A Smashing End

Mike and I had a great day up in Maine, until it all came to a "smashing" end.

We got up late, enjoyed a leisurely breakfast, did some shopping, went for a bike ride to open the legs before tomorrow's race (ride ended with lemonade and fresh french fries at the town's fair) and were just heading up to Grafton Notch to take some pictures at Screw Auger Falls, and maybe see a moose.

Coming down the hill on Rte 2, I turned on my signal to make the left turn onto Rte 26 and started to slow. With oncoming traffic, I stopped. Unfortunately, the girl driving behind me (talking on her cell phone) did not. Smash.



We are both fine, but the van, as you can see, took a good hit. Good thing the bikes weren't on the rack! Oh, and the other driver claimed that the sun was in her eyes...

Insult to injury? It took Maine's finest almost 45 minutes to show up, and when they finally got there, the skies opened in a vicious downpour. And the bugs? There were MILLIONS!

The tailpipe has been cut off the car with a sawzall, and Mike has removed and straightened the rear shock which was bent and would not compress. Now it's up to the insurance to deal with the aftermath.

HANG UP AND DRIVE!

What's New?

Well, since my last update, life has continued to be busy here. So much so, that you get a summary of what's been going on instead of the full on blow-by-blow! Not to worry though - I am at least providing some pictures for your enjoyment ;).

• Mike started the Working Man's Stage Race last night, along with several other friends and teammates. Sadly, this is my first year in the past 4 not participating in this race! I have requested that the promoter consider a Women's Open field next year. I think the highlight of the evening though was Colin's initiation to the TT - he thought we were all kidding when we told him he needed to ride for over 15 minutes with the nose of his saddle stuck up his butt.
• Last year, I didn't get to race at Pat's Peak. I was determined NOT to have a mechanical during my warmup this year, and to see what this course was all about. Well, it was about climbing and lots of it. Oh, and that bright thing in the sky we haven't seen in two months? It made a grand appearance on Sunday, making it hot. And thunderstorms the night before (not to mention two months of rain) made for lots of energy-sucking, stinky, bug-filled mud. Oh, and I almost forgot about the wrong turn I took in the first lap taking me downhill to the lodge when I should have been going UPHILL... Short story on my result: if your glass is half empty, I lost; if your glass is half full, I won ;). Where were all the other Cat 1 women????
• Mike and I went to Lynn Woods for the first time in years. Of course, it was the day before Pat's Peak, so we only rode the fire roads and some lesser technical trails, but it was still invigorating to ride somewhere different.
• Last week, I played hooky from work to spend the day with my mom, dad and niece up in North Conway. We went to StoryLand for the day, and had a blast, despite gray skies and chilly temps. I've never been in StoryLand except for racing my bike...
• Mike has fully recovered from a debilitating bout of food poisoning. No more Chinese buffet lunches for us!
• Putney came, Putney went. 'Nuff said.

So, I think that finally brings me up to date! Here are some photos from some of the events listed above. I'll try to be better about timely updates ;)


How many roadies does it take to get an MTB racer ready for a TT?

Katherine kicking for 2nd; Colin with his MTB game face - no reverse hole shot here!

Mike looking super fast; Hey - are those MY wheels? ;)

A fun ride at Lynn Woods


My niece loves to drive!

Weather Weary

These are at least brighter to look at than the weather outside...

Catching Up

It's been quiet here on the blog lately. Work has been crazy busy, the weather has been pretty cr*ppy, and life has just gotten in the way. So, before this weekend's adventures started, I figured it was time to update the content here for my 3 faithful followers ;).

Mystic Velo Crit

Last weekend, in a brief reprieve from rain and mist, Mike and I headed down to Ninigret, RI for the Mystic Velo Crit. I wasn't planning on racing - sort of on a self-imposed hiatus - but put my bike and gear in the car so I could ride while Mike raced.

It wasn't until we arrived that I decided that since I was there, and had all of my stuff, that I might as well just suck it up and race. It was either that, or go out and ride on roads that I didn't know, by myself. So, while Mike registered for the Cat 3 race, I lined up, paid some nice people my money, and registered to race in the Men's 55+ race (there wasn't a women's category available, and cycling regulations allow master women to race 20 years their senior with the men).

Mike was super active in a fairly strong Cat 3 field, that oddly, included most of the Gearworks/SpinArts team. We later learned, that Mike had been assigned a shadow for the race, and in every picture I have of Mike, Tom S. is right there as well. His job for the day - do whatever Mike does! It was a fun race to watch, and Mike did well, but was frustrated by "racers" who didn't do anything for 24 laps but sit in, and then sprint at the finish for 13th place.



I convinced MaryAnn M to race in the 55+ race instead of the Cat 3, and we were also joined by Inette R. On the line, the 65+ field decided they wanted to do their own race, but there were two women in that field as well. I sat in for a time to see how things were going to play out, and the attacks started early, and often. I don't know most of these racers, so went with anything that moved on the off chance that it actually succeeded. Everyone of the attempts, however, was quickly reeled in.

While I consider this field to be reasonably safe, there were one or two wheels that made me nervous. Between that and the inconsistency in pace (24 mph to 18 mph in one flat lap), I decided fairly often to try and launch attacks. The men were having none of it, however, and the group stayed together until the end of the race.

With just 3 laps remaining, the pace again dropped to about 18 mph in a "cat and mouse" kind of situation. I believe the words "This is just stupid" came out of my mouth, and I attacked. Of course, everyone came with me, and now there were 2 laps to go, and I was pulling the entire field - DOH! I moved myself into 3rd wheel partway into that lap, and sat there through the bell. I was easily able to maintain this position into the final corner when ... I got SWARMED! ACK! The inside was no place to be on that corner, and I was forced to sprint out behind all of the leaders. But, I was sprinting... Until someone behind me started screaming something that sounded like "Give it up!" It scared me enough that I sat up, rolling across the line in a dismal 14th place.

So, the results show one thing, but I was really pleased with my performance at this race. First, I RACED. I was active the entire time, either attacking or responding to attacks. I got a GREAT workout, with an average HR of 177 for the race (ouch!). And, two former National Crit Champions complimented me on my race afterwards. In fact, Mark H. talked to me about strategy, who to follow and who not to, and encouraged me to join more of the men's races! I'd say, overall, the race was a success DESPITE what the results show.




Mike decided that he would do another race that day, since the rain was holding off. He lined up for the 35+ race, and on Go, led the field. Half a lap in, Mike was off the front of the group. Then two laps, then three with a 25 second advantage. After four laps alone, they rang the bell for a $10 prime. Mike solo'd for one more lap before finally getting caught by the chase group, which, unfortunately, contained Jonny B and a strong newcomer to NE racing, Scott G.

With the catch, Jonny attacked hard, and built a big gap on the chasers. Scott eventually bridged up to Jonny, and the two of them built a lead so big, they ended up lapping the field with about 4 laps to go! Mike and the chase group were eventually absorbed by the field. With three laps to go, Mike launched another solo attack on the field. Jonny noticed that Scott was boxed in, and launched his own counter, flying by Mike with the boosters at full throttle. Scott had to counter, dig deep and try to bridge, but couldn't quite make it, giving Jonny the win by a VERY small amount... Definitely an exciting race to watch!





CBTT Update - a New Personal Best!


Recently, a pair of Specialized Transitions showed up Chez Rowell. Jeff at the Loft loves us, because anything we buy that is bike related, usually comes in twos ;). We gave the new rides a test run last week at the CBTT, but the fit wasn't quite right for either of us, and we needed to make some tweaks.

This week, again with an ever so brief break in the mist/rain, we took them out for a second run to see if the tweaks made a difference. In my pre-ride, the bike felt great, with the cockpit adjusted to near perfection. The weather was good for a TT, although a bit on the cool side - humid and heavy air. On setting out, I settled into a comfortable pace, and reminded myself that anytime I got tired, to shift into a HARDER gear - yes, it's counter-intuitive, but it actually worked! I pushed one gear harder than I thought I could the whole way around.

Coming into the Carlisle rotary, I had a good average speed (above 25 mph), and still hadn't been caught by Eric M from BoB - my 30 second man. It's important coming out of Carlisle not to let up despite the slight downhill, so I kept on the gas, eventually passing Victoria G and Julie L just as we turned onto River Rd (and still no Eric). This is the hardest part of the course for me, and I usually lose too much time here. I focused not on the time, nor on my speed, but just on going as hard as possible through that section.

At the bottom of Punkatasset Hill, Eric finally caught and passed me. But I didn't just let him go. He really served as my motivation for getting up over the hill, down the backside and sprinting through the finish for .... a PR! I have been chasing a time of 23:56 for two years, and had finally decided that it was somehow an annomoly that I had ever posted that time. But this was my night - 23:43!

I heard from others afterwards that they thought it had been a slow night, so I am hoping that this bodes well for me. New goal - 23:30! As Mike said, it's amazing how much time enough money can buy ;).

Sorry, No Bike Content ...

If you're here for bike-related content, you'll need to move along. Nothing to see here. Last week was a rest week, and I am on a racing hiatus (at least for now).

However, if you're interested in photos from a trip to Newburyport with my parents on the ONLY sunny day in the past week (although it seems longer than that...), then this is the place for you! This was my first visit to the town as well, and it was a beautiful day to enjoy the scenery and be outside.