North End

Today I rode with our track riders. It was nice to ride with track riders because they are so smooth.

It was a cold day and we were a bit worried about slick spots as we went through the turns of Mercer Island but we didn't have any problems.

North End shore route

http://www.bikely.com/

Edmonds a new way

I've been doing a lot of Edmonds rides again! The roads are so nice and it is right about 30 miles. It is hard to do a 30 mile ride that isn't boring from my location so Edmonds is perfect. I rode up there yesterday with our women's group. Then today when I went to meet my teammate at the coffee shop and another team was already there and invited us to ride with them. They ended up going to Edmonds but a different route. So now I know some more cool roads. The other team was actually going all the way to Everett but that was longer than I wanted to ride today. It was fun to ride in a big group again though.

I have started doing some power 5 minute power builder intervals during the week but my average power is low - around 220 watts. I will try to gradually build it up over the winter.

Edmonds rolling hills

http://www.bikely.com/

Vacation to France

We took a vacation and did some riding in France. Not training just touring around for fun.

Here we are on some back roads on the way from Montpellier to Sommier

We stopped for lunch and admired the view

After Sommier we rode to Nimes. About 1/2 of the route was on a trail which made the navigation easy.

We did some sight seeing in Nimes and explored the old Roman ruins.

The arena is still in use today. It is more than 2000 years old.

We are heading towards the water now down to Aigues-Mortes where they make salt from ocean water. The weather was sunny and I got sunburnt!

Part of the ride was on tow-paths along the canal. The path was bumpy but our bikes had front and rear shocks so it was fun to ride.

This is the entrance to Aigues-Mortes. The entire town is surrounded by a wall.

After Aigues-Mortes we rode along the Mediterian back to our starting point at Montpellier.

From Montpellier we returned the bikes and took a high speed train back to Pairs.

Meet the Team Ride this Saturday for Potential New Members

The Blue Rooster/Sports Medicine Clinic "Meet the Team Ride" is this Saturday!

Interested in our team? Come ride with us on Saturday October 9 and get to know us! This is one of the 'Meet the team' series. Please be at Pert's (120 Lakeside Ave, Seattle, WA 98122) by 9:20 for a 9:30 AM departure.

We have slots open in all categories, road, track, cyclocross and mountain. Come ride with us!

Check out our website for more about the team and our sponsors:
www.blueroostercycling.com

Avanti Racing (Blue Rooster/Sports Medicine Clinic) has been active in the Northwest peloton since 1988, competing in road, track, mountain, and cyclocross events. We focus on racing and providing the training and support necessary to compete effectively while maintaining balance in our busy lives. For 2011 Blue Rooster/Sports Medicine Clinic is
looking to add depth in all categories and disciplines. If you are looking to race and develop team-centric racing skills by being a part of a competitive yet fun racing team, please join us on our Meet the Team Ride.

Send us an email if you have questions - avantiracing@gmail.com

End of the Track Season - International Omnium

I did my last three races of the season.

Two weeks ago was a pretty bad night for me. I was running a bigger gear and it didn't work out. I thought it was the wheels I was using and I raced the same gear last friday with my fast wheels and I decided it wasn't the wheels it was the gear.

I didn't place well in my first two races on Friday but I raced the madison which is always fun and won $5!

There was a bad crash in the men's 3's keirin and Annette went down with one guy from the Garage. The guy got up but they ended up taking Annette to the hospital via backboard in the ambulance. That put a damper on things. I found out later that Annette was mostly OK - some bruised and cracked ribs but not too bad considering she hit the track pretty hard.

Yesterday I did the inaugural "international style omnium" at Marymoor. It was a daytime event for a change. I'm used to racing under the lights so it was weird to have the sun out. The event consisted of 5 separate races with placing determined by overall score. For each race the winner got one point, second place got two points, third got three and so on. The lowest point total won. So you couldn't blow any of the events without getting punished in the scoring system.

I stripped out one of the bolts on my chainring so I ended up doing all of the events in the same gear. I chose a smaller gear (88) to save my legs. We did a flying 200 time trial, a 5 mile scratch race, a pursuit (5 laps), a 24 lap points race, and a 500 meter time trial. It was grueling and torturous.

I didn't do that good on the timed events, but I was happy with how I did in the mass start races. In the scratch race a group of three got off the front and the rest of us were all working together to chase. On the final lap I found myself in second position and I used the slingshot method to take the field sprint for 4th. Then we did a pursuit - my time was 3:13 for 5 laps. This was the first time I've ever done that distance for time.

Next was the points race. I was in a lower gear so I was better able to respond to the accelerations. I was happy to make the first selection and was in a group of 5. I misjudged the second sprint, which started very early and found myself gaped off in no-man's land. I rolled up track and waited for the chase group and worked with them to try and catch up. It was more like a team pursuit than a points race. I was in first position on the last lap this time. On the back stretch I rode out of the saddle to discourage passing. On the corner a rider tried to come around me and I accelerated it to force her to stay outside and ride the longer route through the corner. I maintained posotion to take 5th for that race. Overall for the omnium I was 6th, winning $10! So $15 total for the weekend.

The race was well officated. Since Marymoor has never hosted an internation omnium before the officals were out to get experience as well as us. The event required a lot of coordination. All of the timed events needed to have the tape in the right place - so they had to do adjustements between each race. We were happy to have such a well-run event. It will be fun to do it again next year.





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Cold Friday Night

It was cold on Friday. I took my winter coat and wore three layers under my skinsuit. I wore my coat in between the races. Track is tricky because you get sweaty and then you stand around until your next race. You can get very chilled if it is under 60 and there is a breeze.

I raced a Keirin, a 10 lap scratch, and a points race. I did not make it through the kerin heats this time. I though I had it and I let up before the line - only to see two riders come shooting past. Ooops!

I took a chance on the scratch race. They called a prime on lap 7 and I did not go for it but was up at the front and there was a
separation. I tried to get the two girls up there to go with me and one did but the other was gassed. I didn't quite catch the wheel but tried to stay ahead of the pack. It didn't quite work and the pack came zooming by with 1/2 lap to go. I sat up and rolled in still ahead of 1 rider. My plan didn't work out but it felt good to take the chance.

The points race went much better. I tried to stay in good position and take points that weren't too hard to get. On the first set of
points I was pretty near the front and could have won but took second to save a little energy. I found that when I win the first set of points I'm gassed for the rest of the race. I was in the top 4 for a few more of the sprints and ended up 4th . Top 3 got medals since it was the state championships but I was happy with how I did.

I was happy it wasn't raining so we could race! If all goes well I still have 3 race days left.

Sprinklers and Track do not mix

I had 5 teammates and my madison partner out for track practice today. We had to deal with the sprinklers though which were watering the lower parts of the track. This was bad because you can't ride on the track if it is wet. It is banked enough that you don't have enough friction to keep your tires on the surface.

The sprinklers were on when we got there so I took apart the garbage cans and blocked off the sprinkler heads. They were watering the north half of the lawn (and track). So we warmed up above the blue line (high) and then did 2x 3 high speed sprints off of corner 4 to the line.

Then the sprinklers switched and started watering the other half of the track so I had to move the garbage cans but they had already gotten the lower half of the other side wet. While I was out moving the garbage cans the heads came on for the infield and started watering my bag. One of the riders from the other team moved my bag and hung up my clothes to dry. (thanks!)

We then did one laps efforts with a partner where the second person practices timing the final sprint and coming around the first rider. The track finally dried out so we could use the sprinters lane.

Last Friday was another fast night. I realize that as our women's group gets larger I can't race from the back anymore so I am working on better positioning so I don't miss the moves. I think I figured out a few things during the race. It helps to watch the other riders and see what is working. I have the strength I just need to ride smarter!

It was really fun to watch the last race. Amara partnered with her brother for the men's cat 1/2 Madison and they won! It was so much more fun to watch than when the two strongest guys pair up and just crush the rest. This was a real race. They did great too. There was another mixed pair and then one pair of women racing as well. Mark and I were wishing we had singed up for it too.

Madisons

Last Monday I raced Madison night at the track. Just 4 teams and the other three were guys. My partner and I got last in every race but had lots of fun. I think each team had at least one cat 2 men's rider so the pace was blistering. Racing on Mondays is really fun though because there are three heats of juniors to watch. I like seeing the kids get stronger. I've seen several juniors get fast and pass me on their way up.

Wednesday I went out and did not race but watched the masters, women 4's and the men's 4's race. It was great to see that the women had a big field out there.

Friday night I went out to the track again and raced the national qualifier. Each race had a certain number of riders that would
qualify for Nationals. This meant our field was stacked with talent and everyone was ready to ride hard. We did a 20 lap scratch. You can usually bet the first half of that race will be easy. Not so, this time. The women were attacking every lap. It was very hard. I got dropped half way and this is the first track race this year I have been dropped at. Later I found that I was in a 83
inch gear. This is like trying to do a crit in the small ring. Not a good idea. I felt better when I figured this out yesterday!

I also raced the madison again on Friday but this time I wore the Wines of Washington jersey because the last two times my partner has worn the Blue Rooster jersey. The Madison is so much fun because you get to rest every other lap (when your
partner is "in") so you can ride much harder. The speeds are at least 5mph faster. It is really fun to be going that fast.

Yesterday I rested and then today I did 15 second intervals on the trainer. I was able to hit 570 watts on each one. The is 70 watts higher than a few weeks ago.

FSA day 1

I raced the evening of FSA day 1.

I raced the 5-mile scratch race and the points race. It was a long wait until my events. There was great racing to watch though. Some of the best riders in the united states + Canada and a few other countries like Australia and Tasmania.

I watched former World Champion Jennie Reed motor away from some of the best riders in the country in the women's Keirin. Then I saw the current men's national champion destroy his heat in the men's elite. It was really fast!

I lined up for the scratch with pros from Texas, California, Pennsylvania, Canada, etc. I knew I couldn't out sprint them so my idea was to try and get a prime. The problem is that if they call a prime it would already be to late. So I waited for a good moment and attacked hoping they would call one soon. I got maybe 1/2 lap up(?) and was out there for 3-4 laps. The announcer was really talking my break up as one of the "local riders". Then the bell rang! I need to stay out there for one lap to get $25. There were people all the way around the velodrome (400 meters worth) so it was loud with people cheering for me. I went as fast as I could but the Tasmanian champ and former Marymoor record holder burst out of the pack and caught me on the line to take the prime. I didn't get the money but it was worth it to have the crowd cheering me on! I then got dropped and pulled from the race but I had had my fun.

The points race was really fast too. 40 laps with about 40 super strong women. I hung in there and finished but no heroics this time.

Tonight is round 2. Come on out and watch! 7pm ant the Marymoor Velodrome in Redmond.

Marymoor Velodrome Friday Night

I won the final sprint of the night in the points race! I think I got third for that race but it sure was fun to come across the finish line first! I think my Sunday sprint training helped.

I was 5th in both of my first two races. The first race was a tempo race. I took some points at the beginning but then had a close call with another rider and ended up in the back. The pace picked up and four of us separated from the rest on the last lap. I was with the fastest sprinters so I decided to lead out the last lap and let them contest it.

The next race was the miss-and-out. I rode tempo in front and it worked fairly well but I got soft towards the end when I should have punched it again.

On the last race I was riding up front and trying to mark the three group health women in the race so that if any of them got off of the front I was right there. It was tiring though. On the last lap and a half Carol went early and got a big gap. I followed the new rider, RJ, and she went with 1 lap to go. I thought Carol had it for sure but we caught her and went around on the back stretch. I let a small gap form between myself and RJ as we approached corner 3. Then I accelerated in the gap and punched it. The other riders were coming around me at the same time and we drag raced to the finish and I held on for the final points.

women's clinic

A few weeks ago we had a women's clinic to practice standing starts.

A standing start is used for some of the timed events like the 500 meters and the pursuit. It also helps to have a good standing start if you are doing a keirin or a chariot.

A standing start can either be from someone holding you or some tracks have a machine that holds the riders. This can be problematic though. If you leave too early it hangs on to you and if you leave too late you might fall over. It is important especially on steeper tracks to get on the bike uptrack so you don't fall down the track.

They had us think about:
looking straight ahead
steering straight
keeping arms strong and stiff
pulling back on the bars
drive into the pedals with the hips - like putting on pants
pushing your butt back right before the start to help drive the momentum forward
arms start back on the bars to avoid bruising the forearms

It is also important to have the right gear. If you have too small a gear you will get up to speed to fast. If you have too big of a gear it will take too long to get up to speed. If you have more power and can get up to speed quickly you can use a bigger gear. If you have a fast spin you might be better off with a smaller gear.

They suggested practicing standing starts at every track practice. Either at the beginning to work on power, or at the end of the workout to work on form.

Hour Record at Marymoor

This morning I watched the hour record at Marymoor. The most miles ridden in one hour on the Marymoor track. If it wasn't windy he might have gotten an age-group national record as well. He rode about 33 seconds per lap (400 meters) for an hour straight. It was incredible to see someone riding that fast for so long!

There is no record yet for women - no one has attempted it yet.

Above is the officiating crew to verify the distance and the time.

Here is Stewart - Dave M. is yelling out the time left.

Afterwards he was so tired before he could complete another lap he collapsed in the grass. They massaged his legs for about 20 minutes before he could get up again. I have never even come close to riding that hard.

Friday Night

Racing was fun but I am terrible at the Keirin.

First round of the Keirin went fine and I got into the final - which had 8 riders. I drew 1st position which meant I was supposed to go to the motorcycle first, but somebody else had a better start and grabbed the motor before I got there. Then we are riding behind the motor and a rider rides up to take my spot and I bump her but I guess that didn't intimidate her and she cut in - I thought it too close to be diving in at that point, but I think when I hit her I lost speed and gaped off? I really don't like bumping other riders on purpose but that is normal in a Keirin.

Then 3 other riders do the same also cut in front of me. By then I'm not doing a very good job of keeping close on the wheel. I got 6th on the final lap.

Then a 10 lap scratch race - I think I got 6th again. I acclerated around the rider in front of me but she was also coming around somone so we were three wide on the corner which meant I was taking a longer line. I came past a few riders on the final straight but not quite enough to get in the points.

We finished with a 6x4 - 6 sprints every 4 laps. I got swamped on the first sprint behind too slow a wheel. There were two Broadmark girls and one went off the front so I waited for the counter attack from her teammate and we got a small gap but and I got second in the next sprint. I couldn't quite come around her. 4 more sprints to go though. I started to die with about 8 laps to go and just hung on the back. I finished in the back - very tired.

Rained out last Friday

We were rained out last Friday. The Friday before I got we got in some racing but this time no luck.

It was raining when we arrived and then let up. So it seemed as if we were going to get a chance to race. Some of the racers even got on the track and warmed up but got called off of the track when it started raining a few minutes later. A group of us went out to eat instead. It was fun to hang out with the group and just have relax. Of course we talk about racing the whole time.

On Saturday my teammates and I did some easy loops around Magnolia for endurance. Sunday I did another track workout. This time we traded off doing hard 1-lap rides while the others in the group came around to attack on the finish straight. It was exhausting but really good efforts.

Sunday Team Track workouts

I went out to the track this morning but the rain canceled our practice. I had a workout from my friend, who has been giving us track workouts. He came out last Sunday and ran the workout. It was great to have an experienced racer helping us with our sprints. He gave us a workout again today but I ended up having to do it at home after the rain canceled. I rode so hard on my computrainer that the leveling foot came off during a sprint.

Friday Night Racing

Friday night was hard for me. I tried some attacks but they were not well timed and mostly wasted effort. I also didn't pick the best wheels to stay on. It was fun riding and a great workout trying to keep up with the faster women.

Some of the women also did the cat 3 mens race. Annette and Jen got off in a break in one of their races and stayed away to win. The crowd was so excited! And Tela won her heat in the Keirin against the men. So I felt better about getting beat as well.

I raced with my deep dish wheels which are pretty twitchy in the wind. I really need to get better at riding them though. At one point I scared one of the other women as I suddenly jumped a bit to my left - right beside her.

There were a few raindrops but it stayed dry enough to finish the night of racing.

Finally Dry at Marymoor!

It was finally dry so we got to race Friday night.

I raced the Keirin race which is a race where they have a motorcycle
pace everybody up to 30 miles/hour and then the motor pulls off to the
side and you race for a 1-1/2 laps. Part of my trouble with this race
has been getting into line on the motor. The closer you are to the
motor the better. I'm am usually not aggressive enough to get a good
spot but this time I got my wheel and stayed there. I got a close 4th
which was not good enough for the final but I still felt good about the effort.

The next race was an elimination where the last rider gets pulled each
lap until you have a winner. I usually try to ride this race from the
front but the problem is I wear out too fast. This time I rode from
the front but I also made an effort to control the tempo and work in
some rest. It seemed to help - I made it to the last 4 riders which
is good for me.

The next race was a scratch race - more like road racing where the
first person across the line wins. I got 5th I think in that one.

Last was the points race with 6 intermediate sprints for points. I
had a mechanical in the race and had to pull out. My bike was making
a loud noise so I pulled over to the ref and he figured out that my
lock ring which holds the gear on had worked loose. He tightened it
but that did not qualify for a free lap but I went back into the race
two laps down. I felt pretty good so I pulled the other ladies around
to set them up for the sprints. That made the race safer and was
still fun for me too since I got a workout out of it.

On tuesday I did 3 minute efforts again - about 260 watts this time. I only got in three intervals before my legs were dead. They were shaky when I got off of the trainer!

Rain, team-in-training problems

It rained again on Friday, canceling racing at the track.

Saturday it was sunny so I decided to do a track practice instead of going to the crits. I showed up at the velodrome early and was riding by myself when a group from team-in-training showed up on road bikes - about 20 of them. They got on the velodrome while I was riding on my track bike and almost caused me to crash. They told me that they had "a class" so I thought they had arranged to be there. Road bikes are supposed to give way to track bikes but they took advantage of the fact that I was there by myself. I was very mad. It was unsafe and I was out numbered. I asked them to stay high and yield since I didn't have brakes but they did not.

I found out later that they were not supposed to be there at all and this is not the first time they have caused problems.

I ended up doing my workout a few hours later and got in some good sprints and standing starts.

Next time I'm going to make sure I get someone to go out there with me if I go early.

Fremont Crit

Last week the Blue Rooster/Sports Medicine Clinic sponsored the Fremont Criterium. We were very happy to be able to help make that race a success this year. Our team sponsors, Dr. Chris, from the Sports Medicine Clinic and Kevin, president of Blue Rooster contributed the money for the prize list. The Sports Medicine Clinic brought their mobile trailer to help with first aid at the race. It was a great resource for the racers.

I helped out with registration and setting up and taking down the course. It was a long day but very fun. I had a good time watching all of the races. Fremont is close enough that I can ride my bike there too.

The early races were dry but by the end of the day they were getting pretty wet. This was the lineup for the 1-2-pro race. Their race was really fast - not too many riders by the end. Some strong Canadian and Oregon riders were in the field but it was won by Ian, one of the racers from the track.

3 minute intervals

I did some 3-minute intervals on Tuesday and was able to hold about 250 watts average. They were very hard. I took pleanty of rest inbetween.

30 second intervals

I did a very hard workout of 5 rounds of 30 second intervals. It sounds easy but 30 seconds seems very long when you are going all out! I was at 440 watts for most of it but the power would drop by the last 5 seconds. Now my legs really hurt!

Mutual of Enumclaw Stage Race!

I did not race Mutual of Enumclaw Stage Race - I was too busy helping run the race. This year the race was a timed stage race with a time trial Saturday morning, a crit Saturday afternoon, and a road race on Sunday.

The best thing we did this year was hire a race director - Erik Anderson. It made things so much smoother. I helped out last year - but putting on a race has a steep learning curve. We tried to do better in many places this year. Our number one problem last year was a shortage of volunteers and that made everyone crabby by the end. We still had challenges this year but we got help from members of many of the other teams including Apex, Cucina Fresca, Bike-Sale, Starbucks, Greggs, Herriott Sports, Cycle-Therapy 4-corners, Lenovo, Footworks PT, and Olympic Othopaedic racing. I am sure I missed somebody. And of course my team, Blue Rooster/Sports Medicine Clinic did a great job with everybody putting in some long hours.

The weather wasn't the best. We got a little sun at times but other times it just poured.

We got a lot of positive comments from the racers. It was nice to see our efforts were appreciated. The race takes more than 90 volunteers. We also got help from the local community. The local Presbyterian church put on a spaghetti feed for the racers and the local high school provided volunteers to help in the feed zone. We also had volunteers from Mutual of Enumclaw to help make sandwiches for the volunteers and to help corner marshal. The volunteers come from Mutual of Enumclaw come out every year to help.

Our prize list for the race was $10,000. It was fun to give out so much money. In addition we handed out $1,200 in primes at the crit plus some cool prizes like tickets to a Sounders Game, gift certificates to Speedy Reedy, and free Massages at Living Lotus Massage. We stayed around after the race to hand out the checks. That was the most fun part but had to wait for the official results. At one point one of the Juniors came to get his prize with five family members in tow, all very excited. I felt bad that the check wasn't ready yet so we did a fake presentation for a photo op - and I handed him the check and shook his hand while all of the family took our photos.

Some of the riders don't get their own checks. One of the team managers came in and had us make out all of the prizes for his riders out to their team and then the team pays the riders. Maybe that is the way the pros do it?

We had a great turnout of riders for the race - our largest attendance ever. We had a great showing of riders from Canada - at least 10 teams came down. Also riders from Idaho, and Oregon, and probably a few even further out.

Well next week - to recover - we are putting on another race! Fremont Criterium is next up!

Flat on the track

I got to the track before anyone else was there and I watched this bird. It was being divebombed by crows. It was very beautiful. The track is a much different place before the racers get there.

I had a close call today. I had a flat on my wheel while I was on the banking and slid down the side of the track to the grass. I managed to keep the bike upright but I think I might be switching to tublar wheels which are supposed to be safer when the tire goes flat.

We did some standing starts today which are supposed to be really good for developing acceleration. Then some sprints with a partner and finally some Madison drills. It was hard but fun.

It started to rain just as I was finishing so I decided to skip my last set. I was still feeling a bit frazzled after my close call on the banking and didn't want to deal with on and off rain as well.

Friday Track

It was a fun night at the track - a little warmer this time.

My first race was the Chariot - a 1 lap drag race. You start lined up across the track with holders and go for the finish line. We had heats and then a final. On my first heat I drew lane one so I led the group. I went at 80% until turn 3 and then went full gas to the finish. Jessica came by me but I held off the next rider to get 2nd and advance to the final. The final heat was a few races later. I lined up with the winners from the heats and I decided that they all had bigger gearing than me so I would take off and hammer from the start. It worked well and I gaped them off. Amara was the only one who could close the gap and she came around me at the
finish but I got 2nd!

The next race was elimination, where they pull 1 rider each lap. That was especially hard because I only had two races to rest in between my "drag race" and the elimination. I lasted a few laps and then got eliminated.

My last race was a 20 lap race with points every 4 laps. I was riding in the back and saw Carol attacking up the side. I went with her and came around to take the first set of points. I was dead then and was worried about finishing the race! I hung in there and rested through the next points. I picked up a few more points on the next sprint and on the final sprint I got 4th. I think I ended up 3rd for the night.

First night of Track!

Last night was the first night of pre-season at the track. It was weird to be out racing again. It was a sunny day but somehow at 5:50 pm it started raining. No rain was predicted so it caught everybody by surprise. It was very light though, and 20 minutes later we were waming up.

I looked around at the warmup and realized I was the only woman out so far. This meant that the women's field would be canceled. A couple more women showed up later but still not enough. So I raced with the Cat 3 men ( the B-race). I did not expect that at all for the first night of racing.

The first race was a tempo and it was pretty fast. I did not choose good lines and gapped off about 1/2 way. I finished the race just as the first guy lapped me. The second race was a scratch race and I rode smarter and made it to the finish, getting gapped on the final sprint. The last race was a 5x5 points race. I was ready this time and concentrated on keeping up on the sprints and riding smart. I made it to the finish and even beat a few guys. It was fun! I felt really good about being able to keep up. I raced a 49x15 gear.

Last weekend I rode out to the track and watched 5 of my teammate taking the track class. I was so happy to see them out there. Then on Sunday we had another team practice but were cut short by rain. Got in a few sprints before the drops started falling.

More track sprints

There were four Blue Rooster riders today - enough for a good workout. I have four teammates taking the track class next weekend too! We should be having some more company soon.

We did some 2k efforts and then some sprints. I sprinted with Mike and Ben. Ben is an old time racer and has a really good jump. I couldn't stay on his wheel. I am determined to work on it though. We were in small gears so the legs were flying by the end of the sprints. I was ready to call it a day and Ben talked me into doing 4 more. I needed a nap after that workout!

The track was really busy by the end of our workout. It almost felt like a race night.

Everett

On Saturday my teammate Mary and I followed the interurban trail north. I didn't know how far it went so we just started following the signs. The "trail" starts and stops and is not well signed so several times we thought we were at the end, only to pick it up again. We ended up in Everett and finally decided to turn around even though the trail kept going. It was exciting to do another new route and fun to have a friend along. After we turned around we found that there was a big head wind all the way back that seemed to get stronger as we went. Mary loves the wind though and sped up the more windy it got. That was fun. I think I will look at wind differently now. http://www.bikely.com/maps/bike-path/Greenlake-to-Everett-via-Interurban-Trail

Greenlake to Everett via Interurban Trail

http://www.bikely.com/

Track Sprints!

We did some sprints on the track last Sunday. My legs were not at all ready for the effort. I was in a small gear and it seemed very hard! Glad I am starting my training early this year. I trained with 4 of my teammates. We did some 3k efforts, 1k efforts, and some 200 meter sprints. It was fun! I'm getting some good practice in the paceline too.

Field Trip to Enumclaw

The girls and I went for a training ride down in Enumclaw. The riding was great and it was nice to have a break from the cars. We had a good time and for the most part the weather was really nice. The last 5 miles though the sky opened and we got wet. It was worth it though. When we got back Susanne had some special bakery treats waiting for us! Chocolate covered strawberries and tarts. Yummy!

These local riders were surprised to see us ride by. I happened to already be taking pictures.

Climbing mud mountain. It was a harder climb than I expected!

Enumclaw Cumberland Ravensdale

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Track Practice

I went out to the track this morning and rode with my track teammates. There were six of us! I did all my training either by myself or with other teams last year so it was really cool to have a big group from my team. We did a workout that Mark gave me. I worked harder on the intervals then I would have by myself and I didn't shorten the warm up and warm down either. It was fun! I can't wait for next Sunday.

Volunteer Park Crit

My crit was pretty fast. We had a very strong field. I finished way off the back but I did finish. We had 15 cat 1-2's and we were single file from the start. Not much room to hide. I made some mistakes too. I forgot that you have to ride as hard as you can on the downhill in addition to the uphill. I was fine on the uphill but managed to get dropped on the downhill. I just couldn't get it in my head that we had to sprint down the hill. I got lapped but jumped back in and got in the group. They weren't pulling riders so I got to finish - well almost. The riders for the next race lined up across the road before I could finish even though they could have seem me coming if they just looked back. I had to ask them to move so I could finish my race. They seemed anoyed at me. I would like to see them try to keep up with some of those women!

Marymoor Auction

Last week they had the annual auction for the Velodrome. Each year they raise money for velodrome programs including the kids' program, Team Zoom(pictured above). I raced at the velodrome on Monday and they had a ton of kids out. There were three to four fields of just juniors. It was exciting to see all of the money they raised to build the program. They also earmarked some funds for Women's cycling development. They will have classes just for the women taught by some of the top women that have raced at Marymoor including Jennie Reed. Those should be fun!

Crit Practice

I did crit practice with some teammates today. We went up to Volunteer park and practiced crit starts and accelerating up the hill. The race at Volunteer park is next week and hopefully they feel ready for it now.

We also rode down to Seward to do some more practice down there. There were some pet detectives practicing finding pets in the woods. It was really interesting. They train the dogs to find lost pets and they are a non-profit volunteer organization. They find cats as well as dogs. They have a pet detective dog that smells something from the lost animal and then follows their scent. They were practicing finding a cat on a leash. It was really cool. http://www.missingpetpartnership.org/ .

Last week I raced at Ravensdale. It was an aggressive race with lots of attacking. I lasted almost half way before my lungs seemed to give out. It was fun while I was in there and I did feel pretty good. After I got dropped I did a ride with Carol one of the other women. It was nice to chat. I had to put on more clothes because I under dressed for the race and was freezing - otherwise I would have finished it.

Mark has been having me do some high revolution work on the rollers. Last night I did some short intervals at 160 rpms. The legs are going really fast at that speed. They were hurting today on the hills!

Tonight is the auction to raise funds for the velodrome. It should be a fun time.

Racing at Sequim

Yesterday I raced at Sequim with one of my teammates. It was a large field, seemed like about 40 riders which is huge compared to the 9 riders we had just a few years ago. It was nice to sit in the draft of the field. It made it much easier compared to a race with 9 riders and no breaks from the wind.

The race was controlled by the larger teams; Group Health, KR, and HB. There were a few breaks on the first lap that didn't go far and then one with all three major teams represented and both my teammate and I weren't in good positions to go with it. My teammate got very close to bridging up but didn't quite make it. The break must have been riding pretty hard because some of the riders ended up coming back to the pack. I went to the front to help the Bike Sale team pull it back but the Group Health team joined in the paceline to slow it down. Too bad because I thought we could have pulled it back. There were several attempts by riders from teams in the break and not in the break to get something else going up the road but none could escape the pack. We ended up with a pack sprint and I found that I didn't have the power to keep up in the last 200 meters and rolled in near the back. Looks like I need to build some power before track starts up!

Today I did an easy ride with teammates. I got flat on my brand new rear tire. It was easy to change though and I was glad it didn't happen during the race.

Lots of Flats

When I get a flat tire it tends to happen more than once in the same ride, which is why I usually carry three tubes. Today when I left I looked at my rear tire and thought it was almost time to replace it but I thought it would be OK for one more ride.

Half-way down the street it didn't feel right so I went back home and put on a brand new tire. Still plenty of time to make the ride. I get a mile down the road and I flat suddenly. Probably because I pinched part of the tube. The hole was next to the valve stem. So I put in a new tube and still had enough time to make it to the ride and avoided a big pile of glass. I met the group but then when we were about to leave I noticed my tire was low so I added air. We got about 5 miles along and I had to add air again. Before the big hill I decided it was time to change the slow leak. But then somehow the tube got pinched again and popped loudly. The hole was opposite of the valve stem this time. So I let the guys change the tube - but this time the valve stem broke. By now I wasn't too popular with my riding buddies. We changed it the last time and headed up the hill but my tire had a weird hop in it. I decided not to push my luck any further and turned around and went home. My teammate and her husband came with me to make sure I made it because I was now out of spare tubes.

I got a new tire and a new rim strip when I got home and will use the unlucky tire on the indoor trainer.

Yesterday I rode rollers on my track bike. Mark had me do some intervals at 120 rpms. I was really sore after. It takes more energy on the rollers to keep yourself up. So I didn't mind the shorter ride today so much.

Hills today

We rode a bunch of hills today, Norway, Simmonds, and Juanita. I was tired after the all of the hills and the race yesterday so I decided to go back on the Burke Gilman trail. I stopped to pet Scampy, the "Burke Gilman Trail Cat", and his Friend Orca and Scampy came up to me and crawled right over my shoulder on to my back and started purring really loudly. It was really funny. Mary had a camera a snapped a few photos.

Icebreaker TT

First race of the year today. It was just a time trial but I still had to get all my race stuff figured out again.

I raced about 20 seconds slower than last year but I think the time was reasonable since I was riding my rain bike instead of my race bike. At the last minute I realized that my time trial bars didn't fit on my upgraded handle bars on my race bike so I pulled the fender off my training bike and rode that. It may not have been faster but it was very comfortable!

I tried to push a bigger gear than usual but I'm not sure if it made me any faster.

It was a fun day though and their were some cute bunnies hanging around the registration area.

West Seattle

We did a really neat ride through West Seattle today. We went right by Colman pool in Lincoln Park where I used to swim in the summer. It is such a beautiful neighborhood over there. We will have to go that way again. One of my teammates came out who I haven't ridden with in a couple of years and she was super strong. So I got a good workout in trying to keep up!

West Seattle

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Myrtle Edwards

Yay! We had a rest week and it was beautiful weather again. We took an easy ride downtown and then along the shoreline through Myrtle Edwards park. Then we looped around Magnolia and through Discovery Park and back through the locks to Golden Gardens. Seattle's parks are so pretty when it's sunny! It was relaxing to see the sun and the mountains and to not be riding too hard. I haven't been that way through Discovery park so it was fun to do a new route again.

Emily had to turn back though - she had three flats before we realized she had a hold in the sidewall of her tire. I had an old piece of tire with me that we used as a boot patch to get her home. Another rider once fixed my tire that way when I had the same problem. It held good enough to get her home.

Today I took off from riding and caught up on other stuff.

More Edmonds and Mercer

Last week Sharon and I did the Edmonds loop but added an extra loop. We extended it just a bit further today. We are riding harder on the hills now, racing up them instead of holding back. We had a bigger group today and it was fun to ride through town in our matching kits. I could see little kids pointing us out to their parents in excitement when they saw us. One little kid thought we were training for the Tour de France!

Yesterday my teammate and I did a loop around Mercer Island. There was a team clinic later in the day so we didn't push it too hard.

Edmonds with Olympic View and Talbot Rds

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I love February

I have never liked riding in February but now I'm starting to change my mind! Today was wonderful. Warm and sunny. My new teammates and I climbed Cougar Mt today. I take the old route that the Greggs team used to follow. It has some nice back roads that aren't too busy. I felt really strong today. The training plan called for doing hills in a big gear for power building. It was fun to motor up the hills that way.



It was 38 degrees at the start of the ride so we had to wear lots of layers but it sure got nice at the end.

Last week I ended up riding trainer. One of my teammates crashed at the start of the ride and her bike was messed up so I had to go home and get the car to take her home. She was OK but really disappointed. I did an hour of tempo riding and was pretty tired after. It was rainy out so I didn't really mind riding indoors.

Cougar Mountain Loop

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Quick trip to Edmonds

Today was another recovery ride - just 2 hours. I rode to Edmond's and back with the team in just about two hours. I had to ride really slow up the Innis Arden hill so not to work my legs too hard though. I got back in time to have Pizza with my parents. Yum!

Edmonds - Revolutions

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Out riding again!

I had to take last week off for a cold. I was really happy to be out riding again. This week was a rest week so that went well with my recovery. Just 20 miles today. We did a loop around Magnolia and then across to the Ballard Locks. Then up the golden garden hill and back around the top of Greenlake.

I had never ridden the Magnolia loop before and it was gorgeous! Beautiful roads and not very busy either. Nice views without the hills of Blue Ridge. I love going through the locks too. It's like our own mini Panama Canal.

Mark took my bike to the shop afterwards because it's been making a loud noise for the last three weekends. I thought it was the pedals so I changed them out and I lubed the drive train. It turned out to be gravel in the bottom bracket! I hope it's fixed now because it was so loud that it was driving my teammates crazy.

Magnolia Shilshole

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Maltby and Greenwood

We had a fun "recovery" ride today with a little extra climbing on the way back. It was another great day for riding and this time I had several teammates to keep me company.

One of our teammates didn't show up at the meeting place so we decided to ride to his house. He was surprised by the social call. :)

Maltby and Greenwood

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Spring?

It felt like spring today! We did the Paradise Lake loop and everything was wet from yesterday's torrential rain but the sun was hitting all the wet stuff and the water was evaporating as steam. It was beautiful. The sun was actually blinding at times. It was a good problem to have.

Blue Ridge

I had a fun ride today. I rode by myself but it gave me a chance to ride a new route with out worrying about getting a group lost - just myself. I rode the Blue Ridge neighborhood. What a great day for it. Blue ridge overlooks the sound and the Olympic mountains. I had some gorgeous views! The Olympics were freshly coated with snow and there was a bit of a mist.

Lots of people were out walking dogs and they would cheer me on saying stuff like "you go girl" as I was motoring up the steep hills. It was fun. On my way back I finally found the Interurban North trail. I looked for it on a previous ride and couldn't find it so I was surprised to run into it today.

Hills!

My teammate and I did a hill route around Kirkland today. The weather was great. A bit windy at times but much warmer than a few weeks ago. We saw kite surfers out on Juantia bay.

The goal for the day was to use a lower gear on the hills with lower cadence. We had fun riding up some of the hills in the big ring. I was tired at the end though.

Happy New Year!

I rode on the Jerry Baker ride again. Someone said he has been having that ride for 39 years. I'm not sure if that is right, but maybe. I've been doing it on-and-off for about 20 years. If it isn't freezing I try to make it. Jerry is famous for how many times he has done the Seattle-to-Portland bicycle ride. He has done it every time in it's history!

I saw some riders I hadn't seen in about 15 years. I also saw many of the track riders. It was rainy and windy but there was a good turnout. When I got there I only saw two riders but then I discovered everyone in their cars waiting until the last minute to get out in the wind and rain.

It is always somwhat chaotic with so many riders and most don't actually know the way. But a fun social ride.

Today was supposed to be a day off for me so I made a point of riding over to the ride start very slowly. I figure if you can breathe through your nose without opening your mouth you are in "zone 2" and should be able to ride all day at that pace. So I rode in "zone 2" for the way down.

Jerry Baker's New Year's Ride 2008

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