Wrappin' up...

My first official season of riding and dabbling in racing has come to a close. I didn’t really intend for it to end or come to a close now, or at any given, specific time…it seems like it just sort of took care of itself. My season was a baby step into the world of bike racing. Two criteriums, one time trial and one road race. One DNF, one crash, one 17th, one 18th and one 31st place. Hmmmmm and I paid money to see results like that in print? All I really can do is laugh and learn, and this year I’ve certainly done both. I yielded my best result of the year in a relay triathlon that I did with zero planning and just for kicks, what’s up with that?!

I have learned…

1. that my leg muscles are prettier than they are fast
2. that even though all my every day clothes are now too big for me…I still look fat in spandex
3. that when you see light flashes, experience intense headaches and sleep for hours after riding it’s probably NOT just because “my body isn’t used to riding”
4. that women don’t like to work together when racing, even if they are on the same team… oh puhleeze, argue with me if you want… I aint seen it.
5. that the potty mouth in the pack belongs to none other than myself the elf
6. that some of my favorite rides of the season, took place AFTER I was dropped and got a chance to enjoy the scenery
7. that my favorite riding partner is still the boy that first introduced me to riding and that bob and molly run a close second
8. that kids think bike riding is dumb and “gay” until you add a mud pile to it. Also note that they also think helmets are dumb and gay, but they will don a football helmet to ride on a bike around the neighborhood and somehow that’s not weird at all.
9. that cycling is relatively clique-ish… or maybe it’s more gang-like, like the sharks and the jets

Ahhh so very many good lessons. I’ve laughed about most of the above and a great deal more. I can’t complain about the season – after all, I have nothing to compare it to…and ignorance is bliss, for a while anyway.

Next year I’ll be riding/racing officially attached – to a husband that is…. 13 days and counting…

Catching up...

Less than a month out now from the wedding, still lots to do...yes, I'm still breathing, but not much time to post. My duly betrothed is taking full advantage of me being busy and distracted and running with it. While I've been worrying about the caterer and the band and my dress being too big, he's been shopping for sweet little upgrades for his cross bike. The stash in the bike shop keeps growing, pretty new brakes for the cross bike, new bars for the time trial bike, new shifters.... I did manage to get a new trainer out of it for me... so hey, I'm not asking any questions! While he's in a spending mood, I even hit him up for a mountain bike and a cruiser... anything worth doing (like begging) is worth doing right!

Hopefully, I'll have new posts and some wedding pics soon! 29 days and counting...and he's mine, all mine (suckerrrrrr!)

Suffering...

and you thought it was only for cyclists... after last week, the chicken pox has now made it through all five of the wee ones... The three "middle" boys got to forego the first full week of school so as to not contaminate the others. This is fun for about a day or two....for all involved. These pictures are taken on day 4, I believe, when cabin fever set in, fevers and head throbbing were down and energy levels were back up... I can't even tell you how long it took me to get them to behave long enough for these three pictures. Chicken pox on a 14 and 12 year old are not fun AT ALL. Apparently, the older the kid, the more miserable the break-out and the other misery (for us) followed suit... more whining, gnashing of teeth and fighting with other siblings... glad that week is behind us and all are back at school as of today. I told them they would get their fifteen minutes....so ta-da! Notice the oldest (but not the biggest) doing all he can to still flex his abdominal muscles while sitting down.... ha ha ha! At least he's learning early the importance of a svelte physique... oh and yes, I do feed them, I swear, this is what American children that don't have television and will still play outside on occasion look like!

It's official...

I heard the rumors a few weeks ago…later saw Velonews hint about it...and now it’s official and I can finally blog about it! No longer will my allegiance be divided between the hometown hero and my affinity for the BMC Racing Team. Looks like in 2010… I’ll be screaming for BMC and George Hincapie, at the same time! I’m ecstatic… got to meet a few of the BMC guys this past weekend at the Hincapie Party after the US Championships… they were kind while we gushed and gave us a pic… thanks Ian McKissick and Jonathan Garcia… more pics from the weekend to follow in a later post! To read the story check out the announcement on BMC's team site http://www.bmcracingteam.com/index.php?id=9&L=0&uid=312 ! Ahhhhhhh the bliss of it all!

I found it on the way home! Sorry about the hand print!

A couple more pics (above) from the Hincapie party...

Style, Passion, Precision...

If you stand beside me for at least ten minutes…you’ll soon find out what a “fan-girl” I am of the BMC racing team. That’s the term that Rob gave me, “fan-girl”. He says it with a bit of disdain, and truly he can’t be blamed since he does have to hear me go on and freaking on with daily updates of their latest races, injuries, triumphs, etc. I don’t throw this term around lightly either, because as recent as last week I was exchanging emails with the Assistant Marketing Coordinator for BMC, who was hailing all the way from Switzerland. He was kind enough to respond to the dork in South Carolina and actually seemed very enthusiastic about my love for the team and their products.

As you can imagine, I was delighted when they finally made the cover of ROAD magazine after their victory at the Tour of Battenkill. The magazine has sat proudly on my nightstand ever since. Just within the past 2 days, Rob needed “new” reading material and picked it up…and is on his way to becoming a “fan-boy”..heh heh heh…he has thoroughly enjoyed reading about Scott Nydam and Chad Beyer…their race, what they like to eat, etc. Jeff Louder’s twitter is equally engaging.

I’m giddy with excitement (and I’m not a very giddy girl) with the US Pro championships approaching… it’s on the calendar on their team site and I’m assuming they’ll be here in all their Assos glory. I have high hopes for them and am fully prepared to stalk (not really), whine and weasel my way into any venue, in which they may be….yes, I’m the “passion” in their “Style, Passion, Precision” (HA!). Only eighteen days and counting…

Of course size matters....

I like research, in fact, I pretty much research for a living. I owe this mostly to my parents. Most of my childhood was spent in a television free home. We had books. We went to the library weekly. We (my 3 sisters and I) would get in trouble for sneaking to stay up late at night, under our covers with hidden lights to read longer. Most of our family trips were spent with my father driving, while my mother read out loud from a book to him, to pass the miles. I even remember times when my allowance or reward for properly executing household chores, would be a trip to the local bookstore to pick out a new book. My mother has even carried on the tradition with my children and still picks them up weekly and takes them to the library to get “new” books once a week. I still have a television free home (though my children are spoiled with dvd’s/movies, etc). I feel sure that my love of books has fostered my love of research. I learned early on that if you are curious about something or want to know the inner workings…to look it up. This has, of course, become even easier over the years with the assistance of the internet.

You should all know by now, that with a lead in like this… I’m getting ready to express my discontent for something…enter the 650c vs. 700c wheel argument…again…and this is something I have been researching now for quite some time. Now, I know, most people could care less, because they aren’t short of stature, like me. I’m barely 5 feet tall…truthfully, without shoes, socks and the bangs I sported in the 80’s I’m probably closer to 4’11.5. I know, I know…. Most people don’t believe I’m this short….that’s because my personality is so very tall and it deceives you! But, alas, it is true. My 12 year old is almost taller than me, I cannot reach kitchen items, bathroom items in cabinets and shelves, etc. without climbing, I cannot place or retrieve my bike from the bike rack on top of the car and most all cycling shorts look more like knickers on me than shorts. My lack of height has never bothered me but while it has never bothered me, I’m realistic about the fact that I cannot wear/reach/do everything a taller person can… if only bike shop workers and bike manufacturers were also realistic about this…life would be grand.

For instance, for some reason (men especially) love to tell me that I should get a bike with “real wheels”. They, then, launch into breathtaking expositions on how 700c wheels are faster, toe overlap no longer exists, that companies like Specialized, Trek, etc have created frames that are small, that can flawlessly accommodate 700c wheels without compromising frame geometry, handling, etc. They take it even further and make statements regarding the companies that do have 650c wheeled bikes…they go something like this, they are backwards, outdated, trying to push them off on you because they spent so much money on that specific frame years ago and now need to sell it even though 700’s are clearly better. Those of us that like research, loathe those that fire off “facts”, rhetoric and half-truths without having the research to back it up.

Now it’s fine for these men to assume that because I’m a “beginning” cyclist that I may not know the pros/cons, etc. with different wheel sizes. It’s fine for them to assume that because I’m female I may not be very mechanically inclined. Though in this instance both assumptions aren’t entirely true for me, personally. However, it isn’t fine for them to assume that because I’m female that I don’t read, reason, discern and can’t make heads or tails of the laws of physics. More importantly, it isn’t fine for them to assume that I can’t tell what feels good to me. SO – for that reason, I went this weekend to a local shop to feel 700c wheels for myself. And?? What did they say? Most of what you read above…and what did I feel? That the bike felt a bit funky… it felt smooth since it was carbon, and my bike is aluminum….however, my feet felt oddly close to the wheels and I didn’t feel my untapped speed suddenly unleashed.

I wrote this post for 2 reasons.

1. To vent about all the injustice in the world and
2. To invite all you braniacs to give me your thoughts….

Am I horribly hindered in the area of speed by the size of my wheels? Is the frame geometry completely uncompromised when you take a teeny frame and stick 700’s on it? OR in contrast, since my wheels are more aerodynamic and lighter than 700’s, can I call “bull shit” on the theory that 700’s are always faster? Is the integrity of the frame more intact by putting smaller wheels on smaller frames? Is training your ass off more important to the progression of your speed than the size of your wheel? Lots to debate on this subject…talk amongst yourselves.

French Broad Cycling Classic Pics...

This is me before my race started and before my crash.... all smiles... ignorance truly is bliss!

It turned to this...after the crash (notice the road rash on leg and nursing of the left pinky finger!)

My favorites of Rob from the weekend...

This smile still makes me melt! ahhhhhhh...