March 2014 – Heidi Rides Bikes

I just may be smiling… (Photo by Dejan Smaic)

2014 continues to be the “road season that surprises me.” I’ve never made any qualms about my lack of roadie-ness and that I’m just not strong on the pavement. So hesitantly I signed up for the CSU Cobb Lake Circuit Race. One option for me – women’s open (which is every category, including pro) at 46.8 miles. I rarely ride more than 20-30 miles when I road ride. In fact, I’m pretty sure I can count the number of 40 mile plus rides I’ve done on any type of bike on two hands. So I didn’t even know how to approach this race in any other manner but survival.

My friend Gretchen just bought a new road bike and eagerly said she’d join me for this race. She’s never raced before. To use my beloved term “cray cray,”… well, Gretchen is cray cray. I would’ve never chose this for my first road race, no way. So cray cray Gretchen and I loaded up my car and turned south for the race. Luckily gorgeous weather had settled in for the weekend, which meant I turned my attention to adding to my tan lines above anything else!

32 ladies came out to race, which I do believe is the biggest women’s field this particular race has seen. Three professional gals came out, including Amanda Miller, along with a host of other cat 1/2’s. Which is not the best thing being a bottom of the pack cat 4 type of racer. I think mountain biking may be the only time I can get excited about lining up next to a pro. For a road race it just makes me feel that much worse. I joked with Gretchen and Deb and a few others about how we’ll all hang out in the back and have our own race. But ugh… you know me. Race mode cannot be turned off so when the whistle went, I went. Lead pack. Woo woo… for 5 miles that is. At least I can say I hung with Amanda Miller for 5 miles, right?

So then begun my 41 mile ride by myself. Which is fine. I ride/train/race by myself 99% of the time. I know how to handle wind by myself. What’s new? But this time it felt different and I actually managed to… well, race the race. The circuit consisted of a curvy road through a gated community, and then a speedy downhill and straight away with a tailwind, onto 2 miles of washboard gravel, and up a climb back to the start. Half bad, half good/fast. It was a good combination! I managed to pick off one other racer, so I never lost a position once the lead pack dropped me. Little victories matter, I tell you!

I felt strong right up until the last (6th) lap begun. Then my legs said WTF very loudly. That final climb to the finish was killer… Also didn’t help the Men 4/5 had swarmed the finish/start line and wouldn’t move out of my damn way. Which wasn’t as bad as getting lapped by the Men’s Pro/1/2 field (um, hi… knocking me off my bike and killing me is in no way going to make you win faster. Collegiate race in Colorado is not the Tour de France, chill with the sketchy passing!), but still frustrating as I was trying to “sprint” to my solo finish, haha.

But yeah, I finished all 6 laps. And I wasn’t last place (I finished 23rd thank you very much!). I didn’t think I could hold that pace for as long as I did, so I’m amazed. Hence the road season that keeps surprising. Not like I’m good, I’m still bottom of the pack, but I’m not doing as badly as I think I would! And as soon as it began, it’s pretty much over. Mountain bike season start in 3 weeks, so that’s what will fill my weekends until August. Not to mention that crits pretty much take over the road race calendar, and after today’s CSU Oval Crit, I have no desire to ever toe the lines for one of those again (at least now I have proof mountain bike racing is far saner and safer than crit racing, I’m not just talking out my butt on this one!). Maybe the Koppenberg and Superior Mogul will make an appearance, but otherwise I’m sure it’s over. It’s been fun, road racing, but time for the dirt!

(Gretchen had a good race, too! She got pulled after 5 laps, but she was smiling and eager to do more races! Go Gretchen!)

The braid goes WEEEEEE on the gravel section

Oh, the CSU Oval Crit you say? Sure, another bad idea brought to you by yours truly, Heidi. Second lap all I see are bikes going through the air and girls everywhere. I managed to avoid that by pure luck I believe. So I decided to just drop myself and ride by myself wayyyyy off in the back (plus I was too slow to keep up, haha). Until Tim our Friendly USAC Official made us all regroup. Ugh, back in the pack. So we start doing neutral laps just to stay warm, and another girl gets taken out by a girl who decided to ride straight when everyone else was turning. Seriously?! So we FINALLY regroup for the second time to start the last 5 laps. And like 3 near misses occur. My conclusion? That was my first and last crit. End of story. I survived, no crashes, but I don’t need that experience again because I really want that MTB Cat 1 upgrade this summer above racing crits. Priorities, yo. At least it was 70 degrees and gorgeous out and I got to meet up with some old teammates and friends. Not all was lost!

(Apparently some are appalled about my hatred of crits and my negativity towards them. Like I said, I have my racing priorities and goals, and they’re too important to be sacrificed by something inherently more risky for really little reward for me in the over all scheme. Yes, I get that I could be injured in a mountain bike race between now and Nationals/Cat 1 upgrade time, or in a training road ride, but I can handle that risk as it’s directly doing something that is a step to get to the final goal. Props to the racers that go back out weekend after weekend to crits. Scary stuff, but it’s just not for me. Much like mountain bike racing isn’t for most of them. Got mad respect, but a strong personal dislike of crits… just how I see it!)

Death Race 2000… I mean, CSU Crit (Photo by Conner Livingston)

On a final note, I really am loving my SRAM Force 22 group set! Definitely helps having harder gears to push, and the shifting is so smooth! Definitely worth the upgrade me thinks!

Race Report

On Candelas, Ice, and the Mind Game

March 22, 2014 The Adventuring Heidi

As the freezing rain driven by decently crappy winds pelted my face, all I could think is “why the hell do I pay money to do this?!”

Sometimes I wish I wasn’t so eager to hit the pre-register button for races, especially races held in the notoriously crappy weather months of March and April (and hell May, too). But alas, I was registered for the CU Cycling Candelas Circuit Race, so I wasn’t about to let another $30 go to waste like happened with Frostbite. I awoke in Cheyenne to several inches of snow and wind and cold temperatures, but reports that the race was still on (major props to the University of Colorado cycling team for their great communication about the event and conditions! I wish all promoters were that consciousness of their racers!)

Started the drive down to Arvada, CO, and the weather wasn’t improving. Pulled into the Candelas development and it was freezing rain/snow combo blowing sideways and the car said 28 degrees. Roads were wet and I heard a male racer who had just finished talking about his brakes being frozen. So what does this girl do? Get her race number and pile on the clothes! Felt like I was preparing for a winter cross race more than a road race. I said screw it to warming up and just sat in my car until 15 minutes to go, when I rode over to the clubhouse that everyone was using as a warming hut and met up with the fellow 4 girls I’d be racing against in the Women 3/4 class.

I knew the race would be survival instead of going for a good result. Right from the start I was dropped because my left pedal had iced up and I couldn’t clip in right away. I sprinted and caught up with the group, only to spin off the back shortly into the climb. This circuit race was mostly just one big hill repeat interval ride. I was pretty impressed by the climb – Amber was not joking when she described it to me! So I just tooled along, off the back. I had my SRAM Force 22 group set installed last night onto the Ruby, and the gearing was noticeably harder than my old SRAM Apex (which was – blonde moment – not something I realized was going to happen when I got that group set, I was thinking 11 gears = easier granny one. Not the case. Ugh).

At the top of the hill we turned around and headed back down what would be an insanely awesome descent if it wasn’t wet. I haven’t done really any descended at speed on wet roads, so I didn’t want to go too crazy. I caught the 4th place girl at the bottom, but as we headed up for a second time she dropped me again. So I pedaled up the hill, got to the top and realized I only had my granny gear. Neither front or rear derailleur would budge. Le sigh. I unclipped my right foot and kicked at the rear derailleur (much to my worry… dammit, it’s brand new!) and managed to deice it enough to get a few harder gears. Came to the turn around and realized I had frozen brakes. Down the descent I granny pedaled. 4th place was off to the side trying to unthaw her drivetrain so I did manage to pass her.

Of course up the hill for the 3rd time she caught up and dropped me. The whole race ideas of dropping out where in my head, and I tried hard to ignore my wet, frozen toes, and absolutely numb rear end. I mean, who does this stuff? My Garmin was reading 27 degrees, I heard the wind chill made it about 10 degrees, and it was sleeting. I actually had a reason to wear my lobster claws… in a race that wasn’t cyclocross. That’s not a good sign. My bike was a frozen pile of muddy ice with only one working gear (that thankful/unthankfully was the easiest) and not really any brakes. But I still pedaled up, and spun at like a cadence of 200 in my granny gear to the turn around and back down. I had to coast the whole way, trying to make myself as small as possible against the icy headwind with no gear that could turn and sustain the 20-30mph speeds. The Men 4/5 leaders had lapped me, so all I could hope for is that I’d be pulled and not sent on a 4th lap. I rounded the corner into the finishing stretch, and someone told me to keep up with my smile. I wasn’t smiling because I was necessarily happy, but more because I couldn’t believe sane people actually come out and do this stuff. We’re all cray cray in the head…

And then it was over. I finished down a lap, but I finished. I coasted to a stop, jamming my foot into the curb to stop me from running into the officials. I loudly announced I had a frost bit butt and headed to my car. I felt relief as I started the car and turned on the seat warmers and frantically started stripping out of my soaking wet tights, legs warmers, jersey, jacket, base layer, cap, Buff, shoe covers, gloves, and shoes.

Today was about not giving up. I could’ve woke up this morning, saw the snow in Cheyenne and went back to bed. But I didn’t. I could’ve turned around when I pulled into Candelas and saw the wet roads and sleet. But I didn’t. I could’ve called it quits after the girls dropped me soon into the race. But I didn’t. I surely could’ve coasted back to the car with no gears and brakes after the second lap. But I didn’t. I could’ve resisted announcing to Tim the USA Cycling official that my butt was frozen. But I… didn’t do that. LOL. Life is such a mental game. The mind gives up far before our bodies do. And my mind is the biggest hurdle I face on the bike. Just look at my bilat workouts on the trainer. Look at the failed Laramie Enduro attempt. My body wasn’t toast, aside from the achy knee. But my mind, well, it was over it.

Could I have had a better result today? Of course. Having no hard gears to push on the descent cost me time and let my competitors get away from me. You can’t prevent mechanical issues, especially when it involves half an inch of ice coating everything. I wasn’t the first nor last person who came up short because of a frozen bike today. But other than that, I am completely satisfied on how today went. I resisted taking the easy road and just giving up. At this moment in time, that means more to me than what is listed on my USAC results list. This season NEEDS to be about savoring the moments, savoring the pain, pushing their the pain, and appreciating every moment that I am able to pin on a race number, tear myself apart on a bicycle, and live to say “why do I pay money for this again? When’s the next race?!” If I don’t have that… well, it’s not going to be a pretty season.

Uncategorized

Back in the saddle…

March 15, 2014 The Adventuring Heidi

It’s been awhile since I’ve posted… well, since the Carter Lake road race. It finally felt like I had training back under control after what seemed to be a disastrous start to my CritFit Phase 2 plan. And then of course life struck. Life and the springtime crud that had been going around amongst my co-workers. For the beginning of March I had planned a road trip to Fruita and Moab in hopes of getting back some mountain biking skills. The Frostbite TT snowed/iced out (and was rescheduled for a day I couldn’t make it), so west I headed to Fruita with a scratchy throat and fever, trying to ignore what I knew was happening. Breathing hurt, my body hurt, etc. I still managed 17 miles at the Kokopelli trails followed by another 23 miles in Moab on the pathway and some of the Brands trails (where I had my first instance of an asshole not yielding to me and then proceeding to wreck his bike into me even though I had stopped off the side of the trail…). That did me in… I awoke on that Monday morning feeling like absolute crap and couldn’t barely move. The drive back to Cheyenne didn’t do me any favors with the elevation changes and sinus congestion. Sucks to have gone all the way to Moab and not really do any riding 😦 But the riding I did do managed to push all the yuckiness deeper into my lungs, causing what I believed to be bronchitis.

Constipation face and Kokopelli for the win!

I did feel awesome on the mountain bike aside from the extreme amounts of mucus and lack of ability to breathe. My technical skills seemed to be the sharpest they’ve been in awhile, which is good because for this time of year I seem to be usually battling confidence issues.

Needless to say, training went way off course these past two weeks. Combination of being sick and once again life stuff. I managed a road ride outdoors a few days after Moab and a mountain bike ride on Blue Sky earlier this week. And then magically, bam, I was feeling better about this past Thursday. Mucus clogs all gone. So bring on a race!

I signed up for the Oredigger Classic Hill Climb put on by the CO Schools of Mines today. Pretty simple – individual time trial hill climb up Lookout Mountain in Golden, CO. 4.5 miles, and my Garmin told me 1400 feet of climbing. It was cold, cloudy, and windy. I didn’t think the wind was that bad until about halfway up the mountain when I turned a corner and nearly was stopped by the headwind. I’m not sure I put in 100% effort (my cough reappeared, there’s my excuse. Yep, excuse!), and I had a lot of people pass me it seemed from my class. But I still enjoyed myself and think it was a good effort considering the craziness of the past few weeks. I actually liked the climb up Lookout Mountain – it’s a gradual climb with only a few parts I’d say were “steep.” No grinding at a slow cadence in the granny gear, instead very spinable and I even got out of my granny gear several times! I’d like to redo it on a less windy day when my lungs are back to normal! Luckily I packed my wind jacket so I could throw that on for the descent, which was one cold experience! And scary at times due to the wind, so I kept it pretty sane. No results are up yet (which ehhh… kinda weird considering the simplicity of a time trial, they weren’t even posted at the event), so I’m not quite sure how I did.

Spinning up Lookout Mountain at the Oredigger Classic HC – yay for first race photo in my new kit! (Photo by shotwilliam)

Tomorrow I am planning a few hours on the road bike just to get back into the groove. Phase 3 of my training plan starts on Monday, and it’s the final push to the opening of mountain bike season at Rumble at 18 Road. My threshold and VO2 max workouts will now be 3 days a week, which might be challenging since I was struggling doing 2 of them a week this past phase. But I know I just need to mentally buckle down and not try to throw away everything that I have done so far up until this point. I also have some more road events planned, if anything just for the excuse to put those miles in on weekends I have off of work.

I do have some new exciting goodies coming to help motivate me back onto the bikes! I ordered a SRAM Force 22 group set for my road bike which I am absolutely excited for as I think I’ll finally have the Ruby where I want it (no more upgrade-itis???). The good part of this means I’ll have shifters to complete my original Crux frame that I cannibalized for the S-Works frame, so I will have a pit bike for cross season. A few weeks ago I upgraded the S-Works Crux with SRAM Force front and rear derailleurs and Avid Ultimate Shorty canti brakes. I have Force crank arms waiting to go on as soon as new chainrings are in. All the take offs can finally go back on the original Crux, and I now have the S-Works represented by more respectable parts, haha. To top it off, on its way to me is a 2013 Specialized S-Works Fate!!!! I am soooooo excited! It was the last one available in my size, so I managed to fetch a good deal. I’ve always wanted to own an S-Works bike and here it is! Now, of course the bike far exceeds my cycling capabilities, but I’m hoping I can do it some sort of justice! I’ve been wanting a hard tail for awhile now.. nothing against my Epic, it’s also an amazing bike, but after months of riding a cross bike I hate having rear suspension when it’s not needed. The Fate will probably become my primary race bike as I simply do not race on enough trails that NEED full suspension (I think the Gowdy Grinder and nationals in PA might be the only ones for this year, and maybe the Death Crotch descent LMBS race).