Lessons learned at Elkhorn

Well, it’s been a week since Elkhorn Classic Bike Race and it has taken this long for me to get my self put back together.  It was quite a weekend!

I learned a few valuable lessons, and I will share them with you…just to share a little wisdom and help you all not have to deal with the crap I’ve had to this week.

#1:  Carbon rims and rain don’t mix.  I didn’t learn this from a personal experience, but a friend did…and it’s not like you can really just change your wheels all the sudden when it starts storming and blowing and raining in the middle of a race…but it sucks when you keep going into the wheel in front of you because your breaks aren’t engaging.

#2: You need to eat more than 500 calories on a 72 mile really hilly race.  Yep, that I learned from personal experience.  Mind you,  I’ve learned this before, but my brain wasn’t really thinking properly considering I had 92 women of all categories trying to get to the front before “the big hill.”  I succeeded in bonking hard and couldn’t even get my legs to turn a cadence over 50 on the false flats and rollers on the way back.  I was in bad shape.  Luckily, ayce sphagetti served me well that night (even though my stomach hurt so bad from all the sugar I shoved my face with in response to the bonk).

#3: Good lesson: I love crits.  The crit was awesome.  I kicked butt…rode hard and didn’t give a care about the end result.  One lesson I did learn: listen to the MC call out primes.  I did this when I don’t think many people were and we succeeded in getting a couple primes when no one else knew it was a prime.  Yah team!  Also, don’t let your guard down with 3 laps to go…and better yet, pay attention to the laps period.  Before I knew it I realized I had been too busy paying attention to prime laps and all the sudden there were only 2 laps to go and I was stuck about 15 people back.  Darn it!  Lesson learned.

#4: Bring all of your cold weather clothing to elkhorn race.  This includes Thermal booties, cold cold weather gloves, base layer, hat, etc.  The final day was 48 degrees and raining and below freezing on the top of the mountain.  Luckily the race was shortened to a whole 20 miles consisting mostly of a hill climb up the backside of the mountain.  But it was still pretty cold.

#5:  Most important lesson of all: IF THE HOOD ON YOUR CAR IS FLAPPING A LITTLE IN THE WIND, DON’T DRIVE AT FULL SPEED INTO A 30 MPH HEADWIND!  Or better yet, maybe you shouldn’t drive it at all!  Derek Chris and I were headed back from the race and the hood of our car flew up into our windshield.  I was driving and was able to maneuver the car over to the side of the freeway.  After securing ourselves and the vehicle we decided to get it off the free way and try to make it to the next exit.  About 1/2 mile away we happened upon another group of cyclists from the Veloce team who were pulled over because their entire roof rack had flown off their car (bikes included).  I’m not sure which condition I’d rather be in…

Considering I’ve already dealt with bikes flying off the car, I’d pick the windshield.  We all need new experiences right???  Well, the Veloce guys happened to have some awesome tape and we taped the hood down and taped the windshield for reinforcement.  Miraculously with much debate and indecision we actually drove the car all the way back to Eugene.

Here’s what it looked like:

My new improved windshield

My poor car...

My car is totalled. I found out yesterday.  But, I actually didn’t get screwed by the insurance company, so that was wonderful news.  So, for the while I will be without car.  Finally!  I can use my cycling skills for a purpose!  You mean, I can actually ride my bike to get me places that I need to go and not just riding to a finish line????  Amazing!

Anyway, so those are lessons learned. I think there may have been one more…but I can’t remember.  OH, maybe the last one was….Derek and Chris together for an entire weekend is a lot to handle…but quite amusing.  OUT OF CONTROL!  That’s all I have to say.

Anyway, a whole weekend of fun and games.  The actual race wasn’t too bad, but it was draining.  It’s an off week for me to try to reboot my system.  Cascade is approaching fast as well as Elite Nationals.  Fun times!

Blahdy blah blah blah

You guessed it !  Nothing exciting happening in this neck of the woods.  Chris and I graduated with our Bachelors (me in Music and Chris in Economics) this last weekend.  It was fun and exciting, and thoroughly a let down.  Graduating is so anti-climactic.  Seriously…it’s like…you’ve worked how ever many years for this degree, and then you walk across the stage in a cheap (quality – not $$$) black gown and get a holder for your degree. You don’t actually get the degree because they don’t send those out till they verify that you’re legit.  hmmm…. I don’t now how I would make it more climactic…but something needs to happen.  Fireworks maybe?  Or…something.  Dunno…

Anyway, so I’m officially done with college.  Hoorah!  Now, more time for bike racing…I mean…finding a job????  I’m so excited that this is such an excellent time for job searching.  I mean, jobs are in abundance right?  I should have no problem!  Actually, I have been searching for a job for the past 6 months…so if anyone is reading this and would like to inform me of an absolutely wonderful job where I could actually use my talents and/or skills, that would be superb!  I think Chris is better off on the job search, considering he recently obtained his USA cycling coaching license as well as his Bachelors in Econ.  I think a lot more people are paying attention to economists than to musicians at this point.  Maybe if it were the other way around this economy wouldn’t be in the state it’s in!!!!  (no offense Chris – or any other really good economists out there)…but seriously, maybe if we had a group of musicians running the nation, we  wouldn’t be in this mess! (please no political comments or any of the like…I’m just flapping my lips in the wind).

Anyway, that’s about it.  Due to family visitation and other graduation hoolabaloo I haven’t been riding much.  Thank goodness last week was a rest week anyway…but still, I should be riding more or harder or something.  I feel my lazy body is losing fitness as we speak.  Big race this weekend – Elkhorn Stage Race in Baker City, OR.  Should be a good one with lots of women!  That’s exciting!  I’m just looking forward to the TT and the crit.  Fun times! Hopefully my little legs will wake up enough to get me up and over the hills in the rest of the race.

Well, time to sleep and try to work out some knots in my back.  It’s been a beast lately.

I left my legs on Mt Hood

Well, I got through it, which is more than a lot of people can say!  Mt Hood Cycling Classic was rough, tough, and just plain awesome.  I think some time last year I posted something saying that this next season (current season now) I wanted to do some really hard races that would just kick my butt, because that’s what I needed to get to the next level…Do you remember me saying that?  Well, I said it, and Mt Hood did it for me.  I got my butt handed to me multiple times all wrapped up in a bright red bow…

Okay, maybe no bow, but still…I was whooped.  There weren’t a whole ton of women in the field (35 to start to be exact), but there were some pretty tough ladies out there ready to put the pain on.  It was awesome!

Prologue: So fast – so quick – it was over before you knew it.  This was my first ever prologue.  I did okay…my legs felt really tired still (I’ve been struggling with tired leg syndrome for a week now)…I got through it.

Cooper Spur Circuit Race (Stage 1): Hard.  I couldn’t recover.  I stayed with the pack for 1/2 the race…then hit the steeper section of the hill going up to cooper spur and popped 1/2 way off.  My legs just wouldn’t work.  I also really didn’t feel “in it”.  I was sick of descending behind people that couldn’t descend…and was sick of not being able to recover.  Basically I was being a whiney baby.  And it continued for the rest of the race while I watched 3 riders ahead of me join with another group of 4 riders (which my amazing Teammate Pam was in) and they rode off into the distance, leaving me to wallow in my misery on Cooper Spur.  I finished.  Not near as far back as I thought…but still, this stage was rough for me.

Scenic Gorge TT (Stage 2): AWESOME!!!!!!!!!!!!!  I was ready to put on the pain!  And I did.  At least on myself.  I passed quite a few women on the first hill and just kept it going.  I think there were times where I could have gone a little harder on the descent and last hill…but at the end I was definitely maxed out and it was an amazing ride for me.  My legs felt better than they had the day before…once again…the TT is what I do.  I LOVE IT!

Wy-East RR (Stage 3): BRUTAL!!!!!  Pam and my goal was to make it past the second steep descent with the pack.  We did it…but not without me trying to pop off the back a zillion times.  LEGS!!!! JUST WORK!!!!! PLEASE!!!!  I got popped shortly after the second feed zone about 1/4 of the way up the 35 mile climb.  I chased and chased…and was about to reach the caravan (yes, I was that close)…and I realized…I still have 20 miles of climbing ahead of me…I think I should just motor up at my pace.  Right as I was deciding this, I witnessed an attack at the front anyway, so I gave up the chase and settled into my tempo pace.  I caught one other Total Restoration woman and also caught my teammate Pam.  The three of us rode to the finish together.  It was awesome to have a couple people to ride with this time.  We took our time to make sure we’d be able to make it up the last little bit…and we finished together.  92 miles of craziness!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Down Town Criterium (Stage 4): FAST!!!!!!!!  We started out and I knew I needed to be near the front.  I got in a pretty good position through the first few laps.  In order to finish the stage we needed to complete 16 minutes of the race before getting pulled/lapped.  I kept looking at my clock thinking, oh crap, oh crap, oh crap.  I made it through the 16 minute mark and just held on for dear life.  I felt so comfortable in the pack.  Taking good lines, fighting for wheels, doing everything I needed to.  Then suddenly, coming up the front stretch (which is a little hill) my legs turned to lead.  I started drifting back a little.  I moved up again through the side stretch (good tips from Bill) – but to no avail, I was slipping back again on the front stretch.  I had hit my wall.  I struggled and then finally popped off again because there was a gap after the big turn at the bottom.  I chased and chased…and then sat up a little. I  rode hard for a few laps and made it with 8 laps to go before I was pulled.  Not too shabby.

My legs feel better now than when I started the race.  Yes, they are tired, but feel good.  Time for a rest week and prep for Elkhorn!!!!