There was much excitement at the prospect of converging together again at Lost River, West Virginia – the location of our initial training camp in April, this time to race the Lost River Classic – a road race through some majestic scenery and over several rather steep hills!!
The race was brilliantly run by NEBC and Jay Moglia and Audrey– who own the Lost River Barn – one of our sponsors (and our MINT accommodation for our training camp at the start of the season). We are happy to report that we came away with the race win – courtesy of Kate Veronneau who rode like a rockstar!
Our race was 30 miles long and we were racing with a team of six, as well as Lorena who was both helping out the race organizer and the team (while 7 months pregnant – she’s amazing I tell you!).
As well as having numbers, we had extra incentive to win because Altarum was the main sponsor of the event!! No pressure or anything! ;-)
Anyway, our plan went perfectly, with a couple of us dedicated to setting the early tempo, then others launching off the front forcing other riders to chase. Michele was the first to go, flying around the course and eventually getting caught on the hill up to the finishing straight on the 1st of three laps. Kristy then countered this, splintering the field and leaving Kate and Jenette with a select group of riders. Jenette’s attack on the next big climb forced the other riders to chase while Kate patiently sat in until Jenette was caught, then she deftly launched out of the bunch like a rocket, never to be seen again – taking the race win by over a minute!! Just like the Tour de France!!!
It was a truly fantastic win for the team and a brilliant sign that Kate’s build up to Road Nationals in Oregon this week has gone to plan and she is FLYING! Anna will be joining Kate out there on Tuesday and we wish them all the very best. These girls are hammers. We know this for sure because sometimes we can’t hold their wheel. Hee hee
Following the race and podium presentation we then had a Wedding Shower for Anna Kelso and a Baby Shower for Lorena, which was graciously and generously hosted by the ever wonderful Marijka (and it was her birthday too!) in this fantastic country house her and her awesome friends were renting for a week long holiday! We had all sorts of games and laughs and while we will be sad to see Lorena and Rob head to Sweden on Tuesday, where they will be living for 3 years, we are looking forward to their stories of their adventures.
Ok, that's all for now!
Ciao
DT
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
Saturday, July 18, 2009
HAPPY BIRTHDAY MAMA!!
We would all like to wish our beautiful team mate and incredible manager Michele a HUGE happy birthday!! Hope you have a brilliant day Mama! We think you are the best!!
xxxooo
Thursday, July 16, 2009
Shorewood, WI
Shorewood has been my favorite race at Superweek the last two years I have done it, and this year in no exception because…..drum roll…..Jenette came 2nd!! Yah!
The day was nice and cool, although a little windy, and the race had a whole heap of mid race money primes which ensured it was active and positive racing as everyone sought out a few bob.
The plan was that I would try and go for a few mid race primes, cover any break away attempts and try and instigate some breaks. Well, I was getting absolutely smoked in the mid race primes (apparently the smell of money makes people super fast!) so focused on trying to attack at opportune moments and follow any threatening looking breakaway attempts.
The race ended in a bunch sprint with Jenette needing 5 more meters to take the win - she was flying up there that fast! It was an outstanding performance after a long break off racing and while still struggling with major injuries.
We hung out at and cheered for fellow Kiwi Heath at the race afterwards and enjoyed the fantastic atmosphere with live music, bbq’s and hundreds of cheering fans!
Rest day tommorrow.......well earnt. My legs are smashed and I felt like I was pulling a truck and trailer unit behind me by the end of the race today!
Ciao
DT
The day was nice and cool, although a little windy, and the race had a whole heap of mid race money primes which ensured it was active and positive racing as everyone sought out a few bob.
The plan was that I would try and go for a few mid race primes, cover any break away attempts and try and instigate some breaks. Well, I was getting absolutely smoked in the mid race primes (apparently the smell of money makes people super fast!) so focused on trying to attack at opportune moments and follow any threatening looking breakaway attempts.
The race ended in a bunch sprint with Jenette needing 5 more meters to take the win - she was flying up there that fast! It was an outstanding performance after a long break off racing and while still struggling with major injuries.
We hung out at and cheered for fellow Kiwi Heath at the race afterwards and enjoyed the fantastic atmosphere with live music, bbq’s and hundreds of cheering fans!
Rest day tommorrow.......well earnt. My legs are smashed and I felt like I was pulling a truck and trailer unit behind me by the end of the race today!
Ciao
DT
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
Arlington Heights and Bensenville, IL
Well, two more races under the belt at Superweek and some tired pins!
We raced in Arlington Heights Tuesday which was long course with 8 corners to keep us on our toes. There were many riders keen to breakaway so the race was very active – I attacked numerous times, and as a result there wasn’t much fuel left in the tank for the last 5 laps (read – hanging on for dear life!). The stronger and bigger teams wanted a bunch sprint and that is exactly how it ended up. Jenette rocked up for 10th which is was a great effort considering she had no form of lead out as I dangled on the back!
We talked to many friendly spectators after the race and Jenette supported the local economy by downing several cups of home made lemonade from the stand on the corner after the race (the wee girls admitted that they made it from a powder mix, but Jenette reassured them that this still counts as homemade since they had to put some kind of effort in their homes. Hee hee, I was giggling in the background).
Hosts Duane and Shaun cooked us a splendid meal of steak, salad and potatoes as we rounded out the evening solving the worlds problems on the patio. Magic!
Wednesday was a lazy start, we watched the Tour in the morning and headed out to Bensenville after lunch where it was a hot and windy day. As a result, the racing was negative – no one wanted to face the wind and it was too hard for a break to stay away. I think everyone was just really tired and that made the whole race a bit of a non-event to be honest. I tried to rark it up a couple of times to make the sprinters work, but to no avail since no one else was too interested in doing anything much.
Jenette got boxed in through the twisty finish but still came 12th so that bought our dinner as we hit the road for Wisconsin. The State of Cheese.
We are planning a visit to the ‘Mars Cheese Castle’ at some stage in the next few days…… which, by the way, is not a castle at all. The first time I visited there in 2007, I had heard so much about this amazing destination that I had let my imagination run wild and was dreaming of some kind of cheese version of Charlie and the Chocolate factory. I was bitterly disappointed when we rocked up to a perfectly normal building which merely stocked a variety of cheese, candy and trinkets. There were no ompalompahs, no edible furniture or plants and not even a tour of any kind of factory. However, now I have worked through the disappointment I am ready to revisit the ‘castle’ and perhaps sample some cheese curds and buy a cow magnet.
Tommorrow we race in Shorewood, Wisconsin which is a fun crit through a vibrant wee town where the locals always come out en-masse. Should be fun!
Ciao
DT
We raced in Arlington Heights Tuesday which was long course with 8 corners to keep us on our toes. There were many riders keen to breakaway so the race was very active – I attacked numerous times, and as a result there wasn’t much fuel left in the tank for the last 5 laps (read – hanging on for dear life!). The stronger and bigger teams wanted a bunch sprint and that is exactly how it ended up. Jenette rocked up for 10th which is was a great effort considering she had no form of lead out as I dangled on the back!
We talked to many friendly spectators after the race and Jenette supported the local economy by downing several cups of home made lemonade from the stand on the corner after the race (the wee girls admitted that they made it from a powder mix, but Jenette reassured them that this still counts as homemade since they had to put some kind of effort in their homes. Hee hee, I was giggling in the background).
Hosts Duane and Shaun cooked us a splendid meal of steak, salad and potatoes as we rounded out the evening solving the worlds problems on the patio. Magic!
Wednesday was a lazy start, we watched the Tour in the morning and headed out to Bensenville after lunch where it was a hot and windy day. As a result, the racing was negative – no one wanted to face the wind and it was too hard for a break to stay away. I think everyone was just really tired and that made the whole race a bit of a non-event to be honest. I tried to rark it up a couple of times to make the sprinters work, but to no avail since no one else was too interested in doing anything much.
Jenette got boxed in through the twisty finish but still came 12th so that bought our dinner as we hit the road for Wisconsin. The State of Cheese.
We are planning a visit to the ‘Mars Cheese Castle’ at some stage in the next few days…… which, by the way, is not a castle at all. The first time I visited there in 2007, I had heard so much about this amazing destination that I had let my imagination run wild and was dreaming of some kind of cheese version of Charlie and the Chocolate factory. I was bitterly disappointed when we rocked up to a perfectly normal building which merely stocked a variety of cheese, candy and trinkets. There were no ompalompahs, no edible furniture or plants and not even a tour of any kind of factory. However, now I have worked through the disappointment I am ready to revisit the ‘castle’ and perhaps sample some cheese curds and buy a cow magnet.
Tommorrow we race in Shorewood, Wisconsin which is a fun crit through a vibrant wee town where the locals always come out en-masse. Should be fun!
Ciao
DT
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
Super Week Day 1 - Richton Park, Illinois
A few weeks ago, Jenette and I decided to make a road trip up to Illinois, the day after Iron Hill, to take part in the legend that is ……..Superweek!.
Superweek or the International Cycling Classic is actually a 2 week series (Super Fornight doesn’t have the same ring I guess!) of criteriums and road races through Illinois and Wisconsin. It used to be a huge series but the prize money has been dramatically reduced and now that there is a similar series held up here in June, Superweek hasn’t attracted the same numbers as in previous years - there are about 35 to 40 women racing this year. Yesterday was actually day 4 of super- week, but the first day for us!
It’s a pretty long haul up here– (12 hours from Lancaster where we stayed with Michele the night after Iron Hill…..she set us on our way with omlets, coffee and snacks! We love our wee Mama!). We joked and laughed the whole drive and the time flew by, so we weren’t feeling too wrecked when we arrived at our host house in Downers Grove.
Duane and Shaun had hosted Jenette and Michele to stay last year, so they were so excited to see Jenette again and we have made our little nests in their sun room….which, coincidently has a huge flat screen television in order to watch the Tour de France – magic!!
Traditionally, it is like racing on the surface of the sun at this time of year in Chicago, however it is defiantly a bit cooler this year which is great! The race itself was aggressive from the get go with Jenette launching the first attack from the gun and a whole series of counter attacks going from there. We were both continually off the front making the sprinter teams work, until it became clear nothing was going to be allowed to get away. I told Jenette to sit in and wait for the sprint and I would continue to instigate breaks and cover any other breakaway attempts.
With 11 laps to go I was away off the front and really starting to feel the effects of all the work I had been doing. I got caught by the bunch just before the sprint lap and the group of 6 riders that were contesting a mid-race sprint prime got a small gap as they sprinted for the line and the rest of the bunch, who weren’t interested in the sprint sat back and conserved energy. Normally, things come back together after a sprint as the sprinter recover from their effort, but this time they had a reasonable gap and they kept on going! I was so exhausted but knew I had to get across as it was a good representation of the major teams– so off I went chasing, chasing, chasing. I dug and dug but just couldn’t close the gap before I ‘blew to bits’. I was so frustrated and angry and knew I hadn’t left enough fuel in the tank to deal with this final effort and it was my own fault! So off the break went, with the other individuals or smaller teams that weren’t in the break seemingly not that interested in chasing. For the last 5 laps I was hanging onto the back of the bunch for dear life and was no help at all in leading out Jenette for the bunch sprint, however she still managed to sprint to take 10th overall. Great effort!
While a frustrating day, we did learn a lot about the style of the racing is going down this week, so can go into the race today with a more informed game plan and hopefully come away with a win! We had a lot of compliments after the race from other teams and also the race commentator who said that we had really made the race and it seemed like we had a whole team racing, not just two riders, so it was really nice and very sencouraging to hear that!
Ok, that’s all for now. I am rambling as I procrastinate from my school work!
Ciao
Dale :-)
Superweek or the International Cycling Classic is actually a 2 week series (Super Fornight doesn’t have the same ring I guess!) of criteriums and road races through Illinois and Wisconsin. It used to be a huge series but the prize money has been dramatically reduced and now that there is a similar series held up here in June, Superweek hasn’t attracted the same numbers as in previous years - there are about 35 to 40 women racing this year. Yesterday was actually day 4 of super- week, but the first day for us!
It’s a pretty long haul up here– (12 hours from Lancaster where we stayed with Michele the night after Iron Hill…..she set us on our way with omlets, coffee and snacks! We love our wee Mama!). We joked and laughed the whole drive and the time flew by, so we weren’t feeling too wrecked when we arrived at our host house in Downers Grove.
Duane and Shaun had hosted Jenette and Michele to stay last year, so they were so excited to see Jenette again and we have made our little nests in their sun room….which, coincidently has a huge flat screen television in order to watch the Tour de France – magic!!
Traditionally, it is like racing on the surface of the sun at this time of year in Chicago, however it is defiantly a bit cooler this year which is great! The race itself was aggressive from the get go with Jenette launching the first attack from the gun and a whole series of counter attacks going from there. We were both continually off the front making the sprinter teams work, until it became clear nothing was going to be allowed to get away. I told Jenette to sit in and wait for the sprint and I would continue to instigate breaks and cover any other breakaway attempts.
With 11 laps to go I was away off the front and really starting to feel the effects of all the work I had been doing. I got caught by the bunch just before the sprint lap and the group of 6 riders that were contesting a mid-race sprint prime got a small gap as they sprinted for the line and the rest of the bunch, who weren’t interested in the sprint sat back and conserved energy. Normally, things come back together after a sprint as the sprinter recover from their effort, but this time they had a reasonable gap and they kept on going! I was so exhausted but knew I had to get across as it was a good representation of the major teams– so off I went chasing, chasing, chasing. I dug and dug but just couldn’t close the gap before I ‘blew to bits’. I was so frustrated and angry and knew I hadn’t left enough fuel in the tank to deal with this final effort and it was my own fault! So off the break went, with the other individuals or smaller teams that weren’t in the break seemingly not that interested in chasing. For the last 5 laps I was hanging onto the back of the bunch for dear life and was no help at all in leading out Jenette for the bunch sprint, however she still managed to sprint to take 10th overall. Great effort!
While a frustrating day, we did learn a lot about the style of the racing is going down this week, so can go into the race today with a more informed game plan and hopefully come away with a win! We had a lot of compliments after the race from other teams and also the race commentator who said that we had really made the race and it seemed like we had a whole team racing, not just two riders, so it was really nice and very sencouraging to hear that!
Ok, that’s all for now. I am rambling as I procrastinate from my school work!
Ciao
Dale :-)
Saturday, July 11, 2009
Iron Hill, Westchester, P.A
This was a crazy race! The field was shattered to bits early on and no one really knew what was going on, except that the two locomotives (Cath from NZ and Laura) lapped the field twice and took various riders with them each time, with riders in between and everywhere else! It was incredibly hard and fast and the crowds were huge and loud - great atmosphere!
Amongst the confusion, Kate V had a great ride to finish 11th, Kristy 15th, me 22nd and Michele 30th.
We hung out for a bit afterwards and had a bite to eat and watched the guys race (seemed like half of New Zealand were racing! Exciting!) so it was cool to have the Altarum crew together for a catch up as we haven’t had so many of us together since Clarendon Cup!
Ok, well that’s all for the moment - sorry this is short – it is late and well past my bed time!
Ciao
DT
Amongst the confusion, Kate V had a great ride to finish 11th, Kristy 15th, me 22nd and Michele 30th.
We hung out for a bit afterwards and had a bite to eat and watched the guys race (seemed like half of New Zealand were racing! Exciting!) so it was cool to have the Altarum crew together for a catch up as we haven’t had so many of us together since Clarendon Cup!
Ok, well that’s all for the moment - sorry this is short – it is late and well past my bed time!
Ciao
DT
Sunday, July 5, 2009
Fitchburg -Days 3 & 4
More news from Anna:
Well, Fitchburg's over and clearly the score is bad luck: 2, Altarum 0 for the weekend. Sorry to disappoint.
The road race was solid for me. I was still feeling pretty wiped out, but able to ride into it, and it's the kind of course that suits me; climbs but nothing longer than a few minutes. I was doing a good job of riding forward and was in several non-breaks (ie. we got a bit of space from the field, but didn't organize). We got neutralized for the pro-men to pass us, and apparently the field had split and regrouped after that (I hadn't even noticed we'd shed that many people). That was on the top of the hill, because clearly the organizers like stopping us after doing a whole bunch of work, instead of after the downhill, once things have had an opportunity to shake out... anyway, at the bottom of the descent on the second to last lap, 4 women sprinted off and surprisingly the field didn't shut them down.
On the climb, I was with the front of the field, and maybe 6-8 of us had a sizeable gap, and Alison Powers used her fearless alpine skier guts to tear it up on the downhill, and while the group never organized and were caught (Alison and Evie, who were 1 second apart in the GC were playing mental games, and the rest of us weren't going to put in work uselessly) we reeled in 3 of the 4 women, leaving Andrea Dvorak to solo it for the rest of the lap to the finish, and she held off the field by 11 seconds.
Once our group got caught again, I had a bit of trouble staying right up at the front, so climbed across the line in 16th place, which is solid, and I'm satisfied with the way I rode, and the way I stayed where I needed to be.
In the evening, I went down to the river to watch fireworks, 'cause why not, really.
The road race in the hot sun took a lot of energy out of me, but I felt OK warming up for the crit. Unfortunately, I got a flat warming up with 15 or so min. to race start, so borrowed a neutral wheel... after 9 or 10 laps, the chain popped off the cassette and jammed, and they pulled me within a lap and a half of that, since that's not the kind of mechanical that gets you a free lap, and I slowed up at the pit to ask instead of just hammering on alone.
SO, that's it. DNF for me. Bummer. I've had nothing but trouble from the shifting on this bike, so I should have known it was finicky and just asked the neutral dude to replace the tube and waited...lesson learned.
Peace,
Anna
Well, Fitchburg's over and clearly the score is bad luck: 2, Altarum 0 for the weekend. Sorry to disappoint.
The road race was solid for me. I was still feeling pretty wiped out, but able to ride into it, and it's the kind of course that suits me; climbs but nothing longer than a few minutes. I was doing a good job of riding forward and was in several non-breaks (ie. we got a bit of space from the field, but didn't organize). We got neutralized for the pro-men to pass us, and apparently the field had split and regrouped after that (I hadn't even noticed we'd shed that many people). That was on the top of the hill, because clearly the organizers like stopping us after doing a whole bunch of work, instead of after the downhill, once things have had an opportunity to shake out... anyway, at the bottom of the descent on the second to last lap, 4 women sprinted off and surprisingly the field didn't shut them down.
On the climb, I was with the front of the field, and maybe 6-8 of us had a sizeable gap, and Alison Powers used her fearless alpine skier guts to tear it up on the downhill, and while the group never organized and were caught (Alison and Evie, who were 1 second apart in the GC were playing mental games, and the rest of us weren't going to put in work uselessly) we reeled in 3 of the 4 women, leaving Andrea Dvorak to solo it for the rest of the lap to the finish, and she held off the field by 11 seconds.
Once our group got caught again, I had a bit of trouble staying right up at the front, so climbed across the line in 16th place, which is solid, and I'm satisfied with the way I rode, and the way I stayed where I needed to be.
In the evening, I went down to the river to watch fireworks, 'cause why not, really.
The road race in the hot sun took a lot of energy out of me, but I felt OK warming up for the crit. Unfortunately, I got a flat warming up with 15 or so min. to race start, so borrowed a neutral wheel... after 9 or 10 laps, the chain popped off the cassette and jammed, and they pulled me within a lap and a half of that, since that's not the kind of mechanical that gets you a free lap, and I slowed up at the pit to ask instead of just hammering on alone.
SO, that's it. DNF for me. Bummer. I've had nothing but trouble from the shifting on this bike, so I should have known it was finicky and just asked the neutral dude to replace the tube and waited...lesson learned.
Peace,
Anna
Fitchburg - Days 1 & 2
Here is Anna's report from Day 1 and 2 of Fitchburg:
Well, I figured I'll give you all a brief version of the past 2 days of Fitchburg. Expect another one probably Sunday, to finish off the race. Thursday. SO unfortunately, luck would have it that a super important scientific conference (on prokaryotic development) was happening Wednesday through Friday in Cambridge, and I couldn't really not go to it, but didn't want to skip Fitchburg either, since I get so few opportunities to race NRC races while staying in my own bed. SO I got a friend to pick up my numbers for me, and another friend agreed to drive me around to make this possible, but my Thursday went kinda like this: get up, eat a quick breakfast, ride my commuter bike over to the conference hotel and sit through 2-ish hours of talks, get into my friend's car, swing by home to pick up my bike and stuff, get to the race with about an hour to my start, warm-up, race, cool-down for about 20 min, pack up the car and drive back to the conference where I presented a research poster before sitting through another 3 hours of talks... SO add to that a sinus infection and you have my time trial. It was slow. About 20 watts lower than I can hold training, 2 minutes down in the GC and 56th or so place. Ah well. Some of the talks were super cool and the GC place means I don't have anything to lose going into the next races, so can be aggressive and enjoy myself. Kate, however, had an awesome time trial and finished 13th. Unfortunately, I didn't have much time to talk with her afterwards, given the schedule outlined above. Today. My day was kinda more of the same duel-life thing, but at least I didn't have to present my poster again. Sadly, I had to skip the talks that are most related to my own research, but so be it.There was a crash in the first lap and Kate, although (praise be) she didn't go down, something happened to her bike and when the neutral follow dudes stopped to help, they didn't fix the problem and after a valiant attempt at riding through it, Kate ended up pulling out (she's a bit unsure whether someone hit her, or just the combination of potholes and heavy braking did the damage). Anyway, I know she could totally have stayed in if not for the equipment issues, but as we all know, $#!& happens and after a really big ice cream, hopefully the intact skin will seem like the most important thing. There are other races!! Warming up, I felt pretty darn exhausted (probably more from the work and the opportunistic pathogenic bacteria that have colonized my head than the race), and was worried lining up that it would be a disappointing race. Still, knowing I had nothing to lose helped, and I was able to ride into it. Still not consistently, but there were even parts of the race where I was able to sit up near the front, right where I want to ride. Unfortunately, Team Type1 and Colavita made it pretty clear that the field was going to stay together, and that's pretty much what happened. Anyway, I finished a respectable 23rd; nothing super thrilling, but after yesterday, I felt like I was back in the game. OK, tomorrow's the road race and fireworks, and Sunday's the crit and ice cream. If all y'all don't have a road race and a crit to ride, at least I hope you can all find fireworks and ice cream!! Peace,Anna
Well, I figured I'll give you all a brief version of the past 2 days of Fitchburg. Expect another one probably Sunday, to finish off the race. Thursday. SO unfortunately, luck would have it that a super important scientific conference (on prokaryotic development) was happening Wednesday through Friday in Cambridge, and I couldn't really not go to it, but didn't want to skip Fitchburg either, since I get so few opportunities to race NRC races while staying in my own bed. SO I got a friend to pick up my numbers for me, and another friend agreed to drive me around to make this possible, but my Thursday went kinda like this: get up, eat a quick breakfast, ride my commuter bike over to the conference hotel and sit through 2-ish hours of talks, get into my friend's car, swing by home to pick up my bike and stuff, get to the race with about an hour to my start, warm-up, race, cool-down for about 20 min, pack up the car and drive back to the conference where I presented a research poster before sitting through another 3 hours of talks... SO add to that a sinus infection and you have my time trial. It was slow. About 20 watts lower than I can hold training, 2 minutes down in the GC and 56th or so place. Ah well. Some of the talks were super cool and the GC place means I don't have anything to lose going into the next races, so can be aggressive and enjoy myself. Kate, however, had an awesome time trial and finished 13th. Unfortunately, I didn't have much time to talk with her afterwards, given the schedule outlined above. Today. My day was kinda more of the same duel-life thing, but at least I didn't have to present my poster again. Sadly, I had to skip the talks that are most related to my own research, but so be it.There was a crash in the first lap and Kate, although (praise be) she didn't go down, something happened to her bike and when the neutral follow dudes stopped to help, they didn't fix the problem and after a valiant attempt at riding through it, Kate ended up pulling out (she's a bit unsure whether someone hit her, or just the combination of potholes and heavy braking did the damage). Anyway, I know she could totally have stayed in if not for the equipment issues, but as we all know, $#!& happens and after a really big ice cream, hopefully the intact skin will seem like the most important thing. There are other races!! Warming up, I felt pretty darn exhausted (probably more from the work and the opportunistic pathogenic bacteria that have colonized my head than the race), and was worried lining up that it would be a disappointing race. Still, knowing I had nothing to lose helped, and I was able to ride into it. Still not consistently, but there were even parts of the race where I was able to sit up near the front, right where I want to ride. Unfortunately, Team Type1 and Colavita made it pretty clear that the field was going to stay together, and that's pretty much what happened. Anyway, I finished a respectable 23rd; nothing super thrilling, but after yesterday, I felt like I was back in the game. OK, tomorrow's the road race and fireworks, and Sunday's the crit and ice cream. If all y'all don't have a road race and a crit to ride, at least I hope you can all find fireworks and ice cream!! Peace,Anna
Wednesday, July 1, 2009
Philly
So here is the long awaited Philly report……..sorry about the delay, things were a little mad afterwards….(well, that’s my excuse and I’m sticking to it!).
As a bit of background, the Liberty Cup in Philadelphia, P.A is the highest ranked and biggest one day race on the U.S calendar. It is massive. There are so many people cheering you can barely hear yourself think, and there is so much excitement in the air even a non-cycling fan couldn’t help but get caught up in the atmosphere! (I think ......in reality they are probably cursing all the closed roads and millions of crazed fans lining the streets!)
Michele worked like a little dynamo to get us all organized for this race; in fact my bet is that she probably didn’t sleep for the 4 days before it!
Anyway, we all congregated in Philly the Saturday before the race, and pre-rode the course together….it is technical so definitely warrants a recon if there is time.
Here is Philly 101: After starting right in the centre of town, you head out along Kelly Drive, through Manuyunk township at mach 9 speed, and straight into the rude awakening of the infamous Manuyunk Wall (which is a super steep piece of tarmac heading straight UP), you come flying down from this faster than the speed of sound, back onto Kelly drive then up Strawberry Hill catapulting back down onto Kelly drive and then up Lemon Hill, before careering onto the Champs Elysees of Philly (otherwise known as Logan Circle), which is where the finish line is located. The women complete the circuit 4 times for just shy of 60 miles (100kms). As you can see, the nature of the course means it is destined to consistenly be a fast and furious race!
We were treated to an incredible meal the night before the race, at one of our sponsors ‘ Betty’s Speakeasy, which is a speciality fudge shop owned and operated by the wonderful Liz who was a fantastic cyclist in her day (she gave us some secret Philly tips while we ate – perfect!).
SO after a DEVINE meal, we got to sample fudge (personal favourite moment!). If you are visiting Philly you would be CRAZY if you didn’t visit Betty’s Speakeasy and try this stuff…it is the cutest, quaintest little shop and it sells music for your mouth, and Liz is cool. What more could you want?! Because I know you want to go, the address is 2241 Grays Ferry Ave Philadelphia, PA
Anyway, back to the race…..we were up EARLY on race day. Since racing started at 9.15am, we had to be up 3 hours before hand in order to get a little bit of kai (food - I've decided I am going to teach you all Maori -the native language in NZ) in our puku's (stomachs) and get ourselves well warmed up and ready to roll!!
The race itself, as always, was FAASSTT. Everyone is battling for position leading into the wall, and it just makes the race faster and faster and faster……….Positioning is everything in this race, but everyone knows it so it is a constant fight for the front.
In short (ok, because I can’t remember every little detail of the race) it was a very tough day out…… Anna finished 24th, Casey (who we had the absolute pleasure of having guest ride for us!) finished 28th and Kate V finished 55th. Kristy unfortunately had a substantial crash and was unable to finish, and I had a bad day (lets just say I am not friends with the Manuyunk Wall).
To attest how fast our race really was, the women’s field passed the men’s field, who started 15 minutes before us and theoretically should have been moving a lot faster than us. Don’t quote me on this, but I think that is probably a world first.
A HUGE thank you must go out to all the people who helped us for this race – especially Michele & Brad and all those who helped feed and water us, cheer for us, take care of our wounds (external and internal!). Philly is a really fun, exciting, all consuming, exhausting day out!
Aroha
Dale
p.s for your info, NZ dominated, coming 2nd and 5th in the women's race (Jo and Cath) and 2nd in the Men's race (Hendy). Power to the Kiwis!
As a bit of background, the Liberty Cup in Philadelphia, P.A is the highest ranked and biggest one day race on the U.S calendar. It is massive. There are so many people cheering you can barely hear yourself think, and there is so much excitement in the air even a non-cycling fan couldn’t help but get caught up in the atmosphere! (I think ......in reality they are probably cursing all the closed roads and millions of crazed fans lining the streets!)
Michele worked like a little dynamo to get us all organized for this race; in fact my bet is that she probably didn’t sleep for the 4 days before it!
Anyway, we all congregated in Philly the Saturday before the race, and pre-rode the course together….it is technical so definitely warrants a recon if there is time.
Here is Philly 101: After starting right in the centre of town, you head out along Kelly Drive, through Manuyunk township at mach 9 speed, and straight into the rude awakening of the infamous Manuyunk Wall (which is a super steep piece of tarmac heading straight UP), you come flying down from this faster than the speed of sound, back onto Kelly drive then up Strawberry Hill catapulting back down onto Kelly drive and then up Lemon Hill, before careering onto the Champs Elysees of Philly (otherwise known as Logan Circle), which is where the finish line is located. The women complete the circuit 4 times for just shy of 60 miles (100kms). As you can see, the nature of the course means it is destined to consistenly be a fast and furious race!
We were treated to an incredible meal the night before the race, at one of our sponsors ‘ Betty’s Speakeasy, which is a speciality fudge shop owned and operated by the wonderful Liz who was a fantastic cyclist in her day (she gave us some secret Philly tips while we ate – perfect!).
SO after a DEVINE meal, we got to sample fudge (personal favourite moment!). If you are visiting Philly you would be CRAZY if you didn’t visit Betty’s Speakeasy and try this stuff…it is the cutest, quaintest little shop and it sells music for your mouth, and Liz is cool. What more could you want?! Because I know you want to go, the address is 2241 Grays Ferry Ave Philadelphia, PA
Anyway, back to the race…..we were up EARLY on race day. Since racing started at 9.15am, we had to be up 3 hours before hand in order to get a little bit of kai (food - I've decided I am going to teach you all Maori -the native language in NZ) in our puku's (stomachs) and get ourselves well warmed up and ready to roll!!
The race itself, as always, was FAASSTT. Everyone is battling for position leading into the wall, and it just makes the race faster and faster and faster……….Positioning is everything in this race, but everyone knows it so it is a constant fight for the front.
In short (ok, because I can’t remember every little detail of the race) it was a very tough day out…… Anna finished 24th, Casey (who we had the absolute pleasure of having guest ride for us!) finished 28th and Kate V finished 55th. Kristy unfortunately had a substantial crash and was unable to finish, and I had a bad day (lets just say I am not friends with the Manuyunk Wall).
To attest how fast our race really was, the women’s field passed the men’s field, who started 15 minutes before us and theoretically should have been moving a lot faster than us. Don’t quote me on this, but I think that is probably a world first.
A HUGE thank you must go out to all the people who helped us for this race – especially Michele & Brad and all those who helped feed and water us, cheer for us, take care of our wounds (external and internal!). Philly is a really fun, exciting, all consuming, exhausting day out!
Aroha
Dale
p.s for your info, NZ dominated, coming 2nd and 5th in the women's race (Jo and Cath) and 2nd in the Men's race (Hendy). Power to the Kiwis!
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