brickhouseracing

“The enemy of my enemy is my friend”

Today, the enemy of my enemy was the heat. With a 4:00 start time, it was hot and humid on the course. 59 starters lined up, and, after an hour of racing, I finished in 19th place- my first top 20 finish in an NRC crit!

Like yesterday, I was feeling better about riding in the large pack and holding my position. Unlike yesterday, the heat seemed to take its toll on some of the very strong riders in the group, allowing me to unload on the last two laps and fight my way up in the charging pack. Tomorrow should be interesting…

Here’s a photo of me on course:

Someone from a local TV station interviewed me yesterday while I was getting ready for my race and said that I’d be on an 11:00 show tonight. I found that I don’t have that channel on the hotel TV, so I’ll miss my lovely TV debut. He let me plug this site, so hopefully if you heard me, and you’re visiting, take a look around- you’ll find mostly race reports and photos, and a lot of other random stuff including home repair, animals, tattoos, and the like. Click “register” at the bottom of the page, leave a comment, and let me know what you think!

Last night’s racing was fun. The course was a pseudo-figure eight that kept everyone on their toes. I felt much more comfortable in the pack than in the Sunny King and Roswell races (though I had few close calls and did throw a couple of elbow “nudges” to some riders who got a little too close for comfort). I am finally getting more comfortable with riding in a pack of fast riders and moving up within the pack. With (relative) ease, I stayed about 1/2 to 2/3 of the way back in the pack. I even managed to find my way up front a few times

During the final laps, I was doing ok until the pace quickened and riders started to get gapped. As the field strung out, and I moved past the dropping riders, I realized I could hear the moto behind me… a sure sign of being in the back of the group! So, as I finished in 33rd place (out of 58 starters) this race ended up being another learning experience. However, as a fun side note, I was 8th place of the other category 2 riders.

I’ve got a couple more chances this weekend to continue making improvements. Realistically, I’ve got to get stronger and faster before I can expect to get in the top 10 finishers- something that just takes time and training.

AKA: NRC, Take Two

I leave in the morning for the Tulsa Tough Criteriums in Oklahoma. I’m ready for my next shot at some NRC racing. I’ve been working hard on being less polite when riding in a group Hopefully being a little less nice will keep me out of the back of the pack!

After being out in the yard for a while this afternoon, I picked up a hitchhiker… Amblyomma americanum… AKA, the Lone Star Tick. It was trying to drain me, so I had to interrupt his (actually, HER, according to the photos) dinner. As much as I hate killing stuff, this one’s getting the flush.

It looked like the middle one here:

I’ve got a saddle sore on top of a saddle sore. I need to ride, but I need to get better. My whole body is miserably sore from squirming around on my bike trying to get comfortable. It’s making life suck.

If you read this and have some sort of magical home remedy for these things, let me know. I’m at risk of skipping a few days of riding here…

If you like Keen sandals (or any other “sport” sandals for that matter), but hate how sweaty/smelly they get, then listen up!

I picked up a pair Miōn Current sandals from Bikes Plus a couple of days ago, and frankly, I can’t think of a reason to ever wear anything else. They’ve got everything you could ask for-

Footbed: antibacterial, anatomic, and very very comfy
Upper: hugs your foot, but is soft enough to not rub or bruise anything
Sole: very good traction in wet environments
Overall: lightweight, non-stinky, able to be cleaned with a hose, fast-drying, comfortable… etc.

Oh yeah, and did I mention that the company is environmentally conscious? I love them. The only complaints I could foresee anyone having would be the looks of the sandal (I like it, but I imagine it’s not for everyone), and the squeaky soles. Doesn’t bother me, but you won’t be sneaking up on anyone if you’re walking on a hard surface!

These are the sandals I got (though mine are dark purple):

This article made me smile…

How the Bicycle Emancipated Women

Friday, Ryan and I rode around the top of Mt. Magazine. He took my photo at an overlook, then I knocked some bikes over…

Saturday, the road race was tough. We got lumped in with the masters men’s race, which sucked for everyone- I was policing the front while we had a rider in a break when the men decided that they wanted to actually race and started chasing all of our attacks. I don’t blame them, though. Nevertheless, I raced as hard as I could to soften the climbers up for the final ascent. I still managed to pull off 3rd place because a couple of the girls ahead of me took a wrong turn (as a side note- I’ve never been to a race that provided so many course maps and diagrams).

Afterwards, my teammates came up to the lodge to relax a bit before the TT. I swear Kat was just stretching and not trying to apply chamois butter.

On a similar note- whose idea was it to have a mountaintop finish RR followed by a 20+ mile time trial?!?!

I actually felt better than expected until about mile 16, when my legs remembered that I’d raced 60 miles earlier in the day, but still finished in 3rd place with a time of 52:44.
It was enough to tie me for 1st place with my teammate, Kristen Wentworth.

I landed a 5th place finish in Sunday’s crit. For photos (including my race, cat 3 men, and a few pro 1/2 men) visit Ryan’s Blog. Both Kristen and I wanted to be in a break for a guaranteed place in the omnium. Kristen eventually got away with Shannon Koch, and they ended up lapping the field. My finish was good enough for 3rd overall in the omnium. A couple of podium shots…

Afterwards, I showed off my muffin tops. They were hanging out of my jersey & over the top of my shorts

If you see this guy, tell him I’m gonna whoop his butt in the upcoming Memphis Velo Time Trial