Visit Alabama Cycling Camp for nice warm hilly guided riding this winter. Stay in a nice house and have someone cook for you!

Renee got to play in the dirt at Stony

Renee says "Man, that was a great workout! So hot though!"Very hot. So much for "you'll need that long sleeve skinsuit". The heat was also radiating up off the pain pit, otherwise knows as the beach. That was the best place to watch the good (technique) the bad (technique) and the ugly (pain faces). I saw the smooth bike-shouldering technique, the push-and-run technique, the ride-through-the-sand-on-my-mountain-bike technique, and I'm not sure if there is a "best" way to do it, but I'm pretty sure the drag-the-bike-through-the-sand technique isn't it. If I could photoshop out the face and jersey I'd post the pic.

Hopefully my injuries will get better soon and I can play too.

Cyclocross is fun!

DIRT IS GOOD!

Speed is good.

Scabs are good.

Life is good.

I had such a blast racing...well riding with a number on my back...at the KTR Double Cross races in Davisburg. Including the flat tire, two dropped chains, two crashes and a sprained thumb. Laughing at the comedy of errors was the best part. It was a cool course. I have no idea how it compares as Saturday was the first time I've done it. I like the attitude of some of the women who do it. They say "I don't care if I finish last. It's a blast and it's a great workout." Suits me perfectly.

Hob-nobbing with the pros was fun too!



I learned a ton about 'cross techniques from this guy from his must-have DVD: http://www.cycle-smart.com/store/home.html

Adam Myerson, the Cycle-Smart founder and president, races for the Nerac Professional Cycling Team. He's also a member of the UCI Cyclo-Cross Commission, the International Association of Cyclo-Cross Organizers (AIOC-Cross), and President of the New England Championship Cyclo-Cross Series.

I did say that I missed running.


'Cross is fun! .. and, oh yeah, it's a little tiring...

Summer Wrap Up

Renee Podiums at Track Nationals!!

After taking much needed mental and physical vacations, I remember how to use a computer once again. The highlight of the end of the summer was Renee winning her way on the podium at Track Master's Nationals.

She won the silver medal in the points race, only missing the gold by ONE point. Ouch.

She also took 4th place in the matched sprints! Well done Renee.

Backing up to other races, Christy finished 3rd at the Priority Health Grand Classic showing good strength in keeping up with Theresa Cliff-Ryan in the primes and the finish.

Maia finished 10th and is still gaining strength and the vital experience only racing can give.

Maia spends quite a bit of time at the Velodrome with Renee.

Tour Di Via Italia:

Renee finished 8th behind a bunch of pro women.

Rockford:

Christy finished 3rd and Maia finished 9th.

BTR Park K-zoo:

Maia tried racing but had stomach problems and DNF while the rest of us were in Chicago racing Elk Grove.

Well, that wraps up the road and track season. Now, time to have some fun and play in the dirt!...mountain biking and CYCLOCROSS!!

Downer's Grove

Maia and Christy raced in Downer's Grove while Renee was in the middle of the 6-day at the Velodrome.

Maia finished a very respectable 9th in the Women's 3/4 race and Christy raced the Women's 1/2/3 race and finished 22nd in a pack of Pro Women cyclists tuning up for the following day's National Championships.

Tour of Elk Grove and BTR Park

Kelly, Renee and Christy drove to Elk Grove looking for some fun. They worked super well as a team and took home few more dollars than they were used to. Kelly and Christy took 1st and 3rd in a three place prime and then Christy, Renee and Kelly finished 3rd, 9th and 10th. They missed the super big money, but oh well. That's bike racing.

They did the men's 3/4 race later and had some good fun with that. Kelly and Renee did another men's race the next day-a Master's 4/5 race. What a hoot! 'nuf said.

The best part of the weekend was the Fruit Boquet our hostess Dee Dee Scadron had waiting for us. Dee Dee is an awesome person and a multiple World Champion on the Velodrome.

Back home, Maia raced the BTR Park Criterium in K-zoo, but had some serious stomach problems that caused her to DNF.

Hmmm.... Is it time yet?......

Everybody loves a new bike, especially a Trek XO2 Cyclo-Cross Bike for Renee!



After the inital shake-down ride Renee says "I love this bike already. It's way lighter than my old one."

Renee and Maia at the Nas-track 3 Day

I'm still not sure of their results, but they look good. Thanks to Bob Bruce for the photos.

Velodrome 3-day

Stand by to see how Renee and Maia did last weekend at the track....

Ada Crit

2nd and 5th

The race started with 13 Cat 1/2/3 women with the Cat 4s behind them. The course included a chicane followed by a slight uphill. The first few laps were very fast and strung out. Kelly was right on Mackenzie's wheel and she wasn't getting away this time. Several laps later, a crash happened in the left-right chicane taking two PH riders out of the race (Cheryl slid out and Leslie rode over her) and creating a break of 5 which Christy and Kelly were in. Christy won a prime for some sweet sunglasses, and Kelly pulled her back into the break after the counter attack. Christy continued to ride strong and Kelly fell off the back of the break. Still tired and scabbed up from Superweek? Maybe a little skiddish in the corners after the crash? Who knows what goes through the mind in those ever important split seconds in a bike race. Christy sprinted for a 2nd place finish and Kelly sprinted against and beat the three others who joined her and took the 5th place position.

Not sure the official results are correct, as Sara McGuire was in the sprint for 6th or 7th place.

The Ada Bike Shop put on a nice race. The ice cream vendor was very welcome and the balcony of the restaurant above the bike shop helped make the day special.

Superweek Day 7 - Whitefish Bay Classic-plus final overall results

Whitefish Bay Classic was the last day in the Superweek Women's Category 3/4 racing series. It was yet another flat crit with two over-90 degree corners. Christy was the only Wolverine woman racing. She got in a break with another woman, but the other woman wasn't strong enough to hang with Christy and fell off. Christy rode a few laps solo and decided there was too much race left and decided to sit up and wait for the peloton. The finish was a pack sprint and Christy pulled in a 4th place finish. She was on the wheel of the series leader and said she couldn't believe how much power this woman could put into one pedal stroke.


The Wolverine Women had a fantastic Superweek! Christy finished in 8th place overall after only racing 3 of the 6 days. Kelly finished 11 overall after finishing only 3 of the 6. She started 5 races, but crashed on the last turn of one race, and DNF the next day. Maia started and finished only 3 of the 6 races and still finished 21st.

Check out all the action at
http://www.internationalcycling.com/

Superweek Day 6 - Wheel & Sprocket Brewers Hill

Wheel & Sprocket Brewers Hill Criterium in Milwaukee was a 4 corner crit with a hill on one side and a descent on the other. Of course the finish was up the hill. About a quarter of the field didn't finish the race.

Christy and Kelly rode strong and smart the entire race and were dancing on the pedals up the hill each lap. Feeling battered, beat up and tired, Kelly took no risks in the last corners and finished 11th. Also cautious in the corners, Christy finished 8th.

Superweek Day 5 - Chase Food Folks & Spokes

Chase Food Folks & Spokes in Kenosha was a flat 4-corner crit with a little chicane. The inside of the course had an awesome festival happening with arts and crafts, food, rides (the barf machine), and lots of spectators. The organizers of Superweek do an amazing job organizing the events, moving the equpiment, organizing volunteers, posting results, etc. It's amazing how fast the men's P/1/2 results are printed after they finish with 160 guys. If you're a racer, and you've never raced Superweek, you're missing out on a fantastic experience.

Christy was really pumped and excited at the beginning of the race and showed her strength during an incredible race. There was a four woman break that took off after a crash that Christy got tangled in when the woman in front of her went into the barricade. Christy whent to the Sram tent, Jose fixed her brake and gave her a new wheel and she jumped back in. A couple laps later she executed a perfect attack to bridge to the break-away taking another woman with her.

They worked together really well and caught the break in about 8 laps. It was a thing of beauty.


The sprint finish was exciting and Christy almost caught the race leader on the line for a beautiful 2nd place finish.

Maia finished 17th. She was reminded again of the importance of trying to move up before the finish. She got boxed in and lost position in the corners. She attacked a few times during the race and won one of the primes. She had a great race series and learned a lot at Superweek.

Kelly pinned on a number, but feeling the pain from the previous day's crash ended up with a DNF.

Superweek Day 4 - PCW Cycling Heritage Square

PCW Cycling Heritage Square Criterium in Sheboygan was in a neighboord with one small big-ring-able hill. The race was good and fast with primes thrown in like crazy. Kelly and Maia launched their version of the "Wolverine Cannon" attacking and counter attacking and countering the counter. It was a blast. Maia says that before Superweek she didn't feel comfortable handling her bike in a pack, and after three races, she says "Now. Yeeeeaaaaahhhhhhh". (Translate: I feel comfortable and feel like I know what I'm doing.) It started raining with 2 laps to go. Kelly was sitting in 4th wheel in a break a few seconds ahead of the pack. Perfect. Take that last turn. Same line as everyone else. Not too fast. WHOOOOOOOOSH. There goes the back wheel. Crash. There goes the win. Dang.
Maia remembered to work hard to move up near the end and did it well. She was trying to bridge the small gap and get on Kelly's wheel. She was almost there. Saw Kelly go down. Slammed on the brakes. She says it was just like the track. She sprinted from a dead stop and crossed the finish line in 10th place. In the money. Yay Maia!!




The day's results.

The overall results put Kelly in 8th and Maia in 18th.