24 Feb – 24 Mar 2013 El Salvador and beyond



Vanderkittens Ruth, Kate, Liza, Me, Jessica, Starla, and Jono at the Vuelta Ciclista a El Salvador Team Presentation.

One of many coconut vendors

In our official start to the 2013 cycling season, six Vanderkittens, me, Jessica, Kate, Liza, Ruth, and Starla, along with awesome team manager Jono, headed off to race the Vuelta Ciclista a El Salvador. El Salvador is the smallest country in Central America, about the size of Massachusetts or Wales. Our adventure began as we emerged bleary-eyed from a midnight flight to arrive early morning at Comalapa International Airport.

We were met at the airport by a friendly Salvadorian named Robert from Thule, our Salvadorian business sponsor for the tour. Robert had a modest grasp of English—which was good because we were armed with dusty memories of high school Spanish classes and Jono and Liza’s fluent Italian.

Abundant coconut palms

Robert drove us past row after row of vendors selling endless stacks of coconuts from makeshift thatched-roof shelters onto the death-defying experience that is Salvadorian roads to the capitol city, San Salvador, and our home for the next two weeks, the Hilton Princess.

Beautiful views on our seaside ride.

The most standout feature of San Salvador, aside from razor wire atop every possible vertical structure, was the preponderance of armed guards, usually sporting some sort of assault rifle casually draped over one shoulder. These guards could be found outside every possible establishment: gas stations, hotels, restaurants, convenience stores, shopping malls—pretty much everywhere. Despite researching the topic, I have been unsuccessful in ascertaining the reason for the presence of these guards. Perhaps worth considering: El Salvador does sit an un-admirable third in the world murder rate rankings. I’m uncertain whether this statistic is a reason for the guards, or as a result of them. Happily, we did not witness any murders while visiting.



Wilfredo, Jono, and Robert.

We took the day to recover and relax from our night of unsatisfyingly cramped and truncated sleep before venturing out the next morning for a spin to clear our travel-congested legs. Here we met our driver for the duration of our stay, Wilfredo. Now Wilfredo spoke not a word of English and his knowledge of bike racing was nil. We had an awkward beginning.

Relaxing by the pool.

Add to this a further challenge: cycling in El Salvador is difficult. Traffic in El Salvador moves rapidly, at times randomly, with horn use quite generous, perhaps a requisite component of life preservation on Salvadorian roads as it appeared that drivers did not seem to realise that other road users were present without a healthy blast of the horn to alert them. I don’t think a collision with a cyclist would be noticed save for the bump felt as the offending vehicle rolled over the fallen rider. We decided that perhaps it was safer to ride at night with lower traffic volumes, without lights so as to remain unseen by drivers, which we observed numerous very brave Salvadorians doing.

Body surfing in the waves.

To avoid our untimely demise, Wilfredo drove us to a lovely road along the coast where beautiful beaches graced the shore and traffic volumes were slightly less terrifying. After our ride, where we thoroughly enjoyed the warm air and stunning surrounds, Wilfredo told us that a lunch had been organised for us and would we like to go—that’s the gist anyway after our several humorous attempts at translation. We piled in the Thule truck and drove for what seemed like hours along a bumpy dirt road past lots of dogs and cattle and people all milling about, eventually coming upon a lovely villa nestled in a forest of coconut palms where we enjoyed a relaxing dip in the pool, a splash in the waves, and an impressively enormous bowl of pasta.

Receiving roses at the start of the tour.

Over the next several days we raced 3 one-day races and a seven-day tour with just about every day finishing with or otherwise incorporating a ridiculously long climb up some ridiculously steep volcano, of which there is a notable overabundance in El Salvador (20 all up). We finished the racing with eight top-ten finishes and had a ton of fun doing it. Ruth was our star finisher, consistently placing well each day. Liza earned our top placing of the trip from an impressive breakaway, and Starla showed her grit with unrelenting aggressive riding throughout the tour, and perhaps a bit of hill-climbing form from this would be sprinter.

Unfortunately our tour was inhibited by a stomach bug that took Kate out of the tour after a promising ninth-place finish in Stage 1, and knocked Jessica out of contention after a top finish up an exceptionally gruelling climb in Stage 4. And of course, me being a lame duck teammate was singularly unhelpful.

With Robert at Thule headquarters.

My tour was of little note, except perhaps that, happily, my fitness improved markedly from beginning to end, although remaining well short of the level I had hoped to bring to the tour. Being hampered by the precipitous decline in my health the previous week, my main goal was simply riding each day so as to keep my recovery headed in the positive direction, the alternative being to remain at the hotel on the fitness room exercise bike.

Me and Jessica at the front of the peleton.

Despite some challenges, we had a lot of good times, improved our Spanish vocabulary, achieved our goal of acquiring valuable some UCI points, and thoroughly enjoyed the daily brilliant blue skies and warm (at times hot!) temperatures. Wilfredo turned out to be highly skilled at navigating the chaos of Salvadorian traffic and we were the envy of all the teams from the speed (and relative safety) at which he delivered us to and from each stage. By the end of our stay Wilfredo had acquired an impressive number of English words and phrases and a working knowledge of cycle racing that surpasses that of many competitors. After two weeks, it was difficult to say goodbye.  

Eating in at the hotel.

Our stay at an end, we once again headed along the rows and rows of coconut vendors to El Salvador airport for a return flight to San Francisco. There I left my teammates and continued on the Chicago where, after another night on a plane and 20 hours of travel, I arrived at my parents’ house where I stayed for all of 24 hours before heading back to the airport, this time with my mom, for a flight to Providence, Rhode Island, on the US east coast.



Liza very excited about coconuts.

The first few days in Rhode Island were occupied by a conference focusing d an organism that I research called didymo. Didymo is an alga that is an invasive and unwanted pest in New Zealand rivers and lakes and is becoming an increasing problem in areas of the US and Canada, Chile, and some parts of Europe. The remainder of the week my mom and I spent exploring Providence, the capitol of Rhode Island; Newport, a beach town on the south coast of the state—although, being winter, temps weren’t exactly conducive to beach-type activities, and Boston, one of the oldest cities in the US and the site of numerous significant events in American history.

I followed this with a week visiting with my parents, and am about to head back to the San Francisco area for some slightly warmer weather in which to work on continuing my recovery, regaining fitness, and preparing for a kick ass season with my fellow Vanderkitten teammates.



Before the start of the final race.

Vanderkitten tees and apparel are now available at vanderkitten.com. Check it out! I heard a rumor that manderkitten apparel, geared toward men interested in supporting the Vanderkitten team and concept, are soon to be available!

17-23 February 2013 Vanderkitten Team Camp

Vanderkitten Racing 2013: Jenn Reither, Kate Chilcott, Ruth Winder, Jessica Cutler, Jeannie Kuhajek, Co-director Katheryn Curi Mattis, Starla Teddergreen, Elle Anderson, Liza Rachetto, Amy Charity, Emily Kachorek. Not pictured: Rhae Shaw, Sophie Williamson, Director Jono Coulter
 

Four weeks post-surgery, I headed off to the US to start the 2013 racing season with my new team, Vanderkitten Racing. The team kicked things off with an awesome training camp in Silicon Valley, California, not far from San Francisco. We spent the week enjoying excellent albeit slightly chilly weather for team bonding and lots of beautiful rides to test out our new Wilier Triestina bikes, Pactimo kit, custom Kask helmets, Smith Optics sunglasses, and Vittoria shoes. Super comfortable Selle SMP saddles and ENZO’s Buttonhole chamois cream made the transition to our new bikes seamless as we rolled out our new PSIMET wheels.

A highlight of the week was a day spent at the Canary Foundation, an organisation created in 2004 dedicated to progressing research toward the early detection of cancer.  We started the day with a ride through the hills behind Palo Alto, CA, to celebrate the Canary Foundation’s partnership with Vanderkitten and a shared vision of empowering women. The route took in the part of the Canary Challenge fundraiser ride that will take place on September 28 to raise funds for cancer research. Following the ride, we were treated to a wonderful lunch and presentation by founder Don Listwin, followed by a tour of the world-class Canary Foundation research facility at Stanford University.

We also had an afternoon with Osmo Nutrition creator Stacy Sims fine tuning our nutritional knowledge and learning about Osmo, the ultimate in hydration and recovery products scientifically formulated specifically for cycling and triathlon. Osmo will be fuelling Vanderkitten to many wins this season. Check out the Osmo website for more info if you’re looking for something to give you and your stomach the winning edge this season.

The team camp week was jam-packed with rides and activities, but the excitement didn’t end there. Six of us finished off the week by packing up our bikes for a midnight flight to Central America for 10 days of racing in the Vuelta a El Salvador.

Unfortunately for me, my recovery from surgery took a nosedive and my fitness plummeted in the week leading up to camp. After having an exceptionally smooth return to good health in the two weeks following surgery, I ran into a snag with a bladder infection on day 14. After a week (and a bit of help from a course of antibiotics), the infection resolved only to be replaced by the worst pain I’ve ever experienced — in – my - life.

I definitely found a new meaning for agony. I imagine if my intestines were to into burst into flames, engulfing my abdomen in a white hot ball of fire—that would be pretty similar to the pain I felt. Sleeping, eating, functioning in general, all became severely limited. A post-op check-up confirmed A-OK on the surgery-front; everything healing beautifully and the pain was possibly an effect of the antibiotic on my already assaulted digestive system with time being the only remedy.

The pain, the resulting stress on my system, the inability to sleep or eat, and the physiological effects of the medication caused my fitness to plummet the first week of camp. So, now, as the season kicks off, I’m working on being patient and progressing slowly towards a gradual return to good form. Essentially, I need to build my blood levels back up to normal levels and the way to do that is time. The season has only just begun and lots more racing awaits. Check back soon for my adventures in El Salvador!

It’s Not About the Bike

Although my blogs typically are about cycling, this one’s a bit different. This one’s not about the bike—not directly anyway. This one’s a special edition detailing my recent hospital stay.

Being a fairly private person, not exactly secretive, but certainly reticent by nature, I tend to keep events of my life relatively quiet. But I can’t help but notice that my health has become a somewhat public issue at the moment.

Through the wonders of social media, news of my recent surgery has spread rapidly, but partial information has left many confused and concerned, and for those not on Facebook, possibly out of the loop entirely. I’ve received so many wonderful messages of support and warm wishes, far more than I can possibly reply to properly. After some consideration, I decided that the best way to fill in the missing details would be my blog.

A brief backstory: For the past several years I’ve struggled with poor health—frequent illness and a feeling of being not quite right: constantly on the edge of (or immersed in) illness. Myriad tests have revealed situation normal; nothing conclusive to pin the problems on. Late last year, an ultrasound finally uncovered a potential culprit: a uterine fibroid.

Fibroids are non-cancerous growths within the wall of the uterus. They are composed of smooth muscle cells and come in all sizes. They’re relatively widespread, affecting about 40% of women between age 35 and 55, and are the most common reason for hysterectomy. What causes fibroids is unknown, although in my case genetics was a primary contributor.

My fibroid was difficult to diagnose because it didn’t present the usual symptoms. In fact, it was really only found by coincidence. However, upon discovery it had grown to an impressive 11 cm (almost 4.5 in) in diameter. Being a highly dense mass of cells, the growth dominated my abdominal cavity, essentially bullying other organs out of the way. The fibroid enlarged my uterus to the size expected at 18 weeks of pregnancy. A dorsal location resulted in the mass pushing upwards rather than outwards, shoving my stomach into my diaphragm and gradually squeezing my lungs into a smaller and smaller space. Effectively, my lungs felt like they were being compressed by a vice.

Interfering with necessary bodily functions, the mass needed to go. Because of the size and extreme vasculature of the fibroid, hysterectomy was necessary. Timing was not ideal. I had recently finalised plans to race with the US pro cycling team Vanderkitten for the 2013 season, beginning with an exciting (and gruelling) UCI tour in El Salvador in late February. Should I proceed with surgery as soon as possible, probably sacrificing the early season, or hold off till September, hoping to make it through the season without further complications? Over a few short months, my symptoms escalated, the pain intensified; the choice became clear. I wouldn’t make it through to September. The time was now.

I booked the first available surgery date, 21 January, giving me five weeks to recover. Not much. To add further dilemma to the situation, Brian was scheduled to manage a team racing the New Zealand Community Classic in the North Island that very week. He’d worked for months putting together the team and raising funds to cover costs. I thought it silly for him not to go to the tour. I know it tore him apart to not be there to support me through the surgery. However, he certainly did an effective job drumming up support in his absence!

I spent a total of four days in hospital, the first day being dominated by surgery, plenty of vomiting following surgery (not nice), and lots of sleeping. Having a catheter was quite nice because it meant that, with food and drink arriving at 2-hour intervals, I didn’t need to get up for anything. Day 2 post surgery, drain removed, I was up wondering the halls of the hospital and adding in some careful sessions of lunges and squats. By day 4, the doctor couldn’t come up with a good reason to keep me there so I was released into the world (and on my stationary trainer for a 45-min ride that afternoon). Since I wasn’t allowed to tackle the 5-hour drive home, I spent a few days under the care of wonderful friends Vicki, Phil, and Max Novis until Brian returned from the tour. Monday, he caught a flight down to Christchurch and, eight days on from my surgery, we headed home.

Days 4, 5, and 6 I was on the stationary trainer and seven days after surgery I headed out for my first ride back on the road (1.5 h). Now two weeks on I’m relatively back to normal, although still requiring a tad extra sleep, a moderate approach to work and other thinking tasks, and a bit of extra care when moving about. A flexible schedule and working from home has definitely allowed for a faster recovery.

The surgery was challenging, requiring four hours and a bit of extra care to dissect out my right kidney which was partially engulfed by the fibroid. My rapid recovery is a real testament to the excellent skills of my surgeon, Dr Michael Laney.

In addition to Dr Laney, the surgical team,  and the multitude of nurses who cared for me while recovering at St. George’s Hospital, I owe huge thanks to all of you who supported me through the ordeal. I feel truly blessed and loved knowing how many people out there care about me. Special thank yous to the Whites—Sharyn, Simon, Emma, and James—for lots of visits while I was in hospital, especially Sharyn who visited me every single day!; to the Novises for ferrying me around Christchurch and expertly looking after me following my release from hospital; and to Brian Grant for flowers and treats every day I was in hospital, extra attention and assistance in the past week and more to come, and for making a special trip to drive me home.

I’m breathing easier these days, literally, and feeling heaps better. I expect that all the blood that the fibroid was drawing will find good use elsewhere in my body. A further happy outcome of the surgery is that hip pain, which has plagued me for years, has diminished significantly, possibly due to removal of endometrial tissue that was discovered during surgery.

I’m on track to head to the States on 17 February to kick off the 2013 season with a Vanderkitten training camp, and then the Vuelta El Salvador. Keep abreast of my progress through the season by following my blog: simply enter your email address in the box on the top right labelled ‘follow by email’ to receive an email notification when I update my blog. For those interested in supporting Vanderkitten, consider becoming a Vanderkitten VIP. Alternatively, check out the contribute link on the VK website. More info at http://www.vanderkittenracing.com/#

27-31 Dec Tour de Vineyards

Riding through beautiful country in Stage 3 of the Tour de Vineyards.

Happy 2013 everyone! Time to start blogging again. Unfortunately this site is not working

I’m excited to announce that for 2013 I will be racing with the US pro cycling team Vanderkitten. Vanderkitten is all about amazing women who kick ass. I’ll be joining 11 other fabulous women to form one of the top women’s cycling teams in the US. Although the main team is 12 riders, you too can be a part of it as a member of Vanderkitten’s VIP club. Check out more info at http://www.vanderkittenracing.com/#!vanderkitten-vip/c1zcl

I brought my 2012 to a close with the iconic Woollaston Estates Tour de Vineyards, a five-day tour right in my own backyard. We had fabulous weather for the whole tour, typical of Nelson summers. Despite torrential rains forecast every day, the wet held off and we were treated to five fine days.

Going it solo in Stage 1.

The tour started with a 4.5 km prologue. At a short 6.5 minutes long, this was the most painful stage of the tour! A decent performance put me third behind winner New Zealand Olympic representative in the pursuit Lauren Ellis and emerging pursuiter Cassie Cameron.

Getting hunted down by Lauren Ellis.

Stage 1 was a 40 km race on a technical 2.6 km circuit – my favourite stage! I went out on the hunt for time to move up on general classification. With three laps to go, I headed off on my own in pursuit of yellow. The tight corners of the circuit favouring a solo rider over the bunch, things were looking pretty good – that is, until Lauren switched into pursuiter mode and hunted me down to take the stage, blowing past me with less than 200 m to go to the line. I held on to a small gap to move up to second in GC with VK teammate Kate Chilcott winning the bunch sprint for third.

Stage 2 brought the queen stage, the stage reaching the highest point and the most challenging stage of the tour, with 128 km of racing finishing with an 18-km climb to the top of the 800 m Takaka Hill. Star hill climber Emma Crum prospered for the win with Olympian Linda Villumsen not far behind in second. The climb put Linda into the yellow leader’s jersey, and moved Emma into second on GC, just 17 s ahead of me in third.

Bestest again, this time by Emma Crum.

Stage 3, arguably a more challenging day than the Takaka Stage, was 120 km around the undulating terrain of the Moutere area. Seeking time on Emma, I had a go at escaping the bunch in the final kilometres, but Emma closed the move down immediately. Coming into the uphill sprint, I found myself in poor position at the back of the bunch. I launched early, keen at the 10 second time bonus for the stage win. Feeling super strong, I flew up the incline, past the other riders, the win in sight. But alas my excitement was shattered when at the last minute Emma came past to take the win, me second and TIBCO rider Joanne Kiesanowski crossing the line third, with no change in GC.

Just out of the saddle, about to kick to the line on Stage 4.

Stage 4 offered a final opportunity to move up the GC ladder. With five laps of a 9 km circuit, strong winds meant a big challenge for a solo ride. Ashleigh Neave, riding a super aggressive tour, went on the attack in the first few kilometres, surviving 3.5 laps. I answered the catch with an attack that saw me solo for a lap. A concerted chase from Linda to protect her yellow jersey saw me caught (and stuffed for my solo bid) with only a few kilometres to go in the race. A savvy attack from Haley Mercer went unanswered to give her a solo win. I recovered for my effort just in time in the final metres of the stage to position perfectly to take the bunch sprint.

Nek Minut. I'm about to leave my bike and slide along the road.

However, things went a little screwy and, as I put the power down for the final charge to the line, suddenly my bike fishtailed and I went completely sideways on the bike.  A lot of people who saw what happened have asked me went through my head in that moment. The truth is, absolutely nothing. I think my thinking brain turned off as my reflexes took over. I immediately sat down on my top tube to bring my bike under control and somehow, amazingly, managed to stay upright and recover to roll across the line in tenth.

The tour finished with Linda in yellow, Emma second, and me third with Emma taking the queen of the mountains jersey and Nelson rider Karen Fulton just edging out Kate Chilcott for the green sprint jersey in a tie. Although I was really happy with my form and how I rode, the highlight of my tour was definitely NOT crashing in the final sprint!

Riding past local vineyards in Stage 4.

Huge thank yous to the Tasman Wheelers, especially Jill Ellison, for their huge efforts coordinating the race, Woollaston Estates for sponsorship of the tour, Richards Woodhouse Accountants for their support of the women’s race, Brent & Jacob Sturm and Becks Hide-Bussell for personal race support, Brian Grant for keeping my bike running smoothly, Enzo’s Buttonhole for keeping me comfy in the saddle, and all the volunteers, supporters, sponsors, and racers who made this tour possible. Also the Grant Stirling at Stirling Images, ShutterSpot, and Wheel Works for some amzing photographs.

10-26 Aug Colorado

Showing off my PSIMET wheels at the North Boulder Park Classic.

For the final two weeks of my stay in the US I headed to one of my favorite places, the Rocky Mountains, Colorado. I arrived ready to tackle a weekend of racing. As it turned out, altitude kicked my butt. Not to worry. Less than 24 hours later, I was right back in the game. After that, only one race remained on my US calendar. With a string of mediocre results and bad luck since June, I was hungry for a good race. Unfortunately my streak of bad luck continued and my US season ended with a fizzle. That aside, I had a great season filled with heaps of fabulous racing, fun places and amazing people.

View from Jordan's place near Carter Lake.

No trip is truly complete without a day spent wandering aimlessly around an airport. My path to Colorado included just that: a full day of travel, complete with a pre-dawn start, multiple flight delays and lots of time wandering around O’Hare airport, moving from gate to gate in a corrupted version of musical chairs. Eventually, I made it to Denver Airport where Lami collected me and we drove northwest into the beautiful mountains above Carter Lake Reservoir near Loveland where we stayed with friend Jordan Brasch the next few nights.



Aerial view of Racing for Hope course.

Early the next morning I headed south to Golden CO for Racing for Hope, situated on a 1.7 mile semi-triangular course used for Colorado State Patrol driver training. In addition to being a cool course with fun sweeping curves, it’s also perched right on top of a hill, offering exhilarating views—and lots of wind!

In the break (last on left) at Racing for
Hope--before I blew.

Another cool thing about Racing for Hope is that it’s a fundraiser for brain injury research and rehabilitation hospitals specializing in traumatic brain injury. The race was initiated by Brian Brown, who, after surviving a traumatic brain injury in 2006, was inspired, along with his wife Alice, to aid other survivors and families of traumatic brain injuries and to encourage helmet safety by cycling enthusiasts.

Being my first time riding at high altitude, I didn’t know what to expect. For some, the effects of altitude take a day or so to kick in, in which case, I should be fine…. Wrong! Right from the gun, my arms felt like wet noodles; my legs were lead weights. This was bad. It didn’t take long before my lungs were on fire, my muscles were screaming for oxygen. Soon my diaphragm curled up into a little ball of excruciating pain and refused to unfurl. That was it. Race done for me.

Pre-race entertainment before the start of my race at
the North Boulder Park Classic.

With a performance like that, I didn’t think there was much point in racing the next day at the North Boulder Park Classic, but my cousin Cody Foster, who was living in Colorado for the summer, talked me into it. I’m glad he did. What a difference 24 hours can make! I felt great, dramas from the previous day essentially erased. Expecting meltdown, I raced super conservatively to finish 9^th in a classy field (with lots left in the tank).

Blacked-tailed prairie dogs greeted us
everywhere on one of our didymo expeditions.

 

 

I stayed in Boulder for a few days to work with a colleague who is investigating Didymo, one of the organisms I work with. We found lots of cool didymo colonies to look at in the local rivers, and lots of other interesting things as well. After that, I headed through the mountains to the West Slope to spend several days visiting my aunt and uncle June & Bob Vanourek near Edwards. Based from their home at 2500 m (8100 ft), I had a wonderful playground of rides to choose from with a mountain pass and inspirational vistas in every direction.

Start of the Alpine Challenge with slopes
Aspen Mountain in the background.

My US racing season concluded with my biggest race of the season, the Blue Ribbon Alpine Challenge in Aspen CO. Partnered with a 7-day men’s race, the Pro USA Cycling Challenge, the Alpine Challenge was attended by massive crowds of spectators awaiting the finish of the men on their way from Gunnison. With squads from several of the top US women’s pro teams on the start line, the crowd was treated to an action-packed hour of aggressive, animated racing. Bad luck struck for me when a mechanical problem forced me to the pit about 20 min into the race. The mechanic fixed the problem quickly and generously offered to hold my bike so I could re-start with both feet clipped into my pedals. Unfortunately, he held me a bit too long—until after the entire group had passed—and, with the racing super aggressive and the pace red hot, I had no hope of getting back on. Argh! Not the way I wanted to finish my season. On the plus side, I met heaps of incredible people during my stay, notable among them my amazing host family in Aspen, Lisa Yewer and Annie Wilson. 

My season, by the numbers: 15 weeks, 5 states, 40 races, 20 podiums, 12 wins 3 crashes, 2 blown tubulars and 1 destroyed carbon rim –18 races over 35 °C and only 1 race in the rain!

Racing at the Blue Ribbon Alpine Challange.

Humongous thank you’s go to my sponsors Rob Curtis at PSIMET custom wheels and Wayne Simon at ENZO’s buttonhole chamois cream, and to my many generous hosts: my grandfather John Callaghan, aunt and uncles Janet & John Callaghan and June & Bob Vanourek, amazing friends John Fleckenstein, Jordan Brasch, Debra & Francisco Griffith-Rosado, Sarah Spaulding, Ann & Tom Alderink, Lisa Yewer and Annie Wilson, and most especially my parents Peggy & Gene Kuhajek for making my season possible. Time for me to head back to NZ!

The field shoulder to shoulder at the Alpine Challenge. Orange was big this year.

 

3-5 Aug Tour of Elk Grove

After struggling for several weeks with a slow recovery from illness I finally found some form and headed into the Alexian Brothers Tour of Elk Grove with good legs. But luck was not on my side and a flat tire in the last several kilometres of the tour dashed my hopes for a good result.

The 2012 women’s Tour of Elk Grove was a three-day, three-stage tour held in Elk Grove, Illinois, near Chicago. A huge event since inception as a prominent men’s pro race, the tour gained National Race Calendar (NRC) status for the women’s race last year, ensuring a high-calibre field with riders from the top teams in the US. Elk Grove is also the only race I’ve done every year since I started racing so, in that sense, it’s a special race for me.

Finishing the Stage 1 time trial,
feeling fast on Leah's Felt TT bike.

The tour began on Friday afternoon with a 4.5 mile (7.2 km) time trial. With 5 tight corners on the course, a good time required both time trial prowess and cornering proficiency. Aided by teammate Leah Herman-Sanda’s very awesome time trial bike (which I thoroughly enjoyed riding!) and my super-slick PSIMET team issue wheels, I posted a decent time (for me) to start me off in 25^th position, 1:03 back from winner Alison Powers (NOW and Novartis for MS)—and tied with Kiwi rider Courteney Lowe (Optum). The top of the GC standings were pretty stacked, with 15 of the top 25 spots occupied by riders from top US pro teams NOW and Optum, each racing with full squads of 8 riders. An additional 3 spots were filled by riders from TIBCO, a third top US pro team, fielding a smaller roster of 5 riders.

All lined up as Optum drives the pace mid-race. I'm 9 riders back
with just my right shoulder in view. Photo by Ali Engin.

Stage 2 on Saturday afternoon was a 60 min criterium. The race started in oppressive heat with temperatures well above 100 (40 C). TIBCO and Optum put in constant attacks, but NOW, protecting the yellow jersey, was not interested in letting anything go up the road. As the race progressed, temps dropped, winds kicked up and skies darkened with an impending storm. Heading into the final laps, we were all together for a bunch finish. One lap to go and the race was getting messy with riders vying for position. NOW finally took control at the front of the peloton, lining up their lead out train with less than a lap to go. I was in great position, just behind their train. Perfect. This was going to be a good result!

Clouds darken the sky as the storm approaches during
Stage 2. Photo by Ali Engin.

But then, for whatever reason, NOW struggled to keep the pace high and a flurry of attacks launched as the front of the peloton blew into disarray. I scrambled for position as riders flew past on either side, boxing me in. Heading into the finish, NOW was so busy yelling at each other and everyone else, Jade Wilcoxson (Optum) escaped to take the stage with National Criterium Champion Theresa Cliff-Ryan (Exergy TWENTY 12) second and Kendall Ryan (TIBCO) third. In the chaos, I ended up too far back for the result I had in mind. I finished a disappointing16^th, but the result was enough to move me up a few spots to 19^th overall. The race finished just in time. About 15 min later the heavens opened up, drenching the course and all remaining with a furious downpour.

In cooler weather that followed the spectacular storm, Stage 3 on Sunday was a 75 min circuit race around a 10-km corner-laden circuit. The outcome of the previous stage had brought the margin between first and second place to just 1 sec. With a fierce battle between Powers (NOW) and Wilcoxson (Optum) brewing, Stage 3 promised to be an electrifying race! My legs felt great. I was up for an animated race. And that it was, with attacks launching right and left. This is the type of racing I love!

Unfortunately, bad luck struck when, on lap three, a rider near the front slid out on one of the corners. I had to brake hard around the corner, and, running out of room to stay on the road, I slid out as well. Fortunately unscathed, I got back up quickly, put my chain back on the rings and headed off in full pursuit. With the pace on at the front in anticipation of the $1000 half-race prime up for grabs, I had an all-out, leg-burning, lung-busting chase. Although I was grateful for the race convoy, the multiple corners amongst the cars made cornering a bit unnerving (of course, my chase was through the most technical part of the course!). Reaching a straighter part of the course, I reconnected after about 5 km on the rivet. Back in the bunch, I was a bit worried that I had used up all my matches. But a short recovery in the middle of the peloton and I was feeling fresh again and ready for action at the front, hungry for a top finish.

One lap to go, I still felt good. I had great position at the front, following wheels, looking for potential successful breaks. Then, more bad luck. With only 3 km left to go, a rider crashed at the front of the field. Not far behind the mêlée, I grabbed a handful on brakes to avoid collision. This time, my rear tire had had enough and blew out with a resounding BOOM.

Fortunately only one rider went down, but in the chaos it took over a minute to get a wheel change. Riding solo through the windiest section of the course, I lost another minute plus before I reached the finish line, knocking me all the way back to 35^th place. Not exactly the result I was looking for. On the bright side I’m happy to be riding well again.

Wilcoxson took her second win of the tour to take the overall win, with Optum holding steady atop both the overall NRC individual and team standings. Wilcoxson’s win was classy and well deserved. It was extremely disappointing to see NOW try to win by intimidation, foul language and dangerous riding. Respect is something one earns, and that’s not the way to earn it.   

That’s my racing in the Midwest finished for the year. Next up, I head west to Colorado for two weeks and test how my body handles racing at altitude. On tap this weekend, the Racing for Hope in Golden CO and then the North Boulder Classic.

Kudos to Special Events Management for putting on a great tour, and for coming up with a better and better women’s tour each year. Big thanks to Leah Sanda for the use of her TT bike and to Brian Grant for helping with the huge amount of tasks I needed to complete on Friday in a short amount of time, and to PSIMET Wheels for keeping me rolling fast and ENZO’s buttonhole for keeping the ride comfy.

28-29 Jul GR Cycling Classic & Prairie State Crit

Frustration. That was my key word for the weekend. On tap were two fantastic races, the Herman Miller Grand Cycling Classic and Sammy’s Prairie State Criterium. Both events were fabulous and well-run races on fun and exciting courses. But despite a relaxing week, my recovery hit a plateau, leaving me frustrated and short of a good result.

Castle Park in Holland MI is thought to be the inspiration
for L. Frank Baum's The Wonderful Wizard of Oz in 1900.

Leading up to the weekend, Lami and I enjoyed a lovely week in Holland MI visiting with Lami’s family and basking in the beauty that is Holland in summertime, including our first weekend off racing since our arrival in the US in May.

Saturday’s race, the Grand Cycling Classic, was a 75 minute crit on an eight-corner 1.3 km (0.8 mile) course over historic brick-paved streets of downtown Grand Rapids MI. As a National Criterium Calendar (NCC) race, it drew a big field of high caliber riders. Pro team TIBCO controlled the race with a star-studded six-rider squad of top-notch riders, putting in attack after attack that kept the race animated from start to finish. Optum was the other main powerhouse with three riders.

Rides strung out on the GR course with the pace high and
TIBCO leading the charge. I'm 4th wheel back.

I got good position off the start line, ready to go with any moves off the front. I knew that a successful break would need a Tibco and an Optum rider, so I concentrated on going with those attacks. From a small 5-rider break early in the race, I grabbed a prime but we were reabsorbed quickly back into the group. Attacks continued and I was enjoying the aggressive racing—that is, until about 30 min in when my legs started, for lack of a better description, freaking out—literally—with little mini cramps. While each cramp lasted only for a second or so, the spasms progressed randomly and successively through all the muscles of my quads.

Grand Rapids course from above. Photo from GR Press.

Unlike ‘normal’ cramps, these cramps were an indication that I wasn’t quite recovered and my body was telling me that things were still a bit out of whack to be able to handle competing at this level. Unable to ignore the message (since my legs wouldn’t work) I backed off and did my best to race conservatively. A three-rider break containing US National Crit Champion Theresa Cliff-Ryan (Exergy TWENTY12), Jade Wilcoxson (Optum) and Jen Purcell (TIBCO) escaped the bunch mid-race. Staying away, the trio finished in that order. Back in the bunch, TIBCO kept things animated, and, although missing out on the win, dominated with 4 of the top 10 spots. In the bunch finish, I salvaged 14^th, which, while not what I was gunning for, wasn’t too bad all told but frustrating nevertheless.

Me trying to make a move at St. Charles with Optum
keeping a very close eye.

After the race we headed back around the Lake to race the inaugural Prairie State Criterium in downtown St. Charles IL the following morning. The race featured a fun 4-corner course, 0.8 mile long, with one technical corner and an exciting super-fast finish. With my legs extremely grumpy and unhappy doing pretty much anything that involved movement, I knew the race was going to be a challenge. The challenge was accentuated by a tiny field of only 18 riders with 4 of those riders being pros from Team Optum and 3 being representatives from the Columbian National Team. With no other organised teams present, Optum absolutely dominated the race.

Race announcer Todd Busteed doing interviews for the
Dog of the Day at St. Charles.

I knew that Optum would attack until they launched a rider free, but which rider to follow? Any one of them was strong enough to ride away solo. So I did my best to follow every single move. And then the one where my legs needed a break. That one got away. Jade Wilcoxson (Optum) and Serika Guluma Ortiz (Team Columbia) launched off the front with Optum riders chasing down any attempts to bridge. Looking for some time trial training, Leah and Kelli (PSIMET) took control on the front driving the pace for a couple of laps, but Optum quickly went back at it with another flurry of attacks, eventually launching another Optum-Columbia pair. Conscious of the warning I had received from my body that day before, I couldn’t do much about it. The second Columbian rider fell back to the bunch leaving us to race for 4^th. 2010 & 2011 Canadian National Crit Champion Leah Kirchman took the bunch sprint with me just missing out on 5^th by a fraction on the line. Gutsy attacks from some local riders were great to see. Keep it up! That’s the sort of aggressive women’s racing Chicagoland needs more of.  

Right in the middle of the action at the Grand Cycling Classic.

Race promoters Midwest Cycling Series have plans to grow the race into a multi-day Prairie State Cycling Series, scheduled for next July in multiple Illinois cities so keep an eye on the calendar. It promises to be a great series. Big thanks to race promoters Arlington Sports and Midwest Cycling Series for putting on some great racing, and PSIMET, ENZO’s and Brian Grant for awesome support. Next up, Tour of Elk Grove this coming weekend.