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

Pinellas Park Circuit and St. Joseph Road Race

Well after a long period of hard training after nationals, Florida racing has finally started up again. We kicked the fall season off with a circuit race and a road race.

Saturday's circuit race was late in the afternoon. I was really excited to finally get out and race again. The women pro,1,2,3 raced with the women cat 4 and the masters 55+. It was a 40 minute race and it was promising to be fast. The course was flat with only 3 sharp corners and mostly wide bends. After the first corner was a long straight-away with a tailwind.

After a good warm up I was ready to race. My legs felt good and I was just excited to be there.

I got a good start. I excelled to the front. I didn't want to be on the front so I started to slide back into the field. oops, to far. I found myself near the back. We had a solid yellow line rule the entire course and with our field I found it difficult to move up.

The race was basically the same for the entire race. It was fast but the group stayed together.

On the last lap a masters rider broke away and held it to the line. The field got antsy and very sketch. Riders were bumping and swerving everywhere. I think we had like 5 near crashes in the last mile. I had bad positioning and got boxed in during the sprint. I felt bad about how I had finished but during the race I had great legs and I was looking forward to the road race the next day.

After a good nights sleep and a nap in the car, I was ready for the race.

The course was kind of in the middle of no-where. It was a rolling course and the only "big" hill was 200 meters before the start/finish. We did 2 laps on the 16.5 mi course.

I warmed up with Jackie Kurth (a close friend of mine and a really strong rider). We rode the finishing hill a couple times and did some hard efforts.

They staged us right behind the stage and when they said go half of the field stopped at the line when they were not supposed to. I made it around and up to the lead riders but soon the field was all together.

For most of the first lap we just kept a steady tempo. There were a couple of attacks but nothing stuck. As we came around to go up the finishing hill the first time I moved to the front. My legs had felt good so far but I wasn't sure how I would do on the hill.

I was setting the pace up the hill with 2 other riders so we blocked the entire right lane. Jackie Crowell slid through a little gap and attacked (she is u23 rider and Jackie Kurths Teammate). I slid over blocking the only route up to the front. After we crested the hill I was very happy. My legs had felt great and I was still at the front of the field.

For the next 3 mi Jackie stayed off the front. She was eventually pulled back by a couple masters riders.

Then the games started. Some masters started attacking but they were pulled back. I tried to stay near the front. About 7 mi from the finish I did a little attack. I brought along a masters rider but we weren't working together and went back to the field (go figure he went on to win the entire race).

I settle back into the field and prepped for the sprint. I was sitting on Jackie Kurths wheel and felt good. A 55+ rider started to move up through the field and I used him as a free ride to the front.

1 1/2 mi from the line. The men were controlling the front and I was about 5th wheel. As we made the final descent I was swarmed as the guy in front of me sat up. I got gapped and came in a little behind the main field in 9th place.

I felt really good about my racing. I had great legs and fairly solid racing. I need a little tune up in my race skills but all in all I had a great weekend of racing.

This upcoming weekend I have a crit and road race and the weekend after is the final race weekend of the year. I'm totally stoked and cant wait for the last races.

ciao

Nationals

Last week we had Junior Nationals in Orange County, California. We Flew in on Monday and went out for an easy ride. The rest of the team got in later that night.

On Tuesday the entire team went out on a pre race ride on the TT course and we also had packet pickup over by Disney.

Day 1 of nationals racing was the time trail. Team swift had riders racing all day.
Starting with me at 11:30 and ending with Stanley at 3. I woke up early and was pumped up and ready to get out and race. After breakfast Coach Laura and I rode over to the course to find my dad (he had run out to the local Wal-Mart to buy a tent because it was scorching hot and no shade).

This is my first year in 15-16 so it’s also my first year of doing 20 k. The course was actually just short of 20 at 18k. The first 3 miles was uphill. We started on a bike trail and merged onto the road. The only sketchy part of the course was on the trail. There was a sharp left turn with a bump where the trail narrowed from about 1 1/2 lanes to 1/2 a lane.

The big hill was a real grinder. It was the make or break of the race but after you crested the hill it was basically all downhill to the turn around and an easier hill to the finish.

I started at 11:33. I was mid way in the 15-16 girls and the last of the 15 year old to start. I was happy with my position and was ready to get out on the road. A few deep breaths at the start and then I was off. After about 30seconds I could just see my 30sec girl up the road. I was closing in and that got me going a little faster. I caught her just before the tunnel that leads to the sharp left.

Once I had merged onto the road I started the hardest part of the course, the long grind up to the top of the hill. I was caught by a girl half way up the hill. I paced off her for a little but she was flying. Finally I crested the hill. I could see another girl in front of me. After a little descent I flew by the finish. Only about 6 miles left.

Right before the turn around I was caught by Coryn Rivera and then I caught another girl. I caught my last rider right after the turn around. There were a couple girls that caught me so I was able to use them to pace off of for a little while.
After powering up the final hill I could see the 500 meters to go. After that the race went by quickly. I ran a 36:59 and got 7th overall.

Team Swift had two riders on the podium in the TT. Ryan Eastman placed 5th in the 15-16men and Stanley Goto got 4th in the 10-12men.

Thursday was the Crit. It was in the Angels Stadium parking lot. The course was dead flat. It was made up of mostly bends and not really sharp corners. There as a 180 about 500 meters from the finish. That was where all the crashes happened.

We had 20 girls in our race. As we waited at the line the announcers told us all the top riders from the TT. I knew them all and had raced against them before.

Right from the gun there was an attack. I had a bad start and a bit of a scare but once I got clipped in I was back into the front of the field. Throughout the race there were many attacks. Coryn Rivera and Katie Antonneau had placed 1-2 in the TT and we all looked to them to cover the moves. By the time that we had reached 4 laps to go Katie and Coryn looked tired. Kendall Ryan (4th in the TT) attacked. She got a gap and no one responded. As we came around with 2 laps to go her gap was still around 30 sec. We weren't closing. Jessica Prinner (3rd in the TT) attacked as we came around for the bell lap. She got a gap but people started chasing when she went.

As we came around to the final corner and went through the 180 Coryn hit the barricade and flatter her wheel. Then an attack went. We still had two riders off the front so we were sprinting for 3rd. As we rounded the final bend I was in fifth. Everyone was holding their position but a girl snuck in on the outside and nudged me out of 5th into 6th.

Team Swift got 1 podium (Ryan Eastman 3rd in the 15-16) and two top 10 (Stanley Goto 9th in the 10-12 and myself 6th). Also Lindsay Meyers (Team Dewar's and former Swiftie) got 5th in the Women U23.

The next day was the RR and my last chance for podium this year. I felt good at the start and was ready to go. The course was hilly but it was a lot easier than the years past. It was a little over 4mi. The women 15-16 had 7 laps (56km). From the start it was downhill, there was a steep, little uphill as we entered into a school on the back side of the course. It leveled out but then kicked back up again as we exited the school. We passed the start/finish and then went down a roughly 1mi long descent, after 180 at the bottom and it was back up to the start.

On the first lap we all stayed together. Everyone was looking around to see who would launch the first attack. Half way through the second lap Coryn attacked. Everyone followed but she had a gap. It split the field up. I was in the first chase group on the road with 3 other riders. We started a pace line trying to reel Coryn back. We were caught by a few other riders. Our group now had 7 or 8 riders and we were all trying to get it organized to catch the leader.

We chased for a couple laps. At the 180 she was 30 meters away. I sprinted out of the corner and was able to bridge up without dragging other riders up. We didn't work together and were quickly caught. Coryn attacked again. Katie reacted first and I followed. We gapped the field and pulled away. I was struggling to hang on her wheel up the hill. Once we crested the hill I tried to put in solid pulls. Katie ended up being the work force that brought us back up. I was tired.

We bridge up to Rivera just as we entered the school. I put in a few pulls but dropped on the first hill. It was the beginning of a long time trial. What was left of the peloton was chasing me. It started out as 5 riders and as the race went on slimmed down to 2.

The 2 riders caught me with 2 laps to go at the top of the finishing hill. Almost at once they started attacking. I was tired and just tried to follow. We stayed together through the school but when we reached the next hill they attacked again and I dropped.

I could see them pull away as I made the descent. After the turn around I could see that I still had a good sized gap on 6th place. I put my head down and grinded up the hill.

1 lap to go! I was pressing on. I found a little bit more energy in my legs. I made it through the school and over the hill one last time. Just 1 more hill. I didn't know how much of a gap that I had on 6th. I was praying that she wouldn't catch me. Once I made it to the 180 and had gone a little ways I still didn't see her come around and I could now relax a little. I had made it on the podium. The final grind to the finish hurt. I was very tired and very happy at the finish. I was excited for my first podium of the 2008 nationals.

Team Swift had another top 10 finish from Stanley Goto and a 15th from Joey in the 13-14 men. Ryan crashed out in the first lap and broke his collar bone. Lindsay Meyers went on to get 2nd in her race on Saturday and Tyler got 11th in his race on Sunday. Awesome racing from Team Swift (and Dewar's)!!!

A special thanks to Mr. Goto and Mr. Scott. They got me some cold water on my first feed in the road race. Also to Coach Laura, her advice is awesome!!! And of course to dad! He got me to nationals, drove me around, and took care of me at the races.

This year I'm going to do more races in the Fall Season. Maybe even a little cyclocross. I don't know when my next race is but I’m look forward to the rest of the season. I'll have pictured from nationals up soon.

Thanks for reading,

Ciao

Writing from SoCal

I'm sitting in a hotel room watching the xgames just anticipating tomorrow. Tomorrow is day 1 of junior nationals. We are kicking it off with a 18k time trial. I started this morning with a pre ride on the TT course with the team (Ethan, Ryan, Tyler, Lynsey, Joey, Stanley, Coach Laura, and all the parents). The course is awesome. It isn't crazy hilly but its got a couple good grinders in it. I'm totally stoked to get out and race.

Thusday is the Crit and Friday is the Road race. I'll have updates posted after the races!

Thanks for reading

ciao

pitures from Gwinnett

The womens1,2,3 field cresting the first hill at Stage 1



flying through the corners



Glued to Rebecca's Wheel



Sprint finish Stage 2 (criterium)



Sneaking in for 3rd



Criterium Podium



Road Race Stage 3



Off the front during the road race



Women 1-4 start for the circuit (final stage)



off the front during the circuit

Gwinnett Final Stage

Yesterday was the last race in the Gwinnett stage race. It was a circuit race on a rolling course. There were no big hills but a couple of rollers that got painful after a while.

The women 1,2,3 raced with the women3-4. We had 6 laps on the 2 mile course which equaled about 50 minutes. At the start of the race the officials called all of the 3-4 to the front of the field because their race was faster than ours in Saturdays RR.

At the start of the race nothing major was happening. A couple small attacks but everything was being pulled back. On the second lap Rebecca Larson attacked. I followed on her wheel and we were able to bridge up to a rider that had about a 20 sec. lead on the field. I was in the break for a little bit, but then wasn't able to hold with the pace.

Once the field came around I dropped back in. They were chasing hard but no one was willing to get organized and work. There was a pace line going with me and two other girls as we tried to bring the break back. An attack went that managed to make it up to the break.

About 5 minutes later another attack went from team Kenda. I followed. We took 1 other rider along and caught up with 1 other girl who was trying to bridge up to the leading group of 3 that was now about 25-30 seconds up the road.

Our little group was just off the front of the field. The Kenda girl and I were rotating but the two other girls were to tired to pull. I was kind of tired but maybe it was just the excitement of being off the front that gave my legs a little bit more energy to push on.

1 lap to go! It took all of us by surprise. We hadn't heard them count down laps and the field was charging up behind us. The two other riders made a couple pulls but we started to get unorganized. Halfway through the last lap the field caught us. I looked around for the right wheel to follow into the sprint. I found my way to the girl that had finished second in the crit. I knew she was the strongest sprinter in the field.

As we rounded the final corner Kenda was leading. I was fourth wheel. I don't think that many of the girls actually knew that it was the final lap, but the girl in front of me finally jumped with about 50 meters to go. Looking back I should have tried to jump her, because she ended up beating me in the sprint. I finished second in the field sprint and 4th over all.

This weekend was really good for me. I got a 3rd,4th,7th, and 8th and finished 5th in the GC. It was great to get out and race one last time before nationals.

We leave for Cali next Monday and I race Wednesday-Friday. I'm very excited for nationals. Also there is a TT this Tuesday at the OIA. I'll have updates as the races come around.

Thanks for reading

Ciao

Gwinnett Stages 1-3

Well its been a while since my last race so I was totally pumped to get out and race this weekend in GA. My dad, my sister, and I traveled up to GA on Wednesday for the start of the Gwinnett stage race. Its a 4 day stage race that consists of a crit, a road race, and 2 circuits. I decided to race the womens 1,2,3 instead of the women 3,4. And I'm glad I did. Its been hard but I've had alot of fun so far.

I don't have much to say about Thursdays race. It was a circuit race on the Road Atlanta race course. Right after the start/finish line was a killer hill that wasn't as long the one on the Luguna Seca course at Sea Otter that I did last year. But it was alot steeper. We had a 6 lap race. The course was hilly without a single "flat" section.

We had 8 ladies in our race and all of which were registered for the GC. A couple attacks happened in the first few laps but everything was pulled back. I don't know where my head was during the race because I didn't race as smart as I could have. I ended up blowing on the big hill and was caught by 8th place on the road. When she flew past me on one of the descents she didn't know that I had hopped onto her wheel. Without looking she turned around and spit =/ it definitely took me by surprise and I had to whip my glasses off.

It came down to a sprint between us. I led it out hoping to beat her to the line but she came around me and I ended up getting last. I wasn't to happy and I was ready to come out to the crit the next day and avenge myself.

The crit the next day was supposedly flat...but in actuality it was rather hilly for a crit. The start finish was mid way up a hill that basically carried around to the back side of the course. There was a steep descent and then a right hand corner into a sharp right into a quick left and after a small descent about 50feet uphill to the finish.

The womens 1,2,3 were on the course at the same time as the women 3,4. We had more girls show up. Including power house Rebecca Larson. I knew what wheel I wanted.

our race was 45 minutes long including 5 laps to go. For the first few laps nothing really happened. There was one small attack but it was quickly shut down by the field. Then BAM Rebecca attacked. Everyone reacted but she still had a gap. I sat and watched. I wanted to race smart today so I tried to keep my nose out of the wind. She was eventually reeled in 2 laps later.

For about 10 minute nothing happened. We wandered around the course waiting for the next move. Then Rebecca went again. This time she was chased and caught fairly quickly. When she integrated back into the field I hopped on her wheel and refused to leave it.

For the next 20 minutes or so nothing exciting happened. There were maybe a few attacks but nothing stuck. I was glued to Rebecca's wheel. With 4 laps to go people started to get antsy. A couple accelerations but no major attacks. Finally we made it to the final lap. I wasn't on Rebecca's wheel but there was only one rider between us. I came down the hill and through the final corners in fourth position. Rebecca led out the sprint. We passed on rider during the sprint but other than that no one passed each other.

I finished 3rd about 1 bike length behind Rebecca. It was my best finish of the year and one of my best ever womens 1,2,3 finishes. I was totally stoked for the Circuit the next day.

Today's race was hilly. There was a KOM on the second lap and 2 hills that made your legs scream. They had the women 1,2,3 on our own today with the women 3,4 2 minutes behind us.

The first lap was really boring. There were no attacks and nothing exciting that happened. just after beginning our second lap we were caught by the women 3,4 field. After being neutralized for several minutes we were allowed to race again. We caught the 3,4 field a couple minutes later and were allowed to pass. When the KOM came around I got 4th and was just off the back of the lead group of 3 riders. I dragged myself up to them and tried to recover.

Lap 3: On the first big hill a Kenda rider started to pull away from the field. I accelerated and jumped onto her wheel. She was a good climber and I was struggling on her wheel. But I wouldn't drop off and go back to the field. She was really cool and gave me a chance to recover and allowed me to pull through when it had leveled out a little. We stayed off the front for nearly a full lap until we got caught by the 3 men which caused all sorts of confusion and allowed the field to catch us again =P

the fourth lap went by with a couple small attacks on the hills but nothing got more than 15 seconds. finally we came around to our final lap. i was pumped. I was a little tired but I felt like I accomplished alot just being able to race hard and aggressive in the field.

On the final hill (a 1 mile climb about about 1 miles away from the finish) the attacks started flying. It was really hard and I started to bonk. About 1000 meters from the finish on the final hill I popped and died. I struggled to the line and gave a little sprint to the line.

Tomorrow is a circuit race and I am very excited. With nationals a couple weeks away I am very excited to be racing well.

We drive home tomorrow so I'll prob have an update for you guys on Monday about how tomorrows race goes. I also have pictures that I will post of the weekends races but now its time to watch the Tour (we jsut realized that we get it in our hotel room).

thanks for reading!

ciao

More Kentucky Pics

Here are some more pics of the Swifties in Kentucky (courtesy of Tyler Brandt and his dad Mr. Eric)

Enjoy!



My sprint finish in the RR for 6th



Ryan and I before the RR



Tyler, Will, and I after our RR



Team picture after all the races are done

As of right now I'm in Georgia chillaxing before the first race of the Gwinnett stage race. I have a curcuit race tonight on a race track. Its going to be alot of fun and I am totaly stocked!!!!!! I'll have race reports up soon.

Thanks for Reading,

Ciao

Body Building Show

So one of the timeless feuds is "my car is faster than your car" or "my dad is stronger than your dad". Now I can't help with those arguments, but here is one I can settle...

My MOM is stronger than your mom!





My mom competed in her first body building show this past Saturday. After about a year of intense training and 5 months of strict dieting she was finally ready for her first show. She stormed her way to a second place finish. It was funny waiting for her to go up on stage because usually I get nervous for myself at the start of a race...but this time I was nervous for my mom.

WAY TO GO MOM!

Thanks for Reading!!!!!

Ciao

Kentucky Tour of the Red River Gorge

Ryan on the attack in the 15-16 crit



Cresting the hill in the Womens Open Crit

After camp we headed up to Kentucky for a weekend of racing. We decided to go up and do the Tour of the Red River Gorge. For the 17-18 juniors it was a world qualifier race but since I'm still 15-16 I raced the women's open instead of juniors.

I was tired from a week of non stop riding but I was very excited to get out and race. There was a crit on Saturday and a Road Race on Sunday. Tyler, Ryan, and Ethan came out from Cali to race here and then head over to the Tour of Ohio. Its always great to see Team Swift so I was pretty excited.

The crit races didn't start until the afternoon because of the Timetrial in the morning so I got to sleep in and take it easy.

The course was crazy. It was in a local high school parking lot and had 10 corners. It was basically a hill and a descent with a ton of corners thrown in. The start/finish was at the top and then you descend and whip around the corners. After making a 180 and a couple 90, there was a small hill, then the final corner, and then 40 meters to the finish.

Ryan raced about 1 1/2 hours before me and he ended up crashing but getting back in and finishing second.

I was pretty nervous at the start. We had about 14 ladies in our race. As we sat at the line I decided that I didn't want to just ride in the group and have all the girls there and have the race come to a sprint. If I had done that then maybe I could have finished a couple places higher but this course wasn't made for a field. I attacked from the line and bombed the descent. I whipped around the corners and tried to keep as much speed as possible. The group ended up splitting and 2 riders were off the front with me. They pulled by me on the hill and I tried to follow but the moment I stood up my legs finally felt tired. I ended up dropping off the pace and slid back to 6th position on the road.

The rest of the race went by without anything exciting happening. With 2 laps to go I was with another lady and we were still racing for 6th place. We were almost caught by the leader but got through without getting lapped. I led through the last lap and hammered on the final hill. I sprinted out of the final corner and almost won the sprint with she got me by a few inches. I wasn't to happy and was out for vengeance the next day.

The next morning I felt a little tired but I was pumped up for the race. The start/finish for the RR was basically at the same location as the crit so we were able to warm up on the crit course. It was really foggy so the officials delayed all the races for an hour to let the fog lift.

It was finally time for the women to start. We set off at a break necking speed of around 15 mph ;). No one was in a rush to start racing so for the first 16 miles it was basically a group ride. About 17 miles into the ride the two ladies pulling sat up and yelled out asking if anyone had to use the bathroom...now I've never stopped in the middle of a race and taken a pee, but the whole field pulled over and stopped at the side of the road...I was totally bewildered as to why they had to stop in the middle of the race but I guess there is always a first time for everything.

We started up again and were about 4 miles from the first climb. When we hit the hill the pace immediately went up. One rider went to the front and just hammered. Riders were shelling off the back left and right. Soon the main field had widdled down to a group of 5. About 100 meters from the top I popped and found myself with another lady. She pulled through and started drilling it in the tunnel (the tunnel was about 50 meters long and one lane wide. It was pitch black and rather wet). As we crested the hill we could still see the field. Her and I took turns pulling as we bombed the descent trying to catch back onto the field. We caught back on just as the descent ended. We had another 12 miles until the next big climb so there was a little time to recover.

A few attacks went on the little rollers that led up to the next climb but nothing stuck. I was tired by the time that we reached the last major hill. My hope was that where ever I was after the climb I would have someone to ride with. About 50 meters into the climb the grade kicked up and it became like a never ending sugar loaf. I ended up dropped and could just see another girl up the road. She was like my carrot that kept me going.

I caught up to her at the top of the hill. There wasn't a real descent for a while so we struggled up the little rollers. Right after the feed zone we were caught by another girl. I was rather happy to have anther set of legs to help pull and a little bit of extra recovery time. We rotated at a steady tempo for the last 20 miles. No one attacked and we didn't add any rider to our little group of 3.

I was pretty tired as we reached the end of the ride. I had to push myself to take my pull and I was ready for the race to be over. About 2 miles out we reached a stop light and a traffic back up. The corner marshal funneled us through a gas station parking lot and the girl that was on the front attacked. I was last wheel because I had just finished my pull. There was a small gap and the other lady wasn't closing it down. I stood up and hammered to catch back on. My legs now screamed for me to stop. I was very tired and it was time for the race to be over. We made the final turn which meant 1 mile to go.

I was at the back and was waiting for the last little bend and the first glimpse of the finish line to attack. I finally saw it and then drilled it. I ended up getting second in our sprint and 6th overall.

Team Swift had a good day of racing. Ryan got 3rd in the 15-16, Tyler finished 21st and Ethan finished 31st in the 17-18.

All in all it was a great weekend. It was great to see teammates and it was alot of fun to race.

Florida has a pretty long down time without any racing so I think my next race is going to be in about a month in Georgia.

Thanks for reading!

Ciao

Junior South East Regional Camp

Thats alot of bikes...

This past week I have been in Greenville, South Carolina at the Junior South East Regional Camp.

After driving all day Saturday and part of Sunday morning we were finally at Furman University. After checking in and getting all of our stuff up to the dorms (OK so it was mostly my stuff...I packed prepared for anything and everything;-)we got geared up for our first ride at camp. It was just an easy 2 hour social ride to get to know everyone. There were 35 juniors at the camp 4 of which were girls and 50% of all the riders were from FL. They threatened to send all the Florida riders to band camp because we seem to be taking over.

After the ride we had 20 minutes to shower and get downstairs to meet for dinner. Four girls + 1 shower = 1 big rush. After dinner we went to a class room for our first class. We got a briefing on the camp schedules, rules, and pointers. After social hour it was time for bed.

The beds were basically springs with a little padding, and the pillows were rather hard, but after a week of hard riding I was amazed at how comfortable that bed got.

The next morning my roomie (Jackie Kurth ) and I along with the rest of the camp were surprised by the absence of the cow bell that had become Rusty's (one of the ride leaders) trade marks for waking us up. Instead he woke us up by banging a tennis shoe on our doors.

After breakfast we headed out to an empty parking lot and started our skills and drills ride. We practiced sprinting through halved tennis balls about 6 inches apart, bunny hopping over a 1x4, and counter steering. The sprinting was alot of fun and after everyone had gone through about 6 times they added water bottles to the right side. It was funny how before most everyone was able to sprint through without hitting the tennis balls but once the water bottles were there we all started veering towards the tennis balls on the left.

After lunch we had another ride. It was just a tempo ride around Greenville. We got to see where we would be doing some of our TT's. After dinner and class, I was finally able to see the field games in action. I had heard alot about "Knock Down" (now known as "Last Man Standing") all year and I was very excited to do it. First we had 30 minutes of bumping drills and then it was time for last man standing. It deffinately lived up to the hype and I really enjoyed this drill.

We all rode around in a circle (created but the coaches) and bumped, track standed, and generally had fun. I never won a game but it was always fun to have a chance to take on one of the guys.

Tuesday was the start of our TT's. This morning Rusty had gotten his cow bell back and was banging it against the doors very loudly.

After breakfast we set out to our doom. Not really but Cesar's head is a pretty big hill. Our first TT was 1.2 miles long. Andy Baker was hanging out at about the halfway point so we were all very happy to see him because it meant we were almost there. After we finished the first TT we turned around and headed back down to the start line. Once we came back down the start order didn't matter so I had power house Micheal Stone chasing me. Once I started I settled into my groove and was just focusing on each pedal stroke. When Micheal passed me I tried to pace off him but he was flying up the hill. Around every corner I was hoping to see the finish. When I finally saw Bob Tyler ( one of the coaches ) I was very happy. I shifted to a harder gear and put my head down. I was finally done with the uphill TT's. After the timetrials we climbed the rest of the way up to the top of Cesar's head to the lookout point for lunch. The view was absolutely amazing. After about a 20 mile ride back home it was time for a quick shower and much needed dinner. Then it was on to our normal night routine. Class, Field Games and then bed. The bed had actually gotten alot more comfortable since the previous night. Funny how that happens.

Wednesday started with Rusty and his cow bell. Followed by breakfast and then our first ride of the day. We rode out about 15 miles to the start of our long TT. It was fairly flat with a few rollers. At the start of the week we were told that of the 25 times that the coaches had ridden out there, 21 times had been with a tail wind. But with today's ride it was still just 21 times with a tail wind. Mother nature threw a curve ball at us and we were stuck with a brutal head wind. Finally it was time for me to start. I was focused and ready to race. I took off and immediately settled into my zone. I started counting to the rhythm of my breathing, but honestly I don't think I ever get past 50 before I loose count and start repeating the same numbers. I was in my zone and going all out. The head wind made it absolutely miserable out there. As I rounded the final corner I could see the finish about 100 meters away at the bottom of the final descent. I hammered and drilled it to the line. After everyone had finished we rolled back to the dorms for a quick shower and lunch before heading out on the rode again. After about 1 1/2 hrs of skills and drills in the parking lot it was finally time to get back to the dorms for a little R&R. But not for to long of course. After the usual dinner, class, and knock down it was time for a good nights sleep. Our thin padding on springs felt as comfortable as a pillow top mattress to me.

The last full day of camp was here in no time. With 4x2mi tt's and then a 90 mile ride, it was going to be a long day. I was looking forwards to the famed sticky buns that awaited us at the local bakery where we stop half way through the ride. I had also heard much about them and apparently they are the best. It took us about 45 minutes to get out to the TT course. It was mostly down hill with a couple small rollers and a false flat. After the first one I had figured out how to gauge my effort to get the best time. I continued to feel faster and faster with each interval. The last one was just pure pain. It hurt so badly but it actually felt pretty good. After we had all finished our last tt we were very happy that we had finished all of our hard efforts for the week. Seventy miles and 1 sticky bun later we were finally done.

The last night at camp was pretty busy. All the packing and craziness that went on. The usual tradition on the last night at camp was the gallon challenge. The challenge was to drink a gallon of whole milk in 1 hour and try not to blow chunks. The coaches ended up canceling it so one of the juniors resorted to whole wheat bread. He ate 1 1/2 loaves of bread with out drinking water. Its not one the things that will ever reach my to do list and I'll leave it at that.

That last morning of camp was hectic, last minute packing and good-byes. About 15 of us went out on one final ride around the campus. It was alot of fun and I will really miss everyone from camp.

I really took alot away from camp and I hope to go back again next year. The coaches there are awesome and the riders are some of the best I have been around. All in all it was a great experience and one that wont be forgotten.

Thanks for Reading

Ciao

KIDS...dont try this at home!!!

Well yesterday was the West Palm crit. I was totally stoked for a great day of racing. My plan was to race the womens pro 1,2,3/women 4 and then turn around and race the mens cat 4 immediately after.

After a long drive we finally got the course. But not before remembering what we forgot...my transponder. After registering and getting a temporary transponder I was ready to go. I sat under the shade of our tent and watched the masters races. I watched the sprints very carefully to get an idea of the prefect position. My dad and I both concluded first out of the final corner was the place to be.

Halfway through my warm up it started to rain. I didn't really care about the rain because I like to race in the rain. To my disappointment it was only sprinkling on and off. Just enough to get the roads wet.

Our field wasn't huge. We had maybe 10 or so riders total, including the cat 4's. I was pumped at the start. I had my race plan and my legs felt great. Once we started I slid back in the field trying to find Tine Elliot's ( Cycle Science ) wheel. She was the power house of the day and I knew if I didn't watch her wheel she would attack and check out from the field. The rain had stopped but the roads were very slick. On the second to last turn I lost a bit of positioning and ended up with Tamera ( Herbal Life ) in front of me.

As we rounded the final corner in the first lap I could see Tamera slide in slow motion. She unclipped on her way down and her bike was shooting out right in front of me. With no where to go and no possible way of avoiding I ended up hitting her bike dead on and went down hard. We took down one more rider and I think it was her pedal that got stuck in my front wheel...



I toasted my front R-SYS and cracked my Specialized helmet. I also landed hard on my right knee, hip, and elbow. I was in shock at first but then managed to get up and followed the official that had my bike to the wheel pits to get my free lap.

Adrenalin was pumping through my body. My right elbow was causing me alot of pain and I couldn't stop shaking, but I was determined to get back into the race. As the field came around (SURPRISE) Tina was off the front with Marylin (Naples Cyclery). I jumped into the field as Tamera hammered at the front trying to pull back the break.

After a lap of sitting on and hoping that the field would pull the break back I got impatient. I was ticked off that I crashed because my legs felt amazing so I put my adrenalin to use. I attacked the field on the front stretch and got a huge gap. As I sprinted and tried to bridge to Tina and Marlin. Every pedal stroke hurt but not in my legs. It hurt to put pressure on my arm. I was so close but then I gave up. I went back into the field.

I managed to stay on for a few laps but I was in alot of pain and ended up dropping out. I also skipped the mens race because once I got off my bike and my dad and I evaluated my condition he decided it was best not to race again. I still wanted to race but with camp next week I finally gave into the fact that racing again would be stupid.

This week I'm going to try and recover and get healthy. I got lucky and my injuries are not bad just some cuts and bruises. My spokes are trashed but the rim and hub are in good shape.

Next week is the Junior Camp in South Carolina (nice time to crash...1 week before camp). I'm really excited and cannot wait to go.

Thanks for reading,

Ciao

State Crit Weekend

This past weekend the best in Florida came to duke it out for a shot at the title of State Criterium Champion.
On Saturday we had a "warm up" crit. The course was rather hard. It had a small hill with a headwind, and 6 corners.
The women pro,1,2,3 were racing with the women cat 4s all weekend. When we rolled up to the line I saw some of Florida's power houses were there. It was going to be a tough race.
We took a neutral lap around the course and then rolled back to the start. The whistle blew and I tucked into the field looking around for a good wheel. I found my way to Jackie Kurth's wheel and was content to stay there. After a couple minutes I found myself pulling and spending way to much time on the front and chasing gaps. I hung out in the wind way to much and after about 15 minutes of red lining my heart rate I blew and went out the back.
I managed to chase back on but after the next attack blew again and found myself off the back again. I went into and out of several different groups and when 3 laps to go came around found myself with another cat 3 and the solo leader of the race who lapped us.
I sprinted and won against the other girl but it was a sprint for nearly last and it wasn't very satisfying.



Will Tearing it up in the 3's race.



Michelle and I chilling after our race

The next day was the real deal. I was really nervous but totally excited. The sun was blazing and the wind was definitely blowing. The finish was at the top of a small hill and on the back stretch there was a small descent. With four corners it wasn't a ridiculously technical course but I was a little wary of the final corner because I've crashed in it before when I carried to much speed and hit a reflector.
I was totally pumped at the start. When the official blew the whistle I went into my race zone. It was time for the poker face and racing edge to be put to work.
The race went smooth for the first 15 minutes. A few attacks here and there but it always came back together. My legs felt pretty good but the attacks were fast and furious. The announcers were giving out primes and the big names continued to try and break away. Half-way up the hill one of the ladies husbands had found a water tap and turned it up and every other lap he would spray the entire field. It felt amazing and when ever the water was on we all swerved over to try and cool off a little.
About 30 minutes into the race I popped. I sprinted and managed to get back onto the field. I was tired but once I was back into the group my legs felt better again. I sat in and tried to conserve as much energy as I could. When 5 laps to go came I was pretty tired and really hot. The laps seemed to slowly tick by. Finally it was one lap to go. I was tired and my legs didn't feel the best any more. We came around to the descent and the first attack started our last lap race. I got surged and found myself towards the back hanging on for dear life. I popped on the hill and tried to just keep my legs going for just a little bit longer. When I crossed the line I was out of breath and out of water but very happy.



The Women 1,2,3,4 field hammering up the hill.



Michelle tearing it up as a cat 4.



The women field string out over the hill



Women Sprint finish



Craig Creeden racing to a 13th place in the mens 3 race



Men pro 1,2 photo finish for 4th-6th place



Umm...Where did Ryan's hair go??

All in all I think I learned alot this weekend. I could have done alot better on Saturday but I took alot away from the race. With Sunday's race I was extremely happy with how I did. In the previous year I was dropped and this year I hung in. I mean I would have liked to get onto the podium or even win it, I mean who wouldn't, but I also learned alot from this race and I am totally excited for my next crit. maybe then I can finally get the win I have been chasing after all season.

thanks for reading!

Ciao

Sugar Loaf RR / Ferndale Circuit Races

This past weekend was the sugar loaf rr and the Ferndale circuit race. I did the womens pro,1,2,3 for both races.
For the road race the women raced with the men cat 3. The rr course is one of the hardest courses that the FL race season has to offer. It is in Clermont, the "hilly" part of Florida. The course is 9 miles long and is basically up or down. The major climb is Sugar Loaf right before the start finish.
The first 2 miles were neutral. I started to far back and tried to move up as much as I could during that period. Once we hit the first hill the group split up a little bit and it was easier to move up through the field. I made it towards the front half of the field and felt pretty good with my positioning. When we hit sugar loaf I wasn't able to hang and popped off the back. I was with another woman and we rode together for about 4 miles before being joined by 4 other women and 3 men.
We had a nice group going and kept the speed fairly steady. There were a couple attacks but for the most part we stayed together. It was really hot outside and we all suffered over the hills as the sun was blazing down on us.
We came around for our second lap and we were still together. Two ladies took off up sugar loaf. They slowed down towards the top and we all regrouped. I came around to the feed zone hoping to get some ice cold Gatorade or water. I got lucky and got two ice cold bottles, thanks to my dad and grandpa who did amazing jobs making sure I got my feeds.
For the next lap we all stayed together. We kept the pace steady and basically rode it like a training ride. On the next lap we saw that we were coming up on another rider in the distance. As we crossed the finish line we heard the announcers say it was another Herbal Life woman. We already had one Herbal Life girl in our group already and we soon had one more.
The new Herbal Life girl was climbing really well. She hammered up all the climbs and I struggled to hang on. I ended up blowing half way through the lap and was riding on my own. In the distance I could see another women about 30-45 seconds in front of me. I put my head down and hammered to catch her. I finally made it up to her wheel about 2 miles from the finish. We were both tired and the thought of going up sugar loaf one last time was not pleasant. She attacked with about 1 1/2 mi to go but I hopped on her wheel and she pulled until we hit the final hill. I wasn't sure how it would play out but I waited to see how she was feeling. She seemed tired so I gave it a go and attacked. I got a gap and held it til the line. My overall placing wasn't great but I had a great ride and it was really good training.

That night I got plenty of sleep and carbs to get ready to for the Ferndale circuit.

The circuit course was about 3 miles long. It was flat and wasn't to technical. The women pro,1,2,3 were put with the women cat 4. I was excited to have a race with only women.
At the start Michelle Blake and I were setting the pace at the front. I was ready to get the race started so I looked at Michelle and told her I was going to attack. We went around a corner and I sprinted out of it. I could see from my shadow that I had a gap. I held it for a minute before getting caught. Once the field caught up they wouldn't pull through. When we came around to complete our first lap I attacked out of the final corner. This time when they caught me I was able to get into the draft. The next couple laps weren't to exciting. There were a couple attacks but we ended up staying together.
About 15 minutes into our race Tina( Cycle Science ) and Sheila ( Herbal Life) attacked and got a gap. It was a counter attack and I was to tired to try and follow. Herbal life had 6 riders in our race so our chase effort ended up failing. They were long gone in only one lap's time.
It was now a race for third. Team ORC and Herbal Life went back and forward. ORC had two ladies in our field and they would attack and counter attack but Herbal Life was always right on top of it. I was happy to just follow the wheels and wait for the finish.
With 3 laps to go the attacks became more intense, but the group always came back together. When two laps to go came around we heard the announcers say that if the leaders caught us then we would be finishing on that lap. I raced the entire lap struggling to keep positioning in case we got caught. We ended up eluding the leaders and having to do one more lap. Cat and mouse games were being played and attacks were being made. I just sat in and tried to stay towards the front. I was struggling against herbal life while they tried to box me into the middle of them. I finally made it free and not a minute to soon. We rounded the corner before the final corner. There it was, the stop sign that signified the final turn. I was 4 wheel coming out of the corner. I passed one woman and held my position. The finish was slightly uphill and I almost died about 20 meters from the line but I held my position and ended up 4th place overall.

I learned alot this weekend. I'm excited for the next race that the women race with the cat 3 men. If anything the road race was amazing training. In the circuit I realized that I HAVE to make it into the move. Also final corner positioning (rookie mistake on my part) me being fourth wheel...ya not the smartest. All in all I had a great weekend. I had my best finish so far and got in great training for Camp and Nationals.

Next weekend is the State Crit and in 4 weeks I leave for South East Regional Camp. I'm totally stoked for both.

thanks for reading,

Ciao

Windermere Ride/OIA timetrial

This past Sunday I went out and did a group ride in Clermont. It starts at the Windermere Middle School and then goes out and does all of the "big" hills that Florida has to offer, Grassy Lake, Buck Hill, Sugar Loaf, and Stair Steps. It does all the climbs that I am going to have to do this weekend at the Sugar Loaf RR. I figured it would just be a cool ride and really good training. My dad and I drove out to the ride with some friends of ours ( Mr. Kieth and Craig ) and I was totally stoked. Our motto of the day,"Attack and make other people suffer." The first 16 miles were fine. It was a decent pace and my legs felt great...it was all good until one of my friends called me and when I tried to get my phone out of my pocket..well long story short it slipped, got run over by a couple riders, and almost hit by a car. Luckily its still working and came out of the ordeal with only a few scratches, but after that I could see the group getting further and further up the hill. When I first felt my phone fall I was bummed out because my legs were feeling really good. I chased the group and was almost back on but ended up getting caught at a red light and watched the group as they crested the next hill. I ended up racing around Clermont trying to get in the big hills and also trying ot meet back up with the group. The rest of the ride went well. I plan on going back out and doing it again.

Today was the 3rd OIA timetrail. I had pole position again and was kind of bummed at the fact that I didn't have anyone to chase. I had a good start. I set off at a descent pace hugging the curb to avoid as much of the cross wind as I could. At the turn around I felt good. After driving into the head wind it was a nice change to get a tailwind. Unfortunately it was only for about a half mile before it returned to the brutal cross wind. My finishing time was basically the same as my previous 2 time trials. I did a 17:31. I am pretty sure that I have totally mastered the 17:30 on that course ;P

This weekend is the Sugar Loaf RR. The women 1,2,3 are racing with the 3 men so it should be a challenging race. I'm looking forward to it.

Also check out Craig Creeden's blog. I set up a link to it so check it out.

Ciao

GA Camp #2

The GA camp was alot of fun. The last two days had wonderful weather, but the first day was rather rainy and dreary.
When we got up to ride on the first day one look out the window told the entire story, we were on the second floor but when you looked out the window you could only see about 20 feet before everything disappeared into the thick, white wall of fog. We waited a couple hours to see if the fog would clear but we were really just delaying the inevitable. So we geared up and drove out to Blood mountain.
We started about 2 miles away to give us some time to warm up.In the distance we could see Blood Mountain, not even half way up there was a layer of fog. You couldn't even see the top. Once we reached the climb it took us about 30 minutes to reach the fog. Once we got into it I couldn't see anything over 20 meters away. It brought a new element to our climb and at first it was rather fun. About 2 miles from the top we were coming up to a right hand bend when a car missed the corner and came to a screeching halt on our side of the road. The defiantly got our heart rates up and we decided to go to a different mountain. The rest of the day was basically the same. We climbed and climbed, through ran and fog. By the end of the day the weather had lost it fun aspect and became really dreary.
I ended the day with a hot shower and an intense Wii sports tournament;)


On the second day the weather was alot better. It was sunny and warm. When we got out to Woody Gap there were a ton of cyclists out riding (I guess we were the only insane ones to go out and ride the day before). The weather was great as we started our first climb of the day. It took about 40 minutes from top to bottom and it definitely got our legs nice and warmed up. Five climbs and about two hours later we were on our way over to Brass Town Bald. It took us about an hour to get to the base of the climb. When we finally saw the sign leading to the park we had mixed emotions. Only 3 miles to the end of the ride, but those last 3 miles were the hardest. It was fun to watch the road and see the signs spray painted for the Tour de Georgia. Mile 1 and 2 slowly ticked by. I was looking around every corner for the top of the climb. When it finally came I was very happy. I was very tired and extremely happy that the ride was over.




Our last day in the mountains was alot of fun. It was also very tiring. We decided to go out and do a new loop, it went from Jacks Gap, to Unicoi Gap, then to Hog Pen. At the top of Jacks Gap is Brass Town. If you look at the mountains in the distance while you're riding up Jacks Gap you can see Brass Town in the distance. It was a much prettier sight when I knew I didn't have to climb it! Jack's descent wasn't huge but it was nice and long. I think that has to be my favorite thing about when I ride in the mountains. I love to fly down the descents. Unicoi was fun. It wasn't to long or to steep and it was nice and steady. The descent was well worth the climb. It was long, fast, and had windy turns. I think that was the best part of that ride ;) The ride from Unicoi to Hog Pen gave us a much needed break. After missing our turn and going through the scenic little town of Helen, we were finally back on track and on our way to the final climb of the day. Hog Pen was by far the hardest climb of the day. It was very long. As we neared the top we kept getting our hopes up thinking that the finish was just around this corner. Finally we saw the Appalachian Trail sign. If I had to pick my favorite thing to see on this trip it would have to be that sign. There was one about 50 meters from the top of every climb.


All in all it was a great weekend. I'll have more later! There is another OIA timetrial on Tuesday and next weekend is the Sugar Loaf Road Race.

Thanks for Reading,


Ciao

Lucky Day

Last week we adopted a 3 month old kitten from the Humane Society. We named him Lucky after the 3 Amigos "Lucky Day". He is a energetic ball of fur and will most likely be getting into plenty of mischief during the next 6 months.

This week is a recovery week. I get to hit the mountains this weekend. I'll post some pictures on Tuesday. It says it is going to be rainy so it might turn into an epic weekend! But hey, if you don't train in the rain you wont race in the rain.

Also I've added some new links so check them out. The links go to a site with info on Laura Charmeda ( my coach ), Tyler Brant's Blog ( one of my teammates ), and the Team Swift Blog.

Ciao,

Ashlyn

Webster Roubaix Road Race

This past weekend was the Webster-Roubaix Road Race. It was a 68 mile race over a 10 mile course with a 3 mile section on a dirt road. I did the women pro, 1, 2, 3’s and we raced with the masters 35+. We had about 15 women in our race and 35 men. I felt great and was very excited to get out and test my legs.
The start was neutral until the last rider was off the dirt, which was about 2 miles from the start line. Once we got the go ahead to race the men picked up the speed. I felt great. I was about mid field and was just getting sucked along in the draft. I was in the field for the entire lap and my legs felt good. When we turned onto the dirt one of the first riders slid out and most of the group was slowed down. I was not ready for this and wasn’t able to bridge back up to the main field. There was a group of riders just in front of me but I was unable to close the gap. Once I had turned back onto the pavement they had already picked up the speed. I was with another girl but we didn’t work well together and I could see the group slowly pull away from us.
During this lap my little group grew to about 10 riders, but we still weren’t working together. I did a hard pull through the front and ended up just dangling off the front by maybe 40 meters. I held my gap for about 3 miles but let up after my feed on the dirt section when I saw the gap had closed down. When I got back into the group we were finally able to get a steady pace line going and I was content to just stay in the group.
For the next 3 laps our little group stayed together. I had given up the hope of catching the group in front of us and had turned my thoughts to how I was going to work the sprint out. Our group consisted of 5 women, myself, two ladies from Team Naples Cylery and two from Herbal life, along with 3 master 35+ men. I knew all the women and have been racing with them since we were all category 4’s. I didn’t know how the sprint would go down but I was excited for it.
We were still together with 3 laps to go. Then I started trying to conserve more energy and let my legs recover. This lap went without anything exciting happen. On our sixth lap we lost 2 women. They were teammates so the race was down to me and the two Herbal Life riders.
Half way through the last lap we got caught by the pro men. We were passed by the field and the official in the follow car told us to not mix in with the other field. They were going relatively slow so the official allowed us to sit on the back. About 3 miles from the finish the pros picked up the speed and one of the ladies popped off the back. About a half mile later myself and my remaining completion dropped. As we made the right turn onto the dirt I slowed up and let her pull. I could tell she wanted to be on my wheel but I didn’t want to pull through. About 100 meters away from the finish I could just see the start/finish banner. I kept waiting until about 50 meters away then I drilled it. I nearly crashed while sprinting on the dirt but I help it upright and won the sprint. I ended up 8th overall.
It was a great race and I was really happy with my result. I’m continuing to improve from race to race and hope to get my first win of the season in the near future.

Ciao,

Ashlyn

Updates

This weekend is the Webster Roubaix Road Race. It is one of my favorite road races in Florida. The 10 mile course has a 3 mile dirt section. With the women pro,1,2,3's racing with the men 35+, it promises to be an exciting race this year. This week has had good weather so I'm hoping for it to hold out for us and not rain. I'll have a full report on how everything went after the race on Saturday.

Only 12 weeks until the Junior Cycling Camp I am going to! Is it going to be a blast. I'm really looking forward to a full week of a camp totally devoted to cycling.

I'm totally stoked to play my guitar this week. I just got a capo and I'm going to try and learn "Realize" by Colbie Caillat. I really enjoy playing my guitar and now, I find, that it takes up a lot of my free time.

Ciao,

Ashlyn

OIA Time Trial #2

After being postponed for 2 weeks, because of bad weather, we were finally able to do the TT by the Orlando International Airport. The weather was good, the wind was ideal, and my legs felt great. After a solid warm up I was ready to go. My 30 second girl was Michelle Blake ( a close friend of mine ). Three minutes before my start two of the junior boys finished. I had my dad on the stop watch to see what there times were. If I wanted to beat them I would have to ride a 16:30. Finally I was at the line to start. Then I was off. My legs felt a little tired at first but then I got into my zone and was just motoring along. I caught my 30 second girl and could see my 1 minute man just ahead of me. It made me go a little faster. I was feeling pretty good. Right after the turn-around I caught my 1 minute man and could see about 5-6 riders in the distance. I had a tail/cross wind on the way back and I felt like I was flying. I soon caught all but 1 rider that I could see. I could see the finish, it was at the top of a little "hill" after an underpass. I was going all out. My time was 17:28. I won the womens category and finished around 20th out of 58 riders. It wasn't my goal time but for my first TT of the year it was pretty solid.
The laugh of the day was in the middle of a water bottle fight that Michelle and I were watching between JP and Jos. Long story short it ended with Jos stealing Michelle's bottle right as she took a drink. When she started laughing the water went out her nose and all over Jos who just happened to be in the line of fire. The laughs that followed got all of our sides hurting.

Thanks for reading,

Ciao,

Ashlyn

First Post

Hey everyone,

Well this is my first blog post. I'll keep the site up to date with all the latest and greatest on whats going on, races, big rides, news, all that jazz.

ciao,

Ashlyn