Meet Me in St. Louis

Posted on by Lindsay
The Race: Tour de Grove The Course: 60-minutes on a 1.2-mile, triangle-shaped course The Field: 1/2 women The Finish: Gasping and limping post-leadout Team Colavita is focusing on NCC events this season and decided a few weeks ago to send a small squad to the Tour de Grove to earn points for the overall NCC competition. It’s been a long season of travel already and this weekend was to be my first one at home in six weeks, but when asked if I’d be interested in representing the team in St. Louis, I didn’t hesitate. I was joined by Jen, our sprinter, and Whitney, recent team addition after her strong showing at Speed Week. [caption id="attachment_4258" align="alignnone" width="612"] Whitney debuting the Colavita kit for the first time.[/caption] The course was a triangle with two very long/wide sides and a corner leading into the start/finish stretch that was more like a U-turn. While the ...continue reading.

Speed Week: This end is just the beginning

Posted on by Lindsay
The Race: Speed Week NCC Sandy Springs Cycling Classic Criterium The Course: 40 laps with a bunch of corners and an uphill finish The Field: 1/2 women The Finish: 2nd place team overall Wow. I can't believe my third Speed Week is already over. Four flights, seven races in seven cities, five hotels, five nights at my team director's house, many hours in the team van, a lot more rain and cool weather than expected, gallons of coffee, and more laps than I would ever want to count. No meals at Waffle House. SUCCESS! That being said, I did have chicken & waffles, grits, collard greens, and beef jerky. I also ate more coconut peanut butter than any person ever should, discovered that Puffins are delicious, and solidly maintained my role as the person on the team who eats the most. As for the final race, there were good parts and bad. I ...continue reading.

Speed Week: Now that was a bike race

Posted on by Lindsay
The Race: Speed Week NCC Belmont Criterium The Course: 25 miles, one long climb through the start/finish and descending the rest of the time The Field: 1/2 women The Finish: Strong! 5th, 6th, 9th Belmont was a new addition to Speed Week and offered a great course with a long climb set in a cute town. Team Colavita's goal was to work together better as a team throughout the race and play off each other strategically. The race started in the middle of the climb and after the initial surge, I settled in near the front of the field. After a handful of laps, Starla Teddergreen attacked following a prime and Jen and Jamie jumped on it. It was a perfect response and a promising break. When Teresa Cliff-Ryan jumped to join it, I knew it would hold until the end. A lap or two later, another rider (Whitney Schultz) attacked to bridge and ...continue reading.

Speed Week: A continual learning curve

Posted on by Lindsay
The Race: Speed Week NCC Spartanburg Regional Classic Criterium The Course: 50 laps of a 4-corner course The Field: 1/2 women The Finish: Top 10 Speed Week continues to be unseasonably chilly and damp, and the evening of the Spartanburg Crit was no exception. A grey, cool day turned windy and wet during our warm up and when we staged on the course, everything was unnervingly slick. I started on the front row thanks to my lap leader call-up and jumped on the whistle to settle comfortably into third wheel. The fifty laps were largely uneventful - attacks were short-lived and I focused on riding efficiently and not wastefully burning matches. Our director taught us a few tricks before the race to help with this and I was excited to see that they worked. While I'm not going to share trade secrets, I will say that part of it is learning to ride ...continue reading.

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.