Things I have learned….. 03/30/2009

…..during my time in Italy.  I know I know I out did myself….two posts in one day….but I can’t help myself from sharing some of our hilarious adventures and what we have learned….

#1
If you are unsure whether the ‘kind’ person who offers to take your photo is going to run away with your camera, it is best to stay on your bike…just in case…

Ally, Lea and I on a bridge in Pisa....still clipped in....just in case....

#2

If the maps make no sense and you can’t explain your needs in Italian or English….resort to huge charades….it works every time…..Lea is by far the best at this form of getting directions.

Two maps are better than one...right?

#3
Many European races start with lunch together.  Our first experience was complete with bottles of wine and huge balls of mozzarella.

Ally, displaying the goods!

#4

Last but not least (and sorry no pictures of this one)….showers at the end of races are best described by, what Lea called…prison showers.  A concrete room, with a few shower heads coming from the ceiling with cold water pouring down and a bunch of freezing cold, naked cyclist trying to get hot oil, vaseline and road grime scrubbed off before the water-activated hot oil gets too hot to handle while screaming “ouch hot, ouch hot” in 12 different languages,  then sprinting to your towel in a puddle of water to get the rest of the hot oil off (unsuccessfully), while shivering from the cold you are feeling all over the rest of your non-hot oiled body.  Say that all in one breath and that is a post-race shower in Europe.  And now it’s dinner time…

ciao
Kmac

World Cup #1 03/30/2009

Oh boy….such an exciting race yesterday….I don’t quite know where to begin.  This weekend we raced the Trofeo A. Binda World Cup, which was the first world cup of the year and my first world cup ever….all the big-hitters were there.  We arrived in Milan on Saturday afternoon and quickly suited up in our rain gear to pre-ride the course.  We were excited to see the immense organization that comes along with hosting a world cup….ie. the course was clearly marked (this is not always the case with riding in Italy).  There were even signs like “start climb”, “round about”…etc.  After the ride we were all excited albeit a little extra nervous (due to the steady down pour).  We knew the rain was going to make the race fast from the gun and the peloton did not disappoint.  We started with a bang and the first attack went only 8 k’s in.  As we ticked off the climbs and the circuit laps the peloton dwindled and dwindled.  My goal on the day was to stay with the main group all day.  As we ticked off the kilometers in the 7 degree (celcius that is) rain, my legs grew heavier and colder….but I kept pedaling and I kept hanging.  There were a few times I had to use my descending skills to the max to fully integrate back into the front of the main group, but I am totally stoked to say I did it!  But not only me, my teammates killed it all day long as well…..especially mountain-biker-turned-european-roadie-for-one-month Lea Davison hung in there all day.  She totally rocked it!  This race was by far the hardest yet most fun race that I have done to date.  Up next….the infamous Pave of Flanders!

ciao,
Kmac

Planes, Brains, and Chicken Soup 03/11/2009

Well, I made it to Lucca, Italy to get ready for the official start to the 2009 season.  I unfortunately brought some unexpected baggage in the form of the 24 hour flu….which happened to start on the plane ride over.  Luckily after some of Ally and Lea’s magical chicken soup, I woke up a new girl sans chills, body aches and puking!  I finally was able to venture out on my bike for an easy spin today, and what a great ride it was!  After a drawn out search for an open coffee shop, we climbed to the top of the last KOM of stage 1 of the Tirreno-Adriatico  race.  Ally and I then descended back down to watch the race go by….pretty sweet seats right alongside the climb!  The ride back to Lucca is when the adventure began as we weaved in and out of traffic, then in and out of side-roads until we had ourselves throughly lost…..only twenty minutes away from the house.  After going in circles for about hour, we finally got on the right track and found our way!   I am now officially free of jet lag and flu, and am excited to get the exploration fully underway tomorrow!  Since we don’t start racing for another week, a few more days of getting lost are in store!  Stay tuned….

kmac

Ally and Lea picking out dinner...brains or tongue....I think we picked chicken

Ally and I waiting for the race to come up the climb past us

Hincapie leads the charge up the climb with Cavendish on his wheel

02/25/2009

VAC for 2009!

Well I know this post is long over due…but here it is anyways!  After training hard all winter, my routine was interupped  (finally) to head out to Santa Rosa California for team training camp!  It was an exciting week of meeting my new (and awesome) teammates, learning about all our amazing equipment for the new year and a little racing in the Tour of California Crit.   I am racing for the ValuAct Capital Women’s Professional Cycling team for 2009.  Additionally I will be racing for the USA National Team overseas.  After an exciting week (see pics below) I am back home continuing my training before I head to Italy on March 8th.  Thats all for now….I will be updating as frequently as I can from Europe (I promise)….stay tuned…..Todd, if you’re reading this, pay attention to your professor, I think he is saying something important!

-Kmac

Team ValuAct Capital

TOC Crit

hmmmm 01/22/2009

Wow, I just realized that the telepathic updates that I have been sending to my blog have not been posting….crazy.  Well, below is a link to a  much belated recap of my end-of-the 2008 season racing in Italy. More about the new year to come soon!

Mr. Toads Wild Ride in Toscana

Off the back…… 08/31/2008

Well I’m off the back in terms of my blog, but the way I see it is I’m better off being ‘off the back’ in blogging than in bike racing.  I have no really good reason for not posting in a while, just that I have been pre-occupied with enjoying the beautiful weather as much as possible.  So the highlights of the past month or so are……

Camping in the mountains complete with gourmet food (this is the flambe of the apple, raisin, balsamic reduction….which was poured over the grilled herb-rubbed cornish game hen….yes Lou spoils me)!

Some racing…..Nationals was in California so some beach time at Laguna beach was to be expected…..I guess the ‘white skin suit’ look is not really in style, but here are some of the girls enjoying the sun, shade and surf!

Lou and I hiked to Ice Lake (outside of Silverton, CO)  The water was the color of the carribean…no kidding, it was beautiful!!!  My legs payed for it though, I was soooo sore the next couple of days.  I guess that’s what I get for going on a long hike after barely walking at all throughout the entire season.

Some more hiking………. Lou is carrying all the weight so my legs won’t get so sore.

And now I am back on my bike training because I am headed over to Italy for Toscana!!!! This will be my first time ever to Europe, so I’m super psyched.

Ciao for now!

kmac

Fitchburg recap and beyond…. 07/18/2008

Yes this post is muy delayed, but what can I say, there is just so much bike riding going on right now I haven’t had time….I know Frank M this isn’t an excuse.    So Fitchburg ended up being a great learning experience for our team and for me especially.  I learned some do’s and don’ts of being the race leader….and I ended up second overall back 19 seconds.  Not too shabby I guess, and I now am a better racer for it.   I spent a week at home recovering with some awesome food with Lou and rafting of course!  Now I am up at the OTC in Colorado Springs at the US Talent ID camp.  It has been a fun week getting to know my physiology a little better.  I have enjoyed getting to know all the girls at camp and I am excited that I now know 10 more people in the peloton that I didn’t know previously.  There are some super talents here at camp, US Women’s cycling future is looking bright!  Tomorrow we are outta here and I am headed to Denver to race Mt. Evans on Saturday….which by the way is shaping up to be an amazing race with J. Longo herself on the start list.  Ok, thats all for now!

kmac

Fitchburg Stage 3 07/05/2008

Update on colavitawomen.blogspot.com…….the quick and dirty is that there was no change in the top three of GC.  Criterium tomorrow.

kmac

Fitchburg 07/05/2008

Well, the race started out on a high note when I won the TT here in Fitchburg MA.  I had an awesome warm-up and a great race plan which I was able to execute the whole time!  The rolling/mostly uphill course definitely suited me and I was able to come in with the lead by 5 secs.  My first NRC win!!!!  We knew we had our work cut out for us starting stage 2 today.  As the laps ticked by my teammates did an awesome job of keeping the attacks in check.  On the fifth lap a break of seven of us got away and just as we were gaining momentum the officials neutralized us to let the mens race roll through.  Unfortunately for us, the entire field was able to catch up as we had to unclip and fully stop twice…..a total bummer……As we raced the final lap, a small break got away with the third place GC rider in it.  My team was once again awesome and had nearly closed the gap when we had a bit of a miscommunication and let the gap open up again.  As we entered the first of a few climbs, I noticed the ‘third on GC’ had attacked the break and gotten an even bigger gap, with my teammates tired from all their awesome work, it was up to me to close the gap.  I was again joined by my awesome team in finishing the job of closing the gap, unfortunately, the damage had been done to my energy reserves.  As we started the climb up to the ski area I was feeling good and off the front of the pack with Cheatley  (in second by 5 secs).  As the climb progressed I realized I was in trouble, my legs were starting to protest.  I was relieved to see the 1K to go and started to dig deeper.  My legs were screaming at me and the 1 K did not go by quick enough, Cheatley opened up a small gap and proceeded to go on to win.  I held on for second, but I had losty m jersey……I was soooo bummed, my team had ridden so well, I just didn’t have enough left at the end.  The good news is, the team continued to race well and shook up the overall standings so that Cheerwine no longer has places 2-5.  I am now in second by 19 seconds, so tomorrow we will work to get the jersey back!  I knew Cheatley was a great rider but I didn’t realize until tonight that she is an Olympic hopeful for New Zealand and has a bronze world championship medal, so the loss doesn’t sting as bad as it did earlier tonight.  Hats off to her for a great race….I’m off to bed now…time to recover!

kmac

Training hard 07/01/2008

It has been wonderful to be home for two whole weeks!  I am thoroughly enjoying Durango and all it has to offer this time of year.  I think suffering on the rollers all winter during the snow storms has really made me appreciate the warm weather that much more!  I rode my favorite ride the other day….over all the mountain passes ending just before Ouray!  The ride was definitely an exercise in mental toughness as my legs were protesting for a lot of it and then it started to rain.  Racing in the rain is one thing when you are surrounded by 100 other competitors going through the same thing.  It is a whole different thing to train for hours in the rain in the mountains….I’d like to think I got mentally tougher that day and I got to catch up on my 50 mph wet-roads-mountain-roads-descending skills! I have been to the farmers market for two weeks in a row!!! I met Dave from James Ranch and learned all about why their grass-fed beef is so tasty!  If you haven’t tried it, I highly recommend it!  The remainder of my time has consisted of frequent rides with friends and family with frequent stops at Bread for coffee!!  I raced a club time trial during which I came to realize that I am luckiest person in the world….I have been given these amazingly fast and expensive ‘toys’ that I get to play with everyday….’toys’ being my Jamis Xenith road bike and my Jamis Xenith SL time trial bike aka my fighter jet.   I still get the chills when I see my name on my bike.  Finally, I rounded out the fun with some secret night time training….the topic: bike handeling skills…the location: a remote bmx track….the bike:  my 1970’s cruisier…the outcome:  valuable bike handeling skills and wall riding were learned as well as how not to crash in the dark when you catch air while going too fast approaching a jump…I’m not sure ‘jump’ is proper bmx lingo, but it will have to do.  I’m off to race Fitchburg Longsjo Classic tomorrow!  I will update from there if the internet is abundant in our host house!

Making my way up Red Mountain…..yeah! its not raining anymore!

Ciao

kmac