I wonder.... wonder....wonder....wonder....
Here I am - going into my last race of the season. How sad it is yet how magnificent it is! It has been exhilirating to ride with some really strong riders - men and women. How fun it has been to get to know each other, to join the same race team and to make plans to see each other during the winter (cyclocross and/or training)! I can't help but wonder what this winter will bring me, what new experiences I will be surprised with in the coming weeks and months. How magnificent it has been to create such good friendships - friendship that I feel deep down inside will last a long time. Brought together for reasons still unknown but knowing it is positive and empowering.
I wonder where I'll be after a hummingbird returns from being free. Will the bird be buzzing crazy mad like now? Or will the bird be able to sit for awhile to experience the surroundings, drink from the feeder and let me take in its beauty? Three weeks may tell a new story, a different story, an exciting story or one of no progression. Time will tell, actions will tell, words will tell.... I hope words will tell. I hope actions will tell. I am full of excitement like a little kid waiting next to the balcony window, watching the feeder and seeing - will the hummingbird come today? Will the hummingbird drink from the feeder or just flit away not interested in it today or always? Whatever happens - the bird will know where to go and I know that one day another bird will come visit and to give me what I desire from a hummingbird at my balcony window. Either way - happiness is here to stay!
Get Out of My Head Lyrics....Cypress Hill...
For whatever reason, the winds have shifted. I am not sure they are shifting in the right direction, a direction I want, the direction I long for, the direction I need... are they even pointing to a direction? Maybe it is just a black hole. Maybe it is the eye of a storm. I feel I am trapped in calmness and I know there is a powerful, horrible storm just building up around me and I don't want to leave the magic, the serenity, the calmness of the eye of the storm. Calmness but yet not seeing out to see what is going on, not able to see what is going on inside either. What is happening? What is being said? What are actions when they speak louder than words? Do they speak louder than words or are the words saying it all? Why must I feel so confused, yet so alive, so excited, so full of energy yet zapped? Life should be simple, life CAN be simple, life may get simple.... IS life simple? Maybe it isn't.... maybe it is all about a bad "Twilight Zone" episode.... maybe I am currently stuck in a twilight zone.... will it be temporary or will be permanent?
Get Out of My Head Lyrics
uh..uh...yeah....
These voices up in my head...
All these voices up in my head
Makin me dread, when I sleep at night
Visons of people with evil intensions wanna fly my sight
Visons are changin, engagin, and ragin', I'm in a stage and a fight
Listen, the system is pissin' me off, you wanna feel my pipe
Fingers pointed, annointed people, day better up to the knight
Whispers, darkness the hardest, time ain't never gonna feel alright
Feelin' my soul in the hole,
I can't breathe, and I'm frightened for my life
Think I need help or I dwell in hell, cuz I got a grip too tight!
[Chorus]
Will you ever get out of my head? [4X]
Through every dimension as tension ahead, I gotta go my main
Dreams are like beans up like coming through my brain,
then I know I'm baked
For every single minute that's in it, each and every brand new day
Denial of trial I'm vile, whatever that bullshit they say
I'm sinking so low in my self, help me gain, never give no break
Confusion is usin me sinkin me up, now the sky's all grey
I'm blazin and liftin my mind with kite, let me hit that J
Holding, controlling my self over, but the shit won't stay!
[Chorus] [w/ Sen Dog]
Will you ever get out of my head?
Will you ever get out of my head?
Will you ever get out of my head?
Will you ever get out of my head? (Will you ever get out of my head!)
Will you ever get out of my head? ( Will you ever get out of my head!)
Will you ever get out of my head? (Will you ever get out of my head!)
Will you ever get out of my head? (Will you ever get out of my head!)
Jay Buehner sighting - at Issaquah Qdoba...
I have visited Qdoba a few times and keep forgetting to grab the gift card that my previous co-worker gave me at Christmas time. So enough is enough – I put it in my purse the other week and today I decided I was going to use it. I went in there and guess who was in there?
JAY BUEHNER! Yep… the one and only! :)
Anyway… thought that was funny… here I purposely go in there to use this card that Nate (my previous co-worker) gave me… a big Mariner’s fan…. And there is a Mariner in there!!
RAPSody - Part 2 -
My mom and I went to the store to pick up a couple things and off we went to our Yelm rest stop - leaving Tacoma by 7:30. On our way I received a call from MarkR who was a bit lost in Yelm. We desparately tried to assist him with our Thomas Guide we had but were not successful. Once I got onto the course that the riders would take, just 2 miles from our rest stop, I tried to call him but he said he got directions and would be there momentarily. He was quite concerned that none of our volunteers would be able to make it to the rest stop. Ralph, from TWBC, was there with the trailer full of food. Mary, from SBC, was there already and did a great job setting up and unloading! Mark got there and then Mary and Mark worked on calling our volunteers to make sure they got there properly. We realized that most took Ralph's directions while Martha, whom came a bit later, took my directions and said they were perfect! LOL! That will teach them who to listen to! :)
We slowly started to get riders and started cutting up all the fruit, the "Thai" and "Taste of India" wraps that were purchased from Essential Foods. We had bagels, scones, cookies, twizzlers, chips and salsa and so forth. The "Julie's Java" hut was open as well and many riders came in and purchased their daily fix of lattes.
Because we were on Van’s Burgers property, we did not want to put a dan henry down on their property to show people to make a right hand turn. We did put a dan henry out right next to the road/driveway but some of our riders missed it. So we started taking turns to be human dan henry’s until my mom came back with the support vehicle to make some dan henry’s on tag board I already had in the car. All was pretty good on that – we taped one to the ground and one to the white picket fence. Still a few riders went in the wrong direction. We will figure that out next year to be a bit better. So many volunteers came out and did such a wonderful job. I think we needed most of them as busy as we were late morning/early afternoon. They did such a great job and we wouldn’t have made it without them!
I spoke with Pete and Patricia, owners of Julie’s Java and Van’s Burgers, and they really liked us being there and thought it went really well and enjoyed us. They think next year they’ll get a couple more people to work during that rush and they will do good business. It was awesome! We did hear from riders that this year the sprinklers didn’t get turned off at the high school and came in at 2 am. Funny, the guy with the world’s smallest tent was telling Mom and I, the night before, that he was waiting for that to happen because inevitably it always happens. I told him I didn’t hear any complaints from the year before so I think we had them turned off and all under control. Ok, well someone didn’t get that memo this year. So we heard all kinds of stories, one woman had a puddle because it blew out her window and flooded her, one woman (Ralph’s sister) had hers over a sprinkler, a gentleman meticulously put his bike under a tarp to protect it in case of rain but unfortunately put it right over a sprinkler head! Oh NO! Can you picture that? Kind of funny but I feel horrible for him. I think everyone had fun socializing with the riders, the riders had fun relaxing and enjoying the ride. Everyone loved the wraps, the area and so on.
Towards the end it was a waiting game for the 1 day riders. Volunteers started to leave. We had 55 riders sign-up for a 1 day ride and only 30 showed up. We know a few did it Saturday (only half supported) and a few didn’t show up at all. My ex also called my cell, early Sunday morning, and I had my mom take the call. She called him the night before around 8:30, as we knew he was trying to ride it in one day without support past Shelton, to make sure he was ok. He called us and said he was out about 12 miles and was ok. When he called on Sunday he told my mom he finally got in around 9:30 and was completely exhausted. I was a bit concerned about the rest of our riders that were going to do it in one day - based on him being out 12 miles at dark time - and knowing he wasn't doing it leisurely. We had to keep tabs on where those riders were and whether they would make it to our rest stop by 6:30. As it approached 5:30 we started to clean-up and a couple riders started to get sagged off the course.
There were 2 guys that were relentless about giving up. One finally agreed to be sagged right before our rest stop and his friend kept going. There were about 3 riders that were last minute at our stop at 6:30 or no later than 6:45. One was the friend of the guy (#44) that was being sagged. We put #332's gear in our car and since we were all packed up my mom and I supported them up to I-5. Then we got on and supported them a bit and then whipped up to the top of Chambers Creek and dropped off #332 off so he could finish the last 5 miles of the ride. We then turned back to Steilacoom and saw the other 3 coming. They made it up the hill pretty much before dark. #44 was a strong rider and was jamming hard but was slowly winding down as we could see he was getting more tired and wanting to know how much farther. #332 told us, in the car, that his friend is a strong rider and would not have a problem as he was the one holding him back. Both have done STP and finished it - in 1 day - by 10 pm. I think this route was more challenging (and Ralph and I discussed maybe the last route should give out lights for those 'determined' so they at least are safe and then they can turn those lights in at the end. We will have that as a discussion for next year because we know many bicyclists will say - I don't need a light - I'll be in before dark - no problem).
Anyway... the last 5 miles I tried hard to follow the last three guys with my flashers on to let cars know something was up and so they could use my headlights - without getting in the way of cars. So really I should have sagged - especially the last guy - off the road but I communicated with him that I would be behind him the last few blocks, etc. protecting him a bit and then he got on the sidewalk right in front of TCC so he was good - very exhausted - but good. At 8:45 all riders were off the course.
This year had some new learning parameters based on the route being reversed but overall I think it went over well. There will be some things we can improve next year and I think the ride will still be a big hit!
RAPSody Day 1 -
So up at 3:30 and at the Start line by 5:30. Helped at the finish line a bit, to set things up. I saw the ex but I looked away. Later, ex came up and hugged me and started a conversation. Ok, bit weird but felt 'natural' or at least not tense/angry/sad nor happy/excited... just indifferent... odd after the explosion and calmness we had last week... all was fine. Weirdness out the door, coridal is now in.
Trying to get on the ferry, I got in, not necessarily the wrong lane, but the wrong lane. Spoke with a King County Sheriff's Deputy and he seemed nice and semi-helpful. We talked about how we were basically going on the island for the same reason - to help direct traffic for the HOTS Triathlon and us to make sure our riders didn't get in the way of the triathlon. He would be at the intersection my mother would be at and I would be up by Burton. In the process, mom later tells me that he has been asking about me. They sat and chatted in between their 'duties', ate berries together, and had fun. He wanted to know who she was with, how old I was, if I was single and they exchanged all kinds of wild stories about travel, work, degrees, etc. OK so he had white hair... not that that means anything but I assume he may be old enough to be my father. Maybe not, but um yeah. So I doubt it - but I had a fleeting thought later on the drive home from Shelton. He probably took note of my license plate and could track me down. My mom told him I was into track racing, lived up by Redmond. ok... well hopefully he is not a stalker. LOL!!! (ok.. those of you that know me... dang! When it rains it frickin' pours around me!!!)
We sagged the rest of the RAPSody riders off Vashon Island without incident with the HOTS Triathlon - PHEW! Most our rides missed the triathlon. It was cool to stand their and watch it. My mom thought it was weird to see all these bikers in the skimpy speedos and such. We boarded the ferry with about 100 bicyclists and then we stopped to talk to the photographer, Taunja, and then at the Manchester Rest Stop put on by West Sound Cycling Club. What a great rest stop it was with a view across the water to downtown Seattle! Then on to Allyn's rest stop put on by Bikes of Everett. I think it was wonderful. People really took their time there now that they did not have to rush for a ferry. They enjoyed the water views, the live music, the food, the sun and just had fun. Then we went off to Shelton. We saw a few riders off the main course and helped them to the High School where they would stay overnight. We helped at the high school to get things coordinated. We had fun talking with people, directing them to their hotel (that we knew where it was because of the previous lost people), having dinner with them, watching the dance team, people getting massages, listening to the band, watching people put up their tents and so on.
As people were setting up tents, I was able to talk to Anna, wife of Phil from Phil's Cyclery in Federal Way (who puts on the May Day Metric every year), about Cyclocross... She got into it last year and laughed about how much she loves it, how much people set themselves up at the most dangerous and hilarious obstacle just waiting for mass chaos! People getting their front wheel stuck in 'peanut butter' like mud and flipping, pedaling in water as deep as their knees - while on the bike, people falling in a mud pit and struggling to get out looking like pigs in a pen! It sounds suicidal yet fun. We will see how into this sport I will get. :)
The tents were funny. It is so cool to see all the different tents people have, small, large, round, rectangle, octagon. I got a picture of one that was a designated 'condo tent' although different from last year. Next to it a gentleman told me he had the smallest tent. I looked and said - tent? It looks like a sleeping bag. In reality it was a cover for his sleeping bag with a 'head piece' that snapped on to protect for the rain. "Really? Don't you feel like a worm? I would feel clostrophobic.", I said. But he stated it was quite comfortable. ahhh ok. Interesting... then I ran into Steve, a friend of Jane (one of the track divas), and we talked a bit. It was a lot of fun. We got mega compliments about the food, the setup, the massage, root beer floats, music, scenery and such. It was a blast!
We 'monitored' the last person off the course close to the high school. He is a strong, older gentleman that is impressive. We met him last year as he was the last rider across the finish line. He was awesome - probably in his 60's riding a bike that weighs about 50 lbs. Just amazing as he rides hard down the road with some huge 'horns' coming out of his helmet that remind people of a viking. He was having fun but very tired. He kept apologizing he was 'messing us up as I should have been in 3 hours ago'. I told him nonesense as he turned on his lights and kept pedaling along. I felt bad for him and I knew he wouldn't let me sag him off the course as it kept getting darker, being from 10 miles out to 2 miles out but the headwinds weren't giving up either.
It was fun to see familiar faces, faces of Bicycle Alliance, board members, members and employees, members of my bicycle club and other bicycle clubs (or events) that I knew as well as new faces that looked happy.
Off we go tomorrow... to the Seattle Bicycle Club rest stop in Yelm. Where my mom will sag from Yelm to the Finish and I'll be having fun helping man the rest stop!
Can't sleep...
Well here it is 4 am. I am in Tacoma and need to be at Tacoma Community College for the start of RAPSody 2005 in about 90 minutes. I woke up at 3:30 not able to sleep after only going to bed at 10:30. What a long day this will be. :) Hey! I got to watch Smoking Gun TV on CourtTV that was interesting. Now the show I fell asleep to is back on - Forensic Files - and I can finally find out if the son deliberately set the fire or if it was the mother, by accident, that killed the mother and father..... hmmmm....
Some caffeine later and hopefully I will be good to go and ready for RAPSody 2005!! :)
Velo Pictures
For those of you that can view this site (unfortunately my work website is hit and miss and I can't view it sometimes):
http://imageevent.com/seattlebicycleclub/veloaug22
here are a few of those pics. Look at those game faces! SCARE ME! LOL!; look at the fans - they have so much fun and we enjoy them being out there!
I am getting hooked on going vintage!
WOOHOO! I am excited. Last night, after a fun and hard workout on the track I went to the Tully's in Redmond's Bella Botega Plaza to meet a guy. I contacted him through Craigslist since he had a vintage fixie bike for sale. (Pictures to be posted when I get them developed - next week!)
I may have mud on my face but I thought for $150 it was a great deal. The frame is all black with chrome for the fork, beautifully designed lugs and the rear dropout. The only real concern I had was that the chrome was in excellent condition but you could tell 'rust' got to it a bit. Not a lot but just enough to discolor some of the areas. He said the top tube had that issue a bit too but he sanded it (or whatever), primed it, painted and clear coated it. He said he has had it hanging in his garage since 2000. It looked pretty good though, otherwise. I will need a
'fixed cog' on it since right now it has a bmx freewheel. I will need tape and a brake. A new back tire - at least since he said that was real old but that the front tire may be ok. Tom will give me his honest opinion.
It has:
Front Wheel: Mavic CXP32 (SUP)
Rear Wheel: Velocity Aerohead
Salsa handle bars (recycled cycles)
San Marco seat - old style - big, feels like suede almost
Raleigh SR Seat Post
Bullseye rear hub
OB-1 front hub
Super maxy crank
It is a bit heavy which is good for a winter bike!!! :) It will put the power in the legs.
It is a 42x16 so not sure what I should use for winter riding.
Dang! But now I am online shopping around for vintage tapes and so forth. I am thinking of doing Benotto Cello Handlebar Tape - Pink - like the kind I had when I was in Jr. High/High School. I had a blue - I think Schwinn - men's bike with pink tape. Very cool! Loved it! BUT WAIT! I can get a pink chain as well just to have some matching accessories!!! Then! I found these cool tires but I don't know if they will work on the wheels. SpeedBlend Tires! OH SO COOL! Ok, ok, if not then I may just go standard black tires. There are no decals on the bike, etc. so it would be a 'stealth' bike with some awesome PINK accessories screaming to be looked at - screaming I'm being rode by a female that loves bikes and wants to have fun in those ways that 'accessorize'. LOL!! (Pictures posted below)
Pictures of the Pink Chain and the SpeedBlend Tires....
"...when the tire rolls, the two colors blend to form a third. ... The colors are kind of blue and red, which blend to purple, and blue and green, which blend to aqua. So half the tire looks purple, half looks aqua, and the effect is pretty neat."
Happiness at the track, how sweet it is!
Happiness at the track comes in so many forms both familiar and yet some are all new to me, new worlds, new relationships, new challenges, new adventures. My world, through the track, is always evolving and changing, always fun and forever in my memories. Yesterday was an exciting day for me as I participated in my 3rd Wednesday night race night.
Happiness takes so many forms, like clouds, they are forever forming and changing as they gracefully dance in the sky…I was on cloud 9 yesterday for so many reasons.
*I received my welcome letter from the race team of my choice…(Jet City Velo/Byrne Speciality Gases)
*Having a team member, and good friend, offer you her extra jersey to wear for your first race as an official team member, even if I was unsure of whether I should wear it. I asked another team member: “but will you be embarrassed if I come in last?” He came back with – well make sure that doesn’t happen. LOL! :)
*Getting to the start line, preparing to race and having my name, and new team, announced over the PA system for the first time…
*Talking and laughing with all kinds of team members, ride participants and friends regarding the races, the performance, strategies and just having fun..
*Not coming in last…
*Sucking a wheel like my life depends on it and not coming in last…
*Being mentored on the track by those that really want to see you succeed and getting positive feedback…
*Having our token male ‘coach’ email me, and Jane, the next day and tell us what a blast it is to watch us improve, get stronger, get faster and for me to come in 2nd on the last 4x4 lap race sprint! (Wish Jill could have been there! We missed her! :))
*Networking with others, encouraging them, praising them because you truly felt they did well and want to see them next year on the track – and succeeding!…
*Recognizing those people that are there for your friends and being excited that I saw them, before they did, and I am excited they are there for them.
*Getting positive feedback that even though I only made 1 point, with all that dang hard work I did, I am reminded that I should be proud that I am even out there. That in all the population of the world, how many people are doing any such activity? And of those people that are racing, on the track, how many are placing points? I should be proud of myself beyond having fun, challenging myself and just showing up to participate!
*Chilling after a race night and enjoying each other’s company and getting to know those people that are important to you and those that are important to them.
*Being driven crazy that someone, during one of my races, was cheering for me in Turn 2. As soon as the race ended, *POOF!*, they were gone. Who was that? No idea who that was, emailing everyone you can think of, but just no clue! Hmmm…. What is up with that? I got people cheering for me and yet, I have no idea who is my fan. How bizarre!
Happiness is found on the track.... the track is happiness!
So I was following this guy in the warm up circle....
He had on his shorts:
http://www.evilcycling.com/
I thought I would check it out. Interesting....very, very interesting...
Monday Night Track Racing - Aussie style....
Monday Night Track Racing – I got to the track a bit late and only did a warm up for about 30 mins and my legs felt like toast! Jimmy and Dan, our faithful fans, came to watch us. They also brought with them TomP and GaryS as well as SherryJ showed up too! MikeM brought Rebecca so there was quite a crowd. It was a lot of fun to see everyone and I think they all enjoyed the races! We always appreciate them being there supporting us – and all the other riders as well! Thank you!!
We split the 14 women and juniors up into an A and B group. I took the B group and Jane took the A group. The first race was a points race, 5 lap point a lap. I didn’t do so well but I wasn’t trying to push myself too hard either – trying to hold back a bit for Wednesday night – but I came in ‘2nd’ on the last sprint which means nothing other than – I was close to taking a point. :)
The next race was an Australian Pursuit. I wasn’t excited about this because there was no Australian, not even a Kiwi, to pursue but I did ok. They put ALL women on the track at one time – juniors and women. They did the same for the guys when it was their race – all men. The purpose of this race is you start 25 meters away from each other. It is a standing start and you just jet as fast as possible. You are supposed to keep passing people and as soon as someone passes you then you are out of the race. Some people were out within the first 10 to 20 meters, some lasted all the way to the end. I was expecting to get out asap and I was praying as I was getting tired – someone take me out, someone take me out. My legs felt fried and I was having slight breathing difficulty. I really need to figure out what is causing that. It is my asthma kicking in on some high endurance, hard sprint/push type training exercises and/or races. It doesn't happen all the time just here and there. I finally got out after 3 or 4 laps and was like 4th from the last to be out. I didn’t think I would make it in that race for that long! WOOHOOO!
The last race was a 3x2 which is 3 sprints every 2 laps. This one wasn’t bad as I used some strategy. I knew some of the girls I was racing with would be tired after the first few sprints. I led them out a bit fast to try to get them tired. Then I backed off, sucked on a wheel a bit, lost a wheel, sucked on a wheel, went around, lead, lead, sucked on a wheel and so on. The second sprint I could have had it but I wasn’t sure I would be able to hold the pack of 4 girls for that long. I knew I would have the last sprint for sure so I was just holding back a bit. Then the last sprint came and I was the only one taking it – no one was sprinting to catch me. So my strategy worked. :) Everyone said I did really good Monday night. I just hope I didn’t blow myself up for Wednesday night. :) All the women racing on Mondays are doing really well! I am quite pleased they are doing so well and hope they will continue to come out next year. The guys such as Gregg, Pat, Bob, Jean-Phillipe, MikeM and more are doing really well! It will be nice to see them out there next year as well. Rumor has it that Gregg will be joining the Byrne team which will be awesome! :) Jean-Phillipe, MikeM and who knows - Dan, Jimmy or some of the other guys will be joining their team, Native Planet, to be racing next year! :)
Oh, and I played a practical joke on Bob – the Nebraska Cornhusker – on Monday night. Last week he made fun of me about this inside track joke and I decided to get back at him. I put some fake poop on his water bottle. Of course, he knew it was me immediately. He knew it was me or Pat and he said my guilty smile and laugh told it all. LOL!! Well I can’t keep a straight face but it was funny. :)
Other than that - my racing is getting stronger and I am pleased with it. I am also pleased that some other things in my personal life are starting to form quite pleasantly, I think, and will be excited to see where things go from here.
Until Wednesday….. RAPSody is only 6 days away and I am getting anxious about everything going well….
Wed. Track - BAH! and Yaquina Lighthouse Century
Wednesday Night’s Track was not that great so I won't go into detail. I didn’t do so well as I was a bit frazzled with some personal things I was trying to deal with and I just know that I wasn’t mentally into the races. Oh well – this week will be VERY different. After having a long and somewhat emotional week, as well as unexpected/wanted guests on the track on Wednesday, things died down on Friday and I was able to skip town early on Friday afternoon. I carpooled with LloydW and his wife Cathy, from SBC, for a weekend getaway to Newport, OR. It took us about 7 hours to drive down there as we hit the Portland rush-hour traffic. We got into town, checked into our hotel, and then went out to eat at a local establishment. We then came back to our hotel and called it a night.
Saturday morning we woke up and Cathy was a bit under the weather. So Lloyd and I went down to Starbuck’s for breakfast. We stopped at the farmer’s market and I bought a hoody sweatshirt with a lighthouse appliqué on it. We then went down to the lighthouse and walked around on the beach. It was a lot of fun and felt very relaxing. We looked at some of the tidal pools where I got to see crabs I have never seen before. We walked and talked and I took a few pictures (I’ll post them later on). We then tried to go down to the historic bayfront but traffic was horrendous! Parking was not available so we decided to come back down, with Cathy, on our bikes. As we were going up a massive hill we saw some parking that hardly anyone touched yet. We got Cathy and we decided to park down on that hill instead of bicycling down. We hung out down at the bayfront for a bit. We saw the sea lions and then had lunch at a little deli that had excellent sandwiches. Afterwards, we went out to the Yaquina Lighthouse and walked around in the interpretive center and down to the lighthouse. We went up in the lighthouse which was very cool. I was able to take some nice pictures from inside, outside and at the top of the lighthouse. We then went back to our car and went to get our packets for the Yaquina Lighthouse Century ride which was what we went to Newport for. We picked up our packet and then went to get dinner. We ate at the Spouting Horn restaurant in Depoe Bay. I realized I already ate there once with my ex-husband years ago. It is a great little restaurant. We got to sit near the window and watch some seals in the bay. It was very relaxing and really good food – HMMMM!! Macaroni and cheese was melt in your mouth, homemade GOOD!!! WOW! :) We then returned to our rooms to get ready for Sunday’s ride.
On Sunday we got up early, went down to the interpretive center next to the lighthouse and started the ride. We rode with Cathy until the first rest stop, about 11 miles out, then Lloyd and I took off to do the Century ride and Cathy was to do the Metric Century. Some how a bunch of us (later we find out Cathy did as well) missed the ‘out and back’ section to Elk Hill from Toledo. This was to give us another 20 miles. So we were only going to get 80 miles under us. Oh well we can live with that. The rest stops were nice, the route was scenic, low traffic and awesome. The second rest stop, really the third, was beautiful next to a little river. It was quiet and they served us some great turkey/cheese sandwiches. This was a stretch of the road that was NEWLY paved for 19 miles and was excellent. The last rest stop was along Hwy 101 in Lincoln Beach. WOW! Awesome pictures of that. A little gazebo, sunny day, and beautiful look over the bay/ocean it was just beautiful – absolutely stunning! We are about 25 miles out and it was such a relaxing stop. They had a nice display of oranges with star fruit cut up like ‘garnish’, they had bagels cut up in small pieces with ‘tropical’ fruit trail mix sprinkled on them, celery sticks with cheese and little crab/lobster/fish type crackers standing up in the cheese. They also bought some cookies that had alphabet characters on it and spelled out their bike club name. Excellent idea and I think I’ll do that for RAPSody next week! :)
Lloyd and I left and within about 5 miles my Michelin Pro Race – LIGHT – tires blew a hole in the wall. We patched it up with a “Bumble Bar” wrapper and off we went again. We are about 20 miles from the end and getting into some very scenic areas. About 10 miles out my tire wall blew again. I could hear the air escaping from the same area. At this point we decided to just forget it. Lloyd went on while I called the sag and got sagged off. They were nice enough to sag me through the section that I would have missed of Otter Rock Lookout. It was gorgeous! I took some pictures and then my sag driver took a picture of me, with my camera, and then took a picture of me – taking a picture – for their website. Then they dropped me off.
We changed our clothes and I decided I wanted a souvenoir t-shirt. I stood in line and realized you can get one with the logo of the ride, on the front, and the names of participants on the back. I decided that would be cool as that is the first time I have seen that setup. So I bought a t-shirt with my name highlighted on the back as a participant of their inaugural ride. Lloyd, Cathy and I drove home after that. We had a long night – left Newport around 1ish and got back around 9 pm. Traffic backups, accidents, etc. kept tying us up. It was tiring and I took several short little naps as well as caught up on some reading. Felt good. I felt bad they had to do all the driving but appreciated it. It was a lot of fun! I would love to do that ride again next year. This was their first year and they did an excellent job.
Monday Night full of insight, fear, harrassment and plain old fun!
Monday night racing was interesting. Jane, Jill, Melinda, Liz and I took on the roles of ‘mentors’ as we had 5 new girls, all from Sunday’s track class, and a few returning new girls show up for racing. We had a field of 12 total (including 2 juniors that we split up) which is a great field. We were able to split into two groups and we split the more ‘experienced’ of us 5 between the two groups so we can assist them with the race strategies, push them a bit beyond their comfort level and such. Jill and I were in the same group. We tried to let them know what was expected with the first race, what the neutral lap was about, what strategies they may want to use on the race – 5 lap, point a lap. I think they did great. Liz took off way ahead with the junior rider. Then, Jill worked with a couple girls in the back and I worked with one girl in the middle. I tried to have her work with me on pulling laps, trying to close the gap and so forth. She did an excellent job! I kept hoping that Jill and her two girls would be able to close the gap on us so we could all work together but no such luck.
Second race:
We went out for a 5 lap scratch race. The girls were more prepared on this one. We did a bit of pace lining for the first few laps as I think that is what they were comfortable with and we worked well together. Jill decided to spice it up a bit near the last lap. She revved it up and took off! I was right behind her wheel. I tried getting around, no such luck, got back on her wheel. Then it was an all out sprint although I didn’t want to take the points away from her from all that hard work she did with the break away and pulling my sorry butt so I wasn’t trying to put a full effort in my sprint. She beat me by a couple inches!!! She did awesome!!!
Third race:
We only had 4 girls this time. The junior, went home sick – we pushed him so hard the first race he just up and got sick – then another girl also went home totally tuckered, I think. This one was a 3x2 so 3 sprints every 2 laps. The first sprint I think Jill got it. The second sprint – I think Jill got it… I tried so hard but couldn’t get up there. I think one other girl beat me so I may have come in third – the details are fuzzy for me – the third sprint I was like – heck no! I am beating someone even if I can’t get Jill. The second girl and I worked together to try to close the gap with Jill but we couldn’t so it was an all out sprint at the end for us. I sprinted HARD!!!! Then, as I was in the last maybe 10 meters to the finish line I stood up to pound it out and even yelled as I went through the finish line. I was able to make it 2nd and the other girl made 3rd place! WOOHOOO!!! That is what I was working so hard for - I was NOT going to let her beat me out of 2nd! GRRR! Later some girl – maybe about 10 years old – asked: Who was that that yelled so loud? I said, that would be – the big mouth! Phil (our critic) said that yes, I am a bit loud. LOL! Ok well ahhh huh…. Do you expect any less? LOL!!! My max speed on Monday was 34.4!
Tonight’s races were quite interesting. I think Jill and I helped educate the girls while also pushing them and showing them what has to get done out there to start winning and to train for the winter. Also, Jane was able to race against a few faster girls; however, they were a bit squirrelly so she was giving a bit of distance. She was smoking out there though! I can't wait until Wednesday! The second group of girls had someone in their group get unclipped out of her pedal at some point. It was quite scary!!! She was able to recover, get clipped back in and keep on racing. My friend Brian also had that same issue but BOTH pedals. EEEEK!!!! It made the officials very, very worried out there. It was truly an interesting evening. Gregg sprinted hard on a few races and won; however, on one of them he went hands free after crossing the finish line which was an instant disqualification. I know he was TREMENDOUSLY ecstatic for winning with all that effort. Poor guy! :)Everyone did a great job though…. I can really see the improvements with Brian regardless of his knee being very sore lately and the pedal issue. He has increased his speed, been able to suck on a wheel better and overall look more relaxed and strong. I think everyone is improving by leaps and bounds. Next year we will be killer on the track! Bob and Greg are thinking about joining the Byrne team. I think Brian is still unsure but if all them got together, with Pat who is already on the team, wow!!! They will be kicking butt like us Divas!
I DO need to pay Farmer Bob back though…. Hmmmm… I have to scheme to pay him back for picking on me and harassing me. There is a ‘weird’ guy in the stand each race night that is difficult to describe. But he is “ODD” and “NOSEY” as he is in everyone’s business, has to talk to everyone, ask people about their bikes, their clothes or whatever else. He tells people about his pancreatic surgery. He looks like he is trying to be a cross between a Grateful Dead band member and a Harley Davidson biker with his skull cap minus the Harley. He walks like he is about 9 months pregnant and sadly looks like it too. The guys were giving me a hard time – all with the influence of BOB egging it on – about keeping my guy in check, etc. The way they were saying it I was completely confused until they had me turn around and I realized who they were talking about! MAN!!! GRRRR!!! Those guys are going to get it…. I got to scheme something up for them.
OH! Brian brought his rollers that he hasn’t been using so I could borrow them and see if they will work. I hope to get on them a bit later this week. We will see – or maybe even Tuesday night after the SBC picnic. WOOHOOO!! Winter training – here I come!
Trio of Track Divas taking on new jobs: track instructor
Sunday was fun! What a blast! The trio of track divas (Jane, Jill and myself) along with Pat and Rolf assisted John in teaching 26 riders learn how to track ride. What an adventure as we all took on our first efforts of teaching a class and in blazing HOT heat! (As John said - we did all the work - having to bicycle for 4 hours around the track, round up the class participants, etc. while he barked out instructions!) It was a lot of fun helping those that were timid feel more comfortable with getting on their bikes, stopping, starting, standing up, sprinting, get the feel of the whole track and so on. Prior to the actual class beginning, we had a couple of minor crashes/falls with people just trying to get on the bike, push off the rail as well as on the track. I encouraged some timid riders to use the warm up circle to get used to starting/stopping, pedaling, make sure their seat was adjusted properly and to use the grass to slow themselves down to stop. We then did exercises of riding around the track, pacelines, partner work where one person places their hand on another’s hip or shoulder and then the elbow bumping exercise. We did have one small accident where someone fell, for an unknown reason, and came down track. It happened within 25 meters ahead of me. I was able to stop with some others and assist her. She thought she just pulled a ligament; however, we saw her Monday night, since her daughter participated in her first race, and she had cracked her collar bone. :(
Jill really did a great job coming up with some good exercises/drills to go through like follow the leader. We split the girls up from the guys and we took turns leading out different groups – up the embankments, down the straight aways, using all areas of the track so they would feel more comfortable, pacelines, sprints, etc. We did a double paceline cool-down. I did not participate but rather took pictures. The 12 girls that showed up – wow! They showed tremendous improvement by the end of the 4 hour class! And what an improvement it was. Many were psyched to come out and race on Monday night and some weren’t sure. We really tried to encourage them to come out and get psyched to continue for next year. It is impressive to watch how in 4 hours those girls that didn’t feel comfortable even going on the track and/or going on the track around a turn (staying on the apron) improved by 100%.
I believe everyone had a lot of fun helping teach the class. I know the trio of track divas are wanting to do it again next year – and hey, bonus! - It will count towards our ‘community service’ for the Byrne team! And hey, it gives us a chance to harrass John - we know he likes all the attention - he's a great sport dealing with us! :)
The trio went out to dinner at Big Time Pizza. It was a lot of fun as we sat there for a couple of hours to talk about track, winter training, having fun, relationships, work and so forth. It was a blast just chillin' with the trio of divas and having dinner to supplement the workout we just did. I hope there will be more times like that in the future - as well as great coffee rides through the winter. :) I am sure there will be tons more "chillin'" times for us.
Mariner's Game in the Vulcan Suite... My OH My!!!
I was invited to a Mariner's Game for Tuesday, August 9th by the Bicycle Alliance of Washington. I invited my college friend, Curtis, to go with since there are many times he invites me to share his 'season' tickets with him each year.
I picked him up in downtown Seattle in front of his work building and drove to the Qwest Field parking lot. We were able to get prime parking spots in the garage. WOW! Much better than paying money on the street several blocks away. We then walked over to the stadium and went in. Usually we walk around the stadium on the lower level but this time we took an elevator up to the Suite level. We got off the elevator and immediately had to show our tickets in order to get to the suite area. We were glancing into several suites, Alaska Airlines, Wells Fargo, Bank of America, etc. There were pictures upon pictures of newspaper clips, signed autographs, posters and such on the wall. It was a different sight to see all this memorabilia and be in such a classy area of the stadium. We walked past the 'home plate suite' and enjoyed looking at the classy sign. We also enjoyed looking at the posters of the Jackie Robinson Scholarship Award posters where our school, The Evergreen State College, sponsors.
We finally got to our suite and we sat down in the 'deck' seats to watch batting practice. I took some pictures of the awesome view. We were pretty even with the score board. We then walked around, as we were the only ones there, and I took pictures. When we returned there were more people showing up. Soon it was a full party. We ordered food from the 'menu' where you could order a 'package' of pizza, salad, appetizers (popcorn/peanuts), drinks, etc. for about $300 to feed 8-10 people or you could order individual items like 50 rotissiere chicken wings for $75 or a bucket of peanuts for - I believe - $17.00 or was it $27... either way - wow! So we ordered pizza, salad, popcorn/peanuts (hey what is a baseball game without?!), beer, pop, chips and a 7 layered salad. I really enjoyed visiting with those that joined us:
Gary Strauss (and guest), Dave Janis (and his daughter), Claire Bonin (bicycle paper), Josh Hicks (bicycle paper), Barbara Culp (Exec. Director of BAW) and her husband Andy, Jill P and her son, Gannon (it was his 18th Birthday - what an awesome gift!!!), Cynthia Putnam and her guest, Susan Hiles and a couple more.
It was a lot of fun. The seats were plush and some rolled around. The suite was sweet. hee hee with a flat screen tv as well as each area of the 'deck' had a tv to view the game on as well. It had a 'island' and a buffet type area for serving food. It was pretty cool. We all had a blast sitting, talking, relaxing AND watching the shortest (from what Josh Hicks told me) game ever in Mariner's baseball. They won - in the 8th inning (if I remember right) with 1 run. Yep! 1 run!!! GO MARINER'S! (pictures to be posted later tonight)
Track Racing on Wednesday Nights.....kicks some major BOOTY!!!!
Pictures:
Jane, Me and Melinda - is this the game face Jane refers to?!
Me racing.
So Jane and I talked prior to getting to the races. We agreed if they didn’t have enough Cat 4 riders for a separate group then we would just watch. I got there and people were trying to encourage me to just do it. It looked a bit promising since a lot of people were at Nationals. So we signed up knowing it would be challenging but a bit more even in the field. I also heard some Byrne members discussing how Wednesdays are technically supposed to be for new people and all those at Nationals are supposed to just ride on Fridays.
First Women’s Race:
On to the races, the first one was an 8 lap scratch thus only the first person cross the line at the end scores points. I didnt know what to expect as they put all of us women, about 12, together. The group quickly took off. I struggled to get on a wheel to try to find a good position. Up track, down track, up, down, trying to get past a slower person but unable to pull it off thus falling back on their wheel. Up, down... 2 laps to go my legs feel the pain of earlier this week. I know I am not winning this so I back off on my exertion for the next races.
I see Jimmy in the stands and went to talk to him. He missed the gasworks ride so he came to see me. That was nice because I could hear him cheer me on and it gave me some strength. THANKS JIMMY! :-) dang say what?! I am up already?! I go running into the infield and grab my bike.
Second Women’s Race:
This is the split women’s 8 lap snowball so now we are racing with others closer to our ability. I was trying hard to stay on a wheel and watch the group, watch for attacks, get in front, not overlapping tires. At some point Jane came next to me and wanted me to take her wheel. So I did and saved some energy. It was hard to time being on a wheel, not being in the wind, wedging myself between other wheels to get in the paceline. But being behind Jane gave me a break and on the last lap on the back stretch I was able to sprint. I pushed soooo hard and I could sense someone closing in. I gave all my might but their wheel just passed the finish line by About 3 inches! Crap! I was so close. :( I then freaked out and almost off the track as that woman, Jody, swooped next to me and I felt was going to take me out. As I was in the warm up circle Martin told me I had a good attack. At some point I shook my head at Phil he asked me what was wrong and I told him she almost took me out and he said he thought that was what happened. She later came up to me and apologized. I told her that was ok it just freaked me out. Phil was there and said he wanted to make sure there wasn't going to be a fight. I thought it was an odd remark until Jane's remark later. She said I have such a mean game face on when I am out there. LOL! ME?! CUTE, INNOCENT ME?! Ha! I am just focused, working hard, grabbing strength from every little cell of my very being to whoop BOOTY! It can be painful too so I am gritting, grimacing and pushing! She said my eyes go all crazy and I could scare kids with my race look. Hmm I bet I look like I am about to morph into Dr. Jeckyl and Mr. Hyde!
Last Women’s Race:
So the last race Jane and I were worried. It was the whole field of women again and it was a 4x4 which would be the longest RACE for us. So off the group went - fast! Sigh... My legs are feeling the strain. I am feeling the yo-yo affect as there were times I over-lapped a wheel and had to yell stick or below you and so on. I kept trying to stick with the group, trying to slowly work up, as the Byrne team mostly lead. The race was going so fast. I saw 7, out of 16 laps, to go. I felt exhausted and wanted to quit but knew I couldn’t. Jane and I agreed to work together. I tried to look for her but I couldn’t see her and it was hard to do anything but watch in front of you when you are so packed together. There were times I got up track and passed Jane, using my momentum, hoping she would get on my wheel. At some point the Byrne team went off sprinting and it was so early! It ticked me off because I knew they were just trying to wear us all down and I also knew that I would be dropped if I didn’t go with them. UGH!
So there we went! On the last lap, going into Turn 1, Jackrabbit Jane leaped out. I went with her but I had so much momentum I would have had to slow down to stay on her wheel so I just pushed hard. I could feel myself slowing as I prayed for strength around the 4th turn. I now am on the straight away and feel an approach coming on! Come on! Dig deep! Push! Ugh! I have nothing left! Crap lost that sprint again by 3 or 4 inches! ALL that hard work for 1 point. DANG! I did come in to place 4th on the 4x4! I also hit a max speed of 28.7 for the evening.
Lesson of the day:
I need to try to use someone’s wheel just a bit longer because 3 or 4 inches DOES matter. :-P A BIG THANK YOU TO JANE FOR LETTING ME SUCK ON HER WHEEL! :-) I couldn’t get that close without her help. They were getting tired but they didn’t know what hit them! We did awesome! I wish Jill was there. We will rock next year!
RAPSody pre-ride rappin' and Monday Night Track Butt Kickin'...
I was whooping butt last night. In the 7 lap scratch I think I came in 3rd or something. Then on the 5 lap, point a lap I think I took 2 maybe 3 laps. I lost track. I broke away on the back stretch and I pounded with what was comfortable. I heard the girls say ‘just let her have it’. I yelled back, hey! I heard that. I kept looking over my shoulder for the attack….. no attack, yet! I know I did 2 and then after that I started lightening up because I felt my legs getting sore and I felt like I couldn’t go ‘out’ off the pack much longer. I thought, ok you can either come in at the end and have made a few laps or you can finish crawling on your hands and knees at this pace. I thought I could maybe jump on their wheels for the last couple laps and have them pull me in. Well they attacked me on turn 4 and I tried hopping on a wheel. Everything becomes foggy after that. I think I was able to get barely on a wheel but by then the race was done. It was a blast though! Then, we had the 3 x 2 with 3 sprints every 2 laps. WHOA! That was even more tiring! It was a blast though. The first sprint I took Jane’s wheel and she just led us out hard. I know I wouldn't have done so well not taking her wheel. I would have been back with the pack. I think I took 2nd on two sprints and 3rd or 4th on the last sprint. Oh sheesh, hard to remember. I am not good at those details. I just keep pedaling and try to get done with the race. I maxed out at 28.6 somewhere along those races. I know at some point Jill whipped by me (can't remember which race they all mesh together sometimes) and was whooping butt all over the place! We were three wild kickin' butt ladies on the track last night - and then some! Izzette did great as well!! I hung on to her wheel for one of the 3x2 sprints!! I wouldn't have made it in without her! Next year we will rock working together - Jane, Jill and I - on the same team!!
John stated I looked much better out there and could stay on a wheel much better!!! I am also able to race on Wednesday’s. Phil was there again giving us feedback and he stated we are all really looking good and should do Wednesday night. He promised to have a CAT 4 on Wednesday and not throw us into the CAT 2’s and 3’s. I think Jane, Izzette and I are definitely do it. Unfortunately, Jill has prior commitments. But it should be fun!!! We are allowed to race Mondays and Wednesdays for the rest of the season now since we were all smoking last night and we keep learning and improving!!! :) I feel I am strong enough for Wednesday nights if we can stay with CAT 4’s! WOOOOHOOOO!! I think last night I did pretty good after riding 168 miles, 9000’ elevation gain, this weekend on the Pre-RAPSody ride.
I rode 86 miles on Saturday – with a bob trailer in tow – and practiced some sprinting up the south end of Vashon Island’s Hwy hill coming off the ferry. I did multiple sprints on the island against Kristin and Kristi. I also did more sprinting later on the route. We had a blast!!! I was pulling the bob trailer with our dan henry template and paint. There was a lot of stopping and starting but there were some long sections that I could practice sprinting on. Then on Sunday, I rode 80 miles and took it easy. This time Bob had the trailer. So I just had to paint the route. I just sat and spun up hills, etc. I didn’t push it. So I seemed to do better than I thought I would after such a challenging route. It was fun. We had fun stopping at the Port Orchard for lunch, Blue Heron Bakery, the Allyn park, the Lacey designated rest stop and so forth. My mom sagged so that was fun to have her on the route and cheering us on.
My whole life… it is becoming cycling. People are trying to convince me to do cyclocross now. I may be crazy enough to do it too! UGH!!! :) LOL!!
Track Training and the RAPSody Volunteer Pre-Ride rappin'...
Last night I was out on the track participating in the Thursday night Track Training, as I do every week. It is so much fun to see the familar faces each week: Gregg, Pat, Jane, Jill, John and Brian among others. Last night John put a 15 T Cog on my bike. My friends said that I looked much smoother with my riding. I felt I was able to stay on a tire with MUCH more ease. I felt my breathing was slower - i.e. less spinning was occurring - and ,in general, I felt I was riding stronger in a sense. So Hyun made us do a really good drill. It was half laps of standing up and sitting down. So we 'sprinted' for half a lap sitting then 'sprinted' for half a lap standing up. We did 4 laps total (1 mile). It was completely exhausting but such a great workout! Jill immediately said - I know what I need to do this winter. YEP! That was my feeling exactly. I KNOW what I need to do this winter - LOTS of butt pounding, sweating like a pig, focused, obsessed, move it 'till you lose it, pedal until you drop, never done before, don't know if I'll live through it but chances are I'll be stronger if I keep it up, good ol' heart thumpin' training!! Interval training, roller training, front brake on my fixed gear - ride around the lake - training and ride with my new race team on weekend training rides. On top of that I need to just plain old have fun riding, cross-country skiing, hiking and anything else I can do. It should be a lot of fun especially since Jane, Jill and I will be on the same team to train together, encourage each other and have fun.
When we ended the class, John asked some of us 'veterans' if we would be interested in assisting to help train a class on the 14th. Sure! That sounds like fun! I would love to do that. So I will be doing that on the 14th. Afterwards, he stated next year we can assist a couple other classes as well. So next year I'll have even more fun things to look forward to! Jill, Gregg and I also spoke with Hyun about Wednesday night racing. It appears the MVA board is working hard on getting a Cat 4 group of women setup for Wednesday nights - especially next year - but that they are ok with us holding back, for Mondays, for the rest of the year. We will see... it seems it is kind of a flip flop about this but Jill, Jane and I are feeling comfortable with Mondays and working hard on Wednesdays. Then, Hyun suggested that next year we could do a couple Monday nights and then immediately go up to Wednesday nights. He also said then maybe by the end of the year we will do Friday night races. It all sounded good to Gregg, Jill and I. I think we are all psyched up for next year!
Off I go... to get ready for my 168 mile RAPSody Volunteer Pre-Ride this weekend. I don't know what shape I'll be in for Monday night's race. I sooooo want to just pound the pavement and see how fast I can go on this ride and see how strong I can go but I know it will hurt me for Monday night. I think I'll hold back a bit - maybe practice some sprinting on Saturday. I may try to be in a gear comparable to the fixed gear and practice sprinting. Then, take it real easy on Sunday so I can rest up a bit for Monday. :) We will see how that will work and see how dead I am on Monday... it will be interesting especially with my new gearing. :)
Stay fixed and keep pedaling! :)
Track does a body good....
I just want to share my good news...... :) After struggling this winter with my dang 'licking my wounds' from my attack (non-serious,of course. I kicked the arsehole's arse!! Was there any doubt?!!?!) and then dealing with the ex-boyfriend and all that..... Many of my friends know I struggled with the emotional and mental energy I needed to just get up every day, to go to work, to go home, to just deal with things the way I had to deal with them. I was frustrated I wasn't physically where I wanted to be since I was having a hard time getting out and about. I kept pushing myself and I was riding stronger this year but it still wasn't having a positive effect on my weight-loss goals.
I emailed my previous personal trainer, Danyll, and desperately asked her what I should do with my eating vs. training. I wanted to make sure I wasn't eating too much for what I was burning off on the track with the training and races. I also wanted to make sure I was keeping my muscles and burning fat. She suggested that I keep a food journal. I have always hated keeping a food journal and felt they did the opposite effect on me; however, I reluctantly did it starting 7/13/05. I also got my butt back in the gym. It is hard to get in the gym during the summer when I am so busy and I try to enjoy other activities (biking, hiking, family, friends, camping, etc.) but I decided I needed to do it. If I can't get in the gym then I have been pushing to be more diligent about working out at home with my free weights.
The story has now changed...
Let's see we (Jane, Jill and I) all started racing on July 11th. My last weigh-in, with my TOPS group, was July 12th. I weighed in last night and I have lost 9 lbs since the 12th!!! YEAH!!!! I am hoping with the hard training we will all be doing this winter, etc. that I will be able to keep it off and perhaps then some!!! Also means I probably need to keep that up forever and ever and ever and ever and ever.... and ever....and ever... and..... ;) Hee hee
Anyway..... here's to good kicking butt times on the track! :)
Monday Night at the Track.....whooping!
WHOA NELLIE!!! I started with the WRONG group to begin with. Jane also started in the wrong group. Jane kicked butt against some newbies - pounded them like there was no tomorrow - and grabbed some points while at it. On the other hand, my butt was pounded and handed to me on a silver platter. Against junior racers! It was humiliating to say the least! Well I had fun doing 5 laps anyway. So Jerry told us to switch and we did - a perfect match (no not the website!). Jane was giving those juniors the run for their age!!! hee hee.... I was making the new girls work hard. I was able to place and grab some points in the last race. The second race I came in 4th - no points - but hey better than last! :) Jill was with Jane on the first race. She was with me on the second race and helped kick butt! I think she came in 2nd or 3rd. I am not totally sure because I become so tunnel visioned during racing. Funny, how I wish I could be that way at work. Just block out all the noise, criticism, other issues in the world and just become tunnel visioned. Jill was having a challenging day and took it a bit easy. It wasn't the same without her lively attitude and trash talking. She is affectionately known as the dominatrix. Me the trash talker.... now... Jane... I think we need to come up with something for her. She strategizes, she is vengeful against the youngsters and she kicks butt. Man get her on that track with her gearing - whoooo lordy! WATCH OUT! She's going to whoop your butt!
Monday night's racing wasn't as energy filled but it was still fun. Tom P, Jimmy P and Dan W came to watch us again. They cheered on Mike M and Mario for their first races ever! WOOHOO! They did awesome. They also cheered on Brian who already - in one week - is definitely showing improvement. Gregg did awesome as well! I think we are all getting stronger and tactically smarter. Not just week to week but from race to race each week. It is awesome to watch. Last night Phil gave us feedback and criticism about what we did that was good or bad. It really helped to get his feedback.
It was a good race night and hopefully next week we will all be up to par again for an exhilirating, heart pounding, muscle aching, fun and challenging good time! :)
Article in the Outspoke'n and the Photo Gallery
Here is a link to the article that I wrote about track racing. This was posted in the Seattle Bicycle Club - August 2005 Newsletter.
http://www.seattlebicycle.org/newsletters/OutSpoken_08-2005.pdf
Also, the Photo Gallery currently contains photos from my third race:
http://imageevent.com/seattlebicycleclub/velodrome
Friday Night Races, Weekend of kids and Tour de Kitsap
Friday Night Races:
I met up with a group of people for the Friday Night Races. Brian, Mike, Mario, Kathy, Rebecca and then my two racing chicks - Jill (with a co-worker - Sandy) and Jane. A few other people knew Mike and Mario and joined in on the fun. We had a blast watching the races! Jill, Jane and I enjoyed seeing the different tactics and speeds in each race. It was a blast! I later went down by the beer garden to take pictures. I found a perfect place and got some pictures of the Kieran races, Mt. Rainier in the background and the women's races. Evening Magazine was on sight and unfortunately I had the best view and they wanted me to leave so they could stand in my spot. Say WHAT?! So I joked around with John Curley (got a couple pictures of him as well). I told him I could do his job. :) I REALLY think I could with my witty humor. Maybe this year when they invite people to take his job for the day I will do some audition tape to do that. That would be fun! Anyway, Jane, Jill and I spoke a lot about the races and our potential for next year. We are all very excited at how far we have come already!
Saturday - a day with the kids:
I drove to my sister's place. My niece had to go home, to Wisconsin, and be at the airport at 3 pm. I visited for a bit and then watched her kids. We played in the pool, watched Pocahantas and just in general had a blast! They are such great kids! I read them books and then they went to bed. Only after watching Pocahantas 2 times did I have to read the book once. LOL!!! Well that is how it goes! They are such a joy and I try to embrace the times I have to spend with my great niece and nephew as much as possible. Time is so precious and valuable when it comes to relatives and friends. When I was playing with the kids in the pool I was spinning them around and somehow hurt my left hip. It is still acting up from holding them at the zoo a couple weeks ago. I was in good pain all evening! I swear I'll never be able to have kids - I'm going to fall apart before that ever happens! I worry about that.... not that it is the end all of life but if I want kids... I worry I will be in bad shape to enjoy them. :(
Sunday - Tour de Kitsap:
I drove from my sister's and parked my car in Bremerton. I started the ride around 9 am. I just missed a big group of riders! PHEW! I started the ride by myself which felt good. I pushed myself to what felt good and comfortable. About 8 miles in I crossed paths and with Mike and Mario. We went to the Silverdale Start/Finish area. I met up with Jean and Ken. I saw Jillie, Ken and Lee. I spoke with them briefly and also let them know about my track racing and such. I then left with Jean and Ken. We spoke briefly as we rode together. At some point we were going up this monstrous hill and a group of 3 people rode behind me. They passed me and I was pretty much on their wheel until we pulled into Poulsbo. One gentleman - that had an australian jersey on and also spoke with an aussie accent (I kept thinking - oh my co-worker would LOVE to be sitting on his wheel listening to that! :) ) - and I spoke for awhile. Then I left them in Poulsbo and did my own thing. I rode and rode and rode. Seeing more familiar faces - Val and Ken - on the way as well as those operating the rest stops.
I felt really strong on Sunday. Even though it was hilly I didn't feel like it was that hilly. It felt tolerable and I felt stronger after all the track racing I have been doing. This ride was my longest - and pretty much only bike ride - in a month. It felt really good to be out, to do hills and to feel so strong. Mike even mentioned that he thinks the track riding is giving me some good calf muscles. I pushed hard the first 30 or so miles and then I backed off a bit when my hamstrings felt a bit tight. I had to keep in mind that I am racing on Monday night and didn't want to push myself too hard. It felt good riding by myself and going as fast as I wanted - not worrying about others.
Now, the funny story about Tour de Kitsap: I was riding up Hwy (301?) past the Hood Canal bridge. I forgot my mirror for this ride so I was trying to hug the right side of the road as much as possible. At some point I just looked up and realized that the car in front of me, that just passed me, had an "Oversize Load" sign on top of it. OH BOY! I held on tight because as I just realized what that vehicle was the 'oversize load' truck, with half a house on it, passed me. I am very greatful that I was staying to the right as much as possible. Then, about a mile up the road I sensed a vehicle slowing down behind me. My mind was instantly processing - ok you are either going to get a car full of punks harrassing you or some grouchy person to yell at you being on the road. I am standing up at this time and sprinting up a hill. I am feeling good, feeling alive, feeling strong, feeling like Armstrong for once and I hear this: "You got a wide load..." ahhhhh ok.... ahhhhh.... huh?! My brain is immediately going into quick thinking - who is this jerk? What the heck is he saying and doing? What is his problem? Do I know this guy - is this our sag and he is heckling me? I turn and I see he is in this jeep with an "oversize load" sign on it. He finishes: "....coming at you!" My brain still can't compute what was said and all I can spew out is: "OH GREAT!" Later I thought - man I am glad he warned me because I didn't have my mirror and I had no warning before! The shoulder of course immediately narrows a bit more... I am hugging the road about 2 inches away from it dropping off into a small ditch.... holding my handle bars tight! WHHHHHHHHHHHHHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM! The other half of the house passes - without incident. OY VAY! :) Well that was exciting!
I finished the ride without incident. I then went back to my sister's and played with the kids a bit more. We played in the pool and before I left I read them a bed time story. I then left to talk to my mom a bit before heading home at 11 pm. It was such a beautiful and HOT weekend!!! It was a fun weekend though - fun had by all!!! :)
