While we will no longer be a team website, we will have some exciting new developments for women’s cycling that we will bring to you in the next few months.  Please be patient with us as we make some changes, because these exciting developments will take some time to come to fruition.  Nonetheless, you can rest assured that Women’s Bike Talk will continue to be a great resource for women’s cycling.  We will keep you posted as we move forward!  Meanwhile, thanks for reading and stay tuned!

Thanks from the crew at Women’s Bike Talk!

And Happy Holidays and a Happy New Year!

I guess it’s on my mind because at this point in my life I’m only able to manage doing criteriums. It’s not that I’ll never do another stage race, it’s just that’s all I have the time and energy for at this point in my life.  (Ok, let me be completely honest here, it’s mostly the energy part that’s lacking.  My child is supercharged and I’m not.)   I don’t even really fret about it any more because the really cool thing is that I can still race AND I’m getting to share my favorite sport with my son.

He started BMX this year and it has been a blast. He still can’t make it over the big jumps on the track, so we have to run along with him and help him get over them. It’s not easy to do running sprints for 2 hours after an afternoon training ride, but it sure is fun! He has a little full-face helmet, BMX bike, and little BMX friends.  It is so much fun to watch him begin to experience all of the positive things that we’ve experienced through cycling.

So, while it isn’t quite what it used to be and it’s undoubtedly harder to make it all work, it is truly a whole lot better. So the next time we race together and you see me suffering, just know that, yep, I’m frustrated because my fitness is not what it once was, but I’m damn happy with my life in general.  And don’t get too comfortable thinking I suck, because school is just a year off and then it’s ME TIME from 8:00 a.m to 2:00 p.m.  You can probably guess what I’ll be doing!

Owen and I out for a late-day “mountain bike” ride.  I’m wearing the Zeal Optics Slingshots too!

The race began on Sunday, May 1st, at 7 a.m. It was a beautiful day with sunny skies and temps in the mid-forties. I may be from Colorado, but I was one of the only runners wearing cropped pants and long sleeves- everyone else was decked out in singlets and shorts! I started the race towards the front of the 9,000 crowd of runners and comfortably settled in to a sub-seven minute per mile pace (one cool thing about running races- they allow headphones so I was rockin’ out). I felt pretty decent until roughly mile 9 when a large hill sent my legs into “lead-mode.” Luckily, I was able to recover and push through, finishing the 13.1 miles in 1:32 (7:06 per mile average). Overall, it was a phenomenal day. That being said, I can’t wait to race my bike!

And there goes the first lady runner – it’s sweet because it looks like she has the same magenta RecoverySocks that I have Btw, they’re awesome!

Watching these runners pass is pretty incredible, but not nearly as impressive as the competitors that preceded them – the Para-athletes. (I’ve been a part of the AZ Paralympics and watched the races at Redlands, these guys are fierce!) Not really sure if that’s the correct term, Para-athletes, but these competitors are AMAZING in my book – gives a whole new meaning to being thankful to ride the bike…simply awesome!

Congrats to all of the runners, but especially to the para-cyclists, who show an extraordinary perseverance and dedication that inspires so many to follow through with their own dreams. You guys rock!

Just in time to get excited for the season ahead! Keep the rubber side down.

Heather

On the other hand, endurance isn’t really something that comes easy to me. I can’t think of anything worse than spending more than 3 or 4 hours riding. I don’t know why, it just is what it is! The good thing is, I’m at a place in my life where I have a pretty good handle on what I’m good at and what I’m not good at and I’m ok with it. Weaknesses can be improved, it just takes work.

The long rides aren’t all bad for me, though. I actually get some time to think relatively uninterrupted ‘ something I don’t get to do much of with a very busy 3 year old at home! Lately, since the physical goals have been about endurance, I’ve been thinking about it from a mental standpoint too. I think about how pushing myself physically on the bike to go longer and harder is not a skill that has stayed cycling-specific for me. I’ve needed endurance both on and off the bike. Finishing a race, of course, it’s obvious you need endurance but making it through life’s ups and downs (especially the really big downs) takes a ton of endurance too, just in a little different context.

I’ll spare you the details, but I’ve used this skill quite a bit over the last few years for some pretty major things. Some of the times have been so hard I can’t even begin to describe it in a way that would make sense. What I can tell you is during those times, I’ve learned to put my head down, get into a rhythm, ignore the feeling that it will never end or change (because it will at some point), and crank it out to the finish. I can’t say I always, if ever, made it look easy or that I didn’t make mistakes along the way, but I saw it through. Now I’m at a point where I can reflect on the happenings of the last year, evaluate what I did good and what I could have done better, learn from it, take a little breather in between, and get ready for the next race ‘ or whatever life decides to throw at me next! I’m stronger for the next challenge because of it just like I will be after this ‘endurance’ period on the bike. (And I think it’s ok not to want to do it again any time soon!) Racing, life ‘ they cross over in so many ways!

So here it is’a question for you: What have you learned on the bike that has helped you off the bike?

Via Copenhagenize.

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

Via Cyclelicio.us

We started Owen on the Specialized Kid’s Hotwalk.

He got his balance bike when he was 2 1/2. It took about a week to convince him to get on it, but once he did it only took a couple of days for him to get the hang of it. He was cruising around the neighborhood with his feet high in the air, jumping curbs, and going off road in no time!

A balance bike is a kid’s bike without training wheels or pedals. The idea is that balance is the key to riding – if they learn balance, adding pedals is pretty simple – no training wheels required. Here’s the part where I admit I didn’t believe it would actually work. He learned the balance quickly, but you see much older kids out there who can’t ride without training wheels – could it really be possible a 2 year old (2 3/4 by the time I bought the Hotrock) could do this? YES!

Here’s a quick video if you’ve never seen one in action…

A quick aside for those of you wondering why we didn’t opt for training wheels. As most of you parents out there know, what works for one kid may not work for the other. In our case, Owen seemed ready and able to do it and the training wheel bike just didn’t work very well for him and what he demanded in performance from his ride (long story).

He’s now on the Specialized Kid’s 12 Hotrock. It comes with training wheels, but we took them off before he ever saw the bike. We decided he would never know it was an option and, therefore, never think he needed them. (I did give him a tricycle while he had the Hotwalk so that he would know how to pedal.) With his dad following close behind and giving a push when needed, he rode sans training wheels on the first try. It worked for him!

I’m sure there are a multitude of different variations to what we did with these two bikes to get your child riding. I encourage you to give it a try, if you have even a suspicion that your child is ready. I’m happy to answer questions about how it worked for us if you still have some.

Bicycle Haus sells the Specialized line of bikes, and BikeKidShop.com sells Strider Balance Bikes as well (a little different than what I used, but looks like a good option as well).

Anyways, I have family cycling on the mind because one of our sponsors – Bike Shop Hub – recently opened a new online store dedicated entirely to family cycling and child transportation by bike. The shop is called Bike Kid Shop, and its got a great assortment of bike child trailers by Burley Trailers, Chariot Carriers, and Croozer Trailers, as well as family cycling gear from Xtracycle, for the little ones in your family. While the store is focused on bike trailers at the moment, it will soon expand to include helmets, glider bikes, and all kinds of other great gear for family cycling. Take a look at their great “Bike Gear Combo Deals” on trailer like the Chariot Cougar, Chariot Cheetah, Burley Bee, Burley Encore and Burely d’Lite. They also have a really great closeout on the Burley Solo ST for only $339!

It’s great to see that the idea of family cycling is really taking off! I definitely plan to keep on riding for many years after I “retire” from the whole racing gig. So it’s really cool to see what kinds of options are out there for family cycling. Because after all, kids on bikes are so much fun!