race was hot! The women's 3's got grouped with the 1/2s. As you can imagine they weren't thrilled but did pretty well. Ali from Metromint stayed with them (gosh she's strong this year). I worked the feed zone and road the rollers in the start finish. What a beautiful, fun course! The view of the Sierras was spectacular. It was a really fun weekend.

Now it's time to get some serious miles in before ultra season starts!

Land Park Criterium Pics

I need to work on my game face... savage!

Copperopolis Road Race: Category- Women's Solo Training Ride

I won my category and learned a lot in the process.

So I raced with the women's 4 field in 2006. It was my first real year racing and I was unattached. At the start, I chatted with others to calm myself down. The woman I talked to (who will remain team-less and nameless) gave me a "great pep talk" about how big girls do better at crits because they can throw their weight around. There was some truth to that, but I didn't need to hear it at that point. ("There is a special place in Hell for women who don't help other women " Madeline Albright, Secretary of State). I then proceeded to redline on the first lap and get dropped on the smooth section after the feed zone and rode solo the rest to the way to finish next to last. Not a confidence builder.

At that time, I had more of a complex about my size and shape, and felt like it was a major inhibitor to being good at bike racing. When I watched the pro women at the San Francisco Gran Prix it was a major eye opener. I thought "Man! These girls aren't all pip-squeaks!" There was hope after all. After that I tried to sign up for races where I didn't set myself up for "failure"--things that were more suited to my strengths. I met my goal last year of moving up a category and had more fun than ever being a part of Velo Bella.

I cheered on my friends and teammates for the first wave of racers, then took a lovely training ride once around the course. I rode up to the feedzone with a backpack full of bottles and gu's to feed people that might need it. I hung out with some really cool people, gave Dino food and a bottle of Heed and then spun over to the start/finish to laze about in the sun with Linda E., Team Cities and Laura. My friend Sarah (Mtn. Bike Pro) won the Women's 3 race. Awesome.

Observations & Conversation:

• The largest pack I saw maybe had a dozen riders finishing together.
• There were a lot of solo finishers-- including people I knew to be very strong (hill-climbers even).
• A lot of people seriously asked me why I wasn't racing (in that past I would have thought "Are you serious? Can't you see I'm not built for this course?")
  
• Most people don't think they are built for this course.
  
• I overheard a very strong pro (Tait) saying "This was a wakeup call today." (Everyone has thoughts like this?)
  
• I don't care about smack talk anymore (bring it on).
• It's more honorable to race and finish then to not try (duh).
• More women need to sign up for races. Period.
  
• There is no failure if I have fun, learn something or can help out a teammate.
  
• I take things too seriously sometimes.

I looked up my results from last time and found out that Virginia P. won that time (now an NRC contender and Cat 1). I finished 12th place. Good for me! Maybe next year I'll sign up.