How is it Thursday already?! The kids are napping (finally!) so here I am blogging when I should be doing something domestic, like laundry or cleaning the kitchen. It seems like I use up all of my energy to get them to take a rest so once they are actually calm and quiet I have little motivation left to do anything but relax on the couch. It is a vicious cycle. I am also trying to save some energy and motivation for tonight's team ride (or should I say torture race). I think I have mentioned that I am the only woman on the team, and if I haven't, I just did. On Thursday nights I usually hang with the guys on our first two "neutral" laps (btw, their neutral is my average speed), and then I quickly get dropped once our team manager yells "Go, go, go!" at the end of the second lap. It was disappointing the first time I went out for our ride, but I have since become accustomed to riding alone and getting lapped (a few times). Every once in awhile I get lucky and latch on to one of the older riders wheels and draft for a bit. Don't let the word 'older' fool you though, these guys may be in their late 60s, but they could most definitely kick over 90% of the fields butt. Sometimes, I think they just like to take it easy and I think they like it that I am out there working hard so they help give me a break and some great riding tips. Super nice guys!
For some reason I always seem to get a nervous stomach before heading out to the race. I'm not sure if it's because I know the brutal beating I am about to endure or if it's because my 5 month old daughter refuses to take a bottle and she is basically a ticking time bomb for the high school sitter (God bless her). Probably a little of both, I suppose. Well folks, wish me luck or at the very least, a light head wind. Oh, and don't get used to this everyday posting thing...it is a miracle that I ended up with this much time to myself today. Boy do I love it!
Thursday, May 6, 2010
Wednesday, May 5, 2010
First Post and First Race
Alright all you bike lovers, here I am in all my non-glory blogging about my misadventures in cycling and sometimes (if you're lucky) motherhood. This is my first season racing and I will do my best to document my journey for your reading pleasure. I'm not sure how to start this, so I guess I'll just dive right in!
Sunday, May 2nd, was my first TT and Crit experience. The day started off at 5am, with Ryan and I waking up ahead of the kiddos so we could prepare for the big day ahead of us. I found out quickly that espresso, fruit and and nervous stomach do not mix...don't worry, I will save you the gory details. Anyway, we finished breakfast, changed diapers, filled juice cups and waters bottles and were on our way to the races! The first of which was our team's, Blue River Bicycle Club, TT. It was a 6 mile course, up and back. Once we got registered, we had to figure out how we would juggle watching the kids (5 months and 2 years). Luckily, one of our teammates (that was set to go early on) offered to sit with Oliver and Violet while Ryan would be making his way back and I would be leaving for the starting line. It worked perfectly! It was a pretty nice course. On the way down we had an amazing breeze at our backs. I felt like I was flying. Picking up speeds between 19 and 23mph. It may not sound impressive to some, but it was lightning speed for these amateur legs! Now, I don't want to brag, but I did finish first...okay, I'll admit that I was the only woman racing that morning. Whatever...I looked at the last years results and I would have taken first that year too, and last year other women raced. It was definitely a personal best for me. My average speed for 6 miles was 19.9 ( I like to round up to 20 when I tell the story). After the race I was pumped.
Unfortunately, this feeling of elation came to an end once I started the Woo Hoo Ladies Crit later that afternoon. Before the race I was able to look around and sort of size up my competition. None of them seemed to be in great physical shape, so I assumed that maybe there was a chance they were slow...wrong-o! I was slow. Pretty sure I got lapped. Being the silly girl I am, I let pride and my emotions get the best of me and I called it quits before the end of the race. Lame, I know. I won't let it happen again, trust me. I will also say that I was surprised at the level of cattiness at this event. Nothing majorly out of line but there was definitely a vibe around some of the other riders. The need to size up the competition, I suppose. This was pretty disappointing. I mean, there are so few women cyclists that we need to be more encouraging to each other. Hopefully this is just an isolated experience. I'm still looking forward to more races and more practice riding in a pack.
Well, until the next time I find something interesting to blog about, I guess this is goodbye for now!
Sunday, May 2nd, was my first TT and Crit experience. The day started off at 5am, with Ryan and I waking up ahead of the kiddos so we could prepare for the big day ahead of us. I found out quickly that espresso, fruit and and nervous stomach do not mix...don't worry, I will save you the gory details. Anyway, we finished breakfast, changed diapers, filled juice cups and waters bottles and were on our way to the races! The first of which was our team's, Blue River Bicycle Club, TT. It was a 6 mile course, up and back. Once we got registered, we had to figure out how we would juggle watching the kids (5 months and 2 years). Luckily, one of our teammates (that was set to go early on) offered to sit with Oliver and Violet while Ryan would be making his way back and I would be leaving for the starting line. It worked perfectly! It was a pretty nice course. On the way down we had an amazing breeze at our backs. I felt like I was flying. Picking up speeds between 19 and 23mph. It may not sound impressive to some, but it was lightning speed for these amateur legs! Now, I don't want to brag, but I did finish first...okay, I'll admit that I was the only woman racing that morning. Whatever...I looked at the last years results and I would have taken first that year too, and last year other women raced. It was definitely a personal best for me. My average speed for 6 miles was 19.9 ( I like to round up to 20 when I tell the story). After the race I was pumped.
Unfortunately, this feeling of elation came to an end once I started the Woo Hoo Ladies Crit later that afternoon. Before the race I was able to look around and sort of size up my competition. None of them seemed to be in great physical shape, so I assumed that maybe there was a chance they were slow...wrong-o! I was slow. Pretty sure I got lapped. Being the silly girl I am, I let pride and my emotions get the best of me and I called it quits before the end of the race. Lame, I know. I won't let it happen again, trust me. I will also say that I was surprised at the level of cattiness at this event. Nothing majorly out of line but there was definitely a vibe around some of the other riders. The need to size up the competition, I suppose. This was pretty disappointing. I mean, there are so few women cyclists that we need to be more encouraging to each other. Hopefully this is just an isolated experience. I'm still looking forward to more races and more practice riding in a pack.
Well, until the next time I find something interesting to blog about, I guess this is goodbye for now!
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