Central NY Belli Report

by Kate

Hi, Belli (I took a year of Italian in college, and one of the few things I remember it that the actual plural form of Bella (beautiful woman) is Belli, unfortunately pronounced "belly"...)

We the Central NY contingent just completed our local Syracuse Race Weekend event - a road race, street sprints later that evening in downtown Syracuse, and then a crit on sunday. At this point, there are four Velo Belli (ok, Bellas, I know you all like that better) but after the weekend, I think there are three more joining us.

I'm a Cat 3 for life - no expectations of moving up, I like to race but don't like to spend all my free time training, training, training, so I have to work on being satisfied with results that show that I don't like to train, train, train.

Amy Kneale, mom of 3 (!), is a new 4 and probably very soon to be 3. A former extremely competitive runner, she's been bitten by the bike bug and is just having a ball and great success to boot. Our other 4s are Janet Olsen, mom to Lars, who has done triathlons, is big into mountain biking and who has set some goals for racing for herself before she turns 50 (a long time from now, wink, wink) and Sue Atwood, animal lover and caretaker, also a hard core mountain biker, sneaky street sign sprinter, and as yet, I think, woman of untapped potential.



In short, my races were not worth of a lot of discussion. I had to do 60 miles and twice up a loooong, painful hill before the short finishing hill. Suffice it to say, I was dropped from the pack on the first climb, but worked with two other women to catch the pack on the second lap, yay, but darnit, was dropped and this time for good, on the hill climb again. Legs were in serious pain.

Amy's, Sue's and Jan-o's group had 33 miles, Amy finished an impressive 2nd, Sue and Janet working from a bit back, but it was their FIRST race! And they left smiling, despite the miserable climb.

The weather was a bit dreary too - typical NY overcast, slight drizzle and a headwind like crazy for the last 6 miles. (Ok, Janet wasn't smiling as much as Sue, but she was perkier the next day.) We (the Onondaga Cycling Club) have put this race on for years, and some of us love the street sprints because they're just different. Others (a lot of the pros) don't like it because if you don't do them you cannot win in the GC, and they'd rather go home and shower and get ready for the next day's crit.

Nonetheless, you never know who will be good at this event, because it's really different than just sprinting in a race. There's not much time to "ramp up". Many of the bars and restaurants are open and there are spectators sitting outside dining while watching all the lycra-clad, skinny people zipping up and down the road.

Of the 4 of us, I think Sue had the most impressive results. I had no idea that she had that in her, she's very unassuming. Who knew?!

Last event was the crit - in a park in a residential area of the city of Syracuse. The weather was very hot and sunny for us New Yorkers, in the 80's, where we had, believe it or not, SNOW falling exactly a week before. This crit is a great crit for first timers, because there are no sharp turns and it's actually a very beautiful setting with a fountain in the middle. The really horrible thing is the city gets the public pool ready, and the water is glistening and beautifully inviting, but they torture the kids by not opening it for two weeks!

After my race, I helped corner marshall at a spot with no shade, and that &%$! pool right in my view. In any event, the 4s and 1-2-3s were on the course at the same time, as well as the somewhat squirrely juniors; we were sent off a minute or so apart. My great excuse is #1 that my legs were toast from the day before and I am using gearing that isn't working for me and #2 I got boxed out by the juniors when my group was passing them, and I couldn't bridge the gap back to my pack...

I worked for a brief while for a friend and teammate on a team I raced with last year who was on a solo breakaway, but she really didn't need my lame pulling for more than a minute or so.

Eventually the pack caught me (or more aptly, they lapped me) and I jumped back in and finished with them. (So I don't sound so pitiful, there were two others who were dropped. Do I sound defensive?)

Amy's and Sue's group of 13 stayed together for a while, but also then broke up (I can't imagine how difficult it was for the lap counters - we also had 3 different numbers of laps to do) and Amy was with her front pack while Sue was back with a couple other women. Amy ended up finishing 4th and Sue 9th I think.



The most memorable thing about being a Bella this weekend, is the enormous number of compliments we got on our jerseys AND on the fluff that Amy provided us for our bike flair. We were called Team Fluffy and there were a lot of questions about the potential for drag because of the fluff. (Maybe that can be my excuse #3?) Hopefully there will be a couple more Bellas/Belli by the next time I report!

by Wendy

Scotland
Well this was our first trip to Scotland and we were pumped!

We stayed with Scots Gordon and Elliot Jardine (friends of the family) on Shieldhill for a couple of days before and after the race. They were AAA hosts and have the perfect mascot for our team - a German Shepherd named BELLA. They were a wealth of information on Scotland. They knew everything from where Harry Potter was filmed to wave action as a potential alternative energy source for Scotland.

The country has some amazing terrain with big green rollers filled with sheep in the southern part of the country to bigger harsher open mountains in the Highlands. Its all very rocky and looooooong rock walls scatter the country. We will have to come back to check out more. But....when I come, I will bring every possible layer of Helly Hansen gear I can stuff into my bag because the weather changes FAST. The key here was layering and waterproofing.

Mountain biking Scotland
Just before I left Canada I read an article in a mountain bike magazine that rated the best trail building places in the world. Scotland had apparently bumped BC out of the number two spot. I didn't think that it was possible (I DO love our BC trails) but after riding at Glentress on Wednesday and Fort William this weekend I have to admit that I was pretty impressed.

The trails were built to shed rain (and we saw LOTS of it) so the race course was in amazing shape considering..... There were great trails for all levels, the different routes were all colour coded and marked clearly, showers and washrooms were available at the base and the HUB cafe had wicked snacks for after your ride!

After we rode Glentress Norm said it all too well "do you think if we dumped some friends off at our local trails they would be able to have a wicked ride like we just did?" probably not. But I guess in Scotland its all run by the Forestry Commission so its done with a master plan. And as the Scots say they have done a crackin' job.

Norm asked me what I thought of the Fort William course after I pre-rode on Thursday afternoon in the last bit of sun we would see for 2 days. LOVED IT. Even though it had poured on and off for the past week the course was mostly rideable (except one section through a clear cut) and it was a lot of fun. It had something for everyone. A big 3km fire road climb on the first lap for the mountain goats. Really technical descents for the heavy weights - with lots of passing places connecting them, and an open flat area at the end for those who play tactically.

It would be tough and challenging course to race on but it would be a blast.

The race
I was feeling really good about this race.

I seem to race well in challenging conditions and as we all huddled together at the start and the skies opened up I almost started laughing. It was kind of comical. A bunch of scrawny cyclists from around the world soaking wet in spandex about to rip it up in the mud.

As I looked around I saw disgust, fear, shivering, focus but no one else was smiling. Well I shouldn't have been so smug. The start "gun" went off, which was a weird beep so half the group started and the other half (myself included) hesitated for a second because we weren't sure if that was the start signal. There would be no "game off - REDO", so we got our shit together.

Within seconds, probably about 100m off the start line, I heard some chick screaming bloody murder and looked over to see two girls dominoing right towards me. I tried to move out of the way but I was boxed in by a rider up front and a ditch to my left. They took me out. I jumped up right away and wrenched my poor Kula Lisa from under the tangled mess, watching two girls from behind add to the pile up.

I took off to catch the tail end of the pack. Thank god. I couldn't imagine trying to chase up that 3km hill on my own. I assessed the situation.

My original plan had been to climb steady and go into the technical section in the top 15 so as not get caught behind the frass. That plan had gone to shit. I was stuck behind at least 60 girls that may or may not be technically skilled. I didn't want to blow up on the long climb so I just got into a groove and steadily picked off riders. I didn't go kamikazi on the climb but I made up at least 20 spots just riding from wheel to wheel.

When we hit the first technical section it was an on-off track stand the whole way down. Not exactly going as planned. Don't panic its a long race. When we hit the clear cut I realized that two seasons of tree planting in Northern BC had given me the ability to bound through red rot faster than any of these girls that had been training all summer. I picked off at least two riders every lap in that section!

I chased and chased and chased, picking off girls throughout the course. I have to admit its better for the ego than falling backwards from a good start like last week in Belgium....I was feeling good and had moved into the top 15 on the last lap.

I had passed all the US girls and even two fellow Canucks. I thought I had dropped Alison Sydor (Rocky Mountain Business Objects) for good but I should never count her out of the mix - she is a wiley one. Kiara Bisaro (team R.A.C.E.) was on my tail for the last open stretch and I stupidly towed her around thinking I was strong and it was just the two of us. Sydor was nowhere in sight. Just as we were coming up to the last singletrack before the finish, Bisaro pulled ahead so I think " I will just take a quick rest and sprint for the trails", when Sydor comes out of nowhere sprinting with a Kiwi on her tail and suddenly I have lost three spots and am the last into the trail. How the hell did that happen?

I stay on my wheel in my big gear hoping I can pull a good sprint out of my ass but coming off the trails last puts me in a horrible spot and I can't do much with it. Another bittersweet 16th finish. Happy with a strong comeback performance but mad at myself for being so tactically retarded.

Mud in every orifice, I admit to myself that I have had a solid Euro World Cup effort and I can go home satisfied with my results but still wanting more.

Thanks so much to all of my team sponsors Velo Bella, Kona, SRAM, Easton, Schwalbe, Zeal Optics, Fox, San Marco, SIDI, Hincapie, team Estrogen, P@zzo, vanderkitten. Thanks to my sponsors Helly Hansen and Frontrunners. Thanks to the Jardines for being such great hosts. And thanks to Norm who has been hanging out in the pouring rain with me as my mechanic, feeder, manager, training partner and super fan!

Photos by Rob Jones, Canadiancyclist.com

Spa World Cup Race Report

by Wendy

Ahhhhh Belgium. I LOVE Belgium!

I knew the world cup race in Spa would be great, just because it was in Belgium (and because Norm was going to be here!). No one would be having a siesta in the middle of the day when we needed to get things done. We could eat dinner before 10pm.

The town of Spa was a cute, quiet town with lots of great restaurants and sparkling water. The race course was totally dialed with 40+ gated stalls for the feed zones. The race car track venue was sealed with gatekeepers making sure no hookers got in. Crazed cycling fans by the thousands. Little Belgian elves on every corner handing out chocolate (OK that one was an exaggeration but there WAS a Leonitas chocolate store in Spa).

But of course there was rain. It always seems to rain in Belgium. When we first arrived in Spa and saw our wicked B&B I actually felt bad for Bella Kristin and Sarah missing out. But when I checked out the course on Saturday I wasn't so sure they would have enjoyed it.

It was a great course, but there was a LOT of mud. Now, I consider myself a bit of a mudder but this stuff was pretty much unrideable in big sections. On the downside of the race track it was slippery wet mud and above the track there was thick mud.

You couldn't win. My Schwalbe Racing Ralphs were OK for descending but not so hot for climbing in the mud so I split the difference and threw a skinny Nobby Nic on the back. But even so, I knew I would still be doing a LOT of running. I shouldn't have skipped those last two Frontrunners clinics before I left....

Along with his love and adoration, Norm brought over my full suspension Kona Queen Kikapu. I was a true rockstar pro racer with a choice of two bikes!! Hardtail? Or full suspension?? But it was a no brainer. Too many places to carry mud on the full suspension so I went with my Kula Lisa again.

Sorry Queen, you'll get your chance but most likely not until we are back in Canada....

I pre-rode in the pouring rain and flatted as far away from the car as possible. After walking back, I sat in the car and tried to convince myself to go back out in the rain to finish my workout. I used the old "what would Lance do??" on myself (but after a week of staying with Kristin it is now "what would Tom do" because he is our new hero). Norm said Tom would be out doing a 5 hour Giro stage in this shit so I jumped out of the car to finish my workout. Thanks Tom.

Saturday afternoon it was pouring with thunder and lightning and the poor masters and juniors were out on the course. It was going to be a mess on Sunday. We stayed inside to watch the Giro and checked out the local bike shop Velodream to get a few things. Sunday morning our friend Pim showed up! He is a Dutch mechanic who we met a few years ago when we first came for cyclocross worlds.

Last year he volunteered to be the mechanic for the Canadian CX worlds team and he offered to help me out at Spa. He is legend. He got my bikes dialed but warned me that my front shifter should be changed after this race (insert horror movie forewarning music here).

Oh yeah it was raining again.

The race:
I had the BEST start of my life! Now I have had some great starts but this one was text book. I was a little worried about the big opening hill because I had seen racers getting dropped off the back during the Saturday races.

I guess they had blown up the big steep hill and had no juice for the gradual hill that lead into the mud. So I tucked into the middle of the group and got pulled up the steep opening hill in my middle ring. Legs felt great.

Once it tapered to a gradual hill I started moving into open spaces working my way up to Dahle's wheel. Such a shame that white kit was going to get so muddy.....I had used very little energy and went into the mud 4th!! I could hear Norm going NUTS!!

Unfortunately on that start stretch I also realized that my front shifter wasn't working - but I was in 4th at a world cup race!!

I kept my position through the singletrack but when I hit the downhill pavement section I kept trying to force it into my big ring so a few girls caught me. I seemed to be able to hold my position in the trails (mostly running) but would get caught on the fast sections dinking around with my shifting.

No problem - I was top ten at a world cup!

Well, until the last lap....I hadn't been drinking much because I had taken both my water bottle cages off so I could run cyclocross style. It was a great idea "in theory" but difficult to find good places to access my bottle in my jersey pocket. Rookie maneuver.

I was pretty blown from all of the running by the last lap and got passed by 5 girls bumping me into 16th position. Norm was yelling at me to hold onto wheels but i was having a really hard time moving quickly. I had one last battle in me with Shonny Vanlandingham (Luna Chix) through the trees but she caught me again in the last feed zone.

I was even at risk of losing two more positions in the finish chute. because I had to sprint two girls on my tail in my middle ring which was now skipping. I barely finished ahead of them, bent over gasping. So it was a bittersweet finish. I could look at it as moving up to 16th from a 56th start position or moving back to 16th from a 4th position. Either way it was my best finish at a world cup mountain bike race and came with valuable UCI points. I'll take it!

Thanks to all of our team sponsors Velo Bella, Kona, SRAM, Easton, Schwalbe, Zeal Optics (I lost my sweet pink Rush's in the mud! Some crazy Belgian fan will be happy), Fox, San Marco, SIDI, Hincapie, Team estrogen, P@zzo, Vanderkitten. Thanks to my sponsors Helly Hansen and Frontrunners. Thanks so much to Pim and Norm for being my mechanic and manager and feeders in the pouring rain.

photo by Rob Jones of CanadianCyclist.com

Rolling in Fayetville

Jen Joynt and Hiroko packed in like sardines in route to airport after Gila ...
ahh road trips the smell from the backseat...

Bellas just returned from the Joe Martin Stage race in Fayetteville Arkansas.
Kele, Jen C, and Hiroko represented the team a week after the Gila. In route to Arkansas the Fabulous Velo Bella-Kona team Eurovan took a poop in lovely town of Dallas. Money fixed it minus the Airconditioning and Jen C was back on the road.

Hiroko coming in with a stong finish!

Team Van and gear

Thanks to Arkansas local Velo Bella Addie and her fiance Dan the gals were well taken care of.
Addie got the opportunity to snap some pics.

Hiroko feeling good!

Jen Chapmans post will be going up in Race reports soon.

Jen Chapman's take on Joe Martin 64 mile stage on Friday

Jen rolls in after a long day on the side of the road.

I was in a group of 5 including 2 Colavita and trying to catch back on to
the leading group that Hiroko had strongly pushed to stay with on the climb. My little group was so determined to catch back on to the leading group and we tried for a long time until I heard that familiar hissing noise from the little hole in the tube and had to wish my friends a good race and wait on the side of the road for a wheel.

Nothing happens to quickly in Arkansas and that includes wheel changes. It's pretty funny actually. I was on the side of the road with my front wheel in the air and waiting for an eternity for someone to stop when finally after the last group on the road came through I see a neutral wheel support (Ford) truck behind them. They stop and the driver gets out and walks back to me asking what I needed. I thought the front wheel in the air was a pretty clear message but I responded, "I need a spare front wheel". He pulled out a monster wheel I think might have come from a cruiser and I try to fit it on my fork. It takes a while but I finally make it work. The best part is that he actually apologized for my flat tire and gives me a quick push to get me back on the road. I had to start laughing at the push after I had been sitting on the road for about 5 minutes.
I can't really complain that much because the weather was beautiful and I had a chance to enjoy the beautiful surroundings, oh and and after I got started again I imagined I was off the front on a solo break. It was a peaceful ride back into Fayetteville and I could pick whatever line I wanted.

Arkansas is great and when I say nothing happens to fast out here that is a big compliment, unless it pertains to wheel changes. I enjoy the slower pace of life and it seems to make folks really friendly and willing to talk to you about pretty much anything.

Cat's Hill Report

by Lula

Ok Bellas, because I promissed my mentor, our own Brenna Bella, that I would write about my race experience at Cat's Hill and because I do love to talk about it anyways...here we go.

Oh, before I start, I want to mention that, as you all know me better at this point, I do like to write my race reports so you all can feel experience as if you were there with me, and for that, I write exactly what I was feeling, and thinking, at the time of the race. That all said and explained, seat back, relax, and enjoy the Cat's Hill experience of riding 4laps....hehehehe (lucky you this will be a short report; or maybe not :)

And, Brenna....So sorry!!!!!!!

A day before the race I talked to BBella to understand the secrets of Cat'sHill. And gals, she had lots to say. I had paper and pen on hands ready for all the advices she could give me. Let's just say that after the talk, I started thinking "maybe I should just pay forBrenna's ticket to come here and race with me, I mean, in front of me so I just need to follow her wheel...if I can, of course".

From that day on, it seemed more than 1 day, I could only think about the position, the gears, the turns, and position, the gears, the turn....At race day, I was feeling confidente. Did my warm up, thinking like Brenna, and felt great.

Got the bike ready, so I was thinking...., and head to the start. I was focused,thinking what Brenna told me, and in the zone, "just like Brenna would" until.....I hear"LULA!!!!!! She is so focused!!! Can you lift your arms?" and I see my Bellas so happy jumping up and down that for the first time in 2 days I was relaxed...just enough to don't bite my lips anymore and give a small smile. For that, thanks! I really needed it.



The refree was saying something and I did not give too much attention until I hear "if you do not have spare wheels at the specific area you will not be allowed to take someone else's wheels". I said: "10 laps, who need them??? If you do, you're out....hehehehe"

We started the race and I started thinking: "think like Brenna, just likeBrenna....what is this? what is this noise? Don't tell me it is a flat. Please God if it is a flat tell me is somebody else (sorry you all)." as this happened I jumped to the front and the 2 Los Gatos gals, Jen V. and Liza Penzel came in front of me and I knew I was in the right position.

We turned right, and "WHAT IS THIS noise?" and right again, and "what that heck is this?" and I shifted my gears just like Brenna said and up the hill and I said to myself:"this feel good, I can do this, I really can do this....focus, Lula, the top of the hill is not here, it is over there before the right turn, come on, harder....what is this noise?" .... we made another right turn and down the hill and "don't lose position here just like Brenna said" and another right turn and ....

"What is this noise? - ok, just keep going...it is only 10 laps". And the story repeated itself for 3 more laps when up the hill I started testing my front wheel to see if it was a flat and nothing... and after the downhill on the only long strech part I realized that "wait a minute, if my wheel is not properly locked I can die or kill someone....course, my fork at the bottom is cut..." you know, to make it easier to have thefront wheel out WHEN YOU WANT TO. Not now, not in this situation.

Then, a light!! "I can go back and say I had a mechanical problem and change the wheels..... the ones that are in my car!!! Beacause I AM NOT GOING TO NEED THEM!!!! Who will need them???" So ironic.



SO, with a lot of disapointment in my heart, and sad for all my team-mates andBellas around the Globe, including my most brilhant mentor, BBella, I stopped the race.:( :( :(

So I did what any other disappointed and frustrated Bella would do in a similar situation:- I changed into clean clothes,- I ate my sandwich,- I left my frustrations inside the car along with the bike, AND,- I joined my team-mates for lots of laughs and talk about our next adventure -Kern?Panoche? Mt.Hamilton?

Report from Spain

by Wendy

The airplane gorillas.
My flight to Europe was pretty uneventful. Or so I thought.

Apparently while I was munching nasty plane food and trying to find a comfortable spot to sleep two inches from some complete stranger, the airplane gorillas (as Alex likes to call them) were stomping up and down on my sweet Kula Lisa. I remained oblivious to this fact until the day after I arrived because not only did the gorillas stomp the crap out of my bike, they were obviously taking a coffee break when I transferred flights because my bike didn't arrive when I did.

When I finally got the bike on Friday and put it together I started taking note of all the problems. The derailleur hanger had snapped off. The chain rings were horribly bent. My rotor was bent. One of my wheels was warped. Oh yeah and I later learned that the drop out on my frame was so bent the wheel couldn't sit in it properly. I tried not to stress out.

Cody Peterson (3D racing), Sarah Tescher (3D racing) and my teammate Kristin Danielson took pity and pushed me to the venue so I could get some help. This was waaaaay beyond my mechanical expertise. Patrick from the Swiss Kona team and the SRAM boys (Jeremiah, Torbin and Marty) were super helpful, spending a long time on my bike to get it working again.

Casa de Campo
While they were working on my bike I was hanging out at the SRAM tent trying to stay out of the sun. As people returned from pre-riding, the common question was "have you seen the whores???".

Hmmmm. Not really what I would have expected. But I finally got out there and saw it for myself. The race course snaked through Casa de Campo, a park that was apparently a hot spot for the Madrid ladies soliciting love. And they were pretty obvious. I only saw a few on the course but that was enough for me, because they were showing off what they seemed to consider their best assets.

And apparently this was how the venue looked after it had been "cleaned up". I guess in previous years the hookers would be waiting super aggressive at the entrance to the race site and jump on the hoods of the team cars, or just open the doors and try to get in. This venue made Fontucky look like a church camp.

After the prostitutes, there really wasn't much to talk about when it came to the course. It was hard pack, fast, smooth, twisty, with no roots, a few short steep climbs and one steep sketchy descent. It was fun to ride but it was going to be pretty tough to race. No start loop, not a lot of passing spots and crazy fast.



Start list
Oh yeah. And 114 girls were going to be starting!!

The biggest women's world cup in a looooong time. I would like to think that huge start list is indicative of the growth of mountain biking but I am guessing it has more to do with the quest for Olympic spots in 2008. Either way it was pretty cool to be racing against 100+ of the top women in the world. I just would have rather had a better start position among those 100+.

My 71st ranking was going to be tough but I had to keep my trap shut because Kristin was 99, Sarah was 109 and poor old Cody was 182.

The Race
Race day was perfect at 10am. HOT at 1pm for the men. The call up started 20mins early because there were so many of us.

After the top 20 they gave up on names and just called numbers. I waited in the shade for my 71 to be called. The start was a bit delayed back on row 9 but once we got started it was all out war. 114 girls trying to make up spots in the 25m start stretch and beyond. And those euro girls are aggressive!! You had to fight for every single spot and hold onto it with all of your energy.

The course got really skinny at the top of the first climb and everyone was off their bikes trying to force their way through. It stayed like that for the first lap before things spread out a bit. But for the rest of the race, if you slacked off or slipped up, there was always someone there to blow by you.

But I had a solid race, picking people off whenever I could and holding onto most of my gains. I finished 35th but it felt like I had worked hard enough for top 10 so I was pretty happy with my race. And the best part was that I got some valuable UCI points to help my start position for Belgium.

Girona
We hightailed it out of Madrid pretty quickly after the race. It was dirty, noisy and full of traffic and construction.

We drove to Girona to stay at Kristin's place - much nicer! Great food, wicked rides, funky character and beaches. We are here exploring for a few days before Kristin and Sarah head home and I go to Belgium to meet Norm.

While I am sporting a few more freckles from a day at the beach, I hear its raining in Spa.....

Thanks to all of our team sponsors Velo Bella, Kona, SRAM, Easton, Schwalbe (the Fast Fred's rocked!), Zeal Optics, Fox, San Marco, SIDI, Hincapie, Team estrogen, P@zzo, Vanderkitten. Thanks to my sponsors Helly Hansen and Frontrunners. Thanks so much to the SRAM boys and the Swiss Kona wrench Patrick for saving my trashed bike and Valdic from Luna Chix for feeding us in the heat.

Photos by Rob Jones of Canadiancyclist.com

Belt Race Report, Belt MT

by Tina

Belt Race Report… Arrggghhh.



I SO apologize for my slackness in getting this out for a fun race from last weekend.

After a windy and rainy team triathlon the week before, I had gone out on Wednesday to test my legs on the hills, as Belt would have some. Bad. Very bad. My legs felt like logs and I started panicking. Fellow Bella Renee’ told me to think like Marco Pantani when he was the Pirate and dance on the pedals. I decided I’d be the Pink Pirate. Arrggh.

I took the mountain bike out on Thursday and felt better. Much better, but still panicking. Gotta love newbies for panic.

Let me start by saying there is nothing like spending the night before a race 20 minutes away from the start at a friend’s parents ranch with cows lowing in the background and sleeping on a big ole feather bed. Oh my. Didn’t want to get up and face the pain.

Belt, MT. Population, like 600. You are in the middle of cattle, wheat, and wind country. They have a wind farm near there that they shut down from time to time because it’s blowing too much. Ya know the American anthem, those “amber waves of grain?” There’s a REASON the grain is waving.

I figured some carbo loading on Friday night with Jennell’s mom’s spaghetti would do the trick. A big breakfast Saturday morning was scary, but well worth it. And then there was the banana bread.

Our kicking tail Montana Bella Zoe had been receiving contraband banana bread from Coach Jeff’s wife every week… I was starting to see a trend, so I ordered up my own loaf. And ate most of it on the way down Friday. I wasn’t taking any chances (or maybe I was!)

Belt is an Omnium race with an uphill time trial in Centerville (population of only 25) in the morning and then a 40-mile road race in the afternoon. My friend Jennell was nervous (her first race ever), but flaired out with some very cute hair accessories and a flashy jersey. I was very proud.

The uphill time trial had a lovely headwind. I was trying to decide between lighter wheels and a 23 or slightly heavier wheels with an extra cog. Hmmm. Someone said lighter wheels definitely. I cursed him all the way up the hill in my 23. Grr. And I really didn’t feel the power of the banana bread nor did I feel like the Pink Pirate. Arrgh...

Bellas Zoe and Renee’ did – Renee’ scorched the competition with a 21-minute time and Zoe took second. I managed to not be last. My friend Jennell is starting to get frustrated.
We ate lunch, watched a cattle drive, and drove to the start in Belt. I had calmed down some at this point, talked some tactics with Renee’ and Zoe. Although, since my goal is still to hang on with the front group to the finish, I don’t know if tactics are where I should be just yet.


Eleven women rolled down the road into a lovely headwind. The pack started heading up the first hill, and I hung on for dear life. Kept thinking Billy Idol “Dancing with myself.” Arrrggghh… I was stoked. One girl went off the front about 50 to 100 yards in front of us working with a junior, and sat out there in the wind for a long time. They eventually sat up and realized we had just been sitting there for awhile. Zoe and Renee, as well as a rider for Great Divide cycling were absolutely AWESOME encouraging me when I was really feeling tanked, as well as helping me figure out what to do.

The wind was every which way and you name the pace line style and we did it. Pace lining at 14-15 mph is rough stuff. But the wind was absolutely brutal. At the turnaround, there was much rejoicing. Yayyy.

A tailwind for the next 15+ miles – woohoo!! Oh, but then we had to go back over that big hill.

I started taking to being as close to the front as possible on the start of the climb, hoping to still be with the group, albeit at the caboose, on the top (arrrgh). It worked on a lot of the rollers. We got to the big climb, which had a short pitch and then a longer grind. I made the short pitch, but then couldn’t hang on for the longer grind. It was only 8 miles to the finish, so I was pretty happy to have made it that far with the front group. Jane with Great Divide was with me and we worked together to the finish – never letting the other girls out of our sights. When it came to the sprint on a slight incline, I went to stand (remember, I love to sprint), and my legs literally gave out from under me. Ah, the price you pay for being a pirate!

There would be no standing, no sprinting and Jane took the well earned 6th spot. But I was there. That was worth more than any sprint. Each race I get stronger, feel more encouraged and am ready to take on the next one.

Overall, Renee’ came in 3rd, but 1st in the CAT3s, and Zoe came in 4th. The photo has the tippee top of Renee’s helmet as 1st and 2nd place for the women came down to a sprint.

And my friend Jennell? She lost the front group not far from the start and sat in the wind by herself on the way out, but her competitive drive kicked in (she said she got really mad) and she passed people on her way in – and didn’t finish last. So I’m really hoping that she’ll come back out and race. But really, that she’s still my friend.

Until next weekend and the Cow Pie Classique mountain bike race. Moo.

Fontana NORBA

The Fontucky freak show
I heard a few jokes about the Fontana area before I left for the first NORBA of the year, but I didn’t think it could be all THAT bad. I come from Nanaimo, which gets a bad rap by everyone who drives through the strip malls to get to where they are going. They never stop to check out any of the great trails, parks and beaches in Nanaimo. So I was ready to keep an open mind about Fontana. Sure there was heavy smog, gridlock traffic at 2 o’clock in the afternoon, graffiti on the race course, and a condom wrapper marking where the Velo Bella-Kona tent should stand, but I was trying to look past all of that. But when I got SHOT AT by two freaks with a paintball gun during my race I lost all sympathy and figured they probably deserved the jokes.

The homestay:
Lucky for us, the Velo Bella-Kona team avoided the freak show and stayed with the Baty family in Redlands. Actually, we were so many we spilled over into the neighbors across the street and down the road. They were great hosts!

The racing:
The Velo Bella’s were well represented as we had girls racing the marathon, super D, cross country, kids race and short track.

MARATHON – I didn’t race this event but I can tell you that the girls got up super early to make their 7:30am start Friday. If that is a regular occurrence, you will likely never see me racing a marathon event. Shannon Holden and Erin Duggan were out there rrrrepresentin’ the Velo Bella-Kona team in the early morning dawn while the rest of us were having a hard time getting our butts out of bed. We caught the end of the race as Shannon pulled in 6th and Erin 8th, I will let them tell you their war stories from the 49mile course.

CROSS COUNTRY – The coolest thing about the XC race was that there were over 60 pro women! Unfortunately for me, the NORBA organizer’s roll out list went off last years series results (I only did one event) so I didn’t hear my name until mid way through this 60 person call-up. Not an ideal spot since there was a super steep, loose climb about 300m out. I had to pin it off the start and weave through three rows to get up into the top group for the climb. It was a good thing I didn’t stick around row 4 because there was a crash off the start that held up some of the other Velo Bella girls. I should have been happy with my effort but I was greedy and torched my legs trying to pass a few more girls when I should have just saved energy for the 99% of the course that was left. I got dropped and suffered up the rest of the climbs lap 1. I did have some great descents. The course was super dry and rutted with some serious man-eating braking bumps but it was really twisty and fun singletrack for the most part. I recovered some dignity and energy for lap 2 and hooked up with Sue Haywood (Trek-VW) and Kathy Sherwin (Ford). I made my move at the start of the last lap and thought I had dropped them both but Sue had more in the reserve tank than I had guessed and left me for 9th place.

After the XC race, MTB action was doing a weigh-off of the race bikes and my Kula Lisa came in second at 22.6lbs! Not too shabby considering I am a sasquatch on the start line of most races.

Alex Fabbro and Kathleen Bortolussi stepped up for the pink and blue as they came home with the 1-2 trophies in the expert XC race Sunday

Super D - We also had two podium finishes for the women’s super D. Erin Duggan had a 5th place in the Pro category and Alex Fabbro brought home the BIG trophy for her category.

KIDS RACE – Jen Tilley was asked to help out with the kid’s race along with a few other pros, I can’t remember their names… She was decked out in her full pink and blue kit to race the under 7 race that included our own Katya Baty in her Velo Bella-Kona jersey (Brent gave it to her when the road team stayed at her house for the Redlands race). She got the hole shot and absolutely annihilated the other girls on her BMX bike (including JT).

Barry Wicks was hoping he could take the under 12 race by making them do 12 laps but the officials bumped it down to 2 laps. Barry led the group into the hail bails and tried to get away but one guy caught him in the finish chute.

SHORT TRACK – If the time trail is the “race of truth” than I think the short track should be “the race of death”. There is something seriously wrong with the amount of suffering you inflict upon yourself for this twenty minute race. It never sounds like a long time but you know you are in trouble when you desperately check the clock to find you have been racing for 12mins. The only thing that saved me was that the course was amazing! It was a really fun loop that went UP the mountain cross course to link up with a steep loose downhill and twisty singletrack through the trees. I didn’t torch my legs off the start like Sat but I made a few moves to get up to the front pack. Unfortunately, I always seemed to be dangling off the back of that group. The worst spot to be in, yet I couldn’t seem to move up. Every time I got a good spot I would lose it on a bad corner or yo-yo off a bobble. I held on for a long time but came apart on the last lap and lost a few spots to end up 11th.

So that wrapped up the Fontucky NORBA, sure it was a little ghetto but I guess we can’t always race the ski hills of Whistler and Big Bear..

Thanks to our team manager/mechanics Alex Burgess, Jed Peters and Tim Burgess. Thanks to our wicked homestay families. And thanks to our team sponsors Velo Bella, Kona, SRAM, Easton, Schwalbe, Zeal, Hincapie, Sidi, Giro, Crank Brothers, Fox, P@zzo and my sponsors Helly Hansen and Frontrunners

Tour of the Gila Day 3 - Teamwork for survival

Click here for more pictures!

Day 3 of the TDG is a 70+ mile race through the mountains over the Continental Divide with endless climbing and technical fast descending down the spine of the GILA!

The first sprint was 6 miles in on a uphill grade where the first rider to pop off was a lone Mcguire gal (who amazingly rode in alone the entire way!). A few miles later still on the first climb which seemed endless Hiroko came through the caravan trying her best but the legs just would not let her go harder. We cheered her on from the car and yelled at her (like team managers do) and tried to help her along. We had to leave her. A bit further up the road just before Pinos Altos Kele started coming back right as the pitch of the climb really where the peloton just put on the pressure to get over the top and start descending. We cheered Kele on the best we could. I knew that Kele is a very good descender and she would catch on after she made it over the climb.
Jen C too broke just before the top of climb as her back could not take the pressure. Then about 20 more got detached containing the rest of the Bella's. There was still more climbing, but Jen C caught back on in the first descent and managed to get back with the Jane, Noel, and Jen J where they struggled to keep the pace up and get back to the group before the long descent into Mibres Valley where the field would slow down and the headwind would begin.

Jen J and Jane went to the front to do most of the work where other riders sat on their wheels.
After the mile climbing through feedzone 1 was the big descent and they rode well for a really long time.
After a while, I called over the radio to Kele:" Kele if you can hear me give me a squawk on the radio".. Kele replied "squawk!" and I knew she was coming.
A few minutes later in the crazy 180 degree turns I looked in my mirror and saw Kele was barreling down the hill just killing it to catch on... and she did. Flying through the corners. I looked at my speedometer and I was doing 45 and she was passing the cars!
Once in the Valley the gap was announced to me as 3 minutes. Then a few minutes later the official told me it was 7 minutes! I could not believe it and figured it was wrong, so I didn't tell the gals that number but told them to keep moving to chase on. Later after the gals were chasing in the valley for what seemed like 40 miles someone reported the Gap to the peleton was 22 minutes... The wind was taken out of their sails, they were really bummed out. A few corners later someone on the side of the road yells out its 2 minutes to the peloton! It seems they meant it was 2 minutes and 22 seconds! And fires were lit under a few rears, Kele , Jane, Jen C, Jen J, and Noel hammered off the front of the chase group and brought them back into the fold just a few miles before the turn off heading back up the climbs with about 15 miles to go. It was amazing, Kele really dug herself deep to help and so did Jen J while in the Valley, without the collaborative effort the Bellas would have not had any opportunity to finish with the lead.

Jane, Noel, and Jen C made it over the 2nd feedzone climb, while Kele and Jen J both came off. They had done their job and had done it well.

A few miles later Jen C could not take the pressure from the attack on the climb and broke off too.
It was just Jane and Noel left in the Peloton that were pushing through the terrible headwind on a super long descent.

Going into the last corner with about 1K there was an attack and the Bellas just missed it. Jane stayed with her group containing Gaby and pushed on to come in 20 seconds off the winner and Noel at 30 seconds finishing with Kathryn Curi.
Dotsie Bausch won the stage.
Jen C rolled in about 8 minutes later , then Jen J and Kele about 12 minutes off the win time. We hadn't seen Hiroko since the first climb of the day 60 miles earlier. Amazingly she came in just 28 minutes behind. All alone and she managed to stay within a half hour. Hiroko was a trooper and inspired everyone never to give up!

The team dinner was well earned thanks to Janes parents for treating. Hiroko can sure put it away!



-Brent
Velo Bella -Kona
Road Team Manager

Tour of The Gila Day 1 and 2

This week at the Gila we have 6 riders attending from Velo Bella-Kona.
Jane Ziegler
Kele Murdin
Jen Chapman
Hiroko Shimada
Jen Joynt
Noel Weddle (Guest riding)

Someone once told me, "stage racing is a series of dramas. Each drama leads you closer to the finish, so you remember each drama is just a part of the whole picture and ride on".

Yesterday was the 15 mile out and back over a mountain time trial. Proved to be much harder for Bellas this year.
The teams TT bikes were not here so we had to use clip ons and standard wheels.
Results were not what we expected but the TT was not a focal point for us all.

Today was the 60+ mile point to point through the desert 59 miles and hang a right.. right into the mountains.

This year the temp was nicer and the wind was lighter.


About 25 miles in the race there was a Massive pile up, 3 VBs got tangled in pretty bad. Jen Joynt and Hiroko were able to get back on and out in time to get in a chase back group. Jane on the other hand took the blunt of the fall and turned her bars, stem, shifters, brakes tweaked... So it took us a few minutes to get her back together again.

She had to go it solo as the peleton containing only 3 riders with 2 already struggling to get back in were WAY too far to send anyone back for. It was a super tough decision. Kele, Jen, and Noel did what they could to help encourage the slow down. And slow it did. After a few miles we could see Janes helmet coming over the crest behind us and I went back to check on her. "This race isn't over yet" were the words from her mouth.

I drove back up to the caravan and planned on calling Kele back out when the got closer to the hills, but I looked in the mirror and I saw 2 Diet Cheerwine riders with Jane chasing hard. From there we knew she was ok and she could get some rest before the climb. Jane proved she was a tough cookie.

At the turn, yet another dramatic moment... Keles chain dropped while shifting and wrapped around the crankarm. For the life of Tony (mechanic) and I, we could not get it off.
Then to make matters worse, we could not get the backup bike off Noels car! So we broke the chain and pulled the one off the backup bike and put it on Keles.... poor thing it really sucked. She did manage to scrape some time together in the end, but rode super well and smart today.

When the gals headed up hill, Jane who was pooped from her endless time trial today popped off the group right at the last climb. She rode strong for as long as she could. Then Jen C and Jen J. But further up we came across Noel, who was climbing really well. But low and behold the rider we never caught up to (who was so afraid of altitude ), none other than Hiroko did excellent!

Unsure of results, but I will post them as soon as I get them. After such a terrible pile up and so much work the gals did pull together a pretty good result.



Well off to the shop, Tony and I have a lot of work to do for the gals bikes tonight....

Madera-uh

by Lula

So, here we go...

But let me tell you one thing: the pre-race report is more fascinating that the actual race report... Just FYI..

Friday - The Travel

Monica and I agreed to meet around 3:30pm at the TT course for our pre-race ride. And, with that beautiful hot sun out, i couldn't be happier.... We arrived at the race site and started organizing the TT bikes. Monica came along with her fast skinny wheels on her blue TT bike while I had to set up those strange nasa looking aero bars on my carbon- fiber bars...I knew it wouldn't be a good idea...more on that later.

So, ready to go and there we went. As we rolled out talking to each other we made a 1st right turn and kept going and going and going and look, Monica is going faster..... and over the train track.. And, wait a minute... a train?!

I stopped thinking to myself: "will I need to stop for the train during the TT?? OR does Bob have a remote control to stop the train when a racer is approaching???" Anyhow, I had to keep on going, after the very long train passed, as Monica was way ahead of me.

I finally see Monica and I informed her of my thoughts but she was sure that we were on the right track and that she did remember seeing the train... OK, I said...

Later, way later, when we saw the 99hwy, Monica realized that we did take a wrong turn, but at this point the only option was to keep on going; and, for the 1st time in the course, or out-of-the-course, we would have a tail wind. Sweet! we were thinking... And we were so wrong; we started working together, and this is when it gets interesting.

I'm riding behind Monica thinking: "God she is good and steady; I hope I am not too sketchy when is my turn to pull". Once back to the car, we decided to just roll to the finish line and beyond to see where we made the wrong turn and I made a compliment to Monica on how steady she is on the TT position and she said the same about me.

And then ... i made the very appropriate comment: "Monica, I was afraid of having you behind me for too long as i could barely keep a straight line on these aero bars.... in fact, have you heard those stories of teammates who pre-ride a race and crash on each other?!" and we were laughing so hard....

And...as I was making an U turn and fell.

Hehehe...go ahead, laugh cuz we did. I mean, Monica did. Instead of giving me a hand, she just said: "look how cute her little bag"... I couldn't stop laughing looking at her face saying what she just said...

But then I stood up and said: "Good! I got my crash out of the way and the system"

Later on the day, we went to the hotel where more strange things happened. But, long story short, we finally got our 2 beds, non-smoking room close to the elevator and Monica knew pretty much what was going on on the building. I will let her explain her power...

Saturday AM - The Crit

- We woke up, we changed, we ate, we got my car organized, and there we went.

We parked, we registered, we warmed-up, we raced (there was a crash right in front of me at the 2nd last right turn), we all panic, we sprinted, we finished the race and I was mad, very mad.... but I finished in 10th despite my madness.

Saturday PM - The TT

- We showered, we changed, we ate, we put our legs up, we got the cars organized, and there we went.

We parked, we signed in, we warmed-up ( under the cherry tree without a black horse - it was sort of a warm-up as I was keeping an eye on Kim as my start time was 3 minutes after her and I didn't want to miss the start; she got of her bike way long before the TT time and I panic and did the same).

We raced (I tried, seriously.... I kept thinking that Monica was right behind me trying to catch me up and I had to paddle really fast and hard and then the unthinkable happened, my aero bars came to my nose....and there was my focus all gone....

And the gal behind me passed me, and then another one, and I said: Stop in the name of love; I will not go down this way...so I started going harder and harder approaching both of them until crossing the line), we finished the race closer to each other and I was mad, very mad.... Later I learned that I finished in 12th despite all my accumulated madness.

Sunday - The RR

- We woke up, we changed, we ate (quite a lot: 2 pancakes, 2 white eggs scrambled, 2 wheat toasts, coffee and orange juice) we got the cars organized, and there we went.

We parked, we didn't need to sign in, we warmed-up, we raced, we rode thru the washing machine, we (I) sang "shake you booties" during the race, one gal was SO above the normal out of line and very dangerous that we all avoided staying behind or even closer to her, we all watched metromint go over the center line over and over again, and we had a small crash that I never saw.

I stayed with the lead pack ( for the 1st time ion a RR with cat1/2s), and I was even more mad, extremely mad.... But later I learned that I finished in 5th despite all my more than accumulated madness.

-- I wasn't really mad...I just liked the pattern...did you notice it?! How cool..

Anyhow, after coming back to the car, and changing, and eating, and waiting, waiting, waiting, waiting for the results, which were so wrong I learned that I was in 9th on the GC right behind Kim and in front of Flavia, who despite winning the Crit and placing 4rd in the RR could not make up any time on me as my TT bike was terrible but about 1 minute faster than her....hehehe

Lessons learned:
1. Sunblock DO HAVE expiration date...
2. Monica is very aware of the surroundings...
3. TT bars are to be tested way long before the race day...
4. If #3 is not possible, then the TT bars position need to be marked on your bike so you can put them on the correct place...
5. DO NOT, I repeat, DO NOT use a sunblock that had been expired...the results can be disastrous...
6. I will travel with Monica as a roam-mate any time...especially if she provides the peanut butter and jelly sandwiches along with the great laughs...

Pre-Race Report - Madera

By Lula

I will send my report later today, when......

my forearms feel better from the sunburn,...

my shoulders relax from the "shake your booties" part of the race,...

my neck and back relax from the TT position that was so wrong that I was feeling like I was going up to the sky instead of forward on the road (my bars came up to mynose,literally),...

my buttocks relax from the small but hard fall I took when pre-riding the TTcourse along with my lovely team-mate called Monica, who first words after my fall were: "howcute your little bag"....- you don't wanna miss that -

All in all, I was happy with my racing, TT a part and a crash at the Crit right in front of me. On the GC I finished 9th and I was happy that I stayed with the lead pack all the way to the finish at the RR, finishing in 5th. And the weather.... Let me tell you this, I liked it! Gorgeous and hot!!!!! just the way I likeit.. Can you see my happy face?!?!?!

Julie's First Report- Madera

by Julie

I have raced twice as a Bella but have kept a low profile. This was my first opportunity to get to know the girls and I must say, I was very impressed. Everyone was so encouraging and helpful. I felt very "included" and it was a fantastic experience.

On to the race: I drove down with Kim Heiser who is a wealth of knowledge. I listened and watched very carefully for every trick, skill, training plan, routine, or nugget of information I could ascertain. I hit the jackpot!

I have only done three Crits in my short cycling life but this one will go down in my memory. It was a large combined group of 39 women. I stayed with the group, kept my eyes open for an opportunity and took it on the last turn for the finish line. I turned on the inside and sprinted for the finish. It worked and I got 2nd place. After my heart attack was over I got myself together for the next round.

The TT course was a loop with a nasty head wind on the second turn. I left my HR monitor at home (what else is new) so I had to wing it. I took it easy for the first 5 minutes then picked it up. I felt steady but that head wind was a motivation buster. I used my "firmly mounted" time trial bars and did not come out of the position once. That was a goal for me.

The Road Race for Cat 4 started at 11:40. By that time, I wanted to be sipping Margi's with my feet up but, there was a three way tie for first place going into the RR. Two Bellas and a CVC gal.

Heidi and I talked about a plan but she had to pee within the first 15 minutes. She stopped (and humored the guy on the motor cycle so much he passed by two or three times) and those lead girls took the opportunity to hammer it on the rough stuff. That was tough.

After the breakaway it was down to just Soni and me. We held strong to the finish but I was fading fast. It is amazing how 20 feet can be the difference between 2nd and 7th. This was the first time I was ever with the lead group at the finish line. I learned a lot. I ended up 3rd in the GC.

The experience of being part of the team and camaraderie among everyone was the best part of the weekend. It was such a positive experience. Thank you all for providing me such a wonderful opportunity.