Ice Weasels

On Friday night, one of my coworkers yelled "you're crazy" out of his car window at me. I assume this was because I was riding my bike in the dark on icy roads in fairly cold weather. I wonder what he would have thought about my plans for racing on snow the following morning in even colder weather. Last year, Patrick and I cut the cross season short after I fell on black ice at the end of Nov and had my chin stitched back together. A year later, we have put that trauma and medical bills behind us. We were ready for Ice Weasels.

After a rainy, muddy race in Rhode Island last weekend, Patrick started lamenting the end of the cross season. He hadn't done a single race because he pulled a muscle in practice a few months ago. This was too bad because Patrick really likes cross. He decided he was going to do the one remaining race, and signed us up.

We got an e-mail Friday night warning that the course was 90% covered in snow, but 100% ride-able. After inspecting the course on Sat morning, I think that 90% figure was low. There were 3 turns and one straight section that we not under snow. About 1/3 of the course has one ride-able line which made passing pretty difficult. The run-up (which was more of a drag (your bike)-up) consisted of a frozen hill with some shallow icy steps dug into it.

Patrick's race had 100 guys and a lot of ice. One shrewd guy started off his bike, sprinted past about 30 guys at the start, then hopped on his bike. By the time, Patrick got moving at the back- the leader was coming back around on the other side of the field. It didn't take long for guys to be spread out over the entire course. I saw a few hard wipe-outs on icy turns and some other less concerning ones due to getting bogged down in the snow when trying to pass. Patrick fell in a turn, but got right back on his bike and kept going. In a race like this, equipment was important. The winner had a special bike for snow with huge tires. I think that Patrick enjoyed his race - and he certainly enjoyed knocking back a few beers while we waited for my race.

By the time the women's race started, the straight non-snowy section had tuned to mud and the deep snow had been smashed up by the other racers. We had a lot easier time with the conditions. Cathy Rowell and Victoria Gates dressed up for Christmas with reindeer antlers. Cathy had some super cute Christmas socks and Victoria had a light-up Rudolph nose. These were cute - but most hilarious was the vampire rabbit and Julie Lefebvre had on her back during warm-up. She clarified to me that this was an ice weasel. Hope to have some pictures up soon.

Some Thoughts on Women's Cycling

Women Riding Bikes

By Christopher Fauske
Date: 12/11/2009
Women Riding Bikes


Women riding bikes
Members of the women’s peloton discuss their sport

Recently, by e-mail, Daily Peloton writer Chris Fauske caught up with three members of the women’s peloton based in New England and asked them, as the cross season wound down and during the off-season for road races, to reflect on what it takes to succeed as a member of the peloton.

Chris Fauske: I wonder, as we're going to be talking about the time commitments and the psychological investment you are each making, if you might each share how it was (and when) that you got involved in competitive cycling; I'm thinking more of what cycling offered you at the time you started that you really wanted to be part of, rather than of a specific event or incident.

Anna McLoon: I think that if you ask a bunch of women that question, you'll get as many answers as the number of women you ask.

For me, riding and racing fulfills several things that I love and need; I love working hard physically but with a goal. I love winning or when I fall short, I love thinking about what I can do better next time. These things are pretty universal to all the sports I've done over the years, but cycling fits my life right now for many practical reasons.

I bought my road bike almost 4 years ago (spring, 2006) because I wanted something athletic to do during graduate school after I stopped skiing at the elite level, and fell into racing and the NRC and Team Kenda (where I'll be racing this coming year) through a combination of luck and because I always like a challenge, so when I've reached one goal I always set a new goal that's a bit higher.

Brooke O’Connor:Based on my oldest sister's influence, I started doing running races at about 8 years old and racing triathlons when I was 11. I Found that I was best at the bike leg of the triathlon so started doing bike races (non-USCF ones) when I was about 17. I think I was 19 or 20 when I did my first USA Cycling sanctioned race (called USCF at the time). I'm 35 now, so you can do the math.... :-)

Clara Kelly: I got involved in racing through the NEBC [Northeast Bicycle Club] clinic in April 2008. I was drawn to the adrenaline rush of pushing my limits on the bicycle. I was also craving speed after spending the previous summer on foot— making slow progress through California, Oregon, and Washington along the Pacific Crest trail.


Clara Kelly warming up for the 2009 TDBank Mayor's Cup.

Photo © 2009 Chris Fauske

At that particular time, I was in need of an outlet for my energy. I had spent the previous year having a great adventure with the hiking trip and was trying to settle back into the tedium of working in an office. I was new to the area and I found a welcome camaraderie in my women's team and the NEBC club. The racing brought a needed challenge and focus to my life.

So now you're riding what's been the biggest surprise about what you're gaining from the experience and what, perhaps, you're not doing outside cycling that you thought you would be?

Anna: I guess I constantly surprise myself with how much I'm willing to rearrange my life to pursue this cycling passion of mine. I do many of my favorite things (hiking, running, ski training) much less than I otherwise would in order to put in Quality training time on the bike.

I HATE working out inside, but am willing to put up with the trainer when my coach, Fiona Lockhart, thinks I really ought to do any certain workout and it's not possible to do on the roads. I am not a morning person, but am willing to get up to ride at 6:30 so as to make sure I can also get all my lab work done. It definitely takes some very careful planning to make good progress towards my PhD AND to keep progressing on the bike.

As to what I'm gaining, well, I've done other sports seriously, so I am not surprised by all the things that make it worth it; the fabulous folks I meet, the satisfaction of winning a race, all the moments training that make it all worth it (watching mist rising off the river during an early morning ride, riding through a flock of wild turkeys, feeling like I've finally nailed a technical skill or workout I'd been struggling with, etc.).

Brooke: Biggest surprise has been the realization that I've been racing against the top women in the U.S. for many years and am competitive against them. Because of bike racing, I put off starting a family by about 5 years.


Brooke O’Connor.

Photo © Northeast Bicycle Club

Clara: The biggest surprise about what I've gained from bike racing is an improvement in the ability to be calm and focused in stressful situations. This was a challenge that I didn't really appreciate when I started racing. I've been close to several bad crashes which have been horrifying, but I've been able to take a breath and focus on my riding.

What I'm not doing outside of cycling is hiking and traveling (to an adventure other than a bike race), both which I've always enjoyed. The season before I started racing, I hiked 2,700 miles with my husband which was wonderful. The closest thing I've had to a hike since is trail running and taking my cross bike through the woods. I hope to enjoy more hiking after I retire from bike racing.

The idea for this conversation grew out of an e-mail exchange about women's cycling and the amount of commitment and time you each choose to make. Do you think there's an element of that need to balance time and outside commitments that the men don't have? Is there something extra it takes to stick with riding if you're female?

Anna: Yes and yes. I bet if you did a survey at a big NRC race of the men and women, to see who had to pay how much to be there, it would be amazing what the difference was. I'd bet that a huge part of the women's field had to pay a big part of it out of their own pockets; maybe the plane tickets, maybe the entry fee, maybe everything. And most of us can't count on winning it back either. So that's one element, we HAVE to work not just to support our lives, but to pay for our sport.

I think part of it, too, is that women often come to the sport slightly later in life. Men who started racing as juniors are used to, I don't know, asking Mom and Dad for money until/unless they score a pro contract or something, and from what I've seen are either far more willing to put their other life goals on hold for a couple years, or want to make a career out of being in the cycling world. Women, who often start riding after college, have already started pursuing their other life goals and aren't willing to put those on hold completely, and usually have to make it work financially with whatever they have available. Women at the very top national level still need to have supportive families or spouses/partners (heck, I'm not above asking my parents for their spare frequent flier miles). BUT most women want to/need to keep their careers progressing even while trying to race.

It's not just financial, though. I feel as if women feel pressure to focus on "Real Life." I'm sure if I announced to my family and friends that I want to try to make my living being a bike racer after I get my PhD (and don't worry family and friends, I'm NOT going to do this and abandon my academic aspirations) they'd be supportive but would worry about what would happen when I was done playing, and whether I'd be able to pick up my career again, etc. When little boys say "when I grow up, I want to play in the NBA or Major League," most adults would think about what the odds are of them succeeding, but not as much about whether or not sports are a valid career goal. Nobody's going to tell George Hincapie "gee this cycling thing is really nice, but when are you going to stop playing and have a family and start a real career." Maybe women are held to different standards or maybe most women just happen to be more sensitive to this kind of thinking/these expectations.

And part of it is, it's much easier for men to have a family and leave the wife to make sure the kids get breakfast, whatever, while they train or even disappear for weeks on end to race. Don't get me wrong, there are tons of male master's racers who are fabulous fathers and put in tremendous amounts of time and energy into their families. Still, the societal norm is there, that the mothers are the primary caretakers.

Brooke: Definitely it’s more of a balancing act than for men. How many male racers have to bring their babies to bike races with them because the babies are still being nursed? There is also a very small percentage of women racers (compared to men) who can make some sort of salary to live on. Therefore, most of the women in the peloton either have full, part or off-season jobs to supplement their racing. Most of the women also have at least a Bachelor's degree while many of the men do not.

Clara: Anna does an excellent job summing it up. I think it is challenging for a woman to make the time to train because there is an expectation of maintaining the household, which clearly is a very major commitment for women with families.

I find that the time demands of racing can put a big strain on personal life. For all racers in a relationship, it is important for the partner to be supportive of the racing. I'm very fortunate that my husband is supportive of my bike racing. He is really a champ at picking up slack around the house and also supporting my team at all of our races.

He puts in a lot of effort to allow me time to train. One example of the sometimes extreme lengths we take to get in training for me is that during my first season I worked full time and also took a summer school class at night which was from 6 to 10 pm. To allow me to get in a ride from work to school, my husband drove to the school to pick me up. He then ignored the 5:30 am alarm the next morning which I needed to get on my bike in time to ride it to work. He also drove me to the races so that I could get some extra sleep before those early starts for the cat 4 field.

Bicycle racing is a dangerous sport. For this reason, it is not supported by many relatives and friends who have the cyclist's best interest at heart. Indeed, it is so lacking in femininity that it can be difficult for some people to imagine a grown woman devoting a good deal of energy to it. I suspect that most female racers, including myself, are independent people who feel a need to find their own way in the world and who are not afraid of defying stereotypes and the expectations of others to do so.

I suppose it's no secret that the profile of women's cycling, both within the cycling community and the public at large, isn't as great as for men; are there advantages to this? Disadvantages?

Anna: There is much less prestige or money resting on women's cycling. We do it because we love it. Whatever our goals are whether it's to take a minute off last year's time in a time trial or to win a world championship (yay Kristen Armstrong!!!!) ultimately, we have to take satisfaction from ourselves and from our own little community. If American women do phenomenally in the Tour de le Aude, or the Route de France or wherever, do you know how hard it is to even find those results?

Of course there are disadvantages. It's mighty disheartening to feel like your race is just an afterthought (women's tour of California last year?) and to feel like nobody wants to watch you race. At Fitchburg last year, some older fellow asked me when the pro race was, and I told him "the women start at 2" and he made it pretty clear that he only was interested in watching the men. Why not watch both races? He was already at the course!!

And it's mighty hard to find a team. Men's cycling, there are a lot more rungs on the ladder from good local rider to pro. For us, there's really not much between local racing and the NRC and there aren't as many teams to ride with/for.

There are advantages, too. Because the fields are smaller and the total pool of riders is smaller, it's easier to really get to know your competitors and to feel a sense of community. It can be kinda silly, actually, when for the smaller local stuff we can predict pretty much who will do what when, since we know each other's strengths and weaknesses. BUT we also know about each other well enough to ask and honestly want to know how each other's kids are doing or how that thesis proposal or job is going. And we take that sense of caring with us even when we're in races with 100+ women instead of just the small, local field sizes. We all know that everyone on the line is really in it for love of the sport, and not for fame or $$.

Brooke: Advantages? People are shocked when they find out that you race bikes. It can be a conversation piece.

Disadvantages? There's barely any money for salaries for women; prize money is a fraction of the men's prize list; many race promoters will not even hold a women's field; sponsors are harder to come by; promoters not willing to support an equal distance race for the women compared to the men. Ever hear of Title 9? Bike racing hasn't…

It would be nice if when promoters try to start a new NRC race or move a race from an amateur one to a pro race (Battenkill), if they did so for the women's field, too.

Clara: The main disadvantages that I see to this are financial, with women finding less sponsorship. Certainly lower pay at the professional level keeps many women from pursuing cycling as a full-time pursuit. It is frustrating that we don't have the same opportunities even in amateur racing because not all races offer a women's field.

One advantage of not pursuing cycling as a full-time pursuit is that we may have more balanced lives than the pro men, and more options for employment outside of cycling. Without the financial drivers in men's cycling, we have much less doping in the women's peloton which makes for better sport.

Anna, you claimed second place at the NCCA D1 championships this past summer, and you spent a couple of years before that racing on the Nordic skiing circuit. You're in a Ph.D. program at Harvard now, but I wonder about those years skiing: we think of cycling as a low-profile sport. How about Nordic skiing?

I grew up in a skiing state, Minnesota. Nordic skiing may be a very low profile sport in the U.S., but it isn't in many parts of the world. Cross country skiers are huge sports celebrities in Scandinavia and in other parts of Europe.

BUT yes, in this country, skiing hardly appears in mainstream media. On the other hand, I think there's a level of support within the ski community to which the cycling community pales in comparison, and maybe it's just that a smaller community is going to be more tightly knit. Skiing the supertour (the skiing equivalent of the NRC) is often a largely self-funded endeavor, although thankfully one with full gender equality. Still, elite skiers really feel loved and supported by the community. Part of it is that there's a much bigger expectation that elite skiers give back to the ski community (leading clinics, training with their local junior teams, etc.) and in return the community is so quick to help out with host housing, financial support, and a high amount of respect. And by and large, it doesn't matter whether the racer is male or female.

I think the cycling community is a bit like that, just not quite to the same level. Even the biggest team may find room in their trailer for a TT bike for someone on a smaller team who otherwise can't afford to take the bike to a race. Maybe the men are like that too, I don't know. And so many people are willing to host female cyclists for races.

Brooke, you've got a win at the national track championships at the same time you were doing a lot of the leg work for the club. You have a two-year old at home. How does having a child change what it's possible to think about doing as an athlete, or, at least, change how you have to think about succeeding?

I've directed the NEBC Elite Women's Team since 2007, the year I gave birth to my daughter. I got laid off from my job in May 2008 and that summer I directed NEBC, raced for Hub Racing, and traveled with my daughter to most of my races. To say the least, it was a big juggling act. Now working full-time in 2009, racing for and directing NEBC, I no longer think about my own personal results on the bike. I think about the limited amount of time I have to get in a quality workout so that I can do my best in the race to help and teach the NEBC women how to race their bike with quality training, quality efforts during the race, and help with the lead-out at the end of the race. To me, it's all about being able to execute the team plan and how that execution brings satisfaction to the women being a part of something larger than themselves, that is success.

Clara, you're a more recent addition to the ranks of women's cycling: I wonder what specific practical advice you might give to someone who's thinking of investing some time to see if she can make the grade?

* Identify a few other strong women in your area whom you can ride with and learn from.
* Discuss this new commitment to training and racing with your partner.

* Consider your budget and discuss this with your partner also.

* Start asking other cyclists about how to find deals and/or sponsorship.

* Start being creative when it comes to finding time to get your workouts in.

* Think about how much time you really have to spend on travel to races and plan your race calendar accordingly.

Finally, for all of you again: Do you care to comment on your hopes for women's cycling as a sport?

Anna:I think parity is clearly way too much to ask for, but it would be nice if when promoters try to start a new NRC race or move a race from an amateur one to a pro race (Battenkill), if they did so for the women's field, too. I mean, if you're already paying for the fencing and the PA system and the officials, how much harder could it be to add a women's field?

I wish that the cycling press would do a bit more to help build interest in women's cycling. I guess I'm just as guilty since I tend to just scroll through the men's race report to get to the (always way shorter) description of the women's race, but sometimes I end up reading snippets of the men's race report, anyway, and this means I start to become familiar with the names and teams and such. If all the myriads of men had to scroll through the women's results half of the time to read about the men's races, who knows, maybe eventually the women's names would be familiar enough that they'd start to watch us race, too.

Brooke: It would be wonderful to see it gain some higher recognition and the number of women increase. More support from race promoters would be nice. Because of the current inequality between men and women, but still with the same time commitment to race at the same level, women don't see it as a viable outlet for their athletic endeavors. Personally, with a full-time engineering job and a 2-year old, I find that I'm stretched too thin and have decided to retire (again) from bike racing. I don't have the time needed to train at the level needed to compete at the highest level, like I used to pre-baby. I will continue to compete in sports, but it may focus more on masters swimming and aquavelo competitions (swim and bike portions of triathlons at the half-ironman distance).

Clara: I hope that the numbers of women racing will grow to allow us to have good competition at the local level. I hope that promoters will support women's fields for both regional and national level races. I think that there is an opportunity to involve more talented women at the junior level.

Thank you.

Orchard Cross Costume Race

More photos of the costume race here. http://picasaweb.google.com/TripleP/091101OrchardCrossCostume# Things looked pretty silly lining up at the start. We couldn't even tell that was Julie inside of her headless horseman costume. Danielle won for the ladies best costume - a robot. I think that was a sympathy vote though because it looked like she was having a heck of a time riding her bike with limited viability through a cut off of a box. My favorite costume was Sue's octomom. Try racing with 8 baby dolls crawling up you! I couldn't stop laughing.

The costume race made up for last weekend's worst race ever up in Maine. The weather was fantastic, but the mud was hellish. I had a general malaise which seemed to have been building since August. I didn't feel much like racing and decided not to pre-ride the course once the suggestion was made that it might wreck my bike. That should have been a sign that maybe racing was not a great idea. Within half a lap I had fallen way behind, then slid through a turn off an embankment. There was a bit of an adrenaline rush when the rocks and trees came flying towards me - but I escaped injury. However it did cement my position as dead last. My pedals were so jammed up with mud that I couldn't clip in which made it pretty hard to make any progress at all through the mud or carry speed at any point during the race. On the second lap, my brakes were so gummed up with mud, leaves and sticks that I couldn't even push the bike. After carrying the bike long enough through the woods to consider dropping out, I fell on a rock and smashed my knee. Fortunately I got lapped the next lap so avoided further humiliation and damage to myself. Ridiculous!

Glouster Grand Prix

Saturday: Rain was so heavy on the drive the race that I really wondered if they would hold the event. Silly me, of course the cross race must go on. The course was slick and several sections of turns on hills were better taken off the bike. The warm up in rain went ok, but I learned a lesson about stripping off layer at the start line. 5 min to go is way too early. While I was shivering, I watched teammate Lorraine and Joy enact a little skit. Lorraine thought Joy (a new rider) had too much air in her tires and she tried to help but letting some out. Except, it all went out! Oops. With 2 min to go they were able to borrow a floor pump and get ready.

Muddy conditions were good to me. I have the strength to slog through mud. Sections that everyone has to run are even better because when no one is on the bike – poor bike handling isn't slowing me down. I had a poor start so needed to pass folks as soon as we entered straight sections of grass. Unfortunately a woman fell in front of me, right as I was getting ready to move. I couldn’t avoid hitting her body and had to stop to avoid running over her and/ or crashing. After that, the first lap was pretty much a loss and I had to focus on chasing the 2nd lap. That went ok, no major problems with bike handling as I was dismounting and running questionable sections. The 3rd time up the run-up was a very painful experience. Muscles definitely not trained for that!! You can see the look on my face in this photo.

On the last lap, I heard that I could get on the podium with just a few more passes. The two women ahead of me weren’t going fast, so it looked promising. I tried to pass one before the section of turns on the backside. We contacted and I got pushed into the tape. Good for her, bad for me, now I was stuck behind them in the turns. I passed them once out of the turns and started the last push to the podium. That didn’t last long because I caught my rear wheel on a spike when I had it on my back for running up a hill. I couldn’t get it off easily, since I needed to lift the bike over my head to get it off the spike. The girls passed me when I was struggling with the bike. A spectator pulled it off the spike so I could head in for 4th place. Too bad I didn't get a picture of that! Ahh, the drama of cross.

Sunday: After watching the elites race on Sat I realized that I would be able to ride at the back of the group even with my history of comical cross mishaps and sloppy skills. When I arrived on Sunday it became clear that the course would be a lot more challenging for me than on Sat because it was dryer. That meant that I was at a big disadvantage to people that can handle their bikes through corners at speed and the up and down turns of the sections we had run yesterday. On the positive side, the course was incredibly long so it seemed unlikely that I would be lapped.

My efforts to pre-ride the sections of turns through mud on a hill had me laughing. I wasn’t making the turns and it was a lot slower to be off the bike in those sections. I was at the back at the start, but was able to pass a few people. Once Anna Mcloon passed me back, I started having Deja vu. Last year, we saw a lot of each other in the races because we have a very similar style: start at the back, power past less fit riders, display poor skills and try not to crash. We were near each other the whole race. Our worst section seemed to be a muddy uphill turny bit. She was entering it too slowly to make it through and I was behind her. I think I ran into her twice there before crashing myself into the mud. Next time, be ready to dismount instead of running into people! I found out two things about the elite race: there are a lot more people standing around to watch you crash yourself into the mud and it can be hard to stay motivated to the finish when they shut the music off and you have a long way to go yet. Ah, well it was fun anyway.

Green Mountain Stage Race

Back at GMSR. Wonderful mountains, wonderful scenery. I got about the same result as last year 5th overall and 4th in the road race. Last year, this result seemed pretty decent, but after a 2nd year of racing, well not so great. On the positive side, I did make it through another race safely and had a good although not excellent run up the mountain. General sights.

One lady who finished back a few places had underestimated the difficulty of climbing App Gap and chose her gearing poorly. She ended up running the bike through the finish. Even with that, she beat 23 competitors so she may be one to watch for next year.

Anna McCloon had a fantastic race, finishing with the sprint jersey and crit win. She had a very good improvement on her TT time and enjoyed taking the yellow jersey in the circuit race.

I continue to have a great respect for Ann Marie Miller, previous race winner who gave a very good showing in both the climb and crit races. The overall winner of the race is a mountain biker who is super fit. It was fun trying to keep up with her on the climbs.

I made the unfortunate choice to watch the finish of the Cat 3 circuit race and witnessed (from a distance) a smash up in the sprint. One bike frame was dramatically broken in 2 places and the rider hurled it to the side of the road with a stream of curses in French. Our road race was stopped for quite a while on the descent of Brandon Gap while paramedics attended to a male rider that had gone off the road. That looked to be a VERY BAD place to go down. I count my good fortune that I have not broken anything yet this year.

http://picasaweb.google.com/TripleP/090906GMSRRoadRace#5379554789303146754

Click here for my chalked encouragement and photos of climbers and chalkers. The photo on the left above is of one of the men's fields in the crit. I like the lonely aspects of that photo. Riders, a lot of pavement, and an incline. The race actually did have a lot of spectators and felt more like the blurry photo on the right.

D2R2

D2R2 Dirt, bikes, hills lot of hills!

D2R2 gets mixed reviews from the Kelly family. I had a great experience. My 111 mile ride and 15,500 feet of climbing involved meeting new and pleasant people, nice scenery, and nice climbs. Plenty of guilt free eating of junk food. Patrick describes his 60 mile ride as the most painful experience he has had on the bike. His trip featured a wrong turn down a very steep washboard dirt road, cramping, and walking his bike up numerous hills. Despite these challenge, he finished the ride in good spirits.

I had been looking forward to the ride for a while as a break from racing. My racing this year has generally been disappointing because I have not been achieving the results I'd hoped for in our local road races. Patrick had gone to a lot of trouble to rebuild "the beast" - my steel cross bike with 1:1 gearing so that I could enjoy my day of climbing on dirt. I had elected to run a 25 Gatorskin tire thinking that I would be able to go faster than if I used cross tires.

I was pleasantly surprised to see some folks I knew at the pre-ride breakfast. Mike and Bruce, my fellow Wyeth bicycle commuters and Anna Milkoski, a fellow road racer. Soon after we started rolling at 6 two others guys introduced themselves to me as fellow NEBC members. It's a large club, so even after a year I have a lot of folks still to meet it seems. I was determined to stay up with the front group as long as possible to take advantage of drafting. Also, I had no idea where we were going. The route involves 123 turns or intersections. It would take a long time if I had to continually pull out and consult the cue sheet. I'm really bad at this and have gotten lost each of the 3 times I've attempted a long ride relying on a cue sheet.

I met a woman named Paula who was also riding in the front group and very nice. I realized pretty quickly that my challenge of the day would be descending on the dirt. I didn't feel confident to turn on unknown terrain on the thin tires. This wasn't stopping the guys whole bombed down the hills no problem. A number of times I got behind I was able to catch up by descending fast on the pavement sections and by chasing. It became clear to me that I wasn't going to be able to chase back for 8 hours so if I didn't get off the brakes on the dirt, I was going likely not going to finish with these guys. I At 8 we got to the 2st stop and it was very annoying. About 15 guys that came in behind me (and Paula) jumped ahead of me to sign in, then while I was waiting to sign in, refilled their bottles and grabbed food. Most annoying about this and similar experiences I have previously had in brevets is the bathroom situation. While I was heading behind a barn to modestly do business the guys that had jumped ahead of me to sign in took off. I had to chase and when I caught up one of them (most had peed in the open at the stop) was peeing on his bike. I probably could have ruined my entire day by letting competitive feelings and gripes towards the guys build. I didn't have to because at 8:30 I was definitively dropped on a mile long rocky descent.

Not long after, I was rocking up a climb on pavement to the second stop when I got a flat. One guy stopped quick to help me pull the tire over the rim (not so easy for me with the Gatorskins). Another stopped to take a picture of me changing the flat which was funny. Anna encouraged me to catch up with her group which I was happy to do when I reached the stop. I had a nice time with her and her friends. We went through a muddy part, and headed up the infamous 27% climb. I lost traction in the soft group and crashed. Luckily I didn't take anyone else down with me. One awesome guy (George I think) stopped to wrench my foot free of the pedal and walk up the hill with me (putting up with my very bad attitude about walking up the hill). I enjoyed a wonderfully wickedly hot dirt climb with Anna and then started riding with a great guy whose name escapes me. We were close to the same pace, taking it easy. He reminded that after all it wasn't a race. I would get ahead on the climbs, then he would get ahead on the descents. It was great fun!

Then on rocky, fast descent, my front tire blew out and a spoke broke off the hub. I was able to safely get to the side to change the tire and tape the spoke. My new friend was concerned that I had wiped out when I didn't show up so he actually climbed back to check on me. Anna and friends and about 10 other riders blew past on their way to lunch, which I finally reached. I was able to borrow a floor pump there to fully inflate the front tire and mooch another spare tube just in case. I left lunch around 11:30

Out of lunch I headed uphill with a group of riders from NorthHampton, most of which I later found out were doing the 60 mile route. I realized this after I had been riding with them for some time and became very concerned that I was going the wrong way since I didn't know if the 2 routes coincided and had not yet looked at the cue sheet. Luckily, I was on the correct route and started riding with a guy named Todd from Northhampton. I was just finished griping to him about my previous mishaps when I slammed from pavement onto dirt and blew the rear tire. I could not believe it! Thankfully he was kind enough to stay and ensure the flat was repaired. We continued on and then found ourselves at an intersection clearly not on the cue sheet. I had been relying on him for navigation and he missed a turn (which did not have a street sign). We had descended quite some ways on pavement and understandably he wasn't thrilled about having to climb back up. He really challenged my comfort level on the climb - which felt as bad or worse than any of the climbs actually on the course. From then on, I was going to start paying strict attention to where I was going!

He stopped for water at the gas station at mile 92 and I kept chugging towards the final climb. I had hot foot in one foot and was looking forward to a nice break with shoes off. I was able to climb the 2.5 miles on dirt at my own pace while imagining the luxury of taking off my shoe taking electrolytes at the top. A summit has never been so wonderful. The volunteers up there were super nice, bringing me snacks while I stretched my foot. I was the only rider at the stop so had first dibs on bathroom, water, and all sorts of foods. The stop was fantastic and I will definitely go there again. It was an art gallery with a fanciful house and garden on top of a mountain. I was able to speak some with the artist and check out a portfolio of some of her work. Then a group of guys and Paula were getting ready to go, so I saddled up. Paula had gotten behind because she had trouble with her derailer. It seemed that Anna's group had gotten behind somehow (my guess is they also took a wrong turn). I started down a rocky narrow road and it didn't take long for the guys to start shooting around me. Paula and I decided it made a lot more sense to stick together than to try to keep up with the guys - even if we had to get out the cue sheet.

We had a close run in with a car on second part of the descent. We were in the right tire track of a narrow dirt road and a car came up. I couldn't pull over because the road was loose and I risked loosing control with the narrow tire. I couldn't stop suddenly because that would have risked crashing Paula who was on my wheel. The car didn't budge at all and came very close to my shoulder.

Following that thrill, we had a very cyclocross sort of descent on a rough unpaved road which was pretty exciting. Paula said they saved that sections for when we had lost most of our motor skills. So true, but we made it out ok and onto pavement for the last few miles.

Overall a great day!! A big thanks to everyone that gave me a hand with the flats and getting up after crashing. Next year I will try running a fatter tire to avoid flats. Also, I'll try to let go of the race mentality since the enjoyment of the ride greatly improved once I started looking at something other than the rear ends of riders ahead of me. One section along the Green River is particularly scenic. I didn't have a speedometer so I don't know what my saddle time was but we finished around 3 which left some time to relax before dinner.

Longsjo Stage Race

Happy 4th of July!!

Thanks to teammate Natalie and neighbors - we set up a little camp NEBC in Fitchburg which saved me from daily driving to the stage race. Even with a race each day, the escape from housework, yardwork, errands, and driving made it the most relaxing weekend in recent memory. I had the opportunity to race with some of the best women in the country this weekend- and one exceptional French woman. Jeannie Longo was a real inspiration. At 50 years old she was able to severely kick my butt in every event of the stage race. Apparently she has been the world champion 5 times and is currently the time trial champion in France. It was very exciting that she came to our local race and I got to ride next to her in the road race and criterium. I heard that the some of the French woman are not happy at Jeannie for winning all the time there but she can come and race with me anyday.

My most exciting day of the weekend was Saturday of course - my kind of race - a road race with an uphill finish. I was disappointed that we could not race up the mountain this year due to the condition of the road (closed for reconstruction) but I figured 6 laps on the hilly course would be pretty punishing anyway. After 4 laps, I started to wish I had put in more training the past few weeks. My legs felt tired when I chased back on after taking a feed. I hoped everyone else felt the same. The group had considerably thinned when was promising. A group of 4 had got of the front but was within sight. Things were getting exciting. Unfortunately we were neutralized to allow the men to pass. We completely stopped and took a long drink break. Not only did I lose my position at the front of the field but about 30 women caught back up making us a very large group again. It was frustrating but I had to roll with it. I did get in a chase group of about 10 for a little bit but we didn't get anywhere because there was no interest in rotating through so that ended in frustration also. Coming into the back stretch I was determined to have a clean shot at the line. I got up to cover an attack by Lip Smacker and rode 2nd wheel for a while. When I drifted back, the lead out trains of Colavita and Lip Smacker were assembling. I probably should have worked to stay closer to the front because when we reached the hill, I was back 10+ wheels. When I saw people take off the front I yelled at the girl next to me to move left so I could get out. I managed to get out on the left side and try to sprint to the corner (on the right). I got about half way there before the legs started to slow alarmingly. A handful of women including Jeannie had gone up the right side and already through the corner. Two ladies started to overtake me and I let myself get squished uncomfortably tight in the corner. I went all out for the line but was overtaken by one of the chasers and ended up in 8th.

The winner from Colavita had a really great finish - having been in the break and ridden the final lap alone. She finished just seconds ahead of the field sprint. Pretty inspiring.

Cat Two Blues

Patrick informed me yesterday that my rival last year in a number of local races, Kristen Gohr has upgraded to a Cat 1. Enter Status Anxiety. No, I'm not concerned that I'm passing up the local crit this weekend to spend time with Patrick and stop thinking about crashes. More races soon enough.

Today Patrick and I are going on a exploratory ride of the New Hampshire Coast. This past Wednesday we had an adventure on my favorite group hill ride. The guys like to get the adrenaline going by pushing it on the hills. After about two or three hills, Patrick let me know (in a raised voice sort of way) that I was pushing the pace too much between hills and that he would like to survive the ride. Well, unfortunately a subsequent hill included a turn that Patrick was unaware of. As a result, we became separated from the group and had a nocturnal wandering trip back to our car. Good thing Patrick was able to figure out the car location, or I might have been sleeping in a ditch with my bike.

For today's trip into unknown territory - I'm bringing a map and some extra goos.

Liberty Classuc

Liberty Classic Elite Women’s Race Report

Clara Kelly (31)

Rebecca Wellons (54)

Carola Berger

Samantha Derry

Natalie Dumont

We enjoyed wonderful sunny weather this past weekend for our trip to Philadelphia. It was a treat to ride in such an exciting race with spectators lining much of the course. We had four laps of 14.4 miles though boulevards of Philly, along the river and out to Main Street, Manayunk. The crown jewel of the course, Manayunk Wall, featured a 17% section and was preceded by 3 tight turns and a short section of cobbles. The playground of the course was Lemon hill, another steep one hill but much more sporty. It featured turns on the power climb and on the fast decent.

The first time out to Manayunk was my (Clara’s) first experience in such a large field. With 144 women, it was a big change from our local races. There was constant movement among the group as we headed to the turn at the start of Main Street. The turn slowed folks down, then back to jostling. The turns at the base of Manayunk Wall served to really string the group out. Only a few people could exit the turn at a time and then it was up the wall. It was difficult to pass on the climb because the road was narrow, so position prior to the turns was very important. I was relieved to reach the top of the climb without seeing any gaps open ahead of me. The field remained mainly intact for the 1^st lap. Natalie had mechanical issues with her chain and had to withdraw after it became firmly stuck on the wrong side of the gear.

The second lap, gaps opened on the climb. A break of about 15 riders got off the front. Smaller groups formed to chase the field. Sam and Carola worked with their chase groups to try and catch the field on a flat section.

The third lap, officials neutralized the men’s field to allow to women to pass. Not to gloat too much, but it was an exceptional moment. The hill started to seem a little steeper this time. At the end of the lap, riders behind the field were pulled.

This left about 75 women in for the final lap. Clara and Rebecca started the wall near each other but were separated when a gap opened. The climb up Lemon Hill was fast and furious with several sections of stringing out prior to the field’s sprint finish.

Team Columbia-Highroad dominated the race with Ina Teutenberg winning the race and three of her teammates in the break.

So, that's my report for the club. Perhaps the most entertaining part of the trip was celebrity spotting at the race hotel. When we pulled up, Natalie got all excited because she spotted Rock Racing's Freddy somebody or other. Later, the Liquigas team teased us when we were pumping our tires in the hall. You have never seen such mortification from four ladies regarding bike maintenance. Of course the pro teams don't pump their bikes in the hall. They don't bring their bikes into the hotel because they have a trailer and mechanic outside working on them in the parking lot. I don't care about the Liquigas team. I just like to ride my bike.

It's a jungle out there!

Time for some reflections on my competitive cycling experience thus far this year.

The lawn can really become a jungle when you prioritize training over trimming. A fellow cyclist donated a weed wacker to us yesterday and hopefully we can do some damage today before another weekend on the road.

The past two weekends I went with my team to race crits Wilmington, Baltimore, DC, and Somerville. I left the zone of friendly local women and found out that - yikes - it's a jungle out there. Over the course of two weekends, 3 of my teammates and another local woman (Anna Mccloon) were injured in crashes. These were over the course of 3 crashes and there were an additional two crashes not involving people that I know.

Anna suffered the same injury I did back in Nov. (attempting to commute on icy streets) which was splitting her chin open. My teammate Suzanne was more seriously injured, suffering a concussion and a broken clavicle. The other two ladies were brusied and had interesting marks left from bicycles. Tire mark up one woman's leg, chain ring on another's back. We may have been the only team going into the races not sporting tattoos, but we made up for it in bruises by the time we were finishes. After seeing crashes the first weekend, I got a sick feeling in my stomach when the I saw that the woman taking registration for the race in DC had a collarbone held together by a plate.

After these weekends, I have to say that I am seriously considering the compatibility of tolerance for risk with bicycle racing and specifically crits. Definitely my personality did not respond well to the experience. I rode very defensively both weekends and had poor results in all races - although thankfully stayed upright.

I've been so busy that I didn't mention Sterling road race here. That is a great fun local race. My teammate Rebecca Wellons won after a nice breakaway was initiated by Kristen Gorr. That was a good lesson for me not to be so lazy. Even though I expected Kristen to attack, I was tucked in on the wrong side of the group when she did. Had I been in better shape, I would have been able to catch her but instead I was left in the dust fuming. I did have a nice time with a chase group on the last lap.

Yesterday - no races on the calendar. I had a nice time up in the White Mountains defending my place at the Waterville time trial and sightseeing on the Kanc. (a highway that goes through the mountains). I got to see a lot of Kat Carr who is a sprinter from a rival team. In the past, I have only seen here large powerful calves and purple uniform from the back. Well, it turns out that she is actually a slim and attractive woman, not a purple monster. I had a lot of fun racing her on the downhill section of the time trial. We had each other in sight the whole way which was very motivating and helped my improve my time from the previous year by a minute. It was nice to see other ladies from the club there doing well. Cathy Rowell, and Katherine Snell were really moving on their TT bikes showing me how it is done.

Smells like summer

Summer arrives like a punch to the stomach at Turtle Pond! All ladies in our small race either drop out, run out of water, or both. What irony after I just thought we were done with the booties. Today a week and a half later I'm back at riding around the neighborhood in sub 50s and rain. Booties back on.

This past weekend I had the pleasure to climb Pack Monanock in cooler temps. I was riding with Jessica Ekhardt who loves to ride long distances. We did about 90 miles together and that is short for her. She said that she "smelled like summer" - sunblock.

Battenkill

Nice toodle around the hills of New York today. Nothing but respect for the girls who schooled me today on the climbs. Anna Mcloon and Audrey Fredrickson Scott were big inspirations after their extreme solo efforts.

February Update

It's been a good month for change of scenery.

Jan. 30th, Patrick and I closed on our new house in Boxford, Mass. Our new house has a room for a bike workshop, a garage, and perhaps best of all an abundance of natural light and limited traffic noise. Within hours of closing, we started moving in. Saturday a great group of friends helped us with the most fast and efficient move EVER, very well orchestrated by Patrick. We invite local cyclists to stop by for use of bathrooms, water tap and Gatorade powder..location to be revealed in March.

Thursday, the 5th we were off to Puerto Rico to visit friends and meet with cycling buddies in the Vuelta de los Nueve Faros. We enjoyed wonderful views of the beaches and banana leaves. I hope to have some photos up soon....but there are also many pics by a professional here http://kippierson.blogspot.com/ One highlight of the trip was meeting Keane West, a very inspirational handcyclist who covered the entire 375 mile route in great form. He even made it up hills that others walked their bikes up. My regret of the trip is that I pulled around most of the riders to climb the hill into Isabella pueblo. I wish I had stayed back to see Keane take the hand cycle up.

Another highlight was see Michael again who had organized the first trip that I took around the island. What wonderful memories! Yet another highlight was to see Patrick pedal his way around the island. Pretty impressive for a man who hasn't spent much time on his bike since October.

We came back on the 11th and this weekend, it seemed to be spring in the neighborhood. I don't think it even got to 40 degrees but the sun and lack of ice brought out a number of runners and cyclists to the neighborhood roads.

Snowy day here in New England

Yesterday was a wonderful snowy day. We took our friend, Ron, out for some cross country skiing. It was his first time on cross country skiis and he did an awesome job of staying upright. Ron put out a lot of energy, but wasn't getting up much speed. This gave me a chance to take it super easy while giving him some pointers on technique. We enjoyed the scenery and fresh snow while Patrick zipped around the trails in full speed racer fashion. I'm hoping for more snowy days this winter.

Later that afternoon- it was on the trainer for an abbreviated version of a long slow ride. I watched two films of girls in motion.

Rabbit Proof Fence - a wonderful film about two young Aboriginal girls trekking through Australia's beautifully vast and barren Western desert country I found it as riveting as when I first saw it some years ago. Patrick was bored to tears.

Run Lola Run
This a great movie for the 2nd half of a trainer workout. Techno background and plenty of footage of running. You do have to stop looking at your numbers to read the subtitles, but after an hour and a half, I had actually picked up a few words in German.