TGIF - 6/27/08

Another week in the books - the first "official" week of summer at that. This morning the "park closes at sunset" sign at Patapsco State Park said that time was 8:30pm. Sunlight until almost 9pm ... I love this time of year ! I hear some cyclists complaining about the heat or the sun but I tell ya, I will take that over cold and dreary any day of the week. I like it hot, you see. Come on, that was too easy. Sigh.

I didn't do Greenbelt this week per the advice of the coach, aka Slavedriver, so I have no stories of sketch riders, random singing during the race or irrational outbursts after the race. I told the coach that after nationals, I'm thinking I could use a little break and The Slavedriver expressed pleasant surprise .... I then informed him that a break would probably entail a group ride or two during the week along with greenbelt, then racing on the weekend. He reiterated his thought that he'd have to steal all my bikes in order to enforce a week off the bike. I can't help it ... OCD is part of the sport.

I've been fielding inquiries all over the place about my scooter, scooters in general and exactly how much does it cost to fill up the tank ($7). A recent article in the Baltimore Sun covered scooter-mania ... also known as the-price-of-gas-is-killing-us-revolution. I'm seeing more and more scooters out on the road by the day ... its kinda funny 'cause its like this secret club. They usually beep their horns at each other or something equally amusing. Its kinda like the Jeep motto: You Wouldn't Understand. I'm personally excited about the new top case/box I just bought for mine - it attaches to the back of the scooter and can hold a bunch of stuff. A constant problem for me has been that my helmet doesn't fit in the under-seat compartment so this new box will get the job done. Awesome. (loved this pic - goes along with my penchant for acronyms. This is for you, Michelle!)

I have saved the best for last - we have ourselves a ROAD TRIP this weekend !! A couple CycleLife gals are headed to ... Kentucky. If you told me a year ago I'd be excited about a trip to Kentucky, I'd have laughed at you. Nothing negative meant toward Kentucky, its just ... not a destination of choice for me. Of course, you all know this is the location for Nationals next week, so we're loading up more bikes, more trainers and more lycra than any one car should hold and we're taking a little drive to see what we can see. We've rented a house near the city and near the courses so, as is par for us, we're gonna make an adventure out of it. Hopefully we'll come back with some good stories, pictures and a little hardware.

TOWC and Kryptonite

Its Tuesday and I'm still tired from the weekend. Thats my excuse, anyway. TOWC was an awesome weekend of racing, despite some gaffes and snafus that made things a little more interesting than I normally like. Lapped women who get counted in the finish, TT times that are 3+mins off (still not sure that was settled correctly), omitting women from the sprint finish at Sunday's crit ... all of that sucks but the race itself was good fun. AVC did a phenomenal job in the inaugural year and given the light race schedule from here on out, we should be THANKFUL for their time and effort to promote a race of this scale. Looking forward to next year's edition!

The RR was not as bad as I had envisioned - I had nightmares about being left on the "big climb" but was right with the front girls almost every time. The break that got up the road was a mental mistake - I saw it go and we figured we'd catch them on the climb. Some good-old-fashioned, negative racing "blocking" took place that prevented the chase once we realized it was dangerous. Thanks to local team, Hub, for animating and making things interesting and congrats to Artemis' Erin, who is riding like she means it right now. Me ? I live to race another day, finishing mid-pack, just out of points contention.

The TT felt fine for me, nothing great, nothing terrible. I hopped on the TT bike on the trainer and said, out loud, oh, I remember this saddle. It was not a good memory. But the short distance and early start were nice. Four hours until the Crit. Almost enough time for a nap, but not quite.

The crit was good fun ... love the course, hate that all the girls slam on their brakes on the last turn. Our girl Leslie done good and finished 2nd in the break (Sonja got away with a few laps to go) and Mel, Sara and I were fairly happy with our finish. I was glad to put the bike in the car and know that I was done pedaling for the weekend. First stage race in a while, and I was toast.

BUT, not so toasty that I couldn't join teammate Robin and the rest of the crew for an impromptu bbq ! Thanks Robin and Jason for having us, a good time was had by all. Even Sara, who seemed to be very happy cuddled up on the couch.

Other ramblings:

I've discovered the DC Velo secret. Some careful detective work revealed the following photo ... you see, while most of us would fear kryptonite, Bozak drinks it like its candy. And, he's pretty smug about it ! Perhaps its like The Princess Bride:


Vizzini: You only think I guessed wrong! That's what's so funny! I switched glasses when your back was turned! Ha ha! You fool! You fell victim to one of the classic blunders! The most famous is never get involved in a land war in Asia, but only slightly less well-known is this: never go in against a Sicilian when death is on the line! Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha! Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha! Ha ha ha ---

Buttercup: And to think, all that time it was your cup that was poisoned.

Westley: They were both poisoned. I spent the last few years building up an immunity to iocane powder.

So you heard it here first ... Bozak is immune to Kryptonite. And you think that GamJams has all the latest gossip. (no, i didnt type that all out, i copied/pasted it from someone online who did).
(ed. note: thats the best explanation I could come up with for Bozak's fru-fru drink.)

Greenbelt - Rain and Bad Omens

Another week gone by, and another Greenbelt race in the books. Last night's race was mildly entertaining for me - Sara and I warmed up in the rain, then it stopped. The sky looked quite ominous (thank you Sonja and Mark for the $5 word) as we were called to the line but when they blew the whistle, us OCD racers got on with it. The B race was a bit sketch but the pace was about average. The A's, again, were flying as Nick Bax (hot tubes) was out there breaking legs. They passed us early, again, but the field managed to get clear of the B group (unlike last week). The group ride at Davidsonville the day before - dont tell my coach, I wasn't supposed to do it - had softened my legs a little but they came back around by mid-race. All was well.

We rode through the tree-lined area on the backside of the course and felt raindrops. These had to be from the prior rain, just the wind shaking them out of the trees. Right ? Before long, though, we couldn't deny it was a full-fledged rain. My shoes got squishy. My glasses fogged up. Brakes didnt work as well as we came up to the turn. People were getting a bit sketched out - the pace slowed a bit but not much. Again, OCD racers. I drifted toward the back - I had hung out toward the front/middle most of the race but I was not thrilled about taking a dive at a training race because someone misjudged the wet roads. I kept thinking they'd call the race, but they didnt. I think they cut it a lap short. With 3 to go, I threw my glasses - they were fogging up and I couldn't see anything ... but then on the downhill the rain felt like it was stabbing my eyes, which counteracted the pain of roadspray and road grime in my eyes. Awesome. Lesson learned, don't throw your glasses, you might regret the decision.

There was one awesome guy in the pack that kept diving positions and weaving thru the pack. Going down the slight hill leading to the climb, I let him know I was on his right (yes, I'm that person ... I want someone to know I'm there instead of swinging wide and taking me out)- he sarcastically said: oh, okay, after you, then. Then he had some snide remark about how he's never heard so much talking in a bicycle race. Someone else came by him and he commented "do I have a sign on my back saying I'm going backwards?". Clearly this one has some issues. If I would have stopped to respond, it would have been something like this: Don't you know who I am ? Kidding. Its an ongoing joke. I digress.

I sat up when we came into the bell lap - self preservation at its best. I was vindicated, though, as I came up on poor Sara picking up her bike at the entrance to the parking lot. Apparently some schmoe decided he didn't want to race anymore and took a hard right into the parking lot. Sara was on his right. The guy didnt even say he was sorry, nor did he acknowledge that he had a part in the incident. He said "she hit my back wheel". Which is technically true; however, it does leave out the "I made a sudden move right without looking" part. We all make mistakes, its just easier if people own up to them and we can all move on.

Of note, we've decided that VeloChicken aka Christina is bad luck. Beware, she brings bad ju-ju to the Greenbelt race. Case in point - she's been to Greenbelt twice this year. Both times, Sara was taken out by some schmoe in the B race. Coincidence ? I think not. If you see this woman show up to Greenbelt, please take appropriate precautions. Don't say I didn't warn you.

On to the Tour of Washington County - which sounds like good, clean fun. By the way - for those that haven't seen it, check out this video of the Harlem Crit finish... watch to the end to see our own Joe Jefferson making a cameo appearance. Priceless.

Time Trial Thoughts/New TT bike for Shawn and Jason

I used to be half decent at TTs. Really. The operative phrase is "used to be". I have the gear, my training has been going well and I didn't necessarily dread the race, but I just couldn't force myself to go any faster. At least I looked fast, I guess. Thats what teammate Leslie (rockstar and winner !) said as she passed me on the homestretch. I suppose my mind wasn't in it - which doesn't matter when you're racing in a mass-start race, but in a TT I have way too much time to ... think. I resolved a few issues in my head, got a few mental checklists going for post-race activities, decided that I should put some bar tape on the ends of the TT bars, admired the big gear Chris Kelly was pushing as she passed me ... just kind of strolling along. Clearly I need some interaction to activate my adrenaline/competitive drive. Otherwise I'm just admiring the scenery and thinking about what I'll do after the race. My Coach is THRILLED with this, as you can imagine.

I wasn't the only one who struggled with the race. For some, the pressure was too great ... they totally changed plans and switched TT philosophies. Gone were the alien-like helmets. Impaling saddles be damned. Lycra ? Not a chance. And you can see the result in the smile on Shawn Fenty's face ... this was MUCH better. (thanks for the photo, Espen)


Not to be outdone, Jason Meidhof took a spin to impress his woman, and by the looks of the photo below he was wayy faster than he was in the TT.











After the race a few of us had the opportunity to join Mark Sommers and his wife, Motoko, at Casa de Sommers - they have a beautiful place out on the creek. We were in a caravan with about 7 cars or so. As was appropriate given my race, I was at the back of the caravan and snapped this pic. I know it just looks like a bunch of cars on the highway, but I find it funny that all of them were with our group. Yes, I know, I amuse easily.

Anyhoo - a good time was had by all - I had the chance to spend time with some "old" friends, meet some new friends and generally recover for the next day. By recovery I mean wine and a lack of sleep for the next day's races. It doesn't happen often but it was just what I needed. Experiences like Saturday, just having FUN, enjoying good company, good wine and good stories (wink) ... those experiences remind me how great our little cycling community is, and why I do this silly sport despite it all. Cheers to that.


my thoughts are with the Clark family - even though I dont personally know Craig, we are a small community and when one of us is injured, we all feel it. good vibes and well wishes for good news and a fast recovery.

Acronyms and Four-Letter Words in Racing

Initially I thought it was just me - I've mentioned before that self-preservation kicks in for me at crucial points in races (ie the sprint ... which contributes to a complete lack of sprinting finishes for me). But several others commented during the "B" greenbelt race about certain riders who "scared the sh*t" out of them. The riders named were always the same in every conversation.

Let me take a step back for a moment and apologize first - as Jill has told me in the past, "Wendy, you're the nicest person ever but in a race the horns come out". Keeping that in mind, when I get sketched out by a rider who is threatening my/our safety, four-letter-words fly out of my mouth like I have turrets or something. An ongoing joke is the acronym "JFC", which is apparently my phrase of choice for nimrods in races. Come on, you can figure that out. We resorted to the acronym for three reasons: first, Michelle is now working with the government and she can make an acronym out of anything. Second, because the extended version takes too much oxygen when you're in Zone 12. Third, given the sensitivity of the cycling community (see example), I'd hate to offend a cyclist who hasn't heard such obscenities before *cough*.

Okay, back to last night. The race was average pace for the beginning, with the guys content to let me lead out the first lap. It was kind of fun being able to take the downhill into the turn at speed. What a novel idea. I had to laugh when one of the guys yelled "no brakes!" coming into the turn in the middle of the pack a little while later ... yeah, that'll happen.

I've been doing this race long enough that I know most of the guys - if not personally, at least by sight/bike/enough to say hello, good race. Last night there were a couple of guys I don't recall from recent races. One guy was especially interesting ... strong enough to be in the mix most of the time but sketchy as hell - squeezing people in so he stays inside the yellow line, making abrupt moves within the pack without looking, lapping wheels and, especially fun, pedaling his bike with the whole body so the front wheel weaves with each pedal stroke.

Whenever I see a rider like this I seem to find a magnetic force toward them. No matter what I did last night, I found myself next to, near or behind this rider. Several four-letter words escaped me within a short period, with me singling him out by calling out his kit "Pitt, JFC, its an effing TRAINING RACE". After the race I nicely (really - I was nice!) let him know he was scaring the crap outta people. He took it well - better than I thought he would- and said he wasn't aware that he was riding sketch. Whether he said that to make me stop lecturing him or whether he meant it, I dunno ... but either way, I'd never name-names (or kits, as the case may be) if I wasn't willing to say something to the guy face-to-face.

Another interesting twist to the race last night was the mixing of the A and B fields. The As must've been flying b/c they passed us within about 5 laps or so, which is SUPER early. The field was blown apart with chase groups passing us at random intervals. One such group passed us but couldn't keep the gap. We passed them. Some of them integrated with us. Others hung out at the back and tried to pass again, only to wind up back in our group. Several B riders tried to make a disappearing break - one where you jump ahead of the other field and disappear - out of sight, out of mind. None of that worked. Thankfully, the A guys had the courtesy to step out of our group for the finishing lap, which gave us a clean sprint. Thanks, guys - it was confusing to be racing with integrated fields, but you did make us pick up the pace and make a real run at it.

On to the weekend - where high temps and a TT saddle will make my life miserable for an hour on Saturday and where I'm debating the trip up to DE for the crit ... love the course, just hate to drive all that way after driving out to the TT in Church Creek the day before. We are gluttons for punishment, but the price to drive is killing me. My coach sent me this link ... at $4/gallon of gas and 3 hour round trips to races, one must wonder what we're going to do ...
(photo courtesy of Shane Kullman)

Big hugs to Trey C - always a steady wheel in the races and always the first to cheer for his friends, Trey is making a move out of state so we won't see him at the Greenbelt races anymore. All the best to you, come back and visit 'cause I'll need the leadout !

Where do the Weekends go ?

So the Quicksilver race, moved a block over and renamed "Ride Sally Ride", was a blast. I debated racing because our race was early and its a bit of a hike for me from B'more, but my teammates were convincing - they planned a team movie night (Sex And The City- loved it!) Friday night so I stayed at the Frat house in Silver Spring, which made for an easier morning. My teammates are good to me.

It was so humid at 730am we felt like we were swimming through the air. I have no idea how the guys in the later races managed to get through. By the time you guys were racing, Michelle and I were enjoying some sushi and a dip in the pool. Anyhoo. The race course was almost exactly the same as I remember the prior course. Wide open, slight rollers and three easily navigable corners. Quite a few of the local big-shots were up in Philly so I decided to play and see what I could do. I'm finally getting into the mindset that I'm here to play, not to just survive (reference again to my dismal 2007 issues). Our team set out to drive the pace, see who could hang on and see if we could break it up. We were super active with attacks, counters and more attacks. I managed to make a few splits happen, Leslie went in a few moves and the whole team helped to control the pace. A couple of (unnamed riders) were like shadows -every time I turned around, there was (unnamed riders) on my wheel. Much respect to the girls in the peloton ... the level of competition has gone up exponentially since I started playing with bikes ... but honestly, if you wanna play with the big girls, you're going to have to have the balls (pardon the french) to pull through in a break. You know who you are, no need to name names.

With 3 to go, we were gruppo compacto - lots of suffering in the pack, some girls just hanging on but together for the most part. I decided that I was going to see what happened ... so I took off like I meant it. I got a good gap through the last turn and came to the line with 2 to go and Jen Chang on my wheel. She was awesome - she took her pulls and kept saying that we could do this. Unfortunately for me, it was one dig too late ... I cracked with 1/2 lap to go. The pack swarmed us at the line but Jen was able to hold on for the win, while I nearly died holding onto 5th place. It was fun, frustrating and satisfying at the same time. You know that feeling you get when you're completely spent and you know you've given it your all ? That's exactly where I was.

I was frustrated that I missed it by 1/2K but it was well worth the effort. Leslie came through and pulled out 2nd and teammate Robin was right next to me at the finish to get 6th. Not too shabby, a good showing for Team CycleLife. Sometimes you need a race like that - one where you hang it all out and are spent and happy at the end. Dont get me wrong, I'd be happier if I'd have made it to the end and took the win, but this is probably a close 2nd to that feeling.

Michelle and I decided to get some food (mmm ... sushi) and head to her aunt's house to hang out at the pool for the afternoon. A nice, relaxing day, especially knowing that we didn't have to race on Sunday. Sara and Michelle both made the trek up to my place to ride with me. I had been at the frat house since Friday night, so Sunday morning my house was an oven since I hadn't turned on the AC while I was gone. All the better motivation to get out and get rolling ... we were out on the road by 1030am, later than we wanted to be but we were out late on Saturday night so it was the best we could do. Yes, we were actually out and about Saturday night instead of resting up for some silly race on Sunday. It was quite a novelty.

Anyway, I finally took my TT bike off the rack and put some wheels on it in an attempt to get used to it by this Saturday's Church Creek TT. I forgot how much I loved my TT bike. Except I had to jerry-rig the water bottle cages b/c the geometry is too small to truly house water bottles. And those water bottles were essential on Sunday- just ask Sara, who forgot her bottles on my dining room table. We had pity on her and stopped at the first gas station to get her set for the rest of the ride. Two and a half hours later we were back - exhausted and happy to be done for the day. A nice afternoon nap, some laundry and some grocery shopping ... and the weekend was gone, just like that.

TGIF 06/06

Oh, freakin' fine ... I'm updating my blog ... its only been 4 days since my last post but judging from the emails I'm getting, you'd think it'd been a month. Its been a busy week but since I committed to doing a TGIF post, here we go.

I was going to blog about our new teammate - but that was more "team" related, so you can click here for that discussion. Its well worth the side-trip.

Then I was hoping for some new news on the RedRoseRaces debacle ... but so far nothing except the minor uprising of cyclists that still held high hopes for David and Rich, who ran the races. I long-since abandoned that hope ... I've done a few of those races and had decent results most of the time, but there were always issues. Payouts weren't made. Checks were never sent. Fields were combined. Races were shortened. Refunds were never made. But we racers are nothing if not OCD and we'll travel all over creation to get to some po-dunk race in the middle of nowhere just to feed the addiction. So, I feel the pain. I do wonder how its going to work out for all of those pre-registered for canceled races and those with payouts still due to them.

I had intended on racing Greenbelt this week - piled up my gear and took the car to work instead of the Vespa (Vespas have yet to accommodate carrying a bicycle). Instead, the storms on Wednesday that canceled Greenbelt necessitated an indoor workout for me - been a while since I've done an indoor workout so instead of being drudgery, it was actually okay. My coach kept me honest, though, and gave me a hard friggin' interval workout for the rollers. Slavedriver.

Speaking of the Vespa, I currently have over 300miles on mine ... I've been scooting around every chance I get. I've been seeing more scooters everywhere - most of them are the 49cc ones that dont need licensed etc, but I think the gas prices are causing people to think about how to get around more efficiently. Every single time I'm on the Vespa, someone approaches me to ask how much it costs, how much gas mileage it gets, whether I need a motorcycle license to ride it etc. I should be getting paid for as much press I've given Vespa.. wonder if they sponsor cycling teams. Hmm...

Our race tomorrow at "Ride Sally Ride" (ironic name, but that discussion has already been beaten to death). I didn't want to complain about the lack of womens fields b/c as a new team, CycleLife has not yet held our inaugural event. But as last year's president of ABRT, we held numerous events, all with multiple womens fields... so there ... I can complain. I initially whined about the 930am start time (I hate that I get out of bed earlier for cycling than I do for my PAYING job) for the sole womens field, but judging by the weather forecast, it may be a blessing. For everyone who has been questioning where spring/summer is ... I got your summer right here:


Go get your bike tan on.

Monday, monday

For my CSC race in a picture, click here. My race report to my coach included the following:

never got off the line as girls in front of me crashed out. Went to the pit and got pushed into the race. Was in ok position for a few laps but drifted back, couldn't regain position. Gapped off by (unnamed rider), i knew i shouldn't be on her wheel. Worked in a group until the peloton lapped us, then worked in for a few laps. Started yo-yo-ing off the back again and pulled myself. was disheartened about who was in the peloton, but found out later most of them were lapped, and I was actually in a decent spot if I hadn't talked myself out of the race.

I have decided that my fitness is finally where it was pre-2007-training-issues, but my mental status has yet to fully recover. Dammit. My fault, no doubt, so not pointing any blame. Just stating the facts.

Saturday's Murad race was a bit better .... we were lucky as the Rain Gods smiled upon the women yet again and we managed to finish out the day staying dry. We started out with a semi-stacked field - local strong-women matched up against some girls from Advil and Hub (in town for the Big-Girl-Race on Sunday). Team CycleLife brought 4riders to the line.. Most of the race was tame, with a couple of breaks going off and being reeled back in. At one point, a break of about 8 riders went up the road and CycleLife was not in it. Sara and I moved back and forth across the road looking for an opening to chase, but we were on Partnership Road, which had a yellow line, which Stephan was vigorously enforcing. Advil, Hub and HPC were actively spread across the road, blocking. Side note: At what point does that strategy become negative racing? In my book, physically blocking the entire road is just wrong - go with the moves, screw up the paceline, chase back chasers ... but to physically block ? Not cool. Even when my team made up half the field (last year), we NEVER physically blocked. Anyway.

Making the last turn into the hill, the physical blocking finally broke up and off we went. The race was back together with 2 laps to go. Melanie and Sara did a great job patrolling the front the entire race, Leslie stayed really smart and didn't waste any energy (she did make an amazing bridge to a move earlier in the race, but that was brought back). The skies got a little dark and I swear I saw lightning in the distance - on Partnership road on the 4th of 5 laps, we were informed that we were finishing on this lap. This changes EVERYTHING. The pace picked up, people started jockeying for position. Leslie was in a good spot and I tried to let her know there was a good leadout train to her right ... Sara tried to get on Leslie's wheel but got boxed out. We made the final turn onto River in a fury - everyone stood up to go, but there was still 1k left ... stand up, sprint, sit down. Leslie yelled at me to go but I was stuck on an Advil wheel (that apparently wasnt going to sprint). Thankfully, Leslie went on another wheel and sprinted for what seemed like FOREVER. For the first time this year, I actually jockeyed for a sprint - only to be shut down as (unnamed riders) swerved into each other, almost taking each other out and shutting down my line. Leslie, meanwhile, was still sprinting and took the win for Team CycleLife. I found another line and restarted - again - to wind up right next to Melanie and just ahead of Sara for the finish. All four of us were in the top 10 in the semi-stacked field, which made for a good day for everyone. I was 6th in the 1/2s, Melanie and Sara were 2nd and 3rd, respectively, in the 3s. Nice.