The Great Escape- NC 2013

I had a great week in North Carolina mountain biking with my friend, Kim Thomas. While riding some pretty cool trails I would think about what I might write about in my blog, only to come back each night so exhausted that I was about as functional as a toddler past bedtime. Finally, after settling back into the routine at home, I have some time to blog about it. It's impossible to cover all the fun I had, but here are some things I learned whilst there.

Start of Women's Tandem Road Race

1. Para-lympians are very awesome people. I watched the UCI Para Cycling Open in Greenville, South Carolina (great recap here) with Kim and met some athletes that made a lasting impression on me. The race is open to anyone with defined disabilities such as blind or visually impaired, cerebral palsy, amputees, and wheelchair athletes. Some rode tandems as a stoker, handcycles which they propelled with their arms, or adapted bicycles which would allow them to shift and brake with one hand. The athletes competed against others who have the same type of disability. I was humbled by their level of commitment and I hope someday that I have half of the talent and ability that they have. The World Championships are happening on the same course next year, which will be some awesome racing to watch. Kudos to Mackenzie Woodring who pilots a tandem and had an awesome road race-she was on a solo break and working with her stoker, Kara for almost half of the race on a windy, technical course. It was impressive to watch!

2. You can have too much downhill. Kim was an awesome guide, she had ridden many of the trails before and had maps, food, water, and a camelpack that produced almost anything you

Kim Thomas, Guide Extraordinaire

needed. She is part Dora the Explorer, part Harry Potter. One run that sticks out is the Greens Lick descent at Bent Creek that she promised was a blast. Greens Lick was an almost 2 mile descent over rock gardens, drops, roots, gravel, and berms. I love speed, but I rode this down with my brakes on the whole time, and by the end my hands and feet were killing me from standing, holding on with a death grip, and muscling through this stuff. Did we do it again? You bet we did. :) My average speed was about 12 mph, and I felt like I was just FLYING down this hill. The top woman on Strava did it at 16 mph, the top guy 22. That is insane. 

3. Don't get in Kim's way when she is hungry. We spent more time in the saddle this week than I ever have in my life, about 5-6 hours a day. Strava reports that I did about 20,000 feet of climbing and almost 200 miles of trails. After one six hour day, Kim proclaimed that she is starving, and we stopped at a great authentic Mexican place for dinner. Two fisted took on a new meaning as I watched Kim out of the corner of my eye rake in the tortilla chips.  I didn't dare reach in for one until we (she) was on our second basket. Lots of riding does make food taste SO good though, doesn't it?

4. Always, always, always protect your phone. I wish I had a picture to demonstrate this spectacular fall-but other matters pressed us to act quickly and not take a picture. That is, my phone was under water. There was a small creek with some large stones placed across it as a bridge. The stones were not smoothly placed, and there was a gap of about 5 inches between the middle of them. Kim advised me to go through the middle of the gap. This is probably one of my

This is not the small creek I fell in-this is a big river
that I did NOT fall in. Really.

bigger fears- squeezing my tires through things like this, and instead of looking ahead like I am supposed too, I stared right at the gap in the rocks and so my tire hit the side of the rock and did not roll through, toppling me over to the right, and upside down into a creek. My bike was on top of me, and as I was laughing and calling for Kim's help to pull my bike off of me I was worried about my phone since I had just replaced it under warranty. I am pretty attached to my phone, and it did get wet, but it dried out and functioned fine, thankfully! I made sure to wrap it in plastic thereafter. There might not be a large body of water for miles, but leave it to me to fall into a tiny creek in the middle of nowhere. I got away with just some bruises on my back, but that fall did make me more wary when I was riding.

5. XX1 is shifting for dummies, perfect for me. This is the first go with the new 1x11 drivetrain, and it was awesome. The first day out there was some cable stretching, but once it was adjusted it ran perfectly. I was able to crawl up climbs with ease as well as put the speed on when I needed. Didn't have to worry about cross-chain issues, and let me think about other things like what line to take more and less about what gear to ride in.

Rat Snake!

6. The mountains are full of life.  After a looooong, dreary winter, it was great to see green grass, green leaves, flowering bushes, butterflies...anything with life. Sometimes we saw a little TOO
much life, as there was a 3 foot black rat snake on the trail one day. Kim was riding ahead going down a hill and was screaming something I couldn't make out. I slowed down though, and came up on this big ass snake on the trail. I stopped because I didn't know if it would lunge up and bite me as I went by, and I threw a stick at it to get it to move off the trail. It didn't budge. I got off my bike and  began to move into the woods and go around and then he decided to move the other way. He was moving pretty slowly and didn't seem to care too much about me, so that was good! On our last day we rode some pretty technical trails in Pisgah, which felt more remote and it was the first time I wondered about bears...luckily we did not run across any.

Willow TT, thanks to Scott Kroske for the photo!

7. There's always time to squeeze in one more race. As much as I hated to leave the warm weather and mountains, I had heard weather up north was getting better, so that made it easier. I also really missed my family and needed to get back to work so it was time to head back. But first, on Saturday there was the Willow Time Trial, the first Michigan Bicycling Racing Association Series race. I stopped on the drive back with Kim and she was going to ride tandem with Mackenzie. I was worried about how my legs would do after the long week of riding and then sitting in the car for 12 hours, but turns out they were fine as I got first in my age group, second overall woman. Getting on a TT bike after mountain biking all week felt pretty weird! But I have to say I love the TT races. It is awesome to go so fast on a bike. I think I'm hooked!

8. You can not ride your bike too much! Just had to say again that I had a great time, it was one of my best vacations ever. Thanks again to Kim who invited me and showed me some great trails. She is one non-stop girl that I could barely keep up with, on and off the bike. I can't wait to go back!

My First "First" at Fisk Knob

I made the jump a few weeks ago and bought a real TT bike (Cervelo P2), and so, I need to race lots of time trials and justify my purchase. The first TT of the year is Fisk Knob, north of Grand Rapids in Cedar Springs. It's a race known historically for bad weather due to being held so early in spring. Weather has been pretty brutal, no doubt, but we Hagerati do not let that bother us. Susan Donnelly, Jake Ellis, and I left early in the morning, driving through snow covered roads and fog to race. The forecast had snow and rain in it, but as we got closer we actually saw the sun rise and some blue sky. An owl even flew by as we were driving, that is always cool to see! It was still cold though, about 39 degrees, but warmer than my last race at Barry that was 29 degrees.

Pretty awesome helmet, thanks Kim Thomas!

We got there pretty early, even before registration opened. It gave us time to preview the course though, so it was good. I really do not like rushing around before a race so being early is always ok with me. Driving over the course I realized that it was a lot hillier than I imagined it would be. I had only taken out my new bike once on the road, and it wasn't over any hills, so I was a bit intimidated. When you are in the aero bars, you don't have quick access to the brakes. I was also a bit worried about my bike set up. I had been tweaking it and tweaking it but it wasn't still feeling quite right. I was ready though to just give it my best and see what happened.

I warmed up quickly, not feeling the cold at all, and was getting excited to race. We lined up and we had 5 category 3 women racing. I have raced all these fine women before, and they are all great people and great racers. We were sent off 30 seconds apart, one at a time, and the best part of a time trial is that it is just you against the clock. No strategy, no technical skills, just go as fast as you can. It's often called the "race of truth."

At the start line

Well, the start is on a big downhill, so it was time to just go for it and I sunk down into the aero bars and started pedaling and going faster and faster. It was such a blast! No fear at all here, just the rush of wind and speed-better than any roller coaster. I was going 38 mph at the bottom, and that is from a stand still at the top of the hill. Pretty awesome. A long, slow rise to the first turn, and I just kept hammering it, but feeling controlled at the same time. The rest of the course was a few more rollers before a flat section at the turn around. The rollers were fun and I did my best to go as fast as I could going down them, and was finding myself spinning out of my highest gear. Kind of cool to think I could have gone even faster if I had a bigger gear!

Top of the hill and finished!

I was amazed to find that I was passing people. I started realizing that this may be a good day for me! Everything was clicking just right. A unique feeling, indeed, but very awesome when it happens. The last climb back up that starting hill was brutal. I gave it everything I had to just keep pedaling as hard as I could and not pay attention to my quads that were screaming. Gasping at the top of the hill, I was done, and pleased with my ride.  Not too much later, it started snowing pretty hard. Sooo happy that it wasn't snowing during my race!

1st place Cat 3 women

After results came in it was clear that we had a mini-van full of winners. I placed first for the first time in a race. Sue got 2nd in her category of Master's women, and would have came in second in cat 4 women as well. Jake got second in Cat 3 men. Craig Webb and Steve Andries also from Hagerty won their categories. We were all pretty happy and deemed the day a success as well as a lot of fun. I haven't spent a lot of time with Jake before, and I have to say, he really knows his stuff. If you need any advice regarding anything race or training related, I would go visit him at Brick Wheels.

Sue Donnelly 2nd place Master's

Jake Ellis 2nd Place cat 3 men

Thanks to all the volunteers who shivered in the cold to help and the people at 42-85 who took this race that was in danger of not being held and making it a success. Thanks to Keith Conway and Brigit for taking pictures! And thanks also to Chris Fisher, my coach who has helped me get through this never ending winter. Full results are here.

XX1. Will it be worth it?

I just got a major upgrade on my mountain bike and will be running a 1x11 set up this year. If you look closely it looks like it it's glowing, and it should be. It was raining buckets when I picked it up from Einstein cycles and there is still snow on the trails so I haven't had a chance to ride it yet. I don't know if I can handle getting it dirty. In 10 days I'm heading to North Carolina to ride some trails, really excited to try her out!

Meet Cervelo P2

I finally brought home my new TT bike from the bike shop. I took it out on Tuesday. She is very fast but still needs some tweaking...now if only the damn snow would melt and it would warm up.

Barry Roubaix Killer Gravel Road Race 2013

I signed up for Barry back when winter was still fresh, and seemed like a season that may be over before we know it. Feeling strong and ready for a big challenge I signed up for the 62 mile race. We were pretty spoiled last year with the abnormal warm up, and had lots of riding in before March was over. Not so this year as everyone knows. I did get one long ride in a few weeks ago, about 50 miles. My shoulder and back were killing me by 40 miles and I decided I would back it down to the 36 mile race. I am back in physical therapy for my shoulder so hopefully I will get this thing kicked for good.

3000 racers line up

The conditions for the race were predicted to be very sloppy, so I opted to take my mountain bike for the race. This set up is also easier on my shoulder so I was happy with this option. Friday night I got packed up to go, and Rich from the City Bike Team and I left in the wee morning hours on Saturday. We made good time and had lots of time to get ready for the race. Stepping out of the car the cold bit pretty hard, and I wondered at the sanity of racing in 29 degree weather. Despite the cold, I was still looking forward to doing a new race and testing out the legs early on in the season.

Once we headed down to the start line, I was amazed at the amount of people that were lined up. It was impressive. I heard the announcer say that this race is just a few years old and started with just a few hundred people. Today there were about 3000 people racing. I really wonder at what makes certain events like this just take off. There are lots of great bike races, in much warmer weather, that don't have nearly as many people racing.

Photo by Rudy Malmquist

Our wave lined up, and we were off. I was in the second row, and a gap started to open up and I was quick to make sure to jump on the wheel of the leaders. We rode neutrally out for awhile, no one wanting to pull too hard off of the front. There were a few women leaping ahead and some squawking from others as they had crossed the yellow line in the road to do so. No one really took these ladies seriously until Marie Dersham went in front. I heard the murmurs throughout the pack..."there goes Marie..." It made me smile, since that is an awesome reputation to have.  I know Marie is a very strong racer so I jumped on her wheel, and a group of about 6 of us were off the front and rode together for about 30 minutes or so. The dirt roads got icier, and it was getting harder to navigate them and stick together as we were coming up on earlier waves.  Picking a good line was critical, and at one point I went to the left to pass and almost got swept off the road when I hit a rut and a good patch of ice. I eased out of it and regained control, but was off the back. I
could still see Marie and the group ahead though, so thought I could still catch back on. Then there was a rider down in the middle of the road and we all had to slow down. I hit the same icy rut the downed rider did and almost went down, but was able to recover. I think all those slippery fat bike races helped me a lot with some icy bike handling skills.

Now I couldn't see Marie's group at all, but there was one woman riding on a cross bike near me and we rode together for awhile. Then we hit pavement and she just took off on those skinny tires and I didn't see her again. I was a lone woman riding among lots of guys for quite awhile, when I heard another woman coming up behind me. She was on a mission and was riding hard and motivated me to kick it back up again. I didn't know what to make of her as she was climbing hills and using her whole body to rock back and forth, had a bright pink shirt on, and didn't fit into any category in my mind. Later I learned that she was riding a single speed, which I didn't even consider at the time because why would anyone do such a silly thing? Now I am in awe, as she beat me up some of those hills, and beat me to the finish line. That is kick ass.

photo by www.juliemcgrawphotography.com
Coming across the finish line.

At about mile 29 single speed girl (Rebecca) asked me where we were at, I told her, and she hung back for a moment. I knew she was probably fueling up for the last stretch and about a mile later she took off like a rocket. I stayed with her, determined not to get dropped. It was a great challenge. My heart rate was gearing up to 180 and I kept telling myself to not quit and to hang in there since we were close to being done. I wasn't able to catch her and she beat me to the finish line by about 20 to 30 seconds. She did a great job, and I was happy with myself for not giving up.

My legs felt decent throughout the race. Hills are usually my nemesis, and I felt that even if I may have been slower than others on the climbs I wasn't burning out and dying on them. I am happy that it was icy versus muddy-that would have been a much tougher race. It was pretty cold, and my feet were pretty frozen. I was grateful during the race that I didn't do the 62.

When I came in to check my results it said I was 11th in my division. I was a little bummed, and confused as I didn't think that many women were ahead of me. I didn't stick around for podiums, and later I saw Kati Krikke who told me I got 4th. That made me feel better! Podium went to 5th place so I got a medal and won some shoe inserts. Rich had a good race himself and was happy (except for the fact that I beat his time once again, ha!).  We drove the long ride back home, glad that it was over. I went to bed at 8:00 and slept solidly until 6, I was pretty exhausted!

Barry Roubaix was a great, well run race. Kudos to everyone who volunteered and helped run such an awesome race! Now, on to Fisk Knob TT, just 3 weeks away!

The Competitive Gene

Last Friday my son, Gavin, had a swim meet. He is 12, and every time he competes in anything he gets really worked up and anxious. We only do the low key home meets, as we really encourage him to do this more for exercise and fun than competition. Well, try telling that to someone who is competitive and they can't even comprehend the idea. The last home meet he did not "win" any of his events, and he paced around unhappy and irritable all night between events and really kind of drove me crazy. I mean, really, where does he get this from?  I always model calm, cool behavior at all my races. Ha!

I was kind of dreading the meet because I was expecting a repeat from last time, and I debated if I should not let him compete again or let him go and work through this. It is hard for me as a mom to watch him struggle and get upset when he doesn't do as well as he wants to. I just want to protect him from the world. In the end, I left it up to him and he wanted to go. I encouraged him to sign up for a 200 meter freestyle to see how he did on the longer endurance races and it was his first event of the night. He had high hopes and as the race went on he struggled more and more and I could see he was getting tired. He got out of the pool at second to last, a good lap behind the first place person. I could see the tears forming, the slumped shoulders, the nervous hands and I quickly went over and talked to him. He said it was hard, and he was tired but he thought that he could do better at the 50 meter events. I congratulated him for finishing this one up. A little while later he said with the eye of the tiger look in his eye..."If I just win one, then this whole night will have been worth it." I asked him, "what happens if you don't win?" He lets out a big melodramatic sigh, "well that will just be too bad then."

Great.

Now I am getting ramped up and worried about the pressure he is putting himself under. Outwardly I fake a positive attitude, tell him to visualize himself winning and to just try his best. His next event comes up, the 50 freestyle. I watch apprehensively as he starts and he comes in third. Better than last race, but not the win he was hoping for. He looks a bit more upbeat, and says "I think the 50 backstroke is going to be it."

Hmmm. I mean, I know he can do it, but he hasn't ever yet. I don't know if he is going to break through this or come home sad again at this point. I gave him a cookie, told him to think positive and crossed my fingers.

They lined up and jumped off the blocks. Down the first lap he was about third, and then coming back he kicked it in and passed one person and then came even with the next. As they approached the finish he crept out in front and I was jumping and screaming "GOOOOO GAVIIIN!!!" and he won. He came out of the pool with a smug grin and quickly went over to the table of little prizes they get when they win. He picked out a little gummy hand that slaps and sticks to things which he lost before he even got home. But the smile stayed all night.

So, I guess the night was worth it. It was awesome to see him achieve what he set out to do. And I am glad that he finally got to feel that sweet feeling of victory after lots of hard work. Good job Gavin.

Fat Tuesday Fat Bike Race

I am laying here, after this event, my entire body sore and I am wondering how to describe this race. People ask, "did you have fun?" Hmm. Did I? Not sure yet. Do I want to run out and do a race like this again? Hmmm, not sure yet. Did I survive a long two hour mental battle of wanting to call it quits, lots of slippery falls, a lot of frustration and still stay determined to not give up? Yes I did!

I am stuck in the doldrums of winter and starting to hate riding my bike on a trainer to the point where I would rather clean a house, shovel snow, pick up dog shit, or just about anything to avoid going down into the basement and get on that bike. What is one way to beat the winter blues? Buy new bike stuff...which led me to Einstein Cycles, and whilst picking out my new TT bike (schwing!) Jason W encouraged me to race Tuesday. The idea grew on me, and the thought of doing something different on a bike seemed like a good way to get some new time on a bike. It was being held just a few blocks away from my house, and seemed like it would be a good way to test out a fat bike race.

I showed up tonight, ready to ride after thinking extensively about what I would wear this time on this ride. Still trying to get the perfect cold weather outfit together. The course was laid out kind of cyclocross style across the civic center grounds, and after all the rain we got yesterday, the snow was deep and crunchy in areas, slushy in others, and icy in still others. There were a few mounds of piled snow that we rode through. The first one was my favorite because you went up a small hill and rode through about 10 bumpy feet on top of the snow drift before you went back down. On most of the route, there was only a single bike rut to ride through, and if you wandered off it at all, you had to pretty much get off your bike.

At the start of the race there was a bottle neck as some people navigated the rut of track, and others got off and ran. Which I did, but then ended up waiting anyway as the long line of people went on by when I was ready to get back on my bike. No worries, I figured I had two hours of riding. It was really intense as there is no coasting or any rest during this kind of riding, I soon figured out. You have to pedal every single stroke to move forward. I was amazed at how hard this was. It took all my concentration just to stay on the bike and move forward, and I felt that I did pretty well for my lack of experience in the beginning.

As time went on though, I got more and more mentally tired and started sliding out as it got more slippery as the night went on. At one point I hit some ice from a huge frozen puddle/lake and I pretty much had to crawl to get out of it. I noticed that if any errors were made on this terrain there was very little room to recover from it, and that I usually fall. The more I slowed down, the more often the faster guys came through, and being that there is only one lane of rideable track, it was expected that you move the hell out of the way. I frequently waited by the side of the trail, letting whole groups pass so that I could get back on my bike and ride along without slowing anyone else down. I understand that it is a race, but it did increase my frustration as it makes a hard ride even harder when I am struggling to keep going and then I have to lose my momentum, pull of the trail, and then get going again when I let someone pass. Kudos to Jorden Wakeley who always did this with class and courtesy, and was good at letting me know what side he was passing on and picked a decent place to pass. He even ventured off the beaten path to go around on occasion, he's just that good.

It really felt like the longest two hours ever. So what do you do when time slows down, you start f-bombing the entire world in your head, and know that to give up means failure and you just can't do that? I started hearing the voice of my bad ass yoga teacher Liz Graves-yeah...yoga. She kicks our ass in that class and I encourage anyone to try her 90 min Inspire class at Yen Yoga. She brings us to the edge of pain, and challenges us to go farther. She has said on occasion that if you are throwing f-bombs in your mind then you are ruining your own experience and that pain is only what you make it, or something like that. That we determine our attitude. So I made an attitude adjustment and reminded myself that I am in this for fun. I noticed people's smiles, the people cheering us on, the people handing us beads for mardi gras, the silliness of the whole experience. Keith Conway kept going even with flat tires and despite being close to bonking after riding flat tires for three laps. I saw some very strong women out there giving it their best, and they inspired me to keep going. I saw a dad with a very colorful feather boa and his daughter who was so excited to be there and has a love for cycling already. I saw lots of people encouraging each other as we rode along.

So, in all it was a good night. It is always good to push yourself to do something new, even though  it can be pretty damn hard at times. Kudos to everyone who got out there, and hey-I got 2nd place in my first Fat Bike race. Not bad for a Tuesday night.

Chelsea Strate is the Fat Bike QUEEN,
in case you didn't know