Meltdown & Thomas

(Photo from 2Bici)

Yesterday was the Palos Meltdown. It is the closest race to me but I do not tend to have a home court advantage as it seems to get a little less technical each year and a little faster. Approximately, 3.6 miles of the 8.3-mile course was singletrack and it was all together. I have been going back and forth with Liz in the IL series and was doubtful I could beat her today.

So, my expectations were not incredibly high and I am happy to say I definitely exceeded them. I actually was close to Rachael much longer than I would have dreamed, went back and forth with Regina and managed to barely hold off Liz. I finished in 2:20, my longest race of the year and, man, could I tell. The last lap my back/hips were killing me and my hamstrings kept feeling like they were going to cramp up. Regina, having done more longer races this year, definitely had the advantage. It was still awesome to go back and forth with her. The last lap I was starting to get a little sloppy but still rode well. I got compliments on my strong riding and technical riding, which was cool. = ) It was awesome to have so many people cheering for me out on the course, particularly John S., Anne and Roger and the Half Acre gang.

Christopher got to do the kids race and he got both a red smiley face key chain and a medal so he was excited. Tom didn't do as well as he would have liked but he hadn't raced since Iola in early May and scored a free race entry from Anne (Thanks!).

The weekend before that was "Christopher's weekend." We took the RV, he got to ride Thomas at the railway museum on Saturday morning and we checked out the museum for several hours -- including him getting to play in an inflatable dragon and another bouncy thing, on a sand hill, miniature golf, with Thomas the Tank Engine toys, color, get temporary tatoos, check out a few trains and go on a ride in an old Metra car. Then, we went to a KOA where he got to play at a park, play more minature golf and swim in a pool. They had a hayride on Saturday and showed Madagascar Saturday evening. Sunday, we played at the park, miniature golf and swimming again before heading home. Oh, and on Friday a girl I went to grammar school and high school with gave Christopher her Smart Cycle that her kids weren't using and he got to play with her two little kids. And, on Sunday evening, Christopher got to ride the trails at Palos for the first time on a tag-a-long hooked up to my bike. I practially needed a weekend to recover from it but Christopher had a great time.

Where to begin?

(photo of Christopher racing at Jubilee)

Christopher's birthday was on Friday. He had an awesome weekend--getting to celebrate at summer camp and going to Chuck E. Cheese with Tom & I and his grandma on Friday. And, of course, opening quite a few presents. On Saturday, we had his birthday party at a local park. Several of his friends from preschool, summer camp and the neighborhood came and he had an awesome time. We went to the race in Lake Shelbyville and he got to do the kids race with Zoe Gatto, earning blue ribbons and then he, Zoe and Casey chilled out and played in the air conditioned RV. On the way home, we stopped at a rest area after he woke up from a nap and he got to play on the playground there.

I did not have a good race. It was a great course for fast girls and didn't really have any technical sections for me to try to make up time on. I was fifth out of five. Yuck. I did get in a hard effort and, as Rachael pointed out, the trails here likely would have been too wet anyway. Tom was able to get two laps in after the race so at least he got to ride too.

I had also did the Jubilee and SoCaPa races. Jubilee was great. I took 4th out of 6. The trails are great although it was toasty. SoCoPa was not great. The trails were not as technical. The race officials and organizers annoyed the heck out of me. I spent a week of emails going back and forth with the race director trying to explain that they should not be encouraging expert girls to race sport for series points. Had the same discussion at the race. After being told that sport and open were two totally different races, they were scored as one. They had 10 or 11 girls signed up for "open" with one of those also signing up as the sole women's expert entry. I was 6th and have a medal for being third in my ag group that says "Sport" on it. I was a little unhappy with the result but it definitely didn't help that arguing with officials was my "warm up."

Mainly, I've been working or riding. I have been able to spend a lot of time on the trails lately, which has been great. I've been trying to improve my turning -- not having to brake as much. And, the riding has been great for trying to keep stress levels down. It's been a crazy couple of months. Tom finally got paid again so I was able to pay a bunch of bills and breathe a little easier for the time being. I was finally off anti-biotics for a recurring sinus infection -- but ended up back at the doctor and back on meds within a week. Those are starting to kick in again so I'm hoping to be able to do some more hard rides.

Nearly 30 for Women's MTB Ride!

(photo from Nancy, from CAMBr)

Tom & I decided not to do Wausau, mainly for financial reasons, which was bummin' but did give us the opportunity to do quite a bit-- a Friday evening ride with Rachael and Ryan; the Women's MTB Ride on Saturday and way too much fricken' stuff on Sunday.

Friday's ride I wasn't feelin' quite right-- turns out I have a cold but I think I'm getting over it soon. It was still fun and Tom & I rarely get to ride together.

Saturday was the women's MTB ride. I didn't know how turnout would be with WORS and the Iowa road crits. We had a total of 27 women and girls show up! A few that already mountainbiked but most were pretty much newbies, including a woman who had just bought mountainbike tires for her bike that were switched minutes before the ride. Women and girls split off into two groups of beginner and intermediate. Truth be told, they were pretty much all beginners for mountainbiking but there were also some new to shifting. Julia Daher, from Johnny Sprockets, and Jennifer Mosley, from Half Acre, led the beginner group and I was nominated to lead the intermediate group. I was a little nervous -- would I ride too fast (not something I usually have to deal with), not call something out and cause someone to crash, etc. But, it went well. No major crashes, no one got lost, everyone seemed to have a good time.

We did Out & Back and then took the trails to Cemetery Hill. I had us stop to regroup. For one section of Out & Back, I had us stop, we discussed the area, the women watched a few people go through and then each woman tried it with cheers for everyone. = )

Afterwards, everyone chatted, ate and enjoyed the afternoon. Tom brought Christopher and I watched him while he got a short ride in. As lame as it sounds, it was rewarding to try to make other women as excited about riding as I am. = ) I'll actually be helping to teach the MTB101 class CAMBr is doing next Tuesday if it doesn't get rained out.

On Sunday, I worked Bike the Drive for LIB. Amazing how many people I spoke with that didn't know who ATA was. Umm, the group hosting this event, that actually got Lake Shore Drive closed so you could ride on it. Also, surprising was the amount of rented bikes. Lots of people. I got to check out lots of bikes, talk about biking and get paid. = )

I rushed home so Christopher could go to a classmate's birthday party at her grandparent's mansion in Homer Glen. He had a ball. We then went to where some Bandit CX races have been at Shoe Factory Woods to catch the tail end of my nephew Steven's grad party. We got Christopher to ride his bike a little and he got to go on a hike of part of the CX course. = )

Great race, great trip

(race photo courtesy of Aaron)

We had a family trip and went to the PAMBA race this weekend. We left Friday night, slept at a Flying J's and got there at about 10 a.m. on Saturday. Christopher had a blast at the park. He is climbing up a metal slide in the first photo. It started lightly raining and I did a pre-lap of the course, a little apprehensive since Rachael had mentioned the tires on my bike are not great for mud. Tom and Christopher went for a hike and then Christopher got to play with two older boys for awhile. Then, Tom did two laps (for about 13 miles) while Christopher had a blast jumping in a mud puddle -- I made him stop in the doorway of the RV so I could take off his muddy boots and clothes and wipe him down. After dinner, I decided to do another lap and things were much better. The last part of the lap had more open sections where girls might catch me and, as I was finishing the lap, the PAMBA guys were marking the course -- showing us riding around the park, an extra 1/2 mile of just grass. I knew that would be where girls would be flying past me.

Race day. Rachael and John showed up with Zoe. Christopher was excited. The two of them played on a big pile of rocks. Slid down the rocks like it was a slide, made snow angels in the dirt, played at the park, used Tom as a jungle gym, we got to explore a cabin built in the 1800's and got to do a kids race where they won water bottles with Snickers inside. Christopher thought the trip absolutely rocked. = )

There were only eight girls that lined up. I was a little disappointed that there were so many less girls than last time and that they had us line up after the Sport guys (although it probably ended up for the best). I went back and forth with Liz Baumgaurdt and Gina Champion throughout the race. I got past them in the single track but Liz got past me right before we lapped and Gina was right behind me as we lapped. I got past Liz in the single track and red lined it trying to get a gap before the end of the lap so they couldn't get past me before the finish. I always make more mistakes that way and made some bobbles in sections I should've rode cleanly but oh well. I did manage to finish without getting caught. I took fourth place, about three minutes behind Rachael. Woot!!!

I lost my gel flask before I even had any, for the second race in a row. I really like the flask so I can water down the gel, otherwise I feel like I'll puke. I have a Nashbar flask holder I've been using. People suggested sticking it in my jersey pocket or pants leg. I think it will bug me in my pants leg, if I don't lose it, and I think it'll be harder to get it out of my pocket. Hammer products makes a flask holder too I'm thinking of buying and am open to other suggestions.

Iola

I should be extremely happy with Iola -- and, for the most part, I am. I finished at 2 hours, 14 minutes faster than in 2008 (last time I raced there). I finished less than a minute than Christine, was within sights of several girls throughout the race and went back and forth with a few of them. I rode everything cleanly -- with the exception of catching a tree with my handlebars while trying to see if the guy that crashed up ahead was still down. And, probably most importantly, I felt like...I'm not sure of the correct wording but, basically, that I deserved to be out there.

Training definitely has helped. I think all the cross races helped a lot too. A chunk of racing is mental and I don't always have the right attitude/frame of mind. The CX racing helped boost that confidence, racing instinct, whatever you want to call it. And, my new wonderful bike also definitely helped. Those 29 wheels...I'm in love. = )

The 1x9 was tough. It was the first race I did with significant climbs on it and I was afraid my legs would not hold out. That fear was not helped by losing my gel flask soon into the first lap and having my Camelbak leak leaving me with no liquid for a good chunk of the last lap. I held back a little and really shouldn't have but now know better for next time.

So, I was really happy when I finished. Then, I learned I was DFL. I was ahead of Jennifer Whitedog and didn't notice when she passed me back in my oxygen-deprived state. And, I was ahead of another girl that then dropped out. Arrgh!

Tom wasn't thrilled with his result but didn't do horribly.

Christopher had a great time. He was thrilled to get a medal and, in fact, even during the race he would all of a sudden say happily "I'm going to get a medal." = )

I couldn't get him to race his new bike for the kids race. Hopefully, next time. He is soooo close to being able to ride it by himself.

Sylvan Stampede

I haven't updated my blog for ages. I've been busy, Tom's been unemployed until recently -- now, his group has started working for a new firm but are not getting paid yet. Who really wants to hear me complain about my lack of finances?

So, when Rachael posted she wanted to sell her 29er, Tom and I were torn. Then, I rode it and immediately felt like a better rider. I finished doing our taxes, realized we'd get a decent return and bought it. Yea!

Of course, I had to try out the bike ASAP and decided to race the Sylvan Stampede. Christopher had also really been bugging us for a trip so we left Saturday afternoon after I was done co-teaching a bike ed. class. We got there about 6 p.m. and I was able to get in two laps. The trails there are awesome. I knew that, even if the race went horribly for me, I would still have fun riding those trails.

We got there early on Sunday so we could find a place to park the RV and I was able to spin out the legs doing an easy lap before the novice race started. I warmed up and then we waited around for the kids' race. Christopher had a fun time and we were so happy they had a fun little course mapped out for them.

There were a lot of girls lined up for the Women's Open and we were starting before the guys. I wasn't sure what I thought of starting before the guys. I figured the Women's Open should be good for me. I always get my butt kicked in Expert but am not really "sport" either. I ended up 9th out of 25 girls. I wasn't sure if I could hold off Liz Baungart. I had never beat her in a MTB race and had beat her once at CX. Last lap, I was passed by a guy who was then really laid back about passing a slow sport guy so the three of us were kind of just riding along with me thinking girls were catching up on me as Tom was yelling a girl was right up ahead. I was just under 30 seconds behind that girl but did keep Liz behind me -- by 8 seconds. Luckily, I didn't know she was that close 'til they put the results up.

It was awesome although I felt like I was going to die. Anne and Roger, from CAMBr, were course marshalls and it was cool to hear them cheer for me each time I went by. Paul and Jennifer from Half Acre were also happy to have them as a Half Acre cheering section. There were open stretches that I would redline myself on trying to keep from being passed by the faster girls and I actually ended up with an average heart rate of 187.

The 29er is so fricking cool. Although, as the race went on and my thinking ability diminished, I kept shifting the wrong way with the grip shifter and had issues shifting when my hand was sweaty and all of me was tired. Once Rachael gets back from AZ though, she is going to change it to a trigger shifter. = ) The 1x9 was good and kept me from going into too easy of a gear on the short climbs.

Our plan is now to go to quite a few of the WORS races for me to get in a long ride on Saturday and have Tom and Christopher race as well as hitting quite a few of the IL series for Christopher and I to race. = )

CX & Year-end wrap ups

(Photos of Christopher, at Grandma's, loading up his new robot to shoot and a hug)

Well, I'm a little late, but I've been wanting to do a cross season wrap up. I did a total of 30 races.

10 Women's 123 races in the Chicago Cross Cup series, taking sixth

4 Women's 3 races in the Wisconsin Cycling Association's cyclocross series, taking 10th

4 Women's 35+ races -- The USGP Planet Bike Cup & Jingle Cross

3 Women's 2/3 races at Jingle Cross

5 Men's 4B races in the Chicago Cross Cup series, taking 40th

4 Men's 4A races in the Chicago Cross Cup series

In addition, I did three of the Church Cross and one Bandit Cross training race and was able to make it to a few of the Beverly Vee Pak CX practices. I love cross because it is loads of fun but also because of the great community.

It was an awesome year for me for cross. I had three races where I took 5th including 5th out of 13 at Northbrook -- my best women's race. I also took 14th in the Men's 4b at Montrose, which rocked.

As for the year, I rode 4,523 miles -- which includes, racing, commuting, mountainbiking and a few trainer miles. I also ran more than 203 miles. Shocking for me. I actually ran five miles today, stopping after the first 10 minutes to drop off the dog and change gloves.

Race wise for the year, the focus was definitely cross but I managed to get some road races in -- mainly crits, which I did a shockingly high number of 15 or 16, including two or three of the Matteson training crits and two outdoor time trials (yuck) in addition to the indoor time trials my club, ABD, puts on. Unfortunately, I only did a few mountainbike races:

Two WEMS 12 hours that I didn't actually do the whole 12 hours, the Palos Meltdown and four WORS races, including Lake Geneva where I DNF'd after I crashed and rang my bell, so to speak, and killed my helmet.

This year is still totally up in the air as Tom will be out of a job by the end of February if he does not find a new one first. I want to focus on cross again and I would like to again do a few road and mountainbike races but it depends on our finances. I've told Tom that, if our finances improve, I would be fine going to WORS races for him & Christopher to race as long as I get to do a long ride on the course during the pre-ride. Tom's small trading group did meet with another firm yesterday and will meet with a different firm next week. "Hope. Hope." (Quote from the film "True Romance.")