Yesterday I got to ride. In the woods. With a group of women. That coordinated via facebook, texts and voicemails beginning at 9pm on Saturday night. That is what I love about this community. As I was dressing for the second cold ride of the weekend, I couldn’t help but notice the pile of ride-trash accumulating in my vehicle. I keep thinking it will be the last time I’ll need hand/toe warmers….

Speaking of toe warmers, the week started with Sunday’s Froze Toes race on February 22. Turns out, most toes avoided frostbite, but it was cold. You can read the various accounts of the area’s first road race of the season if you missed it last week.

St. Louis enjoyed a Spring weather teaser and got a beautiful Wednesday. The suckers that didn’t get to ride outside that day rolled in for a night of indoor spinning that took an interesting turn. This week’s class will be the last of the indoor spin series as we anxiously await Spring’s arrival (would you get here already?).

Saturday we held the much anticipated Technique and Development clinic. With nearly 20 participants Carrie walked us through basic bike fit information and taught various peddling techniques. The two hour session ended with a few brave souls jumping on the rollers–with much success (hello peer pressure!). Much thanks to Concordia for opening up their gym (and stage) to us and to those who participated.

So, what’s with the title to this entry?

In an effort to reduce our virtual footprint, we’re moving this blog and the calendar to our new site’s server. This change should be invisible to you, but as I’m ever learning all things code and otherwise, I can’t guarantee it and there are likely to be some kinks to work out.

You can update your links and RSS feeds to the new blog: www.teamrevcycling.org/velodrama

Catchy, right?

So, be informed. This is the last post at this address.

A quick reminder that this Saturday is Team Revolution’s Technique Clinic. This clinic is the second in our educational series for 2009 and the first on the bike clinic of the year.

Join us from 12:30-3p on Saturday at Concordia’s Field House as Carrie Cash leads an indoor trainer and roller clinic that focuses on strength, stability, and core development + pedal stroke, cadence, shifting and climbing technique. The technique clinic, in keeping with our mission, is geared toward riders all ages and abilities.

The clinic is open to the general (female) public. Cost is $20 – Clinics are always free for platinum members. More information can be found on our event calendar. Pre-registration is appreciated but not required. Email name and phone number to Steph.

You can download the flyer here.

Carrie pulled up and looked at all of us loitering on the lot like a bunch of hoodlums. “What’s up?” she asked. “Ash Wednesday” we said. ”Oh…”

Then a combination of Team Rev “out of the box thinking” and divine intervention collided. There is no law that says you have to spin inside. By God we’ll spin outside! Right here on the parking lot. Cool! What an awesome venue for spinning. Divine intervention? God shined down on this pack of heathens with some unbelievable 60 something weather. Those who were pi##ed that they had to work instead of ride today were given their just dues. 60ish in February. Who’d a thunk!

Game on! We’re spinning! Tunes were cranked from Casper’s CD player. God’s light, in the form of a dusk to dawn light shined down on us. Carrie, uphill on rollers and dodging big red ball launches from Gavin, led us through one heck of a spin. Heart rates were up. So were spirits.

Chalk it up as another “remember when” moment.

Rev on

BR

As I stood in the stall of the “girls” room at the Two Mile Prairie Elementary School, I did not realize that the third layer I was cramming under my jersey would serve me in more ways than warmth.

As Cory, Kube, Steph, Alice, a bunch of Ghisallo girls, a couple of other random riders, and I lined up for the Cat 4 women’s race, we weren’t sure what to expect. “Neutral start and then the race will begin at the start/finish line” were the instructions given by the race marshal. As we approached the start line, I mentally prepared myself for a surge of speed. Nothing. “This is a race, isn’t it?” I asked the rider next to me. There was more braking in the first 15 miles of this race than a trip down Kingshighway at rush hour. The pace was enough to bore one to tears.

My boredom was suddenly broken by a rider I am going to call Kaboom. Kaboom must have done roller derby in a past life and held her line in a fashion similar to that of the Tazmanian Devil. I know I could be accused of the pot calling the kettle black here but you had to see it to believe it. I saw a sudden flash of red as Kaboom bounced off the right side of my handlebar. “Sorry!” was the call from Kaboom. “No worries” I replied.

A few miles down the road, my second encounter with Kaboom took place when she went down in front of me and I ran over her rear wheel. The resulting somersault would have made Mary Lou Retton proud. As I got back on my bike and looked over at Kaboom, I noticed her rear wheel was dangling on her chain. “Ya okay?” I asked. “Yeah,” she replied. I guess that’s the end of her ride was what I was thinking.

I caught back up to the pack and tried to resume my focus. Maybe 10 minutes later, I looked over my right bruised shoulder only to find my nemesis. It was Kaboom! What the f%&#! “Sorry for knocking you down,” she said. “It happens,” I replied. Moments later I looked over my shoulder to see Kaboom endoing over her handlebars in what looked to be a very nasty self-induced crash. With her boomerangesque qualities, however, Kaboom was back with us in a couple miles. Amazing! Simply freaking amazing!

We all pulled right to let some of the 1-2 men go by and I found myself behind Kaboom. Sh#t! It is really hard to pass a wildly swerving object. I sat nervously behind her knowing I was a sitting duck for another mishap. I saw her swerve for her water bottle. “We’re goin down again!” I thought to myself. Then she felt the urge to gel and pitched the empty Gu over her shoulder. I ducked to avoid the flying foil. We were 2 miles from the finish when she began swerving and searching for another Gu in her back pocket. What ran through my mind at this point was “Christ we are 2 miles from the finish! You don’t need the f’ing Gu that bad! Get both hands back on the bars! You’re gonna f’ing kill me!”

I had a sinking feeling that being stuck behind Kaboom was going to be my demise. Nonetheless, I hunkered down for the ensuing sprint. Kaboom! I looked up to see several bikes and riders laying on the ground in front of me. No doubt Kaboom had something to do with this! I veered left to avoid the riders and bikes. Moments later I ran out of pavement and headed down a ditch head first. Fortunately the ground was kind of marshy. My neck got a little twisted but I was okay. I got my chain back on and pseudosprinted the remaining 200 yards.

As I crossed the line, I felt more like a prize fighter than a cyclist. The utter irony of this whole situation is that I think Kaboom went on to win the race! Hats off to Kaboom. She demonstrated the resiliency of a Sherman tank. I guess the moral of this whole story is to stay ahead of squirrels. Alice did so and finished 2^nd. Way to go Alice!

Time for a beer. Talk to ya later.

BR

Women’s Open

A bunch of Team Rev women made the trip to Columbia, MO on Sunday for Froze Toes, a 31 mile road race. It was sunny but cold (low 30’s) and there was some decent wind, too. I decided to race in the open division (as opposed to the Cat 4 race), which in hindsight, turned out to be a very good decision. I found out later that the 4’s race was riddled with crashes.

Normally I get really nervous before a race but for some reason I felt pretty calm as I waited for the neutral roll out. My goals were pretty simple: ride as smart as possible and get a feel for where my fitness level is. The pack started out in a double paceline and I was feeling pretty good. It was really nice to see some familiar faces and jerseys around me. There were a couple of attacks but nothing significant, and I held on.

About 35 minutes into it things got a bit more heated and try as I might I couldn’t stay on. I rode alone for a bit before a couple of Big Shark riders caught me. I was relieved that we could work together and share the work. But, since there were two of them and only one of me, I knew they’d put the screws to me eventually, which they did.

One of BS girls attacked on one of the small hills on the backside and I didn’t have the juice to catch her. A bit later, the other BS girl attacked, but I reeled her back in and we finished the last couple of miles together. And then I was sitting on her wheel for the big sprint finish and I…………blew it. I wasn’t where I needed to be mentally and I screwed it up. I’m glad it was just the first race of the season.

Man, I learned a lot on Sunday. Man, I have a lot to learn.

-Baby Beavis

Follow Car POV

Before the first race of ’08, I puked. It was my first race. I was nervous. And I have a weak stomach.

I much preferred my start of local racing in 2009 – from the comfort of my car full of wheels behind the women’s open field. No puking. No wind. No froze toes. Sweet.

I hadn’t planned to be the follow vehicle, but as we drove to the start of the race and Chris explained that the position would probably be available AND the alternative would be waiting at the start/finish, Traci and I happily volunteered. Lisa completed our follow car trio. After attending a quick meeting to learn about the follow car duties, we positioned ourselves near the start and collected the wheels.

The start was a bit confusing but we managed to insert ourselves between the women’s open field and the juniors. The head official gave the women some instructions and sent them on their way. We followed.

We watched a rotating double paceline form. We saw attacks being made and covered. We saw a hotly debated yellow line violation and, per our instructions, took note of the offenders’ number. We witnessed chatting among the riders. We passed our first stranded rider waiting for the sweep vehicle.

The size of the group dwindled as riders, one by one, got dropped. Our instructions required us to stay with the main group, and as we passed each dropped rider, Traci and Lisa called out words of encouragement.

Eventually, only six remained – three from Mercy, Chris and Carrie representing Rev and Molly from Mesa. The pace remained high and the racing active.

We saw a break of three gain about 100 feet. The remaining three bridged up, and suddenly Michelle (Mercy) attacked. The field let her go. We stayed with the five, sure that they would catch Michelle, but as her lead grew, we left the five beyond hot on her pursuit.

It took longer to catch Michelle than we had anticipated. Her pace had never slowed, and we watched as she picked off riders one at a time. We saw her cross the finish line alone and double back to the 200m line to watch her teammates contest the field sprint.

We missed Carrie and Chris cross the line — for safety reasons, we had to double back and park near the start — but cheered loudly (sans car) as Teresa and the other Rev girls in the Women’s 4 duked it out down the finishing stretch.

I’m not sure how many opportunities I’ll have to be the follow car, in an official capacity, throughout the season. It’s a tough vantage point to beat, and I’m afraid it may have spoiled me for the spectating that’s to come.

xo. Snuffleupagus

(race day photos courtesy of John Musselman / stlbiking.com)

I’m not gonna lie… I love Facebook. Where else can you procrastinate at work by laughing at how the jerk you hated in high school has gained 50 lbs and still works at Blockbuster? Or figure out what your 276 “best friends” are doing right now by clicking on a single tab.

My recent obsession, as I prepared for Valley of the Sun, was to Facebook stalk everyone on the pre-registration list. Yea that’s right Amanda Miller. My buddy Mark Zuckerberg helped me find out that you rode nearly 100 hours in January. I gotta tell you, I’m not sure I rode 100 hours last summer, much less in one month. So needless to say, some Facebook stalking is more a cause for concern than reassurance or confidence-boosting. But I love the ones that say “too hungover to get out of bed” or “averaged 120 watts for 2 hours, yea!!” or “quick McDonalds run.” That shit makes me feel smugly overconfident as I pull up to the start line and glance over at your “sooo nervous for the first race of the season” lack of confidence. If you link to your blog and I can get the full details of your training agenda, that’s even better! Trust me, if it’s out there, I’ll find it. And I’ll adjust my training accordingly.

But then sometimes, when I see how hard some people try to think up (or outright make up) “cool,” “funny,” “sexy,” or otherwise “impressive” Facebook statuses – I wonder if the “on my first ride since October” or “sold the trainer on e-bay” status updates are all just a big conspiracy to make me train less… I digress…

But let’s be serious. We need some facebook rules. And we need ‘em now.

For example:

1. If I didn’t get along with you before, I’m not your “friend” now. You know what I’m talking about. You haven’t uttered “That Girl’s” name in over 10 years and yet you still get the angry shakes when you click on +1 Friend Request and see “That Girl” has requested your friendship.” Yes, That Girl, I will be your friend. But only so I can laugh at how lame you have become.
2. Stop broadcasting your sappy sad patheticness to the entire internet. “Oh Sarah, how could you sleep with my best friend, I loved you so much” or “gained 3 lbs this week for a total of 24 this month” or “be nice to me I just failed the bar exam” or “sitting here with nothing to do like I do every Saturday night” are simply NOT acceptable status updates. Do you plan to be a loser forever? Do you realize how many people read that crap and how ridiculous you look? Seriously… what can you possibly hope to achieve by letting the entire world know that you “just filled out a profile on match.com because e-harmony.com rejected me last week.” While I appreciate the entertainment value… you’ve got to be kidding me.
3. If you have a job you’d like to keep, do not post Michael Phelps or Madonna-esque pictures of yourself on Facebook. And if your friends tag you , de-tag yourself. Use common sense people. My mother can get on Facebook for crying out loud. Do you think your employer can’t? No matter how funny flashing the DJ was at 4 am after 10 shots – it won’t be that funny to explain it during your interview for your dream job. Or to the principal of the school you teach at. Or to a partner in your law firm when a client brings it to his attention.
4. Keep your lies straight. If you say you can’t attend a wedding shower because you have a bike race (love that baby beavis – and I plan to use it frequently!), don’t put “chilling on the couch and loving having nothing to do today” as your status. Just think about how many “so and so has installed Facebook for blackberry/iphone/treo/etc.” updates you’ve seen out there. Everyone knows what you’re doing. It’s embarrassing enough to get caught, but much, much more if it’s your own doing.
5. No matter how hard you try, you just really aren’t that cool. So stop thinking so hard before posting a status update. And no, your “25 things” weren’t really all that funny.
6. My “Inbox” is not my gmail. I don’t look at it, don’t check it, and am annoyed every time I respond to it. If you need me, call me, text me, e-mail me, write on my wall, but by god, don’t send me a Facebook message.
7. Just because you read my Facebook status, does not mean you know me.
True story:
A co-worker of mine came into my office the other day, shut my door (which is always open), and asked me if I needed to tell him anything.
Confused, I said “No, why?”
Untrusting, he asked again, “Are you sure?”
“Yes,” I said. “We had drinks last night, what else would I have to tell you?!”
Perplexed, he said “well I don’t want you to get mad when I ask this, but . . . did you quit?”
“What?!” I exclaimed.
He explained that the word on the street was that I quit my job. Later others informed me that they’d heard I quit to become a professional cyclist. We sat and laughed, incredulously, for several minutes before it hit me. My Facebook status said “last day, last day, yay!” in response to a big project I was working on finishing up that day. Turns out people I hadn’t seen or even talked to in over a year presumed that meant I quit my job to become a professional cyclist – and, in no time, the entire city of Indianapolis was on board.
8. NO I DO NOT WANT TO PLANT A LITTLE GREEN PATCH, WEAR A CYCLING JERSEY, ADD MY BIRTHDAY TO YOUR LIST, BUY YOU A DRINK, THROW OR FLING A SHEEP/ICE CREAM/COOKIE OR OTHER ITEM AT YOU, ATTEND YOUR STUPID EVENT THAT IS LIKE 100 MILES FROM WHERE I LIVE ON A TUESDAY NIGHT, DISPLAY YOUR “FLAIR” OR JOIN YOUR “I LOVE WEARING CAPRIS ON MONDAYS” GROUP. Do I even need to elaborate?

I mean, it could be worse, I suppose. At least I don’t get 500 bulletins a day containing ridiculous surveys to which every other answer you post is “No I’ve never been skinny dipping” and I don’t have to wait 5 minutes for your stupid song to load before it comes blasting on and I forget that my mute is turned off and the whole office is now jamming to “My Humps.”
(If you haven’t picked up on the myspace references yet, you’re clearly too old to be on Facebook anyway).

OK, I think I’m done with my rant for the day. I’ll leave you with a funny note – what if Facebook was real life??

I gotta go – someone just commented on my status and I need to respond.

The horsepower touted by the 16 oz Monster was impressive…2000mg Taurine, 400mg Ginseng, and 5000mg of Energy Blend( Caritine, Glucose, Caffeine, Guarana, Inositol, Glucuronolactone, and Maltodextrin). Sh#t if that doesn’t make you go faster what the heck will?

Price at 7-11 = $2.59

16 oz cup of joe…300 mg of caffeine and water. Yawn.

Refill at 7-11 = $.85.

Seemed like a mismatch but there was only one way to find out….

I dug my heart rate monitor out from beneath my iPod , some cigar butts, Little Debbie wrappers, and a couple of beer cans and prepared to conduct my study.

The study consisted of 15 mile rides on The Road To Nowhere (this is what Mike and I have nicknamed our stationary recumbent). There was a 5 minute warm up followed by ten 1-minute sprints spaced 3 minutes apart and then a sustained time trial pace until the odometer read 15 miles. Tension would be set at a 6 on a 0-10 dial.

Wednesday morning was the control of the study. I drank a glass of water and hopped on The Road To Nowhere. Good effort. 47min59sec. Broke my old record of 48min30sec. This record had stood since the last time it was too freakin’ cold to ride outside. I hit a top speed of 24.9 and a max heart rate of 177. This was one of my better rides ever on the TRTN.

Thursday morning I chugged a 16oz Monster and began to wonder…”What would be the effects?” Monster has been my beloved pre-race beverage and confidence builder. Monster was to me what spinach was to Popeye. Was this a psychological crutch or was there some validity to Monster’s energy claims?

I strapped on my heart rate monitor and hopped on TRTN to begin my quest for the answer. The first two sprints I felt maybe a slightly superhuman but the TRTN dash and my heart rate monitor disputed this. A measly 168 HR and 24.6mph. Then, the third sprint came…the dash of the TRTN recorded a number never achieved before…29.1 mph. In the 10 years Mike and I have owned the TRTN, such a speed has never been recorded.

My God…the Monster is for real!

On the fifth sprint a number was recorded on the Polar HR monitor that tied a previous high…177. Shortly there after, the record set Wednesday for the fastest 15 miles was broken. I should say smashed…45 minutes 45 seconds! Almost 3 minutes faster than Wednesday on water… Sh#%! What a ride! I began to wonder….Was it the taurine? Was it the glucuronolactone? I was right all along. Monster enhances athletic performance! Cool.

Friday morning came. I chugged a 16 oz cup of Joe and began the process all over again.

The first sprint came and went with a yawn. Then came the second sprint….31.9 mph. Holy cow! Down with one record! The sixth sprint crushed the HR record. The Polar HR monitor crossed into the unchartered 180 something territory…183…I was getting a little dizzy but the excitement of hitting all of these new milestones was pretty energizing. There was one more number to go. I watched the dash on TRTN with baited breath….14.85 miles 44 mintes 10 seconds….14.90 miles 44 minutes 30 seconds. Then it happened…. Joe had slain the Monster! 44minutes 48 seconds to travel 15 miles down the road to nowhere! Holy cow!!

As much as I love the flavor and general performance enhancements of Monsters, I still gravitate towards the old school favorites of a cup of Joe. Joe is cheaper and his side effects are known and pretty benign. Joe is simple. Life should be simple. The ingredient statement of the Monster is complex, expensive, and still did not outperform Joe.

Go Joe!

I hope this scientific study will be of benefit to my colleagues in the cycling community.

BR

1. Looking for a recipe? No need to buy a cook book as there are literally thousands of crock pot recipes to be found online. I would, however, write your favorite recipes down; this whole innernet thing is just a fad and will likely, imho, go the way of the Beta machine by about early 2010 or so.
2. Fattier cuts of meat work best in a crockpot. As a wise friend once told me, “Fat is flavor.” Cuts with some fat also tend to get more tender and fall apart easier.
3. I don’t think I’d try making fish in a crockpot.
4. If you leave chicken in a crockpot for 12 hours it doesn’t work out too well.
5. Use pre-washed baby carrots and new potatoes and you’ll save some serious prep time.
6. Make sure to have a can of Febreze in your home. The smell that comes from a crockpot will permeate your entire house, whether you like it or not. While I was at work one day I made a meal in the crockpot that involved bbq sauce. When I got home the smell was overwhelming and made me nauseous. I later realized that the smell reminded me of a bad experience that I had had a number of years ago that involved a beer bong and some barbecued Lil Smokies.

Enjoy!