Speed Week: Life on the road

Posted on by Lindsay
[caption id="attachment_4210" align="alignnone" width="614"] Getting ready to unload the team van at another hotel. This time, Mary and I waited in the van and debated the merits of just sitting there all night until it was time to transfer to the next hotel.[/caption] [caption id="attachment_4211" align="alignnone" width="614"] Our Rudy Project bags overloaded the sad luggage cart so badly the tires refused to roll. Jordan's solution: more air pressure.[/caption] [caption id="attachment_4213" align="alignnone" width="614"] Welcome to the south.[/caption] [caption id="attachment_4217" align="alignnone" width="459"] More southern comfort. Not pictured: me. While the team bathed in grease at Waffle House, I caught up on work at Starbucks.[/caption] [caption id="attachment_4214" align="alignnone" width="575"] Iona and the dachshund from the Spartanburg hotel having a moment. I've never seen somebody so excited by a 4" tall dog.[/caption] [caption id="attachment_4208" align="alignnone" width="461"] An over-caffeinated Jamie decided that Mary (aka Scoots) needed constant attention this morning. That resulted in Scoots exploding ...continue reading.

Speed Week: A little bit of a clunker

Posted on by Lindsay
The Race: Speed Week NCC Downtown Walterboro Criterium The Course: 25 laps The Field: 1/2 women The Finish: Upright I won Walterboro in a 2-rider breakaway last year, so it felt good to come back here and revisit the scene of such a great experience. That confidence lasted until the first corner of the race, when I realized I was riding like a hot mess. My legs were fine, but my head wasn't in the right place - instead of sitting strong at the front of the field and railing corners, I felt unsteady and sloppy. Corners that would normally have been nothing felt ungainly, and I kept losing ground and ending up in the gutter. An early crash caused by a bad rut in the pavement before turn three took down one rider hard and neutralized the race, which didn't do much for my unsettled nerves. After the restart, I pulled my ...continue reading.

Speed Week: Team Colavita for the win

Posted on by Lindsay
The Race: Speed Week NCC Coastal Empire Cycle Fest Criterium The Course: 40  laps The Field: 1/2 women The Finish: We won! This race, set right against the beach in Tybee Island, GA, was new to the Speed Week calendar. The course was a basic rectangle, but with narrow sides and some significant pavement features in the corners like ruts and manhole covers. We pre-rode the course that morning and found the best and safest lines through the turns. Once the race started, Colavita began our usual routine of covering attacks and making moves. I ended up off the front with a small gap once or twice, but nothing stuck. There were some other moves that looked mildly threatening, but always ended up coming back. Towards the later part of the race, a rider attacked and Laura (from Colavita) jumped right on her wheel. The two got away with Erin Silliman from Fearless ...continue reading.

Speed Week: Between the races

Posted on by Lindsay
[caption id="attachment_4172" align="alignnone" width="614"] In the team van on the way to Tybee Island. The theme of most of these photos is "Laura Gone Wild". The theme of this van ride was "No Calorie Left Uneaten" - we collectively ate throughout the entire 4-hour drive and stopped for dinner.[/caption] [caption id="" align="alignnone" width="614"] Stopping to refuel. You can't take us anywhere.[/caption] [caption id="" align="alignnone" width="461"] This is the third time on this drive that the bucket of bike-washing supplies flew out the back of the van and shattered on the ground. This time, the full cooler crashed down on top of the bucket and we all lost our shit and exploded into hysterical laughter.[/caption] [caption id="" align="alignnone" width="461"] Laura was laughing the hardest and then got a little concerned about the side effects.[/caption] [caption id="" align="alignnone" width="614"] Team Colavita out for a pre-race spin. Or not, as it would appear.[/caption] ...continue reading.

Speed Week: When it rains, it pours

Posted on by Lindsay
The Race: Speed Week NCC Historic Roswell Criterium The Course: 60 minutes on a 1.32 mile loop with a few sharp corners The Field: 1/2 women The Finish: Jen brought home 4th place, I'm the Speed Week lap leader I'm unmotivated to write race reports (and a little busy juggling work and Speed Week), so I'll let VeloNews.com recap the race. When they say "all-day deluge", they aren't kidding; there was so much water coming down from the sky and up from the ground/wheels that we were often barely able to see. I was anxious about safety going into the race, but once we got started, I stopped worrying and started railing the corners and attacking repeatedly to keep the pace high and the field working. It felt great and a little crazy. While we weren't able to make it onto the podium, Jen got just that much closer, sprinting into a very solid ...continue reading.

Speed Week: And so it begins again

Posted on by Lindsay
The Race: Speed Week NCC Terrapin Twilight Criterium The Course: 40 laps of a 4-corner course The Field: 1/2 women The Finish: Our sprinters brought home 6th and 7th This was my third time racing this crit and it's still exciting to get to the course and see the huge party unfolding on the streets of downtown Athens. After the usual pre-race preparation and nerves (including a much-needed overdose of motivating espresso), we rolled onto the course for staging and call-ups. My favorite moment was when the announcer called out, "From the Colavita/Fine Cooking team, she won this race in 2004 and has multiple national championship titles..." and Tina Pic, 2004 winner of the race and multi-time national champion, looks at me and says, "Is that me??" Tina, you are adorable. The race started fast and stayed active throughout with attacks from Exergy, Primal, NOW, and my own team. My job ...continue reading.