Month: March 2008

Andrea

Hoover Spokes for Strokes Race Report

I want to start with a big THANK YOU to the organizers of the SEW Cycling Series. Not only was the race itself well-organized, on time, on a great course, tons of primes, etc, they equalized the top 3 payouts to the women’s races with those of the men’s races and offered both cat 3/4 and pro 1/2/3 races separated by enough time to rest & recover! You guys ROCK! Any women reading this- try to get down here & race- they’re doing great things for women’s cycling!

I rode in both races…

3/4 Race
My strategy going in to the 3/4 race was to be as aggressive as possible. I attacked a small (but tiring) hill several times during the 25 minute race. It was also sprinkling and windy, so I would accelerate down the hill on the back side of the course to a wide, sweeping corner. Some of the other riders didn’t feel comfortable with the moisture on the road and the speed of the corner. Those tactics thinned the field out to 5 of us. We rode out the last half of the race together. I should have been able to make a top 3 finish, but when it came time to sprint, I totally spaced! I took the last turn too wide and fell back a little, then started my sprint waaaay too late! I was able to eek out a 4th- Lucky, because Gina Tolbert, who is also strong enough to lay waste to most of the group we were with, was sprinting with me & got 5th! If anything, it was a good tune-up for the 1/2/3 race. Betsy, a regional rider of Team Kenda Tire rode in the race as well. She’s getting into the learning curve of crit riding (kinda like me at about this time last year!) and finished a lap down, but I bet once she has a few more under her belt, she’ll be right up in the mix!

Pro 1/2/3 Race
This was my first race where I was able to work with some teammates! I lined up with Lee Farabaugh and Molly Freeman as well as a very strong field of pro 1/2/3 women- including Rebecca Larson from Aarons Pro Cycling. The wind had picked up as the day warmed and the sun came out (people were flying kites near the course!) From the start, I rode conservatively. I hung out near the middle/back of the pack and let other people cover attacks. Not far into the race, Rebecca attacked into the brutal headwind of the finishing stretch of the course. She got off of the front with one other girl. They put a 5-10 sec gap on the field by the time they were on the back side of the course, and the other girl dropped off of Rebecca’s wheel to return to the pack. I felt good, so, with Lee on my wheel, I went for the bridge, and no one else followed. We kept the hammer down to get away from the pack. Rebecca had all intentions of not helping out once the break was established, but she kept sprinting for primes then dropping back and sucking the wheels of Lee and I. We were getting tired in the wind, and we were a little peeved. I noticed how eager Rebecca was to get primes, so I thought of a quick deal- I told her she could take all of the remaining ones uncontested if she’d actually work to help us stay away (we were wavering at around a 40-50 second gap based on what people in the crowd were yelling). It worked, and she started trading pulls (of course, the next prime was for $100 cash, but, tempted as I was, I held up my end of the bargain…) Molly worked for Lee and I back in the pack- everyone said she did a great job of covering attacks then slowing back down! It’s awesome to have a friend back there instead of a bunch of people wanting to chase you down! Lee, Rebecca, and I worked hard until we were about to lap the field. At that point, we relaxed a little with about 5 laps to go. Lee was awesome and let me stop working & stay on her wheel so I could rest for the sprint. When it came time, she did her best to lead me out, but Rebecca made a slightly early jump. Being a pro, she’s very fast! I actually did gain ground on her, and think that if the finish line had been 10 yards further away, I could have caught her… but I’m pretty stoked with the results anyway!

I love having teammates! I’m looking forward to next weekend. I’ll be back in Birmingham to ride in the Live to Ride circuit race at Barbour Motorsports Park.

Photos up as soon as I find some!

Andrea

Random fun photo

I found this while searching the internet for photos of races I went to last year…

It’s from the TN State RR Championships just outside of Nashville. I was sprinting for the cat 4 champ title (although there were a few 1/2/3 riders just ahead of the two of us). The other girl in the photo is Gina Tolbert, who rides for Vantaggio now. She’s pretty darn strong- you can’t mistime your sprint or otherwise screw up, or she’ll beat you :)

Andrea

2008 Race Weekend #2

I leave today for Birmingham! I’ll be racing in the Spokes For Strokes Hoover Criterium. As part of the Southeast Women’s Series, they’ve got a 3/4 crit as well as a Pro 1/2/3 crit for women, so I’ll be racing both. This will be my first chance ever to race with teammates! I’m pretty excited since I was solo (except for a couple of races where older masters racers were combined w/women) in my races last year. This will also be my first crit of the year, and seems like it may have sogginess potential as far as weather goes. It should be fun either way!

Andrea

Bike fit today!

I just found a saddle that I think I like (Selle San Marco Glamour Aspide), but, even with several tweaks, I don’t feel exactly right as far as my position on the bike. Since the old saddle I had was leather, it sagged like a hammock when I sat on it, so, where you’d normally measure from the BB to the top of the saddle to determine the right height to set a new saddle, I couldn’t do that since I have no idea where the saddle sagged to when I sat on it. It was also very long, so the fore/aft positioning wasn’t that important because there was so much “sittable” area.

SO….
This afternoon, I’m riding over to Bikes Plus for a fitting with Karen. Hopefully this will be exactly what I need to finally be comfortable on my bike. I am hesitant to say that I have found a saddle that works, so I want to make sure that if it doesn’t work, it’s not because of improper bike fit. Updates will follow!

UPDATE:
It seems I did a good job of setting everything up- Karen didn’t feel like she needed to make any changes. If you’re in the Memphis area, I highly recommend going to see her for bike fits. She is very nice, keeps all of your measurements on record, and won’t rush you through any part of the fit process (not to mention very knowledgeable).

Andrea

Product Review: SRAM Red

I’ve ridden the new build a couple of times now, and compared to the Frankenstein Ultegra components I had on my bike, the Red is better in any way I can think of. When accelerating and climbing, I feel like I’m getting more power for less effort (a product of ceramic BB bearings as well as weight reduction in the crank & rear cogs).
The shifting is also great. Where Ultegra feels a little mushy, the Red is crisp and very precise. Doubletap took a little getting used to, but by the end of my 3.5 hour ride yesterday, it felt just as automatic as my previous shifting.
Last but not least, the brakes almost threw me off of my bike the first time I used them on the road. I adjusted them in as close as possible to my handlebars (very easy to do just by turning a bolt on the top of the lever assembly under the hood), and they’re very strong! The Red paint job on the levers is pretty sexy, too.

Check out pictures of the build a few posts down in the one titled “Red, white, and Blue” (yeah, cheesy, I know).

Andrea

Snow!

It started snowing sometime yesterday afternoon. When I woke up this morning, this was the view from my front porch…

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I think it’s because I got my bike built up to ultimate badass status.The most riding I’ll get to do today will be on the rollers :(

Andrea

“The Lester Street Massacre”

If you live in the Memphis area, you’ve heard the awful news about what’s been dubbed the “Lester Street Massacre.” If you haven’t heard this yet, just Google it. It all boils down to this:Â people in a low-income area of town hear gunshots Saturday night. Noone calls police because gunshots on a Saturday night aren’t a new thing in the area. By Monday morning, the mother of one of the children staying in the house comes to pick her child up, notices the door partially open, and calls police. Inside, six people are dead, and three are seriously injured. Two of the dead are children. The three injured ones are children (currently in critical & serious condition at a local hospital). They have been shot and stabbed.

Memphis is a violent place, but this goes above and beyond a neighborhood’s tendency towards violence. It’s the type of crime that makes everyone wonder what type of person could be so full of hate that they could destroy so much human life. People were hoping that it was some sort of murder/suicide, but the culprit is still out there.

I don’t normally tell people what to do with their money (other than to buy bike parts?), but I think that the collection for the families of the victims is a very noble cause. If you’re interested in donating, you can go to any Bank of America location to do so. You can also send donations to the neighborhood’s church: First Baptist Church – Broad 2835 Broad Ave. Memphis, TN 38112

Andrea

Product Review: Ritchey Biomax II Handlebars

Yeah, I’m on Spring Break this week, so I’ll be posting a lot :)

Here’s the manufacturer’s product description:
6 degree swept-back tops, 3 degree flare, Ergo bump and super shallow (135mm) drop for more a comfortable riding position : R50 bend for more hand room : Deep groove hides cables : 290g (42cm/31.8). Width measured from center to center

I put these on about a week ago to replace my 42cm ergo bend bars. They’d gotten somewhat flexy (metal fatigue), and I tended to hit my forearms on the tops of the bars when sprinting in the drops. Because the Biomax II bar ends flare out, I ordered a 40cm in order to keep my hands in line w/my shoulders when on the drops.
The first thing I noticed was how much stiffer these were than my old bars. The width is perfect. On the hoods, my hands are a little narrower than on the previous bars, and they feel perfectly in line with my shoulders when I’m in the drops. Even with my long arms, I feel more comfortable with the shallower drop. The “biomax” features- swept back tops and flared drops- really are nice. The flare makes sprinting in the drops much more comfortable than before. I feel much more stable in that position than with my previous bars.
The only discomfort I’ve noticed is the amount of vibration I get with the bars, but, they’re aluminum, so I’m not really surprised. It’s worth it for some extra stiffness when it counts. I think once I switch my tape out from some plain cork to a gel cork that I’ll be more comfortable.

Unless someone comes out with a carbon version bar like this, they’ll be what I ride!