Mountain Bike Adventures in Flagstaff

Wow!  It's been a  while since I've typed up my new adventures in the desert.  We'll just say that the combination of events over the past year (including the move) all compounded and took its toll on me.  I was a wreck for a few weeks - but finally I was able to take a step back and be a little more proactive about my self-imposed dilemma.  

The past month was much better with family coming to visit the early parts of August and helping me organize my apartment.  It's funny how unpacking boxes and organizing your 'stuff' can be so soothing.  Also, Aaron recently bought me a new mountain bike so I could tear up the desert trails and get my 'fix' for off-roading as I had gotten rid of my cross bike before moving here.  Today I will unpack that beautiful FOCUS and get that thing broken in! Meanwhile, our new friend Raul let me borrow his mountain bike so I could start exploring the region.  The past week I tore it up in the McDowell Mountains which lie just a half mile from my apartment.  The terrain was rocky, dry and technical as if you veered off the trail, you'd land in a variety of cactus species!

"If you are falling, hit the rock, not the cactus," Raul said when he handed over his bike for me to use.

So, as I turned my wheel just too far, I landed on the rock.

With Aaron and I now having two days (in a row!!) off together, we decided that we were finally settled in enough, to take a camping trip up in Flagstaff.  I might add that this was our first ever camping trip together (in the 8 years that we've been together)!  And being from Wyoming and both very outdoorsy people, this is quite a shocker.  But we've always gotten caught up in racing and never made the time to go camping.  We drove just two hours away to the totally different climate and 7,000+ feet higher in altitude with Aaron bringing his road bike and me bringing the mountain bike.

Sunday we arrived around noon.  We stopped at the edge of town where Aaron had decided to start his ride, and then meet me at the top of the Snowbowl where I'd have the car parked.  Clouds loomed overhead and as I started driving into the mountain, the rain started.  I wasn't too worried since that was typical mountain weather and Aaron had rain gear on him.  I found the turn for the Snowbowl and drove seven miles up the switchbacks to the very top where we had planned to park the car.  When I arrived, I went into the lodge to use the facilities and check out a few maps on the area.  But to my disappointment, the area on top, was a hiking only region and I couldn't bike!  I knew the mountain bike trails couldn't be too far off, so  I texted my friend Gianna who gave me some good advice.  I ended up driving back down the Snowbowl, seeing Aaron along the way and parked the car.  Meanwhile, it started raining harder so I sat in the car to wait the worst of it off.  Poor Aaron was up top at 9,000 feet freezing his legs off.

As I sat in the parking lot, I was still unsure of where these mountain bike trails were, but I started seeing cyclists appearing.  A couple had just finished their ride and I decided to ask them for their recommendations.  The trailhead was just up the road and there were a few options on how technical I wanted to ride.  Needless to say, I started riding and took the most technical route.  My skills were extremely rusty and my adrenalin was rushing at times as I moved through wet and slippery boulders.  After about an hour of climbing (at the pace of a turtle), I came to a fork and saw another biker who knew the area and suggested a route for me so I'd loop back to the car.

As I continued on, the single-track smoothed out but still had a few technical areas.  I fell a couple of times - mostly because I'd come to a huge rock, unclip (thinking I couldn't  get through it) and end up falling backwards. "Commit!" I'd tell myself.  I was proud that I was able to find the trail that the man had directed me to, and made my way back to the car where Aaron was waiting.

That night we found a quiet camping area.  With the no-fire restriction in effect, we had Aaron's JetBowl as backup and easy things to make like rice, beans, and veggies. It got dark around 7:30 and without a campfire to keep us up, we hit the sac early.  The coyotes played in the field right next to our campsite that night.  Their howling woke us up. The moon was bright so maybe they were howling at the moon.

Aaron would jerk awake and I say, "We're ok, we are sleeping with nature."

The next morning we awoke, drank our o-so-good coffee, ate breakfast, cleaned up camp and went on our bike rides.  I took a new route that involved fast single-track and not as much climbing as the day before.  It was perfect as my body was a little sore and tired from the previous day.

Afterwards, we met back at the car, drove to town for lunch and smoothies, and then returned back to the desert.  As we drove back, I found it funny how minutes before, I was shivering in the restaurant as the temperature had dropped from the sprinkle of rain and now in the car, minute by minute, the temperature was rising and I was hot!

Now I'm off to building my new bike and getting ready for more 'dirty' adventures ahead!

31 In the Desert

Last Tuesday, Aaron turned 31.  I think he's now reached that age where he feels old and 'fat'.

"I think I'm having a 'fat day', Melissa," he'd say as he held his hands on his stomach, pushing his belly out like he had a gut or a baby inside!

"Oh Aaron," I'd laugh.  He of all people should feel fat?!  Since we moved to the desert, much has changed with our training as our season went from peaking to a complete halt.  With summer being too hot to race or ride much for that matter, it's the off-season for most people in the desert.  So, for our 'off-season' we have started enjoying our loose riding schedule, having time to explore and play, and of course eat cupcakes and enjoy a beer or two on the patio as we watch the sun set over the valley.

When Aaron turned 31 last Tuesday, we both were working.  Did I mention that I got a new job as the marketing director for FASTER?!  All it took was a few bike-rides with the owner, James Kramer, and I had myself a position that I'd wake up every morning and get really excited about!

As I was saying, it was Aaron's 31st birthday, so, I made him cupcakes.  He assisted by helping with the frosting.

And to make his birthday even better, it was my first day of work, so his gift was not only having cupcakes, but me at the office too!

Needless to say, this past week has been quite busy with my new job, but we have still found time to beat the heat and explore Scottsdale on our bikes.  The biggest challenge has been trying to go to bed early so we can wake up at the ass crack of dawn and get in a decent ride before the sun hits the valley.  Once the sun crests over the hills or breaks through the clouds (there are hardly ever clouds here...that's why it's called "Valley of the Sun"), it's HOT!!  I'm talking it's like going from an oven set to bake cupcakes to broiling!  By 9am, it's usually over 100 degrees and by Noon, it's over 110. Lucky for us, everything has central air and our apartment has a pool that we usually jump into after a hot ride of climbing.

Although this is the worst time of the year to move to the desert - "What crazy thing brought you here at this time of the year?!", it was a great move for the two of us.  We are on a new adventure together and have a chance to finally breathe and enjoy each other's company.

The Video You've Been Waiting For...

Here's the video of our move from Norwood, MA to Scottsdale, AZ. Over 3,000 miles in 5 days. This is the view from the passenger seat in our 2006 Suburu Imprenza. Enjoy!

From Boston to Phoenix

As I stopped to gasp for air, mountain biking at nearly 11,000ft, I thought of how will the last two weeks had rushed by.  We were in Crested Butte, CO, visiting Aaron’s brother Evan in the midst of our 3,000 mile move across the country. Days before we had been frantically packing, having last rides with friends, a going-away party which involved Bob and I singing a karaoke duet, and having many life lessons that moving can bring.  The move was hard as it had come so suddenly and emotionally I had to sniffle between packing boxes as I was saying my good-byes to great friends.  The move was also a life lesson as our moving quote was less than half of what the total expense came to be when everything was loaded onto the moving truck. Aaron and I gasped when they gave us the final bill and due to a lack of communication on the mover’s end, Aaron was able to negotiate some of the expenses  down.  “I guess this was a lesson that A, it would have cost less to throw more of our stuff away and buy it new than to truck it across the country, and B, we just need to get rid of more junk!”

So, my advice to you, is if you ever move, just estimate more than double what you think you have.

After the truck drove away on Sunday the 17th, Aaron and I met up with some friends for an easy ride.  Once we returned, the car was packed , the apartment cleaned, and we headed on our adventure.  A tear or two rolled down my face as we turned the corner onto Neponset St and onto I-95. We headed to Westborough to stay the night in a hotel where Aaron’s father Glenn was staying.  It was father’s day and we were tired and in dire need of a shower.  He listened to our stories of saying goodbyes and our life lessons and wished us on our journey.

The first day of our drive in our blue Suburu Imprenza was from Westborough, MA to State College, PA to visit our friend Clayton.  He took us on a beautiful ride through the countryside and up a long 15 minute climb.  Aaron took off out of his saddle, hoping to own the KOM, and I just sat comfortably with a smile on my face as I knew that he went out way too hard for the long climb.  I took my time and enjoyed the scenery.

The following day we drove 11 hrs to St. Lois, MO to stay with Aaron’s grandparent’s.  His mom’s side of the family all lives in St. Lois so we spent a wonderful evening visiting with family. Plus the next morning, Aaron’s grandma Yvonne made sure we were packed with plenty of food and cookies for the road!

Day 3 was the biggest stage of all.  We drove nearly 1000 miles in 17 hours from St. Lois to Crested Butte, CO.  As we had been making great time coming through Colorado Springs and onto highway 50, we suddenly came to a road closure as a nearby forest fire had suddenly been in our driving path.  We pulled over and called Tiff (Evan’s other half) for an alternative route.  “Over Cottonwood Pass,” she said, “it will be about 30 minutes longer but will get you here tonight. Sorry guys!”  We debated staying the night in town and then heading up in the morning as by then we had been traveling for over 15 hours.  We were exhausted but wanted to get there so we started driving.  The pass was dark and windy.  As we climbed to almost 12,000 feet the car began slowing and our ears popping.  With the weight of our luggage in the car, the suspension was almost bottomed out so Aaron carefully drove down the dark road.  After driving slowly through a bumpy construction zone, we finally made it to Evan and Tiff’s at 10pm that night.  We had been driving since 6am.

The following day we stayed to visit with Evan and Tiff.  Evan took  us on an extreme mountain bike ride on one of the upper loops.  We drove part of the way up, and started riding around 10,000 feet and climbed to almost 11,000ft!  Every few feet I would stop to gasp for air and try to calm down my speeding heart.  My body was freaking out as we had an extreme altitude change from the day before, being at sea level to now 11,000ft.  I wanted to vomit and I thought my heart was going to explode.  Evan rode next to me.  “It’s ok Melissa.  Take your time.  Just push through this and after we get to the top, it’s all down hill.  It’ll be worth it!”  I shook my head and pushed the bike up the hill.  I could hardly believe that I was suddenly riding like I was a very obese person.  But Aaron and I knew coming to see Evan that he would have something in store for us that would have some sort of: fear of death, a challenge, and ultimately kick our butts.  If you know Aaron and think he’s pretty extreme, meet Evan.  He takes extreme to a whole new level (he’s a world class kayaker and back country skier).  But I pushed forward and once I reached the top, suddenly my heart calmed and my body started adjusting to the altitude.  I felt like flying.

We enjoyed our stay with Evan and Tiff, sleeping under the stars at night on his cozy deck, but on Friday morning, we were ready to head to our new home in Scottsdale, AZ.

The final drive was beautiful as we passed over the mountains and dropped into the desert.  The temperature rose and once we had made it to Four Corners, the desert welcomed us by blowing it’s sand against our skin.  We passed through the Navaho Nation and seeing the 3rd world conditions: battered homes, trucks carrying water (they have no running water), and people on the streets looking for work, made me appreciate everything I had. I couldn’t imagine the hard life they must endure.

We arrived in Scottsdale at almost 8pm that night.  We rolled the windows down to feel the heat of our new home.  We arrived, ready for the exciting challenges ahead.

On my journey, I have created a short video of the drive, however I am having technical difficulties with it crashing my computer each time I try to save it.  So please stay tuned as I will have it up soon to share my perspective of our 3,000 mile journey across the U.S.

Bustin' it out at Tulsa Tough

Tulsa Tough. Like a bat out of hell, the top women’s field raced round and round for the biggest cycling fans in the country.  From streets filled with families, tents, beer gardens, and lots of cowbells, the weekend was an event to cherish. The first two days were on relatively flat courses with slight inclines and tight corners.  It was fast from the gun and needless to say, I found myself moving forward yet constantly getting pushed backwards.  The first day I ended up finishing in the pack (39^th).

Day two was a longer mile circuit.  It was fast but with the head-wind, brought a challenge to the peloton.  Amity made the first break.  It was early on into the race, but seeing that a few strong riders and teams were in it, there was a chance it would stick.  We were rooting for her back in the pack.  As I had initiated for our team to do the ‘buddy system’ as our plan of attack, and since Amity was my ‘buddy’, I felt like I could sit in and semi relax. After half the race had gone through, I moved up closer to the front. The sun beat down on us and even with the ice in my bra, I felt myself taking heavier breaths in the dense air.  The race move on and the break was still up the road.  But with just under 10 laps to go, Amity came back to the pack.  I thought maybe she had been blown off the group as she was with some notable riders, including the National Champion…but later found out that she sat up after the girls had been taunting her. 

“You can’t let them get to your head,” we told her later, “because they want to get rid of you, so they put thoughts into your head.”

I had remembered back to a national race a few years ago where I had tried bridging up to a break, and hearing some top riders say, “Oh, just let her go, she won’t make it,” and how it had gotten to my head.  But that’s what you have to suffer through if you want to be at the top.  She was guaranteed 4^th place if she stuck with the group and with that would have come more respect from the group. 

“If you made it in a break, you deserve to be there,” we said.

Later in the race, with just a couple laps to go, Amity’s wheel got caught on another girl’s wheel and I was trapped behind them and the curb.  I was able to move around and chase back onto the group.  I yelled for Amity to grab my wheel and let me take her up.  With just a few left I was in a tough position and ended up finishing in the pack.

My cousin David, who had grown up near me, drove up from Oklahoma City to watch my race.  I hadn’t seen him in over 5 years, so it was such a pleasant treat to have him at the race and to catch up on old times.

Sunday’s race was the grand finale for the Tulsa Tough.  Now, if I had thought that the previous stages had the craziest fans, this race topped all of them.  The course involved a short punchy hill and at the top, the spectators were allow onto the street as if they were watching the Tour de France!  They had costumes on (or almost nothing on), wigs, hats, painted chests and lots of water and blow horns!  We would funnel through these crazy fans, go down a slight hill, up a block and turn right onto a fast decent onto a cambered right hand turn to the straight-away.

As it was another hot day, we had prefilled nylons with ice to stuff in our sports bras to keep our core temperature keep cool.  But in my mind, it was actually a great means to give women's cycling much more sex appeal as we would all line up with huge busts. I was psyched about my 'wonder bra'! However, within 15-20 minutes, our icy implants were melted.

Immediately when the gun went off the field fought for position on the hill.  We went up, and as we funneled through the screaming crowd, I had to squint my eyes as the water from their hoses and water guns sprayed my face.  We pushed over and as the laps started, the field became strung out. We would come back together on the straight.  Early on, there was a crash on the hill and I saw Allison Powers go down.  We pushed forward and I tried to stay in the top 15 riders as I felt that a break could go at any time.  A few riders went up the road during the race, but we brought them back.  At one point a group was up the road and I tried attacking.  The NOW Novartis team played defense and grabbed my wheel.  I pushed forward as I was gaining on the rider up ahead.  I pushed and as we came near the finish line, we caught the rider.  I recovered in the group.  The pace picked up with more attacks and I just stayed on the wheels.  Gaps were forming and I could see that there were only about 30 of us left in the front group.  Amity was still in the group with me.  Gwenn and Beth stuck in until they were gapped off with about 6 laps to go.  As we came around with 2 laps to go, we were lapping the group however for some reason; some of the riders were jumping back into our field instead of the officials pulling them.  I was thinking, “Oh great, this is going to get messy!” They were jumping in as we were flying down the hill and into the cambered turn.  I moved forward.

The next lap was so important for positioning for the finish.  We came up the hill and then as we moved to the decent, I moved around on the inside.  The National Champion, Robin Farina was yelling at me, “Keep pedaling, keep pedaling!”  We were flying downhill and I was starting to slow for the turn.  But all of a sudden as I was coming on the inside of the cambered turn, I was approaching the rider in front of me too fast.  I must have clinched my brakes in fear of rear ending her and all of a sudden my back wheel skidded out and my bike turned completely sideways.  I was turning in slow motion and I remember thinking,

“Oh great, I am going down and I am taking down the field and Robin Farina!!”

But all of a sudden, I was able to control my bike and steer out of it.  It was as if my winter riding-on-ice skills had kicked in.  We came out of it with a gap between us and the riders ahead. Robin yelled at me,

“Geeze!!!  Nice save!  You’re one lucky girl!!”

I expelled the air out of my chest and a smile rolled across my face as I chased back onto the pack.  As the near crash had made me feel like the 'sketchy rider', I was less aggressive on the final decent and hung back on the last lap for the turn.  It was ironic because I was behind Amity and she took the exact line I had taken into the turn and ended up taking herself out!  I was able to ride around her and sprinted to the line for 21st.  Amity was fine, just banged up and frustrated about how it finished up.  I was psyched about the race and very happy to have been able to control my out-of-control bike.

I know that Tulsa is a race I will definitely be back to next year.  The promoters did a phenomenal job of promoting the event and getting the whole community involved. I mean, there were welcoming signs and bike art at the Tulsa airport when we arrived!!  You can’t beat that.  Plus our host family was first class to make our experience so welcoming and fun!

Now I'm off to pack up my apartment...Scottsdale, sun, heat…here we come!

Forecast of Sunshine

We laugh until we think we'll die,barefoot on a summer night Nothin' new is sweeter than with you

And in the streets we're running free like it's only you and mee Geez, you're somethin' to see.

Ahh, Home Let me come Home Home is wherever I'm with you.

La la la la, take me HomeBaby, I'm coming Home

-Edward Sharp & The Magnetic Zeros "Home"

As I wait for my flight to Oklahoma for the National Crit series: Tulsa Tough, I think back to my hectic and life changing week. Last weekend was one of my favorite races, the International Pro Cycling challenge, the Liberty Classic in Philly. The day before I drove down to Philly, Aaron had finally gotten a job offer at FASTER in Scottsdale, AZ. We had been waiting and hoping for this moment to come for months, so when it happened, it took us both by surprise. We had two weeks to pack up and move. But most importantly, just a short time to say good bye to some great friends we've made in New England. Aside the sorry of leaving friends, Aaron and I look forward to the adventures ahead of us. Heck, we will finally take our first cross-country road trip together! We like to dream and as it felt like our life was in 'limbo' over the past 6 months, it's refreshing to finally move forward and start planning for the road ahead.

So, after finding out about our big move, Philly was a blast. I drove down with my teammate Laura (who helped with feeding). We arrived to a slight road block as one of our teammates had flown in and had been admitted to the hospital for a serious saddle sore that had turned into a bad infection! As I had my MRSA episode on my leg a few years back, I completely sympathized with her and understood the severity of the situation. She had returned from the hospital when I had arrived and as the day went on, she became sicker and sicker, so I drove her and our acting team manager, Stacey, back to the hospital. We were close....but she came out ok!

Sunday was the race. There were four of us at the line: Amity, Colleen, Jennifer, and me. 160 riders were registered but around 140 were starting. The field included world champion Giorgia Bronzinni, Ina Teautenberg, and many other olympians and notable riders. My nerves were surprisingly calm and if anything I was very excited about the race.

We started off 10 minutes after the men, so the streets were packed to the brim with screaming spectators. Our field sped around and headed for our first lap up the Manayunk wall. For the most part, we stayed together. I was able to move around and get into a great position as we came into the wall, moved up and around some riders, and hugged the wheel in front of me. Everywhere, people were cheering, hoses were spraying water on us as we went by, and it was as if it was all surreal. As I crested the first climb, we were all strung out, but still connected to each other's wheel.

Lap two was the same as lap one but by lap three, my legs were starting to feel fatigued. Maybe it was that I needed to drink more water, or maybe it was from the intensity of climbing the wall. They tingled and started to cramp. I took a gel and drank more water. As we came down the stretch and turned onto Main Street (before the climb), there was a crash in the corner and I almost went right into the pile. My wheels skidded as I avoided the wreck. I hurried around and chased to catch the group. My legs were screaming at me as it felt like they wanted to seize up on me. I finally caught the pack right as we hit the climb. I was spent, but I sucked it up and pushed myself up the hill. We were strung out. A small gap had formed and I knew we were so close but when the girl up 50 feet turned the corner, her gap went to 100m in an instant. A group of us chased for about 5 miles and finally caught the pack as we headed on Lemon Hill.

The we accelerated with just one lap to go.

I tucked into the pack and found Georgia Bronzinni's wheel. "This is a good wheel!" I told myself. She was plotting with a teammate and soon they moved forward. I followed pursuit. I stayed tucked in, but as we came into the final turn onto the hill, I felt like my legs were running low on matches. The climb up was fast! I held on, but soon found myself near the back of the pack as we crested the top. Again, a gap opened up and it was the same group of us who were chasing to catch back on. We were so close, but yet as it was the final lap, we just couldn't make any gain on the field.

We ended up finishing just 2 minutes back from the winning time. I came across in 61st.

Here's a fun video I made of the race (Laura recorded most of it):

Home, home on the range....

Oh,give me a home where the buffalo roam,Where the deer and the antelope play; Where seldom is heard a discouraging word, And the skies are not cloudy all day.

-Unknown Cowboy

As I prepare for my big race in Philly this weekend, I think back to my visit back home. It had been much too long (1 1/2 yrs) since I'd been home to see my family. And for a cowgirl cyclist, it can make for a weary heart.

My younger brother was graduating (valedictorian, full ride scholarship...talented...you get the picture!), so I few back to good 'ol Gillette, WY to celebrate with my bike in hand.  Aaron was unable to take time off, so I was traveling solo.  As Wyoming tends to be extremely dry (we're on a high altitude desert) and windy, I did not pack any rain gear.  It was raining all week in New England and I was looking forward to reuniting with the dry air and pushing my way through the wind.  However, as I flew back home, the rain of New England just decided that it couldn't leave my side and I found a new adventure of riding through 35-40 degree rain showers!!  I conned my brothers Mark and Matt into battling the cold wet pavement. Such is Wyoming.

My adventure included waking up at the crack of dawn and many hours of playing with my little siblings and nieces. If you have kids, you know how much energy they have!  Every afternoon I was exhausted!!  And to top it off, my brother's (both with newborn baby girls) would let me hold their daughters and my parents would comment, "Oh, Melissa, since you are getting to hold a baby, don't you just want one of your own right now?!!"  Don't get me wrong, I love kids, but I was pretty exhausted and I'd look over at my brother's wife (who had been up all night) and said, "You know, I really like just being an aunt right now! I think I'll wait!!"  I laugh every time I get asked, "How can you juggle working full-time (I work 40-50 hrs a week), and train/race so much?" I think of how much juggling parents have to do...well, I'm not a parent! I have quite a bit of free time, you know!

Doherty kids

Getting out for a ride was like reuniting with Mother Earth. I forgot the powerful feeling of riding into the forceful wind.  I've read stories from the desert in the Middle East referring to "the soul of the earth" and the power of the wind. It's a constant force that just reminds you that you're this little human in a big world. That you're not invincible but yet you have so much power.  That you're connected to people from across the planet as it kisses our faces and nudges us along.  Some people are afraid of the wind. I embrace it.

Now I'm back in New England.  The rush of traffic rolls by my window.  I hear sirens. Yet I feel more at ease as I got my needed dose of 'home'.

The Big Apple

Growing up on the plains of Wyoming, my imagination as you can imagine, always ran wild.  My perception was of New York being just like movies Crocodile Dundee and of course You've Got Mail. The city was very intimidating and now living outside of Boston, I would always avoid driving through New York to get to the mid-Atlantic for some of my races. However, this past weekend, I had my first taste of that juicy big apple. Our race was in Wilmington, DE.  As my teammate Stacey Jensen was just in Brooklyn, I made arrangements to drive there, stay the night at her place and then carpool to Wilmington.  I had no idea that my short excursion would be such an adventure!

Stacey had a house in Brooklyn.  She was origionally from LA, but moved to NY to work as an environmental engineer for the army core of engineers.  She lived the life of a city  cyclist with wicked early morning training rides in Central Park and battling the NY crowds by bike every day as she commuted over the Brooklyn Bridge. When I arrived she took me around her neighborhood and explained the lifestyle of eating out (since food is so cheap!) and having a little community in the bustling streets.  The following morning, we were meeting up with another lady, Raquel Miller in Manhattan and carpooling with her to the race.  As we were using her car, Stacey and I rode down through the streets of Brooklyn, over the Brooklyn Bridge and through the city.  I was struck in awe as I rode along.  The drivers took me by surprise as they were much nicer and predictable compared to Boston drivers.  "I thought NY drivers were supposed to be mean!?"  "No, that's a stigma they get, but so many people have to live together and they don't want to have so many accidents."  I understood.

Once we got through the city and met up with Raquel, we continued on our journey to Wilmington.  I had gotten a Brooklyn bagel with Stacey that morning and finally had a chance to enjoy it.

When we arrived in Wilmington, we found a parking place in front of a tiny dry cleaning shop.  A kind Asian woman came outside her shop and greeted us as she saw our bikes and explosion of equipment on the sidewalk. Her english was a bit rough on the edges, but she was so kind enough to offer us to use her bathroom, way back in her tiny apartment.  She was like our little good luck charm before the race.

The streets were crowded with locals who had come to enjoy the parade and the race.  Wilmington has a lot of poverty, so you could tell that many of the fans included homeless individuals.  The parade was dedicated to the food bank.  We grabbed our numbers, warmed up on the course, and made our plan of attack.  As Stacey was our main sprinter, we decided to support her, play defense and make sure she could rest in the pack.

We started off fast.  With 8 corners on the .8 mile course (including 2 punchy hills), a strong field, and lots of speed, Wilmington was one of my favorite crits.  I stayed mid-pack for the first 10 laps.  Soon however, a series of attacks followed, so I moved forward and ready for defense, chasing down selected attacks.  It was very windy and hot but with my Speedweek excursion two weeks prior, I not only was acclimated to heat, but had my 'system' figured out on how keep myself from becoming affected.

The speed picked up as girls were attacking.  As the field started to fatigue, I attacked to keep the pace going.   We moved through the turns and I could see that they were on my wheel.  With 8 to go, two girls went off the front and stayed away for a few laps.  We were flying and gaps started forming. I sprinted around and moved further up. With 5 to go, we caught the two girls that were in the break.  Three laps to go and Lindsay Bayer made her winning move and broke away.  As she had no teammates, no one bothered to chase.  The sprint was going to come down to 2nd and 3rd place.

With two to go I was in a top 10 position but the pace was getting crazy.  One to go and I surged forward.  I had a feeling of fear in my gut as we came flying in to the final corners.  I knew I had to push through it and grab the wheel!  I held on and as we came around the final turn, I sprinted my heart out, passing a few people but getting passed by a lady right at the line.  I was 8th!

It was a long drive back home, but with such an adventure in NY and a great race, it was well worth it!!

Feisty German Dominates Sterling

Never give up, for that is just the place and time that the tide will turn. -Harriet Beecher Stowe

As I stood in line at the registration booth, waiting for Aaron to grab his number for the Sterling road race, I was pleasantly surprised to see the one and only Silke Wunderwald registering last-minute for the women's race.  She had emailed me a few days prior telling me that she wouldn't be at the race as she was doing the Wachusette Hill Climb in the morning.  However, one of the other riders (Crystal Anthony) managed to peer pressure her into doing the race!  I was delighted! My partner in crime was back!

"I don't think I'll be very useful today," she explained to me.

She always said things like that before a race, but I knew better.  She was a strong German woman who had guts of steel. The hill climb was just a warm-up.  She had finished 2nd and had some remorse about her finish that morning, so I knew she had to redeem herself today.  I could see it in her eyes.

Our race started off extremely casual as it was neutral for a few miles.  As Silke and I sat at the front, we chatted and caught up on the happenings of the past few weeks and set a little plan of attack for the race ahead.  According to her though, she was spent from the morning so to my surprise, the race unfolded with a much different outcome.

The neutral car sped away as we came to the base of the climb.  It was an 8 mile circuit course with a short punchy climb. We fought up the hill and pushed the pace.  But it was in no time at all, that Silke was off the front attacking!  I thought to myself, "Ok, now she's going to make me work today!" Immediately the pace picked up as the pack chased her down and another person countered the attack. We chased. At a half a lap, I attacked and Beth from the Farm Team came with me.  We pushed to gain some distance on the field but they started catching us on the back side.  Right as we were getting caught, the moto official slowed us down and put the entire field into neutral and then a stop.  We were all fired up.

"What's going on! Why are we stopping?!"

The men's pro-1,2 field was just about to lap us.  We couldn't believe that they didn't just let us ride single file and allow the men to pass us like any normal race, but they felt it was 'safer' if we were stopped.  We shook our heads.  The men blew by and I cheered for Aaron.

We started back up, a little lost with our momentum but it didn't take too long to get back into the race. As we approached the climb again, Silke and I pushed the pace over the top. She attacked again!

The race continued like this with Silke attacking, then me counter attacking until finally, her attack stuck!  She was alone this time and with over 20 miles to go, I knew she had a Tom Boonen effort ahead of her.  I moved forward and tried to slow the pack down at any chance I could.  We stayed around 30 seconds behind her.  As I was able to rest (a lot!) because I didn't have to chase, she was up the road pushing through the pain.

With one lap to go, we began to catch her.  I saw her looking back at us.  She told me later that she was hoping we'd catch her, "I can't believe you guys didn't catch me! I was in so much pain!" But as she noticed that the group was distracted and tired, she turned her head forward and starting gaining even more time!  I knew that if we caught her, she would be wiped-out from her gargantuan effort and would suffer in the finishing sprint. Plus, she deserved to win with the effort she had already put forth.  So again, I went to the front and slowed the pace.  Every time a pace line formed, I participated by pulling through and slowing down.  One lady caught on, "Watch out for this weasel!" she smiled.  Silke had made so much progress that lap that we could no longer see her.  She was over a minute up the road and finally everyone had given up on chasing her.  It was time to focus on 2nd and 3rd place.

As we turned the corner for the final climb, I led the group and started pushing the pace up the hill.  The sprint started and I stayed side by side with two other women.  I was saving my 'turbo gear' for the right moment.  Then Beth from Farm Team moved forward and had half a bike on me so I shifted down and just laid on the pedals.  I moved forward and won the sprint by a bike length!

Silke later said that she was cramping so bad near the end that it took her a while to get up the hill for the finish.  But she did it! The feisty German dominated.

Aaron's race also went really well.  It was his best finish yet with the men's pro-1,2 field as he was 41st.  They averaged a whopping 25mph for 80 miles!!

The Grande Finale

The last three races of SpeedWeek were a blur.  The 'comedy central' trio took another trip up to South Carolina for a twilight crit, and then a 'hotter than hell' circuit that was around what looked to be the fairground field.  While driving to Friday's race in Spartanburg, we were delayed in unexpected traffic so coming into town, our adrenalin was high. As we were only 3 miles from the race, we nearly totaled the car as two vehicles in front of us decided to slam on his brakes and without having any brake lights, the car in front of us nearly collided into the car.  We were approaching at around 40mph (as this was a highway) saw the obstacle, and Colleen with her swift crit racing skills, managed to swing our vehicle safely onto a side road that just happened to be there.  All three of us were cursing at the top of our lungs and our hearts were beating fast.  My phone rang.

"Hey Mark," it was my brother, "I was just literally almost in a very bad accident.  We are running late for a race, but I think with our adrenaline that's on cloud nine, we will probably be attacking like mad in our race today!"

And that was the story of our race. We had less than 45 minutes when we arrived until 'go-time'. The streets were packed with people as there was a fair going on.  Team Kenda was a sight to be seen that night as Christy made a 3-person break for several laps.  When their break was caught, another went off the front and Kat was able to bridge up to the break.  Colleen, Shannon, Liz, and I went to the front and slowed the pack down as much as possible to give her time to catch the break. Shannon was playing defense like no-one's business, I went after a few attacks to bring them back, and Colleen with just a few laps to go, attacked and took a $100 prime! We were so proud of our work that night. After the race, we were putting the bikes back into the car and I hear a 'thump'.  Colleen had managed to konk her forehead on the vehicle, leaving her a little drop of blood. She was pissed that it wasn't a 'war-mark' from the race.

"I hope I get a black-eye," she exclaimed. "That way I'll look meaner in the race!"  We just laughed.

The following day was hot! Apparently the race promoters were unable to obtain a permit to hold the event in the downtown area, so the back-up race course was on a smoothly paved road around an open field.  No fans or cheering people this day, so it had the atmosphere of a training race. As the weather was in the mid 90's and with the pavement radiating so much heat, even hotter, I made myself a little baggie of ice and stuffed it in the front of my bra to keep my core temperature down.  I called this my 'water boob'.

"Look," I told Colleen and Kat, "I've got boobs and they bounce!!"

They just shook their heads and laughed. When the race started, I kept my spirits high, singing tunes out-loud to the field. But once the first couple of laps went by, the field became strung out, and I knew the race was going to be tough. It was very hot and I had to be mentally on my game to not let the heat affect me. After a few laps, I attacked and tried bridging up to a lady up the road who had a 30 second gap on the field. The effort drained me.  I knew I had to conserve more this race to stay in as the 'heat demons' were pushing to just drop out. Several riders dropped out that day with signs of heat exhaustion.  Even after my 'water boob' had melted, the temperature was still cool enough to keep my core down.  I finished strong that day and was happy to sit in the shade, drink some water and sleep in the car on the way home.

The final day in Sandy Springs was a sight to be seen.  Colleen and I arrived very early as we had twisted her boyfriend Kirk's arm to do his first race ever. Actually, we both thought it was pretty gutsy of him to jump in and do the race on such a short notice! The weather was much cooler than the day before, but still very hot.  I didn't feel the need to have a 'water boob' for the race, but in hind-sight, it might have increased my performance.  With it being the final day, I was feeling the fatigue of a weeks worth of crit racing. Though not as draining as a long stage-race, the intensity of crit racing was starting to wear on my 'match box'.  I didn't have many matches left to burn and the ones I had, when I used them, they would ignite and then soon burn out. Earlier in the week, my matches had some serious fire power! Our race stayed together for the most part.  A few women went off the front and Kat was still very aggressive.  She attacked from the back and was so close to getting a prime. It was all I had to push to the front to play defense.  I attacked at one point to chase after a break, but then needed extra time to recover.  With about 10 laps to go, I started to feel really great.  The field had thinned out by almost a third and I was able to ride aggressively at the front. With two to go, I was in a top position, but soon found myself pushed to the back.  The zig zagging course made it hard to move up. We finished.  Team Kenda was 3rd overall for SpeedWeek!

Here's our re-cap video of the race:

SpeedWeek was such a trip! It's always a treat to go places and take a road trip with other women who have the same interests as you.  In the 'real world', as a cyclist and a female cyclist, you kind of get looked at like a freak and no one understands your passion, your lifestyle, or what it takes to race at an elite level. You're bombarded with "Don't you think you ride too much?!" or "Don't you think you'll stop racing soon and settle down?"  To me, a cyclist is a person who is very much still a kid inside.  Someone who never let their childhood dreams die. I will never give that up.  Laura van Guilder is a great testament to this as at 47, she was a contender to win SpeedWeek. I walked over to her before our last race,

"Laura, good luck today. You're my hero."

"Wow!" she said, "Thank you!"

The 'Comedy Central' of Speedweek

We drove through the late hours of the night. Colleen, Shannon, and I, also known as 'Comedy Central'  were singing, cracking jokes, making fun of the commentator, and eating candy. The garmin, 'Dingo' had taken us through some back roads of South Carolina. We were in the middle of nowhere, driving through the dark and a man suddenly comes from the shadows and nearly jumps in front of our speeding vehicle onto the highway. We gasped! Was he drunk? What was that about? Our minds raced as Shannon, a criminal investigator, had been telling us crazy stories from work.

"Put on yer prostitution glasses," she'd say in her thick southern accent, as we entered Atlanta.

Colleen and I pretended to pop on our 'prostitution glasses' and start seeing if we could spot some criminal activity in the wee hours of the night in Atlanta.

After dropping Shannon off, Colleen and I headed another 30 minutes to Cumming where we were finally in bed by 2am. I literally conked out and awoke at 10am to my husband, Aaron calling to check in on me. "I woke you up, Melissa? You are such a pro bike racer...go back to sleep!"

The last two days had been such a rush! Tuesday, Shannon, Colleen, and I drove up to Beaufort, SC for a downtown crit. The weather was beautiful and the location was near the water. After seeing the Chiropractor the day before, my neck and body felt so much better from my crashes, so I was ready to lay some aggression down on the course!

I can't quite remember the chain of events, but it was around 10 laps into the race that a prime was announced. A girl had gone up the road and as we came around the straight, I saw my teammate Christy near the front. I came zooming by, thinking I could give her a lead for a prime, but soon I had caught the girl, looked back and I had a gap on the field. I took off. There was another prime, and another, and I held my lead for a few laps! Finally, the field caught up and I sat back in. Kat started attacking and riding super aggressive. Colleen and Liz ran into some bad luck on a crash on one of the corners. As the race started nearing the end, I moved up, but was pushed back. The field got crazy! I wanted to give Christy a lead out, but I wasn't in a great spot. We ended up finishing in the field but were psyched that we'd racked up some points. We were in 2nd place for the team standings!

After the race, we all headed to Kat's house in Savannah, GA. Her and her husband Bill had just moved into their new home two weeks ago, so it was a treat so check out the new place. It was HUGE!! Several rooms, open floor plan, and a pool! We helped break-in the new place and even met their 'guard' spider. Shannon was all excited about the swimming pool, ran outside in her bathing suit, but soon came scurrying back inside as a giant spider had crawled out of the noodle she'd been floating on!

Wednesday we were racing in Walterboro, SC. So far, this was my favorite day of racing at Speed Week as the course was longer and faster! This meant that we were more strung out into the turns so less crashing. The race started off late. We were amused by the announcers ignorance of the time or what he was saying into the mic. It was 10 minute until the scheduled start of our race and they had just started the cat 2,3 men.

"You women should start in 40-45 minutes, give or take a minute or two...or we might start you at your scheduled start time, so be prepared for that."

We all rolled our eyes. Did he know what he was even saying?

The race started off fast with many primes.  I felt awesome and maybe a little hyper, so I was playing defense on the front.  If anyone went off the front, I was on it! I even bridged a few breaks and brought back some attacks.  Everyone on the team was riding very strong and staying near the front of the race.  We told Christy to hang tight and save her legs for the finish. At one point, a few girls went off the front and Laura van Guilder took off.  I knew that if she was going after the break, it was a good one, so I grabbed her wheel and chased!  We were caught. Then with about 8 laps to go, two unattached riders got off the front and were able to hold their lead. I attacked a few times to try to chase, but the field would follow and slow. Kat made some attempts too. We started to gain but as the end neared, it seemed as if the sprinters wanted to save their legs for the final sprint for 3rd place, rather than sacrifice by chasing the break down.

With two to go, Christy was further back in the peloton.  As I had failed my job of giving her a proper lead out the previous day, I gave everything I had to find her.  I spotted her on the left side and shot up the side of the peloton, past her, made sure she had my wheel and took off.  "Green, green, green!" she screamed, letting me know to put on the gas.  We moved up and as there was a prime on this lap, I didn't want her going for it.  Another rider got in my way as I pushed up the side. This was the rider who took me out the first night in Athens, so I was sketched out about pushing by her. We got to the turn and  as the field was fighting and bunching up, I pushed hard and let Christy go around me.  "Sorry," I yelled at her.  I needed to hold on for one more lap.  I pushed back into the field and started moving up as much as possible.  It was a chaotic mess! One lap to go! I pushed forward and could still see Christy's helmet up in the field.  I needed to get her even further up, but as we turned the second corner, the field became strung out and there was no way I could bridge the distance to the front.  She was up there though and ended up finishing 12th! It was her best finish thus far.  "Thanks Melissa! You brought me from 30th all the way to the front!!" I had no idea!

Our team was psyched. We had a long drive ahead as Colleen and Shannon needed to work the following day, but our excitement made the drive all the more adventurous for 'Comedy Central!'

Mean Girls

Mean girls, scratchin' and spittingMean girls, can't be forgiven Mean girls, make mean women Mean girls

- Sugarland

It started in Athens on Saturday evening. The town was packed from college students dressed up to the nines, kids running around, the Red Bull bmx performers, and people lining the streets. It took forever to push through the crowds to get on the course and to the staging area.  As I rolled past, kids held out their hands for high-fives.  It was such a treat! Our race was being broadcast live.

Our race started with a prime.  The pace picked up with Van Guilder's Mellow Mushroom team controlling and Erica Allar.  I sat in just waiting with patience.  The pace wasn't as fast as I had anticipated, but if you were at the back of the pack, there was a significant slinky effect and you would have to work your tail off through each turn.  At 10 laps, I felt my rear wheel go flat on the back side.  I pulled off the course and darted to the pit through the mass of people.  "Excuse me, excuse me!!" I yelled as I tried to move around the swarms of people.  Finally, I made it to the pit, got a new wheel, and was back in the race.

After about 15 laps into the race, I moved up and starting making rotations on the front.  There were many prime opportunities and I tried for a few, but didn't have any success.  With about 15 laps to go, I attacked past the start/finish line and into the turn.  I was able to create a small gap, but soon, the Mellow Mushroom squad was on my tail.  We kept moving consistently lap after lap.  My teammate Christy was also working up at the front and riding strong.  With 2 laps to go, I moved up onto a good wheel.  The corners were crazy and the streets were packed!

One lap to go.  I was in a good spot and moving forward. It was all or nothing.  First turn, second turn, and down the back stretch.  Then as we were approaching the third turn, I was the girl in front of me start to wobble, and soon her bike came from under her.  I thought I was going to just miss, but then all of a sudden I was flying through the air and landed on my left side, with my head hitting the pavement, hard. I just lay there, catching my bearings.  I knew that I didn't break anything, but my head had hit hard.  I saw the rest of the field fly by and soon a kind man came over and helped me up.  The paramedics came too and gave me the concussion test which turned out I was ok!  My teammate Colleen was at my side too and soon the kind doctor walked me back to the car.  "If you feel nauseous or anything, don't hesitate to come by the hospital and I'll check you out," he said.  "I'm an ER doctor and have seen lots of cyclists today."  Colleen chirped in, "Well, I feel nauseous and light-headed from the race!"  I laughed, "Ha ha, me too! Don't think it's from hitting my head!" My helmet was broken and the bar tape was sheared off the right side of my bike. So, overall, it was a pretty lucky fall.

I called Aaron, "Is anything broken?" he asked.

"Do you mean on my body, or my bike?"

"Your bike.  Your body can heal."

I laughed.

The following day was a crit in Roswell.  Colleen's boyfriend Kirk was kind to let me borrow some white bar tape to re-tape my bars and lend me his helmet.  It was my first time ever taping a bar, so I was overall impressed with my taping job.  When we arrived to the race, I found the SRAM guys and had them go through my bike to get it more tuned up and ready for the race.  I also found a chiropractic booth and a great chiro from Gorman Family Chiropractic to help get my body adjusted from my big spill.

The Roswell crit was also packed with spectators.  It was hot but the heat didn't really get to me.  The race was notorious for crashes, and soon I found out why!  The course moved from a straight start/finish area and counter-clockwise onto a more narrow road, shooting down into a left turn onto a wider road, and left onto the main drag.  Immediately the problem became apparent that the field would bunch up on the back side, fight to move forward, and then finally stretch out on the main stretch.  It was just into lap 3 when we were on the back side and I saw a girl about 4 wheels up start to wabble, and soon a pile of us came crashing down.  I fell and landed right on the same side as the night before. Ugh! This time, my head didn't hit (thank God since I was borrowing a helmet!!), but my neck whipped sideways.  I got up.  Colleen was also down but she was ok.  I rolled down the road and to the pit. My bike was fine.  As the field came by, we rolled back into the race.  My body hurt and needless to say, I became very cautious about people moving around in the field. On the next lap, there was another crash! It was to my left, so I missed it, but I couldn't believe how jumpy the girls were!

I sat in the pack for several laps and at one point chased down an attack, hoping that my effort might stretch out the field.  It was short-lived as the field came up and bunched up again.  I sat back in. Christy was riding strong, so I had offered to give her a lead-out for the finish.  But as the officials never gave us lap cards until 5 to go, we were lost on what time was left in the race.  At 5 to go, I moved forward and found Christy.  But at 3 to go, I was pushed back. It was chaos and hard to move around.  I wasn't in the right spot to help her, but I saw her up ahead. We had 1 to go, and it was too late for me to move up. She was able to finish strong, but I was just in the field.

My body hurt. My neck was a little jacked up and I found the Gorman Chiropractic booth again. "What happened?!" they asked.  "I crashed again! I need another adjustment!" She put me on the table and worked her magic. Afterwards, Colleen and I changed and found the beer tent and enjoyed a cold refreshing New Belgium.

Two down.  Five to go. There's no knowing what adventure lies ahead, but all I can say is that I'm going to put my 'mean face' on and start letting them have it!!

The Lioness is Ready For Release

I’ve arrived in Georgia as  Speedweek is finally here.  The last two years I’ve done the Joe Martin Stage race in Fayetteville, AR, but this time, I’ve decided to immerse myself in criterium racing at its finest glamour.  With top sprinters from all over (both men and women), and a hefty payout, it’s sure to be a cut- throat hammerfest. Now, if you think women are already crazy, trust me, you ain’t seen crazy yet!!  Tonight, the lioness will be released from her den as the 7 day series starts off with a twilight in Athen’s Georgia, followed by Sunday afternoon in Roswell.  I'm not talking about a 'kitty fight'...it's a full on CAT (in caps) fight! Then we get a day to recoop and head up to South Carolina for a few days.  Finally, on May 6^th, we will return to Georgia for the grand finale! It’s going to be a week full of unexpected treasures: sweat, blood, tears, triumph, glory, and not to mention a road trip with the girls!

I’ll be keeping you updated along the way with pictures, videos and stories, so be sure to check my blog or just sign up (on the sidebar) and get email notifications when I’ve posted a new story.

Thanks again for all your support!

Let’s get ready to rumble!!

Raindrops Fallin on My Head

Raindrops keep falling on my headBut that doesn't mean my eyes will soon be turnin' red Crying's not for me Cause I'm never gonna stop the rain by complainin' Because I'm free Nothing's worrying me.

No crying for me. I'd like to say that every blog I write about is one where I won, I was the champion, and the sky was blue and full of sunshine. But such is life that we need rain too.

Sunday Aaron and I drove up to Charlestown, RI for a local crit. I had just gotten back from a seminar from work late the night before and saw that only 4 women were registered for the women's race, so I opted to sleep in and do the men's race with Aaron. Now, being that I was a little tired from traveling, and woke up to a cloudy day (the best day to sleep in!), my ambition for this race just wasn't quite there.

"You can stay home if you like," Aaron said.

"No, I'll ride, I'll be fine."

When we left Norwood, the rain hadn't yet started, but by the time we arrived in Charlestown, it was full on raining. We had yet to register, so we ran under the tent to fill out our forms. As I was about to sign my John Hancock, the sky cracked and it immediately started to downpour. Aaron and I looked at each other, "Do you want to go to a movie?" I laughed! That would be great, but what the heck. We signed the forms. The guy at the registration asked for Aaron's license. He couldn't find it in his wallet so that nagging shrill (that only a wife can make) came out of my mouth,

"AARON! You forgot your license?! You asked me if I had mine!!"

The guy looked at Aaron,

"Are you married?"

Aaron smiled,

"Yes."

"I thought so. One license will do today!"

We got our numbers, and kitted up in the car.  Aaron asked me if he should be reminded on applying embrocation and I laughed!  Great balls of fire!

The race started in the pouring rain. I didn't really warm up as I opted to keep dry for as long as possible in the car.  But the race started off with a bang as the guys were drilling it on the front and the field became strung out.  Each corner we'd take, water would spray into my face and I'd struggle to get the power to stay on the wheel in front of me.  It was as if there was a disconnect from my brain, through my thigh pushing on the crank and pulling the chain to turn the wheel and move it forward.  Maybe it was in my brain...in the 'ambition' department or maybe it was just that the race was 'cutthroat' as Aaron had called it.  Whatever the reason, I was off the back within just a few short laps.

I continued to ride.  My pride was deep in the trenches.  Every time I rode past the start/finish line, I pleaded with the universe to have the officials pull me and relieve me from my embarrassment.  I didn't want to be 'that girl' that couldn't keep up with the guys!

"Shall I keep riding?" I asked.  "Hun, if you want to, you can," the kind official replied.  I kept riding as I realized I needed some time in the saddle.  The field came by again and I jumped in for a short bout. Still, I struggled to grab a wheel and within a lap and a half, I was again off the back.

After 45 minutes of riding.  I decided that I was through with 'skipping through the puddles'.  I rode past the officials and signaled that I was through.

"All done hun?"

I shook my head and rode to the car as the raindrops kept falling on my head.

Goodness Gracious! Great Balls of FIRE!!

How do I start? We drove up to Battenkill, we stayed in a really nice Bed and Breakfast, Aaron had to wake up really early for his race....no, let's get to the good stuff!

 

As I'm half awake, watching my helpless husband stumble around the bedroom to get ready for his race, I lay slightly amused. It's 6:45am.  He's not a morning person, so add the race jitters and he's a train wreck! But I just lay there in the cozy sheets and watched.  He got everything he needed, and then he decided to kit up.  For some reason, his brain wasn't functioning properly and he decided to lather his legs up first with embrocation.  (If you don't know what embrocation is, it's this warming cream you put on your legs that contains hot chile peppers!). Aaron gobs this stuff on, and then reaches for his chamois.  I watched as he pulled his chamois up.  I can't remember if I was thinking or actually said this,

 

"Are you sure you won't get embrocation on your chamois?"

 

They were on, and he was headed out the door.  Then all of a sudden (about 4 minutes later), Aaron bolts back into the room tearing his shorts off as quickly as possible!  He was nearly in tears. "What's wrong!"

 

"I have embrocation on my balls and they are on fire!!"

 

I helped him  get on a new pair of shorts (this time covering his embrocated legs before sliding on the chamois). Whew, they were on, and he was still in pain, but he got out the door. The whole time I was painfully withholding my laughter.  I didn't want to laugh in front of him because he was just a wreck and needed some empathy.  But being that I don't have balls and that I was raised in a family that makes fun of things of this nature...rerunning the scene in my head has become the greatest comedy act in history!!

 

Now to the race.

 

Bob and I arrived to the race around 10:30am, where Bob had some time to kit up and head out for his master's event.  The weather was beautiful (upper 60's), so couldn't have asked for a better day.  I had a few hours to find the Kenda tent, see my team manager Paul, and bring them some muffins.  It was at this time that I get a call from Silke.

 

"Hey Silke!"

"It's Aaron. I crashed out!"

 

Aaron was ok, but he had broken his new helmet.  His bike was fine, but because none of the follow cars had an allen wrench to  fix his bars (they were twisted), he couldn't finish the race.  He was pretty bummed as finally he had been riding very strong in the cat 2 field.  I found him and took him to the car.

 

My race was quite an adventure to say the least.  Our team had decided that since there was a history of the race finishing in a sprint, that everyone would help Stacey Jensen and I.  We had a strong team, but for most of us, it was the first time riding together.  Cara had flown in from LA, Colleen and Lauren had come from Atlanta, and Jen Martin had driven from Pennsylvania. I wasn't nearly as nervous as last year when I wanted to hurl before the race.  It could have been my husband's 'episode' that morning that eased my nerves as this time, I was excited like a little kid in a candy store! I couldn't wait!

 

Our field consisted of one other strong team, Farm Team, and then several individual strong riders including some top Canadian champions.

 

 For over half of the race, I was sitting in, conserving (my teammates doing much of the work).  Laura and Silke would chase down breaks and man the front.  At one point, Silke attacked and made a 25 second gap on the group.  I whispered, "You can do it!" I was thinking back to Boonen's winning move last week at the Paris Roubaix and knew that if anyone could TT away  - it would be Silke! Contrary to our pre-ride a few weeks ago, where we were pushing through sloppy muck, the course was very dry, dusty, and full of loose dirt and gravel.  Thus, I was very happy with my decision to throw on the extra wide (25cm) tires.

 

With 25 miles to go, things started to get spicy. Veronique Fortin (who is the Canadian National Champ and ended up breaking away and winning) attacked on a hill. As she had been riding very aggressively throughout the race, I jumped and caught her.  She was taunting me on the climb (I think she wanted me to attack), but I just sat on her wheel and kept it cool. I wasn't ready to burn up my matchbox quite yet.  The group came back together and I was predicting it would turn into a pack finish, so I was sitting about mid-pack (not a wise decision as I look back) and right when we turned onto a long dirt road section (into the wind), that's when the attacks happened and the pace picked up.

 

The peloton became so strung out as the road was very loose with dirt/gravel and hard for people to get any traction.  I moved up, passed people who were creating gaps and was about top 15 at that point.  Then, the front 3 girls attacked and started breaking off. I kept moving up to try to get to a point to chase it down. I knew this was the race and I had to give it everything I had.  I caught a few girls and we started making ground coming into a hill.  I moved up, then came flying down the hill, (the gravel was very loose!) and that's where my front tire went flat. I heard the hiss of the air leaving the tire.  There were people on the side of the road.

 

"I need a wheel!"

"Right behind you!"

 

I turned, and sure enough the cycling goddess was with me as the wheel car was right on my wheel and I had my flat changed in less than a minute. 

Then I just chased my heart out up the next hill and onto the flats.  I was running low on matches so it was just everything I had.  I caught 3 girls (one who's my good friend Kate) and initiated a pace line.  They were cramping and tired, but I kept encouraging them to pull through and we were almost catching the group up the road. We had about a 25 second gap to close. 

 

Finally, we caught them right at the base of the final climb and I moved up to the front of the group and tried to push the pace.  My teammate Laura was in the group. Soon however, I realized that we might be too far back to catch the 5 girls up the road and I wanted to conserve for the finish (since everyone else wasn't trying to work).  So I pulled a little the last 5 k's but with 2 k's to go, I tucked in and Laura found me and moved in front of my wheel.  Soon, both of us were boxed in as the pace was much slower than my ideal sprint, but right before the turn to the finish, there was a tiny opening and I pushed through and sprinted my heart out as my legs were trying to cramp and seize up on me.  So I pushed as hard as I could and got 3rd in the sprint.  Laura wasn't too far behind.

 

I was disappointed that we didn't make the podium this year but happy how I caught back up because in the past, I don't think that I would have had faith in myself to catch back up.  Veronique Fortin ended up breaking away and winning by a minute!  I was surprised for Crystal Anthony who placed 2nd!  She has been dominating the cross scene (especially in the NorthEast) and had ridden the race on her cross pit bike!!  So, kudos to Crystal!

 

Aaron had the camera and was able to take a few short clips of me leaving to race and the sprint finish:

 

 

 

 

April 16, 2012 /Melissa Ross

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Try, Try, Try Again

This past weekend was an Easter Madness ride for Aaron and I.  Sunday we awoke to a beautiful Easter Sunday.  Yes, the easter bunny did come (for Aaron) and yes, I made him a special treat of Dutch Apple Pancakes. And ohhh were they delightful! Then, wouldn't you know - we began watching the Paris Roubaix live with Boonen attacking and making his daring move at 50K to go.  I watched astounded, just knowing that this was the move that won races.  The move that people doubt and the pack doubts will workout, the one they think is crazy so in no time, you've created a gap and the pack chasing is stunned and unorganized.  That's precisely what happened as he rode into his 'pain cave'.  Gradually, his gap kept growing.  Key riders were wiping out on the slippery cobbles while Boonen continued on his mission.  Aaron and I were clinging to the edge of our seats as we cheered the Belgian rider on, and with just 20K to go....we had to kit up and get riding to our Well's Ave Crit.  The suspense!! Aaron and kitted up and made our way over to Wells Ave.  It was cloudy, windy and the temperature had dropped. But, a good crowd had come to celebrate Easter in the ol' crit fashion.

The race started fast.  I was the only female in this massive group of cat 1-3 men. I hung on to wheels and kept moving to the front.  A break would form and I'd attempt to chase it down, into the wind.  One, two, three.  I'd get halfway out to the break, but then the peleton would come and sweep me up. By the third attempt, and 22 minutes into the race, I had nothing in me to latch back onto the group.  They flew by and right as we turned the corner and I thought I might have a chance, we were in a massive head wind. Being that it was just a 'training race', (you can wait and jump back into the peleton), I just pedaled around and once I saw them coming, I picked up speed and latched back on.  This time however, I was refreshed and tucked into the middle of the group.  The race continued and finally I was successful at one attempt to latch onto a break.  It was short lived, but I was happy to have finally gotten it.  "If at first you don't succeed...try, try, try again!"

The last few laps were fast, but I was able to move up towards the front.  I wasn't a contender for the sprint, however I think I finished top 20.   I was pleased! Afterwards, Aaron and I rode for another hour and a half.  Our legs were pretty fried from the race and we were hungry for Easter Dinner.  We got home, showered and drove to our friend's Eric & Christine Kraus.  If you remember, last year we had arrived at their house on our bikes; sweat dripping down our faces, and just pretty gross from our long ride.  So this year when we arrived showered, and more dressed up - they were shocked and almost disapointed!  The guests and family even asked, "No biking clothes?"  We laughed and sat at the table for delicious ham, lamb, Eric's famous carrots, and yes a huge piece of chocolate cake!  Once our tummies were full, we said our goodbyes and headed home for some well deserved couch time.

Now that Easter is over, the season is here!  Raindrops are falling overhead as my pre-race jitters cause my stomache to quake and my hands to sweat. My friend Kate even texted me last night proclaiming that she couldn't believe how her nerves were getting the best of her. "Me too," I wrote back. Saturday is the big day at Battenkill!  Let the games begin!

Marblehead Madness

  Yesterday was another great day of motopacing. I thought with the wind, my time would be much slower, but somehow that wind was my best friend. I remember back in Wyoming (it's exceptionally windy every single day!) that if the wind would hit your wheels at a diagnal, it would actually push you forward.  Add a slick disc wheel on your bike, and you were sailing! I guess now that I'm in Massachusettes, I can compare cycling to sailing...wind is your friend.

Owen and I booked it around the Sharon TT loop.  This time it was a little messy with road construction that had left horizontal strips of torn up gravel that I'd have to bunny-hop over to avoid blowing out my tire.  It was just a short jaunt of that, and then we were cruising.  The wind somehow was at just the right angle to suction me to Owens wheel. We were about 2/3 of the first lap through when I felt extremely wobbly on my bike.  It had to be what I thought it was - a front flat.  I stopped and started changing the tube.  Flies and mosquitoes were swarming me.  "There out a little early this year," Owen commented.  My hand reached up to swat my face again.  Soon though, I was back on my bike and we were cruising again.  I knew we were cutting it close on daylight, but I had my bright lights with me, so we opted for one more lap. I must say that Owen's a really great driver. With me, just by looking through his rearview mirrors, he knows how to adjust his speed and push me just right. He's usually better at judging than I am and will always make the ride a perfect challenge.

Our second lap was better as we were very consistant with our speed and no flats this time around.  Soon I was heading home and the sun was setting.  I couldn't help but think back to Sunday's race on Marblehead: The Michael Schott Memorial. It was a 42 mile circuit (I think we did 19 laps). As I was about to pin my number on my jersey, I reached into my pocked for my pins and pulled out a lucky coin. It was the lucky Wyoming quarter. I rolled it around in my fingers for just a moment.

The race was very fast, and alot of fun.  It was the first time since I've done this race that I acually finished with the main group.  Since it's Cat 1,2,3 guys, I usually would get dropped off the back.  I did come close to crashing as I nearly rear ended a guy on the climb and the person behind me ran into my wheel and crashed. Overall, it was a good day for me! For everyone's amusement, I also had my trusty GoPro camera hooked to my handlbars.  The video is below.  Enjoy!

New Season Makes for a Blog Makeover

Spring is finally here! And with that comes many different things: racing, motopacing, hours and hours in the saddle, daylight savings, future cycling chics...aka: girl babies! (not me, my two brothers and our friend Torrance just had a baby today!), rain, flowers, and my parent's 30 year anniversary!  What else does spring bring?  Well, for the cowgirl cyclist, it brings a fresh new look to my lovely blog of 4 adventurous years. It took a few months of work, but spring is the time that I have decided to launch this thing! So please let me know what you think and as always, I hope you enjoy! Like I said, spring is the start of motopacing.

Wednesday, as I was riding behind Owen's motorcycle for the first time this year, a rush of adrenalin ran through my veins.  We were hauling down Massapoag Rd. in Sharon and at one point, pushing over 35mph!  I had told Owen before we had started that today we would just start off at an 'easy' 23mph and 'kick it up from there.'  Once we were about 5 minutes into the ride, I could feel that our speed had significanly increased and Owen was on a mission to break a record!  I knew that my legs would suffer later on, but I played his game and sat right on his wheel. As we moved through the course, the clouds had decreased our alotment of daylight, so we ended up cutting the ride a little short. My heart pumped.  I felt alive once more! The season's here!!

As I rode home from the motopacing session, I thought back to our epic ride in upstate NY this past weekend. Sunday, a group of us woke up as the ass crack of dawn and drove up the Cambridge, NY to test ride the Battenkill course.  We had been spoiled with 70 and 80 degree weather all week, so to our luck, we were in the divine of extreme cyclo-cross!  Rain was in the forecast, but on the drive down, we had some hopes that it would just be a light drizzley day. 

We met up with my teammate Silke, and her boyfriend Gary and started riding by 9:30am. The roads were just moist from the mist, but not too bad.  As we booked it down the highway and then through the covered bridge onto finally the first dirt section, we were making time. It was just about 30 minutes into the ride that we hit the first technical dirt section. The road had be saturated from the rain from the previos night so our skinny road tires immediatly sunk into the ground and our back wheel swirving all over the road. The mud was splashing into my glasses, so I soon pulled them off and tucked them into my helmet.

We turned to the first climb. This road was in the worst condition so far.  I found my bike unable to move.  It was like Gloucester 2010 all over again!! Every ounce of my muscles pushed and pulled on my cranks to get them to turn over. I kept thinking how distroyed I was going to be after 62 miles of this!  Finally as I was halfway up the hill and not moving, I saw Gary and a few others running their bikes up the hill.  "Man, this is like cyclocross!" I wasn't moving anywhere so I hopped off my bike and started running.  Silke on the otherhand has crazy power, so she eleganly rode up the hill past all of us struggling riders.  Can you believe that she of all people refuses to race cross!? Bob and Bill were also riding with us but were sticking together so we went ahead.

After the muddy climb, it was a little smoother but the rain started to pick up.  We hit the road section and were flying.  Gary stated a pace line and soon we were plucking away at the miles. After about 25 miles, it was pouring. Silke had crashed the previos day in a training race and had a nasty wound on her chest.  The temperture had also dropped to 42 degrees so she opted to cut the ride short and head back to the car.  We continued on for another section of the course, but soon, even with my wonderful Gore rain jacket, I found everything from the waist down frozen like a popsicle.  We made a decision to head back early to avoid getting hypothermia or sick. As I got back to the car, I started to worry about Bob and Bill out there in the freezing wet mess.  "We need to go back for them."  I dialed Bob.  No answer.  We all stood in the parking lot of the Cambridge Post Office, stripping our wet clothing.  Soon, my phone rang and it was Bob.  "Hey Melissa! We are at mile 32."  I told him we had gone back to the car and would come get him, "Um, ok that's good!"  We said our goodbyes to Silke and Gary and hopped into the car. Aaron and I drove Bob's SUV, while Torrance and Phil were in the other vehicle.  We drove back to where we had left the course and continued on. The rain had stopped and the roads became more tacky and much more ridable. Mile after mile went by and no sign of the two.  Bob called again, "Hey Melissa, we are at mile 42, just so you know!" We kept going.  I was impressed by how much ground they had made.  Finally we zoomed past the long dirt section and to the big climb.  There was Bob half way up the hill.  I rolled down the window and screamed at him, "Bob!  Almost there!" We parked at the top and cheered him to the car, threw his bike in and went looking for Bill who was just up the road. Bill was moving but look distroyed! He had taken a beating in the rain and even had a struggling rider almost knock him over on one of the climbs. They changed and we threw everyones gear in the car and drove to town for a warm meal.

It was an epic day. And so the season begins!!

Dream a Little Dream

Stars shining bright above you

Night breezes seem to whisper "I love you"

Birds singing in the sycamore tree

Dream a little dream of me

Say "Night-ie night" and kiss me

Just hold me tight and tell me you'll miss me

While I'm alone and blue as can be

Dream a little dream of me

Stars fading but I linger on, dear

Still craving your kiss

I'm longing to linger till dawn, dear

Just saying this

Sweet dreams till sunbeams find you

Sweet dreams that leave all worries behind you

But in your dreams whatever they be

Dream a little dream of me

I am starting to learn, that even after 3 years of marriage - you can always top your best date. Yesterday, Aaron and I put 4 hours of riding, then Max Raabe and the Palaste Orchestra, and Sushi on the #1 Hit Charts of Dates! Needless to say, after such an eventful day (date) I crashed hard and was sound asleep on the couch by 8pm last night. I couldn't get Max Raabe's romantic melodies from the 20's and 30's out of my head. It was such a great ending to an eventful week of SNOW! We finally got snow that stuck to the ground for over a day. I think it was the first since October of last year.

When the snow came. I just couldn't imagine what to do for my training as 'indoors' was a foreign place to me and my trainer was somewhere buried in the basement. I searched and searched for the thing but couldn't find it, thus I resorted to the rollers for my workout. Later, Aaron went looking and found the trainer in plain sight - but in anyway I found some inspiration riding indoors by watching a documentary on art, and making art (a documentary on riding rollers) with my GoPro camera. I think you will understand by watching below, why I would opt to be outside....so much better!

Then Saturday was my 20 minute threshold test. It was raining all night so the roads were wet but just warm enough it wasn't freezing. So, being that my threshold test is very important, I knew that my best time would be outdoors, so I headed to the shop with Aaron and some friends and began my warm up. And let me tell you...that's when it surely heated up! Ask yourself, have you ever rented a movie and when you started watching it, you realized that it wasn't what you thought...or much more inappropriate that what you imagined? Well, usually when we ride the trainers, we watch something from Netflix to entertain our brains from the numbness of moving nowhere. Our friend Phil and I were on the trainer when Aaron turned on a movie, and left to go fiddle with his bike. All of a sudden the most graphic images came up with little black boxes to sensor what was going on. Phil and I looked at each other, "What did he pick out?!" I thought it must be a preview or would end soon, but no, the graphic scenes continued, "AARON!!!" I screamed for him. "WHAT IS THIS?!!" He didn't answer. This was getting awkward. I jumped off my bike and ran over to remove the video, still yelling for Aaron. I closed the screen and saw he had picked, "This Is Not Yet Rated." I shook my head, googled "Paris Roubaix" and started watching Phil Liggett from the 1980's commentate on the race. Much better.

After a good warm-up I hopped off the trainer, threw on my leggings and rain coat, packed my bike to the car and drove to Sharon to complete my effort. It was wet and cold, but I knew that I felt great. I started with slush on the roads, but there weren't any cars out so I was able to move to the center where it was much drier. I pushed hard for the first 10 minutes, took a right hand turn and kept going. Soon the nausia crept in and I realized that I was pushing my max. My legs started to feel heavy and cold from the wet roads, but I pushed on. With only 3 minutes to go, and realizing that my power was dropping, I gave it all I had and stood for a sprint finish. I felt my stomach wanting to give way, but it didn't. I rolled back to the car, dried off, and drove back to the shop for a day of greeting people and selling bikes.

Then Sunday came. Aaron and I had waited for months to go on this special date. Back in November, we had seen a PBS special on the Max Raabe concert and couldn't help to hop on the computer and buy tickets to his show, right then and there. This was our first time at the Symphony Hall and our first time dressing up (for a date) in over 18 months!! We woke up early, met our friends for a 4 hour ride, hurried home, and got ready for our big date in the city.

As I type this, I am still day-dreaming about Max Raabe. The 20's and 30's were definitely playful and romantic. Songs that were bittersweet of love and pain. I could see my old friend, Elmer Norlin, smiling down on me in approval as when I'd go over to visit him, he'd play his old CD's from that era and tell me, "Melissa, this is real music."

It sure was!

The Espresso

This past week, Aaron had the pleasure of using up some good ol’ vaca time and spent the entire week logging hour after hour on his bike. It was his very own “Rosco Training Camp”. Every day looked like 70-90 miles and he’d come home, put his legs up on my lap and give me the puppy eyes. Fortunately we planned ahead and he was able to get a massage (relieving me from my soigner duties). Saturday, I took the day off of work at the shop and spent the entire day with Aaron, on two wheels. He had to do 5 1/2 hours and I took him up on the adventure. I had to do my power weights in the morning first, and then I met Kate, Luke, Torrance, and Aaron at the shop for our big adventure north. We took off and rode up to Concord and further west. Torrance had to leave early on but we kept trucking away. My awesome home-made energy bars got me through great distances (recipe below). Plus, Aaron pulled most of the way on the front as he had to ride a bit harder than the rest of us. We looped down and through Foxboro and back into Medfield/Dover area. Once we were almost back, I had to start my 15 second standing-start sprints. I was already a bit fatigued from the long ride, but as Aaron said,

“This will prepare you for the race – where it really counts.”

He was right. I left Aaron, Kate, and Luke and started my efforts. My legs screamed in pain with each effort. I could barely spin my pedals between each interval, but when the time came to ‘go’, I went with all my might and then some. I think they may have been the best sprints I’d done thus far…even with all the fatigue, but at the back of my mind was an image of all the races I want to win this year and that this moment was the moment that must count.

I finished at the top of the hill by our apartment and rolled home. We got some grub, even went to Trader Joes and slept like babies through the night.

Sunday was where my cockiness started. I’m not saying that I was cocky like I was really full of myself. It’s just that I felt really good and I was pretty blown away by the fact that my body didn’t feel destroyed. I woke up, made pancakes, and then Torrance met us at the apartment to ride into Brookline to meed at the Cafe Fixe. We discovered Cafe Fixe last weekend when we met up with some of the Met Life riders for a big ride. The experience of sipping the espresso down, made the ride into the city, worth every mile and bump in the road. It was as if I was being transported into Europe, sitting at a little cafe on a ride. The taste was like a bitter and frothy caramel. It was so good! And once that wonderful concentration of caffeine went into my system, it was as if I had been charged up by rocket fuel! My body started to shake a little, my excitement rose, and I was too excited to hop onto my bike. Torrance and Aaron had the same feeling too. We waited at the cafe for just a little while, but decided that we’d missed the other group of riders, so we took off on our own. The air was slightly humid but overall I felt excited and full of energy. Aaron led for much of the way (as usual, using his “Ross Bicycle Global Positioning System”) but soon we adventured to some little hills where my confidence started to take over. I’d accelerate and look over my shoulder to taunt Aaron, but all of a sudden, Torrance would come flying around the side and try to take on the KOM. Aaron would chase after him and I would hang back as my legs would suddenly remind me that all their juice was used up the previous day. This happened much of the ride and a few times, I thought I might actually take on the town line or KOM, but it just didn’t work out. I was very surprised how well I felt and still kept and eye on my food/water intake.

But almost immediately after Torrance left us at 3hrs 15min, Aaron and I started to ride up Pine Street in Medfield. If you’ve been on Pine Street, you understand that it’s a longer climb. Anyhow, I knew I needed more energy, so I took a Hammer Gel and continued to day dream as I rode Aaron’s wheel up the hill. It was as we peaked the Pine St. hill, that I suddenly came back to reality and realized that my legs really hurt and all of a sudden, it was like my body hit a wall. I lost all my energy! I was soo close too! We started to turn and I called after Aaron, “Aren’t we headed home?” He needed more time. I followed him, but soon he kept distancing himself. I was losing altitude. I felt light headed. I kept stuffing my face with food and drinking. I caught up to him as he had stopped to wait for me. “You can go Aaron. I’m holding you up. I need to go home.” He was concerned but let me head back. I started back home. As my blood sugar came up, my energy picked back up. Once I was home, I grabbed some food and crashed on the couch. Aaron came home soon and continued to make me lots of food, so by the end of the afternoon, my energy was much higher.

It was a great weekend. And yes, I did get a little to cocky but I’ll blame the espresso on that! To top it off, we were invited over to our friend’s the Kraus’ for a dinner of buffalo steaks! Now that’s what I call real recovery food!

Here’s my recipe for energy bars:

Best Energy Bars Ever

1c flour 2 1/2 c oats 1/2 tsp baking powder 1/2 tsp salt 1/2 c coconut 1 c chopped nuts 1/2 c dried fruit 1/2 c chocolate chips

Mix separately: 2/3 c all natural crunchy peanut butter 1/2 c milk 2 eggs 1/2 c honey 1/2 c brown sugar

Mix wet ingredients with dry. Line plastic wrap on 9×13 in baking pan. Spray with baking oil. Put mixture and spread evenly, cool in fridge for 30 minutes or so to let it stiffen. Take out of fridge and cut into desired sized bars. Place bars on cookie sheet (lined with foil and greased) with space in-between. Bake 300 degrees for 20-22 minutes. Cool and then wrap bars in foil/plastic, or put in mini snack size bags to carry on rides.