RFA and MEA on Cycling

San Bruno Hill Climb - Jan. 1, 2012

2012-01-02T10:12:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year to all! I don't make New Year's resolutions - only set goals. It is time to revisit my blog and keep it up to date! Let's start with the New Year's Day San Bruno Hill Climb! San Bruno Hill Climb has become a New Year’s Day tradition for me – this marked my 5th in a row. Rich and I were in SoCal during the holiday week and drove back on New Years’ Eve – certainly an unfavorable race workout - c'est la vie. We had a great week on cycling including two track sessions at Home Depot Center LA Velodrome and some hill climbing on the road. It was a beautiful dry sunny morning and it felt really good to warm up on the road instead of the trainer. The temps were perfect at 10 AM for a hill climb!

I raced with the W 3/4s (no age categories for the women!) with a field of 31 riders. Some fast women – the #1 and #2 finishers were Cat 4 women who had faster times (18:56 and 18:57) than the #1 woman in the Pro/1/2 category! I learned from past experience at this hill climb to race my own race, i.e., don’t go out super hard during the first few minutes simply to stay with the leaders who are killing it. There was a pretty fierce head wind on Radio Road which made it painful. I passed Cybil S. from Early Bird Dev. with about 500 meters to go but then she hammered it and finished 7 seconds ahead of me. Overall, I am pleased with my results – set a PR with my time and a PR 20 minute power number. Placed 5/31 with an official time of 21:19 (Garmin 21:09). Rich raced with the young M Cat 4/5 45+ group since the 55+ was full - solid performance of 23:35 (30/35).

It was a great way to start the New Year – and to test our Cervello R5 Christmas presents.

Beat the Clock Time Trial, March 20, 2010

2010-07-05T21:00:00.000-07:00

Start time at 7:59 but I woke up too early well before 5 AM. Had a decent warm up but the air temperature was chilly and my body and hands were cold at the start. I set a goal of a time between 26:00 – 26:30 – but realistically this was not the day for a personal best. I had no rabbit to chase – the guy before me went off 2 minutes earlier. Fast Liz Beneshin was one minute behind me so it would be a victory if she didn't pass me. Wishful thinking - she passed me on the climb before Edgewood and the rest is history. I felt OK but overall just couldn't deliver the power this morning, although I had a pretty good finish. Glad that this is still early in the season. Finished in 27:16 – good but not great. I view this as good practice for the TT at Topsport Stage Race MArch 27-28, 2010. Thank you Patt and the BTC volunteers!

Topsport Stage Race, March 28, 2010

2010-07-05T20:57:00.000-07:00

I was not excited about a 3 lap/69 mile road race after the energy spent yesterday at the TT and circuit race. Yesterday, the promoter asked our group to vote on whether we wanted to race 69 miles or cut it to 2 laps/46 miles. The vote had to be unanimous – five women voted to do the 3 laps – boo! The amusing part was that the promoter then refused to even give the Cat 5 men or the Women 35+ groups the option to cut a lap because the Cat 4 women were doing 3 laps. My group went out last around noon; it was nice to have the morning to get organized, pack and more recovery time. Did a 30 minute warm up just to spin my legs out and we had a neutral roll out a few miles. The course was comprised of challenging segments of very rough roads, gravel, numerous cattle grates and two turnarounds per lap– just a few short hills/rollers. I was feeling pretty good and had no problem responding to any surges or attacks. A few people got dropped on the first lap and I figured I could make it through the 69 miles. Then the peloton got decimated at the narrow 180 turnaround by the lake – the group slowed down so much around the cone that we had to uncleat; the first 6 women around killed it into the wind. I hammered it and thought I could bridge up but to no avail, and we didn't have enough organization to work together to chase them down. Lesson learned – the breakaway was rather predictable and I should have been at the front. I bailed out towards the end of lap 2 and then cooled down because I knew that my third place GC position was gone – DNF. It was still a great weekend of training and, especially, a great time with good friends!

Topsport Stage Race, March 27, 2010

2010-07-05T20:43:00.000-07:00

Rich and I are happy that we made it through Stages 1 & 2 at Topsport - I finished 3rd in the TT & RFA placed 10th, & both solidly in pack for the circuit race. We enjoyed a great dinner with Linda & John Elgart and Larry & Trish Wolff at Crusco's - tomorrow another day with a 70 mile road race

Berkeley Hills Team Time Trial, Feb. 20, 2010

2010-03-18T15:08:00.000-07:00

Berkeley Hills TTT with Rich on the tandem. This was our 4th Berkeley Hills TTT on the tandem and is memorable as it was the first sanctioned race ever for us in 2007. We arrived almost 2 hrs. ahead of time but, for some reason, registration took 30 minutes. All in all, we got a pretty lousy warm-up. Air was heavy and some wind. There were 5 teams in the tandem category, 4 coed and 1 two-man team. We started second, 30 seconds behind a Team Clover team – never caught them and they finished strong, tied for 1st place with the Silverberg/Jarvis team- a little over 4 minutes ahead of us! The Silverberg/Jarvis team passed us on Alhambra Rd. (no surprise). The two-man team passed us after the right turn on Bear Creek before Mama Bear. Feel that is where we lost some time. We did well on the climbing. Along the way we passed 5 coed teams. Actual time 50:15 (official time 50:24 in error but no effect on placement). Our goal was 48 min., so disappointed in results. Placed 4/5; some fast tandem teams; even w/ time of 48 min we would have placed the same. Still enjoyed the event and good to see friends.

Madera Stage Race, March 12-13, 2010 - MEA Report

2010-03-18T14:58:00.000-07:00

Cat: W4, Overall GC: 4, Field: 43

I did this stage race last year and was really looking forward to the race, knowing that it would be a fun weekend. Rich and I drove down Friday night in heavy rain hopeful that the weather forecast of showers tapering off for the crit Sat. morning would hold true. I was ecstatic to wake up to sunny skies, albeit windy.

Stage 2, Criterium, Sat. 9:50 AM – finished 26th with the pack.

This was my second crit (first was Madera last year)– my goal was simply to finish with the pack and move on to the next stage – mission accomplished! After the first couple laps, I anticipated when the group would surge and was prepared to respond and was better positioned.

Stage 3, Sharon ITT, Sat. 2:22 PM start tim. Time: 28:22 Place: 3/43

I was the first W Cat 4 out – I am used to it with the last name beginning with "A". There was a lag of 3 minutes between my group and the preceding Cat 5 men. Unlikely that I would catch anyone, but I did pass one guy shortly before the finish line– and no one passed me. I had an ambitious goal of 26:30 but that was not to be realized for several reasons. First, the wind was absolutely fierce which led to slower times generally for all. Second, I think that I was so relieved that the crit was over that lacked some of my TT inner drive. Third, on the second leg with a cross wind, I got stung by a bee on my right temple. I thought "HTFU" and picked it out of my hair/helmet – the bee definitely got the worst of it (although the side of my forehead today is swollen and red). But it did cost me a bit of time. I pushed through the strong cross/headwind & headwind on the last two legs of the course but it was brutal. Throughout the race I felt quite stable on the bike even with the wind and riding at 45 degrees at times. I decided to race with the rear disk but used Rich's Bontrager Race XXX Lite instead of my tri-spoke on the front. I love to TT and look forward to BTC TT this Saturday for great training. After the TT, I was third in the GC.

Stage 4, Daulton RR, Sun. 11:55 AM. Place: 13/43, 51 miles (3 laps).

I was happy to start in the second wave and have more time for recovery (especially with daylight savings time change). The first wave started ½ hour late, so that affected all of the second wave start times. The temps were perfect for a road race. Pretty uneventful the first two laps – I love the series of short roller coasters and found that after the first lap that I could easily take the lead on the rollers. We dropped part of the peloton on the first lap and more on the second lap. However, on the first leg of the 3rd lap we were neutralized single file for quite a while until a men's peloton passed up, which gave some women who were TTT'ing the course to rejoin the lead group. I wanted to be well positioned for the last climb on the rollers on the last lap for the finish and was moving up on the left just when someone at the front flatted and slowed the pace. I seized this opportunity and suddenly found myself in a solo breakaway with a sweet lead on the first roller. It was heaven and I felt strong – and then encountered a mechanical problem when I tried to shift. I made the mistake of trying to adjust the gears instead of just gutting it out. I lost my lead and finished 23 seconds behind the lead group (13th). Frustrating and disappointing, but live and learn, and at least I know I had the power – just didn't execute. Looking forward to Topsport Stage Race in 2 weeks!

Madera Stage Race, March 13-14, 2010 - RFA Report

2010-03-18T14:51:00.000-07:00

Cat: M Cat 5, Overall GC: 18, Field: 46

This was my second year for this stage race and I was looking forward to it. Stage races are a blast. I know we have some very talented Cat 5 men racers and I encourage all of you to put Madera on your race card for next year. In two weeks, there is another Stage Race that is similar to Madera called TopSport and it is new this year. It has a circuit race, time trial and a road race. I am doing it and it would be great to have teammates. I would love to see one of our elite racers uncork a fast TT and put us in the GC lead! When I talk with racers about stage races some will say, " I do not have a TT bike and / or I have no TT experience". Well, as shown this weekend, all you need to post an excellent TT time is great legs, lungs and heart – the fasted TT time was posted by a racer on his road bike. And we have a Beat the Clock TT this weekend that provides a chance to practice. I hope to see some of you at TopSport and Beat the Clock!

Stage 1, CriteriumSat. 8:50 AM, Placed 10th.

Last year I got blown off the back in lap 3 and time trialed by myself. This year I rode with the pack, surfed wheels and tried different lines. Since we had a strong wind from the west, it put the home stretch in a cross wind. My goal was to finish with the pack and conserve energy. In turns 2 and 3, I used an outside line to end up shielded by the peloton from the wind and on turn 4, I used an inside line. The two primes were fast but no problem. On the finishing lap, I was near the middle of the pack but took the inside line. I got an alley and sprinted past a number of riders for 10th. I got the same time as the pack toward the GC classification.On turn 4 on an early lap, there was a crash right in front of me. This section of the road was into the wind and the front of the peloton bunched up. When the crash happened, I braked slightly, looked left and went around with no problem. I believe all the riders were back in the race that crashed – nothing serious.

Stage 2, Sharon ITT, Sat. 1:55 PM start time, Time: 28:28, Place: 20

I felt the crit in my legs and the wind was approximately 18 mph with gusts to 25 mph. It felt hard to pedal my TT bike against the wind in the easiest gear warming up, so I knew this was going to be a tough TT. My plan was to ride 80% on sections 1 and 2 and put in the hard effort when I was into the wind on sections 3 and 4. Normally, I race with a disc / trispoke combination but Coach Dan said not to use the trispoke so I substituted my Williams System 30 front wheel. Handling of the bike in the wind was not a problem. The ride into the wind was brutal and I was glad when it was over. An elite racer from Team Taleo posted a 23:XX time and took the lead in the GC. And he did it on his road bike. Team Taleo had 5 racers in Cat 5

Stage 3, Daulton RR, Sun. 11:35 AM, Place: 21, 51 miles (3 laps).

When we lined up, I was talking with the Taleo racers and they planned to control the race from the front and chase down any breaks. The wind was less than Saturday but would be a factor. As with the crit, I hid in the peloton and conserved energy. When we got to the Paris Roubaix section of rough road, I moved to the front behind Taleo. According to Coach Dan, breaks usually occur near the end of the rough road on the slight downhill section. There was a break and the front accelerated. I was in position behind the GC race leader. We killed it chasing the break and screamed up the rollers. I was fourth up the rollers and we caught the break at the neutral feed zone. Lap 2 was a repeat of lap one. Once again there was a break and this time, one guy got away. Once we were through the feed zone, the pace picked up and we went after the solo break. The pace through the rough road was fast. I was near the front for the uphill finish in the rollers but did not have enough left in the tank. I finished 37 seconds back. The leaders caught the single break and he finished 10th.It was a great race and a lot of fun. The cat 5 men were perfect gentlemen, great racers and a lot of fun to ride with.

Motorpacing at Hellyer Velodrome - March 2, 2010

2010-03-18T14:45:00.000-07:00

RFA and I had a motorpacing session led out with Peter on the moto on the track at Hellyer. Early morning 8 AM before the advanced session. I have motorpaced on the raod, but first time on the track - totally awesome! Following warm up, did 2 x 10 min efforts. This should also help our time trialing.

Park City Ski Trip - Jan. 29 through Feb. 5, 2010

2010-02-21T21:20:00.000-08:00

Friday, Jan. 29, was a travel day. Nice short flight to Salt Lake City for week long ski trip at Deer Valley, UT. Went to ski shop & bought a ski helmet (with a IPod audio link!). After Natasha Richardson's tragic death from a skiing brain injury and my skull fracture while racing at the track last May, I am now a big supporter of ski helmets. We are staying at our timeshare at Marriott Mountainside which is ski in/ski out at Park City. Yet we do our skiing at Deer Valley -love the ambience, food, no lift lines and great mountain. We have a great mountain view and can see right in the quad chair lift as it passes by our window. Sundance film festival is still going on!

Sat., Jan. 30 - Beautiful sunny day of skiing at Deer Valley; felt confident and good for my first ski day of the season; worked on form and rhythm. Moderate day of 3 hrs actual skiing (no lift lines), 12 runs and 15,000 vertical feet. Had a great time. Drinking lots of water. Oh, do I love lunch - grilled salmon salad everyday at Empire Lodge. Rich loves the turkey chili.

Sun., Jan. 31 - 10" new snow at Deer Valley summit; slopes looked ungroomed so we skiied through big piles of powder; hard on the legs; snowy and cloudy most of the day; cut it short after 10 runs, 12,250 vertical feet. Shopping Day! Love my new Kjus ski outfit!

Mon., Feb.1 - Sunny day today; hit the Deer Valley slopes and did some black diamond runs; 11 runs, 15,030 vertical ft; feel my legs but great day.

Tues., Feb. 2 - Small group lesson on XC Skate Skiing. I had done a fair amount of cross country skiing but skate skiing was a challenge. We practiced several different types of poling techniques (v1 and v2) depending on the terrain. My saving grace is that I did in-line skating for many years and the technique is similar. It would take a lot of practice for me to really enjoy this. A real energy burner – I just had a sweater and running tights and was hot.

Wed., Feb. 3 - Great day of skiing and my best performance on the skis this week; 6 expert runs in the morning; total 15 runs, 20,080 vertical ft.

Thurs., Feb. 4 - Last day of skiing so enjoyed moderate day of alpine skiing at Deer Valley; few inches of fresh snow and mostly sunny; few expert runs in the morning; worked on control and technique and avoid injury. 15,000 vertical feet.

Fri., Feb. 5 - Good flight back back from SLC to Oakland

Beat the Clock Time Trial - Feb. 12, 2010

2010-02-21T21:15:00.000-08:00

Competed with Rich on the tandem in the Beat the Clock TTT in preparation for the Berkeley Hills TTT next Saturday. We had a late start time of 8:25 so were able to get up at a reasonable hour and did a good 30 minute warm-up on the trainer. The air was heavy which would effect the times. We also practiced a couple starts to make sure we would start in the right gear for us. Good standing start and we settled into a strong steady power the entire way and pushing hard on the hills. Our max. speed was 37.1 mph. We have our cranks 90 degrees out-of-phase which works best for us especially on the hill climbs. We both had enough energy to push hard toward the finish. We passed our 1 min. and 3 min. teams (2 min. team restarted behind us) and no one passed us. Our time was 25:48 (4th out of the 13 teams – no other tandems). My goal was 25 minutes, but we were overall pleased with our team effort. Ready to take on Berkeley Hills TTT next Saturday. Good to see our friends and we enjoyed breakfast at Woodside Cafe and Bakery with Pam and Jan before heading off to the Hellyer velodrome for a track work out.

San Bruno Mountain Hill Climb - Jan. 1, 2010

2010-02-21T21:01:00.000-08:00

Arrived 2 hrs before the 10 AM start and got in a good 45 min. w/u on the trainer. I felt ready for this race. My strategy was to stay on the wheel of the fast Elite W4 woman. That proved to be detrimental to me because I was in z5-z6 (VO2 max – anaerobic) for the first 6 minutes of the race. At that point, I knew I could not maintain that power and dropped off. I went out too slowly on the flatter section at the right turns on Radio Rd. for recovery. I was able to get back to high Z4 and Z5 on Radio Rd. but it was too late. I was extremely disappointed in my results (slower than last year, slower than my training – even slower than my OLH time). I would have been better off (i.e, faster) in this race to race at my own strong steady pace. Finished 10/18. We were lucky that the weather cooperated since there had been race in the forecast. Rich looked good and improved his time from last year. Good to see friends at the race and a great way to start the New Year.

Low Key Hill Climb Awards Ceremont - Dec. 11, 2009

2009-12-25T20:40:00.000-08:00

RFA and I attended the Low Key Hill Climb Awards Ceremony at The Sports Basement. Our team Sisters and Misters of No Mercy was the #1 team so it was super special. Unfortunately do to work schedule and distance, we were unable to have dinner with the team before the ceremony. There was a great turnout. I was thrlled to be awarded the #2 overall woman - and, of course, our fearless leader Janet Martinez was #1 woman. Carl Neilsen was #2 overall in the men's category.

SportVelo Turkey Training Camp - Nov. 28-29, 2009

2009-12-25T20:14:00.000-08:00

RFA and I participated in the SportVelo Turkey Training Camp on Sat. and Sun., Nov. 28-29, 2009. The camp started on Friday, but after the hard long race up Mt. Hamilton for the low key hill climb on Thanksgiving Day, we opted to do an easy one hour high cadence session on the trainer on Friday, and start the camp on Sat. Turns out that was all for the better because it was rainy on Friday. We were lucky that the weather was beautiful over the weekend. We all met at Coach Dan's home and started from there - warm-up and then a long climb up Page Mill - that was awful - my legs weren't recovered to handle the surges up the grades of 15% plus. We had a great paceline with Dan out to San Gregorio. I felt much better on the climb up Tunitas. Total: 53 miles; 5485 ft climbing; 3:49. Back to Coach Dan's house for a shower, grilled salmon for lunch, 1/2 hour massage and lecture by Rene from Agile PT on cycling and physiology. Great day with my cycling friends. And Andi is a great hostess. Sunday's schedule was 3 repeats up Old La Honda; however, I had to get ready for my business trip to Switzerland the next day, so we did an abbreviated ride - 1 OLH climb; 33 miles; 2755 ft climbing; 2:11.

Mt. Hamilton Low Key Hill Climb - Nov. 26, 2009

2009-12-24T21:45:00.000-08:00

Great finale of LKHC - Mt. Hamilton climb - our Thanksgiving Day tradition the past 3 years. The climb has three sections with a short descent between climb 1 and climb2. Climb 1 is 5.90 mi, 1514 ft (4.86%); climb 2: 3.20 mi, 770 ft (4.56%) and climb 3 is the toughest with 6.60 mi, 2060 ft (5.91%). Total climb to the observatory is 18.4 miles, 4343 ft. I finished 6th out of 18 women at 98:21. A woman sprinted by me at the end and beat me by 5 seconds - took me by surprise and I couldn't catch her. RFA had a good finish at 106:48. RFA and I are proud to be part of the winning team - Sisters and Misters of No Mercy - congrats to all. And I am thrilled to be #2 woman overall - and team mate Janet Martinez is #1 woman.

JEP Coaching Scholarship

2009-12-24T21:36:00.000-08:00

On October 31, 2009, RFA and I found out that we were both awarded 2010 AV/JEP coaching scholarships with Coach Dan/SportVelo - thank you Alto Velo! We are thrilled and honored. We had our initial consultations and Coach Dan and established our goals for 2010. Coach Dan using trainingpeaks.com and we upload our power data from our training programs. I really like the customized training programs, the communication and look forward to a great racing season.

Mt.Diablo Low Key Hill Climb - Nov. 14, 2009

2009-12-24T21:05:00.000-08:00

RFA and I left the house and the pavement was wet, mist in the air and then a downpour as we crossed the Bay Bridge - then, like a miracle, the sky cleared and the sun came out. Another beautiful warm LKHC day! The Mt. Diablo LKHC started late as a time trial from North Gate. The North Gate section is 6.25 mi, 1910 ft (5.8% grade; the Summit Rd. section is 4.5 mi, 1690 ft (6.9% grade) for a total of 10.75 miles, 3600 ft (6.3% grade). And then, of course, the finish is "The Wall" at 20%. I forgot how tough the Wall is! I kept a steady pace and finished 4th out of the 18 women with a time of 71:41. My Sisters and Misters of No Mercy team mate Janet Martinez was the #1 woman at 68:07. RFA finished well at 76:25. And our team finished #1.

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

2009-10-25T20:09:00.000-07:00

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

2009-10-23T16:45:00.001-07:00

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

2009-10-15T09:05:00.000-07:00

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

2009-10-12T20:48:00.001-07:00

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

2009-10-12T16:49:00.001-07:00

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.

Esparto Time Trial - September 6, 2009

2009-09-12T21:15:00.000-07:00

Course description: L-shaped 18 mile course: north on a 2 mile leg, right turn east onto the long leg with rollers, turnaround and finish westbound just before the intersection.

Results Summary: placed second in a field of 12 in W Cat 4 with a time of 48:50.

I was looking forward to the Esparto TT and hoping for good results to mark the end of my "abridged" racing season. I was really bummed about missing Dunlap and Sattley TTs (among other races) as a result of my serious head injury crash on the Hellyer track in May and was diligently working on recovery which took a solid 3 months just to get back to pre-crash status. The Cat 4 women started at 9:36 while the temperature was still moderate (mid-seventies) – sunny and dry with winds from the north. I was the first Cat 4 woman out (again, in alphabetical order – I am definitely going to change my last name!) There was a 4 minute gap between the W 1/2/3 group (Andi was the last W 1/2/3 racer), so I had no rabbit. Had a good start. The first leg headed north into the head wind; cross winds on the long legs were not extreme but more than last year, and I got thrown a bit by about three gusts with the tri-spoke and disk; slowed me down a bit. Pushed harder on the rollers on the way back and strong finish, but overall I felt that I didn't pull it all together (power meter doesn't lie) for an optimum TT. I finished second – 6 seconds behind the triathlete winner. Interestingly, my time was exactly the same (to the second)as last year when I won. So all in all, I am pleased and look forward to training during the off season – and next year! RFA finished 20/31 in the Masters 35+ Cat 4/5 males with a time of 49:19. He is pleased with is almost 4 minute time improvement from last year.

Beat the Clock Time Trial, August 29, 2009

2009-08-30T22:09:00.000-07:00

Photo: 1) RFA 2) MEA 3) chatting after the TT (Yvonne, Marcia and me)

Last Beat the Clock Time Trial for the year - a beautiful warm morning and many personal records set. It was a great practice for next weekend's Esparto TT. And BTC is always a lot of fun - great cause for Lance Armstrong Foundation and time to chat with fellow team mates and friends. Patt Baenen does such a fine job organizing and thanks to the volunteers. I am always honored to have now retired WebCor Pro Christine Thorburn do the countdown. Up early at 5:20 AM and plenty of time to warm up for our start times: 7:32:30 for RFA and 7:37:30 for me. This time I had the pleasure of being the last women's ITT start. Passed two women and one junior - no one passed me. Rich and I have been doing VO2 max intervals on Canada - that and my power meter helped me do a PR of 26:23 - good enough for #2 of the women. RFA also had a PR of 27:19.

Russian Ride, Sunday, August 2, 2009

2009-08-05T14:40:00.000-07:00

This was my second group ride since "the crash." We had a large group of about 18 cyclists - Emily and I were the only women. Dmitrij is still in Belarus so it was Vlad driving the Five Rings Cycling Centre support vehicle. We climbed up 84 and out to San Gregorio. Good pace line out 84. Rich and I split off the group and returned via 84, up West Old La Honda and down Old La Honda. Rich and I rode strong on the way back but I can tell that I am still building my endurance. I felt fatigued. But a gorgeous day - 55 miles and 3800 feet climbing.

Beat the Clock Time Trial - August 1, 2009

2009-08-05T14:23:00.000-07:00

MEA and RFA warming up

The August 1, 2009 Beat the Clock Canada Time Trial results are posted at http://www.scaledup.com/beattheclock/results.html. Another great event with a good turn out for a good cause. Thanks to Patt along with the volunteers who make this event a success. I was so happy to be back doing a TT since my May 17 crash. Good to see our friends and team mates! My start time was 7:42 & RFA's start time was at 7:36 so we had enough time for an adequate warm up. The air was in the high 50's and light breeze. Not conditions for record setting TT times but a pretty nice morning. I was the first woman out so no real rabbits to chase. Behind me was a fast Metromint pro 1/2 woman, so one of my goals was not to get passed. My start was not great but I settled in well. I just kept focused on pressing hard. I saw the Metromint woman at the turn around and I could tell she was making some gain, but I was hoping that I could improve my ground on the uphills on the way back. I finished in 27:27, good enough for 3rd out of 11 women. The winning woman’s time was 26:02. I was 27 seconds off my last time in March, but considering my serious crash and rehab, I am quite satisfied. On the road to recovery! Yea!

NCNCA State Masters Track Championship, July 11-12, 2009

2009-07-11T20:54:00.000-07:00

I was so thrilled to participate in the State Masters Track Championship at Hellyer Velodrome given my recovery over the past 7 weeks. Here is a summary of my experience and results and the same for Rich.

MEA's Report:

2K Pursuit
W55-59
1st of 2

500 M TT
W55-59
2nd of 2

It was great to be back racing at the track! I was thrilled just to be able to participate only 55 days since my nasty crash at Hellyer. I resumed cycling on the road 3 weeks ago and went back to the track on June 30 for a practice session. It was frustrating that after a practice 2K pursuit I pretty much died after 5 laps. Another practice session and Beat the Clock last Sunday – each time feeling better. Like Rich, this was my first NCNCA Masters State Track Championship. I got introduced to the track last year at Beat the Clock on my road TT bike. That led to competing in Natz a couple weeks later and continuing with track workouts and racing.2K pursuit (3:06.0)Only one other competitor (Donna Woods) in my age group. At Natz last year, Donna was recovering from an injury and I beat her by 24 seconds (2:59 v. 3:23). This year I was told that she was ready to trounce. She had a decent 2K at BTC so I knew that, given my set back, it could go either way. I felt good and was able to accelerate on the last laps – I actually felt I could have pushed harder. Everyone kept saying that it was very close (and one report that she just beat me) so I was ready to accept defeat. To say the least, I was thrilled when I learned I beat her by 0.2 seconds. Still 7 seconds off of last year's time, but I am convinced that in a couple more weeks I will be back in form. This really gave me a lot of encouragement.500 MWe don't even need to discuss this. My dismal time was the same as last year – I swear I have one fast twitch fiber in each leg. Can't get the acceleration at the start and the very beginning, but then I take off when others fade – doesn't work in the 500 M. That said, it was still fun.It was a great weekend and impressive to see so many great Webcor track champions.

Rich's Report
Individual Pursuit 2K
60-65
1st of 2
Time: 2:56:27I

Individual 500 M Time Trial
60-65
3rd of 4
Time: 42.4

Team Pursuit 3K
60+
1st of 2
4:15.6
Team: Rich Allen, John Elgart, Mark Rodamaker, John Diamont

This was my first time participating in the NCNCA Masters State Track Champions ( Districts) since I started track racing last September. I had a great time racing and socializing. Warren and the volunteers did a superb job of organizing and running the event. The best part of the weekend was watching Mary Ellen race after her terrible crash at Hellyer a few weeks ago.I had been practicing 2K pursuits at the track and simulated pursuits on the rollers. At Beat the Clock last week, I did a 2:51.6 with which I was very happy leading into the Districts. My time was slower on Saturday but fast enough to win. One thing that was very different on Saturday from BtC was the wind. I started on the home stretch. When I came out of turn one, I hit the wind. When I prepared to sit down, my cadence / speed were too low (from previous practice races). Being mindful of not overcooking the first couple of laps, I held the speed and backed off a little on the second lap. I accelerated on laps 4, 5 and 6 with lap 6 being my fastest lap. I felt too good at the end.On Sunday, I did the 500 meter TT. I have been working on my sprinting but I am not a sprinter per se. However, I do like doing the 500. This year, I did the 500 in the sprint bars versus the pursuit TT bars. I like the start much better using the sprint bars and I have much better control in the turns being able to ride the black line.While my teammates in the team pursuit were racing in the points races and team sprints, I was hanging out under the tents having a nice afternoon socializing, watching the races and psyching up for the team pursuit. Our plan was for Mark and John E. to take full lap pulls with John D and me taking half lap pulls. The start went perfectly as well as the race. The nine laps seemed to go fast and it was a blast.

Beat the Clock Day at the Track, July 5, 2009

2009-07-11T10:18:00.001-07:00

Last year this was the event that introduced me to the track. It is a special event that allows road bike to compete on the track and I competed in my time trial bike. The road bikes compete against road bikes and the track bikes compete against track bikes. Of course this year I raced with my Cervelo P3C track bike and it was my first real event on the track since my serious crash on May 17. Fortunately earlier in the week I was able to participate in two advanced track sessions for some practice. I only did the 2K pursuit and was paired with a team mate who I passed on the last lap. Unfortunately I went up to the stayer's line a bit early to pass and then went back down to the pole lane and then passed. Lost a few seconds and ended with a 3:12 -compared to last year's Natz championship of 2:59 pretty dismal, but I was just thrilled to be able to race again. Also, I felt much stronger than my training session earlier in the week. A good work out for next week's NCNCA masters state championship. RFA had a great performance of 42.20 seconds on the 500 meter and 2:51.60 on the 2K - stellar performance.

Post-crash Update

2009-07-01T15:10:00.001-07:00

It has been a while since I posted on my blog! On May 17, 2009, I had a serious crash on my track bike while racing at the Hellyer velodrome in a women's scratch race. I was very, very lucky and have no permanent brain injury. I have been in recovery mode and was back on the road cycling 3 weeks later. Yesterday I went back to the track for the first time since the crash with RFA and my coach Dmitriy for an advanced session. The state track championships are at Hellyer in less than 2 weeks and I would like to participate. I did some practice 2K pursuits and my time is about 10% slower. Part of that is lack of endurance at fast pace, still trying to get my hemoglobin back up, and final recovery from a 4 week chest cold. And, of course, yesterday was not a championship event. Dmitriy was encouraging and I will stay focused and positive!

Get Ready for Summer Race - May 17,2009

2009-05-22T20:29:00.000-07:00

Another hot afternoon (96 degrees) at Hellyer Velodrome with special women's 3/4 races. I did the Win & Out and finished 6th. A few minutes later we did the 10 lap scratch race (my first!). Unfortunately someone pulled into me and I crashed on the bank. I don't recall anything until the next day in ICU. I fractured my skull, head hematoma and cracked clavicle, along with lots of bruising on my right arm, back and leg. Black right eye from sunglasses and lost alot of blood. I was in the hospital until Thursday. It will take me a while for recovery - unfortunately, that means that the 4 road time trials over the next 4 weeks are out of the picture. I'll focus on weight lifting and maybe consider the state championship at Hellyer for the 2k pursuit. There is always next year.

Match Sprint Tournament - May 16, 2009

2009-05-17T07:38:00.001-07:00

Today is RFA's BIG birthday - what better way to celebrate than race at the second match sprint tournament of the season at Hellyer. The promoters annnounced RFA's birthday and we all sang H.B. to him. It was a HOT afternoon - literally. Temps were close to 100 degrees - good thing the efforts were short and we could then retreat to the shade under the tents and drinkk fluids. It was a small group of about 16 men and women (including one junior). We started off with the flying 200 meter time trial for seeding purposes. My flying 200 time stunk and I was in the third group. RFA had a stellar time (13:24) and he was the fastest in group 2. I won my first match sprint against the Roaring Mouse woman (I started the sprint early and turned it into more of a pursuit - playing to my strengths). I won my second match sprint against the junior who tried to block me up against the rail. The third sprint was against a young man who was able to follow on my wheel and passed me by half of my front wheel. Round 4 I won by passing the 2 women. RFA was able to win one of his sprints.

Berkeley Hills Road Race, May 10, 2009

2009-05-10T22:06:00.000-07:00

Category: W4
Place: 15
Field: 49
Course: 33 miles (1.7 laps)
19 mile lap includes the infamous Mama Bear, Papa Bear and Baby Bear climbs.

This is a tough race and I was looking forward to it. The W4 category was full with a waiting list. I know this course well since it is the same course as the Berkeley Hills Team Time Trial. It was perfect weather for racing - mid-60's and sunny. I had a slightly rocky start pre-race: I realized on the drive to the race that I had forgotten my Webcor jersey (I threw my Webcor jacket over my base layer & simply forgot!) Maybe it is because we got up at 5:15 AM - but it seems no matter how much planning, you are bound to forget something. Fortunately, we made a U-turn only 4 miles out and went home to retrieve my jersey. I still had plenty of time for warm up. It also helped that I had a full-time bike slave. We started with a promenade up the climb from the boat docks to San Pablo Road. I led out the first leg at a comfortable pace - served as a warm up and avoided any potential crashes. We probably lost a few people on the rollers after the first right turn but for the most part the group stuck together until we hit Mama Bear and Papa Bear. I was about 2 bike lengths behind at the top of Papa Bear on the first lap was easily caught the lead group for the big descent. I was now part of the lead group of 14. We were neutralized while a men's group went by -unfortunately, that gave the chase group time to join us. Tempo pace until the last climb up Mama Bear and Papa Bear - I fell off near the top of Mama Bear (about 1 mile to go) and just pushed as hard as I could up Papa Bear - just not much left. Finished 15/49 - just OK but I was happy with my performance.

Friday Night Track Racing - May 8, 2009

2009-05-09T22:33:00.000-07:00

This was the Friday night racing at Hellyer for 2009 -complete with music, food and drinks. Great turn out and a beautiful evening - even a full moon. The weather did get a little chilly tho when the sunset. RFA and I got to try out our Oakley glasses with the yellow high visibility lenses. RFA did the men's 3/4 scratch race (25 laps) and I did the women's points race (15 laps). We didn't place but got a great work out and gained experience. I led ou on the women's points race for 4 laps (see top photo).

SoCal Cycling Vacation 4/26/09-5/02/09

2009-05-09T21:10:00.000-07:00

RFA spent a week at our timeshare at Marriott Newport Coast Villas in Newport Beach, CA. Sunday April 26 was a travel day - we drove and hauled the tandem and our road bikes. We hit some traffic at the Grapevine due to a truck fire that started a small brushfire and some traffic in LA on the 405 near Santa Monica due to a traffic accident - could have been worse. It was interesting to pass by MountainGate in Brentwood where we used to live and the Getty Center. On Monday, 4/27, we met our friends Shari and Jeff at San Clemente for a 40 mile tandem ride down to Oceanside and back. We met Shari and Jeff a couple years ago during the Santana Tuscany tandem tour. They live in MN and were happy to get in some "spring training" and spent the week with us. The next day we did another tandem ride from Carlsbad to Torrey Pines, turning around at the Salk Institute after climbing Torrey Pines hill. That evening we went out to dinner at Carbonara's in San Clemente to celebrate Shari's birthday. Shari's daughter Jessica who lives in North San Diego County also joined us. We can't get enough of riding along the coast so the next day we did a 50 mile ride from Carlsbad to downtown La Jolla. RFA and I rode our singles. We valet parked the bikes at George's at the Cove and enjoyed a nice lunch on the rooftop cafe. A heavenly day. We had quite a headwind on the ride back. Thursday was a chill out day - a 18 mile spin around Laguna Beach. We stopped and enjoyed our Starbuck's watching the beach volley ball and a Golden Spoon frozen yogurt. Spent some time poolside (surprised I got sunburn - wasn't out that long!) We had dinner at Sabatino's on Balboa Island. The homemade sausage with goat cheese and chicken soup are super special. Friday was another tandem ride through Camp Pendleton. We stopped at LongBoards in Oceanside for lunch (see pic). We went back to Sabatino's for dinner with our friends Diane and Curt from Marina del Rey. We left on Saturday - a day early - planning to go to Hellyer track Sunday morning to practice team pursuit for State and Nationals. That was not to be - rained out! Flukey NorCal weather. We did get in a good time trial workout though later in the day. Because we left a day early we never made it to ADT velodrome in LA - next time.

Wente Road Race - Sat. April 25, 2009

2009-04-28T22:57:00.000-07:00

Photo: MEA coming up on the inside in Webcor green

W Cat4

Place: 19

Field: 47

I was really looking forward to this race and had high expectations - expectations that unfortunately that were not realized. It was a learning experience in race strategy. I raced in the W4 category which had a field of 47. The temperature was perfect - mid 60's - but the wind was wicked - but after all, this is windmill country! I stayed with the lead group through the tough first climb. After we turned into the wind before the big descent, it was like a brick wall, and I was on the wrong wheel. I fell back and was unable to regain that ground - the peloton was just out reach - so close. I gained some ground but it was not enough. Then I saw them ride off into the distance. I hit 54 mph on the downhill with the strong tailwind. I then rode for awhile with a group of 3 other women but they were too slow for my liking. I sprinted out, now trying to catch the second lead group which splintered off. I slowed a bit on the second climb in the feed zone, looking for RFA who had my Smart Water. I regrouped with the same women I left behind earlier. A peloton of male racers passed on the down hill and I pulled over to the far right. Low and behold my training mate from 5RCC passes me on the tail of the male peloton. Fair?? I ended up placing 19th - losing two positions on the final 200 meter sprint. Coach Dnitrij - "what happened??" I lost sleep asking myself the same question, reanlayzing the race. Get on the wrong wheel of someone falling back and it is all over before you know it. Live and learn.

Ed Steffani Memorial Gran Prix, April 11, 2009

2009-04-12T20:33:00.001-07:00

Our results:

Grandma's Wheelbarrow Race (flying 1 lap):

RFA: 24.4 (1st in 50+ category)

MEA: 26.5 (2nd in Women's)

One Mile Scratch Race:

RFA - 5th

Cat 5 Point-A-Lap

RFA: 4th

Lotto Race:

RFA: 4th

Australian Pursuit:

MEA 3rd out of 11

Overall Omnium:

MEA: 1st Woman/2nd 50+

RFA: 1st 50+

RFA and I raced in the Ed Steffani Memorial Gran Prix at the Hellyer Velodrome, San Jose, CA on Saturday, April 11, 2009. It was a full afternoon of racing and a beautiful day. There were about 17 racers including 3 women (me, my team mate Pam and a junior). We needed six women in order to have our own category, so we competed in the men's category. Oh well, makes you tough! We started out with the Grandma's Wheelbarrow Race which turned out to be a flying 1 lap time trial. I did a 26.5; my team mate Pam had a 25.89, and RFA did a 24.4. Practice, practice, practice. The fastest time was a 22.01. We then did a 3 lap (1 km) scratch race heat and RFA advanced to the finals. Followed by a 5 lap scratch race. At least I finished with the front pack! RFA did a special Point-a-Lap (10 lap) race for the Cat 5s - he said it was brutal. We both did the 25 lap Lotto Race - this is a points race where you don't know when the points lap will be until the bell rings. They can come at any interval - we had 4 points laps in a row! Many racers pulled out at that point. I hung in there and finished with the top 6 - but didn't accumulate any points! RFA got some points. It was a great workout! The fnale was the Australian pursuit! RFA sat this one out. We had seeded positions and I finished third. It was a blast! The officials were still calculating the omnium points when we left - results to follow. This was another first for RFA and me - our first official mass start races. I may never be a sprinter but the workouts are great and will complement my road cycling.

First Match Sprint Tournament - April 5, 2009

2009-04-06T10:54:00.000-07:00

RFA and I did our first match sprint tournament at the Hellyer Velodrome in San Jose, CA. We figured we should put the skills that we learned at the Kenny Williams track camp a couple weeks ago to the test! There were 23 racers, including 3 women (counting me) and 2 juniors. We started out by each of us doing a flying 200 meter time trial. Based on our 200 meter times, we were placed into 4 groups of 6. Some of these guys were really fast!! The fastest 200 m time was 11.26 seconds – smokin’! RFA was with the guys in the 3rd group and I was in the 4th group with the other women and the juniors. Then we did several match sprints; some were "two-up" (two sprinters); some "three-up" (three sprinters). We start at the rail, roll off and then do two laps. The first lap is generally cat-and-mouse, each person watching the other to see who is going to make the first move. Once that happens it is a sprint to the finish. It was fun racing with my Webcor team mate because we are both competitive and are so evenly matched in the sprint events. I won one of the three match sprints and my team mate took the other two. The match sprint is an event at the state and national championships, so this was a rare opportunity to practice (most of the seasonal racing at the track is mass start events). But most importantly, it was a blast! The weather was gorgeous – just like summer – close to 80 degrees ‘tho we had some wind to contend with.

Altamont Team Time Trial, April 4, 2009

2009-04-04T21:46:00.000-07:00

Today I raced the Altamont 4-person team time trial with Team Webcor/Alto Velo in the Women 35+ category. We placed second of four teams with a time of 42:40. Team Kalyra was first with a 42:18. team Velo Bella was 3rd with 43:48. The Protech team was 4th. We would have won but for my fall at the turn-around!Course: Altamont Pass, Livermore, CA; 15.7 miles out and back; 600 foot climb each way. We had a very strong team, and BTW, we were the combined oldest, the youngest member of our team being 51 (total combined age 223- awesome!!). Hermes and I did a reconnaissance ride last Sunday and the winds we fought fierce winds from the NNE. I was hoping that today, with an earlier start, that we would be lucky with a light breeze – not so. Those windmills were churning with similar wind conditions. I opted for my deep dish carbon Easton Tempest tubulars, rather than disc and tri-spoke, and they worked well in the wind. We didn’t have an opportunity to practice as a team before today. We only had about 30 minutes to practice together before the race, and we tried our best to discuss any eventuality figure out what our order should be. Everyone had their strong moments; team mate Phyllis and I worked hard on the up hills and Pam and Linda were killers on the downhills. We hit over 41 mph. We did have two issues during the ride. I clipped a cone, cutting the turn-around really close, and fell, but was up in a matter of seconds. Luckily it was minor (skinned knee and a ripped leg warmer) and hardly impeded the team at all. Later we found out that the strongest time trialist on the Kalyra team, had also fallen, overlapping a wheel on the outbound leg. That gave me some consolation. On the return leg, one of my team mates got a leg cramp, and in a TT there is no time to stretch it out like one might in a road race. We had to leave her, but it was only a few miles to go. It appeared that most teams sacrificed a rider and finished with 3. Per the rules, 3 riders needed to finish within one meter of each other. This was a really hard effort and I was glad when it was over! We planned on doing a Wente loop afterwards but it was too windy. RFA and I did a nice recovery ride on the Peninsula instead.

Beat the Clock Time Trial Report - Sat. March 28, 2009

2009-03-29T22:50:00.000-07:00

The March 28, 2009 Beat the Clock Canada Time Trial results are posted at http://www.scaledup.com/beattheclock/results.html.

Another great event with a fantastic turn out for a good cause – registration closed early when the 100 person limit was reached. Thanks to Patt along with the volunteers who make this event a success. And good to see our friends and team mates!

We arrived at 6:30 AM and it was still dark. The registration desk was operating by flashlight. My start time was 7:49:30 so I had enough time for an adequate warm up. Not so for RFA who had a 7:11 start time. There was still a chill in the air (about 49 degrees), slight dampness and light breeze. Not conditions for record setting TT times but a pretty nice morning. My group was starting in 30 second intervals (later groups were starting at one minute intervals). My thirty-second and one-minute rabbits were men; ahead of them were three SugarCRM women. Behind me was a fast Velo Bella woman, so one of my goals was not to get passed. I had a good start (I think my practice at the track camp last week helped me) and just kept focused on pressing hard. I saw the Velo Bella at the turn around and it didn’t appear that she was making too much of a gain. On the way back I passed the three SugarCRM women and the guy that was my 30-second rabbit. I finished in 27:00, good enough for 3rd out of 22 women. The winning woman’s time was 26:18.
Afterwards, RFA and I did a practice team time trial with my Webcor team mate Phyllis on the Canada course. Phyllis and I are part of a 4-women team at Altamont TTT next Saturday and wanted to get some practice in. RFA and I then did a nice tempo ride out to Peet’s in Los Altos Hills and back on our road bikes. What gorgeous weather!

TT Training - March 26, 2008

2009-03-26T22:05:00.000-07:00

Photo of Coach Dmitrij

Roller workout on TT bike at Five Rings Cycling Center tonight - felt great and Dmitrij pleased with the effort and our power. Vlad is off to Belarus for a couple weeks so will be at the mercy of Dmitrij. I feel ready for Beat the Clock Canada TT on Saturday. Showdown time for the women.

Kenny Williams Track Camp - Day 3, March 22,2008

2009-03-22T17:26:00.000-07:00

Day 3 of Kenney Williams spring track camp started early at 8:30 AM. Driving down to San Jose, we encountered rain - it was clear to the west, but threatening storm clouds to the south. Lots of wind with forecasts of gusts up to 40 mph. When we arrived, the track was dry but some settled water in parts of the apron. After a nice warm up, we did more sprint workouts starting out with the "Russian" drill. For this drill, we formed teams of 3, with the #1 person serving as a rabbit doing a flying 200 meter. The #2 person was leadout for the #3 person. The #2 person peeled up bank, and the #3 person was to stick on to wheel #1 and then attempt to sprint pass. We also did this with drill with 4 persons - this time, #1 and #3 persons peeling up bank. We then did some interval pursuit drills where we formed two packs on opposite sides of the track riding the stayer's line. At the whistle, the last person sprinted to pass the first person on the opposite team. The finale was a points race. We had a brief break for rain - and what wind!!! The rain passed and sunshine again. We resumed the points race - for the most part I hung out in the rear - but then again I was racing with some elite and world championship men! We had a lot of fun and made some friends. It was worth it for the structure and the experience.

Kenny Williams Track Camp - Day 2, March 21,2008

2009-03-22T17:20:00.001-07:00

Day 2 of Kenny Williams spring track camp started at noon. We had a few new participants including Leo from Webcor/AV and a Proman woman, Traci. The warmup went wild - hit 30 mph at the end! The weather was unsettled and we had to take one brief break due to rain. I was amazed how fast the track dried up! Today we focused on sprinting and worked on 100 meter jumps and timed individual flying 200's. We also did some match sprints. I was paired with my teammate Pam. After the initial cat-and-mouse, I went up high, dove down and started my sprint. Unfortunately, she was able to hold on to wheel and passed me by a few inches at the finish line. I saw her wheel and yelled "I hate you!". Too funny.

Kenny Williams Track Camp - Day 1, March 20,2008

2009-03-22T06:43:00.000-07:00

RFA and I signed up for a 3-day spring track camp at Hellyer Velodrome in San Jose, CA led by Kenny Williams of KW Racing out of Seattle, WA assisted by Phil "Bilko" Stephens. The camp started Friday morning at 9:30. There were about 18 participants including 5 Webcor/Alto Velo racers (RFA, MEA, Pam D., Mark R. and Larry W.). I was happy to see a good turn out for the women (MEA, Pam, Cathy M., Annabel H., and Trish). Several folks came down from Seattle along with a young guy from Portland (Gentle Lovers Racing Team). Our friend Mark McC. was also there as well as John, one of the Hellyer supervisors. People with a range of track experience and abilities. If nothing else we were sure to have a good time. I must comment on the Gentle Lovers pink and red team kit sported by the Portland racer. The team's byline is "If you can't race with the best, you may as well race with the best looking." Not sure what that was all about - but he was a very strong cyclist. Today we focused on endurance events. We did some practice standing starts - an area I need to work on. We did some 2 lap efforts - Kenny said that if I could keep that pace for a 2K I would set a world record. That made me feel good! I challenged my team mate Pam to a 2K and beat her by at a good 15 seconds. The weather was fantastic - sunny and 70 degrees.

RFA Madera Stage Race Report March 14-15, 2009

2009-03-21T21:40:00.000-07:00

Madera Stage Race Report, March 14-15, 2009

Category: Cat 5

GC Place: 28

Field: 45

This was my first stage race and first criterium. I rode in the male Cat 5s. The crit was okay but at times seemed a little dicey. There was a bad crash about two bikes to my right that took a few riders down on the home stretch right before the final lap. One guy was unconscious but revived and was taken away in an ambulance.In the TT, I finished mid pack with a 27:14. After all the talk about missing turns on the course, I memorized the map. However, I still slowed down at the first road 26. Something happens in a race where your racing IQ goes down as the power goes up. Otherwise, it was uneventful but very windy.I was not sure how I would feel for the road race on Sunday. As it turned out, I felt great and the road race was the most fun of the three events. I had heard about the rough section of road. And it lived up to the hype. Lots of water bottles falling off the bikes as well as mechanicals and flats. My Cervelo R3 got to live up to it reputation and provided a good ride on that section of road.It was a great experience and I would do it again.

MEA Madera Stage Race Report March 14-15, 2009

2009-03-21T21:33:00.000-07:00

Madera Stage Race, March 14-15, 2009
Cat: W4
Overall General Classification (GC): 7
Field: 43

This was my first stage race. It consisted of a 40 minute criterium Saturday morning, a 10 mile time trial (TT) on Saturday afternoon and a 51 mile road race on Sunday. At a minimum, it would serve as a benchmark at this early point (for me) in the racing season. Last month I was off the bike completely for two weeks due to vacation and surgery, and then had to scale back my training efforts a notch during post-op recovery. I was really looking forward to the race, but also realistically acknowledging that I am not in peak form. I felt surprisingly great during the crit and the road race – my “sweet spot” is typically the time trial, but that turned out to be where I lost time. I am looking forward to the next Beat the Clock TT for some good TT training. I missed 6th GC place by less than a half a second, and would have placed 5th but for my penalty (see TT report below). All in all, a great first stage race. We had perfect weather the entire weekend (high temps around 70 and mostly sunny) which made for an enjoyable weekend of racing. Hermes also completed the stage race with the Cat 5 men and had a stellar time trial stage. I’ll allow him to write his own race report. Fortunately our race schedules meshed very well because there was a lot of driving around to get to the various race venues. Note: Stage 1 was a hill climb on Friday for only the Pro/1/2 male category.

Stage 2, Criterium
Sat. 9:50 AM
Time: 39:43 – finished with the pack
Course: Flat, a little more than 1 mi, four corner, industrial park, very good pavement, wide streets, one perpendicular RR crossing.

The criterium has is not usually the deciding factor for the general classification. There are 20/10/5 second bonuses for 1-3 and two 5 second bonuses for the primes. This was my first crit – my goal was to finish with the pack and move on to the next stage – mission accomplished. I actually enjoyed the crit and took part in a couple breakaways and led out on the last lap. A crash on corner 3 took down one cyclist and a woman next to me hit a traffic cone that came my way. Otherwise, uneventful and fun.

Stage 3, Sharon ITTSat. 2:22 PM start time Time: 27:14 (official time w/30 second penalty 27:44)
Place: 7/43
Course: Flat, rectangular, 10-mile loop, breezy, moderate temperature. Cross-tailwind on first two legs, cross-headwind on third leg, headwind on short final leg.

I was the first W Cat 4 out – I am used to it with the last name beginning with “A”. There was a lag of 2 minutes between the two groups, so it was unlikely that I would catch anyone – and no one passed me. There was so much hype, talk, and warnings about people going off-course that I wrote the road names on my hand. All that I think led to distraction. I had an ambitious goal of 26:30 but that was not to be realized. I think that I was so wound up about the crit and relieved that it was over that lacked that TT inner drive. The cross-headwind/headwind on the last two legs of the course took its toll. I love to TT and this was a good early season test. Don’t ask about the penalty – that hurt! Before the race (before anyone was on the course), I was warming up on Santa Fe Road mentally gauging the wind effect and was on the TT course for 200 meters – yes, I know better – I swear something happens to your brain during a race. I deserve the penalty for being stupid. Live and learn. It cost me 2 places in the GC.

Stage 4, Daulton RRSun. 11:25 AMPlace: 11/43
51 miles (3 laps)
Course: 3 laps of 17-mile loop. Slightly downhill windy section, 2.5 miles of “Paris Roubaix” cobblestones followed by the roller coaster through the finish/feed zone.
I was happy to start in the second wave, have a relatively relaxing morning, and more recovery time. The temps were perfect for a road race. That said, I was still a little bummed out about the TT/penalty and not psyched for a 51 mile road race. As it turned out, the road race was a lot of fun and I was able to easily respond to any attacks or breakaways. We dropped almost half of the peloton on the rollers on the first lap and my sole team mate and I were in the lead pack. I loved the series of short roller coasters – this was a fun course. There was an unsuccessful breakaway attempt on the rough section that really rattled everyone up. We passed the Women’s 3 peloton (who started 10 minutes ahead if us) at the beginning of lap 3, so were maintaining a fast pace. Just after the bumpy section when the course was open to two lanes, the official on motorcycle directed us to the right side of the road so the men’s peloton could pass. This bunched us up so I wasn’t positioned up front when the attack on the hills occurred. I felt strong but finished 11th in 2:19:52 (27 seconds behind first place finisher).

Coastal Training Ride - March 8, 2009

2009-03-11T10:45:00.000-07:00

Today was a ride to the coast with my friend and Webcor teammate Pam. We lost an hour of sleep (daylight savings time - spring forward) and were still feeling the effects of yesterday's Berkeley Team Time Trial - at least it was a level playing field. We met at 9 AM at Canada/Edgewood. Chilly, partly cloudy but the forecast called for sunny and low 60s. After climbing up Old La Honda, we hammered out to San Gregorio in a fast pace line - lots of fun. Before starting the climb up Tunitas Creek, we stopped at the Biek Hut. My first visit - what an awesome concept. Read about it at http://www.hmbreview.com/articles/2009/02/25/news/doc49a5c172d49c9700404162.txt

I only hope that the vagrants don't trash it. I felt low on energy climbing Tunitas and lagged a few feet behind Pam and RFA - then I found my "happy thought' - captured "Queen of the Mountain" and pushed hard the remainder of the climb. Great ride!

Berkeley Hills Team Time Trial, March 7, 2009

2009-03-08T19:32:00.000-07:00

Category: Tandem (open)
RFA (captain) & MEA (stoker)
Place: 3rd out of a field of 8
Time: 49:49.5

After all the recent rain, it was refreshing to have sunny skies and 50 degree temps on race day. The light fog lifted well before our 10:09:30 (second to last team!) start time. This is the 16 mile "Three Bears Course" with two major climbs and our 3rd annual TTT on the tandem at this event.We did the pre-race analysis and determined that 3rd place was a possibility for us. We determined first and second place would be secured by a significant margin. We projected that four tandem teams would be within one minute of each other competing for 3rd place. So going into the event, we knew that every second would count. Also, we knew that time would be gained or lost on the climbs. We had a good start and settled in to a below threshold pace. When we got to the start of the downhill section, a time check showed that we were approximately at the same time as the previous year. We took the downhill with moderate power and got a little recovery setting up for the right turn and commencing the climbs. Right before the right turn, the tandem team that started 30 seconds behind us passed. I thought "we will see if they can maintain the pace." As we approached the first short climb it became apparent that that team was unable to maintain the pace, and we passed them with ease, not seeing them again until the finish – as it turned out, their time was 59 seconds behind us.We continued along but did not see any other tandems for a while. Right before Mama Bear, we passed the tandem team that started 1 ½ minutes ahead of us – great. As we started our climb up Papa Bear, we passed our "two-minute rabbit" with our one-minute rabbit (male-male tandem team) in sight. After cresting Papa Bear, we put on full power to the finish with a personal best. We were thrilled to capture 3rd place, and as predicted, only 59 seconds separated 3rd and 6th place. And it doesn't get much better than winning a pound of Peet's coffee.

Beat the Clock Time Trial Report - Sat. Feb. 28, 2009

2009-03-02T13:40:00.001-08:00

RFA did the first Beat the Clock Time Trial of the year. The weather cooperated – chilly and dry. RFA had a 7:44 AM start time so we were up at 5:30 and at the start area by around 6:30 AM. This TT was preparation for the Berkeley Team Time Trial next Saturday which we will do on the tandem. This event is always a lot of fun and the proceeds going to the Lance Armstrong Foundation. There were over 100 riders (filled the limit!) raising more than $2,500 for the Foundation. In the individual aero time trial men’s category (all ages), RFA placed 40 out of 48 with a 27:44 (a personal best). The winning time was 23:10. The fastest 2 man team was 22:02. Overall taking into account men, women, teams and the Merckx category, RFA was 65 out of 103 or the top 2/3 of the entire field. There were two men who came in ahead of me at 27:43 – seconds count.We have been training on TT bikes at our cycling gym but this was RFA’s first full out effort this year on my TT bike. Our training has focused on power building / hill climbing and now we are working on speed as well as the track. It was interesting to see what effect, if any, the track workouts would have on road racing. At the track, we have been practicing standing starts plus doing a lot more sprinting and shorter intense efforts. RFA thinks that the track work really helped his start and turnaround.MEA was still recovering from a medical procedure, so she did not race but volunteered at registration. After the TT, we went out for a 40 mile ride.

Russian Training Ride - Sunday, February 8, 2009

2009-02-11T09:27:00.000-08:00

We planned on riding out to San Gregorio and back up Tunitas Creek but it was drizzling when we met at Canada/92 at 10 AM. Damp & chilly and Skyline was in the fog. Vlad asked the group whether we wanted to go back to the cycling gym for a roller workout or venture out. We decided to ride on the road but stay low - heading out to Woodside, Arasterdero, Elena and back Foothill. Rob and Marty wanted to climb OLH and broke off at that point. We were left with Kevin, Emily, RFA and myself in the strong group. We did three repeats up Elena and worked pretty well together as a rotating paceline on the way back - the head and cross winds were fierce. We hit some light rain on the way back. Our new Oakley pearl white "racing jacket" transition sunglasses were a success. Total miles = 42. Photos are on the climb up Elena.

Deer Valley Ski Trip - Feb. 5, 2009

2009-02-07T21:47:00.000-08:00

Last day of skiing for this vacation at Deer Valley. Today was mostly cloudy - front coming in with snow forecast for tonight and the next few days. Many of the slopes were icy - fresh snow badly needed. After lunch we went to Cole Sports at Deer Valley and I tried on the Kjus Adrenaline ski pants and the Kjus Elves ski jacket. May consider if I can find on sale later in the season.

Deer Valley Ski Trip - Feb. 4, 2009

2009-02-04T18:40:00.000-08:00

Back to Deer Valley today. RFA dem'ed a pair of Blizzard Magnum 8.1 skis - and was happy to turn them in mid-day. Not nimble and not for short turns. Better for skiers who ski with their skis shoulder width apart. I had a blast skiing in the morning - rhythmic and effortless. It all came together. RFA exchanged the Blizzards for Fischer Progressor 10 - they are butt ugly but performed well - you could see it in RFA's performance. We stopped in at Cole Sports and I fell in love with the Kjus ski wear. Too bad it is list price. I might try it on tomorrow for fit and wait and see when it goes on sale.

Snow Basin - Feb. 3, 2009

2009-02-04T13:59:00.000-08:00

Today, RFA and I drove to Snow Basin, UT - north of SLC and about 70 miles from Park City - to ski. Snow Basin is a Sun Valley resort and was the site of the 2002 SLC Olympic men's and women's downhill. It is billed as being "rustic chic." We were enamored when we first skiied Snow Basin several years ago. It is serviced mainly by gondolas and the ski lodges are akin to the Ritz Carlton - oriental carpets, wooden lockers. The runs are long & almist 2500 vertical feet. Three years ago, on a perfect day, RFA and I took the tram to the top of the men's downhill and had a perfect run - so good never to be repeated. I checked that off my list and rank that in the top five exhilarating events in my life to date. Each time we go back we become less and less enamored. On the Strawberry Express side of the mountain, if the weather isn't perfectly clear, the lighting is flat and you need to rely on the markers to get down the chutes. We ensured the best we could that today would be clear -and it was. Very warm too - about 40 degrees. None of the runs were groomed and the snow was rutty. The service was marginal - long lines at the Strawberry Express gondola, no singles line, and the lift operators could seem to get it together - letting 8-people gondolas go with 2 people. And the food was no where near the caliber of Deer Valley. I guess we are jsut spoiled. We did about 5 long runs and called it quits. We needed a light day anyway.

Deer Valley Ski Trip - Feb. 2, 2009

2009-02-02T19:32:00.000-08:00

Back to Deer Valley today for another day of skiing. Weather same as yesterday - 18 degrees when we started at 9 AM and warming up to the low 30's. Sunny blue skies. Got most of our runs and challenging terrain in before lunch. Played around Jordenelle after lunch. No falls! The service at Deer Valley is amazing - like having your skis unloaded from the gondola and handed to you. Ski valets literally rushing to carry your skis. Deserves to be #1 ski resort in North America.

Deer Valley Ski Trip - Feb. 1, 2009

2009-02-01T19:32:00.000-08:00

Today we were on the lifts before 9 AM. We expected a moderate crowd for Sunday, but it appears that the crowds we observed yesterday were associated with the World Cup. No lift lines and RFA and I had some slopes to ourselves. It was very chilly 18 degrees when we started and my hands (thumbs) were cold - had to warm them up with the hand warmers on the chair lift. Very thankful for my boot warmers! They are worth every penny. After warming up on Nabob and Keno, we headed over to the harder terrain of Tycoon and Stein's Way (part black diamond). We did a run on Wizard which was great. Then made our way across the mountain for a cappuchino break at Empire Lodge. After our break, we had a great run down Supreme, the back up to Orion (double blue). A youngster made an unexpected turn in front of me and I tripped up on a turn to avoid him and fell. You know that slow motion feeling when you fall - and I was heading right for the of bounds fence on my right. All I can say is that it is a good thing those fences are made out of elastic plastic. My right leg was elevated and caught in one of the slots of the fence. My right ski was half way on the other side of the fence. My ski goggles and cap were over the fence about 30 feet down the hill. I took inventory and no real damage done. I crawled through the fence to fetch my belongings and sunk in the snow. I could feel a pull in my right gluteus. RFA was waiting at the bottom of that section wondering (and worried) what happened to me. We took a short lunch break and skied until 1 PM. All in all, I deemed the day a success. It warmed up to the low 30’s. Put some Cryogel on my glute and ready to hit the slopes tomorrow.

Deer Valley Ski Trip - Jan. 31, 2009

2009-01-31T21:00:00.000-08:00

We slept in until about 8 AM (7 AM Pacific Time). First night sleeping was a bit restless with the altitude. It also took a while to get all the ski stuff organized. So it was almost 11 AM before we got on the lifts after getting our locals lift ticket booklet for the week. I found my ski legs on the 4th run. Seamless soaring - just like heaven. The weather was perfect - 30 degrees and sunny and almost no wind. There was a lot of activity at Deer Valley today - the last day of the World Cup Free Style. Free handwarmers! We had lunch at the Empire Lodge - great grilled salmon salad. We decided to make this a short day - 10 runs. We have all week ahead of us. Enjoyed the steam and sauna at the condo afterwards.

Deer Valley Ski Trip - Jan. 30, 2009

2009-01-31T15:25:00.000-08:00

This was a busy week at work. I had a deadline for an article for Health Lawyer News, presenting and chairing our Development Law Diagnostics Day - on top of my regular workload and trying to get out of the office for vacation. I am definitely ready for vacation. Our Southwest flight from Oakland to Salt Lake City was late morning so that eased the pressure. We were able to complete the majority of the packing the night before - although I did miss my cycling workout. The drive to the airport was smooth. It was nice having free wifii available while waiting for the flight. There was no line at the SW curbside check-in, short security line, and no line at Starbucks - the only upside of the recession. We both held "A" boarding passes and were able to get the 2 seats at the exit row. Flight left on time, and all of our baggage made it to SLC. We had to wait a bit for the Suburu Outback at Hertz Gold check in but all worked out. Hit Costco and checked into the Marriott Mountainside with a nice view of the mountain. Did a short workout at the gym and went to bed - no alarms set - we'll get up when we get up. Eager to hit the slopes but we have all week.

Most Improved Rider of the Year - Master Female

2009-01-21T22:03:00.000-08:00

Sunday evening Alto Velo Wecor, my cycling racing team, held its annual awards banquet at the Tied House. I was honored to be named Most Improved Rider of the Year - Master Female for my 2K track national championship.

San Bruno Hill Climb - January 1, 2009

2009-01-01T18:34:00.000-08:00

PHOTOS: Warming up on the trainers; MEA and RFA at the top; MEA climbing; RFA climbing; Course profile; RFA at the finish; MEA and Phyllis post-race; MEA at the start

Category: W4; Place: 5th; Field: 22; Time: 21:48

RFA and I started the New Year with the San Bruno Hill Climb (Brisbane, CA) - the first sanctioned road race of the season. The course is 3.5 mile with an average grade of 7% - the switchbacks at the top are over 10%. The race started at 10 AM, but we were at the start by 8:30 so we had adequate time to check in, pin on the race numbers, set up the trainers, warm up and hit the porta-potties. It was cold (mid-forties) and foggy. We said hello to our numerous Webcor teammates and NorCal bikeforums folks. The groups went off in 2 waves, 5 minutes apart. RFA raced with the 55+men who started just ahead of the Cat 4 women in wave 2. Although we had a good warm-up, it was chilly waiting at the start. I passed RFA a couple minutes into the race. My heart rate was around 152 and I kept it there for the whole race. My teammate Phyllis was racing with the Cat 1/2/3's so I couldn't tell how I was doing compared to her. My legs felt great and I was probably more limited by my breathing. The fog was pretty dense at the top and you couldn't see the finish line until you were almost upon it. Everyone was complaining that they were saving for the sprint at the finish - but it was too late. I was happy with my time. My goal was 22 minutes and I knocked off 2 1/2 minutes from last year! Afterwards, RFA and I stopped at Peet's for coffee, went home for a quick bowl of hot soup, and went out for a good 20 mile tempo ride.

Hellyer Velodrome Track Clinic - Dec. 29, 2008

2008-12-29T21:03:00.000-08:00

Off from work all week! RFA and I went to a special session at the Hellyer velodrome for an intermediate/advanced track workout led by Mark R. There were 7 of us - one other woman Kristine. RFA set me up with his tubular Planet-X carbon wheeels - sweet. We started with a 30 lap warm up, 4 100-meter jumps, 3 flying 1-laps and some team pursuit efforts. Mark gave me a some tips for doing a standing start. I practiced a couple - first was smooth but lacking power. I was off balance on the second. Practice, practice, practice.

San Bruno Pre-Race Ride

2008-12-27T20:06:00.000-08:00

New Year's Day marks the San Bruno Hill Climb - the first sanctioned road race of the season. Both RFA and I have entered. Today we climbed San Bruno twice as a pre-race/training ride. We started from the Genentech campus, but that was an inadequate warm-up. My engine was still pretty cold at the start of the climb. The temp was in the mid-forties when we started, but no wind. We met BottleRocket from NorCal Bikeforum at the top of the second climb. My goal is to better my time by at least two minutes from last year. Our training schedule called for 2 hours with two OLH climbs so this fit the prescription.

Hellyer Velodrome Track Clinic - Dec. 26, 2008

2008-12-27T19:52:00.000-08:00

We went to the Hellyer Velodrome for an intermediate/advanced track session led by our friend Mark R. Mark had a friend visiting from Chicago so he scheduled some special sessions over the holidays. It was a crispy but sunny day. There were seven people there - I was the only woman among some world champions. We started out with a 30 lap warmup, then did 4 100-meters jumps. Next we did eight six-lap team time trial drills with two lap rests in between. It was a great work out. Next time I need to practice my standing starts.

RFA's New Planet X Track Bike Configuration

2008-12-25T09:06:00.000-08:00

RFA got new wheels on his Planet X track bike - Planet X pro carbon 50mm deep dish wheels with tufo track tubulars - totally hot. The ceramic bearings approach "perpetual motion" - I am a witness. (Mine are pigs - I don't approve of my Velocity deep dish - I am insanely jealous!!!!)Also, RFA has new endurance bars (so do I).

Hellyer Velodrome Track Clinic - Dec. 20, 2008

2008-12-20T21:59:00.000-08:00

We are in the power building phase - have been working out very hard. So today it was a welcome change to go to the Hellyer Velodrome track clinic - not easy but at least we weren't on the rollers. Very brisk morning. RFA won the Australian pursuit drill! Go, RFA!

Hellyer Velodrome Track Clinic - Nov. 29, 2008

2008-11-29T21:26:00.000-08:00

RFA and I went to the novice clinic at the Hellyer Velodrome in San Jose, CA this morning. Right now, it is the only way to get some practice on the track. Like everything else, it takes time and practice to develop and gain confidence with the basic skills. This morning's session was run by Alto Velo's Mark Rodamaker, our friend and world champion. Each supervisor is different. Mark runs the clinic more like an open track session. We did a 30 lap warm-up, followed by 4 - 100 meter jumps, 6-lap team time trial drills (2), and open track. Mark McC. was there, but not Pam. Our TTT was comprised of RFA, Mark McC, James Plummer (35 year old Cat 3 road racer), and me. It was a good effort. After the drills, Mark offered some bike fitting advice so that I am not so low. We turned the stem which brought me up a few millimeters. Funny, I don't mind being low - it almost feels natural, but I understand that the pursuit position is different from the scratch/points race position. I named my Cervelo P3C track bike - her name is Red Rose - Rose for short. The reason? - the color, my mother, and like the roses for the Kenticky Derby winner, she is a winning bike!

A Tradition is Born

2008-11-27T22:44:00.000-08:00

Last Thanksgiving, RFA and I did the low key hill climb (LKHC) up Mount Hamilton. We put the turkey breast in the crock pot and enjoyed a nice quiet Thanksgiving dinner. So today was our second annual Thanksgiving Mount Hamilton hill climb. We got everything organized the night before and got up at 6:15 AM. The temp was about 55 and the streets were still damp from yesterday's rain. Turkey in the crock pot and off we went. We got to the start about 8:30 or so. I got recruited to ride for the team "Sisters of No Mercy" - super strong team with Janet and Jennie, so why not? Many WebCor folks. There were over a hundred riders - most for the LKHC, but some just riding (either don't want to pay the $10, but more likely, don't want their times publicly posted!) I tried to warm up some but that was pretty much in vain - too chilly on the descents - so I rode a bit on the back streets but really no warm up. We put our warm gear in the "sag wagon" for the trip back down. Mount Hamilton can be viewed as three climbs totalling 18.4 miles, 4343 feet. The first climb is 5.90 mi, 1514 ft (4.86%); climb 2: 3.20 mi, 770 ft (4.56%); and climb 3: 6.60 mi, 2060 ft (5.91%). I started out at a sane pace and then was able to pick it up when I warmed up after about 12 minutes. Marco and Ruth were there on their Santana tandem; I passed them and then they passed me - I passed them and they took off on the down hill section. I finally caught them on the last 5 miles where the grade got steeper. I eased up some mid way and popped a PowerBar gel - double latte with caffeine at 40 minutes. I never eat much on a ride and I think that is why I tend to literally run out of gas during the races. I am finally getting smart. I kicked it up on the last 5 miles and passed a lot of people. There was little to no wind, we rode through some fog and then were in blissful sunshine above the clouds. It was awesome. I "sprinted" up the wall to the observatory and finished in 1:45:50 (6/12 women). Last year my time was 1:53:16 (8/17 of the women) so demonstrated improvement. Still waiting for the official results and placement to be posted. RFA finished at 1:50:21 (96/112 men) - big improvement over his time last year of 2:01:40. The descent was chilly but we were prepared with thermal jacket, headband, booties, leg warmers. We drove straight to Equinox for a steam, shower, stretching and foam rollers. Thanksgiving dinner was great, especially the 2002 M. Coz (Consentino) wine.

(Photos by jhadley)

Happy Thanksgiving

2008-11-27T20:00:00.000-08:00

Happy Thanksgiving! Despite the turmoil in the world and the state of the current economy, we have a lot to be thankful for - perhaps on the top of my list this years is the fact we have President-Elect Barack Obama - and we don't have Vice-President Elect Sarah Palin. I am optimistic that this will be a better world with Barack. The rest of my list? I am thankful for RFA and his love and our special relationship, my good health, that I get to go to work everyday at Genentech - inspired, for the cherished memories of my deceased parents, my sister (even though I haven't seen her in years - she is my family and friend), and for the beauty of nature. I am thankful that I have a passion for cycling - it is part of who I am. Perhaps on every ride I experience a moment that captures "life" - the way the sunlight hits the redwood on OLH, or the vista of the bay on a descent down 84 - I am thankful that I am on my bike - this is life.

"Double Treat" Training Ride - Nov. 23, 2008

2008-11-23T18:45:00.000-08:00

Today was a "first" - a Russian training ride with 2 times up Old La Honda (OLH). It was 44 degrees when we woke up at 7 AM. Fortunately, we started at 10 AM so we wouldn't be breathing cold air on the climb. It warmed up quickly and by the end of the ride the temp was in the mid0high 60's. RFA and parked at Canada & Edgewood so we had a prelude to the warm-up. On Mountain Home, the strong riders (including me and RFA) picked up the pace and broke away. Dmitrij commented that we rode the last 2 miles fast. I peeled off my vest and arm warmers and headed up OLH. I was working about 90% and feeling pretty good - I kept looking back but no one was in sight. Dmitrij's van passed slowly and Vladimir was in the back with the hatch back open shooting photographs. That was great, but for the gas fumes, and the van was going too slow. I passed and told Dmitrij that I lost 15 seconds off my time - he said "Good job - don't go too hard." I eased up a bit and got to the summit about a minute off my best time. No one passed me - the Safeway guy finished not too far behind me and immediately went back down. I stopped to drink some water and shot a PowerBar gel - my first ever - I figured I needed a boost of energy for the OLH repeat. It was pretty chilly on the way down, but otherwise not too bad. The hill actually seemed longer on the way down. I saw RFA climbing up on my way down - he was looking good. Not so with some of my other team mates. I got down to the bottom and started up again - this time I was about 80% effort and could almost enjoy it - no pressure. The legs felt pretty good - E. passed me near the top and I let him go. On the way back down the second time, I saw Dmitirij in the van and he said that he would wait for everyone at the bottom. I was concerned when I didn't see RFA (or anyone else) coming up the second time. Thought we might have missed each other somehow and he was going down 84 like we talked about. Turns out Dmitrij told the others (everyone but E., Matt and me) to only go up half way the second time. We regrouped and Dmitirij had us do team time trial drills for 20 miles on Canada. It was a blast. Not sure what happened to the weaker folks - I think that Dmitrij dismissed them after OLH. It was funny - while TT'ing I got several comments about my legs - one of the girls said - "Your calves are huge. I am intimidated." Matt said they were awesome and that E. was intimidated." I'll take all that as compliments. What else can I do . . . . can't change them. Same workout for the next two Sundays. We stopped for coffee at Starbuck's on the way home - 'tho I felt buzzed from the Powerbar gel or maybe simply euphoric. Took a long recovery nap in the afternoon and went to Equinox for situps, stretching & rolling on the foam roller. Glad tomorrow is a recovery day.

RFA's Planet X

2008-11-22T20:52:00.001-08:00

Rich finally got his Planet X bike this week. It is a full carbon frame - he bought the frame on-line from the UK and order the components from our LBS. It is a beauty! RFA rode the bike at the track this morning and he was happy with its performance. Our friend Mark McC. also bought a Planet X - both made their debut at the track today.

National Championship Photo Shoot - Nov. 15, 2008

2008-11-22T20:25:00.000-08:00

A photo shoot was organized for the local National Track Championships today after the clinic and before the "Ride the World Cup" races. It was great to don the Natz Jersey for my 2K pursuit win and share the spotlight with my fellow mates. Mark R. was there with his World Championship jersey and TNTC medals - awesome - same for Larry Nolan. The Webcor AV champs then got together for a photo - too bad Leo wasn't there.

Hellyer Velodrome Track Clinic - Nov. 15, 2008

2008-11-22T20:12:00.001-08:00

RFA and I went to the clinic at Hellyer Velodrome, San Jose, CA this morning. Pam was sick and Mark McC. was out of town so they were "no-shows." Kris was there - her last time since she is heading back to Houston following her internship here in Silicon Valley. Rich still didn't have his Planet X, so he had to rent a track bike. Today's session was led by Richard - a Scotsman - and we only had a group of about 15. This was a great clinic - we did some team pursuits, timed flying start 200s (my time sucked - disappointing - practice, practice, practice!) and an Australian pursuit. This time the Australian pursuit had some logic to it as to the positioning. It was an intense effort - approximately 4 minutes of max heart rate - up to 34 mph - me and two guys left and then I got passed and I was out. It was a blast!

Velodrome Clinic - November 8, 2008

2008-11-09T20:58:00.000-08:00

Last Saturday, RFA and I planned on going to the clinic at Hellyer Velodrome (San Jose, CA) but got rained out. The forecast for this Saturday went from good to bad to hopeful - partly cloudy in the morning with rain moving in for the afternoon, and the weather cooperated for a morning at the track. I was really excited and looking forward to riding my my new Cervelo P3C track bike and working on my track skills. I subsequently adjusted my Cervelo P3C track bike after this photo was taken so that it now meets the UCI requirements - changed out the saddle and moved it back so that the nose of the saddle is now at least 5 cm behind a vertical line drawn up through the center of the carnk axle. RFA ordered a Planet X carbon track bike from the UK, but due to an ordering snafu (they shipped a TT bike instead), he didn't receive it yet and had to rent a bike at the track. Our friends Mark McC, Pam and Kris were there. This clinic was lead by none other than Shelley Olds who just had a good finish in the Manchester World's Cup. I was surprised that she is so tiny! We started out with a 40 lap warmup, followed by a series of drills, including some individual 200 meter flying starts, team pursuit, a bumping exercise and an Australian pursuit. Today's new experience was hanging on the rail as a starting position - a little unnerving at first. Pam had some carbon knuckle cycling gloves - may have to get a pair!! They look gnarly. For the Australian pursuit, we each lined up on the rail separated by a light post. On the whistle, we dropped down to the poll lane and if you got passed you are out. It was down to 4 people and then I got passed by a guy. Boo! The clinic a couple weeks ago was led by our Webcor teammate Mark R. who just returned from the World's Masters Track Championships in Sydney, Australia with another gold medal (this one in a scratch race). Mark selected Pam, RFA and myself to demo a team pursuit with him. It was totally cool and totally Webcor - we looked damn good too!!

Mallorca Trip - Day 11, October 18, 2008

2008-11-07T16:33:00.000-08:00

Up too early (4:15 AM!), last minute packing and coffee before getting on the bus at 5 AM to go to the airport for our 8 AM flight. About a one hour drive. We arrive at 6 AM but no Larry who was to meet us with the bike boxes. Seems some miscommunication between the McCreadys and Larry (who was there!) so it al turned out OK after hanging around (nervously) for 20 minutes. Checking the bike with Iberia went smoothly - although this time we had to pay about 50 Euros. Flight to Palma left on time. Had a Starbucks in the Madrid airport and bought some fun cubic zirconia studs at the duty free shop. Flight from Madrid to Miami on time as well! We cleared customs in Miami and had a LONG layover (about 4 1/2 hours) - now I was feeling almost sick tired. The saving grace was that we flew business class and we got also got to take a shower and change clothes at the Admirals Club. I slept most of the way to San Francisco. Les picked us up at the airport. It felt good to sleep in my own bed. The trip was perfecto! I will cherish the memories. The next morning Rich and I went on a short 18 mile ride on SINGLES - I don't want to see the tandem for a while.

Mallorca Trip - Day 10, October 17, 2008

2008-11-07T16:18:00.000-08:00

Today's 35 mile ride covered some interesting sites. First, we did a short climb to a fortress (and a cappuchino stop!) and a 3km climb to a summit with spectacular views. We passed a shepherd and his dog herding his sheep. Then off to Coves d'Arta for a tour of a fascinating cavern. Smiley and Karen tried to shoot past us on the way to the cave, but Rich and I went into turbocharge and blew them away - fun! After the cave tour, we had a late lunch at an old castle (starving!). Time to dissemble the tandems - not my favorite part of the trip! We had our final dinner at the hotel.

Mallorca Trip - Day 9, October 16, 2008

2008-11-07T15:57:00.000-08:00

Another transition and island-crossing day across a windmill strewn plain, through some remote canyons, and along a resort pine coast. We stopped at Majorica's pearl factory and outlet where I found a lovely "hip" pendant - a black cord with silver noose and one single large pearl . Lunch was an awful pizza at a bar in town next to the pearl factory. The ride along the coast (Costa Dels Pins - Coast of Pines) was lovely and we were happy to see the Eurotel after 55 miles of cycling. Another lovely hotel with beautiful grounds. Lovely sunset at 7 PM. We had a buffet dinner at the hotel and I tried some red sea scorpion.

Mallorca Trip - Day 8, October 15, 2008

2008-11-07T15:13:00.000-08:00

Today's ride out to Cape Formentor was the highlight of the trip for us! The climb over the summit to Formenter junction was challenging and we pushed a good pace, stopping for a photo op along the way. From the junction (beach and ferry port) we continued up the 12km climb along Devil's Tail to the lighthouse. This was an amzing ride we will never forget - craggy mountains and cliffs with no barriers. (The dark tunnel was a little scary!) It was an ah - ha moment when we turned the corner and saw the lighthouse. Certainly worth the climb! We took the ferry back from the junction to Port Pollenca and then rode back to the hotel. Total mielage for the day was 40 miles with lots of climbing. We enjoyed a late lunch (veal salad) with Bobbi and Mark on the beach patio. I took a short nap in the afternoon and did a weight work out and sauna. Buffet dinner at the hotel.

Mallorca Trip - Day 7, October 14, 2008

2008-11-07T13:13:00.000-08:00

Today was a transition day - checking out of the Valparaiso Palace in Palma and crossing the island to the northeast corner of the island to Alcudia Bay. Our 55 mile route took us along lovely rural roads with stone walls on either side - rolling terrain with no real climbs. We stopped at the Kollflex leather factory and outlet where I found a funky leather calf hair belt with a silver buckle. The outlet also had a cappuchino bar! We stopped in Pollenca for lunch - looking for pizza - but the shop was closed. Instead we had lunch at a sandwich bar with an outdoor terrace - I stopped in at a grocery store and bought some turkey, a nectarine and plain yogurt. Our hotel for the next few days was the Parc Naturelle - owned by the same Gruphotel as the Valparaiso - another 5 star, very modern and beuatiful grounds. The hotel was situated on the water with its own beach. We had a nice side view of the water from our room. And the same fantastic spa facilities. I was tired and took a short nap before dinner at the hotel.

Mallorca Trip - Day 6, October 13, 2008

2008-11-01T20:53:00.000-07:00

Today was a 40 mile recovery ride out to Port Andratx for lunch and back. We started the morning with wet roads but encountered only a light mist for a brief period. Never needed the rain gear but the rain booties kept our shoes dry and clean. By lunch time the sun was shining! We stopped with the group at Es Capdella for cappuchino. We had lunch at a seafood restaurant Barlovento next to the yacht club and dined in an open air covered patio - watched the divers haul in their catch. Rich and I passed on the seafood (paella, nicoise, sardines) and had a disappointing salad & oversalted ravioli - Rich liked the sangria. It was late and long lunch. There was a climb back and then we had another flat tire - fortunately it was in a village and a convenient spot. We followed the McCreadys back - got lost and hated the MUPS! It was good thing that we were all in the "recovery ride" mode - otherwise this would have been a very frustrating day of cycling. We got back to the hotel late and decided to pass on the group activities (tour of Palma and tapas bar). We hit the sauna instead and headed into town on our own. This was a holiday so our little French restaurant was closed. We went back to the same Italian wine bar and enjoyed salad, caprese and a great bottle of Spanish wine.

Mallorca Trip - Day 5, October 12, 2008

2008-10-27T13:54:00.000-07:00

Today's ride was a highlight of the trip! 55 miles including the epic climb up Col de Soller with dozens of switchbacks. We had a flat tire on the stretch out to Col de Soller. We climbed steady and strong and reached the top with plenty of energy. This is a classic climb where the pros start their racing season. The weather cooperated - overcast turning sunny. On the last Santana Mallorca tour, the Col de Soller got rained out and the group had to take a train - I would have been really bummed out. After the descent we had another climb to Deia - a beautiful village where we stopped for cappuchino (we were early for lunch). One of the steeper climbs, albeit short, was to the restaurant Son Marroig. It was next to an old monestery overlooking the ocean on a cliff. We enjoyed a nice buffet lunch with chicken, coucous, parma ham, bread and fruit. We continued to Valldemosa, another climb to Coll Claret and back to the hotel. The hotel has wonderful spa facilities which really felt good after the ride. The sauna area had all these different rooms - salt steam/sauna with tile chairs and new age lighting, traditional sauna, wonderful rain showers, foot baths with water pools of different temperatures. That evening we went into Palma with Bobbi and Mark and found a charming wine bar and enjoyed margherita pizza, caprese and salad - and of course, wine.

Mallorca Trip - Day 4, October 11, 2008

2008-10-27T13:28:00.000-07:00

Saturday morning we did a repeat of Friday's 25 mile loop to Calvia with Bobbi and Mark (with the requisite cappuchino stop). We arrived back to the hotel just in time for a light lunch (salad) with the group who just arrived from Madrid. The group then moved to the pool area to assemble their tandems. I relaxed poolside while RFA assisted others. We did another 25 mile loop through a forest, through Puerto Nous along the coast and a variation of the Calvia loop. We enjoyed dinner at the hotel - menu featuring risotto with truffles, pork, a decadent chocolate desert and wine. I ate and drank too much! Good thing we cycled 50 miles today!

Mallorca Trip - Day 3, October 10, 2008

2008-10-25T22:25:00.001-07:00

We felt pretty good this morning after a good night's sleep and feasted at the hotel's vast buffet. Tables of cheese, breads, fruits, meats, grilled vegetables, eggs, omelet bar, yogurt, cereals - even caprese. We built the tandem on the tennis courts - it went pretty smoothly and I tried my best to be a patient assistant. The weather was partly sunny and pleasant. We managed to plot out a bike route on our own and did a 25 mile loop to Calvia and back - it felt fantastic! Stopped for cappuchino. We ran into Mark and Bobbi McC. in the bike storage room in the hotel garage. We met them on the Tuscany Santana tandem trip - they live in Cupertino, just down the SF Peninsula where we live. Had not seen them since! Small world. Mark is a very strong rider. We made plans to get together for a Saturday morning ride before the rest of the group arrived. In the evening we went into Palma for dinner and found a lovely modern French restaurant - great Rioja wine. I had a grilled chicken salad. Don't even think about dinner until 8 PM. A great day!

Mallorca Trip - Day 2, October 9, 2008

2008-10-24T16:08:00.001-07:00

We had a tight connection in Madrid and it took us a while to get to our gate - seemed like endless trains and escalators. We went through passport control and security in Madrid and boarded a domestic Iberia flight to Palma. On the plane we suddenly got the sick feeling that we should had cleared customs in Madrid - thinking how could we be so stupid and envisioning flying back to Madrid to try to sort out this mess. We were encouraged when we saw a customs sign in Palma, and, sure enough, the international baggage was segregated from the domestic baggage. The Iberia agent informed us that the bike bag did not make the flight, but that they would deliver it to the hotel by 5 PM that same day. We arranged our own pre-tour, arriving two days ahead of the Santana group - some of whom were doing a pre-tour in Madrid. We stayed on the Hotel Valparaiso Palace - a beautiful 5 star hotel sitting atop a steep hill (more on that later!) overlooking the cruise ship dock. The people were very service-oriented and we had a lovely room overlooking the pool and the water. The weather was unsettled and windy when we arrived, but no rain. We took a brief nap and felt even worse when we got up. We had a late lunch at the hotel (a parma ham and parmesan cheese salad) and then took the bus into downtown Palma. Palma is an amazing large city - reminded me a bit of Barcelona (no surprise there!) The Palma Cathedral was massive and certainly the dominant landmark, built during the 13th century. We heard that Mallorca had a velodrome and tried to find it using our map - we find the remnants of a demolished racetrack and velodrome, only to later learn that there is a brand new velodrome - next visit!! Then we took a cab to the outskirts of the city to a high end bike shop to see about renting singles for the next day. They were very accomodating and had some decent aluminim Orbeas for rent - only problem was, according to the bike shop folks, no really good plact to ride from the shop and we didn't have a car. We went back to the hotel and just grazed for dinner (South Beach bar and a glass of wine) and went to bed early.

Mallorca Trip - Day 1, October 8, 2008

2008-10-24T16:00:00.000-07:00

We are off to Mallorca on a Santana tandem bike tour for ten days! Les from Summit Cycles, Burlingame, CA gave us a ride to SFO in his van so we could transport the tandem - that is a good friend! This time we had no problem checking the bike in the BikePro bag with American Airlines and they did not charge us anything extra. We had free frequent flyer first class tickets. All of our flights were on time (SFO-ORD (Chicago)-Madrid-Palma. We flew on Iberia, AA's partner, on the legs to Madrid and Palma. The transatlantic flight was only half-full which was nice. We ddn't get much sleep 'tho. I was pretty bummed out about the weather - the foreseeable forecast was rain, wind and thunderstorms. To make matters worse, the weather in San Mateo showed a beautiful, sunny, warm forecast for the next week. We packed rain gear, base layers, rain booties, umbrella expecting the worse.

Mt. Tam Hill Climb September 27, 2008

2008-09-29T19:30:00.000-07:00

We woke up at 5:50 AM and left the house around 7:15 for the drive to Stinson Beach. The Golden Gate Bridge was beautiful in the fog and then almost like magic, Sausalito was sitting in brilliant sunshine. There wasn't much traffic on the windy mountainous road to Stinson Beach. There was plenty of parking and we rode bikes over to the registration area. We ran into Pete from Bikeforums who was his usual ebullient self. He was racing with RFA in the 55+ category. We also saw Ron L. who was already warming up on the trainer. Phyllis was walking over with pancakes from the cafe - she wasn't up for racing up Mt. Tam and elected to ride her mountain bike on her own. While it would have been nice to have P. race to spur me on, she would have been riding with the Cat 1/2/3s, while I was racing with the Cat 4s. The 4 mile flat lead out in the peloton would have rendered our times disparate by at least one minute (the W Cat 1/2/3 peloton being that much faster on the flat lead out). I did have 2 WebCor teammates in the W Cat 4 -Alison C. (a non-racr but good hill climber) and Jamii N. who had a great time in the 2007 Mt. Tam Hill Climb. RFA and I warmed up on the trainer and headed out to the start line. RFA's group started 5 minutes ahead of the W Cat 4s. There was a chance that I might pass RFA, but it was far from a sure thing. The temperatures were perfect and the sun was shining. There were aout 23 pre-registered in the W Cat 4, but only 16 women showed up at the start line.

The Course: The hill climb is 12.5 miles with about 2000 feet of climbing. The first leg is a flat 4 1/2 miles along the lagoon. Right turn to Bolinas-Fairfax Road through the woods with some steep parts exceeding a 10% grade for 4 miles, followed by the 4 mile "Seven Sisters" stair-step climb to the finish.

The W Cat4 peloton were led out by a race official vehicle and started out at a sane pace (maybe about 25 mph but it felt easy with the draft and tail wind effect). We all behaved and rode in a double pace line. I was well-positioned about 4 riders back. We took the right turn to Fairfax-Bolinas cautiously and crossed the open cattle grate safely. We then started climbing and the group splintered. There were about ten women ahead of me at this point. I passed one women a few minutes later and was hoping that I might make some gains along the way. Soon some of the Men's Elite Cat 4 (this group started 5 minuted behind us) passed me and gave me some words of encouragement. I just climbed steadily and fell into a rhythm, trying to keep my HR up at 150-152. Soon I broke out onto the ridge and took on the Seven Sisters. The sun was hot on my face at this point and I poured some water down my back. I was taking sips along the way to keep hydrated. I passed a couple of the men's 55+ racers. I finished in 58:41, well off my goal of 55-56 minutes. I just didn't have the drive to psuh myself to the limits for this race. RFA and I have been in "active rest" for the month of September and have not been doing any sustained threshold hill climbing to train for this race. Not an "A" race in Dmitriy's eyes. I met RFA at the top - he had a good time of 1:01:57 - never had the pleasure of passing him!

The race was well-organized, and I look forward to doing it again next year and shaving minutes from my time!

Recap of 2008 Racing Season and 2009 Goals

2008-09-22T21:11:00.000-07:00

The 2008 racing season is essentially over. Today was the last “Beat the Clock” Canada time trial, and next Saturday is the Mt. Tam Hill Climb – and that is it. The Russians have us in “active rest” for the month of September, so we haven’t been doing any special preparation for these events. Even the Sunday Russian rides for September are shorter distances, no serious hill climbing and medium-paced. We get chastised if we ride too fast (Vladmir at the side of the road motioning “down, down”). Our workouts are designed to maintain our current level and provide a rest period so that we are mentally and physically ready to start hard training in October. Except that RFA and I are heading off to Mallorca on Oct. 8 for ten days on a Santana tandem tour. The cycling in Mallorca will include some good climbs, and although it will be social, just by riding every day, we should be ready to jump right into the Russian’s October training schedule. It will back to the weight workouts in the cycling gym immediately followed by the trainer workouts. Nasty stuff. We have been duly warned that we will be doing repeats up Old La Honda with the lead water bottle and long (70 mile plus) hard training rides on the road in November, more intense weight workouts, and 1 ½ hour trainer workouts. We also need to work in training at the Hellyer velodrome on the track bikes 1-2 times a month. While I have been regularly doing weight workouts (5 times a week) on my own at Equinox, I haven’t done any leg strength training since the end of last January.

This is a good time to evaluate my cycling over the past nine months and contemplate what lies ahead for 2009.

A look back at 2008 racing season:
We have been training with the Russians for a little over 9 months. We have been very dedicated, not missing a workout and following the program. I must admit that I am very pleased with my improvement. I have a LONG way to go, but have made measurable progress.
By far, the highlight of the year was winning the Masters Track National Championship in the 2k individual pursuit with a time of 2:59. Along with that, being named “Rider of the Month” for that feat by my Alto Velo WebCor Racing Team and my first place finish at the Esparto Time Trial (that elusive victory).
My biggest disappointment: missing the podium at the Northern California Nevada State Time Trial Championships (Sattley)

A review of the statistics with some short commentary:
# crashes: 0
# falls: 0
# cycling-related injuries: 0
# friends made through cycling: Many
# new bikes: 2 (Orbea Ordu TT bike and Cervelo P3C Track frame)
# pounds lost: 9 (117 down to 108)
% body fat change: 5 % (13.8% down to 8.8%)

# Races this year: 26 (updated for Mt. Tam)
4 hill climbs
11 time trials (3 tandem TTs (one unsanctioned)), 8 ITT (5 unsanctioned)
6 road races (1 circuit race)
0 crits
5 track events (3 unsanctioned)
# DNFs: 0
# first place finishes: 7 (2 sanctioned/5 unsanctioned)

Details
Hill Climbs: (updated for Mt. Tam)
San Bruno Hill Climb - 10/20
WebCor King of the Mountain - 5/16
Mt. Diablo Hill Climb – 4/8
Mt. Tam - 10/16

Time Trials:
Berkeley Hills TTT (tandem) – 4/5 – happy we knocked 3:36 off our 2007 time
Bay Area Senior Games – 1/2 (non-sanctioned/on road bike)
Dunlop TT – 8/23
Northern CA/Nevada ITT State Championship – 4/4 – only 7 seconds out of second place; disappointing results because I know I am better than my results show.
Northern CA/Nevada Tandem TT State Championship – 2/2 – knocked 4:22 off our 2007 time and I had just done the 20k ITT
Esparto TT – First place (1/10) – My first victory!
Canada Beat Beat the Clock TTs
ITT 27:11 (7/19); Tandem 27:54 (2/2) (both RFA and I did ITT beforehand)
26:30 (6/11) – a Personal Best
26:51 (4/11)
26:37 (1/7)

Road Races/Circuit Races:
· Brisbane Circuit Race (24/40) – my first road race; happy that I didn’t crash, and made up time on the climbs and caught my team mate
· Wente Road Race (7/19) – in a breakaway and lead peloton until the end; dehydrated and neuroma foot pain
· Berkeley Hills Road Race (13/38) – in the lead peloton until the end
· Spring Hill Road Race – (11/16) – dropped by the lead peloton on the first climb, poor results
· Diamond Valley State Championship Road Race (4/6) – dropped by first and second place finishers on the first climb; almost dropped out due to extreme neuroma foot pain
· University Road Race (10/10) – finished last of the finishers – lapped – disappointing but acknowledged as the hardest RR.

Track:
Beat the Clock: won the 2K, 3K and 4K pursuits on my Orbea Ordu TT road bike
Track Masters National Championship: 4/5 in the 500 meter; 1/3 in the 2K individual pursuit with a time of 2:59.

The Year Ahead:
On Thursday, Dmitriy shared his goals for me for next year.
20’ OLH time (I am currently at 23:30 with a hard but not full out effort)
2:45 2K pursuit time at the track (my National Championship time was 2:59). I will need to do this in order to have a chance to win at Nats or Worlds.
Upgrade from Cat 4 to Cat 3 by the end of the year
I embrace these goals and I will definitely be working hard to achieve them.

Other goals for 2009:
First place in the State Masters TT championship (or at least close in on "she who cannot be named's" time and take second)
Improve my time at Dunlop TT by at least 30 seconds
First place at Nats Masters TT
Defend Esparto TT first-place victory
First place at State Masters Track Championship – 2k individual pursuit
Defend National Championship at Nats Masters Track Championship – 2k individual pursuit
First place Worlds Masters Track Championship – 2k individual pursuit

Beat the Clock Time Trial Report - Sat. Sept. 20, 2008

2008-09-22T13:55:00.000-07:00

This was the last Beat the Clock Time Trial of the season. RFA and I debated whether to participate, and if we did, as individuals or perhaps as a team. The racing season is over and we are in "active rest" for the month of September, so it was hard to get excited about this event. On the other hand, it is for such a good cause, always fun, and there are so few TTs. We decided not to do the team time trial (TTT) since we haven't practiced and didn't want to crash just before our Mallorca trip. When my friend (and competitor) registered, that was enough to solidify my decision to do the individual time trial (ITT) event. In an attempt to do some preparation, the week before, I rode my TT bike at the cycling gym two days and on Thursday did another speed workout (110 cadence) on the trainer on my road bike. I was also hoping that some of the track workouts would carry over. We got up at 5:15 AM and left the house at 6:15. It was still dark when we arrived at Canada and Edgewood. We used flashlights to put the bikes on the trainers. At least the air was moderate (low 60's) and almost no wind. The air however felt heavy with moisture so it would be difficult to set any new personal bests. The important thing is that the pavement was dry. RFA had a 7:30 start time and I was scheduled to start at 7:31. So it appeared that the start times were purposely set so that RFA would be my one-minute "rabbit." RFA used the Easton tubulars on his Cervelo TT bike and I was set up with the disc and the tri-spoke. In theory, the disk and the tri-spoke are definitely more aero. I felt that my top speeds were faster, but the wheels didn't seem as responsive on the climbs compared to my Eastons. My goal was to beat PD and LH but PD decided to scrap the ITT and only do the TTT, and LH was a no show. So now my goal was to pass RFA. We both had good starts. Nearing the turn around, I saw RFA already heading back. I guessed that there was a 30 second gap to close to pass him. I passed the guy who started ahead of RFA after the backside of the water temple but still no RFA. I started my Garmin before the start and guessed my time to be around 27 minutes. I was not real happy - but happy that RFA had a good time. If the starting times were correct, that would put him in the neighborhood of 27:30 which would be phenomenal given that his personal best for BTC was 27:54. Results were posted today and we are trying to make sense of them. I have a time of 26:37 and RFA's time is 27:56. If the start times are correct, that means I would have passed him - which I didn't. (BTW, RFA's electronics weren't set, so he has no personal data.) We surmise that his time is correct, the start times were one and one-half minutes apart and my time is about 23 seconds too fast. We'll see if they post corrected times. Regardless, I was the fastest woman! Even with a corrected time! The #2 woman was 27:24. Sweet!

Proud Owner of Cervelo P3C Track Bike

2008-09-16T16:38:00.000-07:00

I rode my friend's Cervelo P3C track bike to victory in the 2K pursuit Masters National Track Championship a couple weeks ago. I am committed to track racing (Worlds next year in Sydney??) and bought the same frame. Cupertino Bike Shop had a small (51 cm) in stock and had a special where $300 of the sales price is donated to the local Hellyer Velodrome in San Jose, CA. We are having Gebhard at Cyclepath San Mateo built it up. I am happy to be part of the Cervelo family! More photos to follow.

Webcor Rider of the Month

2008-09-16T11:20:00.000-07:00

Last night was the monthly Alto Velo (AV) WebCor racing club meeting in Mountainview, CA. RFA and I met a team mate who is the track guru to get some advice on track bikes and components at a local cafe before the meeting and then walked over. The AV president awarded the race reimbursements and I received $74.00 for winning Esparto time trial and the National Masters Track 2K pursuit. Very cool. Every month a male and female "rider of the month" award is bestowed. And, yes, my "fairy tale" of winning the track National Championship with a sub-3 minute time on a borrowed track bike just two weeks after my first time on a Velodrome on a TT bike at Beat-the-Clock gained me the honor. And an honor it was! The AV WebCor racing club has over 400 members and many many extremely talented cyclists. This meant a lot to me to be acknowledged by my peers. I won a gift certificate for Voler leg warmers (I need them!), a case of PowerGels and a huge jar of electrolyte replacement powder.

Mt. Tam Hill Climb Pre-Ride Sept. 14, 2008

2008-09-14T22:19:00.000-07:00

RFA and I are signed up to do the Mt. Tam Hill Climb on Sept. 27. The climb is 12.5 miles with about 2000 feet of climbing. We don't do much riding in Marin and have never climbed Mt. Tam. We wanted to do a reconnaisance ride in advance of the race and met up with our friend Geoff who would lead the way. The drive on Highway 1 from Sausalito to Stinson Beach (the start of the race) was winding and spectacular but no bike lanes. The weather was in the high 50's but only a light overcast - no dense fog. This was our first time to Stinson Beach since we moved here 2 1/2 years ago. It would be a tough commute to South San Francisco (where I work). The first leg was a flat 4 1/2 miles along the lagoon and Geoff led a strong pace - we were going over 20 miles an hour with a tailwind and I was just sitting back in the draft - sweet. We turned right to Bolinas-Fairfax Road. We stopped to take off our windvest and arm warmers before the climb. Since we stopped, I had to walk my bike over the cattle grate and am not looking foward to riding over this on race day. I took this next leg pretty easy - there were some steep parts exceeding 10% grade but some gentle grades to allow for recovery. I had a close call with a skateboarder who came careening right at me - I think he sort of lost it after that - he went off the road but was OK. Total elevation gain along this section is about 1500 ft. Next the Seven Sisters - we had to go through a wooded area with wet pavement and wet leaves - another thing to watch out for on race day. Took the Seven Sisters at an easy pace and finished in about 1:06. My goal on race day is 55 minutes. The ride down was uneventful; going down Bolinas-Fairfax was bumpy and my hands were sore from braking. The three of us had a nice lunch in the Stinson Beach picnic area.

Met Max Testa and Eric Heiden Today

2008-09-13T21:13:00.000-07:00

RFA and I cycled to Peet's in Los Altos (CA) today and decided to cycle with some Webcor teammates to Bicycle Outfitter where Max Testa and Eric Heiden were doing a book signing. Their new book is Faster Better Stronger. There were quite a few Webcor and Protech cyclists there. We bought the book and had Max and Eric autograph it. Max was very congenial and was very interested in everyone's cycling stories and successes. Both Eric and Max looked very fit! I even learned some Italian - at the start of a race in Italy the racers don't wish each other "good luck" but say "In bocca al lupo" which literally means "in the mouth of the wolf." The appropriate response is "crepi." (This is a fast way to impress your competitors the next time you are racing in Europe! ) The book is very basic, but sometimes it is a good thing to go back and revisit those basics.

Russian Massage - August 24, 2008

2008-09-11T09:50:00.001-07:00

I figured that a massage would be in order after the mountainous University Road Race. I decided to give the Russian masseuse a try. Elena is affiliated with the Russians and is married to one of the Russian pro cyclists. She is this cute petite platinum blonde and shows up in her Skins. We met at Five Rings Cycling Centre where she often sets up on the second level. I arrive at 6:30 PM and Dmitrij is there - he was very disappointed when I told him about my race results. He suggests that Elena set up in the front ante-room on the first floor since the second floor would be too hot. So we lock the doors and pull the shades. Elena apologizes that her English is not too good - I say don't worry, I will just sleep through the massage. Ha! Was I wrong! Elena's is incredible - her hands are strong and feel huge for a little girl. She does long long strokes with just the perfect amount of pressure. She does my butt and torso. This is truly a sports cycling massage. Ambience is poor - no incense or music - we have bright lights and traffic noise. But the price is right and it felt great. I am sure that it helped my recovery.

University Road Race - Sunday, August 24

2008-09-11T09:24:00.000-07:00

University Road Race is part of the CalCup series. I signed up because it was held on the Santa Cruz campus with beautiful ocean vistas. It was still a long drive from San Mateo, but a pleasant one and no bridges to cross. The good news and the bad news - my start time was around 12:30 which meant I didn;t have to get up at an ungodly hour, but the temps were going to be quite warm. The course was billed as "mountainous" (not simply hilly) and I was warned that this is the hardest road race of the season. This is more like a circuit race - 14 laps of 3 miles with 400 feet of climbing per lap. No flat areas on the course - you are either climbing or descending. I am a good climber but an uncanny ability to recover, so I (and my coach) thought that I would do well. Wrong - what was missing from that analysis is that only the strongest and lightest racers entered. I dropped RFA at 8:45 at Canada and 92 for the Russian ride and headed out to Santa Cruz on my own (after a stop at Starbucks). I didn't have a chance to pre-ride the course but got a glimpse of the steep part of the climb while driving to the parking lot. I had a good warm-up on the trainer. It was foggy when I arrived, but soon the sun was shining and the afternoon temps were in the low 80's - hot for this kind of racing. The Cat 4 women's field was pretty small - I finished tenth - dead last if you don't count the DNP person. It seems that two other folks either dropped out or didn't get captured in the standings (that happens, I know!) because we had 13 at the start line. The race started with a climb and my heart rate was at 160. I stayed with the peleton for three laps and I was the first to drop off. There was one heart-stopping moment on the fast descent when someone braked and I came way too close to hitting Janet Martinez' wheel. After I got dropped, I simply decided to do my own training ride. I lost a lot of time on the descents since I didn't have anyone to draft (except for one Webcor guy who told me to grab his wheel on one of the descents - that made a difference of 32 mph v. 28 mph which is huge over 14 laps. Eventually I got lapped which really sucked. The feed station was well-manned and I was able to drink plenty of water and pour water down my back to cool off. I was glad when it was over. Not sure if I will do this again. The Cat 1/2 women were really fast. I am not a big person (5' 41/2" tall and less than 110#) but the women's field was full of these little midgets!!

Roses for National Championship Win at Masters Track

2008-09-10T21:25:00.000-07:00

I never received so many roses in my life! Red, white and blue roses (or close to it) from my husband (and my soigneur – he has been upgraded from bike slave) Hermes and yellow roses from my coaches Dmitriy and Vladimir. If it is possible, my coaches were even more excited than me! I owe so much to my husband, coaches, Webcor teammates and training mates for their inspiration and encouragement. They have more faith in my ability than I do – I am just glad that I did not disappoint them.

MEA wins National Championship at Masters Track - 9/4/08

2008-09-10T21:12:00.000-07:00

This is my fairy tale and dream come true. My first track event and I won the women’s 2K pursuit ages 55 – 59 in the U.S. National Masters Track Championships. This year the National Masters (defined as 30+) Track championships were held at the Hellyer Velodrome in San Jose, CA. The gold medal is awesome and I get to wear the national championship jersey in races for one year. How in the world did RFA and I get ourselves into this? It started with the Beat the Clock "Day at the Track" event on August 16. We had such a blast riding TT road bikes on the track, with I finished first in the road bike category for the events that I did (2K, 3K and 4K pursuits). I looked at some track pursuit times for both the district and national races and realized that I could at least be competitive. Since the race was local, it was an easy decision to enter. The tougher challenge was to find track bikes, practice on the track with real track bikes, train for National Championships and be race ready in 11 days. It was RFA's job to pull it all together. We shared our plans with our coaches and they were fully supportive and helped us with a “fast track” training plan and equipment. Buying equipment was not feasible. One of the great things about the racing community is the camaraderie and shared goals that motivate one another to compete. Within 24 hours, we had two riders who loaned us track bikes in our size so that we could begin training immediately. The next weekend before the race, we were at the velodrome to take a beginner clinic. We felt very comfortable riding on the track with track bikes. We tweaked our training and went to the track the Saturday before the race with our coach for a practice session to check gearing and to practice starts. We signed up for two events – the 500 meter time trial and the 2K pursuit. Both events are raced on the track in heats with one rider starting at opposite ends of the track and chasing each other. The 500 meters is a full out sprint from a standing start. We used a 51/15 gear. The technical aspect is the ability to accelerate from a standing start and immediately negotiate the curve while standing and sprinting after the first curve. Then you drop to the aerobars and keep accelerating. The 2K pursuit is a sprint at the start and then settle in at an all out maximum effort for 3 minutes. On the track, the 2K pursuit is considered an endurance event.
The bikes: A kind and generous friend from Five Rings Cycling Center where we train loaned me his gorgeous Cervelo P3C track bike – with a few adjustments it was a pretty good fit. Hermes had a Felt track bike. Track bikes are fixed gear with no brakes or free wheel.
The UCI: This event falls under the UCI rules and every bike had to go through UCI inspection for each event. The officials had their UCI jig setup and a scale at the home and back stretch with a commissioner checking bikes. I heard this was the first time that they did this at the track nationals. Well, there was some chaos as racers found their bikes to be too light or seat setback / aerobar setup out of spec. I saw a couple of guys tape allen wrenches to their top tube to meet the weight requirements. Under a strict reading of the rules, the inspector could have rejected that solution because you cannot add weight that can be removed while riding. My goal for the 2K was sub-three minutes, so I was happy with my 2:59.65. I used a 51 x 15 which felt right but it is clear by my splits that I need to really work on the start. First lap was 35:04, with subsequent lap times of 27:53, 28.66, 29.53, 29.34 and 29.32. My pursuit person faded after 3 laps and I easily passed her on the 5th lap. I also did the 500 m the day before for practice and placed 4th (out of 5) with a dismal time of 50:13. (My 500 meter split in the 2K was 49:02 – a bit better). The winner was Allyson Vought with a time of 44.08. That said, it was a "PR" given that I never did or practiced a 500 m before – and I did get a medal and a place on the podium. Doing that event was also a good way to get my nervousness under control, and I was able to put those disappointing results out of my mind for the next day's 2K.
RFA's narrative of his events: My goal for the 500 meters and 2K pursuit was to beat someone. Hopefully, it would a man in my age group. The 55 –59 age group is one of the toughest and is populated by former National Champions and State Champions and generally very experienced track racers. I was pleased with my 500 meter result. - 46.12 seconds beating another racer by 1.56 seconds. This was great experience and the first 500 meter track race of my life was age 59 in the US Nationals and I beat one guy. Life is good. In the 2K pursuit, the goal and situation was the same. However, now I am an experienced track racer. I line up on the home stretch with my competition on the back stretch. As the 5 beeps count down, on the long tone, I am off. Immediately, there is a double gun shot signaling a false start (the other guy). The announcer says it would be great if the riders do a U turn on the track to speed things up. A U turn on the track. Hey, I just learned how to get on and off of this bike 7 days ago. I am going around. I did not see how a U turn was possible and even if it was, not by me. I came around and got back into position. This time, we had good start. My tactical plan was simple. Accelerate up to speed like I did in the 500 meters and then settle in for the first lap. On lap 2, I eased off every so slightly. On lap 3,4,5, and 6, I stepped on the gas increased speed each time. Laps 5 and 6, I was still accelerating and bleeding from the eyeballs. When I heard the bell on the final lap, I gave it everything I had. My time was 3:03.34. I beat my man by 2.74 seconds. Also, beat another guy by 3.31 seconds. I am really happy with my result for my first two track races. It was a great experience and shows it is never too late to try something new. The Worlds in Sydney next year. I mean how can you top winning the Nationals as your first race?

San Bruno Hill Climb - noon ride - Sept. 10, 2008

2008-09-10T21:03:00.000-07:00

Today I went on the noon Genentech Bicycling Club San Bruno hill climb. The weather was pleasant - in the 60's and sunny. Windy, but that is normal for South San Francisco. There were only three of us - Alex, Susan and me. I took off on the first leg of the climb and waited for the others at the gate. Alex rode with me up to the radio tower - he is a strong climber. Susan rode part way up and we met her on the descent. It was an invigorating ride and a glorious day. I needed this since I have to get ready for the Mt. Tam hill climb at the end of the month.

New Shimano R300 cycling shoes

2008-09-10T21:01:00.001-07:00

I bought a new pair of cycling shoes - Shimano R300. They are custom fit and very light and cool. I love my full carbon white Sidis, but was looking for a shoe with a wider toe box. The Sidis are very narrow. I have neuromas in both feet that cause excruciating pain when it is hot and my feet swell. The Shimano R300 may help that problem. RFA also has a pair and likes them very much. The Shimano R300 definitely is roomier in the toe box and I like the silver color.

Day at the Track - Hellyer Velodrome - August 16, 2008

2008-08-18T15:36:00.000-07:00

On Saturday, August 16, 2008, RFA and I participated in the Beat the Clock “Day at the Track” event at the Hellyer Velodrome in San Jose, CA for an afternoon of time trial events. Most of the money goes to the Lance Armstrong Foundation. The organizers received special permission to use both road and track bikes on the track. We went to the Velodrome to watch some races and thought it would be fun to try. This was a special opportunity to check it out on our TT bikes. There were different categories for the track bikes and the road bikes, so the track bikes were not on the track at the same time as the road bikes. I didn’t know quite what to expect, it was a blast and more fun than I ever expected. But it turned out to be a very long day.
RFA and I arrived at the Velodrome just before noon. We wanted to have enough time to set up our canopy that we borrowed from the LBS. Our friend Kevin met us there and helped us set up “camp” in the infield. It took several trips back and forth to the car to haul the bikes, trainers, coolers, etc. Soon the whole infield was full of equipment, canopies and a lot of our fellow team mates in Webcor green. The temperature was warm with a nice breeze but the sun was hot. The canopy saved us because it would have been unbearable to warm up on the trainers in the direct sun.
The organizers opened the track first to the track bikes and then to the road bikes for warm-up. I thought riding on the banked track would be challenging, but we all got used to it pretty quickly. There is also a small loop in the infield area for riding but this was used basically just to keep the legs spinning, not for serious warm-up.
Finally the events started:
Events:
500m (1.5 laps)
kilo (3 laps)
2k (6 laps)
Team 4k (12 laps) 4-person teams; you can choose your team the day of the event.
3k (9 laps)
4k (12 laps)
The 500 m was run as a time trial (one rider at a time). The remaining individual events were run as individual pursuits with two riders will be on the track at the same time, starting on opposite sides of the track. There were timers, holders, lap cards, and bell ringers – the “real deal.” For each event, the men track went off first, followed by the women track, men road and women road. There were about 47 participants and you sign up for multiple events. RFA signed up for the 2k and the 3k and I signed up for the 2k, 3k and 4k.
Sitting in the lawn chairs under the canopy with a picnic cooler gave it an element of a day at the beach. All that was missing was the dog, the frisbee, the beer and the sand. It was after five o’clock before I got to do my first event – that was the biggest challenge – trying to stay warmed up so the engine would be ready to fire when the whistle blew. RFA looked good in his races and finished in the middle of the men road racers. I had a good start but had some trouble staying between the black and red line at times. Any time I glanced down to check my speed and cadence I would drift up and lose some time. I quickly recognized at that speed, you just need to look ahead. The turns were coming before you knew it. Before I knew it, it was over – I knew I beat my pursuit competitor because I was closing in on her at the end. I ended up with a 3:06 – not bad for the first time and good enough to come in first place in the women’s road category. Now I was energized. There were only two women who did the 3K individual pursuit and I lapped my competitor on the 8th lap. That was sweet. I did one cool down lap on the apron and it was time for the 3K! At least I was warmed up! Initially I was the only woman (track or road) for the 3K, but I talked my competitor into joining me. The 12 laps felt more like a time trial because you had to pace yourself for the distance. I still felt great, lapping my competitor on the 9th lap. My average heart rate was about 160 for the 2K and the 3K and about 152 for the 4K. What a great work-out! I am hooked. Rich and I are going to the Saturday morning beginner training session at the Velodrome. I can see it now – the stable of bikes is growing.

Yellow Roses

2008-08-17T22:22:00.000-07:00

Photo: Hamming it up for the camera

Winning is sweeter with yellow roses. RFA surprised me last week with a bouquet of beautiful yellow roses and told me how proud he was of me for my performance in the Esparto time trial last Sunday. I am so lucky to have such a great husband, soul mate, best friend (and yes, bike slave).

First Place at Esparto Time Trial - August 10, 2008

2008-08-12T16:24:00.000-07:00

Esparto Time Trial, Esparto, CA

August 10, 2008

Women Cat 4

Place: 1

Field: 10

Time: 48:50

I was looking forward to Esparto and hoping for good results. This time it all came together for that seemingly elusive victory. At the Sattley district championship TT, I missed a second place podium finish by 11 seconds. Here, only 11 seconds separated first and third, so maybe there is justice after all. Second place finisher was 48:51 – one second behind. Almost as an afterthought, I stuck my empty super-aerodynamic water bottle on the bike. Who knows? – Maybe that made the difference . . . . The Cat 4 women (all ages) started at 9:44 while the temperature was still moderate (mid-seventies) – sunny and dry with a light wind from the north. I was the first Cat 4 woman out (again, in alphabetical order – I am definitely going to change my last name to Zallen!) There was a 4 minute gap between the W 1/2/3 group, so I had no rabbit. The remaining Cat 4 women started at one minute intervals. We had a holder for the start. Purportedly for traffic reasons, the TT started around a corner bend (which also happened to be on a slight incline). That said, I had a good start. Based on my results at the Dunlap ITT, my goal was sub-49 minutes. The first leg headed north into the head wind (it seemed stronger than it was). I was a bit concerned when I saw my speed drop below 22 mph at times, but I figured that I could make up that time somewhere (although we would never get a tail wind due to the "L" shape course design, i.e., north on a 2 mile leg, right turn east onto the long leg, turnaround and finish westbound just before the intersection). Cross winds on the long legs but no gusts.Although I did this course last year, I forgot about the sets of rollers, but was happy to see those figuring they would work in my favor. After the turnaround, I saw two other Cat 4 women, noting that the two minute woman had just passed the one-minute woman. It was hard to judge the time gap, but I did realize that I didn't have a huge cushion. That was the kick that I needed to really push on the rollers on the way back and go for a strong finish.I was almost afraid to look at the results when they were posted – agony or ecstasy?? First place – by one second. BTW, last year my time at Esparto was 52:33 – improved by 3:43. Last year was on my Orbea Orca in the drops (no aerobars); this year on my new Orbea Ordu TT bike. Similar setup both years as far as TT helmet, booties, skinsuit and wheels. So improvement was due in part to the TT bike, in part better due to a better engine for which I give credit to the Russian coaching/training program I started last December.

Russian Training Ride - Sunday, August 3, 2008

2008-08-04T16:54:00.000-07:00

RFA and I met the group at 9 AM at Canada/92. The temp in the high 50's with a wind chill, but the sun was out and we knew the micro-climate would soon change to nicer weather. Vlad drove the support van (appears that Dmitrij is still recovering from his trip to Belarus). There were only 3 other guys, including K. and Russian L. As predicted, by the time we got to Edgewood (4 miles down the road), it was warm to shed our leg warmers, arm warmers, base layer and vest. We climbed up 84 - I stayed on L's wheel the entire time and we beat everyone to the top. Vlad was happy with my performance. E. redlined and fell back half way up. We descended 84 (there was a bad accident with a motorcycle down and a damaged vehicle, but fortunately the police let us go through - hope no serious injuries - they were clearing the vehicles when we went through) and on to San Gregorio. Good paceline to San Gregorio - I didn't take a pull - K. and E. were content to do the work. I needed to save something for the climb back. We pacelined back (this time we all took turns) until the climbing began. Again, I stayed on L's wheel the whole way - K fell back but got some assistance from Vlad in the van to haul him back up to us. L. charged at the end, I stayed with him; K went into the red zoen and fell bcak again. L. is very strong on the flats - he pulled us back on Canada through 20+ mph head winds. The testosterone took over and the boys charged after a guy who passed us on the downhill. I lost their wheel and really had to work to get back. Stats: 55 miles, average speed 17.8 mph (significantly faster than the July 20 ride); 4782 feet climbing. Quick shower, slipped into the Skins, lunch, nap and off to Equinox for a steam, shower, stretching and foam rollers. RFA and I were pretty tired - slept like babies even after napping.

Motorpacing - August 1, 2008

2008-08-01T17:04:00.000-07:00

Dmitrij is back from Belarus and the scooter is fixed. Time for motorpacing, especially with Esparto TT next weekend. I went first - started at a moderate pace for the first five minutes and then really hit it hard on the hills. He lost me on the downhills a couple of times. Felt strong and great work out - max heart rate about 154. Average speed 24.5 mph. We had a lot of wind heading back north. Exhilarating work out - cooled down and blasted off to work after a quick shower. Rich motorpaced after me and he rode his bike home.

NCNCA Master Road Race Championship (Diamond Valley)

2008-07-29T14:35:00.000-07:00

MEA at the feed zone starting lap 3

7/26/08
Cat: Women 55+
Field: 6
Place: 4th
Mates: Phyllis Olrich and Linda Elgart

First, congratulations to all my fellow Webcor Alto Velo team mates for the awesome wins at the district RR and crit. Now let me share my personal recipe for disaster: Take one part smoke, mix thoroughly with altitude, simmer for hours at 90 degrees, add ferocious headwinds, and top it off with two neuromas until you can’t stand the pain. A race to remember for all the wrong reasons . . . . (Warning: You may not want to read further.)
The district championship road race was held in Markleeville, California in a valley south of South Lake Tahoe. Rich and I drove out Friday evening, spent the night in Folsom and then drove the rest of the way Sat. morning arriving at around 8:45 only to learn that the start of the race would be delayed. Apparently, the CHP thought the race was the next day. So our combined group (Women 45-49, 50-54, and 55+) took off shortly after noon instead of 11:05. In the mean time, it was getting quite hot. The good news is that the W 55+ were wise enough to negotiate three laps instead of four. Phyllis and I discussed strategy to head off contender Laura Lindgren but “Plan A” fell apart on the first climb. Phyllis stuck on Laura’s wheel and all I could do was watch them pull away. I pacelined with a group that included 55+ Narda through the climbs on lap 2. That’s when the feet started to go bad. I was tempted to quit after the second lap, but I remembered the words of Johann Bruyneel in his latest book (We Might As Well Win) that as long as you are still on your bike, you have a chance. So I grabbed a fresh water bottle at the feed zone (thanks!) and kept pedaling as best I could. The headwind after the second climb made the rest of the race torture on my feet. I couldn’t put any pressure on the ball of my feet, so I just spun in a low gear to the finish. I immediately laid my bike down, ripped off my shoes and socks and poured water on my feet (with some sobs of disappointment/delirium). A pitiful sight to behold. I can’t believe that I finished ahead of the two other 55+ women. Both Rich and I suffered through the next day with irritated bronchi from the smoke – some folks must have lungs of steel!! It was great to be back cycling Sunday on the Peninsula with the fogbank as a back drop.