Race Year: 1. Ballerina to Bike Racer

a few glamor shots from rocky..

2009-07-22T06:55:00.001-07:00

courtesy of kevin: demoncats

winnings:

we won rocky vii

2009-07-20T15:47:00.001-07:00

first ladies and 9th overall.

but the excitement was kind of dashed when we got accused of cheating. by today it was straightened out and we were told to keep the bags, so i said in return i wanted our names cleared (though, im sure that wont happen). i hate scene drama. we rode our little tushies off and now have some sweet bags to show for it!

anyway, back to the track next weekend.

pouring rain

2009-07-17T17:16:00.000-07:00

i am about to go get yummy, greasy food and delicious beer with nina before heading over to goldsprints. mike told me we had to take a cab because apparently there is a man between the spring garden and girard stops on the el who is poking people with hypodermic needles. i dont understand people sometimes.

i was on my trainer earlier and my legs felt fantastic! kind of bummed im not racing the track, but tomorrow melissa and i are racing for these bags:

but tonight is goldsprints, and i am going to spin my little heart out!

then tomorrow night and sunday is mike and jenna time! woohoo. we may go to the lake!

this is what i do..

2009-07-11T16:46:00.000-07:00

in my spare time.

tomatoes, squash, canteloupe, watermelon, beans, hot peppers, bell peppers, mini sun flowers, etc etc etc..................................

exhausted.

2009-07-11T16:05:00.000-07:00

racing was fast today. extremely fast. field of 17 women and 3 juniors.

after last night's ride and my general lack of riding, i finished middle of the pack each race. i got a great workout and am really glad i wasn't dropped. first race was a 9 lap win and out, second race was a 6 km scratch and the last race was an unknown tempo.

so my new bike... IS FANTASTIC! fits like a glove and is the smoothest machine i've ever owned. i am so stoked that the weather is nice and i can start riding regularly again. tomorrow morning training begins with a ride, possible group ride, with my teammate sarah and possibly some other people.

ok, so for the bike porn...

4 hours til race time

2009-07-11T05:09:00.000-07:00

i picked up my new frame yesterday, and i am sooo excited to try it out. it looks much more intimidating that my last bike. haha. black, white and red, but i will post pictures later. i switched from a 51.5 to a 50, now all i have to do is lower the saddle. i did switch to clipless because i feel really good in my clips and straps.

8 races left in the season, but next weekend i am going to skip the track and race in town. melissa and i are going to be partners for the annual rocky alley cat race. i am pretty stoked because normally i am not very good at alleycats because i have no sense of direction, but this race is different because one person runs the packages from 2 set points and the other drops them all over town, so it works out ideally.

last night emerson took me on a little training ride, and it really made me miss how often i used to ride my roadbike. i told him he should keep training me so i can get into shape and actually ride a real road race before the season is over. hopefully that happens. we are also highly considering doing the air products class in august and going up to kissena on some tuesdays to race. i am working on twisting his arm hehe...

anyway, i am going to make mike and i some delicious breakfast and then we're off to track!

new track bike!

2009-07-02T10:31:00.000-07:00

Steve at Bell's Bike shop is hooking me up with a Dolan pre cursa frame! woohoo. I am going to get fit on Wednesday and he said it will be ready by Saturday for racing!

Woohoo.

My makino needs to go into retirement. She has stress fractures at her lugs. :(

6/13 at the track

2009-06-17T14:07:00.001-07:00

The rain held off last Saturday just long enough for women's field to get in one race. This made me feel happy and sad at the same time.

Mike had to work the night before so I got a ride down with Lindsay and Frankie. After stopping at whole foods for breakfast, we were on the road by 930, getting us to the track a little after 1030, unpacked and warming up by 11. This was AWESOME! I think it was my first race all season that I actually was able to give myself a proper warm up. I couldn't really judge how my legs were feeling. I did two sets of 10 laps and 1 sprint lap as my warm up, I felt good, but my nerves were at an all time high. I had been sick and shaking all morning. (Will I ever grow out of that?)

The field was good! Hannah Hayduk who needed 3 points for her cat 2 upgrade and some cadence girls as well as all the other speed demons that are normally there. The field was comprised of 24 women and 1 junior boy, a bunch of people from philly were there for support and Mike was there to cheer me on (even though it was his birthday!)

The first race was a 9 lap points race. I wasn't interested in getting points, but I really wanted to finish in the top 5. I kept a really good position most of the race, 1, 2 or 3 back in the sprinter's lane. After the second points lap, the field slowed down and I got behind the junior boy and wasn't able to slow down so I hopped up the track and slowly reduced my speed. I knew if I slowed down too much that if a break happened, I would end up on the back. So I stayed up on the track and out in front for a lap and a half. I was really confused! I couldn't understand why everything slowed down so much or why someone didn't counter my attack. I kept my head in the game and when I saw the break happen, I swooped down and completed the 5 person break. Immediately a smile came on to my face because I knew what was going to happen next- that's right! I was going to finish in the top 5!!!!!!!!!!! But apparently my warm up did me much better than I thought because I was able to get a clear 3rd finish which felt amazing!

I was really proud of my strategic riding.

Then 2 races later the sky opened up and we were rained out. The officials said we get to keep our standings for the races we got in, but they would also reschedule the entire race day. So it was super exciting because I finished 3rd, but sad that I couldn't finish my racing on a day when my legs and brain were really in sync.

This upcoming weekend will be my first weekend racing back to back. Saturday at the track and Sunday at Cargas. We will see what happens, but the rain still hasn't really stopped, so I am going on my 3rd week without any road rides and maybe 3 trainer workouts.

That is all because Mike is on his way home, and today we got our WEDDING INVITATIONS in the mail!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

TEAM PHOTO

2009-06-08T19:44:00.000-07:00

SGC summer camp

Oakmont Crit 6/7

2009-06-08T18:48:00.000-07:00

I had to go home this past weekend to attend my little brother's high school graduation. Since I wasn't on the bike much last week due to MORE rain and I was going to miss the track on Saturday due to the graduation, I decided to race the Oakmont Crit while in Pittsburgh.

It was a fantastic course and a open women's field! It started in the middle of a brick road, with a left turn over train tracks, a slight down hill with another left turn, another left turn, a straight away up hill, a right turn into a sharp left turn over over the train tracks and then another left turn back onto the brick road. A .75 mile course, 20 laps for a 15 mile race. There were 2 prime laps for 20 bucks, 200$ of prizes for the top 5, and then a ton of other prizes for the top 3 including an 100 dollar gift certificate to a local boutique, an 150 dollar helmet donated by pittsburgh pro bikes, and a restaurant gift certificate. Yeah, sweet deal, right?!

Race day morning, was one of the most stressful race day mornings I have ever experienced. We got lost going to the race, only to get back on track and to the place where I thought the race was,just to find out we were in the wrong place. We had about 45 minutes to get 28 miles to where the race actually was in order for me to be registered 15 minutes prior to the race start. There went any kind of warm up. Then I got really nervous I wouldn't make it in time, so I called the race promoter and asked him if he would register me over the phone. Thankfully he did. I made it just in time to go to the bathroom, put my front wheel on, and get my number pinned on. Then I realized I forgot my water bottle. Aye yae yae. Luckily, I ran into a friend, Lee-Ann Beatty that I met during last year's dirty dozen and she lent me a water bottle.

Ok, so the race begins. I'm not sure how big the field was, but it was a decent size. It was weird because the bell rang, and everyone formed a pace line. A pace line, What? In a crit? So different then philly. The race started pretty slow which was nice since I didn't have a warm up. I was the second wheel behind Lee Ann, a great place to be considering she's a cat 2. On the third or fourth lap, the bell rang for the prime. Lee Ann and the other cat two Gray, took off and splintered the field. This race made me feel great about cornering, but reminded me how other people are sometimes not so great at cornering. Going over the second train track, a girl was fighting for my position and took the corner really shakey, I let her in front of me and lost my spot. At this point the race was broken up with Lee Ann and Gray ahead, a pace line of 4, and then me a bit behind them riding the race by myself. A few laps later, I passed two girls, and then got lapped by Lee ann and Gray, but taking their wheel. I then followed them when they lapped the few girls left in front. I followed them until the bell rang, they took off, and I hammered it, passing two more girls on my last lap, and finishing in 6th place.

Considering I didn't have any warm up or water on such a hot day, I felt great about my race. My cornering skills are great, Thank You, George!, and I feel really good about keeping a fast steady pace, and this was proved when other people started slowing down and I was able to pass 5 girls without sprinting.

So yeah, great course. The first crit I ever enjoyed. Oh, and there were no crashes! And Mike was there being my number 1 fan, and that was fantastic. He is always such great support and inspiration. I found myself a keeper, and can not WAIT to marry him.

Here are some pictures! http://fredjordan.smugmug.com/gallery/8478924_wfxwy#P-1-15

one of my teammates was attacked on the valley forge trail

2009-06-04T13:58:00.000-07:00

here's what happened:

Here's a message from a fellow Sturdy Girl who had a rather frightening encounter on our local bike path. So SCARY, we all train on this path!

"Tonight I was out on the trail, by myself, coming back from Phoenixville. At around 7:30 pm I was cruising through Norristown & as I approached the area where the basketball courts are, I notice 6 or 7 guys all wearing red t-shirts & black jeans hanging out on the side of the trail. They were looking conspicuously nonchalant & by the time I realized something was wrong, it was too late to turn around & get up enough speed in the other direction.

I decided that no matter what, they weren't getting me off of my bike so I hammered as fast as I could. As I approached they spread out across the trail. No one else was in sight. I was going 22 mph when I went between 2 of the guys and the one to my right who had his back to me swung around & punched me in the face. It is with extreme gratitude to the universe that I can say that with blood streaming down my face & amazing pain, I was able to stay on my bike & not even slow down until I got to the train station where I called 911. Police came. Medics cleaned up my face & I rode home.

I can't even think about what would have happened if they had gotten me off my bike. People have always cautioned about being on that trail, alone, on off hours & though my hard head may have saved me tonight, I get that I should have paid more attention. Hopefully it can serve as a cautionary tale to others."

i am such a girl.

2009-06-03T07:52:00.000-07:00

I prefer to ride my bike when I know I am getting a suntan, even if it is uneven. And every time I see pictures of myself in a race my first thoughts are that I either need to start wearing shades or get my eyebrows waxed regularly. :)

todays race report: 5/30; masters and rookies!

2009-05-30T15:33:00.001-07:00

It has been a really, REALLY rainy week. For the past month or more, I have been able to get in between 100 and 120 miles before that week's race. That has been an awesome feeling both mentally and physically. Last week I was able to hold 34mph for 3 miles on my trainer, and this week I was able to hold 39.7 for 1 mile, so I am really seeing results which is great. The rain really limited me this week, and I didn't get any miles in except for the 20 I did on my trainer last night preparing for today's racing. (That's right, I still can't ride rollers. )

Anyway, so on top of my legs not being in the greatest shape today, we were also running super late! Between traffic, and directional errors, Mike and I did not arrive to the race until 12 noon when it starts! I pretty pleased the officiants to let me race and thankfully they let me!

So the first race was a 9 lap win and out.Which means on the 7th and 5th lap, the first person who crosses the line gets 1st and 2nd, then the final lap 1,2 and 3 across win 3rd, 4th and 5th places. I got a lttle confused and sprinted on the 8th lap and then got eaten up, but that was OK considering I did not get to warm up, at ALL. So I decided to use that as my warm up race and came finished bottom half of the pack. Good warm up, I am never going to be late to a race again. I think there were 13 of us racing today.

Second race was just a straight 9 laps. This was my best race. I never was further than 4 back, we worked together in rotating pace lines, and then 6 of us broke away on the 6th or 7th lap staying together the whole way to the end, where there was a sprint to the finish and I just missed a 5th place finish, but I was soooo thrilled. For my second race day at the track, and 5th track race EVER, I felt really confident about my ability physically and strategically.

Third race. This was a fun one, I am bummed that I did not have the legs for racing today or I probably could have raced this one much better. It was an unknown distance race, but the first and second person across the finish line at each lap received 2 and 1 points. I knew I didn;t have the legs, so my options were: sprinting every third lap (if there were that many!!) to try and get the points and risk being eaten by the pack, or not going for the points and hoping everyone would wear their legs out and I could take a top 5 finish. Well, none of that happened, and I was pretty glad when it was over.

Another thing working against us today was really thin air filled with pollen. Our lungs were burning and major congestion was happening, it was painful.

All in all, a successful day at the track!

track season started!

2009-05-30T15:32:00.000-07:00

last weekend.

here's my race report from the SG blog:

Wednesday, May 27, 2009

A Track Racer is Born!

Yesterday I raced at Trexlertown!, and it was AMAZING! The girlz on the Track clinic must have been great because we had a field of 17 ladies and 1 junior boy for the day of racing! The officials said it was the largest womens field they had ever seen there. Despite the fact that it was most of our first time on the track, the field was SOLID and fast. Not to mention a pretty varied age range, and super helpful with any questions I had. There was only one crash, but it was because a lady accidentally unclipped and fell down, but luckily she just slid and went down alone and she is OK.

I didn't ride aggressively because I felt I really needed to get a feel for the races and track (considering it was my first real time racing), but I ended up still getting a 7th place finish in my last race! We had a 6 lap scratch, a 12 lap points race and an unknown distance race (which was sooo exciting!).

I am planning on pursuing my cat upgrade and racing at ttown as many Saturdays in the 12 race series as possible. It was awesome being able to show my SG colors on the track and I also got to meet one of S1's Salamander teammates (Laura McCaughey).

such a slacker!

2009-04-20T10:25:00.001-07:00

Here is a really quick update!

I did not get a new bike, but I upgraded to 2009 campy centaur and I love it. I am getting resized on my bike tomorrow at noon, which is a VERY good thing considering I was never sized for it to begin with and my riding position is in some serious need of help. As George, my coach, put it, it looks like I am fighting the bike the entire way instead of dancing a ballet with it.

I have a ton of rides to post on here, and some stats that I am very excited about! Considering I maybe rode my trainer 8 times all winter, I feel very strong and very fast.

We leave for spring training on Wednesday, and then when we get back I have a long list of races to race! Very exciting.

I raced the first day of the Philly 2 day, and didn't do well, but it was a pretty sketchy field and after almost getting crashed out, I fell off the back of the pack and stayed there- riding contently and fighting the 30-50mph winds by myself, but I figured with it being so early in the season there was no reason to risk getting injured in a 50+ person cat 1-4 field.

OH YEAH! and the biggest reason I was a slacker all winter was because Mike asked me to MARRY him on New Year's Eve. Down on one knee with the most beautiful antique style engagement ring I have ever seen! So in the midst of being so majorly, head over heels in love, planning a wedding, going back to school and nannying, I didn't have much time for the bike! Maybe this will become a wedding blog as well? hehe

decisions. ...

2008-12-30T17:20:00.000-08:00

http://www. bikepedia. com/quickbike/BikeSpecs. aspx?Year=2009&Brand=Specialized&Model=Tarmac+Expert+C2&Type=bike

http://www. bikepedia. com/QuickBike/BikeSpecs. aspx?ItemID=15794&Type=bike

http://www. bikepedia. com/QuickBike/BikeSpecs. aspx?ItemID=15774&Type=bike

back from break

2008-12-28T21:26:00.000-08:00

...sort of.

After the Dirty Dozen in Pittsburgh, I decided to take a month break from my bikes for a few reasons. The main one having been that I couldn't find a bike box in time to get them home on the Greyhound, and a second one because lately I began having hip pain due to the saddle on my road bike being just a smidgen too high all season. On my month break I did weights for arms and core as well as pilates.

Well now I have my bikes back and Mike bought me a trainer, so I am good to go. So far, knock on wood, we have been having an exceptionally warm and dry winter, so I should be able to train outside on a more regular basis than I first expected.

This is how I have my schedule planned out:

Winter weeks 1-6

	Indoor Trainer	Weight Training	Outdoor	Other
Monday	1 hr
Tuesday	1 hr
Wednesday	1 hr	X		Pilates
Thursday	1.5 hr
Friday		X		Pilates
Saturday			1 hrs
Sunday			2-3 hrs

Winter weeks 7-12	Indoor Trainer	Weight Training	Outdoor	Other
Monday	1 hr
Tuesday	1 hr
Wednesday	1 hr	X		Pilates
Thursday	1.5 hr
Friday		X		Pilates
Saturday			1 hrs
Sunday			2-3 hrs

Sun January 4, 18, 25, 2009 - B Ramble.
Level B, 13-15 mph, 40-45 miles. Meet at Italian Fountain at 12:00 pm. See weekly rides for details. Show and go or look for an ad-hoc ride

Sunday January 11th First Team training

THEME … Back to Basics

PURPOSE … Practice Basic Team Tactics & Race Formations

EXERCISES … Paceline Practice, Team Time Trials, & Team Miss-N-Out

COURSE … Clockwise /circular RIGHT [W. Stow Rd, onto E. Stow Rd, onto Eves Dr, and back onto W. Stow Rd] … CENTER LINE rule applies throughout the course.

FORMAT … 10:30 … Team assembly & brief session preview

10:45 … Warm-up laps in pack formation

11:15 … Paceline Practice & Team Time Trials

12:15 … Team Miss-N-Out / Points Race Simulation

1:15 … Team assembly & session de-briefing

Other training rides:

January 24

February 8, 21

March 8, 21

April

19^th Lower Providence Criterium

Wed, 22^nd – Sun, 26^th Spring Trng. Camp

OK, That's it for now.

first team training

2008-11-23T15:10:00.000-08:00

I don't know how to download the maps from my GPS, so here's the stats.

distance: 54.53 miles
elapsed time: 3 hrs 55 mins
average pace: 4:19/mile
max speed: 33.4 mph
calories: 2923
average heart rate: 154 bpm
max heart rate: 188 bpm
avg cadence: 83 rpm
ascent: 1858 ft
descent: 1782 ft

It was chilly out this morning! We ran into some people traffic due to the Philly marathon, but other than that it was a beautiful day to ride. A bit of a strong head wind around norristown, but it didn;t last very long.

We rode out through Manayunk and picked up the bike path and continued out to Valley forge. Then we rode across the highway and over to the Lower Providence crit course and did about 7 laps focusing on keeping our line tight while cornering. The LP crit course is the first big crit/race of the season- about 40 women in each field.

George told me that I should lower my saddle about an 1/8th of an inch because I am pointing my toes in order to reach the bottom of my pedal stroke and it is causing me to rock my hips. That explains why my right hip has been bothering me.

oh!

2008-11-17T17:38:00.001-08:00

and check out www.urbanvelo.org if you havent already!

really fantastic friends who make a badass bike zine and sponsor me.

thanks jeff and brad!

house party cat alley cat

2008-11-17T17:25:00.000-08:00

i did an alley cat on saturday night in a torrential downpour. seriously. it rained like an inch in less than an hour.

i am fully prepared for winter, but i never rain proof myself. who knows why!

as far as getting around the city goes, i am quick and good at manuevering around cars and pedestrians- what i am not good at is sense of direction. i finished 14th overall and 4th woman.

once we were all back at the bar, i was comparing odometer readings with a threesome from deleware whom i rode with breifly. it turns out that my poor sense of direction added on an extra 4 1/2 miles to my race. good training, i suppose. haha. in addition, i shot gunned two beers, did two jello shots, bobbed for a beer then slammed it and did a 10 second keg stand. i weigh 115 pounds! come on now, people! maybe i would be an all star alley cat rider if i could hold my alcohol.

after my last stop, which was blakeslee's, i was trying to avoid south street, but then had to swerve away from a car, and when doing so i ran over sewer that was uncovered due to construction and blew both of my tires out! luckily i was only two blocks from t. moms.

so after all that riding in the rain, i was feeling very sleepy and stayed in bed until 5pm on sunday. a much needed rest.

tomorrow after my morning class, i am going on a birthday ride out to valley forge, and then out with friends for dancing and drinks.

yay to turning 22.

let's get started

2008-11-13T15:46:00.000-08:00

So, as most of my friends know I will be riding for Sturdy Girl (http://www.sturdygirlcycling.com/) this upcoming race season. I am going to focus on road racing, but try my damnedest on the track.

We have unofficially began base training; going out for 3 hours on Sundays and climbing some gnarly hills while staying seated. Focusing on staying in low gears and spinning evenly. I am cross training with light weights, pilates and ballet- while still commuting daily on my track bike.

Team training officially begins November 23rd.

I ride a titanium Merlin with Ksyrium Elite Anniversary wheels and by April will be fully upgraded to a Campy record grouppo.

My amazing and unconditionally supportive boyfriend just bought me a Garmin Edge 705 GPS for my birthday (sorry gushing with excitement and love a bit!!!) so I am stoked to get that out on the road to track my progress! But before that, my friend Lee who has been GPS equipped for awhile has been monitioring some of our rides.

Here are the stats of the weekly rides we have been doing:

Tuesday Night Ride (BCP):

Total Time (h:m:s)
1:42:23
3:51 pace

Moving Time (h:m:s)
1:33:31
3:32 pace

Distance (mi )
26.39

Moving Speed (mph)
16.9 avg.
43.1 max.

Elevation Gain (ft)
+1,671 / -1,705

Avg. Heart Rate
156 bpm
Zone 4.4

Temperature (°F)
62.6°F avg.
64.4°F high

Wind Speed ( mph)
NW 5.8 avg.
NW 6.9 max.

Valley Forge Ride:

Summary Data
Total Time (h:m:s)
3:46:11
4:28 pace

Moving Time (h:m:s)
3:18:41
3:55 pace

Distance (mi )
50.54

Moving Speed (mph)
15.3 avg.
38.0 max.

Elevation Gain (ft)
+1,887 / -1,898

Avg. Heart Rate
133 bpm
Zone 3.2

Temperature (°F)
68.4°F avg.
69.8°F high

Wind Speed ( mph)
NNW 7.2 avg.
NNW 10.4 max.

Sunday Ride (SG's optional pre-training ride):

Total Time (h:m:s)
4:01:54
4:45 pace

Moving Time (h:m:s)
3:25:23
4:02 pace

Distance (mi )
50.81

Moving Speed (mph)
14.8 avg.
38.7 max.

Elevation Gain (ft)
+3,247 / -3,225

Avg. Heart Rate
146 bpm
Zone 3.9

Temperature (°F)
55°F avg.
55.4°F high

Wind Speed ( mph)
W 16.7 avg.
W 18.4 max.

We have a week of spring Training in VA in April and I am planning a week of training (road and track) and debauchery in Portland with Zak come spring as well.

I Put in close to 1900 miles this past season just riding, so I look forward to putting all of this hard work to use this upcoming season. So I guess I am going to use this blog to track my own personal progress, post cue sheets of rides that I fall in love with so other people can enjoy them and keep my close friends updated with what I am up to. Feel free to update me on your riding/training/bicycle debauchery as well!