They skiers I know keep their lives together in the summer. The cyclists I know get their 'honey-do' lists done in the winter. Most years, I don't even have an off weekend between the end of the fall cross season and ski season.
In December, I raced Fair Hill. On a Saturday. It was a great course but my legs and head were checked out for the season and my result indicated that. Ah well, at least I had to wear more than a shortsleeve skinsuit at ONE race this year. It was fun - three bikes, three people, two dogs, and a minimal number of extra wheels. That's right, I said two dogs. I'll write more about Oz sometime.
Sunday morning after an early morning run, we drove to Vermont. Ski instructor camp. I'd never been, even though it's a big deal and almost a third of the Ski Liberty instructors make the trip. Can I just say - I love starting ski season with strong legs and endurance!?
After nearly a week in Vermont, we drove back late and I did one of my favorite things on Saturday - lead a hiring clinic for a small group of new instructors. Only this year, the resort wasn't open yet. Warm weather meant we were confined to a strip of white on the beginner's hill and a lift open just for us. The weather didn't get colder after that... and the resort didn't officially open until December 30th this season.
But wait, how cool is that - I had like 2 weekends of an offseason. I rode my bike. A lot. More training hours than November or October. I played on the rocks at the Shed. A lot. I rode with friends on the road. Long rides in the wind. Long rides in 60 degree December balminess. Long rides in chillier weather. I didn't get enough science done, but I thought about my science a lot. That helped, actually.
Right now, I feel great. Life has been busy but balanced. But the crux of ski season is on me. I have some travel coming up for training and personal skiing, then some more likely for PSIA events. Plus every weekend, I teach beginner skiers, beginner instructors, and all the gang that's been around for years. Yikes. Time to hold on until March.
I have some big goals this year for cycling. If you see me on the slopes, ask me how my training is going. I don't want to forget who I am the other 8 months of the year!
Showing posts with label weather. Show all posts
Showing posts with label weather. Show all posts
Wednesday, January 18, 2012
Friday, September 23, 2011
mud is coming
I'm racing elite this year. I still don't feel "elite" or "expert" at this bike racing thing, but it's where I belong. I even looked at lap times to convince myself of that.
I got a new-to-me bike this year. Yeah, I know, did that last year, too. But, I own two sweet cross bikes instead of a sweet cross bike and a sexy road bike. The Santa Cruz and I have seen a lot of road time together in the last year and will continue to even though it spends its time during races in the pit.
Anyway, new-to-me bike, a handmade Alan from Italy that a teammate sold me came with sweet wheels (it's actually the one pictured in the link!). So I had a conundrum - two sets of carbon race wheels. And I did what any respectable cyclocrosser would do. I got mud tires. With the new Challenge Limus glued up on some Zipp 303's, I expected we'd have a completely dry season, just like last year when I was busy earning upgrade points to make the jump into the big girls category. Yeah, that's right, I got all those upgrade points without a single speck of mud on my bike.
That was until remnants of a hurricane rained out my last mountain bike race. We went to Nittany CX instead, where instead of gently dipping my toe into the elite water at a local race, I jumped in head first with the Euro pros in a UCI field. Wait, did I mention it rained the week before Nittany?
That mud was disgusting. Smelled like cow.... well, let's just say I was thrilled there were showers. I love the new bike. I love the mud tires. I rode well and decided it's pretty cool we get to ride our bikes through mud puddles for fun. Shea stripped the new bike to the frame when we got home. He claimed I'd gotten grass and mud inside the rear hub. Can't imagine how...
Last weekend was Charm City, a little pair of UCI races a mile from our house. I'm sure there will be more here about Charm City, but for now... it's raining again. Just in time to make some mud for Tacchino...
Thanks to Shea, Diedre and Karl Connolly for the pics.
I got a new-to-me bike this year. Yeah, I know, did that last year, too. But, I own two sweet cross bikes instead of a sweet cross bike and a sexy road bike. The Santa Cruz and I have seen a lot of road time together in the last year and will continue to even though it spends its time during races in the pit.
Anyway, new-to-me bike, a handmade Alan from Italy that a teammate sold me came with sweet wheels (it's actually the one pictured in the link!). So I had a conundrum - two sets of carbon race wheels. And I did what any respectable cyclocrosser would do. I got mud tires. With the new Challenge Limus glued up on some Zipp 303's, I expected we'd have a completely dry season, just like last year when I was busy earning upgrade points to make the jump into the big girls category. Yeah, that's right, I got all those upgrade points without a single speck of mud on my bike.
That was until remnants of a hurricane rained out my last mountain bike race. We went to Nittany CX instead, where instead of gently dipping my toe into the elite water at a local race, I jumped in head first with the Euro pros in a UCI field. Wait, did I mention it rained the week before Nittany?
That mud was disgusting. Smelled like cow.... well, let's just say I was thrilled there were showers. I love the new bike. I love the mud tires. I rode well and decided it's pretty cool we get to ride our bikes through mud puddles for fun. Shea stripped the new bike to the frame when we got home. He claimed I'd gotten grass and mud inside the rear hub. Can't imagine how...
Last weekend was Charm City, a little pair of UCI races a mile from our house. I'm sure there will be more here about Charm City, but for now... it's raining again. Just in time to make some mud for Tacchino...
Thanks to Shea, Diedre and Karl Connolly for the pics.
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
Still cleaning the mud from my ears - Granogue and Wissahickon
It's Wednesday and I still haven't written race reports. Guess it's just that kind of a week. Did the big double of Granogue and Wissahickon this weekend.
Epic.
Granogue - a technical course with sweeping off camber turns, a significant downhill, and two steep run-ups. This was a MAC series race, which means a big field mixed with the fast cat 3's. I was shooting for top 50%, hoping for top 10. It had poured rain for about 3 days leading into the race and I could tell without a pre-ride it was gonna be sloppy. Warming up on the trainer, I was watching the B masters crash the downhill and (often) go through the tape... one after another. Crazy. Ours was the third race of the day and already there was no semblance of grass between the tape, just mud. After scrumming for a front row start, I drafted up the hill and pulled around at the top for the hole shot. Seems like no one wanted to lead onto the grass, and while I knew it wasn't a sustainable position, I was happy to choose my own lines through the first couple of mud-infused turns.
I felt great on my bike. And like crap off of it. The run ups were sucking my shoes down into the mud and holding them there, it seemed. I could barely get traction (I will find my spikes for the next muddy race!) and wound up crawling at least twice. Remounts were miserable - I caught my shorts 3 times on the seat. After the hole shot, I was passed a few times on the uphills and then wound up trading places for much of the race with Anne of Sturdy Girl - she was racing in the Master's category, so it was fun to go back and forth with her.
On the last lap, I laid it down fast on the first downhill after the start (headed back toward the parking area) and slid at least 15 feet through the slip-n-slide mud. At least one onlooker cheered. Hey, at least if I'm gonna crash, I did so with style. Got up and had some trouble getting put back together - turns out there was so much mud on my left glove I could barely hold onto the hoods.
Later in the lap, I was riding the downhill well and a rider had dropped her chain and was on the rideable line. I said something and, thankfully, she moved over about 3 inches. That was all I needed - in retrospect, this was extra nice of her - we were racing against each other and nothing said she had to move out of the way to fix that chain. But if she hadn't, I'm afraid I would have run smack into her! I sprinted at the end, not knowing (or wanting to) who was behind me (turns out, no one) and wound up crossing the line about half a wheel behind Anne for 12th in the Cat 3/4 field.
Wissahickon - It wasn't easy dragging myself out of bed after 3 Saturday night loads of laundry (a warm glove of mine missed out on load #2) and shoes drying on the heating vent... We ventured to Dick's Saturday night for a tent - the possibility of rain and likelihood that I was gonna warm up on the trainer again made me bite the bullet. Turns out, those things are cheaper than I thought.
We got to Wiss a bit later than I'd hoped - I had planned time for a quick lap then bike cleanup and warmup. But alas, it was not to be. I told myself that it was okay - nothing about muddy water coming off my back wheel is warm. In fact, it leads to a condition known as cold butt. In spinning out before the start I achieved that condition. It was soon to be followed by cold feet after plowing them through 6 inch deep puddles in the sand.
On lap 1, I was regretting not pre-riding. I had a mediocre start (from the front row, again) but got boxed out what felt like 15 times in the first 3 turns, including once where I was unceremoniously pushed into a shin-height wooden fence. Grunting at the woman who did this to me yielded a bit more space, so I wasn't resigned to the fate of men in other races who wound up crashing over it. Getting pushed into tape I'm okay with. Immovable objects... not so much.
About halfway through lap 1 of 4, my rear derailleur pooped out. It just wasn't interested in shifting. Arg. Luckily, I've got it geared 36-46 in the front with enough chain to cross shift, so at least I had two gears for the remainder of the race. I was, however, spun out on the road sections. On a pitchy little hill just after the sandpits I managed to ride it while being pushed into the tape - fun! It was a great move by whomever was doing it - she forced me into a harder line but I managed to ride it anyway. On subsequent laps I would generally spin out partway up that hill.
The spiral of death at Wiss was truly that - mud and a slight hill makes that feature way more interesting. Everyone crashed in here it seemed, including me - I laid it down at least twice in the spiral. And the runup after the barriers was tough - slippery that I could barely get traction, but with a decent high speed dismount. In all, lots of fun off camber and a few tricky little downhills that begged for attention.
By the last lap I was racing against one other woman who I managed to beat up the pitchy hill but then crashed on an off camber and she gapped me. No legs or gears left for the sprint, I wound up 15th out of 34 on the day. I'm pleased but not thrilled with that. Tactically not my best race, but with the shifting troubles and gummy legs from Saturday's effort, I'm happy I did that well.
As I said, Epic.
Pics from Joe Mallis, Shea, and Cycling Captured.
Epic.
Granogue - a technical course with sweeping off camber turns, a significant downhill, and two steep run-ups. This was a MAC series race, which means a big field mixed with the fast cat 3's. I was shooting for top 50%, hoping for top 10. It had poured rain for about 3 days leading into the race and I could tell without a pre-ride it was gonna be sloppy. Warming up on the trainer, I was watching the B masters crash the downhill and (often) go through the tape... one after another. Crazy. Ours was the third race of the day and already there was no semblance of grass between the tape, just mud. After scrumming for a front row start, I drafted up the hill and pulled around at the top for the hole shot. Seems like no one wanted to lead onto the grass, and while I knew it wasn't a sustainable position, I was happy to choose my own lines through the first couple of mud-infused turns.
I felt great on my bike. And like crap off of it. The run ups were sucking my shoes down into the mud and holding them there, it seemed. I could barely get traction (I will find my spikes for the next muddy race!) and wound up crawling at least twice. Remounts were miserable - I caught my shorts 3 times on the seat. After the hole shot, I was passed a few times on the uphills and then wound up trading places for much of the race with Anne of Sturdy Girl - she was racing in the Master's category, so it was fun to go back and forth with her.
On the last lap, I laid it down fast on the first downhill after the start (headed back toward the parking area) and slid at least 15 feet through the slip-n-slide mud. At least one onlooker cheered. Hey, at least if I'm gonna crash, I did so with style. Got up and had some trouble getting put back together - turns out there was so much mud on my left glove I could barely hold onto the hoods.
Later in the lap, I was riding the downhill well and a rider had dropped her chain and was on the rideable line. I said something and, thankfully, she moved over about 3 inches. That was all I needed - in retrospect, this was extra nice of her - we were racing against each other and nothing said she had to move out of the way to fix that chain. But if she hadn't, I'm afraid I would have run smack into her! I sprinted at the end, not knowing (or wanting to) who was behind me (turns out, no one) and wound up crossing the line about half a wheel behind Anne for 12th in the Cat 3/4 field.
Wissahickon - It wasn't easy dragging myself out of bed after 3 Saturday night loads of laundry (a warm glove of mine missed out on load #2) and shoes drying on the heating vent... We ventured to Dick's Saturday night for a tent - the possibility of rain and likelihood that I was gonna warm up on the trainer again made me bite the bullet. Turns out, those things are cheaper than I thought.
We got to Wiss a bit later than I'd hoped - I had planned time for a quick lap then bike cleanup and warmup. But alas, it was not to be. I told myself that it was okay - nothing about muddy water coming off my back wheel is warm. In fact, it leads to a condition known as cold butt. In spinning out before the start I achieved that condition. It was soon to be followed by cold feet after plowing them through 6 inch deep puddles in the sand.
On lap 1, I was regretting not pre-riding. I had a mediocre start (from the front row, again) but got boxed out what felt like 15 times in the first 3 turns, including once where I was unceremoniously pushed into a shin-height wooden fence. Grunting at the woman who did this to me yielded a bit more space, so I wasn't resigned to the fate of men in other races who wound up crashing over it. Getting pushed into tape I'm okay with. Immovable objects... not so much.
As I said, Epic.
Pics from Joe Mallis, Shea, and Cycling Captured.
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
Time on the trainer
Uh-oh, that time of year is coming - when the light wanes shortly after (or as it has tonight) before I leave lab for the day and I wind up half-heartedly spinning on the trainer in the basement instead of getting fresh air under my legs. I'm hoping to keep these sessions to a minimum this fall - especially as I finally have a dedicated road bike built, so none of this switching wheels stuff to ride my cross race bike on the tarmac. Shea just built up the road bike today - I'm wondering what color bar tape I've got...
As I find my way into trainer-land, I will note a few things:
1. It's really windy out there tonight. My lack of dedication for leaving lab early for a ride might be tied to that.
2. One of my main goals for the next 6 months is to maintain some cycling fitness through until March. I failed miserably at this last year, failing to ride a bike _at all_ from mid-December until the day before my first race at Rockburn in late March. I hope to sneak in some mid-afternoon rides followed by evenings at work. And, because I'm a bit of a wimp about the cold, it also means trainer time. Weekends are out from December through March... gotta ski during ski season. The possibility of night mountain bike rides is intriguing, but limited in terms of a true workout while taking up a lot of time, so I'm not sure that's going to be part of the plan.
3. I have to figure out how to make trainer time more fun. Options include bad beach books to read, girly movies, abysmal but addictive reality TV, and perhaps sports highlights or upbeat music. As much as I would like to think that I can read science papers and spin at the same time, it's probably unrealistic to think I can be that productive.
4. I have to be more effective/less lazy while on the trainer. Not sure how to acheive this, but I think item 3 is probably important. Can't make it too much fun, though. Last fall I found myself sitting there without spinning, watching terrible reality tv without realizing I'd stopped pedaling. Oops. That just doesn't happen when you're out on the road.
Best trainer workout ever so far - reliving the steelers last minute superbowl victory while watching the highlights. Too bad they don't play that well all the time.
As I find my way into trainer-land, I will note a few things:
1. It's really windy out there tonight. My lack of dedication for leaving lab early for a ride might be tied to that.
2. One of my main goals for the next 6 months is to maintain some cycling fitness through until March. I failed miserably at this last year, failing to ride a bike _at all_ from mid-December until the day before my first race at Rockburn in late March. I hope to sneak in some mid-afternoon rides followed by evenings at work. And, because I'm a bit of a wimp about the cold, it also means trainer time. Weekends are out from December through March... gotta ski during ski season. The possibility of night mountain bike rides is intriguing, but limited in terms of a true workout while taking up a lot of time, so I'm not sure that's going to be part of the plan.
3. I have to figure out how to make trainer time more fun. Options include bad beach books to read, girly movies, abysmal but addictive reality TV, and perhaps sports highlights or upbeat music. As much as I would like to think that I can read science papers and spin at the same time, it's probably unrealistic to think I can be that productive.
4. I have to be more effective/less lazy while on the trainer. Not sure how to acheive this, but I think item 3 is probably important. Can't make it too much fun, though. Last fall I found myself sitting there without spinning, watching terrible reality tv without realizing I'd stopped pedaling. Oops. That just doesn't happen when you're out on the road.
Best trainer workout ever so far - reliving the steelers last minute superbowl victory while watching the highlights. Too bad they don't play that well all the time.
Sunday, September 27, 2009
Yes, Virginia, I am a mudder...
Can you imagine a more perfect muddy bike race? Couple inches of rain overnight, misty morning, beautiful 70 degree sun by the afternoon for my cross season opener - the Ed Sander Memorial Cyclocross event at Lily Pons watergardens south of Frederick, MD.
This is the first year they've bumped the Cat 4 women (that's novice, for you non-cyclists) into our own class for the MABRA series. I weaseled my way into a front row start (hey, if they'd actually done callups as advertised, I would've been front row by order of reg. AND last year's points) and had the hole shot onto the off camber turn onto the grass. I did a great job of taking my brain out of this early success and quickly settled into a sustainable but strong pace - two women passed me early but I lost track of one and the other had a tough barrier and I didn't see her again.
In the pre-ride, I found that an acquaintance from the mountain bike circuit was racing her first cross race. On her Superfly. Now, with the quantity of mud there, this probably wasn't all bad for her. I knew she'd be strong. I didn't think she'd be hanging on my wheel for the first two laps and then finally pass me in the mud pits (which she was riding and I was running) for the eventual win. I stayed on for a while, then got dropped but felt really good - she was still in sight and I caught a couple of women in the back of the Elite field (including one who I practice with and was SUPER encouraging - sometimes I love racing with women!).
The course was mostly the same as last year - flat for the first half with a couple hundred yards of mud pit - a few short hills and technical off camber stuff on the other half. A mandatory run-up and slip-sliding short downhill in the back section make it interesting. I rode really well - still not feeling great at race pace on my dismounts and remounts, despite all the practice. But I rode all the rideable hills. Pretty sure I half-heartedly pushed my bike up many of them last year. Great cheering from friends and teammates pushed me to buckle down and pedal hard. If you're reading this - I heard you all and THANKS! And congrats to all the friends and teammates who raced today as well!
Honestly, it felt like I rode a great race and was 2nd (!!!!!) in the Cat 4's out of 20 starters (18 finished). Pretty psyched about that - in this series last year when it was Cat 3/4 I occasionally broke the top 10 and finished in the bottom half most of the time. My best ever finish by far in cross! As for my prizes on the day - I scored a pair leg warmers and a pair of woolie socks which look fuzzy warm but are too big so Shea'll get them. Wonder how I'll handle next weekend's double?
The course was mostly the same as last year - flat for the first half with a couple hundred yards of mud pit - a few short hills and technical off camber stuff on the other half. A mandatory run-up and slip-sliding short downhill in the back section make it interesting. I rode really well - still not feeling great at race pace on my dismounts and remounts, despite all the practice. But I rode all the rideable hills. Pretty sure I half-heartedly pushed my bike up many of them last year. Great cheering from friends and teammates pushed me to buckle down and pedal hard. If you're reading this - I heard you all and THANKS! And congrats to all the friends and teammates who raced today as well!
Honestly, it felt like I rode a great race and was 2nd (!!!!!) in the Cat 4's out of 20 starters (18 finished). Pretty psyched about that - in this series last year when it was Cat 3/4 I occasionally broke the top 10 and finished in the bottom half most of the time. My best ever finish by far in cross! As for my prizes on the day - I scored a pair leg warmers and a pair of woolie socks which look fuzzy warm but are too big so Shea'll get them. Wonder how I'll handle next weekend's double?
Wednesday, June 3, 2009
'Training' on the low road
It's raining... again. Pouring it down with loud noises sufficient to terrify our border collie into pacing around the room, flinching with each clap of thunder. Last night it stormed in the middle of the night. Just what I wanted - a scared dog needing cuddles at some unknown hour of the morning. Oh well, I was awake anyway. We are in the summer cycle, it seems.
In Utah, it only pretends to storm. Many a night in the summer, a big gusty storm comes up, drizzles enough rain to knock the dirt from the air onto whatever clean window you'd like to look through and then goes away. Here, it pours. This sucks. No trail riding here when it's wet - tonight's weekly women's mountain bike ride... cancelled. I was out on the road bike yesterday and not excited about a solo ride with a chance of thunderstorms tonight. So, I had decided to go get wet myself - a swim was in order. I then realized that while I had everything else I needed with me at work, my gym card was sitting in our kitchen. So I took the low road. I came home, made cheesesteaks, and got fat. I will surely pay for this transgression soon enough. I did not, however, drink beer. Or watch bad tv.
But tomorrow, I will likely have to make this to train or get fat decision again. The gym card is optimistically perched next to my coffee mug...
In Utah, it only pretends to storm. Many a night in the summer, a big gusty storm comes up, drizzles enough rain to knock the dirt from the air onto whatever clean window you'd like to look through and then goes away. Here, it pours. This sucks. No trail riding here when it's wet - tonight's weekly women's mountain bike ride... cancelled. I was out on the road bike yesterday and not excited about a solo ride with a chance of thunderstorms tonight. So, I had decided to go get wet myself - a swim was in order. I then realized that while I had everything else I needed with me at work, my gym card was sitting in our kitchen. So I took the low road. I came home, made cheesesteaks, and got fat. I will surely pay for this transgression soon enough. I did not, however, drink beer. Or watch bad tv.
But tomorrow, I will likely have to make this to train or get fat decision again. The gym card is optimistically perched next to my coffee mug...
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