Sunday, May 31, 2009

Women in Cycling

I just finished up a conversation with Susan; racer, coach and sports pyschologist in Santa Barbara. Every time I meet someone new in women's cycling I am overwhelmed at the open attitudes and willingness to share information/knowledge.

We all share the same love of cycling and an genuine desire to help women overcomes their difficulties, fears, and to achieve their goals as cyclists; whether that be a race, an ironman event, a time trial or just getting up the local hill on a ride with the family or husband. It's all good.

This is a growing sport and we are seeing more women cycling than ever, better/equal prize money for female racers and hopefully soon..more race categories for beginning racers. And my dream...an all women GRAN FONDO:) That would be sweet.

Keep it coming ladies..the bigger the bond...the bigger the movement -- Ride On
RL

Thursday, May 21, 2009

The T-shirt
Support crew trophy

Uphill TT mountain


Wrong Way Award



Road Race #1 warm ups

Road Race #1 Start




First day Time Trial Hill


Stage One: 10 mile Time Trial (Friday) This hill (photo above right) doesn't look so bad until you imagine it at the end of a Time Trial and without that oh so faithful 27 on the back... Actually it was a good moment for me as I actually passed people on this hill--then the ladies started passing me on the flat stretch into home which gave me an awesome carrot to chase down, so I finished with a great time for me and under my goal of less than 40 minutes; not last place. Cool today of 99 degrees.

Stage Two: 38.7 mile Road Race (Saturday) Temps were well over 100 degrees for the start of Saturday's road race...as you can see from above sports bras showing is acceptable for warm-ups at a women's race...the guys didn't mind it either, but it did make me think that this event is a great opportunity for women product sponsors--hmmmmm. The one shaded spot above became the start line. It was also up the hill from a bull that decided to chase down some riders warming up, so we thought we'd stay up here until he was back in the pen! Course was approx(distances varied from race bible often) 7 mile loop through beautiful, but barren countryside. The long stretch on the backside was brutal with manure piles steaming on each side and swarms of bugs that clung to your skin, shorts, face, eyes, ears, etc. It was like riding through a locust swarm until you rounded the corner, but it did make you speed up.

Did I mention the corner..oh yeah don't make a left....this is how I earned Trophy #1 above "wrong way" award. Yes I preroad the course, yes I knew it was all right hand turns, but hey...I made a mistake. Not to worry the 55+peloton carried me back and I continued on..losing time yes but not lapped until the 3rd lap. I managed to make up time--wierd how I was getting faster and feeling better at mile 30, enough so that I finished behind the pack and ahead of some keeping my GC place. Very fine line to warming up too much and/or not enough...I need to dial this in better as I tend to be afraid that I won't have anything left after the warm up.

The road race ended at 11:00 a.m at which point we started to devour food, wash down and try to stay cool, legs up until the next race this afternoon which was...keep in mind this is a really remote location..no going back to the hotel, your car and whatever shade you find is all you get.

Stage Three: 13 mile uphill Time Trial (2500ft) ( yup, Saturday) I wish I had a photo of this mountain road to show that was better, but I was too focused and hot to take one. The one photo of the climb is above if you look at the one with the mountainous scenery you will see a diagonal line in the mountain range..that is part of the road, we went from the bottom to the other side of the top on this road. 2500 feet of elevation gain, mostly in the first five miles. Brutal temps of 104-106 now at 3:00p.m. for the start time. The key to this climb was simply to finish. After the morning road race and sitting around in the heat I wasn't sure that would be possible. For many it wasn't and watching them turn around and descend, knowing many of these women have raced way more than me caused the climb to be more of a mental battle than a physical one. It was steep, granny gear (27 on here) kind of climb. The key was to hydrate well and keep the calories going in/electrolytes too. I had soaked my clothes in the cooler water and was grateful that I had. I wasn't the fastest one up at all, in fact I was the last one to come in of those who finished the climb. The other racers weren't allowed to descend until the last lady finished so they were happy to see me, but wonderful about cheering me in for the last 50 meters which seems like 50 K... The ladies were great spraying me with water, forcing me to eat and congratulating me.

Then the moment we all waited for ..a screaming decent back to the cars and a air conditioned restaurant..unfortunately that was 1.5 hours away, but none the less a reward.

I was totally cooked on the descent, my body covered in sweat, salt and sunscreen. I can't remember most of it, but I was happy to have finished 3 of 4 stages..two more than I had imagined.

Stage Four: 48 mile Road Race on Iron Mountain (Sunday) My 4:00 a.m. wake up call came way too early and I could hardly lift my head from the pillow. This is where I believe I made a mistake...I tried to eat and it was impossible to get the food in or water. I just wanted to puke. So I got in the car and drove to the start area not feeling very well at all and in a daze. Mr. RM was pretty worried as I didn't sound like myself on the phone. It was already 100 degrees at 6:30 a.m. and we had 48 miles of road with no shade and few support vehicles. Once on my trainer I realized I would be a fool to start this stage. I knew I could not keep the 20 mph pace my CAT 4 racers were going to do and that would put me out alone without water support for a very long time. Still I tried to eat and drink, but there was no way I would have enough in for this level of endurance and heat.

Looking back I think if I had waited to eat after I was on the trainer and early on in the race I would have probably been okay to finish it--note to self for next time. Also this is where I realized that a support crew/person is crucial. I should have had help the day before, someone to drive so I could sleep, someone to think for me, set up trainer, etc. Next time for sure.

But here I was in the middle of nowhere, so I decided to run support for my fellow CAT 4 ladies. Afterall they had been great to me all weekend and I knew in this heat it would be a great help. And it was...one flaw with this race was lack of support vehicles, but my trusty suburban was ready. I still had 8 gallons of water, gu packs, electrolytes, bars etc. so I stayed with the pack and kept them hydrated and fed, fixed a chain and did a wheel change. It was actually a really great learning experience and I have to say when the 4s over took the 3s I was really cheering them on.

These women were amazing riders and mentally tough. They never let the pressure off and raced right to the end! We were rewarded with a picnic under the shade trees and a really fun award ceremony. This is where I earned Trophy #2 for best support crew:)
In the end I was awarded the thing we all wanted and fought for -- the Kern County Women's Stage Race T-shirt...apparently with my times and factoring in those who didn't finish the hill climb, etc. etc. and other race things I don't understand I earned it. I'll take it.
It was, as a blogger I read wrote; "Hit yourself over the head with a frying pan hard!" mhernandez
a definite must do again for next year,
RL


Tuesday, May 12, 2009

Bike Week Pasadena-Women Cyclist will be there!

Bike Week Pasadena Presents...Ladies Night at One Colorado: A Progressive PartyWednesday, May 13th: 5pm-9pm

The historic One Colorado will be the host for Bike Week Pasadena's Ladies Night, an evening featuring bicycle rides, a bicyclist fashion show, demonstrations, shopping and dining. Participants will be treated to a progressive party that travels from store-to-store and will receive discounts, free treats and other goodies courtesy of One Colorado merchants.

You Go Girl!
It's all about the ladies at One Colorado. Special merchant discounts, "The Ladies of Leisure: Pedal de Pasadena" ride, mini-clinics, fashion show, live music, free champagne and awesome raffle prizes. Free bike and shopping valet available! And don’t miss the Velo Vixen Fashion show featuring fashion and accessories from: Pasadena Cyclery, Trek WSD, DeTours, Elisa B, Evomo, Fuel Belt, Fun Reflector, Harlot, Ibex, In SOHO, Luna Sport, Revolution Cycle Jewelry, Sheila Moon, Sporteve, Sock Guy, Swrve, Timbuk2, Totally Tubular, Third Eye Mirrors, Twin Six, Voler Team Apparel, Velowear and Zoic.

At the conclusion of the fashion show, don’t miss the raffle for some fantastic prizes from our Ladies Night supporters including at Trek Allant bicycle!

Meet us in the central courtyard at One Colorado. The One Colorado is bounded by Fair Oaks, Colorado Blvd., DeLacey and Union St. in Old Pasaden a.

Schedule of events:5 PM Progressive party kicks off featuring special offers and goodies, courtesy of One Colorado merchants.5 PM - 6 PM Basic Bike Mechanics by Pasadena Cyclery6 PM C.I.C.L.E. Ladies of Leisure: Pedal de Pasadena Bicycle Ride—short, relaxed, scenic and fun! Ride leaves promptly at 6:30 p.m.7:15 PM Live music by Fear Mia8:15 PM Velo Vixen fashion show presenting sassy velo-wears for everyday cycling and living.8:45 PM Raffle with prizes

Ladies Night is part of Bike Week Pasadena! Bike Week Pasadena 2009 encompasses a week of festivities and rides that celebrate and encourage bicycling as a healthy alternative to the automobile, May 11 through 16, 2009. All Bike Week Pasadena activities are free and open to the public.

More info on Bike Week Pasadena can be found at: http://www.cicle.org/

Monday, May 11, 2009

Kern County Women's Stage Race

On the Calendar for this weekend....

10 mile Time Trial (Friday)

38.7 mile Road Race (Saturday)

13 mile uphill Time Trial (2500ft) ( yup, Saturday)

48 mile Road Race on Iron Mountain (Sunday)

CRAZY

YES....I need the Ultimate Cyclist CD 24 /7 to do this one....oh my what was I thinking?
RL

Cruisin' the Conejo

62 Challenge metric 5700 ft of climbing...my kind of ride. Met up with everyone at the Bicycle John's tent for coffee and delicious homemade baked goods--thanks Jen an John! We partnered up, grabbed route slips and off we went.

Kelly, Robb, Corrin and I set of together but were quickly separated--mostly wanting to make space from the somewhat inexperienced riders. It was chilly and foggy at the start, but by the first rest stop we were together and taking layers off.

Robb and Corrin took off while I help Vicki with her bike position then Kelly and I set off. Kanan was a mess of crazy cyclists going way to fast, so we quickly made a left and detoured slightly from the route--why they don't go this way I don't know. Met back up with everyone at the next water stop.

Rock Store was the first climb of the day, then Mulholland to Encinal, Lechusa, Three bitches (where I kicked ass) then Portero, Lynn, Dos Vientos back to Newbury Park after numerous freeway crossings.

Kelly and I were done after 5 hours on the bike and multiple stops to fix chains, massage cramps, fix helmets, etc, etc. People are really unprepared for these events! A nice lunch by Whole Foods and of course the very helpful Boy Scouts.

Then it was time to get home to Barkley (a Goldendoodle puppy we were dogsitting)..I figured after 5 hours away Barkley would be done with the house remodeling:)

She was actually very good. Good day, nice company and Kelly and I decided that a women's trip to wine country was next on the agenda for this summer---of course on our bikes; what else?
RL

Wednesday, May 6, 2009

Pet Peeves #1 People Trying to Kill Me

We all have pet peeves when we ride our bikes...such as I hate when snot rockets come from all directions, or people half wheeling, or riders that show up with no food or gel for the ride then bitch about bonking....
But today I reached a whole new level of agitation shall we say, so today's pet peeve is:

"I hate when people purposely try to kill me!"

Our first (yes first there is more to come) near death experience happened on Rock Store. A group of 4 of us headed up on this gorgeous day. We were riding for intensity, so not fast and we were single file. A very RUDE man in a silver BMW convertible license # MLKH8N nearly took each of us out...he was driving purposely slowly and getting as close as possible--to the point where I thought his car would touch my leg! So unbelieveable. He had plenty of visibility and room to move over and not do this. One good thing about this was there was a cop at the top of Rock Store ( I know, what luck), so he took the description and went on after the guy...hope he found him.

We continued onto Latigo and back with a stop at the vineyard for water...yes really just water and then headed back via Mulholland to Westlake/Decker.

This is when RUDE turned to RAGE from our next attacker. As I descended Decker a small, silver, SUV, 4 door vehicle approached slowly but aimed right at me in my lane (I was going down, SHE (yes SHE) was going up. I looked right at her (dirtly blonde hair, big glasses) and noticed there was a flag (green, red and white stripe or shirt? hanging from the back window behind the driver). I slowed and got tighter into the wall thinking she was going to purposely hit me...she was less than two feet from me when I saw a gun (for a moment of shock I wasn't sure what was coming) then realized--- I was shot directly in the face by a Super Soaker. I was blinded and in shock at this, as I made my way to the side to stop.

The vehicle went on up the hill and I was unable to see for that moment to get the plate # and couldn't ride up fast enough to catch up, but I did call it in. Sure, I've had moments of rage from cars before, but never such a blatant attack that felt like this person was trying to kill me. One has to realize that it could have ended that way had I lost control of the bike because I couldn't see.

I'm happy I had glasses on and that what came from the super soaker was only water. I was definitely afraid of what it was since at that close range it stung pretty bad.

What should have been a great day was ruined by humans being mean to other humans. I hate to think of it, we all have to coexist in this world...hell even lions and their prey respectfully share the few small watering holes during the daylight! If we can't have respect for one another what's left?
RaeLynn

Monday, May 4, 2009

Get yours ladies

On the shelves today; Road Bike Action Magazine with an awesome new section for women...

  • Features by Gail Bernhardt on the unique needs of female cyclists
  • New gear reviews
  • And a very nice spread of mountain bike/road racer Suzanne Karklins on racing bikes and being a new mom:)
You can get the issue in digital or print here:
http://www.roadbikeaction.com/fly.aspx?layout=sectionindex&taxid=175

If you like it, hate it, want more female oriented information or have suggestions or topics you would like to see covered just write the editor: brad@roadbikeaction.com...
tell him RaeLynn sent you his address::))
Cheers,
RL

Sunday, May 3, 2009

Personal Bests


I've learned a lot about being and achieving your personal bests this week. Wednesday I attended a clinic by Josh Horowitz of Liquid Fitness. The clinic was hosted by the local club; CVC.

Josh explained the process of erasing negative images, thoughts and attitudes from our minds in order to become better athletes. It made such sense to me and many of his points were things I do everyday--well not any more.

Josh led our group through a meditation and visualization exercise using his CD; The Ultimate Cyclist. It was strange and Adam's gum chewing was distracting, but I managed to visualize my ride to Rock Store the next day; as I would like it to go....

Well amazingly I had the greatest night's sleep and that morning I said my affirmations, replaced negative thoughts with positive, especially when I learned a one-one ride was now a group ride of faster riders than me and went for it.

Not only did the group not drop me, I achieved a personal best on Rock Store.

This has definitely opened my eyes to the brain as a tool that can be trained just like my legs and my lungs. I purchased the CD and will continue to monitor/report on my progress.


Negative thoughts I used to have:

My knees will get hurt

I'm not fast enough

I'm going to get dropped

I'm not a racer

I'm not fit enough

My legs aren't strong

I'm not a racer

I'm not fast enough

I'm going to get dropped

see the theme here......?


This is the last time I'll ever write, speak, or think these things. I'm throwing out that broken record.

BTW...last night the CD arrived, I played it as I went to bed...I have no idea what it said (this is how it works...but I stayed awake long enough to visualize my Time Trial ride today and hey guess what - - Personal Best AGAIN::))

RL

You try it, let me know your results!

One last note to the ladies...WE CAN RACE AND HAVE FUN...here's a pic of Sheri and I today ---it was her 1st race:)