Block l: California Winters and Bike Racing

I’ve been back in Canada for a week now and it’s COLD!  The California sun has spoiled me!  Alex has been out biking in shorts and a t-shirt and I’m bundled up in wool socks, shoe covers, leg warmers, jersey + long sleeve jersey + winter bike jacket + neck gater + doubled-up gloves! (All labeled with the team name TWENTY16 p/b Sho-Air thanks to JL Velo an eco-friendly sport clothing company).

I can’t complain for long though because I am so enjoying riding my bike, spending time with Alex, crafting, wedding dress shopping for my sister, and packing up property – yes, we are moving!  To spur on our life of adventure and bikes we are moving to Alberta to be farmers for the few weeks that we aren't chasing bike races across the globe.  We have the best employers out in Alberta (thanks mom and dad!) that allow us to work and travel as much as we need to so I can work as a professional cyclist.

The cycling? Yes! It has be fantastic!  I am so thankful that Alex and my parents got to meet a few of the amazing people that I've had the privilege of sharing a meal with during my first block of training and racing down south.  First off, I've joined many new fan clubs for people I love.  One for Mama V (Julia), a former USA mtb pro, a mother of two craaaazy boys, a successful business woman with an enormous helping heart and living powerfully at an age that puts a twinkle in my eye because I know what I’m going to be like at that age too ;)  And another fan club for Chef John for his kind heart that spills over into deliciously cooked meats, chill conversation and his all-in attitude when he approaches a challenge.  This is another big thank you to you two.

"This is a road bike." (photo: VeloImages)

Training camp was awesome.  When spending time with such amazing people and athletes you are bound to soak up something – especially when you are as curious as me!

TTT practice on our FELT bikes (photo: Nick Kova)

team cheer - #powerpose

Valley of the Sun was our first race weekend together as a team, and I have to say that I LOVE RACING AS A TEAM!  The tactics are so fun and I love being a part of something that is bigger than me alone.  I was so excited to race my amazing FELT TTbike with the cool sound effects made by the ZIPP disc wheel (I’m doing things I only dreamed of before).  Unluckily, I got a flat at the turn-around and waved to every person, car, and cactus that I saw until someone picked me up 6km later.  Ugh, so I became nobody’s threat to their GC standing but I did become a grrrrREAT teammate!  (heehee)  My job for the following road race and crit was to watch and bridge and chase and listen to my teammates for what they needed me to do.  It was great fun!  We got to practice lead-outs and I got to feel what it is like to lay it all down 3 laps to go to make it easier for the next teammate to lead out our sprinter for the win (and we did win)!

Two weeks later a small portion of our team (4 athletes) drove up to Chico for a 4 event stagerace.  This was fun because we were all fairly new to pro racing and were forced to figure it out together.  It opened up a few new opportunities and I was able to take two stage wins for the team!  At the first stage, I was not ‘one to watch’ but when the pack opened in front of me on the climb 2km to go I went with all I had in a solo break that just barely kept off the masses for the finish line.  My teammate Andrea had suggested I channel energy from my last race when I got a flat at VOS TT to push hard this weekend which was really helpful to find focus for this final effort on the front.  Every race that weekend TWENTY16 p/b Sho-Air had at least one person on the podium and in the end we took home all the jerseys: Yellow – GC winner, White – U23 winner, Green – points/sprint winner. After two stage wins and some hidden sprint points collected during the crit I found myself in the green jersey!  I love that cycling is dependent on having a good team – the whole team earned those jerseys, not just the person wearing them in pictures.

It’s been fantastic working with the TWENTY16 p/b Sho-Air directors Mari and Nicola, my bestie team mechanic James, all of our hosts that housed us for training camp and races, and I’m honored to get to work with my favorite Canadian athlete Alison Testroete on my training program.

Race line-up for the Spring:
San Dimas Stage Race - March 27-29

Redlands Bicycle Classic - April 8-12

Subaru Sea Otter Classic - April 16-19

Tour of the Gila - April 29-May 3

Amgen Tour of California - May 8-10, 15

P.S. One of my favorite memories of of California is from building a box maze for the boys in our host house.

Oh yeah, two levels, multiple dead ends and only one way out!

Introducing ALISON JACKSON, professional cyclist

Follow @teamtwenty16 on Instagram

For me, 2015 brought with it TWENTY16 p/b Sho-Air a UCI pro cycling team based out of California.  Based on some conversations after bike racing in 2014, I was offered a spot on Team TWENTY16 p/b Sho-Air.  I am excited to be working with a fantastic team of directors Nicola, Mari, Julia and Kristin.  These women are both powerful and beautiful with so much experience to offer. 

Other fantastic people that we get to work with are our sponsors Kim and Scott Tedro with Sho-Air trade show and event transportation, Felt Bicycles (#therealjimfelt), SRAM #leapthefrog, ZIPP on speedy wheels, QUARQ for da power, JL Velo for team clothing, Violich Farms (my homestay and Californian almonds), k-Edge, Fiizik, GQ:6, Speedplay, Pain Pathways magazine, Clif Bar, Catlike Helmets, Ride Biker Alliance, Thule, Oakley, Arundel, dznuts, ec3d compression (Canadian company!!!), Kreitler Rollers, Arctic Heat, Modify Watches, Bubbled Wall, Pedros (keeping my bike clean), Sock Guy, City Cycle, George’s Cycle & Fitness, and Velo Images.

I look forward to the coming days spent with teammates because they have so much experience and know how that I want to learn.  My goal is to be a sponge!!

Training on the best equipment: Felt Bicycles, Fizik, Zipp, SRAM, Speedplay, Arundel

Teammates!!!!

Pit stops = Shot Block picnics

Thank you also to Bruce from Wentings Cycle and my first ever bike team Phoenix Velo for always encouraging me and supporting me to keep biking!

I am happy to represent my family everywhere I go as they are my biggest supporters of life.  My cutest husband Alex who works hard to have me follow my dreams while meshing them with his own.  My biggest fan: Mom (who comes to more races than anyone), and Dad who I know is so proud of me.  My sister who makes family time better by scheduling my training time around family time.  My bro and his new wife who share in my excitement. My second parents and brother who love that I bike and would do anything to help me succeed.  I love you all!

I’ll keep the blog updated but it’s going to be all about bikes now!  Do I need a new nickname or will triactionjackson still fit?  Only time will tell.

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 4^th.  The crit I raced tactically and hard for a 5^th 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 4^th and 5^th 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 7^th place from 10^th.  I ended up 5^th 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 1^st down to 4pts for 10^th.  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 5^th.  This 5^th place I was happy with in comparison to the frustrating podium misses at Banff!  However the results don’t show me as 5^th 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 5^th (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!

 

Racing the Ridge

I was really looking forward to this cycling race.  It would mark my first ever three part stage race and I would get to race Cat 1/2 women (aka PRO/really, really good racers).  I was really interested to see how I would fare, and how many I could beat!  Barry the race director and owner of Maple Ridge’s bike shop Local Ride put on a fantastic race and had offered this newbie all kinds of help and support for the weekend which was awesome.  

Stage 1: Saturday morning 10:30am was the 70K road race – in cold, dumpy rain; I am good on cornering downhills, and bridging gaps but need some work on my hill climbing speed and pick up my ave cadence; I finished with the main pack behind 2 lead escapees 

Stage 2: Saturday evening 5:00pm was the 12.7K Time Trial – in a dry tailwind, with clip-on aerobars and Bruce Wenting’s light n’fast tubulars

Day One: 4^th position, 1 minute behind the leader

Stage 3: Sunday afternoon 1:30 was the 45min + 3 laps Criterium – a sunny, beautiful race day! Took 3^rd in the 15min sprint lap; then, in the 30min sprint lap I’m coming around the final tight corner to the finish in first position, clip my pedal, get tossed off the bike, scramble to pick up the bike, and ride for a 5^th overall position with a broken arm (I only found out it was fractured in two places hours later at the hospital).

In sports and competition, an athlete must learn to take the downs with the ups – I have had an incredible year of racing which has been a definite high so I’m grateful and praise God for the ups and the downs.  Praise God for the broken arm…?  Yes, AND at least I can train my legs hard (cycling and running) so I’m thankful :) and my cast is purple like my bike!

Indoors & Around In Circles

Fiona is scary.

I have a race coming up.
Oh, it's a triathlon.
No, actually it's a track race, and indoor track race.
Ooooh...wait, running or cycling?
Okay, I have an indoor track running race - it's a 3K.
Are you still talking cycling?



Boy, this could get confusing :) but I don't really mind.  I love it all!

At the beginning of January, I made the goal to swim 6 x a week for the next 18 months to see if my swim could improve enough to take me competitively through elite triathlon racing.  I also made goals to do more pure cycling races.  I was going to swim and cycle hard right through the hard indoor season (running) without a worry of what it might do to my running performances because track races aren't as much my thing as cross country running.  This has taken a lot of pressure off of me to perform.

1st at Harry Jerome Indoor Meet

Then, with the long socks on, I drop my personal best times in the 1500m and 3000m 7 and 17 sec!  Whew!  Now, I am ranked 8th in Canada for the 3000m which could take me to Nationals and my 1500m is in the running for an explosion into Nationals as well.  So, now I am thinking about Nationals...hmmm...

The training we are doing at TWU is making me stronger and ready to handle harder workouts and my body has adapted really well to the stresses of training three sports together.

Anyway, we will see :)
Win or Lose.  Praise God.

P.S. This is me at the Burnaby Velodrome this February for the first fun time :)

Around the Region

What you all have been waiting for...our triathletes on TV!

NewCap Media did a story on our Vermilion triathlon group that aired (finally!) on Aug.29.  If you did not catch it then watch it now!

Alberta Provincial Cycling Champ?

Can you pick me out?

Well, I entered a cycling race this last weekend.  I mean, why not?  I need the practice racing in a pack and drafting.  ABA (Alberta Bicycling Association) was holding their provincial championships at Pigeon Lake near Edmonton so I signed up and raced 3 days later.

The Women’s Cat 3/4/5 was a 63K race fairly flat, kind of rolly.

The ladies were great.   

They really were lovely. 

 It was a safe race all around ZERO crashes! Praise God!  (It’s because my mom was there praying the whole time!)  It was a fairly easy paced race I kept in the back for the first half then in good position changing leads for the second half.  No one broke from the group at all. 

1000m to go I’m leading in the head wind…

                200m to go…

                                Okay, so I am going…

                                                Up the hill and cross the line. 

                                                                First :) 

That's the finish line

Anyway, I have the BEST support team EVER!

1. PhoenixVelo for the speedy SCOTT FOIL that makes cycling feel like flying

2. Athletes inAction who helped sign me up and made me wear sweet threads

3. My cheer team! Momma and Papa Farkash, the Husband, and my brother-in-law

Complete Results HERE

Me and the Husband :)