Inspiration

This is inspirational for anyone who does a sport.

A great read written by Kristin Armstrong--(as in used to be married to Lance, not the cyclist Kristin Armstrong)

Joe Martin

Here's me with some fellow lawbreakers, prisoners who get out of jail to help set up the race

I wasn't really planning on doing any stage racing this year but I won that pro ride spot at Nature Valley and I'm terribly excited about it! I'll finally get to see what it's like to be totally supported at a race! Wanting to be fit for that, I figured I should do something hard before hand. I had hoped to do Speedweek, but that didn't work out.

The weekend before I got a little sick. Maybe I should have just cancelled the trip; but by then my parents were already on their way to help with my kids. I didn't mention it to my coach that I wasn't feeling great because I know what she would have said.

Without going into too much detail, on the way down, about an hour from Fayetteville just on the Missouri side of the border, I ended up in a police station in handcuffs getting my mug shot taken and fingerprinted. I got to sit on a bench next to a guy being arrested for drugs who told me , "rehab is for quitters." Needless to say it's important not to ignore letters from the state regarding your drivers license. I had to pay to get my car towed off the highway, but they were all very nice and they let me go saying that what I did after I left was my business but I better not get pulled over again and maybe it was best if I just didn't come back to their county.

I pulled in to the hotel just as the manager's meeting was starting. As daunting as it is to show up entirely by yourself at an NRC stage race with no team or support, the organizers and everyone involved with the race really try to make you feel welcome. Even so, after the meeting I went up to my room, unloaded my stuff and took some time to decompress from the exciting events of the day. I was daunted by the logistics of the weekend. How was I going to get to all the starts of the races? The time trial was a 45 minute drive each way? One false move and I'd be back in the slammer.

The next day everything was brighter and once I got to the tt location safely I felt much more settled. I happened to run into a super nice guy who was hosting another individual rider from Canada and it was after he generously offered his house for me to stay he mentioned that the XXX Chicago folks were going to stay there too!! Kevin and his wife Pam, the Canadian rider, and all the XXX folks were terrific! We had a fabulous time together and I could not believe my good fortune running into them.

I wasn't feeling great, I never had a fever, but I was manufacturing an amazing amount of snot and coughing a nice deep productive cough. I'm not exactly a good stage racer to begin with, and in top form I'm hoping for field finishes, so my expectations were not high. Even though I gave it my best, my time trial was a full minute slower than the year before.

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In Friday's 65 mile road race I lasted about halfway through and then found a nice group to ride in with, hoping to make the time cut. There's a lot of funny stuff that goes on off the back in a stage race, and today there were various degrees of cheating going on. Two riders drafting off a car passed the group I was with and we all jumped on. After going 30mph for a couple miles and shredding all of our group except me and the original two riders and getting no response when I asked a couple times, "isn't this cheating?" I dropped off. I rode by myself until other cars came by bringing two Bicycles of Tulsa riders up so we had a group of three who rolled in just barely making the time cut. When I checked the results I noticed that the two original drafters were given field finishes. I didn't really know what to make of that but I wasn't exactly innocent so I kept my mouth shut.

Saturday was another 70 mile road race. I was dropped on the second significant climb and resigned myself to finishing the race. I found a nice group of 5 to ride with. An Australian national rider, a Canadian rider, and the two Bicycles of Tulsa riders I had ridden with the day before. The Australian, Canadian and I were sharing the work evenly and the Tulsa riders were struggling, skipping pulls and falling off on the climbs. We waited for them so we could stay together and after a bit I asked if it would be ok if I stopped and took a "nature call", and the Australian and Canadian said they were going to drop out of the race so they would just keep going. The Tulsa riders said that was fine and would wait for me. But when I pulled over only one stopped with me. A little confusing, but I figured the other woman was just going to drop out of the race and didn't really care. While I was stopped on the side of the road we saw the Sram car come by towing a rider who had gotten a flat. The remaining Tulsa rider and I continued together but when we hit the turn around point, she told me she was going to turn in. I still had about 35 miles to go but was determined to finish and was in a seriously positive mood considering the circumstances. I had driven all that way, was in gorgeous rolling Arkansas country and was going to finish that race. I did finish, alone, and when I crossed the line I ran into the girl who I had waited for but didn't wait for me. She told me that the Sram car had pulled the girl that had flatted up to her and the two of them finished the race together. Turns out the two of them had made the time cut and I didn't. This derailed my "ray of sunshine" attitude and I had a few dark moments. Luckily I was able to come around. In reality, who really cares, I shouldn't have been off the back in the first place. I had been arrested in scary hillbilly country and survived, I did get to meet some super cool people, and ride my bike through some beautiful country. No I didn't get to race the crit but I was super happy to be able to get home (safely, without arrest) on Sunday in time to see the family on Mother's day. Gotta say I've never been so glad to get home safe and sound!

Circuit of Sauk Road Race & Vernon Hills Crit

This weekend Kim and I drove up three and a half hours to race the Circuit of Sauk Road Race in Baraboo, WI. I did this race last year and knew that there was going to be two 15 mile laps which included a pretty sweet climb on each lap. Last year I got dropped on the climb so I was eager to give it another go. I knew Kim would be fine on the climb so we got there ready to give it our best. We had a decent field of about 19 to start. At the top of the first climb there was 7 of us left. Two Kenda, two Planet Bike, two Flatlandia, and one IS Corp. At the top of the climb we hit some crazy cross/headwinds. Kenda took turns attacking us and Planet Bike turned up the speed. In between trying to chase down Kenda I looked back and noticed L'il Kim was literally blown off the back of the break! This crazy wind is really the one time in cycling that I appreciate having a little weight! So then we were 6. With the pace so high and the Kenda attacks, I was worried about conserving for the second climb. Turns out I was fine! Such a fantastic feeling, and not one I'm used to! Made it to the top of the climb and dropped another one of our break, so now we had 5. Near the end of the race, just when I let myself relax, and think "wow I made it" IS Corp did a beautiful attack. It was so impressive I took notes on "how to attack at the end of a race." Kenda went with her and Planet bike let a small gap open up and then they chased hard. Unfortunately I was in slow motion and couldn't catch on and rolled in fifth. After the race I was sort of taken aback. This was not my usual style of racing. Kind of weird, but I just tried to focus on the fact that I could hang with the climbers!! Yay!

Kim ended up riding in for 10th. Nice job! After the race we rode around for 30 or so more miles with Tamara Fraser. Such a lovely area to ride.

Next day was the local Illinois Cup Vernon Hills Criterium. We had a small field, but it was a great race! Very active, lots of attacking and good times! Normally I would rather stick a sharp stick in my eye than go solo, but I'm trying to work on my weaknesses and figure if I want to get better I've got to try! I was hoping to get away with another rider or two and I tried couple times with various riders, but nothing stuck. Finally late in the race they called a prime. A Project Five rider went for it and got a nice gap. Mack got nervous and chased her down bringing me along. We blew by and when I took a hard pull, I looked back and had a gap, so I just kept going and that was the race.

The other thing that made the race interesting was that early on in the race, for no reason, I got a bloody nose. Blood was spewing everywhere and I couldn't get it to stop. It was very embarrassing but I really did not want to let it to ruin my race. All I had in my bottles was heed, but I still tried to pour it all over myself which only resulted in a big sticky mess. Thank goodness Ed White was there to capture it all on film:) I'm convinced that the reason I ended up getting away was the other girls were just grossed out and didn't want to ride with me.

Earlier in the day I got to watch Jason, Ted and Jeff race the master's 30+. Nice job guys! There was a break of two off the front and Jeff ended up third in the sprint. Well done.

Iowa City Road Race and Crit

Here's our "podium" from the crit. First and Third place (second was missing) but I love this picture becuase both Lisa and I have kids and they were all running around on the stage. during the awards presentation.

I so badly wanted to race the Southeast Crit Series this year. But it just didn't work out so I was looking for some racing this weekend and decided to go to Iowa City for a 50 mile Road Race on Saturday and a Criterium on Sunday. I've done these races in the past and they've been well attended good regional racing. We packed up the family and told the kids we were going on vacation to Iowa.

So disappointing to show up with only 11 women on the line! Even with the low turnout we had some really strong riders there. Sydney Brown, the winner of a spot on last year's Nature Valley Pro Ride Team was there. Sydney is not at full strength right now, recovering from an injury, but she really got me excited about Nature Valley telling me about her experience last year and how much fun I'm going to have. I can't wait!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Also, Lisa Vetterlein, a name I remember from years past as being a crazy strong rider, but had never met, was just returning to competition after a four year break. There were also some other really strong women in the field so there was some good competition even if we didn't have big numbers.

The road race was 4 laps and a little over 50 miles. I accidentally got off the front and rode by myself for about 12 miles early on. They caught me and then a break of two go away with about one lap to go. I chased hard with another rider, but we never closed the gap and I ended up second in the field sprint for fourth.

The crit the next day is a pretty good test of skills and fitness. A scary fast downhill corner and a short hard climb with a twisty top half of the course. I was thrilled to feel great on that downhill corner this year! When the break went (the same two as the day before) I killed myself bridging up and it took almost a lap but I got on. I tried to recover but only lasted a couple of laps until I got dropped on the uphill. I rode as hard as I could for the rest of the race and was pleasantly surprised to finish in third place with a large gap behind me. That's a big deal for me and almost made up for the disappointment of getting dropped from the break. In all it was a great workout and I do like those races--only wish we had a bigger field.

The kids had a blast at the hotel pool and loved staying up late watching a movie (Ratatouille) in the hotel room. The organizer gave the kids water bottles for showing up and they thought that was terrific. Having a fun family time was great. Even though I was super bummed not to be in Georgia, it would have been a trade off not to have the family there and I did end up getting some good racing in!

Leland Kermesse

Photo Credit John Firak

It was with much trepidation that I started the Leland race. I am not a fan of gravel. While it was definitely a road race, it was an unusual road race because it boasted 3 serious gravel sections. By serious I mean there was one line of semi rideable gravel and the rest was sloshy and thick. I was told "if you ride too far into that it will be 200 watts harder" !?! I didn't race it last year because it conflicted with another race on my team's schedule and I was given a lot of crap for that so I felt like I had no choice, sucked it up and went to the line.

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First of all let me say that I did not do much of anything to help with the race. But I know how much work my husband and the other guys put into it and was so pleased that it went off without a hitch. As a competitor I tried to be extra critical of everything and what I saw was the Flatlandia team and friends running a fantastic event and all the competitors having a great time. Super tough conditions made for super hard racing.

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This was the first race of the year that all 4 of the Flatlandia women were racing together! Since only about 10 1/2/3 women showed up, they combined all the women's fields, which meant that we could all work together. So exciting for us. We knew the wind was going to be a huge factor and also the gravel. Since it was so difficult to pass on the long gravel sections if you got behind the wrong person (s) that could be the end of your race. I was so proud of our teamwork. We made a plan and we executed it! From the start we controlled the race and they got me to the gravel section in second position behind Jessica Hill, the '09 Chicago Cyclocross Series winner. It was a safe bet that she was going to kill it on the gravel and sure enough she took off on the first thick gravel section and I was terrified but forced myself to stay on her wheel. At the end of the gravel, there were 4 of us. Jessica, Tamara from XXX and Jannette from Cuttin Crew. We immediately started working together perfectly. The wind was brutal. With my teammates behind us blocking, our break's cohesiveness could not be matched and quickly established a huge gap. I was terrified every single time on the gravel but being with only three other riders made it so much less complicated. We also knew we needed each other to work through the wind. Jessica did the lion's share of the work in the gravel and still took strong pulls on the concrete. She showed no signs of fading until at the end of the 3rd lap she just disappeared. I still thought she might catch us in the gravel but I guess I underestimated the wind because she was out of sight fast. Tamara, Jannette and I were so thankful to be in a break! It was one of the best race experiences ever. We hit the turn for the finish and rode three up down the long finishing stretch. I came across first, with Jannette in second and Tamara in third. Just as soon as we could safely pull over we all hit the brakes and gave each other a big hug.

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Leah got third in the field sprint, and Kim was second in the fours race! Molly flatted but luckily after she had done some good teamwork.

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At first I was so glad it didn't rain, but after the race I rethought that because in the dry conditions I really inhaled quite a bit of dust!

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Great job everyone and thank you for putting on such a great race.

Photo credit Steve Hansen

Hillsboro Roubaix

Hillsboro Roubaix is really our first big regional race of the season. It's still pretty close to the end of the Pedaling with a Purpose season so one of my favourite things about this race is to see everybody who's been working out with me all winter get out there and race. A filled women's cat 4 field and 47 women in the open. So Cool!! Kim was racing in one of her last cat 4 races before she upgrades, and Leah was riding with me in the open.

For the last two years this race has been a qualifier for the Nature Valley proride composite team. The top finishing cat 1 Man and 1/2Woman each earn a spot on an all expenses paid composite team for the Nature Valley Grand Prix Stage Race coming up in June in Minnesota. What a cool opportunity. Since I'm not currently on a supported team this year, I was really hoping to win this.

The race itself didn't go that well for any of us. Leah cramped in the second lap and was on the wrong end of a split. Although Kim had a great finish she was hoping to go out of the cat 4's with a win, and instead ended up 7th (out of 50!). I was feeling great and riding strong, but when a break of four went up the road, I didn't think it would stick. Instead of bridging my butt up there I tried to rally the troops to chase and had no takers. I ended up fourth in the field sprint for an eighth place finish overall. I was disappointed, but the weather was gorgeous and really, what a great day for a ride.

Turns out the 7 ahead of me for whatever reason took a pass on the pro ride, so I'm going to Nature Valley this year!!! Pretty excited to be on a fully supported team and get to just race.

Another cool thing about hillsboro this year is that since we were coming straight from PA we stayed at The Pheasant Valley bed and breakfast which was really an entire farm all to ourselves. The kids really enjoyed hiking and playing on the land, and John and Vicki White were the most gracious hosts.

PA Vacation

A lot of my family lives in Pennsylvania which just happens to be one of the best places in the country to ride. We took a week and spent it visiting our family and getting in some great rides. The weather, which is usually about what we have in Chicago this time of year was spectacular! We had close to 80 and sunny every single day!! Here's Jason getting ready to help with the milking on my brother's dairy farm.

The pink bike at the top of a climb--the pics really don't do it justice! Even though I have the exact same bike as last year, I got dialed in with a new postion at the Bike Shop that was noticeably better for climbing and descending.

Beautiful road quality!

We just happened to be riding by Cannondale so we asked a passer by take our picture.

We do love coffee!

I did get to spend some quality family time too. Here's a fancy girls tea party we had with hats and the good china.