Racers and Chasers and Beers, oh YEAH

It wasn't that long ago (about 2-3 years) that I thought it was a little crazy for someone to be out on their bike 5-6 days a week because they WANTED to be, and not because someone was in their ear telling them to be for whatever reason. I never looked at riding a bike as something other than either a leisurely activity or, on the extreme end of it, something that consumed your life because it was your job.. like it is for Lance and all the other cyclists on the tour. I'm sure that probably sounds dumb and extremely naive but I honestly never knew there was such a huge range of riders. What can I say, I grew up with AYSO soccer, volleyball and lots of baseball!! Basically anything on a court or on a field, we played it. Trails and courses were only good for camping, and roads were only good for driving on to get to those courts. But once I started learning all about bikes and the cycling world from Ryan, an addiction to them became fathomable to me. I couldn't actually picture myself getting addicted to any form of it to be honest, but I could see how someone would....

Last week though, I think I might have. :) I started off with a short road ride (and I mean REALLY short- 18 miles up and down PCH). My plan was to get in 25 miles by doing the loop from Ryan's apartment to Long Beach and back at a solid pace (which for me is about 19mph on a good day going solo) but about 20 minutes in I saw some lady off the side of the road with her bike flipped on its handlebars. Not sure why since she only had a flat... but whatever. So, I stopped and asked if she needed help but wasn't expecting her to say yes... Ryan has shown me how to do it once before, but he's always been there to fix any actual flats I've gotten! Anyway she just had a flat on her back wheel and surprisingly, I fixed it up for her!! It only took me probably 20 minutes to do it.... oops. but the point is, I did. :) So after that I decided to make it a time-trial ride and just charge it the whole way back so I wouldn't get too far behind on my work day. Felt good. Wednesday morning I got my 25 mile ride in and just totally cruised. It was weird but I never got out of warm-up mode and actually really enjoyed taking it easy (I averaged a molasses-paced 17mph). It was one of those care-free rides that felt great during the middle of the week, but something I don't plan on doing again for a long time. I followed both rides up with an hour of pilates at lunch and felt the strongest I have at one of those classes, so I'm sure riding was a great warm up for that and something I plan on keeping up on. I think it helps my form out a ton, giving me better results in my core. Thursday morning I did my first solo mountain bike ride but I already went into that in my last post... so I reached my goal of 3 rides + 2 pilates classes during the week- might sound ridiculous to some, but that was the most I've ridden in 5 days before. So I was happy about that. Baby steps, right? :)

Friday night, Ryan and I headed out to Carlsbad to crash at James and Beth's place for Racers and Chasers the next morning (4th of July). We were all scheduled to start around 8 so we got up around 4 and pulled up to the site around 6:30. And we were basically the ONLY ones there besides the volunteers. It was... awkward. But kinda funny. At the end of the day, there was a decent turn out. Thank god there was, not only for better competition but for the volunteers- you could tell they put a TON of time into it, so we were happy to see their work pay off when more racers showed up before the start. Since this was the first year of this race/location, we didn't really know what to expect in terms of the # or racers and for the course itself. They started building the course 2 weeks ago and had just completed it so we were thinking it would be beginner-friendly, which it definitely was. It wasn't very technical, which I like for a race.. but it was freakin sandy as hell!!! It was a totally different challenge of a course for all of us because we're used to either super packed-in fire road and/or single track or somewhat rocky terrain (or both!) throughout our local trails, and not sand. I think the 4 of us were irritated with it as we pre-rode a lap and tried to push through all the resistance, but at the end of the day, I think we all agreed that it was a great opportunity to work on the weaknesses that come out in a course like that. I have to admit though, I'd be saying that after ANY course at this point... I really do need to work on everything!! But that's expected. My time was about 1:10:something and I'm happy with it, but not thrilled. Happy that both laps were almost exactly the same considering my first lap was horrendous; I got off and hiked-a-bike way too many times because I couldn't pedal hard enough to get around people at first, so I was winded early on and tried to make up time too quickly, just making my 2nd lap an awkward struggle for air and a slower heart rate... So considering how out of it I was on the 2nd lap, I'm glad it wasn't slower than my first. But the point is, both laps should have been much better and more thought-out in the first place!! Something to keep in mind for the next race, for sure. Anyway we all had a lot of fun in the early heat before celebrating the 4th, and team tall and team small pulled through again to reach podium! (Beth 1st, James 4th, Ryan 2nd, me 2nd).

action shots! (from james' blog and chan photography)



daaa boys.


love the vest, james!


this picture cracks me up for some reason.. but also makes me very proud. :)


daaaa girls.


After the race Beth and James took us over to Stone Brewing Co. for a really awesome lunch and some beer tasting. Even though I think we got the only bad server at the place (haha poor Ryan, got his beers screwed up twice), it was magically delicious. Seriously, the food was great, the whole place had really cool architecture throughout (they even have a Stone Garden outside!) and obviously their beers were really good. Even of their stronger/hoppier beers, I was fan. On our way out, we picked up some gear- pint glasses for Ryan, and a gargoyle shirt for each of us. We hopped in the pool when we got back and Ryan definitely took charge of the entertainment... with the help of a little too much liquid courage... and let's just say we didn't get to see the fireworks this year. :( I'll be a good fiance and spare him of posting the details on my blog!!! so all I can say is maybe next year...haha. All in all, it was another great weekend with Beth and James and a great 4th of July.

Next up: finalizing a training plan for the Long Beach Tri that will get me feeling ready and healthy for race day, and continuing to build endurance/strength on the bike. I think sticking with 3 rides and pilates twice during the week would be a great way to do this without offsetting the balance I finally found between family/Ryan time, work and all the other stuff. So we'll see how it all pans out. Hope everyone had a great 4th of July!!