I didn't have any canned smoked herring left in my pantry when I left home. It was Easter Sunday. Nothing was open. I couldn't remediate the problem, you know? I did have a few cans of sardines though. I threw them in my Hincapie backpack.
This morning at 6am in Fort Lauderdale Hollywood airport, it smells like greasy bacon everywhere. Any decent looking sandwich costs at least $8. I pulled out my trusty canned fish.
Smoked herring tops the sardines I just ate any day. But...sardines over getting ripped off for an $8 lousy sandwich is well, well worth it.
Apr 25, 2011
From Rain and Hail to Hot and Humid
Yesterday, Véro Labonté got another podium for Juvéderm Specialized Mazda at the Grand Prix Ste. Martine, the race that kicks off the season in Québec. She attacked and successfully broke away in the middle of the race. She was joined by a few other riders and they managed to stay away from the peloton. As the end neared, she attacked again and won solo. Way to go champ!
It wasn't the most gorgeous of days. There was rain, hail, and a lot of wind. There were a heck of a lot of DNFs across all of the categories. I had one in the master B race in the morning. At least I was successful in surviving the registration line-up...
This evening we flew out of Montréal, to Fort Lauderdale, Florida (the heat and humidity really hit us when we got off of the plane). It's a "special" airport. I much prefer the monorail of Dallas Fort Worth. Here...there are baggage carousels, fake flowers, and funny smelling hallways. But it's pretty quiet. I guess it should be at 1am anyways.
Our connecting flight to Arizona is at 7am tomorrow morning. Véro and I opted out of a hotel and are camping in the airport. We've got a decent set-up going on. I'll be sleeping on my bike box. In fact...I'm headed there right now. Goodnight!
It wasn't the most gorgeous of days. There was rain, hail, and a lot of wind. There were a heck of a lot of DNFs across all of the categories. I had one in the master B race in the morning. At least I was successful in surviving the registration line-up...
This evening we flew out of Montréal, to Fort Lauderdale, Florida (the heat and humidity really hit us when we got off of the plane). It's a "special" airport. I much prefer the monorail of Dallas Fort Worth. Here...there are baggage carousels, fake flowers, and funny smelling hallways. But it's pretty quiet. I guess it should be at 1am anyways.
Our connecting flight to Arizona is at 7am tomorrow morning. Véro and I opted out of a hotel and are camping in the airport. We've got a decent set-up going on. I'll be sleeping on my bike box. In fact...I'm headed there right now. Goodnight!
Apr 14, 2011
Battenkill Won With French Toast and Eload
Val DJ-ed for us off of her MP3 player as we were cruising to the Tour of the Battenkill start line in the Juvederm-Specialized-Mazda team Mazda 5 car. I mentioned that I thought we were going to have a pretty successful day.
Myself, Véro Labonté, Mary Zider, Sara Byers, and Val Crête warmed up on our bikes before the race and made sure to ride the last section of the course. It was kind of key. It gave us a good idea of where we had to place ourselves in the pack (if the race would finish with a group sprint) to have the best shot at crossing the finish line first. The finish line was right after two 90 degree corners that were pretty close together. It's hard to move up in the corners...so I knew positioning would be crucial at the end.
The 65 mile course was pretty cool, it was fun riding in the sand and the gravel. It brought back faint memories of tearing over the cobbles in Belgium. (Dirt and gravel are a heck of a lot easier to get over though, I have to admit.) I was contemplating putting an 11-28 cassette on my bike the night before, but was more than happy that I chose an 11-25. Between the legs and the Amira, I thought we could handle it, and we did There were lots of hills but nothing long enough or too steep to justify the gaps of an 11-28.
Mary's man Lance had our bottles of Eload for us at the feedzone. Good thing. It wasn't exceptionally hot out there, but I think we would have had cramping issues without our beloved sport drink. I couldn't imagine doing a race without it. I had packed away a few Eload Energy Gels in the jersey pockets as well for extra fuel.
Véro, Mary, and I stayed at the head of the pack for the whole race. At the end there were still about 19 of the initial 63 girls with us. All we had to was sprint that puppy like we meant it. Great finish girls. 1st 5th and 15th!
(While we were racing out here in New York State, Denise Ramsden stood on the second place step of the podium out West at Berry's Roubaix, and Moriah Jo MacGregor got her first race of the season under the belt! Nice job girls!)
Myself, Véro Labonté, Mary Zider, Sara Byers, and Val Crête warmed up on our bikes before the race and made sure to ride the last section of the course. It was kind of key. It gave us a good idea of where we had to place ourselves in the pack (if the race would finish with a group sprint) to have the best shot at crossing the finish line first. The finish line was right after two 90 degree corners that were pretty close together. It's hard to move up in the corners...so I knew positioning would be crucial at the end.
The 65 mile course was pretty cool, it was fun riding in the sand and the gravel. It brought back faint memories of tearing over the cobbles in Belgium. (Dirt and gravel are a heck of a lot easier to get over though, I have to admit.) I was contemplating putting an 11-28 cassette on my bike the night before, but was more than happy that I chose an 11-25. Between the legs and the Amira, I thought we could handle it, and we did There were lots of hills but nothing long enough or too steep to justify the gaps of an 11-28.
Mary's man Lance had our bottles of Eload for us at the feedzone. Good thing. It wasn't exceptionally hot out there, but I think we would have had cramping issues without our beloved sport drink. I couldn't imagine doing a race without it. I had packed away a few Eload Energy Gels in the jersey pockets as well for extra fuel.
Véro, Mary, and I stayed at the head of the pack for the whole race. At the end there were still about 19 of the initial 63 girls with us. All we had to was sprint that puppy like we meant it. Great finish girls. 1st 5th and 15th!
(While we were racing out here in New York State, Denise Ramsden stood on the second place step of the podium out West at Berry's Roubaix, and Moriah Jo MacGregor got her first race of the season under the belt! Nice job girls!)
Apr 10, 2011
Battenkill: Fuelé par du pain doré!
Je suis arrivée à la maison qu'on s'est loué pour notre prochaine course, Battenkill (http://www.tourofthebattenkill.com/) hier en fin d'après midi. La course commence ce matin. Moi, Véro Labonté, Mary Zider, Sara Byers et Val Crête representerons Juvéderm-Specialized-Mazda aujourd'hui sur la route.
Je mange mon pain doré. C'est du bon fuel de course ça. Un oeuf, du pain, du lait. Rien d'autre. C'est facile, ça fait un bon déjeuner chaud, puis c'est assez similaire à un sandwich (mon repas préféré) pour que je le trouve délicieux.
HERE WE GO!
Je mange mon pain doré. C'est du bon fuel de course ça. Un oeuf, du pain, du lait. Rien d'autre. C'est facile, ça fait un bon déjeuner chaud, puis c'est assez similaire à un sandwich (mon repas préféré) pour que je le trouve délicieux.
HERE WE GO!
Apr 6, 2011
Redlands Stage 4 Road Race
People had been talking to me about the Sunset loop for a while now.
The final stage begins with a neutral start in downtown Redlands up until the firestation. A neutral start means we have to ride behind a car, and a referee on a motorcycle. They get to dictate the pace. At the firestation, the riders are let loose. Ironically the pace some of those girls dictate is a heck of a lot harder than that big red convertable. I love it. (Check out the picture on cyclingnews: http://www.cyclingnews.com/races/redlands-bicycle-classic-ne/stage-3/photos/166641 )
There's a long twisty climbing section through some nice neighborhoods. Then there's the feedzone. An uphill false flat. Then it goes downhill, there are some turns...we get back to the firestation...and UP UP UP again. We did 11 loops before racing back to the downtown finish.
Thank goodness for that feedzone. We had 7 opportunities to grab bottles from our staff. They were filled with eload Heat Endurance Formula, and they stuck a pack of gel onto the side of most of the bottles. At the beginning of the race I felt like I was bordering on cramping. I thought I'd be stuck riding like a warrior for the rest of the race with my legs seizing like they had minds of their own. The balance of electrolytes in the eload products saved me, thank goodness. No cramping. Just pedaling.
My teammate Denise Ramsden rode that race like a superstar. She was in all of the breaks. Some got reeled back in. I made sure to be in the final break, and I fought to stay there. I knew that if I let up for even one pedal stroke, I would be toast. Off the back. I pushed hard and kept up with the break's attacks up the final uphill sections. That's the thing with riding: pushing harder than you think you can for just a few seconds can save you a heck of a lot of trouble in the long run. That's because once you're dropped from the group, good luck riding yourself back onto it again with nobody to work with and draft off of. You'll be all on your own afterwards, dealing with the wind resistance by yourself.
We (the 9 riders in the breakaway) got downtown with just under a minute gap from the other riders. I stayed out in front for the final couple of downhill kilometers. Denise got a 3rd place finish. AWESOME. She took home the Best Young Rider's Jersey for the Prestige Series (there are 3 more races to come in the series). Juvéderm-Specialized-Mazda earned 4th place for the best team competition. We tied with the times of the top 3 teams. Good job girls...what a way to race!
The final stage begins with a neutral start in downtown Redlands up until the firestation. A neutral start means we have to ride behind a car, and a referee on a motorcycle. They get to dictate the pace. At the firestation, the riders are let loose. Ironically the pace some of those girls dictate is a heck of a lot harder than that big red convertable. I love it. (Check out the picture on cyclingnews: http://www.cyclingnews.com/races/redlands-bicycle-classic-ne/stage-3/photos/166641 )
There's a long twisty climbing section through some nice neighborhoods. Then there's the feedzone. An uphill false flat. Then it goes downhill, there are some turns...we get back to the firestation...and UP UP UP again. We did 11 loops before racing back to the downtown finish.
Thank goodness for that feedzone. We had 7 opportunities to grab bottles from our staff. They were filled with eload Heat Endurance Formula, and they stuck a pack of gel onto the side of most of the bottles. At the beginning of the race I felt like I was bordering on cramping. I thought I'd be stuck riding like a warrior for the rest of the race with my legs seizing like they had minds of their own. The balance of electrolytes in the eload products saved me, thank goodness. No cramping. Just pedaling.
My teammate Denise Ramsden rode that race like a superstar. She was in all of the breaks. Some got reeled back in. I made sure to be in the final break, and I fought to stay there. I knew that if I let up for even one pedal stroke, I would be toast. Off the back. I pushed hard and kept up with the break's attacks up the final uphill sections. That's the thing with riding: pushing harder than you think you can for just a few seconds can save you a heck of a lot of trouble in the long run. That's because once you're dropped from the group, good luck riding yourself back onto it again with nobody to work with and draft off of. You'll be all on your own afterwards, dealing with the wind resistance by yourself.
We (the 9 riders in the breakaway) got downtown with just under a minute gap from the other riders. I stayed out in front for the final couple of downhill kilometers. Denise got a 3rd place finish. AWESOME. She took home the Best Young Rider's Jersey for the Prestige Series (there are 3 more races to come in the series). Juvéderm-Specialized-Mazda earned 4th place for the best team competition. We tied with the times of the top 3 teams. Good job girls...what a way to race!
Redlands Recap:
9th in Beaumont
5th in the crit
3rd in Sunset
4th team
Leader in U23 Prestige Series
Apr 5, 2011
Redlands Stage 3 Criterium
I had my Headsweats alpine reversible beanie on. A DeFeet baselayer. My DeFeet gloves and one of my new Hincapie team jackets. I rolled up on my Specialized Amira to the team's meeting spot before heading down to the Redlands criterium on Saturday afternoon.
They must have thought I was nuts.
My crash on Friday wasn't super serious. I didn't hit my head. I didn't break anything. I have scabs across my "buns" and a huge bruise on my right hip. M-C (our soigneur) treated me soon enough afterwards that I didn't even have whiplash symptoms in my neck. But my back was still seized. My body was a bit shaky. I needed to be warm. So I decked myself out. It looked cool. Maybe it was not appropriate for the high-20 degree weather amongst the palm trees in Redlands. It made me feel good though.
I sat in the pack for the crit and planned to survive the day to be in the best shape possible for the final road race on Sunday. The girls did a great job. Joanie got 5th in the sprint finish despite a crash into the barriers during the race, and Denise Ramsden scored a nice prime sprint. I had a huge smile on my face when I heard her name over the loudspeakers! Go team!
They must have thought I was nuts.
My crash on Friday wasn't super serious. I didn't hit my head. I didn't break anything. I have scabs across my "buns" and a huge bruise on my right hip. M-C (our soigneur) treated me soon enough afterwards that I didn't even have whiplash symptoms in my neck. But my back was still seized. My body was a bit shaky. I needed to be warm. So I decked myself out. It looked cool. Maybe it was not appropriate for the high-20 degree weather amongst the palm trees in Redlands. It made me feel good though.
 |
| (Check out our new Hincapie kits...the Juvéderm-Specialized-Mazda red, blue and white stands out nicely in the pack! I'm 394) |
I sat in the pack for the crit and planned to survive the day to be in the best shape possible for the final road race on Sunday. The girls did a great job. Joanie got 5th in the sprint finish despite a crash into the barriers during the race, and Denise Ramsden scored a nice prime sprint. I had a huge smile on my face when I heard her name over the loudspeakers! Go team!
Apr 2, 2011
Redlands Stage 1 and 2
Redlands:
The weather suddenly got pretty hot. I soaked my jersey twice before the prologue time trial. The energy I saved from not having to cool my body by its own means was worth carrying the extra weight ;). It all evaporated before the first right hand turn to head uphill anyways. The course was just over 3 miles of climbing at various gradients.
I got a penalty of 1 second for flying off the start ramp a little to early. I thought the guy was holding me tighter than that...
The second stage was great. Juvéderm-Specialized kits were always riding up at the front of the pack. We were in on the climb points and the sprint points, riding strong, and working really well as a team. We had to be pretty careful to keep hydrated as well.
There were a couple of weird incidents, like half of the peloton turing the wrong way on the course. And how about this one : at the second last climb before the long flat to the finish, I was chasing to hang on with the small break that formed. There was a short downhill before the final climb and I knew that it was my chance to get back onto the group. I flashed back in my mind to my DVDs I watch in the winter on the trainer. I imagined Phil Liggett and Paul Sherwin talking about a guy who needs to take risks on the descents in the Alps and the Pyrenées if they want to be remain in contention for the end. So, I took the risk. I went too fast, got scared and braked a little and skidded out. I didn't hit my head. I got a guy to help me up and I jumped back in with some girls who fell off the back . I came over the line late, but I'll be fine for tomorrow's crit! Great job today girls, and I'll keep my tires down next time ;)
The weather suddenly got pretty hot. I soaked my jersey twice before the prologue time trial. The energy I saved from not having to cool my body by its own means was worth carrying the extra weight ;). It all evaporated before the first right hand turn to head uphill anyways. The course was just over 3 miles of climbing at various gradients.
I got a penalty of 1 second for flying off the start ramp a little to early. I thought the guy was holding me tighter than that...
The second stage was great. Juvéderm-Specialized kits were always riding up at the front of the pack. We were in on the climb points and the sprint points, riding strong, and working really well as a team. We had to be pretty careful to keep hydrated as well.
There were a couple of weird incidents, like half of the peloton turing the wrong way on the course. And how about this one : at the second last climb before the long flat to the finish, I was chasing to hang on with the small break that formed. There was a short downhill before the final climb and I knew that it was my chance to get back onto the group. I flashed back in my mind to my DVDs I watch in the winter on the trainer. I imagined Phil Liggett and Paul Sherwin talking about a guy who needs to take risks on the descents in the Alps and the Pyrenées if they want to be remain in contention for the end. So, I took the risk. I went too fast, got scared and braked a little and skidded out. I didn't hit my head. I got a guy to help me up and I jumped back in with some girls who fell off the back . I came over the line late, but I'll be fine for tomorrow's crit! Great job today girls, and I'll keep my tires down next time ;)
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