Happy Holidays!

Happy Holidays to everyone!

Speaking of the holidays, Christopher does not have pre-school for the next two weeks and my mother is also not watching him (she usually takes him one afternoon a week) for the next two weeks. They may lock me up in a little padded room by the beginning of January. Last week, he urinated on the carpet once; defecated once partially on his potty seat and partially on the floor; and, when I didn't immediately change his diaper after he said "poopie," he took his diaper off, dumped most of it out and then shook the diaper to get the last bit out. The dog ate it before I could stop him which then made Christopher extremely upset.

On a more amusing note to me (I'm sure what I just wrote is very amusing to most people), my poor little son is already becoming a freak. With me as his mother, I knew he was doomed but I didn't expect it so early. He has taken to riding his little bike, getting off, picking it up and walking with it a little and then getting back on to ride again. I have to try to videotape it or at least get a photo of it because it is so insanely obvious that he has been to way too many cross races. = )

Nats

Cross Nationals was an awesome experience. I raced the Women's Cat. B and the 35-39 races. My Cat. B race sucked but was a great learning experience. There were more than 30 girls lined up with a road leadout. I was way too tentative and let too many girls get in front of me. I started passing them in the dirt but then slid out and had my chain fall off. I get the chain back on, catch up and pass some more girls but was then redlining. I see Tom & Christopher and wonder why they aren't cheering and clip a white pole and can't get my pedal off of it. Ick. So, I ended up 21 out of 29 finishers and 2 DNF's. I didn't get lapped which was good but I felt I should have done so much better so I was pretty bummed.

On Friday was the Women's 35-39 race. I raced much better. I stayed upright. Redlined a little and let a couple girls past me but then got back ahead of all but maybe one, I think. I ended up 15 out of 19 finishers and one lap down. However, 10 of those girls were elites. There were a total of six of us that did both the Cat. B and 35-39. I only beat one of them in the Cat. B race but beat 3 in the 35-39 race including the girls who were 12th and 16th in the B race. So, I thought it was a good end to the season.

I think I'm going to focus on cross for next year. I'll do the few local mountainbike races there are, hoping we can have a relative watch Christopher. But, it is just too aggravating to try to both watch Christopher and warm-up at the same time. I then don't race well and am way too cranky. Tom isn't nearly as addicted to racing anyway and, of course, would rather not have to deal with me being a grouch. I'm going to try to do some road races. I figure it will help me get faster and will help me with cross.

I'm also going to get a SRAM Rival 165 crank and swap my cross gears to it. But, of course, I now have like nine months 'til the next cross race. How completely depressing.

As an early Christmas present though, Christopher has now started going to pre-school three days a week as opposed to one. I can get some work done and he was starting to get way too bored being with Mommy all the time and has been destroying the house.

Woo hoo!

(Photo courtesy of Amy)

I thought this course was so much better than last year's race. I called Tom after preriding (to ask him to bring with him some spare socks for me), and told him how great I thought the course was. I lined up with a larger group of girls than normal. I traded spots throughout the race with Beth from xXx. I definitely race better when I'm going back and forth with someone. We both had a few minor spills during the race which facilitated with the going back and forth. I thought she had me and then as I came through with two to go I saw her getting up after slipping going around the tree. I kicked it in high gear, got past her and had my fastest lap of the race. I then saw I still had one to go and thought crap. But, I managed to hold her off. Yea! We had traded spots in the beginning of the season but I hadn't beaten her since Carpentersville so it was cool. I ended up 11th out of 14. I was a little disappointed but there were a lot more Cat. 1 and 2 riders than usual. The officials said 17 girls registered but a couple actually didn't start and one didn't finish.

As I was walking back to the car after getting my Schwinn out of the pit, I saw a small Redline Conquest. It ended up being Sarah Huang's. I was able to ride it around and talk to her father. I definitely had less toe overlap but, when we held the frames up to each other, the geometry was pretty much identical. He said he has 165 cranks on her bike. I'm now trying to find a 165 cross crank. QBP doesn't have any. I found a FSA Gossamer 34/48 online. According to FSA's website, they have a 36/48 in a 165 crank length so I've emailed them to try to find out where the heck I can get it from. I'm also going to try to track down Sarah's dad at Nationals to find out what cranks are on there.

I'm taking a break from packing as I type this. We're leaving for Kansas City tonight. We'll do some of the driving tonight while Christopher is sleeping and do the rest tomorrow. I'm pretty excited to be going. I'm doing the Cat. B and the Women's 35-39. Some of the elites are signed up in the 35-39 so I'm prepared to get my butt handed to me in that race. Tom will be doing the Cat. B 30-39. We'll then start heading home on Friday afternoon/evening with the hope of actually making a family party on Saturday evening. I love cross.

Yeah, it's been awhile...

Woodstock

(Photos courtesy of Amy)

Woodstock was fun. It would have been a great course for me if it was more condensed. At 2 miles, it still had lots of flat power sections. Unfortunately, power is what I'm lacking. Still, I was pretty happy with my race. I stood on all the climbs and kept it in my big ring.

Thanksgiving

On Thanksgiving, I rode with Leah in the morning at Palos. My Gary Fisher is getting repainted to make it pretty again so I had to go with my old Santa Cruz hardtail. A lot of logs are gone on Out & Back and Turf 1. It was fun but depressing that all the logs keep disappearing.

Christopher got to play with a little three-year-old named Abby at my cousin's. It was really cute. I've decided he has a thing for girls named Abby since he also has a crush on the Sesame Street character Abby Cadabby.

Jingle Cross Day 1

First -- Tom is famous. He is on the beginning of this clip: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wUwYOvPayzM

It also gives a feel for the course. Tom did the Cat. 4 race. I did the Women's 2/3 and the Women's 35+. I got about a 20 min. warm-up (Tom's race was immediately before mine). There were only 10 of us. I was 9th for a good part of the race and got passed by Heather Curnitt at the end of the last lap. I thought we had another lap to go and should have sprinted once I got ahead of her after the logs -- I rode them, she dismounted and ran them. But, Heather is faster than me and it is quite unlikely I would have held her off.

I was 8th out of 10 in the Women's 35+. I slid out on a section in the first lap. I had been riding it fine in the first race but the 35+ men apparently tore it up more their first time through. My chain fell off and by the time I got back on the bike I was dead last. So, I was happy I passed a few girls, wished I would have been able to pass a few more.

Day 2

Our generator died at about 4:30 in the morning after running out of LP gas. Tom was then up and moving around the RV -- keeping me up as well. I was pretty tired and Christopher let me get a four-minute warm-up. I was so not looking forward to the 2/3 race. I had prerode the course the night before and it had some climbs that were going to be painful by the end of the second race. I had a great start for the first race but just did not have any power. I had put toe spikes in my winter shoes hoping it would help me climb. Instead, I just couldn't clip back in. There was this nasty downhill that I knew I could ride but I kept spending so much time to clip in, I wasn't paying enough attention and would immediately slide out.

For the Women's 35+, I switched shoes -- in addition to bikes, tights and gloves. I'm sure the disc brakes helped, but the switching of shoes was definitely a wise move as I could clip in much easier. I rode down the hill both laps getting huge cheers both times. I gave a little whoop of my own each time after I knew I wasn't going to careen into the building at the bottom of it.

I felt much better this race. I was 7th out of 9 and was right behind sixth place -- literally, right behind her. If there was another lap, I know I would've beaten her as she was really bad on the technical stuff. I would've did better if I was better at hiking up muddy steep inclines. I had a great start but was at dead last trying to get up that stinkin' thing. Still, I was happy with my race. It was amazing the huge difference in my attitude during the two races. I couldn't wait for the first to be over and was wishing to do another lap for the second.

Bikes

The one thing I noticed from the two races on Sunday is the pros/cons of my two bikes. Riding the Schwinn, I just kept thinking how freaking heavy it was as I was lifting it over the barriers. But, I had no toe-overlap. As the season has progressed, I've had more and more problems with toe-overlap with my Trek. I didn't realize how much it was affecting my riding until Sunday -- which totally sucks. I'm probably going to buy a different frame and switch everything over. A girl who did the Wisconsin series and is about my size has a Redline Conquest. I think her name is Meghan Korol. I need to track her down to see if she'll let me ride her bike before I order a frame. I also am not sure if I want to go with disc brakes or not. After I switched the brakes, I haven't had a problem really with the brakes and it would limit my options if disc brakes is a requirement. But, I do like disc brakes. Opinions are definitely welcomed on this topic as well as help in contacting Meghan.

Upcoming Races = )

This weekend is, of course, the state championships. I'm hoping to do better than last year. It was my first Illinois race as a 3 and it went so incredibly bad.

Tom is taking off work next week so we can go to Nationals. I am so, so excited! I'm going to race the Cat. B and the Women's 35-39. Tom is going to do the Men's B 30-39. I can't wait! = )

Whitewater/Lansing

Photo courtesy of Amy

On Saturday, I went up to Whitewater for the cross race. It was a fun course but short and had a brutal climb that I did 8 times. I was 7th out of 8 but was pretty happy with my race. I was riding well. I was taking turns good -- and even got some compliments a couple of laps on this slick downhill to a 180 turn and then up again. I rode the sandpit good. And, I made riding up the hill all 8 times.

Sunday was Lansing. It is the closest cross race to my house with a less than half-hour drive. However, I had one of my worst races here last year. It is very flat and was not really technical last year. This year, I think it was even less technical. They took out a section that you had to go around some trees. You barely had to brake for any of the turns and the only technical part being the sandpit. Last year, it was the first race my teammate beat me at and I thought that might well be the case this year.

Yup. I was ahead of Sue for the first part of the race and then it seemed like she came speeding past me. I tried to draft but fell off. Looking at my lap times, she didn't come speeding past me but my speed was just dropping. My first lap was about 6:13 and my second to last lap was 7:40, I think, which I dropped to 7:05 for the last lap. A girl from SRAM beat me as well who I've beat the other couple of races she did. I was initially disappointed and annoyed -- particularly, that I was riding the sandpit so poorly (as in not riding it very far at all). But, I think I was so redlined I just couldn't accelerate enough before the sand. On a good note, my first lap was so much quicker because I was actually hanging with the group for longer than usual.

I'm really bummed that there are only one race this weekend for both Wisconsin and the Chicago series and, yet, they are both on Sunday. I really liked the Hales Corners course last year and am sick of riding around on just grass. I'm sure Jingle Cross will be fun but do not know how I will survive doing four races in two days (Women's 2/3 and Women's 35+).

In case, anyone hadn't heard -- Chicagoland Bicycle Federation has changed its name to the Active Transportation Alliance. Personally, I like the old logo better but I'm sure that's why they had consultants help with the change and not me.

Also, a big THANKS! to everyone who took time to fill out a survey for me at the Lansing race. = )

Icky

(Photo courtesy of Amy)

I am surprised by how many people told me that I should have loved the Northbrook course. The downhill turns I should have rocked. Instead, I rode it cleanly the first lap and went down the first turn the next three. I think I took it too fast but I'm still not sure. Each time, I would think "Yes, I cleaned it;" and, then, I would slide out. I was able to pop right back up so I actually don't think it lost me much time but it was still so infuriating to not clean a section you know you should be.

I did realize we need to change our tire setup though. After pre-riding, I was thinking my WTB cross wolves would be the better tires but they were on my Schwinn which I can't shoulder. We're going to put the WTB's on my bike and I'll bring Tom's wheels up with me which will give us both more options for racing. I'm learning. = )

But, back to why I didn't love this course -- No barriers! Also, those stairs blew. I thought I couldn't get a rhythm because of my short legs but I heard others say the same. And, even though there were fun off camber sections, there were also plenty of flat non-technical sections for speedy people.

It was my worst placing with an 11th. I wasn't dead last but only one off. Besides screwing up the one turn nearly every lap, I was also really cranky because I witnessed a girl lifting up the tape and riding under it as opposed to riding around a stopped rider. Going under the tape allowed her to not have to complete the last tight turn and to bypass completely the last left turn off the ski hill. She wasn't out of control when she went off course. She stopped, lifted up the tape and rode under it. I figured the officials would ask her about it, remind her not to cut the course and that would be it. They posted results, I went and asked the officials if they spoke to her and was told they hadn't seen the incident (which I totally understand) and that, basically, she was low in the placings so it didn't matter if she cut the course. WTF? And, they said that she wasn't still around. Yeah, but she was when I first brought it up. Grrr. It's not like I think it will change the series standings or anything but I still think they could have at least talked to her about it.

On a more upbeat note, I'll be near registration at Lansing (after my race) for the Chicagoland Bicycle Federation trying to get people to fill out surveys for our program to get people to use cars less and do more walking, commuting by bike and using mass transit. We take info. on a recent car trip you took and try to plan a route using bike, bus, train, etc. So, please stop by, fill out a survey and say hi to Christopher. = )

Halloween & CX

Christopher had an adorable Elmo Halloween costume. He would not wear it. So, he was a bike rider for Halloween instead. I did get Tom to wear the Elmo costume on his head for awhile but, alas, I do not have any photos of it. Christopher liked being able to ride up to people's doors and have people give him candy for it.

I went up to the Polska cross race on Saturday. It was an awesome course except for the hill run-up which spiked my heart rate and slowed me down to a snail's pace. Getting over the barrier on the hill climb was horrible and I felt like I needed a ladder to get my short legs over it.

I had the same feeling on Sunday. Two of the barriers were on the tops of little inclines. My getting over the barriers was sloppy and I kept banging my shins while pre-riding the course. The course was, like all the Chicago races, almost entirely grass and asphalt. However, there were a lot of turns to make it interesting. I was right behind Beth, with xXx, when I took the turn leading into the gravel mushy road too quick and at a bad angle and washed out. Then, I was in too big of a gear and couldn't get going for about two minutes. I have an extremely bad tendency to get focused on trying to pass someone and forget completely about riding the course cleanly. I totally lost any chance of catching Beth and then had to put it in high gear to keep a girl from SRAM from catching me who I had previously had a pretty decent lead on.

Christopher has been a total demon lately. His new thing is to bring a chair to the fridge and then use the water dispenser to fill a cup and, then, overflow the cup causing water to go everywhere. After both Monday and yesterday, I would say "wow, this has been a long week." Thus, the late post. Tonight, I have a meeting for the local paper which will be a brief break and tomorrow afternoon my mother is watching him. I'll be jumping for joy when my mother's car pulls out of the driveway.

Race registration

The Bartlett CX course was put on by ABD. Unfortunately, I didn't have a say in course layout. It was slightly more technical, I think, than last year but still mainly wide open. It did seem like we had more of an incline this year. I was 7th out of 8, which would have been 8th out of 9 but Holly had a major mechanical that took her out of the race early on. I had a crappy start and couldn't get my right foot clipped in or get it to even stay on the pedal. I then got ahead Imelda and a xXx girl. I was ahead of both for awhile and then the xXx girl came flying past me and I couldn't keep up.

I did get to race on the SRAM Rival's. I didn't have a problem shifting the wrong way but we do still have to do a little tweaking as I was having a really hard time getting in my big ring during the race.

My best performance of the day was registration. I volunteered as soon as I got changed after my race. During Tom's race the wind really picked up and would have knocked the registration tent over except for Kevin Klug and various others who helped hold it up until it could be taken down. Christopher handled it fairly well and Holly, thankfully, took him until Tom's race ended. People still kept coming in to register and one guy actually tried to shove his registration forms in my hand while I was taking someone elses. There had to have been 10 people holding up the tent at this point, I was on the other side of the table as a pole had came loose knocking over the stuff that had been behind me and my chair and stuff was still flying all over the place.

I also have to thank Debbie for buying Christopher a truck. It makes cool noises and has levers and kept him entertained during most of the time I was volunteering. Christopher has been quite the demon at times lately but I lucked out on Sunday, thanks in part to his cool new toy. Thanks.

Conversion is almost complete

Tom is down in the basement as I type finishing putting all the SRAM stuff on my cross bike. I'm so excited! What is not exciting is the stupid rain. I couldn't ride to take Christopher to story time tonight, it's supposed to rain tomorrow and Saturday morning. Icky.

I was reading my report on Carpentersville and realized how short it was. Things have been way too hectic around here. I wanted to add that I was really excited about the race. I just barely held off getting lapped by Rebecca Much (which could have very well been her being nice). I beat both xXx girls that I've been going back and forth with -- which is especially cool considering that I had raced the day before and I'm pretty sure they had not. And, I had won the water bottle and socks -- which is the first time I have ever won anything as a Cat. 3. = )

Racing, cops & braking

Not only did I get pulled over today by the police, but the guy actually called for back up. Why? The light illuminating my rear license plate was out. I was at a village board meeting for the local paper and, as I'm driving out of town, I see lights behind me. He takes my license and I sit. After awhile I look up and see two sets of lights and the two of them chatting. Finally, both officers come up to the car -- one on each side with the guy on my passenger side having his hands ready like he's going to shoot me or something if I make a wrong move. The other one gives me a written warning ticket. It'd be amusing as hell if I wasn't so annoyed.

Racing was bad and good. My race in WI on Saturday sucked. The legs felt like crap, my mounts sucked, my dismounts sucked. I prerode and figured I should ride my Schwinn with the disc brakes and second guessed myself only to then keep going off course.

Sunday was great. Great course. I finished 8th out of 13 which included two Cat. 1 girls and two Cat. 2 girls. And, I won socks and a water bottle. = )

I was finally able to order my SRAM Rival stuff today for the Trek XO after almost a month. Then, Calamity! Tragedy! Horrors! I got an email that they don't have rear derailleurs. So, now, I have to try track one down so I can finally race this weekend my new cross bike with brakes that I can actually brake with.

DFL

When I upgraded to a Cat. 3 at the end of last season, I did two races and finished last in both. This season, I had done 5 races up until today. I had finished in the back of the group but had beat a couple of girls in most races and wasn't last in any of them. Up until today. 9th out of 9 in the Women 1/2/3's.

The Hawthorne Woods course was nearly half pavement and nearly half wide-open grass. (I was told later in the day that with it being the first year for the venue they wanted to use as much pavement as possible to prevent damage.) There was also a toboggan sled hill that we rode up, rode down, went back up with a barrier at the bottom and then rode down once more. I pre-rode the course and thought immediately it was suited more to roadies and hit pretty much all of my weaknesses. I also thought immediately Damn, I might be dead last. The hill is actually what did me in. I now know what I need to work on. I rode it after the barrier three times and ran twice. I ended up with an avg. HR of 190 and a max of 199 but my lap times took a nose dive during the course of the five laps. Icky.

Tom's race went slightly better as he was 29th out of 49 but he was pretty disappointed as well. As a bonus, my car tire blew as I started driving there this morning. I had already been running late. Luckily, I was still close to home and a good samaritan came to my aid so I just had to give Tom the tire by the time he showed up. New tire: $60.

I'm thinking of racing in Verona on Saturday and the Carpentersville race with the Chicago series on Sunday but am not totally sure. I like the Wisconsin courses so much better than the Chicago ones but also need to try to beat two xXx girls for series points.

7th

(photo courtesy of Sheri)

I opted for a full weekend of racing and went up to CamRock on Saturday and then did the ChiCrossCup DeKalb race on Sunday. I rode well on Saturday and was 6th out of 8th until about 1.5 laps to go where I got passed on a flat section and couldn't keep up.

I was a little concerned about Sunday that my legs would be toast and that I still have a lingering cold. The legs actually did pretty well but I kept screwing up the same friggin' turn -- wiping out once good enough to turn my brake/shifters and another time good enough to screw up my rear derailleur. I was 6th out of 9 for a good chunk of the race and went back and forth with a girl but I screwed up the turn yet again and then couldn't catch back up with her on the pavement sections. Still, I was mostly pleased. It was a fast course and I wasn't sure how I'd do after racing the day before. My starts totally blow though. I think I'm being too tentative and am going to try to be more aggressive to get closer to the front for the next race. Of course, being faster would help too.

Well, I can get an awesome deal on the SRAM Rival's but will have to wait probably a month to get them or I can get some used short-reach Shimano's at a good price a hell of a lot sooner. I know the SRAM's would work for me. I'm not sure about the Shimano's. Decisions, decisions.

No word yet on Christopher's blood test results. So, hopefully, that's a good sign.

Spleens, cross and brakes

(photo stolen from Russell)


I had Christopher's appointment today with the oncologist. It was scary walking into the waiting room and seeing the sick kids and all the info. on cancer support services. Luckily, we probably do not need any of it. After our appointment, he had blood drawn and I have another appointment for him in four weeks.

Tom & I went up to the cross race near Madison. Unfortunately, I came down with a bad cold on Thursday that hit me full force on Friday. I took allergy and cold meds before the races on both Sat. & Sun. and it seemed to work okay but I'm still kind of sick today (thus, the late posting). The courses were great--my brakes were not. I can't get my tiny hands around the Shimanos. I went through the tape on the turns on Sat. and then went through the same section again later in the race. On Sunday I used my old cross bike which is heavier but I can brake! Yea! My legs were definitely not feeling as good on Saturday but I still did pretty good. 9th out of 13 on Sat. 10th out of 12 on Sun. I won money on both days which pretty much paid for my entry fees so that was really cool.

I checked out lots of people's brakes AND found out I can order from QBP with my part-time gig with the bike fed. so I'm going to buy the SRAM Rivals along with a new front and rear derailleurs. The thing that sucks is that CBF only does orders once a month and I haven't heard back from the guy of when they do it.

I want to do the Wisconsin cross race on Sat. and the DeKalb race on Sunday so hopefully I get better soon.

Splenomegaly

I had to make an appointment for Christopher with an oncologist/hematologist for next Wed. He has an enlarged spleen (splenomegaly). The pediatrician noticed it on a regular checkup, I had to bring Christopher back in for a re-check where the doctor and one of his associates both felt Christopher's abdomen. I then had to bring him in for an ultrasound. He couldn't eat beforehand, it took forever and then he puked a couple of times during his nap -- either because of the stress or because he didn't get to eat breakfast but, rather, snacked on stuff on the way home from Loyola in Maywood. The day after the ultrasound, I had to take him in for blood work where they totally screwed up the first time, put him in pain and then did the other arm. He had another re-check today and now I have to bring him to see the oncologist/hematologist. I was already mildly freaking out and then I found this on the Mayo Clinic's website:

Enlarged spleen (splenomegaly)
Causes
Enlarged spleen causes vary, including:
Viral infections, such as mononucleosis
Bacterial infections, such as syphilis or an infection of the heart's inner lining (endocarditis)
Parasitic infections, such as malaria
Cirrhosis and other diseases affecting the liver
Various types of hemolytic anemia — a condition characterized by premature destruction of red blood cells
Blood cancers, such as leukemia and Hodgkin's disease
Metabolic disorders, such as Gaucher's disease and Niemann-Pick disease
Sometimes pressure on the veins from the spleen or to the liver cause an enlarged spleen. A blood clot in a vein from the spleen or to the liver can have the same effect.

9th*

First cross race of the season.
Third race as a cat 3 -- Neither of the previous two went well
I had a terrible start -- I need to pay attention so I'm not chatting when the guy says go. But, I made it around three girls. Went back and forth with one. Knew she was going to try to sprint past me at the end. Held her off--barely. Looked down at my HR monitor right after I finished: 201.
I also beat a girl who I came behind every single race last year so that was pretty cool as well.
I ended up 9th out of 11. One of the girls stopped with only a few laps to go. I never understood why someone would suffer through most of a race and then just quit. But, of course, she could've quite likely had a mechanical.
And, of course, I was 9th out of all the cat. 1, cat. 2 and cat. 3 girls. About five of the girls were cat. 2's or higher so I'm pretty happy right now. Tom's going to look at my brakes and I need to work on my turns.

Tom did awesome. They split up the Cat. 4's into an A group and a B group. He raced B's last year and did the A's this time. He was 13 out of 53. Pretty awesome.

*Edit: The Chicago Cross Cup website now has me listed as 8th. One of the girls who had finished before me is now just not listed at all. I'm not sure why.

I love cross

I fricking love cross. I went to a Bandit cross training race tonight. I have some minor shifting and other issues I need to get fixed by Sunday but, as I was coming home, I just kept thinking I love cross. Although I find it so odd that the bottom of the top tube on the '08 Trek XO's come to an almost point. I got a bruise on my shoulder from a clinic I went to on Saturday where he had us practicing shouldering the bike.

I feel like I'm living in invasion of the body snatchers and someone took my little boy and replaced him with this big one. Christopher is no longer using a high chair and we took the side off the crib to turn it into a toddler bed.

I don't have photos of the trail-gator yet but we did try it out briefly on Sunday. We hooked Christopher's bike up to my old hardtail and I pedaled very slowly for a couple of houses with Tom jogging alongside Christopher. Christopher seemed to like it but it will be quite awhile before I'm actually able to take him the mile to mini pre-school or anything on it. I just bought a big dorky handlebar mirror for the bike so I can keep an eye on him.

Commuting surprises

I had to go to the village of LaGrange on Wednesday afternoon. I was running late so I took LaGrange Road/Route 45 all the way there -- about 15 miles. The majority of the ride was actually quite nice as there are now huge shoulders about a lane wide from 111th Street through Archer. I had looked at a map put out by the Chicagoland Bicycle Federation (CBF) and took the recommended route home. It was better up until Archer--the map has Willow Springs/Flavin Road highlighted as the preferred route. There's no shoulder, the road is crumbling at the sides and cars are just flying by trying to avoid traffic on LaGrange. Who would've thunk Route 45 would actually be the safest street to ride on in that area?

On Sept. 22 I'll get to attend an all-day training on the bike for the new part-time gig I have with CBF. Very cool. The job may only go through July so I'll have to enjoy it while I can. Hopefully, I have better luck getting people to commute than I've had with Tom. He hasn't commuted since he got stung on the tongue.

We just got our trail-gator thing yesterday. It's supposed to let me connect Christopher's bike to my bike, kind of like a tandem. I'll post pics and a review once we get it put together.

Apologies for being grumpy

I want to apologize for being so cranky after yesterday's race. I probably rode decent for me but really felt like I should have rode better. I have not been able to get in a good warm up (as in 30 minutes or more) the whole season except for a few races and, unfortunately, had some issues with the food I ate that morning and night before. Oh, well.

Christopher, however, had a total ball. I helped him get his little bike up the grassy hill and got him down without him killing himself. He got to ride around with Tom as well, pretended to drive our car, got told how cute he was, got to see horses and got to see lots of bikes. So, for him, it was a great day. Tom did well in the overall for sport although most of the really speedy guys appeared to be in his age group.

It was really nice having a race so close. When we got home, I discovered that I could fit both my new cross bike and my old cross bike into my tiny Hyundai Accent. We got my seat at the right height on my new bike, I practiced a few mounts and dismounts and was quite the happy girl again. For all Chicago cross races, I'll get to race first and Tom will probably come up separately with Christopher. So, I'll definitely get to warm up without changing diapers, keeping Christopher from riding out in front of a car on his bike, etc. = )

This afternoon I got an email that I got a part-time job with the Chicagoland Bicycle Federation helping people commute by bike more in addition to walking more and using public transportation. Yea!!!!! I seriously get way too excited planning my commuting routes so the job seems to be so perfectly suited for me

New bike, lots of rides and rain

Christopher got a new bike -- a Trek with 12 inch wheels. The photo is of his first ride (not including in the store). At first, it was a little hard for him as it is a lot heavier than his little Radio Flyer bike and it's his first bike with brakes. But, he's getting the hang of it pretty quick and was riding around a little yesterday evening at the bottom of the big grassy hill at Palos.

I was able to get out for nearly three-hour rides Saturday, Sunday and Monday which was wonderful. Sunday's ride was pretty short since I had just got to Psychopath when I encountered two guys off their bikes at the first little log. One of them had gone over it, nose dived and flew into a tree shattering the helmet. He was sitting on the ground with his camelback bladder held up to his eye -- the area around which was already reddish-purple-ish. I had actually printed out a map of the trails thinking I'd be adventurous after Psychopath and Turf 1 so I used the map and called Tom to figure out the best way to get him to where his friend could pick him up. It took 40 minutes but there was really no way I could leave them there without them having any idea of how to get back. Tom also got in long mountainbike rides on Sat. and Monday and did a ride on the paved trails with Christopher on Sunday. I caught up with them as they were coming home on Sunday which was nice since Christopher kept saying "Hi mommy!"



This afternoon my mother is watching the little guy and I had hoped to ride the course for Sunday's race but it's been constant rain. We did both get a quick lap in yesterday evening after picking up the packets. I actually had a meeting I had to attend for the local paper at 8 p.m. so, while Tom was riding, I was changing and trying to get everything ready. I shut the rear window and then hear the front car door shut. Christopher comes walking over to me but the keys are still in the car and he had managed to lock all the car doors first. I had to flag down about 5 guys riding by before I found one with a cell phone (mine being in the car). While we were waiting for Tom to finish riding and my dad to pick me up, poor Christopher kept asking for juice and his helmet not understanding why I wouldn't get them out of the car for him.

belated race report

(Image courtesy of mountaingoat)

Tom & I decided to trek up to the Border Battle this weekend. I was concerned with how Christopher would handle that long in the RV but it didn't go as bad as I thought it might. I had stocked up on books, DVD's and a puzzle at the library and brought a bunch of toys and other puzzles.

The course was awesome. Logs, bridges -- I was really glad to ride it but was not so sure how it would be racing with comp guys behind me. As it turned out, the WORS guys were fine for the most part. It was the Minn. guys who were a pain in the butt -- passing without letting me know, bumping me, etc. as they passed and actually wanting me to come to a stop so they could get around me. What ticks me off even more is I had told this group that one could pass me now and I'd find a spot quickly for the rest to pass. No one passed me and then they tell me to stop. I got over as far as I could to the left (so as not to fall off the trail to the right) and was annoyed I ended up having to put a foot down as they went by.

My start blew and I couldn't make up for it. I was able to line up in the front, even without a call up. But, by the top of the hill there was a gap between me and the girl ahead of me. Normally, my heart rate shoots up for the start but I couldn't get it up high and didn't feel like I was going as hard as I should be able to. Weird. I'm guessing it's because I got less than a half-hour warm up but am not sure. I will be so happy for cross season when I race first and will actually get to warm up.

What sucked even more than my start was that I guess there was some type of wind burst right after the start of the race that ripped our awning off the RV and destroyed our EZ up. We had put up the EZ up with the screen so I could warm up on the trainer and try to keep Christopher contained but it turned out that Tom hadn't brought the trainer. So, it sucked even more since I'd still have the EZ up if it just hadn't been put up in the first place.

For Tom it was even worse since he had crashed good enough during his race that he actually cracked his helmet. His shoulder is still a little sore today.

My last lap of the race ended up being my fastest lap. I may have to try some more endurance races but I'm probably not heading up to Green Bay this weekend. I've had a cold most of the week and will finally be getting back on my bike this evening to ride to a school board meeting. I'm probably going to stay home and ride the Palos trails. We'll see.

On the job front, I had interviewed with a bike group last week for a position where I would actually help people commute by bike and walk. A job that I would seem to be made for since I get so excited planning my bike commutes. I actually thought the interview didn't go that well and that they seemed to think I actually biked too much. But, they contacted me for professional references and I know they've called at least one of them so hope, hope. It would be a part-time position that I could do from home but would only last probably until July.

Exhausting weekend

I had a great weekend but am exhausted and feel like I need a few days to recover. On Friday afternoon, I was lucky to tag along when my mother took my nephew to see the new Batman movie for his birthday. The movie was awesome, she bought me popcorn and she bought me Jimmy John's afterward. Yea! And, I got to ride my bike to drop off Christopher with a relative beforehand and to meet up with my mom and nephew at the theater. Riding is always good. = )

Saturday, I did the Women's 3/4 criterium race at Downers Grove. I was kind of nervous about it as I would be a Cat. 4 competing against Cat. 3's in addition to the fact that I have extremely little road experience doing very few races and even fewer group rides. So, my goal was to not be last. Being promoted as the national criterium championships, I wasn't sure if that was possible but I figured it was, at the worst, only 20 minutes of humiliation. Well, I was 19th out of 23! Yea for me! I had been riding a good portion of the race with a group of four and two of them came past me before the last turn and I couldn't keep up. It didn't help I sprinted with one to go, thinking the race might be over. Whoops. Afterwards a girl told me I was in front too long. But, it was only 20 minutes and the girls I was with did not seem to be able to take the turns at all. They'd brake way more than they needed to which made me brake more than I needed to and then have to sprint to catch up to their sprinting. It was easier to just ride past them and stay in front for awhile. And, again, it was only 20 minutes and was just a learning experience for me anyway.

We didn't get to hang around too long as I got to cover a Bike and Dine for the local paper. It was kind of fun but I got so hungry! It didn't help that I didn't have a chance to really eat after the race. I was offered food -- but, being vegan, there wasn't really anything I could eat anyway. I stuck around for about an hour and a half and then rode home. It was a total of about 22 miles -- which was in addition to the race and in addition to nearly 98 miles of commuting various places during the week. So, my legs were tired and I was tired.

Sunday morning, Tom and I got up early and dropped off Christopher at Tom's aunts to go on our first group ride together since before Christopher was born. We went to Palos with Rachel, John, Bubba, Coop, Anne, Rick, a Skinny's guy that I can't remember his name (Dan, maybe) and a couple of Hayes guys that I should know their names -- another Dan I think. We had a couple of other guys for the first part of the ride that I think Bubba knew. Tom and I ducked out a little earlier than everyone else to go get Christopher. I had 19.1 miles and more than 2 hours of actual riding time -- not including some of the longer breaks to talk and regroup. Even though these trails are within riding distance from our house, it was an hour into riding before we were on trails I was familiar with (although, a couple I had been on once or twice). There are just a lot of trails out there and when I go by myself I stick to trails I know so I won't get lost. It was a lot of fun but I thought I was going to die. Rachel, our tour guide for the day, is so frigging fast. We'd stop to regroup and my HR would be 190, 188, 191. I'm sure all my bike time this week and race yesterday didn't help. Afterwards, we all went to Portillo's. It was great to ride with everyone and great to get on a bunch of trails I don't normally ride.

Tom proved me wrong

I keep joking we will be in the emergency room any day with Christopher. We were in the immediate care center last night but it was actually because of Tom. As he was riding his bike home from the train station last night, a bug flew in his mouth. Normally, not a big deal although a little gross. Well, soon after he spit the bug out, his tongue started to swell. By the time he got home, his tongue was huge. We should have took a photo but didn't think of it. He took a Claritin but the swelling increased more so, after a search to find Christopher's Elmo doll, we were off. We were there about an hour and a half. The Claritin had started to kick in by then so Tom got a prescription for some steroids but only needs to take them if it gets worse.

Christopher thought the whole thing was great fun. There was another 2-year-old there briefly, he got to run around, he played with a pay phone, figured out how to make water come out of the water fountain AND an ambulance and fire truck came to take some poor woman to the nearby hospital. The firemen waved to Christopher and said hi to him both as they were coming in as well as when they were leaving. So, for Tom, the evening sucked. For Christopher, it probably ranks up there with his birthday. I just kept thinking I was hungry and felt like I needed a nap after chasing Christopher around.

I signed up for the criterium in Downers Grove on Saturday. It's a 3/4 race so I am so totally going to get my butt kicked. Not only am I slow as hell but, with Christopher and my insane schedule, I have not done any group rides in more than a year and have only done a few criteriums. It's only 20 minutes so the humilation will be short. = )

Then, afterward, I get to cover a "Bike and Dine" event in Homewood, IL for the local paper. The race is at 2 p.m. and the event starts at 4 p.m. so Tom will drop me off but I should be able to ride home. I'm very excited. It's almost like getting paid to ride. = )

Kewaskum

I made the mistake of driving up Saturday to preride the course. Ick. Barely any single track and lots of high grass and weeds that I appear to be allergic to. I hadn't been there since 2005 and I swear there is even less single track since then. Tom didn't want to race so I decided to drive up by myself -- (relatively) close race, series points and, perhaps most importantly, I could actually warm up! Normally, I'm watching Christopher while Tom races.

I did well for me. My times were pretty consistent with my last lap time actually being a smidge faster than the other laps. Fastest speed was during the first, slightly longer, lap. I was farther behind April than I normally am but this is about the worst type of course for me there could be: no singletrack and lots of climbing. It was obviously a good workout as my butt muscles were sore for the ride home. I'm not sure if there's any way I convince myself to ever race there again though.

Photos of Christopher from the wedding

Christopher with my nieces and nephews after the ceremony. Two of my nephews are modeling the lovely tuxes they had to wear as groomsmen.

Christopher holding my fake flowers after the ceremony. You can see part of my dress, as he is standing next to me.

The best parts were hearing my little guy babbling happily during the ceremony and watching him dance around during the reception. Other than that, it sucked.

(Photos courtesy of my sister.)

First failed commute

Monday was the first commute I had to bail on. I rode to a village board meeting that was about 12 miles away. I was kind of excited because I had changed my route slightly from the last time I went and it went much smoother -- less traffic, smoother roads. Then, they cut the meeting short because there is a tornado warning. The forecast had said there was a chance of rain but it seemed like it would be later in the night and there had been no mention of tornadoes. It's not raining yet but I have to ask the mayor a few questions before I go. The mayor then decides I'm not allowed to leave; I have to call to have someone pick me up. Ick. So, I call Tom back and tell him to drive out to Evergreen Park. The mayor then decides I need to leave the building and that a squad will take me somewhere to meet up with Tom. It ends up that the police chief drove me and my bike to my parents where Tom was waiting in the driveway. The village officials said I could leave my bike there. Yeah right. I was trying to get in a low-intensity wattage workout and had actually brought my road bike. There was no way I was leaving it.

The rest of my week has been even more insanely hectic, stressful and busy than usual as I was doing part-time stuff for the local paper, attended two local meetings for them with a total of four articles, did some part-time stuff for a bike group and churned out 10 articles for the commercial real estate publication. Whew. Tonight I have to stand up in a wedding. I'd rather ride my bike home with the tornado warning.

Bleah

24/9 blew. The bike worked beautifully. It truly seems to make me a better rider. Whether it is the geometry, slightly more suspension or just because I'm riding a cool teal bike, I'm not sure and it doesn't matter.

Although the bike worked great, my body did not. To not make this a long and boring post -- let's just suffice it to say that I did basically everything wrong you could possibly do from lack of training and lack of sleep to an incredibly stupid decision of finding out my camelback bladder of Heed and Endurolytes had more than half leaked out into the cooler and just adding more water before my race. It kind of just spiraled down after that.

The first two laps did go good and I had a lot of fun riding, passing people in the single track (and then, of course, getting passed in the open and hilly sections), talking briefly to people I knew on the trail and even getting some compliments on my handling skills. Oh well. I did ride 70 miles -- about the only good thing about it. I think all endurance races will probably be out until Christopher is like 10. At this rate, I'll be stuck to cross and road racing -- since there's local races. And, I do love cross but really consider road as the last resort when considering biking options.

My demon turned 2

(Photo from last week's B-day party)

Christopher turned two-years-old today. It's hard to believe he is both so old and that it was only slightly more than two years ago that I actually had some control of what I do. It's a good thing he's a cutie because he has been on a tear lately -- jumping, throwing everything, kicking and even occasionally biting me for the fun of it.

I will soon be changing jobs, sort of. For more than the past year and a half I have been churning out 10 articles a week in what they term as a part-time position. This is in addition to writing some articles for the local paper and working a few hours a month for League of Illinois Bicyclists. A temporary part-time job opened up at the paper and I jumped at an excuse to quit the 10 articles a week. Of course, once the temp. position ends I'll probably have to try to scrounge up some additional income but I'm hoping to actually have a small amount of free-time instead of working every night 'til 1 or 2 in the morning. The other bad thing is I start the part-time job immediately but still have a week and a half to go before I quit doing two articles a day for the other publication. So, I will be an extremely stressed, tired and cranking camper until then.

Alterra race report

(Image stolen from Mountaingoat)

I was hoping for a good race. And, it wasn't great but it wasn't horrible, so I guess it was good. Except for the one long climb in the sun up the ski hill, this is a great course for me. Not only is it technical, I've ridden these trails enough -- including several 12 hour races -- that I should know them by heart and know the places to let the expert and comp guys to squeak by. It would have been a "great" race except I had my chain come off three times, including once in the "Small Intestine" (I think that's the name of the trail) that just took me freakin' forever to get back on. Brittany passed me after I had worked so dang hard to get in front of her and the other girls I had been somewhat near were, of course, way gone. I also went, apparently, a little too hard my first lap. Avg. HR: 186, Max HR: 200. I took a Gu my second lap and thought I was going to puke. I started bonking, a little cramping. But, I made up the hill every time and I did start catching up to April at the end. Without the heat (and playing with Christopher in the heat for an hour or so before the race), I think I could have at least come close to catching her. But, it was still a good race and I still love those trails.

With only a two-hour drive each way, a box full of toys, several books and a Sesame Street DVD, you would think I could have kept Christopher entertained. Nope. By the time we were almost home, I had told Tom we should have named him Damian after the character in "The Omen." It does not bode well for the trek to 24/9.

EDIT: I almost forgot to mention that I picked up my cross bike yesterday. I'm in love. It is so light and so cool looking. I also found out that I can get my mountain bike repainted at the end of the season. Yea! As long as I can get it the same beautiful color. = )

My son the "Hamster"

Here's Christopher hamming it up for the camera on the new toddler swing set my parents bought him for his B-day.

Woo hoo!

The stars aligned and I decided to make the trek up north and do the Metro Wednesday race tonight. I have been really tired lately and considered blowing it off but I'm so glad I went. I have not been on my mountain bike nearly enough this year. I was kind of skittish starting out but soon got into a groove. I did the back section of singletrack when I first got there (O'Malley's Woods, I think) and then climbed up to the top of the ski hill. There were five girls that started, four that actually finished. I did two laps and then realized there was still at least one guy that still had to do another lap so I went out and did a third lap (women & juniors have to do two) and then went up to the top of the hill one more time.

The two hour drive home and the fact that I still have two articles to write blows but I'm still really happy that I went. I forgot how much I love that course. I'm actually excited to race Sunday and I get to pick up my new cross bike this weekend! Woo hoo! = )

Foiled, and foiled again

My plan was to do the 12-hour race at Crystal Ridge on Saturday. I've been pretty exhausted lately but I was still excited since (1) I love that course, (2) it would be a good warm-up for the WORS race this weekend and (3) it'd be a good warm-up for 24/9. I've only done one six-hour race this year and that would have been my only 12-hour race. Updates kept saying 50/50 chance. I get there to find a one-hour delay. By the time they cancelled it, I was glad. By then, I was in no mood to race. I did some shopping at the Wal-Mart in search of these Wal-Mart brand PB crackers we could only find north of the border but, apparently, they no longer make them. I did find a present for Christopher's birthday, a small backpack for commuting and a few other things so it wasn't all lost.

I got back home, took a nap (I had gotten up by 5 a.m.) and had plans to do a nice long ride on paved trails by my house to Old Plank Trail and possibly even trying to find how it hooks up with the I & M Canal Trail. I didn't get started 'til 4 p.m. and was at Central and Vollmer when I hear hissing coming from the back. I cross the street and turn around thinking Crap! because I suck at changing tires. I then realize the tube is sticking out of the tire. Double crap. I call Tom who comes out with a new rear tire. After sitting in the heat for 20+ minutes and learning our last tube is now on my rear wheel, I say screw it. We get my bike in the car, get home and I went with Tom & Christopher (with Tom pulling) for a long loop. A total of only about 2 hours.

Sunday was Christopher's 2nd birthday party at a local park. It was a little toasty but everyone seemed to have a good time. Christopher was running all over the place -- from the slides/swings area to the tennis courts, to the basketball court, to where people were sitting, etc. Last year, he didn't really enjoy his party so it was nice that he had so much fun this year. I have some pics but I have to still figure out how to post those. = )

Here we go...

After lurking and reading other people's blogs for more than a year, I finally created my own blog. I should actually thank Julie. I needed to sign on to post a comment and, when I went to change my profile to display "vegan" instead of my first name, I decided to take the plunge.

But, I do not have too much that's interesting for my first post. I commuted to a local village board meeting. I had another person beep at me as if bikes are not allowed on the road -- mind you he was in the left lane of a two-laned street and I was in the right lane as far right as I could be. The people who pull out of parking lots, or turn at intersections, without looking for pedestrians or bikers really annoyed me this evening making me want to pound on some stupid lady's car.

I can't decide if I actually want to race at Crystal Ridge on Saturday or not. I hate muddy races but I hate even more the suspense of whether a race will go on. I almost just want it to rain so I know and can just sleep in -- of course, with a two-year-old who am I kidding about thinking I can sleep in? = )