Training Camp Re-cap- Day 1

This weekend I had the pleasure of joining about 40(+/-) illustrious members of the Evolution Cycling Club as we took to the roads of Lost River to play in the mountains for a few days. I had been looking forward to this adventure since I bandited last year's event as a non-member. This year I was thrilled to finally be a legit member.

Thursday morning started early to make an unofficial breakfast at Cristina's - well worth the early wakeup call to begin the day with this crew. The food was great and the company was even better.

We all hopped in our respective cars and rolled caravan-style into Lost River State Park, our home for the next 4 days. I had packed like I was staying in a third world country  - every bit of cycling clothing I could even pretend might be useful, layers ranging from sunny and 70degrees to the arctic and shoes for every occasion. Ok, I only brought 3 pair of shoes but, still, that was like a different pair for each night.

I changed into my cycling gear and high-tailed it down to the base of the camp. It was pretty chilly so I chose my tights and my favorite thermal jacket with appropriate base layering. As we waited for the final group to descend from the cabins, we learned that camp started with a casualty ... on the way down from the cabin, Kent's head-tube broke, throwing him into the woods and rendering the bike useless. Thankfully, he was physically ok and happened to have his spare bike (who brings a spare bike to camp?!? bravo for the foresight!)

The Cabin next to ours - they're actually pretty awesome inside

Assured that he was ok, the rest of us got rolling. Let me state up front that I knew from previous rides that I. HATE. DOVE. HOLLOW.  It sounds all peaceful and stuff but it's pure hell - crappy surface, wheel-eating potholes and random patches of pea-gravel that doesn't announce itself the way a polite, peaceful road would. Anyway, this crew was ready to go and our warm up was hanging on to wheels for dear life through that minefield. A few miles into it, I noticed that I had lost my girls so I sat up to check on everyone. Once I reconnected with them, Luis comes flying by (having checked on Kent before rolling out) so I hopped on his wheel. He's trying to catch the main group and I figured - I'll take that ride. It's cold and we are not going slow - between my eyes tearing up and the shadows, I didn't see the road turn into pebble-gravel as I took a sweeping left turn. Less than 5miles into the camp, I slid out in a pretty grand fashion.

As we bike racers tend to do, I hopped up immediately and took inventory, wasting no time to get back on and pedal. I was hurt but not injured so I intended to use the adrenaline to catch back up with the group. My plan was thwarted when another teammate stood at the top of a small descent, telling me to slow down. I slowly crested the hill to see a melee - a random sheet of ice had taken down several guys, some of whom were still on the ground.

Damage report for day 1 - at least three broken bikes (maybe four?), two dislocated fingers (turns out one was broken), some bruised ribs (again, turns out one was broken), a bunch of bumps and bruises and half my arse left on the pavement. What a start to this weekend!!

After a death-march of a ride in the wind, the next task was to treat the wounded - that would be me. Bike was ok but I had some road rash in places that required assistance. Gwenn went in search of bandages and sent Claudette over with her recently-replenished first aid kit. While we have had the pleasure of riding and/or hanging out a time or two this winter, I'm certain she never thought she'd have to help bandage my arse. Bless you, Claudette - you are super-awesome-cool - and I thought that before you had a look at my bum.

What's the best way to finish off a day like this? A team dinner. The chance to tell stories, eat good food you didn't have to cook and generally enjoy each other's company - happy that we made it through the calamity? or just happy to be there to share the adventure? All of the above if you ask me. The glass of wine Jeff poured for me helped my overall disposition - of that I am certain. 

Of course some of us chose a different way to celebrate our survival. To each their own, right?

Tidewater Classic 2.23.13

I suppose it's time for my monthly off-season blog post. The good news (depending on your view on the subject) is that race season for me started this weekend - this means more rambling! It was a cold and rainy start to the season so you  know I have plenty to say about it.

The start to the season was not in the actual race, it was pre-race. Right before I rolled out to stage, I got to witness some poor guy heaving up his breakfast, last night's dinner and maybe yesterday's lunch. I didn't see it at first, I HEARD it ... which is worse in my book. Anyhoo, that didn't give me any warm and fuzzies for the break-in race.

While the Bikereg field was only 5 deep, that didn’t account for about 15 Collegiate “A” ladies that would be racing with us. Those ladies are already in their race season so I knew they’d be a little further along in fitness than I was. Our fields were scored separately so while the collegiates would influence the race, they were not our competition for the win.The other 1-2-3 women included 2 BikeBeat (VA Beach) riders and one NCVC rider. As a side note, NCVC has been racing for the past month all over the country culminating in a stage win in the Valley of Sun race (AZ). NCVC was definitely the one to beat.

Anyhoo, the schedule called for 5 laps totaling 50 miles but the race was cut by 1 lap before we started for reasons unknown to me.  

We rolled out all neutral-like, happy to get moving if only to warm up from standing in the cold. After a hard left on to the course, the race was on. The pace picked up, driven mostly by the collegiate racers. I expected a surge on the first hill but that didn’t come until after we crested what looked like the top but actually continued at a more gradual grade upward. The acceleration fizzled and while we shed a few racers, we were mostly together. That was a fine hello, how-do-ya-do for my legs.

I spent the next two laps tail-gunning, covering moves if they looked dangerous and keeping an eye on the two BikeBeat girls. I couldn’t really gauge them. They were both kind of stocky and showed they had power (especially on the flats). Then I noticed that they both charged the front as we approached the climbs and drifted back as we went vertical. As long as they didn’t get a huge lead on me for the finishing climb, I’d be ok.

After many fits and starts, commentary about cold hands, cold feet and fish stories about prior races complemented by some bickering amongst the younger riders, we FINALLY made the turn off the course for the final 1k run into the finish, which consisted of a short, flat section into a bugger of a hill. The collegiates in contention animated and I saw NCVC making the move to follow. I jumped a half second later and saw a clean line on the right. I had a good run going until it was shut down by another rider pulling right. I had to hold a pedal stroke, wait for someone to pass, move to the left and re-start the effort. I managed to pick off riders after that debacle but lost a few overall spots in the process.The good news is that I managed to pick off the right girls to wind up 2nd in the 1-2-3 race. Not a bad way to get back in the groove.

The End of the Beginning

And so we wind down this first month of 2013. The last month or so has been packed with ups and downs, new beginnings, the ending of one era and transitioning to a new one. In between all of that, I've had the typical comedy of errors and hijinks that most people who know me have come to expect.

First, as I mentioned in my last post (over a month ago! i'm such a terrible blogger these days), I took on a new-new position with a new company. In between jobs, I had the pleasure of living the life of a wanna-be pro cyclist. I told my coach that I had free time and she accommodated me with back-to-back 3-4 hour rides for about 2 weeks. As an aside, by "wanna-be pro cyclist" (WBPC) I mean the pro-cyclist life without the sag support, daily massages and chef-prepared nutrition. So, pretty much I was just an out-of-work chick who rode her bike a lot.

Anyway, she made sure I didn't overdo it, as I am prone to do, but we did load up the base miles. It was a strangely liberating feeling with just me, my powermeter and my ipod for hours on end. The only downside is that there are only a couple of routes out of town (that I know) so by the time I started working again, I was ok with the "break" from MacArthur/Poolesville/10am routes.

Somewhere in those two weeks, the boy and I made the trek out west for the holiday. I continued the WBPC routine out there with the compliment of a couple indoor rides due to snow. On our way out we happened upon an unexpected snow storm somewhere around the VA/WVA line. It was awful - borderline blizzard conditions. All kinds of crap from the road was being kicked up (snow? ice? rock salt?) and I could barely see the one lane that was still passable on the 3 lane highway. I'm not a wuss driver -I raced sprint cars in a prior life! but this was bad. We made it safe and sound, only about 2.5hrs later than we hoped, but I swear that took years off my life.

The next day we went out to the car only to realize that one of those flying objects actually broke through glass. I needed a new windshield. Progressive was awesome and set up something for the day after Christmas. Only it snowed that day and none of the back roads were viable. In the meantime, the boy was going to take the car to town for last minute shopping but ... it wouldn't start. Nothing. Not even pretending to turn over. We put the car into the garage and hooked it up to a charger- it would start but once we turned it off - nothing. So we jumped it and took it to Advanced Auto. One guy tried saying it was my starter but thankfully another, more experienced, guy said no, I just need a battery.

In the end, my souvenirs from this trip were a new battery and a new windshield. Sorry, I didn't get you anything. If it makes you feel any better, I wound up having to replace my brakes and rotors after this trip as well. This was a very expensive trip - next time I'm flying.

I leave you with some random pics from the past month or so. 

Winter Wonderland - Snow for Christmas in Kentucky. 

The boy helps celebrate the beginning of the Month of Wendy (MoW)

Look to the right of the trees. Two snow-people, hanging out after the rest of the snow melted. Taken in Poolsville area.

Holiday breakfast by the boy. Yum!

I raced one of these! Of course, it was a lifetime ago but ... I'm not a wuss driver!