Alison Tetrick

Massage works.

Being a professional athlete, I have always been encouraged to get massages and bodywork in order to keep my muscles and joints in optimal condition.  However, I know this can be a pricey “splurge” for some, especially those trying to survive on a cycling salary.  Yet, I do try to budget for massage every now and then (kind of like a pedicure but oh so much more important).  If my body isn’t working properly, then I am not the most efficient cyclist I can be, and where is the good in that? It is my job, after all.

That being said, it isn’t like I am getting weekly massages when I am home, but this is merely for the principle of the matter.

When we travel on the road, we do have a soigneur who will also give us daily massages after races and training.  I have noticed the incredible benefits of “flushing” my legs out after they have been under heaving training  and racing assaults.  These massages aren’t deep tissue, but merely tryin to increase the blood flow and oxidation to promote recovery for the next day.

Although science can’t always prove the phenomonans of life, we just know it works sometimes.  Massage works.  This recent study was brought to my attention by AthletiCamps, and being a science nerd myself, I found it interesting.  I have felt the benefit of massage, but now they have figured out the mechanisms that can be initiated by massage that limits the inflammatory causing cytokines.

Read a NYT article on it HERE.

We all know massage works.  In case you wanted a further explanation, or are skeptical, give it a try.  Massage works.  Yet it may be another month or so before I get one.

On a side note, our massage therapist, Mike Ivarone, lives in Santa Rosa and is a bodywork and acupuncture master.  If you ever want to give him a try, let me know!

And that’s a wrap. Team Camp is complete.

Swiss Miss, Me, and the Joshua Tree. Match made in heaven. Photo by Greg Erwin.

Although it was a chaotic week of hard riding, challenging drills, and extensive learning, it was a resounding success.  The best team camp ever. Period.

My Highlights of Team Exergy TWENTY12 Team Camp:

• Palm Springs. Palm Desert. Palm whatever. I love this place, and I think I will retire there, starting next week, or maybe even today.  Warmth.  Good training. Tough terrain. 1000 Palms. Date Palms. 29 Palms. Palm Terrace. Palm Tree. You name it. I love Palm “blank”.
• Joshua Tree National Park. What an amazing place! Riding through there was an entirely new experience for me, and one I will never forget.  The scenery was so incredible and clear, I was waiting for the computerized backdrop to turn off to prove it wasn’t real.  Yet, it was as real as could be, and kept getting better. Big horn sheep scaling a rock wall.  Joshua Trees looking like fireworks on a stick.  Huge red boulders contrasting against a bluebird sky. It was the definition of beauty and an image that is engrained within my memory.
• Teammates reunited.  New teammates merging with the old teammates.  It was like coming home again.  I have friendships that surpass a team contract or a bicycle race, and this is one thing that is irreplaceable.  I was happy to be home, it lifted my spirits and my heart.
• Grapefruit.  Near the end of a 4 hour ride, I climbed a tree to snag a grapefruit the size of my head, before proceeding to ride the 20k back to the house with 5lbs of fruit in our jerseys. Take my word for it, it was well worth it.  That was a good grapefruit.  I don’t know what got more laughter, climbing a tree in cycling shoes, or riding a bike with 2 grapefruits shoved in your jersey…
• Black Dresses and Pool Parties.  One of our photoshoots involved some “fancy pants” (or dresses for that matter) glamour, which of course ended in girls jumping into the pool.  Of course, right?  If everyone jumped into a pool with their LBD on, would you?  Nope.  I wouldn’t.  I don’t like getting my hair wet, just as much as I don’t like getting dirty (hence my cyclocross career is nonexistent), but it was entertaining to see my teammates go for it.  Peer pressure at its finest.
• Christmas in February (but I already wrote about this…) The biggest challenge was trying to get all my equipment and apparel home with me!
• Speed.  I found speed on my bike with the team as we blazed through the desert canyons like fighter pilots in extreme aerodynamic formation at speeds faster than light.  There is no exaggeration there at all.  Fast bikes. Fast girls. It was addicting.  It was speed.  It ignited my adrenaline and stoked my passion for bicycle racing.

I love me some GRAPEFRUIT. Photo by Greg Erwin.

A huge thanks to management for putting together the best team camp ever.  Simon Cope for flawless directing.  Dave Drumm for expert mechanics.  Kristin Armstrong for perfect weather and location.  Nicola Cranmer for an inspiring team and direction. Michael Ivarone for the intuitive acupuncture and bodywork, not to mention delectable PB&J’s.

Real World.

13 girls. 1 house. Palm Springs. Bicycles.

Photo of photo captured by VeloImages

Although the schedule has been quite regimented at team camp, there still has been time for plenty of laughter and learning.  We have been visited by some of our major sponsors here to increase our product knowledge as well as give feedback of the products in development. Even though I normally take a lot of photographic evidence of my rides and events, I have realized that that is not necessary due to the fact of the constant stream of photographers and videos around camp.  Is this the Real World?  No, it’s our life.  Yet you are welcome to share the experience with us!

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Thanks to Dillon Clapp from Road Mag for the picture of the Felt visit

Felt spent two days with us and were able to capture some great images of the team, as well as give us all the top secret details on more fast frames in the pipeline!  I have ridden a Felt bicycle for 2 years and I will continue to say that I love my bike.  Not only is she sexy, but she is stiff and bulletproof.  My F1 and I are meant to be together forever.

Me and My F1 picture taken by VeloImages for Felt.

The guys from Pearl Izumi also visited to measure us for our custom speedsuits (also known as really really fast superhero costumes), and discuss our feedback and product.  They are constantly innovating and designing not only for pure speed but also plush comfort.

We love Pearl Izumi. We love Exergy.

Team knowledge not only comes from living with 13 girls in one house for 10 days, throttling each other up an 8 mile climb, leading out two of the best sprinters in the country against one another, but also just from letting go and laughing.  Laughing at our crazy lives.  Laughing at our cracking points.  Laughing at jumping in a pool in a little black dress or your chamois.  Laughing at a victory salute dance off.  Laughing at the kitchen disaster.  Laughing at each other. Taking a good look around the crowded house and feeling blessed to be surrounded by each other.  Common goals, big dreams, and no shortage of smiles.

It may be a little like Real World in here, but it is our world, and it is real.

Welcome to Team Camp.  Welcome to our Real World.

Thank you to our sponsors for providing this opportunity.

Is it really the beginning of 2012?  Team Twenty12?  Oh why, yes it is.  It is actually February.  Wow.

Team Exergy Team TWENTY12 has occupied Palm Springs for 10 days.  Beware sunny, clear skies of gorgeous Southern California desert, you have been officially occupied.  Occupied by some fast women on some fast bikes.

What do we do at team camp?  We fly in.  From all over the world.  Bali.   Italy.  Australia.  Qatar.  Colorado.  Indiana.  Virginia.  Canada.  Switzerland.  England.  Mill Valley.  We meet.  We get Christmas in February.  There is luggage and bags and bikes and SRMs and wheels and watches and surprises all labeled for the riders.  We giggle as we run to our name and open up all the new exciting equipment for this upcoming year.  Why yes, it is Christmas in February.  Merry Christmas to us.

Bag explosion of goodies (of course it is NOT mine)

I traveled to Palm Springs with nothing but an empty bag and some basics.  I will return home with loads of luggage and a bike.  Welcome to 2012.

After the Christmas extravaganza quieted down, and we were all outfitted out in the newest apparel and shoes, Steve Blick from Oakley came to join us on a ride and guided us through playing Legos with our eyewear.  Oh yes.  Pick the colors and start building.  I designed several custom glasses that I will be wearing for the season, and I could not more excited!  It was connecting bold colors, in the way you wanted, just like building a Lego creation. Oakleys are amazing.

Legos with my Oakleys

My glasses turned into a party.  A party for my face.  And everyone knows that brightly hues colors are fast.  I think that has been scientifically tested.  Colors are fast.  It is proven.

The next day was filled with even more riding and continuing to build as a team.  Team bonding over food, Legos, and Christmas.  What’s next?

It is National Girls and Women in Sports Day.  Who would have thought?

Why are sports so important for women?

Sports build confidence, character, and responsibility.  Sports demonstrate to a young girl that she is strong, capable, and worthy.

Sports shaped my childhood.  Sports took me to college and continue to be a huge part of my life.

Is that MY mom? Absolutely.

The first female athlete I looked up to was my mom.  Not only could she reach everything I couldn’t, she was strong and fearless.  Horseback riding. Fence fixing. Century riding. Varmint killing.  School shuttling.  Dinner cooking.  Piano playing.  Ditch digging. Tennis competing. Calf branding. Yoga practicing.  She did it all.  Nothing phased her.  She could conquer anything.  She oozes power and athletic prowess.  She is an athlete in its purest form.

Just imagine if Title IX was in full effect when she was younger?  The opportunities she could have had!  However, she did teach me that sports doesn’t always have to be sanctioned event, sometimes it is just life.  She chose an athletic life, and in doing so, shaped my life as well.  That being said, she is on the USTA National Team for her age bracket.  Impressed much?  I sure am.

Today, appreciate those women that have paved the way for sport.  Those that have demonstrated athletic is attractive and attainable.  Anything is possible.  Sports don’t have to define you, but are an incredible part of life.  Laughter is found.  Dedication is summoned.  Pride is taken.

Activity is my passion.  Cycling is my expression.

Cycling has a long way to go for women, but we aren’t giving up on it yet.  One step at a time.  I am thankful for a team like Team Exergy2012 that supports these dreams and does not settle for mediocrity.  Women that do not stand idly by, but speak not only with their professionalism but their actions as well.

Thank you to the women, like my mom and many others, who set an example, and have increased the opportunities for women in sports.  Thank you to those that support us.