April – May 2014 Chasing My Shadow

Despite careful preparations and excellent form coming into my US season, an extra large helping of life effectively knocked my fitness back to ground zero. So, over the past two months I’ve been busy tackling the challenges of lingering illness and poor health, leaving me without many exciting things to report on. However… I’m making some progress now, so let’s get back up to speed together!

In quest of some life balance.

My last report left off about two months ago with the Vuelta a El Salvador way back at the start of March. For second half of March I stationed myself in Mountain View CA to focus on recovery. The first week I struggled with a hamstring injury sustained while in El Salvador, along with the onset of intense joint pain that made movement challenging—and agonizing. A few weeks later I added a shoulder strain to the list.

Visiting the giants at Big Basin Redwoods State Park.

Through investigation I learned that these were side effects from the antibiotics I was prescribed for the lung infection I contracted in March. Muscle injuries and joint pain from an antibiotic? I know! Not what you’d expect. I was prescribed a fluoroquinolone (best know example is Cipro), a group of antibiotics that have become notorious for causing crazy side effects like spontaneous tendon ruptures and nerve damage. Based on documented cases, I’m lucky to have come away with relatively mild effects!

Plenty of late snow remaining in March at Big Bear, setting for Stage 2 of Redlands Bicycle Classic.

With the arrival of April, I headed south to Redlands CA near Los Angeles to join five Vanderkitten teammates for the Redlands Bicycle Calssic, the first major US stage race of the season. It was quickly clear that my body was not up to the task of such a demanding tour and I took to the sidelines to cheer on my teammates.

Unable to race, I took up a new activity - Vanderizing.

After Redlands the team and I headed north to the charming town of Carmel-by –the-Sea on the Monterey Peninsula. We enjoyed a wonderful week of beautiful weather and scenic riding along the Pacific Coastline on 17-Mile Drive (a highlight of my season so far) before tackling three days of racing at the Sea Otter Classic in Monterey. Again, my body gave the clear message that racing was not yet on the table for me, with sharp, burning lung pain bringing activity to a rapid halt.

The Sea Otter team at Carmel: Amy, Kate, me, Miranda, and Korina. (Missing: Fiona)

With Easter near and many responsibilities calling in the Midwest, I then headed east to my hometown of Crystal Lake, near Chicago, to be with family. The icy chill of winter still strong in the spring Chicago air brought added challenge to my journey back to health. Recovery is slow and I’m still feeling not quite right (all jokes aside!) and good racing form remains a long way away.

My new PSIMET wheels blooming with the tulips.

As winter releases its grip on the Midwest, the tulips are on full display, trees are budding like crazy, and summer seems to have arrived almost overnight. Inspired by the warming weather I’ve tackled some local racing to test my fitness. My lungs still burn a bit on exertion and I don’t feel great on or off the bike, but improvements are evident. 

Me biting the handlebars at Urbana GP. Photo by Eric Ponder https://flic.kr/p/nddu1o

Last weekend I suffered through the Urbana Grand Prix with a huge effort to take a very hard earned 4^th. Then, this past weekend I opened up my US bank account with a win at Monsters of Midway on the Midway Plaisance—almost like Chicago’s version of the Champs-Élysées! Ok maybe not… Still, I’m making progress. I’m pretty excited to be a Monster of Midway none-the-less.

Winning the sprint from a small break at Monsters of Midway. Photo by Snowy Mountain Photography

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A huge thank you to my team manager Jono Coulter and my Vanderkitten teammates for their patience with my health. Also to Jim Smith and Carrie & Sam Keating for their wonderful generosity in sharing their beautiful Carmel accommodation with the team. Gerald Sylvester (Mt View) and Bill & Sandy Green (Redlands) kindly opened up their homes and were wonderful hosts, and James Mattis was kind enough to give me a lift from Mt View to Redlands. I think I’m grateful to Michael Zellman for the ride to Urbana but I’m not sure—that race really hurt! A bonus of my California stay was catching up with long lost classmates Mark Rodgers (high school) and Paulette Greenfield (college). Thanks to both of you for taking time to visit!   

Amazing photo of racing along Midway Plaisance by Snowy Mountain Photography

http://smu.gs/1mPFPPh

6-16 March 2014 Vuelta Ciclista a El Salvador

“Small disciplines repeated with consistency every day lead to great achievements …” - John C. Maxwell

Synonymous with reliability, consistency – accentuated by excellence – is a virtue. However, when it comes to the start of the cycling season, my consistency towards illness and injury has become quite tedious.

Jono (right) and Super Willy (our El Salvadorian driver) getting our bikes loaded up ready to head to a stage.

This year, flu symptoms struck on the flight to El Salvador and stuck with me for the first several days of the two week visit. Vanderkitten was represented at the Vuelta Ciclista a El Salvador by six riders: Amy Charity (USA), Kate Chilcott (NZL), Liza Rachetto (USA), Miranda Griffiths (AUS), Rhae Shaw (CAN), and myself.

 

Me, Amy, Miranda, Willy, Kate, Rhae, and Liza ready to roll for a ride.

The Vuelta kicked off with 3 one-day races. While the team scored a top 10 and 3 top 20 results, I hung out the race accommodation, El Salvador’s National Institute of Sport – Hotel Indes, nursing a racking cough. Unfortunately most effective cough medications contain ingredients that are on the banned substances list, leaving me to nurse my cough with copious amounts of chamomile tea.

Hotel Indes, the National Institute of Sport of El Salvador, our home during our stay.

Sleeping, being incompatible with coughing, didn’t go well. My poor roommate Amy had to play a bit of musical beds, switching rooms for the first week so that she could actually get some sleep.
After several days, my flu symptoms subsided and quickly progressed into a lower lung infection – either bronchitis or pneumonia. Feeling exhausted, my lung capacity below 80%, tackling the mountainous terrain of El Salvador wasn’t much fun.  


Stair climb to the team presentation dinner.

With over 20 volcanoes and approximately 85% of the country covered by mountains or high plateaus, the Vuelta El Salvador is quite a hilly race. The tour included seven categorized climbs scattered over 700 km in nine days of racing. The most noteworthy came in Stage 4, an 1100 m climb to finish atop the volcano El Boquerón.

El Boquerón watching over San Salvador.

El Salvador borders the Pacific Ocean on the south, Guatemala to the west and Honduras to the north and east. With a land area approximately equal to that of Massachusetts or Wales and a population between 6 and 7 million inhabitants, El Salvador is the smallest and the most densely populated country in Central America. The country's capital and largest city, San Salvador, where we were based for the duration of our stay, is among the fastest growing cities in the world, currently home to 2 million plus residents.

El Salvador, the smallest and most densely populated country in Central America.

Although north of the equator, El Salvador experiences verano, or summer, between November and April, when the air is dry, hot, and hazy. And with temperatures generally averaging 35°C (95°F) during each stage, HOT is exactly what we experienced. Air thick with smog added to the challenge.

Rhae, Liza, and me, adorned with lots of ice!, checking our bikes before the start of Stage 3.

The tour included 75 starters representing 20 countries and composing 14 teams. Vanderkitten was the most multinational team with riders from four countries. Our top finishes came from Miranda, 9th on day 2 in the Grand Prix de Oriente, and Rhae, 8th in the Prologue.

Rhae waiting for the countdown on the start line start the prologue.

While we achieved some top notch results with 16 top-25 finishes over the nine days of racing, crashes and illness hampered our tour. The best part of the trip off the bike in the friendships made.


Liza, Rhae, and Kate with locals out to cheer us on.

Before heading back to the US, we enjoyed a delicious dinner of El Salvadorian pupusas, a sort of tortilla stuffed with cheese and fillings. Yum!

Jono ready to tuck into a pile of pupusas!

Ready to Roll – Vanderkitten 2014

 

With the year well into March, and me already on my fourth country of the year, an update on my racing plans is well past due. 2014 has come out swinging with some major punches already, but alongside difficult challenges is always wonderment, as long as we’re willing to see it.

I’m excited to announce that I am returning for a second year with Vanderkitten Racing, a team all about women kicking ass – on the bike, as well as in life. The team is based in Northern California, near San Francisco, so that’s where I’ll be based through mid-April or so, followed by visits to other parts of the US over the coming six months.

Vanderkitten 2014: Fiona, Amy, Korina, Miranda, Kate, Elle, Liza, Tiffany (missing: Gillian, Sophie, Emily, Jeannie)

Twelve incredible women comprise the Vanderkitten team this year, with riders from the US,Canada, New Zealand, and Australia. We’re decked out with the best kit in the peloton thanks to Vanderkitten founder and designer Dave Verrecchia and Pactimo clothing. Vanderkitten T-shirts and cycling kit are available for purchase from Vanderkitten.com. We’ll be racing on Colnago bikes and rolling the top wheels out there from Chicago-based wheel builder Rob Curtis at PSIMET Custom Wheels.

 

At present I’m in San Salvador for two weeks racing the Vuelta a El Salvador along with five VK teammates. Unfortunately, as racing kicks off, I am sidelined by a nasty flu. Apparently 50 hours of travel in eight days is a bit much for the immune system. With the capacity of my body’s defences exceeded, I am getting an exceptional core workout from an excessive (and painful) amount of coughing as my body struggles to expel whatever vile bug is harbouring there. Thus, my initial challenge of the tour is a critical one: to avoid infecting my teammates with my germs.

Ready to board the plane to San Salvador with our awesome Zuca bags.

And so, it would seem that all the planning and preparation in the world is no match for the unpredictability of life. In addition the stresses of to travel and harried preparations for six months overseas, no doubt a few others things have contributed to my overload: the death of my grandfather in November, and the decision to leave my job at the Cawthron Institute last month. But most of all the sudden and unexpected loss of my brother last month has been exceptionally shock. No planning in the world prepares us for these sorts of life events, and the reality is that only time will heal the grief – but it is the support of friends and family that help us through.

For this reason, I include here a heartfelt thank you for all the love and support that my family has received in the past month. At the request of several friends, I include my eulogy to Dan below. Check back for more about El Salvador in my next blog in a couple weeks. Or, to receive an email notification whenever I update my blog, enter your email address in the box labelled ‘follow by email’ on the top right of my blog page http://jeanniescookies.blogspot.com/.

 

 

Eulogy for Dan Kuhajek

Thank you all for being here today – for coming out to help us remember Dan, and to celebrate his life. Dan was my big brother. We were just shy of two years apart, so we were pretty close growing up.

As such, Dan was my first friend – and something of a guardian in my early years. He taught me the ropes in my first years of life, and perhaps only in a way that other younger siblings can understand – and most likely in a way that Dan had no clue – he is a huge part of who I am.

Dan had a special gentle hardness about him. He had a certain way of convincing me to believe in myself in a way that only an older brother could. He wasn’t outwardly encouraging – that wasn’t Dan’s style – but never cruel either. Just quietly convincing. Convincing me that I could do things I didn’t think I could. I think it’s safe to say that he touched many others throughout his life in this way as well.

Dan always had a huge fascination with how things work, and was always a very hands-on investigator. Growing up in the ‘70’s, back when TVs had multiple knobs and buttons, I remember my dad had to build a special mock control panel to place over the dials so the Dan could tinker away, spinning the multiple brightly colored dials and knobs, without messing up the television set.

Whenever we went somewhere new, Dan would spend time investigating all the hardware in the place – especially in older houses – pulling drawer handles and turning door knobs, finding dials to spin and buttons to push. He had a certain boldness to his curiosity and one time managed, at a very young age – perhaps 3 or 4 – to find the stop button on the escalator at Woodfield Mall, bringing shoppers to a halt for a short time. I think, while many children that age would have been frightened by the ensuing commotion, Dan had a certain satisfaction in his discovery.

Dan also loved building things. We spent hours as kids building forts. Thirty-five years ago, in 1979, Crystal Lake had a winter similar to this one, with endless amounts of snow and cold. I remember my dad cut steps into the snow outside the front door so that Dan and I could scramble on top of it all. Dan made the most amazing snow forts that year, working endlessly in the freezing cold – long after I had gone inside to get warm – digging out the big pile at the end of the drive, packing the walls to make them sturdy and solid.

We built ceaseless forts inside, as well. We had cardboard bricks – which we also used to stack up in the door to block my mom from the laundry room which doubled as our playroom – lots of old cushions, and piles of blankets and pillows. Dan’s forts were always amazing and solid. I would generally hang out with Dan in his fort instead of mine, so much cooler were his. It’s really no wonder that he went on to do a degree in construction, using his skills to keep building wonderful things into adulthood.

Dan had a certain optimism and confidence in him that is well illustrated by where he kept his camera stored – in his tackle box. Dan spent a lot of time fishing and later hunting – passions that also began early on. My dad, Dan, and I spent many hours exploring the lakes at Moraine Hills State Park. Or during the summers, while my mom taught tennis in Dundee, we’d spend hours fishing in the Fox River. I think Dan recognized that I didn’t really enjoy fishing, but rather, that I thought I should enjoy it because he did. Whether he did it intentionally or not, I don’t know, but he always helped me find other things to do like helping him seek out arrowheads in the water at Moraine Hills – we never found any real ones – or sending me off to get ice cream from the Dairy Queen down the road in Dundee. Sometimes even sending me back for a second ice cream of a different flavor.

It’s difficult to sum up anyone in words, least of all Dan who was a man of few words. In my mind, I only ever see him smiling – or else smirking in his special way. Underneath it all, Dan had a truly gentle heart. Dan, in a quiet way, your life touched so many. No words can convey how much I will miss you – how much we will all miss you.