Mountain Bike Nationals- Sun Valley, ID
Cody Cupp

I had a really good time at Nationals this year. Last year I went there super stressed out and putting way too much pressure on myself and I just ended up crashing on the first lap. This year I went there relaxed, confident, prepared and just had fun racing hard.
I got off to a pretty bad start in the cross country and ended up getting tangled up in two crashes within the first minute of the race, so I lost a lot of time and got pushed way back in the pack. I had to deal with the most chaotic traffic on every corner of the first lap but I managed to stay alive and calm and just keep riding. When I came into the first climb I think I was sitting around 50th position. I was bummed that I was in such a bad spot but I was feeling pretty strong so I just got over on the side of the course and slowly started passing other racers and making up spots. I think I was probably constantly passing for most of the first two laps. Once I finally got back up towards the front half of the race again I settled in with a group of 4 or 5 other guys. Once we were on the last lap though and came into the final climb I managed to win the sprint into the single track and ended up finishing ahead of all of them.

I would have liked to place better in the cross country but I was feeling really strong and raced well, thanks to all of Solomon’s coaching and training plans, so I’m pretty satisfied with how I did. It was really fun and I’m pretty happy to get into the top 20.

I also competed in Super D and Short Track this year as well.

I put together a really fast and run in Super D and really crushed myself on all of the climbs and pedaling spots throughout the course. Unfortunately, I had a little bobble on the last turn of the course and lost a few seconds, which may have cost me a few spots. I ended just missing the podium and placed 7th. I was really wanting to get on the podium this year and was pretty bummed that I didn’t but it was still a fun course and I really enjoyed flying down the track.

By the time I raced Short Track in Sun Valley I was so exhausted that I just road really sloppy and ended up having a dumb mechanical. Most people don’t compete in both Super D and Short Track but I thought I’d give them all a try anyways. I didn’t really have very high hopes for the Short Track so I really wasn’t very disappointed.

All in all, I had a really good experience at Nationals and had a great time riding bikes. I’m satisfied with how I did and I’m looking forward to the few races I have left this summer and the Collegiate Mountain Bike season I’ll be racing in this fall.

Squilchuck Chainsmoker & Sun Mtn. Big Ring Bash
Cody Cupp

Things have finally started to come together for me these past two weekends and I feel like I’ve really started riding fast.
        For the Chainsmoker last weekend I was just finishing up an intensity week of training so I was pretty worn out and sore but I still was able to race much better than I have all season. I was finally able to really pedal hard when I wanted to and my legs were feeling strong enough to actually exhaust all of my energy. It was definitely a very painful race but I was pretty happy with how I felt.
        There wasn’t a very big turn-out for this race, so I ended up taking 2nd in the Open/Pro category. I was sticking with the guy who ended up taking first for most of the first lap, but I hooked my front tire around a rock and ended up going over the bars so he was able to pull a ways ahead of me. I tried to catch up to him over the next 4 laps but he only pulled farther away so I spent most of the race just trying to ride smooth and keep increasing the gap between myself and the third place finisher (who was someone that I have never beat before).

I was kind of uncertain about how I would feel coming into our home race at Sun Mtn. this weekend because I rested for most of week the leading up to it so I was a little scared I would be feeling slow and sluggish but I ended up being completely wrong. I felt amazing and I was able ride faster than I ever had in my life before, and quite a few more people showed up this weekend than last so it was a good and fun race.
        I got right out in the front of the pack on the start and managed to stay there for a few minutes. People shifted around a little bit as we made our way to the technical single track on black bear but I think almost everyone in the Open/Pro category stayed together for quite a while on the first lap. It wasn’t until Winthrop Trail (the one steep climb on the course) that the pack really started to break apart. Solomon lead the charge up the climb and everyone just tried to hang onto him. Surprisingly, once we reached the top and got to some smooth fast stuff again, I was the only one left hanging onto the two leaders and I ended up sticking with them for a bit more than two of the three laps. I was so amazed I was able to hang with them as long as I did. It was so much fun to be up in the front with them and ride really fast. Unfortunately, once I dropped off of the leaders, I ended up cracking with about 10 to 20 minutes left in the race and really lost some time. The next guy back from me was able to catch me towards the end and we sprinted it out at the finish for 3rd place. He was able to beat me to line and knock me off the podium. It was disappointing but I was still really happy with how I rode.

Squillchuck Chainsmoker

Keelan Christensen

                After a super hard intensity week I would expect to feel worn out and not up to par. However I felt better in this race than any other race this year. I raced Juniors instead of Pro in order to qualify for nationals, which I did successfully. I won the Junior field and was able to catch a lot of the other Cat 1s that started ahead of me which always makes me feel good while racing. The course was the same as last year except no mud and very bumpy with lots of short steep climbs. I did nick my handlebar on a tree on the first lap and hit the next tree with my hip on the next tree which kind of hurt, but I was able to stay on my bike and not lose too much time.

                Overall it was a good race for me. I qualified for nationals and felt great. Next up for me is the local race up at Sun Mountain. Should be a good one!

Wenatchee Omnium


June 9th/10th


Jake Harrop


This past weekend of racing at the Wenatchee Omnium went really well, I started the racing with a TT out by the Alcoa Plant south of Wenatchee. All my equipment was working flawlessly, my Shimano Ultegra shifting was smoother than ever and that played a part in my good time trial. 


Unfortunately I didn't have anyone else in my age group to push me harder. Later in the day I had a criterium in downtown Wenatchee. I  didn't feel too great due to a hard practice lap crash. What happened that led to my crash was excess of speed. I was checking to see if my bike was geared too low and I was carrying too much speed into the corner. I picked my line and halfway through I noticed there was a pothole in my way so I tried to avoid it by swinging out. As I swung out to miss it I ran out of room to get back to the main line. I jammed in the brakes and collided with the curb leading to my ejection from the bike and a 4-5 ft slide on the sidewalk on my chin and shoulder. Fortunately nothing was broken. As I began the criterium I got dropped and had a hard time with the wind blowing hard down the finishing straight. I did not do the final road race due to choice. Over all I thought it was a good stage race and will fuel my future training. 

Washington Time Trial Championships


Dave Acheson

The first Sunday of June found me in Tenino again for this year’s Washington State Time Trial Championships.  It was held on my favorite course and one I had ridden many times before with my most recent foray being four weeks earlier.  I was hoping for improvement over that recent time, but was realistic in my expectations for the day as my season has been hampered by a lack of training volume caused by that pesky thing called “life”.  

Conditions were pretty good, although a little windy.  When riding a long time trial, this one was 40 kilometers (24.5 miles), pacing is always critical.  Go out too fast and you’ll pay for it later in the race and struggle.  Given the reality of my training and my form, I was faced with the choice of being conservative and easing into my pace over the first several miles, or ride the race as if I had good form and hope for the best.  I chose the latter figuring if I went into it conservatively, I was surrendering any hope of a good result right away.  I started strongly and settled into my rhythm quickly.  After around five miles, I had already passed the two riders who had started in front of me (unfortunately, I had also been passed by the rider who started immediately behind me.)  The race went very well for me and I must say it was the most focused and “in the moment” I have been at any race thus far this year.  I managed to take about 40 seconds of my time of a month earlier and earn an 8^th place finish in my group.  I could not have gone any harder or ridden any better on that day and that is all you can ever ask for. 

Karla Segale Warming Up...

...and Heading Out!

2012 Bavarian Bike and Brew

Cody Cupp

                Well I felt a lot better this weekend than I have in the other three races so far this year. I didn’t race great but I didn’t race badly either. I’m finally feeling like I’m starting to get back to where I was last year. I definitely would still like to get a bit more fit before Nationals comes around but I was able to ride pretty well on Saturday.

                I think I came in around 7^th or 8^th for the Pro/Open field. I feel like I might have been able to maybe move up one spot or at least finish a bit closer to the next guy ahead of me if I had been able to hang onto the back of the front group on the first lap, but they were all riding super-fast and I just couldn’t keep up. I don’t think the next couple guys ahead of me really gained much time on me after the first lap but I was not able to gain any on them to catch up so I pretty much stayed in the same position the whole race. There were two other riders with me for the first two laps but I was able to create a gap on the downhill each time and when we came through for the third lap neither of them were able to catch back up again.

                Though I would have liked to be up there a little closer to the guys ahead of me I had a fun time and was pretty satisfied with how I rode. The downhill on the course was not super technical or difficult but I was able rip down it pretty fast with good flow and I felt like I was climbing decently well.

Keelen Christensen


I felt a ton better this race than the previous mountain bike race. I still decided to race pro and placed 11th or 12th I think. Even though it was kind of far back in the category, I was 28th out of 60 overall in the expert field and was able to climb hard, descend well and almost hang with the rest of the pros. I was able to avoid cramps by taking endurolyte pills and warming up much better. I felt very strong on the downhill portion of the course and I was able to catch and pass a few people who would pass me on the climb. Every race is an improvement for me and I am curious how I will place at the State Championship race at Squillchuck State Park next.


  

Enumclaw Stage Race
Dave Acheson

The Enumclaw Stage Race is my favorite race of the season.  It has great courses, is well run, and usually has strong fields.  Because it is a stage race that is scored on total elapsed time rather than on points like an omnium, my time trialling ability  usually keeps me in the thick of things.  Entering the weekend, I was sure my time trial form was pretty good but was unsure how the criterium and road race would go for me.  The weekend began with all sorts of good omens.  When the time trial start times were posted, I discovered I was to be the final rider off in my category.  And as I rolled into town late Friday night, a shooting star fell shot across the sky, surely a sign of good fortune.  Saturday morning dawned clear, sunny, and with little wind and I rolled to the start line quietly confident.  The time trial went very well for me and I posted  a personal best for myself on this course.  The time was good enough for second place and I only missed my first win by two seconds!  Having placed myself near the top of the standings, now the key was not to lose time in the criterium or road race.

After getting a call-up and getting to start on the front row due to my time trial result, the criterium started well.  As the race progressed, I thought to myself, this is one of the most civilized criteriums I’ve ever ridden.  The pace was very steady with little in the way of surges due to attacks, etc.  I avoided being caught up in or behind any of the handful of crashes and finished safely in the bunch with the same time as everyone else.  The overall leader for the weekend picked up a 3-second bonus in a sprint, but other than that no major time lost in the criterium was just what the plan had been.   Day one of the stage race could hardly have been better for me.

Sunday’s road race was going to prove to be a different type of experience.  It was dry when we woke up, but by the start of the race, a steady rain had started that would be with us the rest of the day.  I still felt good and optimistic as I had focused a little more on my nutrition this year and was five pounds lighter than last season at this race.  Surely that was going to help me on the climbs.  The race rolled out uneventfully towards its first trip up the Mud Mountain Road climb about 7 miles into the race.  I settled in near the front of the group and as we headed up the climb, felt comfortable (as comfortable as you can be climbing a steep hill in a race!).  The pack was steadily shedding riders and as we reached the steepest pitch about ¾ of the way up, only about half of us remained.  Suddenly, I went from being comfortable to being powerless.  I popped off the back of the group like a sinking stone.  It was an odd sensation, there wasn’t any period of struggling.  One moment all was fine, the next moment I had blown and was crawling up the hill.   After topping out, I tried to gather myself and hook up with other riders for the chase back on.  I had very little power though and found myself having to skip pulls to even stay in contact with the chasers.

As we hurtled down the descent, I smacked a pothole and my “food” bottle of Perpetuem bounced out of its cage and was gone.  I now had only a single gel in my pocket to get me through the race.  I continued to struggle and eventually lost contact with the chase group.  As a final insult, I managed to drop my remaining gel while trying to open it.  All in all, a day to forget and one that thoroughly scuttled my ambitions for a high finish for the weekend. 

Echo Valley Rally

Keelen Christensen

Well the first race of the year was a pure learning experience for me.  I decided to race Open/Pro category which entailed 3 laps of a grueling long climb up a hot and dusty mix of gravel roads and
double track trail.  I did not know how in shape I would be for this race because baseball has gotten in the way of me doing any races before.  Because of this I was incredibly nervous for this race, not just nervous of where I would place but also nervous of how much it would hurt.

I tried to stick with the main group for the first lap, which was a bad idea.  I went way too hard
too early and was worn out by the first lap.  Also on the 2nd lap I started getting cramps in the lower back and hamstrings.  They went away on the downhill but at the start of the third lap, they came back and I couldn’t get rid of them.  I was discouraged and worn out and unable to cope with the cramps so unfortunately I dropped out of the race on the third lap.

Like I said, this was a learning experience and now I know what to do in this situation next time.

Here’s what I learned:

1. Carry endurolytes to take during the race and take more before the race, especially if it is hot out. 
2. Race at your own pace, especially if it is early in the season.
3. Don’t get discouraged if you aren’t where you want to be, especially if it is the first race.

Despite this, I enjoyed getting out on some new trails to race my bike.  I enjoyed the challenge of
racing Open/Pro and plan to stay in this category for the rest of the series.  It was great to get some
racing in my legs and I feel a lot more prepared for the races to come.  Next up for me is the Enumclaw Stage Race next weekend.

Cascade Time Trial Series
Sate Warm Up Time Trial

Dave Acheson


This past weekend saw Karla and I headed to Tenino for the final event in the Cascade Time Trial Series, a 40-kilometer test on one of my favorite courses.  This course has been used in the past and will be used again this year for the State Time Trial Championship.  We both had done enough in the previous events of the series to secure podium places for the series, the only question was what step would they be on.  I needed a second place finish on the day to secure second place in the series.  With that in mind, I fired off the start line and got to work.  Within 5 miles, I’d caught the two riders who started 30 seconds and one minute ahead of me and had closed to within 30 seconds of the rider who started a minute thirty seconds ahead of me.  I felt pretty good the whole ride and it was definitely the best I’ve felt on the bike yet this year.  To my annoyance, I never did quite catch that other rider, but he made a very good “carrot” to keep me motivated and focused throughout the race.  When the finish finally came, I had posted a time under an hour and good enough for second place on the day.  The day’s finish enabled me to secure second place for the series by a single point.  Now my focus will shift a bit with the next event for me being the Enumclaw Stage Race in a couple weeks, then it will be back to Tenino for the State Time Trial Championships.

Green Valley Time Trial

Dave Acheson

This past weekend was the fourth event in the new Cascade Time Trial Series and once again, Karla and I loaded up the car and made the long drive to the west side of the mountains to Auburn to participate in the Green Valley Time Trial.  

Although slightly longer than the first event in the series, the Icebreaker Time Trial, this event took place on the same road so it would provide an easy comparison as to how our form had improved.  So much goes into riding a good race and this day it seemed like it was finally coming together.  I had a full and good warm-up and rolled to the start line relaxed and focused.  I felt fast and powerful on the way out and on track for a good ride.  Soon the turn came and I headed back towards the finish.  Partway back, I had a real ragged patch and struggled with my pace and focus.  I snapped out of it when the rider that started a minute behind me came past like he was on a motorcycle.  I got my head back in the game and finished off as strongly as I could.  My time ended up being good enough for second place in my group on the day and the result moved me into third in the series standings.  As for improvement, my average speed went from 24 mph at the first race to over 25 mph at this one.  Better, but there is still work to do.  Next up is the final event in the series, a 40-kilometer time trial in Tenino on the same course that will be used for state championships later in the season.

Beezley Burn, Ephrata, WA

Solomon Woras

Well, first real race of the Mt. Bike Season in the books. It always feels
good to get it out of the way without any serious mishaps, unlike Joe
(Hopefully he writes up an account of his very strange pre-race crash).

There is no such thing as a completely mishap -free fist Mt. Bike race of
the season though, and as it happens one minor mishap can lead to a chain
reaction of larger problems. Case in point:

Having a water bottle bounce out in the first 500m is not a huge problem
unless it is the only one you have. This is also not a big deal when you
have a teammate willing to hand you up a bottle, unless you don't realize
the bottle is gone until after passing your opportunity for a replacement.
18 miles of a 27 mile race with no water is no problem if you happen to be a
camel.... which I am not.  If you, like me, are not a camel then you may
experience some of the following symptoms.

1.     Dry dusty mouth

2.     A slight sense of panic

3.     An overwhelming compulsion to stop on a descent and walk back on the
trail to pick op someone else's discarded bottle full of strange hot orange
liquid.

4.     Cramps in one's back, hamstrings, calves, and feet.

5.     The inability to pedal up steep hill, resulting from cramps.

6.     The inability to walk up steep hill because of cramps. Resulting in
the activity of beating on one's muscles with one's fists, while in fetal
position on side of trail.

Lucky for me 75% of the symptoms above happened with only a couple miles
left in the race so I was able get across the finish line before any one
could see me in my embarrassing state. I guess that is what you call getting
the kinks out.

Skagit Valley Race Report April 14 and 15

Karla Segale
 

This past weekend Shuksan Velo in Bellingham hosted three races that teammate Dave Acheson and I attended.  Saturday was a two-fer —an 8 mile road time trial on Saturday morning followed by a 2 mile hill climb time trial in the afternoon.  On Sunday we suited up again for the road race—26 miles for my category.

Having had time to review my TT performance at Icebreaker, I came to the conclusion that I road too conservatively. This time I knew I needed to put more into it from the start.  My goal was to keep my heart rate at threshold on the way out and push harder from there.  After that it was a question of settling in on the saddle and focusing on my pedal stroke.   The road TT course started out with a slight climb followed by a quick descent and then settled in to a long, flat section that traversed Padilla Bay.  Fortunately there wasn’t a cross wind.   There was a pretty steep hill near the finish of the course and I opted to sit, pick up my cadence and see if I could spin up it.  I definitely lost my rhythm and did not finish strongly, but I am improving.

 

The afternoon hill climb was race # 3 for the NW Time Trial championships.  There are 5 total races where points can be accumulated leading up to the State TT Championships in June.  This was my chance to pick up some points for the competition.  The hill climb started out with some good size rollers followed by a slightly steeper pitch and a rollout to the finish that looked like the Great Wall of China.  My main concern was not to drop my chain as I geared down to sprint to the top of the hill.  I finished in 7 minutes 28 seconds and picked up 1st place in the Cat 4 category.  Dave took third place in his category, so it was a good day indeed for Methow Cycle and Sport-Blue Star Coffee Cycling!

The road race was on Sunday.  The last sanctioned road race I did was in 2008. The one before that was 1987. Needless to say, I was nervous.  There were maybe 20 in the field and several of them were very twitchy. And this was in the first five minutes! A few stern barks from the peloton followed by the aforementioned rollers of the hill climb TT and things got quiet.  Attrition is a beautiful thing. The backside of the course had a relatively flat section that preceded a pretty steep climb.  Coming in to lap 2, I noticed there were five of us off the front.  As we rounded the corner to the back side of the course, one rider dropped a chain and we were down to 4.  #4 shed at the top of the next hill.  The three of us worked successfully to keep the pack away on lap three.  Then it was down to the last section -- a repeat of the hill climb course, Great Wall of China and all.  We stayed together over the first roller, but that pretty much cooked my legs.  I ended up third overall for the day, and I was thrilled!  

This past weekend also marked the debut performance of my new Shimano custom fit carbon cycling shoes.  Living proof that shoes DO make the woman!

Dave Acheson

This past weekend offered up some serious opportunities to test the progress of my training with two time trials on Saturday and a challenging road race on Sunday.  With the TT and road bikes on the roof of the car, Karla and I made a quick stop at Blue Star in Twisp to get a couple of iced coffees for the road and after some encouraging words from Meg headed off to the west side to see how far we’d come since the first race of the year six weeks earlier.  First up on Saturday was the Skagit Valley Time Trial held on a course overlooking beautiful Padilla Bay.  Conditions were nearly ideal with sun and temps creeping into the 50s and very little wind.  I had raced on this course three years ago, taking a second place that day, so I was hopeful of a good ride.  Of course that race was mid-season and this one was early on, but hope doesn’t trifle with details like that!  I had a solid ride and felt pretty good, definitely better than the first effort of the year.  My time was nearly a minute slower than my ride of a few years ago, so I wasn’t too sure what the results sheet would say.  It said 6^th place for me.  Faster than most, slower than some.  Five seconds faster would have gained me a couple places, but I was pretty satisfied with the early season result.

As with the morning event, the afternoon event, the Northshore Hillclimb Time Trial was part of the Cascade Time Trial Series.  I was not sure what to expect going into this one other than pain.  It would be the second time trial of the day and was nearly all uphill and under two miles in length.  It would be intense.  I decided the road bike was the correct bike for this test, but installed my deep section carbon Easton EC90TT wheels on it.  Their lightweight, stiffness, and aerodynamics were just the thing for this event.  As I warmed up, I was pleasantly surprised to find my legs responding and not feeling too hammered from the morning time trial.  Soon my start came, and I shot off the line across the short flat section before the start of the main climb.  The bike rocketed along, but soon the hill approached and the speed began to bleed off.  The course was not a steady climb and even had a flat to rolling section midway.  As I came off the steep parts, I really appreciated the lightweight of my wheels and how fast they accelerated.  Soon, I was in the final 150 meters, a very steep pitch, clawing my way to the finish.  I had survived one of the most painful six and a half minutes I have spent on a bike and began the wait for the results.  I was stoked to see that I had managed a third place with my effort.  My results from the day’s two time trials had moved me into sixth place in the Cascade TT Series standings after three of the five events.  The last two time trials are courses that I should be able to do good rides on, so a high finish in the series is in reach.

We closed out the weekend with the Northshore Road Race on Sunday.  The course in the hills along Lake Whatcom in Bellingham is a classic and challenging eight mile loop with two substantial climbs per lap.  My group was slated for 4 laps plus one more trip up the first climb to the finish at the top.  This race quickly turned into a training ride for me, as my legs were fairly trashed  from the previous days efforts and I was unceremoniously dropped about halfway through the first lap.  I eventually hooked up with another couple of riders and we worked well together throughout the rest of the race picking off stragglers as best we could.  The results placed me an even 50^th of 61 riders.  Certainly nothing to be excited about for that race, but given the results of the previous day though, the weekend was a success.

Ephrata Gran Fondo, March 30, 2012

“To say the Gran Fondo Ephrata is a hard ride is an understatement, even on a nice day. This was not a nice day. It was a day that any sane person would avoid outdoor activities. They surely would not consider riding a bicycle on 80 miles of primitive Central Washington back roads.”

                                                                                    Jake Maedke

                                                                                    Race Promoter

                                                                                    Ephrata Gran Fondo

The race promoter for the Ephrata Gran Fondo promised the ride would be “epic”.  For starters, this is an 80 mile ride at the end of March in Eastern Washington.  That alone is a recipe for epic.  Add to that the fact that roughly half the ride took place on gravel roads or muddy hard-pack, and your epic experience is guaranteed. 

So on Saturday, March 31^st, at approximately 0-Dark Hundred, my teammates Joe Brown, Jake Whipple and I threw our bikes on the top of Joe’s car and aimed for EPIC.  Clutching our coffee mugs, we bowed with gratitude as we passed Blue Star Coffee Roasters on our way out of town.   Always good, often necessary.  This was one of those times.

A Gran Fondo is a timed event, not a race.  Tell that to the participants.  There were clearly people who showed up to race—or at the very least put in a good time.  For my part, I had no idea what to expect from this experience.  My goals were to finish and keep the shiny side up. 

Just as we rolled out of town, we encountered the first climb—a steep mud-and-rock infested section of hard-pack.   My plan to stay in low  zone 3 went out the window.  I redlined. Once the climb was over, the course returned to pavement.  The pack was scattered, the faster riders long gone, the rest of us spit out to fend for ourselves.   There were little clumps of three or four riders, but mostly ones and twos.  I was riding solo.

I have ridden many centuries and ultra-distance events, but never one like this.  There were no packs, at least none that I saw.  Nobody worked together-- more like survival mode. This was later confirmed by both Joe and Jake, who, while finishing way ahead of me, also road mostly solo. As pavement turned to gravel and gravel to mud, I would encounter a couple of people riding together, but no groups, no pelotons, no pulls.   Much of the terrain would have made for dicey pack riding anyway, but make no mistake.  On a day like this, misery loves company.  And on this day, there was no company to be had.

The ride had one aid station at the halfway mark.  I re-fueled and quickly hopped back on my bike to avoid letting hypothermia have its way with me.  Twenty miles from the finish, I caught a guy’s wheel (finally!) and we rode in together.   It was nice to share the hailstorm with someone.   Such as it was, we ended up “working together” and managed to pick off five or six riders.

My new buddy and I finished in 6:10, and I was happy to have accomplished my goals.  Best of all, no flats, and no mechanicals.  I ran Schwalbe Marathon Cross tires and they saved me!

81 riders started the day. 67 finished. 5 of those were women, and I finished third among those five.  It’s shaping up to be an epic year!

Icebreaker Time Trial

Dave Acheson

Auburn WA

3-3-12

My training has been in full swing for a while now and with Daylight Savings Time finally here, I’m getting in a significant volume of riding.  This is good as the racing season is fast approaching.  Those sentences are true and seem pretty reasonable.  However, the quirk this year is that I did my first race three weeks ago.  The Icebreaker Time Trial in Auburn was the first event in a new five race time trial series this year and came early enough that I had nearly zero training for it.  As it was part of the series I am planning on doing though, I felt it was worth going to and seeing if I could score any points at all.  It was held on a dead flat 10 mile long course which was a plus for someone just climbing off the couch.  I had hoped to be under 25 minutes for the race but turned in a time of 25:13 which was good enough for 11^th of 20 racers in my group.  Not what I hoped for, but let’s face it, hope is all I had, nothing useful like training!  It was a good enough result for the start of the season and I scored some points for the series so the only way from here must be up.  The next race is mid-April and I know I’ll be better prepared for that.

Karla Segale

I wouldn’t trade living in the Methow for anything, but as a cyclist, you just have the face the fact that early season training here means logging endless hours on the trainer or attending the occasional spin class.  This is made all the more annoying when your friends seem bent on telling you that the skiing is “the best it’s been all year and they’ll probably be grooming through July and why on earth would you want to be droning endlessly on a trainer when you could be outside loving life?”

Add to this the fact that the “Wet-Siders” have been on their bikes all winter long slugging it out with the traffic and pelting rainstorms, perfecting the art of suffering. And make no mistake.  Time trials are all about suffering.  Getting a jump on the season doesn’t make you suffer less, it just makes you go faster.  

So with three solid weeks on the trainer to my credit—and a few spin classes tossed in for good measure—I set out for the Icebreaker Time Trial—the first of new series this year dedicated to time trials.

I spin 20 minutes on the trainer, and set out for a few sprints on the warm up course.  I roll up to the starting queue to find Dave waving his hands at me and a less than perky look on his face.  “Get up to the line, Karla.”  “You’re next” he growls. “You almost missed your start time.”  Oops.

“Five, four, three, two, one” GO!”  I settle into my drops, and stay there.  I peg my heart rate monitor at threshold for the trip out, and push a few beats over on the return.   The course is a flat out and back, with a cross wind.  My goal is to break a half hour, which would be a good time for me considering my training deficit.

I hit the turnaround, and edge my heart rate over threshold.  I pick it up again in another five minutes, and twice more after two more five minute intervals until I am at redline at the finish.  I cross the finish at 28:59:3, knowing I gave what I had to give for the first time trial of the season.  

When the results comes in, I learn that I  picked up 4th in my category,  missing 3rd place by 4 seconds and 2nd place by 24 seconds.

I have my work cut out for me, but this race tells me what I need to know.  The podium is within reach this year, and I am going to get there.