Wednesday, May 31, 2006

Tour de Montreal

The Tour de Montreal is a premier cycling event in Canada beginning one day after the World Cup. As our Crit team is in the US with the team van, we were fortunate enough to borrow Lauren's parents' RV for this race! We began with a very technical 12 corner time trial that took us through the streets of Lachine. Rachel finished in 5th with myself, Krissy and Lauren close behind in the top 20. Yesterday was our first road race on the bumpy roads of Rigaud. Unfortuantely Rachel was taken out on a descent at 65 KPH! Fortunately she's one tough cookie, got back into the race and finished with the front group over the steep last climb. Today we have the evening crit in the Italian section of Montreal and tomorrow we finsh off with our final road race. Posted by Picasa

Sunday, May 28, 2006

My #1 Fans!

On very little sleep and a lot of adrenalin, my mom and her friend Winnie made the trek to Montreal this weekend to watch me race in the World Cup. Spectators at this race are a tough bunch, as they must hike up the mountain to see the start/finish. My mom and Winnie asked for directions up the mountain from a fitness-crazed Quebequois and were sent on a 2 hour hike up the trails of Mont Royale! They made it in plenty of time to cheer me (and the rest of my teammates) on as we crested the 2 km climb 11 times. After the race, the adventure for Winnie and my mom continued, including the services of helpful policemen and taxi drivers to find their car and then to find me in the maze of student housing. They truly are my #1 Fans! Posted by Picasa

Saturday, May 27, 2006

Once a cyclist always a cyclist!

This is my dad :-). We often meet for breakfast and this is his preferred method of travel...and not just on the nice days! My dad bikes to work in the winter too. He's an inspiration and I'm very proud to be his daughter! Posted by Picasa

Thursday, May 25, 2006

Yellow Jersey!

In a battle up Mount Nebo (one of the hardest climbs I've ever done) Rachel toughed it out against Alicia Lion to hold onto the yellow jersey! Posted by Picasa

Monday, May 22, 2006

A Stage Win!

My first NRC stage win and this is the picture I thought best portrayed what was going through my head during the entire 4 1/2 hours of racing in 40 degree heat! It was a 93 mile race with three climbs. By the end of the third climb we had shrunk the group to eleven riders and moved Rachel into 1st GC. Our goal was to get someone off the front for a stage win, so we began to fire off a series of attacks coming into the finish. With 5km to go, I got a gap and gave it everything I had to make it over the finish line 30 seconds ahead of the group. Rachel took the group finish for 2nd and Tara took 3rd. The swim in this pool afterwards never felt so good! :-) Posted by Picasa

Wednesday, May 17, 2006

Andy and Chris

With 10 riders to look after, Mike recruited the help of his mentor Andy and our mechanic Chris. The three of them make sure we don't have to worry about anything but racing our bikes. We would certainly be at a loss without them! Thanks for everything guys! Posted by Picasa

Tuesday, May 16, 2006

Where's the Campfire?

Day 2 of Joe Martin was a double stage day. After a tough 120 km road race, we had a couple of hours to ourselves and then travelled to Devil's Den State Park for an uphill time trial. I felt for all the campers who suddenly had a bike race descend upon their serene wilderness experience! Our team raced hard up the 4 km climb, but after 2 days of aggressive racing, we all fell just short of the top ten.  Posted by Picasa

Monday, May 15, 2006

Between Races

After the Gila, and a 14 hour day of travel, we had a day in Asheville, NC to recover and prepare for the Joe Martin Stage Race in Arkansas. We had another long day of travel ahead of us, so Kirsten, Rachel and I set off in search of a used book shop. Not 10 minutes into our ride, we found a gold mine of books in downtown Asheville! Posted by Picasa

Monday, May 08, 2006

No, it's not a UFO!

So my camera has a splotch on the lens and all my shots from the top of the hilltop finish look like we were being watched by aliens! It was a wicked climb for the first road race of the Gila with many switchbacks and steep pitches. Rachel finished 7th and held onto her 5th place GC established in the time trial the first day. As the race progressed, Kristen Armstrong's 1st place was relatively out off reach, so the battle was between 2nd (Anne Samplonius) and 3rd (Erinne Willock) and 4th (Dotsie Bauch) and 5th (our Rachel Heal). By the final stage, Victory raced a a great race, with leadouts for time bonuses and realing in dangerous breaks. Rachel finished 4th overall and our team moved into 2nd place! Posted by Picasa

Saturday, May 06, 2006

The Ups and Downs of Cycling

What a trooper Kate is! On the second day of racing, she went down in a 30 rider crash (unfortunately she was on the bottom). Mike got her back on the bike and Kate got herself back into the race (and got a feed for everyone!). She finished the race and lived to see another day! Posted by Picasa

Wednesday, May 03, 2006

New Mexico!

We're here in Pinos Altos beginning the Gila Stage Race. It's an incredible place! We're staying in a house in the Gila National Forest. This is our view from the back door. That stone formation in the foreground was our dinner table tonight! Posted by Picasa