What is your name and location?

Kristin Apotsos, Melbourne Beach, Florida

What type of cycling do you enjoy?

Cyclocross, mountain biking, riding bikes to school with my 2 kids, I want to like road cycling

What is your first cycling memory?

I felt like a hot shot when I was given my neighbor’s robin egg blue Schwinn with a sparkly banana seat. Several years later, my Dad painted it metallic copper. I was proud of that bike. It’s a shame that my kids have not experienced the beauty and comfort of a banana seat.

Who inspires you to ride? Better yet, why?

There is nothing more motivational than been getting spanked in cyclocross. Since moving up to CAT 3, I’ve been blown away by the power and endurance of my competition. I also have huge admiration for cyclists who compete in RAAM (Race Across America) and other extreme cycling events. Two years ago I followed the progress of an amazing local competitor & part-owner of our local bike shop (INFINITY Bike Shop!). He must have superior pain management skills.

What has been your best moment on the bike so far this year?

Hands down, the best moment on a bike thus far in 2013 was taking an an orange popsicle hand up from a man wearing an orange full body suit during the Florida State Cyclocross Championships. It was my second race of the day. It was hot. It tasted awesome.

Tell us what you ride

I own four bikes and am seeking a fifth. My oldest bike is a green ’98 Specialized Stumpjumper. We have a long history together. We’ve done mountain bike races, 12-hour races, triathlons, and now cyclocross races together. I also own a full suspension Trek Fuel EX, a WSD Trek Madone 5.2, and a turquoise vintage Raleigh cruiser which is used for errands and towing surf & paddle boards. I am shopping for a carbon CX bike with a lot of character and a small price tag. As corny as this sounds, I trust destiny will bring us together. I’d love to add a single speed to the family as well.

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Motivational Monday, a Monday tradition at Bike Shop Girl, my goal to keep you motivated and to be striving on the bike even during a hard week or long hours at work. Are you a woman that bicycles? Fill out this easy form and be part of our motivational movement! 

The 2013 LUNA Pro team is keeping on with their dominating list of killer girls. What has been a long time running “winning” team will continue and I’m excited to see what these girls will do in 2013.

From Marla:

The LUNA Pro Team rolls into this New Year with the same winning world-class roster as in 2012 headlined by Olympic medalist Georgia Gould and World Cup Champion Catharine Pendrel.

ATHLETES

• Catharine Pendrel – 2011 World Champion, 2012 World Cup Champion
• Georgia Gould – Olympic bronze medalist, U.S. National MTB Champion
• Katerina Nash – Four time Olympian
• Teal Stetson Lee – Mountain bike and cyclocross pro
• Shonny Vanlandingham – 2010 XTERRA World Champion
• Danelle Kabush – 2012 XTERRA Mountain Champion
• Suzie Snyder – 2012 U.S. National XTERRA Champion

STAFF

• Dave McLaughlin – GM
• Waldek Stepniowski – Team Manager
• Marla Streb – Media and PR
• Chris Mathis – Equipment Manager
• Dusty LaBarr – Mechanic

Olympic bronze medalist Georgia Gould, current World Cup Champion Catharine Pendrel and
long-time staff members Dave, Waldek and Chris will continue with the LUNA Pro Team for four
more years.

Mountain bike legend and former XTERRA World Champion Shonny Vanlandingham, current
XTERRA Mountain Champ Danelle Kabush, US National XTERRA Champion Suzie Snyder and
Marla Streb have each extended their LUNA Pro Team contracts through 2014.

Four-time Olympian and World Cup winner Katerina Nash and development rider Teal Stetson-
Lee have each signed through 2013.

The team welcomes new mechanic Dusty LaBarr. Dusty is a veteran of the international race
circuit and brings a fresh perspective to the team.

The 2013 LUNA Pro Team is proud to announce committed support from Orbea bicycles, Fox
Racing Shox and Giro for four years. Sponsors through 2014 include Maxxis, Shimano, Squadra,
Prana and Camelbak.

From adjusting parts to fit you better, to switching parts around to make your bike look different and completely yours, both are equally important in the journey of bicycle ownership. Customizing your bike is an important part of making the bike “yours.” Bar tape is one of the easiest and least expensive ways to do this.

Zevlin Big40 Custom Handlebar Tape

MSRP: $33.95 (discount for buying in bulk)
Unique Details: Super wide at 40mm, add your own logo to your handlebars!

The boys at Zevlin sent me a care package to test out and review, one of the coolest unique products in this was custom bar tape. While the tape isn’t as padded or grippy as my loved Lizard Skins DSP it has done well on the road under my winter testing.

Feel and Wear of the Zevlin Big40

The tape currently has a handful of long rides and roughly 200 miles of winter glove riding. The 40mm allows a good overlap of tape to get a cushion while showing off the custom logos covering half the width of tape. The logos are in great shape, I’m sure with a tacky summer glove the logos would wear after awhile but it would be a good indication that your bar tape needs replaced. It seems that not enough people replace their tape until their wrist or hands hurt!! I would compare the feel and tackiness of the tape to a Fizik bar without the pain of installing that leather like wrap.

Customize It

While you can buy the Big40 alone, I believe the biggest market advantage Zevlin has is to price bulk custom tape to be attractive to shops, teams and even large charity events to promote brand identity. The Zevlin tape looks amazing on my bike with the white logos and then a few blue logos at the end of the wrap, now imagine that with your company under your bars. Rolling up to a group ride, sitting at a stop light or your bike parked at a coffee shop will put your brand identity right at hand level.

Overall Thoughts

The bar tape is wearing well, I’ll use it for most of the road season but it will not replace the DSP on my cyclocross bike as grip and cushion are super important then. I plan on doing a run of Bike Shop Girl in black  to promote myself and the brand as they are a great grassroots company trying to do different things in the bike industry.

If you are in the market to take your branding a bit further on the bike, I would start with Zevlin. If you are looking for a new black bar tape I would stick to Lizard Skins DSP.

A guest post by Laura Colbert of Loose Nuts Cycles in Atlanta, GA.

Hey love birds!  It’s Valentines Day and while I’m not a big fan of this day, I am a fan of going on dates on other days of the year.  I also like giving/receiving romantic gestures on days that are not explicitly prescribed for that purpose.  So, in the spirit of St. Valentine, I thought I would provide those of you last-minute Valentine’s Day planners and others of you who plan dates year-round with a couple of fun bicycle-related date ideas.  Let’s do this!

1. Bicycle picnics–Required supplies:  weather that both you and your partner enjoy, portable food,  a bag of some kind, and a place to which you will cycle.   Good picnic foods include: a nice block of cheese, fresh bread, some pretty grapes, a fancy salami or other no-refrigeration-required meat, and beverages.  (Don’t forget your picnic accessories–cups, pocket knife, eating surface like a paper napkin.)  The critical part of a romantic picnic is the location.  Traditional choices include parks and scenic overlooks.  I have friends who like the tops of parking garages.  Scout out fun, private locations in your city.  Get creative.  You could even make it a fancy occasion by getting dressed up for your picnic and bringing flowers for your significant other.  There are so many fun ways to make a picnic extra romantic or fun (whichever you’re going for), so let your imagination run wild.
2. Dinner and a race (or other bicycle-related event)–My partner and I regularly visit Atlanta’s Dick Lane Velodrome for a fun Saturday evening.  One of us treats the other by buying the tickets.  We pack beer or coke, buy dinner from the concessions stand, and we picnic in the bleachers.  It’s a unique twist on dinner and a movie.  You could do this with a lot of cycling related events.  Criteriums and cyclocross are good for dates because of the shorter, repeated courses.  Bicycle parades (think Halloween Critical Mass in any major city) are also a good opportunities.  Sometimes even an alley cat stop can make for some good spectator fun.
3. Ride your bicycle to somewhere together–Both my partner and I ride bikes, but we often comment that we don’t ride many places together.  Ride to dinner at your favorite restaurant or ride to a movie together.  It doesn’t have to be a long ride.  It’ll give you the chance to chat, comment on the funny/weird things you see along the way, and otherwise enjoy each others’ company.
4. See the city tour–Spend an afternoon on your bikes together.  Don’t plan a route or even a destination.  Just get on your bikes, pedal at a comfortable, no-sweat pace, and go with the flow.  Maybe you’ll find a cool bar that you didn’t know existed.  Maybe you’ll pedal around the park.  Who knows?!?!  Take your time, make a couple stops, and have fun.
5. Try a tandem–Find a bicycle shop near you or a friend that owns a tandem and you borrow it.  I guarantee that you’ll learn something about each other while you’re straddling a tandem.  A couple tips for those of you who haven’t ridden a tandem before: Captain (person on the front)–be a good listener and compromise with your partner.  Stoker (person on the back)–Trust your partner because they don’t want to crash either.  Good luck!

I think the most important things to remember for a bike-related date is that it’s not a race and you’re doing it to spend time together.  There’s no need to be serious or competitive about it.  That takes “date” part out of it and just makes it another bike ride.  Enjoy each other and your bikes–whether it’s Valentine’s Day or not.

What other good bike date ideas or advice do you all have?

P.S. Saint Valentine did not actually ride a bicycle.  Historians think he lived around 200 A.D., when the bicycle was not yet invented.  Still, I bet he’d ride a bicycle if he were alive today…mostly because he was deeply religious and would probably live a minimal, car-free life.  Just a guess….

A guest post from Laura Colbert of Loose Nuts Cycles in Atlanta, GA

There are a lot of Cyclocross World Championship race reports floating around the internet by now.  I think that other people have done an excellent job covering the technical details of Saturday’s races–who won, by how much, and what were they riding.  (If you didn’t watch it live on cxmagazine.com or haven’t read the race reports yet, check out these: Bleacher Report or Bicycling.com.)  As I said in last week’s post, I was looking forward to attending CX Worlds and planned on reporting back.  Rather than rehash what’s already been done by others, I thought I would provide a review of the event as a whole, from the fan’s perspective, rather than a sports reporter’s.

Last week, I wrote that the first time for anything is fun and special and challenging.  A first kiss, a first win, a first job.  Those firsts may not be what you thought they would be, but they hold a special charm that will always be remembered and felt.  That’s how this weekend felt in Louisville.  It was a first and because it was a first, it was imperfect but charming, and challenging but better for it.

The first and probably biggest challenge of the weekend was the Ohio River, next to which Eva Bandman park is located.  Due to recent storms in the northeast, the Ohio River swelled causing hydrologists to predict the park would be flooded by late Saturday night, making Sunday racing an impossibility.  So the organizers compressed the race schedule into one day.  Racers and coaches reportedly took the news angrily or ambivalently depending on their country of origin.  As a fan who was planning on standing in freezing temperatures for two days, I was stoked to hear it would be just one day instead.  And once the races got started, I can’t imagine having the event any other way but compressed.  There was only 30 minutes to 1 hour between races, so it was just enough time to get in line for beer, visit the restroom, and find another good spot on the course before the next race.  Plus, it added to the excitement to have 4 championships in a day.  Each race built on the previous one and by the men’s elite race, you couldn’t have found more excited fans even if you had moved the races back to Europe.  The men and women of the Louisville Municipal Sewer Department deserve a big thank you for the work they did to hold back the Ohio River.  They were literally building temporary levees and piling sandbags next to the river through all of  the day’s events.  I don’t think we would have made it much past the women’s race if they weren’t so damn good at their jobs.  Thanks Louisville MSD.

Thanks to the Louisville Metro Sewer Department for the sandbags, temporary levees, and water pumps.

The second challenge was the weather.  It snowed about 2 inches on Saturday morning before the races started.  Despite Kentucky’s historically bad handling of winter weather  (Yes, Kentucky gets snow every year, but for some reason it can’t quite get a handle on what to do when that happens…every year….  I’m a Kentuckian.  This is a fact.), the roads were salted and clear.  The races started on time and never fell behind schedule.  To add to the snow, Saturday’s temperatures proved difficult for cyclists, but made for a fantastic course.  Early on, in the Juniors race, the course was frozen which made for tricky run-ups, extra sliding around corners, and pit stops to pick up fresh bikes whose gears weren’t frozen.  As the day warmed up, the snow melted into the dirt, creating Super Mud Fest 2013.  The U23 and men’s elite cyclists all look like creatures from the Black Lagoon they were so muddy.  I’m not sure how the cyclists felt about that, but it made for an awesome spectator experience.  Oh, and maybe my favorite weather moment of the day was when it started to snow as the elite men began their race, the last race of the day.  Anticipation was tangible, camaraderie abounded (partly due to intoxication levels), and snow started to fall at almost the same moment that the race began.  It felt like cycling magic.

A snowy, icy course made the juniors race extra exciting.

The amount of mud on the course increased exponentially for the U23 and the men’s elite race.

A challenge for every race organizer is how to keep crowds under control, whether at the ticket line and entrance gates, the concession stands, course crossings, or restrooms.  With 10,000 estimated attendees, the Louisville organizers did a pretty good job.  All of the volunteers, race officials, and other people in “Louisville 2013″ high-vis vests were courteous, professional, and for the most part, fun.  I was especially impressed with the course crossing guards.  They did a great job making sure people got through the limited crossings efficiently, but also made sure the course was safe and clear for the riders.  That said, the one sour spot in the day was the concessions.  There was only one concessions tent and two smaller beer tents.  The snack line at one point was an hour and a half long.  You might miss 2 races if you got stuck in it.  Beer was supplied by Sierra Nevada and their supplies were gone by the end of the women’s elite race (only half way through the day).  They were able to bring in a new shipment, but the entire U23 race was a dry one.  In the big scheme of things, concessions are probably a small detail, but when spectators aren’t allowed to bring in their own food and drink, race organizers should make sure supplies are plentiful and lines are short.  Grumpy, hungry, not-drunk-anymore fans are no good.

The hour and a half long snack and beer line. The line snaked several times inside the tent too.

Thank god Sierra Nevada delivered more beer supplies before the men’s elite race.

One thing that makes or breaks a big event for me is the crowd, the fans.  If fans suck, the event sucks.  Lucky for me, the Louisville fans were amazing!  The event organizers report about 10,000 attendees, which doesn’t compare to European World Championships, but exceeds naysayers’ expectations.  Those that came to the races proved that American fans can be just as enthusiastic as European ones and that there’s a growing group of us–enough to support a World Championship.  There were amazing costumes, coordinated outfits, and homemade clothing.  Best of all, everyone was super nice, stoked on cyclocross, and ready to have a good time.  Check out my favorite fans:

Check out those awesome bald eagle jackets!

What do you think is under that kilt?

That girl made that dress by hand. It was beautiful and well-made, but mostly perfect for the occasion.

U-S-A! U-S-A!

We saw lots of jumpsuits, none more high-vis than this one.

First times are special and this one was no exception.  I am stoked that I got to be a part of this event.  It wasn’t perfect, but it was a success despite the challenges.  I think that Louisville showed Europe that the US can handle a CX World Championship.  I hope we’re given another chance to prove it.

So much fun!

A guest post from Laura Colbert of Loose Nuts Cycles in Atlanta, GA

Normally, I’ve just started making my weekend plans by this time in the week, but I’ve had this weekend planned for months…maybe longer.  This weekend I’ll be traveling to Louisville, KY for the UCI Cyclocross World Championships!  So stoked right now!

This weekend in Louisville is sure to be amazing for several reasons:

1. It’s the first time that the CX World Championships has been held outside of Europe.  Last year, UCI gave Louisville a practice run with the Master’s World Championships.  The masters returned to Louisville again this year and brought the rest of the World Championship events with them.  The first time for anything is fun and challenging and special.  This weekend will set the bar for US-hosted world CX events.  If it goes well, maybe the World Championships will come back to the US.  If it doesn’t, you can bet that Europe will be hosting all the major CX races for years to come.

2.  It’s taking place in Louisville’s Eva Bandman Park.  Bandman Park is the only park in the U.S. that is specifically dedicated to the sport of cyclocross, which means that the course should be great.  If you want to preview the course, check out this guy’s blog.  If you want to know what cyclists and officials think about the course, Velo News has a great article with thoughts from a lot of the top cyclists that have ridden it.  If this weekend goes well, maybe other cities will consider building their own cyclocross specific venues.

3.  European-style excitement about cyclocross!  The event organizers say that they’re expecting 5000-6000 people to attend each day of the event.  In addition to massive crowds, I fully expect that we’ll see some amazingly ridiculous cheering and fanaticism.  Cyclocross is not exactly America’s national pass time, so American cyclocross events don’t often elicit the same enthusiasm that they do in Europe.  That will not be case this weekend.  The U.S.’s biggest cyclocross fans will be out in full force, with some back up from European visitors and guests from around the world.  Expect awesome crowds, creative fans (I bet we’ll see some face/body paint despite the cold temperatures), and lots of noise.

4.  The possibility of home court victories for the American cyclists!  If you’re not familiar with the US’s world champion roster, check out USA Cycling’s report and 22-person roster here.  I do not usually shine with national pride, but I inexplicably swell with patriotism during sporting events.  I can’t help it.  The world championships are here, at home, and may never return to US soil.  Our American cyclists have to make the most of this moment and capture some podium spots.  Win on their home court.  Prove to the Europeans that America can produce cyclocross champions.  Velo News has a good analysis the American chances of winning this weekend.

If you have a weekend with few plans and live in any state that borders Kentucky (or are otherwise reasonably close), you should cancel your plans and make your way to Louisville.  If you aren’t able to make it this weekend, no worries.  CX Magazine is live streaming the event right here.  Also, check the Louisville 2013 Facebook page for updates.

I’m going to be taking lots of pictures, checking out the course, pits, and venue, and talking to as many cyclists and spectators as I can.  Next week, I’ll be reporting back about the weekend and the races.  Leave a comment if you want me to try to chat with a specific cyclist, or get a picture of a particular part of the course, or whatever.  I’ll do my best.

Photo credit to Nathan Bolster of Bolster Photography.

WHAT’S YOUR NAME AND LOCATION?

Alicia Vin Zant, St. Paul Minnesota

WHAT TYPE OF CYCLING DO YOU ENJOY?

Cyclocross, and just getting out to ride. I’m thinking about trying out track this next year…

WHAT IS YOUR FIRST CYCLING MEMORY?

For Easter my mom would make clues from the easter bunny. It lead me to my very first two-wheel bike! It was pink with pompom like strands coming out of the handle bars.

WHO INSPIRES YOU TO RIDE, AND BETTER YET WHY?

Hope this doesn’t sound selfish…but I inspire myself. Getting out riding gives me time to think, and is a little break. This is the first time in a long time that I’ve found something that I absolutely love to do, and challenges me every step of the way. I can’t do it w/out the support of my husband and kids (we have 6 kids..ages 12-2). My new cycling friends inspire me, and the commuters I see riding to work every day. Especially the one this morning carrying his bike cross style over a snow bank!

WHAT HAS BEEN YOUR BEST MOMENT ON THE BIKE SO FAR THIS YEAR?

Just one? I actually started riding for the first time this year in June. (It had been since I was probably about 12, and I’m 33 now..) My friend talked me into doing a triathlon with her. I hate running, and swimming wasn’t a big deal, so I spent most of my training on a bike. I stumbled into a bike shop, and ended up YouTubing cyclocross…and in July bought my cyclocross bike. I’d have to say…this being my first season racing bike/cross IN MY LIFE that finally being able to ride through the blasted sand felt absolutely freaking amazing!!

TELL US ALL ABOUT YOUR BIKES

I am the proud owner of a KHS CX-200. It’s a beautiful bright green and my new addiction. I had butterflies in my stomach for days after buying her. I go through withdrawals if I don’t get to ride at least twice a week!

Motivational Monday, a Monday tradition at Bike Shop Girl, my goal to keep you motivated and to be striving on the bike even during a hard week or long hours at work. Are you a woman that bicycles? Fill out this easy form and be part of our motivational movement!

I belong to a newborn bike team that was formed by a popular LBS as a way to bring more cyclists into the sport. I’m one of three women on the co-ed team and, through sheer terror that I will lose any fitness and no longer be able to keep up, I’m the most consistent woman on the group rides in town.

It’s certainly not because I’m the fastest. Not even by a long shot. I’m a forty-two year old mother of teenagers that only started riding anything more than a commuter bike in 2010. I believe in cycling for transportation and for health. I think cyclocross is the greatest sport ever invented and, someday, I hope not to crash my mountain bike every time I get on it. In other words, I’m just an average chick that likes to ride a bike. Yet I can’t seem to convince many other average chicks to join me out there.

I think it has to do with the fact that it’s intimidating to be a woman in a group of very fit guys. And when I say very fit guys, I’m talking about the fastest cyclists in our community. Nice guys, but very fast. Most of the group rides we do have a “catch-up” segment that allows the group to re-form before moving on down the road. I’m usually the last one in, or next to last if I’m having a good week, and often a few of the guys will swing around to accompany me to the end. This is what keeps me going. I love these guys and, though I hold things up, they always encourage me. Still, I will do just about anything to not have to be the one to ask them to dial it back a bit.

And they are guys. Though we may all keep a Lady Schick in the shower, cycling is a very testosterone oriented sport. With the one-up-manship, crude language and large amount of spitting, it’s hard to convince a girl friend that pedaling a bike for two straight hours in a harrowing pace line is sane, let alone fun.

I think women have a place here though. All of these guys have wives or girlfriends that only want a bit of encouragement to get them regularly riding. There are plenty of women in the LBS glancing at the zippy new road bikes, but talking themselves out of it because they have no one to ride with. Well, dammit, I’m going to do something about this. I’ve learned from the best how to be encouraging and supportive and it’s time I pay it forward.

March 2013 will see the start of a new Weekly Women’s Ride in our community that is fun, inclusive, and all female. No intimidation to keep up with the guys, no worries about how those funny shorts look, and no spitting. We will ride for the sheer joy of the wind in our faces and for the happy-hour margaritas we will consume when we’re done.

But I’m not done with the guys. As the year progresses, maybe I can convince one or two of the women to tackle the Thursday night group ride with me. Then, a few weeks later, maybe someone will try Tuesday Night Worlds. If I’m really successful, there will be a group of women enjoying cyclocross with me in September. The crowning achievement, however, would happen when another woman and I get on the front of the November gravel ride and we hear a masculine gasp from the back say “Can you gals slow it down a bit?”

Michelle Windmoeller first learned to ride in 1977 on a used gold chopper-style bike with a wicked banana seat. Since then she has toted schoolbooks, kids, household furniture, and, literally, a commercial kitchen sink on her bike. Based in Columbia, MO, Michelle owns Blue Cypress Solutions and writes about health and wellness issues. She officially invites you all to join her for a long, leisurely ride in Missouri sometime. She’ll bring the PBR. Photo Credit: Kate Woodard

A guest blog from Laura Colbert of Loose Nuts Cycles in Atlanta, GA.

Saturday was a beautiful day in Atlanta, one of those occasional Southern winter days when it feels like spring–the opposite of what cyclocross weather should be.  Other parts of the country have muddy, sloppy, cold cyclocross races.  In Georgia, the weather always seems to provide us with boring, but beautiful race days.  This pattern held true for Saturday’s 4th Annual AlleyCross race.  It was 70 degrees and sunny, the kind of weather that’s perfectly suited for looking cute while riding your city commuter, but not so much for cyclocross.  Luckily the 2 days before the race had been pretty rainy, so the course was sufficiently sloppy, even if the weather was behaving itself.

AlleyCross is organized by No Hipster Left Behind and is a fun combination of cyclocross and alley cat races.

The event started with mandatory parade lap to familiarize everyone with the route.  That turned out to be fortunate, because it took the better part of an hour to complete (8.5 mile route…so slow) and included a couple wrecks.  Parade laps are not usually that eventful.  However, the extra time also gave us spectators plenty of opportunity to find a good spot for photos and get a head start on beer drinking.  When the racers returned from the parade lap, they left their bikes at the mouth of an alley and were sent down a gravel hill for a Le Mans start.

The race consisted of two laps along the 8.5 mile race course, and it started and ended at Loose Nuts Cycles.  The route sent cyclists through city parks, gravel and cobblestone alleys, grass run-ups, the relatively new Atlanta Beltline, and regular city streets.  There were several notable obstacles/stops along the way:

1. The cobblestone alley—I’ve ridden and run up and down this hill.  It’s steep and cobblestone-y, and there’s no visibility to check for cars at the bottom of the alley.  One Saturday, it was also extra slippery from the previous days’ rain.  It’s no joke.
2. The whiskey stop—Down an alley in Grant Park, the racers had a choice: 1. Take a whiskey shot and be on your way; 2. Shoulder your bike and run through a 30-second pine straw section.  I know which choice I would have taken… (whiskey!)

            3.  Barriers—traditional cyclocross barriers (made out of PVC instead of wood planks
4. The Beltline—a neutral zone for the race.  Racers were not allowed to attack in this section.  The Beltline is full of children on bicycles, dogs on and off leashes, roller bladers, skateboarders, and a woman who walks her dog while playing violin.  Even if it wasn’t against the rules, the Beltline is so crowded on nice days that usually it takes most of a cyclist’s attention to just avoid hitting anyone.

The race brought out a great mix of people–serious cyclocross racers, cyclists who have never raced before, and everyone in between.  The 49 race entrants (including 6 women) showed up in everything from full race kits to jeans and tshirts. The spectators were just as diverse–Grant Park and Inman Park residents, other cyclists, friends of cyclists, and future cyclists.

The race went smoothly for the most part, with relatively little drama (only one emergency room visit).   There were comments from experienced riders and new racers alike about how challenging the course was.  It was a well-designed course that really pushed everyone. Even cyclists who just rode the parade route commented on how much effort the route required. Race organizer, Dustin Morado said, “After organizing most of the city races in Atlanta for the last year and a half it was so rewarding to see so many people come out to really push themselves, go fast, and get competitive.”

At the end of the 2 laps, Gary Gomez (male winner), Elizabeth Lee (female winner) and Tim Barrett (single speed winner) beat out everyone else to earn the $40 payout for first place. (Second and third places earned $30 and $10 respectively in all categories.)  Their success was celebrated by everyone by emptying a keg’s worth of Fat Tire beer cans (Thanks Chip!) and then floating another keg in addition.  Needless to say, at the end of the day, lots of bicycle fun was had and everyone needed a beer recovery nap.

Luckily we don’t have to wait too long for another great event like this.  Here are the next race events from the  two race organizers.:

Going into the first race of the Charlotte Winter Short Track series I was nervous and unsure. How shell’ed off the back would I get? Would I clog up the berms for the fast single speed boys that needed to blow past me?

The morning routine was off. I’m not used to racing in the afternoons, so I was up and “Ready” about 3 hours earlier than I needed to be. The plan was to ride to the course around 12:15, race time at 1:50. Next week I plan on making it a lot closer as there was a lot of sitting around and getting nervous.

BRAAAPPPP, Race Time

Lining up among 9 other pretty fast women I knew I could hold a strong line in the trail, but half of a lap is on a gravel road or asphalt parking lot. At the moment of go I settled in quickly. My starts from cyclocross paid off , though I could have easily been 2-3 in to the woods and I was comfortably seated behind fast girl, Sarah Matchett, in maybe 5-6th position.  I was faster in the woods, she was faster on the straights. 9 laps, Sarah left me in her dust after the first lap. I settled into my heart rate,  trying not to spew Perpetuam all over as it was 70 or so degrees. My body wasn’t used to zone 4/5 in these temperatures!!

Slowly I was picking girls off. My lap times were pretty consistent, but not as consistent as I would like. A goal for the series is to find my “pace” so that my lap times get faster, not slower, as we tick them off. I found myself in 4th with two girls within eye sight behind me. Going through the finish line with “Two laps to go!” I was trying to hit a hard effort through the parking lot and look across to the finish line to see the two girls being lapped by the finisher of single speed. I still had a lap to go, but does that mean they are done? Do I just need to stay up right?? With a fear of them working together and chasing after me I kept going. Not full effort, but pretty hard.

Improvement is Motivation

Pulling through the finish in 4th out of 10 pretty fast women I feel ecstatic with my results, along with knowing internally I’ve only been training “consistently” since Thanksgiving time. I’m sure these girls aren’t on their top game, but it feels pretty good to be in front of girls that have normally lapped me in the past! I realize it isn’t a true Expert field or length, but my goals of being able to CAT up this year to Expert seem a bit more obtainable!

Amazing motivation to continue to hit training hard, listen to my coach and make healthy decisions. I can say this is my best start of a racing season ever and the most overwhelmed feeling of encouragement and motivation from my friends.

Photo Credit: CLTPhotography.com