Mason Lake #3 and Banana Bonanza



Another monsoon greeted us this week. I was happy at the start to see about 16-18 riders. The first lap was pretty easy- not too many attacks. The rain was... wet. A little into the second lap, we were just cresting an elevation gain (not really a hill), Beth launch a meaningful attack and took 2-3 girls with her. I was sitting near the back a little irritated that we were coasting down the hill. I hang out on the left side and waited for a rider to... move and then took off after the little break away. I took 3-4 riders with me. We worked together, losing a couple along the way, until we were just 3. We worked to catch up with Beth and Suz. Then the 5 of us got into a rotating pace line rhythm. I had to skip a couple of pulls in the beginning to recover, but after that we all did equal work.


Yey, so I was in a break of 5. At the end of that lap, we already had 2 minutes lead. we weren't really hammering, but I knew that with one rider from each team represented in the break, the group wasn't going to be too ambitious to catch us. They probably could've though.

In the beginning of the last lap, Suz opened up a gap out of turn one onto the highway. Beth stayed with her, but the other 3 of us stayed together. It was a little harder being only 3, instead of the 5.

Rolling into the finish, I was the first one down the big hill (go figure). I chilled out on the pace, not going any faster than I wanted. I could see Lisa out out of my right corner. I finally just decided to go. Lisa surged, but I out-rolled her. However, the other rider, a Ti-Cycles girl, came on the inside of Lisa and got me at the line. It was a good move on her part. So, I got 4th in that race. I wound up getting 2nd in the series, behind Beth.




The next day....
On Sunday I drove to Hagg Lake for more abuse. I got tired just walking to registration. It wasn't going to be a fabulous day. I did alright for the first 2 laps. I wasn't bogged down by any one thing. I went up hill just fine and down hill even finer. We had a pretty big group for Banana Blizzard- about 20 racers. Cruising into lap 3, I started to hurt. Just little changes in pace were getting to me. I popped off the back and never got back on. I actually waved Lynn, the official around me. "I'm done!" She smiled and drove on.

After the race, Martha informed me that about a mile after that happened, that they were neautralized for a long time and that the last lap was pretty mellow. Great. Oh well. I've never claimed to be a stage racer.

All in all it was a good weekend. I feel liek I'm getting into great shape and my new bike is awesome.

A Wet Mason Lake

The first Mason Lake race last week wasn't worth writing about.

The second one, yesterday, was a little more entertaining. Let's start with the rain. It was hecka wet. My tooties were soaked in the first few miles. There were moments when it seemed to let up, but it was just a tease. As soon as you thought you could actually ride directly behind someone without getting water up your nose... the drops would start coming down again. I got into a fight with my glasses- fogged, so I pulled them down on my nose, but then I'd get splashed in my eyes, so I'd push them back up, and couldn't see, so I'd have to wiped them with my sogged glove. Late in the race, someone commented that I had foam coming out of my shorts chamois. Huh? Guess there was some soap in there. "What? someone else answered... don't you have self-cleaning shorts? They're the newest rage."

So, about the race. I thought we'd go easy for a bit, but it wasn't long before this woman, Beth started attacking. It felt like a crit, there was so much attacking. She did most of it, while a few of us did most of the chasing. Luckily, Lolita was much responsive. She must like the rain. My only bike issue was a hop in my rear wheel- must be out of true or a tire thing. But anyway, there was a lot of action, between 2 teams, and two loners- me and another woman. She did lots of pulling too.

At one point, Beth took off. she got a quite a gap. Her teammates did a pretty nice block, but I squeaked by on the left side, avoiding center line) and bridged, taking another strong rider with me. We worked together to get to her. The group stayed put. Yey, I was in the break, but also a little pissed that the group didn't come up. A minute later, I was spent. I yelled to them to go I rejoined the group for our last little more than a lap.

With the two active attackers out on their own- one from each of the two teams, the rest of the race was at an easy pace-just fast enough to discourage anyone from attempting another breakaway- just tempo.

There is a red, white and green sign to look like the Italian flag about 2K from the finish. At this point, I was somewhere at the end of the pack. Everyone was pretty aggressive about keeping on the wheel they had. I drifted up to the front, so I could be first down the big hill, then up the little hump, and a little more before the last left turn. I was still leading, along with another rider who came up on my right side with her teammate. I decided to go... much too early. Whoever was behind me, came around, I got 3rd in field sprint. The finish was exactly like last years, with 2 in the breakaway (1st and 2nd), so I was 5th overall.

I'm going to an easy 2 hour DRY ride this afternoon.

I Am Here! As Told By Baby Lolita....

Some people refer to Orbea's new ride as hot. Yes, I am. I am the new Orca, recently conceived for my owner, Heather. Here is my story.

It began the day Logan, Dean, and Mom (Heather) were unpacking me and my siblings. First there was Orca- 51. That was Richard's baby. Then, our big brother, Orca 60, belonging to new rider, Dan. Finally it was my time to see the light. I was one of 4 Orca-57 to shed our foam protection.

I was a bit lonely at first. Mom gave me some cool white water bottle cages, but mostly, I just watched on the couch.




Finally, it was my turn on the stand! They say it takes a village to raise a baby. First, Logan, I think started on the basics. Later that afternoon, Dan strung my cables, and put on my shiny new chain. But then my siblings hopped on the van for a trip to California to show off in a race.

The next day, Dean gave my wheels some gears, and adjusted shifting.

Thursday night, mom took me to my new crib. It's nice here. Many people came to visit me and do intervals in mom's garage. Mom spent most of the time getting me adjusted just for her. Later that night, Brian fixed my sticky brakes.

Human babies have belly buttons. On Friday I got to lose mine when the nice man at the bike shop cut my steer tube.

When I got home from my first ride, mom's roommate asked me what my name was, since I couldn't go by Orca-57a my whole life. Mom thought of my plight. She considered how many men had their hands all over me, how I was very pretty at first glance, but up close had flaws, such as borrowed brakes and a substitute front derailleur. And after a short trip around the neighborhood, it was discovered that I could be ridden hard and fast. I had moves like no other. My characteristics matched that of an exotic dancer.

It was because of these unique characteristics that I earned the name Lolita, the first stripper name Mom thought of.

March 1st
Late Start

The Farmer's Almanac was right. I never imagined that we'd really have snow at the end of February, but yesterday we had intermittent snow globe action outside the classroom window and this morning, a late start. I wonder what the raods are like in the Olympic penninsula where Saturday's race is...?

Jack Frost Time Trial

Sweetness is living about 5 miles from a race venue. First, I got to sleep in. Then, I got to watch all of the movie, Employee of the Month. It wasn't too bad, even funny at times, and Dane cook is pretty hot, so overall I give it a B+. Breakfast was yummy pancakes with cottage cheese, strawberries, and syrup. I highly recommend it. I added an egg white to the pancake batter for extra protien. You should try it sometime- worked nicely.

I got to do my warmup in my garage, which had it's pros and cons. Obviously, I was able to stay out of the rain, but there is something to be said for warming up at a race venue, with the spirit of the competition all around- riders getting ready, some socailizing, and getting into race mind. This is hard to do alone in your garage.

I got to ride with the master's women and be scored with the senior women, so I didn't have to wait until after 1:00 to race. I was the last to roll out. I felt alright. There was quite a headwind going south in the beginning, then a sidewind when I turned west, but a sweet tailwind cruising out to the turnaround. I was turnign about 26-26 mph, but was spanked down do maintaining 18-20 most of the way back. I caught the 3 women in front od me and was caught by no one, so I felt that I did well. I hadn't reset my computer at the start, so I only really know my speed and heartrate while riding. Last year, I rode a 31:48 with better weather and a disc wheel. I was a little over 2 minutes slower this year with a time of 34:12. Ugh.

race photos borrowed from Shane at www.oregonvelo.com.

Cherry Pie Road Race

Well, when we scoped out the course 2 weeks ago, I was confident that I'd survive the year's first race. Not so much. We started with 15 riders. For the first lap I rode in the top 5, staying out of the wind and enjoying the pace, how I felt and just being out with the girls. Then there was a hill, followed shortly by another. *POP* I was off, going past the finish line for the end of the first lap. There was hope for me. I knew that there was a nice, long descent after the crest, but I forgot about the west wind, so try as I might and along with another rider, I did not make it back with the group. I did eventually roll away from the other girl. I "enjoyed" the next lap alone, but kept up a good pace. I didn't finish last- but almost. Looking forward to Mason Lake in 2 weeks.

Recovery Week....

Yesterday (Sunday) I didn't leave the house at all. I read half of a chick book, and watched plenty of TV. I also made my first loaf of banana bread. Who knew it was so dang easy!?! Today, I had no trouble driving past the exit to the gym. I think I might lift a weight or 2 tomorrow.

Kids were funny today. Friday's adventure was still fresh on everyone's mind. At least we had the weekend to digest it all. So far, the police have given no information about leads on the jerk that made the phone call. We bebriefed in a meeting after school. We heard about irrate parents. One called the district office and left a message yelling that we had no right to keep her daughter hostage for 5 hours, how the kids didn't do anything wrong, and that she was going to call President Bush about it.

Uh... OK.
But most parents we spoke to or heard from thanked us and were confident in our ability in keeping theri children safe. Alls well that ends well.

Threats Force Lockdowns at Four Battle Ground Schools

This has nothing to do with racing, but I'm sure will stay on my mind for along time. I teach at Lewisville Middle School. We were in the high school gym for about 5 hours today. This story is from a local news station.

Friday, February 09, 2007
BATTLE GROUND, Wash. - Four Battle Ground schools were forced into lock down and were eventually evacuated Friday after a bomb threat and reports of a sniper in the area threatened student safety.

Fire and police officials told KOIN News 6 that a 911 call came in about 9:10 a.m. claiming that there was a bomb inside Lewisville Middle School. They were trying to trace the call, which was from an automated voice.

Students at the middle school were evacuated to the neighboring Battle Ground High School stadium until they could be safely transported to the high school's gymnasium. . They were instructed to leave their bags behind and take only their coats.

Officials say that had it been an immediate, credible threat, a fire alarm would have been activated. Instead, teachers were notified individually.

Police were conducting a threat assessment of the building, going through each room and checking for anything suspicious that should be examined by the bomb squad when the second call came in around 11:35 a.m. Another computer-animated voice then claimed that there was a sniper in the area.

Police asked officials to lock down Battle Ground High School, Captain Strong Elementary School, Chief Umtuch Primary School and HomeLink/Cam High School.

Reverse 911 calls were made to residents and businesses in the surrounding area to advise them of the threat and to instruct them to report any suspicious activity.

Confused and worried parents wanted to pick up their children. School administrators assured parents that their children were safe and asked that parents not come to the schools until an evacuation route was established. Police say they did not want to inform parents about the evacuation plan until it was already underway because of the potential sniper in the area.

Buses were rerouted to the secured area on east side of the high school. Battle Ground High School and Lewisville Middle School students were released around 3 p.m. Bus students were allowed to leave first, then student drivers and then walkers and students picked up by parents.

Chief Umtuch and Captain Strong students were evacuated a short time later, around 3:45 p.m. Students were released in a similar manner: bus students, students picked up by parents and then walkers. Students were instructed to walk east out of the school area.

Lewisville Middle School will be open from 9 a.m. to noon Saturday so students can pick up their belongings.

The story ends there, but continued a little longer for our staff. We weren't able to return to our campus for another hour after most kids went home. The nice police had some pizza that they gave us. Finally, we were able to go quick to our classrooms, then to our cars, and go home. Being involved with this today made me realize how lucky I am to work with a fantastic staff, to have patient students, and happy to be home tonight. It was a long day with no lunch. They had planned to feed us in the gym until the high school went into lockdown and we weren't able to get the food to the kids. The kids were good, although hungry, bored, and tired. I answered an array of questions with "I don't know." We visited, played concentration games, and braided hair. I skipped my workout today.

If you squint, you can almost see my car in the parking lot...