This is the really tight corner before the finish. Asheville River Arts District. I'm on the inside of the corner.
Sunday, July 20, 2008
Asheville Criterium FBCC, July 20, 2008
This is the really tight corner before the finish. Asheville River Arts District. I'm on the inside of the corner.
French Broad Cycling Classic
July 18-20, 2008
RIVER ROAD TIME TRIAL • Friday, July 18th... 12 miles
This TT has been in existence for as long as I've been racing in NC. And I still don't seem to have gotten better at it! The winning times for Women 1/2/3 are sub-30 minutes, which I've never attained. This year was not any different. I felt pretty good overall, but I just couldn't maintain anything around the 24 mph mark. This year, there wasn't much of a wind, so both directions felt fairly similar. My turnaround went pretty smooth. I passed a woman and a junior. The course is rolling with false flats and the finish line always seems like it should be around the next bend...
5th place w/ time of 31:22.352 at an average speed of 23.72. (The PRO woman who won had a time of 27:45 at 26.81 mph)
Average cadence of 93. Max speed of 27.5. My ave heart rate was 169 with a max of 176.
BREVARD CRITERIUM • Saturday, July 19th
Hot hot hot. Well, I rode from Long Shoals Road to the race start in Brevard, about 25 miles of warm up on rolling hills, with most of it in full sun. Probably not the best idea before a big race? Overheated instead of warmed up.
Anyway, I was in the front row at the start line (rare for me), but did not get my foot in the pedal until the front two PRO women were around the first corner. I trailed on the end of the field barely hanging on the entire race. Ok, except the one prime I went for because no one else seemed to care (a jersey instead of money)... my teammie, Christy just got me at the line for the second jersey... didn't care anyway, just wanted to feel what it was like in the front. Ha ha.
The two PRO women went off the front on their own from the start with minimal effort chasing from the group. The pack felt really surgy even on the flat back side of the course. I never felt in a zone of anything... just braking in the corners trying not to be cut off and then trying to make up ground on the straights. It was uphill to the finish, which does not help me since I suck at the crit hill sprints. I think the hill sprints and the couple of efforts on the front burnt me and blew me off the back. I was feeling a bit hot this race, too. The PRO women lapped me and I got on their wheel. Wow, it felt a lot easier with a steady pace and few surges to contend with until the end. So I ended up 13th out of 20 starters.
16.5 miles in 45 minutes at an ave speed of 21.8 mph (max 31.5). Heart rate ave of 159 and max of 173.
Somehow, this terrible finish still put me in omnium points so the next day I still had some racing to do.
After the race, I was so overheated that I stretched out on a picnic table until Tony came by and I was ready to get in the car and get some cold water. Got a Starbuck's Chocolate Banana smoothie, too.
ASHEVILLE RIVER ARTS CRITERIUM • July 20, 2008
I was a bit worried about this crit going into it. It is in the shape of a triangle with a really tight bottom corner post-hill and then with a long hill sprint. I've heard about this course and so had it as crash-likely in my head. I also felt really unmotivated and fatigued prior to the race. And started to cry because I was too tired to even enjoy my Starbuck's frappuchino.
Deb had a tent set up for some nice shade-factor. I spent a lot of time under it before and after the race. I didn't warm up very long prior to this race because it felt so incredibly hot to me, and after the day before, I felt better off with less time in the heat. I think this paid off since I never gapped off the back of the pack. Apparently, a couple of my other teammie's had felt pretty rotten coming into this race, too... so misery likes a bit of company. Evie and I did a short warm up along the river and then we all did a few laps around the course to feel it out. The corners weren't as bad I thought they would be.
I didn't start in the front this time, but I don't think it mattered because at least I got in my pedals right away. I changed my pedals for this race, too, and I think it helped some. Evie had a hard time getting in hers this time, and I think all my worry about myself got her all anxious about it, too. :( There were two PRO women (one my coach, Laura Bowles) again in the field who took off AGAIN after the first sprint prime. And no one chased AGAIN. I think I tried once, but realized I'd be alone in the effort and afraid I'd blow up trying. I pretty much sat in the field and played with positioning in the final corner and up the hill. I made a couple of efforts after another girl primed off the front and seemed to be getting away. Again, no one seemed to want to work to catch her, so I watched her go off into the sunset... well, it wasn't that late. :) With a few laps to go, I sat behind Deb's wheel and a few others to try to get back some juice for the sprint. I wasn't all re-juiced, but I thought my position might be ok at third wheel leading into the final corner behind two Nicoles. Then they got all stressed over overtaking a lapped rider in the corner and almost wrecked each other. They held it up and I took off for the finish. Not sure what happened, or if the incident really affected me, but everyone seemed to have more juice. I took 9th which got me into 6th in the omnium and in some money.
14.61 miles in 41:31 minutes. 21 mph ave speed and 31.6 max. 72 ave cadence with 104 max. My heart rate reached it's max for the year of 180. My ave HR was 163.
I felt hotter than the day before. I got a bag of ice from the cafe and let it melt under my shirt and on my head for the next couple of hours. That felt so good.
RIVER ROAD TIME TRIAL • Friday, July 18th... 12 miles
This TT has been in existence for as long as I've been racing in NC. And I still don't seem to have gotten better at it! The winning times for Women 1/2/3 are sub-30 minutes, which I've never attained. This year was not any different. I felt pretty good overall, but I just couldn't maintain anything around the 24 mph mark. This year, there wasn't much of a wind, so both directions felt fairly similar. My turnaround went pretty smooth. I passed a woman and a junior. The course is rolling with false flats and the finish line always seems like it should be around the next bend...
5th place w/ time of 31:22.352 at an average speed of 23.72. (The PRO woman who won had a time of 27:45 at 26.81 mph)
Average cadence of 93. Max speed of 27.5. My ave heart rate was 169 with a max of 176.
BREVARD CRITERIUM • Saturday, July 19th
Hot hot hot. Well, I rode from Long Shoals Road to the race start in Brevard, about 25 miles of warm up on rolling hills, with most of it in full sun. Probably not the best idea before a big race? Overheated instead of warmed up.
Anyway, I was in the front row at the start line (rare for me), but did not get my foot in the pedal until the front two PRO women were around the first corner. I trailed on the end of the field barely hanging on the entire race. Ok, except the one prime I went for because no one else seemed to care (a jersey instead of money)... my teammie, Christy just got me at the line for the second jersey... didn't care anyway, just wanted to feel what it was like in the front. Ha ha.
The two PRO women went off the front on their own from the start with minimal effort chasing from the group. The pack felt really surgy even on the flat back side of the course. I never felt in a zone of anything... just braking in the corners trying not to be cut off and then trying to make up ground on the straights. It was uphill to the finish, which does not help me since I suck at the crit hill sprints. I think the hill sprints and the couple of efforts on the front burnt me and blew me off the back. I was feeling a bit hot this race, too. The PRO women lapped me and I got on their wheel. Wow, it felt a lot easier with a steady pace and few surges to contend with until the end. So I ended up 13th out of 20 starters.
16.5 miles in 45 minutes at an ave speed of 21.8 mph (max 31.5). Heart rate ave of 159 and max of 173.
Somehow, this terrible finish still put me in omnium points so the next day I still had some racing to do.
After the race, I was so overheated that I stretched out on a picnic table until Tony came by and I was ready to get in the car and get some cold water. Got a Starbuck's Chocolate Banana smoothie, too.
ASHEVILLE RIVER ARTS CRITERIUM • July 20, 2008
I was a bit worried about this crit going into it. It is in the shape of a triangle with a really tight bottom corner post-hill and then with a long hill sprint. I've heard about this course and so had it as crash-likely in my head. I also felt really unmotivated and fatigued prior to the race. And started to cry because I was too tired to even enjoy my Starbuck's frappuchino.
Deb had a tent set up for some nice shade-factor. I spent a lot of time under it before and after the race. I didn't warm up very long prior to this race because it felt so incredibly hot to me, and after the day before, I felt better off with less time in the heat. I think this paid off since I never gapped off the back of the pack. Apparently, a couple of my other teammie's had felt pretty rotten coming into this race, too... so misery likes a bit of company. Evie and I did a short warm up along the river and then we all did a few laps around the course to feel it out. The corners weren't as bad I thought they would be.
I didn't start in the front this time, but I don't think it mattered because at least I got in my pedals right away. I changed my pedals for this race, too, and I think it helped some. Evie had a hard time getting in hers this time, and I think all my worry about myself got her all anxious about it, too. :( There were two PRO women (one my coach, Laura Bowles) again in the field who took off AGAIN after the first sprint prime. And no one chased AGAIN. I think I tried once, but realized I'd be alone in the effort and afraid I'd blow up trying. I pretty much sat in the field and played with positioning in the final corner and up the hill. I made a couple of efforts after another girl primed off the front and seemed to be getting away. Again, no one seemed to want to work to catch her, so I watched her go off into the sunset... well, it wasn't that late. :) With a few laps to go, I sat behind Deb's wheel and a few others to try to get back some juice for the sprint. I wasn't all re-juiced, but I thought my position might be ok at third wheel leading into the final corner behind two Nicoles. Then they got all stressed over overtaking a lapped rider in the corner and almost wrecked each other. They held it up and I took off for the finish. Not sure what happened, or if the incident really affected me, but everyone seemed to have more juice. I took 9th which got me into 6th in the omnium and in some money.
14.61 miles in 41:31 minutes. 21 mph ave speed and 31.6 max. 72 ave cadence with 104 max. My heart rate reached it's max for the year of 180. My ave HR was 163.
I felt hotter than the day before. I got a bag of ice from the cafe and let it melt under my shirt and on my head for the next couple of hours. That felt so good.
Cherokee Park Road Race
This is the Women's 40-44 category. My teammie, Laura Wieslo, was racing in this photo.
This is one of the tightest turns on the course.
Masters Nationals in Louisville, KY
June 30 TT 4o km (35-39 category)
I must not have been mentally prepared for this one. The day before I left, my handlebars came unscrewed and I didn't get a chance to try out my TT position with aero bars that I'd never used. More of a mental set-back, I guess. I also had worked a night shift prior to driving on Sunday. I slept at my teammate's house and transfered my stuff the the team BMW car. It was a good 6 hour drive to Louisville and I arrived around 11 pm for a 11 am TT start the next day.
My parents came to Louisville to visit with me (meet me halfway). This was our first trip to Louisville (minus passing through). It turned out to be a nice enough city to visit. We toured the new riverside park and drove around some of the neighborhoods. The waterfront park has some nice fountains for the kids to play in and swings overlooking the river for the adults to enjoy. So, we did the touristy thing in between the races...
...Which didn't go so well for me. I didn't even think to wear my skinsuit for the TT... maybe not minutes of extra time, but sure was psychologically a hit... so was the lack of aero helmet and disc wheel that everyone else seemed to have as they flew by me on the TT course... 7 women passed me? I think I gave up the race after the first two passed me. My aero bars were too close to my body and I couldn't stretch out. I felt like I couldn't breathe at all... and my hips started to cramp on top of that. Maybe also an air pollution factor since I felt like my asthma was bothering me during the road race, as well. So what can I say? I finished dead last out of 13 in my age category. It wasn't even a race if you look at my time. Oh well. The course was rolling with a head wind on the Indiana side of the river starting from the casino. Mom and Dad sat under our pop-up tent. After the race, a strong gust took it into a field and pretty much ruined the tent. It was nice to have them there.
July 1, 2008 • Road Race in Cherokee Park
This course was beautiful. It was in this nice, wooded park on the east side of Louisville. It was a 5 mile loop (9 laps for our field) up and down these hills. The hills were big chain ring... ok, could be done in the big ring, not sure if I should have... These hills wore me down lap after lap. The first lap was manageable. The pace was fast, but not where I felt like I would blow off the back. The second lap picked up pace and we passed my teammate's (Cara) category (30-34), so I knew we were going pretty hard. They tried to shell me off the back a couple of times on the hills, but I hung on. I don't remember which lap I got dropped on in the first half of the race... but I remember the corner that it happened. It was not after the tightest or more difficult corner, oddly enough it was after an easy corner. A few girls just picked up the pace a little after the corner and no one seemed to chase. By the time I realized what was happening, they had a nice gap on us. I did manage to get back on, but the effort cost me later on when I got dropped a couple more times on hill efforts... and finally for good on Cochran's Hill. Did I have more? I don't really know. I wasn't the only one to drop there and I managed to stay with a Hincapie rider for a lap or two more before I just couldn't hang with her either. I let her go. It had seemed that we kept seeing a dropped rider from the front pack on a hill in front of us, but we never could catch her. She was always just out of reach. Then I got passed by another rider. I got 8th place.
My parents left on July 3rd. I saw fireworks with my teammie, Janet, and her hubby whilst sitting on a swing overlooking the river. They weren't spectacular (it has Navy Pier to compare to), but it was pretty watching them over the river.
July 4, 2008 • Criterium at Churchill Downs
Raining. Not cold, just very wet. Never fun during a criterium with corners. This race didn't have very bad corners. It was on this paved infield road that looped around. It let up to a drizzle during our race (the warm-up was full on pour). The race wasn't particularly exciting. The pack stayed together and the pace was manageable except for a few efforts that only told me that I had no chance of staying off the front. I sucked wheel for as much as possible to save up for the sprint. Like everyone else, I guess. There were only 9 of us there today (rain?). I was actually in pretty good position and confidence going into the last lap. Then in the first corner, this girl came into me on the inside and almost crashed me. I held it up, but I lost my desire to play this game. It was pretty deliberate and totally unnecessary. There was plenty or road! I didn't do much in the sprint but stay out of the mess. And then two girls went down at the sprint line, just after crossing it. That, too, was just brutish aggressive nonsense. This isn't some international tour and there wasn't even any money on the line. How ridiculous. I got 7th out of 9.
I must not have been mentally prepared for this one. The day before I left, my handlebars came unscrewed and I didn't get a chance to try out my TT position with aero bars that I'd never used. More of a mental set-back, I guess. I also had worked a night shift prior to driving on Sunday. I slept at my teammate's house and transfered my stuff the the team BMW car. It was a good 6 hour drive to Louisville and I arrived around 11 pm for a 11 am TT start the next day.
My parents came to Louisville to visit with me (meet me halfway). This was our first trip to Louisville (minus passing through). It turned out to be a nice enough city to visit. We toured the new riverside park and drove around some of the neighborhoods. The waterfront park has some nice fountains for the kids to play in and swings overlooking the river for the adults to enjoy. So, we did the touristy thing in between the races...
...Which didn't go so well for me. I didn't even think to wear my skinsuit for the TT... maybe not minutes of extra time, but sure was psychologically a hit... so was the lack of aero helmet and disc wheel that everyone else seemed to have as they flew by me on the TT course... 7 women passed me? I think I gave up the race after the first two passed me. My aero bars were too close to my body and I couldn't stretch out. I felt like I couldn't breathe at all... and my hips started to cramp on top of that. Maybe also an air pollution factor since I felt like my asthma was bothering me during the road race, as well. So what can I say? I finished dead last out of 13 in my age category. It wasn't even a race if you look at my time. Oh well. The course was rolling with a head wind on the Indiana side of the river starting from the casino. Mom and Dad sat under our pop-up tent. After the race, a strong gust took it into a field and pretty much ruined the tent. It was nice to have them there.
July 1, 2008 • Road Race in Cherokee Park
This course was beautiful. It was in this nice, wooded park on the east side of Louisville. It was a 5 mile loop (9 laps for our field) up and down these hills. The hills were big chain ring... ok, could be done in the big ring, not sure if I should have... These hills wore me down lap after lap. The first lap was manageable. The pace was fast, but not where I felt like I would blow off the back. The second lap picked up pace and we passed my teammate's (Cara) category (30-34), so I knew we were going pretty hard. They tried to shell me off the back a couple of times on the hills, but I hung on. I don't remember which lap I got dropped on in the first half of the race... but I remember the corner that it happened. It was not after the tightest or more difficult corner, oddly enough it was after an easy corner. A few girls just picked up the pace a little after the corner and no one seemed to chase. By the time I realized what was happening, they had a nice gap on us. I did manage to get back on, but the effort cost me later on when I got dropped a couple more times on hill efforts... and finally for good on Cochran's Hill. Did I have more? I don't really know. I wasn't the only one to drop there and I managed to stay with a Hincapie rider for a lap or two more before I just couldn't hang with her either. I let her go. It had seemed that we kept seeing a dropped rider from the front pack on a hill in front of us, but we never could catch her. She was always just out of reach. Then I got passed by another rider. I got 8th place.
My parents left on July 3rd. I saw fireworks with my teammie, Janet, and her hubby whilst sitting on a swing overlooking the river. They weren't spectacular (it has Navy Pier to compare to), but it was pretty watching them over the river.
July 4, 2008 • Criterium at Churchill Downs
Raining. Not cold, just very wet. Never fun during a criterium with corners. This race didn't have very bad corners. It was on this paved infield road that looped around. It let up to a drizzle during our race (the warm-up was full on pour). The race wasn't particularly exciting. The pack stayed together and the pace was manageable except for a few efforts that only told me that I had no chance of staying off the front. I sucked wheel for as much as possible to save up for the sprint. Like everyone else, I guess. There were only 9 of us there today (rain?). I was actually in pretty good position and confidence going into the last lap. Then in the first corner, this girl came into me on the inside and almost crashed me. I held it up, but I lost my desire to play this game. It was pretty deliberate and totally unnecessary. There was plenty or road! I didn't do much in the sprint but stay out of the mess. And then two girls went down at the sprint line, just after crossing it. That, too, was just brutish aggressive nonsense. This isn't some international tour and there wasn't even any money on the line. How ridiculous. I got 7th out of 9.
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