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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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