The Everyday Athlete

It’s here.  The Crusade is upon us.  Tomorrow morning.
We ventured out last night to Portland Velo’s First Friday gathering at the Lucky Lab and then over the Roots Brewing Company for the Cross Crusade Kickoff Party.  The ‘crossers were out in force.  Rabid.  Frothing.

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There’s only one word for it.
When the remnants of a typhoon from Japan hit Portland on the same day as the USGP in Portland, the result can only be referred to as epic.
The morning is black and cold and we pull into the parking lot before the sun rises.  Wind-whipped and wet, we help Ty […]

Sunday was epic.  Absolutely, insanely epic.
Rain in sheets, mud in streams, skinny roadie boys shivering post-race. 
It was a day for the books.  Four Portland Velo tents, one tiny heater, a row of trainers.

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I’m stroking the saddle of an extremely tall, orange Kona when a shadow falls over my hand.  I become aware of a tower in front of me, blocking the low-hanging winter sun.
I look up and pull my hand away.
"Were you just petting my saddle?"
It’s Ryan Trebon, standing there looking like the mutant super-tower, rail-thin powerhouse […]

Race Report is Imminent!

 
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We are supposed to be a squad.  Four Portland Velo women dressed as death-squad cheerleaders from hell.
It’s going to be great.
I pick up my makeshift cheer outfit the night before we leave for the race in my standard last-miute pre-Hallween panic.  To my shock and horror, the short, pleated skirt and sleeveless polyester top makes […]

I’m whooped.
My legs are fried.
For now, the picture book version of the race weekend. 

I pre-rode the course and realized I was undergeared (actually, I realized this at Horning’s, but I didn’t change my front chainring).
Good friend Gregg came to the rescue and gave me the 40 (I was running a 42) off of his pit […]

I don’t really know how to race a bike, but I do know how to suffer.
Yesterday I proved that:
At 5:00 in the morning an alarm goes off on the other side of the bed and I lay perfectly still. There are rules in this household and one of those rules is that the The […]

There was a thread in the Cross Crusades forums last week about pre-race nutrition. I neglected to chime in, but I thought I’d share my nutritional preparation strategies here.
My diet is typically about 30% carbs, 30% fat, and 40% protein. If you know your macronutrients well, you’ll notice that it’s a pretty low-carb […]

A quick update to yesterday’s race report, and some video candy.
Turns out I placed 19th in a field of 58 which isn’t as terrible as I’d thought. Hell, I’ll even go so far as to say that I’m happy about it! And in case you’re one of those readers who has no idea […]