The Starving Tape Worm - Part 1

As I started to put this Blog together... I saw that this entry was quickly turning into a chapter and decided that I needed to break this into pieces, so it was easier to digest.     

The Starving Tape Worm Part 2 will be delivered Next Monday...

I realize,  the Q&A below is focused on eating and  race prep for cross and that season isn't until fall... please know that the Q&A was just a great excuse to help me cover some good information and hopefully make what I hope to be a few important points.  What I'm really hoping to share with you is this...

Whatever you specialize in... be it road, mountain, Tri, whatever... determining your nutrition protocol, timing and then establishing a  disciplined plan and sticking to it...  is half the battle in getting to the podium.  We all know that, but sometimes it helps to be reminded of it.


Okay, now on to the message for the week.

A few months ago, I received an email from a guy who did some piece work for Cyclocross magazine. He was really interested in the subject of nutrition among elite CX racers and said that he had reached out to a number of cross racers with a list of questions in hopes of compiling some nutritional data…

As flattered as I was… a tiny monologue starting droning through my head…

“For God sake Sarvary… unless caffeine is considered a food group, your diet is sketchy at best. I bet that when you die, if there’s an autopsy done, there is a strong possibility that they’ll find an emaciated tape worm with a tiny handmade sign that reads Please! Find me a new host… this one sucks!”

Don't get me wrong... my diet “on” the bike is great, and in comparison to lots of folks... my diet off the bike isn't so bad either but considering how active I am, I simply don't eat enough, as crazy as that sounds, food has never been that important to me. In other words... I get distracted and simply forget to eat and when it occurs to me, I say hey... I'll just wait for the next meal! Go figure!

Hmm. I wonder if it’s possible to be charged posthumously for parasite abuse… ? Sorry.. I’m off in the weeds, I’ll try to get back on subject!

To set the record straight.. I don’t have a tape worm!! At least there’s no indication of one… I mean, I would have some tape worm type symptoms right?????

I actually find Tape Worms, although disgusting, and quite fascinating at the same time. You could say they are the ultimate wheel sucker… but, not my wheel of course! I have enough issues to deal with.

So, back to the topic of nutrition. Have I totally grossed you guys out yet??? :)

Do to the timing of his request for nutrition info, (it came a few weeks before headed out to Madison), I unfortunately didn’t have time to respond.

The subject of nutrition is a great one to discuss, not to mention an important one to many of our customers, before the season kick off in full swing.    

So, let's start with the emailed questions along with my answers... and then we'll take if from there.

                                                                     Emailed Q&A

#1 Q - What time does your race usually start?    A - Normally 10:00am 

#2 Q - (I added in this question)  How long is your race?  A -  45 minutes, but when you factor in warm up, etc. let's call it an hour.  

#3. Q. What do you eat for each of those time points and almost more importantly, do you have specific reasons why you eat it?  

A. - With a 10:00am start, wake up at 6:00am, Cup of coffee and a pop tart... on the course by 7:00am for course check out, no longer than a hour. 

8:00 – 8:30  Second cup of coffee, about 8 - 10 oz. smoothie made of OJ, Hammer w/Soy, banana, frozen berries, low fat yogurt

9:00 – Start drinking Hammer Heed (and try to get about 1/2 bottle into my system)

9:45 Take a GU Jel or Hammer Jel Pac 

10:00  Roll to the line and race (no food or fuel is eaten on the bike in cyclocross, so it is important to pre-fuel for the race)

#4. Q. - Do you have any self-imposed rules or guidelines? A - I always stick to may pre-race game plan... I never wing it... don't deviate from my plan if possible. Success for me is all about routine. Keeping it simple, minimize the drama... no skidding in sideways at the last minute. Plenty of time to get ready, look at the course, get my stuff organized, lots of room for error... yada, yada, yada. Don't panic if something goes wrong...it doesn't help matters. Plus... panic is never pretty,

#5. Q. How soon do you eat and do you always eat the same thing? A - I think I answered the question in #3.  My pre-race meal is very consistent. For years it use to be a cup of coffee and a chocolate glazed donut and then I started racing with the Flea (Karen Tripp) and she introduced me to the Pop Tart and Smoothie routine... I prefer the new pre-race meal to the old one. It is the same every weekend, pop tart and smoothie... 

Regarding pre-race meal timing... that is critical!!!!

Eating too soon before the race will result in the smoothie showing up all over the front of your race kit.... not, cool.  To early in the morning, and you will be hungry half way through the race.  Neither is a good thing.  So pre-race meal timing is very important. 

#6. Q - How late into the night before the race do you eat? A – Because I eat with a few of my teammates, it's a little later than normal... normally around 8ish, but it seems to work out fine.

#7.  Q - What is your morning like between races?  A - We do our best to minimize the stress.

After course chech out, it's all about staying off our feet and getting ready for the pre-race warm up and then the race.  Getting some Heed into our system and making sure we're not burning needless energy.

We do make sure we change into dry race clothes after we check out the course, you don't want to go to the line in a damp kit... even if it's warm outside, it's just not healthy.  So, that's all part of the routine.

#8.  Q  Does beer and wine factor into race prep/recovery at all?  A- Are you kidding???!  We're cross racers!! Of course, but in moderation.  2 beers are my limit the night before a race and in bed by 10:00pm.  I also allow myself a beer after the race, it's a good way to wind down, a great way to get some carbs on board.  For me, the more serious the race, the less beer I drink... more an issue of nerves than anything else...

                                                                              End of Q&A

As the winter turns to spring, more and more riders are coming into the shop looking for nutritional help. The days of riding with only water or Gatorade in their bottles, just isn't cutting it any more. And with that said...That will be the focus of Part 2 of the Starving Tape Worm.. I took the time and drank a fair bit of coffee, and did some nutritional research that I will share with all of you that will hopefully help you in your upcoming cycling  


Have fun this week, Safe riding...

Talk to you soon,

The Peanut Gallery

The Freak Accident

Hey there... Kath here, aka, Peanut, for those of you new to the blog,  the nick name peanut.... oh... never mind!

Long story short... I decided to have some fun with the nickname and morph the name into my new blog name "the peanut gallery", along with a fitting photo.

I wasn't planning on keeping the blog going after we returned from Worlds,  but once I realized how many hits we got on the blog (in excess of 3000!) and the great feedback we received from all of you, I've decided to keep it going.... unless of course, I get bombarded with spam hate emails... then I'm turning the damned thing off in a second!  My momma didn't raise no fool.

So here's how it will work...  Each week I, or perhaps a secret guest (maybe even Big Pit) will post an entry.

My goal is to accomplish a few simple things:

*    Keep you updated on anything interesting that may be going on here at the Shop, or with either the Blue Steel Tri or Cross Teams.

*    Make the topics relevant to our world of cycling....  I may weave around a bit before getting to the cycling related topic, but I will eventually get there... so have faith. 


*   Some of the topics may be "dry" and in today's case a bit serious....  So in my own goof ball way, I will try to entertain  you... my ultimate goal is for you to get a message a "something", out of every blog... or not... Your choice. 

*   I want you to come back every week to visit our humble little blog ... so the hope is never to offend, turn you off by sounding overly opinionated, offensive, etc.  If  I do... Let me apologize in advance.  It is by no means intentional.  

*   I am no expert on any subject and never will be,  so I will ask you forgiveness now.  With that said, I'll do my best to provide you with as much factual info as I can (along with my sources)... and if I'm totally winging it... I'll let you know.  Read the blogs, roll with them and have some fun with me... I admit, I have a not so normal sense of humor... my mother has gotten use to it and still loves me.   In time you might get use to it as well and hopefully... you may also find, that like my mom... you love me too.  :).

*  If there is a cycling related topic you would like me to explore and write about... send me a email at info@bluesteelcyclery.com, be sure to put Peanut Gallery in the Subject Line,   and I would be happy to check it out and do a blog on it.    

So... on to the subject of today's blog... but first, comes the weaving around part:

As as rider and racer, if it in fact becomes a part of our life... we must accept the risk that accompanies the sport of riding a bike.

I can't speak for you guys... so I'll only speak for myself on this point. The risk I accept as a rider and a racer is simple.  I understand that when I race (and ride), it's much like running with scissors... it's only a matter of time before someone falls and gets hurt. 

The same goes for group training rides... the larger the group, the greater the risk.  I try to find the steadiest wheel in the group and when I'm on the wheel of a rider who's squiggling around, it's all I can do not to break out into a string of obscenities... I have various names for erratic riders... squirrels, rabbits, brake checkers, those are the names suitable for printing... I have a million that can't go into print.  I make a point to avoid the rider with any of these traits and avoid them like the proverbial plague in a group ride.      

It goes without saying, that I also know that there's a risk of getting hit by that random UPS truck, the car that blows the light, someone texting... etc.  I have accepted all of this...  this is part of the risk pool that becomes part of my world every time I roll out the door on my bike... this is part of what I have willingly signed up for.  I am not happy about it... but I understand it and accept it.

I also keep in mind I am made of flesh and bone and the car is made of steel... Although I know I have the right to be on the road, I am not the person who insists on getting my fair share of the lane at the expense of trading in my life for my right.  With regards to the road, I take only what I need... Aside from a few tiny flair ups, the traffic and I have been doing pretty well together.  

So... now that I've covered off some of generic bike accident categories,  now I'm going to move into the topic of today's blog which is the freak accident... which is a totally different ball of wax.

The freak accident is similar but different... the resulting damage can be the same....but I think that's where the two start to separate... because in many cases the cause of the freak accident is somewhat unexplainable (at times)... it often feels really random in some really weird way,  and it also does something very different to your "phyche"....  what it does to you mentally (I have found) is just as damaging as the accident itself...


Wikipedia defines a freak accident as

"An accident or mishap is an unforeseen and unplanned event or circumstance, often with lack of intention or necessity. It implies a generally negative outcome which may have been avoided or prevented had circumstances leading up to the accident been recognized, and acted upon, prior to its occurrence"

Before I get into what happened to me a week ago... I'm going to tell you a non bike related freak accident (true story), that happened to me several years ago... just purely for entertainment purposes.

I swear you can't make this stuff up... real life serves up better stuff to write about than you could possible make up!

So, here's the story.

It was about 25 years ago, I had just moved to New England...I wasn't earning much money and it was the dead of winter (actually the week before Christmas), I decided to buy a used 4x4 Jeep.  A 10 year old 4door Jeep that I spotted in the paper for $3500. that I decided to take  to a 2bit garage and have checked out, so I didn't get ripped off.  $150 bucks later, they told me it was fine, (in hindsight, that was probably my first mistake).  So... I went ahead and bought it.

Fast forward to Christmas Eve... Eddie (my Jack Russel Terrier) was snoozing on the passenger seat of my newly acquired, old jeep while I am heading down a snow covered Mass Pike, driving to my parents house for the holiday weekend.

About a hour into the ride I could hear a weird sound coming from the back of the SUV... so I slow down a bit and the sound seems to go away.... so I speed up and the sound comes back, so I slow down and it goes away... so I roll down the window (no power windows) and the noise is more pronounced... hmmmm.....  All the while I'm sitting in the middle lane of the Pike.  Up goes the window... the brain is a wonderful thing but sometimes I find, it simply fails to connect the dots! 

All of a sudden, the noise comes back and now it's louder... and then the weirdest thing happens... I'm sitting there driving and guess what goes whipping by the drivers door???? A wheel!!!!  Nope, not a hub cap, not a tire, a entire wheel!!!  I'm sitting in the Jeep watching this wheel pass right by the driver's window! And the more ridiculous thing is that I'm thinking....  WOW, some poor sucker just lost their wheel!!!!!

Then... after a pregnant pause...  it occurred to me....  HOLY CRAP THAT'S MY WHEEL!!!

At that moment, the jeep... MY JEEP,  which was balancing on 3 wheels, dropped onto the rear axle and  starts to skid,  Eddie.. erupted from the passenger seat in a panic and wrapped herself around my face... just like in the movie Alien.  So not only was the Jeep skidding sideways on 3 wheels, I was blinded by my alien dog who has turned into a furry little facemask.


 
 This is not Eddie... but this is how she was wrapped around my head.  Tough to see when your dog is attached to your face in this fashion!

Once I disengaged Eddie, my alien dog from my face I realized that unless I wanted to die along with my furry little frightened alien like pet, I better come up with a plan that involved getting this bucket of bolts stopped, pronto and I decided my only option was to put the jeep into the first snow bank I could find, so that's exactly what I did.

How I avoided hitting any other cars, flipping the car, or hitting a bridge abutment I have no clue... but after the accident, even though the Jeep was fine (minus the missing wheel). I sold it for $3600 (yup, I made $100 bulks).  I never wanted to see it again.  I decided it was jinxed.  Plus, Eddie refused to get near it.


So... on to the real purpose of today's blog.... Finally!!!

Last Saturday I rolled out the door planning on a 2 hour training ride.  A month after Worlds and I was ready to start training again.  Nothing serious, just ready to start getting some base miles in place.

The temps were hovering in the mid 30s so I was wearing your typical winter gear...
Base Layer
Tights
Booties
Vest
Jacket
Skull Cap
Gloves

The road I do lots of base miles often starts on RT 114... it is a 50 mph 2 lane road, that people typically drive at 60 mph.  The reason I pick this road to train on is for several reasons... the sun shines on it most of the day, so the chance of ice is minimal, it has a wide shoulder, lots of riders train on it and the locals have gotten use to seeing many of us train on these roads, so unless it's a tourist, people are use to riders.

I have to admit, my personal radar was off... I was just rolling down the road, zoning out.... Watching my HR monitor, thinking about nothing... thinking about everything... that's when it happened...

I didn't realize what happened at the time, it actually took the entire day for me to piece together what took place that day.  The brain is like a computer, it collects and remembers everything but at the time of a crisis it seems to shut down and only allows what it taking place to override everything.  So I will play back how it happened and then explain what happened.

The first indication that something was going wrong was I felt my right foot started to clip out of the pedal, I looked down and saw that it was partially unclipped but something was stopping it from releasing.  Before I could figure out what was going on with the pedal...  The bike gave a jerk to the left and at the same time, whatever was going on with the pedal was now causing may ankle to roll off the pedals and under the crank... As my ankle is rolling all I can feel is blinding pain... I no longer focused on steering the bike, all I know is the the ankle is now completely pinned under the crank and the force of the torque of traveling at 20mph had without my knowledge taken me from the break down lane to the center of RT114.  I was a sitting duck if a car came... By the grace of God I hadn't been hit yet.

I found myself straddling the bike in the middle of RT114 unable to move for about 20 seconds.  All I could do was will myself not to puke. I wasn't sure the ankle wasn't broken... I knew it was damaged... I just wasn't sure how bad...

This was taken after I got home

This was taken a week later


So, after piecing everything together...  here's what happened.  Somehow, the bootie I was wearing got pierced by the chainring.  Once that happened, the shoe released from the pedal but it couldn't fully disengage and the foot continue to rotate with the crank, rolled under the pedal and then with the leverage of my body weight started to serve as torque on the bike... as the bike started to go down, I started to counter steer to fight the crash.  That could have cost me my life if a car was coming by...  fighting the bike actually bucked the bike from the bike lane into the active lane of traffic.


  

I am very, very lucky.   Had a car been coming by when I veered into traffic, there would have been no way for them to have avoided me and it wouldn't have been their fault.

I went and saw the doc and got very good news, the foot is in remarkably good shape.  The damage was limited to small tears and I'm already back on the bike doing some easy rides and as the ankle heals I will slowly add miles and effort.

In dissecting what I could have done to avoid the freak accident... the only think I could conclude is perhaps the booties were too big.  I do know I will toss the booties and buy a new pair.  Even though they are in good shape, I will not risk a repeat performance.  As I mentioned earlier... My momma didn't raise a fool.  Plus... I will admit, I had the hell scared out of me.  

So... what is my message to you?

Learn from my mistake.  Next time you jump on your bike, check your winter riding gear in respect to your bike and make sure everything is where it should be and things aren't making contact where they shouldn't  and if things look a bit close... stop and make the adjustment, before the adjustment is made for you.    

Winter riding is a good thing. But when we gear up for cold weather rides, by adding layers of cloths, that translates into tighter tolerances and clearances on our bike.  Be aware of flapping clothing.  Keep in mind when you stuff your gloves in your pockets, make sure they are in all the way... a dangling sleeve that flips into a rear wheel can make for a ugly freak accident.    

Safe riding!!

Talk to ya soon!



      

Wrapping up Louisville

These jerseys now belong to the Blue Steel Shop... I couldn't have done it without the support of my crew, loved ones, family, friends, teammates and all of you! Thanks so much. I sit hear with tears in my eyes, it is very humbling...



These were waiting for me when I got home... With a congratulatory card from my dog Coldy, I burst into tears.




Colby is getting into the bag to make sure if I decide to leave again, I'm not leaving without her... she doesn't realize I'm unpacking.



MVP item of clothing... Bontrager rain pants. I wore these things for course check out over tights, in the pits, in the rain, in the mud, every day... wow, they saved my life!




Wow... is there any MORE stuff we can find to jam into 2 vans????



Okay... Tom's missing a spoke wrench and none of this crap is going back into the van until he finds it.



Ugh, These need to be sterilized!



Big Pit, "Score.. I tossed Peanut's pit bike into the trash, I decided it was too muddy to wash!"



Pit at Sun Down... still stuff to clean




Ned Overend making his move to take the lead that resulted in his World Title








Hey Sports Fans,

Sitting here with the Colby on my lap, Louisville feels like a million miles away. It's hard to believe that we were covered in several layers of mud a little over 72 hours ago.

In reflecting back over the past week we arrived in 50 degree temps and then watched the course transition from a total mud slog to a frozen rutted cheese grater. A crash on frozen ruts would shred through a skin suit and exfoliate 2 layers of skin at no charge to the rider... except the pain of course.

All the super cold weather and redundant cycling clothing we brought and didn't need in Madison... was pulled out and used in Louisville. I felt bad for the folks coming from Southern California, many of them avoided the trip to Madison in hopes of avoiding exactly what they were facing in Louisville... OOPS!

One of the things that I really appreciate about Nationals and Worlds is that it gives us more time to spend with people and as a result you get to know each other a bit better... I realize that can be a combination of good and bad, we all have some annoying little habits that can drive each other crazy, but all in all, I still think it's good.

Had it not been for these past 2 weeks, I wouldn't have realized how fantastically funny and kind my teammates and friends we've been racing with all season are. During the course of the season, we don't really get to spend much time together... but during these past two weeks... we've spent pretty much all day together, every day. Everyone has been fantastic. What a wonderful group of people.

As much as this sport means to me I really do recognize it is a sport and in the grand scheme of things a jersey and medal holds little if no meaning. It's the people that we race with, crash with, laugh and cry with, get scared out of our wits with and grab across the finish line because we don't have the strength to stand on our own that really make it all worth while... it's also the folks and furry ones that are waiting behind the scenes who patiently wait and support us.

Sometimes during the season I have to remind myself of this point... however at this moment... I am cystal clear on this very important fact.

Thank you, thank you, thank you.


Talk to you all soon,

Kath

On The Way Home

Hey Sports Fans!

Just a quick post from the shotgun seat of the Blue Steel van as we make a bee line home. It's 12:30 at night, we just crossed into MA and I won't make it home tonight, but I am a hell of a lot closer to home than I was 24 hours ago.

Tom and I should make it to Tom's house by 2:00am, which is my stopping point for the night.. We split from Karen and Jeff who stayed in Utica NY for the the night, I am beginning to second guess our decision to press forward. I suspect they have been sound asleep for several hours while we have been white knuckle driving the slick highways with all the 18 wheelers jacked on a case of red bull.


We didn't want you to think we forgot about all of you. We still have a few more posts to do, before we wrap things up.


Yesterday we had a great day, and I'll be sure to fill you all in with the details in the upcoming blog.

In the mean time, sleep well.


Talk with you soon,

Kat

A look back at Sunday's race

So, the race is now two days old and anyone who doesn't live in a cave, knows how we did... so what's to write about?

Well...  I could be totally wrong.  But my guess is, that a few of you out there,  wonder if the folks racing at the front of the pack think and feel differently than the folks in the middle and at the back of the pack.  In other words...  Is our level of confidence different?  Do we get as nervous? Perhaps we aren't as afraid of certain course conditions?

So, I figured I would take you on a tour of my tiny little brain... the night before the World Championship race, and also share some of the not so rational and very rational thoughts that were rolling around as the race was progressing.  This is the first time I've done this... so, let's try not to be too judgmental.

Okay?  Cool... here we go.

I had effectively fended off the nerves until Saturday morning.  That's when I began comparing the morning temps to the predicted morning temps for Sunday...   bike crashes were taking place on average every 30 seconds and as the ice started to melt, it was only going to get worse.

Now I'm not one to shy away from a good bike crash... just pull  my medical file!  Hell, one year I broke my hand early in the season in a cross race  and raced the balance of the season with a blue cast up to my elbow that was molded so I could grip the top suicide brake levers.  The reason the cast was blue, was to match my kit color... no one knew I was injured... that's exactly the way I wanted it.   You don't want your competitors knowing you're hurt.

So... I'm not afraid of crashing... I just don't want to get taken out of the race or breaking my bike so I can't finish.  My body will heal, it's tough to get a bike when you're on the far side of the course.  So, fear #1.... catastrophic equipment failure due to course conditions or a yard sale accident.

You can orbit around the course, doing course analysis all day long, buy a crystal ball, have your palm read and talk race strategy until you are blue in the face... nothing can predict if, when or where catastrophic equipment failure will take place... so what will I do?  Wear my lucky ID bracelet and try not to hit a tree.  That's the best I can do.

That night I slept for about 30 seconds...  now that I put the fear of  catastrophic equipment failure to bed, I came up with 2 other tiny little things to worry about... and in their order, here's how they loaded up.

#1.  The high speed hole shot.  You see.... the start took place with about 150 meters of flat pavement.  That gave you a decent amount of real estate to get up to full speed.   Then you hit a 30% turn while transitioning on grass, hit a down hill and at the bottom of the hill is where the icy ruts began.... and this is precisely where several high speed crashes were taking place.

So... of course my job was to absolutely light it up and string it out single file so no one dared to try to pass in the ice field.  Plus... if by chance I bit it.... being in the lead would give me the chance of getting all my parts back in place and hopefully, not have to chase too long to catch back on with the leaders...  But let's not be negative.

Taking the lead isn't always the strategy... sometimes it's fine to be 2nd or 3rd wheel... but not on this course.  The conditions were way too tricky.  Any mistake would be very costly and the leader would slip away, leaving everyone else is a total scramble.

Again... I'm not afraid of  the crash... it's kinda like jumping out of a helicopter with a rope attached to you (of which I did on several occasions while in the Army) .  There's a lot of screaming and shouting that takes place before you actually get out on the skid and jump... doesn't mean you are a chicken.... just clearing your airway.

#2.  I wanted to win the World Championship Jersey.  I didn't come for 2nd... I didn't come for 3rd... I came to win.   I knew I was favored to win but candidly... that doesn't mean crap.  Anyone that rolls to the line is capable of pulling of a fantastic day and could clean my clock.  I'm good on ice, mud, and in tough conditions.  But... I'm not unbeatable.  I've had my butt handed to me before... many times.  So, I was trying to manage the 1% of doubt... to stay at 1%.  If it climbed to greater than 1%... I knew I would be in trouble.  In this sport, the head is as important as the body.

At 5:ish am I finally gave up on sleeping and made coffee and waited for my teammates to wake up.  I found that my hands were shaking and it was a struggle to get the cup to my face without spilling coffee all over my ice weasel t-shirt.

I was dwelling on fear #1 (The high speed hole shot)... when The Flea, rolled out of her bedroom and took one look at me cowering on the couch and shouted over to Big Pit... "Uh Oh Jeff.... Our Little Peanuts' shell looks all twisted and wrinkled this morning."     I have to say, that's exactly the thing I needed to hear to snap me out of it... I burst into a fit of hysterical laughter with my good friend The Flea and we got ourselves ready for a big day of racing.

Since Karen raced before me, we checked out the course together.  The course was frozen solid but the ruts had taken on a crunchy feel under the wheels, due to ice crystals sitting on the ice and that allowed for a bit more traction... the conditions were good for her.    In looking at lines, we also looked at areas to attack across the ruts if the situation required and at one point, one of her main competitors rolled by... so we poached quietly behind her, to observe her line as well.   Lot's of  information  to gather, not just a matter of doing mindless laps on a frozen course.

The tough thing about racing back to back is that I couldn't watch Karen's race.  She has become one of my best friends and I really wanted to be there to support her biggest race of the year... but I had my own race to prep for..   So, the best I could do was give her a hug and tell her to "kill it" as she headed off to the start, I  in turn headed back to the van to get ready for my warm up.

I did get a chance to see Karen's start... she looked solid when she hit the ice ruts and that was the first time I felt I could breath a sigh of relief.


In the start grid I was so nervous my gums are actually itching... it's the weirdest feeling... all my nerves are firing at the same time and I'm just hoping to hell my bowls don't liquefy on the spot.  I can't imagine how that could be possible... I've been paying rent at the porta pot for God Sake... I've spent so much time there!

I've made a decision about the hole shot... I put it in the big ring in the front and decide that I'm going to freak out the field...   This should be fun.  It's a Cross Race....  No babies allowed!!

Just Jerry gives me a key piece of intel at the line just before the start.  He just advised me that they just dumped a bunch of loam on a a tricky down hill that everyone had been running in practice, he said it was totally ride-able.  I was going to take the risk... that would be a big advantage to ride it, knowing that everyone else would run it.

 Whistle blows, I light it up like a bat out of hell.  Get the hole shot and string out the field.  2  women attack and pass in the barriers, this is a very dangerous move and I can't let it happen.  I counter attack in the run up and gas it all the way to the fly over... where I expect everyone will hesitate remounting, I have a 6 second gap by Pit 1.

Tom and I have done a lot of work on bike exchanges, so I'm as fast on a bike exchange as I am in the barriers.  I also use the pit both strategically as well as tactically... I never pass up a pit exchange if my instincts tell me to go in... even if the bike looks clean.

I took 5 bike exchanges... 1 swap was a planned attack, it took the gap from 5 seconds to 30 seconds.  3 bike swaps were for ice and mud build up... 1 was because I thought the tires felt a little squishy, turned out I was riding a flat.

Flea and Big Pit were giving me gap times and that was really critical...  I only had a margin of 20 seconds for the first 2 laps... and I was working hard.  I wasn't over my limit, but I was definitely drooling.  The course was way too rutty for me to take a hand off the bar to wipe the drool off my face, so this random thought started to bumble up... wondering if it was cold enough to form into a icicle... and if that happened... could it possibly reach the crank before the end of the race?????

Then I hit a huge rut and the drool string snapped!  Thank GOD!!!!

 I was concerned about the 20 second margin... but I wasn't panicked.    I decided one of  two things were taking place behind me.  She was burying herself to hold the margin and would crack soon... or she was as good as I was and was marking me.  Either way, taking a clean bike and attacking in a section of the course that I knew that I was making time on her would show me what she had.  The attack at end of lap 2 showed me that she had dug a hole and was taking on water.

Now... my job was to not make a mistake and avoid catastrophic equipment failure.  I did flat in lap 3... wasn't sure it was a flat... but knew the tires were really loose on the ice and my alarm bells were howling... so I went into the pit and got another bike, turns out I only had 8lbs of air left  in the front tire and was riding the rims.  I can't say enough for tubulars... they are the best!!

So... I dodged the demons, managed to keep my wits about me... fought off nerves, moments of panic, got my peanut shell untwisted,  put on the game face and raced my race.

But as you can see.  I am as frail as the next rider you line up with.  I have failings in confidence, fears, questions, and utterly stupid, inappropriate thoughts at totally weird moments.  Guess that means I'm human after all. 

The conditions were what I prayed for... but that doesn't mean they are easy.  But, they freak everyone else out more than they freak me out... so I love them.

Karen, Big Pit and Just Jerry raced like absolute studs on Sunday!   Tom, was the master in the pit.

The conditions for Jeff and Jerry were the worst of the day and I gotta say... well done guys, well done!

Talk to you later.

Kath

Tomorrow... We race for all of the marbles

Hey sports fans... today's entry is going to be brief, in part because pre-race gitters are already beginning to set in and if you saw how much crap I have to sort through to get myself ready for tomorrow... it would be enough to bring on a full blown panic attack.

Three of us race tomorrow. Karen at 9:30, me at 10:30 and Jeff at 1:00.

We will roll at 7:00 do our course check out at 8:00. Karen will use the course check out as her pre-race warm up... Jeff and I will use it simply as a course check out.

Since the temps will be below freezing and the course will be covered in frozen muddy ruts, all three of us will have to change into dry clothes. Karen will change directly into her race uniform... Jeff and I will change into a second set of clothes.

Jeff and I will have to do our pre-race warm up at a later time and then put on our race uniforms right before our races... requiring us to have 3 full changes of riding gear. Since it's so cold and wet, we have to strip down and put dry riding gear on in between each ride or we will risk hypothermia or getting sick. So... that's a ton of pre-race pre... meaning I need to do that TONIGHT!

So... here's a quick update on the course.

Unfortunatley, not crashing isn't an option. The course will be covered with frozen ruts and what isn't frozen will be a thin layer of slimmy mud, sitting on frozen ruts.

To the best of my recollection in today's races, there wasn't a single rider that didn't crash... not one... not the winners, not the folks who finished in the back, not a single one that I was aware of!

There were all sorts of crashes... big ones, little ones... crashes
that had so much crap flying in all directions it looked like a yard sale for god sakes!

So, the name of the game is to try to go as fast as possible, while crashing the least and if you crash, make it quick and try not to break anything in the process. Hmmmm... sounds like a good plan. Oh... and no crying. There are no babies allowed in cyclocross!

Tom had a tough day today. His race started out really well and had worked his way to 15th place. A racer that was attempting a pass, caught a rut and t-boned him on a downhill section of the course, sending Tom head first over the bars and onto his mellon. Tom's ok, but a crash like that rings your bell pretty good, leaving you seeing stars and the smart thing is to pull out from the race... which is what Tom did. By the way... he didn't cry!

Peanuts' Race Uniform

Fleas' Race Uniform

Big Pits' Race Uniform

Keep your finger's crossed we race fast and keep the crashes to a minimum.

Talk to you soon,

Kath

There are always two sides to a story - But I'm telling mine first!

If you think about it. Life is pretty damned entertaining I swear, I couldn't make this stuff up if my life depended on it!

Before I launch into today's excitement, let me tell you a little about Jeff... who you all now know as Big Pit.... because the type of guy he is, ties directly to today's tale.

Jeff spent 25 years as a Air Traffic Controller, so to say nothing rattles this guys cage is an understatement. I would bet on my life that if Jeff was standing in the middle of a burning building with his mustache smoldering he would calmly walk to the door... after he finished his coffee.

So... we begin. We woke up to freezing rain and temps well below freezing.

Today was Big Pit and Just Jerry's Pre-qualification race. They were both assigned to race in Heat 1, scheduled to go off at 10:50.

We wanted to get on course no later than 9:00 for course check out... but by the time we got there we realized chaos had arrived well in advance.

A bunch of guys with shovels, and an end loader driven by a mad man, several gators and a bunch-o-stressed out UCI officials were all racing around in circles trying to make last minute corrections to a course that looked like it had been frozen in time.

The mud had frozen solid. So, what had previously been a sloppy mud slog, was now a field of frozen ruts... deep enough to bend a rim, or snap a fork.

Jeff wasn't thrilled with the whole frozen rut deal, since he had little experience on the stuff... so his attitude towards his prequalification race ranged between wanting to blow it off all together to just rolling up to the starting line and slowly rolling around the course until the officials had mercy on him and pulled him... so the Flea and I, knew we had to keep and eye on him.

Ten minutes prior to the start, Karen and I headed to the start grid expected to meet the guys, and take their warm up clothing.

Just Jerry was already in the Grid... Big Pit wasn't there yet, but he was still warming up and we expected him to roll up within a few minutes.

The officials give the 5 minute warning... no Big Pit... everyone else is in the grid. The Flea is getting agitated. I am confident that he will roll up any second.

The officials give the 2 minute warning... no Big Pit... guys who know he should be in the grid are looking around. The Flea is well beyond agitated. My eyes are beginning to bug out...

The officials give the 1 minute warning... no Big Pit... guys in the grid, no longer give a crap. The Fleas' head is spinning 360 degrees and she is speaking in tongues, while my sphincter is slamming shut loud enough for the officials to hear!

The whisle blows.. NO FREAKING BIG PIT.... WTF??????

As calmly as I can, I ask the French UCI Official the obvious question. "If loser boy shows up... what can we do?"

In the perfect Detective Clouseau accent, he responds... "E wel av to com bak er to stat."

After 5 long minutes... far off in the distance, we see Big Pit rolling up the service road towards the start line in the wrong direction and actually enters onto the course (heading in the wrong direction)... and rolls up to the 3 start officials who are now all in a rage, arms flapping, yelling in various accents. After a few minutes of scolding... Big Pit is turned around and sent off to chase ofter the rest of the pack.

To his credit... Big Pit did a great job. He caught the pack and picked off 5 riders... getting himself a 5th row call up... just 1 place shy of the 4th row... maybe next time he'll show up on time!

Just Jerry had a great race and finished 9th in his heat!

Hey, this is a good hair day!

You go first... No, You go First!

Jeff, you have to get out of the car... it's time to race.

2 minutes... Just Jerry is on the line... No Big Pit

Ummmm... where is he?????

The field is gone and no Big Pit... WTF!

One of the few guys to ride this really gnarly hill

Go Blue Steel!

Tomorrow is Tom's Championship race at 11:20... we have pit duties again.

More fun, more updates.

Til later,

Kath