Commencement

I have been embarrassingly absent from the blog since I joined the team. First and foremost, I have to assert that this is not my fault. In fact, the fault of my absence lay solely with the University of Arizona and particularly, with the Gender and Women’s Studies department, who for the last two years have held me captive in their minor program consisting of endless reading and papers!*Last Thursday, I was freed from my academic shackles (free at last!) and received nothing (diploma to arrive by mail ‘soon’).

Despite my inability to type even the shortest of blog posts for Women’s Bike Talk, I have been working very hard on the bicycle and have been thrilled to see the fruits of some hard wrought labor and hard lessons- learned coming together. I started the season new to the team with the two main goals of maintaining a consistent training schedule and gaining as much experience as possible in races. In addition, I knew that I had a wealth of opportunity to learn from my more experienced teammates, many of whom I have had the pleasure of getting to know over the last two years through the UA Cycling Club.

Now that the collegiate season has come to an end and Arizona racing has tapered off, I am happy to say that I am both proud and satisfied with the experiences I have had in the last five months. Though things did not always go my way (missing my TBC time-trial start by two minutes? Check.) I always came away from races, trips and training with new insights about myself as a rider and more solid formulations of my unique relationship to cycling/racing.

I also learned the value of patience. When I was not riding as strong as I wished in February, many of my teammates reminded me that it was still early and that I still had plenty of time to get stronger. And they were right. Though it was tough, I stuck with my schedule and maintained my faith in what I was doing. Races came and went, and with each one, I felt a little stronger, a little more comfortable and a little more confident.

I had my first big result at the State Criterium, in May. The rush I felt outkicking my opponents in the last 200m was unlike any other I had experienced in my years as a soccer player and runner. It invigorated me and solidified that voice in my head that persisted everyday, whispering, ‘You can do this’. The next week, when the UA team travelled to Madison, WI for Collegiate Cycling Nationals, and I found myself near the back of the group, it was much easier to remember that just being there was a success. I was riding and racing with some of the best and most experienced female riders in the country. It was tough not feeling like I could compete, but a teammate reminded me that moving up in the racing scene usually entails hanging off the back for a while.

So as I am heading in to the summer months, diploma in’the mail and an upgrade request pending, I find myself even more thrilled at the prospect of moving up, hanging off the back, and seeing what I can do next.

*A special thanks to my UA/SpecializedD4W teammates, Chloe Forsman, Melanie Meyers, Judy Jenkins and Erin Lauterbach for the continued encouragement, laughs, support and inspiration both on and off the bike during this roller coaster year. It’s hard to feel too bad for oneself when your friends are working just as hard in the classroom and on their bicycles.