Twin City Bellas

ironman

2008-04-28T10:29:00.002-05:00

Some claim the charms and the namesake of the Ironman Bike Ride the last Sunday in April in Minnesota, is due to the fact that it's in Minnesota. 2007's Ironman was a glorious spring day. 2008... let's just say I'm stoked I finished before the big fat snowflakes. ugh.

Anyhoo, Brooke, Kate, Danielle, Becca, Rebecca, Barb, and me did the 62 mile ride, with hella bad headwind the whole time. It made grandpa's walk to school (uphill both ways), look like a walk to school in the sunshine, with rainbows in the sky.

In retrospect, at least it was snow in the air... and NOT rain. Because if it snows when you are on bike, you stay more dry than if it rains.

Cold Sunday Ride

2008-04-14T20:16:00.002-05:00

On what I hope is the last sub-40-degree Sunday for awhile, Brook, Laura and I met up at Lake Calhoun to view the still-frozen lake before we headed north past Cedar Lake and Wirth Park. The Parkways were quiet on this chilly morning, and we had the roads to ourselves. Aside from the debris waiting to be streetcleaned from the gutters, we had a perfect ride. The route that Brook created even had some surprise hills to challenge us. We managed to get in 30 miles and a coffee break before noon, all without ever being more than a few miles from downtown Minneapolis.

rainy sunday

2008-04-07T10:43:00.000-05:00

Brooke blogs coherently about our rainy Sunday morning ride...

Well, here's tribute to the good souls who said to heck with the forecast and joined Kate and I for the Inaugural Sunday Bella Rides. The ride start was at Dunn Bros. Coffee on Lake Street and River Road at 9 a.m. Kate and I were joined by Barb and Bruce for the ride over to the Greenway to pick up others enroute. We met Manda just off of the Chicago/Greenway intersection and then went on to pick up Becca and Rebecca at the dog park meeting spot at Lake Calhoun. Here Barb and Bruce left us to complete some scheduled interval training. Our group headed west on the pre-decided route. We were not blessed with sunny skies and warm weather as was the day before but we were a hardy crew and pedaled on. The route took us to the end of the paved Greenway and then south a bit to connect with the Smetana hill and onto Shady Oak Road. We discovered that our ride time at that point coincided with services at Wooddale Church. We may need to alter the course or time a little in the future to allow those seeking redemption full rights to the road and us an exception for an early exit to heaven.

As we headed back through Edina the first few sprinkles started to fall. Being the optimistic bunch we are, we initially figured it was road spray from those in the front. Unfortunately, Manda and Kate confirmed that they too, were getting dripped on with no one in front of them and alas, the weather forecaster was going to have an accurate forecast come to pass. The sprinkling stayed light until we crested Vernon and crossed Hwy 100. The skies then decided that it was time to rain and rain it did. By the time we reached Lake Harriet, we were all pretty darn wet and ready for the ride to be over. Becca and I left Manda and Kate at 40th and Bryant as they headed towards the Greenway and off their separate ways to continue home.

Although not as pleasant of ending as wished, it was a good ride. Our distance was about 32 miles as planned (if you started at Dunn Bros) and the time approximately 2 hours 20 minutes. I think everyone enjoyed themselves until the rain came in so all-in-all a successful outing. After wiping down my chain and drying my bike, I was able to get out of the wet clothes and into a hot shower. A cup of hot cocoa, a slice of peanut butter toast and I'm ready to think about next Sunday.

Next week, we'll try the Northeast route. Watch for time and start location to be announced. Till then, roll on.......

REALLY. it is better than a huffy.

2008-04-05T19:58:00.002-05:00

Ok. Picture the scene.... the high of the day is a mere 10 degrees F. It's the 4th or 5th cold spell of similiar temperatures this winter. The cats are all sitting on the other human in the house, who happens to be warmer and less squirmy than you, so you've got the laptop warming your lap, and you're dreaming of spring. while shopping on eBay. You see a shiney bike that seems to be an incredible deal, and a teammate's husband has introduced you to sniping. So.. you bid. 2 weeks later, you get a bike for a sweet deal... that will hopefully... oh please oh please fit well enough.

This seems to be the way I end up with most my rides. Having obtained my first real road bike (Bridgestone RB-2) from a drunken grad student who was storing his bike in my basement... there is no other way. So... after doing my first group ride of the year, i wander off to get the bike running... shorter stem, wheel trued, minor rear derailleur adjustment.... easy... right? HA HA HA. no. turns out my handlebars, which were measured at 31.8mm are a little smaller than 31.8, and only fit well on the too long for me space age looking carbon stem... after having 3 people say... WTF? and searching the Q's knowledge base on this... we found the one stem that was short enough for me, and tightened down enough on the handlebars... so that it worked.

As the home mechanic, who is frequently seen in skulking around mpls bike shops near closing time with a botched home repair... having the mechanic say... 'seriously. dude. what did you do to this?'... i'm relatively grateful, i witnessed several mechanics, saying.. 'HUH. that's weird.' for a seemingly simple matter.

at the same time, as an owner for a spendy ass new road bike, from a spanish bike maker with a decent reputation, the weird sized part thing... makes me think i bought a flippin' huffy/magna/wal-mart bike. and that's annoying. Here's to hoping that it stays nice, so I can take the new bike out. and new bike... prove me wrong. until then. your name is Huffy.

it's finally spring!

2008-04-05T19:56:00.002-05:00

Manda, Laura and I with serveral other NOW/Synergy folk (and Lori Jug
from Kenda Tire who kicked butt at Superweek a couple of years a go-
gotta keep an eye on her) gathered at NOW/Snelling on this lovely
Saturday morning.

NOW gal Miriah led the group on a very civilized tour of St. Paul. One
group splintered for a longer ride to Afton, but some held back for
now.

News: Lori was on her new shiney bike, Manda is planning on when she
will have her open house, her BF has a new bike too, and I have a new
TT bike.

Man it was nice out! But I'm still wearing booties.

I hope the weather holds out for the Sunday ride!!! ( roll out 9am east lake st. and river road Dunn Brothers.... passing the Lake of the Isles dog park at 9:20ish...)

-- Barb

2008-03-06T20:35:00.003-06:00

SKiiNG VeLo BeLLaS

It's been a wonderful winter for skiing! The best part about all the snow is the fact that I got to spend quality time with my fellow Bellas (that's fun to say) while racking up the km's in preparation for the Birkie.

Here's proof that the hours on the trail paid off-- check out the picture of me putting the hurt on this old guy at the halfway point.

But seriously, it's been great fun hanging out with Becca, Brook, Barb, Marjie and a few other special guests this winter. I've never had so much fun training during ski season. And I probably would have never bothered to drive all the way out to Carver by myself, and may have never known what awesome trails they have.

I'll ski as long as the snow lasts, so if anyone is itching to get out, there's still some winter left!

Thanks everyone, for the great company on the trail. It was fun to be first up the hills for a change, but I'm looking forward to you all kicking my a** on the bike come spring.

Kate :)

p.s. to see some pics of the skiing Bellas, check out the pictures on the VBTC Yahoo group.

fast snowy fun?

2008-02-27T11:22:00.002-06:00

A lot of the Bellas here like snow. I'll have to get someone to blog about the cross country skiing that goes on here... 'cause I don't. do. that.

Anyhoo, Maria has been ski racing this winter... and here's one of her Birkie exploit.

Spring Kickoff Meeting-- Come on down!!!

2008-02-21T11:55:00.000-06:00

When: Sunday March 16th, 3-5pm
Where: Bella Barb's house at 3039 36th Ave S in Minneapolis
Who: All you Bellas, friends and acquaintances interested in Velo Bella
Why: To talk about the great things Velo Bella will be doing this year, sign up for the Ironman bike ride, and put names to faces and meet our wonderful local sponsors

back from not blogging

2007-12-18T17:44:00.000-06:00

Something about racing makes me not blog. Which is totally counter to why this blog exists, I guess. But. really.... this author's race blog is ALL the same. 1. Got there. 2. Mostly on time. 3. (this happens only most of the time) pre-ride. hey that wasn't so bad. 4. race. ouch. that hurt. Didn't DNF.

But... when you rock at racing.. you have kick ass stories to tell and pictures to show. And that is just one of the reasons why Maria rules.

Check out her adventures in her first season racing with the CX big girls... http://marialikescheese.blogspot.com/.

bridge go boom!

2007-08-02T11:29:00.000-05:00

I think all Bellas accounted for.

There actually were a good chunk of us out riding and unfortunately crashing (stupid potholes) when it happened.

Sorry about the silence of late. Home demolition has wound down, and I'm back from Portland, OR... so more updates, and copy-ed race reports from weeks previous here...

Black Dog Time Trial June 13th

2007-06-13T20:50:00.000-05:00

I finally did my first race!

I managed to leave work on time to find the location of the time trial, not get lost, and even had time to warm up sufficiently beforehand.

Bruce showed up shortly after I did, and gave me excellent instruction on a specific warm-up on my trainer prior to the race. Thanks Bruce!

I think the warm-up really helped. My legs felt good during the race.

I tried to take everyone's advice and start out moderately, but when I looked down at my speedometer, I was at 20 mph. I took it back a bit, knowing that I couldn't keep that up for the whole distance.

I was at about mile 2 when I actually passed a woman who started two places in front of me. I couldn't believe it. I was ecstatic.

At about mile three I started to feel like I was going to throw up. I took the speed down a bit, still felt like I was going to throw up. Realized I was going to feel like throwing up the remainder of the race no matter what, so I may as well go as hard as I can without the HR going over 190.

The turnaround was not very graceful or fast, but oh well.

The way back seemed longer than the way out. I saw the bridge and knew the finish was just beyond it. It occurred to me that this is when I should really push it. But I already was maxed out. When I saw the finish, I imagined sprinting, but I didn't have anything left, except that even stronger feeling like I was going to puke.

I crossed the finish and couldn't remember when I last started my timer, so don't know my real time. Then I rolled around a little afterwards and forgot to look at my avg. pace. Hey, I'm sure I'm not the only one to notice that rational thinking goes out the window when you're in that state of exertion.

I had no expectations whatsoever, since I'd never even tried to see how fast I could go for that distance. I set a goal for myself of an average of 18 mph, and I think I made it.

I haven't checked official results yet, but I'm happy for just having done it :)

Hey Bellas, where you at?

2007-06-09T18:34:00.000-05:00

This team has a wealth of talent and experience and enthusiasm, which is why I am so happy to be a part of it. I joined because I was excited to ride with other strong women. However, I haven't seen many Bellas out on rides lately.

My question-- what will it take to get more of us out on regular training rides together?

If the NOW rides aren't a convenient time or location, I'm willing to get something organized for a different time/place in addition to these rides, just so we can get more Bellas out riding together.

C'mon, I know that not everybody is remodeling their condo or healing from a crash...

Kate

Gear West Duathlon RR by Rocker

2007-05-21T09:40:00.000-05:00

I love how Friday was 86 degrees, and Monday is going
to be 84…but Sunday? Well, heck! Let’s race in the 35
degree range with gale-force winds :p Gotta love MN.

IN answer to your question, Marjie, Gear was fine.
Cold. Frigid, frigid cold. And HELLO???? WTF IS UP
WITH THE WIND???? But fine. I ended up about 3 minutes
slower than last year.

I slogged thru both runs at about the same pace as
last year (and as a side note, whoever designed this
course should be shot. It has more twists and turns
and cambers than something that is…well… really twisty
and turny and full of cambers. :p And those three
hills right at the end I could do without, as well…).

Which means I lost most of my time on the bike. At
first I was annoyed—the bike is my strongest event
(well, okay, it’s my ONLY strong event, as I’m no
longer a strong runner, and I certainly am no
swimmer—not that swimming was necessary here, this
being a duathlon, and it NOT raining…and admitted
oddity for Gear.). I usually try for a split in the
top 1-5 people. You can out run me, but I WILL beat
you down on the bike. And I felt strong out there,
despite the nasty wind and muscle-cramping cold. The
bike course for Gear West it probably my favorite out
of all the races I’ve done. It’s just roller after
roller after roller, all thru beautiful countryside.

Yet, like I said, I was 3 minutes slower. Oops. Grr.

But after some consideration, I realized I haven’t
been riding. And despite the fact that the bike is my
strong suit…I can’t really expect to not actually ride
and still do well. :p

SO all in all, I was happy with the day. It was nasty
out, but still fun. It’s impossible to NOT have fun on
that bike course, I think. It’s just one of those
rides that reminds you why riding your bike is a joy.

I ended up at 22:54 for the 6k; 51:04/20.0 mph for the
17 mile bike; and (ouch) 21:36 for the 4k. Total of
1:37:35; 20th place OA. Not my best finish, but like I
said, I’m not quibbling. :-) Onward and upward, y’all!

how i lost my mtb racing virginity-- by manda

2007-05-20T18:47:00.000-05:00

the course: Salem Hills (Harmon Park) in Inner Grove Heights.

the race: one of a series of 10 in Erik's spring cup

the verdict: following the metaphor in the title.. it was like being in high school, and hooking up with a fellow high school student-- with bad planning and not a lot of skill. but in the end, no matter how EH it was.. you know you'll probably do it again.

bad planning: I did get a new bottom bracket for my mtb... but didn't manage to install it. Based on Rocker's TT report, I need a pre-installation idiot check, AND during the install idiot check.

Oh well. Maria and Baba had already assured me the course was do-able on my cross bike.. and I can definitely swap my tires on and off! So.. sweet! i had a ride for the race. My ex, who has done/maybe raced this course before, thought me + cross bike + course == dead panda. I figured 2 outa 3 wasn't, so I off I went to the race... to ride the Sport class (citizen is sorta like cat4, I'm thinking... but they don't really enforce it)... under the premise... "same amount of money. more time on the course. it starts at 11 instead of 9:30".

Ran into Hollywood when I got there... got style points for having the cross bike. w00t! I will DFL in style.. and that I did... with some haggling with the officials. They had me down as 2nd in my age group.. as I thought it was like a cross race, and you're done when the lead group gets down. Apparently this was not the case. I shoulda did my 3rd lap. DOH! When I mentioned this, they wanted to DNF me, but... I asked for DFL, because... it seems slightly better.

The race didn't start out too bad. It all sorta fell apart, when I tried to stop my front wheel from rubbing (the tire was ripping at the bead...and the tube was bulgey). The guys in the front will pass you really calmly and really well, but the deeper you end up in the middle of the pack, the scarier it is. I can get passed by all sorts on the road, and it is good.. 'cause you got one side of the road. this.. you got single track. UGH. MTB being not only a skills thing, but HUGE mental thing... this was bad bad bad.

oh. and skills. in cross.. at I think Lake Rebecca, the officials say "oh hey. there's this one really really sharp turn at... blah blah blah.. but that's the only really sharp turn..." Some of the turns on this course, made that infamous turn look straight... eep. must get better at this turning thing.

Oakdale Duathlon by Nikki

2007-05-15T18:31:00.000-05:00

OK - only because Marjie has been trying to get me to post more on the boards and because I felt compelled after Rocker's report (although, please note that I do not intend to be as creative, thorough, or as insightful as Rocker, so read with caution)

I did the Oakdale Duathlon on Saturday. The best thing I can say is - gorgeous day! Okay, so I've been out of practice lately and it's easiest for me to blame it on my family and work (mostly work), so I will...

Anyway, my attitude about it was that I was happy to have my registration for the event force me out to run and ride and my goal was to simply finish the race. (I know eventually in my humble and modest career, I'll have a DNF on record, but I'm trying to lessen my chances). I also didn't want to hurt anything....

All that is easier said than done. I have realized since I started racing two years ago (I lost my virginity at the Lifetime Fitness Triathlon in '05) that I have a mean competative streak - not mean to the other riders - mean to myself. And I think Marjie helped me realize that in a recent email to me asking, "How did "taking it easy" while racing go? Is that hard, or what?" The answer is - yes...I found it's difficult to see the person ahead of you and not think, "I can take em"...but I digress...let me start from the beginning.

The surroundings were beautiful at the Lake Elmo Park. Packet pickup was a snap and access to the t-area was a breeze... Was super comfortable with my placement on the rack and set up fine.

So, I just finished my latte, chatted with my friend about the vaca we want to take (www.templetotemple.com) and counted the minutes to start.

Soon we meandered over to the start line, but where was it?? Herds of people were walking to and fro....half thought it was here and half thought it was there. So, with my wave supposing to start at 9:06am, I didn't press start on my hr monitor until around 9:19.

Started the first 3 mile run out strong (mainly to get out of the way of the faster people), but soon slowed down and bid my friend goodbye (she's been much more dedicated than I have - but she's also signed up for Grandma's half marathon). The rest of the first three miles were okay - bearable, but I was super excited to see my beautiful bike in the transition area again!!

I love to ride! Can sit on my ass and pass the same people that had just kicked my ass on the run. But, I'm still not as fast as I used to be and averaged around 17 mph. Course was fine - more hills than I guess I expected, but maybe I was just hopeful for a flat path due to my rustiness. The last highway road needed some repairs though. As I was riding into the park once again, dreading the last three mile run, starting to weep my goodbyes to my blue Trek, I had the priviledge of being greeted by some bald eagles above. Pretty park...

The last three mile strategy was to "jog" the flats and the downhills and to walk the uphills....sound strategy! I find that I'm not nearly as competative on my feet as on wheels!

Anyway, that's enough to give you a rough idea of the morning. Otherthan the starting line issue, it was a fine race. I'd do it again.

I had another celebratory Caribou Coffee (did I mention my addiction)and a quick stop at Old Navy (stink and all) before treking home to Lino Lakes for the rest of the day.

Okay - maybe I was more creative and thorough than I thought I'd
be,but Rocker was still more insightful and inspiring!

I guess my proudest moment though, wouldn't be on race day, but a
day
prior when my 4 year old son explained to me the difference between
a
duathlon and a triathlon....*tear*...*sniff*....I'm so proud!!!
Can't
wait for his training wheels to come off and his swimming lessons
paying off - cause he already did his first 1/4 mile!! :) (I'm so
going to be a stage mom - aren't I?!? Yikes!)

Elk River, collegiate racing, and life-- by Maria

2007-05-14T18:24:00.000-05:00

I've been off the radar lately because of travel for school/work and some school/work transitions. I'm still at the U and I'm still a student, but the end is near, so I'm frantically planning my future.

Any how... Last, last Saturday (5/5) I raced at Elk River's Hillside Park in the BLAST mountain bike season opener. The 3.5 lap expert race sounded like a lot of fun until it started thunderstorming less than 1/2 a lap into the race! Yes, the picture is actually me!
http://www.tc.umn.edu/~stew0257/graphics/ElkRiver2007.jpg Its really sandy at Hillside, so the wet weather took a pretty serious toll on my bike parts. My singlespeed lost all braking capability with 1.5 laps to go (even after several adjustments- the pads were just gone). Instead of dropping out, I decided to make it a real challenge and flipped my wheel over so I could ride fixie (I race a white industry's ENO flip-flop hub). I ended up catching the two women who passed me while I was switching my bike over and
won the women's expert class. This was my first experience riding a
mountain bike fixxed eventhough I commute fixie all the time. Honestly, I'll probably do it again!

This past weekend I was with my fellow U of M teammates at the NCCA
Collegiate Road National Championships in Lawrence, KS. I didn't complete enough conference races during the collegiate season to race in the road race or crit, but I raced the Team Time Trial with Stephanie Thompson (Penn Cycle) and Kari Edvenson (Moorhead, MN). We ended up 11th, which was a little disappointing, but we gave it all we had.

This July-August I'll be in Finland for 4 weeks and other various locations in Europe for another 3. I'll be sure to update everyone if I do any racing in Europe or if I can track down Lieselot!

Happy Riding!

What a ride by Brook

2007-05-14T18:19:00.000-05:00

Well, while Rocker was having heart attacks about gear, and then riding like the wind, Marjie and Jen were volunteering and Barb, how'd your race go? - Kate and I set out to view the whole shooting match only we never made it.

The two of us met up at NOW Sports thinking there'd still maybe be a Saturday ride but alas, just the two of us. So we decided that we would ride a new route, maybe catch part of the time trial, and get back home in good time.

Well, with me "gosh I think I remember how to get there" in charge off we went. We thought it would be an easier, longer distance if we took the bike trail out there. Little did we know that the MS 30/60 would be using it, too. So on we rode with plenty of company until we hit Manning Avenue and then turned what I thought was the right way. Only when we got to 96 I thought "oh, oh," I missed a turn. So then we decided just to keep on going to see if we could still figure it out, or just start heading back in the right direction to home.

Of course, by then I was out of water and my cliff shot and Kate was running low too. But the wind was now kinda behind us and when we hit highway 36 it was totally behind us. The frontage road was nice and smooth and we both were zooming along quite nicely. We checked our speed going up one hill and decided it was the fastest we'd ever climbed. Now we know what some of you guys feel like when you go up hill, ZOOM ZOOM. As the frontage road ran out we saw the trail below us and crossed back down onto it.

By the time we got back to St. Paul, Kate was crashing from lack of food and I was too delirious to know that I already bonked. A quick needs break at Como Pavilion and then back on the road to complete our journey. Our round trip back to square one took us about 50 miles. I think we both felt like Gilligan and the crew with our 2 hour tour that turned into almost 4.

Kate went off to explain to her friend why a 2 hour ride took so long (I told her to blame me and my lack of direction) and I headed out to finish my errands. I was pretty worthless from lack of nutrition and when my husband came home that p.m. I still was unable to put two sentences together back to back. (Now now, those of you who think what else is new.) Anyway, so my advise to the much wiser is a) take a map, b) have a plan, and c) FOOD AND WATER.

Bike Club TT Challenge-- Rocker's version

2007-05-14T18:11:00.000-05:00

So the withrow time trial REALLY wasn't a race, but Marjie wanted a
RR. Here is her novella.

This is a time trial, with a "20k" and a "40k" option. I put them in
quotes b/c, for whatever reason, the 40k is ACTUALLY 26+ miles, as
opposed to 24.83. It always has been...yet they insist on calling it
40k. Whatever.

I've always done the 40k in the past, but this year I just haven't
been riding. I think my longest ride was like 19 miles, and that was
just an easy putz. The bulk of my rides have been 45 minute sessions
on the trainer while watching Buffy the Vampire Slayer. And...well,
er, the tri bike hasn't actually been out of the house since last
year when I sort of stopped racing midway thru the season. So I
figured I'd just do the 20k.

A host of mechanical issues made leading up to race time a logistical nightmare. Let me just tell you all...before you let a loving spouse replace your crank set, MAKE SURE YOU HAVE THE CORRECT BOTTOM BRACKET. Isis drive 10-spline BB + Shimano Ultegra Octalink 8-spline crank = Oops, you've f**ked the BB and crank.

But, okay, thanks to a VERY nice good Samaritan (Joe Johnson, from
Mankato, MN, you are my HERO!!!), I was able to ride. And, like a
fool, I signed up for the 40k option.

Actually, not like a fool. The weather was nice. I had already paid
$30, and I NEEDED someone to get me out and get me doing longer rides at an effort. In short, I REALLY needed the workout. Although after I signed up, I had like 5 people go..."Er, you're doing the *40*???" The RD was like, "Rocker, you could clean house in the 20k, and win a nice wheel set or aerobars. Why do the 40?" And this is true--all things considered, I would have done fine in the 20k.

But, I heard my dad's voice in my head when I was contemplating
it "Get out and get your a$$ kicked. It's good for you. Being a big
fish in a small pond and not working it isn't going to make you
better. Being a little fish trying to swim with (and not get eaten
by) the big ones will. So suck it up and get out there." And 40k it
was.

For once in my life (or in the history of this TT, anyway), I was on
time for my start, well warmed up, and didn't flat, have a brake
rubbing, or have my hubs pinched. Yeah, there was the whole
crankset/bb/stay in your big ring only issue, but that was in the
past.

Course is constantly rolling; no BIG hills, but steady ups and downs. Some nasty road surfaces in places (please, MnDOT, repave these roads), and a decent wind of maybe 15-20 mph. But sunny, and good temp. In a jersey, arm warmers, shorts, and tights, I was perfect. Not too hot; not too cold.

Came thru the 20k marker thinking, "Wow, I feel not too crappy. I'm
glad I didn't do 20k--I'm just getting warm."

Then I hit about 19 miles, and my legs decided they had better things to do with the rest of their day. Like napping. or gardening. Or possibly a long soak in the hot tub. My lungs felt great--I can tell I've been running. But the legs just tightened up and were done. The last 6-7 miles were MORE than enough to convince me I may need to actually get out and ride once in a while

But at any rate... finished in 1:15:53 for 26.somethingish miles.
About a minute slower than my PR on that course (1:14:4x), so not too bad. And I was even a minute faster than the last time I raced it (1:16:56), so even better. I was 7th OA, out of the money by two
places, but I'm not really complaining.

Unlike Bruce (and most of you roadie people, I'm guessing), I LOVE
the 40k Time Trial. It's just flat out hammerfest fun. And holy
catfish, there were some sexy hot ladyeez working Corner Number Five
at this race ;-)

All in all, I got a good workout (which I needed), it was a nice day
(which I enjoyed), and muscle memory is a wonderful thing (thank god
for that).

Saturday Ride

2007-05-12T17:53:00.000-05:00

I got up early to do the NOW ride, but apparently the Bike Club folks were all at the TT? In any case, Brook showed up, too, so we decided to go on our own. I had the idea to ride out to Withrow to see the TT, and to visit with Marjie and Jenn G. who were volunteering. So we took off toward the Gateway trail to head out that way, and ran into lots and lots of MS Tram riders, who were starting their ride on the Gateway trail. At one point we even got our pictures taken, so if I can find it, I'll post it on here.

Anyway, to make a long ride story short, we went further than we needed to (Manning Ave.), and by then we were so tired we just headed back to St. Paul.

So, sorry that we didn't make it out there, but it was a noble effort! Thanks Brook, for keeping me company for 4 hours and 50-some miles.

Hope the TT went well for Barb and Megan. Post about it.

I gotta go, I'm kinda tired now...

The Black Dog TT – by Sara Dowling

2007-05-07T18:16:00.000-05:00

Wind Speed 19mph
Max Wind Speed 43 mph
Max Gust Speed 58 mph

That means that even when the wind "died down" it was still blowing
at a constant 19 mph.

As I rode down the hill to the race registration, I saw branches,
sand clouds and discarded McDonald's wrappers whipping across the
road. "I hope none of that hits me in the face/arms/legs" I wished.
I could tell this was going to be the roughest 7 miles ever.

There were about 90 riders registered, and I represented the Bellas,
although the results showed me as Unattached – (That's sooo not
true!) I was lucky number 51.

I took a test ride down the course, through the river valley, which
is often populated by fishermen, casting off the side of the
road. "So what?" you say.Well I usually don't care about fish or how
they're caught, except on this day. With crazy 40 mph gusts, that
means that sometimes when anglers cast, their line (and hooks!) go
whipping into the road. And possibly into oncoming riders cheeks!!
Ok- that didn't happen. But it could have...

There's not much I can say about a 7 mile time trial with tropical
storm type winds, other than I think pretty much everyone there
resorted to doing the race for bragging rights, and just wanted to
keep their wheels on the ground (especially those fancy aero
wheels!) I didn't go home with a trophy, but I did get a nice spray
of sand blasted against my legs, which is kind of like getting a
tan. A pink, stinging tan.

2007-05-02T21:44:00.000-05:00

Here we are at the Iron(wo)man! The guy in the bombproof helmet and orange vest is our new recruit :)

2007-05-01T22:46:00.000-05:00

Check out Skinnyski.com for pics of the Bellas at the Ironman. I'll try to post pics on here later, unless someone else wants to beat me to it...

Durand Race Report

2007-04-24T00:06:00.000-05:00

Here's the Velo Bella results:
8. Barb Harick
28. Manda Lo
30. Debra Berg. (from IL)

For more results: http://www.cvccbike.com/node/76

Oh... but that's the boring stuff... we're gonna build up to the good stuff..

But... more of us showed up! Bellas Greib, and Jules.. where'd they go?... well... just read and see...

from Barb:
Big street cred to those who showed up for one heck of a windy and
hilly race: Manda, Jules, Jenn, and me AND Illinois Bella (oh dear, my
memory for names sucks)... Bummer Sheryl could not make it to keep her
boys healthy before her big trip to France.

I'll write more later after I eat something....and a much needed shower.

from Jules:
ok, I did my 1st road race. I was considerably nervous because I was worried about the unexpected. So I hung out toward the back. Once we stared, I found out quickly I really had nothing to worry about. I felt strong but started crappy, so I spent much of my time riding alone playing catchup. My plan was then to exert as much energy to catch up, ride some wheels, pass and catch up to the main pack. Well, I was just into my 2nd lap riding with a couple girls, ready to pass and go, when all of a sudden at 17 miles...flat! Shoot! So anyway I'm ready for more and can't wait until my next race. I've been flatting alot so I think my new sport is the dual-athalon (ride, get a flat and walk your bike back). haha

One of our own Bellas Jen, crashed. I felt really bad for her. The crosswind was wild!

I rode good today to make up for my short race yesterday.

from manda:
I'll ask one of the questions hotpinkevil asked super-rookie's audience.

When someone writes a long race report on their blog, do you actually read the whole thing? If so, what makes you read it? If not, do you just skip reading the post altogether, or pick out a few key things?

I didn't see much action. I was in the front at one point. I had conversation surfed my way to the first row at the start. made it through a couple of rolling hills, turned a corner. hit the headwinds and the steeper hills and got dropped. hung out with ex-bella P's sister and IL Bella Debra for the rest of the race. The headwinds, and short descents made it really hard to organize in the paceline... I've got to figure out what to do in that situation.... errr.. lots to learn.. The sex, drugs, and rock 'n roll version of the race is here.

And... here's the race report you ALL have been waiting for!

Slings and Tegaderm by Jenn Greiber

Durand Road Race…. nothing but beautiful Wisconsin countryside. Cows, fields, manure spreaders… everything that reminds me of home.

This was my second bike race of my life, and I must admit that I was quite excited (and nervous) to be there. It was a women’s open so all Cat 1-4 were lined up together. 39 women in the field, half of which I swear were Birchwood.

The women’s course was two laps and was a continuous land of rollers. After the second corner, I was dropped from the main pack (which included our Barb Harick) and continued on. Soon a small group formed with me, Paula (former Bella-turned-Flanders) and Tina (Big Ring Flyer, but I think I made her want to be a Bella…). We played together nicely, although it was clear to me how inexperienced at racing I am. Our goal was two ladies in front of us – Birchwood Jessie and GP Julia.

We were zipping along, but the gap never seems to close until we hit the stretch of open, flat, road. Tina could tear up the flats, so Paula and I let her lead with about three miles left in the race. BUT, here is where my disaster struck. I was to the right of Paula, and needed to be on the left for drafting purposes. When I went to come around behind her, I fell victim to the cardinal group riding sin: Overlapped wheels. However it happened, my front wheel caught her rear wheel and CRASH (Hm….. I wish I had a better noise description… “crash” isn’t quite the sound I’m thinking of)

Instantly I found myself flat on the ground, with Citrucel lying on top of me. Tina and Paula assured my consciousness, and then after some men riders, a milk truck, and a cluster of Birchwood ladies zipped by, I was loaded into a pick-up truck, owned and operated by a seemingly harmless man, named Dane. Who I believe had all of his teeth… ;)

At any rate, I was dropped off at the finish, surrounded by caring friends, ice, and whatever first aid supplies could be wrangled up. It was pretty clear I was going to have to see a doc, though.

So, all’s well. Paula, Manda and I take off. We gossip the ride home about the attractive men, the course, where I want to be ER-ed, Manda’s “forceful” vomiting, etc. My endorphins gave me a nearly pain free existence through the exam, diagnosis, etc, until about 8:00pm, when my body started to acknowledge the discomfort of a broken collarbone.

However, I cannot end the story there. I must share with you a magical thing that Bruce and Barb spoiled me with on Sunday. The friendly, considerate Haricks stopped by my home with a package of tegaderm (aka 3M’s Nexcare Absolute Waterproof Premium Adhesive Pads). This stuff is the coolest ever. Barb plastered my bloody knees and gashed elbow, and I later covered the oozy oozy mess on my cheek bone. I can’t wait to pay it forward and “tag” the next crash victim.

So, I’ll be seeing you on the bike in about four weeks. With a new helmet. In the meanwhile, I’ll just sit in my window with my arm in a sling and scowl a jealous scowl as cyclists cruise by.

Saturday Action

2007-04-21T22:09:00.000-05:00

Some of us who did not race in Durand went on the NOW ride today. I had committed to it just prior to noticing the change in start time. 8:00 is a cruel time to start a ride on a weekend. But okay, I guess I'm just not a morning exerciser. In any case, I was glad once I got rolling. I left my house thinking "wow, it's warm out." and hit the road and thought "wow, it's sort of windy." But the ride commenced before the wind got really bad. There were eight people, I think (somehow my math ability goes out the window when I'm doing physical activity.) Marjie, Brooke, and me representin' the "Vellas" as Bob calls us. There was one other woman from Bike Club, whose name I forget, but she and Brooke had twin bikes. The rest of the riders were guys from Bike Club, who were all very talkative and friendly.

We rode up Summit toward the capitol and north to Little Canada and around some lakes that I don't remember or can't pronounce. It was a somewhat hilly ride (I know this because we passed a convenience store called "Hilltop Store" or something like that.) The highlight was that I didn't get dropped on the hills-- for the first time ever!

We came back through Roseville and took a detour through Central Park, which is a cute little park with a lake and mini waterfall, and headed back past Como Lake and then portaged over some railroad tracks before heading back on Fairview, which is neither fair, nor has a view.

On the way home I got chatted up by a Grand Perfomance rider who told me about his 55 mile ride where all the guys were attacking each other on the hills. Made me really appreciate the NOW Bike Club guys, who could probably have lapped me on today's ride, but were conscious of keeping a reasonable pace and just having a good time.

The good thing about starting a ride at 8 a.m.? I was back home at 10:30, just in time to have my second breakfast :)

Does that mean I'm happy that all the Saturday rides will start at 8 a.m.? As Manda would say, "HELLS NO!" But I guess I'll have to just suck it up if I want to get stronger.

Thanks for the fun ride, everyone!

Kate

P.S. Go read Manda's blog if you haven't already, for details on the exciting Durand race (and more exciting post race!)

Spring Fever... Durand this weekend

2007-04-19T14:59:00.000-05:00

Oh man. It's GORGEOUS out. I work at the U of MN, and I'm sorta hoping that my building has a bomb threat so I can get out of here. That's just wrong though. But... man, it's GORGEOUS. Last time I was out, there was a bit of a stiff headwind, which made riding not quite as fun, but the sheer sunshine-y warmness made up for that.

That's one of my goals this season... ride even if it's windy out. Overcome hatred of headwind-- pretty much suck it up and DEAL.

Another goal is to be a slightly more sociable person. Part of that is being better at pointing out crap in the roads. -- But there is a weird sort of etiquette and balance to that. Some groups point out -everything-... stuff that I sorta classify as minutiae-- horizontal seams in the road... a dusting of sand... the white line. My pointing to stuff is more minimalist.. Holes that will eat your wheel, big ass chunks of glass, steel cheese graters on the road... You know the big stuff. So, I promise I'll try to remember to point out manhole covers and medium sized holes.

Another goal is to master the wave. I have to admit, I'm a klutz who's not exactly in great shape. Thusly, I'm MUCH better at the head nod. Unfortunately, the head nod is a much more subtle greeting than the wave... so those who are counting waves, taking names, and making a list may miss the head nod. So... list makers.. keep an eye peeled.

In exchange, I will try to wave to other people I see, but I reserve the right to use the head nod as a greeting, if I'm at the intense point of my workout, trying to get home before I bonk, or climbing a big ass hill.

Training clinic 1

2007-04-18T14:12:00.000-05:00

Mad props to Bruce for pulling this all together. And yay! for getting a ton of people together on a school night to come out and play. Comment if I'm missing anyone... Brooke, Molly, Kate, Barb, me, hotpinkevil, eclectchick, rocker, Sara(n), Leslie(?), and more came out to practice pacelining (or learn how to paceline), bump tires and bump shoulders... 'tis great fun. Grieber made a cameo appearance after the clinic ended. Bummer, girl. Missed ya.

Next one next Tuesday. Same bat time. Same bat place! Bring your homework:
1. How big are the rings on your crank?
2. How many gears are in the back? How many teeth are in the small one? How many teeth are in the big one?

All of yous who had your kit, you looked hot out there! I sorta had mine. The blue Patagonia jacket. I LOVE the 2006 full zip jersey when it is 80+ out... but it's still a lil' chilly for it to be my outer layer. (and it WREAKED anyway). And unfortunately, my 2005 is painfully tight right now. I guess that means more time on the bike is needed. GRR. Hopefully pictures might happen next time. I have a digital camera that used to be cool in 2001 to donate to the cause.

Saturday NOW Ride

2007-04-14T16:20:00.000-05:00

I survived the Saturday morning NOW ride, despite only having logged 99 outdoor miles this season. Heck, I increased my total milage by 50 percent! My computer says I rode 42 miles today, which includes the 6 mile round trip to the bike shop.

Temp when I left my house: 33 degrees

Barb and Marjie and I were the only "girls" on the ride. There were also about 6 guys, who seemed nice and rode at a reasonable pace that I could mostly keep up with. We went down Shepard road, which is always longer than I think, and into Maplewood by Hwy. 61, where we hit a nasty hill. I knew it was going to hurt when Barb said to me before we turned the corner, "Kate, you should probably get into your easiest gear." I did, but it didn't matter. I was seriously dropped on a really steep grade followed by a long gradual uphill. But thanks to Barb, who turned around to sweep me up, I didn't lose the pack entirely.

We split into two groups after the hill: those who wanted a shorter ride and those who wanted to keep going. Marjie and me and a guy named Jim turned around. My legs felt like burning, so the ride back wasn't as pleasant as the ride out. We rode into the wind, but Marjie was kind enough to let me hang on her wheel all the way back.

When we got back to the store, we were greeted by the guys from the other half of the group, who beat us back! Hey, ours was supposed to be the shorter ride!

Thanks to Barb and Marjie for having the patience to deal with my slow climbs. I look forward to getting back out there next time and maybe it won't hurt so much...

Can't wait for our Tuesday night training sessions!

Kate

Come out and play! it's spring?

2007-04-13T14:19:00.000-05:00

Looks like we might actually get one this year... this means rides are happening.

Seriously. The Tuesday night rides from the Snelling NOW bikes have been happening. Go check them out. I've been wussing out for a variety of reasons - weather, icky migraines...

9am Saturday morning rides the Snelling NOW bikes are also happening. These 2 rides are open to anyone, not just team members... so come join us!

For team members only, we will be doing skillz clinics--4 sessions:

April 17th

April 24th

May 1

May 8th.

These start at 6pm from the NOW bikes on Snelling. These are skills clinics, so it is important to go to all of them.

And OPUS starts soon.... MCF would know all about it. Want a preview of what racing at OPUS looks like? Bella Maria will be racing with the UMN, at a collegiate crit this Sunday Monday. Details here.

Also come join the Bellas at the IronMan on April 29th. Sounds like we're gonna be doing the 65 mile loop. All are welcome... but details TBA.

or not social-able

2007-04-07T20:28:00.000-05:00

there's something about this cold that's makes leaving hard. The time it takes me to get ready is directly proportional to the number of layers I have to put it. However, the time it takes does not grow like a steady slope... it's more like an exponential curve. ie. it takes significantly longer to leave when I have to wear long underwear, winter jacket and fleece hat, than when I only have to wear pants and a shirt.

I did think about moving to warmer climates again, but... it's kinda cold all over now. I came home from the clinic and noticed the US Open Cycling Championships in Richmond, VA was on NBC. Apparently it was 18 degrees at the start of the race. I grew up in Richmond... it rarely hits 18 degrees in the winter. ergh. Apparently nowhere is safe from this crappy spring cold snap.

But... all the info from various racing clinics this spring made the race way more fun to watch....

soft core derbying

2007-04-07T20:06:00.000-05:00

Today, MWCMR held their bike racing clinic. In my caffeine-less haze, got there 1.5 hours late, I saw Bellas Grieber and Kate.... anyone else? After a couple hours of classroom time (complete with coffee and tasty scones!), we broke off into 3 groups and worked on some skillz. We worked on our pacelines over to the park, where we worked riding shoulder to shoulder, shoulder to hip, and rubbing tireds... then... we capped it off with a softcore derby (thanks, buzzard!).

What makes for a softcore derby? Well, there was no blood spilled. Hrm... I don't know.. but... the derby involved a lot of women, on some very sexy bikes, riding around in a circle trying to knock each other out of circle or to the ground, or just make someone put their foot down.

Buzzard knocked me in the hip pretty good. GW Sara caused mayhem by randomly track standing in the middle of the circle. The sewer grate caught one rider's wheel and took 'em out.. and I finally got out of there... because the circle got too damned small, I got too squirrely, and put my foot down to make s sharp turn... DOH!

Thanks to MWCMR for holding the clinic... and it rawked seeing so many people out despite the weather...

That's about it... Gotta go be social-able now. And hit up the grocery store for my annual Cadbury creme egg.

you know you've always wanted to....

2007-04-03T13:01:00.000-05:00

You're an anime schoolgirl on a bike, and you ram an anime boy.... just to see how far he flies....

http://storage.act-9.com/2005/0222/nanaca.htm

Altoona Race Report

2007-04-03T12:11:00.000-05:00

by Barb

Saturday Road Race:

I love the Midwest. Where else can you get a post race meal, on the road, with all food groups for $4.99? At your local Des Moines Hy-Vee grocery store! Chicken and biscut casserole with green beans, broccoli and a whole wheat roll. It was great. Better than a cheese and mayonaise sandwhich. :burp:

Anyway...my first race of the season I am happy to say I am in better form than I was last year this time.:D I finished mid-pack and I am happy with it as the group I was in had some strong women form MN (Birchwood), Iowa, and Lincoln, about 20+ women total. The course was great-rolling hills, scenic farm lands with GREEN stuff and good old midwestern wind and rain. The race started out calm and reasonable. Then a super attack by the Birchwood Bettys got things going much faster than they were. :shock: I stayed on and our group now was half the field that started. We rode somewhere between moderate and harder than I really wanted to. But that's good for me. Up and down the hills we went. A good down pour of rain washed all grit off our water bottles. The last time up one of the beloved rollers I was not able to survive the attack, was dropped and rode it in hard with Andrea (socks) V. I tried to contest the sprint, but my legs were having none of it. Over all I really enjoyed the race--it was challenging, the women in the race rode well, I got to see friends from seasons past, and stayed with the group.

Tomorrow, the crit, and then back home to start spring break!!

Later,
Barb

PS, Iwas not listed in the results, but I finished 11th.

Sunday crit:

What can I say about the crit...the temps dropped during the night, the wind picked up and the course was not what I had hoped. I was not able to get a warm up (too cold, didn't know my way around, too whiney, etc). The course was a large circle, down and up, down and up. No fast corners, not speed, just up a long brutal, to me, hill and then down a long hill with cold wind in my face. About half the women from yesterday showed up. We started down the hill and that went OK. But up the hill I had nuthin', zero, zip, no legs and no will. So I came off, coaxed my self to ride a few more laps but still all goose eggs. So I did what I hate to do, I dropped out. Blah! I only get to do that once a year, so now I have to finish all the other races this year. :?

I watched the rest of the race huddled in my car shivering while a small group of very strong women duked it out. It was a good race to watch. Our MN women did well. Not a whole lot else to say, as it was cold, windy, grey. I thought about you'all riding the hill ride.

Can't wait for Opus.

MWCMR clinic this Saturday!

2007-04-03T10:44:00.000-05:00

Couldn't get enough road skills at the previous VeloBella clinic?

MWCMR is holding their women's only racing clinic this Saturday. 9am-1pm. Midtown YWCA. $10. Bring your bike, bike helmet, and clothing appropriate riding gear.

This clinic is open to any woman interested in bike racing... Most the local teams will be represented. It's a great place to work on your skills and meet other women interested in racing.

Why? MWCMR sponsors a series of races that have a separate Cat 4 (beginner racer) Women's field. There are a total of 7 races in this series with your best 5 races counting towards your standing in the series. There's even a series leader jersey at stake.

Come on out!

What are you wearing?!?

2007-03-29T08:32:00.000-05:00

by jen g

I am the Teen Program Director at a YMCA. The St. Croix Valley YMCA in Hudson, WI, to be specific. I have been bike commuting to Hudson from St. Paul, which as all cyclists know, bike commuting equals quality of life. Now, if you go back to the first sentence, you’ll notice that I work with teens – middle school aged kids to be exact. So, the other day when leaving the YMCA with my sweet orange bike and my snazzy spandex Bella kit, a number of my teens got a complete look of horror on their faces. “What are you wearing??!?!” was exclaimed with the deepest embarrassment and concern I could have ever imagined from these kids. It was so entertaining. I think I’m inspiring them….. ;)

hills and such

2007-03-28T23:52:00.000-05:00

Barb and hotpinkevil and me wandered out in the evening for a short 60 minute ride. Barb mentioned nifty hill training technique, so you get better at climbing. Hopefully, it will work. The hill by the Weiseman didn't seem as insurmountable today. Though, I think the is the first time I actually climbed it when I wasn't dead tired.

Anyways.. it was pretty eventful. Cracks are out to tip you over. and it is broken glass season in MPLS. It's the season between way to flippin' cold season and construction season. Guess that it's best to figure this out on a training ride...

cravings

2007-03-25T11:50:00.000-05:00

Taken from comments--Barb

"Anyway, I just got in from a ride and made myself 2 sandwiches. As I'm making them, I realized that about this time of year, I start craving mayonaise. I slather it on a la "Undercover Brother." Gad I love the stuff, but only when I am riding hard. The other food I've started to crave is spaghetti sauce. OK, I've finished my food and my mayo cravings are settled down until next time."

Sounds tasty as hell. One of the nifty thing about actual seasons (as opposed to microclimates and rainy season/not rainy season)... is that food and food cravings vary throughout the year. I'm a big food geek(Alton Brown is a hero)... and I gotta admit I ride so I can eat lots with less consequences. I know it's spring and riding season is starting again when I start craving smoothies after a ride and peanut butter, banana and honey sandwiches. Summer comes around and it's all about -anything- from the grill. After many years of not eating very much red meat (and a couple years vegan), last summer I started eating burgers again. I get home from riding a couple of hours, and the boyfriend and roommate say "hey... we've been grilling burgers... want one?" while handing you a plate. Cyclocross season is all about tasty cheesy pasta.

Though my favorite all season post ride food has got to be the San Francisco (Mission district) burrito. We used to have a place that was easy to find.... but that tanqueria (which are few and far between in the frozen tundra) has moved and I can never remember where it is...

So... what are all you guys' favorite post ride foods? Favorite tanquerias (CA people.... lemme know! I tend to crash in random places when I'm out there!)?

whee! road clinic and bike wanted

2007-03-24T14:47:00.001-05:00

3 hours just isn't enough. It is enough to get started though.

We went over water bottle drills--pick up the water bottle standing on the ground and put it down again.. and cornering. Baba told many tales of racing, with emphasis on dictating the pace for the peloton-- it was all well and good and informative and cool, but... dammit.. what about just staying in the peloton....

that would be a victory for this webdork.

Tuesday night clinics will be starting in April... and we gots pacelines and riding leaning on each other to go over. Having done both these skillz on the track, it's WICKED good fun. The more the merrier. So, bellas, come on out.

And if anyone has a 52-54cm older road frame or a track frame... I'm in the market. My current commuter fixed gear is far too small. I can't do more than 15 miles/day without my back screaming at me. So... new (to me) bike time... Drop me a comment if you know of one.

Members Only Perks

2007-03-24T08:12:00.000-05:00

Today we having a 3 hour road clinic. 3 hours on road bikes praciticing road racing skills. This is one or the perks of membership. Coming soon, we have regular team trainings on the calendar... Details TBA.

Last Sunday we had a calendaring/training clinic. One of the most helpful things I've heard was use time as a measurement of training... not distance. The overarching themes were consistency and commitment. Those 2 words are intimidating naughty words to me.

I'm stoked for today's clinic. The weather is foggy and cool. It feels like... summer at grandma's to me.

Tuesday night OUCH.

2007-03-21T16:41:00.000-05:00

NOW hosted another kickass Tuesday night ride.

On the first ride, we did a relatively mellow loop in Saint Paul (high street bridge, lilydale, mendota, and river road back)... and this last week, we ended up on the Lake Pahlen, Indian Mounds, Shepard Road loop. That loop is my nemesis. It hurts. It always hurts. It especially hurts when you've got a wicked headwind... after you hauled ass out to the shop against the same wicked headwind. ouch.

It was mostly a great ride. When we rode through the Minnesota Wild hockey crowd, and we met one of my Top Ten Peeves in the Midwest: Cops that do -NOT- know how to direct traffic. Look-- it is really hard to hear you when I've go my helmet on, and the wind is blowing had, and there's tons of cars around. So... if you make a gesture like you are waving us through, -that- is what someone gonna respond to. I'm just saying.

Guy on the red Cannondale with disc brakes handled that situation way way better than I would have. Do we have a bail fund in case one gets arrested while on a group ride? Mostly joking...

Ugh. Sorry... I'm horrible with names. I'm bad with faces (Tracy at NOW looks way different in his wintery bike gear), but I kickass at drooling over YOUR hot bike.

anyways, it was great to have good company on a killer ride.

Tuesday night rides

2007-03-13T16:37:00.000-05:00

They are starting this week! 6pm! 75 N. Snelling.

be there.

Generally, I'll be doing these rides.... wanna ride over with me? I'll probably leave the U around 5:15ish...

drop a comment... or email loxx0058(at)umn(dot)edu

bike expo pics

2007-03-08T22:52:00.000-06:00

Marjie brought her spy camera. Marjie took pics of Grieber. So.. here they are:

Jen's test riding something at the test track they had set up in the middle of the convention center.

and here's Jen again at the Altered Esthetics booth. They are a gallery in NE mpls that does a lot of bike art shows.

bike expo

2007-03-07T11:18:00.000-06:00

I'm not the best booth bunny... At best, I'm totally a-social. At worst, I'm hiding in the corner.

The NOW booth was great. Bob brought the SEXIEST bike out! I've always said.. I know serotta's are swank and gorgeous and stuff, but I cannot get over the fugly-ness of that font. That said Bob's cross bike made the Serrota font look good and was the hottest bike I've seen for a while. I wouldn't be surprised if it were hanging around the shop. Drop by and see it. It is totally drool worthy.

Aside from drooling over bikes, talking to people wondering where Sheryl was, catching up with bike people I haven't seen since cross ended... I got encouraged to ride the obstacle course in the middle of the expo. Tried out a Jamis dual suspension mountain bike. Good fun and I didn't biff!

Bella Ski

2007-03-04T18:36:00.000-06:00

Well, I did attend the re-Loppet and wore my Bella jacket hoping to attract the attention of other Bellas out there, but I didn't see Lori or Sheryl :( Were you guys there?

I skied the 25 km distance and I did get to say hi to Maria, who was in the same group.

Note to other skiers-- the Bella windtex jacket is not very breathable for skiing!

It was a beautiful day for a ski, and lots of happy people attended the event. I'm sorry that I didn't get a chance to ski with Marjie and Manda, due to schedule conflicts with the Bike Expo.
Some other time I hope?

I got a chance to talk up VB with some women who were skiing near me (they asked about the jacket) and I told them about our rides from the NOW location, and to look for our website.

Enjoy the snow while it lasts.
Manda, you'll get your wish for clear streets soon!

later,
Kate

a total tease...

2007-03-02T19:22:00.000-06:00

We went from some sweet late winter riding conditions (not hella windy, not too cold, longer daylight, and dry) to buried in snow. Enough to make this grrl moody and stompy and cranky. I really did used to deal much better with snow, but after a couple years of living in a state where I had to drive to see my snow + the fact I now have to shovel + no more snow days (though the U did let ouf early yesterday!)
=cranky manda.

Hopefully the Bella ski gathering Sunday @ 2:30-3:00ish... Theo Wirth Par 3, will change my mind about this stuff...

that... or some good sledding... before it turns to slush.

Sheryl's Birkie

2007-02-27T13:49:00.000-06:00

Well, Barb, the Prez has asked for an update on what the "Snow Bellas" did over Birkie weekend. HAD A GREAT TIME! That's all. They ended up shortening the course to less than half the distance- and only timed the Elite racers. Surprisingly, Velo Bella Maria Stewart was not allowed to compete in the elite wave (she was very magnanimous about it, considering it was really unjust- as she has been skiing SO WELL lately and on the podium so many times!) So she skied out there with the masses- which includes the rest of us, like Lori D., Laurel S. (were you out there?) and myself. Hope I didn't forget anyone!
As you can well imagine, I myself spent most of my time chatting during the "tour" and getting to know some Birchwood gals who ski, and inflicting "Ole and Lena" jokes to anyone who tried to pass me on the hills. I do think I was successful in communicating to the Birchwood Betties that Velo Bella is THE PLACE to be and we are always welcoming here in the pink and electric blue. So, stay tuned... ;-)

Otherwise, we are just so happy to have snow and good health! See attached photo of Birkie finish line smile....
Until the trainer ride then! Allez allez!
-Sheryl-

Free Tri Clinic!!!

2007-02-27T13:46:00.000-06:00

March 24th - Free Rookie Clinic, 9AM to 11AM, Shoreview Community
Center.

Send e-mail to info@turtleman.org

Train Safe,
Dan Conway
Race Director, 2007 Turtleman Triathlon

Birkie Blog

2007-02-25T17:55:00.000-06:00

Hi, it's Kate, with the post-Birkie report.

This was a particularly mentally grueling Birkie due to the changing nature of the press releases in the days leading up to the event. My boyfriend, Michael, went up to Hayward on Wednesday to set up the Craft booth at the expo. He called me that afternoon to tell me it was 52 degrees and raining there.

I didn't let that depressing news deter me from packing up my many bags of stuff and heading over to Northern WI on Thursday morning to meet my mom, sister and niece at the cabin we rent on Lake Namakagon. It was my mom's 24th Birkie, my sister's 14th, and my 4th. My 17 year old neice has done a Birkie event every year since she was three years old, and this was her 2nd Kortelopet.

On the drive over, I got a call from Michael "did you hear? the race is on hold unless they get snow before saturday morning." I started to wonder whether I should stop my carbo loading process, and was it worth it to pay to have my skis waxed? I remembered previous years when there was no snow on the ground anywhere else, but the trail still held that ribbon of white, so I dropped my skis off anyway. At Outdoor Ventures in Hayward, they looked at me a little funny when I said I wanted them waxed "did you hear about what's going on with the race?" Yes, but I was holding out hope anyway.

All day Thursday we wondered whether it would be another cancelled Birkie. The forecast didn't look like we'd get the three inches of snow they said they'd need to put on a safe race.

On Friday we got the good news. The Birkie was on for half the distance, but there would be no times recorded, and people could start anytime within half hour time frames. This was a little odd, but hey, we still got to ski!

The weather was great, the people were good-humored, and the trail, despite any snowfall prior to the race, was in surprisingly good condition.

Everyone was very cautious on the icy downhills, especially after we saw one poor guy lying on the trail who had a broken hip and compound fracture of his leg. It reminded me that even a seemingly safe sport like cross country skiing can have its dangers.

Even though it was a recreational ski, I did bring a watch and noticed that if I'd have done the whole thing, I probably would've done better than last year. It gives me something to aim for next time.

Sunday morning we attended the Birchbark Leggings breakfast with my mom, who belongs to that special club for people who have completed 20 or more Birkies. It's so inspiring to see all these people who have participated in up to 34 of these races, and they really want to pass along the enthusiasm to the younger people.

Our family is not the fastest bunch of skiers, but we know how to enjoy ourselves while keeping up a tradition. My mom dubbed us "Team Sturdy Women." I'm looking forward to next year, when my niece will be old enough to ski the 51 km race, and we can have three generations of Sturdy Women in the Birkie.

Hope everyone else who attended had a great time as well!

"if you're gonna ski the birkie, you better put some time in trainin'
cuz if you don't pay attention to that, you're in for a little pain-in'

Kieran's Mixes a Crappy Shandy - But the Comp'ny was Dandy!!!

2007-02-17T18:32:00.000-06:00

Great turnout for happy hour last night, Sara(n), Becca, Jenn, Sarah,
Manda, Shirley, Barb and Paula (former Bella). Hanging around with the
Bellas was a super way to wind down after a loooong work week. We all
agreed this was something we need to do more often! And who knew you
can reserve a happy hour table at Kieran's?? Note to self for next
time . . ..

So, watch for another Happy Hour posting in the near future. But next
up on the docket, hopefully in the next couple of weeks, a Friday night
field trip to watch Sarah and Manda (and ????) tear it up at the BMX
barn in Lino Lakes! Details coming soon!!

Thanks for coming out, gals!
Marjie

bandy!

2007-02-17T17:51:00.000-06:00

Well, the cold snap has broken. You know it was a evil long one, when anything over 20 feels damned good. I even saw a couple of kids in shorts today. Crazy.

At these temps, it's damned unfun to bike, so some of our team does other stuff. And they kick ASS at other stuff. You heard about the skiiers, but Kristy Powell is a bandy player. If you don't feel like going to wikipedia, bandy is "field hockey on ice."

So... here's Kristy's reports on 2007 Women's Bandy World Championships in Budapest, Hungrary. Kristy's on Team USA 2007. Wish I could tell you which one she is, but... I've only ever seen her clothed... and it's HARD to pick out who is who when everyone is in a team jersey. :P

Without further delay:

From: Powell, Kristy
Sent: Mon 2/5/2007 8:56 AM
Subject: Women's USA Bandy - Budapest, Hungary Feb 11 - 18, 2007

Well, the USA Women's Bandy Team departs on February 10th for Budapest Hungary for the 3rd ever World Championships in Women's Bandy. Before I take off with the team, I wanted to provide some information to you in case you are curious as to how we are doing.

1) Web site for the Women's National Team (where you can find the link to the Tournament info)
http://wwc2007.usabandy.com/

There, you can select the link to "2007 Women's World Cup", which is the tournament site. You can see the tournament schedule, standings/results, photos, and even view "game live" --- a broadcasting via the internet of the games!

2) If you want to see the venue where we are playing, you can go to this site...there's even a webcam for the rink! (Check it out - the rink is in front of a castle!) http://www.mujegpalya.hu/

3) Support us as we make this trip AND get a cool souvenir!
http://www.cafepress.com/womensbandy

Thanks for everyone's support so far!
From Team USA and myself,
Kristy #6

From: Powell, Kristy
Sent: Sun 2/11/2007 8:58 AM
Subject: RE: Women's USA Bandy - Budapest, Hungary Feb 11 - 18, 2007

Hey All!
WE'RE HERE!!!
23 hours of travel later, and we're in the "Pesht" side of Budapest. It's beautiful (as far as architecture goes)...the weather...well...let's just say "not the best bandy weather" --- I guess yesterday it was 60 degrees and rainy, thus standing water on the ice. I'm not looking forward to that, but I guess that's one of the beauties of bandy - you never know what the elements will do to your game!

We traveled a round about way....Minneapolis to DC, DC to Copenhagen, Copenhagen to Vienna, Vienna to Budapest via bus.

We will watch Hungary vs. Canada tonight (9:00 pm), and for those of you wondering "what time is it there?" It is 4:02 PM on Sunday - but that's 9:02 AM Sunday for you folks back home.

Well, time to brush the teeth, get changed, head out on the town for a couple of hours before the team dinner and viewing of the game.

More later --- and I do have access to the internet easily! *yeaye!* So I'll keep you all informed!

Cheers~
Kristy

From: Powell, Kristy
Sent: Mon 2/12/2007 9:33 AM
Subject: RE: Women's USA Bandy - Budapest, Hungary Feb 11 - 18, 2007

Hey All!
We started out slow against Finland this morning - must have been a lot of jet lag, or the fact that we were traveling for 20 + hours YESTERDAY and had to jump on the ice first thing...who knows...anyway - we didn't play OUR game like we could have and we lost. We did have some good points, and we skated away with our heads still high, looking towards our next competition - Hungary. We skated away from that with a 10-0 win. I had a pretty good game personally, but will step it up in the next game - can never be too statisfied.

We face Russia tomorrow --- should be a tough game, but good. Russia takes on Sweden tonight - a great rivalry which I'll be sure to watch.

Weather conditions aren't all that great, surprisingly. You would all love to be out of the MN cold and be in the 50 + temps here, but that causes about an inch to 2" of water to gather on the ice. Not easy to carry the ball with or slide on. When you do slide --- you can bet that you'll be water logged. I was able to ring out the inside of my skates --- that's NEVER a good sign. Needless to say, I'm in the hotel room right now with the hair dryer blowing the insides of my skates so I can put them back on for opening ceremonies tonight.

All is good - some rough play, but all in all, great bandy!

Cheers~

Date: Wed, 14 Feb 2007 03:56:50 -0600
Subject: RE: Women's USA Bandy - Budapest, Hungary Feb 11 - 18, 2007
Greetings from Budapest!

This may have typos or be short --- I have a bandage on my finger due to taking a few shots and sticks to the finger. All is OK -- just a bruise from playing Russia. We lost that game, although we played well. Today, we came out with our full force and intensity and managed to pull off a first in USA Bandy - we shut out Sweden and we tied them 0-0!!!!!!!!!!!!! That's an awesome accomplishment, and I'm sure many of you have heard me talk about how great Sweden is!

We have a game again this afternoon against NOrWAY. We have to beat them...and I am positive we can if we play our game.

As one of our teammates said (mary Hannula) - our ability to skate with the Swedes has a lot to do with the off ice training we did - Danielle - we'll see you many times to come. I have found my explosion of speed off of the line while defending a corner stroke has allowed me to take the ball from the other teams close to 10 times now (and gave me the owie on my finger...but it was worth it, the ball didn't go in!)

GO USA!

Today Norway, tomorrow Canada - we will show them how we are United as one!

KP

NOW trainer rides

2007-02-16T18:25:00.000-06:00

Last Wed MAnda, Megan and I (and fella) worked up a sweat at NOW. I was
good to see Megan who hasn't made an appearance since track sesaon (YAY
TRACK!)

~Barb

Yep... trainer rides. It's definitely more fun to ride on the trainer watching spinervals with your team mates than it is to do it alone. At least the cast members in the videos end up with nicknames-- porno guy, coach troy (wait. that's his real name), pasty girl, too cool for sleeves guy....

But.. trainer sessions at NOW are damned sweet! They have the trainers there.. just bring your bike. They have regular trainer sessions are open to the public. Just scroll down their homepage to find out when and where.

mo' skiing

2007-02-13T18:42:00.000-06:00

When it is this cold, people here ski.. not ride...

So... there's some skiier Bellas kicking ass.

Here's the scant details from Sheryl...
Maria Stewart took another PODIUM in ski racing. She took 2nd woman overall- in a very fast lightning finish at the Mora Vasaloppet.

Sheryl also finished 3rd in her age group, and 9th overall. kickass!

Sorry for the delay in posting these.... I was waiting for some details.. If you got any... post 'em in the comments, or send them my way...

Skiier News

2007-02-08T10:11:00.000-06:00

Velo Bella Maria Stewart is a skiier in the winters... and she rocks just as much on snow as she does on two wheels (and of course in real life... )

She took home some prize money for the Saturday night sprints and podiumed the 25K Classic ski event.

Go Maria!

(and that's all the details I know... was kinda waiting for a race report and THAT's why this is late.)

it is -that- damned cold

2007-02-05T12:48:00.000-06:00

Towards the end of the race, as we were riding back to downtown in a wicked headwind, my bottom bracket start schooching out of my bike frame. I'm like wtf?, but elect to deal with it later, enjoy the after party, and bus home since I'm not used to riding drunk.

Discovered after the Triple Rock (for you berkeley people, this is NOTHING like the triple rock there) brunch, that my bottom bracket and bike frame have compatible threading. It easily screwed back in, and tightend down pretty well. Odd. the only thing I can think of is: bike frame is older.. mid-80's maybe. Bottom bracket is brand new. Different materials, possibly, which leads to different rates of contraction due to the cold. No clue. but it's fixed now.

saturday fun times

2007-02-04T16:09:00.000-06:00

First the day started with me teaching a spinning class. Always fun. always surreal.

Then I drove over to Now bikes-- Snelling for the Castelli trunk show. Fabulous deals and steals for us... market research for them. We even got a sneak peak at the 2007 women's gear. There was definitely some interesting and styling stuff in the 2007 line. I was by FAR the most excited by the zippers. But, being that I still dress like a 16 year old skater boy and am not shaped like a women's size (but who is really?) someone else (*cough* sheryl, barb, JenG, Kristy, bueller, bueller?) who is less butch than me should blog about it.

But yeah... their stuff is cool. I'm a girl that shops by function/economics, and -then- by fashion.

Picked up a rad orange windproof and water resistant Castelli outer shell that RULED Damn, that thing is warm. I race-tested both the jacket and the giordana lobster gloves at Stupor Bowl a couple hours later. The gloves kept my fingers toasty all race. The jacket allowed me to shed one of my upper body layers. awesome.

So, how does a cold weather wuss dress for this wicked cold ass stuff?
starting at the top.

my head

helmet
fleecy hat
snowboarding goggles
balakava

my abdomen

tank top
warm-ish pearl izumi short sleeve jersey
fleece-jersey
rei fleecy jacket (actually made it too warm and added too much bulk. this was removed before the race)
Castelli jacket
Snowboarding jacket
chrome bag with change of clothes and race schwag

bottoms and feet

bike shorts
regular clothing tights
furry on the inside bike tights
craft base layer
khaki pants
aireator socks
smart wool socks (removed to make room to kick ass heat pads)
skate-shoe like bike shoes

The race rawked. Heard today at brunch something like 273 people registered.

I made it to 8 out of... uhh.... 20? stops. 9 if you could standing behind the new guthrie on the river waiting for the start. Being that my goal was 3 stops minimum and 5 maximum. That ruled. I even stayed warmer than I thought I would. Victory is mine. muah. Couldn't have done it alone...

I gotta thank bridget, liz, and danielle for lotsa fun and encouragement. We even made it to the Sunrise, which was by far the stop furtherest south, and even rode back it. Never believe anyone when they say "oh. yeah. sure... we'll just light rail it back in."

Yay to people at palmers with friendly dogs, the nomad and their bananas and sport jelly bellies. The scallywag clubhouse had free coffee, soup, and cookies.. The sunrise had a live cover band, free ice-daquari's at someone's house, no idea what all was at joe's garage, though I know we went, good people at Mackenzie's, and tasty free food at Foundation.

post stupor

2007-02-03T21:37:00.000-06:00

.5 cookie
1 beer total ( me and bridget split)
1 tequila shot

9 stops total

4 whiskey sours at foundation

10 fingers.
10 toes.
none of them blue. yay

holy crap it's cold...

2007-02-03T11:57:00.000-06:00

and Stupor Bowl X is still on. Yes, we know it's cold. There has been some changes because of the cold. one of the message boards is filled with tips on how to avoid frostbite. This is probably sign number one that people shouldn't be riding.

sign #2 that argues against riding is... the severe weather warning. something about windchill. UGH. Last i heard the race officially starts at 3pm. and it's STILL only -10 degrees FUCKING COLD right now. That's without the wind chill.

sign #3: from mplsbikelove again. The question was: "do I need to ride a fixed gear bike?"
answer by MegD (organizer of ze race): hells no. I would warn you though, probably best to ride either a fixed OR a geared bike. In weather this cold, I"ve had bearings freeze up on regular single speed freewheel cogs. But maybe that's just because of my mechanical inaptitude.

the only reaction to "weather this cold, i've had my bearings freeze up.." is... OMG, WTF?!

but... i love this race. it's the thing that started it all. But... my first one was stupor bowl 8, and THAT was awesome. It was in the high 40's and the streets were dry. The boy I was with at the time was my domestique. heh. So.. it's only downhill from there, i guess. but it's still HELLA fun.

If you wanna watch... I dunno. Maybe hit up some local watering holes. there's lotsa activity at one on one right now. CRC is probably a stop. Behind Bars is a sponsor... NE grumpy's is probably a stop. But this is all speculation. We won't get manifests until 2:30.

Everyone will show up to foundation by 6. They open at 5. $5 for non-riders.... I hear rumors there's food and drink specials... So come out and hang with the riders and support a new-ish local club!

eh. back to getting dressed.

winter warmers: jameson, castelli, and hotties on hot bikes

2007-02-02T13:00:00.000-06:00

It's 3 degrees out right now. I wussed out riding into work today because it woulda been -2 degrees when I left the house. No idea (beyond jameson) how to cope with tomorrow's high of -4 (yes. that is a negative sign, NOT a typo) for Stupor Bowl tomorrow.

The way more sane bellas are going to the Now Bikes and Fitness-- Snelling for the Castelli Trunk show.-- 10am

Here's the details from Bob (Now bikes and fitness):
The Castelli rep "is going to sell any of his samples at 40% off . We
will offer 20% off on any spring 07 clothing due to arrive in
March/April.
He is going to bring an inventory of sale Fall Winter stuff and offer
at least 20% off those goods too. The fall winter goods are what they
have on hand and will ship the next week."

Drop Barb a line if you plan on going... This weekend is also the City of Lakes Loppet, maybe our new blogger and XC skiier, Sheryl, will blog about it.

oh... and the ray of sunshine? my dream of paradise...

check out this following video...

Special Professional

Add to My Profile | More Videos

mmm. hot punk boys. sweet bikes. san francisco.

Karlo pics!!!!

2007-01-31T20:41:00.000-06:00

new podium boy - Karlo Gordon Hood

2007-01-30T13:43:00.000-06:00

Arrived on Saturday night at 9:08pm. He weighed in at 7lbs 4oz. and
measured 19 1/4" long. He is healthy and doing well. Labor lasted
23 hours and was the hardest workout of my life. Had I not worked
out the entire pregnancy he definitely would have arrived via c-
section. We faced quite a few challenges during labor, but he
handled the stress beautifully. We are all now resting and getting
to know each other, which is quite wonderful. Chuck is having the
time of his life and is a very proud dad. He's especially proud of
the fact that he was able to stay upright and watch the delivery and
(a major shock to me) he even cut the umbilical cord.

What an amazing experience!

Stacia

Ice Race.

2007-01-29T22:16:00.000-06:00

Yeah. even though ze bella blogger thought about it... the artic temperature prevented her from doing it. As I jokingly stated at the team meeting, "you are more likely to see me online than anywhere else..."

You don't know how TRUE this is when the temperatures drop below 25 degrees. And dammit. if anyone is tired of hearing me bitch about the weather comment here, and make my other teammatoes (SWEET TYPO!!!).. teammates post.

But anyways... what follows is Sheryl and Barb's race reports. :)

And a hella huge congrats to Stacia and Chuck!!! (read below for details...)

STUDS on ice

2007-01-29T22:12:00.000-06:00

Huge KUDOS to you anyway- at least DFL is better than my pathetic DES (didn't even start) thanks to my lack of knowledge of studded tired. I did however win some schwag for my efforts... One of the fellas running the race had extra home made studded tires available and when he heard my sad story he let me keep the pair that had flatted me. (along with giving me a long description of how to correctly put a tube liner in..) I promised him I'd be back next year with properly prepared equipment.
Just for the record, for those of you who don't know me and I don't want to get a bad reputation for being a dum-dum- I had come down unprepared because Chuck Hood (stacia's hubby and the days' race promoter) was going to have two prepared wheels already for me. But wouldn't you know- the new Velo Fella, little Karlo Hood, decided to join the world on Saturday night! Congrats to the new family! Way to go, Stacia! So, needless to say, the Hood family were more occupied with diapers than studded tires for Sunday's race. I sure enjoyed Barb's race report though. Way to Represent! Woot woot! Let's hope for both our sakes that Maria is back next year!
-Sheryl-

With my scarf wrapped around me. Wind pants. Picture it.

2007-01-29T22:11:00.000-06:00

Oh...well...Uh...this was definietely a race of skill and knowledge
of ice.

In the AM I went for a 'warm up', but by the time I packed up the
bike and drove out there I was chilled. Dear husband, who had put
Maria's lucky tires on my wheels, set up the bike for me out at Bush
Lake. I had on all my winter cycling gear AND my parka and wind
pants, and scarf. I 'warmed up' on the ice for about 15 mn. Back
out on the parking lot making a dash for warmer gloves, I saw Sheryl
and her dear husband frantically changing her tires. No one told her
about the necessary tire liners, so she had flatted on the warm up.
Annoyed and cold, Sheryl and crew pack up and go home.Rats. This
means I have to rep the Bella colors, but no way I'm taking off my
coat.

The race starts with a La Maz (in honor of Stacia and Chuck) start, I
am off the line near the back. I don't run well in sand. With a
parka. With my scarf wrapped around me. Wind pants. Picture it.

The course is constant turns. Really, it's a fun course, but even
with the serious studs, I know I don't have a feel for this and boy
am I s l o w. Fast forward. I started to get a bit more confident
and am catching up to a couple of women, one who is wearing a Santa
suit. Trying to be careful, and starting to have fun. Then my crit
cornering memory kicks in--bad idea. Even with studs, you can't brake
even medium hard on ice. Down I go and lose the two women.
I "chase" at about 2-3 miles an hour. Fortunely, I am now warm,
sweating even--can you imagine? I figure out to 'bank' off the snow
on the edge of the ice path and start to get the hang of cornering on
ice, 3/4 of the way through this adventure. Most of the 6 or so women
have dropped out, so that means I am DFL!!! Woot Woot!!

I really don't know how Maria does it. Go Maria!

OK, what's next--BMX? Get my butt kicked by a 10 year old.

Give 100 degrees in Milwaukee anyday.

Barb

Stupor Bowl X

2007-01-27T22:22:00.000-06:00

*squee!*

8 more days until Stupor Bowl!!!!

Those of you who knows me, knows I don't squee often... but this is one of the funnest races of the year... and one of the best parts of winter in minneapolis...

As a cold weather pansy (ex-Oakland-er-- the Richmond district in SF is wicked cold to me), I'm hoping for the 30's and sunny... but.. who knows this time of year.

Come on out and play!!!! It's wicked fun 21+ scavenger hunt race on bikes... (alcohol optional)....

brrr.argh.

2007-01-27T21:28:00.000-06:00

Friday I biked home from work without my lights on for the first time in, what has felt like forever. It was a balmy 35 degrees F and fabulous. Had I remembered it was Critical Mass Friday, I definitely would have ridden longer... but places to go... people to see... blah blah.

As weather is in MN, that was a huge -tease-. It is all of 3 degrees right now, with a windchill of -13 degrees. I had to be outside for a little while today, and I felt my face freeze off. So, I gotta giggle in ENVY at the Californian perception of cold....and surf on over to craigslist to see if there's any web or flash dev jobs... (oh. damn...)

and for the record... it's gotta be in the low 20's for snot to freeze on your face.

BUT... i'm betting this is gonna make the 2007 Chilly Chili Ice Race super fast....

Best of luck and stay warm to all those racing...

Thursday Now Trainer Night

2007-01-26T21:25:00.000-06:00

Nikki, Leslie and I enjoyed riding together last night at Now. We did
the Spinervals "Sweating Buckets" workout.

As always, the Now folks were supportive and helpful, helping Nikki
replace a dropped chain, Leslie to get her chain moving up to the big
cookie easier, and even adjusting Nikki's cleat placement for a more
efficient and comfy time on the bike.

We were all glad we made it over to Now for the ride. It was much
more fun to pant, sweat AND heckle Troy Jacobson in a group. BTW,
Leslie deserves MAJOR kudos - she hoofed it alllll the way to Arden
Hills from Hopkins in rush hour traffic to ride with us!!!

Cheers!
Marjie

winter == skiing ?

2007-01-23T09:28:00.000-06:00

It hasn't been all too snowy around here, which is great for biking... but it bums our bella skiiers out. And -of course- the bellas rawk on snow. Maria Stewart placed 2nd at the Capitol Square Sprints.

She's got a race report over on skinnyski.

BMX action!

2007-01-21T22:43:00.000-06:00

Sarah went bmx-ing.. she even posted to ze email list about it.

Anyways... here it is...

Last night I got talked into going up to Rehbein's BMX Arena (aka The
Barn) to ride on the BMX track. Apparently not having a bike, helmet,
or money isn't an issue or excuse. It was much more difficult and
intimidating than I expected. I went up there last weekend to just
watch and see what it is all about. It's mostly kids, so I thought if
they could do it, I could do it too, right? A friend loaned me his BMX
bike, fully loaded with Spokey Dokes and a seat that was much too
high, but beggars can't be choosers. I figured if a kid made fun of my
Spokey Dokes I would just tell him/her that no one likes them.

I lined up to the gate and the first thing I noticed is that the track
is a lot steeper than I thought it was. The gate went down and off I
went, eating the dust of children. I was really awkward on my bike
since I haven't ridden a BMX bike since I was a kid, and it really
didn't fit. I went up and down the hills, went around the burms
(banked corners) and finished out of breath. The second burm was the
hardest part of the course since it is a clock-wise turn which felt
really strange to me.

For the first hour I was really frustrated and discouraged and ready
to quit. Thankfully the guys I was with were really encouraging, gave
me helpful pointers and cheered me on throughout. Most importantly
they made me keep going around and not give up.

When I finally hit the second burm smoothly I knew I was improving and
actually wanted to keep going! I had a big smile on my face and only
stopped once to get a corn dog. I kept saying "one more time and I'm
done," but I kept lining up to go again. Towards the end I even
started to get some air off the hills and beat a kid to the finish
(I'm a bully, I know).

I'm starting to look for a bike that fits me and plan to keep going
and hopefully improving as significantly as I did over the two hours
last night. I'm even planning on racing one of these weekends (they
award trophies)!

Let me know if you want to come out, it's super fun and the more the
merrier!

ooooo... shiney..

2007-01-16T19:34:00.000-06:00

Yeah... the trainer ride was part baby shower... and that was full of "ooooo! cute!" as expected. But... let's not forget... "oooo... SHINEY!... and cool..!" See.. in the back of the Arden Hills Now Fitness location, they've got Tacx trainer system, complete with big screen TV and virtual reality (haven't heard that term since 1999, eh?) simulator hooked up. All of us got to try both the Real Life Video and the Virtual Reality Terrains. Both were wicked fun. The Real Life video definitely had the better graphics.. but it lacked the steering function that the Virtual Reality Terrain had.

I'm even pondering trying to sneak in early next trainer ride, so I can set -my- bike up on the trainer and hog it the WHOLE time.

Seriously, this could be a DDR-like addiction for bike geeks...

....The most fun you can have on a trainer...

2007-01-16T19:24:00.000-06:00

First of all - I didn't want to get my bike out, find my shoes (which
have been hibernating for weeks) pack up the car and drive in the
cold on Saturday morning, when I could be snuggly on the couch. But I
DID want to catch up with my Bella Friends, and work off some of that
icecream from the night before.

So with that said - it was well worth the little bit of effort that
it took to get to the trainer site. I think the girls would all
agree that we had a great time!!

The trainer session itself was kind of self-paced. At least for me
it was. You could sit and pedal and chat - like me. Or you could
really work it hard (like Barb, or Marjie, or Jen or just about
everyone - even Stacia!)

By the way, Stacia and her "Precious Cargo" looked great on the bike,
no complaints from either - she fared much MUCH better than I did
when I was preggo. Great Job Stacia!

And further - the young good looking staff at NOW were very helpful
getting us set up, directing us to the ladies room, etc. All the
pleasantries we Bellas deserve.

I would rate the trainer ride an A+!

--- written by Sara(n)

New Year's Eve Winter Ride

2006-12-31T15:33:00.000-06:00

Good Bye '06, hello '07! As I write this, it's FINALLY snowing. For the first time I can ever remember, we had a warm, brown Xmas. I don't mind at all the above freezing temps, but it has been very hard to: 1. ski!! 2. take some time off the bike 3. justify eating more cookies (gotta keep warm!) 4. brag about how tough I am riding in below freezing and even below zero temps. This morning husband and I put on the 'bags' (rain jackets), dialed up the foot heaters and went for a ride. One local tough gal Sara bailed on us, but that only made us a little more resolved to at least try to ride it out. At 8 o'clock it was frickin' dark out still--plain gloomy, but 41 degrees felt downright balmy once we got going. We rode hills around St. Paul keeping close to home just in case. This weather reminds me that I once read Seattle track guy Woody Cox (yup...) complain how hard it was to train all winter in wet conditions like this. Today still beats 15 degrees. Anyhow, I stayed warm but not dry. We turned in after 2.5 hours, 1.5 short of our original goal as my feet were getting cold as the temps seemed to have cooled. Several P&B sandwhiches, a hot shower, 2 loads of laundry and a short nap dreaming of sunny, hot days and many victories later, I feel refreshed and ready to take on New Year's Eve! Yours, Barb

Oct 14 & 15

2006-10-24T16:10:00.000-05:00

Spirit Mountain CX and Alan Factory Cup CX.

Spirit Mountain, Duluth, MN
Looking at the results, it looks like not too many people showed up at this one. In fact, only one woman raced cat B.. and they were paying out 3 deep. My sources were bummed they didn't choose to suffer an extra 15 minutes for the moooonAY. A source also told me, it was a wicked fun course, but the cold air turned your lungs in to crystal brittle bits. ouch!

But... VB's own Barb Harick took 1st in Cat C women's. rawk on.

Alan Factory Cup CX.
Big turn out for this course, right smack in the middle of Minneapolis-- lotsa racers, lotsa spectators, lotsa people wandering through. Put on by Team Alan, who have also been producing wednesday night CX clinics on Boon Island. This allowed them to create a fun as HELL course-- twisty, kinda hilly, through the woods, up on the cracked pavement... good times.

In fact, I had a great enough time, to not remember falling, until others have mentioned.. 'hey dude, NICE fall.', or know how I got the scrapes on my left shin or the chain ring bite on my right ankle. Awesome. Everything else hurts too much to notice to small things.

The C race was fun. They did a seperate women's start, 30 seconds after men. There was a small pile up near the beginning at the sharp turn on the downhill. Sorry to the Gopherwheel lady for the snot, but... follow a racer(?) who sounds like a cat trying to hack up a hairball at your own risk. Found the one root sticking out on the dirty climb and got it caught in my wheel... DOH!.. but anyways.. enough not-action-y blogging. All you gotta know... is FUN course on a gorgeous sunny fall day. Thanks to teammate Kristy for coming out and cheering. And hell.. thanks to all the cheerers for being hilarious, snarky, and motivating.

Here's Karla! with a recount of the B action.

lotsa racing going on.. Oct. 7th and 8th

2006-10-24T15:59:00.000-05:00

Oct 7th.. at Rum River:

Women's B race:
15 214 B3 Kingsley Karla Velo Bella
21 223 B3 Herman Margot Velo Bella

Karla blogged about it a bit.

Oct 8th: Lake Rebecca.

It was a gorgeous lake side course with lotsa dirt sections, rutty single track, one wicked leaf-filled hill climb -after- a barrier and some misty rain. FUN FUN FUN course for me.

Women's C race:
20 15 C2 Harick Barb Velo Bella
32 25 C2 Lo Manda Velo Bella

Women's B race:
35 118 B3 Kingsley Karla Velo Bella

As always Karla has a action-filled blog about it. Me, I was happy to not be dead last (DFL) or DNF (did not finish). It has been getting easier each time. Who knows if it's the course or if it actually is getting easier for everyone.

Margot's Orono report

2006-10-03T16:24:00.000-05:00

Orono was my first race back since the end of July and I was feeling a bit out of race shape, nervous, etc. But, I guess there’s only one way to get in shape! My plan was to not do what I always do, which is to start out HARD, blow up and then struggle b/c not only was a unsure I could go hard for that long, but also it was very windy w/ lots of drafting potential.

Of course though, luck had it that I got through the sandpile first on the first lap and after yelling out in celebration that I actually made it through I realized that everyone else was piled up, so.....being the smart girl that I am, I kept going, for what seemed like forever, but was only a couple laps...until my scheduled blow up. ;)

But, after seeing Karla fall off the back of the Linda train, I struggled on back up to her and sat on her wheel until I could breath again! Thanks Karla! We pulled on and off, with the help of some B men who are pretty nice about mixing it up with us and then had a weird finish that consisted of us deciding to split the race money and duke it out for fun and then me getting confused about when the finish was and Karla clipping out of her really wonderful SPD pedals. But, hey, it’s not really about the finish, but the journey. I think I’m signed up for more of this madness next week!

Thanks Bellas for being there to race and officiate and make it fun, and thanks to some of the cool Out’n’About guys for feeds. Really, people are so nice and laid back at cross races.

Orono CX

2006-10-02T13:52:00.000-05:00

This morning, I headed out to the Orono High School to race - it was the same place we raced last year, but they changed up the course a little bit. It still had the same brutal run-up, but they threw in an extra set of barriers and a sand pit. Not as technical as yesterday either, so I wasn't as psyched.

Read it ALL at Karla!'s blog

Orono Cyclocross from the back of the pack... -- manda

2006-10-01T20:48:00.000-05:00

It was gorgeous, but windy out. I hadn't trained or raced all season (home ownership is SUCH a love/hate relationship)... so... when the race started I went from 0 to HURT in under a minute.. and I stayed at HURT for the next thirty minutes. I'm not at anywhere near basic intelligence when my whole body hurts and my brain is oxygen deprived, but I still had enough common sense at the end to know which was left. (However, I -barely- had enough sense to follow all the flags and yellow tape... ).

Barb kicked much butt in the C race.. and I'm hoping for a B race report for Karla and/or Margot. The course was harder than last year and included a sand pit. My theory on sand, is if there is sand, there had better be and ocean.

My thoughts during the race..
prestart: "oh man. i gotta pee."
start: "yay!!!!" "Ack! sand!" "OUCH." "no. not. another. barrier." "ouch" "pedal faster dammit" "ouch" "YAY! for hand up from Bruce. "yay for the wonderfully supportive crowd and teammates that made sure I didn't quit" "ow." Repeat a couple times.

But seriously. The promoters did a great job. It was a fun, fast (faster for some than others) course. Hi to Bella officials Stacia and Sheryl(?-- hopefully right... )!

A race report with less race, and more silly is viewable on manda's livejournal .

Hudson CX

2006-09-30T17:50:00.000-05:00

Saturday CX - Hudson
I headed over to Hudson, Wisco for the CX race with Bella Maria on Saturday. She brought the Kona MTB with some sweet commuter wheels for her cross rig. That girl does it all - last year she did the Boom Island CX on a road bike, with regular road tires. Wow. Anyway, we pre-rode the course and I decided that it was pretty much made for me - flat and fairly technical with lots of tight corners, sand and mud. There was one little drop-off into a puddle, and Maria warned me after we warmed up not to go off the left side of it, because there was a big hole that she'd been fortunate enough to ride into. ....

Read more at Karla's blog...

Irongirl Duoathlon

2006-09-30T08:24:00.000-05:00

Irongirl 2006 Cycle
Originally uploaded by evilpanda.

News girl note: You know those friends who always call when you are getting busy... it seems that me and blogger are the same way. Sorry about the lateness of this post.

This season has been a strange one for me – not really getting to
ride too much due to the personal life and injuries…but none the
less, I decided to sign up for the 2 duathlons I did last year, once
again.

This past weekend, I raced in the Iron Girl Duathlon in Bloomington,
MN. Last year, the bike portion was terrible! There was a stretch
where we couldn't pass and I got stuck behind some grandma out for
her Sunday ride….literally…the woman wasn't even in the race! This
year, they changed the course due to so many complaints from the
athletes last year (which numbered 250). I had done a lot more
training last year for the race, and ended up 3rd in my age group,
and 26th of 250. This year, I had high expectations of myself to
finish in the top 15…maybe even top 10!

Boy, was I wrong at the level of athletes that would be there this
year! I knew that the pool had grown to 600 women competing, but I
didn't realize that there would be some people there who had just
finished the Ironman in Wisconsin, qualifying for Kona with a time of
less than 10 hours!!! I believe 3 of the top 5 all did that!

Needless to say, I decided that I couldn't compare myself to them…I
had not been training like they had this summer, so they could blow
me away. What I decided I'd do is compare myself to me from last
year. The distances this year were longer for running and for
riding, and the course was MUCH better!

I had a birthday the week before and decided to spend the time, until
Saturday in New York City. The plane ride home was nice (first
class!), and I did catch some good zzz's. However, there is
something to be said for traveling right before a race – I think I'd
like to not fly the night before. Oh well…I made the choice to have
fun on my birthday, now it was time to pay for that!

Running around Normandale Lake, the scenery was beautiful as the
colors are hitting their peaks. Starting out, I remembered how I
need to pace myself and not let the first run take my energy. I ran
comfortably, then got to transition (which was not designed well ---
you had to run around the area before getting into it --- doing that
with cycling shoes was not fun!). I realize that transitions are not
my strength! I hop onto the bike and start my clock. The gals who
had passed me on foot --- no challenge for me on the wheels! I
caught up to many and passed many women who were really strong on the
run. Their advantage is that they have another run after the bike –
my advantage is that the bike portion is 5 times as long as the run
portion! Not realizing how hilly Bloomington is, I was amazed at the
change in difficulty of the ride from last year. I kept in mind the
information that I had learned at Balance from Fiona, and Barb
Harrick in my mind saying "Keep the Cadence!" So I did that on those
long climbs. At one point, there was a spectator, obviously familiar
with cycling, who shouts at me on the climb "Great Cadence! You're
smoking!" Wow – that was really good to hear --- I was doing it
right, and someone noticed!!! I continued to play leap frog with
some of the gals who were strong, and on the second ½ of the ride,
managed to drop the leap froggers. My average was MUCH better than
last year on a course that was much more difficult. I heard many of
the other women stating how they thought the course was harder than
they had anticipated as well. Don't get me wrong – it wasn't a
course that was extreme or unbearable…just exceded my expectations!

All in all, I ended up 37 of 600 Athletes. I finished the race in
1:44. I guess I can say I'm pretty happy with my time and
placement. What I'm even happier about is the fact that I was out
there again, racing! Representing the Bellas in stylish fashion,
some of the people that were cheering recognized the Bella colors and
even shouted "GO BELLA!"

I love being associated with the Bellas – Oh la la!

Until next weekend's report from Green Bay – Ciao~
Kristy

St. Cloud Cyclocross-- 9/24/06

2006-09-27T10:01:00.000-05:00

At least 2 of our bellas were up there racing-- Barb and Karla!. Karla! has a race report up in her blog.

9/23/06 morning ride

2006-09-27T09:59:00.000-05:00

n spite of threatening rain and pessimistic weather reports, I showed up to Harvest Moon to find 4 other Bellas already there. Barb, Kate, Jen, and... oops, Bruce, I guess he's not quite a Bella. But we can pretend for now. We chatted for a good 15 minutes and then headed out towards Wayzata. We took the Cedar Lake Trail out to somewhere and then wound through some neighborhoods. We chatted about the drama in our (mine and Jen's - the single ones) lives and then Bruce beat me on the townline sprint into Wayzata. Darnit. We had a potty stop at the Caribou, and then decided to make our way back on McGinty Drive. Barb beat me on the townline sprint on the way back, and then she had some intervals for us to do, so we opened up the legs with two 4-minutes intervals. That felt good. All in all we had a lovely ride, and it was even sunny by the time we got home! Nice.

by-- Karla

PIE!

2006-09-27T09:47:00.001-05:00

PIE!
Originally uploaded by evilpanda.

What a great ride!

We were 7 (count 'em, SEVEN!) Bellas strong today (Jennifer, Paula,
Brooke, Manda, Maria, JoAnna (on her first ride with us!) and me),
plus one bonus Betty (Heather). All of us were absolutely thrilled
to see the sunshine and blue skies! Though the morning started cool,
we warmed up in no time with the help of that lately AWOL glowing orb
in the sky.

We set out into Shoreview, rolled eastward to Withrow, with every
mile bringing us closer to White Bear Lake AND . . . donuts and
coffee and pie, OH MY! The orchard was a nice carrot for us as we
rode on, especially as it seemed to take a while to finally come (it
was at around mile 30). We were happy to stop for a break. It
really felt like fall out there among the apples, and it's starting
to look like it, too, with lovely fall colors.

Thanks to Jennifer (via her friend, Julia, who gave her a coupon) we
all enjoyed a slice of FREE apple pie! Mmmmm. We had just finished
up our goodies when lo and behold - there were Sara(n) and little
Leo!! What a treat - yet another Bella AND our podium baby! They
stopped to chat and we promptly overwhelmed little Leo with our Bella
baby coos and happy greeting. The poor little guy burst into tears.
The waterworks didn't last long though and I have to say, that Leo
gets more adorable every time I see him. What a sweetie! Thanks for
coming out Sara(n)!

Sitting down to enjoy our orchard stop did give us a little chill,
and we decided it was time to continue. After a couple of teeth-
chattering minutes, the sun warmed us again as we continued back to
Bald Eagle Lake and on to Shoreview. What a great day. There was no
shortage of chat and laughter on this very nice ride. I think the
happy spirit was contagious - we sure got waved on through plenty of
stop signs AND didn't get honked at or yelled at even once! Our
total mileage was 45 at an average speed of 16.9 mph. (I haven't
downloaded my photos yet. If any turned out, I'll post 'em.)

Fall has only just begun. I hope the orchard will be a nice lure for
another ride soon - maybe October?

Thank you so much, ladies, for coming out and making the orchard ride
a success!! A very special thanks to JoAnna, for joining in on her
first Bella ride! It was great to have you, and WELCOME!

Have a great week, y'all!
Marjie

Cyclocross

2006-09-23T11:33:00.000-05:00

The season starts.. umm... today.

The first races are a-ways from the Twin Cities-- Taylor Falls on Saturday... (WAY WAY up by the North Dakota border) and St. Cloud on Sunday. Good luck to all racing.

Check out this 1924 cyclocross race. Looks fun, huh? Get out and ride. Run what you brung. While it's nice to have a cross bike... either a mountain bike or a road bike works just FINE on cyclocross courses.

And.. there's usually beer and chili afterwards.

Livestrong

2006-09-23T11:24:00.000-05:00

The Bellas who showed up for our end of the year pinic had the pleasure of riding with Annemiek Sisterman. She kicks a lot ass and is hella fun to ride with. And.. she just started her journey from Minnesota to Texas to celebrate 5 years cancer-free.

Check out this article about her ride in the Pioneer Press.

Keep track of her progress at http://www.sisfiets.blogspot.com/.

Support here by donating to the Livestrong foundation.

Testing out Flickr

2006-09-22T11:36:00.000-05:00

IMG_3255
Originally uploaded by evilpanda.

This is photographic evidence that our Saturday morning rides DO occur. This was a ride I (manda) 'led' out to Wayzata.

I dragged a couple of my friends who wanted to know how to get to Wayzata by bike with...

This was back in April... It was a great day for April.. sunny and pretty warm.

Chemequaeon Race Report -- Brooke

2006-09-19T10:34:00.000-05:00

My ride at the Fat Tire Festival -2006.

My significant other wasn't scheduled to work this weekend and decided he'd like to make the trip with me but only if we drove up Saturday a.m. so here I am up at the crack before dawn (4 a.m.) to load up the truck and get on the road by 5:30 a.m. Boy is it dark out then. Needed to arrive in Cable, WI between 8:30 - 9:30 to get my registration packet. That 3 hour + drive was forever.....on to the report.

Arrived Cable at 9:00 so about the start time for your race. My bike is a 1987 vintage Panasonic mountain bike long before any type of suspension came into play. (30 #s, 6 speed, 0 suspension) It was what they sold to kids who wanted to ride but not on skinny tires. I had brought along regular tires but because it was so dry figured I could manage on my commuter slicks. (Which, by the way was not such a bad idea for most of the course.) I had forgotten to remove my back brace so after I changed clothes and numbered myself and bike appropriately rode over to the Trek Tent to bum some tools to remove the extra weight. (Too bad I couldn't do that off myself, Ha!). It was about 9:30 by the time a stretched my legs out a bit from the drive and took my place in line about 1-1/2 blocks back from the start. That didn't really bother me all that much because I figured I could pass any really bad folks and I wouldn't be in the way of the really good ones. I don't think I saw but one or two other bikes without suspension and was thinking what have I got myself into now?

Within the first mile there was a major crash on a downhill on the paved road that took out 3 or 4 people right away. Another reason for me to hang back. That resulted in separating the thick traffic out pretty much and then we hit a very long dirty uphill which warmed everyone up and spread us out even more. I thought my heart was going to burst but got into a rhythm and just kept going. I was very impressed with myself that my mtb skills came back to me and was able to handle the course fairly well. The deep beach sand that occurred in several places caused me to fall right over like a turtle from lack of forward motion but only my pride got injured in the least little bit. I only had to walk to get going again because I couldn't get a purchase to start peddling. Most of the folks around me had to get off and walk as well so I was just part of the parade.

The downhills were a little bumpy without any suspension to help cushion the jolts and I had to keep reminding myself to let the bike choose the line and just float on down. I only hope I was talking to myself in my head and not out loud as I'm sometimes am apt to do when needing total concentration. There usually was no one around me as I reckless tore down the hills so I guess it really didn't matter. I had one other "crash" sort of when I tried to go up a very grassy long incline and flipped the bike over on top of me. Once again, only pride injured and I picked up the "horse" and got back on. I was forced to actually walk really only once on a very long grassy hill they called Big Bertha and even then I made it half-way up.

Coming into the final turns was very sandy and I spun out there but re-mounted and continued on. My finishing time of 1:45 was 15 minutes longer (a blazing 9 mph) than I had hoped but with the lack of preparation I put in I was fairly satisfied. I now know where all the other older women are that aren't out on the road, they're in the hills. There were quite a lot of oldsters on that list. Gladdened my heart to see all the 50+ on the list ahead of me. Next year maybe I'll do some more training and I'll be in the next age group and maybe some of them won't follow. I may also try to do the long course but 3 hours + of that may be more than I can take on the present bike. I'll need to see when March comes around and the Chemaqueon lottery is calling my name. It certainly was a blast and I look forward to doing it again.

Fat Tire Fest/Chequomegon--Barb's perspective

2006-09-19T10:33:00.000-05:00

Congratulations to Sheryl, Brooke and yeah, myself for cometeing and
placing in the Fat Tire Fest.

Results:
Sheryl ROCKED! 12th woman overall in the 40, 1st 35-29 woman!
Brooke, 11th in her age group in the Short and Fat, btw, most women
did the S&F, so a competitive group.
Me, 41st woman in the 40, 3rd 45-49 woman.

It's great they give prizes in each age group. It's such a cool race
because you see every type of racer out there. Really, really fast,
and really, really not so fast. It's amazing to see all who come out
and do the thing. Just doing the thing is a big feat in itself. If
you have never done it, I highly recommend it.

This year the course was dry, dusty and fast. On the roll out to
Rosie's Feild, Robert flew past me with Sheryl tucked close behind.
Vroom! The transistion to dirt, grass and rocks was smooth and fast
and I knew this was going to be fun. Being a roadie it took me a
little while to get used to the bouncing going down hill on the Birke
Trial. Up,down, up down. I managed to follow one woman for a while
who was so smooth and picked great lines. I lost her when my pump
broke off and stopped to retrieve it. There it lay in the middle of
the trail; I played an exciting game of Frogger getting piciking it
up as riders came flying down a small, rocky hill. Back on the bike,
here and there there were traffic jams at the one mud puddle, and a
couple of sand traps. After a while the race settled in and I was
riding with a group. I had to give it some gas to get around this
guy I'll name Mr. Stinky Jersey. I'd pass him up hill, he'd pass me
downhill. Ack! I finally did get around him, only after a few
miles. The fire roads were fun; I'd pass a bunch of people, but
they'd pass me back on rocky sections. FireTower Hill was the usual
walk, ride, walk, "oh the humanity' grunt. At the top I managed to
ask about the free beer and about 5 guys offered me one. No, I
didn't, but I was tempted. I finished strong very glad for road
endurance and the small bit of riding off road I did the past couple
of weeks. I am pumped for next year.

Sunday ride to Afton

2006-09-19T10:28:00.000-05:00

The lure of an Afton ride brought Bellas Karla, Manda, Barb&Bruce, and
Julia Mairs (a potential Bella) and her boyfriend Bob (a GP rider) out
to St. Paul at 8:00 on Sunday morning. However, all were quickly met
with disappointment when we decided to not ride out to Afton and
challenge the ridiculous headwinds we would encounter on our return to
the cities.

BUT, the initial disappointment didn't last. We did a great loop down
through Eagan, past Lebanon hills, across 494 and I'm not certain
where all else. :) (Thanks Barb, for your extensive route experience)

Highlight of the morning was perhaps the reunion of the two long lost
Dartmouth alumni -- Karla and Julia. Karla will give you the full
story, and I'm sure she has Blogged about it.

So, look for another Afton ride in the near future. The Afton
movement will not be thwarted by one Sunday of soul-sucking wind.

Thanks everyone for coming out.

-- thanks to Greiber for the report.

Karla also blogged about the Sunday ride and her track exploits..

---- and from me..
thanks to everyone for letting me a total wheel suck, and not dropping me in the suburbs.

Jesse James Ride Report-- by Kristy

2006-09-11T15:17:00.000-05:00

So, I am proclaiming that this is the Ride that I was the Leader
for....Yes, I couldn't let my Bellas who signed up for it down....I
must show, I must ride on! I must know the route!!! (does this
really count as a ride I led???) ha ha! Here's the ride report, and
I do apologize for not being a great writer...but I'll give it a shot!

"100 miles - no problem! I can do this!!! I've done it before! I
know I can...."
Those were the initial thoughts I had on Saturday morning as I was
taking a warm shower to wake myself up! I also had thoughts
of "You've only ridden 300 miles this summer...this is going to be
25% of your entire time in the saddle today!" (due to a shoulder
dislocation...) and I didn't factor in the fact that it really was
flippin' cold and I didn't grab the right stuff to wear. Still, I
was going to do it....and I couldn't let another Bella down....she
was my support (or as she learned on the ride....my SAG...standing
for "Support and "Guidance" "). I don't think Jennifer really
understood what she had signed up for...and it wasn't the pain of the
100 miles for her...it was the PITA (pain in the a...) that I was!!!

It started out with 2 people who didn't know each other, hadn't
talked to each other, and only shared a couple of emails to one
another prior to the ride. Unknown to each was the fact that they
were practically neighbors! So, the arrangements for the morning
pick up were fairly seamless - a great way to start the day! The
Friday night before the ride was a late one for both girls --- Kristy
(me) had been out with some friends the night before for "Girls
Night" and none of the friends seemed to really care or understand
what "riding 100 miles at 7:00 AM" was all about...they wanted me to
keep drinking. I'd cut myself off early enough, but the text message
from the concerned boyfriend at 11:00 pm summed it up for me...all it
read was: "100 Miles". I got the point...time to come home and get
some zzzzz's. Jennifer had been asked out on a random blind date,
and much to her avail, the night went nicely and finished a bottle of
wine much later than she had anticipated. 2 sleepy gals getting
ready for the 100 mile ride....great introductory setting. At least
we were both in the same boat!

The chat to get to know each other on the way to Northfield was
great - I got to vent about how I hoped the ex wouldn't be at the
ride as well, and she got to tell me all about her and her job,
things she enjoys, how she got into cycling, etc. When we arrived in
Northfield, we park the car (near the smelly horses....had to get the
nostrils ready for that smell for the ride!) and start to get ready.
As we exit the car, we notice the sea of yellow-jackets....and I
don't mean as in "Buzzing Bees"....only a cyclist could appreciate
the sea of yellow we saw as we decided to get ready for the ride. Of
course, we were in our bella blue and pink, and didn't have a jacket
to cover it up (shoot - we were going to be cold in our short
sleeves! Oh well...we're tough Bellas.) We parked next to an
inquisitive gentleman who commented on the pink hubs I have. Glad he
was looking at those instead of Jen in the car doing the "Towel
Change" she executed in perfect time! It seemed as though he was
fishing for some riding buddies, but we both agreed - "too weird!"
Besides, we needed to meet up with Kate! As we were waiting for
Kate, I decided I'd be lazy and let the crew from Erik's pump up my
tires. I wheel the bike over to the tent where the tech
says, "What's this!??!" as he holds up my Flander's and Turtleman
(Gear West) water bottles. I innocently exclaim "I don't have any
Erik's bottles....what do you expect!" After much poking (and
perhaps flirting), he comments on the pink fluid I have to match my
pink hubs and gives the hub a whirl to hear the Chris King "tick tick
tick tick" that they do so well and exclaims "aaah, music to my
ears". Jen gets hers checked out too and he comments on the nice
orange bike as he examines her apparently acceptable water bottles.
We go to check in and get the goods so we can be ready when Kate
arrives. Kate arrives; we greet her, go back and forth with her a
little between the car and "should we leave yet??" while she waits
for her other friends to arrive. Jen and I decide we should get
going, but we make one more trip to the school with Kate to check for
her friends to ensure we don't leave a Bella stranded. As we are
leaving the school to embark on the Century, the Erik's tent guy
says "Hey Ladies! I have something for you...." as he holds up 2
Erik's bottles. SCORE! (I needed one that didn't leak anyway....I
was disappointed with my sleepy grabbing of water bottles as it
was...the Turtleman one really has an issue and should be
recycled...). So, he again comments on the pink fluid matching and I
tell him "Hey, if you are going to match, you might as well go all
out..." Which left him thinking thoughts he chose not to say as he
said, "I won't say anything...." and as a classy Bella, I whispered
to Jen "but I'm not wearing any panties..." to which we both laughed.

The ride was to begin...The late night left room for the giddiness
and giggles. As we started our ride, more "get to know your riding
buddy" conversations ensued. As we pass most forms of Road Kill -
fox, skunk, coon, etc....the conversation morphs into having pets,
which neither of us have. We comment how it would be nice to have
one you could fold up and put into a drawer and pull it out when you
want and put it back when you want to drop everything and go on a
ride. Realizing that's not realistic, we discuss the opportunity for
Chia Pets....maybe we should ask for one in our stocking this year...

The ride was windy and on great roads (I was gaining points for the
smooth ones and losing them for the rough roads as the ride
leader...). Everyone in the pack was friendly and nice - what do we
expect from fellow bikers??!? Disappointingly, we didn't see many
women out there though.....but....there wasn't much eye candy either -
dang! We were cruising along averaging about 18 mph (which was
considerably fast in the wind and with the hills), until about mile
50 - when I told Jennifer "I'm 20 miles from the furthest distance
I've ridden all summer...and that was 2, 35 mile segments to
Stillwater!" I was getting tired, my legs felt tight....I was
becoming a complainer! ugh! Jennifer has great spirits and kept me
going (thanks girl!). As a group of guys passed us, around this
time, they commented "Hey, it's the pink hubs! Nice...!" and they
dropped us. We were ok with thatas we poked some fun back at them ---
there was about 6 yellow jackets in their group and they were all
pulling for each other. We were a team of 2 and we were side by
side...we are tough! At each stop, we spotted the guy who seemed to
want to ride with us....but he would usually leave before we did.
Eventually, we did come across a group of 3 guys whom we had earlier
dropped in a hurry on a down hill. **** By the way - if we wanted to
have a stellar cyclist, Jennifer's climbing abilities combined with
my downhill speed....we'd be a rock star!!!**** As we took off again
from the 3rd stop - about mile 65 or so....these guys commented on
our bikes once again - stating that the pink hubs and orange frame
were the 2 best looking bikes they'd seen out there! Then they
proceeded to tell us that WE were what was going to keep them going
at a decent rate. There was "The Dude" (We never did get his name)
who was leading their pack, Jeffery - the 60+ year old triathlete,
yoga instructor, and personal trainer, and Patrick - a cyclist who
had been out for 8 years and now has a bum knee.... So, what the
heck - I was getting somewhat tired, they were good humor....we stuck
with them for the rest of the ride and had a few good laughs with
them.

There were no crashes or anything really adventurous to
report....just the simple fact that it was great to have a Bella
there with me!

Today I signed up to do the Ironman Wisconsin, 2007. I figured that
if I rode 400 miles this summer, 100 in one ride, I could do it.
I'll hear Jennifer in my ear saying "Oh come on...you're doing
fine...you can do it, just one stroke at a time!"

When Jennifer dropped me off at the house after the ride, I was happy
to be able to step into a warm shower, but was sad that the ride was
done "so soon". Going for that ride reminded me how much I truly do
miss riding with the Bellas and how much I look forward to finishing
this year strong and riding more next year with you gals. We have a
great crew --- and yes...even SAG amongst us - but it should stand
for "Support and Giggles"...There you go Jennifer --- that's what it
means....I've made another new meaning for it versus "Sorry A.. Get-
up-n-go!"

Signing off from the first ride report of the year --- sad and happy
to see the end of the ride -
Kristy
along with Jennifer Greiber

Ciao~

Cross clinic on Sunday

2006-09-08T20:49:00.000-05:00

It's a weekend full of events for Hollywood. He's sponsoring the Henderson Time Trials (is the name a coincidence..?! mayhaps...) and throwing a free cyclocross clinic. Click through to his site for more details.

See Crazy Bella Action here

2006-08-29T19:21:00.000-05:00

someday, when we get this blog up and running!

FAQ

2006-01-27T21:57:00.000-06:00

What is Velo Bella??

We are a fun, supportive women's bike team. We have a wide variety of people on our team - from elite level racers to beginner racers to triathletes to recreational/social riders--everyone's welcome! We are known for our fabulous kits (cycling gear), flair at races, and ability to have fun.

Q: What is the fee to join?

A: The fee to join Velo Bella is $50 per year, payable in January of each year.

Q: What is required to join?

A: To join:
1) Pay fee of $50,

2) Purchase a jersey each year (or other approved clothing item, i.e., shorts, skinsuit, tri jersey, etc. if you have a current jersey),

3) Sign and send in a waiver,

4) Join our e-mail lists,

5) Name “Velo Bella” as your team on your USA Cycling license (if applicable).

6) Race at least one race, and 7) Have fun.

Q: Are there minimum race commitments?

A: All we ask is that you try at least one race. And any race on a bicycle counts. Beyond that, race whatever you feel comfortable doing and as your personal schedule allows.

Q: I am a recreational rider and don’t race, can I still join Velo Bella?

A: While we can’t offer our national sponsor discounts unless you race, we do welcome anyone to join our national Velobella and local email lists and to join us on any rides or other events we might announce to the local list. Who knows - we may turn you into a racer yet!

Q: Are there mandatory meetings or rides?

A: No. What IS mandatory about Velo Bella is HAVING FUN ON YOUR BIKE! If you decide to join Velo Bella, the only mandatory activities are volunteering for one Bella-sponsored race a year and leading one ride at any level. FUN stuff!

Q: Are there regular team rides?

A: We ride regularly from both locations of our sponsor shop, Now Bikes & Fitness. We also use our email lists to announce spontaneous rides to each other around the Twin Cities area. (Note: These rides are not sponsored by Velo Bella.)