And on to the Next

Transition between worlds and here I am Montreal for the Grand Tour of Montreal! Made some fitness progress in the last few weeks so here I go. At least I am fresh and motivated and on the way up not on the way down. Racing with Equipes Cascades, a great team of young talents based in Montreal. I am super psyched. Maybe I will even learn some French. Super hard four-day five-stage race with some of the best Euro teams. Generally an exercise in survival, but the team could have a few cards to play. Then on to PEI. Taking a vacation from e-life except maybe I will tend to the blog.

Finishing One Endeavor

Memorial Day this year brought not Somerville but graduation. What a pageant - there was even a scepter on the podium intended to confer some sort of divine right of Yale. But ceremony can be good in how it brings closure, plus my Forestry School has a proud tradition of cap decoration (orange flowers pictured), complete with steel drum band to accompany marching. We certainly seemed to be having more fun than other schools. Great to see my mom and my brother, in from Alaska. Training at odd hours brought delights such as early morning rides in cold rain and lightning, only to have the day clear completely shortly after. I'll miss New Haven!

Baby Steps in Wilmington

I was pretty frustrated with my ride at Wilmington, because I actually had some legs and did not get the most out of them, absolutely a step backwards in my quest for the holy grail of savvy bike racing. I was surprisingly nervous, even scared, about my first NRC race and first crit in a year, one with some fast corners that threatened crashes even though they were straightforward 90-degree bends. I had not expected this fear and did not welcome it - suddenly it added a whole new dimension to the already tough process of trying to get myself back into the mix. So I frittered energy at the front early (mistake 1), embarrassing to say even went for a prime (mistake 2), then moved just slightly too far back (mistake 3) and narrowly missed crashing when some people decided to have a big pile-up on a downhill straightaway. Instead of the calmness advisable in such situations, I was a picture of panic. I did think to lay the bike down with my forced un-clipping, then cut the course to the pit (where was it? - mistake 4) through an ally containing an inflated jumping carnival game (name?), causing moms to quickly sweep up their children playing in my determined course. I arrived at the pit, so worked up that I did not even realize when I leaped back in that I had forgotten my free lap - just cut off half the course. No wonder there had been so little time! Back in the race but edgy and with worse positioning. A rider gapped me off and that was it - I could not close. In a group that could not rotate effectively and honestly not feeling to good, having blown up. Officials kept us in the race since we were still in the money, but when we got lapped a few riders from my group of fifteen or so leaped back into the race, and I got stuck with those who sat up (mistake 5 - got to know my crit rules, be alert in such situations!). Then I blew up and rode in, just annoyed with myself and wishing I had been able to get a result and win some money. Places 14 and up were lapped riders! I was 26th. Action looked exciting at the front. LVG and Lassasso riding great together for the win. Looking on the positive side, if I compare to last month not last year I should be rejoicing at my improvement, and maybe I got some fear over and done. Skipped BikeJam Sunday and rode an epic hilly ride in the Berkshires - Bash Bish and new favorite Oxbow. Two weeks to get ready for some HARD racing. No joke here. It's going to be tough. At least school is over!

Looking Ahead

Yesterday I finally gave the ix-nay to the computer (finishing school has involved catching up on all sorts of neglected tasks/new projects and I have been crazily busy) and enjoyed nearly a whole day of bike tinkering and adventure. In the morning I went for a small dog-walking hike with a friend up East Rock, the New Haven park I often extol. Then I was off to the bike shop to test ride a frame. It would be good to ride before the training race later in the day, since the past two days I'd been wasted and ridden at a snail pace. Riding out to East Rock through the campus on undergraduate move-out day, we found a student's wallet in the road. We stopped at school to email the owner and headed out again. Next up, approaching the top of East Rock we encountered plumes of smoke crossing the road, a pile of leaves on the roadside ablaze (probably from a cigarette). My friend called 911 as I used my bike water-bottle to try to put out the edge of the fire (maybe the size of a queen bed), and flagged down cars to get water from them. A construction worker with a big cooler of water stopped and quelled the fire. Then oddly, as he hopped back in his truck after this good Samaritan dead, he tossed an emptied plastic water bottle out the window. Ok, save the park from a big fire, then litter... Police and a fire engine came. Back to the shop, wallet reclaimed, then I dropped my chain leaving the shop. Turns out my derailleur pulleys were totally wrecked. Bob replaced them and I rode home then jumped in the car to drive to Bethel to race the summer series crit. The weather was awesome and the atmosphere of the race is like a big picnic, with families watching and music. SO FUN to race with the guys and in such a smooth field! Plus I was feeling starting to feel like a bike racer. I followed one guy over the top on the 3rd-to-last lap (the break already long up the road), and the next time up the hill I blew royally. But it's really good to determine the breaking point incrementally in a practice setting. From here, it's on to Wilmington for my first NRC race of the year!

Racing Roundup

The blog got relegated to the status of reward as I was finishing up my thesis, and now suddenly a month has passed! Perhaps I’ve accumulated some substance. The journey through uncharted fitness territory continues. The golden opportunity is to emerge a much improved racer by learning how to do well even when I am not strong, but getting clobbered in regional races is demanding some patience. Next after Battenkill was Quabbin, a gorgeous single loop of rolling hills around Boston’s water supply. The field was not as deeply stacked and the hills were longer and more gradual. The selection occurred about 9 miles in on a gradual climb. I missed the split but when it started to look like it would stick I was able to go across by riding steady hard. From there I was doing things like focusing on pedaling as little as possible (actually I coasted for a quarter of the race – how unlike me!), delighted to be in this front group. I wasn’t too sure that I’d be able to force a break later in the race, and did not want to invite a slugfest of attacking when top end is my major fitness limitation and when the Anthem team had three or four riders in the group. In retrospect it might have been good to try to stealthily break the legs of some of the riders in the group who were well-suited to the final uphill sprint but were struggling in some of the windy power sections. Coming into the finish I thought I just might be able to win, weathered a single hill surge, but when I stood up to sprint there was nothing there – I just have no capacity to recover from a top-end effort. I was off the back in the sprint for 6^th place. Ann-Marie Miller did it again. Next up was Jiminy, my hometown race that is now disappointingly a mere 60k and a women’s open field. It was windy and the field was squirrelly. Jiminy was the first race I did that was specific Cat 4 field when I was just starting (after getting killed in open races). I used to identify the Cat 4 race fantastic first race for beginners who are wary of corners and technical course features. The outcome was exactly the same as Quabbin (except there had been no selection prior to the finish) – I had conserved a ton of energy and entered the finish with tip-top positioning, even backed off Evie Stevens’s early surge, but stood up to sprint and went from 5^th to probably 40^th, pedaling through mud. Next up was the double, Sterling and Bear Mountain. With this fitness, Sterling’s steep hill is my nightmare finish. It would be good training. The field was stacked with seven (or more?) NEBC riders and to my great surprise, cyclocross star Mo Bruno! Concerned about blowing up, I rode a steady tempo up the climb the first time to ward off attacks, then backed off all subsequent surges, such as Mo’s bounding attack on lap two. I was afraid to even stand up on the hill until the final lap. When a Colavita duo launched a terrific attack even before the turn into the hill, I backed off so much I was off the back. Climbing up that hill, under the bridge, I had to bridge all the way back into the main group, let alone the break of three that had gone up the road. Interestingly, I was racing with the Powertap and that time the break went the numbers were significantly lower than on the first two trips up the climb – I had completely sold myself short. After that I was not so sure what to do. Here I was rolling around through the wind in a group packed with NEBC riders sitting on, most of whom would dust me in the sprint. I made some attacks that weren’t great but that also would have been more effective if other independent riders had recognized it was in their interest to let me (and each other, generally) go off the front, leaving the work to NEBC. Finally I got the gal to attack under the bridge on the second tier of the climb, on the second-to-last lap, and it was effective but too late. After that I was too collaborative with the group because I was feeling pretty strong and since getting off solo or even in a smaller group was going to yield a better finish than my sprint. But I got 3^rd in our sprint, 5^th. Congrats to Rebecca Wellons! I raced home to eat some food and leap in bed before leaving at 5:30 the next morning for Bear Mountain. I was very tired warming up. Down the fast descent the first time, I got a bike wobble – no good – but the first time up the climb was fine. I had some hope I could make it to the finish (which suits me) since it was super windy and strongwoman Evie Stevens wasn’t attacking but riding a hard tempo, but no. On the third time up the climb, immediately out of the downhill corner, I stood up to follow a small surge and that was it – done. Mildly frustrating to not have the confidence to descend on the front, which would have helped me weather the climb. I basically just rode it in from there, very tired.

Dogs and the Bright Side of Battenkill

When I put "first dog" on my gmail tag last week, everyone kept emailing to ask if I have gotten a dog (no, the Obamas did). But suddenly this was in the realm of the possible. How crazy if I had up and gotten a dog last week!? Anyway, here are some recent dog photos. The one in the truck is at the Stewart's Shop at the junction of NY-22 and NY-7, Hoosick Falls or so, on the drive up to Battenkill. German shorthair in Tucson; Great Dane in New Haven. Looking on the bright side of Battenkill: no crashing, excellent training, overcame hesitancy in the pack post-crash, riding epic roads and an awesome race, seeing friends... Hum, what else? I do not enjoy racing with zip top-end. The first steep hill and I was going backwards FAST. I should have raised my arm to alert the other riders in the field. Chase chase chase chase finally caught but I was so hopeless I attacked and then got shelled, which seemed inevitable. Then I worked as hard as I could in my group without getting dropped, just for good training and as an outlet for all the frustration. It was ugly though, I was dying on every hill, upper body "chopping wood" and basically gasping for air. Eventually I was so tired I basically rode off the road by mistake into a gravel shoulder and had to get off my bike. The group rode away and I just rode in. Excellent riding at the front of the race, or so I heard.

Battenkill Ahead

As far as pedaling, the approach is different: Pilates and a slow wind-up, free-lancing it as far as team, and targets later down the road, but I am still here! Photo of beloved Mt. Lemmon, shelved in memory as I returned to winter in the Northeast, to be snowed on as recently as last Thursday. At times it feels I am swimming against the tide, especially during this rough winter that inhibited group rides and has resulted in fitness better suited for brevets than racing, but I am excited. I have a few new projects in the works, including improving at time trialing, and am really looking forward to racing the Tour of Prince Edward Island this June. Yesterday I was struck by a bolt of inspiration to mountain bike race. We’ll see about that since I do have road plans and goals, but there might be something to this idea of finding huge new challenges locally, spinning the challenge of no team into an opportunity to branch out (to borrow the cliche). Battenkill this Saturday and the race has gone big-time. It will be a huge challenge to play my hand right and to keep the experience in perspective. Last year I was coming off Redlands; this year I am coming off a single day at Bethel. The combination of the deliberate slow-wind up in training and the weather’s impact on the usual incidental development of top-end will demand some patience and perspective, especially given the background of doubt of returning from injury. But what an awesome race!

April Update

Apologies for the lack of update - at least this blog cannot be confused with Twitter. Twitter’s amazing if it fosters democracy in Moldova, but do you really want to know that I’ve just woken up in New Haven, am having a cup of coffee while waiting to talk with my thesis adviser who’s at JFK, about to fly to London, before dropping my visiting college roommate at the train station, then picking up my bike from the shop? What is the consequence of Twitter for anything not online, not in the present? This is a “file drawer” problem if ever! The environmental field, or at least my experience of it, seems so flat these days with reference to history. Climate change pictured, 12,000 years ago at Murray Springs mammoth kill site from my trip to Tucson last month. Forcing myself to stay focused as I finish school in this next month, considering spatial and temporal heterogeneity with reference to biological and social processes in cities, contesting the inevitability of tragedy of the commons, drinking in a talk by Bill McKibben and a workshop on starting a non-profit AND so excited for future endeavors namely trying to do something not just think and a GET EDUCATED summer reading campaign. Not just the instant news I get sucked into – Politico, the first dog, and the astonishing role of pirates in the present – but real books. Alaska in August.

Winter Update

Busy with school and embarked on a stealth training program featuring among other things, Pilates and watching hockey games. Tour of California looked dismal, race gone awry for lack of information. Good article about women's racing in the NYT. Not to mention one on electric shifting, which I find abhorrent. Trying to grasp the economic situation, keep up with stimulus packages knowing it's a lost cause if I fall behind. There's a spectrum of e-reporting from blog to facebook to twitter, which I find both ridiculous ("drinking coffee," "sunny day today," trivial and falsely casual (but actually highly constructed and self-promoting) details for anyone out there with much time to waste) and oddly compelling.

2009

I've just returned from a conference on land conservation held in Valdivia, Chile. The timing was a bit crazy - missing the second week of school and just as I begin to establish a groove with training - but it was very thought-provoking and a fascinating chance to glimpse a country I know little about, even if I could not take an extended vacation. The blog now competes with facebook, but here are a few images from the conference, probably not accurately representing the large proportion of time spent indoors and thinking rather than enjoying summertime and the outdoors.

New Years Wrap

2008 is almost gone. The weather continues to make cross-country skiing in New England, at least at lovely Notchview, a dicey proposition. Art can provide some color (Sol LeWitt pictured). Both might help you ignore Blago and his Paul Mitchell “football” (Burris is a TOOL), the practice of appointing senators, and the suspension of critical thought in light of personal gain demonstrated by Madoff investors, not to mention his lack of conscience. Power of profit motive to advance social good, from ecosystem services to microfinance, but we’ve also witnessed the worst of mismanagement and greed, as far as I can tell. Tell me the auto bailout doesn’t amount to picking winners… How about we invest in BetaMax? Or wait, here is a good idea, how about ethanol? Why is it news to base medicine on evidence? At least you can enjoy this series – not all newspapers are dead yet - including this one on the perils of scans, and not just from a cost-effectiveness standpoint. Tons of buzz about the work of Nicholas Christakis showing that health behaviors ranging from smoking to happiness to eating habits spread like contagions across social networks. Enviros clamor to present a united voice for Obama in this 391-pager. Green might be on the back burner what with recession and price of oil, or maybe not…. Green jobs, green infrastructure, two birds with one stone, co-benefits, service bundling, triple bottom line….Truth to the cliché of calling every hardship an “opportunity.” Word has it the new energy secretary Stephen Chu is a cyclist. Perhaps a cyclist sensibility will inform his work on this challenge. Self-pity I am not in Hawaii tempered by the weather reports from Fairbanks, with a high of -38 today. The bro reports on coal for home heating. He neglects health so check this out. One village in China burns such dirty coal that smoking is dwarfed as a lung cancer risk factor. Paterson proposes taxing soda for $400 million in revenue. Won’t solve diabetes in India but maybe in New York, plus make up for combusted Wall Street. Kelly Brownell gets his day. In biking news, the American cross racers are rocking in Europe. So cool. 2009 here we come!

Kansas

Last minute trip to Kansas. Best ride of the year on Friday in the Masters 30, thanks to Tom Stevens's lines. Mediocre on Sunday on a hard dirt track with freezing hands, best gloves carelessly forgotten at the hotel given 60-degree temperature at departure, 3 hrs before our 25-degree race. Saturday's way-too-long ride, a circuitous route from course to hotel via international airport, featured some excellent farm scenery. Motivated to get strong again someday soon.