Tucson Training day 1

We used our first day of vacation as a day to acclimatize to hot weather and hills. We rented bikes again from Cycle Tucson so we didn't have to fly with ours. We rode out to colossal cavern - about 30 miles. Very nice roads and not much traffic except if you count road runners and chipmunks! Riding behind Mark was like motorpacing. We were flying along at 25 with little effort - or maybe we had a good tailwind.

Tour de Dung #1

I was happy to race my first road race of the season. Hooray!

When we got to Sequim we almost turned around. It was snowing and the morning races hadn't even started yet. We were tempted to not even get out of the car but Michele's dog needed a walk so we got out and watched as the first groups started. The officials told the racers to watch out for the slush on the bridge and to be careful on the hill where the snow was accumulating. I didn't want any part of that! We were pretty set on going home but the early racers made it through the first loop with out any major incidents and it stopped snowing. We decided to drive the course to see for ourselves. It didn't look bad at all so we decided to stick it out.

The race was only delayed one hour instead of the two they said at first so it wasn't that bad at all. I was racing with just one teammate, Michele. The field was about 20 and had a large contingent from the Wines team and about four from Group Health and three from Hagens. We were definitely out numbered so we had to be very strategic in how we raced. We talked before hand about which breaks we would cover and which ones we would let go. Our discussions served us well during the race. The overall goal was to get Michele into a winning break.

The race started and right after the first corner there was an attack. I covered the first one and was ready to share a pull but the main pack was eager to pull everything back. We were doing good keeping things in check but at one point I looked up and the three main teams were represented in a break that we had missed. I quickly jumped out of the group to join. I think they gave up when they saw they had company. After I while we backed off and let the other teams pull things back which they seemed eager to do. I was getting pretty tired and then there was a solo break. I wasn't too worried but Michele jumped across and joined it. I was so happy to see her get in there. I went to the front to try and disrupt any group efforts to pull them back. But that was hard work too because there was much more wind at the front. When they were safely away I went back to the back of the group to rest.

The break stayed away and Michele got second place. We were pretty happy with the result. I finished with the pack but did not have a good final sprint and wound up in the wind with tired legs. I was in third rounding the final corner which I thought was good positioning but the pace slowed way down. It was almost like a match sprint with 10 riders. The jump came hard from the right and I was on the wrong side and couldn't not catch the train going by. I pretty much blew the finish. I was expecting a fast finish and was caught off guard when it slowed down.

I was very happy we had stayed to race though. It was sunny for the whole race too. We stopped for Crepes before getting on the ferry for Seattle. They were yummy.

Not Racing Today and 25 Random Things

My ride to the race bailed out today. I had a last minute second offer but due to the late hour I would have had to do some driving and I will not drive if there is snow or even a chance of it. You can call me a wimp if you want. :)

So today's post is a list of random things that get me excited about racing - in no particular order. If you are on Facebook you've seen the latest craze of listing 25 random things - so here I go, but these are specific to bike racing: track, or road.

1. "Riders to the Rail"
2. Marymoor Velodrome Night Lights
3. Hot Dogs at the Track from Caramea's
4. Stiff Cranks
5. Gear Inches
6. Unknown Distance Race
7. Hearing Bilko predict that I will attack soon...
8. Marymoor Grand Prix
9. Kiddie Kilo
10. Shiny new stuff
11. Disco Hubs!
12. The scream of riders coming by at the rail
13. Aero Booties
14. the "200 Meters to go" Sign
15. Carpools
16. Skinsuit
17. "and the Marymoor crowd goes wild"
18. The post race burger stop
19. The Zoo Hill
20. The Bell Lap
21. MADISON Racing!
22. Road trip to Burnaby Velodrome
23. "Get on the moto" (Keirin Race)
24. Checking out the race pictures on Wheels in Focus!
25. Lucky 4-leaf clover!

Ice Breaker Time Trial

First race of the year! I was really worried about the weather because when Annette picked me up it was just dumping rain. As we drove down I-5 Annette said "look there is a clearing ahead".

I thought she was just trying to put a good face on things but sure enough it stopped raining and by the time we set up for warm up it was Sunny!

I was happy with my time - we are still waiting for official results but I think I was 15 seconds faster than last year.

Every year something goes wrong and I try to correct it the next year but something new happens. This year it was the start. I had the holder lean me to the left but he moved me more than I expected and before I could correct I was off the bike and the chain came off. I missed the start time by a few seconds while the officials were hurriedly trying to fix the bike. I didn't let it bother me though since you can't fix something that already happened. I rode hard and stuck to my race plan but was shocked when Annette passed me about 3 miles into the race. I thought she'd catch me but not that soon. She was riding strong! I got to the turn-around and suddenly my right foot came out of the cleat. I guess I didn't have it locked it properly. The road was still wet from the earlier rain and I found out that one of my teammates wiped out on the turn-around. Happily he was unscathed. I finished the ride and was happy to watch everybody else line up for their race while I took pictures. I talked to several people and it seems like everybody had some kind of story of mishaps to go with their race. I found out later that Annette had missed her start - and still passed me on the way out.

Afterwards we went out for lunch at a cafe in downtown Auburn. I got a hot chocolate with more whipped cream than chocolate!

Kudos to Cucina Fesca for putting on a great race. And they gave out free samples of pasta too! It was yummy! I love that stuff.

Saturday Ride Mercer Island

Heidi and I cruised around mercer island. I was taking it easy before the time trial on Sunday but Heidi was on her race bike and was going fast pretty effortlessly. She has been riding a heavy winter bike with a rack so I don't think she realized how fast she was going. She had no objections to slow down to my pace though.

As we headed back across the bridge some riders saw our Blue Rooster kits and yelled out "Hooray! Blue Rooster!" I have no idea who they were but it was nice to have fans.

Seattle Snohomish Monroe Woodinville Seattle

We went on a really long ride today. We were really happy to have it be mostly dry even though it was supposed to rain most of the day. We headed up to Snohomish and tried to watch the time trial but they seemed to be already done. So we doubled back and then stopped in at the Snohomish bakery. Mick and Martha were there so we enjoyed some tasty treats with them. It's fun to see other riders when you stop along the way.

Then we went out to Monroe and back up Welsh hill. Benjamin, our new rider rode up the hill in his big ring. Except he didn't want to. He broke a cable and was forced to push a big gear. I think he will be feeling that later!

I felt much better than yesterday and this time didn't need a ride home despite riding somewhere between 80-90 miles. It helps to have breakfast!

I recorded the part of the ride after Snohomish. Just as I was heading up the last hill it started to rain. Glad to have missed it!

Snohomish to Seattle

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Sprints and Valleys

Annette and Leina - the new kits look great!

It was so sunny on today's ride! We were getting hot and taking off layers. It was cold at the start though - 32 degrees at my house when I got up. We met at the Starbucks in Kenmore and then headed out through Woodinville to the Snoqualmie Valley. We found a flat road and did some sprinting drills. It was good practice and I think we got the newer riders a good idea of what a sprint feels like at speed.

The hard part was getting back home. I joked with Annette that we should take the flat route home. Of course I knew that to get out of the valley would not be flat. I was doing OK but then we took a short cut and hit some more hills and I realized that I didn't eat enough after the sprints. I burned calories at a much higher rate and wasn't keeping up I also didn't have time for breakfast which didn't help. I "rode" to the ride so I had an extra 10 miles on everyone too. The last hill up Woodinville-Duval road seemed to take forever. When my teammate Heidi offered me a ride home in the car I gladly accepted. I still got in 60 miles!

Ames Lake Union Hill

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