Good times at PR!

My plan for the season was to race with the guys at PR to build fitness. Well, PR hasn't worked out so well this season and now that I finally made it the season is nearly over. Oh well. I carpooled with Kathleen and we joked that we'd probably last 1/2 a lap in the men's 4/5 field.

Surpringly enough I lasted about 3 laps before finally getting dropped, which is cool. The course was on the S-curves and each lap I lost a little ground on the descent but made it up on the hill. I love hills! I wish I had brought my heart rate strap, I must have pushed 200 the first few laps. By lap 2 I had a serious metallic taste in my mouth and it wasn't soon after that I finally blew up. What a great workout though!

I soft-pedaled for a while and accidentally caught back on to the back of the men's 1/2/3 field. I figured that one out pretty quickly. That pace was wicked! I caught back onto the 4/5 field on a prime lap so that didn't last long and after about 40 mins I pulled out happy with the workout.

Kathleen was a great sport and hung on out there. Us Zoka ladies rock! I think racing with the guys is a great fitness builder. Hopefully over the next few weeks I can hang a little longer. Good times! Now it's time for bed...zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

PR race last night

I finally made it back to PR last night only to get my ass handed to me. It really sucks that more women don't show up for these races. When there's only 5 of you it makes it really difficult to have a fun, exciting race. Most of the time everyone just pacelines forever or one strong woman goes off the front and it's everyone for themselves.

My legs were pretty flat, probably from the weekend race, so I came up with this brilliant idea to attack on the 3rd or 4th lap out of boredom. Big mistake. I just burned myself up, then another gal countered, but I couldn't hop on her wheel. Everyone else hightailed it around and I couldn't hop on their wheels either and since that was the whole pack I was toast.

I think next time I'll race with the 4/5 men. At least there's enough people out there to make it interesting and you can hide in the pack :)

It's red!

After seeing pictures from the weekend stage race I decided my hair is going way too gray so tonight after PR I did a dye job. Holy crap is it red now! The only problem with dying my gray is that it comes out really bright. I definitely have some red punky hair. It should go well with the new tattoo I'm getting August 2nd. I can't wait!

Geez...I hope mom isn't reading this.

Co-Motion Tandem Stage Race report

I spent this past weekend in Eugene, OR with three teammates for the Co-Motion Tandem Stage Race. It was awesome! How did I get roped into this little adventure? About a month and a half ago Z and I were talking and he asked if I would be his stoker since he really wanted to do this race. I said "Sure!" without ever having ridden on a tandem. About 5 rides, a tire blowout, and a crash later, we were confident we would go to Eugene and crush some souls. Every time Z talked about a certain top 10 or top 5 finish, Todd would smirk. I think he knew something we didn't.

So, the trip went something like this:

Thursday - Off to Portland
The plan was to leave Seattle around 4, drop off the dog in Lacey, and then head to Portland and spend the night with Z's friends Pete and Katie. Traffic sucked worse than bad so we spent hours on I-5 and got to Portland around 10. Pete and Katie rocked and we talked about bike racing, the Tour, and the Portland cross scene.

Friday - Eugene or Bust!

• leave Portland around 7am to get to Eugene by 10 for the "Meet the Competitors" fun ride
• have a long breakfast and end up pulling into the Co-Motion parking lot exactly at 10am
• Todd and Jason are wondering where the hell we are
• frantically get our stuff together and thank everyone for leaving late
• meet lots of people and talk about tandems and front tire blowouts on the ride
• figure out that we likely blew our tire due to hot rims
• after Jason and Todd tell us they know where the route goes, we watch them disappear into the distance while everyone yells, "Hey, come back!"
• Jason and Todd realize they went the wrong way and we meet back at Co-Motion after the ride
• drool over the lightweight tandems at the Co-Motion factory
• figure out that Z's tandem is about 20lbs heavier than those lightweight tandems
• boast that we're getting a top 5 - Todd smirks
• take lots of pictures
• get grub at the Laughing Planet
• Z and I get relegated to the kid's table at the Olive Garden social dinner
• meet Henry and Amy, two very cool fellow tandem racers in our "B" category
• reaffirm that we likely blew our tire due to hot rims
• get lots of advice on tandem riding, braking, etc
• drink foofoo drinks that knock us out
• crash to bed early!

Saturday - TT Time!

• discover that the hotel's continental breakfast consists of bite-sized muffins and brown bananas
• show up at the TT and laugh at Jason and Todd for having their tandem on a trainer
• we think, "Wait...should we have brought a trainer?"
• Z reveals his "surprise": iPod speakers
• we drop the speakers into his jersey pockets and decide we're rocking out during the TT
• pre-ride the course, test out the tunes, and are confident about our top 10
• watch Todd and Jason scream around the first corner on the TT course
• get to the start line: 5-4-3-2-1, we're off!
• jam to tunes on the course and work our butts off
• hit the turnaround and worry that the tandem behind us is gaining
• crank it hard on the way back
• hit the finish line and Z nearly dies from a side ache
• I can't breathe either
  
• it's Bob Marley time!
• do a cooldown still confident about our "top 10"
• cruise back to the parking lot with Marley blaring from Z's jersey
• fellow competitors try to discern where the music is coming from and Todd and Jason say we're crazy
• find out Todd and Jason won the TT by hundredths of a second!
• pack up and head for grub at the Laughing Planet
• realize we have little time to get to the crit and get warmed up
• eat too much food

Saturday - Holy Crit!

• get to the crit and realize we ate too much food
• look at results and find out we got 13th in the TT
• we missed our top 10? crap!
• realize we're only a minute down from the leaders and everyone is very close together
  
• hit the course for a warmup confident we'll rock the crit!
• try to find port-o-potties for nature's last call and realize they're really far away
• head back to the line to find everyone already lined up so we get stuck in the back
• Todd yells at us
• the crit is off!
• we get stuck on the back almost immediately and Z complains about his stomach
• on the second lap I start yelling for us to move up, Z says no
• on the third lap I yell for us to move up, Z says no
• a few laps in we make a sweet move on the homestretch straight to the front and lead the pack for a lap
• the headwind is strong and we end up in the back again
• halfway through we're dying and can't believe how hard we're going
• with a few laps to go the tandem in front of us clips their pedals and nearly goes down
• a few more laps to go: hang on!
• we get passed by a tandem team wearing helmet mirrors - WTF!?
  
• pack finally splits and I think we can still get a top 10 if we win the field sprint
• we have no juice and limp across last in the group, but finish :40 or so down from the leaders in 14th place, ahead of some other teams
  
• we averaged 26.5mph - WTF!?
• Z and I realize that's the hardest crit we've done all year
• finally get changed and watch Todd and Jason and the "A" crit
• no fair! they're barely going 5mph out there
• with only 7 teams the "A" race is pretty uneventful until the end
• Todd and Jason win a prime for $50 off next year's registration
  
• on the last lap Todd and Jason come screaming to the line and would have won if there were a few more feet
• they settle for 2nd while Z and I still can't believe how fast and competitive our race was
• Z and I head out to recon the road course
• we take note of the fast descents, hairpin corners, and nasty chipseal
• oh, and there's a 3-mi 7-8% climb in there too
  
• meet Todd and Jason at the brewpub to watch the Tour, have dinner, and drink some beer
• Z and I reaffirm our "top 10" by saying we will crush souls in the road race
• Todd smirks
• head to Sam Bond's Garage to drink more beer
• Jason drinks water
  
• Jason is smart

Sunday - RR!

• we have breakfast with Todd and Jason
• Z and I wonder if our race will be mellow until the first climb
• the officials tell everyone to be very careful on the chipseal and that they will control the descent through it with a lead car
• Z wears pigtails so we match
• I make Z change his hair since I can no longer see around him with pigtails
  
• we line up and the race starts
• almost immediately someone is off the front
• there's lots of surging and the pace is high but not horribly difficult
• so much for our warmup
  
• I'm nervous riding in the peloton for a while but things finally smooth out
• get to the chipseal
• it's not too bad
• get nailed by a huge rock from the chipseal
• hit the first climb and we're doing pretty well and pass a few teams
  
• hit the first descent and we get passed back
• people are screaming down these descents!
• we take it easy on the descents preferring to stay upright
• hit the long climb and grind it out - no prob!
• eventually end up in a paceline with 4 other tandems and stay together to the end
• scream down some descents
• super fun!
  
• we're convinced we're the strongest team so we try to open a gap on the last climb a few miles from the end
• we got a gap!
• we put our heads down and pedal our asses off on the 1.5mi flat section before the finish
• shit! the group is organizing and narrowing our gap
• wait, no they're not
• we hit the climb to the Winery and pour it on
• the group behind us hits the climb and looks like they're closing the gap
• I yell at Z to "Go! Go! Go!"
• we urge each other on and realize this hill sucks
• halfway up we nearly fade
• we still have a gap!
• we dig deep and make it across the line ahead of our group - we're stoked!
• nearly have a stroke
• recover and realize we finished 13th
• we're ecstatic that we finished ahead of the group and our plan worked
• got 14th in GC still shaking our heads at the strength of the competition
• cool down and get changed
• Z complains about his groin
• I have to change Z's shoes since he can't bend over
• we talk to fellow competitors and rave about the race
• watch the finish of the "A" group
• Todd and Jason are sprinting it out with another team but surge ahead of them and take the win!
• Todd and Jason try a no-hander after the finish and nearly crash
• everyone is happy
• Z complains about his groin
• we figure out we need to stand more on the tandem
• we all stick around for awards and food
• get an invite from fellow competitors to come mountain biking in Bend
  
• go back to Steelhead and get food and margaritas
• have a few more margaritas....
• ...and some more...
• decide to go jump in the Willamette
• Todd gets beer
• Todd smirks
• the current is so strong we watch Z jump in and swim nowhere
• we whine about the 30-degree water, make it across to a rock island, and throw rocks for a few hours
• drink some more beer
• wait...we need to go home!
• finally head out of Eugene around 7pm
• Z goes 95 on I-5 to chase down the Keen truck to show him his Keens
• the dude gives us a peace sign and flashes his lights
• we crash in Kelso for the night and head back to Seattle Monday

All in all, an awesome weekend!

My photos
Z's photos
Todd's photos
More of Todd's photos

The team ride adventure!

Today's ride definitely takes the "absolutely absurd" award hands down. Warning: long post ahead with tales of crazy drivers, blown tires, and tandem crashes...

The plan was to meet at Z's place in Kirkland for a 9:30am rollout on the tandem with a few Zoka teammates. I decided to drive 520 this morning, only to find out that it was closed. Great. I turned up 15 minutes late so we didn't really roll out until nearly 10. That caused a wrinkle since we planned to meet other teammates along the route at Redhook Brewery and Z didn't bring his phone, so had no one's numbers to let them know.

As the four of us cruised towards RedHook, Cole and Joe moved up the road ahead of Z and I. A guy in a green car comes along and blares the horn at them. Both of them were riding on the shoulder and weren't impeding him at all. They waved and then the guy became completely combative. He stopped his car and screamed obscenities, then tried to swerve into Cole. WTF? After a few tense minutes the guy finally turned off the road, still screaming obscenities and being a royal jackass. How in the hell do people like this have licenses to drive?

We made it to RedHook, shaking our heads about our encounter but didn't see either of the two teammates we were supposed to meet. I had my phone so after a few calls to track down numbers we got in touch with Rick, who couldn't figure where the hell we were. We finally connected with him but unfortunately our other teammate, Greg, gave up on us and headed home. Sorry Greg!

Shortly after leaving RedHook Cole got a flat, but was quickly underway and met us up the road. After that was the most exciting moment of the day. Z and I had just come down a steep descent on the tandem when I heard this unbelievably loud "BANG". I remember thinking, "What the hell? That crazy guy in the car isn't shooting at us is he?" Then I quickly realized something was wrong with the tandem and we were going down.

Z and I hit the deck, but luckily he was able to get us slowed down before we crashed, so aside from bruised hands, hips, and my bloody road-rashed knee, we were in pretty good shape. I think both of us were in a little shock that we had crashed the tandem. Our CSI instincts kicked in and we figured the front tire tube blew with such force that it blew the tire right off the rim. There was a massive hole in the tube and about 7" of sidewall was blown on the tire. Crazy! I took some pics of the damage. If you look closely you can see $$ in the tire (a sad attempt at a tire boot).

Z did an absolutely amazing bike handling job. We were pretty much riding on the front rim but he managed to get us slowed enough so we fell at probably 7-8mph rather than the 14-15mph we were going at the time. We couldn't believe our luck. Just a few seconds earlier we were bombing down a steep descent. Had that tire blown then we would have been hospital bound.

Our awesome teammates rode back to Woodinville to get us a new tire and after a while we were underway again. Z and I were both a little apprehensive at first and it was hard to go very fast. We had to descend Novelty Hill, which was really unnerving. It didn't take us long to get our confidence back though and after a short while we were cruising along with little trouble.

After the crash everything finally smoothed out and we were able to do a 55-mi ride with around 3000' of climbing. Not too shabby after a tandem crash eh? We even managed to stop by Greg's house to apologize and let him know about our fiasco. He was happy to see us!

We took off at 10...figured to be done by 1 and ended up finishing the ride close to 5. Awesome eh? The good news is that aside from some scratches the tandem is just fine. Both Z and I are ok too. I'm starting to get some new bruises to add to the collection but nothing is too badly hurt. Once I finally cleaned my knee I realized the road rash is pretty minor, but it still stings. Stupid road rash.

All in all...a fun day!

Single speed day

About 15 minutes into my morning commute I was completely suprised by a huge thunderstorm. Where was that in the forecast yesterday? I got to work with a nice stripe of mud up my back :)

I had fun on the single speed and I'm really surprised by the versatility of one gear. The hills I thought I'd have a problem with weren't too bad. Seward Park Ave nearly killed me though. Short and steep is do-able with some advanced planning (lots of momentum!) but long hills are definitely hard.

Once I got to work I realized how challenging my commute home would be. Since I live at the top of Leschi there's TONS of way I can get home, but they all involve at least one big climb. I rode my normal route, which is heading up McClellan and then up 31st. That stupid little climb right by the tennis courts off LWB always surprises me. It was rough but I made it. On the single speed I realized how much more aware I am of gradient changes. I've always thought 31st was really steady, but today I noticed it gets steeper as you get to the top. Then there's that last little push up to Jackson that sucks.

If I ride this thing all over the place I'm definitely going to grow some legs. I just need to remind myself to stand more. I tend to climb seated and it's very hard on the knees in such a low cadence. Standing feels fine though. I'm lovin' the new wheels! I've officially christened her "Big Red" :)

Introducing the new addition...

I've realized lately that I really don't like commuting on my race bike or my rain bike. Sad isn't it? 4 bikes and no commuter? The race bike is just too expensive to leave chained up somewhere and I like to minimize the mileage. I used to commute on my Giant (the rain bike) but now that I've got a Polar Power system installed on it for winter training it's not worth the risk either. The mtn bike needs work and isn't such a practical city bike and the cross bike is...well, expensive and for cross!

Enter...the Univega! I found this kick-ass 1980s single speed Univega on Craig's List this week and just couldn't resist. It has red sparkly paint, red handlebar tape, and a red chain! How kick ass is that? It was listed as the "Hipster Machine"...no doubt!

I took her for a test spin and found out the hard way that momentum is your friend on a single speed. I had to get a running start to get up the hill by the house. This will be a great way to train and build some muscle! I get to ride her to work tomorrow - I'm stoked! Hopefully I can make it up the 405 flyover - haha! Everyone welcome my 5th family member!

See a pattern here?

This is what I woke up to on Wednesday morning.















And here's Thursday morning. See a pattern? What a rough life eh?

Cursed day...

I was supposed to do a team ride this morning at 9:30, most importantly, a tandem ride with Z. We seem to be having all sorts of trouble hooking up lately. Last weeked we were supposed to ride but I woke up with a horrible cold and wasn't sure if I'd make it. Another teammate's tandem partner bailed on him so him and Z ended up riding together. As it turns out, I did the ride, so we missed an opportunity there.

This morning I had everything set to go and pulled out of my condo around 9am. As soon as I got a block away I remembered setting my cell phone down in the kitchen to grab my bagel and never picking it back up. I figured oh well, I didn't really need it on the bike anyway, so I headed out. Big mistake. If I had turned around and gotten that damn thing it would have probably changed the entire day.

As I was cruising across I-90 this truck carrying all sorts of crap pulled over in front of me to exit. As soon as they got in front of me this big metal thing jumped right out of the back and I nailed it. I had zero time to react and it's good I didn't since cars were beside me in either lane. Less than a mile down the road I knew I had a problem and pulled over on the shoulder. My front passenger tire was gashed and totally flat. Great. The only thing I could think of was my cell phone sitting in the kitchen. F***ing fantastic.

I've changed a tire before but it's been ages so I skipped that whole drama and just sat there for a few to see if anyone would stop. A Mercer Island cop even cruised right by but no luck. I decided just to walk back to Island Crest Way and call VW Roadside Assistance. By the time I got there it was nearly 10 and I figured Z and everyone else were probably thinking I had bailed on them. Unfortunately I had no numbers since they were in my cell phone. Duh.

I called VW and they said they would be there in 30-45 minutes, so I grabbed a coffee and walked back to the car. They actually got there a tad early, which was a nice surprise. The guy started to remove the tire but couldn't get it off due to a jammed lug nut. We both worked on it and after another 30-40 mins got the spare on. At this point I was thinking maybe I should have just done it myself, but I'm not sure I would have gotten that lug nut loose.

Close to 11 at this point, so I got back in the car and drove to the nearest Les Schwab where I got to drop $100 on a new tire. That was an awesome urban adventure this morning. I called Z and left him this "Well....you're never going to believe this" message. He probably won't. What a nightmare.

I just want to race please!

My dad and stepmom flew in late Tuesday night for a couple day visit. They were supposed to watch me race at Matava but I still hadn't kicked the cold so we just watched from the sidelines. I guess the women's field was nearly 45 strong -- kick ass! We spent a few days hanging around town, taking the dog swimming, getting Diana's ear pierced, and looking for tattoo places for me to get my second tattoo. Thursday we spent a day in the San Juans, which was awesome.

I was completely convinced I'd be racing Derby Days but when Saturday morning came around I still wasn't feeling well. Usually I kick colds pretty quickly so this is getting annoying. I went for a while and watched some of the races but just got pissed off that I wasn't out there and left. Saturday night I had some teammates over for a Tour de France party, which was really fun. The dog did surprisingly well with so many people over. I was convinced he was going to have a heart attack he was so excited.

I'm just seriously bummed out right now about racing. I think it's been three weeks since I've been out there and it sucks. I missed Boston Harbor due to what I thought would be bad weather and it turned out not so bad. Now I've missed all the crits because of this damn cold and I love crits. I've done so little riding in the last three weeks I'm convinced I've lost all of my fitness. I haven't even been running. I was hoping to get back on schedule this week but this cold is still hanging on. Maybe I should see my doc and try to speed it along.

Damn cold.

So much for racing this weekend I guess. What a bummer! I thought the damn cold I started picking up on Wednesday had gone away until I woke up on Saturday feeling like crap. I had a team ride on the schedule so I drug myself out of bed and went anyway, thinking I'd feel fine once I got going. I didn't actually feel too bad and managed a pretty spirited south lake loop ride. A few hours after I got home I started slowing down and by evening was pretty much wiped. I knew when I went to bed there was no way I was doing Des Moines. I'm pretty bummed out but that's how it goes. I guess I have to save up for Matava and Derby Days.