Random Shots from the Beach, etc.

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

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

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

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!!

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

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!!!

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!