Heather Labance

My favorite fall ride

2008-10-18T19:55:00.005-05:00

Can you see Hight Point Monument up there? Love this loop de loop hill too!

Actually I love this loop de loop road better! Wahoooooo
Tomorrow I'm going on a reunion ride w/ the very first Advil-ChapStick team...well most of them. :) Can't wait.

A Wise Woman Once Wrote:

2008-10-02T19:34:00.001-05:00

Get up.
It sucks.
Then it doesn't.
Go train.
It sucks.
Then it doesn't.
Always.
In that order.

http://www.throughth3wall.com/

Some photos.....

2008-09-23T19:18:00.002-05:00

My new friend at the NJ fair....oh yeah I got my haircut...didn't you notice ME!!

Hiking on the AT

Maddie can hike to the top!

Rock Band!

2008-09-23T19:12:00.002-05:00

Rock Band up at the lake house!

Quick update for the family members that still check! We had a great family reunion in Westchester, NY last weekend. Nice to see my Mom's side of the family. This weekend we sadly have my grandmother's memorial here at the Chateau Hawthorne in Warwick, NY. I am excited to see my Dad's side of the family! Have not seen some of them in a LONG time.

Trying to adjust to becoming full full time teacher (up at 4:00 AM most mornings), Maddie's full full schedule of school, soccer, CCD, social events, etc. and trying to get some sort of consistent exercise in. Running seems to be the fastest/easiest. I am swimming again about once a week too!

Following the race season via www.cyclingnews.com and rooting for the US at Worlds

5k race

2008-09-01T19:20:00.002-05:00

We had Maddie's birthday bbq on Saturday, went to a friend's bbq on Sunday and got up to run in my first race on Monday. I had NO expectations b/c I don't really run...seriously anyway. I made Bill do it with me. He moaned and groaned all the way to the start line. We started in the wayyyyy back. So far back that when the starter shot the gun we just stood ther for like :15 waiting to actually move. We were back by the the guy being pushed in the wheel chair, the moms w/ strollers and the blind guy ( who Bill says I cut-off and that's why I dropped him!!) I don't remember that one! Anyhow. We had fun. I ran the 5k in 23 minutes, but at the first split they were off by about :30 (the difference from me waiting and finally starting my watch when I crossed the start line...I guess :30 after the start!~ so I ran under 23 minutes. Bill did awesome. He was like a minute behind me.

I by no means won any trophies for the day. I think I came in 170th overall...men and women. But next time......I'm pushing my way to the front! I did learn that I can do 5k without my knee really hurting too much. That's a good thing.

Bill's cousin, Diane cheered us on w/Maddie. She got one photo of me so maybe I'll post that when I get it.
Finished the day up at John and Diane's lake house for an awesome day of kayaking, swimming, filets, shrimp and MORE birthday cakes. Ahhhh.

OFF to work tomorrow! Time to hit the ground running every morning. Wish me luck.

One Step Forward....Two Steps Backwards

2008-08-27T20:17:00.005-05:00

This is Maddie putting on her OWN pedals to her new Fuji Mountain bike! Don't mind the messy garage...yikes!

I've been going into my school all week to get my classroom ready for my second graders. OMG there is so much work to do! This was not the first that I've been in the school mind you! I had gone in 3 days before. I seemed to take one step forward and two backwards all week! The
following ordeals slowed me down:

1. Jammed the copier and stuck pencils, scissors and protractors inside of it to solve the jam for 45 minutes...didn't work!
]
2. Trying to laminate some posters, etc. when my letter "O" went into the piping hot laminator twisted...it knocked into some medal bar and the medal bar got sucked into the hot melting plastic! I quickly pushed stop and reverse only to double the plastic wrapping around my "O" and the medal bar.....oh no! I got help from the librarian but we had to cut and run! Cut out the objects, leave a sign "Broken" and run! Oh jeeze.

3. I hung my word wall to the closet doors (5 posters hand-made taking hours to make and hang) for them ALL to slowly peel off and fall to the ground AS my new principal was in my room talking with me. She was very friendly and brought me to a senior teacher's room to show me another way to do the "word wall." I chucked my old ones!

4. I had to call ALL of my students on the phone b/c I sent them each a postcard telling them how much I looked forward to our new year together and that I looked forward to seeing them on the 4th......one day later than the ACTUAL first day of school. YUP, wrong day!

OK, there's more, but I do feel that I'm boring you now.

Bill and I have been running 5 days a week. It's awesome b/c Maddie rides her kick-butt Fuji mountain bike around this HILLY (short 12% grade hill on it) 1.2 mile path w/ us running after her. She is getting the hang of using gears and hand brakes. She's a stud. She actually ran one lap today and rode 3 laps on her bike. It's fun to get the exercise together.

Still Digging Deep...Just Moving On!

2008-08-12T10:16:00.003-05:00

The blog probably won't last much longer. I'm officially completely done w/ professional cycling. I'll be teaching full-time this fall. I will be doing some cross and I've been running 3x a week to see if the reconstructed knee will hold up for a triathlon! We'll see. I'll tell you this, running 6 miles 3x a week destroys my cycling legs. I was pedaling squares the other day on an "easy" group ride. 50 miles never felt so miserable!!! What's that about? Any tri people want to give me tips? It's only natural for me to try. I swam in college and ran in high school....add that to my cycling and well, it's worth a try right????? The bum knee is my only fear. Maybe I'll have to speed-walk my way to the finish line..ha!

Pedal Power.....Priceless

2008-08-05T19:39:00.001-05:00

Vermont Part II

2008-07-23T17:47:00.001-05:00

This is the backyard of Kevin and Ellen's beautiful Vermont house! Sweet jet skis!

Maddie had a lot of fun w/ Jessie (Kevin Kean's son).

Maddie and Jessie at dinner...Thanks Stew and Blake for a great birthday dinner!!!!

This one is for my friend George! Passing Breadloaf College...where George spent many summers getting smarter!

VERMONT!!

2008-07-21T15:42:00.000-05:00

On an 80 mile gap climbing ride! Had to be my favorite ride ever. One, because Kevin Haley kept me laughing and two, Bill was there!!

OUCH! The Brandon Gap was an awesome climb. Gradual (kind of) and long!

What a treat the cool water was after a day in the saddle. We went Kayaking (thanks to Stew and Blake) and splashed around. I have more photos that I checked off but for some reason they are not uploading to the blog. I'll add another blog entry w/ photos only. We stayed in a "ski house" w/19 people! The entire trip was organized by Skylands Cycling Club (With most of the leg work done by Buz)! Bill, Maddie and I packed our butts into Blakes SUV w/ her husband Stew, adorable son Sean and wonderful friend Catherine. Yup, 5 adults, 2 children, 4 bikes, a kayak, food, sheets, blankets, you get the picture. Actually it was quite nice. Lots of gutt laughing and slap happy giggling. Thanks Blake!

3 Generations of Advil-ChapStick

2008-06-28T18:29:00.008-05:00

The well-deserved ice-coffee stop! Check out the 3 generations of kits! Gotta go with the sleeveless! No horrible tan lines.

Today I met up with 3 generations of Advil-ChapStick for a nice long ride. The ride was hosted by Mara and her husband Randy. Three years ago we started this team and Emma, Mara, Reem and myself were all there pitching our idea to the CEO of Wyeth and an entire board room! We started this team. Emma left after the first season to begin a family with her husband. They now have a 10 month old beautiful boy, Sebastian. Mara raced one more season and left to help support her CRAZY...ultra distance runner husband, Randy! They are quite the team. Reem and I are hanging in there...the final two from the VERY beginning.

It was a great day to be on the bike with great friends and teammates!

Philly

2008-06-04T18:00:00.006-05:00

Photo is after Liberty Classic 2007

Anna told me to update my blog! So nothing new here, just another chest infection! Like I said, nothing new here. I pulled out of Philly and will go and support the team in any way that I can (other than actually riding my bike).

I asked the doctor if there was a reason why I'm always getting sick. He looked at me and asked if I was serious. Ya, I'm dead serious. Other cyclists are busting a gutt and destroying their immune systems...but don't seem to get sick so much!

I guess the combo of teaching 2nd grade full-time, my awesome daughter bringing home her first grade germs and trying to race/train just aren't great for the immune system. Go figure. Oh yeah, he said one has to average more than 6 hrs of sleep a night to have a healthy immune system. Guess I'm SOL!

Positive Attitude

2008-05-26T07:14:00.002-05:00

This weekend I zoomed out of my second grade classroom to meet up with Reem, Anna and Natalie. We jammed ourselves in Anna's car and off to Maryland for Bike Jam. We would meet Kirsten down there. We stayed with Mo, Reem's brother. It's always nice to see Mo!!

The race at Bike Jam was...well.... well Anna broke her leg in a very stupid crash (on a straight away). The race actually stopped for a couple of minutes to get all the wounded off the course! The rest of the team continued to race while thinking of Anna. We were setting up for the sprint when yet another girl was sliding across the road! I narrowly missed running over her head and skidded to a complete stop. Kirsten almost t-boned me and Natalie flew towards the grass. Reem was able to ride around the carnage and continue. When the sprint started I was standing next to my bike trying to step over screaming girls still attached to their bikes. OK, trying to remain positive!

Anna came home from the hospital that night. She remained positive and upbeat! She never complained about pain, never complained about lost opportunities, never complained about waiting for the rest of us to race in DC the next day and then come back to get her for the long trip from Maryland...and didn't even complain when I cracked into her leg with my elbow while she had it elevated in the car! He comments were, "It's OK, don't worry about it, but we should all be careful!"

Our race at DC was nothing to write home about. Another bad crash with ambulances called. I tried to get in some moves to be in a break...my best chance of getting a good result, but nothing stuck and I probably wasted too much energy. I'm still trying to race into fitness and it's humbling but it's coming...it's coming!

Anna continues to inspire me!

Numbers Back ON!

2008-05-19T04:32:00.004-05:00

Raced in Deleware this weekend and had a blast. Brought back all the bike love that was lacking in my hustle and bustle life. The promoter was great for this race. He made sure we were taken care of and set us up in an amazing host house. It was a huge playground for Maddie and Bill :)

We got second for the day which was pretty cool, but know that Jen would've taken first if we had a director with us to help us figure out who that Juice Plus girl was in the break. We didn't realize how fast she actually was...ooooops. It was nice to pin the numbers back on and suffer. Great weekend ended with a micro brew tour (Twin Lakes Brewery) mmmm mmmmm goood beer!

New Generation of Advil-ChapStick!

2008-05-11T19:00:00.007-05:00

Maddie's first "REAL" race was on Saturday! It had all that a race should have. Downhills, steep uphills, single track and of course a spectacular crash. Maddie was flying down a hill and caught the side of a LOG and flipped right over her handlebars! She was wedged between the log and her bike and still managed to get up...continue racing and WIN! That's my girl! I had a blast. I might bust out the fat tires for a while. It was so much fun.

Sunday we had a 2 hr Mother's Day hike and topped it off with dinner and chocolate peanutbutter cake! What a weekend.

Podium at Sunny King

2008-05-04T09:38:00.002-05:00

Photo by: Trish Albert/Southeasterncycling.com

I don't know what to tell you about the sox! You'll have to ask Jen about those guys. :)

CHANGE IN PLANS

2008-05-01T20:27:00.004-05:00

My Second Grade Classroom. Maddie came in to help me get organized!!!!!

My new job! Franklin Elementary School and my number one helper...Maddie!!!!!

Lots has happened since my last post. I decided to interview for a teaching position. I got it, accepted it and started one week later! I'm teaching second grade full-time at Franklin Elementary School. I'm exhausted with the major shift in life.

I had to help my family financially. Cycling and part time preschool just weren't enough. The timing of this job was perfect and horrible at the same time. We needed it...perfect! I'm headed to China and won't be able to go now...horrible!

I'm adjusting to the new schedule:

5AM Wake and get myself a HUGE cup of JOE and shower/dress, make my lunch, Maddie's lunch and breakfast

6AM Wake sleepy Maddie and get her dressed/breakfast pack our bags and

6:45 out the door with the dog (Beans). Drop Beans the dog off at my parents...she's a spoiled Weimaranner

7AM drop Maddie off at her friends house and her BRAND new bus stop since the change!

7:30 at my school

7:55-2:30 Teach 2nd Grade

2:30-3:30 Finish up work/lessons, etc

4:00 Bus stop to pick up Maddie go pick up the dog

5:00 then homework, dinner, (Maddie's softball practice...blah bblah blah

9:00 in bed and get ready to do it again.

Please help me figure out where to train! I train on the weekends and will try to do 1 or 2 days a week through June. The summer will be different and hopefully I'll be able to find a little fitness to help the team. I'll be doing some local/regional racing here and there and then some races with the team that I can get there and back by Monday AM ready to teach again. (Maryland, Deleware, Philly, etc). I'm doing a 6 mile hill climb TT on Saturday that I might die attempting!

I'm struggling a little bit with not training. Super frustrating and I'm quite irritable once I'm home!!! Just a big transition.

I've only been on the bike a handful of times and ran a few times (horrible pain that I don't recommend) since I started my new position 3 weeks ago. I think I will get better and faster at finishing my school work/planning etc and then there may be more time to ride. We'll see. Thanks for wondering where I went and if I was OK.

Amazing Women Who Can Do it All! Podium at Redlands!!!!

2008-04-06T10:01:00.003-05:00

Brenda charged for third place at the Redland's Crit yesterday. Awesome job for anyone, but even more impressive for someone with a teen ager and a full-time career!!!! We are proud! This is what Advil-ChapStick is about, amazing women who CAN do it all!

Tuesday Night Crit

2008-04-02T05:44:00.002-05:00

Team Photo from camp

It was 63 degrees yesterday!! I decided that I would race the Tuesday night crit in Augusta. I love this training race. I thought it would be a huge turn-out due to the warm weather, but not too many were there, well no women anyway. I guess the rain scared some away. I was told by the coach NOT to do anything in the race. I was instructed to sit in and go for the ride. WOW, that's hard to do. I just patrolled the front, took really weak turns at the front and watched others animating the race. I hated not being able to attack, or bridge or anything. I understand the reasoning. My body is still recovering from being sick and for some reason, I'm having a time at just recovering from a hard workout.

I ended up pulling off with one lap to go. My reasoning was....if I'm not going to "go for" the sprint, why the hell mix it up with these guys. I didn't want to hit the pavement and regret staying in that lap. Thankfully I pulled off and the rest of the guys sprinted to a great finish. NO CRASHES. Great job to Dave F., he was in the wind a lot and still won the sprint.......finger to the nose!

See you next Tuesday!

Back on Track..............

2008-04-01T06:47:00.003-05:00

Yeah, not sure why I can't fight a common cold off. I'm super frustrated, but trudging on. I was off the bike for a week with a stomach virus...my second one of the winter. I'm on the mend and back at it. Last weekend I went for a very nice, but chilly ride with Reem. We found some nice new roads (by accident). Sunday I rode with Teresa and her great teammates Audrey, Anne and Kristy. Watch out for them on the regional scene. They are strong, motivated and fun to be around. They slugged it out for almost 3.5 hrs in the hills and cold.

Advil ChapStick...More than just bike racers!

2008-03-27T06:35:00.004-05:00

Advil-ChapStick Mommies!!!

CHINA...OH THE PLACES I'LL BE!

2008-03-21T20:10:00.004-05:00

CHONGMING ISLAND
HONGKONG
SHANGHAI

I'll be racing in China in April. I will be going with a composite team for Champion Systems. More to come but some of the places I'll be are Shanghai, Hong Kong and Chongming Island. I'll be competing in a 6 day UCI stage race. Any traveling tips from those of you that do this all of the time????? Someone mentioned compressions socks....?

Tragedy and Awareness!

2008-03-19T06:05:00.004-05:00

http://www.rememberingkristygough.blogspot.com/

http://www.dothetest.co.uk/

I don't know how to just put this up on my site, so click above! It only takes a minute. With the recent tragedies in California, I thought this was fitting.

http://velonews.com/article/73458/questions-about-the-cupertino-crash-

Here is a good article on the tragic accident and the questions that arise. In the moment of a crisis heroes emerge. This article gives a detailed account of what happened, so be warned!

A Few More Photos...

2008-03-16T15:55:00.000-05:00

Art studio for our photo shoot...waiting and waiting. And applying and applying lip gloss.

For some, it was easy to stay focused and keep their head in the game...stay pretty for the shoot!!

Reem! Just applied lip gloss...I can tell. She's ready for her head shot.

Ahhhhh finally, coffee and pancakes. Now that's a good way to end a "hard" day!!

Camp...Little by Little

2008-03-16T15:48:00.001-05:00

Early Saturday morning we went for a FREEZING cold ride and then got our pretty on and stood outside while it snowed during our photo shoot. Actually we were waiting for the snow to stop.

This is where the first photo shoot was held...pretty nice, huh? Too bad we were not allowed to go inside for the shoot! Ha!

Nat!!! Gotta love her! I have to remind myself that she's not even old enough to legally have a beer or glass of wine!

Our second part of the photo shoot was held in a really cool art studio. At least while we waited around we were warm! More to come...

Team Advil-ChapStick Training Camp

2008-03-14T05:59:00.001-05:00

We stayed in a "cabin" in the woods! Dirt roads to get out to the beautiul Blue Ridge Parkway. Fast Legs Jen leaving for a ride.

Blue Ridge Pkwy was closed to cars (for the winter). I HATED these tunnels. Close your eyes, then cover your eyes with your hand. That is what you could see in the middle of these tunnels. I had no idea if I was even riding straight! I actually got so scared that I stopped and almost caused a huge pile-up! OOOPS.

This is a shot in the beginning of the tunnel. Once you turn that little bend.....it's BLACK.

See? Look at me! It's like Blair Witch Project! I'm scared to death. I'm still having anxiety about those tunnels....oh and all the damn "wild" dogs that chase and BIGHT you in the mountains of NC. Get some fences!

Asheville, Here I Come!!

2008-03-04T20:33:00.003-05:00

Advil-ChapStick at Montreal World Cup 2007

I leave for training camp on Thursday. Never been to Asheville before. Super excited. We're all arriving on Thursday, LOOOOONG road ride Friday, LOOOOOONG road ride Saturday then off to a photo shoot, Sunday we're going for a ride then out to the track! That'll be a first for me. I'm not sure what happens Monday, but I do know that I'll be flying home that night.

I have to get back to get ready for my trip to........CHINA! More to come on that one. Stay posted.

Geelong World Cup

2008-02-24T13:53:00.004-05:00

Wahooooooo! Congratualtions to Katheryn Curi Mattis who just won the Geelong World Cup. Katheryn was in break with an Australian for most of the day and managed to pull out the sprint of her life!! It's awesome to see US doing so well. It's going to be a FAST season that's for sure.

I hope Amy Dombrowski doesn't mind me using this photo. Sorry I couldn't get the winning sprint, but go to cyclingnews.com for better shots of Katheryn.

The Flu and Valentine's Day

2008-02-14T20:16:00.000-05:00

Happy Valentine's Day! We're all sick with the flu since Sunday!! Wish I could've tasted this delicious apple that Bill got me. It was still somehow satisfying eating it without tasting any of it. How can that be? My ideal Valentine Day would be a nice long, warm ride into the hills with Bill then to come home to a cozy dinner by the fire with Maddie and Bill. I guess alternating Tylenol/Advil with Theraflu and shots of my inhaler....shaking with fever and aches that penetrate my spine is all I'm going to get this year. Well, there was that apple!
Hope you had a good one.

Try to Keep Up!

2008-02-10T11:07:00.000-05:00

Lots has gone on in the last few weeks. I posted a lot of photos of just SOME of the chaos around here. The weather has been bad..mostly ice and cold. I ride the trainer more than I'd like, but get out to train in the cold grey days too. Even the icey/snowy days I manage to get out.

Can you tell who Bill voted for last Tuesday? Maddie made him this sign as he recovered from a tooth extraction! OUCH! It was not a fun experience for any of us!

Ironically, Maddie lost her first tooth today, two days after Bill's oral surgery to remove his tooth! Maybe the Tooth Fairy will leave Bill some $$$$ Cash $$$$$ tonight too! Wahoooo.

If you don't have kids or if you're not in touch with what's hot with the younger ones, take notes. Hannah Montana and Nintendo DS! Here Bill is waiting for the Hannah Montana 3-D concert to start! Now those glasses are HOT! :) Maddie, her best bud Josie and I wait in the LONG lines for the 3-D concert to start! Again...HOT glasses.

The entire line of little girls dressed in Hannah Montana T-shirts all playing Nintendo DS! Not even kidding.

CHECK OUT THE ICE! It's too icy and cold for the van to start or to back out of the driveway in a car or to walk.......but not to go for a 4 hr ride with Reem!!!!! I have no photos of the actual ride b/c it was too dangerous to take my hands of the bars or my eyes off the icy roads. Notice the van's hood up b/c it's DEAD!
It took Reem ten minutes to maneuver herself close enough to just barely reach her doorknob!

I literally slid all the way down the driveway and couldn't stop until I hung on to that tree down there.

This was my attempt to back out of the driveway! I just slid right into the lawn. I actually did a 180 degree turn later on in the day....almost hit the Advil Van! It was EXTREMELY difficult to line a car next to the van to jump start it. We just literally slid the car by pushing it right next to the van and then drove on the lawn to get it back out of there.

Freezing cold days (13 degrees here) = trainer in the AM and hikes on the Appalachian Trail in the afternoon. Here we are on a cool suspended bridge and boardwalk across the largest cattail swamp in NJ.

Finally, Maddie had hernia surgery! OUCH! The surgery went very well except for all the puking afterwards. :(

Here she is less than 8 hrs after surgery and after puking for 5 hours straight! Of course when I left to go teach a spinning class she was resting on the couch as the doctor ordered. Bill has a different idea of "she should lay down and stay still!"

Good Times

2008-01-19T16:03:00.000-05:00

Had a great ride with the guys today. Thank God for them! I really hate the days that are cold AND grey. No sun. I can stand 10 degrees colder than today if the sun was shining. So, I just have to meet up with the crazy guys from Skylands, Van Dessel, ACT and Westwood who ride outside every weekend no matter the weather.

Found this photo of some of us visiting a school in Virginia to talk about bike safety. We were in town for the US Open Championships last April. Most of these kids were just interested in the CRASH stories. Some even came out to cheer us on to a double podium, but not on the highest step! I'm sure they were disapointed...not that we didn't beat Tina Pic that day, but that there were no CRASHES!! Ha!

Can't wait for my new Northwave Farenheit winter BOOOOOOTS!!!

Photos of NYC

2008-01-01T23:18:00.000-05:00

We went to New York City on Dec 23rd to see The Grinch on Broadway, The TREE and Macy's Santa Land. Can you say over-crowded and over-stimulated!!!!On our way to see Santa and ask for Moon Shoes and a Harp!!!

Can you see the "big" tree in the background?

Getting ready to go on the ferry.

Bitter Sweet

2007-12-30T10:58:00.000-05:00

Yesterday was a bitter sweet day. It started with me waking to amazingly mild weather...so I thought. I stepped out on my deck at 8AM and it was really nice out. I hopped on my bike at 9AM and descended off my mountain.......and out of the mild weather. When I hit the valley I was in THICK freezing fog! What? I couldn't see more than a foot ahead of me and I'm sure the cars could not see me at ALL! I couldn't see the cars with lights on until they were right on top of me. When I entered the freezing fog the temp would drop 10 degrees!!!! No joke. I would try to push myself to go faster to get out of the dangerous fog and end up coughing and choking on the air. The air was so full of water...but freezing....it would choke me if I breathed too deeply.
Finally I found myself climbing out of the freezing fog into the beautiful sunshine....10 degrees warmer. Instantly I would fall back in love with my bike! I tried to stay on the ridges for as long as possible, but ultimately would have to drop back into the freezing fog and emerge out of it looking like a freezer burned peice of chicken! I would be COVERED in frost....head to toe.
So my ride continued to be bitter sweet as I dropped in and out of the freezer!

Furthermore, my sister who lives in Germany has been home in Vernon since September with her two beautiful daughters. Madeline was able to really get to know her cousins and aunt. My brother in law would come visit every six weeks and stay for two weeks which was really nice for Bill and I as well. We wish that they lived closer and that we could spend every Sunday night together for dinner. But unfortunately, they had to fly home yesterday. We were SOOOOO very sad...lots of tears and still crying! We are saving our pennies to go visit them in Germany as soon as possible. Maybe I'll even do a few races over there???

Off to ride with Dave now. Dave is an amazingly strong cat 3 soon to be cat 2 rider that lives in town. I'm taking advantage of him being home on holiday break from teaching high school. It's lonely training alone all the time and nice when I can get out with others. I've even been able to ride with Bill once this break. We saw an albino deer out on our adventures. Sure hope the hunters don't get him. All white with brown shins.

Pictures of Christmas and some rides to come......

Waiting and Waiting

2007-12-20T20:10:00.000-05:00

Today was a big day of waiting for me. It went like this:

1. Wait for the bus to pick up Maddie
2. Wait in the grocery store lines (shopped for 25 guests on x-mas)
3. Wait for the temperature to make it out of the 20's
4. Wait for three adorable Bear Cubs to run across the road. I almost took one out though!
5. Got on the bike and waited for 32 wild turkeys to cross
6. Waited for many many many cows to cross the road....finally snuck by them and caused one to kick, slip and fall on the road. OOOPS. Should have waited a little longer.
7. Waited for the sun to come back out but it didn't..
8. Waited for my toes to thaw out while riding, they didn't
9. Waited at the bus stop for Maddie again!

That's a lot of waiting! Nice ride today though...worth waiting for. I'm good and tired so now I'm waiting for Maddie to go to bed so that I can too!!

I've Been Tagged!

2007-12-09T10:06:00.000-05:00

I've been tagged by Amy Dombrowski. I've never been tagged before so here it goes. I am supposed to tell you five things that you may not know about me already.

1. I did not ride a road bike or own a road bike until I was 30 years old! A year and half after my daughter, Madeline was born.
2. I am a debutante! Yes, I wore a tierra and all!! I danced at the Quadrille Debutante Ball in NYC
3. I swam and played soccer in college.
4. My mom is a German citizen and my sister lives in Germany with her family for 15 yrs now.
5. My nickname on the team is Dorie (the fish from Nemo) b/c I forget everything....especially the torture of racing. I think that's a great quality of a racer....forget the pain and do it again the next day.

There it is! Now I'm supposed to tag five friends. So I tag:
1. Natalie Klemko because she is an up and coming star on the bike!
2. Bowles b/c she cracks me up
3. Kirsten Robins b/c she's livin the life!
4. Tim Chien b/c he's the best director/swanny/mechanic out there!
5. Rochelle Gilmore b/c she rocks!

Cross in the Snow = Frozen Toes!!!

2007-12-02T16:39:00.000-05:00

When you see the above photo on the way to a cross race..... beware of the photo below!

I had NO intention of going to Holiday Cross when I heard the forecast...but I got this vey convincing email from Kevin to come help my club (Skylands Cycling Club) win some cup they've been dueling for with Team Somersett. I'm a sucker...it doesn't take much to convince me to ride my bike. I raced last weekend in the MUD for the first time ever and this weekend....SNOW for the first time ever!

It took me a full lap to trust myself...thus I was in DEAD last heading into the second lap. I mean last of all the masters and juniors and women......LAST! Hmmmmm now what? Well I slowly trusted the yet again borrowed bike that I was on this time it was Kevins! When Bill yelled at me to RACE my bike....It finally clicked. Race your damn bike Heather! So I started to race and passed the other girls to win in the snow.

I hobbled to the car and told Bill NOT to let Maddie come in b/c I needed to scream as my frozen feet defrosted. I held on to the the holy sh_t bar in the front seat and screamed every bad word I knew! It took about ten minutes of hell but finally my feet thawed.

OH, for those of you that care....those are not actually MY toes in the photo! Mine look a little bit prettier than that!

Yoga a sin? C'mon!

2007-11-29T23:03:00.000-05:00

Zabina...our ten yr old Weim on a hike!

Well, Since my last post I've had two bouts of bronchitus, a sinus infection, two ear infections and now...once again am coughing and starting a new cold. I'm almost ready to get blood work to see what or who is trying to kill me! Most likely it's the 42 four year olds that I teach. Yes, 42 of them!! I teach two sessions of preschool each having 21 four year olds in it. Training has been interrupted so much that I can't even say that I've started. I've been on the cross bike five times once was in a race which might I add I won. This win makes me the back to back NJ STATE CHAMPION...I really can see myself falling in love with cross if I could just stay healthy!

Cross is fun! Partly b/c I wear Bill's shoes which are two sizes too big...called the accelerators....and have no spikes, I ride a borrowed bike then brake the hanger on it and have to borrow another bike to race, it's short, it's muddy, lots of cowbells (from my entire family including Maddie, Bill, my sister and nieces from Germany and my Mom) and hot chocolate with whipped cream afterwards. Now who wouldn't fall in love!!

So...Pat Robertson says that Yoga is a sin! Hmmmmm......then I am confirming that I am a sinner. Yoga seems to be the only exercise that I've been able to do consistently since the off season began! I even stood on my head today! Now that feels good. Maybe Pat should try standing on his head for a while...a long while!

One Happy Tomato!

2007-10-30T14:48:00.000-05:00

These photos say it all! Hiking with Maddie and Bill up the Appalachian Trail to this beautiful look-out. And this wonderful tomato grew in our garden this summer and we couldn't resist taking photos of it. We never could get ourselves to actually eat it.

Anyway, I've been trying to decide what to do with my life. I havn't come up with the grand answer yet. I do know that I will try to race one more season, but with a modified racing schedule. I am teaching preschool three times a week, coaching and teaching spinning classes. Next year I hope to continue to coach and work full-time back in the public school district.

Team Advil-ChapStick looks to be set for the 2008 season. We have some great new sponsors lined up and the team looks to be a strong one! I'm very excited about it.

I'm suffering from a bit of bronchitus, but hope to jump on the cross bike this weekend. I'll let you know how that pain goes!! Training really hasn't started again for me.

Boring blog entry, but I was catching heat about letting it go for over a month. Hopefully more cycling photos after this weekend.

Random Shots from the Beach, etc.

2007-09-11T13:48:00.000-05:00

Training at the beach on a cruiser in my PJ's. This is actually at 6AM....so don't knock it!

MADDIE AND HER FRIEND AT THE AQUARIUM. THIS STINGRAY REALLY LOVED POSING WITH HER!

I've been busy not riding my bike. I'm actually recovering from an easy 30 minute run. Jeeze running is hard. My poor little muscles don't like all that impact! Ironically, I can't even go to the cyclo-cross race tonight b/c I'm too sore to even dismount, none the less jump over barriers!!

Maddie started school and so did I. All is well.

Thater...Not Ready to Race

2007-08-28T07:20:00.000-05:00

I guess I jumped the recovery gun a little too soon. I tried to race at Thater on Sunday and it didn't really work. I got the first prime coming off Laura VanGilder! I was happy that I was still sprinting well. Laura countered my sprint after the line and I could barely hold her wheel. My legs were screaming and that feeling didn't stop for about an hour into an hour and half race. I was unable to go after any primes or moves for the rest of the race basically. I really hate these kind of days on the bike....it's horrible suffering, but you're not sure if it's productive suffering. I really love to suffer when I know that it is making me stronger or will help me or a teammate pull off a great result. But beating myself up when my body is trying to recover isn't fun.

I tried to get into good positioning for the sprint....I just didn't have the legs or head to do what needed to be done. I kind of pushed my way up to eighth wheel and stayed there. I was gapped off of the main sprint by another rider, but ultimately.....that's my fault for being eigth wheel and that's what place I finished!! Oh well.

Reem and I were both in bad accidents in Chicago and we were the only Advil riders to go to Thater exactly 7 days later! Not great team strategy by any means...send the two with recent concussions...I still have stitches in me! Reem suffered and dropped out early into the race, but helped earn the team some points for the crit series. We were in third place behind Aarons and Cheerwine going into Thater. Not bad!

Clinic

2007-08-27T08:50:00.000-05:00

While I was at the beach trying to recover fom multiple injuries, I taught a clinic to a great group of women. CSE Riptide Cycling team is run by the highly talented and motivated Teresa DiSessa. We did a tactics clinic trying to prepare for the NJ State Crit Championships. I had great faith in them. They did great...they controlled the race and made the race challenging. These are the teams that can make NJ racing great! They did awesome!

Here is a picture of us imediately after our ride...notice how dark it was. We rode home on the bike trail so that we didn't get hit by car, but it was pitch dark in there. Bats were zooming down at us...I think they were attracted to our cool frogs (blinking lights that Teresa gave us). It made for a disco effect in the dark woods!

Dazed and Confused...But Good News

2007-08-19T16:28:00.000-05:00

http://www.cyclingnews.com/photos/2007/aug07/USPROcrit07/index.php?id=/photos/2007/aug07/USPROcrit07/USPROcrit073/CYC-UCC289

http://flickr.com/photos/seemann/1177434357/in/datetaken/

There is good news and bad news from the US National Championships.
Good news....we raced awesome! Kept the pace up when it slowed, covered moves, I took two primes and the biggy!!! The $500.00 midway prime!! Sweet leadout from Bowles and a sweep from Jen. My sprinting legs were definitely here today. I knew that I could deliver Jen to a great spot so that she could sprint to the podium. I also felt that I could hold off the field for a podium spot as well.

Jen just missed being our US National Champion! She got second to Tina Pic. So close. I on the other hand was taken out HARD from behind with two laps to go. I saw Erica Allar go down (not sure why?)and thought I was just about around the carnige when WHAM some idiot hit me from behind.

I ended up with a concussion...stitches on site in my leg and lots of bumps and bruises. Looks like I have a second hip right now. The problem was that there were two laps to go...no more free laps and I HAD to finish the race to get all my prime money! The announcer was rooting for me and so were all the fans. I zoomed around the course cross-eyed to finish without being lapped. Reem also went down in a much earlier crash and whacked her head too! We're flying out VERY late tonight even though we were told not to fly due to the head injuries. The blind leading the blind....
Please don't hold me responsible for anything I've just written...I can't remember yesterday's race AT ALL. I heard that I felt great, raced great and was in a crash on the last lap...that much I've been told. :)

CHICAGO!!

2007-08-18T13:43:00.000-05:00

OK, we are in Chicago for Crit National Championships. The course is technical and tricky so I'm happy that there is a race Saturday (today) on the same course. Sunday is the Champioinship. But.....it is raining and our director is advising against racing today. I've never been told that it is NOT a good idea to race b/c the weather. I guess the logic is that there are only three of us out here to help our speedster, Jen. We don't want to crash and get hurt before tomorrow and we don't have a mechanic here or any spare bikes. Jen is definitely not racing today and she wouldn't have even raced if it was sunny....she's focused on one day....tomorrow.

I think I will race to check out the course and see how I can be the most help to Jen tomorrow. It will be hard to take too many risks though....I have my director in the back of my head telling me not to even race! Not a great way to start a crit.

But, I left my family and sacrificed two days at the beach to RACE my BIKE! That's what I'm going to do.

Now if only my coffee would kick in and wake my tired butt up. I'll let you know how it goes.

Family, Friends and the Fair

2007-08-10T10:55:00.000-05:00

This is Maddie and one of her best buds, Anna. Yahoooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

I have a week before I fly out to Chicago for US Criterium National Championships (that's a mouthful). I'm having a great time with my family and friends. I've spent a few days at the beach (the lake), relaxing rides with Bill, playdates with Maddie and her special friends and of course....The NJ State Fair. This is held at "The Fairgrounds" where I race on Tuesday nights and where an aswesome cross series is. So it's fun to see it in it's tranformed state. WOW...so many rides, lights, fried food, cows, horses, pigs, elephants, camels...and more!!

I head out of Chicago on Friday. I'll race Sat and Sunday and then fly back to NJ. Bill will pick me up in the middle of the night and bring me to "The Shore" or the beach for you non-NJ people. We will spend a week there with Bill's gracious parents and sister, Sarah. LOTS of fun.

Until then.....

It's So Hot in Charlotte!! And it Takes So Long to Get There!!!

2007-08-07T06:50:00.001-05:00

Photo taken by Natalie Klemko!

Bowlsie here thinks that wrapping this shirt on her head keeps her cool. I think it traps her body heat in and certainly doesn't make her LOOK cool. The debate goes on. What do you think?

Presbyterian Hospital Invitational (Formly known as Bank of America Crit) is a big money crit that attracts all of the big teams and sprinters! We were going and we were bringing Jen McCrae...our "big" sprinter.

My road trip began at 7Am. I dropped Maddie and Zabina off at Blake's then swung back to pick up Anna Milkowski at my house. We drove the BIG van to Kutztown to pick up Kirsten and Davide. The Colavita men followed us in their team car....we had a convey! Having this "convey" made for some laughing and joking around. We stopped a bunch of times before settling on where to actually have lunch...Panera Bread was the winner and Cracker Barrel was the BIG loser! Sorry guys. Those Italian and Spanish racers really love that place...yuck. It took us 13 hours to get to our host house, a beautiful condo right in Charlotte. Our host family, John and Mary, took our entire team and their beautiful family (with awesome grandchildren) out for dinner...all 25 of us! I imediately ordered a nice Belgium beer to recover from the trip.

OK, the race. It was HOT and there was a lot of HOOPLA going on. Rachel, my childhood friend, drove into Charlotte to see her first bike race ever! She was thrown into all the excitement and enjoyed the entire thing. The race was pack full of crashes. I seemed to escape the bad ones but went down in one and was caught up in two more......in these two I chased back on! Take the free lap, I know...somehow I just react and get the hell out of there instead of think and take the free lap. Oh well. Jen took herself out with her water bottle. Strangely her bottle popped out and bounced off another bike and slid right under her back wheel while she cornered. She slid out and lost half her shorts! She took a lap and got right back in there. Jen was able to muscle her way up there and got a very respectable fourth place finish! Tina Pic won, Gina Grain and then Laura VanGilder. I came in still in the money...19th. I was really tired and HOT!

Next day: Jen flew home and the rest of us were off to Hanes Park Criterium. Only a 5k purse, but all the teams from the day before were there. I felt MUCH better in this race even though it was like 100 degrees. I tried all day to get in a break, but nothing stuck. Not even the break with all the top sprinters from the top teams stuck? I lost some positioning in a crash on the last lap and tried to sprint in for some money anyway. I'm still not sure what place I got. I didn't stick around for results and only the top 4 have been posted. Tina won again!

Anna, Kirsten, Gina Grain, and I took off for the LOOONG trip home. We managed to laugh and have fun all the way home in the rain! Even the dead stopped traffic for 90 minutes didn't get us down. Anna just walked around befriending all of the truckers to find out what was up! Back to Panera Bread and 11 hours later we dropped off Gina and Kirsten in Kutztown. What the heck were the Amish girls and boys doing out on their bikes at 1:30AM???? It was kind of creepy. They were out in "gangs." :) Don't they have to get up early and milk cows or something? I had two very strong espressos at Kirsten's and off we went again. I had to be very careful not to hit the Amish on the way out. Anna and I got in around 4AM!!! I'm still trying to recover from the lack of sleep.

The next day Bill stayed home so that we could have a fun day with Maddie. We went to the movies (thought it would be fun, but I could sit and rest too)! We saw UNDERDOG!

Maddie Made Cyclingnews.com

2007-08-02T21:11:00.000-05:00

I was asked to write a brief article on how I manage motherhood and professional cycling. I just skimmed the surface...I didn't want to overload the average cyclingnews reader.

Check it out if you'd like.

http://www.cyclingnews.com/riders/2007/diaries/uswcdp/?id=uswcdp0710

Home From Toona

2007-07-31T18:09:00.000-05:00

This is a photo of a "Barn Raising" They stopped to watch us zoom by....pretty cool.

Sat: Killer 98 mile day

I suffered like I've never suffered before. Let's put it this way. I was in the caravan three times and still made it in the front group. It took me almost 45 minutes to catch back on to the front group...just in time for the second monster climb....not good timing... Mara and Kristen were up the road and then there was my group. I tried really hard to position myself well for the sprint hoping to hit the podium. Well, I almost wrecked with Lynne Bessette and there was no good positioning after that. I ended up 15th for the day I think. Kristen won and Mara came in afterwards....Amber Rais won our field sprint. The team suffered behind me. Anna and Bowles were in an early break and got a jump on the first climb. I caught up with them towards the end of the climb where Bowles helped launch me to try to catch the caravan and front group. It took some time....but I got there.

Sunday: Crit averaged over 42kph! We were only a few minutes slower than the men. Our large peleton dwindled to about 30 women in the end due to the high speeds and torture!! I suffered in the begining and used Bowles to get into a better position. Anna covered attacks and even attacked on her own! With 7 laps to go I really got myself into a good spot. I was about 6th wheel onl the fifth lap when a Cheerwine rider crashed into my front wheel. Someone swerved causing her to jerk and thus hit me. I flew into (literally) the hay bails and bounced off of them and continued to race. I closed the gap, opened my brakes (b/c I knew that my front wheel was not true) and tried to regain a good position before the sprint! I was about 11th wheel into the final turn and ended up what I thought was 9th. I come to find out it was 11th??? Still confused on that one. My wheel was completely crooked and the brake still rubbed when it was wide open! So I was lucky to even get 11th I guess. My wheel went completely flat immediately after the race....more luck I guess.

I leave for North Carolina on Thursday...11 hr drive in the van!! It will be fun to race with Jen again. She's our super fast sprinter!!!! Wahooooooooooooooooooooooooo! Stay tuned.

Drove home with Anna and got in around 12 midnight. Slept horribly b/c I missed Maddie so much that she slept in our bed...with me, Bill and Zabina (our huge dog). Not good for sleep. But got almost 12 hours in last night.

Some More Toona!

2007-07-27T18:11:00.001-05:00

Natalie and her new boyfriend while Alex is away in Europe

OK, this may be very boring to read, so read at your own risk. You've been warned.

We've been suffering a lot and laughing more.

Well, the girls have a new nickname for me. Dorris. That is the fish in Finding Nemo that can't remember anything....ever. I have this problem after racing hard races that I can't really remember the course or some of the the action that takes place on it. I don't even like to listen to the talking on the radio because it distracts me from concentrating on the race. Sad, huh? This being said, I may leave out some important details of the race, but I'll do the best that I can do.

Mon: TTT

Tue: New course

Wed: 95 mile point to point race:

Very hard course. Our team tried to be present in any breaks that formed. We missed one and I started to panic. I went to the front and tried to assess if I could bridge or not and then all of the sudden Dotsie Baush (Colavita) jumped with a Webcor (Helen Kelley maybe?) I jumped on them and we bridged together. Now that Colavita got there all of the BIG teams were represented with one, two and Webcor even had three riders. Only about five of us worked the break and the others sat on and "rested." We got up to a five minute lead on the rest of the field, but still had a very big climb to get over. Long story short. Four of the five that worked in the break got popped off during the climb....I was one of the four. I learned not to commit myself 100% to a break if I'm the one that still needs to be the "closer." Laura VanGilder, Robin Farina and I worked hard to hold off the chasing group of GC riders. They caught us and we were able to hold on to their crazy fast pace into the finish. I was in the break for about 70 miles! I hard day at the office for sure!! Kori Seehafer won for the day and to keep her yellow jersey.

Thurs: 60 miles Circuit race in Holidaysburg

Only 60 miles, this should be a nice recovery day for me after yesterday. No holiday at Holidaysburg. We screamed through this sixty miles. Our time was only 10 minutes slower than the men's time....that's fast! It never seemed to let up. I was the only one in our team to stay with the main group. There were many shelled riders! I got 12th and Laura VanGilder won with a long uphill sprint. She's amazing.

Friday: 77 mile Circuit

We did four laps around this course that was pretty flat, pretty boring. The team really worked well to cover breaks while I conserved a bit. I bridged up to one break that had all the big players in it. But that didn't stick. Anna covered a break that did stick! She did awesome covering many breaks and was NOT lucky to get into this one. She ended up 12th and was not excited about the result, but we were proud of her anyway! Laurne Franges won. It hailed, rained, and thunder and lightening was RIGHT over head. Another wet day! But what an "easy" day for me since Anna was in the break! Sweet.

Off to go get my rub!!!

Killer Killer Killer stage tomorrow.

Toona TTT and New Stage

2007-07-25T08:46:00.000-05:00

OK, The TTT was a lot of fun. I've never done a team time trial before. It was fun to be out there with my teammates suffering together. Everyone did what they could to keep it fast and hard. I ended up pulling for the last 3k or so. I was really jacked up by then :) We ended up 8th team overall and only 10 seconds behind powerhouse Cheerwine...not bad.

New stage....49 mile Point to Point. VERY difficult stage. It had STEEP climbs and crazy technical descents that we did in the pouring rain. Lots of sliding riders on switchbacks. Allison Powers flew down the mt and dropped us all. She is an amazing descender and with the rain, there was no way to hold her wheel. She won the stage and jersey in a solo victory. I was able to stay with the front group through all the climbs...clinging on for dear life. As we crested the last climb there was a false flat with a head wind. I was DEAD. The pace accelerated up and over and I just didn't dig to stay on it. I lost contact with the front group and finished a few minutes back with Iona Wynter-Parks and Brooke Ourada. Not happy about losing contact with the front after all of that. I descended in the rain in the front and climbed in the front and then just messed up in the end. VERY disappointing. Today is 100 mile race. Looks like more rain today. BRRRRRRR!

Toona!!!

2007-07-23T07:42:00.000-05:00

OK, quick blog entry. We're at the hardest stage race of the year in Altoona, PA. We had a horrible experience with our "to be" host guy. We were greeted with extreme hostility. Aparently our host guy didn't know we were coming yesterday. He had quite the temper. There are eight of us and he had a two bedroom house, one bedroom for himself and one for us! The rest of us would stay in his trailer parked out back....no running water....etc. I think we could have made the best of it and just got 'very' close to one another. But the hostility and anger was pretty upsetting to us. We didn't have Cindy, our director with us and had to make a quick decision on our own to leave! Natalie was particulary upset with the host guy's cell phone ringtone......"I'm in Love With a Stripper." OK enough said. We were outta there. We wondered around Altoona...trying to find housing in the dorms. There were no dorms left.
We finally got a house to rent for all eight of us!! We pulled up around 11:30 PM starving and exhausted from the trip. There were NO beds, no tables, no chairs, no pots/pans/plates etc etc. Empty Empty house. Bowles and Kirsten ran out to the Walmart (open 24/7) and bought air mattress' for all!! Linda, the host housing coordinator gave us sheets, pillows,etc from her home.
Asleep by 1AM......woke up and found a cute little mouse running across the kitchen floor.....note....there are no chairs/tables, so I am sitting on the kitchen floor right now.

On the positive side....there's wireless!!!! Stay tuned...Team Time Trial this evening.

US National Championships: Road Race

2007-07-23T07:13:00.000-05:00

USA Elite National Road Race Championships

Riders in attendance:
Heather Labance
Natalie Klemko

Natalie and I lined up for the start of the US National Road Race Championships alongside a very impressive elite field. Kristen Armstrong, the current World Champion Time Trialist and the past National Champion was looking for a repeat win in Seven Springs, PA. Webcor Builders had their “A” team there to support their phenom, Mara Abott. The course was a very challenging 28 mile hilly loop that we raced two times.

The big teams were very active in the first lap. There were many attacks leading to the base of largest climb, but the field still had all of the strongest contenders in it at the start of the climb. At the steepest section of the climb a small group splintered off the front of the pack. I was in the chase group and Natalie in a few groups behind me. I worked with a few girls from Aarons to try to regain contact with the select group of climbers up the road. I hit 60 miles per hour bombing down the big descent. I was able to see the group not to far ahead of us then. We were able to grind it up a few hills and catch the climbers on a long highway climb. As soon as we latched on to this group, Mara Abott attacked. I was exhausted from the chase and was unable to respond. The racers were shattered all over the highway. Eight riders got away again and again, I was in the chase group.

My group ended up finishing about a minute and half behind the leaders. Mara Abott beat out Kristen Armstsrong for the National title. I had some amazing riders in my group, so I had my work cut out for a top ten finish. I had to get first or second in an uphill sprint to be in top ten. Laura VanGilder exploded with a massive sprint in her usual form. I was able to go with her and so did three others. The tippy top of the hill flattened out for about 25 meters so I flipped my gears into the “big” ring hoping to sprint by the two in front of me. The shifting caused a delay and the two pulled slightly more ahead of me. I regained my momentum and began to catch…..but not in time for the finish. I ended up third in my group which was 11th overall. It was a respectable finish in such a field, but still disappointing that I couldn’t squeak out a top ten. Natalie finished 34th overall in the elite field, but her competition was against the 15 other U23 (Under the age of 23) riders. Natalie finished 8th in the U23 competition.

This Is A Test....No Cheating!

2007-07-15T15:59:00.000-05:00

The question:
How did Heather get 21st at the Time Trial at US National Championships?

A. Her Tailbone (that she recently broke) was hurting like mad.
B. She crashed into the barriers on one of the FOUR turn arounds!
C. She missed her start.
No cheating.......

Answer....C!

US National Championship Time Trial…not a good day to have a first ever missed start! I missed my start by about 20 seconds! I could ramble on all the reasons why this happened (I started to come up with a list) but it all comes down to ME.

I screwed up and I will never do that again. I wanted to be sweating and out of breath from my warm-up at the start of the TT, so I didn’t allow enough time for mishaps or setbacks. I took off to get my bike measured ( this is a requirement right before the start of your TT to make sure that the setup is legal) and cut the line. Ironically, I had my bike measured by the officials an hour before my start, just to make sure everything was good. He joked at how the women are over-achievers and we should give a little talk to the Juniors! HUH, maybe the juniors could teach me how to get to my start on time.

My director had her arms in the air (like what the hell are you doing?) and I picked my bike up and ran it down a dirt path to the start. I wasn’t even able to use the ramp! They yelled for me to start next to the ramp on a little white line for idiots who miss their start! I took off with a full water bottle that I had intended to leave with my director. At some point in the race I decided to chuck my bottle. Not so easy across two lanes of racers. The TT course was on a highway. They made cone lanes that we snaked up and down four times. There was a storm brewing and the wind was amazing, not in a good way though. There never seemed to be a tail wind. The wind was coming from the side or a headwind. I was gusted clear across my little lane a few times. More than ¾ of the way through my race, the rain started and the wind stopped! I would have much rather been racing in the rain with no wind. I couldn’t go much slower through the tight turn arounds in the middle of the highway! The times just got faster and faster as the riders got wetter and wetter!

The TTtook me about 33 minutes and 40 seconds and now add on the time that I lost being late….and no start ramp. The good news is that I didn’t lose by 30 seconds, not even close. Kristen Armstrong just killed everyone. She beat second place, Amber Neben by 50 seconds and third place Christine Thourborn by a 1 min and 30 seconds. Crazy fast!! I guess that’s why she’s the World Champion.

So today, the day after the TT is my birthday. I started my day with a nice cup of coffee and oatmeal bread with homemade strawberry jam on it on Linda (our host mom’s) deck. It really is beautiful here. We’re right across from the 7 Springs Mountain Resort. Then Natalie and I went for a ride. Natalie only did about 20 minutes with me and then turned around. She has a crit tomorrow and wanted to rest up. As I rode off into the hills I thought, this is not a great idea. I have no tube or pump in case I flat. Not one minute later, Chris, my coach rides right up to me. I was soooo happy to see him. How lucky was I that we bumped into each other in the middle of nowhere! We did the road course two times. JEEEZE it’s hilly. I was really tired when I got back to the house. Chris escorted me back to my development. I think he was afraid that I was about to BONK! Huh, maybe he was right. J

I finished my birthday at a wonderful BBQ that the Team Swift parents had. They made such a wonderful spread of food and even made me a birthday cake!!! How cool was that! The kids on Team Swift are great. They are all racing very well out here at Nationals. I can see why Laura enjoys working with these athletes and their parents.

OK, off to bed!

Nature Valley Grand Prix...What a Pain in the BUTT!

2007-06-30T07:58:00.000-05:00

NO THIS IS NOT MINNESOTA.....no camera on this trip...sorry!

Literally....NVGP was a royal pain in the butt for me. I ended up breaking and spraining my butt in the second to last stage! OUCH. Please pass the donut....both the jelly filled and the one that I now sit on! If you're interested....here is a race report that I whipped up quickly on each stage.

Nature Valley Grand Prix Stage Race

Riders in Attendance

Laura Charameda
Natalie Klemko
Heather Labance
Kirsten Robbins

Stage One: Downtown Saint Paul Criterium

The first stage of Nature Valley really set the pace for the entire week. First off, our director, Laura Charameda decided to take one for the team! We were supposed to have six riders for this long and grueling stage race, but due to injuries we were down to three! In able to have a car in the caravan we needed four riders to start the stage…so we thought. Laura decided that she would direct us while racing with us and Tim would take over in the pit. Laura never realized that she would be starting in four at of the five stages that week!! So then there were FOUR!! Yippee. This criterium started of extremely fast and never let up. It was 60 minutes long with 4 sprint competitions and one Queen of the Mountain competition. A small break got off the front immediately after the Queen of the Mountain sprint. This break contained the World Champion, Kristen Armstrong who drove the pace until the break was secure. The peleton never caught the group of seven. Catherine Cheatly from Cheerwine attacked the break to win the first stage. Team Advil-ChapStick finished with the main group. We were confident that our legs were shocked into action and we would be ready for the next stage.

Stage Two: Cannon Falls Road Race

This stage is a 66 mile road race infamous for its severe winds and challenging dirt sections. Team Advil-ChapStick worked hard so that I could be in a safe position for all of the climbs, sprints and the dirt section. Under Laura’s direction in the field, the team was able to get me drinks and move me into good position throughout the day. We came into the finishing circuits all together. Kirsten stayed by my side helping me move up. My bike was making a strange noise that concerned me, so I was unable or unwilling to sprint with the mass pack. I was able to finish with the group and lost no time in the stage. The noise on my bike was just a loose cassette that Tim fixed up with no problems. I really love my Time bike and trust it more than I trust myself at times.

Stage Three: Saint Paul Riverfront Time Trial 5 miles

Time trials always excite me and cause great anxiety. No matter how long or how short, time trials are all about suffering. It’s you against the clock and the fastest time wins. Unfortunately for us, the World Champion of time trials was racing at Nature Valley Grand Prix. The World Champion put in a huge effort and won by almost 30 seconds! I ended up tied for 12th with Laura VanGilder about 18 sec away from the podium. Not bad, but still some practice of the TT bike is necessary!

Stage Four: Mankato Road Race 87 miles

Our luck ran out about 20 miles into this race. I was taken down in a crash. I flipped up in the air and landed directly on my tailbone. When all the “crashing” noises stopped I hopped up and felt excruciating pain around the tailbone. Upon my return from Minnesota, I found out that I fractured my tailbone. I fixed my bent up bike and started to pedal ever so gingerly. The race was well up the road and the caravan of cars and support vehicles were too. Tim waited for me and tried to motorpace me back onto the caravan. This is “technically” illegal, but usually overlooked if a huge crash was involved. The Com car came and yelled at Tim to move on...and he did. I was on my own! So about 25-30 girls went down and only a handful was ever able to “catch” back on to the back end of the race. After a 25 minute time trial….I was able to catch the race, but I was so tired and in a lot of pain. Once I caught on to the back of the race, Laura pulled me right to the front so that I could drift back and rest for a minute or two. The team did such a fantastic job keeping me in a good position for the remainder of the race. My other savior was the Advil that the team passed along to me! It really took the edge off of my pain and allowed me to continue to race. Natalie pushed me right to the front of the pack for the finishing circuits. We had to do four laps with a steep, long climb in every lap. Kristen Armstrong attacked on the first lap and rode away from the rest of us. There was a small chase group of five riders and then my chase group. I sprinted in for seventh and 13th for the stage. Tim took care of me from there. He was able to loosen up all the tight muscles around my tailbone. I took some Advil PM and off to bed. One more grueling race to go….with a broken butt!

Stage Five: Stillwater Criterium 50 minutes

This race is said to be the hardest criterium in the US. It starts at the bottom of a 25% grade hill that we must endure about 16 times. Most of field will be pulled from the course or quit before the end. This much is a known fact. It’s a race of attrition….survival of the fittest! The first three laps were not good at all for me. My tailbone was screaming for me to stop. I was pretty far back from the leaders, Kristen Armstrong and Mara Abott. I was actually in the fourth chase group. It was looking good for me at all. I decided I would grit it out and try to catch one group at a time and go from there. I was able to connect with the third group. This gave me hope. I didn’t Kirsten or Natalie at first and thought that maybe they had been pulled with the others. I managed to cling onto the third group, again giving me hope and inspiration. I was really tired and hurting though. Just when my spirits were getting discouraged…..Kirsten appeared out of nowhere. She was fighting her own battle of attrition behind me. She swooped up next to me and said, “Get on wheel, let’s go!” Kirsten dragged me and the rest of my group all the way around that course. She started to close the gap to the first group behind the two leaders. This inspired the rest of the group and we were able to close the gap completely! I couldn’t believe it. I now had the chance to sprint…up a 25% grade hill for a podium spot. My tailbone had some other thoughts, like “Can’t we just stop already!!” I dug deep and ended up 12th for the stage.

I moved up a few spots in the General Classification. I was 13th overall for the week out of about 150 riders. This race is all about teammates and team work. When we started with three…it wasn’t looking good. Everybody sacrificed, including Tim to help get an almost top 10 at one of the hardest stage races in the US. We certainly raced liked we had a full team of eight!

Montreal World Cup!

2007-06-05T13:14:00.000-05:00

Team Advil-ChapStick in a TV interview!

Written by Heather Labance

Team Members in Attendance:
Elisa Gagnon
Heather Labance
Kirsten Robbins
Tara Ross
Amanda Sin

Team Advil-ChapStick was represented last weekend not only at some national races but also at international race. The team split sending half of its members to Canada to race in the Montreal World Cup. This is a highly prestigious race for the best women in the world. Not only were 24 countries represented with their national champions, but the world champion, Marianne Vos was there along with numerous Olympians from all over the world. This race was my first World Cup race and it lived up to its hype!

Team Advil-ChapStick was sought out for a television interview by Kathy St. Laurent, former Canadian National Champion. She works for RDS (Reseau Des Sports) one of the largest sports channels in Canada. We did a French interview and an English interview. It certainly helped to have Elisa, our French Canadian for the French version! What did you say??? After our 15 minutes of fame, we set off for a team presentation. This is when we go up a huge platform and sign-in while all the media takes photographs and screams questions at you. We felt very professional standing up there in our Champion Systems kit. I still think that we look the best out there!

There were literally thousands of fans lining the streets and the highly anticipated Mount Royal climb. All of the media and the spectators were there to watch the women and women only. This event does not have a men’s race. It’s all for us! We rolled around bumping into World Champions past and present, Gold medalists past and present and then waited for the start of the race with the other 150 riders.

The race consists of 11 laps up a grueling ten minute climb followed by a screaming descent. After the descent we race through Montreal strung out and fast-paced only to return to the climb again. This is truly a race of attrition. On the first time up the climb, 50 racers were dropped off the back and out of contention already! Team Advil-ChapStick stuck it out and had four riders represented in the front group for 7 laps! On the seventh lap, a huge attack was put in by Fabiana Luperini, the eventual winner, and the main group shattered. The four Advil-ChapStick riders were now in the “chase” group and would never catch the front group. Three of us finished this race, which is a huge accomplishment. More than half of the racers were dropped and pulled from the course. Fabiana Luperini (Menikini-Selle Italia-Gysko) won the race and said that it was one of the hardest, if not the hardest, World Cup race in the world.

I was extremely proud to represent Team Advil-ChapStick and finish this race. I learned a huge amount and know that I am a better racer because of that.

Somerville

2007-05-29T21:59:00.000-05:00

This was a fun day as well. The race was pretty negative in that no breaks could stay away. All the big teams have a sprinter that can win, so they just pull it back it, etc. It came down to the sprint. Reem moved me up with one and half to go. It was great. I picked my way around better than ever in the mass chaos. I found Sarah Caravella's wheel who was on Laura VanGilder's wheel, not too shabby huh? Well, the left side, my side just STOPPED. It got completely shut down. I just SAT in my saddle waiting to sprint. Sarah and Laura felt the same frustration as the right side move by us with ease. It opened up with 15 meters to go. I stood up and sprinted for 15th! Darn it again! Oh well, that's bike racing. Poor Reem, she was involved in a crash on the last lap. She left in an ambulance. She ended up with a pretty badly separated shoulder. She's a trooper, though. Off to work at 7AM and getting ready for a big black tie event tomorrow with Bill Clinton!!

Here is a photo of the Heather Labance Fan Club tent. Notice that only my mother and daughter are under it!!!! Got to love them. Thanks Mom and Dad for coming out at 8AM and leaving at 5PM. Again....it's better than sitting around eating potato salad. That's actually a quote from Sarah Uhl's mother three Somerville's ago!

Laura.......I got back up here. She's watchin you sister!! And she means business.

Here is the Somerville team pre-race under the tent. We had a lot of Wyeth visitors that day. Thanks for coming out to support us!!

Bike Jam

2007-05-29T21:49:00.000-05:00

This weekend was a fun-filled weekend of crit racing. It's better than sitting around and eating potato salad!! First stop: Maryland Bike Jam. I got a sweet call-up for this race, so it's officially my favorite race ever! Notice the great spot on the line next to the National Crit Champion! The team raced really well as a team, but no great results to show for it. In the end I was in a break with Rebecca Larson with five to go. Cheerwine bridged up but did not contribute. I think thats all Rebecca and I needed, one more pull! Any whooooo0, we were caught with less than two to go! Time to get ready to sprint....not. I decided to try to take a breather, gambling away my position. I would never really regain a good position to sprint. Darn. I'll keep trying though. One of these times it's going to work. Right?
Bowlesie in the AM with a nice cup of Joe in a shark "G'Day Mate" cup. It made me think of Rochelle Gilmore! :)
Here is a nice photo of me grinding my teeth. Rebecca on my wheel and Cheerwine bridging up. Darn it again!
This is us leaving Mo's house! Mo is Reem's awesome brother who takes us in for this race every year. He lives a block away from the park where we race. Nice pose Laura!

Can Am U19 Challenge! A Great Day!

2007-05-24T18:27:00.000-05:00

Can Am U19 Star and stage winner, Lauren Parak and her mountain bike State Champ sister Brittany!

Maddie is testing to see if I like butter with the buttercup trick, YUP, I do! Bill, Maddie and I went to the Can AM U19 Challenge this weekend at the Fairgrounds in Augusta (my Tues night crit venue). I was asked to say a few words to the girls before the start of their race. I was really looking forward to seeing the girls race, especially b/c my niece, Lauren Parak was racing. Lauren won her race and was second overall GC for the weekend. AWESOME job. I was enjoying myself so much, I stayed for the better part of the day. Those kids are just amazing! Maddie was the trophy girl. She handed out the trophies to the young men! She loved it.

I then spent the rest of the day riding with Teresa and Ann. I coach Teresa and Ann is on her team. Again, I had a very enjoyable ride/clinic with them. We rode for 3 1/2 hrs through Stokes State Forest, Sunrise Mountain and High Point State Park. My weekend looked pretty busy with clinics, talks and training, BUT...... I enjoyed it so much. Those are some of my favorite kinds of weekends.

Off to Maryland tomorrow. I'll keep you posted.

Sorry It's Been So Long

2007-05-23T21:59:00.000-05:00

This photo cracks me up. I just thought I'd upload it to make you smile....those who know Maddie! She continues to shame me on my bike. She does wheelies, rides with no hands, motor paces, leads out Bill for high-speed sprints and corners better than most of you out there. :)

OK, quick update: I was settling in to a nice weekend a few weeks ago when I got a call from my teammates at the Southeast Crit Series. They booked me a flight for the next morning to come and race in Alabama for the next two days. I couldn't resist and packed up for a 4 AM departure. The races were fun and we were able to get some decent results on the last day. I actually made the podium...no not for first, second or even third. It was for MOST LAPS LED. I was on a solo break for over 30 minutes and picked up some nice primes on every other lap. Bowlsie was forced to rest up in the pack and she was ready to go when the counter attack went. She made it into the winning break and placed fifth.

I rushed home to go straight back to my preschoolers. I picked up a tuna sandwich at the deli across the street from my school.....and this is what almost killed me. I was crushed by a horrible case of food poisoning. I've never had food poisoning and never want it again. Let's just say I lost 9 lbs in two days and was throwing up blood! Yup. Good stuff. I never do anything little, it's got to be BIG with me.

It has taken me two weeks to get back on my bike and feel a little like myself again. I was getting worried at how weak I had become. But alas, it was only temporary. I'm getting stronger every day, but have changed some of my racing plans due to the setback. I'll go up and do the Montreal World Cup and then return home instead of staying for the stage race. I'll race with my team at Reading and then go as planned to Philly. I was afraid that the stage race would bury me for Phillly. ??? Who knows. Now that I'm feeling stronger I'm second guessing the decision....IMAGINE THAT, me second guessing my decision.

This weekend is Bike Jam in MD and then Somerville in NJ!!

I'll get some updated photos soon....when the racing begins again.

Yes, This is NJ!

2007-04-29T23:08:00.000-05:00

Bill and I went for a great ride together today. It's very rare that we're able to ride together, so when we do....we bring a camera! We went through Stokes State Forest, up Sunrise Mountain where these photos were taken and then to High Point State Park. What a fun, beautiful ride.

I'm missing my teammates who are off racing in the Southern crits! I'm hearing bits and pieces...but it sounds fast and furious down there.

My cough is still driving me...and Bill nuts at night, but strangely enough, it doesn't really bother me at all when I'm on the bike. The other night at 1:00 AM when I was in a complete coughing spasm, Bill seriously suggested that I get on my bike (b/c that seems to be the only time that I don't cough). Needless to say, I didn't get on my bike at 1:00 AM.

Coughing, Coughing and Some More Coughing

2007-04-25T22:42:00.000-05:00

Bowlsie....always thinking of our sponsors!! Just wanted to see how often Bowlsie reads my blog. Let's see how long it takes before I have to edit these photos. She cracks me up I tell you.

OK, back to coughing......It all started the day before Battenkill... a sore throat....stuffy head....I held off the cough for a good week. I thought that I could beat this thing before it got to my chest, but NOOOOOOO it always goes there. I'm trying to teach and train through it, but it's becoming difficult. For starters, I've been kicked out of bed due to my hacking cough. So, I'm not getting the rest and recovery needed. I'll try to lay low for a couple of days. The cold rain will help me to stay inside and take it easy.
My teammates head out for the crit series down south in a day or so. They're racing 8 crits down there!
Oh...Mary Zider is the name of the third place woman at Battenkill! Mary, I apologize for calling you that 80lb climber!! But really, you can't weigh much more than 80 lbs. :) Seeing that it's like your third race ever, I think we'll be seeing your name a lot more.
OK, the cough meds have kicked in and I'm off to bed for the third time tonight!

Battenkill Roubaix and Sweet Host Housing!

2007-04-15T11:15:00.000-05:00

This is the Rice Mansion in Cambridge, NY. And this was our host housing for the Battenkill Roubaix Race! Elisa, Bill and I stayed overnight in this beautiful mansion. We were served a huge pasta dinner the night before with all the volunteers for the race. Our rooms were HUGE and had the most wonderful king sized beds to ensure a good night's rest. We would need it!

Reem, the trooper that she is decided to drive up on Saturday morning to join in the fun! I had never done this race and only heard great things about the epic dirt climbs. We were to race on dirt for 30 percent of the time, actually we were either going up or down and nothing really in between.

It was a cold and windy day, but no rain and no snow. We were just 24 hours ahead of a big "Noreaster" storm. The race started with a sweet call up for me....that's always nice and doesn't happen that often! The first third of the race was pretty uneventful. I could tell I was in good form up against my competitors on the first dirt climb. I rode up the climb at a good pace and cruised down the decent to find myself at the front all alone. I had a significant gap but decided that I didn't want to fight the winds alone for 40 miles, so I waited. I found myself in another little break with a very tiny girl! Her kit said Nerac...not sure if that is the name of the team...but I'll do more research on it later. We had a good sized gap and after this 80 pound girl and I rotated a few pulls, I decided that I did not want to stay out there all day with no draft. I was hoping that someone would bridge, but that didn't happen. So the group caught us. We settled back into the race and another group caught us with Reem in it. Reem attacked and things picked up a bit. Soon after Elisa put in a strong attack and got into a break with Anna Milkowski and the Nerac climber. Elisa looked super strong as they attacked a dirt climb ahead of us. I got to the front to cover and watched the girls ride away out of sight! We came around a corner to another steep dirt climb and saw Elisa's RED TIME booties way up the road....all alone! Elisa's cold got the best of her and she was popped from the group. I decided to bridge as hard and fast as I could and try not to let anymore Target Training riders go with me. I didn't want it to be uneven numbers to my disadvantage when I got to the break. I popped off the group and bridged solo. I wasn't sure that Anna would continue to work once I got there, but she did. The three of us in the break were comitted to work for the next 25 miles.

We worked hard together and finally it came down to a three women sprint. Unfortunately, none of us knew where the finish line was. It was a looooong straight finish and we basically lined up across the road until Anna jumped first and then me. I sprinted in for the win. It was a fun day and great to ride with Anna and the Nerac girl ( I will get her name soon....so sorry).

They had a nice podium ceremony and then we all went our separate ways. Bill and I met up with some of the Skyland's guys (Kevin K., Roger, James and Paul Walsh) and my biggest fans, the Paraks (Diane, John, Brittany and Lauren) for an awesome Chinese feast. We all had great racing stories to share from the day at Battenkill Roubaix!!

2007 US Open Double Podium!

2007-04-12T10:54:00.000-05:00

Team Advil-ChapStick Race Report
2007 US Open in Richmond, Virginia
April 7, 2007
2nd place Jen
3rd place Heather Labance

Team Advil-ChapStick Riders in Attendance:
Heather Labance
Kirsten Robbins
Laura Bowles
Jen McRae
Mara Miller
Natalie Klemko

Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow – because it made the race more fun for us!
Team Advil-ChapStick jumped out of bed at 6 am and peaked out the window to see a winter wonderland. We arrived at the race hotel where racers were swirling in disbelief that we would start this race in the heavy snow and winds. Our director for the day, Tim Chien kept us calm and organized. He discussed team tactics the played out perfectly throughout the race.
John Eustice designed a course for us that was nine laps of a three-mile circuit, short but intense and very sweet, sweet because our teamwork landed us a double podium. Our new addition to the team Jen McRae placed second and Heather Labance placed third.
Laura Bowles jump started the race in a two-woman break away with Colavita/Sutter Home. The two worked hard to stay off the front sacrificing themselves to make TargetTraining and the other teams work hard to bridge and chase in frustration. Mara, Heather and Kirsten stayed close to the front to cover any bridge attempts while our sprinters Jen and Natalie stayed tucked away in the peloton waiting for their moment to spring to the finish line.
Laura’s break was reabsorbed after four laps and instead of waiting for a counter to follow, Kirsten countered herself. She wound up in a small break with Colavita/Sutter Home and TargetTraining. This break was also reabsorbed into the field.
Five laps to go and TargetTraining tried desperately to get off the front alone. Fortunately we had one of the two fastest sprinters in the field and were not about to let anything go now. Laure, Mara, Heather and Kirsten patrolled the front sucking back attacks to keep Jen and Natalie in good contention for a field sprint. On the final lap Laura and Kirsten ramped up the pace and lead the field to the bottom of the climb, 500 meters to the finish line. Heather drilled it up the climb with Colavita/Sutter Home, Andrea Dvorak and they gapped the field. As Heather and Andrea pedaled down the home stretch, the sprinters lined themselves up behind them and wound up their sprints. Team Advil-ChapStick’s, Jen McRae jumped first with 200 meters to go in an attempt to catch Colavita/Sutter Home’s, Tina Pic off guard. It looked like she would pull this off until at the last second, Tina nipped her at the line. Heather decided to give one last push to the finish and sprinted in for third.
Jen and Heather looked fantastic on the podium in all of our Champion System Gear and Rudy Project glasses. The Advil-ChapStick really stands out amongst the other colors in the peloton. Natalie and Laura sprinted in to the top ten finishing 6th and 10th. Not too shabby for our first east coast race. Maybe it should snow more often.
Thank you to all of our sponsors that make our
Team Advil-ChapStick possible

Wyeth http://www.wyeth.com/
Advil http://www.advil.com/
ChapStick http://www.chpstick.com/
TIME Sport http://www.timesport.fr/us/home.htm
Mavic Wheels http://www.mavic.com/
Champion Systems http://www.champ-sys.com/
Clif Bar http://www.clifbar.com/
Ritchey http://ww.ritcheylogic.com
Rudy Project http://www.rudyprojectusa.com/
Shebeest http://www.shebeest.com/
Women's Cycling Development Program http://www.uswcdp.org/index.php
Shimano http://www.shimano.com/
Timex http://www.timex.com/
Thule http://www.thulegroup.com/

For full results and photos go to:
http://www.cyclingnews.com/

Contact:Laura Charameda
Director, Team Advil-ChapStick
advilchapstick07@aol.com

Beware of The Toilet

2007-03-23T17:48:00.000-05:00

OK, a quick laugh on me.....our host home is great. We are staying with Tanya's parents in Redlands. They have a beautiful home with a modern flare. Well, the toilets are all very special. They are always heated and cozy warm. Laura Bowles first thaught that someone had just spent a lot of time on the toilet RIGHT before she sat down on it making it so warm. But it also has a "front" cleaner a "back" cleaner, dryer for after cleaning, and deoderizer! WOW. So I finally got the courage up to try the cleaner...yup. I hear the buzzing and then the trickling of water but felt nothing.....nothing.....so I peeked to see what was up and WHAM....the water sprayed me right between the eyes! No joke.
:0 H

Redlands Cycling Classic Begins...Revised

2007-03-23T17:26:00.000-05:00

A quick update on Redlands Cycling Classic.
Time Trial: I think it was only 5k with two climbs. I thought how bad could this be? I can suffer for 5k....ouch! It hurt. There's a false flat section that had a huge headwind before the last two climbs. I think I cooked myself on the flat section. I got up and over the hills, but not with any umpf. I think I was around 2 minutes back from Amber Neben! She won by about 45 seconds over Christine from Webcor. My question is this: How is it that I was 2 minutes back on a 30K (almost an hour long) time trial last week, and this week almost 2 min back on a 5k course (only took Amber about 11 minutes!)

Road Race 72 miles: This was a fun course. It had three major climbs in it. First we got all the sprint points out of the way on the windy flats. Yeah for Laura Bowles....she took third in a sprint. I almost wrecked pretty bad. I got caught up in some wreck and my bike violenty whipped me and skipped off the ground left then right then left again. I managed to stay upright and had two separate racers pat me on the back for keeping it up. YIKES that was a close one.
Then all the climbs were back to back to back! The first climb was a big California highway climb...it went on and on, but no one got away. The second climb was steeper and had a little bit of a dirt section toward the top. I started in BAD position and had to pass my way up to the top. I was gapped off a bit by the front group but descended like mad and caught back on at the bottom. The rest of the peloton chased and chased and caught on to us a few miles later. A small group got away before the final climb. Katherine Currie was in this group. She attacked the group and got a gap on them. We hit the final climb and the peloton shattered at the base of the climb. I went hard and hung on to the front group for as long as my East coast March legs will allow! Eventually they climbed away from me. The road was full of small groups climbing and suffering together. I was alone for most of the climb. I really thought that I had a rear flat with 5k to go...it was just my imagination I guess. Amber Neben drilled it and caught the break and pulled it to Currie. As soon as they caught Currie, Mara Abott attacked and won! Amber came in after her.
What an awesome win for Mara Abott!!

2007-03-20T16:37:00.000-05:00

Here's a link to a YouTube video of the Redlands Stage 3 Sunset Loop that we're doing on Sunday. It's a 12 k circuit, we do it 9 times, it's up and down like a roller coaster, and it's fast.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VJyhCcZOYYE

Fast Racing In California!

2007-03-19T10:26:00.000-05:00

Wow, that was fast! I completed the first weekend of racing in California. The 30K time trial was brutal. It was 90 degrees and LONG. I felt pretty good and caught two girls on the course, but I was also caught by two different girls on the course. I felt that I was riding too strong for that to happen, so I started to look at my bike and question it. I immediately saw that my front break was locked onto my wheel.....yikes. I opened it up completely and felt FREE. I picked up speed and passed one of the two girls that caught me, Kim Anderson from T-Mobile. I guess riding 3/4 of this course with a locked break took a lot out of me, b/c on the last climb (where I should make up some time) Kim Anderson passed me again! I was cooked. So, I had 50 minutes of HARD training! Good stuff.
The Visalia crit was fast and furious from the start. T-Mobile controlled the entire race pretty much. I was in great position the entire race and was able to cover some moves and help our sprinter, Natalie move up into position two times. Natalie sprinted like crazy and got 7th...I think. She's awesome. Laura and Kirsten worked their butts off as well. Laura covered tons of moves all day, she's very strong and ready for crit racing. It was a great team effort.
There was a little mix up with the lap cards and half of the field thought it was time to sprint when there were actually two laps to go. Laura was in that mix and had nothing left for the second and final sprint of the day. Makenzie Dickey actually threw her arms up thinking she'd won the sprint with two laps to go. None the less, it was a fast wind up for the final sprint!
We leave today for Redlands. It's been an experience here on the farm. We've had cook outs, drove tractors that were built in the 1940's and picked oranges and grapefruits for our travels.
More to come! Hopefully I'll be able to get some photos up soon.
xoxox

OH the SUN!

2007-03-16T17:24:00.000-05:00

I finally made it out to California! I'm in Visalia...I think. The weather is beautiful, almost too hot. It's 88 degrees and sunny. Team Advil-ChapStick and some other women's and men's teams met the mayor this morning for a great breakfast and to ride the TT course together. It was a lot of fun and nice to see some of the other racers that I have not seen since last season.
So the TT course is LONG (30K) and it has two nice climbs in it. The scenery is absolutely beautiful. I'm glad I had the chance to look around today so I don't waste time in the race!!
Last night our wonderful host family had a party with 60 guests, a band and cornbeef and cabbage for an army. Very nice!
Stay tunned.
xoxox Heather

The Racing Begins....Kind Of.....

2007-03-11T20:31:00.001-05:00

Had a fun weekend of training. I did The HUMP ride/race. It's a group ride that is run like a race...Mike Norton and Bill Elliston (sp?) showed up to make it good and hard. I had a blast and worked my butt off. Sunday was Bethel! Bill and I loaded up a very enthusiastic Maddie for our first race of the season. We all had a blast. We love this stuff...So the race at Bethel was basically me against 7 Target Training girls. I had to pick and choose my battles... got first in field sprint for second place. My legs were dead from Saturday's ride and a small, tiny, lingering hacking cough....I thought all of those antibiotics would get rid of this thing.
Bill is currently jamming my TT bike into a shipping box to be mailed out to California tomorrow. I'll ride my road bike tomorrow and Tuesday and then ship that baby off too. Thank you Wyeth (Advil and ChapStick) for the shipping labels!! Saves a ton of $$.
I fly out on Thursday EARLY in the morning to arrive in San Fran. Cindy Carroll, assistant director, will then pick me up in the team van for a nice 3 hr drive to end my day of traveling. I'll be racing two stage races out there. Quad Knopf (Visalia) and Redlands....the killer race!
Stay tunned.......
xo Heather

OH Mara!!! NOT again!!

2007-03-04T20:22:00.000-05:00

What? Mara crashed out in her first race in California....AHH NO!

NO, Mara hit the pavement again on her second day in California.....?

I just can't take it anymore......I think you need my mommy to come out there to protect you from the pavement!

All kidding aside, Mara is fine. Just some bad luck and road rash. She's getting all this pavement stuff out of the way now.
Congrats to Elisa and Reem for hanging in there. You guys are awesome!

Smiling Or Suffering?

2007-03-04T15:03:00.000-05:00

The latter! I'm not smiling! This was a tough day on the bike. I'm just finishing an extremely hard VO2 block of training. There has been a lot of suffering going on around here. I even lost my cookies one day....Bill again has a great shot of this. I decided that I wouldn't put that one up! Bill said that he's never heard me suffer like this and he actually had to leave the house one night while I was training. I've been training very hard and now have a little chest infection. I guess it comes with the territory. I break my body down training and then go off to teach 40, yes 40, four and five yr. olds three times a week. It's frustrating getting sick just when I feel like I'm gaining strength and momentum. California is just around the corner. I broke down and am on a strong antibiotic to kick this thing.

Oh yeah....check out the sweet Time bike! Maddie is just fine-tuning the set up for me here.

This is Mara and I getting ready for yet another cold, long ride....but this time on our new bikes. That makes it more exciting. This picture was BEFORE the added 7 inches of snow. It's also an hour south of my winter wonderland.

Good luck to some of my teammates that are out in California racing now! I'll be there soon. Until then....

H

Excuses? Or....Excuses!!

2007-02-18T08:35:00.000-05:00

Thursday started off like a normal day...blah blah blah. Chris wanted me to take a cycling test to check up on my fitness. I started the warm up and felt horrible...like I wanted to throw up! Weird. I proceded to start the test and felt OK until it got hard. I suffered and felt horrible (which is normal) but I wasn't even near where I should be. My watts were too low to be suffering like this. I rode until I couldn't hold the watts any longer, I ran and threw my head in the toilet. I didn't get sick, but thought I would. I obviously worked hard, but why were my results so crappy?
I sent my files to Chris...he emailed me, "NO GOOD! You'll have to do it again in two days." Not what I was hoping to hear. Add insult to the misery.
I was off to teach my spinning class. Still didn't feel good. I tried to motivate my group as I felt horrible and hollow. I had a pool of sweat under my bike, but felt like I was going to pass out at any time. Driving home, I began to shake and shiver...oh no what's this? Well, after shaking, shivering and moaning in a ball for an hour it started. I began to throw up...all night into the next day. I actually smiled at one point after pulling my head out of the toilet, b/c ah ha! That's why I sucked so badly on the cycling test.....I'm sick!! Thank God. Trust me, it didn't feel good to be that sick, but I needed to know there was a reason for that bad test besides horrible fitness.
Bill wanted to take pictures of me curled in a ball crying, but I shot daggers out of my bloodshot eyes at him. So thankfully, no photos to post this time!
Unfortunately, little Maddie seems to have the virus now. Poor baby. She's much tougher than her Mommy, though.
Take your vitamins and wash your hands!!
Heather

Too Cold to Ride Outside!

2007-02-13T12:42:00.000-05:00

Cross-training with the family and some indoor TT fitting and Rocky vs. The Big German

It was 13 degrees and I didn't want to be on the trainer again. Did a nice hike with 40 lbs. on my shoulders. Bill enjoyed some of the cross-training too. It's supposed to snow up to a foot here in the next 24 hrs. I guess the next croos-training will be shoveling!

How's the TT position look? Pretty aero, right?

It was so cold......poor Maddie. Even Zabina wanted to go home half way into the hike!
I look at all the blogs of the bigger budget teams in warm-weather training camps and can only think of Rocky #? When the big German had all the state of the art training equipment and Rocky was running in the snow and punching frozen carcass! That's me...NOT the big German....Rocky!

New Beginnings!

2007-02-01T09:26:00.000-05:00

Well, here's my first attempt at blogging.
First of all I wanted to thank my family and friends who have helped me with personal sponsorship. I am lucky to have such a supportive network around me. I wanted to thank my coach, Chris Rozdilsky www.ctrsport.com for his dedication and professionalism!

I'm really excited about Team Advil-ChapStick! We have an awesome director, Laura Charameda, one of the best female cyclist that the US has ever had! We've signed some amazing cyclists. We should have a great season of racing.

For now, I'm training and getting ready for my trip to California. I'll head out in March to race in the Quad Knopf and then to Redlands! Unfortunately, our unusually warm winter has turned itself around. I'm stuck on the trainer for most days and bundle up on the weekends for long rides.