Old Town Brea Criterium

Sunday May 23, 2010

Nooo!!!! There were only 9 women there and I came in 9th place! Top 6 got cash prizes! That means there was a 66% chance to win money!!! Well not really considering it was a Women's Cat 3/4 and I was one of 2 cat 4s.... the probability of winning money was more like.... 10 percent, HAHA.

So that was an interesting race! There was a freakin hill that kicked my ass the first couple of laps- I wasted a lot of energy being nervous, cold, and hating that hill. I got popped off the back about lap 4 on the climb, and after that I finally sat up and caught my breath and cleared my head.

I vowed to not get lapped, so I held on for the next 30 minutes, time trialing it and trying to improve my lap speed on each successive lap. There was a lot of headwind so not much was to be gained on the tiny descent after the climb, but the final turn into the finish line was where I was able to just punch down in the drops and blast all the way through the first turn. I got caught after turn 3 on the final lap. There were several laps when it looked like I was in first place rather than last- I thought that was funny. But initially... after getting dropped, I did wonder why I was still racing and what the point of it all was, but I'm glad I finished the race. A solid 9th place, haha. If I had just hung with the pack I would have had a good chance at placing- but it takes me a while to get into the rhythm.

I'm sad that I'm going on vacation this week- I won't be able to do the Weds night shop ride, the Thursday night Crit, or the weekend races. To top it off I've been working a lot of freelance, so I didn't ride yesterday, but there's always tonight and tomorrow morning.

See the image? Totally looks like I'm in first place, right? hahhaha.

OC Great Park Crit- May 20th

I raced with the Men's Cat 4/5 this time around. Four of my friends from the shop ride were there with me, and of course Michael was rooting for me on the side.

My second time at the Great Park- I was able to maneuver the course more confidently- the turns didn't get me this time around. I got popped off the back on the first lap- and hopped on and popped off about 2 more times before I pulled off to the side for some advice from the coach/significant other- Apparently I was still wasting energy pedaling inefficiently in the wrong gear. So I waited for the pack to come around again and hopped on and got into the tiny ring in the back and lo-and-behold I was able to hold on to the pack. I ended up coming in dead last but man did it feel good. It was my first time actually finishing a race (the first week was pretty lame since I didn't come in with the pack) so it really felt like a worthy accomplishment.

The weather was great that day too- really hot- just the way I like it when I ride. Otherwise I need warmers for anything under 66. I'm such a Californian pansy.

Wednesdays: Shop Ride Day

Every Wednesday I ride with the ladies from Surf City Cyclery in the morning and the guys n gals from A Road Bike 4 U in the evening. The Road Bike 4 U ride used to be Sunday, but they moved it to Wednesday when summer came around and the sun stayed up later.

It's a fun ride, if I had a large readership I would help promote but at the moment this blog is more or less just a journal of progress. I'm happy today because I'm down 7 pounds since the beginning of seasons (one of my favorite movies in fact.) So, off I go!


A pic Erika (ride leader) snapped this morning


Picture from about two weeks ago.


Picture from about two weeks ago, on the trail.

Redlands Women's Cycling Clinic + Ontario Criterium

Ah Monday, back to work. I'm sad because all I can think about is cycling right now. I even rewatched Cavendish take the opening stage of the Tour of California during breakfast this morning. I'm also in the process of building up a new bike. I have a couple Sram Red components coming in the mail and my Cervelo S2 is being delivered to my LBS and will be arriving at the end of this month. Oh, and I got my US Cycling license so I can officially call myself a racer now! Woo hoo. I'm definitely looking forward to future races, especially with the confidence and skills I gained at the Redlands Clinic and Ontario Criterium over the weekend.

A picture I stole from someone off Facebook. I forgot my camera! Doh!

Overall the clinic was a good experience. You don't need to arrive as early as they suggest- I got there around 6:15. We got on our bikes around 9am and there wasn't really any important information dished out til just a couple minutes before. I had breakfast on the way since my body needs a really long time to digest before rides, but they served a typical cycling breakfast buffet (bagels, bananas, yogurt.)

I was part of the C (racers and wannabe racers) group. The first couple of exercises of the day focused on cornering. We started off with the basics and practiced weight shifting on different obstacles around the church parking lot. We then rode a short distance to do a couple of hill repeats.

The best part of the clinic for me was the Mock Crit. I really wish we could have spent more time on this portion of the clinic, and I wish we could have ramped up the difficulty level. We rode in a very small group so there wasn't the crazy feeling of being in a tight pack like in a real crit, but at least we got to practice attacking and counterattacking, and I managed to stay in the breakaway for a lap and come in 3rd (out of a dozen people, but I'm still proud, hahaha.) Anyway it's probably difficult to cater a clinic to everyone's skill levels but well, it was kind of expensive! In the end though, it's worth it, especially for the sake of support women's cycling. I mean, there were 100 women out there! The event was a success. Oh also they fed us Chipotle for lunch. (I think that was the second best part of the clinic.)

The Ontario Criterium on Sunday... Oh I made a HUGE mistake. I was doing great and felt so confident during the race- I had a good start and I managed to stay in the top 1/3 of the pack the whole time, but I was so focused on the people around me that I didn't pay attention to the announcer. It felt like the race was nearing the end and I heard the bell and sprinted as hard as I could towards the finish line! I started to slow down and realized the entire field was still moving... and I realized that it was only the sprint lap!!! No!!! I felt so embarassed and dejected I pulled out of the race and found a corner to sulk in.

I'm still embarassed but I really regret not finishing the race. I could have sprinted back in or at least tried to- even knowing that I tried would somewhat erase this small black mark in my memory... Even worse I left the race without notifying my significant other, so he assumed I had crashed...

Needless to say we left Ontario in a pretty foul mood, but after talking it over and getting attitude adjustment towards racing I'm ready to go out there again and start learning. I'll be at the OC Crit this Thursday seeing how well I can hang with the 4/5 guys. Hopefully their reputation doesn't precede them.

Women's Cycling Clinic, May 15-16

I managed to grab the last spot when I signed up for the Redlands Women's Cycling Clinic.

I'm REALLY REALLY excited!!! I just got a detailed email about the itinerary for the weekend. I'll be driving there so I'm unsure of whether or not I'll participate in the Crit on Sunday but I'm really going to try to make it out there!!!

It sounds awesome so far, I'll report back about the experience!

It's been freakin cold this week, so I will probably skip this Thursday's crit. I barely survived out there last night on a casual spin!

Here's the itinerary:

SATURDAY SCHEDULE:

6:00 - 7:00 am
Check-in (for participants that did not do Early Check-in on Friday afternoon).

7:00 - 8:00 am
Breakfast, Get Ready to Ride, and Group Assignments

8:00 - 9:00 am
Clinic Introduction and overview.

9:00 - 12:00 pm
On-Bike-Instruction
We will stop for breaks, to re-fill water bottles, etc. There will be SAG support for all three groups: water, mechanical support, first aid, etc.

12:00-1:00 pm
Lunch,Clinic Directors available for Q&A.
Guest Speaker - Dotsie Bausch; National Road Cycling Champion and promoter of the growth of women's cycling.

1:00 - 3:00 pm
Seminars/workshops: Nutrition, Muscle Recovery/Stretching, Yoga & Core Strengthening, Basic Bike Maintenance, Team & Individual Race Tactics. Choose those 4 that you are interested in attending. Each will last 30 min.

3:00-5:00 pm
Guest Speaker - Erica Davis; 1st Woman Parapalygic to summit Mt Kilimanjaro and Redlands Bicycle Classic Champion Handcyclist
Clinic directors speak on: "Training tips & things to consider to achieve your riding goals." General questions and answers.

SUNDAY:
Criterium race in Ontario. Women Cat4

GP2 Logo Design

The Thurs night crit series I raced in last week is having a logo design "competition." The winning logo will be used on the winner's jersey. I wanted to put my skills to some good use so I sent these in. They liked the work and may give me some free races for my effort. Woohoo!

Thursday, May 6, 2010- The OC Great Park Crit Series

I thought I was going to be late and completely miss the ride, but I managed to arrive early enough to register and do a practice lap. I was way too nervous, looking back I didn't even get to absorb the course at all during that lap. I got in line with the Masters. Thankfully one of my shop ride buddies was there, and I vowed to hold on to his wheel.

I was mentally overwhelmed. I was surprised and confused when we started off and quickly forgot everything I had ever learned about crit racing. I approached the first corner and got boxed in on an acute turn, felt my wheel slip on some sand, and thought that it was the end of me. The pack attacked immediately and I had not recovered fully from my freak-out and completely got dropped- we were only several yards into the race. Feeling slightly dejected I struggled to catch up but I coudn't match the momentum of the pack and only saw the gap widen.

I continued to soft pedal, waiting to hop on to the next group coming up from behind. I was timid- afraid I would cut off people in the pack if I tried to move in. I wasted a massive amount of energy trying this over and over again, but with little success. Eventually I got the timing down and managed to hop back on with the 4/5s once, but did not have the strength to hold on to the pack. Apparently I was on the windy side, but the wind was the least of my worries at that point. I also managed to hop on to the Pro 1/2/3's once, but they were just blasting down the tarmac at an incredible speed.

I felt like I still had a legs at the end of the race. Where was that every time I got dropped after catching the end of the pack? Tsk tsk.

It was certainly an interesting and positive experience. I've always had severe anxiety attacks before competition, so today was really not bad for me at all. I definitely want to go out there again next week, and am goign to begin interval training and build up some sprinting legs. Wish me luck!

Counting Down...

I'm restless.

Five hours to the start of the race and my nerves start to hit. I managed to stay calm through training this whole week, riding my best, hoping that the sound of the whistle blow will bring me back into that rhythm. Hopping on the trainer takes my heart rate back to resting pace, but leaves me worried that my legs won't be able to sustain the effort needed even to hang on with the pack.

It's going to be my first criterium, and first ever bike race, so I'm understandably nervous. But I want this to be a good experience. I want to do my best- I don't want to go in expecting to get left behind because it is my first time... In fact, I daydream I'll shine out there and waste everyone on the field- that somehow racing will unleash a pedaling monster I didn't even know existed within- but reality is not so kind.

Writing it down helps. I watch a few of Sprinter della Casa's youtube videos and get pumped up. I watch MCSpandex's Performance again for a laugh. I read tips on bike forums yet again, and I start to get tired. I feel tired from the anticipation and really start to calm down. Hopefully I can retain this calm up til the race.

Thankfully the criterium is low key, and I'll have a few shop-ride-buddies pulling me through the 35+ category. Or at least I hope. I'm wishing myself luck, and telling myself to ride hard, play my usual game, and to stop counting down to what is likely the beginning of a new racing affliction.