Month: February 2012

Andrea

Southeastern Bike Expo

Saturday evening, I drove from Dahlonega to Conyers. Pandora Radio is awesome. I found this song that you should listen to while you’re reading (warning… contains light use of the “F” word):

I also experienced the absolute worst b******king ever administered from a GPS device when my route took me through every known shopping center between me and my destination. The sheer volume of traffic solidified my hatred of large cities like Atlanta. Memphis traffic is a cakewalk.

When I arrived, I stopped by the expo area to meet up with Mike (my favorite Niner rep ever) and to find out where Dicky & his roommate Chris were so I could find the room I was splitting with them.

Turns out, they were on an extended beer run from which the spoils were a bunch of Sierra Nevada and a 30 pack of High Life. In in attempt to keep everyone else from drinking the non-High Life, Dicky drank as many of the Sierra Nevadas as possible.

 

 

The hotel was nice. Apparently, the last people who stayed in the room thought so, also…

 

Sunday at the expo was a blast. I started out by riding a fridge green Niner WFO. The thing about a 5.5″ travel 29er that I didn’t realize from my previous mountain bike experience is that NOTHING SLOWS IT DOWN. Well, except for a big uphill. Honestly, though (and I’m not just saying this because I love Niners), with the exception of the additional frame/component weight, pedaling a WFO uphill feels exactly like pedaling a Jet9 uphill in the terms of pedal bob. Pretty effing awesome if you ask me… I was both grinning and puckering the entire ride. None of the downhills were appreciably long, but a look back on the Garmin file shows at least two spikes in speed above 30mph. Hey, y’all, watch this!

Next it was a slightly less airborne ride on a Scott Foil road bike. I’d ridden a slightly big 54cm at the shop, but the Scott guys had a 52 in the demo fleet so I could get a feel for how a better fitting bike would handle. I still stand by my statement that it’s the Air9 Carbon of road bikes as far as stiffness and overall badassness. It’s going to be a tough choice between that and the Cannondale Women’s Supersix, which has a geometry that’s closer to my current road ride, but I can’t imagine rides as perfectly as the Foil.

After un-funking myself, I checked out all of the other booths before heading back to Memphis. I was tired. Much truckstop coffee was involved.

 

Andrea

Southern Cross Race Report

Despite being occasionally disturbed overnight by the plight of my next-door hotel neighbor Sergio, I felt pretty good after coffee and breakfast. I finished packing everything into the car, checked out, and headed back out to the Winery. The weather turned out to be gorgeous- a little chilly, but just the right amount of wind, and lots of sunshine.

Once I was changed, I rolled around a little (including a pre-ride of the first “run up” on the “cyclocross course” that we’d negotiate before heading to the road) then headed to the start area. Eddie O’dea made his usual pre-race announcements then started the race. As always, it’s a little hectic until everyone gets to the road- getting to the pavement with a group of fast riders and catching a good draft to the first hills can be instrumental in putting a gap on competitors.

I wasn’t sure of the gravel grinding abilities of most of my competition, but I knew that Cheryl Sorensen and Selene Yeager would be kicking large amounts of ass. So, I made it a point to hold their wheels. They’d put a small gap on me in the first half of the CX loop, but I caught up to them by riding the initial runup (see the Cyclingdirt.com video HERE . They pass the camera about 40 sec in, and around 55 sec, you see me ride by. I caught them at the top) The three of us exited the Winery together with Cheryl and Selene trading pulls all the way to the gravel. I wasn’t sure where the other women were, but I figured I was doing well in that position.

Once we were on gravel, the first few rollers started to break the pack up. One woman wrecked hard on a washboarded downhill, taking herself out of the race. I watched Cheryl drop Selene up the first decent-sized hill as they both rode out of sight. I settled in to my own pace. Within a few minutes, we were on Winding Stair- the first of two major climbs. There, I realized that singlespeeding has been good to me. Rather than use my lowest gear all the way up, I stayed more in top half of the cassette and tried to maintain a cadence I’d feel comfortable with on my singlespeed. I was back and fourth with some of the other women, and kind of lost track of where I was placed.

At the top, I swapped out bottles at the aid station and kept moving. I felt great, and the descent on the other side was exhilarating. I realized that the Addict CX is not only awesome for “normal” CX racing, but is also very stable and comfortable down sketchy gravel descents. Bonus!

Once at the bottom, I gathered up with some other riders and flew through the mid-race asphalt to the next climb- a long, steady grade that follows a gorgeous creek for several miles before heading uphill to the 2nd time through the aid station. I still felt great. I attribute it not only to good training, but also to consuming moderate quantities of Gu Roctane drink and gel. I’m usually one to be skeptical about expensive versions of fancy sugar, but I can’t help realizing that I just feel better when I eat Gu’s version with the addition of small amounts of caffeine and amino acids.

Back at the top, I refilled a bottle and went back to climbing. Not much after that, I came around a corner to find Selene flipping her bike upside down with a double flat. My surprise reflex exclamation was “Oh, SHIT!” which, in order to cover up my surprise, I quickly followed up with something along the lines of “do you have enough stuff?” I was a little dumbfounded, which, once she said she was OK, made me pedal really hard.

Another descent later, it was back on to pavement. I went all-in and put my elbows on my bars to time-trial to the finish. Along the way, I managed to pass one more woman that I’d been back/forth with on Winding Stair. I put my head down and didn’t look back until I reached the final CX lap at the Winery. The last run-up is always a killer, but at that point, everything already hurts enough that it doesn’t really matter. Within minutes, I crossed the finish line. Cheryl and the other two women were still there, so I knew it was a close finish. Cheryl was out there, but the other two had only been a few minutes up.

With that, my reign of Southern Cross semi-domination is over.

Upset? Not really… I mean, I’m not happily celebrating 4th or anything, but, as I mentioned in my previous postings, with a 2 month pre-Worlds hiatus from rides over 3 hours in duration coupled with a 2+ week break following worlds, I wasn’t expecting to be able to come out swinging at this race. I’m very happy with how hard I was able to push myself the whole time, and I feel like I’m climbing better than ever.

Full results HERE as well as a post-race interview from Cyclingdirt HERE

Andrea

Southern Cross (pre)Race Report

I started typing this as my race report, but quickly realized that the Friday before Southern Cross was enough of a story to stand on its own…

Friday morning, I packed and left town sometime before 8. Some time around 9, Poolboy Matt called and let me know that my purse (including my drivers license and money) was on the kitchen table at home. With a healthy dose of cursing, I turned around at Exit 52 (I get on the interstate at Exit 16) to retrieve it and start over.

With the addition of an extra hour and a half of driving, I arrived in Dahlonega for registration as the sun was setting. Once again, Eddie and Namrita had done a great job of  getting the race set up at the Montaluce Winery. Sound like a weird place to base a bike race? Well, yeah, it is. When you walk in to the winery for registration, the fancy people all look at you funny, and the kind, nicely dressed woman at the hostess desk quickly directs you upstairs for bike registration without asking if you’re actually there for bike race registration. Of course, Montaluce is a beautiful venue (especially at sunset), and everyone appreciates their support of the races… but that doesn’t make it any less awkward.

I picked up my race packet and headed back out to the Quality Inn in Dahlonega. I hate going on a long car ride without riding a little afterward, so, while I unpacked, I turned the AC to its coldest setting and set my bike up on the trainer. I quickly realized that the National Geographic channel has also devolved into a series of “cops” style reality TV shows. The “Wildlife Police” (about California Game Wardens) version was my favorite…

After a few intervals and a little spinning, I cleaned up and debated as to where I’d go for dinner. At 8:30 on a Friday night, downtown Dahlonega (where a couple of decent pizza places reside) was sure to be crawling with college kids and bike racers. There was an Asian place attached to the hotel, but I suspect that the quality of the food would be questionable, and that it would be overly sugary and greasy. So, I nixed the sugar, kept the grease, and went with a more reliable pizza delivery dinner.

As I was drifting off to sleep around 11:00, I heard angry banging on a nearby door and someone yelling, “SERGIO!” over and over. I quickly realized that it was someone banging on MY door. I went to the door and yelled back, asking what the hell they were doing. The guy outside explained he was sorry and had the wrong room, and that he meant to knock on the one next door. Great.

But wait, it gets weird-er.

At exactly 4:09am, something woke me up. I didn’t realize what it was at first, but then I heard it again- the guy in the room next door (Sergio?) was groaning. It sounded like Master P was in the throes of the drunken state when you’re ready to pass out, but you’re too sick, and the room is spinning around you. I tried calling the front desk. No one answered. I was about to call the police (he sounded like he might actually need medical help), when I heard a sober voice in his room. Things got quiet, and I went back to sleep. He started back up again around 5:45 and woke me just before my alarm went off.

I hope he learned his lesson.

I packed the car and went to the Country Cafe near downtown. The waitress was superbly cheerful and friendly. Enough so that I forgot about the drunken groaning and started to mentally prepare for the racing ahead of me. Game time…

 

Andrea

Yoga

Sometime back in January, Coach and I were discussing what alternatives were available to full-on strength training. I was looking for something different because, as I mentioned in my previous post, pre-season training was going to be a dive-in headfirst experience with little room for the physical stress and time constraints of conventional strength training. Also, I tend to gain weight when I lift… where do you think I got the nickname Brickhouse?

So, I decided I’d try yoga class. There are definite strength elements. There are also elements of balance, flexibility, alignment of posture, relaxation, and spirituality. In the last month, I’ve definitely benefited from ALL of those things. However, there’s one thing I wasn’t expecting…

Balance.

Not literally speaking.

I’ve found that while yoga is incredibly challenging, it does not poke my competitive fire in any way, shape, or form. Going back again to my previous post… no one, including myself, has any expectations of my ability to practice yoga. It’s my hour and a half of doing something incredibly beneficial to my body while not caring if I’m not all that skilled at doing it. No competition. No expectations. It’s a perfect balance to when I throw a leg over a bike- also incredibly challenging, but there are expectations placed on every pedal stroke- both from in my own head and in the heads of those who observe/compete along beside me.

That’s OK, too, it’s just made me incredibly happy right now to have found something that can be equally as challenging as bike racing but that is mine and mine alone to care or not care about.

I find this to be the most awesome thing about yoga practice. I suggest you try it yourself.

 

Andrea

Lowered Expectations

The last few years, I’ve come screaming into the beginning of race season with a strong winter start on great fitness, excellent endurance, and high expectations for myself in the early season races. However, this year, the buildup to Worlds involved mostly low-volume, high intensity training. So, since I got back on the bike after a little January off time, I’ve had to dive headfirst into the ice cold water of high volume training in a slight scramble to take what top-end, 45 minute fitness I’d built up, and turn it in to something that will be useful for 4-5 hours.

In a “perfect” world, the buildup in training volume would be slow and gentle. Unfortunately, the endurance race season starts next Saturday, so I started back earlier in the month with 11 and 19 hour weeks. It’s not that I really mind (to the contrary- I actually prefer the challenge), it’s just that it freaking HURTS. Basically, any time I ride for more than 3 hours, my back, butt, and arms hurt like hell.

It’ll go away- it always does. It’s just been a painful wake-up call to realize that I’m not fully physically prepared to take on the first few races of the season, which, to add to the challenge, are stacked with more incredibly strong women than in years past. In light of this realization, I’ve come to accept that most of the racing I do for the next couple of months will serve as very hard training rides.

That’s OK, and I think that once I’ve built myself back up that it will turn out for the better, but until then, (as my dad would say) I’ve got a long row to hoe.

 

Andrea

For Sale: Rotor Singlespeed Q-Ring- $90

If you’ve ever wondered about Rotor rings, here’s their information: http://www.rotorbikeusa.com/science.html
In my educated opinion, the research sounds plausible. To dispel the myths ahead of time, these are NOT re-visited “biopace” chainrings, nor does it require the use of a chain tensioner.

I tried this out last year and decided that I prefer a round chainring- mostly because the larger diameter section of the Q-Ring would not clear my A9C frame unless the EBB was set in the most forward position. I felt that the Q-Ring shape was most beneficial on flats where I was almost spun out- I definitely noticed that my heart rate was lower than when almost spun out on a round ring. I only used it for a couple of months, so it’s in very good condition.

This is the non-ramped singlespeed version- 34t/104bcd. Retail is $135

 

Andrea

101 Bits of Life Advice- Addendum

The stuff we eat while we ride is horrible for our teeth (this includes you, Mr. “I eat real food.”)  Turns out, no matter WHAT you eat, if it includes sugar, and you consume it while your mouth is relatively dry, your teeth will suffer. So, this morning, I went to the dentist for a crown. They asked me if I wanted to pay $30 extra for gas, and, while I’m not particularly bothered by dental work, I agreed to it… just for giggles. The receptionist looked very uncomfortable when she asked if I didn’t mind the charge, and I commented, “not at all- most drugs cost more than that.”

I suppose my wit is not always appreciated.

Fast forward a little- I’m laid back in the Chair, nitrous taking effect, and I begin reading the “101 things to do in life” poster on the ceiling above the Chair. It included things like “leave the toilet seat down,” “send lots of valentines day cards,” “never refuse home-made brownies,” and “call your mother.” Through the expertise I’ve gained from watching the TV show Criminal Minds, I gather that the author of the poster is a slightly overweight, single, middle-aged white woman who either didn’t get along with her mother at one point or has a child that never calls.

I digress.

I think she left some valuable words of advice off of the list.

-Don’t let this (your time in the dentist’s chair) be the only time you’ve experienced mind altering drugs.
-Try yoga. You don’t have to be athletic, flexible, strong, skinny, or anything else of the sort. In fact, the worse shape you’re in, the more you’re likely to benefit. (I’m looking at you, MOM)
-Most people are jerks. Some just do a better job at hiding it.

I’m somewhat certain that I had more of these in my head while I was laying there and being subjected to various drills, impressions, and suctions, but those are the highlights.

On a totally unrelated note, I sold my geared Air9 Carbon frame and fork. If you’ve been around the internet at all lately, you’ll know why. It was ordered on Valentine’s Day- a sure-fire reminder that carbon fiber is far superior to any precious metal/gemstone conglomeration. I’ve been told it should be on its way sometime soon after the Southern Cross/Southeastern Bike Expo weekend. I can’t wait to stare at it.

Lastly, in other “taking care of your significant other” news, I’m going to be coaching Ryan. Yes, I have a coach of my own, but it’s really going to be less like coaching and more like “educated training advice.” Time will tell how well I do and how well he follows instructions.

Andrea

Syllamo Training Camp 2012- Non-Solo Days

When we last spoke, Ryan had arrived at the cabin to break Ozark solitude. We watched Gold Rush and mused over how shows on TLC (a.k.a. the LEARNING channel) used to actually be educational and not just a reality TV wolf in “educational” sheep’s clothing.

Unfortunately, rained moved in Friday morning. We slept in a little, I found a yoga video on Youtube to follow, and we finally made our way out to ride forest roads in the afternoon. Not long into our ride, we started half-wheeling each other on climbs. As tired as I was from the 4 hours of rock fights the day before, our ride soon devolved into full-blown singlespeed hill-climbing fights. 2.5 hours later, we coasted back in to trailhead parking lot- exhausted, cold, and covered in gravel road mud/sand. Short, sweet, and to the point.

Friday night, Kenny showed up. Saturday, he rode singlespeed with us (his first time to ditch gears at Syllamo), and generally kicked ass and looked like he’d been singlespeeding all his life.

(P.S. Yes, Kenny wears a full-face helmet. He broke his face pretty bad once, and he’s trying to avoid a repeat performance.)

The cold weather froze a lot of the springs that normally keep some sections of trail damp. That, combined with the dry air and sunshine, made for perfect riding conditions.

Ryan, who was beaten up from both the previous day’s climbing and his general downtick in recent training volume, went back to the cabin after 3 hours while Kenny and I continued on for two more.

Somewhere in the last two hours, I noticed that I was occasionally bottoming out my front rim on sharp trail spots. I’d been experimenting with lower pressures on an Ardent 2.4, and figured I’d just gone too low when I’d let a little air out earlier. Turns out, I was running 7psi (as measured by the Topeak digital pressure gauge). I hadn’t been bumping the rim immediately after the prior air-letting, so I attribute the somewhat sudden squishiness to a sealed-over puncture.

Also in the last two hours, I started to get what I call “stage race legs.” It’s the phenomenon that occurs when you should be getting more tired, but instead, you start feeling more like a Honey Badger. It makes you feel like a sponge for training.

Dinner from Tommy’s Famous pizza (best restaurant in Mountain View) was even more delicious than usual.

Sunday morning, I found the extra brain-rotting reality TV show about Bam Maragera getting married. As obnoxious as Bam Margera and MTV are, I can’t help but relate to some of the shenanigans.

I digress.

After breakfast, Kenny and I went out for another couple of hours on the Green and Orange trails (Ryan was still feeling some back tightness, so he stayed home). I figured out that 14psi is the perfect tire pressure for an Ardent 2.4. I also realized that I’m not as slow descending on a rigid fork as I’d originally thought I was. My legs felt destroyed, so up every climb, I thought about the Breck Epic, and realized that under the layers of pain left over from 4 days of riding, my legs were stronger than ever.

Five days in Arkansas won’t be nearly as gnarly as 6 days in the Rockies.
(shameless plea/side note- the entry fee/camping fee/food fee of the Breck Epic will be slightly upwards of $1500. If you feel as though you’d be entertained by my Colorado shenanigans, feel free to send a few bucks my way on Paypal)

Riding with friends is equally as entertaining as riding solo.

Training camp 2012 was a smashing success, and I rolled back home to Memphis feeling both tired and awesome. After a little recovery time, training ramps back up for the lead-in to Southern Cross, which seems to have appeared suddenly on the race horizon in the past couple of days. Time to lay off the beer and cookies and start getting serious. Or something.

 

 

Andrea

Training Camp 2012- Solo Days

My cabin internet connection was not as reliable this trip, so rather than posting my daily Ozark adventures, I was forced to save them up for when I arrived back home to civilization.

As is often the case with my training at Syllamo, I rode alone for the first couple of days. People always comment that they can’t believe I do so, and, yes, I can see the risk involved. The Syllamo trails are slightly far flung from town, and it’s very common for me to ride out there for days and never see anyone else on the trails. The biggest risk, of course, is that I’d wreck and incapacitate myself with no help around to save me. It’s a risk I am willing to take, though, and one that I try to minimize by both riding smart and letting friends/family back home know what time I plan on being finished (always by 4:00!) with my day. I’m reasonably confident that if Ryan hadn’t heard from me by 5 or 6:00 on any solo ride day, that a search party would be out by 7.

I love riding alone.

Wednesday morning, I drove out to Mountain View, and was on the trail by 1:00. My legs were a little stiff and disagreeable when I hit the trail, so I took it easy and did a little sightseeing. One of my favorite things to do is explore old roadbeds that wander off from the trail. The one I found near the “Old Highway 5” section of the Orange trail did not disappoint. I hope that my loved ones find just as peaceful of a place for me to be taken back into nature…

 

Once I was back from the side road, I did a little more gravel exploring…

 

Back at the cabin, Turbo and I relaxed and watched some satellite TV… which, I’m sure at some point, will rot my brain. As with all solo ventures, I take precautions to ensure safety…

Ok, the first defense/noisemaker takes a break sometimes, but check out the ears… she’s always listening.

P.S. The toaster oven at the cabin is possessed.

 

Friday, I didn’t take any photos. Instead, I figured out how much harder it is to ride the trails in the clockwise direction instead of race direction. I spent 4 hours fighting with the rocks and grinding up the short, steep climbs. Cold? Miserable? Maybe a little. Cathartic? Definitely. Riding solo on the most difficult routes possible in the trail system is a privilege that I’m incredibly lucky to have the opportunity and ability to undertake.

Friday night, Ryan arrived from his business trip in St. Louis. We watched satellite TV together so that our brains could rot in harmony. Solo riding, finished.

Andrea

Famous on the Internet

Sorry I haven’t posted much the past few days, but I’m currently in the middle of Syllamo training camp 2012. I have a few nice photos, and yesterday, I did what was likely the most challenging loop I’ve ridden out here (hint- riding the loops clockwise is significantly harder than counterclockwise/race direction). I’ll post details later, though.

My real reason for posting this morning is to provide you with fine audio entertainment for your Friday in the form of an XXCmag podcast: http://xxcmag.com/xxc-podcasts We recorded it on Monday, and I listened to it last night. I’m happy to say, I find myself/the podcast to be quite entertaining.

If you’re reading for the first time, check the facebook/twitter links over in the sidebar. Enjoy!