Holiday clean up

Getting ready for the new year.

• Finishing those last minute to do things and getting them off the list.

Investment in Health

We purchased a Vita Mix super duper food extravaganza. After watching the demo at Costco and tasting all it's really great soups, smoothies, ice cream and breads we decided to buy one. Ty really likes smoothies and I like soup so it will be a hit in our home. I hope to never to waste any veggies again! I had a smoothie for breakfast, soup for lunch and dinner and I have to say I stayed full all day and probably got 110% of my daily vitamins, proteins and carbs in a very clean way.

I am sure this will pay off with dividends of energy and healthy immune system.

Educational info

Where the streets have no name

Visual imagery works best this time of year.

Team Alterra 2009

Alterra Year End Party 2009

We have more kids then team members now. That's what happens when the adults don't race every weekend.

Alterra year end Party

The Little Red Store was a perfect place to hold our Party. The kids really enjoyed the trains when they went by, probably the highlight of the evening for them. I have video I will post later. In review, the Alterra race went well for 2009 and we look forward to an even better 2010 race. Bruce Keys talked about our efforts in supporting the community in it's grassroots projects for bike commuting. Again, team Alterra was able to donate over a thousand dollars to the Hank Aaron Trail development.

photos

My New Ride

2010 ERA
Originally uploaded by tyrine03

STOKED!

Tour of Tosa

Thanks Russell for a hilarious fun time!

more photos here

Video of race Crit to come later (best part). Blogger can't handle the files

Check out Vimeo.com for Superfly movies, you will find more short clips there

WORS Banquet double take

IMG_3322
Originally uploaded by Velogrrl

Can you believe it? Last but not least, raffel ticket in the bin and bingo, I got the lucky draw. 2009 GT Carbon Marathon Pro MTB Frameset. This will make a comfy 24 hour cruiser.

Congrats to all the WORS racers for a fun 2009 season!

Bike Stats:

FRAME SIZE: Large

HEAD TUBE ANGLE:71

SEAT ANGLE:73.0

CHAINSTAY LENGTH:16.95

STANDOVER HEIGHT:30.82HORIZ.

TOP TUBE LENGTH:24.13

SEAT TUBE LENGTH:19.9

HEAD TUBE LENGTH:5.51

BOTTOM BRACKET HEIGHT:13.11

photo by Amy D

Specialized SWORKS Epic FOR SALE

2007 Mens small frame

Bianchi Cross Bike SOLD

More pics here

49 cm Center to top
170 cranks
90 mm stem
SRAM Force Shifters
FSR SLK light cranks
Carbon fornt fork and rear triangle

less than 20 miles on bike

Autum Rides

Do I need to say anything? You can tell by the pictures it was a beautiful, fun ride.

The movie is to demonstrate the beauty of the falling leaves, but it's a bit out of focus.

Bear Paw Podium Shot

Congrats to Ty for his first podium spot in Comp, EVER, at WORS 11 Bear Paw White Lake Wisconsin! Thank goodness he is not wearing the ridiculous sweat pants he wore on a podium spot at Wausau a few years ago. (I told him I burned those pants)

full race report to come with a few pics

Fat Tire Top 10

Cheq Fat Weekend

Photo by Amy D at the finish

My first Chequamegon Fat Tire race doing the 40 rather than the Short and Fat was a great experience topped off with unseasonably warm temps for early September in Hayward Wisconsin. My expectations were just to go out and have fun and maybe finish before three hours.

Starting off with thousands of males and a few hundred females stirred the nerves at the start but with the slow motion of the lead out, it was not too bad. It was a bit claustrophobic and thank goodness it was not post race it would have been smelly. We turned a hard left into Rosie’s Field and it was a roller coaster ride from then on.

3:11:26 across the finish line for me. Did you know the third fastest overall woman of the day was Catherine Walberg from Topeka KS, her time was 2:28:15 that's fast and she is older than me :-)

It was really fantastic to see Sanjay, Anna, Ted, Andrea and the gang. We had some memorable moments this past weekend that went down in the books.

weekend photos

Highlights of 2007 Fat Tire

We sure missed out on 2008 and look forward to a fun 2009!

Treadfest

Ty looking like he is out for destruction

Awesome course! Thanks to Ray and his crew for the fantastic single track and putting the hurt on all of us. My heart sunk into my feet at the start line on Sunday when Don told us we were doing four laps. My pre-ride on Saturday gave me a guesstimation of a lap time and knowing the physiology of the course it was going to be a beast. The gun almost went off too soon as my tire took a leap before Don said GOOOOOOOO. I knew I was ready to kill it! Crested the top of Grand Geneva Hill and dipping into a sigh of relief, Pure Single Track for the next 4 miles. The pace was smokin, literally and I was glad with my option to wear clear lenses for the day. I was feeling good and passing when I could. I got to the Rock Garden and by surprise, the section along side, the nice path on the right of the garden was closed off and I had to dismount and walk the garden. I did not put that in my plan for the race given the option to go around on the pre-ride. This was part of my race strategy and really did not let it bother me which line I choose until you are faced with only one option when racing. I apologize to anyone if I messed up your awesome rock garden descent, I had no choice. I am not one to take risks on stuff I did not practice when oxygen depleted, I do have a day job.

I got a great rush off descending after the garden and then hammering it on the grass to the next section of single track, things just kept interesting. Some of the single track like the "O" Section was fun along with the section of gnarly roots. One would have difficulty in this race drinking fluids from the bottle when snaking your way through the tight single track. I kept thinking of the poor soul who lost their water bottle full of orange stuff I saw on each lap of the course.

I felt the good Karma (thanks Claire!) and passing at this race was not that difficult. Plenty of room to let the fast Comp guys by without a problem and no anxiety levels were raised since I think everyone appreciated how hard the other person was working in the sun filtered dust as we climbed in the woods. I thought of some great photo shots that were probably missed, framing shots deep in the single track at the start with all that smoke.

Now I don't know what happened, but I put it out there, and then someone took a lasso to my neck and reeled me in. The legs were there but the motor had died and I was faced with dealing with the mental pain to preserve to the finish knowing all efforts were exhausted. It's always nice to have others give motivating remarks, like Brenda and Renee and some of new girls I have not actually met personally, but all in the same, just nice girls to race with. I actually stopped at one point and asked one of the volunteers how to get off the course but then I decided to just ride it out since I learned my lesson on the pre-ride it is easy to get lost, like ending up in the golf course :-) I thought I was not going to make it but something inside kicked in and I eagerly looked forward to crawling my way through lap four no matter how much I thought it hurt. I just told myself there was nothing wrong with me and get a grip. Energy came and went depending on my favorite sections of the single track as I headed to the finish line.

Awards were in almost near completion, Ty greeted me as I rolled in to the surprise of the Timing peeps, they had more work to do :-). Straight to the car, felt like puking, downed some more fluids feeling a sense of accomplishment that I did my best and that is all that mattered and actually had fun while it lasted.

One thing I have learned is that no matter how much it hurts, someone else out there is hurting more.

Thanks to all those who have cheered and Sonia for the much needed water.

Congrats to my female Teammates, Sonia for third overall in Sport, Regina for 8th in Elite and Michelle Scanley for 11th over all finish in Sport.

Tosa Trails are Rockin!

I almost forgot what it was like to nearly wipe out and save myself form a crash and actually feel good about it. That gut feeling that rattles your cage, that keeps you pushing it to take it one step further from your comfort zone on the twisty trails, that you know so well by heart as the sun sets. (blah, blah ,blah) Oh how I missed riding these trails off the river in Tosa. Just outside my back door, who could ask for anything more convenient. Thanks to Bubba and crew for the dedication of trail maintenance and the great work that has gone into keeping them alive. No huge tree crossings, no stinging weed whacking against my body tonight other than the reflection of Autumn leaves off the river and the warm sun on my face.

Definitely can't wait to charge up them lights for some Autumn night riding. Anyone want to join me?

Off the Bike

Coquette Cafe Friday evening dinner with friends

Fresh raspberries, pineapple and I also made Shrimo and Orzo Salad recipie from Ina Garten

Fresh grilled sweet corn and Wauwatosa burgers, yummy!

This long weekend was spent off the bike with the exception of a nice MTB ride at Crystal Ridge the other day. I spent the entire weekend engulfed in domestic life and the pure pleasure of dining. I caught up with good non-biking friends that I hardly see, did some big ass yard work, had a yard sale and spent the cash I made on a few dinner parties on the patio. A perfect weekend.

Suamico

Start shots by Amy D
cool pic of us ready to GOOOOOO!

Picture by Chris McGovern

My favorite course for hammering it and feeling the rhythm was less than what I expected for myself at this point in the season. I have no excuses, and I need not complain, I just can’t pull it together at the starts this year. Maybe my expectations are too high of myself, or I am just burned out from seven years of racing. I train, I eat right, I follow my training plan exactly, I train, I train and I just keep training, which I do happen to enjoy! I can’t figure it out. I could not even jump on Comp wheels when offered, Grrrr. Maybe I need to get back in the Alterra Thursday night group rides for some spanking.

I actually had fun despite my lack of power for the day. I was on focus from the start of the race and continued that all the way to the finish. I came around mid race and that’s when the fun started. I started to catch girls and able to work with two super nice guys on the flats. One of them was from team Pedal Moraine, I think it was Jonathan Nehring, not sure and another super nice guy in the 50+ category Mark Bader. We worked together for a bit on the second lap of the race and then seemed to launch me into a mission to keep catching and persevere. Funny thing is that I felt super fast on my final lap but my lap times were all consistent. Anyway, I enjoyed the race and only wish for better outcomes in the future.

Congrats to Lori on her 1st overall finish, you inspire me!

Top 5 ELITE Women Overall

photo by me


Top 10 Elite/Pro line up.

photo by me

Thanks again to the nice comp guy Mark Bader form Gladstone Michigan 50+ you also inspire me to keep plugging away to remain young at heart!

photo taken last night

how ironic

Dio - Rainbow In the Dark

My pick me up

Border Battle Race report

photo by Nick Caliva
now that's gotta stop! Looks like I am having too much fun

photo from Skinny's

Note to self, must get off my ass and get going!

It's about my race and I must remember, Women who seek to be equal with men lack ambition. -Timothy Leary

MNSCS vs WORS Border Battle 2009

and the Winner is...

WORS takes the Trophy!

Few awards pics and Citizen race pics here

Marquette Michigan for O2S

Ty and I made a little mini vacation out of our trip to Marquette Michigan for the Ore to Shore Race. We headed out late Thursday night and arrived just after 1:30 AM in a little town one hour from Marquette called Rapid Rivers. We stayed in a very old 1950's style Motel just off the HWY for about $40.00. When we rolled in, the light was on, the door was open and we had our name on the front door. Now that's UP hospitality. Now exhausted from the drive and time difference, we hit the sack in a flash. We were up and Adam about 10 ish the next day, refreshed and ready to head to the race site after relaxing on our little front porch drinking fresh Alterra Coffee we brewed in our own coffee maker.



We headed out to the course after securing our Hotel at the Holiday Inn instead of the Landmark Inn. The room we got was just off the back facing the quiet woods and our door was just around the corner to the car, which made loading and unloading bike stuff very easy. They gave us a handicap equipped room which was huge and comfy for the two of us. After we settle in our room we were off to check out the course. We stopped inside the arena to check things out and they were setting up registration. The hallway walls were lined with old photographs of all the great hockey players dating back to the 1800's. They even had an unknown women's hockey team back in the day, those girls looked tough. We also stumbled on the photograph of the famous Carlson brothers.


I love the glasses!


So we ran into some WORS peeps in the parking lot, Andrea and Brian and we headed off with Brian leading us to the trail head. Ty split off with the guys and I spinned the first few miles of the course to check out the terrain. This was my first experience at O2S so I had no idea what to expect. The course was in great condition, dry dirt, loose sand, gravel, grass and a few roots. Typical things you find on the earth in the woods. We got to the start area early Saturday morning and had ample time to set our bikes up in front behind preferred start line.

Ty and I set our Bikes up in the "think you will finish in 3:10 area".

Course map and elevation, not sure where Misery Hill (-"Misery Hill"-a long (400 meters) rocky uphill in which many riders are incapable of pedaling the entire way. However, the satisfaction and view are worth the effort) was in there, but that was a sight from a distance when approaching the climb. Tons of Bikers marching in line up the loose rocky climb. It would of made for a real nice picture.

The gun went off and I was on Ty's wheel as we hit the pavement. I had no idea what to expect the first 40 miles of the race and stayed focused on settling in and getting that rhythm and it was fun. After I split off from Ty, no reason to hold up his race, I found a guy who was really smooth off pavement and had a high cadence going on so I followed him through the crowds of riders in double track areas, and staying hooked with him for some time. One guy I rode with actually had a bell on his bike and it worked quite well for passing. I lost him somewhere on crazy fast single track and found another guy, named Rich who I basically paced most of my race with, we went back and forth up hill and down but would always end up riding together. He had his strengths and so did I, but some how we ended up together no matter who got ahead of each other for a good part of the race.

The terrain was beautiful and I remembered to take in the beauty of the experience as well as the race. I wish I had pictures to really show everyone its not all sand and logging trails. Anyway, somewhere in the middle of my race after downing a huge gulp of gel, I started to get sick to my stomach with nausea to the point I felt like puking. (dumping syndrome) I never felt this way before in a race and it was not a bonking type of feeling but a flu like sensation. I was starting to freak out that I was actually gonna barf. I adjusted my elastic around my shorts to see if that would help with the stomach pain. NOPE. Instead I started to get abdominal cramping to the point I thought I would have to get off the bike and visit mother nature in the the woods. I was deep into the race and in a forested area, there was no tissue and the thought of leaves disgusted me. What was I to do but wade out the storm. I dialed down myself to an endurance pace and layed off the juice. This was not fun watching peeps pass me, two girls I was going back and forth with and a few of my friends like COOP. At that point I could barely talk nor phantom finishing the race I was so ill. I pedaled on, just wanting this feeling to go away or just drop dead off the course and some lovely first aid person would save me.

I don't know where I was but I saw a one of the girls I was riding with earlier who had a mechanical and I stepped on the gas to catch her and I felt ok. I started to come around, and the stomach crap was fading. Each surge of the pedal became quicker and the snap was back. I picked up the pace and moved forward with still a bit of caution. I caught up to my friend Rich again, rode for a bit and then I was off. Just ahead one of the girls that passed me when I was feeling ill, was just ahead. I put on the gas at this point, trailed both girls in the single track, got out on to the pavement, put my head down and rode out to the finish catching those two girls. Luckily I was able to pull something out last minute, as one of those girls was in my age group and I scathed the last spot, third place for the day in my age and 26th overall. I will take that for my first O2S experience.

Ty and I will be back next year definitely. It was a great mini vacation and a very fun race. We had great weather and perfect race course conditions.

By the way, My gel bottle went to some poor soul on the course who was cramping. I won't be needing that stuff any more.

Michigan Trip Photos

Awards Photos