Cherry Blossom Cycling Classic Stage Race (volume three)

(photo from Oregon Cycling Action. And once again, not us.... no one ever seems to take photos of Cat4 women)

STAGE FOUR: The Criterium

(ps... if you don't know what a crit is, you should click on the above link.)

Sunday was pretty kick ass.... in fact, all of the long weekend of bike racing was pretty kick ass for many reasons (cheese plate and Baby Got Back dance parties).

Stage I and II were big hill climbing type races and even though that type of event is my worst, I surprised myself at being up front most of those races instead of settling into the pack as I typically do. Overall, I did my part to pull and help control the pace and was pretty pleased with myself till my legs blew up and I’d get popped 3/4 of the way through. When I look back on it, maybe pulling my fair share wasn’t always the smartest thing to do; however, I went into this stage race knowing that “anything with a hill” is not my forte (in fact the general question is not “if I’m gonna get popped it’s when I’m going to get popped”), so that being said, I might as well go out there and enjoy myself and have fun; besides, no offense to anyone's team kit, but the view is so much better from the front of the pack anyways.

Sometimes I ask myself why I paid all that money to torture and challenge myself with the long road races, maintain through the time trial just to do well at the one race that in terms of general classification time, doesn’t mean a hill of beans? And honestly... I don’t really have an answer for that other than I like being able to sprint past people who kicked my ass earlier. That... and well, I like being able to maneuver a tight corner, get a good lean in and I like knowing exactly how far I have left to go. So, yeah... doing well in a crit isn’t really worth it in a stage race; in fact, when you break it down it’s the most cost inefficient race of the whole weekend. Regardless of all that though, I was currently sitting in 16th place and if I did well in the crit against 36 of my other competitors... as far as I was concerned that was as good as a top 5.

An hour or so before the race I laid in bed at my hotel room and tried to relax. All of my teammates and I were talking about how we felt in the time trials, who passed who and who might be the overall winners of the race when my roommates piped in and said... "Jenn, we expect you to podium at the crit". And you know, I hadn't really thought about that before. I mean yes, the crit is my best event and while I had been racing strong all weekend and planned to do well at the Crit, it had never really crossed my mind that I could podium. In my short history of bike racing, it seems that anytime I had really really won a race or done well, it's because strongest racers weren't there or the field was small. I've gotten 4th, 5th and 6th so many times in a race that the idea of actually placing top three seemed like a mirage. I knew that I could be competitive against the field of 36 women... but for the first time I really thought about standing up there in the top three, on the podium... and well, I kinda liked it.

So needless to say, as soon as the gun went off for the race... my fellow 36 women and I were out of the gate like racehorses for a fast 25min crit on a kilometer long course. I made sure to get out towards the front of the pack quickly as sometimes, lining up or getting behind a slow wheel can make or break your race (or your bike). The best idea in a crit is really to stay up front as much as you can without wearing yourself out or getting behind the wrong person. It's a gentle balance. Also, the more you are out in front, the less people you have to worry about cutting you off, so really... racing hard and fast is much safer than being overly conservative. And here, it didn't take too long before a massive break in the pack happened and there were about 12 of us separated from the rest.

(photo from Oregon Cycling Action. And once again, not us...)

In a bigger crit, there are usually prize laps were if you win that lap... you get the prize. Some folks really try to earn those prizes... but really, I don't need another t-shirt or gift certificate or free sandwiches, I wanted a top three finish. I was reminded of that “podium” when during the first prize lap I found myself up in front and with no one right beside me, I figured I might as well go for it for the sandwiches since no one else seemed to want it. However, closing in on the finish line, I found a good racing friend of mine off to the side sprinting for the prize as well. She beat my wheel across the line by a few inches. Not liking how much that sprint seemed to take out of me, I decided I'd just sit in for the rest of the prize laps and wait for the finish.

That being said, I lurked about somewhere in the front five or so... never getting behind too much, nor really "racing" anyone who wanted to be in front more than I. Those last ten laps seemed to take for friggin ever and by the time we hit two laps to go... it was game time. "Stay up there.. stay up there" is what I just told myself over and over and over again. Then, going into the last lap the overall race leader and Amy Shepard from Brihop (a big local track racing team) took off in front of me. I hit the turbo button and chased them, trying to stay on their wheels. As we entered into the final turn those two girls were still slightly ahead of me and and the finish seemed so far away. While I didn't think I could catch the two girls ahead... I wasn't going to let anyone catch me either. I was watching my peripheral vision and couldn't see anyone's wheels closing in... so I just hammered it hard and took it to the line. The two girls were slightly ahead of me, but... there was no one beside me.

Shit, I couldn't believe it. Where was everyone who usually catches me right before I cross the line? Where were they at? Did I just friggin get a podium at the biggest crit I’ve ever done? Did that really just happen? Did anyone from my team even see that? Fuck yeah!

In summary, I got third place in the crit and I won a much coveted spot on the podium in a stage race and as a result, I’m a very happy camper. Granted, I still came in at 16th overall in the general classification, but for me it really doesn’t matter in comparison to placing well in the crit and having people say I raced well in the other stages. That makes for a very good weekend of bike racing.

That, and well... looks like I’ll be racing as a Cat3 from here on out.

(please imagine a photo of me standing on the third tier of a podium here as I do not have one, this drawing will have to suffice.)

And ps... thanks to Maryhill Winery for the nice prize bags!!! Two bottles of wine, two plastic wine glasses and hearty wine opener (I'm getting crunk), earrings from some local artisan and shit loads of coupons too! PS... and thanks to Castelli for sponsoring that stage.

PSS: EDIT! Got a photo, thanks Alana!

Cherry Blossom Cycling Classic Stage Race (volume two)

photos from Oregon Cycling Action)

STAGE THREE: Time Trial

An eight mile time trial first thing Sunday morning isn’t that that bad. Despite some paranoid dreams I had that evening where I was was running late for my start time because I decided to ride my time trial bike (which I don't actually have one - remember, this is a dream) to the bar where some ass-hole locked their bike to mine and left it there. Meaning, I couldn't leave the bar and I couldn't race my bike. Since that never actually happened in real life, I viewed the Time Trial as this tiny little thing that stood between me and my favorite event, Stage Four, the Crit. I told myself that the TT was pretty much like doing my morning bike commute to downtown, but instead of just getting to work and going to my desk, it's as if I realized I forgot something at home... so then I'd have to hightail it back to Northeast as fast as I possibly could. So, providing that there wasn’t going to be any stop lights or cars to impede the process... nor a massive Timbuk2 bag to haul with, hipsters on fixed gears or mommies on extracycles in my way... a time trial should be relativity simple.

The secret to the TT is not getting passed while passing as many people as you can that are riding ahead of you. Some people are time trial specialists... I am not. I saw the time trial as a way to “do better” than last year, but still save a little energy for the Crit that was to take place several hours afterwards. Granted, the crit isn’t going to bridge any 3 minute time deficit in the General Classification Scoring.. but at the same time, I’m not fast enough in a time trial that it’s gonna make a huge difference either.

One of my Bridgetown Velo teammates Caitlin, is a time trialist. They are one of her favorite aspects of bike racing and therefore, I had a sinking feeling in my stomach when I saw her heading the opposite way of the start line several minutes prior to her race. Hmm,... I thought, why is Caitlin going that way? Shouldn’t she be heading to the start? But, she looked determined in her quick cadence to the wrong place, so I figured she knew what she was doing and didn't flag her down. That, and another friend of mine, Eryn Barker, was also heading the same way as Caitlin. Perhaps the both of them had some last minute warm up thing planned? Who knows? So, I checked the current time on my cell phone (which I had stashed in the back pocket of my jersey - I’m not that fast to where my little LG is going to matter on wind resistance) and went to the start with a few minutes to spare. Once I got got there, I still didn't see Caitlin, who was to race five minutes before I. I heard the officials call out her and Eryn’s name several times... but still... nothing. A minute or so later they called my name and I made my way to the start behind a few other riders. Suddenly, right before my start, Caitlin and Eryn finally showed up. Thankfully, they let them start and just added the amount of time they were gone to their overall time as opposed to not just letting them go, which would have sucked balls (that is my honest opinion).

Within a minute, it was my time to go. I pulled up to the line and they held my bike as I clipped in. They counted down to 8:10am... the man signing me off asked how I was doing? “I’m doing great, thanks for asking. How are YOU doing today?” I replied “I’m good he said” “Good” I responded... 5...4...3...2...1 and I was off. I had a nice little burst out of the saddle to get me up to speed and then it was all about settling into the time trial bars and regulating my pace. I think I might have tried to push too hard off the start. I had a nice little jump on the girl that had been released thirty seconds prior to me and my check backs on the girl that was released thirty seconds after me (Amy Shepard) seemed to be pretty steady. Before too long I closed in and passed the rider ahead of me. Ahead of her was Eryn and I was closing in... thankfully, the distance with Amy seemed to be holding, so all I had to do was keep plugging away. However, about this time a nice little gradual change in elevation was happening and I was trying not to expend too much to climb it or let my speed slow down too much. Then, out of no where I hear this sound like some electronic thing is going to blow up or self destruct. “What the fuck was that?” I thought... “when did my legs start making electronic noises when they got tired?” .... and it was then that I remembered that my cell phone was in my back pocket and was seemingly, dying a slow and loud death. Good thing it’s just me out here...

So, I carried on.
The fact that I hadn’t seen any of the riders released ahead of me come back my way yet was a little unsettling... “damn” I though, “how long is this out and back course?’ I mean, you want to go as fast as you can, but you don’t want to go as fast as you can and then die with a few miles left to go. Eventually, I passed Eryn and then saw my teammate Caitlin ahead of me. “Maybe I can catch her... “ I thought. All the while, the slow and steady rise was still happening and I could tell that Shepard was closing in on me from behind. I started to see riders come the opposite way so I knew I was getting closer to the turn around. Eventually, Amy Shepard breezed past me from behind and took Caitlin right before the turn around. I was still hoping to catch up to Caitlin, but the course reversed in elevation and she and Shepard were pretty much gone in a downhill frenzy by that point.

(this person is way faster than I am, also... their bike cost more money than mine did.)

I pretty much just tried to charge full speed ahead knowing that the time trial was more than over. Every once and while around a bend I could see a glimpse of BTV Orange from Caitlin, but I was never really close enough to catch her. I saw the last bits of the Cat4 women pass the other way and some of us exchanged friendly smiles from across the road. Then, some of the Cat3 women passed by as well as our Cat4 men and I gave them a little cheer to add some pep to their legs.

Finally the finish tent appeared on the horizon and boom. Just like that, I was done. My back and forth commute taking all of 30 minutes and 13:90 seconds (it normally takes me anywhere from 15-20 minutes one way for my commute to and from work, so I guess my TT time wasn’t too far off, at least I’m consistent.) Last year I was roughly 6 minutes behind the Stage Winner, but this year only about three minutes. Overall, I got 14th which, in comparison to my other results so far this weekend (17th in both road races), was the best yet. So, when folks asked me how it went... not too bad. I passed some folks and I got passed my some folks. Overall, not too shabby... but it could use some work. The best part of getting this stage over with, was the simple fact that I just had one more stage left to do, my favorite stage... the Crit. Just 25 minutes of going around in circles and then I could pack up and pack it in and go home.

Cherry Blossom Cycling Classic Stage Race (volume one)

(They hardly ever post any images from Women's Cat 4 races on this nice little Oregon Cycling Blog.. so you're just going to have to settle for these and pretend they are Cat4 women.)

(As originally reported on Sat. April 24th:)

Reporting from the CAT 4 women's field... it's going pretty well out here in the beautiful city of TD (aka: The Dalles ) Oregon.

STAGE ONE wasn't as windy as last year and even though that big hill kicked my ass, it didn't kick it till the last 30% of the race. Actually, I was feeling pretty awesome most of the time and helped lead the pace up front for majority of the race by rotating in and out of the lead five. However, going into that last big climb, my legs blew up and I was reminded that I'm not really that much of a hill climber. It's funny because in retrospect, I never saw the blow up coming till it hit and then I was pretty much like... see you kids later, I'll just be cleaning up behind you. Take care! Be safe and have fun, wear your seatbelt!!! Once I crested the hill on my own, I pretty much barreled down and time trailed it to the finish... all the while trying to chase down someone in a yellow kit that was ahead of me. Sadly, it turned out that the yellow kit rider that I thought was a Showers Pass girl was actually some random dude from the mens race still lingering on the course. (Regardless... I passed him before the line so I'm telling myself that counted.) Anyways, I'm getting better at my arch nemesis hills, but there are still several people (read: many people) out there who do it better. Overall, my 17th placing and 3:25 back doesn't reflect how good I felt from the overall race, especially after getting popped after one lap last year. This time I did soo much better and felt great to be making the action instead of just responding to it from somewhere in the back. Plus, afterwards I had some nice unsolicited comments from others saying how well and strong I rode... so, that always makes a girl happy.

NOTE: We had three Bridgetown Velo guys also out on the course that day and sadly, a massive crash happened in the men's CAT4 field that took one of our guys to the hospital and another in search of a new wheel. Margi, who was racing in the CAT3 field narrowly missed out on a podium spot by getting passed right at the end for fourth place.

(Actually, this is the only photo of the CAT4 field I really found and it's just after the start of the race)

STAGE TWO Well... in many a ways.... stage two was kinda a repeat of stage one but instead of one big hill, it had many moderate hills with some nice descents and very very very high cross winds. Once again I was up there at the front, pacesetting and pulling and feeling fine, but in the mid of the third lap... there was a really nice attack once we turned a corner and I just couldn't hang. Add in some mechanical issues, and it was very difficult to regain the pack. Luckily, I DID manage to hammer it out and catch up with one trailing group to which I rode with for half a lap behind the pack. Going into the last two laps though, I forgot how many laps we had done already and when I found out we still had two more, I got very discouraged... add in some more mechanical issues (it's very difficult for me to switch into my big ring after a climb) and I eventually lost that group too. I carried on solo climbing some hills till Lana from team Ironclad caught up with me (happy happy joy joy, a fun person that I know to ride with; which, made getting dropped so much more enjoyable!! Anyways, the two of us finished strong till the end (after we debated how many laps we still had to do and discussed turning around - thinking we had missed our turn). Overall though, we encouraged each other with the promise of beer at the finish line.

Overall, it was a very pretty and nice course, but damn was it tough and very challenging. The men's field, even though they had a different route than we did... totally got blown apart from the start. It's amazing that anyone but the strongest really managed to make a break. Our men who were still racing did well and Sarah Fletcher was able to come back from the deep dark illness that plagued her on Friday for an 8th place finish in Stage Two.

NOTE: Stayed tuned for Stage Three (Time Trial) report and the dramatic story of Stage Four (the Crit). dan-tah-duh...

Let the good times roll ya'll...

Cindy: On a scale of 1 to intoxication, where are you Levo?.... me: EIGHT!!!"

Ahhh... it feels as if springtime has finally arrived in our fair Pacific Northwest. I mean, yeah... we will are still guaranteed to have wet and rainy weather for the next four months (interspersed with moments of warm sunny clarity), but the flowers are all a bloom, I've put most of my snowboarding gear in the basement, I'm wearing short gloves on my daily bike commute, I've got softball games now on Sunday afternoons, outdoor soccer on Thursday nights... and it seems as if people are finally starting to come out of their winter hibernation.

Speaking of cycling, softball and winter hibernation.. that is one great thing I love about my little Portland community. While I have plenty of friends that I see week in and week out throughout the year, there are some friends that are simply, more often than not..."sporting friends", meaning... you only really "see" them when you are both engaged in the same sporting activity. Be it telling jokes as you both struggle to crest a seven mile hill climb, congratulating them on a nice hit as they round third, or lamenting over a cold beer about what a bitch the goal keeper for the other team was... you enjoy seeing these folks every new sporting season as it shows that while somethings change (teams, gear, sig others), many things stay the same. You can count on seeing their friendly faces and engage in conversations until the weather turns cold, the skies turn a murky grey, and then the snowboard comes back out. The thing is, you may never get into really deep meaningful life spiritual conversations with these friends, but seeing them out there having fun week after week, is sometimes better than a quick conversation. Just seeing them enjoying themselves and smiling, lets you know that things, life... can't be all that bad for them (or you either).

So, needless to say, I feel as if my summer community is back in the swing of things (literally), and on top of games, races and beers, there is a whole summer of backyard barbecues, cornhole, and camping to plan and look forward to. Smell that in the air folks? .... That's the smell of fun!

Anyways, my softball team the Brewhers, is sponsored by local microbrew giant Rogue. And, in return for their generous donations to our program, we've agreed to volunteer our time in events that they also sponsor. Which means, throughout the year, you can find your friendly Brewhers Softball team manning taps at beer fests all over the city. Not only is that in itself a reason to shell out a few pennies... but, there is beer involved!!! It's pretty much a win win for everyone, especially the volunteer pourers! Pretty much after our shifts (as licensed OLCC servers) end... we are given beer. Free beer, lots and lots and lots of it. Take for example this past weekend my teammates and I volunteered at the Firkin Fest, which was held at the Green Dragon. Pretty much, the room was full of 20 or so kegs from various Oregon Breweries; HUB, Double Mountain, Rogue, Lumpoc, Pelican Bay, Bend Brewing, Bridgeport, Nikasi, Deschutes, Laurelwood, etc... to name a few. (Excited about seeing Double Mountain IRA as a keg, I immediately ran over to pour that all afternoon, and let me just say... I was pretty popular!!!)

After my shift was over, we were given our tickets and it was almost as if your eyes glazed over with choices... oh, where to begin? First of all... let me preface by saying I had gone on a nice little bike ride that morning and had a little snack before I ran off to serve at 3pm. We were also promised food during our shift, so I didn't feel the need to really eat prior. However, during our shift they ran out of the "promised food" (hot dogs, make that kobe beef hot dogs)... So, not only were we thirsty for the beer that we had been pouring for the past three hours... we were hungry too. However, the drinking started before the consumption of food did and by the time my half of mac and cheese finally arrived, I think I was already three 8oz servings of room temperature Black Stout/IPA's into the wind (aka... getting drunk).

I had a great night and the warm beers kept flowing for as long as I had free beer tickets (thanks to my friends who kept putting them in my pocket). Somewhere along the way I lost a few games of shuffleboard, met some nice folks from Seattle and talked bikes, ran into one of my Bridgetown Velo teammates, peed in a parking lot after hopping some railing, and left with all intentions on going dancing... but alas... ended up in my nice warm bed some how at the end of the evening. Apologies to my gf for any amount of PDA she had to endure and to my full time friends and teammates who graciously, keep me laughing all the time (and also to the Green Dragon, I'm sorry for not cutting off that guy sooner who ended up knocking over the keg of Pelican).

Let the good times roll ya'll, spring has finally arrived!!!!

a little lost and confused...

Hello...

As I’m sure many of you fervent readers have noticed, I haven’t really posted a blog in a while concerning some environmental plea about not washing your hair, reusing that ziploc bag for the 1,000 time, or buying more compostable undies. It’s not that I haven’t been caring or looking out for those eco-friendly developments, it’s that I’ve been a little under and overwhelmed by them recently. With so many new products hitting the shelves promising to be the next green thing, famous actors or bank tycoons promising to save the world and Presidents seemingly drilling in places where that I thought were to be protected, lets just say... sometimes I get a little lost and a little confused.

Guilt.

We all have it and suffer from it and I am not alone. Yes, sometimes I debate if I really want to stick my hand all the way into the bottom of the peanut butter jar in order to clean it out so that it’s nice and clean for the recycling people. Yes, sometimes I’ve forgotten to bring my reusable bag into the grocery store and out of sheer lazyness... didn’t say anything when the clerk handed me my goods in a plastic bag instead of the paper like I was intending on requesting. And yes, sometimes I took a shower multiple times in a week and maybe left the water running as I brushed my teeth or perhaps I used the light from the open refrigerator to illuminate my late night cheese and cracker making cravings.

This summer, when it seemed so many people around the world were pulling together for 350.org to climb mountains, gather in public green spaces and photograph themselves holding up the number (350 is the number of parts per million, that scientists have identified as the safe upper limit for CO2 in our atmosphere) I found myself wondering exactly what that had to do with anything? People will join into a cause with good intentions and efforts at making a difference, but how does climbing a mountain or traveling to the Arctic Circle just so you can wave a banner with a website posted on it do anything more than just provide for good public relations for you and your environmentally friendly efforts? It seems to me that if your travels to said far off location caused more environmental harm than staying at home and writing a blog would have, it’s a little counter productive. It’s one thing if you want to climb a mountain, but to do it for a cause while joining in on the eco-friendly bandwagon seems a little far fetched to me.

I don’t race bikes for the environment, in fact me traveling by car go participate in a race some 50 miles away is not at all eco friendly. Likewise, me traveling to a far off location to bag some summit isn’t really doing the local environment any good. It’s putting more impact on the land, creating more erosion, and filling the air with more smog that ruin even the best photo attempts. While these are things that I enjoy doing because I like the challenge, these are also things that make me cringe and fill with guilt. I wrestle with these conflicts all the time and honestly, sometimes I get a little down on myself.

However, I am reminded that by going to these places and experiencing the love of the land, that I have been given a direct connection to the wonders and joys that that place has provided. I can preach for all the good things that can come of it, and... I have the knowledge and the desire to fight to keep those places protected and pristine. To do nothing and to sit at home all day everyday, in order to not increase my carbon footprint would be ridiculous, far fetched, and to waste the gifts and the joy that mother nature have bestowed upon us. And... there are ways that while I’m not making the trip for the sake of curingcancer.org or finding ways to reversegreenhouseemissions.org or more sustainablewaysofcookingtrailfood.org, I can make a difference. I can pick up trash that isn’t mine that I find along the way, I can pay my trail fees, I can buy local produce, I can tip a few more cents into the jar at the local coffee place, I can support organizations that work hard to protect and maintain those places.

We aren’t all millionaires. We can’t all build sail boats made 100% out of recycled plastics, we can’t always afford to buy organic, we can’t always spring an extra $8.50 for a pair of earth friendly undies. But, there are little things that we can do everyday. My goal for you readers, for this Earth Day and this coming year... is not to climb some mountain for the sake of an environmental cause. You need to climb it for yourself. And while you’re there... take a photo, take a memory, take away some little part of a reason to keep caring. Because it’s going to be “that thing” that in the laziest deepest darkest days of winter or the most energetic sunniest days for backyard barbecues... makes you turn off the lights when you go outside, it makes you turn off the water when you’re brushing your teeth or the car engine while you’re waiting for your friend, and it’s that thing which makes you truly care about the world around you. Because if anything, sometimes you’re allowed to be a little selfish.

Happy Earth Day ya’ll!

in case you missed the concert last night...

In case you missed the sold out show of Brandi Carlile at Mississippi Studios last evening, here are some of the highlights. I made sure to film all the new songs from her XOBC album that haven't really been played live before... so please, pour yourself a cold one, sit back and enjoy this little virtual concert. Thanks once again to Brandi and the Boys for another great night and Mississippi Studios for never failing to be the place where memories happen.

Way To You...


Us Again

Heaven

All You Need is Love (2)

Love Songs

And... just cause it's funny, here is Brandi impersonating Miranda Lambert

EDIT:

Edit: At the time I wrote this, I failed to say anything in some non-successfull attempt at being too cool for school... but in retrospect, I'm going to gab about it here like a starstruck fan girl, cause well... who am i kidding. When it comes to Brandi that's who I am and will most likely always be. But basically, I can die happy now... there is no way that any other concert experience could top this one...EVER!

First of all, the show took place at my favorite place for live music, Portland's Mississippi Studios, my favorite singer performed a set list of songs requested by the audience and ones never before played live, also... my favorite singer gave me a shout out. Yes, that's right folks... Brandi Carlile gave me a shout out during the concert. If you are regular readers, you know what this show meant to me... that it was pretty much my three year anniversary of coming to Portland and symbolized independence and following your dreams and not letting the shit of life keep you down (if you're not a regular reader... you can read about that here).

Basically though, at some point in the show Brandi took a second to thank Portland for coming out on a Monday night to a sold out show at a tiny little venue like Mississippi Studios and well, she wanted to thank Portland for coming out to all the small little venues they've played over the years here in town as so much has changed since then for the band, but she'll never forget those places and the people who came out. Then, she started talking about the last time she played Mississippi Studios... it was three years ago and it was such a great night, it was right before their album was released.... and there were some really great videos that were shot that night by "snowshoe" (and then she looked and pointed and smiled at me)... etc, etc, etc. Honestly, I don't really remember anything else that happened after that as I was pretty much on cloud 9 by that point.

Like I said, I can die happy now:) Full circle realizations my friends, full circle.