Brentwood Grad Prix and SCNCA Elite State Criterium Championships 8/6/2011 - Bea Rodriguez

After a long road season, with many hours and miles in the books, it was time for the Brentwood Grand Prix. Brentwood has historically been a challenging course. Key players in the field included Coryn Rivera ( Peanut Butter 2012), Kendall Ryan (WPT TIBCO to The Top), Jennifer Weinbrecht (Vanderkitten), Team Helens/Cannondale, Team NOW-MS Society, Team ACQUA AL 2/SDBC, and Team Herbalife LaGrange.

The race began to test riders from the gun. Having started at the back, I knew I had to make it to the front of the field, pronto! So I used the opportunity to open up my legs and move up into 5th position before we hit the 4th turn on a technical 6-turn course.  Soon after, there was an early aggressive attack by teammate Lisa Campbell. The field responded right away. Everyone seemed ready to cover every move. There was a big chance for a break to get away on this course. There were strong attacks from every team. Numerous combinations saw potential to get away, but with so many strong individuals nothing stuck.  At one point, Coryn Rivera, Kendall Ryan, Pam Schuster, Suzanne Sonye, and I had a good separation, but like with all the moves that day, it was pulled back. Helens' Suzanne Sonye, PB/2012's Coryn Rivera, LaGrange's Melinda Weiner and our own Lisa Campbell, Pam Schuster, Bonnie Breeze, and Katie Donovan all showed great toughness and had strong attacks. We also picked up some great primes along the way.

With 5 laps to go, and everyone's energy nearly drained, it seemed like it would come down to a sprint. But in SC Velo/Empower Coaching style, the next couple laps saw Katherine Donovan put in a monster attack that forced the other teams to chase. Unfortunately, Katie was caught with 1 laps to go. The final lap, like the whole race, was nothing short of fast and exciting. I went into the last lap in good position, with Pam ahead of me, and Lisa also up towards the front. Knowing I had to be around 3rd out of the last corner, I was extremely aggressive in the corners and secured a position behind Coryn Rivera, who I knew was the one to beat in the sprint. 200 meters from the line Coryn jumped and I put my head down, trying to get into her draft. Coryn was too strong and ultimately came away with the victory, with me in second and Pam Shuster in third. Katie Donovan, Lisa Campbell, Tammy Wildgoose, and Bonnie Breeze, finished 15th, 17th, 20th, and 27th respectively.

This was a great team race. I am so proud to be on this team, when even our road racers that hate crits are mixing it up in the final laps. It was great to have the support of our recovering teammates Priscilla Calderon and Lea Adams on the sidelines. Our thoughts are also with teammate Ruth Clemence who could not join us.

Woot! Woot!

2011 Cascade Classic race report from guest rider Lauren Liscninski

This past week I was lucky enough to race the Cascade Cycling Classic as a guest rider for SC Velo. The week was full of pain, suffering, and a lot of learning. This report is pretty lengthy, so read when you have time :) I think it's worth it....

The prologue was a 2-mile, technical, fast course. I wanted to not completely wreck myself knowing that I had five more big days coming and I wasn't looking for a GC placing, but it's hard to hold back when there's hundreds of people screaming at you. I made some mistakes on the technical turns and rolled in at 100th place. The cough I inherited that day would stay with me the rest of the week. 

Stage 1, the Mackenzie Pass RR seemed really ominous from the race bible. After 30 miles of descending/rolling hills there would be a 20 mile climb w a KOM, followed by a rolling section w a Sprint point followed by another 10 mile climb. This is where I coined my mental talk for the week, "Live w/in your means, dont get complacent, follow wheels." I faught to stay in the front of the washing machine and made sure not to burn matches chasing attacks. It paid off. Once we hit the climbs I was with a good sized group coming into the finish. I felt strong this day and it was definitely my favorite stage.
-Disappointment of the day, I lost an arm warmer on the course, so if anyone has an extra right arm-warmer size S or XS they want to donate, let me know. 

The next day was the time trial and it was clear very early on that I would be at a huge equipment disadvantage. I had a skin suit and clip on bars vs. full TT bikes, discs, aero helmets etc. I did my best during the TT, but my clip-ons slipped early in the race and I couldn't really put any weight on them. I finished most of the TT in the drops thankful to make the time cut and fight another day. 

The Mt Bachelor Road Race was another brutal day of suffering. The profile showed a start around 4000' a low point around 2000' with the final ascent toping out around 6500'. Not being a climber and living at 100' definitely had me apprehensive for the day. Did I mention it started on a 2-mile climb? I almost got popped the first 20 minutes but was able to force myself to make it back in. I've never been so convinced that my legs wouldn't pedal anymore but I focused on position during the descent and told myself it would get better. Thankfully it did, and my positioning paid off as I didn't notice many of the rollers we climbed towards Mt Bachelor. Once we hit the final climb the peleton completely shattered as we were all struggling to get up the mountain. I was on a solo mission for the time cut and managed to catch five girls along the way. It was amazing scenery as we finished atop a snow capped mountain with clear lakes and forests all around-I felt like I was in the TdF. We finished the 71 miles and all that climbing in just over 3 hours..no wonder I was so wrecked after. 
-Disappointment of the day: PC had a golden weiner from Weinerschnitzel attached to her bike to make us laugh the whole week and it passed on to weiner heaven somewhere on the road to Mt Bachelor. 

I had figured going into the race that the Criterium would be the easiest stage for me to make it through, and boy was I wrong. The race was fast from the gun and even once a break rolled off the front no one seemed really happy to let it stick. I hung out as best as I could in the draft just to make it through. The average speed was about 27 mph on the short, four-corner course. 

The final day would be the Awbrey Butte Circuit Race with the dreaded KOM up Archie Briggs Rd. We lined up to start our four laps and it was clear that everyone was as little tired. The climb into the feed zone was hard and I sagged the whole thing barely making it back on before the KOM. I was dreading the KOM and the steep pitch through the neighborhood. The climb to the KOM pitched up to 18% followed by a 6% section with the last 500 m to the KOM around 10%. I wanted to die, and I did. Thankfully some other girls died too and we worked together to catch back on through the rollers-there is really no respite on that circuit. Unfortunately the same thing happened on lap two, but we weren't so lucky this time. I rode the last 2 laps with a group of girls constantly in flux as we would catch, drop, or merge with other stragglers on the road. This was by far one of the worst days I've ever experienced on my bike, but I was determined to finish since this was my first NRC finish. I finished up the six-days 56th in GC out of an original 105 girls that started the prologue. All in all I am very happy with my performance. In the future I hope we can send our own team to this race to test our limits!

Random things learned during the week:

-During a 6-day stage-race I average 10.5 hrs sleep/night
-While with the SC Velo girls, do not leave your computer or phone ANYWHERE, they will hack your facebook
-A slab of meat can substitute as a fork when said fork is forgotten. 
-Foreigners do not appreciate mooning as much as Americans(contact me off group for this story)

2011 Cascade Classic race report from Katie Donovan

I'll fill in some blanks from Lisa's and Pam's reports.

Tara Whitten won the prolouge for the second year in a row.  They added a parking lot section to the course which made me super dizzy and sad, but I think some of the girls loved it.

The first stage got going on the first long climb. I was in a group that chased a break that had gone off earlier.  We gained minutes on the climb , but nobody really worked together in the valley. Andrea Dvorak attacked for the KOM on the first climb and attacked again on the second climb. By the time we caught her our group had dwindled down to four girls. Kristin McGrath and Andrea went for the sprint. I tried , but couldn't jump that hard. Kristin Lasasso was the fourth girl and after that girls came trickling in.
It seemed like the race for GC didn't play out until after the time trial. Clara Hughes won by 20 seconds to Kristin Armstrong.

Stage 3 was another road race. A break got away but I think everyone thought we'd catch the break on the final climb. We caught half the break. There were tons of attacks in the final 5k and a select group of about 15 rolled through behind the winners. Kristin and Clara were in that group.

I can't tell you what happened in the crit. I tail-gunned the whole thing. At one point I think I heard Thurlow yell at me to start riding my bike.

By the last stage my health was fading and I barley hung on.  My legs still felt strong but my head and lungs were suffering. Meredith Miller attacked on the second lap. I bridged and brought about 6 girls with me. I drove it hard until the break was established. Not all the girls were strong enough to work so the stronger girls kept attacking. I was not on that day and kept finding myself missing the jumps and having to chase. Janel attacked on the third lap. Robin and Anne went with her but I didn't have the legs. Tibco wasn't working and kept looking back so I figured they had girls bridging. They did, but the pack was right behind those girls and soon caught us all. The pack was a lot smaller by this time. I couldn't hang on the final climb and finished slightly behind the group.  I'm not sure who won , but Janel ended up winning the  GC. Overall , I would say that Colavita raced really well. Watching their team tactics play out in a race is a real eye-opener.

Bea, Dennis, Thurlow and James were amazing throughout the entire race. Dennis took care of our host really well too.

I enjoyed getting to race with Lauren. She fit in really well and was a great teammate. NOW should be proud to have her representing them so well.

2011 Cascade Cycling Classic Stage Race - Lisa Campbell

This  year’s CCC stage race definitely had its ups and downs for the SC Velo/Empower Coaching System’s team. Before we even left our team of 8 became a team of 7 as our teammate Ruth had to drop out to be by her mother’s side. Last year we had Dotsie managing us for this race, and we got spoiled…and whipped into shape a few times too. This year we had Dennis (of Dennis and Bea), the world famous Thurlow Rogers, and my husband James helping us out. Thurlow was designated acting team manager at the race meeting and he was a HUGE help to us, as was little Stevie…Pam’s son.

We started out with 7 riders, Pam, PC, Bea, Katie, me, and two guest riders, Lauren Liscinski from NOW and Kimberly Turner. By Stage 5 there were just 4 of us…and this is that story:

Prologue

For some reason the promoters  at this race see fit to torture us all with a short 2 mile prologue at 6pm the night before our first big stage race. It’s basically an out and back sprint with a little hill. We all had our “prologue cough” for the rest of the week since you feel like your lungs are on fire and bleeding after the 4 minute effort. Unless you are one of the women who finished it in under 4 minutes. (No, none of us did that.) But we all gave it our best and headed off to get some rest for stage 1 the following morning.

Stage 1 – McKenzie Pass Road Race

This stage is a remote start about an hour and 15 minutes outside of Bend. 73.5 miles with almost 7000 feet of climbing.  The start of this race has a very long downhill, which tests  everyone’s already jittery nerves. One hundred and four of us shoulder to shoulder going downhill at speeds approaching 50 miles an hour (my Garmin said 48.5 mph and PC’s said 49.5). There was an early crash but we all avoided it and the girls that went down were okay. The first climb was at a moderate pace thanks to a break that went off early (with SC Velo’s Katie Donovan in it). At the top of the climb there was some separation and we all got a bit strung out. The last climb up to the finish is a leg buster and when I came in I got the great news that Katie had taken 3^rd. An AMAZING job in what I think is the hardest stage. Everyone finished intact, tired…and in pain….lots of pain. Did I mention the pain?

I should note here, that we had Bea and Dennis staying with James and I (and my two crazy terriers) for the trip. Since my parents couldn’t go we had an extra bedroom and since the host housing was cozy it worked out perfectly to have Bea and Dennis with us. My husband James got to experience Dennis’s command of carnivorous cooking…something he doesn’t get at home since I’m a vegetarian. 

Bea and I took advantage of the Turkish soaking pool across from our rental house at the local McMennamins (it’s kind of a huge Epsom salt bath). On our way back from our soak Bea got the news that she didn’t make the time cut for stage one. A real bummer and just bad luck because Bea is one of the strongest racers both mentally and physically.  Remember that 6pm prologue…well Bea had a great finishing time. Our awesome sponsor Gu provided us with tons of nutrition and Bea took advantage of that by shooting a few caffeinated Gu’s. Good for the legs, bad for trying to sleep. This is how we learn so much stage racing. 

Stage 2 – Skyliners TT

Stage 2 is a 14 mile out and back time trial with about 1000 feet of climbing. As we were all warming up Bea, who had all the right in the world to feel bummed and sorry for herself,  was instead wrenching on all our bikes. She cleaned Katie’s bike, changing out her wheels to an awesome disc wheel in back and a deep dish in the front (courtesy of Thurlow). She had her stand out and was getting her hands greasy, making sure everyone was set up. She was the definition of teammate. Katie had Thurlow following her in the team car and I had Bea and James following me. James wanted to honk to let me know when to turn left into the finish, but thankfully Bea told him that probably wouldn’t be a good idea…see…great teammate. She saved James from my wrath because if he had honked at me while I was at heart rate of 185 into that last finishing stretch I would NOT have been happy.

Everyone was appropriately tired and in more pain after the 14 mile effort.  We all were a little bit worried about time cuts because the winners time was amazing. That’s the problem when you have two Olympic Gold Medalists time trialing out there. Luckily they extended the time cuts a bit and we all made it through safely except for our guest ride Kimberly. 

And then there were 5…

Stage 3 – Cascade Lakes Road Race 

Stage 3 is yet another road race with lots of climbing, but this one has more flats. Last year they took off like firecrackers at the beginning of this race. Maybe that doesn’t sound so bad, but the first 2 miles is uphill. This year they hit it hard again and we all managed to push through our pain to stay in the peloton. This stage was great for us as a team. We all stayed together and up front for the most part. Speaking for myself. I can say that I was just so star struck to actually be riding next to Clara Hughes, and Kristen Armstrong. I was feeling mighty  grateful (but still in pain) to this great team for giving me the opportunity to be doing this amazing race. A small  break got away and the peloton attacked just before the final  climb, but couldn’t quite pull them in. We all finished strong and I think the mood was lighter at the end of this stage. We had little Stevie handing out water bottles to his mom Pam, and he did a stellar job. We also have video of little Stevie having a conversation before the race with the yellow jersey (Clara Hughes) about  Earth years versus Venus years. Did I mention that he was wearing a Gu box on top of his head during this? 

Stage 4 – Bend Downtown Criterium

To be fair, I have to preface this part of the report by saying everyone knows that criteriums are not my favorite type of race. That being said, this team has helped me get a gazillion times more comfortable and confident in them. As expected this race was fast. Almost 27mph average on my Garmin. A break did get away and hold off the field, but the part where they were chasing the break down was wearing me down. My teammates always tell me to stay in front, so that’s what I tried to do. I didn’t find out until after the race that our very own “not so” PC had gone down hard early in the race and took a nasty blow to her head. She was in the medic tent, more worried about the scrape on her new tattoo, than the state of her head…so I knew she was going to be okay. She did, however, have a concussion and was definitely having trouble remembering things for a little while. Understandably, everyone was a little down after this stage. Crashes are never good, and when it’s someone you care about, it’s even worse. But after some Advil and a huge plate of pasta cooked by Dennis, she was feeling better. I think the Reese’s peanut butter cups helped too.

And then there were 4…

Stage 5 – Awbrey Butte Circuit Race

Did I mention that we are all tired and feeling some pain at this point? But it is the last stage and with that comes some much needed motivation. We were seeing the light at the end of the stage race tunnel. Our weather up to this point had been perfect. Low 80’s, not too hot or too cold. Today was the first hot stage. It’s a 4 lap almost 17 mile circuit with some steep stair stepper power climbs and lots of room for high speed breaks and powerful surges. Unfortunately, I can’t provide a lot of info on this stage because I was off the back from mile 8 until mile 71. But this is a 68 mile race.  Well, I made it 71 miles when, after having to dismount twice and get neutral support’s help for a chain that wanted to keep dropping, I put my head down and missed a turn. When I got DOWN to Hwy 20 I had that sinking feeling (worse than the sinking feeling I had when I watched the peloton ride away) of knowing I was never going to be able to catch back on. So I climbed back UP (yes, my detour involved a climb), found the turn, yelled at the volunteers for not keeping me on course and time trialed for about 30 miles before it really sunk in that I  was out of this race. By the way, when they say “know the course” in the race bible…they really mean it.  The first time I passed the feed zone I was so far off the back no one was out to hand me a bottle (can’t really blame them, no one knew I was gapped) so I did lap 2 without any water. I tried drinking my tears, but that didn’t work. (Just kidding, I wasn’t crying…yet). On lap 2 I got caught and lapped by the men’s pro peloton and couldn’t get over to my team, luckily I grabbed a bottle from neutral. On lap 3 I had the pleasure of being mooned by PC, which kept me going for lap 4. Which I finished, way, way, way off the back. Like 40 minutes off. I am happy to say that I did get that last place finish, and not time cut. Also I am happy to say that my team sat in the parking lot and waited for me to come in. What  I remember most from this stage is hearing Pam ride by me saying “Oh no”..as my chain dropped and dangled off my crank…Hopefully others can fill you in on the activity of this stage.  I’m sure it was exciting, but for me it was humbling. As I rode through the small crowds along the course…all alone…I heard one person whisper…”she’s last”. It was so quiet, I could hear a fan whispering those two words. There were no cowbells ringing, no whoosh of tires going by…just me, all by myself. You know what I thought about for those 62 solo miles. I thought about how lucky I was to be able to be out here riding my bike, racing with all these amazing women, even if they were in front of me. I couldn’t think of a better thing to be chasing. Oh, and with about  1 mile to go I heard this noise behind me. I turned around and James was behind me, hazard lights flashing giving me a thumbs up. That helped me limp my way home.

The 2011 Cascade Experience - By Pam Schuster

Cascade Classic through the eyes of the elderly brought back many memories of traveling, eating, resting and racing harder than one can imagine.  The scene was the same, however, all the names except for 2 had changed for me.  Clara Hughes and Anne Sampolonius were still out there and hadn't skipped a beat finishing on the podium in the end.  Each day was filled with excitement highs and lows.  The first day was a 2 mile prologue which paved the way for the future pain to come.  Day 2: the plan was to stay up in the front of the peloton and see where we were after that.  Katie had great ride and finish 3rd in the stage! Looking forward to her report for the details.  Day 3 was the 14 mile time trail, and you guessed it more pain and challenge.  Day 4 was another challenging road race where we all moved up in standings.  Day 5 was the downtown criterium with a zillion fans cheering for us followed by the final day when once again our limits were tested and finishing was the prize for the day.  The whole team learned and bonded with our hearts never giving in to the pain of the day.  Now that I have mentioned pain 60 times did I will mention that we all are coming home more fit and experienced than one week ago!  I must also mention that the support we recieved from our volunteer staff was amazing.  They even taught my 8 year old son Stevie how to hand me up feeds.  I guess the table has turned, time for him to start feeding me after all these years of feeding him.  He provided the staff and team with constant entertainment!  I feel very grateful to still be able to race with these young women professionals who many are less than half my age and let me know it each day!  None of it would be possible without our great sponsor support which we are very thankful for!

San Pedro Grand Prix – Father’s day June 19, 2011

For this race we had just me (Lisa) and Pam. Helen’s had a full team out as did SDBC, and the young, and strongTibco team of sisters Kendall and Alexis Ryan. A few other solo riders were out and the field was pretty decent. I was sad that more of us weren’t there…and I tried to bribe PC and Bea to show up…but it didn’t work.

Our pre-race meeting (which I eat up like candy…hanging on every word) was basically Pam telling me that there is only two of us, and our job is to cover things…and save our energy by letting someone else make the first move when covering an attack and then getting on that wheel. So my question “what about us attacking”…was met with a resounding “No”…not when there is only two of us.

The beginning of the crit was fairly uneventful. I think everyone was just trying to get a feel for the course which does have a nice hairpin uphill turn after the finishing straight and then a long  back straightaway that leads into a steep turn layered with some cobblestones. Attacks would happen here and there, with some making a bit of a gap. Pam’s instructions were to not chase one person down…so I (for the most part) let those go.  However there was enough activity that I felt like I was always on the gas…chasing something…bridging to something…and luckily Pam was there doing her share of covering attacks and I had some gentle reminders from some of the Helen’s girls “not to chase Pam down”. I got so excited a few times I forgot to calm down. We had Tibco go up the field, we had  few Helen’s attacks, SDBC was doing some work too.   But nothing stuck…and I tried to chase what I could… and hoped it ws the right move I was making!

The only thing that made my tired legs feel better was that I could hear everyone else breathing hard…except for the Ryan sisters…who I think, had the same plan as me and Pam. Sit tight, and cover attacks if necessary. However, they were cool as cucumbers and I never saw them make the first move on an attack so I knew they were just waiting to go. SDBC launched a way too early attack that took some energy out of me…and then it was suddenly one lap to go. It’s no secret I am not going to win a field sprint…and I definitely did not want to go into that last turn with the pack all bunched up…so into that hairpin uphill turn I went as hard as I could and kept going until that darn last turn, when the Tibco girls went around me and in my state of feeling like I could vomit at anytime…I looked for Pam…one, two, three four girls…then I saw Pam…and I thought “crap”…but of course Pam is Pam and she easily (well, she made it look easy) took that line for 2^nd. (Kendall Ryan won, she had a good gap into the cobblestone turn). Yay! Thank you Pam for your awesome finish!

My parents have lots of picture with me in what I call my “ugly face”.  I was fricking beat!  I always learn something from our races..and in the post race pow wow I was happy to hear Pam say that it was a-okay to go out like that on the last lap because it kept the race safe (another favorite of mine, the words ”safe” and “crit” in the same sentence.). I also learned how much I have become  dependent on my teammates. Not just because I watch and learn from them in the races…but because I gather strength, confidence and calmness from them before the race and on the line. I missed having all my girls there…but boy was I grateful that Pam was there to mentor and support…as she always does.

The Bakersfield Weekend...journal from the inside! 6/4-6/5

This isn’t so much of a race report…but a report about being at the race and all the exciting and dramatic events that happen behind the scenes. I was lucky enough to be rooming with Bonnie and Pam on Friday night since we were the only ladies doing the “granny” (otherwise known as Masters) race on Saturday.

I knew I was in a bit of trouble when Pam called me just as I was leaving and told me her and Bonnie were already there. Because the next words were….”we are getting ready to break open the wine”…In my head I saw the bottles of 2 buck Chuck being corked while Pam and Bonnie jumped up and down on the beds…with Bonnie’s dog Rusty watching…

Sure enough, when I got there…I was right! In the trash was a bottle of 2 buck chuck and there were Pringles, a loaf of Tillamook Cheddar, and various candy wrappers scattered about the room.  Pam left  to go to Del Taco for some pre-race carbs. It seemed like it was taking Pam awhile to get back from Del Taco…then, lo and behold Bonnie gets a phone call from her. Her room key was not working…or maybe she was at the wrong room. We’ve all done that before..you know there are no numbers on those silly key cards. But actually Pam was just across the way at the wrong hotel…

When Pam got back to the right hotel…she walked in smiling…carrying a big fat burrito and said “I was sliding the card in every door, going up and down the hallway, thinking, why isn’t  this working”.

Opting for something that wasn’t going to cause me severe GI distress (and an unenjoyable race for anyone behind me on the bike Saturday) Bonnie and I went to get pizza. I have never seen someone who can eat, get ready for bed and be asleep before I even sat down with my food…but Bonnie did it..she got in bed, her dog crawled under the covers and they were out like a light. I hate sleeping, but after Pam put her eye mask on and was out too…I had to do the same. I had no one to talk to. Even the dog was ignoring me.

I will spare you the details from Saturday…I’m sure Bonnie’s report will have all the info..but let’s just say that I learned a lesson about NOT chasing after your teammate’s wheel and bringing the damn peloton with you…sorry about that Pam. Yes, I did shed a few alligator tears after the race, but I did it in the privacy of some back lot somewhere after the race. Then Pam and Bonnie cheered me up and entertained me for the rest of the day. Actually, Bonnie pretty much slept the whole  day, as did her dog Rusty. Pam…well…Pam helped me re-hash that race over and over until I finally stopped feeling bad about it. By the time dinner rolled around I was ready to focus on Sunday and stop worrying about Saturday.

Speaking of dinner, when I left the room in search of somewhere to buy Epsom salts for my aching “granny” legs Pam was breaking into the Doritos’s…or the Pringles, not sure which. Never have  I seen someone so strong and consistent a racer as Pam…and now  I saw the “fuel” she used... I was even more impressed, and frankly, a little scared…I was reminded of something Pam said right before Barry Wolfe, when we were talking about warming up. I believe it was something like, “The only time I ever warmed up before a race it was the worst race I ever had.” See…scary.

Sunday was definitely a better day for our team. PC, Bea and Dennis had arrived late Saturday night. I know what they ate for dinner because PC texted me pictures of Chicken and Waffles. I don’t really understand that whole combo…but I did wake up James (who had arrived later on Saturday) to show him the pics and he mumbled something like “yum” and that was the last I heard from him til the next morning. Dotsie and Ruth arrived early Sunday and we were ready to rock and roll!!!!!

Again, I will spare you most of the details of the race, but I can’t leave out one part…(sorry PC). After having several awesome moves throughout the entire day, PC was off the front again coming into the hill. About half way up we could see her…then she took a right hand turn, where there wasn’t a right hand  turn. At least not on the course we were on. I heard a few ladies, kind of laugh and say “Oh, PC, that silly girl”…However…I really didn’t think she was taking a wrong turn on purpose.  I yelled her name…but she kept climbing…the wrong way. We had some fun in the peloton…figuring out if PC was kidding or not..but when I looked back, I swear the look  I saw on her face did not look like someone who was kidding. Well, at least she had a nice downhill to get  back on the course. And as we all know, the race went beautifully for us, and we won! When I saw Ruth go, and get over 20 seconds…I knew she was going to TT her way home…

What did I learn this last weekend? Pam has the strongest GI system of anyone I know and something other than blood must run through her veins…Bonnie’s dog LOVES to sleep. (He slept on the front seat of James’s car throughout the whole race), PC needs a compass…Bea and I had really sore asses and need a constant infusion of chamois cream supplied to us throughout the race…Dotsie knows more people than God and Ruth can fricking fly!!!!

Disclaimer: No names have been changed to protect the innocent…all joking is done with nothing but love and admiration for all of you

Southern California/Nevada Elite Road Race Championship - 6/5/2011

It has been said “Everyone has the will to win, but few have the will to prepare to win.”  Coach Bobby Knight

We prepared to win the State RR in our meeting lead by Pam and that's what we DID!!!  Every SC Velo rider on the course did their part to deliver Ruth to the finish line and this is how it played out:

Lap 1 - The attacks started very quickly with Bonnie and NOW rider up the road and when that came back, Pam was up the road with another NOW rider.  Then Lisa went with NOW….followed by PC on a solo break.  Bonnie attacks just as PC is being brought back into the pack so NOW, Bonnie and La Grange are up the road.

Pam away with NOW rider

Ruth capturing the "bear"!

Dotsie taking the field sprint for 3rd with Bea and Pam following (4th and 5th)

Lisa covering critical moves!

Lap 2- Lisa attacks and Melina from La Grange follows, this break comes back and PC goes like “Hussein Bolt”, she holds it 2/3 up the climb where she decides to carve out a more difficult route to the top.  The pack decides to play it safe and stay on course where Coryn Rivera attacks three times, Dotsie covers them all to then do her own attack towards the top of the climb.  She gets caught on the decent.  The group splits a bit on the decent where Lisa and Ruth stay back with La Grange while Pam and Bea get up the road in a small break.  Lisa and Ruth let the La Grange girls' chase on and just as they catch the lead group ahead……… Ruth takes a flyer on the inside and gets up the road.  Melinda from La Grange tries to catch on the train but chases to the finish line to capture 2nd.  Meanwhile, in the pack the fireworks are ensuing with Kendall Ryan, Coryn Rivera and Julia from NOW shooting off the attacks.  The TEAM covers them all which sets Dotsie up nicely to win the field sprint with Pam and Bea right behind.



What a day……

Southern California/Nevada Master’s Road Race Championship - 6/4/2011

This year’s Championship Road Race once again took place on the same course in Bakersfield as the previous three years.  The course consisted of a challenging 31 mile loop with an estimated three mile climb, screaming decent, with some rollers to the false flat finish.  What differed from the past years race was the cow sized pot holes located on the back side of the course that lead up to the climb.  The race officials gave fair warning prior to the race start, however, I had no idea the road would be as debilitated as it was.  Fortunately Masters Racers tend to be wise in their years and more often than not choose safety over stupidity, and none of our field was casualty to the road conditions.

The Women’s race was approximately 40 riders deep with categories of 35+, 45+ and 55+ all combined for the start.  The race started out with a comfortable tempo for the first five miles until we made the first right turn which lead us toward the climb.  The pace remained steady yet comfortable as we crossed numerous cattle guards and dodged land mines in the pavement.  At the base of the climb the pace picked up slightly, but the main field remained in tack.

After the screaming decent, our plan was to launch a number of attacks to tire the competition, which consisted of riders from Helen’s racing team, La Grange and Colivata.  Pam Schuster served the first of several blows to the field.  Once Pammy was reeled in, I took a turn with the whip, all while our faithful Lisa protected the front of the peleton and chased down anything that chased us. 

Once we made the final right turn onto the finishing stretch, the field was completely strung out for the dash to the finish line and those who played their cards right and who were patient were the ones who found victory today.

Melina Bernecker from Herbalife/LaGrange won the 35+

Linda Stark from Dude Girl won the 45+

Linda Schnepf from Simple Green won the 55+

May 31, 2011 - Memorial Day Criterium

PC(Pricilla Calderon) and I (Pam) decided another day with 30 of our BFFs was in order when we couldn't get enough and raced Monday at CBR.  PC took the win out of a 4 person break and I got the last money spot field finish for 5th.  We got lucky raced again with our hearts for those who died for us.  We also won $300 and $500 to be used for Franco frame if anyone is interested  we would love to donate to you...contact PC!

Barry Wolfe Grand Prix -05/29/2011

The Barry Wolfe Grand Prix women's pro 1-2,3 field was decorated on this Memorial Day weekend with the usual powerhouse suspects Lagrange, NOW and always amazing SC Velo/Empowered women on wheel teams.  A sprinkle of sorry single but always a factor to be reckoned with riders from the always in the mix Dara Rogers, faster than fast Kendal Ryan and the light speed San Diego future Olympian Jennifer Valiente  all out to race the day with their hearts!  The spectators were in awe and the comments from the gallery was, "now that was a real race""  The suspense was always incredible with zero dull moments as numerous serious breaks going, forming, changing with everyone guessing as to who, what how the show would go down.  We showed our strenght throughout the race.  Thinking we were in good shape with Beatirice Rodriquez creating the break when we soon realized Kendal Ryan was so strong she was attacking the break and blowing up the break.  We had to go to plan B so it was Katie Donovan to first make the bridge and when the final break with the changed players came to the final laps it included Lisa Cambell, Bonnie Breeze,Katie Donovan and Myself(Pam Schuster).  As planned we kept the pressure on when Bonnie Breeze breaks away for the win with 2 to go only to be caught and Lisa Campbell counter attacking with one-half lap to go but with victory so close the eager sprinters were closing every move.  When it came to the final turn it was the break attacking super star Kendall Ryan who arrived first.  We raced with our hearts on the day, Barry was smiling from above as we pray many veterans were. 

Mid Season criterium - Ontario - 5/15/2011

Once again, the weather was the star of the day. It was pouring on our drive out to Ontario, but I was confident it would let up. It, of course didn’t, until we were lined up on the start line. The downpour made our field size pretty small. Several women who had driven all the way out turned around and drove home. As the whistle blew Bea took off, as was our plan. To have a break from the beginning. Little did we know that “break” would be literal…as in broken bones.

It was just the second turn, 30 seconds into the race when the carnage was forged. Our friend Joy lost control on that turn and did her best impression of superman, or superwoman in this case as she lay splayed out on her stomach with bodies and bikes sliding out around her. I remember not being worried or stressed out at all as I saw it happening because I was pretty far back and sure I had enough space to get around everything to the right. But unfortunately the wet road had other ideas and those bikes and bodies were sliding fast and I ran out of pavement and seeing that curb with some nice dirt and dried grass just beyond…I unclipped and headed for that. After landing I looked up and with dismay saw that Lea was down and she was in pain. Behind me Joy was on her stomach looking up like “what the heck just happened”, Jennifer V was on the ground and her front wheel had come off her bike and was circling around us like it had a life of it’s own. Katie and Bonnie were unhurt but helping tend to Lea, two other girls were off their bikes but unscathed. Basically half the field was out.

The medics showed up to help take care of  Lea..I was worried because when someone tough is not moving around a lot and holding their arm…you know something is hurt bad. However, I felt a lot better when Lea said, clear as day “Lisa, can you do me a favor and pick up my Garmin, it’s right near your left leg”. Well darn if that wasn’t the mark of someone whose head was just fine. Once the medics arrived we headed over to the pit to see about getting back into the race. The officials informed us that our race was being stopped and restarted so the ambulance could get on to the course.

We all assessed our damages, and Joy showed us her not so pretty full frontal road rash that was actually showing up through her black kit. Lea got safely to the hospital, and the officials had us take a warm up lap to gather ourselves before starting us again. We were informed that we had 23 minutes left to race. So off we go again. I do not remember how I ended up on Pam’s wheel in a break, but I do know that I was going to try and stay with anyone what was getting away from the pack. I wanted to go around those turns ALONE if possible. So thanks to our awesome team I did find myself alone with Pam and that’s where we stayed until we lapped our group with about 4 laps to go. Pam told Katie and Bonnie to go out and try and get a break so we could have 1,2 and 3 locked up. That is just what Katie did and as we came into the final sprint Bea fought a valiant battle against young Jennifer for that 4^th place. I am not positive of the final result, but I know it was close.

So I would like to thank this great team for keeping Pam and I out front. It was exciting for me to be there. Also, Lea has a broken forearm and wrist, but her spirit is alive and well and receiving some great drugs…I say it every time, but it’s true. This is the best group of women on wheels in southern California. Let’s hope for some sunshine next time around.

May Day May Day Criterium – CBR 5/8/11

Today it was just Pam and I at the criterium. Our sprinter Tammy was there…but she was the victim of the dreaded “I know I’m forgetting something but don’t know what it is” syndrome…unfortunately it was her shoes. The good news is that will probably never happen again to poor Tammy. We missed having her in the race, for sure.

But, on the bright side, Pam won the race...and this is how it happened:

There were 8 women from NOW, probably 6 from Helen’s…a few SDBC…some LaGrange and a bunch of other players thrown in. As usual, we had a pre-race meeting and it was Pam telling me to take a shot at primes (which would mean I would have to attempt to win a sprint…a scary thought for me), and to not do too much of the work but let other girls attack.

Well, it was only ten minutes into the race and attacks were happening…honestly I can’t remember who was doing the attacking because I was still trying to find my legs…I just knew  I didn’t want to be in the back…ever…So as attacks happened Pam and I were there. Actually I think that Pam was doing some of the attacking…no, I’m sure of it. Anyway we had a little attack that seemed to make a tiny gap. I looked back a few times and the pack wasn’t closing which was a bit surprising. As I looked around I saw that our “break” (I was calling it a break now) had 2 NOW women and I think 3 Helen’s, SDBC, La Grange and a few others. So obviously the pack was slowing things down behind us. However, no one wanted to work this break. Pam did a few good pulls and I got on her wheel. But I was thinking “hey, wait a minute here…why isn’t anyone else working?” I knew I couldn’t outsprint at least 6 of these girls but I would much rather race for 1^st through tenth than go back to the pack so I just started working and yelled at the others to do the same. After two laps one of the girls yelled at me “so you want to work this?” And I said “what do you think I’ve been doing for the last 2 laps”. I mean, I thought I was working, I can’t be that slow!!!

So that’s pretty much how the next 20 minutes went, with a few attacks that didn’t amount to much and the announcer yelling “hurry up cupcakes, make something happen”. With about 4 laps to go Pam came over to me and said “You’re going to have to attack”. I said “Okay”…but every time I thought I’d try something someone else would make a move. So my “attack” actually came as we went into the last lap, and like I said, I wasn’t going to outsprint anyone so I just went as hard as  I could into the headwind past the start finish and by the last turn coming off the uphill the pack went by me and I just hoped I had done something to help Pam. When I saw she was 3^rd wheel behind the two NOW girls I knew she was going to get it…and she did. Yee haw. And…I came in 9^th…in a break of ten. So that’s pretty exciting to me. I am pretty sure that I am the only woman in the Pro 1/2 category that gets really excited about a top ten crit finish.

Oh, and about the primes. Well, I never did actually get to sprint for one. But Pam did, and guess what. Yep, it was the wine prime. And she split it with me. It was a good day!!!

Devil’s Punchbowl Road Race 4/23/2011

It was a beautiful day in Pearblossom…a perfect day to race. For once there was no snow on the ground…and we were actually shedding our arm and knee warmers at the pre-race meeting. Speaking of pre race meetings…we always have them…we always talk strategy...we always attempt to implement those strategies...But it doesn’t always work. There are often 20 or so other women at the races trying to make sure our pre-race strategy does not succeed. Not so today.

Now, our meeting took place at the start line...so the other women were able to listen to all our planned goals. I even said once “hey, Pam…don’t talk so loud, everyone is listening”...the other girls just laughed…but I saw them leaning in closer to get an earful.

Pam wanted her and me to cover attacks…as well as Lea and Tammy. The goal was to get Katie off the front and then have Dotsie bridge the gap on the climb, or vice versa. The race started off neutral through the throngs of cars lining the highway (a first for this race and a great move by the promoters…I thought…made that beginning much safer). Our first turn onto the highway and we were met with what would later become some nasty wind. Pretty mellow pace as we made the right and hit the rollers. The head wind was making things harder than the pace was and the pack stayed together. Unfortunately I bumped Dotsie’s wheel at slow speed (my fault, not hers) and had to swerve off my line and that caused some commotion behind me…a few people went down but everyone was fine and caught back up on the downhill. We were flying and had some pretty strong crosswinds on the descent. As soon as we made our right hand at the bottom of the hill it became apparent that we had someone who wanted to attack and that is what she did. I kept calling her “the red girl” because her kit was red. However, her name is Antonia and she was definitely strong, but her attacks were continually covered by Pam, or someone else on our team. But Pam was on this girl the entire race, like flies on you know what.

After Antonia had attacked and pulled for what seemed like miles, Dotsie jumped and you know what happens when Dotsie jumps….she’s gone. Antonia attempted to follow, but there was no way. So we just kept ourselves on her wheel and she tried to time trial her way up to Dotsie, but Dotsie was gaining time and as we took the little descent right before the sharp right on to the last climb before the start finish I attacked, but it wasn’t enough to drop anyone. However Katie attacked after that on the steeper part of that climb and she got away. No one can match Katie’s attack on a climb so off she went to hopefully bridge up to Dotsie. The pace on the rollers was a bit faster this time, but honestly I lost track of what was going on behind me and was just focusing on keeping up with Pam and Antonia, who was still attacking as soon as we ended the descent for the second time. I tried to cover some of the attacks to give Pam a break, but Pam is so fast. We also had Alexis Ryan with us who was happy to just sit 4^th wheel and let us do most of the work covering attacks.  I did look behind me as we started to climb and realized that we had dropped the pack. So now it was me, Pam, Antonia and Alexis as we headed towards the climb up to the start finish for the second time. I’m pretty sure Alexis was getting tired cause her attacks were fewer, but she still stayed in the wind and at one point she looked at me and said, “are you gonna go?”. I looked at her like “Ummm…no, I have two teammates up ahead in the break and no way am I gonna help you get up there”…but I just looked at her, slowed down and sat on her wheel. I think that answered her question. On the rollers she attempted some more attacks and then just cracked. I actually thought she had a mechanical. Alexis took off and so did Pam and then Pam backed off and I stayed with Alexis. I learned later that Pam, according to her had “cracked too”. Pam actually offered water to Antonia…Now here is a little side note about that. The officials let us know right before our race that there would be no feeding for our 48 mile race, it was too short. Even though all the men’s races that were 48 miles had been taking feeds…So we had our guys up at the feed zone and coming into the second lap there they were all smiling and happy, holding out those big beautiful Gu bottles…and Antonia yells “No, no feeding, no feeding allowed”…so none of us took any water (which we needed…it was hot today). I could just see us winning the race and someone protesting because we took a feed. So how nice of Pam to share her water…

Okay back to the race. I kept looking back and Pam was still with Antonia so I just kind of paced with Alexis. As we came to the end of the rollers Pam was way back there. I wasn’t sure what to do. I knew we wouldn’t catch Dotsie or Katie, but do I slow down for Pam…but if Alexis takes off….so many questions!!! But Alexis looked at me and said “do you wanna get away cause I really don’t want to let red girl beat us”…so I said okay and we took off…at least as fast as someone with junior gearing and someone like me can go downhill. We got to the straight away and took turns pulling. Then I hear this faint little cry in the distance…”Lisa…Lisa”…I looked back and there is Pam. I don’t know why I was surprised. It’s Pam for God’s sake. So Pam, me and Alexis work it hard, but not too hard and just as we are getting to that little descent I look back and see Antonia…Gosh darn it. I started to pick up the pace. I did not want to take her to the line. I already knew I couldn’t outsprint Alexis. Even though it was an uphill finish, there was a nasty headwind. However, we didn’t have to worry because I think Antonia cracked again just trying to catch us and she never did close the gap.

So I had a futile attempt at an attack coming into the uphill towards the finish. However, Alexis was on my wheel. So now began a game I had no idea how to play…Pam would attack, Alexis would follow…then I would kind of attack…but not really…Alexis would follow. Then like a dork I thought, well I have no idea what I’m doing so I’m just gonna just go over here to the left and watch these two…Seriously that’s kind of what happened. Alexis ended up crossing the line in 3^rd and Pam and I came in 4^th and 5^th. However, our strategy did work…except for Alexis sneaking in there for 3^rd, we accomplished what we wanted. And let’s not forget about Lea, who did a lot of work in the first lap and who controlled the pack just behind us and finished 9^th…and Tammy did awesome. She had been nursing an injury and finished the race strong. I also got some good words of wisdom from Pam and Thurlow on what I should/could have done going into that finishing sprint. As always it was a fun, positive learning experience riding with this amazing team.

COX COMMUNICATIONS® JOINS THE BREAKAWAY FROM CANCER DANA POINT GRAND PRIX OF CYCLING AS WOMEN’S RACE SPONSOR FOR 2011

	FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: COX COMMUNICATIONS® JOINS THE BREAKAWAY FROM CANCER DANA POINT GRAND PRIX OF CYCLING AS WOMEN’S RACE SPONSOR FOR 2011 THE AMGEN BREAKAWAY FROM CANCER 5TH ANNUAL DANA POINT GRAND PRIX OF CYCLING IS PLEASED TO ANNOUNCE THE PARTNERSHIP WITH COX COMMUNICATIONS AS THE OFFICIAL SPONSOR FOR THIS YEAR’S WOMEN’S RACE EVENT ON SUNDAY MAY 1ST, WITH PROCEEDS TO BENEFIT THE PACIFIC MESO CENTER AND CANCER CHARITIES. DANA POINT, Calif. and RANCHO SANTA MARGARITA, Calif, - Apr 20, 2011 The 2011 Breakaway from Cancer Dana Point Grand Prix and the Dana Point Community Cycling Foundation is proud to announce the partnership of COX Communications for this year’s 2011 women’s race, part of our nationally recognized 5th annual event. COX Communications will support the Breakaway from Cancer Dana Point Grand Prix as the ‘COX Communications Women’s Criterium’ with a prize purse totaling $2000 cash plus primes. The Dana Point Community Cycling Foundation fosters support for women’s cycling in the Southern California region through events such as the COX Communications Women’s Criterium. The 2011 COX Communications Women’s Criterium hopes to further fuel interest into women’s cycling through the Breakaway from Cancer Dana Point Grand Prix by establishing a dedicated event for female cyclists to build upon for the future and generating additional interest into women’s racing throughout Southern California. The hope and future for women’s competitive cycling at the Breakaway from Cancer Dana Point Grand Prix is to once again bring the women’s event to the national stage via NRC participation. Steven Weinberg, Dana Point City Councilman and a Director of the Dana Point Community Cycling Foundation is thrilled to grow the Women’s event. “We’re planning to bring back NRC status to the DPGP Women’s event. Having COX Communications jump start us this year will definitely help with planning for 2012. We’re diligently working to secure sponsorship for women’s racing here at the Breakaway from Cancer Dana Point Grand Prix.” The voice of American bicycle racing, David Towle, will be in the announcer’s booth with DPCCF President, Roger Worthington, giving play by play action of the COX Communications Women’s Criterium. "The DPGP is by far one of the most exciting and spectator friendly races I announce every year and this year’s edition is going to take things to another level with Amgen’s Breakaway from Cancer joining in to add a bigger sense of purpose to the day!" said the always motivating Dave Towle. This year, in addition to the 2011 Breakaway from Cancer Dana Point Grand Prix, the Dana Point Community Cycling Foundation is hosting a charity reception to raise money for cancer research and advocacy. Breakaway from Cancer Night will be held at the Dana Point Yacht Club from 6 pm to 8 pm on Saturday, April 30th with food & drink, a silent auction and door prizes. Click here for more info. Also, immediately after the COX Communications Women’s Criterium and immediately prior to the Men’s NRC race, we will take a break in the action with the Breakaway Walk, dedicated towards the fight against cancer. We’ve all been touched by cancer, come and celebrate those who battle cancer as they in turn, celebrate your racing endeavors, participation for family and friends is encouraged, help spread the word, click here for details. New for this year, SRAM will be providing full technical support and assistance for this year’s BfC DPGP, we’re excited to have SRAM on-board for our 2011 event for the first time. For more details on the Dana Point Grand Prix of Cycling, visit www.danapointgrandprix.com. About Dana Point Grand Prix of Cycling USA Cycling, www.usacycling.org, the governing body of professional and amateur competitive cycling in the U.S., created the National Racing Calendar (NRC) in 1997 as a series of the top 30 races throughout North America in prestigious cities as Washington DC, Philadelphia, Los Angeles, Atlanta, and Dana Point to recognize top pro-level talent in America. The Dana Point Grand Prix of Cycling is organized by the Dana Point Community Cycling Foundation, a 501 (c) (3) Non-profit corporation with a mission of community cycling advocacy and growth. All proceeds will be donated to charity, in prior years, a portion of the proceeds from the race have been donated to the Dana Point Boys & Girls Club and the 5th Marine Regiment Support Group. Contact us at www.danapointgrandprix.com, or visit us on Facebook @ www.facebook.com/DanaPointGrandPrix, also, Tweet us @ www.twitter.com/DPGP. CONTACT Russ Ames Dana Point Community Cycling Foundation, Inc. PO Box 460 Dana Point, CA 92629 619-504-9977 russ@danapointgrandprix.com