I’ve had a rough season this year.  Between being a bit of a headcase about descents, a rotten winter for training and a rough work travel schedule, I have not been getting the results I’ve hoped for.  Early season goal races came and went with poor results and lots of frustration so I was heading to O’Fallon with the hopes of turning around the second half of my season.  I’ve raced this event before and I LOVE the course.  It makes me happy.

Race day dawns and it’s hot. Crazy hot.  100 degrees and we aren’t even racing yet. Start drinking.  Pin numbers on. Keep drinking.  My teammates and I head out for a very light warm-up and review of the last 2K of the course. Because I like the course so much, I was not nervous about it – which was refreshing.  A first for the season and it had me in a good mental place.  But it’s a long circuit – two 25 mile laps and there’s a question in all our minds – it’s so hot what to do about hydration?  Carry bottles in jerseys in addition to on the bike?  Can we find people to take care of us in the feed zone?  Finally, yes.  Frozen bottles on the bike, frozen bottle in jersey.  And high hopes that one very kind man will be able to handle the feed for three of us.  We’re going to need it.

As both the Women’s 1/2/3 and 3 fields were small so the organizers decided to combine us into one field (scored separately).  That’s always a bit of a game changer.  We get instructions in the shade, roll to the line and with the least amount of time ever waiting for the start BANG we’re off.

I mentioned it was hot?  Nothing compared to the pace off the line. My chain falls off (WHAT? that never happens)  I am chasing at 27+ miles per hour and I’m not 50 meters into the race yet.  This is not going as planned.  Now usually in a long road race, especially on such a hot day, the racing is not full gas off the line. It’s not a crit and usually we get a little bit of a roll out before racing is full on.  Not today.  I regain the field and settle in to the very high pace, thinking “this can’t last, it’s TOO hot”.  Ten miles later, I’ve made the first little split and the pace is still high.  The chip and seal pavement is coming apart in the heat.  The road has gooey sections and you can hear “ping ping ping” as the chip portion of the road keeps breaking up and pinging off our wheels.  But my head was in a good place.  I was watching the right girls and feeling that it was all manageable at this point.  Then we hit a little downhill section.  Not scary.  Just nice and swoopy.  Fast.  And for the first time this season I’m not on the brakes.  I’m determined that I am NOT going to get dropped on the downhill as I had so many times this year.  All going according to plans.

Until I feel the back end of my bike fishtailing.  I hit an oozy section of pavement swooping through a curve and my back end is sliding out.  ACK.  The thing I fear the most.  Images of Joseba Beloki and his career ending crash in my head.  In reality it was likely not that dramatic.  But I was fighting not to crash, not to over-correct.  Heart rate and adrenaline through the roof.  But I stayed up.  “PHEW.  Now, CRAP time to chase back on.  Chase chase chase.  Back on.  NOOOO don’t attack now, PLEASE!!! Let me catch my breath first. No? You really want to hit it now, on this hill? Are you sure??” And off they went.  Time to chase again.  This is not how it was supposed to go.  Chasing once again this season.  But I am not quitting. I can still see them, they aren’t opening up a bigger gap.  The hot wind is making it impossible for me to close it down but they aren’t getting further up the road.  It’s going to be a long second lap in the heat alone, MUST KEEP CHASING.

The wheel truck whizzes past me.  Up ahead I can see them pulled over, wheel change!! Opportunity is knocking.  Her terrible luck is my good fortune.  She’s back on her bike – chasing.  I keep thinking.  “Turn around. I’m coming,  sit up and we can work together.”  But she’s full on.  I’m full on.  Finally she relents just a little.  Many miles of chase have passed.  But I’m on her wheel.  Introductions are made.  Do we want to keep racing the second lap?  HELL YES, we’re here we are racing.

And so we go, rotating.  Speed stays high.  We can still see the remains of our field but it’s blowing apart.  We roll through the finish.  Feed zone.  YES one empty bottle jettisoned.  New frozen bottle on board.  One fresh bottle is not really enough but it will have to do.  We see another girl up ahead.  We catch her.  Now we are three.  The road has gone from gooey to almost wet.  We can hear the oil from the road whooshing under our tires.  Ping Ping Ping.  Silently we are all rotating. Taking our turns, keeping our pace high.  We are still chasing.  Then suddenly, “my dad lives a mile from here. I’m going to his house and getting a ride back to the finish.  Anybody who wants a ride can have one.”  Oh. “No.  We’re racing.  Bye.”  “good-luck.”  And we are two again.  Ahead another body. She was in our race too.  Covered in salt.  Bottles and food are offered.  Are you okay?  No.  Advice is exchanged., “see the corner marshal ahead, they have shade and water.  They will help you.”  And we are two. Again.  The wind and the heat is taking it’s toll.  We keep telling each other that we are glad for the decision to keep going.  But it’s getting harder.  We are still working with each other.  We pass guys on the road who have given up.  We pass guys sitting in ditches on the side of the road, “yeah, I’m okay, just resting….”   2K to go.  Bottom of the hill. The end is near and my calves WANT to cramp up.  My race mate jumps out of the saddle and flies up the last little hill.  I don’t react.  Nothing left.  I would have loved to race her for a fun finish, TO RACE.  But my legs had no play left in them.  Up the hill, roll through the line. Fling my bike to the ground.  Collapse in my teammate Laura’s tent. She hands me an ice cold Coke.  Sweet nectar of the gods. She came in second. Amazing. Great result especially on such a hot day.   Turns out we did keep it close with our determined little chase…just not close enough.  Bodies keep crossing the line and collapsing.

In the end, the average temperature for the day was 106.  Low of 102 and, according to my Garmin, high of 116 on the road.  I didn’t get the result I wanted and I wasn’t able to help my teammate Laura get a win…but I did gain valuable confidence on the descents.  The second time through the swoopy downhill I didn’t even think out the first lap and my Beloki moment.  I rode right through it.  This is a positive takeaway.  And for my doggedness I was rewarded by finishing in the money.  That night back at the hotel in the blessed air conditioning I passed out at 8:30 pm.  I slept through rowdy wedding revelers and my teammate Margie calling hotel security in the middle of the night.  I did not stir until the alarm clock went off and it was time to get up and do it again.

A proud finish. Photo courtesy of Stephanie Nadeau

Hi everyone!  It’s hard to believe the Cyclocross Season is almost over!  This Sunday I will be lining up against the best in the nation to compete in the US Cyclocross National Championships in Bend, OR.  There will be live coverage provided by our friends at Cyclingdirt.  You can watch the coverage here. The race starts at 12:30 PST.  But first, let me recap the last two weekends of racing leading up to Nationals.

Thanksgiving morning started with a cold Waffle Cross ride with about 40 other Boston area cyclists through the woods and roads around Wellesley, MA. After the ride, the group gathered for fresh waffles made with Bob’s Red Mill 10-Grain Waffle Mix. Huge thanks to Bob’s Red Mill for donating product to the event! Matt and I jetted off to his lab for some work before picking up our little Russian pal Natasha and driving to Maine for Thanksgiving dinner at my sister’s house. Although Matt had to return to the lab that night and spend the whole next day working, I got Friday off to prepare for the weekend racing locally at the Baystate Cross race.

Baystate Cyclocross – Day 1

The weather at Sterling is always cold and very windy and Saturday was no exception.  The course was mostly flat with a few minor obstacles leading to road race-like tactics as the race went on.  I moved to the front pulling the group in the headwind and burnt one too many matches and missed the move to keep on the wheels of the top three leaders.  I spent the remainder of the day dangling 5 to 20 seconds behind them with another racer on my wheel.  Tactics meant she would not help me catch the leaders because she has a teammate in the group, but she managed to sprint me at the line beating me by a hair.

Race reports and photos from Cyclingnews and Cyclocross Magazine here and here.

Baystate Cyclocross – Day 1

The wind was calmer on Sunday and the course had been changed to include two small sets of stairs, a hilly climb in the woods and more turns.  A group of six of us broke free and spent the majority of the race trying to attack one another and get ahead.

In the final lap I moved into second place and over a steep climb and got a small gap with one other rider.  The riders behind us had a crash on the descent and we took off.  I made a move to take the lead, attacking up the last steep hill and sprinting for the line where I was elbowed out at the line taking second.

Race reports and photos from Cyclingnews as well as Cyclocross Magazine can be found here and here. Dave McElwaine was on hand for interviews after the finish. Check out his interview with me here.

After an incredibly hectic week of late nights and early morning in the lab, a full schedule of clients at my massage practice, setting up the cat sitter for our extended absence and packing bikes, Matt and I headed to Portland late Thursday afternoon.  We arrived at Dan and Addie’s to a warm welcome back to Portland.  On Friday, Matt had booked a great massage for me with Colleen McClenahan while he headed to the race venue to work for the Cannondale Cyclocrossworld Team. After my massage and a leisurely food-shopping trip, I headed over to the venue to pre-ride the course.

Stanley Portland Cup – Day 1

Portland has been full of rain and mud all season long while I have been racing in completely dry and often hot conditions.  I was excited for a messy weekend but as luck would have it, the sun was brightly shining in Portland and the course was quickly drying out.  There would be very little mud this weekend.

After a great start, something slowly began to happen as I ran out of steam in the second lap of the race.  I was fatigued and sluggish and even felt a little shaky. Cyclists often describe this as “bonking”.  It’s the result of improper nutrition. After the long 6-hour flight and getting settled into Portland, I had failed to hydrate enough and the morning of the race did not eat enough to sustain my energy in the cold and windy conditions. I was out of energy and out of the competition.

I finished the race with the worst result since I began racing 6 years ago.  Oh boy, hit the restart button for tomorrow!

Race reports and photos from Cyclingnews as well as Cyclocross Magazine can be found here and here. Also, check out Lyne’s photo gallery at Podium Insight here.

Stanley Portland Cup – Day 2

After a good dinner the night before and better timing for my breakfast, I was still feeling a bit “off” as I arrived at the race venue.  I was determined to finish my 32 oz bottle of drink mix and to eat a second breakfast 2 hours before my race.  I also took 2 electrolyte capsules and within 20 minutes felt 100% better!

I warmed up on the course, which was now much faster than the day before and completely dry.  Matt added higher pressure to my Challenge Grifo tires… perfect for the fast but tacky conditions. After my warm up I had eaten and drank my fill and was ready to race.

I had another good start and hung on to the leaders through the first technical sections and quickly found myself in the fight for 5th through 10th place. Each lap I passed a few riders and then was passed back again until the last lap when I was able to hold onto eighth closing in on sixth and seventh place.

Through the last few turns it was a two-up fight for eighth and ninth, I took ninth for the day. I felt a lot better that the day before but not quite 100%. Nationals are next weekend and I’ll surely be taking the next several days to recover properly with lots of fluids and nutrition.

Race reports and photos from Cyclingnews as well as Cyclocross Magazine can be found here and here. Colt from Cyclingdirt caught up with me at the finish. Watch the interview here.

Happy Holidays from MM Racing!

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!  We took last weekend off of racing and we still have to catch you up on our trip to Fort Collins two weeks ago.  Tomorrow we are off to Sterling, MA for back-to-back days of racing… possibly our last races in New England for 2010!  Then, it’s off to Portland, OR for the last two races on the USGP calendar and then the National Championships in Bend, OR.  We are also in the midst of planning our European campaign to finish out the 2010-2011 season.  Wow, the season has gone by quickly!

Following the lightning fast races in Northampton, MA, we returned to Colorado two weeks after the Boulder Cup for rounds 5 & 6 of USGP in Fort Collins. The venue at Fort Collins was new for 2010 and claimed to be one of the toughest races of the season. After arriving midday on Friday, we headed to Steve’s place where the cats welcomed us back after a few weeks away. I went for a bike ride while Matt assembled my second bike and explored the neighborhood on foot.

Later that evening, Steve arrived home and we all headed to Pearl Street to explore the pedestrian mall and then to dinner at Leaf Vegetarian Restaurant before heading to sleep to rest up for the next days’ race.

New Belgium Cup – Day 1

The weather was cold that night and I awoke to a light coating of snow.  Matt headed to the course early that morning to help the guys at the Cannondale truck.  He had a chance to preview the course and sent me a brief text: “gonna be muddy!”  Nick Legan from Velonews came by the truck to chat with Matt.  He grabbed one of my bikes and got some pictures for an article he posted later that day on Velonews. Check it out in the Bike Tech column at Velonews here . Thanks, Nick! Our friends at Seven Cycles have also added links to the recent articles on my bikes on their home page.

The weather warmed up steadily throughout the day creating some slick and boggy sections of mud on the hilly, challenging course.  I was looking forward to racing and hoped that I could find my technical skills to ride the slick corners well.

I had a strong start and stayed clear of a big crash on the first turn onto the dirt and held on to top 5 for a while but seemed to struggle as the mud built up on my tires. I swapped bikes a few times throughout the five-lap race.  Each time I swapped bikes for clean wheels I did my best to punch the pace, still learning the ins and outs of how my tires would perform in the mud.  I ended up holding on to 9th place, hoping for a stronger race the following day.

Race reports and photos from Cyclingnews and Cyclocross Magazine here and here. Lyne Lamoureux from Podium Insight was also on hand providing excellent coverage as usual. Check out coverage of Day 1 and more great photos here. Colt from Cyclingdirt was also on hand providing live video coverage. Check out the highlights here and video of the stack-up at the start here.

New Belgium Cup – Day 2

As I warmed up on the course in the early part of the day, it was even slicker than the day before, but by the time the afternoon races began the course was tacky and fast. I gave myself plenty of time to pre-ride the course, making some changes to my tires and pressure. I set off for another tough course with a longer climb in the middle and one run up.

After yesterday’s carnage at the start, I wanted to be aggressive right of the line.  I managed the hole-shot at the start into the dirt and held the lead through the run up before getting to the climb. That’s where I was beginning to feel the slightest twinge of the altitude sneaking up on me. I was breathing harder than my effort required.  I needed to reel myself in a bit after I was passed by several riders that I knew I would need to chase back. Each lap I began to gain a better feel for the course and slowly picked off a few riders and held off a few more behind me to take 7th for the day.

Race reports and photos from Cyclingnews as well as Cyclocross Magazine can be found here and here.  The Podium Insight race report can be found here and another great photo gallery here .  For video highlights of the race, check out CyclingDirt here.

Lastly, Colt caught me for a quick interview after the finish. Check it out here.

We landed home on Monday from the weekend in Louisville and managed to collapse into a two-hour nap before Matt headed to the lab and I made my way to yoga class. As Tuesday and Wednesday rolled around I still hadn’t unpacked and done the laundry but I was already thinking about re-packing to head to Colorado on Friday.

We booked a late flight Friday afternoon out of Boston and arrived in Denver and drove the rental car up to Boulder where we spent the weekend with my old housemate Steve and his two rotund cats. Steve had dinner waiting for us when we arrived.  We unwound from our travels and headed off to sleep to be ready for the Colorado Cross Classic on Saturday afternoon.

COLORADO CROSS CLASSIC: DAY 1

Although I was ready from some cool crisp Colorado fall air, I somehow managed to bring the warm weather with me to Colorado even though I had no interest in it.  Earlier in the week it was a seasonal 40-50 degrees but the Saturday forecast at the Boulder Reservoir was upper 70’s.  I headed out in the morning for a spin on the road to stretch my legs and could already feel every ounce of moisture being sucked from my body. It is really dry in Boulder!

I arrived at the race venue with time to spare.  I had plenty of time to check out the course and acclimate a bit to the altitude and the dry hot air. I even managed to get a little face-time with coach Ben who lives in Boulder.  At times I feel a little bit like Charlie’s Angels, following instructions from the voice in the box.  It was good to chat face-to-face.  Matt was already at the Cannondale truck when I arrived.  He had my bikes ready with just about every tire combination I could imagine available. The course was dry, rocky and sandy so I tried out a few different Challenge tire combinations before settling on a mismatched pair that would give me traction on the front in the corners and speed in the back.

The race was straight forward and fast with long straight-aways, a few technical loose turns and some sand to contend with. Off the start, the pace was high and I was pleased to not be suffering too badly from the altitude or heat and was able to have a solid race and finish 8th.

Race reports and photos from Cyclingnews as well as Velonews can be found here and here. Also, catch Matt in action at the Cannondale/CyclocrossWorld team truck early in this video on Cyclingdirt.

BOULDER CUP CYCLO-CROSS- DAY 2

The Boulder Cup Cross race was at a new venue for 2010 and it was at the Flatirons Crossing Mall.  Yep, a mall parking lot and the adjacent park. Nobody knew what to expect and we all feared the worst.  However, the promoters did an impressive job of using the green space around the mall parking lot to create a challenging course with lots of off camber turns, steep descending hills and one long climb. Finally, a real ‘crosser’s course! I could only imagine what this course would be like with a little bit of rain, or even better, some snow!

Carnage!  About one minute into the race on the first tricky off camber turn, two riders in front of me slipped and crashed causing a chain reaction.  I crashed, my bike flying overhead.  I found myself with my foot stuck in another rider’s bike while I was in a pig-pile of bodies and bikes trying to break free from one another. It took a good 30-40 seconds to untangle ourselves before I was back on my bike.  And just like that, I was at the back of the race.  A Boulder local was on the course with video camera in hand… he captured the crash and posted it here.

My initial plan was to settle into the race and not burn too many matches in the first lap.  Thanks to the crash I was resigned to moving through the field of riders and I had to light it up every chance I could.  Slowly I made my way from the mid-20s to 14th and then 10th and with one lap to go I was able to catch onto to 7th and 8th place but ran out of time before the sprint to the finish and took 9th for the day.

Race reports and photos from Cyclingnews as well as Velonews can be found here and here.

Cyclocross- You'll be happy when it begins...

When I was asked to write a little about what it’s like to try out cyclocross for the first time, I was a little intimidated by the idea. After competing in exactly 4 races so far, I feel like I’m still trying to figure out what cyclocross is all about. Is it a bike race? Yes. Is it about falling down, or not falling down? Yes.

All I am sure of is that I am slowly improving at cyclocross, and that fact keeps me excited to keep trying. So far I tend to place in or just above the bottom third of finishers. I like to think of this as third place.

Cyclocross- You'll be even more happy when it's over.

If you’re curious about trying cyclocross for the first time, and have no idea where to begin, I thought I share everything I’ve learned so far to help you get started.

Tips for beginners: (aka all I know so far)

1) Stay on the course. As long as you are seeing red on the right and yellow on the left, you’re going in the right direction.

2) Listen to the announcers as you go around and around the track, they will let you know how many more laps there are to go. In my first race at the Alpenrose Dairy, I accidently left the course somewhere in the middle because I was following the winners who had already finished the race. When you’re actually done, you’ll know it.

3) Mud is slippery. Look out for other people falling over. Try not to fall in anyone else’s way.

4) Listen for delighted cheering, bells, and cymbals. This will tell you when you are coming to a dangerous section. If you hear people encouraging you to ride as fast as you can into a section where everyone is eagerly watching, you should probably ignore them.

5) Some of the other riders have knowledgeable friends and coach-type folks yelling tips at them from the sidelines. You can follow these directions too, and sometimes they are very helpful. You can distinguish friendly yellers from ordinary hecklers because usually they are shouting someone’s name with the instructions.

6) Keep pedaling. No really, just keep pedaling. People will be yelling at you and ringing bells to help you remember this. There is no good place to coast, and you can’t stop, but you only have to try as hard as you can for about 45 minutes.

7) At the Halloween race in Astoria I ate a big serving of Frites with the spicy fry sauce right before the race. This was a terrible idea. I know I’m often the one serving the oatmeal so my opinion is biased, but heed my warning: Eat the oatmeal before the race- save the spicy French Fries for afterwards.

So show up sometime and give it a try! Once you do cyclocross, it makes every other form of exercise seem much much easier. I guarantee your bike commute to work will seem like a snap!

This past weekend marked the start of the second half of the cross season before Nationals. It also marks the time when one’s fitness begins to come into true form and everything should be moving in a general upward trend building up to Nationals. Or so one would hope.

This season has been full of several new changes for me including a new coach, new work hours, a new training plan, more racing travel and new sponsorship. All of these new things have led me to put more new pressure on myself to perform at a higher level along with the pressure to remember to take it all in stride.  My life is pretty perfect considering that I have a paying job that I love where I get to meet amazing people, a supportive spouse and family, health and wellness and I get to run all around the world racing my bike. So when things don’t actually go perfectly it’s easy to feel guilty about complaining but it’s also easy to get frustrated.

Matt and I are used to living life at an energetic pace; Matt’s own training, meticulous bike mechanic work and logistics coordination all while working towards his PhD, coupled with my training, racing, work and trying to rest and recover properly. We don’t always see the over-doing it or the pressures to keep our team running seamlessly until it’s too late and we’re exhausted or frustrated or I’m having the “worst bike race of all time,” like Saturday this weekend.

The Races

On Friday afternoon I flew to Louisville for rounds 3 and 4 of the USGP of Cyclocross Derby City Cup race.   In addition to hosting the USGP, the new venue at the Eva Bandman Park is going to be home to the Cyclocross World Championships in 2013.  Since Matt was attending his annual Immunology Program Retreat on Friday and Saturday, I flew in solo.  Matt would join me on Saturday night in time for preparing my bikes for the second race on Sunday.

Friday’s logistics turned out to be a little too much for one person.  I landed, got the bike bag and luggage, picked up the rental car.  I had barely enough time to make it to the grocery store and to the racecourse before the pre-ride time ended. I rushed through the market forgetting several things and purchasing just as many things I did not need and then went straight to the course. I was able to get my built bike that traveled from the races in Ohio with Troy at the Cannondale truck and lugged my bike bag with my dismantled bike out of the car to be put together after my ride. It was clear that I should have made plans to hire some help for the day but rather said, “Oh, I’ll be fine.”

It was hot and dusty (again!)  The new course was technical and challenging but I needed to cut my pre race opener ride short in order to build up my second bike, get the needed wheels ready and then make it to the number pick up presentation looking reasonably put together. Somehow I managed all of these things but would definitely be asking Butch at SRAM NRS to check over my bike assembly job the next day before my race!

Luckily for me, Bob’s Red Mill had several of the nicest people I’ve ever met on hand to help me out in the pits for Saturday.  Not only did I have three guys fighting over who got to carry my bike to the pit, I also had my own cheering squad and a fantastic team dinner that night. Little did I know how much I would need that camaraderie come the end of the day.

Saturday’s race involved an improper warm up, a complete lack of leg power and a dismal result. I was disappointed in my lack of performance and I was upset that all my hard work was not paying off.  I couldn’t see any reasons as to why I would have had such a bad race. That is, until chatting with Matt on Sunday and some emails with my coach that I realized that the whole week leading up to the race was more stressful and less than ideal preparation than I had led myself to believe.

Matt’s arrival on Saturday night meant a relatively stress-free preparation for Sunday’s race.  I had a proper warm up on Sunday and despite feeling flat, the race went a lot smoother and I finished with a stronger result. It wasn’t perfect, but at least I had taken a better perspective on the day and gave it another shot.

Race reports and photos from Cyclingnews and Podium Insight can be found here and here.

Coming off of the roller coaster Gloucester weekend, Matt and I had three short days to get five days worth of work done before heading to Ohio for the Cincinnati UCI3 Cyclocross Festival. This meant that Matt spent nearly all of the next 72 hours in the lab running massive amounts of experiments and the remainder of his time prepping bikes and equipment in the basement. Meanwhile, I was catching up on home and work laundry, emails, errands, packing for a five-day trip and seeing clients.

This year we decided to head down to Ohio for three days of UCI cyclocross races near Cincinnati. I always feel a certain level of apprehension when heading to the South or Midwest, there just seems to be too much meat and in-your-face-Christianity for my comfort level. Cincinnati is basically both Midwest and South but I had heard that the racing was excellent and the promoters and organizers had also worked hard to create equal prize money for the top men and women. One of the organizers, Mitch Graham, also reached out to offer help with anything the competitors might need and made us feel incredibly welcome. The competition would also be a bit tougher than the local events and would surely challenge my abilities on three different courses.

Thanks to the generosity of our great friends and sponsors at Pedro’s we borrowed the large Sprinter “Love” van and packed it up for the long drive to Cincinnati, which we began on Thursday. The trip would total around 14 hours of driving each way. We had driven to the UGSP in Louisville two years back and knew the route well. The marathon drive included a stop at about the halfway mark that has since become a favorite spot for us. In Howard, PA we stopped at the picturesque Bald Eagle State Park for a training ride, lunch and some relaxing in the sun. After a break at the park, we made our way into Ohio and found a hotel for the night. On Friday morning we completed the drive and arrived at Devou Park in Covington, Kentucky for the first of three days of racing.

Cyclo*Stampede – Devou Park – Day 1

When we arrived at the park, it was midday and already 80ish degrees. Most of my competitors were two and three year veterans of the UCI3 day festival of races and knew the general layout of the courses each day. I can say that it was an advantage to be prepared for what lie ahead on Friday…climbing, lots of steep climbing. I generally like climbing but it was going to be a fast, dry course and would be an added challenge after a long day in the van and summertime temperatures.

I sat in second place at the start and slipped into the lead for most of the first lap until I over cooked a turn and had to put a foot down to avoid hitting a tree. The leader took off and I dropped into the back of the chasing group of four riders. We stayed as a tight knit group until the last lap of the race when the heat and climbing was wearing everyone down. One rider punched the pace on the final hill to get a gap and I spent the remainder of the race fighting for 3rd place. By way of some poor decision making on my part being over-geared after remounting, I was gapped on a small hill and chased as hard as I could to make back the lost time. In the end I was 4th, missing the podium by 7 seconds and completely disappointed in my overall race but feeling ambitious about the next two days of racing.

Coverage from Cyclingnews can be found here. Lyne from Podium Insight was on hand to take pictures and report. Coverage from Podium Inisght can be found here and here.

Java Johnny’s International – Day 2

The forecast suggested that Saturday would be even hotter than Friday which meant that for the first time ever, I would be doing a cross race with a water bottle on my bike. I can’t say I really enjoy the heat when it’s summer, unless I’m in the shade with a cold drink and a good book. For ultimate enjoyment cyclocross should be cool and preferably muddy. Saturday’s course was a more “classic” style with no major climbing but a lot of tight turns and fast grassy sections. Off the start I was back in about 6th position, biding my time to settle into the race pace and then move up. I decided to race my new Challenge Grifo XS tires designed generally for fast, flat races. The only downside is if you push them too hard in the corners, you might slip, which of course I did and took a good digger on the knee. At that point in the race I was trying to move up into second place as the leader had taken off leaving the rest of the field to race for the remaining two podium spots. After my spill, I lost several spots but was feeling much better than the day before so I gave it 100% to try to catch back to the leaders. I was within reach several times but never quite able to catch back, finishing on my own in 4th again, less disappointed but not completely satisfied. Thanks to the Kona boys, Ryan, Barry and Dusty for the cheering section at the top of the hill!

Cyclingnews and Podium Insight coverage can be found here and here.

Biowheels International – Day 3

I had never raced cyclocross more than two days in a row before, so it would be an interesting experiment to see how my usual rest day would translate into a third race day. The good news was that the promoters were paying equal (to the men) prize money to the top five women. The bad news was that it was supposed to be a near record high of 90 degrees. I did a few warm up laps on the course and knew it would be the toughest race yet. It was much less technical, had several longer grass climbs and wide-open sections. In other words, a very grassy road race in the summer, except that it’s October.

Once again I put a water bottle on my bike, poured water down my back and on my head and just sweat profusely as I kept my legs as loose as possible for the start. Another fast start had the National Champion in the lead up the first long hill. It appeared that the rest of the field had already resigned themselves to race for second place as the group slowed down. I took the opportunity to make an attack to chase the leader and found myself pushing the pace as hard as I could while four other riders sat behind me. It felt like forever before another rider would come around to the front and share the effort and at that point I was already in overheat mode hanging on as best I could. I doused myself with water and tried to recover behind the other riders but found myself having to slow down to get my rhythm back. At that point two more riders caught up with me and I had dig pretty deep to find a second wind to pass them in the last lap. Coming into the final 200 meter uphill I was closing in on the chase group. One of the riders had a mechanical and was forced to run as I went past but I was nipped at the line finishing in 6th place, 2 seconds down on 5th and missing out on the last place for equal prize money.

Race coverage from Cyclingnews here and Podium Insight here.

After the race ended we packed up the van and began the long drive back home. We traveled to the halfway point outside of Bald Eagle State Park and crashed for the night. On Monday morning we found some breakfast and headed to the park for a little picnic by the lake before spending the remainder of the day in intermittent traffic all the way home. Matt seemed a bit stressed about our arrival time and then mentioned that he had made birthday dinner plans with our pals Zac and Emily. It was, after all, my 35th birthday.

Thanks to the holiday traffic we made it home an hour later than planned. We had just enough time to pet and feed the cats, unload the van and hop on the scooter to make it to dinner. When we arrived at the Flatbread/Sacco’s there was actually a huge table full of friends waiting there for a surprise birthday dinner! Way to be sneaky, Matt!

This race report comes from team member Meghan Korol…

Unfortunately I don’t have a lot to report on as far as racing went this past weekend.  Dave and I drove halfway to Louisville after work on Friday and found the most amazing hotel room for under $50!  Everything was going great until I developed a fever and chills in the middle of the night and couldn’t sleep well.  We headed out on the road bright and early to get to the venue in time for his race…

This year’s Derby City Cup was held at Eva Bandman Park, which will be the same venue for the Cyclocross World Championships in 2013!  I felt marginally better pre-riding the course (which was challenging, a lot of fun and definitely suited me well), fueling up on Bob’s Red Mill steel-cut oats and meeting up with the Louisville team.  There were almost forty women registered and I drew a great starting number from the box.  I didn’t feel sick as I started the race, but it was very clear that something was wrong from the beginning.  I had absolutely no power and couldn’t stay with anyone that I usually race with.

Here I am, wondering where the race ahead of me just went:

photo: Lyne Lamoureux/http://www.podiuminsight.com

I got pulled for the first time in a cross race (to be fair, the laps were short and Georgia was just destroying the field), and to my surprise, I was not totally off the back.

Fortunately Dave and I had a great night that made up for the disappointing day: we had a really wonderful team dinner and met my teammate Mitchell’s parents, who were the best hosts ever!  Louisville is a pretty cool city and I’m so glad that we had a chance to explore it a little bit.

We were up bright and early again on Sunday for Dave’s race and he had a great performance, riding the run-up and once again picking up 100 spots in the huge 2/3′s field.  For some reason Dave likes to start behind 150 people in cross races…

I was feeling pretty exhausted even with over ten hours of sleep and attempted to pre-ride the course.  It was even more fun; sadly my body was rebelling.  I had to make the tough decision to listen to my body and not start.  It was really hard to do that in front of everyone from Bob’s Red Mill, but I didn’t want to risk sacrificing the rest of my season for one race.  On our six hour drive back to Asheville I was feeling pretty rough and knew I made the right decision.

Now I’m taking it easy for a bit and hoping to feel better soon….Thanks so much to everyone at Bob’s Red Mill for the awesome dinner, wonderful products, friendship and support!

After the first day of racing at Gloucester I was already thinking about all of the things I could put into a race report. It wasn’t pleasant. So I thought it best to wait it out until after Sunday’s race before giving the weekend report.

Gran Prix of Gloucester – Day 1

I’ve made several jokes in the past about the races at Gloucester having some sort of bad mojo for me but I thought that I had won the battle when I made it on the podium last year. Well, Gloucester wasn’t done with me yet. After a good start on a newly designed super fun and technical course, I was working hard to stay in the top five and feeling pretty strong. With two laps to go I was in 4th place hoping to stick with the leaders and try for a podium spot when my front tire was punctured on a rock and I crashed onto a metal drainage grate. I hopped up quickly but had to ride really, really slowly to the pits in order to avoid skidding the flat front tire. After swapping bikes there were only 1-½ laps to go in the race and I was digging deep to catch all of the riders that had passed me. I was a bit too frantic in my attempt to chase back my position and skidded out in a corner, crashed, dropped my chain, had to take some time to get it back on and then chase back through a few riders finishing 11th, super annoyed with the day and just wanting it to go away. Sorry to all the nice friends and family that came out that day, I was pretty bummed out and not very social after the race.

Cyclocross Magazine and Cyclingnews coverage can be found here and here.

Gran Prix of Gloucester – Day 2

I’ve tried to love Gloucester. I’ve kinda hated Gloucester and I’ve tried to dismiss all the bad luck as early season glitches. I decided to approach Sunday with as much indifference as possible, maybe that would work. The course was changed to the “classic” format and it was faster, less technical and windy. I had another good start and stuck with the lead group of seven or so riders. It seemed that we were all taking turns trying to get ahead of each other without any luck until one rider crashed and the leader got away. The chase group began to pull apart a little and I kept trying to get a gap on the other riders at a long dirt run-up without much luck. No one really wanted to be out in the headwind in the lead so the race came down to the final lap and I ended up 5th. It was a much better race than the day before but I was feeling quite sore in my right hip from the fall the day before and perhaps a little flat in the legs. I’m still not convinced that Gloucester and I are done with one another yet.

Cyclocross Magazine and Cyclingnews coverage can be found here and here. Check out a post-race interview with Colt from Cyclindirt.org here.

In the last newsletter we were playing catch up on our summer and now we’re into fall, already three weeks into the cyclocross season. For the first time ever, this year I have earned a title sponsor, Bob’s Red Mill, which will allow me to pursue a full season of elite level competition with hopes to qualify for the World Championships in Germany. In case you missed it the first time, check out the press release from Bob’s Red Mill here.

This will be the first season that I am able to pursue the full USGP of Cyclocross Series as well as several other elite level events. This ambitious schedule of events will require extensive travel around the US, an increased training schedule and sponsorship commitments. Over the past few seasons, I’ve come to realize that working full time on my feet doing deep tissue massage five days a week is probably not the best way for me to recover from racing, travel and training. However, working full time and fundraising have been the only ways that I have been able to afford to race at all. Having a title sponsor makes things even that much sweeter when it means that starting the last week in September, I will be reducing my business hours to part time for the duration of the 2010 cyclocross season. It’s a little bit scary but really exciting to see what kind if improvements I can make this season.

Before my cyclocross season began, Matt had one last item on his To Do list before it got to tire-gluing time! On August 23rd, in conditions that could only be described as unrelenting, Matt set the first ever Maine West to East cross-state record. In 15 mph daylong headwinds, Matt rode from Fryeburg to the easternmost point in the United States at Quoddy Head State Park, near Lubec, covering 248.3 miles and ascending more than 16,000 feet, in 14 hour and 45 minutes. It was an incredibly tough day for Matt but he now holds the North to South and West to East records for the state of Maine! Our good friend and MM Racing photographer, Natasha Boltukhova of PedalPower Photography fame, put together an amazing stills video of Matt’s monster ride. You can check it out on here on Vimeo.

Speaking of Vimeo, Matt posted a video compiling my 2009/2010 ‘cross season. He put this together for our raffle night at the Ride Studio Cafe back in April. Watching this makes me want the mud to start flying now! Check it out here.

After wrapping up a summer vacation with some big miles on the mountain bike at the Kingdom Trails in East Burke, VT, I switched to the skinnier tires of the ‘cross bike. To get back into the swing of things, I kicked off the start of the cyclocross season with some regional training races. The first trip was to Pennsylvania for the Nittany Lion Cross race where I placed second on a hot, fast, dry and dusty course. Next up was the hilly state of Vermont for a challenging race that played out like a grassy time trial. I placed third in a 2-up sprint for second edged out at the line. Check out the coverage of these races on Cyclingnews here and here. The folks at Bob’s Red Mill have also posted a recent update on their blog following the race in Vermont.

The next trip took some serious planning and logistics and would not have been possible without the support and sponsorship from Bob’s Red Mill and my other sponsors.

Cross Vegas

The highlight of the Interbike Trade Show in Las Vegas is the nighttime cyclocross race that takes place under the lights on the grounds of a soccer complex. We arrived in Vegas midday Tuesday and after a battle with the folks at the airport shuttle services, finally got a cab to fit the bike bag and luggage to take us to our hotel/casino.

From the 98-degree dry desert air, into the smoky slot machine filled lobby and then into our recycled air-conditioned air hotel room, we began the Las Vegas adventure. After a ridiculous attempt to walk somewhere to find lunch (apparently, no one walks outside because the air is downright hostile) we settled for a Mexican chain restaurant at another hotel/casino, hot, exhausted and feeling puffy-legged from our day of travel. Later that day, feeling sufficiently trapped inside the hotel room, we actually had a nice relaxing rest by the pool until the sun began to set and I could get out on the bike for a spin.

That night we headed over to the Lazer Oasiz party at the Hard Rock Café for a poolside soiree where we met up with sponsors and fellow racers. The three-hour time difference sent us home from the party before witnessing any “whatever happens in Vegas…”

The following day I went for an early ride before the sun got too hot and then we hit up the Interbike trade show to meet up with some sponsors before getting a quick lunch in the hotel/casino lobby and then I rested up for the race that night under the lights! At 8:30 PM I lined up with many of the top racers in the US to duke it out in the desert air for 40 minutes of fast, flat, painful racing. Unsure of how all of my summer training would translate into the fast pace of the ‘cross races, I hoped for a strong race. I spent much of the race with three other riders, not too far from the lead group. We were all trying to find places to get away from one another but it came down to a last corner sprint where I finished lucky 13th with a hacking cough and a voice that sounded like I had just smoked a pack of cigarettes from the lack of moisture in the air. Vegas, baby!

Colt from Cyclingdirt was there with LIVE coverage! You find video coverage of the event here. Cyclocross Magazine and Cyclingnews coverage can be found here and here.

USGP Rounds 1 & 2 – Planet Bike Cup

The following day we left the “magical” land of Las Vegas and headed to the wholesome prairie lands of Wisconsin where the Planet Bike Cup would kick off the 8-race USGP National Series with two races in Madison. Ahhh…lush green fields, fresh food markets and people walking outdoors – that’s more like it!

We arrived at our hotel in Madison and relaxed for the evening making dinner in our kitchen suite. We even managed to squeeze in a trip to the hotel pool. The next day I headed to the race course for inspection and to loosen up the legs for a weekend of blistering fast races. On Friday I was able to inspect the course and meet Renee Callaway, the Regional Director of the USGP Planet Bike Cup. Renee had contacted me a week earlier to award me with one of the Women’s Travel Grants for the Wisconsin USGP event. The grant program was established by Renee to assist elite women with their travel expenses to the event. When I met Renee, I found that she was not only the event director and grant organizer, she was also hammering stakes into the ground and setting up the racecourse… amazing!

The best part about booking a hotel with a kitchen is being able to make breakfast before the races. As many athletes have their superstitions and rituals, food is definitely one of those things to keep consistent. Good news for my sponsor Bob’s Red Mill, I have made steel cut oats part of my morning ritual and I’m convinced that it’s the best pre-race meal ever!

Saturday’s race was fast and aggressive and although I had a decent start, a first lap crash set me back a few places. Sometimes a simple crash can just shift your momentum and my lack of aggressive recovery led me to spend the remainder of the day chasing the leaders but unable to close the gaps, finishing 9th for the day. Cyclocross Magazine and Cyclingnews coverage can be found here and here.
Sunday’s race played out much the same as the day before, minus the crash. The course was changed up to be even a bit faster. It was a straightforward race… simply stay on the gas. I had a much better start and pushed the pace as much as I could to stay in the top group although a few small errors was all it took to allow small time gaps to open up. Halfway through the race, the field had pulled apart with 10 and 20 second gaps between riders that few seemed able to close down. I finished the race in 10th. I was somewhat disappointed in my overall performances to start the season but hopeful that my training plan will have me building up speed as the season progresses and when the mud shows up, it will make things that much more fun!

Cyclocross Magazine and Cyclingnews coverage can be found here and here.