Silver Lining

The conditions for yesterday's race seemed like a foregone conclusion. I awoke to clouds, cold and spitting rain. I drove through the same all the way to Grand Rapids. I started my warm up on a chilly, rainy course. And then, when I had finished my warm up laps and was practicing running the barriers over and over, the sun started peeking through the clouds. By the time I was in the thick of the race, the sun was shining full on, and I was sweating like crazy and wishing I'd left my jacket behind.

While I was doing my warm up laps, I was thinking that I really didn't want to race. This is nothing new. I constantly get nerved up before a race, but this felt different. It was more like I just didn't care. I don't remember ever feeling so apathetic. I think that coming in last all the time and never being competitive is starting to get to me. However, I haven't been practicing for nothing, and I didn't drive all the way there and pay my money just so I could bail. So I focused myself on one goal—doing a good job on my dismounts. I hoped that would be enough to get me through the race.

There was another big crowd at the starting line. I took my usual place at the back and started sizing up the people around me. There was a girl there in some kind of all pink riding kit. For some reason I fixated on her and decided I wanted to beat her. She was skinny, looked pretty serious, and I didn't figure I had much of a chance, but I guess I needed more motivation to race.

We took off and I started out riding fairly hard. Something was different. There were people ahead of me, but they weren't far ahead of me. I was feeling pretty good, so I shifted and started speeding up. I passed a few people. The girl in the pink was quite a bit ahead of me, but I was gaining on her.

By the second lap, I was still riding hard, but wondering how long I could sustain the effort without blowing up. I felt more competitive than I've ever felt in a race, and instead of just deciding to slow down because I was tired, I wanted to push myself until I truly couldn't take it anymore.

Somewhere in lap 3, I caught up with the girl in pink and passed her, along with a guy who was right behind her. She was breathing down my neck for at least another entire lap. At one point, she passed me briefly, but I passed her back almost immediately. The guy was still there, hanging back a bit behind both of us. Finally, it was the last lap. I about killed myself trying to sustain the effort. My lungs were burning and I thought I was going to explode any minute.

In the last set of switchbacks, I was struggling to stay ahead of her and the guy, who were both just behind me. As the last stretch began, she suddenly motored past me. The guy started to go, but I wasn't going to let both of them pass me at the end. I dug in and found something there to stay in front of him.

I never did catch her, but I came in 29th out of 34, meaning I beat 5 whole people. I felt better about this race than I have felt about a race in a long time. Needless to say, I can't wait for the next one. Unfortunately, I'm going to have to wait two weeks.

I Might Get the Hang of This Before the Season is Over After All

Burchfield was lousy with deer last night when I went out there with my cross bike after work. I saw at least 10 of them in the hour and a half I was there. Other than the fact that it was too cold for bike shorts and I had to wear knickers and my eyes watered non-stop the entire time (really bad allergies this year for the first time since college), I had an excellent ride. I did two laps of the super secret cross loop, which included two go-rounds with my nemesis downhill, the one that inexplicably scares me on my mountain bike. Last night I rode that downhill full-tilt, with not even a hint of brakes. My confidence level on the cross bike is clearly growing—now my skill level and fitness just need to catch up.

I got the inevitable strange looks from people when I was riding and one person even asked me why I was riding trails on a road bike. I didn't take time to try and explain the difference. After my ride, I practiced my dismounts for a while. I was nailing them almost from the beginning. What the heck? Why can't I do it during the race? Stage fright?

Then I remembered Anne telling me to practice along the trail, just pick a place to dismount every so often. So, I did another partial loop of the trail, practicing my dismounts in a more real-life situation. I was a little more hesitant because I was going faster, it wasn't an open area and the ground was a little less flat, but by the time I finished, I was getting it. I actually think I'm ready for barriers now!

My plan is to go out again tonight and practice more. Then I'll try to get to Kisscross early enough on Saturday that I have time to not only warm up, but to actually practice my dismounts with barriers. I'm beginning to think I'll actually get the hang of this after all.

Ithaca Grand Prix of Cyclocross Race Report

I decided to try my hand at a little non-Kisscross cross racing on Sunday at the Ithaca Grand Prix of Cyclocross. I have to admit I was a bit apprehensive in the days leading up to the race. Due to our late start, however, I didn't have much time to fret about it once we got there. My first rude awakening came when I went to register. Since I forgot to pre-register, the cost was $30, plus another $10 for a one-day USAC license. Ouch!

By the time I finished registering, Chris had gotten my bike ready for me. I got out on the course to begin my warm up. My initial impression was that it wasn't that bad. It seemed quite a bit longer than a Kisscross course, but not significantly harder, other than a few uphill sections, one of which I ended up walking on my practice lap because I waited too long to start shifting.

Then came rude awakening #2. We lined up for the race. Since there wasn't a C class for women, I had to race with B women, who left in a second wave 30 seconds after the C men. The two under 14 competitors, including Billy the phenom, left 30 seconds behind us. After listening to the instructions, I asked how many laps we would be doing. I got a funny look for my effort, followed by an explanation.

It seems that this race would be based solely on time. In a Kisscross race, Rick estimates how many laps he thinks the average C racer can do in 30 minutes and sets that number of laps for the race. Apparently in other cross races, the actual time determines when the race ends. Not only that, everyone finishes the race on the same lap. Once the leaders started their last lap, whether I was on the same lap number as them or not, that would be my last lap, too. I think this was probably started so as not to have to wait for the really slow people to finish all the laps, like what happens at Kisscross.

What this little wrinkle meant was that I needed to try to hold out as long as I could without getting lapped. That would enable me to ride as many laps as possible. If I could only fit one lap in, it was going to end up being one really expensive lap.

The other thing that was new to me was something called a prime" (pronounced "preem"). When the race began, everyone sprinted up to a line. The first person crossing the line received a special bonus prize after the race. This race was serious. There was even a pit area where riders stored extra wheels, and sometimes even spare bikes, in case of a mishap.

The other women got ahead of me fairly quickly. Billy caught up with me and passed me. I just kept my head down and tried to ride hard. My goal was to hold off the leaders as long as I could without being lapped. (It happened about midway through the second lap.) I also wanted to keep from getting lapped by any of the other women, which I managed to accomplish.

Now you would think with Anne standing near the steps cheering me on, that I would manage to put some of my dismounting practice to good use so she wouldn't feel like she wasted her time on me. Unfortunately, once I got in the race I just couldn't seem to do it. I'm hoping to get out for more practice tomorrow night. I think I just need to get used to it so it becomes normal. Hopefully, I'll be able to do it this weekend at Kisscross.

I ended up racing three laps for the leaders' four laps. Then we watched Anne crush the competition in the Elite Women's race and Frank putting in a good performance in the Single Speed category.

We hung around for awards and raffled prizes. I ended up leaving with a Vetta computer and a Twin Six t-shirt, which more than made up for the $40 I spent. Plus I had a great time. If we are still around next fall, this race will definitely be on my schedule.

Thanks to Dennis Pace for taking the serious-looking picture of me at the top

What Weekend?

Wow! This weekend went by more quickly than any I can remember in recent history. We took advantage of the last of our semi-free weekends for the next month to head to our cabin. We hadn't been there since Labor Day weekend, and between racing and hockey, we won't be able to get there again until almost the end of October.

I bailed out of a work about a half an hour early and rushed home to get our stuff loaded. We got on the road about 5:15 and promptly got stuck in a construction slowdown at Ithaca. It took us 45 minutes to get from Ithaca to Mt. Pleasant. It was not a good start to the weekend.

By the time went to our cabin and unloaded and found a seat at the bar of our favorite up North watering hole, it was after 9. We hung out until about 12:30, which is well past my bedtime.

We had planned to run some errands in the morning before the football game at noon, but I fell back to sleep after waking up before 8. When I woke up the second time, it was 12:15! I must have really needed the sleep, because I don't remember the last time I slept in until anywhere close to noon, much less past it.

After watching our sad little college football team get beat yet again, we went to run our errands, which included a trip to the Amish bulk food store. We made it an early night, knowing I had to get up early in the morning to go race in Ithaca.

Today I got up at 6, intending to get on the road by 6:30. Unfortunately, we didn't get moving until about 7:10. The race at Ithaca was definitely a learning experience. Chris took a bunch of pictures, but since they are on the good camera, I have to wait for them to be processed. I'll try to post a race report sometime tomorrow.

Practice Makes Perfect

Anne the Awesome and I met at Burchfield last night to ride our cross bikes. Anne took me around her personal cross loop, which contains at least a few sections of trail I was afraid to ride on my mountain bike not too long ago. It felt pretty good, though. I'm starting to get more comfortable on the cross bike again after riding only a mountain bike this summer and I really think I might get past my ridiculous "I can't ride that on my cross bike, it's too much like a road bike" fear. (There's a certain race I'll never get out of my head. It's that one when I was actually hanging in pretty well with the pack until I hit that downhill that I just couldn't make myself ride. I ended up walking down and losing tons of time.)

After we rode, we worked on technique for dismounting and remounting. My normal dismounting technique goes something like this: Come to a complete stop. Dismount bike like I would in the parking lot. Anne attempted to teach me the correct way to do it and some of it actually sunk in. By the time I left I was not looking like a complete idiot. (Like I did when I dismounted the bike and left my shoe attached. See top photo.)

Proper technique for dismounting and remounting in cross is really important because of all those pesky barriers. If you don't use proper technique, how will you ever get those super cool looking pictures of yourself flying through the air onto your bike? Seriously, Anne said you can help make up for not being as fast as your competitors by being adept at technique. I know I'm losing a lot of time in these sections, and if I could master this I'd certainly make it through the course faster.

I attempted to take some pictures of Anne to show what it's supposed to look like, but I kept missing her. I guess I need some help with my picture-taking skills, too.

Badger's Inaugural Ride

On Sunday, I took the Badger out on its first outing (in its current form, anyway). Technically, it's still not completely finished. There are a few parts on it that are temporary, but it's certainly rideable. And man, is it one sweet ride.

I wanted to do a pre-ride of Addison Oaks before the race in October. Marty and Kristi offered to show me around the trail. I seem to have this thing with getting lost on trails lately, so I thought it would be a good idea. Besides, having company is always good. Marty and Kristi decided they wanted to get some extra miles in, so we met in Rochester and rode the Paint Creek Pathway to Addison Oaks.

On the way out, we got flat #1. Well, actually, Marty got flat #1, but she changed her tube out pretty quickly and we went on our merry way. The Badger felt pretty good. The saddle was a bit uncomfortable, but Chris is going to swap it out for the saddle from my Haro, so it's all good. It was a great day and the trail was a really nice way to get across town.

I really liked the Addison Oaks trail, and I love the Badger. I feel so much more confident on the Badger than I did on my Haro. It's really amazing that a bike could make that much of a difference, but things like rock piles and logs that would have completely intimidated me on my Haro seemed like they weren't even obstacles. I was invincible!!!!!!

Marty also gave me some tips on riding downhill and that also helped a lot. It was the most competent I've felt on a trail ever. I can't wait to do the 6 hour race there.

When we were about half way through the trail, Kristi got a flat, too. Unfortunately, she didn't have a pump or CO2, so she went to the parking lot to find some air.

Luckily, there was a rider in the parking lot who was able to help. When it was fixed, we headed back with me wondering if I was going to be next. Luckily, we made it back without a third flat, since I had no supplies whatsoever to fix one.

After the ride, we stopped at Rochester Mills Beer Co. for food. All in all, it was a great day with good company, fantastic weather and about 34 miles.

What's Up With Me

I had hoped to write a blog post about my delightful outing with the Badger yesterday, but due to circumstances beyond my control, I don't really have time to do it justice. However, I don't want to leave those (2) of you expectantly hoping for something empty handed, so I thought I'd at least give a quick update of what I've been doing for the past several days.

Friday night, we went out with some friends (Dirk, Jan, Bob and Barry) to El Azteco, a local Mexican restaurant, where we indulged in good conversation, awesome cheese dip and chips, dinner and some of the best margaritas in the free world.

Saturday, I manned a booth for my company at Community Resource Day. It was an event put on by a local church. The goal was to provide resources and information to people who were down on their luck due to the economy. It was work, but it wasn't bad at all. It was outside and it was beautiful, so I got to sit in the sun, talk to people and raffle off a few Captain Curby toys. I even got a complimentary chair massage from a massage therapist down the aisle. I made it home just in time to watch another disappointing football game in which we lost (again) in the final minutes.

Saturday evening, we went to a bonfire with some friends we hadn't seen in a while. There were cocktails and a spectacular show courtesy of Christmas lights. Seriously, if you've never put a string of Christmas lights in a fire and watched the colors, you have to do it. It's very cool.

Sunday, I went on my outing with the Badger, which I'll save for another post.

Today it was back to the grind. Then it was errands after work and another fabulous dinner cooked by my husband. Finally, after listening to Maddy itching and a biting at herself all evening and through the night, last night, I have spent the evening de-fleaing the girls and our house. The fun never ends!