My Fast says, “It IS about the Bike”

Ok you Lance Armstrong lemmings please don’t pummel me but sometimes it IS about the bike. Think about this: a great engine will only get you so far. For example, if you have 450hp engine in a Ford Fiesta running on Wal-Mart retread tires it does not matter how much horsepower you have: you are never going to win a race against a Porsche Carrera.

Friday, I was very fortunate to purchase my new mountain bike for the race season. Take a look at my new, sweet ride. It is a Titus RacerX with Avid Juicy Carbon Disc brakes, SRAM X.0 trigger shifters, Mavic Crossmax SLs, Fox Float RP3 rear shock, and a cool Manitou R7 SPV squashed caterpillar green colored front shock. All weekend I played on some fast, fun trails. The new bike is wicked responsive compared to my trusty five year old well-ridden Giant NRS1, which creaks and rattles like the old Paragon Park wooden roller coaster in Nantasket Beach, but still holds air in the severely dented tubeless rims.

Saturday we went to Sagebrush to pre-ride the race course for next weekend’s race with teammates Chrissy and Denton. The course reminded me of many trails I have been on in Moab, Utah – sandy with some slick rock and minor technical sections. However, we did ride on a lot more pavement than I would have liked. Apparently one of the major climbs that used to be a fire road is now paved. But the descent afterwards is swooping fast. I got lost in banking turns and pedaling through the downhill technical sections. I came out with a big grin on my face. It was the first time I have ridden a new bike without something falling off or breaking on the inaugural ride.

Today, Sunday, we took off for Rocky Peak in Simi Valley with local pro, Dorothy Wong, who knows everyone and anyone in the Southern California bike scene and friend JL. So what if my legs were a little toasty from yesterday’s ride. I was a kid in a candy store. I was having a blast. We climbed, climbed and climbed. It was well-worth the effort for the fun descent on the homestretch. I was riding over technical sections with ease that others had to walk. Nothing like a new bike to inject me with a dose of downhill mojo - now I am ready for the mountain bike race season that starts in just seven days!

More Road Racing: SDSR 3/17-19/2006

San Dimas Stage Race: Stage 1 Time Trial 3/17/06

Today was a series of firsts for me in road racing. It was my very first time trial race and the first time I have ever entered a stage/multi-day road race. A time trial is when riders are sent off in 30 second intervals to race against the clock as fast as their legs can pedal. The course for this race was a 3.8 mile hill climb up Glendora Mountain Road and I raced against both category 3 and 4 women.

Although mountain bike racing is similar to time trial racing, it was difficult for me to connect with today’s event. Since I had never competed in a time trial I was not sure how to prepare mentally-was it going to be similar to mountain bike racing? Also, I did not pre-ride the course so I was unsure what to expect physically-like what gearing I was going to have to use, how much I was going to drool on my handle bars and if I was going to have to stand up to pedal to push over steep parts of the road. Anyone I asked to gain more insight on time trialing kept telling me that they are painful events because you have to push yourself so hard without going overboard. So where was the line going to be for me?

I warmed up and went to the start line anticipating I would have to push myself hard and stay focused. I have a tendency to gun it from any start line so I made a deal with myself and my coach to hold off a little bit at the beginning to let my body acclimate to the race butterflies and the lactate acid that was pumping into my legs. (See the picture of me gingerly rolling out of the start gate.) In less than two minutes, I was able to bridge up to the first racer in front of me. That was a confidence boost because I did not anticipate I would catch up anyone, much less pass someone so quickly. So I pushed a bit harder to keep going. My legs were burning but I was not anywhere near my maximum. Sure, I was breathing hard and I came close to throwing up one of my energy gels I ate before the race. But I was holding back because I was not too sure where the end of the race was and did not want my legs to fall off before I got there. Still, I caught and passed total of six racers and was about 20 seconds from catching a seventh racer before crossing the finish line.

At the end of the day, I landed a 9th place finish out of 54 racers and 9th for overall classification. For my day of firsts, I am happy with what I was able to accomplish and anticipating that these road races are going to provide me with the preparation I need to start the mountain bike race season. I also learned that I will need to take every opportunity to pre-ride race courses so I can be better prepared.

San Dimas Stage Race: Stage 2 Road Race 3/18/06

Stay focused. That was today’s goal. I have trouble staying focused during a road race. In the past I have quickly lost interest and fallen off the pack to take in the scenery. It could be that there are not enough potholes or debris on the road to peak my interest or it could be that my past experiences with the culture of road racing are not fond memories.

I did my usual warm-up with my legs feeling a bit tight from yesterday’s time trial. It took some effort to make sure my legs would be opened up just enough for the start of the race while leaving some reserve energy for the 5 lap/35mile course.

For the first lap I tapped into my usual strategy which is to attack right from the beginning. I thought I was being good at holding back until at least the first 5 minutes of the race. It was my attempt to see if I could break up the women’s field. I gunned it up some of the short hills at the beginning of the lap thinking maybe a group of us could break off from the pack and work together for a stellar finish. I do not have very much road racing experience under my belt, but I sure have a lot of dreams.

Anyhow, I spent most of the first lap up in front, towing the field. I paid for it on the next lap. My legs were feeling really tired and tight. It was as if someone was driving knives into my quad muscles. There was a long steep hill with a section of brick that killed my momentum each time I went over it. On the second lap, I was not too sure I would stay with the pack. I started pack drifting so far back that I had to sprint on the downhill to catch back onto the front group. Then we hit the false flat toward the start/finish line with a headwind. I dug deep into my reserves for energy to stay with everyone.

For the third lap, I tried to stay a little bit further back from the front to take a rest. I managed to draft behind some of the other riders and catch my breath and regroup. This lap was the toughest to maintain focus. It was a crucial moment for me to decide whether or not I was going to finish with the front group of racers or to drop back and finish the race on my own or with other dropped riders that might catch me. I had to ignore the persistent pain in my legs and make my mind take over. I struggled to stay on the front as they started to create a gap from the rest of the riders on the last descent. I turned it on enough to bridge back up to them and get to the front to do a lead out for my teammate, Tina, for her to win the sprint for a time bonus.

A mental breakthrough! The fourth lap I talked myself into hanging with the front of the pack. I was thankful that I pushed myself just a little harder because at the beginning of the fourth lap the field was neutralized to let one of the men’s groups through. So we all slowed down. Initially, I thought I would just “hang out” and enjoy the ride for this lap so that I would have enough juice for the last lap. But once again I thought the field was going too slow so I hauled myself back up to the front and started picking up the pace. I never said I was a patient person. I did drift back a little and maintained a top five position.

On the last lap, one racer decided to take a flyer and try to get away. Surprisingly, I had enough energy to work with a couple of the other racers to reel her back in. She was not satisfied with her break and she kept putting pressure on the group to go faster. We were going at a really good clip until the final climb. The men’s category 4 field caught us and we were once again neutralized to let them go by us. It was pretty precarious, especially over the brick section of the road. Once they zoomed by, the pace picked up again and I went back out to the front on the false flat to dig in for a lead out for my teammate to the finish line. The pack started to sprint for the finish and all of a sudden we were scattering like a bunch of pigeons. The men’s category 4 field that had passed us had several guys who crashed just before the finish. There were bikes all over the road and one of them was broken in half. Water bottles, bodies, a stopped car and a motorcycle were all in the way. The course refs were so shell shocked by the wreckage that they just stared at it. Everyone but my Good Samaritan hubby, Stephen, was unsure what to do. He helped to pull people off the course, leaving with bloody sneakers (Renee's March 18th Post) from the carnage. I picked my way through the melee and crossed the finish line and finished 12th out of the 44 racers left in the race and 10th for overall classification.

San Dimas Stage Race: Stage 3 Criterium 3/19/06

Let’s get the show on the road-I am ready to go mountain biking! Today was the last day of the stage race. The event was a criterium (or crit) which is a loop less than one mile raced on for a specified period of time. My group was slotted for an 8:30am start time and a 25 minute race in the city center of San Dimas. We would have the course to ourselves, without the crash-hungry category 4 men to mess it up.

While warming up for the race I could feel the fatigue in my legs. I was not too worried because I figured that the other racers felt similarly. Also, I have done enough 24 hour mountain bike races to know that toward the end of the event it is time to push through the fatigue to the finish. The kicker was arriving at the start line for the crit and being told that there was a 30 minute race delay because the promoters were waiting on the truck with the rest of the cones to lay out the course and that they had to have a car towed that was on the race course. We all started taking laps around the course to try and stay warm. It was good to have some practice since there were six corners that could be dangerous if you did not pick your line carefully.

Finally, we were staged to be called up to the start line. This was my favorite moment. They called up the top 10 racers to the start line. Since I was 10th for overall classification I had my name blasted over the loud speakers. It was really cool. We then waited another 5-10 minutes for the car to get towed and the official finally blew the whistle for us to start racing.

Once again, I shot off the start line and hammered to the front. (See the picture of me with only one other racer on board to follow my wheel-Monique-she is a fellow mountain biker too.) I was so cold from standing at the start line that I was shivering involuntarily and I just wanted to race to warm up. Also, with all the sharp corners I wanted to make sure I had first dibs on the best line. I towed the field around the course for the first lap.

For the next couple of laps, I drifted toward the middle and the back of the front group in hopes for a brief break. But the racer with the sprinter’s jersey for the event decided to maintain my killer pace. For the crit we averaged just over 28 mph. I was determined to stay with the group because I wanted to make sure I could get up to the front to do another lead out for my teammate, Tina, who wanted to win the last time bonus.

Finally, I was able to slide up to the front. I snuck in on the right side and parked myself in the front row. I did not have enough momentum or energy to provide a quality lead out so I figured I could block the other racers just enough to give Tina a little extra edge. Low and behold it worked! She was able to take off like a shot and since no one could get around me she won the final time bonus.

With 15 minutes left in the race one would think that the pack would slow down and start conserving energy for the final sprint finish. No one had any intention of slowing down in this race. If someone backed off the pace slightly another racer took her place and kept the field moving.

The sprint finish was fast and furious. Everyone was pedaling hard for the line. I do not have a lot of experience or practice with sprinting- I am like a diesel engine so it took me a little while to ramp it up. Still, I finished 14th in the crit and was able to maintain my 10th place overall classification for the stage race.

I am very happy with my results. Out of the 54 women that started the three day race, only 39 finished and everyone stayed upright! I was one of the top 10 racers racing against category 3 and 4 women. And according to my research, I was the number one category 4 racer. My next step is to see if this race gave me enough points to finally upgrade to category 3 for road racing-then maybe my circle of bike racing buddies will stop calling me a sandbagger for racing as a beginner on the road.

Urban Mt. Bike Race:Southridge 3/12/2006

One of the many reasons I enjoy mountain biking is getting away from the city. Usually after a mile or two into a trail you can leave behind the noisy intrusions of human life. It is very peaceful being out in nature with your own thoughts while grinding up a steep hill and being surprised by a bobcat that jumps out on the trail and runs off into the woods.

Unfortunately Sunday's race is not a race I attended for its scenery or the wildlife. It was for practice. The Southridge Winter Mountain Bike Race Series is a local event held in Fontana, CA. The cross country mountain bikers fondly refer to the area as "Fontucky." It is a great sample of urban mountain biking. Do not get me wrong, it is not a piece of cake course to navigate. In fact there is more single track on this race course than in some of the races I have attended in the local mountains. But you never escape the urban elements. The course sent the racers through a homemade paintball arena full of broken bottles and paintballers in fatigues, down a steep dam wall over some broken plywood makeshift bridge with an old baby crib mattress off to the side to cushion you if you fell, then through a chain link fence and around bulldozers. Fortunately, someone finally removed the overturned grocery cart from the course.

Sunday was the last race of the local series and the second one in the series I have raced. A month ago I was able to score a second place finish. Sunday was very different. The recent weather made the slow, soft sandy and deeply rutted out trails nicely packed and fast (see the picture of the snowy mountains on the way to the race). The pro women's category had a solid showing of eight women including Jimena Florit a 2 time Olympian. You may wonder why pros would spend so much time at a local mountain bike race. It is all part of the preparation for the NORBA National Series. One of the NORBA events will be on this very same course and we all have the same thing in mind-learn the course to go faster.

For the 3 lap/21 mile race, my fast was not working too well. I gunned it from the start (see the picture of me leading the field out) to get a jump on the single track so as not to get caught up in the bunched up bikes for the first left turn. In my head it seemed like a good plan, but my legs did not agree. I was quickly passed by the more experienced pros and then picked off by a couple more. My strategy was to stay with pros for as long as my legs could keep up. It was very short-lived attempt. These gals were wicked fast and smooth including my teammate, Chrissy Bono, who was in rippin’ good form and took 4th place. Once my breathing and heart rate calmed down, I was able to settle into a steady pace. I had some of the pro gals who passed me in my sight for most of the race, but I just did not have enough juice to reel them back in. I ended up finishing in 6th place.

Although I did not feel terrible during the race, I was not 100%. The best part was that I am still closing the gap on the time difference between myself and the veterans. I am glad that I am still improving and that I have not reached my physical ability ceiling. Still, it was a wake up call that this year racing is going to be very different from previous years. It is going to be much more competitive and challenging. I have a lot to learn about mountain biking and a lot more work to do to prepare for this season.

The Road Challenge:LA Circuit Race 3/5/2006

Road racing is a challenge for me. Granted, I do most of my training for mountain bike racing on my road bike. I get more consistent intervals on the road bike just on the riding routes alone. Also, I train with a PowerTap, a mechanism that measures my pedaling wattage output. According to my coach, it is much more accurate than training with a heartrate monitor. According to my legs it is a lot more painful and more mentally challenging to be consistent with power training. With heartrate training I can get my heart pumping fast early on in an interval and then kickback and relax until it starts adjusting to the intensity. With power, there are no breaks.

[Above Picture: I am warming up on the trainer before the race with teammate, Tina, (on my left) and Frank, (on my right), Bicycle John's Serious Cycling women's team mechanic getting my race wheels ready.]

Anyhow, I have entered the road scene this spring to warm up for the mountain bike race season. It is always good to get the first searing lung and leg burn under my belt before it counts. Somehow, I just do not manage to torture myself enough on my training rides. Unfortunately, I have never done enough road races to upgrade from the beginner's field (Category 4) to the next level of Category 3. For me it means that the beginner races are filled with a plethora of bad and beginner riding skills-aka crash friendly races. And road crashes are not as easy to get over as a mountain bike crash. You leave more skin behind on the road than in the dirt. Just think of playing baseball in a parking lot vs. in a grassy park and sliding into second base. Which one feels better?

Yesterday, Sunday, was my third road race of the season. It was a circuit race. Circuit races are usually loops that are longer than a mile. So you ride in a pack going around in circles for however many laps your category is assigned. Category 4 women had the luxury of riding the four mile course six times. The turns were left-hand hairpins. Now imagine the first time you rode your bike-did you go in a straight line? Probably not. Now imagine 30 or more women, with half or more doing their very first road race, riding really close together and trying to make a tight left turn. Scary.

The first couple of laps were uneventful. I tried to stay toward the front as much as possible. I pack drifted toward the middle or the back of the pack to take a break a couple of times, but there were some ladies who did not have good experience with pack riding and were all over the place. Dangerous. I figured the front was the safest even though I would have to work harder. As you can see in the picture on the left, I am towing the field.

I had a good time up front. I chatted with some of the other ladies, I announced when some of the gals in the back decided to jump out of the pack and take off, I chased everyone down who thought they might get away from the pack, and I, too, made a couple of attempts to leave the field behind. It was a great workout. I was impressed how my legs felt. Although I worked hard, it was not too painful.

I was even more impressed that no one crashed. During the sprint finish, one gal bumped my right side hard. I figured she was crashing or she did not know what she was doing. So I took off a little to the left and a lot forward. Then I managed to avoid another crash when some wobbly wheeled rider almost locked her back wheel with someone else's front wheel right in front of me. By then, I missed my opportunity for a good top five finish. Still, I managed a seventh place finish by gunning it around the almost locked wheels and passing a few racers right at the end.

So the challenge for me road racing is that not the strongest or best racer wins, it is the racer who uses the field of riders to her advantage so she has enough energy to sprint to the finish line for the win while staying out of harm's way. Since I want to upgrade to at least a Category 3 on the road, I must master these techniques. Until then, 27 more days until the mountain bike season starts!