Columbia CX from Tennessee

:: Columbia Cyclocross Report, Jan. 13 and 14 ::

SATURDAY, JANUARY 13, RACE #1

1st place :: Molly Graves
2nd place :: Laura Sweeney
3rd place :: Joy Denney

SUNDAY JANUARY 14, RACE #2

1st place :: Laura Sweeney

The dollars have not been counted, but the Velo Bellas of Tennessee can call their cyclocross bake sale a success!! In addition to feeding hungry racers, we had three Bellas participate on Saturday and one on Sunday.

Our podium gals, Saturday, January 13, from left: Joy, Laura, Molly


:: Columbia Cyclocross Report, Jan. 27 and 28 ::

Saturday was a great day for women, with a turnout from some of the best females in the area. Temps were a little nippy but fine, with temps in the upper 40s at race time.

SATURDAY, JANUARY 27, RACE #3

1st :: Becky Walter, Nashville, TN
2nd :: Carolyn Heichel, Nashville TN
3rd :: Joanie Redman, Team MOAB, Nashville, TN
4th :: Laura Sweeney, Velo Bella KONA TN
5th :: Angela Brown, Velo Bella KONA TN
6th :: Dee Davis, Velo Bella KONA TN
7th :: Yvonne Horn, Velo Bella KONA TN

Sunday, the weather challenged even the bystanders, with a race temp of 32 degrees or so, and gusts of wind not for the faint of heart! Our women still had a good showing that day, and braved the temps with smiles on their faces.

SUNDAY, JANUARY 28, RACE #4

1st place :: Molly Graves, Velo Bella KONA TN
2nd place :: Laura Sweeney, Velo Bella KONA TN
3rd place :: Dee Davis, Velo Bella KONA TN

Full results are at the Columbia Cycling Club website, www.columbiacyclingclub.com

Natasha, our first pro Bella in the Southeast, swept the Seniors on Sunday!! She was the only female in the category and walked away with 1st!!

Senior (19-29)
1st :: Natasha Cowie

All of the pics are from Sunday's chilly race. Pics from Saturday will be posted as soon as they become available. Natasha is in the red helmet, Laura in the pink helmet, Molly was decked out in rad socks and pink "Hot Cyclocross Buns" underwear in honor of our bake sale," and Dee has the yellow helmet with the white balaclava.

GO BELLAS!!

Pine Flat Reportage

by Tracie

Pine Flat is a race for climbers. It’s a race for girls who eat salad for dinner, put safety pins in their arm warmers to keep them from sliding down their boney limbs, and seem to have bikes filled with helium. It’s for the girls who can glide uphill without breathing hard and crest the top of a grade without going cross-eyed.

I’m not one of those girls, but I am a pretty damn good wanna-be. I wanted to use the race for training and to see where my fitness was at, so I said Bring it ON.

The field was fairly small by most race standards, but just hitting double digits it was pretty decent for Pine Flat standards. The players were Kelly, Pat and Maria from Touchstone; Lisa Penzel, Jen Joint, Tracy Lillig, Jane Despas; and Erika, Liz B and myself from VB.

From the gun, two of the girls decided to attack their way up the neutral promenade driveway. “Shit. If I get dropped in the first 500 feet on a neutral driveway, things are going to be pretty damn rough” I told myself.

Things mellowed out for a while and Jane Despas seemed content to sit at the front for pretty much ever. If she wasn’t on the front, she was off to the side of the group riding by herself in the wind. Normally I would roll my eyes at such behavior, but knowing it was Jane Despas and that she could probably ride out in the wind all friggin day and still kick my ass, I just shrugged it off and appreciated the draft.

Mostly the pace remained pretty comfortable, although there was a longer roller where things got pretty fast and strung out. Jane the Train was up there putting the hammer down. I remember realizing that we were going pretty hard, and then realizing that to my surprise I wasn’t about to get dropped. “You’re going to have to try harder than that if you want to get rid of ME, pansies!” I yelled at my competitors in my best british accent. At least I did in my head.

At one point, we stopped for a pee break. I won’t go into great detail but I can say that I witnessed a pretty infamous occurrence here at the pee stop and can vouch that everything I’ve heard from follow vehicle drivers is true. Very true.

Somewhere on the flat section, Pat Ross’ rear shifter cable broke. She had a choice of 53x12 or 39x12 and kept mashing along with us. That woman has some serious power and made it over a couple of rollers that I would probably have fallen over on given her gearing. At the toe of the climb she bid us farewell and later as she zoomed by in VeloBob’s pick-up yelled some words of encouragement.

It was fairly obvious throughout the race that the Touchstone girls were doing everything they could to keep Maria out of the wind and fresh for the end, so I wasn’t really surprised when she attacked up the early part of the climb. I hung onto the group for a while before things shattered, and finished up the rest of the race alone.

All in all, it was a great day’s training. I am pretty pleased with where my climbing is at and feel like I have a better idea of what I need to work on. It was great to have Liz in the race too as she knows how to read a race and was a great resource. A big congrats to the Touchstone girls for a well-earned win.

Martinez Bath

by Erika

Ugh.

Ass-handing. That's about it.

It took me about two laps to feel comfortable and to be off the back.

And you would think that after so many laps I would learn to avoid the two puddles down the middle of the road. Move just a little to the left or right, not like I was fighting for position in my group of three, or was it two? But every lap, swooosh right up into the face but it was okay, washed away the drool.

Finally my little group of two (or was it really just me?) hooked up with a few other riders and we went around in circles very pleasantly. Splish-splash. I took one corner wide and seemed to be heading for the ATM but managed to get back on course.

Finally after getting lapped I pulled out and sloshed my way to find Linda and her always soothing words. I stood in the cold and cheered on Mary and Ryan who were doing exceptionally well. Then I went to the car to change.

It's hard getting out of a soaking tight skinsuit in the backseat of a Toyota King cab surrounded by wheel bags and trainers. I didn't have a towel. All I could find to dry myself were napkins that Linda takes from cafes and restaurants. I rubbed and rubbed but i just got little white wormy things all over me. They're not very absorbant, really, those napkins, not like you'd expect them to be.

Fiesta Island TT

by Kathleen

They’d been talking on the radio for days about the big storm heading our way: the system from northern California is moving south, we’re gonna get slammed. Now, I’ve only lived in San Diego for a few months, but I’ve realized that you only have to live here, oh say, a few days before you get kinda soft on the weather front, so I actually started wondering if I was going to go out and do this race.

But I woke up Sunday morning to just a little drizzle and figured I could live with that. Apparently, most of the other women signed up could not, since the women’s field shrunk considerably from the pre-registration list. But, the Bellas showed up!

I met up with Julia and Raja at registration, got our numbers and went off to set up the trainers. As we warmed up, we chatted with people who came by and got some stories from men who’d been among the early starters and were already done. We heard about some slippery corners and strong winds and I was thinking maybe Julia would still let me eat the post-race donuts she’d brought if I just sat on my trainer for another hour.

But our time got closer, we got warmer, and the drizzle eased up, so we headed off to the start line. The person before me didn’t show up, so I tried to talk the timers into letting me start early and pretending that I didn’t get the extra 30 seconds. I tried telling them that I could really use those seconds and if they gave them to me I promised I’d come to the next race in better shape…..to no avail.

They laughed – all except that one guy who thinks you might be serious despite the fact that you are clearly cracking yourself up (if no one else!) and gives you that stern look…..and you kind of want to smack him upside the head….but I digress.

Once out there, I found that the sand that had washed into the road was a much bigger problem than any slick corners (corners, as it turned out, were just fine). I could hear the sand in my gears every time I shifted and tried to stop thinking about the hours I’d spent cleaning my bike the day before! And, for Fiesta Island, which is one of those places that sometimes manages to have a headwind in all directions, the winds were pretty calm on most of the loop.

I passed a couple of women and a few geezers, got passed by plenty of boys and made my way around the loop a couple more times. I’d say my biggest problem on the day was my lack of concentration: spent some time thinking about a paper I need to write, followed by “Kathleen, pay attention!,” then some thinking about the donuts that were waiting at the end, followed by “Kathleen, would you f*&$ing concentrate,” then some time wondering if I’d actually get in some extra miles after this race despite being covered in sandy mud or if I’d pursue another favorite activity (drinking coffee and reading the New York Times), followed by “crap, I forgot to pay attention again.” You get the idea (for evidence, there is a photo of me smiling on the course – there is no way that I'd be smiling during a TT unless I was thinking about donuts!).

So, goal for next race in this series: focus. Other than the lack of concentration (or, more likely, because of it), I had fun out there. And now I am motivated to do the next one and do better. Julia and I had been bantering all week about taking this race as one to “establish our baselines” (entertaining ourselves with all kinds of ways to translate that phrase).....and I think I covered that.
I also established my flair baseline (I had none) and will have lots of room to improve for next time!

Bellas made a great showing: Julia got first in the 20-29 women and Raja got first in the 30-39 women (despite starting 2 minutes late!). And, I got to meet Whitney who I believe was the first San Diego Bella, so that was cool too. All in all, a fun morning and a good start to the series.

More Fiesta TT pics here

Dee Dee Does Worlds!

Final Race Report from Belgium

The last week I was in Belgium I got some good mud racing tips from Eric Tonkin and Rhonda Mazza. They were even so kind as to take me out on a training ride… in the mud. I had a blast. I was like a pig in poop. I felt relaxed and more confident and was making it through sections I would never have previously been able to handle. Woohoo!

So Thursday and Friday we pre-rode the course. It was a very different ride b/t the two days and I was thinking it was only going to get worse. The course started on a long straight stretch, took a 90-degree left turn and then another 90 degree left turn into a very muddy section. This proved to be a huge downfall on Sunday after the gun went off. I thought I had a pretty good start and then a few women went down in front of me in this section. I stayed on my bike, and then a few more went down, this time I had to get off. I was running my bike through the mud at this point seeing the front ladies disappear to never again have even a glimpse of them. Once through the muddy section you enter onto the grassy soccer field area, go around the pit, out the other side and head uphill to the first of 3 descents. These were much sketchier the previous 2 days than they were this a.m.

The course had been somewhat groomed with some sand put down here and there. Once down the first descent there was a long straight stretch, a hairpin turn to the right, up some stairs, down the second (the worst of the 3 descents), down around, up some more stairs and down the third descent. There was a long stretch that became somewhat muddy and proved to be the most challenging part of the course, power wise, anyway. (It was here that on my last lap through I heard the announcer saying Katie Compton is in 2^nd place. I was ecstatic! I even gave a little cheer and continued my race.) I was climbing through this section in my easiest gear feeling like the pedals weren’t even turning.

There was another hairpin turn, down the slightly slick descent, around the tree and back up. I had to dismount this area and run my bike which proved for me to be faster and keep my heart rate a little lower than trying to ride it, up the ramp and down the other side. I was back on my bike. I hit the sand and found a clean path on the right hand side with a fresh tire rut. I hopped off, put my wheel in it and started running. I was so very close to the edge that I was almost running into the fans. Those that were hanging over had to scoot back a bit when I came through.

I was back on the bike after the sand and another deep rutted mud pit was straight ahead. I had seen people go down in this time and time again. I told myself, keep your head up, feet pedaling, never stop pedaling, look straight ahead, never down. Every time that I did this I made it through the mud without bobbling. I have to admit that I was not going at a rocket’s pace but it kept me upright. Baby steps right?

I always knew I needed the practice and this was great practice. I only wish I had had some earlier in the season. Up the hill, down the other side, around the corner, one more set of stairs, back on the bike, down the ramp and just a short muddy section until the start finish stretch. The previous week I had much trouble staying upright on my bike through the deep rutted sections of the course. Today, not so much. I kept my pace even and my head up. I had some improvements in these areas but my finish was still below par. But… I did the very best that I could. In all that I do, I have to practice, practice, practice before I get good at it. This was something that I hadn’t really done much of but actually look forward to doing in the future b/c of what I now know. I am not sure that I will ever be super talented at riding and cornering in the mud but I am certainly willing to give it the ol’ college try.

All in all, my experience in Belgium was fantastic. The training rides, hanging out with the other athletes and getting to know some of the locals made quite an impression on me. Having 3 silver medals from Danny Summerhill, Katie Compton and Jonathan Page was a great statement for American cycling. Both Rhonda and Kerry had impressive rides as well and all I could think was if Ann and Georgia had come to Worlds we would have had 5 women in the top 15. WOW! But… I was excited to be here and very grateful that I got the chance to experience cycling at this level. I was certainly happy to be home but I do miss hanging out with some of the people who had become friends in such a short period of time.

What’s next? For now, some time off of the bike. For later? Well, I am not really sure.

Thanks so much for everyone’s support and words of encouragement. It was truly a special occasion!

Dee Dee

Boulevard and the Winds from Hell

By Raja

NIPPILY!!!!

COLD & NIPPILY.

Bittie, nippily, dark winds from somewhere other than San Diego. We don't do cold. We don't do wind. Well unless of course you tell us we're racing and then you're talking bid-ness.

Headwinds, ok. Crosswinds, ok. But head-cross-flip-cross-headwinds?!? If the mens Pro field wasn't so beautifully decked in spandex.. I might not have been smiling so much. Gotta love men in tights. This is a notoriously nasty early season road race. This year, the hills were easy compared to the wind. Especially if you were caught by yourself. With just under 4000' of climbing... the chances of being caught by yourself or with a small group were high since the climbing tends to string out the field. But we had such a lovely bunch of Bellas, and so pretty!!!

The cast:
Julia "Uhlie la la" Uhlendorf
Rhonda "Rrrrrrrr" Geisler
"Happy Happy Joy" Joy Muehlenbein
Shannon "I'm Game" Werner
Julie "Goodie Got it" Goodwin
Raja "La-Hottie" Lahti

I have to say, these women ROCK. Rhonda and I had done the race last year, but for everyone else, this was their first road race. The night prior we all got together for some spaghetti dinner at Efrat Veidman's place for some confidence building and road racing chat. We're going to miss Efrat, she's moving back to Israel in 2 weeks. She's been an amazing cycling resource for us San Diego Bellas. I am a sad bella.... :-(

Registration/Check-In was a mess and by the time I got out of there I had just enough time to gather my flair and start stripping. Warming up on the trainers was going to take too long to set up, so we all hopped on and started riding in circles for a brief warm up. The race started and by mile 2 we were careening down the road at 30-40 mph. Holy-frijoles Batman!! I have wings! Juls (Uhlie) was perfectly placed up in the front of the peloton. Her technical skills and descending abilities are wicked and she worked her way up to perfection. 11 miles in, the fun's over and the hills start. I felt surprisingly good and was able to stay with the lead group when the pack split. At mile 19 the front pack split again and a group of women were able to rip our legs off and separate off the front. By this time I'm cursing myself and just trying to stay out of the wind. Gotta love those race wheels... freakin' kites! (They did however save my little rear on the wicked decent)

At the top of the final climb I hear from behind "Lets organize ladies!". Always nice to hear. We immediately grouped with as many we could find and rotated ourselves all over the next 13 miles or so to the start of the climbing on the 2nd loop. By now we had picked up some women left behind by our lead ladies. Our mini-peloton was looking good at about 8+ riders. We were descending as fast as our little 11 cogs could take us. My speedometer said 42mph. Once again when the climbing started the group fractured and 5 of us we left. On the second climb I looked behind and was surprised to see there were only 3 of us left. The wind was whipping around from all directions with gusts to 20-30 mph. The three of us worked together and rotated our way up the hill. With about 100 meters to go, I was at my turn in front and decided to test the 2 ladies I was with.

If I picked it up, would they stay with me? So I went. I had no explosive energy left so I figured if I was going to beat these women, I'd better out climb them. With everything I had left I finished the race in 16th place. I was stoked, last year I was 26th in perfect weather. This year I felt I had improved a ton and my strength was greatly improved from last year. I finally felt like I rode a smart, strong ride.

Juls and Rhonda were not too far behind and both looked and if their eyes were lasers... well, I'd have been toast! "That wind is f***** up!". Yup. Juls, you too said it girl. Not 30 seconds later.. "Wow, that was fun!" Joy came running up in her running shoes. Mechanical problems sidelined her to 1 lap where she just gathered the running shoes and ran to the finish. Behind Rhonda came Shannon & Julie, both finishing their first road race in tough conditions.



It was soooo great to have the Bellas there. Last year I was a lone bella. This year everyone had a great time, everyone rode safe, and most of the bellas (other than Rhonda & myself) were virgin road racers. Whitney, the UCSB rider who finished behind me, and some other women immediately started asking about Velo Bella-Kona. It's great to share the energy and to see that the people around us can tell - we're having fun!.

SWEET!!!

Happy Riding!!
Raja

So Cal Racing Action Here