A HUGE change in my plans...

Well...its official, I think I finally lost my damn mind!

As of last week I'm now a member of the 2011 Death Ride team. Did I just say that out loud...yikes!?! They say, admitting to it is the first step...haha! This truly came out of left field for me since I didn't sign up for it.

When it was found out that I was passed over for a staff position on the TNT AMBR/STP team, I suddenly became fresh meat...and the vultures of the TNT Death Ride (DR) team came a callin':-o I was unaware at the time, but there was some amazingly sweet and supportive calls and emails made on my behalf from former teammates, that prompted the cycle manager (with the support of the head coach) to contact me. I expressed my known concerns and they were fully willing to work with me.

I weighed my options for several days with input from friends, pro/con lists and a talk with my horse (yes, she needed to know & yes, I talk to my horse). In the end, the support and encouragement from my personal cycling network of friends, my Sports Injury (SI)Doc and bike shop brought me to the conclusion to agree to join the team. This was an opportunity that may never come along again...so, "why not"

My initial concerns was first, my body's ability...and my cycling SI doc gave me the green light & committed to keep my body healthy through the season & has already set me up on a nutritional plan. The one change she prescribed, as a "must"...better bike and gearing.


That brings me to my second concern...proper equipment. I love my bike but "B" has taken me as far as he can go and this task is bigger than he was built for. I started researching newer bikes online. During a conversation, while I was processing my decision whether or not to join the DR team, the owner of the bike shop offered me an amazing opportunity...to build me a custom bike for this event! A new bike was not on my radar or in my budget. He purposed a P/T work trade (to administer/manage his bike team) in exchange for me getting much more bike than I could have ever afforded. Its very exciting but I think I sold my soul on this one...haha!

As you can see, its definitely going to take a village to get me through this training and the event! And having everyone stepping up, has been amazing. Some of my dearest villagers have also been offering up their time (to ride together) & emotional support...which may be called upon as I move further into the training season.

I was lucky to also not have to fund-raise this season but the irony is they appointed me to be the "Fundraising Captain" for the team! A cruel joke indeed, since now my worry will go way beyond myself and onto my entire team's success with their fundraising goals...cue the Pepcid!


At this moment I haven't convinced myself I will complete the final event. All I can do now is trust the system and the coaches. I'm committed (or I should be) to put my best effort into this and see how it plays out. I definitely have more will and tenacity than I have athletic ability.

My life in general has been about pushing through challenges, fears and naysayers to reach goals. This event will be an extreme version of pushing my limits and cutting through the doubts...its another unexpected step in my journey.

Riding through 2010

This was the year that I went from riding a bike to becoming a cyclist. My little idea of trying something new, quickly became a challenge to train & participate in endurance events and now has become my sanity and new passion. I'm so thankful for my little partner in this adventure, my bike "B". This old retired bike that I was able to dust off and give a second chance to (had been stored in many pieces in a shed for years) has been an amazing gift to help me on my journey. This bike had seen better days and took a lot of work to become my constant and reliable (most of the time) companion this last year.


With the limited abilities of this bike (est. 1998 Bianchi) and my body, I was amazed of what we have been able to accomplish together! I believe tenacity is our main ingredient for success. I have ridden well over 2000 miles this last year between events and training. Having had the opportunity to ride all around the bay area and see the most amazing places has been wonderful! This year I traveled to Solvang, Moab Utah, and Lakeport California to ride in their endurance events as part of Team in Training (TNT). Each event was amazing and special to me for different reasons.

Outside of TNT I entered and rode The Cinderella Classic, Diablo Century and The Tour de Asti with friends. All beautiful and fun rides that I thoroughly enjoyed experiencing with my cycling buddies. It was a great year and I felt very accomplished with my cycling goals. I definitively exceeded my personal expectations for year one of riding.




So now what...tomorrow is 2011 and the start of a new year and cycling season? Well, I continue to ride at least once a week and more if weather and my schedule allows. I've also begun to formulate my goals and rides for 2011. Part of my criteria involves riding with friends. So far, I have not actually entered any rides but plan on riding The Cinderella Classic, Tahoe/AMBR, The Konocti Challenge and The Tour de Asti. I'm positive that the list will grow as the weather and my motivation improves. I want to ride in some different events and expand on my current ride list...I'm sure new opportunities will present themselves.


Happy New Year and ride safe in 2011~

Kick-off #1 of 2

It's that time already?!? I can't believe that we had our Moab kickoff last Saturday...where did this summer go? It was a beautiful day in Novato for our send-off ride and a fun celebration. However, now the real work begins as I'm standing ankle deep in luggage, clothes, equipment, cycling gear, supplements, lots of sunscreen and instructions for this trip!

I've never had to ship my bike anywhere before...its a bit overwhelming at the moment. What to take off the bike, where to pack things, how much to bring...its making my head spin! This is a process that begins tomorrow with shipping my bike and sending my ride gear with my coach (who's driving to the event).



I plan on an early morning last ride before I need to send "B" and my gear onto Moab. Then I need to organize and pack everything else to leave on Thursday morning...it will be here quickly! I'm also in process of pre-hydrating for riding in the altitude. Actually I should have just bought a camel pack, not for riding with but to walk around with all week to continue to drink enough...haha!


This ride is more intimidating than my past century, due to not only the altitude but the heat and more intensive climbing! We have a succession of climbs with names like "The Launch Pad", "The Big Nasty", "Stairway to Heaven" and many other nasty friends! I've been told we will climb for 20 miles!!! Of course, everyone who's done the ride, tries to soften the blow with talking about how wonderful the descent will be...that is if I make it up there without passing out from lack of oxygen or dehydration...haha!

It just another obstacle for me to overcome, I just need to trust my coaches and the process at this point. I also need to remember how good I felt after our 75 mile last week and control my breathing by not talking...which my coach will appreciate:) I truly am looking forward to sharing this adventure and experience with my teammates!




I understand the scenery will be spectacular as we ride through the canyon lands and archways of southern Utah. I will do my best to document the event, as much as possible! I was hoping to get a helmet-cam in time for the ride to take some video and scenery shots but unfortunately it looks like I ran out of time on making that happen. Hopefully I can get one before our second team event in Konocti in two weeks...stay tuned!




I added in this last photo of the hotel where our team will be staying at and the location of the start of the ride.

We will be nestled in paradise!

My new perspective...

We are now past the halfway point of the summer season. The goals are clearer, the time is tickling closer to the events and the training is gearing up...for the participants. This season, as a mentor for the team the experience has been focused on my mentee's and ride group's goals. My appreciation for last season's staff has grown as I continue to discovered everything it takes to keep a group riding safely as a team. I have been experiencing this season through the participants eyes. It's been wonderful watching and listening to their personal accomplishments and working as a team to help them achieve their goals! There is nothing like the feeling of completing your first century, and I am excited for them to experience that!

However, this weekend as our ride group was split and I was put with the lesser mile ride group, it dawned on me...what about my goals? This season they are lofty...I have signed up for both century's! I am planning on doing "the big nasty" in Moab and some extreme climbing in Konocti...yikes! To my knowledge, I'm only one of a handful on the staff participating in both events. I'm a bit concerned because many of the participants I'm riding with are training at a metric century level.



My team will continue to be my focus on Saturday's, but now I need to commit to my own training and personal goals. Last season my mid-week training was focused on one event...not two! My tenacity with the miles and the climbs are present, but my speed is not...so unfortunately, moving up to level 1 on the team isn't an option for me at this time. Its likely most of my additional training will be on my own, since my regular riding buddies have lesser goals this season. Therefore, this self-proclaimed tortoise will start venturing out to challenge myself and add to my training.



Since our team schedule had some recent changes, I'm planning road trips to experience altitude training and different climb options. I also plan on getting the advice of my coaches and cycling friends to help me put together the best plan to accomplish this without burning myself out. Knowing that between the two events (2 weeks apart) that I need to ride over 200 miles and climb approximately 10,000 ft...it has me more than a little worried at my current training level.




My goals aren't completely selfish. I know I'm my toughest critic and I definitely don't want to be the weak link for my team at either event. I need to prepare myself mentally and physically but also remember during the ride my teammates will also have my focus. This new perspective will mean I will need to work twice as hard to prepare to be the best I can.

Go team!

In Search of Southern Comfort

I decided this season to finally change out my saddle (aka...bike seat) that I rode on, all the way to the Solvang Century. I knew the saddle that came with "B" was not comfortable but I waited too far into my winter season to make such a drastic change.
The search began...I read, I researched, I talk to teammates, coaches and my bike shop but ultimately my southern region had to have the final say:) So I began the process of ride testing a wide variety of saddles. Some were too hard, too soft, too narrow, too wide, too uncomfortable to be believed! Anyway, you get the picture...I was the Goldilocks of cyclists. I rode many makes and models, multiple times to give them all a fair assessment.



I took pictures (big surprise) of a lot of the saddles that I tested...except a particularly hideous lime green one that was one of the most violating and cruel of the group! Ironically, it was a specially design woman's saddle that was suppose to be..."the one"! I couldn't get it off my bike fast enough...yikes!




After several saddle selections...my shop even resorted to taking the owner's saddle off his road bike to try...since they thought it might work for me based on my previous feedback. It was the closest to comfortable that I had ridden but just not quite right:( Part of my problem was I was getting advice from a shop full of guys!




I asked them about Selle Italia (SMP)...the maker of my original 16 year old saddle. Upon my suggestion, they pulled out the ugliest, most perverse looking saddle I had seen...I was skeptical but at this point...I was willing to try just about anything! The design was much different than anything I had ridden...open center channel, drop nose and narrow. It looked like a torture device!




Once I got used to the new saddle during the first ride...I was pleasantly surprised how unobtrusive it was on my female anatomy. I also researched the seat to find that in spite of it being a man's saddle...articles were touting it to be the "holy Grail" for women! I continued to ride the test version for another 2 weeks on a variety of rides and determined that this would be the winner!


Of course, I discovered that my derriere has expensive taste, when I found out how much the saddle cost...ugh! This was an investment in my comfort and thankfully the shop made it a little more palatable purchase. I was so relieved to finally be done with the saddle search...whew!


The maiden voyage occurred, last Saturday on our 40 mile ride in San Rafael...not my best plan! Another lesson learned the hard way...haha! Approaching about mile 23, I began to discover that the saddle wasn't seemingly as comfortable as I remembered...damn! I knew that this saddle isn't as broken in as the tester...but wow...I think I bruised a new part of my anatomy! Fortunately, my second ride this week was much better:) However, I think another bike fit might be needed because my discomfort is only on my left sit bone? Since my jacked up body is not completely symmetrical...this might be the next step. Possibly with a little tweaking, adjusting and riding it will all fit together...only time will tell!

Fundraising with Pegasus Bicycle Works

I was fortunate enough to team up with Pegasus Bicycle Works in Danville, my bike shop...to host a series of bike maintenance clinic as a fundraiser for The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS). I decided to continue to fund-raise for Team in Training's cycle team...therefore, I needed some fresh ideas! Fortunately the guys at Pegasus are community and service minded and helped me formulate the concept. They also agreed in donating all the class fees back to my charity!




We were also able to secure getting pizza donated by Extreme Pizza! It was a great perk to offer food, beverage and a store discount in conjunction with the evening class out on the patio. I was excited to offer a useful service to the cycle community in exchange for a donation to LLS. The first clinic covered emergency roadside repairs with hands-on instruction and bike knowledge that everyone who owns a bike should know. I participated in the class and learned some new tips and tricks that will definitely help me on future rides. I wish I had found these classes last year!




The first class was very well received and we are in process of signing up people for the next one! The second class will take us on the next steps in(cleaning, adjusting & tuning)keeping our bikes rolling...phase two of bike maintenance. It's a fun and informative class that is for a great cause and I thank the guys at Pegasus for making this happen!

2010 Summer Season Kickoff

Here I go again...season 2! I am back with Team in Training (TNT) as a mentor for the summer cycle season. I am very excited to learn, train and mentor the new cycling participants for this season. It will be very challenging for me to not only take on this new role with TNT, but to also learn how to train in the heat and altitude...as I am taking on 2 century rides this season...one in Moab, UT and the other in Konocti, CA.

Kickoff was an interesting perspective for me this year...as an observer and guide to the beginning of these people's journey into a TNT cycle season. I completely understand their fears and feeling...6 months ago I was sitting where they were, taking it all in and feeding off the energy.


I still consider myself a student of cycling, but now I am also a teacher in the process of fundraising, motivating and being part of a team. Currently I have been assigned 7 mentees of varied cycling backgrounds and personalities. I hope I can become the mentor they need to reach their goals this season:)

I am looking forward to getting to know all the new teammates this season...it is looking like a fun group! The summer season staff is comprised of many of the girls from the Solvang season...so it is comforting going through this new experience with friends. This season the guys are happily being outnumbered by the plethora of women on this team!



Looking forward to a great season...GO TEAM!!!