Pedal Dexterity

Sub titled: Monkey Toes
Sub sub titled: Dwight Schrute and Jens Voigt Have Nothing on Me!

Riding with Chris is always a fun experience because at some point we usually end up in a fit of giggles. Christmas Eve was no exception.

Chris and I decided to head out to the Knight’s Ferry area to ride to Robert’s Ferry and back. It was going to be about 30-miles of rolling hills and little traffic. My drive to our meeting place worried me because the valley appeared to be covered in the dense tule fog that so often plagues this area. To my surprise and pleasure, the fog started to clear before I arrived in Knight’s Ferry and shortly after we began riding, the fog lifted completely. It was turning out to be a gorgeous day for a ride with perfect weather and fun company.

Due to a lack of riding (not to mention a lack of hill training), Chris and I tired quickly. I can’t speak for her, but eventually I warmed up and was feeling better. Of course, we stopped occasionally to take photos of the landscape, converse with cows, and strip off our various layers because of the surprisingly warm weather.

We eventually decided on a turn around point and made a brief stop to take some more photos. With a momentary lapse of judgment (hello? Rain + dirt = mud), I stepped off the road to get a better angle for my shot. Once I stepped back onto the road, I realized my mistake. The result: Mud in the cleats. I cleaned them out a bit before getting back on the bike and didn’t give it further thought until a while later when I decided to stop again. I was unable to unclip from the left side.

Herein lies the problem – despite being right handed, I always unclip from the left and put that foot down. I’ve had more than one cyclist comment on this so apparently the majority of people do it the other way around. With no other choice, I unclipped from the right and slowed down while repeating in my head Go right, go right. Unfortunately, my body didn’t listen. The moment I realized I was going to fall I thought Don’t put your hand down, it’s not that far. Better to fall to the left and not land on my derailleur and break a bone on my left than the right, correct? This time my body listened. Once on the ground I was able to pull my cleat from the pedal and get up with only damaged pride.

Now what? Like any normal cyclist with another 10 miles to ride, I checked my pedals, checked my cleats, and then got back on the bike. Silly me.

When I realized that I was unable to unclip from either side, Chris and I started to derive a plan so I could stop safely. We decided that the best bet would be for me to remove my foot from my shoe so I started to play with them to see if I could undo the shoe while riding. This proved to be more difficult than I originally imagined.

On to Plan B. Chris ended up riding ahead of me so she could catch me when I stopped. While she held onto me, I was able to remove my feet from the shoes. Once I was safely off the bike, but not out of danger due to an unusual number of bees, it was time to figure out how I’d ride the remaining 8 or so miles. Eventually, we decided that forcing my shoes off my pedals (it took the two of us putting a good amount of force on them) and riding back with no shoes would be the only option, regardless of how stupid I’d look or unsafe it’d be.

So that’s what I did. I curled my toes around the small surface of the pedals like a monkey and continued to ride in significant discomfort unable to get out of the saddle to pedal. I walked up hills, rode the flats, and coasted downhill. Not exactly the perfect ending to the ride.

It's as uncomfortable as it looks.  Photo by Chris.

A slight feeling of horror washes over me when I realize that this could have been any of my rides when I’m normally alone. What then? Surely, I’m not the only cyclist who has quite literally been unable to unclip from the pedals.  If it wasn't for Chris being there, I pretty much would have been out of luck.

Needless to say, this is one reason I always wear a helmet.

Greetings from Belgium!

Well, not really. I’m still in Northern California, but with the rain we’ve been getting, it might as well be Belgium. As a result, very little riding has taken place since Levi’s GranFondo in October. The weather isn’t the only reason, but it would qualify as the main reason.

Fortunately, it’s also cyclocross season. Rain would normally put a damper on riding, but if you race cyclocross or enjoying watching it, rain increases the enjoyment (maybe just from a spectator’s viewpoint). Since Levi’s GranFondo, I’ve photographed four cyclocross races (three were part of the Sacramento Cyclocross series and the Halloween Surf City Cyclocross in Santa Cruz). Some of the work resulted in photos that I’m quite pleased with, but keep in mind that I can easily take 800 shots at one race over the course of a couple of hours. You’ll find a few of my favorites below.

Sacramento Cyclocross in Ione on October 24, 2010

Cody Kaiser of Cal Giant tackles the barriers at Surf City Cyclocross #1 on October 31, 2010.

Alex Candelario of Kelly Benefit/World Bicycle Relief powers up a levee at Sacramento Cyclocross in Acampo on November 21, 2010

Max Jenkins of United Healthcare got a little muddy at Sacramento Cyclocross #6 in Acampo on December 18, 2010.

Aside from photography and not riding, life has been consumed with work and dealing with the loss of a dear family member after a long battle with cancer. She was one of my first supporters for the LIVESTRONG Challenge in 2009 and I rode in her honor in 2010. I’ll be riding in her memory in 2011 when the LIVESTRONG Challenge moves to Davis, California. I’m looking forward to challenging myself with my first metric century (65 miles). However, I know that this challenge is nothing compared to what those fighting cancer are going through, like my friend Connie and her husband James who are both fighting for their lives and inspiring me every single day to try to make a difference, one pedal stroke at a time.

As the year comes to an end and I’m forced to look back at the goals I set for myself I have a crashing sense of failure because I feel like I’ve made very little progress. Then I tell myself that everything I listed in this blog as a goal for 2010 actually happened, with the exception of riding the Delta Century, which I forgot about due to very little training time in April and May.

So what have I accomplished?
• I photographed something around 12 difference races including, but not limited to, two stages of the Amgen Tour of California, the Merco Cycling Classic, Copperopolis Road Race, and the Nevada City Classic.
• I photographed George Hincapie at the Breakaway Ride and had the photos used on Bike Radar.
• I had a photo of Burke Swindlehurst from the Nevada City Classic published in the Bend Bulletin.
• I photographed and rode with Chris Horner… I also found out that he lives up to his reputation of being a really nice guy.
• I commuted by bike to a summer job, 9 miles one way. I commuted once to my full time teaching job during a teacher prep day, 17 miles one way. Yes, it was only once, but at least I tried it.
• I completed my longest ride ever, just over 50 miles at the LIVESTRONG Challenge.
• I had another go at Levi’s GranFondo and didn’t die, though Levi told me I looked like crap afterward and once again, Dylan Casey dropped me.
• And the best of my accomplishments… I made new friends, including a riding buddy that lives close enough for frequent rides.

Maybe 2010 wasn’t so bad after all, even if I am going out with a fizzle.

Now I’m looking forward to 2011 and starting to set new goals. I’m reminded of an interview about weight loss that I recently caught on TV. The expert being interviewed suggested that a person train for something. Don’t just decide to start jogging, but actually train for an event because it gives you a sense of purpose. I like to consider myself as being a fairly intelligent woman, but it was still good to hear that I’m already doing what the experts suggest. Last year my main goal was to train for the LIVESTRONG Challenge and Levi’s GranFondo. Those are still part of my goals for next year, but I’m upping the stakes a little bit.

Riding goals:
• July – LIVESTRONG Challenge, Davis, 65-mile route.
• August – Ride for a Reason, Folsom, ride until I’m tired. (For the Davis Phinney Foundation)
• October – Levi’s GranFondo… MEDIO route. Yes, that’s right, I’m upping the ante a bit and attempting to double my distance and get over my fear of Coleman Valley Road.

I’m saving the best for last. This is something that I’ve put a lot of thought into over the last few weeks. I’ve never thought it was something I was interested in trying, but as I’m starting to conquer longer distance riding, I think I might be ready to conquer higher intensity riding. Is my logic sound here or am I just dreaming?
• By January of 2012… join the LBS club, purchase a USA Cycling license and be ready to race… first up, Snelling Road Race (assuming it’s still around in 2012).

Photography goals:
• Continue photographing local races with hopes of being published.
• Photograph several stages of the Amgen Tour of California.
• Photograph USPros in Greenville, South Carolina in May.

I think I’m looking forward to 2011.

Postcard Perfect Fondo

Subtitled: Levi, a Few National Champs, McDreamy, the LCC, and Me
Sub-subtitled: We Now Know What it Takes to Beat Alberto Contador

A few weeks ago when I rode with Chris Horner he said to me, "Levi is always bragging about the weather in Santa Rosa, but everytime I'm there it's pouring rain."  His loss because while Chris was off racing in Europe, he missed some weather that was far from the sucky Tour of California and training camp downpours he's become accustomed to experiencing.

Another year of Levi Leipheimer’s King Ridge GranFondo is in the books. A day of fun in the sun and puke dodging descents. I can’t help but to feel a bit saddened by this. Well, the fun part, but I can do without the puke aspect of the day. I’ve been looking forward to this event with a mixture of excitement and trepidation since registering last December. Yes, that’s right… I hadn’t been looking forward to it since last October immediately following my first participation.

This year is different though and I simply can’t wait to return.

I could barely make out the start from where I was staged.

Last year was rough. I was unprepared and unfamiliar with the route. I’d only been riding a road bike for a month and didn’t have proper training under my belt. After deciding to return for round two, I took my training somewhat seriously. This year, I was prepared. Unfortunately, I always ended up stuck behind people that weren’t prepared.

This was the first time I’ve ever dropped people while climbing. I’m not strong in this department. Far from it. However, while I was pushing myself uphill I repeatedly said to myself, “It’s just like the elliptical. It’s just like the elliptical at the gym.” Knowing I can go for a long time on the elliptical, this mantra seemed to work in getting me through some tough spots.

It’s also the first time that I’ve ever seen so many cyclists on the road that the entire peloton comes to a complete halt for no reason other than the fact that there were too many riders that either couldn’t climb or couldn’t take a turn on a descent. It’s bound to happen when you have 6,058 cyclists on the tiny roads of Sonoma County.

Postcard perfect day in Sonoma County!

Regardless of the difficulties on the road with traffic, everyone was incredibly friendly and I didn’t once have SAG have to ask me if I was okay. People remained patient and outgoing throughout the entire ride. Of course, the real fun began once I returned to the festival.

I quickly found Martha Van of Action Wipes fame and she immediately saw to my cleanliness needs by handing me a refreshing wipe before I met up with another tweep, Chris, for the first time at Mama Duck’s home (aka, the Action Wipes booth). We gabbed about the ride and how the day was going, spent some time lounging in the shade, and explored the festival.

At one point in the afternoon, Martha says to me, “Michelle, there’s Levi!” I turned around and eventually found him visiting with a group two booths over. Martha talked me into going over there to have my picture taken with him. The conversation went something like this:

Martha: Excuse me; can we get your picture?
Levi: Oh, sure!
Eventually the photo is taken and Levi thanks us for coming.
Me: No, thank you for putting on this event!
Martha indicating to me: She rode too.
Levi looks me over: Oh, you look like it.

As Martha and I walked away, I turned to her and said, “Did Levi Leipheimer just say I look like crap?”  Martha will tell the story differently, but I'm pretty sure it was my physical appearance he was referring to and not the fact that I was still wearing my gear.  I mean, just because I'm wearing the clothes doesn't mean I ride.  Maybe I wear those clothes to work all of the time. 

There was more hanging around (and some mild stalking of Patrick Dempsey) until eventually it was time for Levi to address the crowd. Of course, I sat there taking a bunch of photos.

Levi and Patrick Dempsey were interviewed after the ride.

US National Champion, Ben King shared a few words too.

  

Levi's wife, Odessa Gunn, talks about Forget Me Not Farm and admits that she's afraid of kids.

One of the funnier moments of the interview was during the Q&A portion when a fan asked Levi, "What does it take to beat Alberto Contador?"  Without skipping a beat Levi responded, "Andy Schleck."

Biggest regret? I didn’t get photos of the @LCC_Cycling members @GregKnottLeMond, @MarthaVan, @jaowen, @budzilla1, @ChrisAGriffin, @HomeInspectorSR, @experiement626, @SDVeloSocial or any of the other wonderfully friendly folks I met along the way.

All in all... it was a very good day.  Now it's time to start training for the Medio.

More photos can be found here.

I Owe Someone $10

About a month ago, pro cyclist Chris Horner of Team RadioShack announced that he would be riding the Clark’s Corner Cycling Challenge in Ione, California, on September 18th. Knowing that Ione isn’t too far away, I went ahead and signed up for the short 10-mile ride with Chris.

My biggest concern was that I was signing up for this chance to ride with Chris, but in all likelihood wouldn’t actually ride along side of him. I even joked, “$10 says I can’t hang on for more than 30 seconds.” Maybe I was expecting something like Levi’s GranFondo where the pros all started at the front and took off, leaving those of us at the back without a prayer of riding with any of them. (Skip to the end for the Cliff Notes version of this story.)

In an interview Friday morning on a local TV station, Chris was asked a question that I submitted via Facebook. “Will you ride slowly enough for me to keep up?” Chris laughed and replied, “I can.” Being a teacher, I know there is a huge difference between “can” and “will,” but this didn’t make me any less excited that maybe my chances of keeping up weren’t as slim as I originally thought.

Though I wasn’t quite anticipating a ride on the scale of Levi’s GranFondo, I did expect there to be a couple hundred people there. Really, this was a chance to ride with the top placing American in this year’s Tour de France – an all around well-loved man with a constant smile plastered on his face. What cycling fan wouldn’t want a chance to ride with him even if the chances of riding with him were slim?

Keeping that in mind, and the fact that I’ve only ever been through Ione once, I headed up there in the morning and arrived about an hour early for the 11 AM ride. The plan was to get a chance to meet Chris briefly and have my picture taken with him. My mom is also a fan and I thought it would be funny to send her a photo of us without telling her any story of how it came to be.

When I checked in, I got a glimpse of the registration list. I was shocked to note that my class roster was longer than the registration for this ride. I have 31 students in my class. At that point, I realized that my chances of meeting Chris were guaranteed and the chances of riding along side of him were favorable.

Settling in to wait for the ride to start, I grabbed a coffee in Clark’s Corner and sat outside on the curb to enjoy it.

Chris arrived a few minutes later with a small group of cyclists, having ridden from Sacramento. I finished my coffee and timidly approached him, not wanting to interrupt the conversation he was having. Eventually I got my chance to meet him and have my photo taken with him then stood around and listened to him tell stories about his ride to Ione.

Chris chatted with fans, took pictures, and signed autographs.

Bikes outside of Clark's Corner - mine is on the far left and Chris's is right in front of it.

A little bit after 11:00, the ride started. The pace was quite slow and easy, but I was stuck behind three cyclists riding the span of the lane and couldn’t get by them to reach the front where Chris was mingling with some riders. After about five minutes, I found my way around them and quickly made my way up to Chris’s group, where I rode behind him for a couple of miles.

The pace was considerably slower than I normally ride and I found myself inching forward every couple of minutes and having to back off some. At one point as we were approaching a hill (not a real climb, but it was more than what I’m used to), the guy riding directly in front of me and next to Chris let off suddenly and dropped back. This was my cue to get out of my saddle and move forward in the group. Before I knew it, I was right along side of Chris, and even keeping up with him while going uphill. Before reaching the top, I did fall back from Chris but easily caught up with the group on the descent.

The weather and scenery were beautiful... I wonder what it looks like green.

As we were heading back towards Ione, I somehow ended up right next to Chris again. This time I ended up in a conversation with him. I kind of wasn’t expecting it, but I felt a hand tapping my shoulder as he was chatting away telling a story about his teammate, Levi Leipheimer. We chatted about the weather and I explained to him that the only reason it was nice was that everyone else was already in Greenville for the championships. We talked a little bit about the US Pro road race he’d be racing in the following day and I asked him how much travel he’d done over the last week, a question to which he didn’t know the answer except that it was more than normal. I’m currently kicking myself for not thinking to ask about cyclocross until I was on my way home.

The ride continued through landscape surrounding Ione without incident, except for the people we lost along the way because the rode in front of the guy leading the ride and took a wrong turn. As promised, I didn’t make Chris crash, nor did anybody else.

From the back of the group... not a lot of people at all. (There may have been some more behind me, but they were far back.)

He’s certainly every bit as friendly as everyone says he is. In fact, I think his approachability exceeded my expectations. He had a way of drawing people into conversations and making them feel like they were part of the group.  I can't believe I was part of that group.

I guess I owe someone $10.

When I arrived home, I promptly sent my mom a photo of Chris and me. She loved it and had a reaction similar to that of a 13-year-old girl if I’d just told her I met Justin Bieber.

More photos can be seen on my Flickr.

Bunny Goes "Bang!"

On numerous occasions, I’ve heard the saying, “There are two kinds of cyclists in this world: those who have crashed and those who will.” Since I started riding a road bike just over a year ago, I’ve prided myself in belonging to the second group. I chalked it up to riding defensively, quick reaction time, and moderate bike handling skills.

This isn’t to say I’ve never crashed a bike. When I was nine, I had an accident on an old 1973 Schwinn Varsity that would make Jens Voigt cringe and I have crashed my mountain bike out of pure stupidity. However, up until this morning, I’d never crashed my shiny new Trek.

Yes, that’s right… today I switched teams.

I’m not 100% sure how it all happened, but I was turning around on the bike trail and somehow lost my balance. There was no pedaling involved, I wasn’t hammering down, or even going at a high speed. Before I knew it, I fell to the right and was unable to clip out in time to put my foot down. It might have been the impact on the ground, again, I’m not certain, but when I picked myself up off the ground, I looked down and saw this:

Now, I’m clearly not a professional, or really all that experienced, but I’m pretty sure the cleat isn’t supposed to break off like that.

I rode the 8 km back to my car without being able to clip in and drove promptly to the LBS where they confirmed that the cleat shouldn’t snap off. They then told me that my cleats and shoes show more than the average wear and tear considering they have less than 1,000 km of use. Oh, and speaking of which, my shiny “new” Sidis are slightly damaged from the crash, with a small tear on the back of one of the shoes. Apparently, I’m destined to go through cleats and shoes at only a slightly slower pace than the rate at which I go through gloves.

As for the rest of me, I’m pretty sure I’m okay. There is only minor pain in my right thumb and my knee has a very small spot of “road rash” (a term I’m using lightly here) and a swollen bump. A few hours after the accident, I did start to experience some pain similar to that of having whiplash after a car accident, for which I promptly took a painkiller. Overall, I’m fine.

Tomorrow may be a different story.

Cows and More Cows

Lately, I’ve been feeling a bit desperate for a new route to ride. The options are quite limited here if I expect to have decent pavement and a safe road. I’m not normally one to drive to a new location to ride, but since my summer break is coming to an end, I seized the day and drove out to Knight’s Ferry.

Mistake 1: I wasn’t feeling well that morning. It was a little breezy and my asthma was acting up. While Orange Blossom road doesn’t offer any real climbs, there are rolling hills and any type of hill can cause an issue when you can’t breathe and you left your inhaler at home.

Mistake 2: I could have parked on the Oakdale side of Orange Blossom and ridden the other direction into Knight’s Ferry, shaving off driving time and therefore reducing my irritation level by the time I arrived.

While the ride was more or less a bust, I’m looking at it as yet another learning experience. I’ll be back when I have improved my riding abilities and I’m feeling better.

Mooooo!

On my return from Knight’s Ferry, I took East River Road back into Modesto from Oakdale. This turned out to be a brilliant idea. Not because anything spectacular happened, but I realized that this road is perfect for riding. There are few cars on the road, most of it is wide with bike lanes, and cyclists frequent the route. Yes, I ride it all of the time. I just don’t usually ride this section of the road. That is, until last weekend.

It was a typically beautiful Saturday morning and I hit the road early to beat the heat. I didn’t really have any idea how far I would ride, but that’s the brilliance of an out and back ride. I ride until I’m tired, but not so tired I can’t continue, and then turn around. Before I knew it, I was in Oakdale, 25 km from home. After a brief stop for a snack (and to talk to cows), I turned around and headed home.

Looking out over the Stanislaus River

This guy came over and sniffed my saddle when I leaned my bike against the fence

Weee!

I saw many other cyclists out (only one other woman this time), most of which were friendly enough to wave. Once I was back into the city, a rider pulled up next to me at a stop light and we actually had a conversation about our rides for the day as we rode the next kilometer or so. That’s the kind of behavior that fosters a community of like-minded people. It’s funny how the little things can make or break your day.

In completely unrelated ride news... look what photo was in the Bend Bulletin a couple of weeks ago!
Cyclist is a Cascade veteran

LIVESTRONG Challenge

In February of 2009, I got back on my bike. At the time, I could barely ride 3 miles and participating in the LIVESTRONG Challenge 10 mile ride seemed like a massive feat. Six months later, when it came time for the ride, it turned out to be too easy. My friend and I decided that in 2010 our goal would be to ride the 50 mile route of the LIVESTRONG Challenge.

Fast forward to December, I eagerly registered for the 50 mile route and notified my friend that registration was open. In February, she announced that she was pregnant and wouldn’t be able to participate in this ride or Levi’s GranFondo in October. My friends and family asked if I would still be riding without my best friend beside me.

Well… heck yeah!

Training got off to a somewhat slow start, but once school let out I was able to devote more time to actually trying to increase my ride distances. A 50 mile ride was still an accomplishment I had yet to attain. In fact, it remained so until July 11, the day of the LIVESTRONG Challenge.

I won’t lie. The ride was hard. By far the hardest ride I’ve ever done. However, I didn’t end up riding alone. Thanks to the power of social media, I had a lot of support from tweeps and a couple of other cyclists to encourage me in person. Emily and Michael turned out to be invaluable even though we didn’t remain together the entire day.

The biggest surprise of the day was that 50 miles, while it sounds really far to a person who doesn’t regularly ride, actually isn’t very far. I knew the climbing would be difficult, but I remained unsure about the distance. Of course, I got tired on the climbs (and yes, I stopped and walked part of the way), but at the end of the ride my legs still felt incredibly good. I experienced no leg cramping and minimal discomfort from the saddle. I’m certain that I could have ridden farther.

Should I choose to participate again next year, I’ll likely stick to the 50 mile route. I don’t think I’ll ever be ready to tackle Metcalf Road.

"Cobblestone" Milestone

I thrive on challenges, and by analyzing my difficulties on the bike, I learn how to overcome them. It gives me a feeling accomplishment so I can move onto a new challenge, like climbing longer, pedaling faster, or riding further.

On my most frequent riding route, there is a particular stretch of road that lasts for approximately 0.75 km. It’s some of the worst pavement on which I’ve had the misfortune to ride. In fact, it’s so poorly paved and repaired, that there are rather large weeds growing out of the cracks in the asphalt. In one instance, I had to stop and remove sticky gravel that had lodged itself between my tire and fork, preventing my wheel from turning. In short, the road is a cyclist’s nightmare.

This week, while watching the Tour de France, announcers mentioned that the best way for riders to tackle the cobbles is to get into a big gear and in essence gun it while keeping a loose grip on the handlebars. This way, the bike more or less decides where to go. I’ve always kept a loose grip; otherwise, I end up with no feeling in my hands. However, my speed typically decreases dramatically when I hit this section. Instead, I struggle forward, frustrated and tired, cursing the public works department for poor road maintenance. Today, as an alternative to just continuing at a normal pace and releasing a string of words that would make a sailor blush, I shifted to the big ring and hammered my way through the horror with my teeth tightly clenched. Much to my delight (and likely the dismay of my dentist), it worked. My thighs were on fire by the time I reached the other side, but I got there swiftly and unscathed. Who says you can’t learn anything by watching sports on television?

The last few months have been ones of discoveries for me. My perception of poor pavement has changed significantly since I first started riding a road bike and I no longer fear wind as long as it’s not gusty. With very little thought or concern, I tackle small inclines that once made me grumble. Though I probably spend far more time worrying about my riding technique than anybody who isn’t a racer should, I feel this narcissistic tendency has made me a more confident and enthusiastic rider.

There are currently four more days before the LIVESTRONG Challenge, the event that I’ve been preparing for all winter and spring. Yes, I’m nervous, but I keep telling myself that if I take it easy and pace accordingly, I’ll be fine. I have no idea if this will work, but between that and recognizing the growth I’ve made over the last year and a half back on a bike, I find it keeps me calm so I can sleep at night. Although, I certain Saturday night will require some help.

In the Mother Lode with a "T-Bird" and an "Arrogant Bastard"

There are very few times where my photography hobby has left me with a product that I feel truly proud of. Sure, there have been shots I love and others have said they liked, but honestly, nothing that stands out as that special, once in a lifetime, shot.

A week ago, when trying to take a picture of a knitting project, I realized that one of my camera lenses wasn’t working properly. It appeared to be jammed and wouldn’t focus. Against my better judgment, I forced it to move and it started working, although the function was limited. Heartbroken and near tears, I began researching replacement lenses online. The Nevada City Bicycle Classic was fast approaching and my favorite lens, the one I had every intention of using for nearly every shot, wasn’t performing up to standard. There was no possible way of replacing the lens in time for the race. Of course, this wasn’t going to prevent me from going and enjoying myself.

Without the “Lance Armstrong Economic Stimulus Package” hitting the tiny mother lode town of Nevada City for a second year in a row, I was able to take my time getting up there and not worry about crowds. I enjoyed a nice 30 mile bike ride with a friend on the American River Bike Trail in the morning before cleaning up at my parents’ house and making the drive deep into the foothills.

I wasn’t expecting much from the day being that my camera was being obstinate. The initial plan was simply to cheer my little heart out for Burke Swindlehurst and enjoy the day with my parents. We arrived with plenty of time to spare and plenty of time for me to play with my camera at different locations to decide where I could get the best shots and if my camera was going to be cooperative.

Much to my joy, my camera behaved appropriately, which is more than I can say for some of the spectators. More on that later.

As I was photographing the men’s Cat 3 race, a man rode by me on his bike. I looked up and noticed immediately that he was on a Cannondale (yes, I often notice the bike first and I know I’m not the only one!) and bared a striking resemblance to a certain cyclist known as a liar, cheat, and fraud. I wondered why Floyd Landis would show up at the Nevada City Classic given the current situation and the fact that he’s more or less ostracized by the cycling community. I shook it off and thought it was unfortunate that this guy looked a bit like him then went back to shooting photos.

Before the men’s Pro/1/2 group lined up at the start/finish line, I made my way to the area so I could photograph the call ups.

As the men lined up, I started shooting, first photos of Burke, moving on to Paul Mach, and each racer as they were introduced. I was astonished when they started introducing a certain rider from Murieta, California, and I knew immediately when the announcer said the rider was originally from Pennsylvania that it was indeed Mr. Floyd Landis. Because he is no longer associated with a team, Landis demonstrated his somewhat ironic sense of humor by sporting a jersey for Arrogant Bastard Ale. Unfortunately, the crowd didn’t care for the fact that Landis was there to race and he was greeted by a raucous round of boos and jeers from the spectators. I don’t care what he did, that’s just rude. The rudeness carried over to the race as people were shouting things at him that I don’t care to repeat.

Floyd Landis and his Arrogant Bastard Ale jersey

As the race started and continued on for the next 90 minutes, I moved to various locations and attempted to capture a few good shots. I changed camera lenses, stood up, laid on the ground – anything that would result in an interesting perspective or a special photo.

I guess I got lucky – I managed to score that once in a lifetime shot.

Burke Swindlehurst of Team Give p/b Blackbottoms

Unfortunately, Burke wasn’t as lucky. He attacked several times during the race, a break got away, he attacked again, and then finally made it off solo.

Nobody came along for the ride this time

Racing hard, he held on until the last few laps when he was caught at first by Paul Mach, then by Ian Boswell, Zachary Davies, and Floyd Landis.  All of these men were part of the original break.

Paul Mach joins Burke Swindlehurst with Floyd Landis, Ian Boswell, and Zachary Davies in hot pursuit

Now personally, I’ve never ridden this course, but I can say with absolute certainty that it’s hard. Brutally hard (or perhaps Giro-hard if you're Ted King... okay, maybe not that hard). It’s not a traditional crit and includes a lot of steep climbing over the 1.1 mile course. If you put in as much effort as it appeared Burke did, while riding solo at the front, eventually the chase group will catch up if they can work together, which they did. Ian Boswell took the win followed by Paul Mach, Zachary Davies, Floyd Landis, and then Burke.

Winner, Winner!! Ian Boswell and Paul Mach of Bissell

Regardless of the outcome of the race, it turned out to be an amazing day and I finally had the chance to meet Burke who was courteous even though I really had no idea what to say to him. Yeah, I’m awkward in social situations with strangers, but I’m also a woman of my word. I’d said I would introduce myself to him at the race if the opportunity presented itself. Besides, I knew I’d never hear the end of it from D’Andrea if I didn’t at least say hi to him.

More photos from the 50th edition of the Nevada City Classic can be found here.

It's Business Time

I was recently horrified when I took a moment to look back at my workout calendar and noticed that I hadn’t ridden my bike since May 15th. I’d like to blame it on weather or a busy work schedule for the last few weeks until school let out, but I’m 94.37% certain it was laziness. Oh well, too late to do anything about that.

Now it’s time to make a genuine effort in my preparations for the San Jose LIVESTRONG Challenge. I have one month to train for a 50 mile ride, a distance I have never ridden before. Am I freaked out? Um… are Smurfs blue?

I finally got out on my bike yesterday. I did a moderately easy and short route, just trying to get some miles back into my legs. A breeze slowed me down, but now that I’ve learned I can handle a steady breeze, I just thought of it as “invisible hills.” Today was more of the same, only I added about 5 km to the route. The last 6 km were used purely for my own amusement of seeing how fast I could go. Apparently going flat and all out, I can get up to 40.1 kmh, but I can’t maintain it. I did maintain about 37 kmh for a while - pesky stop signs.

Tomorrow I return to work for the next two weeks. Not my regular job, but similar. Lucky for me, the school is close to where I live, I think about 14 km, so I’ll be commuting by bike. This is my first attempt at anything like this. My biggest hope is that I arrive safely with enough time to clean up a bit before class starts. Will the students find it stupid or cool that I rode my bike? We’ll find out tomorrow.

Tour of California Week, Part IV: Memorable Modesto

Tour of California Week, Part I
Tour of California Week, Part II
Tour of California Week, Part III

I can’t remember the last time I received flowers from a man. Oh wait, yes I can… it was 1995.  Not that this qualifies as the same thing, but I'll take these as a gift anyhow.

Hope I don't have to wait another fifteen years...

The day started out gorgeous and I found myself thinking at one point that with the move to May the riders would complain about the heat. My opinions on this matter quickly changed as a high cloud cover began to roll in. Over a couple of hours, the cover became thicker. By the time the race was showing on the screen, the temperature had dropped noticeably and a few drops of rain had started to fall. I’d spent all day in the sun, sitting on a corner in direct sight of the finish line, to be rained on. Obviously not ideal, especially if you’re trying to get pictures. Luckily, the rain stopped and the roads started to dry before the peloton reached downtown.

As the riders flew by, I snapped photo after photo just as I did for the first stage. However, the lens I was using wasn’t as cooperative when the riders came around the corner. Life isn’t Burger King; I can’t have it my way, but this didn’t stop me from trying and cheering my heart out.

Cervelo leading into the first turn of the circuit, Levi Leipheimer and Dave Zabriskie staying up front

The real action came after the race.

See, the corner I situated myself on turned out to be golden. Once the riders plowed through the finish, they came down to the corner and stopped to turn around and return to either the podium or their team buses. I caught interactions between soigneurs and their riders, teammates, and even riders from different teams.

Jens Voigt (Saxo Bank) congratulates Francesco Chicchi (Liquigas) on his win

My favorite moment came when I noticed Mark Cavendish pedaling slowly back towards me with a soigneur’s arm around his shoulder. The soigneur was leaning in closely, speaking to Cav in a very intimate manner. Neither of them was smiling and I realized that Cav was being consoled.

Mark Cavendish and his look of pain, suffering, and extreme disappointment

I was able to capture a few choice moments of congratulations and comfort from my vantage point and I honestly didn’t think things would get any better. After a few minutes, a course marshal approached and removed the barrier that was keeping spectators off the course. I asked if I could go through and pointed down the street to the finish line and was allowed to do so.

As I made my way down the street, I started getting the distinct feeling that I didn’t belong there. Trying to look as confident as possible with my camera in hand and Garmin-Transitions inspired messenger bag over my shoulder, I briskly approached the podium area. I was the only fan there, but nobody stopped me so I made myself comfortable.

Again, I struck gold. Dave Zabriskie was already on stage waiting to be presented with the leader’s jersey, something I missed in Sacramento. By the time the presentation began, many fans had filled in the gaping hole behind me. I just did my thing and enjoyed the moment. As each rider was presented with his jersey, he tossed his bouquet into the crowd. My first thought was, “I want DZ’s flowers!” Guess I missed the boat on that one. Each rider was throwing his flowers about five feet to my left. Oh well.

Dave Zabriskie (Garmin-Transitions) is golden

Eventually, Peter Sagan of Liquigas was brought on stage and presented with the jersey for Best Young Rider. After he received his kisses from the podium hostesses, he did a quick scan of the crowd. I don’t know what made me do it, but I raised my hand and waved. Imagine my surprise when he actually threw his flowers to me. The woman next to me reached in front of me to make a grab for them and we had a little scuffle, laughing. “We’re like bridesmaids at a wedding!” We ended up splitting the flowers, which was nice of her since he threw them to me in the first place.

Peter Sagan (Liquigas) receives the Best Young Rider jersey

I immediately tweeted, “I just got Liquigas Best Young Rider’s flowers.” (I was too excited to try to type an exclamation point, possibly kinda maybe shaking a little bit.  In fact, I don't recall using an apostrophe either.)

Totally gratuitous photo of Lars Boom because he's beautiful and has a cool name

When the presentation was over, I turned to leave and was stopped by a woman who asked, “Are you Michelle?” She held up her Blackberry and showed me the tweet I’d made about Sagan’s flowers. Turns out she was one of my tweeps, Jen (@jenfairfax), who was working as a course marshal for the Tour and is every bit as awesome in person. We got to talking and ended up sending D’Andrea a text to meet in the hotel bar for drinks.  D'Andrea brought me a Tour of California shirt... thanks!

Of course, the excitement didn’t stop there because Jen let me hold Jens Voigt’s water bottle that she picked up the previous day. The thing still had liquid in it!

My street cred went up about 17.38% because I held Jens Voigt's bottle

Yeah, I’d say it was a pretty exciting tour and I most certainly have fond memories and connections now.  I can't wait until next year!

Tour of California Week, Part III: Let the Race Begin!

Tour of California Week, Part I
Tour of California Week, Part II

Having found a comfortable spot on the corner to watch the race, I waited patiently for the coverage to begin on the screen that was across the street. When 2:00 PM rolled around, we had no video and there was no sound. Desperately wanting to know what was going on, I called my parents to ask. My mom wasn’t much help. Luckily, a man sharing the corner used his fancy phone to look up what was going on in the race. (I could have done that had Verizon gotten my fancy new Palm Pre Plus working, but no such luck after a week of trying.) I was excited to hear that Paul Mach was in the break.

Shortly before 3:00, we still had no video and little idea what was going on, but I did get to watch Kathleen King (@bikechik) create one of her fabulous bike scribbles.

Happily, shortly after 3:00, the video started working, but we still had no sound. No use worrying about it. The boys rolled in at about 3:45 to complete a few laps of the circuit before the big finish. On the ground with my camera poised, they flew passed. Kelly Benefit leading the charge followed closely by the HTC-Columbia train.

HTC-Columbia setting up Mark Cavendish for the win

With my finger pressed to the shutter release, my camera fired off photo after photo, working exactly as it should have been.

Levi Leipheimer and Chris Horner of Team RadioShack

After Cavendish took the stage win, most of the riders made there way by again. I was able to get some additional shots at this time when the action slowed down. Turns out some of my favorites were in that group.

Chris Butler of BMC Racing... one of my favorite shots for the day

A hairier than usual Andy Jacques-Maynes of Bissell

When the riders had cleared the course, I headed down the block and a half to the podium to try to get a few shots of the presentations. This was the first time I ever bothered to do this. While I missed the presentation of the “gold” jersey to Cavendish, I did catch the King of the Mountains presentation to Paul Mach. He had many supporters in the crowd that day and it seemed to be a truly proud moment.

Paul Mach would start stage 2 in Davis (where he calls home) sporting a fancy red jersey

At the conclusion of the podium presentations, it was time to hunt down D’Andrea (@deedee315) who would be the first of several “tweeps” I’d meet during the course of the week ahead. We joined up with Martha Van (@marthavan of Action Wipes fame), whom I’d actually met briefly before at Levi’s GranFondo and headed to get some drinks. They are both absolute sweethearts and I enjoyed a relaxing evening with the ladies before being forced to head back to the parental unit’s home to pick up my car and bike and make the long drive home.

Additional stage 1 photos from Sacramento here and here (Lifestyle Festival, including some serious bike porn).
 
Hmm... I think I might finally be getting the hang of this photography thing.
 
Next up: Tour of California Week, Part IV: Memorable Modesto

Tour of California Week, Part II: Sacramento Grand Prix

Tour of California Week, Part I

Last Sunday morning started just like any other morning when I wake up at the parent unit’s home – with an achy body from the air mattress deflating overnight. That wasn’t going to stop me from taking care of what I was there to do. Photograph and enjoy the stage 1 finish of the 2010 Amgen Tour of California.  First, there was the matter of the first ever Sacramento Grand Prix that needed to be addressed.

The morning got off to a chilly start when I arrived downtown at about 10:30 AM. The crowd was already buzzing and the Lifestyle Festival was more or less already set up. I spent some time checking out a few of the booths, photographed some of the bikes, and although I had already chosen a location for photographing the race, I checked out my options.

The Sacramento Grand Prix was also being held that morning so I was able to walk around the course and actually get some photos before the big guns flew into the city.

The men’s race was fun to watch with quite a large field of some stellar regional talent. Yahoo! Cycling, Webcor, Metromint, Adageo Energy, and Cal Giant were all well represented. The start list also included a small handful of riders from Ouch-Bahati, but as far as I’m aware, they didn’t show up. Floyd Landis wasn’t one of those scheduled to race, but I can’t help thinking that their absence was due to the shitstorm that was about to hit midweek.

I furiously tweeted the race and tried to get the best shots possible in preparation for the afternoon.

Tim Farnham (@NorCalBikerBoy) of Adageo Energy

I believe each team took a turn pulling at the front. In the end, Justin Williams of Trek-LIVESTRONG took the win. I’m cool with that. Justin seems like a good kid and I was happy to see him race well after witnessing the difficult time he had at the Merco Road Race.

Justin Williams of Trek-LIVESTRONG (center)

The women’s race didn’t boast of as large of a field, but there was some extraordinary talent racing. Tibco, Team Type 1, Peanut Butter & Co/TWENTY 12, Vanderkitten, Vera Bradley Foundation, and even HTC-Columbia were represented.

Women's field flying down 9th St. with the capitol building in the background

In the end, 17 year old Coryn Rivera of Peanut Butter & Co/TWENTY 12 (and a Bike Pure rider!) won the women’s event. A huge score for such a young rider.

Women's podium

Once the Sacramento Grand Prix wrapped up, it was time to take one last break before planting my butt on my corner and wait.

Up next: Tour of California Week, Part III: Let the Race Begin!

Tour of California Week, Part I

Like many other cycling fans, I’ve waited well over a year for the Tour of California to roll around again. The waiting was brutal. Now that it’s here, like any other fun event in a person’s life, it is passing us by much too quickly.

My experience this year with the race has been one of great anticipation and excitement. Although it all started weeks ago, the most memorable moments began when I decided to head up to the parental unit’s home outside of Sacramento to visit before catching the finish of stage 1 in Sacramento. I hauled Zippy along with me and we hit the American River Bike Trail (ARBT) for a relaxing afternoon spin.

When I ride in the city in which I currently reside (more or less against my will), I seldom see cyclists out. Even on really nice days, I can ride 40 km and not see a single rider. On the rare occasion that I do see someone else out on his or her trusty steed, I find that I get incredibly (well, stupidly) excited. However, when I ride the ARBT, the path is absolutely teeming with cyclists (and squirrels). Oddly enough, I think that even though I ride solo, seeing others out on the road/trail inspires me. It makes me a better rider. I have more endurance, drive, passion… I even smile when I ride, but nothing really prepared me for that day’s experience.

I’ve been having a tough time with my riding. Illnesses, poor weather conditions, and a busy work schedule have cut my riding time drastically. Optimism wasn’t part of my emotional range that day when I headed out. Thinking that perhaps I would get in about 15 km, I hit the trail at what wasn’t exactly a leisurely effort for me.

Soon I found out that I felt great, mind and body, despite putting in extra effort. The other riders out on the path, the beautiful weather, and the excitement of the Tour energized me. I could feel it in the air. About a third of the way into my ride, I looked down to check my computer. When I looked back up, I got an eyeful of argyle in time trial position coming at me from the opposite direction.

Yep, a Garmin-Transitions rider. More excitement to feed off… *pedal pedal*

At 20 km, I decided to turn around and head back as not to worry the parental unit. I stopped briefly and heard a noise in the brush on the side of the trail. Turning to look, I saw two deer grazing in the grass. While preparing to snap a shot with my phone, I was distracted once again by Mr. Argyle Armada heading back in the opposite direction. He had picked up a bit of an entourage at this point.

Yep, once again an exciting day, but I’m not sure it could compare to what was coming.

Oh, and I never did get a picture of those deer.

(And yes, as the title suggests, there are more parts to this story...)

"Chasing" George

George Hincapie is one of those guys that I can’t help but root for. I don’t know why. I guess I just sense that he’s a man of great character and we should want more men like that representing our country in an international sport such as cycling. Plus, he rocks the US National Champion kit.

My morning started early. Crazy early. Like some of you may have just been getting to bed kind of early. The intention was to get up at 4:00 AM, but since I have chronic insomnia and some sort of issue with waking up an hour before I need to, I was out of bed by 3:30. Turned out to be a good thing because it allowed me to hit the road early and arrive at the start of the Amgen Breakaway Ride an hour before it was due to begin.

There weren’t many people there when I arrived. Just a collection of volunteers, early birds, and oh… George Hincapie. Yes, Big George was also an hour early and rolled up on his BMC at the same time I arrived.

Since I wasn’t there to ride, I just wandered a bit and took photos, desperately hoping to get at least one good shot of George. I watched him give interviews, sign autographs, and take a few pictures with fans. Everyone that approached him turned away with a glowing smile, not only thrilled to have this rare opportunity to ride with a pro cyclist, but to ride with the US National Champion and one of the most popular riders in the pro peloton.

George Hincapie interviewing with the local NBC affiliate, KCRA - Sacramento

After my brief hour of observing George Hincapie’s interaction with the media and fans, I’ve concluded that he’s definitely one of the “nice guys.” Nice guys don’t always finish last and it doesn’t have to be a tragedy when he doesn’t win. His positive attitude is much more important that winning races and truly sets him apart.

Waiting to address the crowd before the 113 mile ride from Davis, CA to Santa Rosa, CA

 

George thanked everyone for supporting the cause and reminded riders to be safe - Right back at ya Big George!

 
Additional photos can be seen on my flickr page here.

Velotherapy with Zippy

April has been filled with busy weekends and poor weather that have left little time for my own riding. I’ve hit up two races this month: the Copperopolis Road Race the first weekend and the Sea Otter Classic last weekend. Copperopolis was cold and Sea Otter offered me a chance to finally get to see Burke Swindlehurst of TeamGive race. Cheering loudly for him didn’t work, but in fairness, the race looked tough. Maybe if I’d fulfilled my promise of cowbell and pom poms the outcome would have been different, but I doubt it. Sorry T-Bird! I’ll try to bring reinforcements to Nevada City.

Peloton in the feed zone - Sea Otter Classic Circuit Race, April 17, 2010

Upon my return from Sea Otter on Sunday, I ventured out for ride number two with my new shoe and pedal set up (Sidi Carbon 5 Pro and Speedplay Zero purchased for 25% off on Easter Sunday – SCORE!). I crashed and burned immediately. Feeling defeated, cut my ride in half and returned home, wondering if the three months I have to prepare for the LIVESTRONG Challenge is going to be enough.

My first pair of fine Italian footwear

I’ve since realized that my days on the bike are filled with many ups and downs. It just wasn’t a good weekend for me. I was distracted by work, hadn’t taken my meds, and had a three hour drive home the night before. The legs never felt very well. Regardless, at least I tried and that’s half the battle. Who could tell what the next ride would have in store?

In contrast, today was one of those up days. It was a highly stressful work week for me, but from the beginning of the ride, my legs felt amazing. Almost as if I wasn’t putting in any work at all. It's a good thing too, because I was in desperate need of some velotherapy. An hour into the ride, my back started to bother me just a bit, and when I slowed down and pulled right to allow for an oncoming truck to pass an oncoming tractor, I was dropped by a couple on a tandem. That’s when I kicked it into high gear. No, I didn’t catch them because I let them go too far before launching the chase, but it did motivate me to work vigorously. The fact that there were many other cyclists out today was also comforting.

With 41.35 km in my legs from today, I returned home feeling remarkably energized and happy. Gotta love those endorphins! I’m looking forward to an early start tomorrow to catch George Hincapie then returning home for another ride in this amazing California weather.