March 30, 2008

Brisbane Highlands Circuit Race, CA
7th, April Hamlin, Women 4
35th, Sherri Lehman, Women 4

Ford Ironman 70.3, Oceanside, CA

March 30, 2008

cali703ironman

Ford Ironman 70.3, Oceanside, CA

45/82, Jessica Moytl, Women 25-29
25/117, Stacy Dietrich, Women 30-34
27/117, Raja Lahti, Women 30-34
32/117, Stacy Schlocker, Women 30-34
36/87, Theresa Espinosa, Women 40-44
46/87, Christine Silcox, Women 40-44

March 30, 2008

Coyote Classic MTB
1st, Shannon Gibson, Pro Women

TBF XTERRA Real Mountain Bike Triathlon
4th, Anna Holden-Martz, Female 25-29

CCCX MTB #4, Fort Ord, CA
4th, Daphne Hodgson, Sport Women, 45+

March 28-30

March 30, 2008

San Dimas Stage Race, CA

Stage One–Mountain Time Trial
28th, Marian Hunting, Women 3/4

Stage Two–Road Race
37th, Marian Hunting, Women 3/4

Stage Three–Old Town Classic
35th, Marian Hunting, Women 3/4

Overall General Classification
34th, Marian Hunting, Women 3/4

March 29, 2008

Sierra Point Criterium, CA
1st, Andrea Monroe, Women 3
10th, Soni Andreini Poulsen, Women 3

Orosi Road Race, CA
7th, Sue Lovecchio, Women 3/4
9th, Laura Sanchez, Women 3/4

March 27-30, 2008

March 27, 2008

NMBS #1, Fontana, CA
38th, Alex Fabbro, Pro WomenXC
11th, Alex Fabbro, Pro Women Super D

March 22, 2008

Copperopolis Road Race, CA
6th, Marian Jamison, Women 3
13th, April Hamlin, Women 4
8th, Soni Andreini Poulsen, Women 30+
11th, Julie Porter, Women 30+
18th, Ryan Hostetter, Women 1/2

Wind and Milkshakes

March 21, 2008

By Marian Jamison

Reno, Nevada

See how stoked I am to ride in 30 mph winds?

So! After leaving Reno at 6am, chaining up my poor little truck, and driving through the snow to meet up with my dad in Grass Valley, I managed to arrive at Land Park in Sacramento with plenty of time to warm up and register and talk to the ladies.

There were, um, four Bellas in the 1,2,3s. Katie, Soni, Ryan and myself. We were all pretty active and rode well and put in attacks. I attacked at one point and opened up a few feet of real estate between myself and the pack, but immediately cracked (ouch) and was caught. We chatted prior to the race about setting up Ryan for the finish. As we were going into the last lap I found myself next to Soni totally blocked out from attacking or doing anything worthwhile. I managed to reposition myself into the top ten-ish as we approached the last turn, but realized upon looking around that there was no one around me to lead out. And . . . I let myself get bullied in the last turn and lost about 10 places, then lost a few more in the sprint. But I was happy to see Ryan sprinting ahead of me.

It was fun, though, and I was proud to see all the Bellas riding so strong and aggressively. Plus, it was gorgeous down there. It’s hard to be unhappy on a day like that.

I thought I had a really good idea of where the Zamora road race was, having raced the course two years ago as a collegiate race, but I was wrong, and failed to print out directions. As it turned out though, I didn’t want to warm up in the damn wind anyway, so getting there on time would have been just silly. I feel that it was better driving around on farming roads telling my dad, “Oh, it’s out this way, I’m sure. See, this is right where the climb is . . . oh, wait . . . hmm . . . maybe we should have turned right back there . . .” But, we found it. Whew!

There were four of us again – myself, Katie, Soni, and Sarah. Did I mention it was windy? Oh, I didn’t? Well, it was windy!!!

I was feeling pretty good, but picked the wrong wheel heading up the KOM climb, which is more of a hill than a mountain. So . . . a little gap opened up between the girl in front of me and the pack, and then I was flailing around in the wind with an ever growing gap between myself and where I wanted to be. There was a small group behind me, so I slowed up a little bit so they could catch on, and then started hammering. It ended up being just me and one other girl, who I told, “We can catch them!” even though I didn’t think that was very likely. But, lo and behold, we did. And on the head-wind stretch no less! But when we came to the KOM hill again, I was off the back. Again. Hmm.

This time there was clearly no catching back on. I TT’d it for about half a lap, then caught up to two girls who’d also gotten dropped, then we broke apart on the KOM hill again. Damn. Almost a whole lap in the wind by myself before I was caught by a group of 4 who were hammering to stay away from a larger group behind them. So, we hammered to the finish and I ended up 2nd in the sprint, which was more of a long fast wind-out before the line. Sarah was with the lead group, and I think Katie and Soni were with the larger group behind me.

It was a hard day! And anyone racing out there is tough tough tough. I’m super proud of my teammates.

On a side note, at Snelling, which was my last race, I think the biggest problem (other than my legs, my lungs, my back, and the supposed “cold” that I claim to have had) was just getting bummed out by riding in the wind and not being able to stick with the lead group. Today I was determined to stay positive and happy and not get crabby, and it worked! I was even happy when I was TTing into the head wind trying to keep my speed above 12 mph. Haha. Really though, it made all the difference.

And then I drank a milk shake. Mmmm . . . milk shake . . .

THE OFFICIAL VELO BELLA CYCLIST CODE OF CONDUCT

March 21, 2008

Completely stolen from The Guiver/Flavill Enterprise

1. Image and style shall be your primary concern. When suffering, one must focus first on maintaining a cool, even composure, and second on performance. Winning races is an added talent, and only counts if said velo bella cyclist wins with appropriate style.

2. You shall NEVER, under any circumstances, wear plain black spandex shorts or any team kit containing non-prominent Velo Bella Logo’s.

3. The Socks must extend no less than 2cm below the main bulge of your calf muscle, and shall never extend further than 1cm past the primary calf muscle bulge. All socks shall be pink in colour with prominent logo placement.

4. Cycling shoes must be of pink colour only!
-in certain circumstances, other colours, such as world
cup stripes are perfectly acceptable and encouraged.
-Red shoes are NOT ENDORSED by this group.

5. If pink cycling shoes are not available where you reside, pink booties with prominent logos shall always be worn.

6. You’re bike frame must contain more than 3 colours, and must always fit tastefully with your wheel selection.

7. Zipp’s are to be used as training wheels ONLY. You shall race only on pink Lightweights and occasionally pink Bora’s if no lightweights are accessible.

8. Ridiculously stylish eye wear is to be worn at all time without exception. Along with pink fluff and pearls.

9. In most circumstances, hair shall be kept tied back with pink or blue girly stuff, and matching helmet shall be worn (again with prominent logo placement). Under NO CIRCUMSTANCES shall a clashing helmet colour be worn with your velo bella kit.

10. In several cases, it is deemed acceptable to have short hair. In this event, hair shall be neatly slicked back in maximum velo bella-styling, and helmet shall be worn with fluff attached. Stylish sport eyewear shall be worn at all times while exercising this option.

11. A prominent line where your kit ends and where your tan begins is essential to your image. Artificial tanning is banned, the tan shall reflect the level of training commitment.

12. All podium shots (pictures) shall be taken with the velo bella-rider wearing team kit and appropriately matching casual velo bella shoes (such as flip flops). Socks shall remain within the guidelines above. The rider is expected to display an appropriate amount of cleavage (if available) while receiving kisses/trophy.

13. The seat shall ALWAYS be pink along with the handlebar tape, and must be made in Italy or France.
– Exceptions to this rule are seats or handlebar tape
containing the following colours: Blue,
Olympic Gold, French flag colour combo.

14. You shall not, under any circumstances, acknowledge the presence of a cyclist riding a bike costing less than $4000 USD in a public place. This could be severely detrimental to your image.

15. Legs will be SHAVED year-round. ABSOLUTELY NO EXCEPTIONS. In some cases, certain hair removal creams endorsed by succesful bella’s are deemed to be acceptable.

16. A rider will ALWAYS have liniment applied to her legs before appearing in public.

17. Facial hair will be restricted to one or two hairs, and even this is discouraged. Moustaches are EXPRESSLY PROHIBITED.
The only exception to the facial hair shall be very SHORT sideburns–these are acceptable at the discretion of Kate or a similar authority figure, on a case-by-case basis.

18. Pink ceramic bearings shall be used at all time on both training and race bikes.

19. Any physical activity, other than cycling, is STRONGLY DISCOURAGED. This includes any form of work or housecleaning and their derivatives (this includes mowing).

20. You shall never rearrange your package while riding. Adjustments regarding seating/hanging comfort are to be done in private in order to preserve image. ***Disregard***

21. In a circumstance where any cyclist ever displays aggression or disrespect towards you, you shall ride up uncomfortably close to them and slap them in the face with your team issue gloves. (Which must be pink/blue/black)

22. In the event a motorist disturbs your ride, you shall proceed to ride up beside the car, form a clenched fist and bang the trunk of the car while doing your best attempt to sound irritated in French. Wild arm/head are strongly encouraged to enhance the apparent rage. Sometimes crying really loud helps.

23. Training is based solely on feel while racing is be guided by sensations and instinct. A real Bella cyclist never gives in to scientific training methods.

25. ALL BIKES shall feature personalized nameplates next to ones home town located on the top-tube within 10 cm seat-tube ON ONE SIDE ONLY.

26. Pedals MUST be either Speedplay, Time, or Look. No other pedals are to be considered and ANY form of Shimano product is STRICTLY FORBIDDEN. If one is found possessing Shimano pedals, title of Bella cyclist will be stripped immediately.

27. Coffee is a necessity and as such must be consumed strong (ie. espresso) on a patio in Italy in full kit, it shall be drunk black. Sugar is STRONGLY FROWNED UPON. The only milk present shall appear frothed on top (if at all). Of course Baileys is considered an cream full of nutrients and should be used as a post ride recovery drink.

28. All pre and post-race activity will be conducted under a gazebo (this includes massage, interviews, and looking fantastic) leaving one in reasonable distance of the NY-sun to top up your enviable tanlines or pose for photo’s.

29. Post-race, you must be utterly tied to your mobile phone, making endless calls to your incredibly attractive euro-boyfriend or important executives from modelling agencies. This will be done under the protection of the post race gazebo.

30. ABSOLUTELY NO FORM of seatbag, frame pump, mud guard or mirror shall come within 2 meters of the bike.

31. Team bikes will be built up so that they violate the UCI weight limit, in order that weights might be attached to the frame to demonstrate its superiority and lightness.

32. Pink bar tape shall be kept in pristine pink condition and NEVER extend further than 3cm past the hoods (exception during spring classics, where standard bar tape wrapping is allowed). This state shall be achieved either through daily cleansing or frequent replacement. These jobs will NEVER be performed by the cyclist as you must maintain your image.

33. Motivational music during training MUST consist of Alanis Morisset, or deep-trance hard-style london techno hereby known as Chomba Wamba. NO EXCEPTIONS.

34. Nothing short of a pink fluff (manufactured by Micheals, joan fabrics) will be used. The only exception is special blue or black fluff which can be preferable in some situations (such as jen our tomboy) where colour coordination is key. Ex. black cage with pink/blue team kit.

35. A pearl necklace is STRONGLY recommended for mountain races, stage races and citizen races.

36. While soloing in for a victory, you will ensure your jersey is fully zipped and straight, so all title sponsors are clearly visible. You will then smile and flex arms while pointing skywards. The projection of ones fatigue is EXPLICITLY FORBIDDEN in ALL CIRCUMSTANCES.

37. When appearing in a photo spread for sponsor’s products, one shall appear either fully nude or in full Armani little black dresses. Smiling is prohibited in these instances.

39. And lastly, make sure you notice every other woman out there riding against you, drooling over the fact that you are on the most fun team with the coolest looking kit! Bella’s rock.

March 20, 2008

Hanford Criterium, CA
2nd, Natasha Perry, Women
11th, Ryan Hostetter, Women
12th, Erika Donald, Women
13th, Tracie Nelson, Women
19th, Linda Locke, Women

Next Page »