This past week however, and increasingly in the past few months, I have been on the road for work – which has been AWESOME! Give me a laptop and an air-card and call me productivity! What sane cyclist wants to be in Phoenix in the summer anyways?

I returned today from Temecula, and while I don’t think its quite Napa, the riding was awesome and the weather was spectacular – 95 and sunny! The roads were rolling to downright mountainous, there was little traffic in the rural regions and best of all, there was SHADE!

I had never heard anything good about the Inland Empire but I am sold on the plethora of excellent riding!

This morning may have been the best of them all. Barely above the horizon line, the sun shone through the foggy vineyards like something out of a movie, and I quickly found myself lost in my ride. Then I realized, disappointed, I hadn’t visited any of the aforementioned vineyards. I’ve decided on my first trip back, I’ll try this one, but only to compare a glass of its finest to the sweet taste of ascending its namesake!

Looking forward to AZ State TTT this weekend! That’s it from the road for now, ride hard, be happy

Xterra Mountain Championship is not a race for the faint of heart. With 3,600 feet of climbing on the 15.5 mile mountain bike and 1,300 feet of uphill on the 5.75 mile run, this course is a duesy. Not to mention the altitude… Only the one-mile open water swim in Lake Nottingham is of “normal” caliber. Needless to say, I had a great race and used my small stature to ascend the climbs like a billy goat on both the bike and run. Thanks to Specialized and all of our wonderful sponsors for helping to make my race a positive experience.

For some of my other recent race results, check out the Crankworx cross country race from July 31st and Xterra Indian Peaks from today, August 8th.

Bend, as beautiful as it is, apparently happens to be troublesome and mischievous.  Every year that I have gone to Bend (3 years running now), something (or things) out of the ordinary has happened.  Year 1 – I got some strange rash that was diagnosed as shingles and didn’t finish.  Year 2 – On the drive to Bend from Tucson, our bike rack broke on the interstate, the car broke down, and I developed a weird breathing problem.  This year, which is year 3 at Cascade for me, the mischievous nature of Bend seemed to culminate in lots of weird events, which made racing difficult and/or impossible for some of us.

But for starters, Bend brought some good luck.  Two of our riders were contacted to ride for their national teams in Europe and were unable to race Cascade.  Chloe Forsman can currently be found racing for the US National MTB Team in at two European World Cups, and Cara Gillis is racing for the Canadian National Team in a variety of stage races and one-day road events around Europe, as well.  So in that regard, Bend was very good to our team.  Congrats, ladies!

However, for the rest of us, Bend remained somewhat unruly.  First, two riders were unable to make it due to a house flood for one and a family emergency for the other.  When the rest of us arrived in Bend, Ari opened her bike bag to discover that the water bottle cage had been ripped out of her frame, causing a crack in the carbon, and her disc was also smashed.  She subsequently rented a bike from Sunnyside Sports (who were a huge help, thanks!).  The bike’s name was Patty (like from the Simpsons).

Next, Ari came down with a fever due to some strange, undiagnosed virus.  She suffered through the prologue and the first stage before we took her to urgent care.  I arrived in Bend after dealing with a hip injury for two weeks and wasn’t sure if I’d be able to race.  I finished the prologue and the first stage, and then immediately got sick!  Jenna Rinehart, a guest rider, was also battling a head cold.  I finally had to pull out of the race after the second stage, which is a good thing, because I later learned I had bronchitis.  If injury and illness weren’t enough, we had some fun mechanicals, as well.  Jenna’s rear shifter broke mid-ride on the way to the time trial.  Good thing I had my TT bike, so Russ – our awesome mechanic – poached the shifter off my road bike for her TT.  Various other parts were broken, etc., etc. throughout the week, which took us back to the bike shop over and over again.

Meanwhile, there were some pretty bad crashes in the peloton on a few stages, which took a number of great racers out.  Best wishes to all of them for a speedy recovery!

Anyways, by Stage 4, our team had been whittled down to three riders – Judy Jenkins, two guest riders – Jenna Rinehart and Anna Barensfeld.  These ladies toughed it out the rest of the week with some great finishes – Anna 33rd GC, Jenna 36th GC, and Judy 75th GC.  Despite the much diminished size of our team, we were still a force to be reckoned with, and the remaining ladies rode like champs.

Meanwhile, Ari, Russ (our mechanic), and I entertained ourselves in the feed zone, while our awesome team director Maggie took care of the ladies in the caravan.  Since I wasn’t racing, I had more time to take photos!

Anyhow, Cascade was the last big NRC stage race on our schedule for the year.  Despite some of the troubles we encountered at Cascade, our team had tons of good luck all year.  All in all, it’s been a fantastic year for Specialized D4W!  We definitely have some good momentum, great results, and are looking forward to a bigger and better 2011!  Many thanks to Maggie, her husband Don, and Russ for the great support at Cascade, and thanks to all of our great hosts in Bend (sorry we got one of you sick…). 

Photo credit: Cycling News / Matthew E. Moses

The team rode really well at Nature Valley in defense of the green jersey, as well as overall.  We were once again the top-placed amateur team in 7th place out 14 teams, placing just behind the top pro teams overall.

Chloe has a great NVGP report with some photos, as well.  Enjoy!

Today I competed in the Epic Single Track Winter Park Super Loop mountain bike race. The weather was perfect, my bike was fast, and the dirt was phenomenal. Even with tired legs and a heart rate that seemed stagnant, I had a blast.  This race was only my second pure mountain bike race in my racing history so I was thrilled to win my age group and place third overall for Expert women.

Next up, Xterra West Mountain Championship in Beaver Creek, Colorado on July 17th. Thanks for checking in.

First, we have many people to thank for helping Specialized D4W/Bicycle Haus have such a successful Nature Valley (Best Amateurs all around!).  Our two hosts, Lindsey Hamilton and the O’Day family couldn’t have been more accommodating and helpful.  Then we have Ralf to thank for keeping our Specialized bikes looking great (and working flawlessly).  And of course, thanks Maggie for being the most fabulous team director!

Prologue – St. Paul Riverfront TT (6.0 miles)

As a new rule, no TT gear was allowed during the prologue.  This meant no funny helmets, clip-on bars, or no TT bikes.  So we pedaled as hard as we possibly could (in our drop-bars) down the riverfront, through the turnaround, past the start, and up a steep power-climb to the finish.  For the day, the team finished in 11th place overall with the following resutls:  Chloe – 34th, Melanie – 51st, Cara – 62nd, Jenna – 64th, Ari – 70th.  Amazingly, I snagged the green Best Amateur jersey.  This means, I had the fastest time of all the Category 2 racers.

Stage 2 – St. Paul Criterium (28 laps, 39.2 miles)

A technical and fast course with some sketchy pavement made for some exciting (and nerve wracking) racing.  A large pile-up in the first few laps split the field in thirds.  One-third stayed clear of the crash, one-third chased hard for a few laps, and one-third either crashed or put a foot down and claimed a free-lap.  Thankfully, none of our team went down.  After the stage, the team moved into 9th with the following results: Chloe – 16th, Jenna – 39th, Ari – 44th, Melanie – 56th, and Cara – 91st.

After the stage, I got to experience my first NRC podium and jersey presentation.  In the spirit of leading the Amateur competition, I wore my green jersey for the podium presentation with my race numbers still pinned on (I didn’t know I was going to get a new jersey!), my sunglasses fell off my head on the podium, and I left before the podium presentation with all the jersey winners (in my defense, no one told me to hang around!).  Oh well, I guess I was winning the amateur competition.

Stage 3 – Cannon Falls Road Race (0 miles)

With numbers pinned, bottles prepped, race-wheels on, call-ups completed, and a mean-looking storm in the distance, the race was put on hold, then cancelled.  Reports of tornadoes, golf-ball sized hail, and 60-mph winds fast approaching was the reason for calling off the stage.  What a relief!  As it turned out, the storm was so severe that extensive damage resulted across southern Minnesota and there were 36 reported tornado sightings.

Stage 4 – Uptown Minneapolis Criterium (28 laps, 39.2 miles)

We all finished with pack time, and managed to keep the Green Jersey another day.  This criterium was a favorite of mine for a couple reasons.  1) I’ve never seen so many spectators at a race before and 2) I believe most of them pedaled their bikes to the event.  Minneapolis is now ranked (by Bicycling Magazine) the #1 city in the country for bikes and I can see why.

Stage 5 – Menomonie Road Race (76 miles)

Wisconsin is not all flat.  The Menomonie course was relentless with one hill after another.  The QOH (Queen of the Hill) time bonuses along the course split the field which required some tough chasing to catch back on.  The course ended with four laps of a finishing circuit (with each lap having 18 corners!) which dropped a number of riders from the main group.  I managed to botch the finish since I wasn’t quite on the wheel in front of me over the finish line.  Even though I was just 2 seconds off the wheel (which stupidly assumed to be trivial), the results showed my time as 11 seconds behind the time given to the rider in front of me.  If it had been one more second, I would have lost the Green Jersey for the last stage.  After the toughest day of racing, Specialized D4W moved up to 7th in the team classification.

Stage 6 – Stillwater Criterium (13 laps, 18.2 HARD miles)

Coming into the day tied for the Green Jersey, I had to beat Sue Butler (another mountain biker) over the line to keep the jersey.  Thanks to a call-up, I had a great position at the start and a goal of just hanging on as long as possible.  The Stillwater Crit is famous for Chilkoot Hill.  At 18%, the hill is enough to shatter the field on lap one.  Of the 80-or-so starters, less than 15 finished the 13 laps without getting pulled.  I had a great race, and while I didn’t get to finish all 13 laps I was happy to have made it up the hill with the lead group for half the race.  The team had a great ride on the final day, all moving up in GC to finish:

27st – Chloe (Green Jersey)

31st – Melanie

32nd – Jenna

48th – Ari

68th – Cara

What’s next

Ari & Judy (and Ralf) are already on their way to elite road nationals in Bend, Oregon.  Chloe is going to switch back to the mountain bike for the upcoming Subaru Cup in Mt. Morris, WI.  Melanie and Maggie are back in Arizona and Cara is on her way to Canadian nationals in Edmonton, Alberta.  Wish us all luck and thanks for checking in!

Sweet, got some pics from Mel (and Facebook)!

Kern County
2nd GC: 3rd TT, 1st CT, 3rd Hill Climb, 2nd RR
The Kern County Women’s Stage race is 4 stages in 3 days, with a 10 mile TT on Friday, a 60 mile circuit race followed 3 hours later by a 13 mile hill climb on Saturday, and a 74 mile hilly, hot, miserable road race on Sunday.

Some highlights include winning the circuit in a field sprint for the second year in a row, having a lovely stroll up the hill without a compact (ha!), and somehow getting a three minute lead on Molly Van H. and Jane D when I “attacked” them after the three of us got away in the road race.  I was convinced they must have crashed, but Rob assured me it was just the case that each was waiting for the other to chase.  Unfortunately Molly caught me at the start of the last lap and was too strong for me on the major climb.  Sigh.  Overall the race was fun and epic as always.  Much thanks to Rob and Russ from Metromint for all of their help (including a feed of the best fruit punch Gatorade I’ve ever had.)

SoCal Crit Championships (aka Barry Wolfe Grand Prix)
My coach keeps insisting I do these local crits, with the stipulation that I ride to them so I get some decent miles in.  This one happened to be in the valley, on Memorial weekend, with temperatures approaching 100.  After drinking 4 bottles on the 30 mile ride to the course, I was hot and tired (and cranky).   The field was big and the course was short: only 800 meters.  It was a pretty active race, I got away solo for about 4 laps and won some primes, then I got into a break of 6 or so that stayed away for a while, then I attacked with one other rider with about 10 laps to go.  That got caught, and then two (Morgan Kapp from Herbalife and Juile Cutts from Colavita Vegas) countered.  With one lap to go Kendall Ryan of NOW bridged up and won the sprint.  I was pack fodder after too many lame attacks.  I did have some great photo ops though ☺

La Habra Cyclery Crit (aka CBR/BAR #6)
Again, a nice long windy hot ride to the crit, this time at the edge of Compton and Dominguez Hills.  Only 5 women were registered by about 30 showed up.  It was a short race (35 minutes!!) because of some crashes in previous races and a need to get back of schedule for the pro men.  Hmmmm…..  I digress.  Since many teams present had many members and many sprinters, I figured I’d try and get away early and maybe make someone, somewhere tired.  It seemed like either a) my attacks sucked or b) no one would let me go because after my initial jump, there would always be a string of people chasing me down.  Really people, I can’t sprint, I often feel like I can barely peddle, why don’t you just let me go?  Can’t you let non-sprinters win crits sometimes?  At any rate, at some point a break got away.  I was sulking in the back when I saw this happen and realized that every team was represented.  Luckily, I wasn’t a total space cadet and bridged up to the group of 8 or so.  There was lots of cat-and-mousing around until the final lap.  I was not using my massive size to the greatest advantage and got pushed back a bit.  Ugh.  I managed to muster some power and came in fifth resulting in a 2$ profit for the day.  Not too bad, as I could buy a coke to fuel my longer, hotter, and windier ride back home (I’m sure it was all uphill.)

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.

This year, it happened again (still not sure how).  Except Collegiate Road Nationals were located almost a thousand miles further than last year.  Madison, WI is a long ways from Tucson.  Yet somehow I survived finals, finished my papers, fought a cold (and lost), and still managed to have a great time.  It helped having so many teammates in the same situation so we could aid each other in procrastinating.  Melanie has written up an excellent summary of the races, although I think she’s being a little modest about her own results.  A top-ten NRC results is a huge accomplishment, and especially impressive on top of her PhD studies, blogging, role as Team Captain, race promoter, and upcoming wedding (yes–she’ll be the bride).  Anyway, it’s pretty exciting to see hard work pay off and it’s a great result for the Specialized D4W team.

Now I’m realizing that I won’t line up at another collegiate race for quite some time, and I’m a little bummed about it.  For three years I juggled racing as a professional mountain biker for the Luna Chix and the responsibilities of a full-time student.  For those years, collegiate racing helped me keep things in perspective and realize why I race bikes.  I think it’s safe to say I  wouldn’t be racing today without collegiate racing and the UA Cycling Club (and TJ!).

Luckily, I’ve found a home with the Arizona-based road team Specialized D4W/Bicycle Haus.  My teammates kick ass in the hundred different things they do (including some very impressive on-the-bike accomplishments).  Plus, I’m now comfortable wearing pink and baby blue; although I’m not yet comfortable considering myself a road racer.  Hopefully I can figure it out at the Nature Valley Grand Prix–my next big road race.  Until then, I’ll be moving into my new house, mountain bike racing, and hopefully blogging more often!

Also, thanks to all the Specialized D4W/Bicycle Haus sponsors, my teammates, my friends and family, TJ, and all the other sponsors and supporters I’ve had along the way.  I’ve definitely had some ups and downs with training and racing but I’m in this sport for the long haul.  Thanks for checking in!

Instead of running through each stage of all the races we’ve done in the last few weeks, I’m just going to post a few highlights from Tour of the Gila and Collegiate Road Nationals, which are the two big races I attended in the last few weeks.  However, the team has been active all over the state of AZ and beyond, such as Luisa’s recent MTB racing success at Battle of the Bear.  So check back soon for reports from the rest of the ladies.

Tour of the Gila: Silver City, NM, April 28 – May 2

Gila had it all: crazy weather, hard stages, big climbs, crazy descents, high altitude, awesome locals, lots of laughs, a few tears, and oh yea, snow.  Yes, snow.  In May.  In sum, the team took Gila by storm.  Oh, and also weathered the New Mexico storms at the same time.  Not only were we the top-placed amateur team in the final GC, we even beat a pro team!

Roster: Melanie Meyers, Kathryn Donovan (guest rider), Chloe Forsman, Arielle Filiberti, Erica Zaveta, Judy Jenkins, Ruth Clemence, and Cara Gillis.

Director: Maggie Williams

Final GC Results: Melanie – 10th GC; Katie – 12th GC; Chloe – 25th GC; Cara – 49th GC; Erica – 54th GC

Highlights:

• Stage 1 included a bit of a bathroom break faux pas, which will not be elaborated on here and a Lance Armstrong sighting.
• An awesome petrochemical-free host house (though not really according to chemist Judy…)
• Sustained 40 mph winds with gusts over 60 mph on Stage 2.  People were being blown off their bikes; bikes were blowing away; and the women’s main peloton crept along under 10 mph into the headwind for over an hour to the finish. In short, brutal.  Also, lots of porta-jons knocked over by the wind…eeewwwww!!!
• A poncho purchased for $6.
• An enormous pot of rice and beans that lasted for three days and tasted better and better each day.
• Scrabble Cheez-Its.
• A dislocated shoulder (poor Judy’s), which was put back into place at the ER with a bucket of water.  Also, some over-zealous nurses with scissors.
• A windy TT.  Like…can’t ride in the aero bars windy.
• A fun crit.  I love the Gila crit.  More Lance sightings.
• A freezing start to Stage 5, which later turned into snow at the end of the final stage.
• A serious lack of Internet..and with a bunch of Internet junkies, that meant a lot of time at the coffee shop…and that meant poetry readings.
• I’m sure I’m missing something…ladies, help me out!

Collegiate Road Nationals: Madison, WI, May 7-9

As I mentioned above, Collegiate Road Nationals isn’t a Specialized D4W team race, but we had a number of riders representing their respective schools there.  And since the weekend ended with a National Champion three-times-over, we better brag about it!  As a side note, Collegiate Road Nationals is split between Division I and II schools, which is determined based on the size of the school, and there are separate events for DI and DII schools.  The events include a road race, criterium, individual omnium from the crit and road race, and a team time trial.

University of Arizona Riders: Melanie Meyers, Chloe Forsman, Judy Jenkins, Kimberly Truitt, and Erin Lauterbach.

Dartmouth Rider: Arielle Filiberti

Lees McRae Rider: Erica Zaveta

Highlights:

• Ari won the DII road race, crit, and individual omnium!  Awesome!
• In the DI road race, Melanie placed 4th, Chloe 10th, Erica 12th, Judy 36th, Kimberly 52, and Erin 59th.
• All of the women survived an epic day of racing with rain and temperatures in the low 40’s.
• A big shout-out to Erin, as the road race was the longest distance she has ever ridden, and to boot, I would also argue that it was probably one of the toughest days I have ever had on the bike.  Big props to all of the ladies for finishing, and especially to Erin for finishing with a smile, despite the conditions.
• In the DI crit, Chloe placed 7th, Erica 9th, Melanie 17th, Judy 44th, and Kimberly 58th.
• The crit was a fun circuit around the capitol building in downtown Madison.
• In the DII team time trial, Ari’s team placed 3rd.
• In the DI team time trial, Erica’s team placed 2nd, and the University of AZ team (which is all Spec D4W ladies) placed 5th despite a slight mishap during which Judy crashed.  Yes, she’s ok!

Arizona State Criterium Championships

We are proud to be able to claim two new state championship titles for the Specialized D4W team in Arizona!  Mary Hall showed off her awesome sprint to win the Pro 1/2 race.  Kimberly Truitt also handily won a field sprint for the Cat 4 State Champion title.  Congrats, ladies!