Double Trouble on the Davis Double.

On Saturday, Team Velo Girls member Diane Blattner fulfilled her goal of riding the Davis Double Century.  By her side, during training and the ride, was teammate Lyn Roberts.  Diane shares her experience with us:

Lyn and Diane on the Davis Double

I'm so glad Lyn was with me on the Davis Double. She has more stamina and resiliency than almost anyone I know and it is hard to imagine a better riding partner. It a was long and challenging day and night. We started at 4:20 AM and rolled back into Davis about 10:20 PM. Of the 18 hours, I think I was rolling about 15.5 hours.

There are three major climbs with the hardest one in the middle, a ten mile climb starting around mile 95. It is so tough, the organizers put a water stop just a mile from the top; just before the stretch that is a 14% grade. At the beginning of this segment were four miles of unpaved, hard-packed dirt. Yuck!

The ride passes both Lake Berryessa and Clear Lake. I've never been to either before and it was great to ride amidst such incredible beauty. Around mile 90, I ran into my daughter's work friend from the UC Davis Bike Barn. There was a charming little lake right there, so we stopped to take a picture and texted it to my daughter and to his mom. It was just too daunting to stop at the pretty parts when there was so much riding to do so aside from the un-scenic rest stop photos, these are the only pictures before mile 200.

One thing that stood out to me was this funny shack about halfway up the last big climb called the Oasis. Even in my exhausted state, it did not seem too Oasis-like to me. 

The miles between 140 and 160 were the most challenging for me. My computer stopped working and my Strava app lost the GPS signal, so for 20 miles I had no idea how long until the next rest stop. Beautiful as those miles were, they all looked the same... no turns, no change of scenery. I couldn't tell if I was bored or tired; I guess both.

We made really good time on the next stretch, which is a highway with no shoulder that runs by Cache Creek Casino -- there was a nice tailwind and we were motivated and determined to get off that road as quickly as possible to avoid the shift change at the casino. I scored my Strava Queen of the Mountain segment in this stretch, which I got to keep for one day until another rider uploaded her results to Strava. Still, after 160 miles and more than 8,000 feet of climbing, it feels good to know I was still capable of setting a record on that stretch of road.

We were met at the end of the ride by my lovely daughter, Beccy who is a freshman at UC Davis. It was the first time anyone has ever met me at the end of the event. She's on crutches from a knee injury, so having her there was even more significant because of the effort it took for her to get there and back from her dorm. Finishing was both emotional and exhilarating. 

Given all the time I had to be introspective on the ride, I discovered a shift in my thinking. As a young woman, there were many things that I thought I couldn't do, that I would never dare to imagine. Now that I've climbed many thousands of feet, completed numerous cycling events, a whole bunch of half-marathons and jumped out of a plane, it is no longer an issue of whether I think I can do it, but if I am willing to challenge myself more and the answer is Yes. I understand that it is not just the physical fitness, but also the mental toughness and resilience that get you through. 

I thank Lyn and Laura for joining me on all the extra training rides, and all my teammates, riding, and training partners and Velo Girls club members who rode with me and encouraged me all winter. A few weeks ago, before the Grizzly Peak Century, Team Velo Girls member Winnie said to me,"you can and you will" and then I did. 

Just Added: Dirty Velo Girls BEGINNER Mountain Bike Rides

Hey ladies!  If you're new to mountain biking, we've got the PERFECT ride for you.  Starting in June, we've added a series of beginner mountain bike rides at Coyote Hills in Fremont.  These rides are designed to help you get out on the trail and prepare join us on our weekly Dirty Velo Girls rides at Arastradero later in the season.

Dirty Velo Girls!

This ride series is designed for ladies who are brand-new to mountain biking! Hosted by members of Team Velo Girls, we will go over some basic mountain biking skills and practice riding the trails of Coyote Hills. Located in Fremont, near the Dumbarton Bridge, Coyote Hills Park has mostly flat trails with a few options for practicing climbing and descending. It is a perfect spot for beginners. While this series is designed for those new to mountain biking, you should have prior experience riding a bike. 

Mountain bikes are best for this ride, but hybrids and cyclocross bikes will work fine, as well. Bring: water, snack, sunscreen, a helmet and a bike in working condition. Hope to see you out there!

Our Dirty Velo Girls Beginner Mountain Bike ride dates are June 8th, July 20th, and August 17th.

You'll find details and RSVP on our meetup:  http://www.meetup.com/velogirls

Hello, Hollywood!

Team Velo Girls members participated in last week's Sea Otter Classic in Monterey.  In addition to being one of the largest competitive and recreational bicycling events in the world, Sea Otter is also the largest consumer trade show.  That means we get to spend quality time with our sponsors from all over the United States.

Here are a couple of video spots of Team Velo Girls members with our sponsors Action Wipes and Pactimo.

Team Velo Girls members Annie, Tiina, and Pamela with Pactimo's Karl Heigden

Team Velo Girls member Tiina demonstrates proper Action Wipe technique after the Sea Otter Road Race

Sponsor Love: Your Next Frontier Awaits!

Team Velo Girls has a long history of supporting and promoting small businesses.  For 2013, Frontier Snacks joins our list of sponsors and we couldn't be happier to develop this relationship.

Headquartered in Mountain View, CA, Frontier Snacks is the brainchild of founder Matt Oscamou, an engineer who decided to use his skills to solve the problem of creating a healthy energy food that tastes good and is made with all-natural ingredients.  

Matt, along with his brother Nate, first came up with the idea for Frontier Bites, not with the idea of starting a business, but because they were simply tired of overly-processed snack bars and wanted to create something that was cleaner and tastier to enjoy throughout busy days and active off-hours. To do this, in true competitive-brotherly form, they had a baking competition to see who could come up with the best-tasting natural snack.

The rules were simple:

• Only 8 ingredients
• Crunchy texture, without feeling heavy
• Gluten-free
• Soy-free
• Dairy-free
• Only natural ingredients that every person can recognize

The competition had begun and on Easter Sunday of 2010, they held a taste-test showdown. While several great options were presented, Nate's Almond + Blueberry + Lemon flavor was ultimately the victor. The result was crunchy and flavorful and it wasn't long before they realized that this could be the start of something big.

Fast-forward to 2013, and Matt has perfected Frontier Bites with three amazing flavors:

• Almond + Blueberry + Lemon Bites
• Macadamia + Pineapple + Coconut Bites
• Pecan + Cherry + Cinnamon Bites

All flavors were designed to find a clear balance between great flavor and healthy energy. They're held together with a combination of honey and brown rice syrup, the perfect combination of glucose -- a simple sugar that your body takes up right away -- and polysaccharides that burn slowly and cleanly through your system. They're full of antioxidants and omega-3s because all ingredients are pure and natural. There's nothing fortified or added to them. You'll love crunching Frontier Bites one at a time and you'll feel satisfied without a dreaded sugar crash!

Frontier Bites are:

• Non-GMO
• Gluten-free
• Soy-free
• Dairy-free
• Preservative-free
• and include no Refined Sugars

We've had the opportunity to sample Frontier Bites on a handful of club rides and camps and the reviews are outstanding:

"OMG!  Could there be anything yummier?  I've found my new go-to snack for long rides."

Convinced? You'll find Frontier bites in single-serving sleeves and multi-serving pouches. You can order them directly on the Frontier Snacks website or find them in a growing list of bike shops and grocery stores.

Like many new products, Frontier Bites is growing in leaps and bounds!  Matt is ready to take this project to the next level and is offering you the opportunity to get in on the ground floor.    You can join the Frontier Snacks Kickstarter:  http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/290464381/frontier-bites-your-next-frontier-awaits

And, of course, "like: Frontier Snacks on Facebook for news and give-aways: https://www.facebook.com/frontiersnacks

Racing with Team Velo Girls: CCCX #4

Third time's a charm for Team Velo Girls member Simone Willett, as she learns the importance of the hole shot at the Central Coast XC Mountain Bike Race on March 30th.  After second-place finishes at her last two races, Simone scored that elusive WIN!

It was a great day at the races for Team Velo Girls.  Not only did Simone bring home the gold, but so did Cristina Mann (women's single speed).  Julie Kinder scored a silver (CAT3 women 35-44) and Jessica Uphoff also scored a silver (CAT3 women 19-34) in her very first mountain bike race ever!

Congratulations to all our racers!

Simone celebrates victory!

So it was 12PM and I looked at the weather for Tahoe this weekend and it was going to rain up at the mountain,  so I decided to go to the race in Ft. Ord. I knew I needed new brake pads, so I also changed those out after I  decided to go to the race, which by the time I got to bed, started just a couple hours later.

Got some Starbucks and made the 1.5 hour drive down and it’s lightly raining. The start of the race I took off first (Note: put the bike in the big chain ring in the front), then kept the same pace along the road to get to the single track. I let this one girl pass me but wasn’t going to let anyone else. I sat on her wheel for a mile or two before she started braking down all the downhills. I excel at the light rain and mud, I love that traction it gives you, so I passed her and never saw her again.

Before the 3rd lap I thought it was over so I was racing this guy to what I thought was the finish then slowed down until I heard my boyfriend yell that there was another lap to go! Whoops. I caught up to the other guy and  sat behind him for a while until he died on one of the hills. After that I snuck down a gu-like thing from my pocket after spilling half of it and that gave me the little bit I needed to finish off the race.

I learned my lesson about being first to the single track after last weekend I let this mom and her daughter pass me and it took me so long to get by them that I never saw the first place person again. Really makes a difference to have that positioning. I’ll have to work harder on making it to be the first to the single track.

Fun race!

-Simone

Riding with Team Velo Girls: Hill Climb Series

As we wrap up our 10-week Cinderella Progressive Training Ride Series, we're excited to announce our next endurance training series for 2013.  Led by our billy goats, Lyn and Diane, this five-ride co-ed series will include the most popular climbs in the bay area.  Whether you're training for a hilly event like The Death Ride or simply want to summit these peaks with a cool group of riders, this series promises to challenge you in a fun, supportive way.

Details for this series and all our rides and events can be found on our calendar at http://www.velogirls.com/calendar.php

And if you're training for The Death Ride, make sure to check out Savvy Bike's 5th Annual Alpine Altitude Adventure (aka Death Ride) Camp.  This co-ed camp provides three days of climbing on the famous Death Ride passes with expert coaching and friendly SAG support, all with a group of super-fun folks who love to climb, too!

April 28th -- Mt. San Bruno from San Francisco

May 12th -- Mt. Tamalpais via Alpine Dam from Sausalito

May 26th -- Coastal Classic (Old La Honda, Pescadero, Tunitas Creek) from Woodside

June 9th -- Mt. Diablo from Oakland

June 23rd -- Mt. Hamilton from San Jose


Which is your favorite climb?  Is there another bay area climb not on this list that you'd like to bag this season?

Savvy Bike: Dirt Don't Hurt

While many of our clinics focus on road cycling skills, we also teach mountain bike and cyclocross clinics.  There's still time to register for this Sunday's Bike Skills 102 (fundamental mountain bike skills) clinic.

This clinic is ideal for anyone who rides dirt (or anyone who would like to).  We teach you lots of fundamentals about balance, weight distribution, and momentum.  We include information about gear selection, bike technology, tires, and other details that are unique to riding mixed terrain.  We teach you to start, stop, and brake effectively in a variety of situations.  You'll learn how to climb and descend, slow turn and fast turn, ride switchbacks (up and down) and how to ride over obstacles.  We teach you how to have FUN on your mountain or cyclocross bike and to embrace the dirt!

Mountain Biking is fun!

You'll find details on Bike Skills 102 and all our camps + clinics here:

http://savvybike.eventbrite.com

Just Added: Segway Skills 401 (pacelines and group riding)

Always on the cutting edge of rider skills instruction, Savvy Bike is thrilled to introduce a new clinic for 2013:  Segway Skills 401 (pacelines and group riding).  As much as we'd like to see everyone ride a bicycle, we know that there are those who just can't cut it, so rather than trying to beat them, we're joining them.  Heck, at least they're out + about and NOT in a car, right?

This clinic focuses on group dynamics, communication, and safety.  We'll cover paceline theory, how to read the wind, and (most importantly) how to time your snot rockets so you only hit the riders you don't like.  We'll teach you how ride a wheel, paceline, and echelon.  Unfortunately, we can't teach you hand signals because we understand your lack of coordination and know that if you take your hand off the bar you'll probably eat it.  But heck, hand signals are for weenies anyways, right?

You'll find details on Segway Skills 401 and all our 2013 camps and clinics at http://savvybike.eventbrite.com

Coach Lorri Lee Lown joins staff of Specialized Women Sports Camp

Velo Girls founder + president, Lorri Lee Lown, has signed on to coach the road cycling programs at this summer's Specialized Women Sports Camp.  Now in it's third year, this unique camp, set in beautiful Lake Tahoe, CA,  includes programs for road cyclists, mountain bikers, triathletes, and runners.  In addition to focused programs for each sport, all participants can also enjoy yoga, stand-up paddleboarding, clinics on bike fit, nutrition, stretching, and social time with other women athletes.

Joining Coach Lorri on staff this year are an all-star staff of sports superstars:  mountain bike legend Marla Streb, professional triathlete Jessi Stensland, Mermaid Series founder Heidi Boynton, Darcy Norman and Amanda Carlson-Phillips of Athlete's Performance, and Anik Demers-Wild.

The Specialized Women Sports Camp was founded by Inger Norman, who's spent the past 15 years managing women's teams and sporting events, including the Luna Chix program.  In Inger's words:  "We are a group of women who are passionate about the outdoors and all the fun that comes with it.    We've experienced intimidation through lack of confidence, lack of skill, lack in training and lack of knowledge in gear.  We know how paralyzing it can be to getting out there.   That's why we created the Women Sports Camp!  We've called up our friends and brought together the best resources we knew to create the most fun, non-intimidating, empowering environment and we invite YOU to join us!"

As a special incentive to Velo Girls members and friends, please use promotional code "VeloGirlsSpcl" to receive a 5% discount on registration.

Racing with Team Velo Girls -- Snelling Road Race

Most of the team made the trek to the central valley last weekend to race in the Snelling Road Race on February 23rd.  It was a great team weekend with a course pre-ride on Friday followed by a team dinner and then the race on Saturday.  Where's Snelling, you ask?  Just another glamorous and exciting central valley farm town where we get to race our bikes each spring!

New racer, Pamela Levine, shares her race report from Snelling -- her second of what promises to be many road races this season.  Thanks, Pamela!

Pamela crossing the finish line of the Snelling Road Race

It could have been perfect. I had pre-ridden the course, found the smooth points, the hairy turns, and the uphills-followed-by-downhills-so-don't-worry-too-much-about-it-because-you'll-be-able-to-make-up-the-difference.  I'd even practiced grabbing a water bottle from the feed zone. I'd been seeing improvements in training. I'd had a good breakfast that morning and I'd warmed up.

Pulling up to the pack of 48 women -- twice the size of last week's field at the Cantua Creek Road Race -- I got nervous. After the whistle blew, those nerves let me fall to the back of the pack. Even though the first miles were neutralized and the race hadn't even begun yet, I was already tired from the break-pedal-break-pedal rhythm at the back of the pack.

And then the race began, and then a small gap opened up. It's hard for me to pinpoint exactly what happened -- whether it was my legs still warming up or feeling timid about being at the back and having to slam the brakes hard again -- probably some of each. With the strong winds on that part of the course, the gap got bigger until I couldn't close it.

I wasn't expecting to have to mind-shift from Competition Mode to Survival Mode so early in the day, and it was disheartening. I tried, but couldn't easily shake the frustration and doubts: "What is the point?," "I could be riding by myself in the wind at home!," and the particularly dramatic "Will I ever be able to do this?!"

Another W4 In Survival Mode caught up to me briefly. She seemed even more annoyed than I was, huffing and puffing about how windy and hard it was, how her friends had told her to come, how it was her first race, how her current goal was just to catch up to me...Wait, what? Somehow hearing her there, I became her cheerleader, telling her it was all good and to finish it for the training. They were all the things I needed to hear myself, and I felt better. We rode together for a while but when she didn't want to draft I pressed on ahead.

I began my second lap alone and encountered another Racer In Survival Mode from one of the Men's fields. I made sure to ride next to and not behind him (per USAC drafting regulations), while he made sure to tell me how pissed he was that his chain dropped at the beginning of the race and how he was just going to call it a day early. My resolve strengthened to focus and finish this out strong and positive--I didn't want to be him.

I kept going, and much to my surprise, I passed a W4 from another team who must have at some point fallen off the pack. And then another. Okay, the second one was a mechanical, but at the time these were small wins that helped me keep putting in the effort. Next the Men's CAT4 peloton passed me and Yuriy (husband of another Team Velo Girls member) yelled out "Good job!" I started to feel happy and like this was, in its way, fun.

And then, just as I was finally starting to enjoy myself there, a bee got stuck in my sunglasses and stung my eyelid. Dang! For a split second I thought, "Now I actually have a decent excuse to quit." I was right by the finish line. But then I thought, "Nah, it's way more hardcore if you finish now!" so I raced through the line and heard Anique (daughter of a Team Velo Girls member) yell "Keep going!!!" as I began my third lap.

As I climbed that hill for the third time that day, I saw Velo Girls up ahead. I couldn't believe it! I was high on bee venom and happy to see teammates. See, for much of the ride I envisioned myself so, so far behind; visions of Teammates waiting for me at the finish line while marinating in cow smell taunted me. But now, after working by myself for so many miles, maybe I wasn't as far behind as I thought. I rode up next to them and Lindsay and I started taking turns pulling. I still had a bee stinger in my eye, but I was just so happy to be working together with a Teammate--to be doing something I couldn't have done on my own.

I remember Lindsay and I passing one or two other W4 women. Then we caught up with Lorri and worked as a group while sharing lighthearted conversation with three other W4s. Suddenly on a hill, one of them started to break away from our friendly pack of six.

A part of me knew the race was over, that places 1 through 10 had already been secured, that what happened next didn't exactly matter. But another part of me thought that even though I didn't ride with the peloton that day, maybe this could be my race. Maybe I could not let this one get away.  So I followed up behind her and we pushed through the cobble-y part of the course. Pretty soon I saw the 1km sign and told myself to get ready to sprint. I wondered if I'd be able to do it at all, or alternatively if I'd sprint for a little only to blow out too early. When I saw the 200m sign, I just gave it a go, sprinted up past her, through the finish line, and up to Tiina and Winnie, who didn't seem upset about waiting in the cow smell at all. It was great to see them there.

It was extra great when Lindsay pulled the bee stinger out of my face.

So that was my race, and it turns out that Snelling wasn't that perfect moment--the one that Lorri has told us from the beginning not to wait for. So, I'm keeping at it, working on fitness, and trying to have a long view of my first season training and racing. I got dropped, and I still had fun. For today, I can live with that.