Soda Springs Low Key Hill Climb - Oct. 24, 2009

Photos: RFA and MEA at registration, MEA finish line, RFA finish, the start (RFA in the peleton)

Week #4 is the low key hill climb series -Soda Springs! Soda Springs is a new climb for RFA and me - out past Los Gatos near the Lexington Reservoir. 5.35 miles, 2368 ft., average 8.4% grade. It was another perfect morning for climbing - sunny and mid-sixties. It was a tough but challenging climb - I could see my power falling 10 watts off my threshold power the last 0.5 mile. Good thing I was able to push near the finish because I was surprised to learn their were several women just seconds behind me! I finished second out of a field of 20 women at 42:53. There was a total of 118 racers. RFA finished 89 out of 98 men at 47:48. Our team, Sisters (and Misters) of No Mercy finished 5th (out of 33 teams) and is now in third place.

Tunitas Creek-Star Hill-Swett Low Key Hill Climb - October 17, 2009

Photos: RFA finish line, MEA ready to attack 19% grade at Swett, the course, RFA at Swett

Week 3 of the low key hill series is Tunitas Creek, famous for its dense redwoods and a climb near the coast - part of the Tour of California last February. Total miles: 7.62 miles, 2176 feet climbing, 5.4% grade overall. It includes some steep 9% grades along with gentler climbs - then turns off to Star Hill to face a 19% grade, finally ending on Skyline. We had a lot of rain and wind a few days before so there was still a lot of debris on the road. Rich and I parked at the top and cycled down (brrr!!!!) to the registration area at The Bike Hut. We were able to do some easy warm up and the weather turned out to be glorious and sunny. We had a one mile promenade to the start by a pace car and a blow of the horn started the "race." I climbed at a moderate hard pace and was able to attack the 19% grade. There was a lot of debris on Swett and I caught a twig in my wheel - slowed down to a track stand for it to fall out - and resumed the race to the finish. I finished third in the women out of sixteen with a time of 44:39. There were a total of 108 participants. Rich finished 80/92 of the men with a time of 48:18. Again, our team Sisters (and Misters) on No Mercy were of top for the day! Our "Mother Superior" Janet was #1 woman! Afterwards, Rich and I went for coffee at Starbucks and a moderate pace ride.

2009 Racing Season Summary & Looking Ahead

The 2009 racing season is over. This is a good time to evaluate my performance over the past nine months and set my goals for 2010.

A look back at 2009 racing season: In sum, a year I will always remember – not for the best reasons. Some setbacks, starting with elective surgery with general anesthesia in mid-February. I was off the bike for a week and had to keep my heart rate below 130 for another couple weeks in order to prevent any bleeding. I was back to racing on March 7 with the Berkeley Hills team time trial. The season going well with my first stage race (Madera), first 4-person TTT (Altamont), Wente and Berkeley Hills road races, a 3-day Kenny Williams track clinic, and lots of track racing.

Then comes May 17 at the Hellyer Summer Race Series. I was racing in the women’s scratch race at the front near the stayer’s line. That is all I remember. My first memory is the trauma ICU two days later. Skull fracture, subarachnoid hemorrhage, broken clavicle, plus misc. skin and muscle damage. Lost a lot of blood (yea, EPO!) and contracted a deep chest cold in the hospital that lasted for a month. I was back on the rollers 5 days after getting out of the hospital and back on my bike on the road in 27 days. Very slow recovery, but each time out showed progress – so ready to participate in the Masters State Track Championship at Hellyer July 11-12 in the 500 meter and 2K pursuit. Last year, the highlight was winning the Masters Track National Championship in the 2k individual pursuit with a time of 2:59. I knew that my time was off this year, but I just wanted to do it. Thrilled to win the Masters State Track gold medal (only by 0.2 seconds) even with a slower time of 3:06. It was also nice to be named “Rider of the Month” in July by my Alto Velo WebCor Racing Team for my fast recovery victory.

The highlight of my season actually occurred post-season on Oct. 10 at the Old La Honda (OLH) Low Key Hill Climb with a personal best of 22:12. OLH is the benchmark on the Peninsula for climbers. I have been working so hard to recover and now I know I am better than ever.

My biggest disappointment was missing the Northern California Nevada State Time Trial Championships (Sattley) and the Masters Track National Championship (Colorado Springs) due to my head injury. A review of the statistics with some short commentary:# crashes & cycling injuries: 1 (super nasty head injury at track)# falls: 1 (can’t believe I make a sharp turn at the turnaround at Altamont TTT; scraped knee, lost a few seconds)# friends made through cycling: Many!# new cool bike stuff: upgraded my Orbea Orca with SRAm red gruppo, Quarq CinQo pwer meter with SRAM 900 compact double and Quarq CinQo power meter on Orbea Ordu TT bike
# Race Events this year: 19
2 hill climbs (I unsanctioned)6 time trials (1 tandem TTT; 1 4-person TTT; 4 ITT (3 unsanctioned)1 stage race (crit, TT, road race – not included in other totals)
2 road races 8 track events
Details: Hill Climbs:
San Bruno Hill Climb – 6/22 (improved time from last year by 2:31)
Old La Honda Low-Key Hill Climb – 3/16 (PR of 22:14)
Madera Stage Race: GC: 7/43 (should have been 6th but got penalty in TT)
Time Trials:
Berkley Hills TTT (tandem) – 3/8
Altamont TTT – 2/4
Esparto TT – 2/12
Canada Beat Beat the Clock TTs:
· Time 27:00 – placed 3/22
· Time 27:27 – 3/10
· Time 26:23 – 2/10 - a Personal Best

Road Races:
Wente Road Race (19/47)
Berkeley Hills Road Race (15/49) - in the lead peloton until the last climb
Track:
Match Sprint Tournament (April 5): won 1/3 sprints
Ed Stefani Memorial Grand Prix (April 11): 3/11 Australian Pursuit and Omnium Top Woman
Friday Night Track Racing (May 8): Points Race – 0
Match Sprint Tournament (May 16) – won 3/4 sprints
Summer Race Series (May 17) – the “Crash”
Beat the Clock Day at the Track: 5/10 in 2K pursuit
· Track Masters State Championship: 1/2 in the 2K pursuit; 2/2 in the 500 meterGoals for 2010:
I age up to 60+ in 2010 so this is a significant year for me with exciting and ambitious achievable goals.

Climbing: 20’ OLH time

TT:
First place at State Masters TT championship (& break USA W60+ record of 30:41)
First place at Nats Masters TT
Dunlop TT: get my time down to 48:00
First place at Esparto TT

Track:
Goal: 2:45 2K pursuit time at the track
First place at State Masters Track Championship – 2k pursuit
First place at Nats Masters Track Championship – 2k pursuit
First place at Worlds Masters Track Championship – 2k pursuit

Old La Honda Low Key Hill Climb, October 10, 2009

It is time for the low key hill climb (LKHC) series! On Saturday, Rich and I raced in the Old La Honda (OLH) LKHC. Those of you who live on the SF Peninsula know that OLH is the benchmark for climbers. Beautiful, winding climb up to Skyline through the redwoods - 3.35 miles, 1290 ft climbing and average 7.3% grade (although some of the switchbacks are 20%). It was a beautiful morning that turned sunny for the 10:10 AM start. Rich and I warmed up on our trainers (low key??). We went off in waves of 15 racers from the Windy Hill parking lot to the bottom of OLH. Each wave went off in 2 minutes intervals. We had 164 participants! Great turn out and great organization & volunteers. Since this is off-season, Rich and I raced with the special LKHC team of Sisters (and Misters) of No Mercy, rather than Webcor. I had a goal of 23:00, given that my previous best time was around 23:30, and Rich and I have been focusing on VO2max intervals the last few months, as well as some climbing. Our wave went off fast (too fast) and I passed many of them along the course. I was working hard but steady, keeping my power at solid threshold. I hit the finish line at 22:14 and was thrilled! A real personal best! It was especially meaningful to me in light of my major setback due to my serious crash on my track bike in May, and my focus on recovery. Rich also had a personal best at 24:44. I finished 3rd out of 16 of the women's division - and our team Sisters (and Misters) of No Mercy is now in first place in the teams. Next weekend it is Tunitas Creek!

Newport Beach/San Diego Trip 9/26-10/5/2009

MEA at the top of Mt. Soledad in San Diego

RFA and I spent the week of Sept. 26 through Oct. 3 in Newport Beach staying at our Marriott Newport Coast Villa, celebrating our wedding anniversary. On Sunday, Sept. 27, we cycled around Newport Beach with some SoCal racing team members. It was a good way to meet new cyclists and learn more routes with hill climbs, including one with a steady 10% grade. We also cycled from San Clemente through Camp Pendleton to Oceanside a couple times, as well as from Carlsbad to La Jolla. The latter is one of my favorite coastal rides. We also got together with some friends in Beverly Hills for dinner - had not seen them for over 3 yrs. We had a great ocean view in a 2 bedroom villa with a lovely balcony so it was heavenly to have breakfast out there. The weather was absolutely gorgeous - sunny, 80ish and ocean breeze (OK - more than a breeze). On Sat. we did 3 VO2 max intervals up Newport Coast Villa Drive - who does that on vacation?? It was hard but great efforts. Then on to San Diego for a couple days - did some good hill climbing one day (but "baby hills" compared to NorCal), including Mt. Soleda, Torrey Pines and Scripps Hill.