Drentse 8

1 down and 2 to go in Drenthe. Yesterday's race twisted around in dizzying loops through the narrow roads of Holland. The whole race was a fight for position and when it came to the moment of truth, I was not where I wanted to be... but I finished without mechanicals this time!

There was only a tiny itty bitty section of cobble yesterday, but in tomorrow's world cup race we will get cobbles for real! We checked some of them out this morning - here is a preview:

Flanders

Normally my spring classic is Hillsboro Roubaix, which is a pretty great race.... but this year I am excited to be doing the real thing! First race up for the team was De Ronde van Vlaanderen (otherwise known as Flanders). The race consists of several kms of cobbles and 8 notable climbs (three of them cobbled!). This would be my first time riding in the spring classics, first time racing in a world cup, and first time racing over cobbles... a lot of firsts for one race.

Position is key in Flanders and everyone is fighting to be in the front of the field... get too far back and you risk getting stuck behind crashes and getting caught in bad position when things break up. So the race is a battle from the gun -- everyone trying to squeeze through to the front as we zoom along narrow roads and weave through tiny towns. Before we had even begun the fun of cobbles and climbs, a girl on my left slid out into me... I veered, i teetered, i tried to stay up, but as I strayed off the road my tire got caught in a rut and plopped me down on my side. I popped back up and cyclocross mounted onto the bike still in the midst of the field and feeling ok. But my chain was off... so i stopped, got back off, and plopped the chain back into position as the remaining riders zoomed by and caravan cars proceeded to pass. I now had some chasing to do... my first time having to get through the caravan and back to the pack. I really wanted to get back to the pack!

I worked my way back onto the group (woohoo!) and as soon as I arrived, we took a left through town... coming out of the corner, I shifted up and went to jump back to speed when I heard ka-clunk-clunk-clunk-clunk. My derailleur was in my spokes and the shifters were not listening to my commands! I drifted back and came to our team car -- our mechanic tried working his magic as I drifted along the side the car (my first time getting repairs on the move). He adjusted the shifting the best he could... told me not to shift into my top gear... and sent me back on my way. I began chase #2 and realized "don't shift into the top" meant don't shift into the top 3 cogs! Then we hit the hills and my forward progress towards the pack started moving backwards. It was a grind up the climbs in my 19 tooth cog. At this point I realized the race was pretty much over for me...

But I was in Belgium on the Flanders course and how cool is that? -- so I kept pedalling along. I bobbled over the cobbles and trudged up the hills with a cadence of 10... coming up the cobbled climbs I was cheered on by hundreds of boisterous fans (this is when i told myself that i had to keep s-l-o-w-l-y turning the pedals over -- do not stop -- do not walk!). I made it 100km before the sag wagon came by. The guy told me I could keep riding if I wanted (and I really wanted to finish the course) but he failed to tell me that all the signalers and course directions would be gone! I took the next turn and noticed roads going off in every direction with nobody and no signs pointing which way to go. I was alone with no idea where I was and no idea where to go. And it was Easter so all the shops are closed and nobody is out and about -- oh s**t!

While trying not to panic, I found a nice man who pointed the way to the finish... only 20km down the road. At the same time the US car drove by and pulled up to give me a ride -- Double Rescue!!! YAY!

So not the best race, but quite the experience! And the team finished with two in the main group with Brooke the top American in 13th.

I'm looking forward to the Drenthe races starting in only two days -- and hoping for a bit more good luck.

Ready, Set, GO!

The racing is underway! March isn't even over and I have done 3 crits, 2 road races, and 1 stage race (plus numerous unsanctioned races to town line signs against my coach*).

The racing in CA is a different scene than in the midwest -- even the small races have big and deep fields with several teams represented for the women. And the races in March have been warm and sunny -- no wonder more people show up. The thing that is missing, however, are the friendly and familiar faces from the Chicago scene...

Having awesome teammates has made for an easier transition though. Tibco has not only a super strong roster, but a group of all around good people (both riders and staff). I am psyched to wear the jersey and be a part of it! We've gotten off to a good start with several wins and podiums and look forward to a lot more success this season (follow on twitter and facebook)

Next up for me are the spring classics:

• April 04 :

  Tour des Flanders

• Belgium

• April 08 :

  Drenthe 8

• Netherlands

• April 10 :

  Unive Ronde van Drenthe

• Netherlands

• April 11 :

  Novilon Eurocup Ronde van Drenthe

• N

• April 17 :

  Ronde Van Gelderland

• Netherlands

• April 21 :

  Fleche Wallonne

• Belgium

• April 25 :

  GP Stad Roeserare

• Belgium

Hopefully between racing my bike, eating waffles, and hanging out with the team, I will have some time to update the blog about my experience -- I can't wait!

*which I easily won :)

Camp!

(Teamies at the Top)

Headed down to camp in Carpinteria, CA early in the morning last friday and I can't believe it is over already. I'm sad to be heading back home now, but excited for the season ahead!

Camp was a lot of fun... We had amazing rides in the hills of Santa Barbara, including a grueling climb up Mt. Gibralter, a beautiful ride out to Ojai, and a fun race on the Gobernator Loop (go blue!). We also had fun times making meals (I think thai night was the winner.. mmmm), playing in the ocean (its cold!), and hanging out (we even made smores). The best part of camp for me was getting to meet the team. We've got an amazing staff and a wonderful group of racers. This season is going to be a ton of FUN!!

(Ojai Ride)

(Yum yum!)

(Fun fun!)

Training, training, training....

... and soon the season begins!!!

The whole Tibco crew is headed down to Carpinteria tomorrow for a week of team camp. I'm not sure what all team camp entails, but I'm really looking forward to it -- i love camp and i love riding my bike. A camp with bike riding has to be awesome!

You can follow the team through camp... and the whole season... on twitter and facebook and maybe even my blog if I start updating again :)

(This is a Happy Camper!)

:)

I've had good weather and good riding to start off the new year!

O Oregon

I headed up to Oregon for the last weekend of the GrandPrix in Portland and nationals in Bend. After being sick and off the bike for a good portion of the season, I didn't have high goals... but I wanted to get a little more cross racing in (it is a long wait until next year!), experience the Portland scene (I heard it was crazy!), and see all the great racing in Bend.

Portland was a little disappointing because we got COLD instead of mud. I was hoping to see first hand the epic mud conditions that usually define the Portland GP. The promoters still provided a fun course despite a lack of mud puddles, there were still great fans at the races (though I suspect the crowd was smaller than usual due to the cold), and the frites were delicious (mmm)! The actual racing was a bit of a bummer for me. Day 1 resulted in a flat and a lot of running. I think I was last at one point, but was able to bring back a few spots. Day 2 started off well until my lack of fitness caused me to drift back throughout the race. But it was fun to be out on the cross course again. It was also great to see a bunch of familiar faces from the midwest -- I've been missing my cross family since moving to CA!

After Portland, I enjoyed a fun week in Oregon. First, Aspen and I visited friends in Corvalis -- it was a brief visit, but we had fun times and great food. Then Aspen and I trekked across beautiful Oregon to Bend. The drive was spectacular! I was really hoping to see a bear fishing in the river along the road, but I guess they are sleeping now. I did see an enormous elk though -- at first I thought it was a mutant deer until Aspen pointed out that it was in fact an elk. Not quite as cool as a bear, but I was happy to see some wildlife along with the beautiful scenery.

In Bend, we met up with Aspen's dad and bro who came to race the masters and juniors nationals races. We spent pretty much the rest of the week at the races cheering on friends and family. I also rode the course a bunch in all sorts of conditions -- snow (my favorite), ice (not my favorite), mud -- fun fun fun!

My race finally came around on Sunday. Since I didn't get many UCI points this year, I was starting pretty far back and a bit nervous about moving up in the slick conditions. But I managed to get off to a good start and the first two laps, I was consistently moving up. I was also starting to feel a bit stronger on the bike again (good timing). Then I came to the off camber slip 'n slide section and took my turn at slipping and sliding. It wasn't a bad fall, but when i tried to stand up, my feet slipped out and this time I slid into the tape and got all wrapped up. After getting unwrapped, I had to get my chain untangled as well and this was not an easy task. It was a bit sad watching everyone go by as I wrestled with my chain.... but i finally got free and was back on the bike (now nicely decorated with course tape!). I was slowly picking off lost spots until another couple slips led to mechanicals and lots of running. Ugh! So it goes sometimes. Hopefully I got all my bad luck out of the way this year -- I am looking forward to better luck next year!