I got a little stressed out about the condo and didn't sleep very well Thursday and Friday. When my alarm went off Saturday morning for the Green Valley TT it took me all of 1 second to decide to take a stress day and go back to bed. I slept until noon which wrecked the day and then I couldn't get to sleep Saturday night. The stress day was nice though!
I think I got 3 hours of sleep for the Vance Creek RR on Sunday, which definitely doesn't help performance. The cat 4 ladies had a large turnout with probably around 30-40 racers. The course was fun and it wasn't until the 2nd lap of the 12-mi circuit that things heated up. A small break got away with a chase group but the pack eventually reeled the chase group back. I think two WoW gals were up the road and no one even knew, or didn't care. The pack sure didn't seem interested in chasing, but I doubt we would have caught them anyway.
We had to finish with a moderate hill climb at around the 1km mark followed by a steeper pitch at about 200m. I'm always too far back at the finish so I moved up to the front with 1km left. I ended up in the wind way too long up the first hill. I also forgot that as you crest the hill the headwind gets worse, so I ended up blocking the wind for tons of people who then hit the gas for the 200m climb and left me in the dust. The first two times up the climb I was moving up and around people. The last time I was going backwards...that sucked. I pretty much had no gas left in the tank and I think I limped across the finish maybe around 20th or so. Ah well...lesson learned!
I still raced decently and was able to hang with the main pack so I'm happy, but my legs were a little flat, probably due to the 3 hours of sleep thing. I guess I won't do that again. It was exciting to have three Zoka ladies at the race -- hopefully we'll get some more at coming races.
The weather is so nice today I decided it was time to break out the other bike and rode the Ducati to work. Ahhh....so much fun. Let's hope the weather stays nice.
Monday, April 30, 2007
Friday, April 27, 2007
Ticking down the days until closing...
Man has the last month been chocked full of real estate drama. Last year I entertained the idea of buying a house but after looking at dozens of "shacks" I gave up. 300K buys you what in Seattle? Uh....pretty much nothing except houses in transitional areas, ghetto areas, or houses that need some "minor" work like floors, walls, foundations, etc. Considering Marcus already has a huge house project I decided I really didn't want to tackle another. The house is great but living in a constant construction zone starts to take it's toll after a while. I figure buying a condo is a great idea. We have a nice place to stay while the house remodel continues and then afterwards I can either rent or sell. Perfect!
Last month I resumed the real estate hunt and finally found an awesome condo right on the border of Leschi and the CD. The building was built in 2004 to be condos, but the developer had concerns about a soft condo market so they converted them to apartments. So much for that soft condo market....haha. They've all been newly remodeled and converted to condos again. Conveniently, it's only a few miles from the house.
I put in my offer and it got accepted...then came the headache. I thought I was approved, then found out I had issues on my credit report I didn't know about and had to clean up. I spent hours on the phone to creditors trying to resolve everything and get proof of resolution...gee, that's fun! Meanwhile I kept creeping closer to the closing date with no financing secured. I got stressed out and decided to withdraw my offer to take the time to straighten out financing but the sellers agreed to give me more time. Then I got confused and couldn't figure out what to do. I was nearly "this" close to forgetting about the whole thing when my lender called yesterday and said, "Hey! We just pulled your credit...everything is fine now and you're set!" Whew! So now I'm in this mass flurry of paperwork trying to get everything settled by the original closing date of May 4th, which is next Friday. Crazy!
I guess I'm on my way to becoming a first-time homeowner. It's exciting and stressful all at the same time! Here's some pictures of a model unit that is just about identical to mine. It's pretty!
The condo also has some nice common areas with gorgeous views of the city.
Last month I resumed the real estate hunt and finally found an awesome condo right on the border of Leschi and the CD. The building was built in 2004 to be condos, but the developer had concerns about a soft condo market so they converted them to apartments. So much for that soft condo market....haha. They've all been newly remodeled and converted to condos again. Conveniently, it's only a few miles from the house.
I put in my offer and it got accepted...then came the headache. I thought I was approved, then found out I had issues on my credit report I didn't know about and had to clean up. I spent hours on the phone to creditors trying to resolve everything and get proof of resolution...gee, that's fun! Meanwhile I kept creeping closer to the closing date with no financing secured. I got stressed out and decided to withdraw my offer to take the time to straighten out financing but the sellers agreed to give me more time. Then I got confused and couldn't figure out what to do. I was nearly "this" close to forgetting about the whole thing when my lender called yesterday and said, "Hey! We just pulled your credit...everything is fine now and you're set!" Whew! So now I'm in this mass flurry of paperwork trying to get everything settled by the original closing date of May 4th, which is next Friday. Crazy!
I guess I'm on my way to becoming a first-time homeowner. It's exciting and stressful all at the same time! Here's some pictures of a model unit that is just about identical to mine. It's pretty!
The condo also has some nice common areas with gorgeous views of the city.
Monday, April 23, 2007
Tour of Walla Walla!
I have to say I was pleasantly surprised by Walla Walla. This is the first time I've ever been there and it's by far one of the nicest towns in eastern Washington. The scenery is pretty, the downtown area has some nice restaurants and boutique shops, and there's plenty of wine everywhere! Sorry for the length of the post but hey, there's three race reports in one here.
I set 4 goals for this weekend.
1: Mid-pack finish in the TT (so around 25th).
2: Stick with main pack in the road race and get a top 20.
3: Don't get pulled from the crit.
4: Top 20 in GC.
Well, I pretty much got 3 out of the 4 so I'm totally happy with the results.
Time Trial
The TT course was a challenge for me and I think I'd actually do better on a totally flat course. It was a 10K course that was uphill on the way out and then downhill on the way back. I had my 30-sec and 1-min person in sight the entire way out to the turnaround and then never saw them again. I stayed aero and cranked my ass off but couldn't hit much more than 30mph on the way back. I guess I need to gain weight to haul ass downhill. I never got passed so I honestly thought I had put in a pretty good ride until the results came out and I ended up 37th out of 45 starters. Ugh. I guess the slow people were all behind me. My time was 22:43.28...about 1:20 away from 25th.
Road Race
I actually really liked having the road race after the TT since the TT is a perfect warmup. I thought the course would suit me so I decided to do everything I could to get a good finish and make up time I lost in the TT. Most of our 38-mi race was a complete snoozer. The course started with a relentless 3K climb at a 5% grade that was neutral (around 7mph) the first time up and would be the finishing stretch of the race later.
Once we hit the descent after this hill the next few miles were a bit tense. A pack of near 50 is large for the Women's 4s and I think it takes some time for everyone to lose the jitters, get used to having a lot of people around them, and get settled in. For some reason quite a few gals were being very catty and snappy and there was lots of live entertainment. Hey, I just want to race ladies!
I realized I had inadvertedly gotten behind some poor hill climbers and could not get around on the first big roller. I was starting to stress out when finally a girl next to me said "Coming through!" and motored up between them, thus setting off a chain of other gals doing the same. I guess I need to be more aggressive and shout like everyone else. One of the TiCycles girls went over the yellow line to pass, which I thought was a little crappy since I could have done the same much earlier but didn't. The follow car had a little talking to her about the yellow line violation. Definitely nothing personal, but I really wish they would enforce this when people do it deliberately to move up. Oh well. I managed to get settled back into the pack.
Most of the race was pretty boring and everyone seemed content to push the pace on the rollers to drop off a few people and that was it. Given that Group Health was the clearly dominant team with around 15 people in the pack the group tactics seemed questionable to me. Halfway through the race there was the typical "50 meter attack" launched that strung things out but everyone sat up and it all came back together. Maybe it's lack of fitness...maybe it's inexperience...but it's just plain annoying. It seemed to me that if TGH had organized and actually reeled off a few attacks one after the other they would have dessimated the pack. Maybe they didn't realize how many people had to chase back on after the small attack, but it seems to me they could have taken better advantage of their numbers. Oh well, what do I know.
A few miles from the finish there was a steep roller that finally split things up. I felt very strong and had little trouble getting over any of the rollers with the leaders. The pace finally ramped up heading into Waitsburg before that final 3K climb. I started having some difficulty keeping up and finally popped off the back coming through town. Luckily at that point we were about a mile from the climb. When I looked behind me there was no one there! I couldn't believe that half the pack was gone. Once I hit the climb I realized I was unlikely to catch anyone ahead of me and there was no one threatening behind me so I just settled into a nice pace, tried to ignore the cramping in my left foot and right calf, and ended up 20th. Sweet! Goal #2 met! Once they posted results I had moved up from 37th to 24th in GC.
Criterium
It started raining late Saturday and the roads were damp for Sunday morning's crit. We lined up minus about 10 gals who said they wouldn't ride if it was wet. Probably best since those are likely the ones you wouldn't want to ride next to in a wet crit anyway.
I lost my nerve a bit going into the first corner and ended up starting way too far back. I really need to work on my start positioning. I love crits and the course was really fun. Despite the wet roads, I felt totally confident and the course didn't seem slick or sketchy at all. I definitely should have started moving up on the straightaways immediately to get into a better position and I would have likely been able to hang with the main pack. Oh well. It took me a few laps to get into a rhythm and mid-way through the crit I was working in a chase group. We were able to barely survive and not get pulled -- hoorah!
I was a tad disappointed that I didn't stick with the pack but I think it was more a factor of poor positioning than poor fitness. This is the first real crit I haven't been pulled from, which was my goal. I did finish 25th a minute down from the pack but with the numerous people that didn't show it was enough to push me to 21st overall in GC. I wanted to get a top 20 in GC so that was close enough for me!
Overall, I'm totally stoked with my results for the weekend. Aside from the TT, I hit every goal I set and I'm definitely riding much stronger than I was last year. I need to start making some smarter positioning decisions in crits and road races and that will help me immensely. JoAnne did a great job this weekend and despite her dislike for the crit ended up 17th in GC. This was a pretty good weekend for the Zoka gals -- sweet!
I set 4 goals for this weekend.
1: Mid-pack finish in the TT (so around 25th).
2: Stick with main pack in the road race and get a top 20.
3: Don't get pulled from the crit.
4: Top 20 in GC.
Well, I pretty much got 3 out of the 4 so I'm totally happy with the results.
Time Trial
The TT course was a challenge for me and I think I'd actually do better on a totally flat course. It was a 10K course that was uphill on the way out and then downhill on the way back. I had my 30-sec and 1-min person in sight the entire way out to the turnaround and then never saw them again. I stayed aero and cranked my ass off but couldn't hit much more than 30mph on the way back. I guess I need to gain weight to haul ass downhill. I never got passed so I honestly thought I had put in a pretty good ride until the results came out and I ended up 37th out of 45 starters. Ugh. I guess the slow people were all behind me. My time was 22:43.28...about 1:20 away from 25th.
Road Race
I actually really liked having the road race after the TT since the TT is a perfect warmup. I thought the course would suit me so I decided to do everything I could to get a good finish and make up time I lost in the TT. Most of our 38-mi race was a complete snoozer. The course started with a relentless 3K climb at a 5% grade that was neutral (around 7mph) the first time up and would be the finishing stretch of the race later.
Once we hit the descent after this hill the next few miles were a bit tense. A pack of near 50 is large for the Women's 4s and I think it takes some time for everyone to lose the jitters, get used to having a lot of people around them, and get settled in. For some reason quite a few gals were being very catty and snappy and there was lots of live entertainment. Hey, I just want to race ladies!
I realized I had inadvertedly gotten behind some poor hill climbers and could not get around on the first big roller. I was starting to stress out when finally a girl next to me said "Coming through!" and motored up between them, thus setting off a chain of other gals doing the same. I guess I need to be more aggressive and shout like everyone else. One of the TiCycles girls went over the yellow line to pass, which I thought was a little crappy since I could have done the same much earlier but didn't. The follow car had a little talking to her about the yellow line violation. Definitely nothing personal, but I really wish they would enforce this when people do it deliberately to move up. Oh well. I managed to get settled back into the pack.
Most of the race was pretty boring and everyone seemed content to push the pace on the rollers to drop off a few people and that was it. Given that Group Health was the clearly dominant team with around 15 people in the pack the group tactics seemed questionable to me. Halfway through the race there was the typical "50 meter attack" launched that strung things out but everyone sat up and it all came back together. Maybe it's lack of fitness...maybe it's inexperience...but it's just plain annoying. It seemed to me that if TGH had organized and actually reeled off a few attacks one after the other they would have dessimated the pack. Maybe they didn't realize how many people had to chase back on after the small attack, but it seems to me they could have taken better advantage of their numbers. Oh well, what do I know.
A few miles from the finish there was a steep roller that finally split things up. I felt very strong and had little trouble getting over any of the rollers with the leaders. The pace finally ramped up heading into Waitsburg before that final 3K climb. I started having some difficulty keeping up and finally popped off the back coming through town. Luckily at that point we were about a mile from the climb. When I looked behind me there was no one there! I couldn't believe that half the pack was gone. Once I hit the climb I realized I was unlikely to catch anyone ahead of me and there was no one threatening behind me so I just settled into a nice pace, tried to ignore the cramping in my left foot and right calf, and ended up 20th. Sweet! Goal #2 met! Once they posted results I had moved up from 37th to 24th in GC.
Criterium
It started raining late Saturday and the roads were damp for Sunday morning's crit. We lined up minus about 10 gals who said they wouldn't ride if it was wet. Probably best since those are likely the ones you wouldn't want to ride next to in a wet crit anyway.
I lost my nerve a bit going into the first corner and ended up starting way too far back. I really need to work on my start positioning. I love crits and the course was really fun. Despite the wet roads, I felt totally confident and the course didn't seem slick or sketchy at all. I definitely should have started moving up on the straightaways immediately to get into a better position and I would have likely been able to hang with the main pack. Oh well. It took me a few laps to get into a rhythm and mid-way through the crit I was working in a chase group. We were able to barely survive and not get pulled -- hoorah!
I was a tad disappointed that I didn't stick with the pack but I think it was more a factor of poor positioning than poor fitness. This is the first real crit I haven't been pulled from, which was my goal. I did finish 25th a minute down from the pack but with the numerous people that didn't show it was enough to push me to 21st overall in GC. I wanted to get a top 20 in GC so that was close enough for me!
Overall, I'm totally stoked with my results for the weekend. Aside from the TT, I hit every goal I set and I'm definitely riding much stronger than I was last year. I need to start making some smarter positioning decisions in crits and road races and that will help me immensely. JoAnne did a great job this weekend and despite her dislike for the crit ended up 17th in GC. This was a pretty good weekend for the Zoka gals -- sweet!
Wednesday, April 18, 2007
A rainbow of colors!!
Here's the colorful result of last Tuesday's little PR incident. Look at those fabulous rainbow colors! I especially like day 3...very pretty! (This is the outside of my thigh btw...)
The bruise didn't turn out as bad as I initially thought it would be. It took it nearly a day to even get colorful. It's fading now but the spidery lines are a bit funky. I should have taken pics of the bruise under my right knee...that one turned out pretty too :)
The bruise didn't turn out as bad as I initially thought it would be. It took it nearly a day to even get colorful. It's fading now but the spidery lines are a bit funky. I should have taken pics of the bruise under my right knee...that one turned out pretty too :)
Monday, April 16, 2007
The TST bust
For the second year in a row I started TST and for the second year in a row I unfortunately didn't finish. But hey...I made it further this year and stuck with the pack a smidge longer. Given I was still sore from Tuesday's crash all signs pointed to taking Saturday off, but i'm the reigning queen of bad ideas. When I lined up for the start I realized that not only was I still a little sore but mentally, I was just not into this race, which is unusual for me. As expected the pace up the first climb was pretty quick and I got dropped just a few miles in. Oh well. I guess I should have slowed a tad to work with the gals behind me but decided to motor up the climb and see who was left up ahead. I could already see riders strung out everywhere.
I started working with a gal from TGH but unfortunately we took a wrong turn, realized it quickly, and turned back to the road. She took off pretty fast and left me in the dust before I could get turned around and going again. I wasn't quite sure why...I figured it would be better to try to organize a few women left together than ride solo, but oh well. I could see her just ahead for miles and I would make up ground on every hill but then lose it on the descents and flats. My back was sore and my neck was bothering me so I turned around at mile 16 and called it a day. Had I felt better I certainly would have finished, especially since the weather was gorgeous. Oh well, TST is definitely on my list of races for next year. Third time is a charm right?
My carpool buddy pulled out of the race due to a sore knee and had turned around just before I did. Funny how I didn't pay attention when I saw someone in a Ti-Cycles jersey waving at me. I guess it was a bad day for both of us.
I wasn't too bummed about TST but I was seriously bummed that I decided not to do the Seward crit on Sunday. I love the Seward course and did well there last year (4th in the fall crit) but decided I really needed to take the weekend to heal up and rest for Walla Walla. Marcus and I had a rare "work on the house" day and then headed out for a ride around Mercer Island later. I felt great and I think I'm just about healed up so this week should be a normal training week. Yay!
I started working with a gal from TGH but unfortunately we took a wrong turn, realized it quickly, and turned back to the road. She took off pretty fast and left me in the dust before I could get turned around and going again. I wasn't quite sure why...I figured it would be better to try to organize a few women left together than ride solo, but oh well. I could see her just ahead for miles and I would make up ground on every hill but then lose it on the descents and flats. My back was sore and my neck was bothering me so I turned around at mile 16 and called it a day. Had I felt better I certainly would have finished, especially since the weather was gorgeous. Oh well, TST is definitely on my list of races for next year. Third time is a charm right?
My carpool buddy pulled out of the race due to a sore knee and had turned around just before I did. Funny how I didn't pay attention when I saw someone in a Ti-Cycles jersey waving at me. I guess it was a bad day for both of us.
I wasn't too bummed about TST but I was seriously bummed that I decided not to do the Seward crit on Sunday. I love the Seward course and did well there last year (4th in the fall crit) but decided I really needed to take the weekend to heal up and rest for Walla Walla. Marcus and I had a rare "work on the house" day and then headed out for a ride around Mercer Island later. I felt great and I think I'm just about healed up so this week should be a normal training week. Yay!
Thursday, April 12, 2007
I think I'm a go for TST
I hopped on my bike for a light spin to Seward to watch some crit action and then rode down LWB for a while before heading home. I'm definitely sore and tight but it felt good to get my muscles moving. My Polar heart strap makes my rib sore, especially when breathing deeply, so I need to move it or live without it I guess. My rib and the colorful thigh bruise I have certainly let me know about every little bump in the road, but it's manageable. I went halfway up Madrona to see how climbing feels and it's a bit difficult. The stiffness in my neck and shoulders makes standing a challenge. I think I'll be ok by Saturday and seeing Laurel tomorrow should help immensely.
Now the only question left is whether I can bowl tomorrow. We're starting playoffs and it's do or die time. The poor guys are going to kill me with all this bike racing crap. Haha.
Now the only question left is whether I can bowl tomorrow. We're starting playoffs and it's do or die time. The poor guys are going to kill me with all this bike racing crap. Haha.
Frieked out muscles
The worst part so far about Tuesday night's crash is how strained all of my muscles are. My neck was getting so tight and sore yesterday that I went to the UW Medical Center to get it checked out. That was a fun experience. Turns out I ended up fracturing one of my ribs, which is weird because it doesn't really hurt unless someone pokes it. I guess there's not much you can do about a fractured rib since, as the doctor said, wrapping it up would render you unable to breathe.
I walked out of there with a ridulous drug cocktail. I'm supposed to take a muscle relaxant, vicodin, and prescription Ibuprofen together 3x / day for 5 days. Then the doctor said not to take them when I need to focus since they might make me drowsy. Oh really? I asked her, "Gee...I suppose I shouldn't take this if I'm doing something like...bike racing?"
I don't really understand the prescriptions. I told them three times I wasn't in "pain" and that it was more like a general mack-truck feeling and everything was just incredibly sore and tight. I suppose the muscle relaxant might be nice since every muscle in my body hurts, but I'm happy going to see Laurel at Avalon tomorrow and letting her work her massage magic. I doubt I'll fill any of these. Need any drugs?
I was able to lightly spin on the trainer last night, so I'm going to try to hop out on a small ride this evening and see how it goes. I haven't ruled out TST yet. If I can get my neck to settle down a bit I think I'll be fine. Gina forwarded me an email from the guy we took out in our crash and unfortunately it sounds like he didn't get much of a shot. I guess he had just adjusted the camera to shoot sideways. He said he fully expected to be involved in a crash at some point but didn't think it would be the women who would take him out. What can I say? I guess we're hardcore out there...
I walked out of there with a ridulous drug cocktail. I'm supposed to take a muscle relaxant, vicodin, and prescription Ibuprofen together 3x / day for 5 days. Then the doctor said not to take them when I need to focus since they might make me drowsy. Oh really? I asked her, "Gee...I suppose I shouldn't take this if I'm doing something like...bike racing?"
I don't really understand the prescriptions. I told them three times I wasn't in "pain" and that it was more like a general mack-truck feeling and everything was just incredibly sore and tight. I suppose the muscle relaxant might be nice since every muscle in my body hurts, but I'm happy going to see Laurel at Avalon tomorrow and letting her work her massage magic. I doubt I'll fill any of these. Need any drugs?
I was able to lightly spin on the trainer last night, so I'm going to try to hop out on a small ride this evening and see how it goes. I haven't ruled out TST yet. If I can get my neck to settle down a bit I think I'll be fine. Gina forwarded me an email from the guy we took out in our crash and unfortunately it sounds like he didn't get much of a shot. I guess he had just adjusted the camera to shoot sideways. He said he fully expected to be involved in a crash at some point but didn't think it would be the women who would take him out. What can I say? I guess we're hardcore out there...
Wednesday, April 11, 2007
I still bounce well
Well...women's racing opened last night at Pacific Raceways and it was...fun. There was a good turnout and we had a great Cat 4 race going. Unfortunately I missed out on the finish. There's a section of the backside of the track that has track compound, which improves traction for the start of a drag strip. When it's dry it's a little tacky and feels strange. When it's wet, like last night, it's like riding on ice. As long as you ride straight across it and don't make any sudden moves (like sprinting, applying the brakes, etc) it's not a problem. Yeah...you probably know where this is going...
On our last lap I moved to the back to take a rest and set up for the sprint. I drifted over behind a gal from TGH that I know to be a strong rider and good sprinter. About that time we crossed into the track compound and a Wines rider started to attack. The TGH gal stood up to counter and as soon as I saw her get up I thought, "Oh shit." Her back tire went right out from under her and she went down hard. I flicked my handlebars just a hair to try to get around and my back tire spun out and I hit the deck.
The only positive about crashing on the track compound is that there's no friction so you don't end up with road rash. I slid for what seemed like an eternity. At least I learned from my last fall and never took my hands off the handlebars, so I just drug the bike with me. Good news is that the Ruby didn't even get a scratch, the Polar survived, and my only long sleeve Zoka jersey is just scuffed up with track compound.
I knew we were going pretty fast and when I got home and downloaded my Polar data I got see how quickly I went from 26mph to 0. Ouch. I don't think I've ever gone down that hard. My entire left side hurts today and I have big lumps and bruises on my hip, my ribs, and the outside of my thigh. My elbow is bruised and I have several other bruises popping up all over the place. The right side of my neck feels like it has wiplash. Ugh.
I feel really bad that we also took out the poor guy shooting the Start2Finish movie. He was behind us with a video cam on his bike, so maybe he at least got a great action shot. Sorry man! I hope he's alright. This certainly adds an extra challenge to TST on Saturday. I guess I'll just have to see how I feel by then and hope I can ride. Right now I'm not feeling so chipper.
I guess it was a bad night for everyone at PR. One of our other Zoka gals went down in a crash in another race and I guess there was a crash in the juniors race that took out a coach as well. Luckily everyone got up and I think bruises and soreness are the extent of the injuries. Fun night!
On our last lap I moved to the back to take a rest and set up for the sprint. I drifted over behind a gal from TGH that I know to be a strong rider and good sprinter. About that time we crossed into the track compound and a Wines rider started to attack. The TGH gal stood up to counter and as soon as I saw her get up I thought, "Oh shit." Her back tire went right out from under her and she went down hard. I flicked my handlebars just a hair to try to get around and my back tire spun out and I hit the deck.
The only positive about crashing on the track compound is that there's no friction so you don't end up with road rash. I slid for what seemed like an eternity. At least I learned from my last fall and never took my hands off the handlebars, so I just drug the bike with me. Good news is that the Ruby didn't even get a scratch, the Polar survived, and my only long sleeve Zoka jersey is just scuffed up with track compound.
I knew we were going pretty fast and when I got home and downloaded my Polar data I got see how quickly I went from 26mph to 0. Ouch. I don't think I've ever gone down that hard. My entire left side hurts today and I have big lumps and bruises on my hip, my ribs, and the outside of my thigh. My elbow is bruised and I have several other bruises popping up all over the place. The right side of my neck feels like it has wiplash. Ugh.
I feel really bad that we also took out the poor guy shooting the Start2Finish movie. He was behind us with a video cam on his bike, so maybe he at least got a great action shot. Sorry man! I hope he's alright. This certainly adds an extra challenge to TST on Saturday. I guess I'll just have to see how I feel by then and hope I can ride. Right now I'm not feeling so chipper.
I guess it was a bad night for everyone at PR. One of our other Zoka gals went down in a crash in another race and I guess there was a crash in the juniors race that took out a coach as well. Luckily everyone got up and I think bruises and soreness are the extent of the injuries. Fun night!
Monday, April 09, 2007
Frozen Flatlands Part Deux
I have to say I breathed a little sigh of relief to see that some of the sketchier pack riders from the Saturday race were not at Sunday's crit at Spokane Raceways. The weather was a tad cooler and cloudier, but still a nice day.
When I sent my race report to the team I thought we had about 20 gals out there, again mostly Cat 4s, but I guess looking at the results sheet it was more like 12. Am I that bad at counting? I swear we had more than that. The 60-min crit went by much faster than I expected.
The first lap was pretty fast and this is the first time since late last year I've done any tight cornering at speed so the first time through the S-curves was a little dicey for me. I was on the brakes a bit too much and had to work a little harder than I would have liked to stay with the pack. After a few laps I started trusting the bike, laid off the brakes, and did just fine. For the first half of the race I was hanging onto the back of the pack and just couldn't find anywhere to move up. I didn't want to risk getting into the wind and getting popped too early, so I just sat back and made sure to keep right on a wheel.
At the midway point the officials threw in a prime, which finally shook things up. The Cat 3 rider that won it took it as an opportunity to launch an attack and kept motoring right through the finish. She took 3 other gals with her and even though I had finally moved up, I didn't quite have the acceleration to match them so I fell back with a 6-person chase group. The girl in front of me was very sketchy so I kept trying to find a way to get around her without expending a ton of energy. Luckily after a few more laps she started having a hard time keeping on a wheel so I moved up and around her and that was the last I saw her. The 5 of us continued but never caught up to the breakaway.
The headwind was very strong on the finishing stretch and I was so worried about getting out into the wind too early on the sprint that I waited a tad too long and ended up doing nothing. I crossed the line in 5th place but I'm fairly certain if I had just gone for it I probably could have taken 3rd place, which would have launched me to 3rd in GC. The other two girls had been up front for way too long and I was sitting on their wheels so I should have had the advantage. Last year at PR it took me a few races to actually get the sprint right. For some reason I tend to worry about going too soon and I don't trust my abilities. I sit back and wait and then run out of time and get pissed off for days afterwards because I didn't sprint. If I give it my all and don't get it...that's one thing. But I hate to look back and think, "Gee...if only I had gone for it!" The couple of times I completely committed to the sprint at PR I did great...so I just need to figure out why I keep having this issue. Maybe it's just a lack of confidence thing, which really isn't my style. C'mon girl!
I'm certainly happy with my results though. I got 8th in the RR, 5th in the crit, and 6th in GC. Not too bad! It took me all of last season to get my first top ten finish, so getting a few early in the season is nice, even if the fields are smaller. I need to keep gaining fitness and work on my acceleration, sprinting, and general technique. I just hooked up with a kick-ass new coach...so look out!
When I sent my race report to the team I thought we had about 20 gals out there, again mostly Cat 4s, but I guess looking at the results sheet it was more like 12. Am I that bad at counting? I swear we had more than that. The 60-min crit went by much faster than I expected.
The first lap was pretty fast and this is the first time since late last year I've done any tight cornering at speed so the first time through the S-curves was a little dicey for me. I was on the brakes a bit too much and had to work a little harder than I would have liked to stay with the pack. After a few laps I started trusting the bike, laid off the brakes, and did just fine. For the first half of the race I was hanging onto the back of the pack and just couldn't find anywhere to move up. I didn't want to risk getting into the wind and getting popped too early, so I just sat back and made sure to keep right on a wheel.
At the midway point the officials threw in a prime, which finally shook things up. The Cat 3 rider that won it took it as an opportunity to launch an attack and kept motoring right through the finish. She took 3 other gals with her and even though I had finally moved up, I didn't quite have the acceleration to match them so I fell back with a 6-person chase group. The girl in front of me was very sketchy so I kept trying to find a way to get around her without expending a ton of energy. Luckily after a few more laps she started having a hard time keeping on a wheel so I moved up and around her and that was the last I saw her. The 5 of us continued but never caught up to the breakaway.
The headwind was very strong on the finishing stretch and I was so worried about getting out into the wind too early on the sprint that I waited a tad too long and ended up doing nothing. I crossed the line in 5th place but I'm fairly certain if I had just gone for it I probably could have taken 3rd place, which would have launched me to 3rd in GC. The other two girls had been up front for way too long and I was sitting on their wheels so I should have had the advantage. Last year at PR it took me a few races to actually get the sprint right. For some reason I tend to worry about going too soon and I don't trust my abilities. I sit back and wait and then run out of time and get pissed off for days afterwards because I didn't sprint. If I give it my all and don't get it...that's one thing. But I hate to look back and think, "Gee...if only I had gone for it!" The couple of times I completely committed to the sprint at PR I did great...so I just need to figure out why I keep having this issue. Maybe it's just a lack of confidence thing, which really isn't my style. C'mon girl!
I'm certainly happy with my results though. I got 8th in the RR, 5th in the crit, and 6th in GC. Not too bad! It took me all of last season to get my first top ten finish, so getting a few early in the season is nice, even if the fields are smaller. I need to keep gaining fitness and work on my acceleration, sprinting, and general technique. I just hooked up with a kick-ass new coach...so look out!
Saturday, April 07, 2007
Frozen Flatlands needs a name change
I got to Spokane last night (late as usual) and just got back a little while ago from the first stage of the Frozen Flatlands omnium. Let's see...it's barely frozen. The weather here is near 70 and gorgeous! And flatlands? Who the f*** came up with that idea? The 50-mi road race today had some surprising climbs in it I wasn't really prepared for.
The women's field was about 20 riders. 6 were 1/2/3s and the rest were Cat 4s. The first 20+ miles were like a leisurely Sunday afternoon ride. The wind out there was brutal (the worst I've ever raced in) so I think everyone was content sticking together.
I do have to say that I fear a little for my safety tomorrow at the circuit race given the pack riding conditions today. Almost every Cat 4 rider demonstrated their fabulous wheel overlapping and weaving skills. I stayed up front with the 1/2/3 ladies to stay out of trouble. My favorite part of the ride was the two girls who kept fighting over a wheel, but rather than one of them taking it, both of them overlapped the girl's wheel on each side. Fabulous.
Somewhere around the 30 mile mark everyone took off up a hill that split the pack. I hung almost all the way to the top then got popped. Suck! The pack sat up a bit afterwards and I wasn't that far behind so I tried to organize two other girls with me to chase. For some reason it just didn't get organized. I didn't feel a sense of urgency from them and unfortunately the wind was so strong that without help it was impossible to get anywhere. That was the last time I saw the pack, which was disappointing because I know we could have chased back on.
Four of us pacelined for a while until two teammates took off a few miles from the end and I was so busy staring at the girl's wheel in front of me that I didn't see them go. Idiot. Letting a gap open in that wind was a bad strategy and I knew I couldn't chase them down. I finished with the other girl shortly behind them.
At the time I popped off I know there were a few Cat 4s still with the pack but I think the rest were off the back behind me. I'll have to wait until tomorrow when they post the results to see for sure, but I think I may have squeaked out a top ten finish. I guess we'll see. I'm gorging myself on seafood fettucine, chilling out, and working on the recovery plan for tomorrow's 60-min circuit race at Spokane Raceways.
Lessons learned today:
#1: Wearing a long-sleeved jersey with half-fingered gloves gives you a very gay sunburn stripe across your wrist and half of your fingers.
#2: The start of the neutral rollout is never a good place to say, "Hey, is my rear tire half flat?" With some air I might have actually made it over the climb. Idiot.
The women's field was about 20 riders. 6 were 1/2/3s and the rest were Cat 4s. The first 20+ miles were like a leisurely Sunday afternoon ride. The wind out there was brutal (the worst I've ever raced in) so I think everyone was content sticking together.
I do have to say that I fear a little for my safety tomorrow at the circuit race given the pack riding conditions today. Almost every Cat 4 rider demonstrated their fabulous wheel overlapping and weaving skills. I stayed up front with the 1/2/3 ladies to stay out of trouble. My favorite part of the ride was the two girls who kept fighting over a wheel, but rather than one of them taking it, both of them overlapped the girl's wheel on each side. Fabulous.
Somewhere around the 30 mile mark everyone took off up a hill that split the pack. I hung almost all the way to the top then got popped. Suck! The pack sat up a bit afterwards and I wasn't that far behind so I tried to organize two other girls with me to chase. For some reason it just didn't get organized. I didn't feel a sense of urgency from them and unfortunately the wind was so strong that without help it was impossible to get anywhere. That was the last time I saw the pack, which was disappointing because I know we could have chased back on.
Four of us pacelined for a while until two teammates took off a few miles from the end and I was so busy staring at the girl's wheel in front of me that I didn't see them go. Idiot. Letting a gap open in that wind was a bad strategy and I knew I couldn't chase them down. I finished with the other girl shortly behind them.
At the time I popped off I know there were a few Cat 4s still with the pack but I think the rest were off the back behind me. I'll have to wait until tomorrow when they post the results to see for sure, but I think I may have squeaked out a top ten finish. I guess we'll see. I'm gorging myself on seafood fettucine, chilling out, and working on the recovery plan for tomorrow's 60-min circuit race at Spokane Raceways.
Lessons learned today:
#1: Wearing a long-sleeved jersey with half-fingered gloves gives you a very gay sunburn stripe across your wrist and half of your fingers.
#2: The start of the neutral rollout is never a good place to say, "Hey, is my rear tire half flat?" With some air I might have actually made it over the climb. Idiot.
Thursday, April 05, 2007
Crazy ass week
The weather is great, so I dusted off the Ducati and decided to ride only to get geared up, ready to go, and have a dead battery :( Maybe I'll get it compression started down the hill tomorrow and ride for an hour or two to charge it back up.
This week has been crazy. I finally found a condo over the weekend in the Central District (29th & Jackson) that is awesome. I put in an offer, it got accepted, and now I'm in the "flurry of paperwork" mode. When the mortgage company pulled my credit I had a few negative things on there I knew absolutely nothing about as well as a few errors. I've spent a ridiculous amount of time the last few days tracking them all down, taking care of them, convincing creditors the information is incorrect, and trying to get faxes, paperwork, etc proving it. What a fantastic job! And btw...just how does Comcast get away with throwing all kinds of crap on your credit report for unreturned HD boxes that you never even owned? *sigh* Hopefully everything goes well since I did a 30-day close against the advice of the mortgage company, which suggested 45 days to give myself more time to get this stuff straightened out. We'll see how it all works out.
This weekend I head to Spokane for Frozen Flatlands and even though it's Spokane...I'll be happy to get a little mini-vacation. I hear the weather is supposed to be nice (70 and sunny) which is way better than last year's near sleet storm.
This week has been crazy. I finally found a condo over the weekend in the Central District (29th & Jackson) that is awesome. I put in an offer, it got accepted, and now I'm in the "flurry of paperwork" mode. When the mortgage company pulled my credit I had a few negative things on there I knew absolutely nothing about as well as a few errors. I've spent a ridiculous amount of time the last few days tracking them all down, taking care of them, convincing creditors the information is incorrect, and trying to get faxes, paperwork, etc proving it. What a fantastic job! And btw...just how does Comcast get away with throwing all kinds of crap on your credit report for unreturned HD boxes that you never even owned? *sigh* Hopefully everything goes well since I did a 30-day close against the advice of the mortgage company, which suggested 45 days to give myself more time to get this stuff straightened out. We'll see how it all works out.
This weekend I head to Spokane for Frozen Flatlands and even though it's Spokane...I'll be happy to get a little mini-vacation. I hear the weather is supposed to be nice (70 and sunny) which is way better than last year's near sleet storm.
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