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?

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.

Simplicity.

Sometimes the most presumable simple tasks become complicated in a moment’s notice.  If you need proof of this, watch me try to change a flat or put my rear wheel on my TT bike.   Yet today’s ride was simple.  It wasn’t simple because I was fast and efficient out the door.  It wasn’t simple because of an easy, well-planned route.  It was simple for the mere fact that it was just a bike, a road, and open space.  Every factor agreed with one another.  It was fluidity.  It just worked.  We may have grandiose plans, yet at times, it is just simplicity that we crave.

Snow capped mountains framing a green valley with a quickly moving stream.  A quiet road and a mind full of thoughts.  The bike meets the asphalt, and they dance.  It is a slow waltz that dissolves into the scenery.  It is noninvasive.  It is simple.

Snow

Simplicity was found today.  In snow and no leg warmers necessary.  In a late start on a long ride.  In dropped sandwich on a climb.  In a day that may not have been the best, but it worked.  It was simple.  It was just a bike.  It was just a ride.  It was just what I needed.

Simple.

Does that even exist?

It can vary from sunny balmy days to a crisp frosty morning to a damp foggy afternoon gust.  No matter the conditions, it is always important to dress appropriately, and of course with a little style.

Although I am fortunate enough to live in Northern California, and I don’t have to ride in snow, or sub 40 degree temperatures, but occasionally it may rain or be a bit chilly.  I cannot offer a whole lot of advice regarding “freezing”  hardcore riding, but I can offer some basic tips for “California Winter Riding”.

• Leg Warmers, Knee Warmers, In Heat. You all have heard this “rule” before : If it is under 60 degrees, cover up your knees.  Knee warmers or leg warmers, your choice.  In my opinion, I always prefer leg warmers.  I actually don’t know why, I just think you look faster with leg warmers as opposed to knee warmers.  Sometimes I will opt for just some DZ Nutz In Heat Embrocation if the temperature and conditions are right.  Not only do your legs stay warm, they also look fabulous with a bit of a shine to them.  Regardless, in the cooler conditions, your joints will thank you for taking care of them.  You are more injury prone if you don’t keep those important muscle groups warm!
• Shoe covers.  I like shoe covers for time trials, rain, and cold days.  Of course the thickness of shoe covers can differ due to each specific purpose.  Time trial covers are in a league of their own with super power latex capabilities that slice through the air and wind.  Simple sock covers may be sufficient for a mildly cool day, or you may have to go full waterproof neoprene booty.  Sometimes my only motivation for wearing shoe covers are to keep my shoes white and sparkly.  Clean shoes are fast shoes.  Warm, dry feet are happy feet.  Always wear your shoe covers OVER your leg warmers.  Wear longer socks to avoid chafing.  Shoe covers will rarely last more than one season, but use them for what they were made for-warmth, style, and speed.
• Skull Cap or Ear Muffs.  I actually rarely wear a hat under my helmet since it usually isn’t cold enough here, but you do lose a lot of heat through your head.  Imagine all that hot air in there escaping!  If it is in the 40′s, I think it is important to cover your head, or at least your ears.  You won’t get that “brain freeze” effect like you just inahled a pint of Ben and Jerry’s ice cream too fast, and it is a good excuse to tune out your training partner’s complaints of the cold temperature.  Obviously you don’t wear ear muffs, although that would look pretty funny, but a ear covering headband is an awesome addition to your cycling wardrobe.
• Socks.  Wool socks are warm and wicking , and I suggest wearing them in rainy conditions.  Although shortie socks aid in the lack of a tan line, taller socks cover up more of your leg, hence increase warmth and decrease the chance of your booties or leg warmers rubbing you the wrong way.  My rule of thumb is if you have leg warmers or shoe covers on, you wear tall socks, yet if the sun is shining and your legs are free, shorter socks are completely acceptable and encouraged.  No one likes sock tanlines.  Tall socks do look fast though.
• Cycling Cap.  These look slightly urban chic and are worn near the Ferry building by hipsters on singlespeeds, yet they also are a great item to wear in the rain for the serious cyclist.  It keeps the water from dripping in your eyes, your head warm, and limits the spray into your face.  I do find it difficult to see sometimes, but you can always “flip” the lid up for a different approach.  Same hat, worn two different ways.  It serves as a fashion statement and a rain accessory.
• Fenders.  I hate putting fenders on my bike.  I thought it was only to save my training partner from the infamous “rooster tail” of gritty water spraying into her face, but it turns out it also saves you from that “diaper chamois” effect of a water logged pad.  You are warmer and get less water when using a fender.  If you want to put it on my bike for me, I will use it.  Other then that, you will be sprayed, and my bike looks faster without a fender anyways.
• Gloves.  Wear them.  Full fingered.  Wool.  Waterproof.  Gardening.  Just keep your hands warm and protected.  I prefer my gloves pink.
• RoadID.  Duh.  Always wear that.
• Jackets and Thermal Vests.  My most treasured cycling apparel is my thermal vest.  It is so versatile and blocks the wind that much better on those cold winterized descents, yet I don’t over-heat in it while climbing.  People tend to start looking like a garage sale in the winter since your winter clothes don’t always match your cycling kit.  I am fortunate enough to have my whole kit in a fashionable summer and winter line.  Yet, when choosing a thermal jacket or vest, go for a basic color that is easily integrated into your already existant cycling wardrobe.  Your training partners will thank you for not showing up at the coffee shop with a red jacket, orange vest, blue shorts, pink gloves, and yellow shoe covers.  Although on a positive side, at least you will be extremely visible.  When wearing a thermal jacket, I usually keep it simple by only wearing a base layer underneath to avoid getting to hot or feeling too bulky.
• Base Layer.  Wear one.  Sometimes they get smelly, but they are necessary.  Wash them.  Spray body spray.  Repeat.  I like my base layers to be well fitting and short so they don’t bunch up under all my layers.  They are to be worn under the bibs.
• Rain Jacket.  Just in case you should have one with you.  It should block the rain, be large enough to fit over all your layers, but small enough to go in your back pocket.  Riding in the rain isn’t fun, but staying dry and warm while riding in the rain is bearable.
• Arm Warmers.  If I know I am not going to take them off, I prefer a long sleeved jersey over arm warmers.  More streamlined, and you don’t have the danger of showing the dreaded “arm cleavage” where your arm warmers fail to meet your sleeves of your jersey.  This is even worse if you have that issue with your leg warmers.  You make the call.

Tough Winter Riding with my Sister in California

According to the dictionary:

Tough is not brittle.  Our bones can be breakable, our hearts can be soft, but tough holds resolution.  It is desired to be flexible, to be understanding, but at times it is important to hold your ground.  To be stubborn.  To stand up for what you believe in.  To be “tough”.

Some days I feel tough, and other days I feel far from it.  It is a distant memory of times that I conquered, and a blatant reality of those times that I failed.  But those are the days that make you “tough”.  The days you perservere.  The days that you quit.  The days that you learn from your mistakes.  All of this is defines “toughness”.  You aren’t always right, and you don’t always win.  But I can still consider you “tough”.

I think bike riders are quite “tough”.  We are stubborn.  We can be fragile, yet we can be extremely determined if not slightly insane.   Take this toughness factor into your life but don’t forget that even the toughest can still laugh at themselves and love others.  Don’t take yourself too seriously, but feel free to continue to be a “tough cookie”.

Come to think of it, I actually dislike that phrase “tough cookie”, I prefer my cookies to be slightly undercooked with all sorts of gooiness, yet I may prefer my teammates to be a bit tough.  I think I will take that term out of my verbal arsenal now.

Tough Luck.

Conquering the day.

Waiting for my training partner. Tick tock.

Taking nothing for granted.

Clif Family Wines

Keeping it pure and simple.

Sister Time. Best Time.

It is just another day in my life.

What is the appropriate chemistry and etiquette?  Do you have what it takes?  Or are you destined to train alone, or constantly be the brunt of the group ride joke.

You either find that training partner, or you really start learning about yourself.

What are is the job description? Is there an app for that?

My Top 10 Qualities of a Training Partner.

1. Ride Leader.  There must always be a ride leader.  As a ride leader, you must accept this responsibility with utter seriousness.  You have to pick the ride and adhere to the appropriate parameters that have been designated.  Therefore, whoever is the ride leader must be prepared to accept full responsibility if the duration of the ride falls short or longer than the planned time, as well if the terrain or weather does not cooperate.  If it is too long, or too short, or your training partner gets stuck in a headwind all day or a monsoon downpour, the ride leader must apologize profusely and make amends in a comparable way.  Please take this job seriously.  Too many chiefs on a ride lends to arguments, and too many Indians causes uncertainty.  The rider leader may vary on the day, and does not have to be a lifetime commitment, just a ride commitment.
2. Consistency.  I hate stopping while riding.  I don’t get coffee while riding (unless the Ride Leader has predestined the ride as a coffee shop ride).  Coffee may be consumed after the ride, or before the ride.  But if it is a training day, the ride is just that.  A ride.  Your bike must be in working order, you must be prepared with the flat fixing necessities (especially since I have the tendency to be ill-prepared), and you must be ready to ride the said ride.  You need to count on each other for timeliness, fitness, and motivation.  You need to have consistency, preparation, and resourcefulness.
3. Understanding the Job. If one rider has 3x20min at Tempo, and the other rider has 5x6min at SFR, you may start out the ride together, but you must be prepared to split off and do your individual effort if that is what the agenda is.  There is no fluff and no bragging.  It is a simple parting of ways to get the work done.  Although you may be envious of the others training day, you don’t make a snide comment that they don’t have the stamina to do what you are about to do.  It is all in a days work, and you understand.  Sometimes you just need a training partner to get out the door on a foggy morning or early time, and after the appropriate warm-up, you might not see them until the next ride, yet they had a purpose.  They understand the job, and you both support that.
4. Cohesion and Craziness. Yet, who really wants to ride a 4-5 hour ride by themselves?  I know I am quite entertaining to myself, but that wears off eventually.  I discover that I would rather not be alone in my thoughts and head day in and day out.  The company is phenomenal to have, and they need to be just a little bit as crazy as you are.  Ride out to the Pt. Reyes Lighthouse?  Why not.  What happens if we take a right to Fort Jenner?  Let’s find out.  You are cohesive in your exploration, and you are both just a little crazy.
5. Correct Phrasing. A good training partner doesn’t tell you that they “dropped” you, yet they may refer to it as “that time that I rode ahead of you and then waited at the fork in the road”.  You didn’t get dropped.  You let them ride ahead.  They know they dropped you.  You know they dropped you.  But for your confidence and delicate self-esteem, they use correct phrasing of the event just to ensure you don’t become a puddle of sweat and tears into the asphalt for a rough day.  We all have bad days, no sense in rubbing it in.
6. Challenge.  Yet, they need to challenge you.  Through good days and bad days, they are still there.  They know the time to leave you alone in your misery, and they know the time to hang back with you.  It is a fine balance.  It is a team effort at times, and a solo mission at other times.  Sometimes their fitness is so beyond yours all you can do is hang on, and other days, you are the stronger rider.  They challenge you.  You challenge them.  It simply works.
7. Patience.  Yes.  I may be tough, but sometimes I require some patience.  I might forget a glove or two.  I might not want to change my flat.  I might complain about the weather, my legs, or the movie I saw.  Be patient with each other.  There are more important things than riding a silly bike, but we are out there together with a similar goal and determination.  No one is perfect.
8. Timeliness.  Oh yeah.  I like to be on time for my rides.  Ok, so I actually show up a little bit too early because I am a dork that way.  I will be patient, and you will be on time.  Sounds like a plan to me.  Who is the first one to show up?  Oh yeah, me.  Can we say nerd? Absolutely.
9. Entertainment.  If you are cracking, sometimes the only thing that gets you up that hill is a good story.  A funny anecdote.  Something that has nothing to do about cycling.  A story about your first scary movie, or your first job as a lifeguard and that one girl.. Anything that gets my mind off of the slogan “just keep pedalling, just keep pedaling”.  Like I said, I train the majority of the time by myself, but every once in awhile I need out of my own head.  I will recripcrate when the time is right, I promise.
10. Just a ride. And like I told Bob Roll.  It is just a ride.  Nothing more, nothing less.  It is just a ride.

Movies with my dad. I think we dress alike...

Nothing says growing up like Christmas.  My stocking got exponentially smaller.  It was so small in fact, it could only hold some candy, a key chain (mighty cute I might add), and a yo-yo.  Yes.  My parents got me a yo-yo for Christmas.  Why?  Maybe to prove that I was still as handicapped as ever with that silly toy.  I re-gifted it to the cat.  It is now shredded into pieces, but he was better at the game than I.  However, my wishes were granted with the perfect gift of an amazing vacuum cleaner.  Yes.  I got my vacuum cleaner for Christmas.  I am getting old.  Maybe I don’t mind after all.

My motto for next year will be to surpass all that rhetoric I came up with this year.  To rise above it.  To move forward.  To stop and smell the roses.  Yes.  My dad recently reminded me to do so.  I responded that I didn’t like the smell of roses sometimes.  He told me to learn to.  Yes.  Learn to slow down.  Learn to appreciate.  Learn to breathe.  Learn to quit worrying about the next big thing, be confident in yourself, in your decisions, and in you.  Learn to grow up at times, and learn to cling to your childhood at others.  Smell the roses. Don’t take that for granted.

Sisters Reunited=Love

What was my favorite Christmas gift?  Laughter with my sister? A bike ride with my dad? Tennis with my mom?  Prime rib? Corn bread stuffing? Yes and yes.  It was also the reminder that growing up isn’t all that it is cracked up to be, but it is a fact.  Life is here.  It is precious.  Family is priceless.

Seriously though, who can yo-yo anyway, besides on the back of a crit of course…

You may ask, don’t you do that all the time?  Aren’t you a professional cyclist?  Don’t worry, I am a professional, but that doesn’t mean I don’t “get” to ride my bike all day all the time.  Sometimes I don’t want to.  Sometimes I am not allowed to.  Sometimes I don’t like it.  But then there are those days…those days you clip in, ride all day, and never look back.  You aren’t bridled to your power meter.  You aren’t worried about time constraints.  You aren’t ignoring fatigued legs or a growling stomach.  If someone told you that you were about to cover the furthermost distances withing your reach, and the deepest inward depths of your insides that day, you would think it was impossible.  Then, it wasn’t.  You did it.  You got to ride your bicycle all day.  And you loved it.

Have you ever finished a ride thinking, oh the places I have been.  No one quite understands the ground I have covered, the challenges I have conquered, and the personal battles I have won.  I have not only travelled the world, or at least the great expanses of the wide open spaces in my backyard, but I have loved every minute of it. I never fought myself.  I didn’t fight my bike.  I didn’t grimace at others.  I laughed with good training partners, and I even found humor in myself.  It wasn’t just a bike ride, it was a privilege.

I got to ride my bicycle all day the other day.  And I loved it.  Where did I go?  That is my secret.  When was it?  Not important.  It happened.  It was my day.  What was yours?

And happen it did.

I have ridden a bike for about 4 years.  And since I have an affinity for the number 4, I like things to happen in either even numbers, multiples of 4, or with at least a balanced 4 type of a number.  It could be that my birthday is on April 4th (4/4), or it could be I am just that neurotic.

4 years.  During these 4 years I have thought about the possibility, but never knew when it would come.  And the other day, I achieved the miraculous 4 flats on my bike ride.  A pinch flat.  A CO2 dud. A broken nozzle.  A faulty tube.  1, 2, 3, 4.  At least it was 4.  It was hopeless.

I was stuck.  Stranded.  Walking my bicycle.  Miles from home.  After utilizing both my and Olivia’s spare tubes, I plead martyrdom and sent her on her productive 4 hour way sans any flat fixing equipment.   I was stuck at the mercy of fate.  It was raining.  It was a week day.  Where are all the cyclists?  Oh right.  People work.  People don’t like drizzly cold mornings.  I went from feeling tough to feeling alone.

Eventually I was rescued.  Thank heavens.  Upon reaching home, I self appointed the day a rest day.  I was not meant to do my training that day.  I was meant to take that day as a gift.  A gift of gratitude for those that helped.  And that I survived the rite of passage.  4 years.  4 flats.  Now what.  Hopefully broken pelvises don’t come a pack of 4.

I learned the more prepared you are for these events, then better… To pay it forward.  Help those in need, and it will come back to you at times you need it most.