Day 3 Superweek-A Dip in the Melting Pot

Tuesday's race was a melting pot of attempts. Attack, bridge, establish, return to the group. Attack, join the break and beg for cooperation, of those you're off with, to stay away.
We all were scratching our heads at how to make our break stick. 1st Katie gave it a go and her engine started to ping a bit, then me, who hit it hard with an attack to bridge Catherine Powers (Aarons) and Julie Bishop(HT Naturals), but couldn't quite close the last 100 meters, as Catherine demonstrated that she wasn't waiting. Julie joined me back into the pack and we set up for yet another attempt, this time we Sydney would give it a go. Away she went!!! joined by 3 others, making a nice group. Unfortunately, not everyone wanted to work,I guess felling their chances sprinting with Kelly were much better!!
June took it to the house with 2 to go and kept us all safe with a nice pace. As I jockied with Katie to move up for the last turn, things looked to be getting a little dicey. We just didn't know how much until the last 1000 meters. As we passed through the feed zone, we accelerated, leaving 2 crashes behind, with 200 meters to go.
I sprinted alongside Catherine for a push at the line, only to miss Kelly Benjamin's(Cheerwine) head by 12 inches as she crashed, just barely past the line. See the beginning of the end.....
href="http://flickr.com/photos/seemann/851455707/in/set-72157600901168267">
We all finshed in the top 20. I got to stand on a box with 3rd, Katie 10th, June 13th, and Sydney 19th. What a Day!!!

We had an Alpine experience!!!

..... from Sydney ....
Damn. I'm glad I left that 12/25 cogset on from Snake Alley. Might not have been big hills but they were big enough to make you feel 'em - a lot by the 5th lap. I also had 5 opportunities on a particular downhill to wonder if shox on a road bike might not be a bad idea. Overall, I thought it was great that the three of us who road today all placed in the top 15 and personally, I had what I would consider my very first successful field sprint. And by that, I mean I didn't get freaked out and managed to go from wheel to wheel for a 10th place finish. Wish one of our breakaways would have worked, but Katie (2) and I (1) gave it a go and that's all you can do.

... from Katie ...
So just after June had given me a tip to watch a particular wheel, that wheel started to jet away from the pack on the first hill of the first lap. I decided to give it a go and see what would happen. We worked together off the front for the majority of the first lap before getting caught. I tried (in vain) to get Syd to counter... but the way the race went it was rather smart of her to sit in and see the course before trying any moves on her own. There were enough just-bigger-than-rolling hills to allow regular breaks off the front, but none were to get away. Into the 2-lap-to-go lap, a strong group of 5 of us got off the front, and I thought we had it made. But I was quite wrong! After spending the majority of 2 laps off the front I was pleased to hang on for 6th. It was so great to see Syd off the front for a good try and to see June mixing it up with the big dogs, too! And, of course, we had great feeds and motivation from our sprinter who decided that taking a break today would help her overall sprint points series. Good thing we got those new radios! :)
....from the support crew....
Talk about elated!!!! 3 girls in the top 15!!! You gals rock. Now lets see if I can hold the tent down tomorrow, or should I say blow the top off!!!
Lets get down to Bidnes!!
C-

Day 2 Superweek 07...Ben seen ville

Okay, so the ants went to marching today, tall and strong!!! I gotta hand it to my team today, they rocked!@!! It is awesome seeing all four of your teammates plugging it at the front and regrouping to dish out or take whatever is thrown at us.
Katie took me to the first two sprints with confidence and tremendous forward movement. Yet agian it was Sara Uhl, Julie Bishop, and myself, duking it out for the top 3 spots. Sara and Julie played musical chairs while I sat in the the 3rd Hollywood Square. Believe me, these girls are playing hard.
Sydney picked it up a notch today and kept the pace high, covered attacks, and joined in on some game of cat and mouse, later in the race. Sydney and Katie organized well to take me to the front and drop me in the lap of the right girls.
I am proud of June for getting on the front and drilling it, getting back in, and diggin' it out to give it her all. Chin up June, your just getting warmed up. She'll be looking upward tomorrow. Here's how it stacks up as of Sunday's standings:
Carrie finished 13th, and will forever kick herself for not getting to the wheel designated, Katie finished 20th, will have to check on Sydney (26th?) and June. I will report tomorrow.
Sprint point competition as of Sunday pm, going into Monday: 1st)Sara Uhl(Cheerwine) 2nd) Julie Bishop(HT Naturals)and 3rd) Carrie Cash (XPLANE/Team Revolution)
Join in on the wave folks, and keep us going. Comment on teamrev.ning.com
Later....tomorrow the girls race Alpine Valley Road Race 80K. I will be supporting and resting.
C-

SuperWEAK

Oh, so sad...I went to the women's 1/2/3 race today in Soulard. I knew it was trouble when I rolled up (in the grocery-getter with the kids in tow) and a few people quickly prompted me to suit up and race. Suspicious? A bit. There were four (4!) women signed up. Four. The saddest women's "race" I've seen. (Not to take anything away from those that did appear, they raced a hard one in hot afternoon STL sun.)

Where is everybody? Carrie is the lone STLisan at Superweek, so that conflict is no excuse...

Doesn't matter (too much). We're working on it and have lots of promising candidates of future racers. C'mon, girls! You're gonna have to pick it up around here! We can't keep expecting to have people donate money if we don't show the numbers (FYI, I heard today's race was paying 5 deep--5th place=$70. I don't know where that money went, but nobody won that--I should have pulled the kids around in the trailer!).

The silver lining? The 4's race had more girls than last year!

Day 1 Superweek 07..and the Ants go marching......

Whew!!! What a way to shake off the cobwebs from a long drive and a hard nights rest. Gusty winds, 1:40 minutes, and some hot sun. As our first race all together, we did really well, getting a break established. (Sydney was off the front for 3-4 laps, all alone, no takers). We controlled the front of the field for as long as we could, until Cheerwine felt it was time to pull the bobber in. I (Carrie) started my sprint competition a sprint early and went for a cash prime. Got It!!! The next two, I wholeheartely sprinted for a 3rd. I gotta tell ya, the money is good for the primes outside of the sprint points, and I couldn't resist the an attempt at a $140 prime. Julie Bishop(HT Naturals), gave me a fine leadout, just about 100 meters tooo early. My quads conceded 25m from the finish line and I gave up second money place in the prime by a wheel, to Sarah Uhl. All in all, I was tired, hot, thirsty, and had a blast. As a team we learned alot about our new riders, Sydney Brown and June Upshaw. Our movement and presence was outstanding, and we look forward to butting heads with Cheerwine, Aarons, and Hub Racing again tomorrow. Standing third in the sprint competition, I say to Julie Bishop...."I'll Be Back".
Katie took 4th in the 3rd sprint, so I don't want to hear that she can't sprint.
June and Sydney are revving their engines, and we will see if sparks fly at Bensenville. I will have an update from the girls after that race as well.
Now, time to ready my head for today....Chris is much better at the commentary, but I will watch the tour tonight and try to learn a little spice. Later! C-

Never Mind the Tour...

Forget the tour, people! It's SUPERWEEK!

OK, so the Tour is still really cool and exciting and all that, but I woke up this morning thinking about our girls we've got up in Wisconsin. They'll be racing their hearts out this week and I'm sending all the good vibes I have up there!

Good luck, Carrie, Katie, Syd and June! Can't wait to hear your updates.
Rev on!

Better TDF Coverage

Thanks, June! Now I can waste even more time at work!

http://uk.eurosport.yahoo.com/cycling/livematch/171224.html

Slacker

I am not a slacker. I just got busy at work! So, I'm a slacker. Not dedicating my 15-30 minutes of blogging time. Unfortunately, my blogging is directly related to how much free time I have to think (and read what other people say) about all things cycling. The "Tour" is happening and I'm in my dim, non-cable-access world of trying to maintain a sense of what's happening. What's happening? Argh. Damn Versus. Oh well, at least they have fairly good (free) online coverage (with video).

OK, back to work!

Women as "Safety-o-meters"

In Oregon they're watching where women ride to determine whether a route or area is safe for riding. Check it! I love the implication that a group of women can potentially impact where their local government concentrates bike route safety efforts. Power to the people (ladies), people!

Unfortunately, such is not the case yet in St. Louis (don't even get me started on the disappearing bike lanes on Clayton Road!) But I do believe what we're starting here is only going to improve and deepen efforts for making STL a more bike-friendly city. Just need to keep it rolling!

More on this soon.

Enough Heavy Stuff

photography by Leister Images

Sydney's response is a good one and speaks to why Team Revolution exists. Carrie has a personal mission of education and has worked hard to establish a curriculum around it. We're doing what we can here to create an environment that helps peope learn those critical bike-handling skills. Not to pat ourselves on the back--it's going to take an effort much greater than ours to make any differnce...

Thanks, Syd, for your thoughts. Recommendations and suggestions (and criticisms) are always welcome.

On another note: Mindi has surfaced! She moved up to Pennsylvania to see what she could do on the track. Her post is at our old blog address...we'll make that her own special place for updates (no pressure, Mindi)! Go there now!

Race Safety

After a few days to think about the tragedy of the Proctor Cycling Classic in Peoria, IL this weekend I've still come to no conclusions about how to affect race safety. What are we to do? Boycott races that don't close roads completely? I presume it's an administrative nightmare. An issue that keeps race organizers up at night.

I witnessed the "rolling" closure at Nature Valley for two separate (national caliber) races involving a few hundred cyclists. It was a big ordeal and one that I can't see happeneing for the handful of racers I've seen show up at local women's events.

We can complain, we can argue, but can we justify the resources to demand such orchestration involved in closing off roads for ALL races? How many racers makes that justification? The simple fact is that lives are at stake and there's a significant amount of responsibility laid on the shoulders of the racers. I've personally let that responsibility slip in the heat of a competitive moment...I've had a few lucky "moments" like that; where I was snapped back to the reality of the situation.

We all live, ride and race in a sort of denial. "The officials know what they're doing." "It's a RACE, local drivers will be more respectful because it's a sanctioned event." What are we to do, as racers? I will ponder this until my next road race. Thankfully, I don't think I have any left this year. All crits. Those roads are always closed. Dangerous for a whole other reason...

I'm still left saddened and confused about how to advocate for better safety. Confused because I know what's needed, but am not sure it's a realistic possibility. Where do we draw the line? Is it worth all my internal debate or was it a terrible and unlikely accident?

Looking for a venue

(see Triplets of Belleville)

So, after the Wednesday night ride, we were chatting over appetizers and drinks about winter plans (I was saddened by the Summer Solstice last week). We definitely want to do a spin that involves watching a movie and riding your bike. That's the simple concept. What we need is a gym, garage, open space (preferably heated and with some lighting) that can accomodate muliple bikes with trainers/rollers, a laptop and some sort of screen/sheet (or blank white wall). It can be simple, it can be plush, I just want to make sure that people ride when it's cold and dark!

Post your suggestions on the Forum. We've got a few months, but it never hurts to be prepared, right?

Now go ride outside while you still have daylight!

Final Thoughts on Nature Valley

Tons of people have been asking me about how the race went last week; my response (other than, "check the blog") has been something along the lines of, "we survived".

Here's a quote that sums it up:
"One often learns more from five days of agony than from five years of
contentment."

Something's Cooking...

(image from BlueMountain.com ecards)

So, we're all excited about the idea of Team Revolution picking up a couple of super-strong Cat 1 and 2 racers, each with their own strengths and tenacity. Sydney Brown and June Upshaw have been devising their plans for Superweek and now we're glad to join in. They're both a great addition to the team as they fit the profile of the kind of team we want to build; they're advocates for the sport of cycling (I dig anyone who blogs about their cycling!), enjoy competition and do so very well and with great *positive* attitudes.

Both girls have been riding (mostly) indvidually so far this year. We got the opportunity to race with them in the Quad Cities races this year (as well as a collection of other races over the last few years) and it feels like the timing is right. You can read Syd's thoughts on riding with June here.

More information will be coming soon, but I just wanted to get the word out.

Stillwater Update

Here's the video of the hill climb. Somehow, this crappy, shaky video doesn't do it justice, but you can enjoy my cinematic skills.

Day 5: Stillwater Criterium

We just got home and I'm exhausted. Left post-race at 3pm and drove and drove and drove. Here's the quick low-down:

1. Katie finished 39th in the overall standings for the week. That is awesome as USCF gives points all the way to 40 (or was it 50?) for this race.

She climbed like a champ today. Kristin Armstrong and Mara Abott were a spectacle to watch. I personally raced that hill (for 4 laps) and to watch them climb it was inspiring enough to try the time trial up the hill AFTER the women's race (I won the women's 3/4 TT up the hill, BTW!)

The other (bad) news is that Carrie was not allowed to race as I couldn't get the officials to reverse the judgment. Carrie had a great attitude about it and raced the Men's 2/3 (with me). I could vent and fume about that, but in the end, it's useless frustrations. A million people have various examples of how refs, judges, officials have made bad calls and lost games, races, series, etc. It was a bad call and arbitrary time-allocation and eventual cut.
In the end, everybody got to race all the races and we all survived a gruelling week.

Live, ride and learn, right?

Robbed! (TBA)

Did you see the results to yesterday's race?

No. Of course not. I'm not sure it's easy to find....or is it? Anyway, here's the deal...
1. Katie rocked today and even though I missed her at the second feed zone, she hustled in with the field and held on to a deceptive 42nd place in a cruel 2.2 mile finishing circuit (read: mean, mean climb they had to do FOUR times).

2. I am extremely impressed by the feat that Carrie, Tamyra and Lisa made this afternoon. They hung on to the nearly impossible hope of entering the finishing circuit after getting tangled in a crash around mile 22? 25? Twenty-something. Nearly 60 miles they rode (hard) clinging to the hope of making the timing point before that judge closed them off the finishing circuit and subjected them to a "calculated" time.

Well, long story short is that apparently, even though they were allowed to enter the circuit, they WERE assigned an estimated time. While on the course, volunteers started stripping the course of its barricades and apparent time-keeping. They weren't allowed to complete more two laps. We assumed it worked like a crit and their time would be recorded on their last lap completed--SINCE THEY WERE NEVER PULLED BY A JUDGE. We were so stoked about their resolve and guts for gritting through the mileage that you can imagine our utter disbelief at reading the "missed time-cut".

I'll be making my case to the officials tomorrow and hopefully Team Revolution will be 100% represented through all 6 stages; as I firmly believe we should and deserve to be. Why fight for 90th place? Because they worked their asses off to be there and to finish this series. It's a slap in the face of reason if they don't allow her to race.

TBA.

Day 3: P.M. Minneapolis Crit

Someday I will not feel gutted after watching these two Team Revolution girls race. Someday I won't feel so stressed out, as if my whole heart hangs on my sleeve as I watch them, lap after lap move, struggle, make ground, lose ground, look tired, spent, oxygen-deprived, like it's the worst kind of suffering one can do on a bike. I watch and yell and wish and give all the vibes I know how to give. Someday, it will feel better, right?

Katie finished 59th and Carrie 71st. I watched hopefully, helplessly as the pros hammered in and the field filed behind. The field. Nearly a hundred left in this stage race and they all filed in together...places seemed somewhat arbitrarily assigned unless you were in the top 20. I have it recorded and will try and post it on YouTube eventually.

I'm sorry. I'm disheartened tonight. I failed Katie at the time-trial by letting her miss her real start time. I offer nothing except constant condolences since I didn't know what to expect here. Experience? We're all getting a fair share of lessons. But I think we all wanted more. I wanted more. A better story. An exciting story about an underdog team of two women that made a name here. The announcers scrambling to find more info on this team they'd never heard of.

I wanted the Disney version of the week and instead I'm getting the full dose of reality TV. It's really freaking hard.

The good news is that we're all still in. Here's to surviving one more day of suffering and putting hope in dreams tomorrow. 86 mile road race....

Day 3: A.M. Time Trial

Rough morning for Team Revolution. I think we learned valuable lessons:
1. When every single other rider at least has time trial bars, it'd be good to find a set to slap on. It's a big enough race that we don't need another disadvantage.
2. Speaking of disadvantage, we also don't need to spot the competition a full minute when we miss our official start.

The truth is, the best time trialist in America went and put the pedal to the metal (or was it medal?); Kristin Armstrong hammered this morning's race and won handily. Even pros with souped up, streamlined bikes couldn't find a motor like hers. Many did better than we did, many had some super-tricked-out time-trial bikes and helmets, I felt a little bit like the poor kid at Catholic school, but that's what we get when we hit these pro races.

Katie and Carrie are chilling for tonight's sure-to-be-fast, short crit (40 minutes!).

Til then, get rolling.

Day Two: Post-race

Whew! Thunderstorms threatened but stayed away for today's 65 mile road race ending in 6 laps of a 1.6 mile circuit. There was a brief section of dirt road that seemed...crazy. The race went from fairly wide paved roads into a quick right turn onto a narrow dirt, gravel road that decended in a shady, tree-covered, nastily pot-holed asphalt section until it finally turned onto the smooth circuit. I drove the van following the caravan with my jaw dropped. I couldn't imagine how that section must have felt.

The group was pretty much all together going into the circuit, but some near crash (?) in the first lap seemed to establish some separation with the last third of the field. Carrie and Katie both survived that mishap and stayed on, but a gap that couldn't be covered left Carrie with the chasing group.

Katie mixed it up in the crazy, packed sprint and finished somewhere in the middle--we think top 30 but as of right now, there are no official results posted. Carrie managed to win her field's sprint, not losing too many spots after slipping off the back.

4-5 mile Individual Time Trials start at 9am tomorrow morning. Flat and hopefully not windy! Need to get some sleep.