Day 67 as Vegetenarian & School Tour continues

Howdy all,
This was a busy week for the team...Cari was racing in the deep south, Bunny (betsy s) was in a UCI mtn bike race where she nabbed 5th against the best in the country,Dr. J and Eikes drove to Green Bay for a morning of school presentations, and me and Kate did a crit in Milwaukee with recovering-from-viral-crap-Anna along for the ride. Kate's beau, Rob, came along and was the dog sitter and he did a great job at that. When I got done racing I asked Anna where Gabby was and she informed me that Gabby had rolled in something and that Rob had gotten a few baby wipes from some spectator/mom and was wiping off my dog. Kate, we approve...you can marry Rob. Anyone that would wipe goo off your teammate's dog is ok in our book.

Today Mama Schmitt and I met up in Mosinee (pronounced "moe-sin-eeee"), a town in central wisconsin that stinks like only a paper mill town can but is cute nonetheless. We each had to be on the road by 6am and Gabby was not too happy about that. We spoke at the Mosinee middle and high schools in a lovely auditorium and the kids were very attentive. We did 3 presentations for 600 kids.

Jules was awesome--we hadn't done a presentation together for two years and we were tossing our comments back and forth like we'd done it yesterday. Afterward we got a cup of coffee in town and chatted a bit. It was great to talk about life in general and it made me think more about a pending "cowgirl" reunion. That's where we all meet up in a few years in, say, Majorca and just go riding. No work to think about, no worries, just ride. How fun would that be??

This week is Eike's "taper" for the Wildflower triathlon. I'm looking forward to her post-tri blog entry. Cari is down south for the USA Crit series and there are two races in Wisco this weekend, one of which has hills......yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa.

Oh, and this is day 67 as a vegtable. I'm really liking it and think it suits me perfectly. I found the perfect replacement for red meat. Red wine. Bahahahahahahah.
over and out,
dq

This Rain is Making me Want to

EAT. As in chocolate. And raisins. Chocolate and raisins in the same handful, washed down with some milk. Since the start of this post I've had 39 raisins and a dozen chocolate chips (ghiradelli dark).

Here's a photo Trish took last August of me and Meredith out for a ride on a sunny day. Remember the sun? Right..it's that yellow thing that makes you feel warm. Yea...I remember.

It's been raining off and on since Sunday night. I made it home from the very fun (except for Julie flying into the grass) but very late crit at 7:30 and it was just starting to rain. I rode yesterday and have yet to hose the worms off my bike. I guess I should just ride first and wash more worms off after today's ride. It's been a wormy spring here in Wisco. Bazillions of the little dudes squashed all over the road, just waiting to get stuck on a bike.

Yesterday was Navi-kate's birthday. In other news, Betsy Boom boom won her race last weekend in Del Mar (they have a great horse track there that I'd like to visit sometime). Bunny won her race in W. Virginia, I got third (slacker). Anna and Heather are doing ok, Cari's down south, ready for roll at Athens. That's all I know for now.

This is a boring post. someone say something funny!!!
dq

Let the School Visits Commenceth!

It's spring and that means school visits. I did the first one last week in Tomah, Wisconsin. I sure wish I would have had time to take a ride as it's a lovely part of the state.

For anyone on the team who hasn't done a presentation yet, this one was typical; great kids and I gave six presentations (three in the morning, three after lunch). The morning class was the middle school kids and the afternoon was the high school classes. All of the kids were great and there was one kid who did amazing impersonations. He had the Ahhhnold down perfectly ("I'll be back...").

The school had gotten a grant to buy bikes for a gym session on riding so the timing of this presentation was good. As always, I covered how the team works, how we got into cycling, how we fuel up for racing and everyday living, and what they can do to improve their daily performance.

After each presentation we handed out posters and I signed a bunch of them (a few shoes too) and had some chocolate milk with my new pals.





Great kids--great school. Makes you feel good about the future of America doing these school visits!

New Sponsor?? To be considered and determined...

On my way home from the BrownDeer Crit in Milwaukee, I was making good time... until my gas light went on between Madison and Platteville. If you've ever driven this route, you know that there are only about 2 gas stations right off the highway. When the light decided to bear it's pretty orange glow, I decided to push it further... until Belmont. I came upon Mineral Point and I saw the gas station sign and had to make the final decision... pull off the freeway and drive through town to get some gas, or push it until Belmont and risk running out of gas. I decided first option was best, so I pulled in. Bummer, I was on such a mission to get home!!!

It was all worth it when I saw this sign!!! So maybe we can hang out there for a night for fun!


Anyhow, here's to the beginning of an excellent season!


~~Katee

During an excellent weekend at team headquarters in Madison, I was assigned to run to the store. While I was picking up provisions, I found my new favorite muffin... it ties for second, next to 'almond poppy seed.' Meet the new PISTACHIO MUFFIN!!! I now have a new mission when I go to Madison. The only thing I didn't really understand about the muffin, is that instead of putting pistachios on top, they put walnuts. Hmm... Whatever, they are still excellent. Don't let the green color throw you off.

just eat one.

:) Cheers!

kate

A WIN-dy Day

Ah yes, the first GDVC crit of the season in Madison. Always a good time and yesterday was indeed a good time. We had small numbers due to Anna's flu and Julie's car troubles but me, Kate and Rachel were ready to duke it out. Since the Milk Marketing board had a film crew on hand Anna braved the chilly temps and wind to come out, all kitted up and gave a great interview. Even congested she sounded great and looked good. Each of us got interviewed before the race and there was some taping during the race and after, as we were savoring our chocolate milk victory drink.

The race was the usual tactical cat and mouse game. Rival attacked immediately, I covered that one, and the next one, then Rachel went with the third and the two earlier attacks had softened the solo riders enough to catch them hesitating. There was a lap where any of them could have bridged across but none of them tried. I'd of let any of them go had they gone alone. As it was, the three solo riders each took turns dragging the field around and at a decent clip I'll add. IN the end the break lapped the field and I had just told Kate how we were going to ride the last lap and no sooner had I said that when I felt the tap on my hip and Rachel was back in the field. I told Kate: "Never mind what I just said." In the end we had an uphill, cross headwind sprint and a rival led it out and lost steam so I had to jump a bit early and I topped out 50 meters from the finish. Rachel's break mate jumpe just after I did and also topped out. Rachel stormed by to nab the win, a speedy pink blur.

Our token male rider, Ken Haines, did a great job to take 5th in the Masters 1,2 race. He was off the front in one break for a few laps, then solo in a break for a few laps then made the winning break of about 10 and came in a solid 5th. Nice going Ken!

Kate did an awesome job in both the 4s and the open race (5th and 5th, respectively) and she had some breakthrough moments this weekend. Btw, the commercial will air sometime in March and I’ll get you the stations and the dates.

After the race was over the three of us were standing around drinking a chocolate milk when our tent decided it was time to fly. All three of us watched the tent rise up like a UFO then start a series of endos. It landed 30 meters away, stopped by a broken support. We were sad. We liked that tent!

I'm sure Dave will get us a new one. :)

Here's a photo of Rachel and her beau, Jordan who also won his race, the mens cat 1,2. I had a friend when I lived in NY who was so used to tourists taking photos that he tried to get in them, without the people noticing. I reckon there are hundreds of photos worldwide of peoples' trips to NYC with a big headed bald guy lurking in the background. Kate was taking the photo and I decided to get in and low and behold, it worked!


Great job, everyone.
dq

Beautiful Spring Weather!

Hey Cowgirls-
Just wanted to share the excellent training weather that we have been experiencing!! I hope it clears up by Saturday!

:)
Keep rollin'



kate

A Career First

Unfortunately, that refers to the first time I forgot to bring my shoes to a race. A sinking feeling, indeed. It was too late to turn around, so I figured I would try to beg, borrow or steal, or play the supportive wife and just cheer for gunnar. Fortunately, a couple of guys had girlfriends racing when we got there, so I bugged them and scored a pair of shoes (and corresponding pedals!). The poor girl finished her race and was so frozen she couldn't get her shoes off, a preview of the joy that was about to ensue. The funny thing was she had a shim in her shoe, so all during the race I was slightly cock-eyed. I was ready (i.e. dressed) literally 1 minute before the start of the race, and promptly got dropped on the third lap. It was SOOOOO COLD (25 degrees) and extremely blustery!!!! Fortunately, for the second half of the race I was able to catch on to the main pack of men as they lapped me and finished the race with them. The good thing was the stress of finding shoes kept my mind off of the cold, and kept my nerves about racing with the men down. Still, it's not an experience I hope to repeat in the future! The next time I see that very sweet girl, I will give her a big handful of Udderly Smooth.

How about you guys? What's the worst thing you've ever forgotten to bring to a race!?


And here's a funny picture of an extreme helmethead and a scary lady, taken down in the Smokey Mts (before I got my gorgeous kit!).

Ivy with Shot Block

I was playing with some shot blocks that Eikes left in the car last weekend and thought this was a rather artsy picture. I'm not so sure I like eating shot blocks but they sure are fun to stack up. Not much happening at Hoboken Hotel. It's windy and someone's garbage bin just rolled down the street. Wait...that's mine!
dq

Goodbye Mallorca!

We leave tomorrow. :( I am excited to get home to see my sweet dog, Elke, but will miss this island.

Watching the World Championships was an inspiring. What a way to start the season... watch how the World Champions do it! Racing lasted all day for 4 days and all I missed was 1 race. I am so exhausted that I feel like I raced too. One of the best parts of watching was that my coach (and friend), Missy, was with us. By talking through some of the races with her, I learned a ton.

I am adding some pictures. The first couple are the Women's Keirin. Although the derny has not pulled away yet, the three at the front happen to be the three that earned medals. By far, this is my favorite event for sprinters.


Another Keirin shot:


So, while Greg laughed at us, Missy and I quietly drooled over a couple cute buys. Theo Bos is by far the cutest sprinter and he won a Gold medal. Sign me up for the "Bos Plan!"


The best race to watch, by far, was the men's points race because of the inside story of the Spainish rider. "When his long time Madison partner Isaac Galvez tragically died during the Gent six day last November 26, Joan Llaneras considered giving up the sport. The two were reigning world champions, having won the madison together in 1999 and 2006, and had been racing as a pair for seven years. However, with the 2007 championships taking place on home soil, the 37 year-old Majorcan finally opted to carry on, deciding to ride the points race and then the madison with Carlos Torrent. He was absolutely inspired in the first of those, and he dominated the competition and drove the many local supporters into a near frenzy."

Frenzy doesn't do it justice. The whole place was going crazy during the race... the cheered like they do at soccer games here in Europe. Then, when he won, the whole place was crying. Yes, even Greg shed a tear.

That is a wrap! I hope to see you guys soon. Hey- glad to hear racing has kicked off in WI!


Cari

More pics on Missy's website if you guys are interested.
http://web.mac.com/missy_thompson/iWeb/Site/Mallorca.html

Found: Puppy. Lost: Heart.

This is what I have been doing the last week or so!
I found this little gem last Sat. during a bike ride-- she was stuck in a briar patch! I managed to extract her, fed her my Clif Bar, and walked around for 2 hours knocking on doors, put up signs, all that good stuff, but attempts to find her owner were futile. She is a little doll baby of a puppy, with green eyes and a very sweet disposition, mixed with just the right amount of puppy naughtiness. She even got along well with grumpy old dairyDog (most of the time)! After 8 days, we found a great owner for her-- somebody who works across the street and takes pictures at the WV mt bike races, so I will get to see her often. Thank goodness, because she took my heart with her when she left!

Opening Day Wisco- Belgian Style

Photo of Anna wearing her "foot warmers"

Holy Mackerel. Eikes and I were driving up to Sheboygan to meet Anna and Kate, who had gone earlier to so Kate could race the cat 4 race (she did great and took 3rd). The entire drive was in the rain and as we'd gotten home late from Hillsboro there wasn't a lot of turnaround time to repack. I thought I had pretty much everything in my bag already but au contraire. I had a lot in my bag but wound up using Kate's arm and leg warmers and also had to use my sushi hat under my helmet to stay warm. At least I had full finger gloves.

The photo above is of Anna, warming up in the car with leg warmers on her feet. Anna has been hammered at school this semester but she bravely came out to get some early season suffering in. The four of us looked like we'd crawled through the mud at the end of the race. Our jerseys were as brown as our faces and even better, when we took off our shorts there was mud on the inside! Rachel showed me her shorts and it made me think of the proverbial "pooed in your pants" comment (this is a family friendly blog) but it was all mud.

I like racing in the rain and was really getting into the disgusting mud bath we were riding in. I'm still amazed that I have form for not putting in any base this year. I now have two races in me which means I should be peaking in about a week. (Do not try this training plan on anything less than 10 years of racing).

Anyway, Rachel made a good showing on Saturay, staying with the lead group and coming home 12th at the Hillsboro Roubaix. Kate took 3rd in the cat 4 race with a nice sprint at the finish. I dropped out after 2 laps, feeling the effects of no sleep and lifting the day before but most definitely felt ok while I was in there. Well, except when I tried to bridge up to a break. Wind was the key factor in the race and I watched solo attempt after solo attempt get 40 meters in front of the field, dangle a bit then get reabsorbed into the group. After seeing a few suicide attempts in the first lap I tried talking to other riders and getting a break away with one of everyone but alas, solo attacks, no counters from teammates, etc. were the rule of the day. I tried to bridge into a break and learned just how far I could push on the amount of training I've done. I wound up otb but it was still a very productive day.

Yesterday Kate grabbed 3rd again in the cat 4 race in Sheboygan, and had no problems at all in the open race. I wound up in a break with two teammates (not mine) and got in a fine hill repeat workout. The hill wasn't wasn't long and I wanted a hard effort from the day and it worked out great. I wound up 3rd, after mistaking one of my break companions for a different rider. Everyone looked the same shade of brown at the end of the race and I thought it was a lapped rider and let it go. O well, Tis racing. Good reminder to take a closer look at who is rolling by.

I went straight from the race to the Bombay Bike Club meeting where I gave a talk to the group (about 70) on racing. Apparently some of the club riders are interested in racing so I tried to give them some ideas of how to start and what to think about. i left behind waterbottles and some udderly smooth which I think they liked.

That reminds, me, I forgot to use udderly smooth in the race yesterday. I really notice it when I don't use it.

Betsy2 got 2nd in her race out east yesterday. She got in a break and it was her first race. Her break companion was a good sprinter but Betsy gave it a go and came away with an excellent result for a first race. Good to have those first races out of the way. Time to start fine tuning!
til soon,
dq
PS: Gabby says hi to all; here she is lounging on the couch a few minutes ago.