Sunday, June 22, 2014

Seasoned with Cycling



     After a bit of a low time after Uganda (to let some injuries heal…like a minor separated shoulder to name one) I entered ‘base-building phase’ and began ramping the volume up on all my tri sport training.  Looong runs, loooooooonger bike rides and specific 1500m swim training.  The main goal this summer is to claim that podium at Age Group Triathlon World Championships hosted by the city of Edmonton (home town advantage)!!!  The plan this year is to really train the bike portion, not only for triathlon worlds but also to see where I fit in the cycling world as a straight up cyclist.  I have a few pro races in mind.  I got picked up by a fantabulous cycling team to race for this season and I’m stoked to be a part of their team dynamics.  So a shout out to Glotman-Simpson Cycling out of Vancouver!  A team that rides with a purpose: to cure pancreatic cancer.  At any rate, the season has been building!!!  Read on!

Bikes on Broadway – Saskatoon, SK – May 17-19, 2014
Photo by Alex Jackson
                There is no pack riding here in rural Alberta, so when farming stalled because of rain I drove out to Saskatoon for a stage race: time trial, road race and criterium.  I signed up for Mens Cat 3 to get in more distance and because I knew a local girl who was doing the same.  The 8km TT I raced with my Scott road bike, no aero bars, aero suit or aero helmet AND I left my bottle cages on (haha cyclists are usually - aka always - trying to throw off grams or wear their clothes tighter to go faster). Anyway, I ended up near the bottom of the results but not last. 
Saskatchewan did not disappoint for the 100km RR, offering a steady flow of 35kph winds that took the group 56kph easily down the back straight and 17kph max into the head wind. So although the course was flat the headwind effort resembled climbing an 8km mountain.  The group broke up right away but I was able to work with (or rather hang on to) a smaller group of men to catch the lead pack about 15km before the finish but I was dying and got dropped 8km out.  The group turned into the head wind and on my own my 30sec gap turned into almost 1min.  I placed better overall in the RR than in the TT.
                Sunday the bad weather caught up with us drowning the crit course in rain and disguising all the potholes in the road as puddles.  Not many riders bothered to show up to race because of the dangerous combination of potholes, rain and narrow roads.  The other girl rider and I lined up and ended up racing around the course as just the two of us off the back – a steady and safe training effort.  At any rate I was soooo thankful (Praise God!) that I did not crash!  It was safe racing for everyone.  Also, I got to stay with an amazing family that I just met but they took me in on account of their son offering the connection.  I hope they enjoy the bison meat I brought them because I sure enjoyed sharing stories, occupying a very comfy bed, jumping into clean showers, and eating spinach & eggs for breakfast!

Banff Bike Fest – Banff, AB – June 12-15, 2014

Me and my bikes.  Thanks Ironman Ross for the P3!
                I had been gearing up for these 5 races in 4 days for all of May to test my cycling fitness and skills against a larger pack of competitive cat1&2 women.  For the individual efforts, the 1.2km prologue and the 8km TT, I managed to just miss the podium by receiving the consolation prize of 4th.  The crit I raced tactically and hard for a 5th place but whenever there was a mass start race the one and only team to have 6 riders racing controlled the races.  The rest of us individual riders couldn’t ban together soon enough to take on the team.  At any rate I put in some good efforts and was happy that by the end of the week I was feeling fresh and strong!  I was getting really frustrated with 4th and 5th place finishes and was determined to podium on the last stage: Tunnel Mountain RR.  I grabbed a sprint point in the middle of the race and was in good position coming into the final corner before the sprint but I made an error when I braked with the girl in front of me around the corner, lost my momentum and had to sprint to 7th place from 10th.  I ended up 5th in the GC and won some money to help cover the costs of the trip. 
crit face ;)
I also have amazing support at the race with my husband and a few friends there to cheer me on!!  When I wasn’t racing, I was shuttling Alex up the mountain in Canmore so he could get his cycling fix on the downhill trails.  I also had a few great teammates to talk though race tactics and have people to warm up with (YAY!)!  In this cycling world I am really thankful to get to meet loads of great people to race with and get coaching tips from.

Devon Grand Prix – Devon, AB – June 21/22, 2014
                This two-day weekend included sunshine, a crit and a RR.  The onmium (overall winner) was determined by points collected throughout the weekend.  The crit was run as a scratch race meaning that every 5min there was a sprint lap for points 3, 2, and 1.  The final sprint was worth a max of 30pts for 1st down to 4pts for 10th.  Again, I signed up for Mens Cat 3.  At the last minute they decided to rank the Women Cat 1/2/3 separately within the Cat 3 race.  Sure…but there were only 2 of us in the crit and then 3 women in the RR. 
The crit was fast and narrow but the road was smooth and clean.  I had a great start clipping in fast, and although I never was top 3 (in the men) for any of the timed sprint laps, I was in the lead group that ended up lapping out almost half of the riders that started.  There were a few guys who were really sketch to ride behind and after figuring that out they were never allowed to pass me again ;).  Coming into the final lap 4 riders had opened a small gap on us.  I thought the riders that I was behind would close that no problem and lead me to the sprint but they had less pep left than I thought.  I noticed too late to close the gap but ended up winning the sprint of the chase group to take 5th.  This 5th place I was happy with in comparison to the frustrating podium misses at Banff!  However the results don’t show me as 5th with 15pts in Mens Cat 3, instead I was the only Womens Cat 1/2/3 to finish after winning all the timed sprints and the final sprint…not a true indicator of how the race went.  After the race the triathlete in me pulled on my running shoes to finish the day as a brick workout bike/run.  Then I got to join the AIA triathlon crew for a delicious BBQ and even better people!
Good morning road race: 117km with two KOM challenges for points.  After Banff I was nervous to let any breaks happen without me and put in a solid effort with a group of 6 off the front at about 30km into the race.  The group caught us and I noticed that the group was doing well to never let a break stay away for very long.  I decided to sit in a little more for the rest of the race and let my legs recover for the KOM and final sprint.  The first KOM I was 5th (no points) and before I could challenge the second KOM at 100km I flatted!  Argh!  The wheel vehicle was quick to arrive but not so quick to do the wheel swap (we laughed about it later).  I got to draft for a little while to make up some lost time but had to TT effort the last 15km to the finish.  The thing is I was killing the TT effort!  Pushing the wattage and feeling peppy!  I caught a few stragglers from the group but was too far back to be a part of the sprint finish – but maybe it was God’s grace to get left behind but I was nowhere near the crash that occurred at the finish line leaving one rider with broken bones!
This third weekend of bike racing shows me that I am riding strong – way stronger than I was in May at Saskatchewan bike races!  Next up, is BCsuperweek: 9 races in 10 days that includes UCI stages with pros and BIGGGGGGA money (so you know its pro).  Wish me luck! And send up your prayers!

While in Edmonton I got to order my FAVOURITE salad at Greenhouse Gardens and my FAVOURITE scone at WildEarth Bakery

Edmonton: A hidden gem

Sometimes it pays to win.  Thanks ABA and Juventus for putting on a great race in Devon!
 

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