The 10 hour drive of fall foliage and mountain views ended in clean and quaint downtown Louisville. Although long, it was one of the least stressful drives of the cx season. Our very accommodating and fun host was located only a mile from the venue alongside the Ohio River and just past the Louisville Riverside parks.
In Louisville, at night we enjoyed seeing the houses along Hillcrest over-decorated for Halloween. The best was the bike graveyard, the worst was the house that tried to be a pirate ship but looked more like it was under construction.
The food choices along Frankfort Ave were all local and also excellent. I hope to go back some day and eat more. El Mundo for Mexican was by far the J Gumbo's for Cajun was a real tasty deal. Burgers at WW Cousins could have been good if I didn't have racer tummy which allowed me to only eat three bites of my burger and one onion ring.
Okay the race course was alright. It did leave a little to be desired but it wasn't bad considering it was pancake flat other than the flyover. They did at least break up the long straightaways with a few semi-technical sections such as corners or sand. The most frustrating part however was the narrowings and too tight of corners for the early part of the course - with in the first 150m which forced all the races to be single file from that point on. That's not very spectator or racer friendly.
About 40 women lined up - the best of North America (and in some ways the world). It was also a preview of Nationals with the west coasters and Coloradoans coming out. I'll admit I wasn't ashamed to line up third out of four rows in this crowd. It definitely takes a lot of pressure off having not to be on the front row. On the other hand - you biff a start and you'll be left all alone really quick (thank god for those tight corners right off the start stretch).
Saturday was an odd race day. Warmup, pre-ride, all were fine. However once the race got going I just didn't have it. I felt like I was going hard but still going backwards. Unfortunately, almost all of us that have been racing together the past few weeks felt the same and us gals from the East coast didn't fare as well as we all had hoped. What did make me happy was that from a team standpoint, Velo Bella-Kona is talented and has some depth -- if a few racers don't have a good day, there are teammates who will be able to put in a good show - and it all balances out. Barb, Amy, and Kathy all did pretty good. Anna and I were kind of left with our wheels spinning and trying to figure out what just happened. I finished 25th out of 35 and 7+ minutes down from the leader.
Sunday the course was basically the same but they removed one of the bottle necks at the start and shortened up some of the long straightaways with some S-turns. The course was a little bit tackier and the Griffos were hooking up perfectly for me. I actually was able to race and pick off riders. Although I was still basically a back of the packer (pretty much anything worse than 50%), this time I finished only like 5 minutes down from the leader (which is still kind of embarrassing I'll admit). In the grand scheme of things though (although I had hoped for a top 15) I finished about where I was expected, I guess - ironically enough in the same position as my starting line up - 20th. And it earned me one USGP point. Which is kinda cool.
After Saturday's race, a discussion with a teammate got me wondering if perhaps I need a rest week since I had said that this was my 10th race of the season for me - to my teammates 3rd. The question came up - 'Do you race on a rest week?' Dumbfounded, I didn't know what to say. Judd and I race every weekend from mid-Sept to Christmas. I honestly couldn't imagine it any other way. I love each race so much that the thought of missing out on any of them literally gets me all choked up. Now that I've been doing some of these races for years, I look forward to the travel and to the experience of the race on courses I've grown to love and against competition that I know. I'm at the half way point of the season. Let's see how things continue on for the rest of the year.
Monday, October 29, 2007
Monday, October 22, 2007
At home...
in the Mid-Atlantic....
The series opener Granogue is my old favorite cyclocross race - races at this venue have been going on forever and it's a course everyone loves to hate, but always return to. I remember doing this race many years ago and walking up the hill to the tower with tears in my eyes because it seemed so hard. And yet each year I return and am able to ride a little faster and my form gets a little better. Yeah, sometimes I still have to push the bike a few feet while the others can grind out the gears over a little hump. But I am happy that I can finally shoulder the bike and do the whole run-ups with semi-ease and can sorta almost navigate the technical corners without too many issues. It's fun to see how much you progress year to year with a challenging race like this. One day, I hope to ride away with a pink flamingo.
Despite the tough course the day before, I still felt pretty strong at Wiss. I was inspired seeing Anna leading the charge to bring Kari back and wanted to bridge back up to that chase group to try to help. While I was focusing on trying to catch them I rode into the sand way to fast losing control of the front wheel. The pileup with Amy and Betsy and god knows who else ensued. I was so embarrased and annoyed to have crashed, resulting in a huge gap to the top 5 and ruining other people's races. I did manage to stay focused enough to keep trying to close the gaps that resulted from my mistakes. Lesson learned was that it's okay to slow down to navigate tricky corners. Speed and momentum will get you through some technical sections, but there are certain times when the skill required is the patience to go really slow. I think I always had this fear that if you slow down, the effort of going fast will catch up to you. But on the other hand the risk is that if you are going to fast, you can not get out of your own way.
The series opener Granogue is my old favorite cyclocross race - races at this venue have been going on forever and it's a course everyone loves to hate, but always return to. I remember doing this race many years ago and walking up the hill to the tower with tears in my eyes because it seemed so hard. And yet each year I return and am able to ride a little faster and my form gets a little better. Yeah, sometimes I still have to push the bike a few feet while the others can grind out the gears over a little hump. But I am happy that I can finally shoulder the bike and do the whole run-ups with semi-ease and can sorta almost navigate the technical corners without too many issues. It's fun to see how much you progress year to year with a challenging race like this. One day, I hope to ride away with a pink flamingo.
Despite the tough course the day before, I still felt pretty strong at Wiss. I was inspired seeing Anna leading the charge to bring Kari back and wanted to bridge back up to that chase group to try to help. While I was focusing on trying to catch them I rode into the sand way to fast losing control of the front wheel. The pileup with Amy and Betsy and god knows who else ensued. I was so embarrased and annoyed to have crashed, resulting in a huge gap to the top 5 and ruining other people's races. I did manage to stay focused enough to keep trying to close the gaps that resulted from my mistakes. Lesson learned was that it's okay to slow down to navigate tricky corners. Speed and momentum will get you through some technical sections, but there are certain times when the skill required is the patience to go really slow. I think I always had this fear that if you slow down, the effort of going fast will catch up to you. But on the other hand the risk is that if you are going to fast, you can not get out of your own way.
Saturday, October 13, 2007
Gloucester, smooth sailing
I'm sending a quick note to say we have 5 Bellas out here in Gloucester Mass, for the New England series opener weekend. Jen Tilley flew in from CO, I drove in from DC to join the local contingent of Anna M, Steph White, Melody Chase. There were so many of us the announcers and spectators were getting confused.
We were delighted to start with three Bellas on the front row to lead the field of 40+ elite women and Lyne Bessette. When Lyne went, only one rider was brave enough to risk everything to try to stay with her. While the rest of us were content to race for the scraps, Anna was there to race and to give Lyne a run for her money.
Although Lyne in usual fashion dominated, Anna's efforts didn't go unnoticed by all those watching. It's one thing to race in your "comfort zone", but it takes a certain level of poise and confidence to challenge yourself beyond those limits to try to stay with someone like Lyne. It was heartbreaking to go by Anna mid-race and to know that there is nothing I could do or say to help. However based on her performances in the early season at Long Island last week, it's obvious Anna is one powerhouse rider who is ready to race for the podium. Anna taught me a lesson today, sometimes in order to break through you have to take a huge gamble and keep pushing your limits. In doing so, you may not get the results you want, but you gain from the experience in the long run.
This year's course at Gloucester was one of the best courses I have ever raced. Aside from the picture perfect venue, the crowds of spectators, the huge field of racers, the expo area, the course always has flow. However this year's course was so smooth and flowy it was a lot of fun to ride...The wide sweeping course with gentle undulating terrain and a small enough of little hill to force a little power to the pedals, to put a little hup in your step, and a little scare in your offcamber ups-and-downs which are totally rideable without tapping the brakes.
Oh. I can't tell you how much fun it was - just enough challenge but moderate enough to keep the pace fast. The corners forced you to handle the bike just so and to not be afraid to ride tape to tape and to brush a stake or two with your hip. Through some of these sections it was easier having a good wheel to follow. Steph's wheel was just that. It's obvious why she was on the World Champ Mtn bike team - she can navigate any technical terrain with ease and riding sand was nothing. And she dug deep, accelerated hard out of every corner and every obstacle. Cyclocross is not about going the same speed the whole 40mins. Steph reminded me of that everytime she attacked.
Because of the course and the depth of the field, the name of the game today was riding in packs - something that isn't that often seen in the few races that I have done. Maybe a bunch of 1sy 2sy groups, but not a pack of 4-5, like today. Lyne was solo and a bit of a gap between her and the first chase of 5 riders. The second chase eventually developed and contained Jen Tilley, myself, and former Bella Christine V. We tried our best to reel in the lead group and work over the other few riders mixing it in with us. We didn't quite catch the lead but the time span between their group and the sprint from our group wasn't too big. It surely made the race exciting to watch.
I am really happy for Wellons and Wallace to finally have some good strong racing and results.
I'm content with my 9th place eventhough last year I would have been bummed with anything less worse than 7th. During the race I thought I was 13th and out of the points but even then I was happy because it was a fair race and I handled the course well. I was constantly thinking and trying to figure out where to make up time and how to not lose time. It worked as I had to claw my way back to the front after being to scared to go to the front at the beginning of the race because I was one of the first ones off the line. As a result I sat in for the first 1/2 lap and pretty much wasted my front row start. I realized my error 1/2 lap too late and by then the leaders were gone and there a lot of time to make up. Eventually I was close to catching the lead group, but wish I had that little extra 5% of fitness and I could have done it without thinking I would blow.
I'm looking forward to another nice sunny cool day tomorrow and chance to make up for some of my mistakes today. We'll see how the legs feel and how well the awesome dinner helps me recoup. Time to drink more water.
We were delighted to start with three Bellas on the front row to lead the field of 40+ elite women and Lyne Bessette. When Lyne went, only one rider was brave enough to risk everything to try to stay with her. While the rest of us were content to race for the scraps, Anna was there to race and to give Lyne a run for her money.
Although Lyne in usual fashion dominated, Anna's efforts didn't go unnoticed by all those watching. It's one thing to race in your "comfort zone", but it takes a certain level of poise and confidence to challenge yourself beyond those limits to try to stay with someone like Lyne. It was heartbreaking to go by Anna mid-race and to know that there is nothing I could do or say to help. However based on her performances in the early season at Long Island last week, it's obvious Anna is one powerhouse rider who is ready to race for the podium. Anna taught me a lesson today, sometimes in order to break through you have to take a huge gamble and keep pushing your limits. In doing so, you may not get the results you want, but you gain from the experience in the long run.
This year's course at Gloucester was one of the best courses I have ever raced. Aside from the picture perfect venue, the crowds of spectators, the huge field of racers, the expo area, the course always has flow. However this year's course was so smooth and flowy it was a lot of fun to ride...The wide sweeping course with gentle undulating terrain and a small enough of little hill to force a little power to the pedals, to put a little hup in your step, and a little scare in your offcamber ups-and-downs which are totally rideable without tapping the brakes.
Oh. I can't tell you how much fun it was - just enough challenge but moderate enough to keep the pace fast. The corners forced you to handle the bike just so and to not be afraid to ride tape to tape and to brush a stake or two with your hip. Through some of these sections it was easier having a good wheel to follow. Steph's wheel was just that. It's obvious why she was on the World Champ Mtn bike team - she can navigate any technical terrain with ease and riding sand was nothing. And she dug deep, accelerated hard out of every corner and every obstacle. Cyclocross is not about going the same speed the whole 40mins. Steph reminded me of that everytime she attacked.
Because of the course and the depth of the field, the name of the game today was riding in packs - something that isn't that often seen in the few races that I have done. Maybe a bunch of 1sy 2sy groups, but not a pack of 4-5, like today. Lyne was solo and a bit of a gap between her and the first chase of 5 riders. The second chase eventually developed and contained Jen Tilley, myself, and former Bella Christine V. We tried our best to reel in the lead group and work over the other few riders mixing it in with us. We didn't quite catch the lead but the time span between their group and the sprint from our group wasn't too big. It surely made the race exciting to watch.
I am really happy for Wellons and Wallace to finally have some good strong racing and results.
I'm content with my 9th place eventhough last year I would have been bummed with anything less worse than 7th. During the race I thought I was 13th and out of the points but even then I was happy because it was a fair race and I handled the course well. I was constantly thinking and trying to figure out where to make up time and how to not lose time. It worked as I had to claw my way back to the front after being to scared to go to the front at the beginning of the race because I was one of the first ones off the line. As a result I sat in for the first 1/2 lap and pretty much wasted my front row start. I realized my error 1/2 lap too late and by then the leaders were gone and there a lot of time to make up. Eventually I was close to catching the lead group, but wish I had that little extra 5% of fitness and I could have done it without thinking I would blow.
I'm looking forward to another nice sunny cool day tomorrow and chance to make up for some of my mistakes today. We'll see how the legs feel and how well the awesome dinner helps me recoup. Time to drink more water.
Wednesday, October 10, 2007
Another summer day
This past weekend in the Hamptons was quite a treat - I just wish I had time to go to the beach that, hopefully, last weekend of summer. The weekend was once again full of thinking of bikes, racing, and belgian chocolate. I especially enjoyed hanging out with cycling friends old and new and dining on fine cuisine at Wild Thyme and the Southampton Bagel deli, home of the Flagel.
While hanging out with the ladies, I learned a few things this weekend - like the power of positive (or not so positive) thinking, that women in their mid 30s have sex drives comparable to an 18 year old boy, that I'm not riding hard enough because I haven't ever puked on the bike......
I wish I could say the highlight of the weekend was the racing itself, but unfortunately my fondest memories are of hanging out with the Erwin supporter club and adoringly gazing at the finest man in cyclocross - Mr. Vervecken himself.
Of course other memories would include watching the amazing last three laps of the men's race both days - coming down to a real race between three of the tallest men in cyclocross. As with any race, it isn't over until something goes wrong or you win. And so it was exciting to see the final duel each day and to see Wicks win on Sun.
And finally off to the cooler temps in the Northeast - please no snow or rain or hail! Did you see the size of the women's field? Can't say the sport isn't growing.
While hanging out with the ladies, I learned a few things this weekend - like the power of positive (or not so positive) thinking, that women in their mid 30s have sex drives comparable to an 18 year old boy, that I'm not riding hard enough because I haven't ever puked on the bike......
I wish I could say the highlight of the weekend was the racing itself, but unfortunately my fondest memories are of hanging out with the Erwin supporter club and adoringly gazing at the finest man in cyclocross - Mr. Vervecken himself.
Of course other memories would include watching the amazing last three laps of the men's race both days - coming down to a real race between three of the tallest men in cyclocross. As with any race, it isn't over until something goes wrong or you win. And so it was exciting to see the final duel each day and to see Wicks win on Sun.
And finally off to the cooler temps in the Northeast - please no snow or rain or hail! Did you see the size of the women's field? Can't say the sport isn't growing.
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