Pryde and Joy!

I am happy to announce the arrival of Neil Pryde, who came into my life last week.

Neil and I were off to a rather complicated relationship after our first ride together. I couldn't wait to get him out on the road, and when I did I was a little caught off-guard by how, well, twitchy he was.

I figured this relationship could use some professional help. We went to counseling last weekend (pro-fit at Eddy's), and things have improved tremendously.

Still, going from my Bianchi to my Neil Pryde is like getting out of the Jetta and into an Indy car. There's still a learning curve, but I can tell that the ride is going to be phenomenal. For example, I've learned not to 'steer' the bike so much with my body; Neil responds simply to my thoughts.

This Sunday, Neil will be making his racing debut at the Deerfield Time Trial (without aero bars, which haven't arrived yet). I'm looking forward to a fast, fun race - and a lot of exciting rides on my new bike!

Side Trips: Cleveland's West Side Market

The Akron Bike Club holds a group ride to the West Side Market every year, starting in Peninsula or along the Canal Towpath Trail.


Jackie and I joined up with them at the Canal Visitor's Center with our mountain bikes, outfitted with trunk bags and panniers to haul some of the Market's offerings home with us.

The West Side Market on a Saturday morning is a  feast for the senses. The outside aisles are packed with produce of every variety. And the vendors are often as colorful as their wares!

Inside, you'll find everything from fresh meat, cheese from all over the globe, ethnic specialties, bread, bakery - you won't go hungry.

Bob selecting his first entree

Gail and Steve

Me and Jackie overlooking the market floor

Yum - bread!

Bakery!

Yuck!

It's a bull market???

The Power of Yellow

No one who follows pro cycling and the Tour de France would have ever predicted Thor Hushovd holding the lead for 7 days. He's a fine sprinter and time trialist, of course, but it's not as though those 7 stages of the tour were tailor-made for Thor. He held onto the lead even when the stage route was decidedly un-Thor-like, such as when the route headed for the mountains.

It was almost as if he was endowed with some sudden superpower, at least for a while. And truly, he was: he was riding in the yellow jersey.

Something about riders wearing that thing seems to give them a surge of invincibility. There's a definite mind-over-matter effect to the bearer of the highest daily honor in the Tour de France.

The yellow jersey is the Ring of Power. It's Samson's hair, it's the Ark of the Covenant, it's Elmer Fudd's magic helmet in What's Opera, Doc.

That's a tall order for nothing more than about a yard of fabric.

I like to think that, if such a humble article of clothing could impart so much confidence and strength and courage, certainly other seemingly insignificant things can do the same.

Here's my question: Is it all in what the thing itself represents (like, does the world have to know or care that this object is to be awed and admired?), or is it only about what it means to the bearer?  Does the One Ring get its power from the mythology built around it, or from the mythology that resides in Frodo Baggins's head?

I think that both are right, but the latter is more significant. And so I decided to test my theory.

For the Tour of the Valley race, I did up my nails in Snakebite colors*, as a way of showing my team loyalty,  and to keep my race hopes and dreams right there at my fingertips, as it were.
*I don't 'do my nails', ever. I can't be bothered, and besides, I use my hands, so it's such a waste of time. 

Zoom in to check out the crazy manicure-of-power

Did this subtle but power-attracting act deliver me to the podium? No, but every time I glanced down and saw my garish black/orange/blue fingers curling around my aero bars, my TT-induced suffering seemed to diminish. Just a little.

I honestly think that there's something to all of this, and that the whole notion simply begs for experimentation. After all, it can't hurt, right?

So, I'm gonna consider bearing my own cycling talisman with me on my next ambitious ride or race. And I'm gonna bet that some of you are already carrying your own 'power sources' around with you,  either on the bike or in everyday life.

What's your yellow jersey?

Explaining my absence...

Twin Sizzler road race, 7/4/2011

This blog and I have been silent lately, and so this post is meant to explain away the past month.

If you follow this blog, you know that I joined Snakebite Racing late last year. And then you also know that team members are required to accumulate race points based on participation in order to remain in good standing.

I've been doing a lot of racing lately, and the most logical blog post would be a race report. But I just think that race reports can be rather dull. They're mundane to write, and boring to read. Besides, if you really want to know about my races, you can always check the Snakebite site.

I wasn't sure if I'd be motivated to race enough to maintain team status, but planned to give it my best shot and then decide later if I thought it was all worth it.

So far, this is what I've learned:

• Racing makes training easier. It keeps me motivated and goal-oriented.
• Racing also makes 'regular' riding a little more difficult, in terms of spontaneity. Now I weigh the consequences of going for a non-training ride if it may hinder my performance at a race. That's a little annoying.
• Other than that, the sacrifice on my time and energy hasn't been all that great. 

Life is a balancing act. There are all kinds of competing interests (and disinterests) vying for time and attention, and not enough time in the day. But summertime in northeast Ohio is frustratingly short , and so I'm OK with postponing other interests in order to take advantage of warm weather and sunny days for cycling.

So, that's my excuse: So many rides, so little time. 

I'll post more after next week, when the bulk of my summer race schedule will be behind me. Until then, look for me on the roads!

The Duathlon Report

Michelle, Nancy, Me, and Jackie, post race (Nordonia)

My two favorite duathlons - Nordonia and Twinsburg - are now history.

Nordonia Duathlon Race Report

Nordonia is a low-key event. It's not sanctioned, so it brings out racers of all levels, from newbie to seasoned. Last year I finished in 1:13:something, which put me into 2nd place overall but I wanted to do better this year.

I started the run kinda fast, because Nancy and Michelle from Snakebite are fast runners and I made the mistake of starting out with them. All the while, I'm telling myself to slow down to a more sane pace, there's still too much race left to burn myself out in the first mile. I'm not a great runner, but I was hoping to maintain a 7:30 mile.

I got into the transition and scrambled to get on the bike. The course is 2 laps of a 5-mile loop, complete with a nice climb up Valley View Road in the middle. I like climbs. The first time around, I got into my groove and kept up a steady pace, and was able to pass a lot of those fast runners. The second lap up that hill, everyone was petering out a bit, so I threw it in low gear, cranked up the cadence, and finished near the front to begin the last run leg.

And then I was done. My tank was on "E". My legs were concrete, I was gasping for breath. After ascending to the paved trail, I had to walk about 20 paces just to catch my breath and convince myself that I could run some more. At that point, a girl I passed on the bike now breezed past me, but I had nothing - nothing - in me to respond. It was all I could do to start running again, and keep her in my sight to the finish.

I didn't know that up until she passed me, I was the female leader! Oh well, even had I known, I couldn't do anything about it.

I finished #2, but my results showed that I had the third best time on the bike overall, including all the guys! I'm really pleased about that, but I wish I could run better. My time was 1:10:18, better than I had hoped. I won a ceramic coffee mug.

Jackie did great - almost 6 minutes faster than last year. And she chalks some of that improvement up to the training she did over at Ohio Indoor Cycling all winter.

Twinsurg Duathlon Race Report

Me, Nancy, and Angie cool, calm, and collected before the Twinsburg Du

Lots of Grunt Girls and Snakebite teammates raced today, which made this one a lot of fun.

In a nutshell, my race was nearly identical to the Nordonia event (good first run, great bike leg, petered out and had to walk a bit on the 2nd run leg - what the hell???). And, as in that other race, I took a second place finish.

This was a little strange, though: I was actually the fourth woman to cross the line, with Angie crossing scarily close behind. I thought for sure I won age group (and Angie won hers, too), but the final results showed that women #2 and #3 were penalized for some transgression (choices: drafting, blocking, or wearing earbuds on the bike).

Since I was bumped onto the podium, Nancy (who had her rotator cuff fixed over the winter, but seems to not have lost any fitness because of it) took first in our age group.

I finished in 1:04:46, which is way better than I had expected, given last year I finished in 1:10:36.

Grunt Girls Andrea, Kim, Stacy, Beth, Pam, Paty - who else? there were lots! - all ran great races, too, and some of us met up at Fresh Start Diner for a celebratory chow down.

Duathlon: My race goal

I like to do race course re-con a week or two before the actual event, just to get a feel for the terrain. Even though I've competed in the Nordonia Duathlon before, I wanted to go out and test the track again today, a little over a week before the race.

I'm glad I did; it was a lot harder than I remembered. Of course, the perpetual rain/cold/wind/rain weather pattern northeast Ohio has been suffering through since March doesn't put me at the same level of fitness as last year, either.

I did the entire course in a little over 1:17, which isn't too bad. I finished the race last year in 1:13: and some change, which got me a second place for all women.

Goal for May 21:

Let's go with 1:14:00. I know that I haven't been out training as much, and the race is 3 weeks earlier than last year's event. I'm trying to be realistic here...

Anyone else doing this race?

Racing season 2011 begins!

I raced at RATL (Race at the Lakes) yesterday, for the first time and in my Snakebite Team kit!

4 other teammates showed up for this race, and we worked together on tactics, coached and encouraged each other along the way, and had a good time doing it - but just couldn't keep up with the lead girls. Thanks to Angie, Andrea, Stacy, and Kim for a great race yesterday.

And congratulations to Gray Patton who did this amazing bat-out-of-hell impersonation, taking off like she was on fire at the very beginning of the race, and holding her lead the entire 15 laps. I didn't see her again until I finished.

Next week I'm planning to be back out at RATL, for the last of the 4-race series. But I'm also considering racing the Colavito Time Trial series, which begins next Sunday. Not sure if I'll do both races yet - I'll decide later in the week...