Lodi Cyclefest

This race came and went. I told my coach that I needed redemption on this course since I got lapped last year. I didn't like that; getting lapped is a really shitty feeling. When I first started with my coach, this race was months away, then I saw the schedule and went, "Holy shit! Crap! No wait... it can't be July yet. Crap it is!"

Warm up time! Photo by Jeff Namba. 

Lodi is a W 3/4 race, so we know it's going to be faster than usual with a few more games in the field. Women love tactics. It's also a technical course. It's a figure eight with narrow turns and some cobbles. Basically, it's a freakin' fun race if you know what you're doing.

As I saw who was in the race, I knew we were in for a fun, fast, and hard race. These women are tough. The more the day went on, the more nervous I got. This was my "A" race, I got lapped last year, I knew exactly what was going to go on in the race. Was I ready? At that point, I either was or wasn't.

I taped up my achilles and my knee for this race. We got to the race around 1pm and got our numbers, ate lunch, watched some racing, chatted, and then warmed up. Frank helped Asa and me get our bikes and pit wheels ready, helped us out with anything we needed, and so on. It helped calm the nerves because apparently this is srs bsnz and I was nervous. Okay there, Kay. Way to go on that one, buddy.

Photo by Tim Westmore.

I started the race pretty mellow, but I started to get anxious. I'm the type of rider who needs to attack otherwise I can't get into the race. So I did just what I needed to do for the first 15 minutes of a 40 minute race. I got a prime and nearly got into a breakaway with a Rio Strada girl, but it didn't stick. Damn. I did as many attacks as I needed to do to get into my zone and then chilled for the rest of the race.

The race went well. Some shady cornering from some girls. I actually told one to watch where she was going because the girl couldn't hold a line if her life depended on it. Herp sorry, don't really wanna crash. I hear it hurts like a mofo.

Photo by Tim Westmore.

As we raced, the usual happened. People attacked, counter-attacked, played games, more attacks, more primes (which I didn't go for), etc. Asa and I then started to organize ourselves. As we saw two laps to go, everyone started to organize even more (you see this a lot more with a CAT 3/4 race).

The last sprint came. I was in a good spot and felt good. The problem is that I froze, just as I always do in the final sprint. Ever since my injury, I've been afraid to go all out in a sprint because I'm scared that I'm going to pop my achilles. The biggest issue is that I know I can out-sprint those girls; I've done it before, I can do it again, but I froze. I rolled passed the finish line in 5th place.

Photo by Jeff Namba. 

I won't lie, I was extremely disappointed. I felt as if I just couldn't do it, as if I had failed for some reason. Then I realized that last year, I got lapped and I've been hurt for over a year and a half. It wasn't a win and it wasn't amazing, but it was definitely an improvement. My coach has gotten me from being one of the weaker, lapped riders to being on the podium. Am I still disappointed? Yes, but I have to realize that there was a lot of good in this race. I'll ask my coach what I need to do to get out of my mental block in the final sprint and I'll go for the win next year. This is my favorite race... I want to be on the top barrel, and I think I can do it.

Asa and I went to get our prize money, I got my prime, and we both got podium wine. It wasn't a bad result. Seriously! I went from being a lapped rider to getting both a prime and on the podium. I went from being one of the weaker riders to being in the spot light quite a bit this year. There were many successes, but I have to improve, I'll get out of that rut, and I'll be on that top barrel.

Photo by Jeff Namba. 

Since I got a $10 gift card for the brewery in Lodi, Asa, Frank, Frank's kids, and I went to spend it. Asa and I got our post-race beers and we had some good times just hanging out. We parked our bikes in the front and everyone loved them, especially since both had podium wine in the bottle cages. After some good post-race hydration, we went back home. I went to feed some horses and then hung out with two friends, ate Chinese food, watched movies, and became one with the couch. I pretty much zonked out.

I had a blast this year. I'm a lot stronger. I'm looking forward to next year, to being stronger, and to getting on that top barrel. It's going to happen! I gotta say, you know you're having a good season when 5th is disappointing.

Next up, Menlo Park on Sunday. Wish us luck!

Davis Fourth of July Criterium

As you can tell, there's no report for Leesville Gap. Why? I didn't do it (nice, Sherlock), and it's a good thing I didn't. My achilles and right knee were in so much pain that day that the roads would have probably killed (not really) me. Anyway, my teammate and sister from another mister, Asa, got third, which is awesome. I just keep telling myself that my excuses were legit. Don't judge me.

The Davis Fourth of July crit is known for being a bloodfest. The course is technical and fast, and sometimes, technical and fast don't go well together. My goal for the race was to pretty much attack, counter attack, and lead Asa out on the final sprint. This year, the field was a W4 only. Nice.

Photo by Alex Chiu. 

There were surprisingly not many crashes in the race before us (E5s). One guy ate it on the last turn, but that was all I saw. Another guy bent his front wheel before the race started. Yeah, Asa and I did a "wtf?" A huge change from last year, though, where pretty much every lap has someone hitting their face on the asphalt and every other lap had a broken bike (or rider). Okay, I can dig this, but Davis didn't keep it reputation of being a blood bath. Not a bad thing, mind you, but y'know, we all love bloody sports or something (yeah, I kind of miss hockey).

After Asa and I picked up our numbers, we went back to the truck and Asa started to warm up. What was my warm up? I rode to the porta potties because I had to pee. Yeah, that was it. We got there later than we planned and by the time I changed my trainer wheel, then changed back to the tubular, then do all my number stuff, blah blah blah. Not worth it. My job that day was to haul Asa around, not win. So, I said, "I'll warm up on the first few laps." Spoken like a true crit slut.

Photo by Alex Chiu.

The plan was working. The field was pretty strung out for most of the race, and I was never in the back of the field. In fact, I'm pretty sure that I was fifth wheel or higher for the whole race. I attacked a few times, didn't get the first prime because, hurr, I didn't warm up at all. I got two other primes though, because I apparently warmed up enough during the race. This was my race to play, and I did just that. More attacks, more counter attacks, fast turns, got to pick my lines. One girl got into a solo break, I couldn't get her so I told the rest of the field, "Uh, someone help me catch her." I saw her go, go, go, then she gave up after she crossed the start/finish line so I knew we were safe. At that point, I realized that I was going to have to counter attack sooner. The good thing is that one of the sprinters kept calling out all of the attacks that were going to happen. Oh really? Don't mind if I do!

Photo by Alex Chiu.

The race was pretty safe. It wasn't slow, but, for the most part, it was kept safe. Midway through the race on turn one, the girl leading the lap over-corrected her turn and nearly took out my front wheel. If it weren't for mountain biking, I wouldn't have dodged that wheel so well, without over-correcting. Asa saw that and gave me kudos after the race. Amazingly enough, that kind of move doesn't scare me anymore. I've been getting more and more confident with my riding, cornering, and corrections. I'll admit that mountain biking has a lot to do with it. So, after that correction, I just did a little "oh shit" and moved on with the race. Good times. Saved myself from eating asphalt.

Photo by Alex Chiu.

More attacks and more counterattacks. On the second to last lap, the front end of my bike felt like it was washing out. Weird, I don't usually corner so poorly that I feel like my front end is going out. Whatever. On the last lap, I heard the bell and booked it to the front. The whole lap I just drilled it. I still felt as if my front end was washing out. Whatever. One more lap. One more lap. It hurt, and I was deep in the pain cave (so deep, I'm surprised I came out straight. It was tastefully decorated, by the way). The only two things that helped me finish that lap were 1) I'm here to support Asa and 2) I don't have to sprint at the end, she does; I'm off the hook!

Last turn, I drill it a little more and then I see Asa and another girl attack. As soon as I saw those two go, I yelled, "GO ASA! GO!!!" I then thought that I could maybe stand up and get a decent placing, but when I tried, my legs said, "Hahaha nope!" So I sat up. No more legs for me. I ended up 12th out of 21 or so girls. Asa? second!

You can see me smiling in the background!

So, people ask, why didn't Asa get first? My first reaction is to say, "Bitch, you try to do what I did," but I stop myself and tell them my hypotheses. Let's see, the girl who got first had about 5 or so teammates helping her out. Asa had one (yours truly). First place is a pure sprinter (I know because I sprinted against her at Cyclebration). If I would have been able to give Asa 100 more feet on the lead out, she would have won.

The main reason? Remember how I was complaining about my front end washing out? Turns out that I had a front flat. Yup. I rode a tubular wheel with a flat for two fast laps. How I didn't crash how I still have teeth, I don't know. I'll just thank the Powers that Be and leave it at that. No questions asked. I'm freaking lucky. Would I have been able to go faster and help Asa get first? Maybe. It's all "What ifs" now. Some folks ask me why I'm so happy and proud if I finished mid-pack. Uh, because I helped my team get on the podium! I'm freaking proud that I was able to help do that! Team work, guys. You can't do anything out in a field like that (there were a lot of very strong women in this race) without a team. 

Photo by Tony Troy.

 We hung around for pretty much the entire day, watching some kick-ass racing and taking pictures of Asa on the podium. Hung out with good friends, saw Chuck Hutcheson win the P/1/2 (freakin' awesome race!), saw Bubba race the Masters race (dude's an animal!), cheered Mary Maroon on in her race (she's pretty much my hero), and drank beer. Yup, I had two beers after my race and was pretty much plastered. The good thing is that my legs didn't hurt for about an hour after I drank those beers. Score. 

I usually do an easy spin after a crit, but I dug so deep that I couldn't. My legs were shaking and I was exhausted. I knew I did my job... with a flat (I can't get over that!). Asa and I talked to our coach, who looked very happy with our performance. Yay! I surprised myself at what I was able to do in this race. I didn't know I could dig so deep into the pain cave. I didn't know I could lead an entire lap for my teammate, do so many attacks, win two primes, and counter attack pretty much every move the girls made. And it's all thanks to my coach. If it weren't for him, I couldn't have been able to do that. He does all of the hard work, I just follow his program. I know I made the right choice for a coach when I see how good my results have gotten this year, and you know, he's just an awesome person all around. I'm lucky to have such an awesome coach. It's all you, Coach! 

"Go pink or go home."

The rest of the day was fun. Throughout the whole day, people kept coming up to me (people I didn't even know) and told me that we did a fantastic job and that our race was fun to watch. That was so cool to hear! Girls from the race came up to me and told me how strong I was. Stoked! Seriously. I'm so, so stoked to hear that. I feel stronger, so hopefully it only gets better. Again, all thanks to my coach!

I'll leave you with this ridiculous picture of my friend, Derrick, with my bike. Look at how sick that wheel looks. Too bad the front one flatted, because that was an awesome combo.

Next up is Lodi Cyclefest. My "A" race. Eek! 

Folsom Cyclebration

It's taken me a week to get the blog up, but better late than never.

Folsom Cyclebration took place on June 8 - 10. The event is usually in September, but the city decided to move it to June. Why? I don't know. If you're wondering if people are happy about it, you'll get a different response depending on the person you ask.

I didn't do all three events. I skipped the time trial and only did the criterium and circuit race. I worked all three events in the registration tent, and let me tell you, I'm glad that's over. Hey, racers. Don't shoot the messenger and be happy that there were staff and volunteers to put this race on. Quit being jerks! It was unbelievable.

Saturday, June 9: Criterium

Thanks to Alex Chiu for the photo! 

The course is the same as the Bicycles Plus/Sierra Nevada May Criterium. So, as we know, fast, not technical, and pretty fun. My coach and I talked about this race and we decided that I should play it smart if I want to do well. In short, quit being stupid and don't sprint for every single prime!

As the race went on, I went into "me" mode and was sprinting for a prime. Mid sprint, I told myself to let it go, and I did. I got another prime later in the race, but I didn't sprint for all of them like I usually do. Like I said, I wanted to play it smart.

Thanks to Dale Tapley for the photo! 

The race was pretty smooth. The girls weren't catty and there were no close calls either. On the bell lap, some girls were calling out their moves to their teammates. One of them said to her teammate, "I'm leading you out! I'm going to the left and get on my wheel!" Oh, don't mind if I do! I knew she was talking to her teammate but dude, this girl had been a great lead out throughout the race and I wasn't going to let a team get their tactics going, especially when I had no teammates in this race (Asa was working the mountain bike races of Cyclebration). The girl's teammate said, "No. I can't get to you" and that's when we put the attack. Coming through the last corner, we all sprinted. First, second, and third put a gap on the field... and I nearly caught second but I had run out of space. The finish line came too soon and I crossed in third. My second podium of the year! The rest of the day involved 12-1/2 hours of working registration. Ugh... I won't even get to that because I got on the podium! I had no pain in my achilles and my body felt pretty good. Overall, a good race. Now to move up in the podium...

Sunday, June 10: Circuit Race

I wasn't feeling it in the morning. I had little sleep after a long day of hearing grown humans complain over and over about the same thing the two days prior. If I had heard "Well my Garmin says..." one more time about a race that happened the Friday of the weekend, I was going to smack someone.

Thanks to Alex Chiu for the photo!

I warmed up with my old team, Team Revolutions, since my coach races for them. It's always nice to hear, "You're still part of the family!" from my old teammates. I had an "eh" warmup and then went to the line. The Elite 5s started a minute before us. Uh, okay. The whistle was blown and we all went off. It was a good race again. No major things, a few attacks. Toward the end of the race, a Rio Strada girl and I decided to get away, and we did! We had a good gap, we were going strong, and then the ref stopped us. I don't usually curse when I'm in a race since I like to keep a good name for my team, and all of the girls in my category have always told me that I have great sportsmanship, but I cursed... a lot. So did Rio Strada. She even apologized later and I told her, "Oh no worries. I'm not happy either!" The ref neutralized us because the 5s were passing us, but he didn't neutralize the rest of the field. All of that hard work was completely killed off. Ugh. The best part (only not) was that they did the neutralization by the roundabout. So, the ref an us were blocking the outside and the follow car was blocking the inside! Talk about poor planning.

Thanks to Alex Chiu for the photo! 

This had us pretty angry the rest of the race. I mean, c'mon! I posted on Cyclebration's comment box that in the future they need to keep the E5s and the W4s separated. This wasn't cool at all.

We had one lap to go and the pace went up. The sprint came fast and off we went. I kept it up but a Metromint girl got the best of us and did a monster sprint from about 6th wheel to 1st. I got nudged off the podium by about half a wheel. Crap! My coach was proud of my racing, but dang was I disappointed. The good thing is that I got points both days for my upgrade, so it should come soon! What did I do after the race? Worked registration for 14 hours. Ouch... Got there at 530am, left at 730pm. Awesome.

The weekend was fun. I'm glad I'm getting stronger, my sprint is coming back, and I've been consistently in the top 5. I'm working on getting top 3 all of the time and to upgrade soon. My coach knows what he's doing, so I'm listening and it's working. If it weren't for him, I wouldn't have done so well.

As far as the overall omnium, I got 7th place, and I didn't even race the time trial. That's pretty awesome! I did better than most girls who did all three events. Can't complain about that! I'm thinking about doing a road race (eek. I know), Leesville Gap. We'll see if this crit slut decides to brave it out or not. If not, then the Fourth of July Davis Criterium and Lody Cyclefest are in the books for me!

Bicycles Plus/Sierra Nevada May Classic Criterium

I went into this crit wanting points and a podium. I have the endurance and my sprints are slowly but surely coming back. It's been a frustrating road, but thanks to my coach, my injuries aren't worse. I know that if it weren't for him, I wouldn't have progressed as much as I have. To be honest, my dumb ass would probably still be really injured.

Thanks to Alex Chiu for the photo! http://acaurora.smugmug.com

 I went to the race on 3 hours of sleep. I felt like hell. It was just a bad night overall. The most frustrating part was that I couldn't get the proper rest even though I wanted to do well in this race. I got there early because I wanted to see a few friends race in the 5's and a couple of friends in the 4's. The races were fun and I hung out and chatted. After that, I went to do a very poor warm up (I was exhausted), a few people came to talk to me, I gave up trying to warm up, and went out by the course, where I met up with a couple of teammates.

Asa (aka my sister from another mister) and I were in the women's 4 together. It was awesome being able to race with her. We lined up, did our neutral lap, and off we went.

The cool thing about this course is that it's fast and safe. The bad thing about this course is that it's fast and attacks don't usually stick. Yeah, you can attack, but most of the time you'll get caught unless you can get really organized or you're some freak of nature. The course is in the shape of a D, and the two turns that it has aren't sharp nor technical. Cake. If you're thinking of doing your first criterium, this is the course to pop your cherry.

Thanks to Alex Chiu for the photo! http://acaurora.smugmug.com

We started racing and I heard that there was a prime. $10. Okay. I went for it. So I sprinted, got it. I know I should have probably saved my legs for the final sprint, but dude, $10! Anyway, we went by, and another prime lap was belled. Asa went to the front and I followed. She led me out beautifully for the sprint. Got the prime. After that lap I told her not to worry about the other two primes since I wanted to save some legs for the final sprint. She agreed and we just kept going with the race. I pulled to the back of the group for a bit since I wanted to rest. Since this course is so easy, falling to the back of the group isn't that big of a deal. I rested for a bit, saw how many laps we had to go, and started to organize ourselves.

Thanks to Alex Chiu for the photo! http://acaurora.smugmug.com

Asa pulled me beautifully into the last sprint, but I was about two strides too behind in it and missed the podium by a tiny bit. Disappointment to the max. I got 4th, which yes, is still in the points, so I'm happy about that, but still disappointed. Damn. I was right there! At least now I know I have more than enough endurance and my sprint is coming back. Soon enough I'll be getting on that podium again!

We all gathered and I went to get my two primes. As I was waiting for them and I was chatting with people, one of the promoters said, "you got three primes?" Uh... I wasn't aware that I got a third prime but okay. That was a nice surprise. While I was waiting for the promoter to gather my prizes, a few people congratulated me on a good race, on my strength, and told me I was racing very strong out there. Some ladies came up to me and thanked me for a good and safe race. My coach said I did well but that we need to teach me to do less work. I agree. I'm pretty bad at that, but I'm learning. I'm telling you, internet, with his guidance, I'll be back on the podium!

Party time!

So what did I get as primes? Two bottles of wine, coffee, and $10. Basically, I got 4th place and a freakin' party. Not bad. At least I got points toward my upgrade, some wine, coffee, and enough cash to buy Asa and me some beer at Sam Horne's.

One of our CAT 3 racers and his daughter. 

We hung out a bit to watch some more racing, took some pictures, and hung out. Asa, Frank, and I had to set up course for one of our mountain bike races, Race Behind Bars, hosted at Folsom prison, so we couldn't make a day of race watching and, as Dean Alleger says, "trolling for racer boys," so we had to leave shortly after our race so we could get some food, a little bit of rest, and get back to work.

What happens with lack of sleep, racing, and working.

The day was fun. I'm still disappointed in my last sprint, but it's coming back. I look back at how hurt I was two months ago and I have improved a lot. People can't say I'm not improving, because damn, two months ago my achilles and calves were killing me. Now I'm able to sprint (sorta). It'll get back. I looked at my results from last year, and I got 10th in this same crit. Going from 10th to 4th isn't bad, though I still would have loved to be on that podium. It will come.

My next race is Cyclebration. The crit is the same course just the other direction. I'll race smarter. That podium and upgrade are inches away.

Step One Complete

I've reached the light!

I thought this moment would never come, but it came and it went. After all the work, studying, classes, having to deal with Sac State's horrible administration system... it's over. The light at the end of the tunnel finally came.

My best friend, Dan, my parents, and I all went to Power Balance Pavilion (dude, whatever. It'll always be Arco arena). Once we parked, I went to the graduate area and met up with some friends while Dan and my parents went to get a seat. All the psych graduates were hanging out and gleeing over the fact that, holy crap, we're finally done! We stayed around for a while, talking, jittering, taking pictures, and congratulating everyone we knew because hey, we're done. We went outside, took more pictures with Justine's family, went back inside, and started to line up to enter the ceremony.

Justine and me.

It was a very exciting moment. It didn't really hit us until we started to walk in. The ceremony was pretty boring, but it was all worth it. We then started to walk, and that's when it really hit us! Hey! We're walking, we're graduates, we have walked over step one (for some of us) on the path to our careers.

The goal for the ceremony while we were walking was to not trip. We didn't. Success!

A lot of hugs, smiles, some jumping (on my part), and more congratulations. We switched our tassel and went back outside, where we all found our families and took more pictures.

Leah, Justine, me, Jamie.

Parents and me. 

Dan and me.

What happens when you don't pay attention. 

After the ceremony, my dad had to go to work, so Dan, my mom, and I went to Red Robin to get food and celebrate with some fruity drinks. I was still all giddy from graduation and the fact that holy crap I'm done!!! A lot of fun times started to go on.


So, after Red Robin, Dan and I slept a bit because we were both tired. After our nap, we met up with Asa and Frank at Sam Horne's Tavern in Folsom for some more celebrating. And let me tell you, we (mostly I) celebrated. The whole night was pretty fun. We made some plans for the morning after, which, when you're celebrating, doesn't dawn on you that it will most likely hurt. Whatev. I'm a champ. I think.

Yeah, the morning hurt, but it was still fun. I met up with Frank and Asa and we went up to Tahoe to meet up with some of Asa's family. After getting sick (I never get car sick but hello, hangover!), which was a blessing in disguise, and eating some yummy food with Asa's family, we went to the lake and hung out, talked, and enjoyed good company.

Quote of the trip, "I don't always drink, but when I do, I make sure my liver knows its job." You're a champ, Old Blackie. You're a champ.

We came back home, I took a nap, and got the mountain bike ready to ride with Frank, Asa, and Cab. 19.5 miles of torture. It was an easy, easy ride, but my liver thought otherwise. It was pretty painful. In those few miles, I actually drank my whole CamelBak. "Drink, Kasea. Drink drink drink."
"Ugh, no mas."

Came home, chilled, watched movies, had fun, passed out, slept like crap. I did a road ride in the morning in which I felt as strong as a baby deer. I'm pretty sure I didn't "recover" from celebrating until noon on Sunday.

Went to see my horse and then had dinner, in which the question, "What's next?" popped up. I said I had a second interview for the Doctoral program in Sacramento. I know that I've mentioned that I was going to move to the Bay Area, but that program lost its APA accreditation, so that's out. There's one in Pleasant Hill that I like. So, I get asked, "What if you make it into the Sacramento one?" Well, then I made it in. Moving would be awesome. So many what ifs. New life, new people, new friends, new cycling. I know a few people there and a bunch of my cycling friends go there often. The riding is amazing. Sacramento is home, though, and I already have a bunch of cycling friends, family, and I'm the area's "registration girl." Choices. If I don't make it into the Sacramento program though, I have made another plan that doesn't involve me moving, but... I know. It's easy being a single 25-year-old girl with no commitments. I can just up and leave if I wanted to. The temptation is there.

After dinner, in which I scored a $50 gift card to Folsom Bike from my friends, I went out with Brandon to celebrate both of our graduations. I didn't get to go to his graduation party because I was dealing with some issues with my horse, but we still celebrated. A psych graduate and a nursing graduate in Midtown. It was fun. We even watched a Drag show that was going on in Faces and it was pretty amusing. I'm happy I got to spend time with him and we're planning on doing a huge celebration before he moves to Texas.

What a fun weekend. The picture on the left pretty much sums it up. Let's see what the future brings. I'm out of one tunnel... I guess the next logical step is to walk into a darker and longer one. I'm excited!

Finals Week: The Little Random Things

Little random things always happen. I just got done with an 85 question final and have a 5-hour break before my next final, which is an easy one. 

We're always so busy thinking of the crappy moments that we forget to give credit to the good ones. It's finals week, so we're all stressed. You walk into the library and I'm pretty sure we're all a term paper away from jumping into the river (eh, it's been warm. Shouldn't be too bad). While some crappy things have happened (I can't believe the betrayal that I have experienced!), so many good, funny, and random things have happened as well! Here's a weird story for you. 

A guy walks up to me as I'm getting my stuff ready in my truck and says, "I know this is going to sound really weird, but do you happen to have a wire hanger with you? I locked my keys in my car."

"Umm... I don't know. Let me check." I looked and didn't think I had one, so I said "Sorry. Good luck." So I went to buy a parking pass. As I was buying a parking pass for the day, a girl walks up to me and give me hers since she's done for the day. I've done this several times. Then I think, eh, I'll look again. Maybe I'll have something he can use to unlock his car. Look, look, look. Nothing. Look under the driver's seat. Well what do you know... I found a hanger. I go up to him, "It's really weird that I found this but here you go."

"Oh my goodness you're amazing! Thank you so much." Guy's face lit up like no other. It was pretty awesome. 

It's little things that help make a stressful day... stressful WEEK... better. Giving someone a parking pass that you're no longer going to use, finding random objects in your truck (seriously, wtf?) to help someone get their keys out of their car, watching someone's stuff in the library while they go to the restroom, being called beautiful by the owner of the Pho restaurant (I'm going to miss that place the most), etc. It's not hard to not be an asshole. People should do this more. 

Now... off to study for finals #5 and #6 of 6. Almost done...

Finals Week: Zombie Apocalypse

I don't have a race until the end of the month, though I've done some pretty cool rides since my last race that I could write about, and I don't have a bike to review just yet. But sometimes I like to have fun. So, instead of studying for finals (well, I have been studying but I get easily distracted), I've been surfing the internet/Facebook/Twitter/awesome stuff. A friend posted this on Facebook:


see more Lol Celebs

Who is on my team?

River Tam: She's hot and a bad ass. If my Latina fighting skills aren't enough, she'll definitely help out. Boom, baby!

Batman (Christian Bale Batman, thanks): He's hot, a bad ass, has a shit ton of gadgets and sweet, fast cars, and a fortress/Batcave. We're pretty set as far as housing, weapons, and transportation. Hot, rich guy. Okay.
















Snoop Dogg: Uh, hello! It's fucking Snoop Dogg! That alone is a WIN.

Gotta be pretty geeky every once in a while. Have some fun. Today, I will be finishing finals #2 and #3 out of 6 this semester (yup, SIX). Wish me luck. Hopefully I'll be coherent enough to get on my bike after these finals!

Golden State Race Series

On May 5th and 6th, Rio Strada racing hosted the Golden State criterium and circuit race, respectively. The night before I made sure I had everything ready and taped up my achilles. While my achilles isn't hurting too much, it's been really tight. Better safe than sorry.

Criterium

I arrived at the race, got my number (911... really? That's going on the wall), and saw that some of my old teammates from Team Revolutions were there. I decided to repark my 2500 diesel pick-up truck near my buddies, where there were nothing but compact spots. It fit perfectly. I warmed up with the Revs. Once of them, Karen, was in my race as well. Some of my new teammates spotted me and started chatting while I complained about how my legs weren't feeling it, wah wah wah, "holy shit don't post that picture on Facebook!" and so on.

After a crappy warm up, I lined up with the rest of the ladies. This was a 3/4 category, so meh, we knew what was going to happen. The 3's would decide that the 4's were annoying so they were going to try and drop us at whatever cost. Let's keep this in mind... the whatever cost.

A bunch of my teammates were there, cheering, taking pictures, etc. The official was telling us whatever notes they tell us before a race and then we hear the announcement, "The first two laps are prime laps." Ugh. Okay, so it was going to start fast and most likely stay fast. Hey, it's racing, I guess. Whistle blows and off we go.

Just as I expected, we started to go fast. We had a group of 40 women. It was one of the bigger fields I've been in for a while. Attacks started right off the bat, and because I'm me, I answered those attacks. The whole race went like that, attack, answer by whomever decided it was their turn to answer the attack, bring person back, attack, answer, attack, answer. The more we got into the race, the more attacks that were being executed, and the dumber that some chicks were getting. Hey, I completely understand being an aggressive rider, but you don't have to get stupid about it.

Since we had a lot of 3's there, I'm pretty sure they thought that they could intimidate a lot of the 4's by pressuring them off some wheels. It worked a lot of the time. A 3 would want a wheel, would get really close to a 4, and the 4 would give her wheel away. I'm a pressure rider, though. I've ridden and trained with people who don't have a bubble whatsoever and I'm comfortable with people bumping into me. It didn't work when a 3 would try to pressure me off my wheel, so elbows started to get thrown and quite a bit of bumping occurred. Oh, rly? Fine, do that, but I'm still not moving.

The race was pretty much the same the whole time. Attacks, surges, a lot of shitty bike handling, shitty turn-taking, bumping, bitching, and a crash. It happened right behind me. I didn't know who crashed until after the race, but that's racing. If you race, you'll most likely go down... or something.

I got myself in a bad spot for the sprint and didn't do much. So, no points for this race. Oh well. At least I know my fitness is there to keep up with a pretty fast race. I stuck around for the E3s since four of my teammates were there. These guys pretty much executed everything perfectly and Matt got the win, which was their plan. Awesome. These guys are pretty much textbook perfect in their tactics and know how to execute them. Took pictures of the podium and I apparently got awarded most aggressive rider in my race. Cool.

I went home and then decided to go on an easy spin. It was windy as hell. And then I went extra Mexican and decided to go do some celebration for Cinco de Mayo, which is pretty much like every other day in Mexico.



Circuit
I decided I was going to make a day of this. I went to the race, a bunch of girls came up to me, said hi, invited me to warm up with them. These are girls who live in the bay area, know me by name, and say very nice things about me. All because "[I'm] a powerhouse and very respectful racer." Giving my team a good name and being liked by other racer, I'll take that.

So, I did my thang for warm up, which consists of mostly working my jaw muscles due to chatting too much with people and spacing out while on the trainer for 45 minutes. I then rolled around the parking lot and saw my teammates, so I talked to them, then decided that I should probably line up. 2.1 mile course, officials said whatever officials say, the promoter told us that there had been a miscommunication that the 3's and the 4's could be started at different times, which most of the women are happy about. However, it didn't go through, and most of the women were very unhappy about that. So, the promoter said some words, worked his politics, probably to make the women feel better about the decision, and went on about women's racing and money and promoting races... whatever. The point is, we didn't start at different times and people were pissed, so he tried to make them feel better. Did it work? For some. Others were still pissed and nearly sat out the race.

The race was the same as the crit. Attacks, answers, attacks, answers. Only this time it was a lot more aggressive. Elbows were being thrown for sure, and I was getting annoyed. I don't say anything during a race, mostly because I don't want to be marked at "that rider," (or in women's racing, "that bitch") and I like to keep a good name for my team. This was getting ridiculous, though. Not only did I get to make friends with a lot of elbows, the sketchiness and dive-bombing turns was just stupid. No reason to do something like that in a fairly easy course. This circuit was not technical, yet some chicks couldn't ride their bikes in a straight line.  Actually, the squirrels that crossed our path during the race ran a straighter line than some of these chicks.

The last two laps were the worst. Way too many close calls. I got pinned in the last chicane. It was an easy one, too. Straight line. But for some reason it seemed like it was an impossible task to go in a damn straight line. Okay. So I figured out where I needed to be. On the last lap, in a different spot, someone decided to slam on her brakes and nearly caused a crash, I got elbowed and pinned on the turn. A lot of "fuck fuck fuck!" was being thought by me. I realized though that as soon as I touched my brakes, it was over. I rolled through the finish line.

Thanks to Alex Chiu for the photo! http://acaurora.smugmug.com

It was definitely one of the most aggressive races I've been in. I guess it's expected. But damn, I was in such a good spot in that chicane and then that happens. Oh well. I'm sure I'll remember that chick's elbow for a long time. Maybe I'll see it in my next race. At least now I know how she plays the game, right?

How awesome is this!?

So, I stayed the rest of the day. Took pictures, hung out with a bunch of friends, and saw a lot of amazing and beautiful legs bike racing. I watched the E3's race, where 4 of my teammates raced, and the guys swept the podium. Matt, once again, won as was planned. There was a break away for a while during the race with about a 16 second lead on the last lap. Asa said, "Well, I guess that's the only way you can beat the LeadOut guys." Yeah, right. Into the last chicane, the guys were 1,2,3 and took over the race. They were going about 5 - 8 mph faster than the rest of the field through that turn. Amazing racing by these guys!

Brad and my teammate Eric raced the E4's, which was also a fun race!  Brad and I went on an adventurous ride after his race and then came back to see some more racing.

The guys chatting after the P1/2/3, where Chuck (Marc Pro/Strava) won.

It was an overall good day. A bit disappointing, but I learned quite a bit. I won't be making the same mistake in future races. 

Bike Review: Leopard 26" Hardtail Mountain Bike

I'll start off by saying that I'm a roadie. I enjoy road cycling a lot. I especially love crits; the more technical the crit, the better for me. Road riding is definitely my favorite cycling discipline. However, I also like variety, so I go on the dirt every once in a while. It scares the ever-loving hell out of me but I also enjoy it. I don't enjoy racing mountain bikes as much as I enjoy racing road bikes, but it's fun to get dirty every now and then.

Point is that rocks and trees jump out at you on the trails. I have the same problem when I endurance/trail ride my horse. Damn trees just... jump. Add the fact that I have no depth perception due to a terrible polo accident and it's pretty much game over. However, I've been hanging out with some really dirty people (well, dirt-loving mountain bikers) who told me to stop being a wuss, so I started riding the mountain bike again.

Isn't this Little Kitty cute!?

This time I'm riding a Leopard hard tail 26", except there's the extra level of making it a fully rigid bike. That's right. This newbie is riding this kitty with style. At first I was extremely concerned that I wouldn't be able to ride the bike. One, I'm not a mountain biker. I hadn't been on a mountain bike in months. Two, there are absolutely no shocks on the bike. Three, I'm not a mountain biker. Naturally I went out with experienced people who were probably half asleep on the bike while I was in the back, squeaking (that's what I do when I get scared of something), getting laughed at by all those dirty mountain bikers.

Warming up for PCRS

To be fair, the bikes that I have ridden in the past have not fit me. They were too big and one of them was a full suspension bike whose (large) owner was not willing to adjust. I felt like the bike was going to buck me off. This Leopard is a small frame, which fits me perfectly because I'm not a very tall person. Even though I hadn't been mountain biking in months, it only took me a few minutes to get used to the Leopard. I felt extremely comfortable on it. As we got to the rockier sections of the trail, I was concerned that I may have to walk a lot. Nope. Rode right though it. Granted, the fact that I have no shock made it a bit rough, but it wasn't uncomfortable at all.

I kept riding through the trails. I got off the bike on some of the more technical sections, but I rode through most of it. Parts of the trail that I had never felt comfortable riding came a bit easier with the bike. The fact that the bike fits me is a huge plus, but the bike handles very well. It's responsive but not too much. It gives room for error.

Lost my number, but this was at one of the races at PCRS

So, I did the next most logical thing and I started racing it. I started racing in the Prairie City Mountain Bike Series and have been having a blast. Two of the three races that I've done have been a complete muddy mess. I've already had to change the pads on the bike. Hopefully I won't have to do it this week because the race was horribly (in every sense of the word) muddy and slippery. I've actually tried to go at faster speeds out in these weekly races. Like I said, the bike handles well. Prairie City is known for all of the baby heads, and while it's really rough without a shock, I don't feel unsafe. The bike is extremely impressive at how manageable it is even in really rough conditions. I've already ridden it in dry weather, semi-rainy weather (I rode it in Cool as well), deep sand at Folsom Lake (there's a video a few entries below), and twice in an absolutely slick mud-fest, and it has been fine. Like any bike on slick or sandy conditions, it will try to slide from underneath you, but it's easy to correct. At least it seems so comparing it to the Specialized bikes that I've ridden. Not raggin' on Specialized, just saying it's different... and I've crashed way less on the Leopard. Sooo...

C'mon! You can't say this doesn't look like fun!

One thing I'd like to try is riding this bike with a front shock. I don't like full suspensions; I like the hardtails (keep those jokes to yourself), so this bike is nearly perfect. It would be interesting to see how compatible this bike and I are with a front shock. I also need to try it out on the pump track.

What I'm trying to say is that if a strict roadie like me can hop on this bike, ride it, and win a couple of races with it (so far I've gotten two firsts and a second at Prairie City), then anyone can ride it. I mean, c'mon! It's a 26" with no shocks and I feel extremely comfortable riding it. I recommend a test ride on it; you won't be disappointed!

First Annual Town Center Criterium

On April 22nd, Folsom Bike hosted the Town Center Criterium in El Dorado Hills, CA. LeadOut Racing partnered up with Folsom Bike to put on the race, provide some muscle, and help with the course/venue. I, as usual, worked registration.

I got there at 5:20-ish am. Yeah. I woke up when it was nighttime. Who does that!? I didn't race until 8:05am, which meant I didn't get on the trainer until 7:30 or so, but I got there early to help Gene from Time Your Race, who did all of the registration and made it easy for racers and volunteers. No, really, this man works magic or something!

We set up, got a rush of racers registering, and kept things moving along and smoothly. We didn't get many cranky early-morning racers, which was good! I left the registration tent around 7am or so to change and warm-up. I went by the medic's tent, which is where my coach was since he was one of the medics at the race, and warmed up. My warm-up was plain crap. I felt tired, my legs felt like lead, and I wasn't really able to get my heart rate all that high even when I tried. Wah wah wah add some more whining. Awesome, only not. Looking at the women who were going to race with me, I figured I would get dropped about mid-race.

Copyright 2012 Alex Chiu Photography. . http://acaurora.smugmug.com 

All of the racers in the Women's 4 lined up, the official told us we were going to race for 40 minutes. Oh... OH! I thought I was racing for 30. Whatever. More time for these women to drop me. We had a mentor, whom I didn't know but she was awesome, and went off on a neutral lap, which was fast for a neutral lap and I felt like crap during it so hooray for me. (I would like some cheese). We did a rolling start, so when we were at the start/finish, the whistle was blown and off we went. I don't exactly know what the hell happened, but as soon as that whistle blew, my legs felt awesome. Off we went...

Copyright 2012 Alex Chiu Photography. http://acaurora.smugmug.com 

I was in the top 5 for a few laps. We kept going a bit, then I decided I wanted to play a little and attacked on the little hill we had. I got away for a bit but this wasn't a course where I would be able to solo breakaway for a long time without help, so I slowed down on the backside and tried to get on a wheel. We heard the prime bell and we ramped up the pace. $50? Okay! A Rio Strada girl and I sprinted for it, but I had sprinted too late and she got it. Kept on going, stayed in the top 3 or so and sometimes in the front. Another prime bell. Sprinted for it. Got it. $20. First time I've ever gotten $20 for a prime! After that prime I decided that I wanted to save some of my sprint for the end, so I didn't try for the last 2 primes. My coach was on the side hollering at me some strategies because, let's face it, I have no clue. For most of the time I tried to get on someone's wheel. I was able to do so in the corners by strategizing where I take my turn. Most of the girls kept taking the same lines, so I was pretty confident that they would keep the same lines throughout the race. I took some turns wide while some girls took them somewhat sharp, they would lose the wheel they were following, and oh hey! Look at that, the wheel they lost is now mine.

Copyright 2012 Alex Chiu Photography. http://acaurora.smugmug.com 

I somehow ended up in the front (I need to learn some patience) and one of my LeadOut Racing teammates, Kevin, told me to settle down a bit. Did the whole wide turn thing, heard my other teammate Matt hollering some strategy as well, then heard my coach. Got a wheel and kept about 4th or 5th wheel in the group. Coach said to stay in that spot (at least that's what I heard while my heart was trying to come out of my ears).

A Red Peloton girl and I broke away for a little and I told her, "Hey. Five second pulls. Let's go!"
"This is racing. There are no rules baby!" She responded. Wait what? Then she comes next to me and says, "I just realized what you said." We were cracking up... or at least as much as you can while you're at race pace.

We heard the last lap bell ring and we ramped up the pace. I was able to keep up with the surges, which surprised me and made me happy. Since my legs had that weird pain/knot/ihateyouwtf feeling, I haven't been able to keep up, but I did. I kept patient around the last lap. A Rio Strada girl took a wheel I was following, which put me fourth in the group. Came into the last turn, sharp, pedaled, sprinted. I was able to sprint the best I have since my injuries. I know that one of the Rio Strada girls and I threw the bike at the sprint since we were close, another Rio Strada girl won (the one who was first around the corner) and Tibco was in there as well. At the end of the race I figured I was 4th or 5th. Ugh. Another one of those spots. Whatever.

Picture that my friend, Natalie, took!

We went to the debriefing by our mentor, who was very happy with our race. She said we kept it safe and fast and that we took our lines well. Some of the girls came up to me and said I was strong and thanked me for a good race. Cool!

I went to talk to my coach, who seemed happy with how I rode. He gave me lots of feedback. I was happy that I was pain free and that I was able to sprint, but not happy that I got another 4th or 5th place.  Oh well. I went to get my $20. One of my friends, Natalie, came to watch me race so I talked to her for a bit too. I've never had a friend go to a race just to see me race, take pictures, and cheer, so I was super stoked that she went to the race! Thanks again, Natalie!

Back to the registration tent I went, where I was stoked about my $20 and went to cool down because my legs were shaky and I felt like I was going to puke. Oh good! At least I know I tried, right? Pfft. I cooled down a bit and people were asking me what my results were. I told them I didn't know and that I was waiting for Gene to finish with results, to which he then walked up to us and said, "Third." I didn't believe him because he had his Gene smirk but nope, there it was, 3rd!

So I told my coach, who also thought I got 4th or 5th due to the angle he was in. He looked as happy as I was! Woohoo! I didn't shame my coach out there (haha!). I then went back to the registration tent and as I was walking, the Red Peloton girl said, "Hey Kasea! 5 second pulls."
"There are no rules in racing, baby!" I replied to her. Good times for us.

I went back, drank some water, and chatted did some registration stuff. Then they had podiums and holy crap, I was on it! I was pretty happy with that... Hell, I still am!

The rest of the day went well. Not many crashes, registration went smoothly (for the most part), I was super tired, and we were all hungry. As Gene put it, "I'm running on muffins and coke!" I was able to watch some friends race, some wins and more podiums for them, which is awesome! I went on a break to watch the last half of the P/1/2 race and hung out with some old Team Revolutions teammates and my coach, where he talked to me a bit more about my training, which I'm excited about! Watched the end of the race, said my good-byes and thanked my coach, and went to tear down registration. After everything was done, Gene treated Jessica (another awesome registration girl) and me for some Thai food.


From what Strava says, I was able to get my sprint up to 30.7mph, almost got my heart to explode (199 bpm), and had a pretty good race average. It's a bit lower because I forgot to stop my Garmin after the race so it includes the "cool down" lap. Whatever, man.

It was a good race! I got on the podium, I was pain free, I won some cool stuff and $20, and I got some upgrade points! Now to repeat this so I can become a CAT 3 soon...

Thank you Folsom Bike for putting this on, and thanks LeadOut Racing for providing muscle, man/woman power, and registration people to make it all happen!