Blogs by Professional Cyclists - Professional Cycling Unplugged™

Sorry for the absense. I have to say that the mid season-itis hit me hard. Every year at some point you crack. It could be a big crack, ie lose your bike for a week or little crack, ice cream/beer/ no blog bender….. I hit the latter. Life wasnt really giving me any inspiration and talking about it wasnt going to help. But, I’m back….

I cant even remember the last thing I blogged about…. Maybe Mt. Hood?? So, I will take everyone back to the middle of June. I went home after Hood happy with the way things went. We won, I got some form, things should be good…. The next race was Tour de Reno/Nez. Man, what was I thinking. Lets go do some altitude crits. Thats a great idea!! To make it even better, lets stay in a casino OFF THE STRIP of course, in Reno for 5 DAYS!!!! That will make it so much better. And you know what would really ice my cake?? Every race should start after 8pm. Because crits are way better in the dark…. Then, to top it all off, to make things really, really, really awesome…. Lets go to the hardest crit in the USA and race with Lance, Levi and of course, Horner. What a great week. My teammate Gramo did pretty well. Mach 5 crashed on the last day of tour de Reno. The crash was bad and hilarious at the same time. Where did all this leave me?? CRACKED…..

Moving back to Oregon was next on my list of things to do. Family and a dislike for Boulder sent me packing after tour de Reno. 3 weeks in Salem and then I went to Bend for a little training camp before Cascade. I am pretty lucky to live so close to such a great race. My team had big aspirations and I wanted to make sure I was ready. After some serious training hours the race finally came. Who knew leading up to the event that it would be the best/deepest/baddest field in the races history?? I felt like I was ready for battle, but littile did I know what was coming…..

Stay tuned for the next installment of how Omer got kicked in the head for a week in eastern Oregon. Thanks for reading….

(1 votes, average: 4 out of 5)

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Posted under ROAD BIKE, SEA OTTER CLASSIC

If only that were a good thing!  Sea Otter was unusually warm.  Although the car was showing 86 degrees on the way to the venue, on the predominantly shadeless course they were seeing lots of 100’s.   It was so warm that the normally long race (2 x 18mile laps) was reduced to 1 lap for the women and 1.5 for the men.  That meant that my strategy went from being patient to wanting to pin it for the sub 1.5hr race.  After my typical slow start the day before, my manager Waldek put $50 on the first corner off the start if I could be the first rider there.  The camera men …and other riders were caught a little off guard with my charge off the line in what is usually a pretty sedated start along the paved track.

Once we hit dirt though the real racing began with a fairly large group at the front switching it up along the undulating double track road.  Into the first Descent I was sitting 4^th wheel until Katerina came flying round the inside of the corner and took over the lead from Georgia and they pulled away from the rest of us.  The descent was beautifully fast winding singletrack followed by a similar climb.  By mid climb I had worked my way up to 2^nd with some passing difficulty, but Georgia had a good gap by this point.  Ideally I would have bridged up to her, but when I tried to dig for that sweet climbing groove I couldn’t find it.  By the top of the next climb Lena Byberg, Katerina and Kelli were still with me and Georgia was still in sight, but off the front.

Across the flat however Lena and I pulled away and the race order for the day was established.  I felt so lucky to have Lena to ride with and be able to focus on something other than how bad your body feels at 100 degrees and how mentally tough Georgia was to hold that pace up front solo.  I had my attacking point decided and was starting to get some life back near the finish.  I attacked on the last climb, but it wasn’t hard enough and Lena came by me to nab first line into the single track.  I tried to get around on a fast corner, but came up a bit short so had to chase her into the finish coming up short with my second third place of the weekend.

That night we celebrated a successful weekend over Thai food in Monterey where you can get a kick ass pumpkin curry.  I then flew home to Kamloops for two days and two rides with my husband Keith before heading to the airport and Europe. 

(4 votes, average: 4.75 out of 5)

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Posted under MTB: ENDURANCE, SEA OTTER CLASSIC

It was soooooooooooo hot today I can’t even describe it. Of the 135 or 140 riders that started, 102 finished without being pulled. Not to mention the 13 that didn’t even start.

The start was crazy. I got a good call up (guess spending time chasing UCI points in Santiago, Chile last winter paid off) but even so, the start was nuts. With 140 Pro Men all fighting for the front, I’m surprised that there wasn’t more carnage. At one point, shortly after passing the feed/tech zone (we were still on the paved race track) there was a fence jutting out into the course. Decker was in front of me and swerved through one of the holes in the fence to miss it, and I followed. Unfortunately, I think there may have been a person or two who did not notice the fence in time…

The first lap was brutal. It was the longer lap (19+ miles) and the sun was at its worst. I started too hard and it took me a while to realize that I needed to pull back, and by the time I did, I was beginning to bonk. At that point, I slowed down, rehydrated, threw down Hammer Gel and Hammer Endurolytes and as I came around for the 2nd lap started to feel better. I was able to make up a ton of time on the 2nd lap and passed somewhere around 10 racers. I took the climbs faster and harder than I did the first lap and almost began to enjoy myself (if it hadn’t been for the heat, I would have had a great time).

I finished the race in 2:26, in 37th place (6th of the U23s). I was hoping for a better result, but I think that my recent time at home in Taos, NM dealing with 30-degree temperatures and snow slowed me down a bit. One important thing I learned though is that it is possible to come out of a bonk. Just drink a ton of water and energy drink, get some calories, and replace your electrolytes…

Here’s a sum-up of what I just said (in video format):

Post-race thoughts

ENJOY!

(1 votes, average: 5 out of 5)

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Posted under MTB: ENDURANCE, SEA OTTER CLASSIC

Ahh Sea Otter, it’s been a while.  Unlike the majority of Pro racers out there I have been to Sea Otter a relatively few times; 2003, 2005 and now 2009.  Being here as part of the Luna/ClifBar team means it’s more than just racing, it’s about visiting with our sponsors, parties and getting everything dialled for a great season.

Unlike 2005 where I went through a set of brake pads a race and spent a large portion of the Short track running through mud or averting the wheel enveloping mud bogs this year the sun was shinning, the course was dry and dusty and the riders were looking for ways to stay cool.

The short track was a fairly short loop with 1 climb, a long rough singletrack piece and a couple tight corners. As per usual the race was off and I was having girls stream by me.  Heather Irmiger and my teammate Georgia got off the front and Chloe, Katerina and I made our way into the top 10. It was a tricky course to move up on as passing on the singletrack was no easy feat, but about 4 laps in I surprised my self by working up to the lead two girls.  I should have been more patient, but I’m not really good at that so I went to the front for the climb.  At the top my coach told me the girls behind me were redlined.  I didn’t want to go only 12 minutes in, but thought I should take advantage of the situation.  I got off the front by a couple seconds and felt good.  A chase group of heather Irmiger, Emily Batty and Lene Byberg had formed behind me and for 3.5 laps chased me down.  On last lap Emily did an excellent sling shot out of the group with Lene on her wheel and got onto the single track ahead of me.  Juiced from the climb it was amazing how horrible I felt trying to keep it together across the rough singletrack and at some point, which I honestly don’t remember, Lene also got by.  It was now my time to chase, but there wasn’t enough track left and I rode in for 3^rd.   Heather Irmiger was in the mix all day and got great footage on her helmet cam that you can watch at cyclingdirt.org

I just got a text that women are only doing one lap of the 18 mile xc course so it’s going to be fast and hard out there today.

(6 votes, average: 5 out of 5)

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Posted under MTB: ENDURANCE, SEA OTTER CLASSIC

The 2009 Sea Otter Classic is well underway. Just being part of Sea Otter is a pretty neat experience. There really is no other event that brings so many different cycling disciplines together. For me, being part of a multi-discipline team, it is a great time to meet up with my teammates as I won’t see them much during the season. I’ve learned a lot about dual stunt, trials and jumping, things that I do not attempt.  

The short track races went off yesterday, a quick way to start the season. There was a crash at the start of the women’s race that I managed to avoid but meant I was near the back of the pack. This ended up working out well for me though as it was pretty motivating to slowly reel in riders throughout the race. Unfortunately I was pulled with two laps to go just as I was catching up to a pack in front of me. 

Today I’m looking forward to tackling the classic Sea Otter cross country course. Two laps of the 19mile course will make for a long day.  The course is fast and dusty right now with lots of sandy corners. Should be lots of fun can’t wait to get started.

(5 votes, average: 4.8 out of 5)

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Posted under MTB: ENDURANCE, SEA OTTER CLASSIC