Powered by Fritos.....CCCX Mountain Bike Single Speed Win

I don't write race reports very often but what the heck!  I don't win races every day, either.

On Saturday, Team Velo Girls mountain bikers headed down to Ft. Ord (Monterey, CA) to race the final in a season-long, 8-race cross-country mountain bike series.  This long-running series is put on by by Keith DeFiebre of CCCX, and I've been racing it on + off since 2005 (when I barely knew how to ride a mountain bike).

Last year, I decided to try my hand at single speed mountain bike racing.  It seemed like a good fit for me at the time, since I couldn't race the beginner category (I'm really not a beginner) but the sport category is filled with uber-serious mountain-biking chicks whose technical skills put this roadie-who-mountain-bikes to shame.  Short mountain bike races (about 90 minutes) fit well with my weight-loss goal at the time since I wasn't able to deficit calories and ride long durations.  In 2012, I raced the first 3 races of the series and then my roadie life of coaching, racing, and training for the Death Ride got in the way.

Honestly, I don't mountain bike nearly as much as I should.  If I dust off the bike (or dust up the bike) a dozen times a season that's good for me.  Don't get me wrong, I really enjoy mountain biking, but it doesn't alway fit into my coaching + training schedule.  But interestingly enough, when I pulled out my mountain bike this spring, I found my technical skills were pretty good this year.  I wasn't riding as conservatively as in the past.  I'm not sure why this is, but I wasn't fighting it.  And I was feeling fit and having fun, so I looked at the race calendar and realized the only race of the season that would fit into my schedule would be the series finale in August, so I committed to racing it with my teammates.

In preparation for Saturday's race, I pulled out my Sycip single speed and did a few rides.  As suspected, I was fitter and stronger than last year.  I was able to ride a harder gear and still manage all the climbing at Arastradero Open Space Preserve on the Dirty Velo Girls rides.  It felt easier than last year.  And, with the harder gear, I was riding faster, too.  All good.

Single speed mountain biking is fun.  It presents a new challenge for me as I have to think about optimizing my gearing (not too hard because you can't climb, but not too easy because you lose time on the flats).  I have to capitalize on momentum (you can't brake on the descents leading into the uphills or you suffer on the climbs).  I have to think about when to recover so I have the energy needed for the challenging bits.  So, for someone who's ridden Arastradero for 10 years, which can get kinda boring on a geared bike, it adds a whole new element of challenge and fun.

I was excited to get out and race with our four Team Velo Girls mountain bike team members:  Julie K. Cristina, Jessica U., and Simone.  These girls have been super-active this year, racing a bunch, leading beginner rides as well as our weekly Dirty Velo Girls rides.  They've been recruiting, encouraging and supporting women who are new to the sport.  And they've had a ton of fun doing it!

I was excited to race on Saturday because it would give me an interesting perspective on how my fitness had improved in the past year and a half (since my last single speed race).

And I was excited to race just because I love racing.  I also love my friends who race mountain bikes (and don't get to see them often enough).  And I love the fun, supportive vibe at mountain bike races.

I had planned to change my gearing to a smaller, harder cog for Saturday's race, but I didn't have time this week to change the gear and test it out, so I stuck to what I had on the bike (the gear I had raced with last year).

My alarm went off at 4:00am on Saturday and I was ready to go!  I ate my usual breakfast of hot quinoa with apples, raisins, cinnamon, coconut milk, chia seeds, and coconut.  My cooler was packed and I snacked during my drive to Monterey.  I drank a couple of bottles for good measure to stay hydrated during the race.  I downed some GU Chomps and GU energy gel during my pre-ride (and during the race).

I arrived in time to pre-ride the course once on my geared bike (to progressively warm up and save my climbing legs) and then finished my hour-long warm-up on the single speed, riding the opening climbs a few times to bolster my confidence.  As I age, my warm-up is more and more important, and I find that 45-60 minutes is just about perfect.  I really liked the course:  swoopy singletrack, lots of sand to keep you alert, the awesome berm section, and lots of climbing.  I knew I could climb faster than many of the girls due to my gearing.  I was concerned with the extended flat sections because I knew I would lose time there.

And then, the familiar, standing at the line waiting for the race to begin:   smiling, laughing, chatting with friends and other racers.  All the women, regardless of age group, start together in the race, which is great, because it increases the pool of women competitors.

The opening climb felt great, although I lost time on the lead group of girls because I didn't have the gearing to keep up with them.  Bummer, as one of my goals for the race was to stick with Simone, our rock-star climber, until the first descent.  Cristina and I climbed together and I realized she had a harder gear than me.  She was climbing really well, and I started to think she would dust me on the descents and I'd never see her again.  We stayed together for the first half of the first lap, until I was able to pass another racer and lost her.  But with her harder gearing and her ninja technical skills, I kept expecting to see her right behind me again in no time.

I saw teammate Jessica ahead and made her my next target.  I caught her on a climb and we stayed together for a while until I was able to out-climb her on an extended climb near the end of the first lap (thank you SS gearing), but she was never far behind and knowing she was there kept me motivated to ride hard.  I had to dismount and run part of one long, steep climb, as Jessica inched ever closer.  With Jessica looming, I railed the descent because I knew she was at an advantage with her gearing and skills.  I'm pretty conservative and was impressed that I went balls to the wall, and then promptly bit it.  Luckily, I landed pretty softly, jumped back on the bike and jammed to keep her out of sight.  There's definitely an "out-of-sight, out-of-mind" tactical advantage to mountain bike racing so my goal was not to let her see me again.

As I started my third lap, I saw teammate Julie at the top of that stupid-steep climb.  She was my new target now, and try as I might I just couldn't catch her, but she kept me motivated through the third lap.  I passed some guys and kept pushing hard.  I got sloppy a few times and reminded myself to stay focused.   I was able to finish 30 seconds behind Julie.

I rolled into the finish, first in single speed, and ahead of about half the field of geared girls.  I felt great.  I toyed with the idea of racing again on my geared bike with the sport girls, but my schedule was tight so I passed on the idea.

All in all, a super-fun day and I met all my goals (except for sticking with Simone):

#1 -- support my teammates

#2 -- have fun

#3 -- improve on my last single speed race a year and a half ago (my average time was more than 2mph faster)

#4 -- race smart but aggressively

#5 -- don't get lapped by the fast guys

#6 -- win (yup, that was my goal)

Team Velo Girls at CCCX #8

The team had a GREAT day at CCCX!  Simone, Julie, and I took the WINS in our respective races.  Cristina picked up 2nd and Jessica placed 4th.  Simone, Julie, and Cristina also WON the series and Jessica placed 3rd overall.  Congratulations to my super-amazing teammates on a GREAT season, and thanks for letting me come out and play in the dirt with you on Saturday.

Are YOU Ready For A Century?

Okay, this is your year.  You've been riding your bike pretty consistently.  Maybe you've been thinking about completing a century ride (100 miles).  Maybe it's your first.  Maybe it's your 100th.  Maybe you've lost count.

Team Velo Girls wants to ride a century with YOU!

Our next Progressive Training Ride Series starts in August, so mark these dates on your calendar.  This series is focused on the Foxy's Fall Century in Davis on October 19th.  This is a great fall century -- not too hilly, not too flat -- and Napa and Solano counties are just gorgeous in the fall!  Registration opens on August 1st and typically sells out quickly so mark that date on your calendar, too!

This 8-week series begins with a 45-mile ride on August 18th, so start ramping up your mileage so you're ready to jump right in!  Details and RSVP for these and all our rides + events can be found on our meetup at http://www.meetup.com/velogirls

2013 Foxy's Fall Century Progressive Training Ride Series:


August 18th -- Orinda BART -- 45 miles

August 25th -- Mike's Bikes Sausalito -- 50 miles

September 8th -- Orinda BART -- 50 miles

September 15th -- Woodside Town Hall -- 60 miles

September 22nd -- Mike's Bikes Sausalito -- 65 miles

September 29th -- Woodside Town Hall -- 70 miles

October 6th -- East Bay -- 80 miles

October 13th -- Mike's Bikes Sausalito -- 60 miles

October 19th -- Foxy's Fall Century, Davis, CA -- 100 miles (or 64 miles)

Velo Girls on our Cinderella Progressive Training Ride Series

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. 

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

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?

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.

Racing with Team Velo Girls -- Cantua Creek Road Race

Team Velo Girls kicked off their road racing season with a great presence at the Cantua Creek Road Race in Coalinga on February 16th.  Team member Winnie Brehmer shares her report of the race:

Winnie (and husband Dan) in the last grueling meters of the Cantua Creek Road Race

You really couldn't have asked for a better day for a bike race, slightly overcast and warm.  We had a great W4 field, reportedly 27 women of all ages and experience levels, plus Mary our mentor who kept it all together for us.

The greatest difficulty pre-race was getting the bib numbers pinned correctly, which some of us had to try more than once.  Trainers, potty breaks, sunscreen, stuff everywhere, and all of a sudden we were lining up for the start.  Supposedly a neutral quarter mile, which not everyone observed as the ladies moved around in the pack for better position.  Whatever.  Then the race was on, at a quick but steady pace.  There was an early attack, go figure, which Tiina caught and I reeled in a short while later.  Wow, chasing the break was hard work, in the full wind!  Highest heart rate of the whole race, as I discovered later. (No checking the Garmin mid-race, except maybe once or twice to get an idea of miles covered / to go.)

Riding in the pack was easier than expected.  I was surprised to find that I was one of the more confident and steady wheels and managed to stay in the top third without much trouble.  The turn-around had me a little worried, and to my dismay one of the ladies went down in the gravel.  Everyone did their best to continue through safely and the first aid support quickly came to her rescue.

The rest of the race was pretty steady.  Sometimes slow, which left me antsy, and sometimes fast, which challenged my ability to close those gaps.  I watched our girls drop off slowly, which was difficult to see.  Then I lost my bottle with my liquid calories... dammit!  That was gonna hurt.  It messed with my head, and I couldn't get my nutrition right after that.  I fell from the front of the pack to the very back.  Struggling to regain my focus and composure, I was still at the back at the half-way point and fighting hard not to lose the other girls on the climb.  After the turnaround, the pace seemed to ease and once again I was sitting comfortably in the pack.  With only one teammate left in the main pack, I didn't know what to do.  In my weakened state of mind, all I could really focus on was sticking with Tiina.

Apparently there was a breakaway at the final turnaround which neither Tiina nor I really saw.  We relaxed in the back of the field and Tiina focused on saving energy for the finish while I was slowly being dragged down by cramps and fatigue.  I knew I needed to eat but couldn't get it together.  My head was gone and I was too tired already.  A mile or so from the finish line, the Pinnacle women organized an attack and took off.  The field splintered and Tiina chased, leaving me gasping and blown half way up the final climb.  I put my head down for just a second and was off the road.  Thank goodness I had worked on my bike handling skills enough to recover safely, but I was shaken.  I dumped some water over my head and shook it off, then gritted my teeth for the last 200 meters.

As I rolled past the other girls I thanked them all for a great race and they were equally kind.  "Nice work Velo Girl" one of them said.  At the W4 debriefing, mentor Mary made a point to say how awesome the Velo Girls raced today, and how Lorri did a great job of preparing us for racing.

Post race emotions were mixed, disappointed with how I let my position slip in the final few hundred meters, grateful to have raced strong and enjoyed the ride for the most part.

Special thanks to Oralia and her family for their hospitality.

And to Tiina for being a huge moral support in keeping me pushing hard when the fuel tank was empty.

And to my husband who set up my trainer, pinned my number, followed in the support vehicle, and whose presence alone got me up that finishing climb.

And finally to our coach and fearless leader Lorri who got us to our first race with the skills and preparation to race hard and race well.  

First race - DONE.  I'm officially a racer!

Winnie