Just looked up the official rules on upgrading, and learned I have 4 upgrade points! I thought I'd only get 1 for Leland. 21 more to go.

Photo - Gavin Gould

Leland - Kermesse was on Saturday. Not only was the course a total soul-crusher [this is a good thing], Flatlandia really outdid themselves putting it on. Thanks, guys!

The women's fields were combined, but scored separately. We started with 34 racers - 11 in the 1,2,3 field. Flatlandia took early initiative, running a rotating paceline into the 25 mph crosswinds. I sat close behind. There were a number of super strong women in this race, so I wasn't at all sure how things would play out.

The course has three sections of gravel roads - long and treacherous with at most a single narrow strip you could ride safely, and that was rutted and unpredictable. I made sure I was near the front going in - smart move as Pony Shop's Jessica Hill [the 2009 cyclocross champ] hit it HARD - we flew down the dirt, inches apart, at 29 mph. When we emerged onto the pavement, four of us had a gap - Jessica, Kristen from Flatlandia, Janette from Cuttin' Crew and me. I WAS IN THE BREAK!

Photo - Gavin Gould

We organized ourselves quickly - with the crazy strong winds we had to cooperate to make this break stick, even with Kristen's teammates blocking the rest of the pack. For two laps, we rotated on the pavement and took care of each other on the gravel. As we began our fourth lap, we realized Jessica was gone - the big attacks on the first lap finally took their toll.

I wasn't in much better shape on that fourth lap, truth be told. And I really missed the rest a fourth person pulling through gives you. My legs had no snap left. I did my best not to let my fatigue show, but after a while, it was clear I was not a threat.

But my endorphins were having a party in my brain and I was filled with sentimental appreciation for my breakmates. I laughed at myself, but then Kristen said it out loud -'I love you guys! I want to give you both a big hug as soon as we cross the finish line!' Janette agreed - 'but until then, we're enemies!'

We rode into the finishing stretch three abreast. Janette jumped, Kristen was on her, I grabbed Kristen's wheel and stood up to sprint . . . and my legs said 'OH HEEEELL NO!' I sat back down and rode in third - my first podium as a cat 3! AND my first upgrade point. AND payout!

It was a super hard and super fun race. Thanks again, Flatlandia!

Photo - Steve Hansen

I've been organizing a training camp for my team's Women's Development Program. When I first joined xXx five years ago, the camp I attended in San Luis Obispo made such an impression on me - I learned SO much and just totally fell in love with the rigor of training for bike racing. I wanted to give this to the women on the team that couldn't come to SLO because of time and money constraints.

A number of the women on the team that I envisioned taking part in the camp can't attend for various reasons, but we still had so many sign up that we have to rent a second cabin. A lot of new faces just getting started - as wet behind the ears as I was at my first camp. I'm excited!

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Planning to race Leland-Kermesse on Saturday. 100k road race - flat and windy with long stretches of gravely dirt roads. I'm really looking forward to it. http://lelandkermesse.blogspot.com/

I did my fifth, sixth and seventh races this season over the weekend. Saturday was the 'Hell of Downstate', Hillsboro-Roubaix. The women's 123 race was 59 miles of narrow, bumpy, gravelly, twisty roads. We started with 47 racers - a handful intent on getting a free ticket to the prestigious Nature Valley race later this year.

Last year, I stuck with the pack for about 7 minutes - I was shelled ignominiously on the first hill. I made up some ground and had a good race overall, but not the race I wanted.

This year, I stuck with the pack for almost an hour. My pack skills still need work - I ended up sitting on the back where it's way too easy to get bounced right off. The second time that happened it stuck.

My teammate Heidi was gapped along with me, so we TTed together as the group got farther and farther away. We finished the first lap together, but were separated on the descent onto the bricks. I sighted another shelled racer in the distance and worked to catch. When I got her, we worked together and picked up two more women - one of whom we dropped quickly. I organized a rotating paceline and three of us caught up to a group of five - including Leah from Flatlandia and Kathy from Project 5, two racers I can't touch in a 30 minute crit. So now we had eight rotating through - until three, including Kathy, just disappeared off the back.

The five of us remaining worked together well. Until I realized one woman wasn't pulling through. When I gestured, she told me she was struggling just to stick with us and didn't have the energy. Well, this is a RACE - no one gets a free ride to the finish line. 'Everyone works' I said, and we stopped rotating. The girl on the front slowed down and we all rode silently for a couple minutes until the racer on the back recovered and rode up to the front. We all cooperated after that.

The feed hill was deserted when we got there. We went up together - I felt good and moved to the front easily. I pulled through the flat section and started up the second hill. Two of the women started pushing the pace and I countered. I got a little gap! I pushed HARD through the false flats at the top and then bombed the descent onto the bricks, opening up my lead. Then the interminable blocks of bricks - I didn't let up. I glanced back a few times and couldn't see anyone close. Onto the finishing stretch, I forced my legs to keep working. I stood up for the last 200 meters - and crossed the line 10 seconds ahead of the first chaser! I 'won' my group!

And finished 32nd overall.

All in all, a super fun, hard race. Next year - pack finish!

Haven't posted since cross season ended - sorry. I'm on my way to training camp tomorrow. Eight days in lovely San Luis Obispo, California, riding and riding and riding. We look forward to this all year long.

I'm really starting to get excited.

Cupcake Handup

Thanks to Luke Seemann for the photos!

Photo by John Wrycza.

Last year, Woodstock was a good race for me. I had second place tied up until I slid out in the last off-camber turn before the finishing stretch and ended up third - my best placing.

Pre-riding the almost identical course this year though, I felt really leaden. Totally low-energy. I couldn't muster the will to run the run-up or do more than step slowly over the barriers. Still, I rode it four times before the masters went off. Then I took a nap in my car.

I lined up after a lackluster warm-up - got a good spot thanks to my call-up - and didn't have a terrible start. Not a great start - I didn't get the hole shot or anything - but I didn't get trapped behind a whole bunch of slower riders either. And once I was out there, I didn't feel too bad at all.

By the last lap, I had caught and passed a number of riders, and had my two teammates, Natalie and Courtney, in sight. I haven't been close to Courtney since Jackson Park. In the maze, Kathy from Project 5 and a junior crashed and the three of us xXxers got in front of her. I worked hard to catch and pass Natalie, but she's SO much better at the barriers than I, I kept falling back. After the run-up, I could see she was faltering - and I should have sprinted around her then - but once we got into the finishing turns, there was no opportunity to pass and she out-sprinted me. We finished third, fourth and fifth - so I finally broke into the top five!

Photo by John Wrycza

I was so buzzed after that, I was excited to race the men's 4bs. I'm not much for beer, so I brought a leftover bottle of Canadian Club [aren't all bottle of Canadian Club sort of left over?] and disposable shot glasses. I like whiskey, I like handups, this seemed like a great combination.

There were two other women in the men's race this week, my teammate Courtney and Katie from Spidermonkey. We got called up to the front of the line along with the Turin guy in the Turkey suit. Heh. I got a pretty good start again, but did get held up behind the Turin turkey for a third of the lap. But once around, I made up some ground. A bunch of guys passed me, but I also passed a few of them back. It was a fast, fun race.

The hecklers were all stationed at the run-up after the second barrier. Dozens of people taunting racers with SPAM, pixie sticks, beer, twizzlers, cupcakes, candy orange slices, cheeto's and, yes, whiskey. On my second lap I got a red velvet mini cupcake - yum. Except for the frosting all over my brake levers. Third lap I spotted the whiskey and grabbed a shot glass, downed the contents and tossed the glass over my head. Went down easy. And then rapidly made me downright tipsy and a bit dizzy. Whisky has quite an effect with your heart rate at 90%. Seriously, its a BAD idea.

I grappled with that for a while - until I realized Courtney was just ahead of me. I managed to pass her in the start/finish stretch, but she got right on my wheel and stayed there to the barriers, where she got right around me and back on her bike while I was still stepping over the second barrier. I chased hard and got close again - but we hit the barrier at heckle hill, and again she proved way more adept than I and opened up a little gap. I again attempted to close before we crossed the road into the off-camber turns, but just couldn't quite make it. She passed another rider and he got in my way a bit - and then he too put in a big final effort and finished ahead of me.

I ended up 38 out of 75 - which I was mighty pleased with. No more whiskey handups, though.