Sweet 16

This past Friday was my 16th B-day. My parents were awesome and helped me throw a sweet 16. Here are some pics.

In our spare time....cyclists dont dance

craig creeden made an awesome slideshow for me (thanks Craig!!!!!!!)



to the left! to the left! to the left! to the left!!!!

My mom made an awesome cake!

HEY MACARANA!!!we had a record long macarana!


My family really made it a night to remember, and a special thanks to Mrs Onna for the amazing decorations!

drivers beware...here I come! =)

ciao

What Cyclist Do in Their Down Time

Off weekends...whats the best way to spend them? Why not cram 8 juniors onto a 4 person inner-tube and race around a lake?

...yeah nothing can go wrong there ;-P

Chain of Lake Cycling Classic

Last weekend was the chain of lakes cycling classic. We started off with a 28 mi road race on Saturday and then an all category women's crit on Sunday.

I really enjoyed the road race course. It was slightly rolling and very windy. All of the women and the masters 55+ raced together. The field was roughly 30 riders strong.

Right from the gun I settled into second wheel. The women's field was small and lacked some of the power houses that usually race. About 8 miles into the first lap two women attacked off the front (Trish Cohen and Tracy Cundiff). I was pinned up against the yellow line and waited for a slot to move up. I drilled it and brought 2 other women with me. We had basically closed the gap down when the masters field flew by and engulfed us and the break.

For the next 3 miles the masters sat at the front and hammered. I saw women getting shelled left and right. I felt awesome and was looking forward to the next lap.

A mile after the finishing climb a group of masters got off the front and Tracy and Trish followed. I was in a group of 15 riders with about 10 masters but only one woman 1,2,3. We organized a pace-line and had soon reeled the women back in. The rest of the last lap was uneventful.

With 3 mi left I tried to move towards the front. I felt pretty good and was hoping for a good finish. We rounded the final corner and the tailwind made the speed rapidly increase. I followed a masters rider straight to the front. With about 500 meters left there was a surge but I managed to stay up front. Finally the sprint. I saw a woman (Jenny-Team ASV) whiz by my right. I instantly knew she won the race. On my left I could see Trish. I pulled ahead of her but was rapidly loosing elbow room. Luckily the riders in front of me continued to sprint. I ended up 3rd. My first podium on the season.

The crit the next day was pretty crazy. I arrived about 1 1/2 hour before my race and heard about all sorts of mishaps in previous races. I was a little nervous but I felt like I had a good shot at doing well.

The course was pretty nice. It had 8 corners but the pavement was pretty good. There were not to many obstacles to get in the way.

Before my warm up I had a chance to meet and talk with Mr. Steve Johnson (President of USA Cycling). It was really cool talking to him and I was totally ready to get out and race after talking with him.

The women's 1,2,3 field was much smaller with only 5 riders but the women 4's were out in full force with close to 15 riders.

About 3 laps into the race a break of three 1,2,3's got off the front. I tried to bridge but wasn't able to. I settled into the second group with about 7 riders and tried to get an organized chase going. The other girl in my category was also in this group.

I could see the leaders get further and further away. They eventually had a 1 minute gap and I decided to settle in and wait for the sprint. With 3 laps to go we were caught by one lone leader. It was suddenly down to 2 laps to go. I moved up and made sure I was ready for the sprint. As we came past the finish on the final lap I could see a couple women advancing on my right. I gunned it and managed to gap the field. I was caught by two girls just before the second to last corner but the cat 3 was still about 7 seconds back.

I ended up getting 4th overall. I was not happy about missing the break but after this past weekend I feel like I will soon get my finishes down. It was definitely a good learning weekend and I look forward to the 4 crits in Miami next weekend.

ride safe,

ciao

Tampa Twilight Crit

I was really excited for the Tampa twilight Crit. We have not had a night race in a while so I was super stoked for this one.

I started off with the juniors race. The officials gave us an easy lap so we could see the course. It was flat and technical. With 6 corners, cobbles, and a zig-zag (the zig zag was on a one lane, brick road, in the shape of a loose Z.) it was a very intense course.

I got a good start position and settled into about 5th wheel. The race started fast but my legs felt great. The field was coming up on the second to last corner. We made it through the zig-zag and were entering the 90 degree turn.

The guy in front of me overshot the corner. The small straight away between the second to last and last corner was barricaded off to allow traffic to get through. He clipped one of the barricades and went down hard. His bike slid in front of me and before I knew it I was sliding on my back watching the field race by.

ALL CLEAR!! I jumped up and tested everything out. My bike was fine and I escaped with only a couple small scrapes. I rolled to the pits and jumped back in. I was very stiff after the crash and ended up moving from group to group off the back of the field. I was happy to finish and hoped for a better second race.

The women 1,2,3 raced with the masters 35+ men. I had bent my derailleur hanger in the crash but the mechanics in the pits helped me out and I was back in business. The field was HUGE. They took off really fast. I hung in for about 3 laps then blew. It ended up a repeat of my juniors race and I spent the remainder of my race with little splinter groups.

I finished 7th overall but was rather bummed with the outcome. It was definitely some good training though and I am now super motivated for my next race (Webster Roubaix). It is the hardest RR course in FL with a 3 mi. dirt section. The women will once again with the 35+ men and I can't wait.

Ride Safe!!

ciao

Swamp Classic - Gainesville Crit

After the races last weekend I was stoked to get out and race again. All of the women categories were together. I have done this race several times. There is a downhill right before the finishing up hill and a small brick section after the first and second turn. There were a couple little bumps around the course but for the most part it's a nice course.

This race brought out all the big names, Tina Elliot, Rebecca Larson, Jackie Kurth and Jackie Crowell. It promised to be a good race.

The first lap was boring. We came around to the finish and an attack went. It was quickly chased down. Attacks were going and getting caught. It was fast. The hill wasn't really bad but about 10 laps into it I started cramping. It was a "side stitch". I was suffering. After 2 laps though, it was gone. YES!!!! I was back in my game.

There was a small group of 2 off the front. Tina Elliot and another lady. They had about a 7-9 second gap on the field. No one was working together. I glued myself to Rebecca Larsons wheel. She went..I went. Several times I found myself off the front with 5-6 other ladies but no one was willing to work.

We finally caught the break. We slowed down to 12 mi. Team Type 1 had two riders in the field. They were attacking and countering. Nothing else was sticking.

3 laps to go: I was on Rebecca's wheel. It was getting faster. Coming around to start 2 laps to go a rider attacked. Once we caught her it slowed down again. 1 to go! Rebecca attacked. I followed and ended up 3rd wheel. The group swelled. I blew up with about 1/2 lap to go. I ended up a couple second off the back and finished 11th.

It was a good race for me. It was fast and hard but I am in pretty good shape so far. I still need to work on my finishes but I still have alot of racing ahead of me.

Next weekend is Dade City. The road race is hilly and the crit course is very technical.

Ciao

Spring Fling of Cycling - First race of 09

After a long off season it’s great to finally start the race season. I had kicked off the year with a couple training crits but now it was time for the real thing.

The Jan 31-Feb 01 weekend was the "Spring Fling of Cycling" with a circuit on Saturday and a long road race on Sunday.

On Saturday all the women raced with the masters 55+. The course was flat with 3 hard corners. The women pro,1,2,3 only had 2 riders, including myself. The majority of our field was masters.
From the gun a masters rider punched it. I followed but the group quickly settled in behind us. The rest of the race was fairly uneventful. There were a couple attacks and a prime. I tried to stay at the front for the entire race, and for the most part I did manage to stay up there.

The last 2 laps were fast. I was 3rd wheel at the beginning of the second to last lap. We were surged by the field. I ended up blowing myself up and finished behind the field.

The second day was a 56 mi road race. The women1,2,3 raced with the 35+ men. We had a much better showing than the day before. We ended up with about 10 women at the start of the race. I was feeling pretty good. My plan of attack, race smart and hang in.

The first lap I tried to stay near the front and memorize the course. After the first right turn about 2 mi from the start there was a barely paved, bumpy road. It was about a mile long. The rest of the course was nice though. It had a couple little rollers and a nice descent. About 1.5 mi from the finish there was a nice little hill. It wasn't really bad though. Just enough to make your legs hurt.

Lap 2. I was feeling good. I was about mid pack. When we came around that first right turn someone slid out and took about 3 or 4 other riders down. I skidded but didn’t slide out. I sprinted and got back into the field. The crash had taken down one of the stronger women. I looked around there was only 5 or so women in the field. "Keep Going"

I didn't know how many laps we had in our race. Around half way through the 3rd lap I asked a guy I knew...he said "oh about 2 more"
"that’s not so bad...I can make that, easy" so I thought. As we came around the finish "4 laps remaining" HA! I still felt pretty good. I tossed my empty bottle. Half way there.

The fourth lap was not spectacular. A couple attacks and I got a feed, but nothing of major note.

On the fifth lap there was an attack. It turned out to be the winning break...the next two laps were hard. I was getting tired. I had eaten all my cliff shots and felt low on energy. There was a crash half way through the lap. A guy blew his tire and took out 3 other guys.

Half Lap to go: I could feel it at the top of my calves. It was my muscles quivering. I pushed it aside. It was down to me and one other girl in the main field and one girl off the front. My calves seemed to tremble every time I got out of the saddle.

The pro 1,2 field was about to catch us with 3 miles to go. I hoped it might slow it down a bit. Nope. We hit the final hill. I couldn't pedal anymore. I paced myself. The field was right there. Just not close enough... I ended up getting 3rd and finishing a minute or two behind the field. It was a hard and fast race. It was a confidence boost to know I could hang with the 35+. I just got to get those finishes down.

My next race is the Gainesville crit. All the women race together and this race always bring out the big guns. It should be a good one.

ciao

Ocala Road Races - Last Race Weekend Of the Year

Well the road racing season has come to an end. We kicked off the end of the year with fun races and memories to keep the competitive juices flowing until next season.

We woke up at 4:30 and arrived at the race while it was still dark. While groggily walking through the field where we parked I couldn't help but wonder if I was stepping in grass or cow pies. Luckily it was grass.

After a good warm up I was really excited to race. My legs felt great and I couldn't wait to start.

The women 1,2,3 raced with the 55+ men, and the women cat 4. We did 2 laps on the 12 mi course. The course was rolling with no major hills.

And we're off: The first lap was not so eventful. There were a couple attacks but nothing got away. Tina Elliot and Katie DeGoursey ( the two power houses of the weekend ) controlled the field. I made one attack while trying to bridge a gap. I got chased by Tina and was shuffled back into the field.

While we came around to complete the first lap Katie attacked at the base of the final hill. A masters rider in front of me started to react and I followed him. He did a hard pull then rotated. I accelerated and pulled hard over the top of the hill. I flicked my elbow and looked around but no one was there. I put my head down and hammered down the hill. I had closed the gap to about 50 meters but then she looked back and picked up the pace. I matched her for a little bit but I couldn't close the gap. I let up and was soon caught by the field.

We caught Katie about 2 mi later. For the next 7 mi attacks went but nothing stuck. I felt pretty good but I wasn't sure how I would do on the down hill finish.

We came up to around 2 mi to go. Elizabeth Morse Hill and Tina had moved up to the front and I tried to follow. As we came up to the final hill I was 4th wheel behind Elizabeth. All the riders behind us were starting to get antsy and trying to move up. I had good positioning for the sprint but couldn't match the speed. I ended up getting swarmed and finished towards the back of the pack.

I had really good legs and was stoked for the next race. While driving home I decided to do the juniors race in addition to the womens race.

Bright and early at 4:30 again. This time I was a little more sleepy. Which showed in the fact that I managed to forget the already filled water bottle in the fridge. I had to bum a bottle off a friend at the race (Thanks Will!!!!).

We had a 12 mi flat course today. A couple of the corners were sketchy but for the most part the roads were pretty decent. It was in the shape of a lollipop so we only passed the start line at the start and the finish. The juniors race had 1 lap and the womens/masters 55+ race had 2 laps.

Junior Race: After some trash talking at the line from some guys I usually train with I was pumped up for the race. The group was smaller than normal. The big team from Miami had decided to skip the race so the group had abut 10 riders missing. This included some of the fastest juniors.

Right from the gun team Colivita set the pace. With 3 riders they were the only "team" in our race. Everyone followed and the group stayed together. A couple of the 17-18 riders went to the front and picked up the pace. I stayed at the back and marked the wheel I wanted, Steven Ruznak. He wins just about all the junior races and is wicked strong.

About 6 mi into the race, one of the 17-18 riders attacked and got a good sized gap. Right about then a 15-16 Colivita rider got a flat.

The field started to rotate and was trying to pull back the lone leader who had about a 20 sec gap. I got shuffled to the front and did a hard pull. I pulled off after 30 sec and about 1 min later it as "groupo compacto".

For the next 3 mi we kept a steady tempo but we were all looking around to see who would make the next move. It came from a 17-18 rider. No one really responded and soon he had a good sized gap. A chase started to organize but it wasn't very effective. Soon people started to counter to try bridge the gap. Soon the 4 17-18 riders were off the front and it was down to myself and 4 other 15-16's.

Our pace soon slowed to about 15 mph. I was getting bored and decided it would be fun to do a couple attacks to open my legs. I would get a gap but they pulled me back. With about 3 mi to go I decided to go back to marking Steven's wheel. I managed to take it from 2 other riders who were starting to bump for it. I sat on Steven's wheel until we came to the final corner and I sat up.

It was a fun race and a good warm up. It's always fun to go out and beat up on the boys a little. ;-P

The womens race started soon after my first race ended. We had sat at the line for about 10 minutes and my legs had tightened up a little bit. About 5 min into the race my legs had loosened up again. For the first lap I marked Katie and Tina's wheels. I managed to get off the front with Katie once but Tina had soon chased us down.

The rest of the first lap was fairly uneventful. A couple attacks but nothing stuck.

About 2 mi into the first lap Katie attacked and Tina followed. No one reacted and I had gotten myself boxed in. By the time the field reacted they were a little ways up the road. The women wouldn't get together and start a chase and the two leaders were getting further and further away.

In the next mile there were many attacks by masters riders. I followed most of them in hopes catching the leaders, but no luck. Everything got pulled back.

After that about 5-7 masters riders went to the front and set the pace. They kept it at around 25 mph.

As we came up to the turn that would take us back to the start line a spectator yelled that the leaders had 1'30" on the field. I started to set up for the sprint. A few women had gone to the front and picked up the pace. I found my way to Elizabeth's wheel and was glued to it.

In the last 1 1/2 mi I started to cramp. I took a gel in a frantic attempt to get fuel to my legs. We came up to the final corner but there was a car in the inside. Most of the field hit the brakes and I ended up making an awkward turn and tried to sprint but my legs tightened up. I sat down and tried to hammer to the line. I ended up getting around 6th.

Over all it was a great weekend of racing. I'm already looking forward to next years season and look forward to hopefully racing some cyclocross during the off season.

Thanks for reading!

Ciao