A great weekend of racing...

We're all wiped out from the weekend, and pictures were hard to come by, but for a few goodies.

SAT: 8 ladies from Team CycleLife powered by Specialized lined up at the Womens Open Syn-Fit Crit on Saturday. The video camera apparently shut down before the finishing lap, so the officials were able only to piece together the top 15 finishers, but our ladies locked up the 2nd and 4th spot for the day. We also took both primes for extra measure.

SUN: Again, 8 ladies from the squad came to the line for the Womens Open at the 10th Memorial Carl Dolan Classic Circuit Race. Beautiful weather, great venue, great race. LJ solo'ed off the front to lock up the "W" and Michelle finished second in the field sprint, locking up 1st and 3rd for the team. Feeling spunky (or downright silly), LJ, Michelle, and Robin recovered for an hour or so and then entered the Mens 1/2/3 race. A different pace, a different peloton, but fun fun fun.

That's Michelle tucked in to the left of the peloton.

Robin rides up on the outside of the peloton.

And if you're wondering why Todd Hipp, arguably one of the top sprinters in the MABRA region, did not close the deal today...well, he was, uhm, distracted.

Mount Joy Race Report

The following race report written by guest blogger Jen May of CycleLife USA. Photos by Chicken and Badger.

Mount Joy, PA, had a cold, wet and windy greeting for CycleLife Powered by Specialized Cat 3/4 women on Saturday morning. Most normal people would say this was a day to stay inside drinking hot chocolate or something, but not so for the about 100+ cyclists, who decided to brave the weather and race around the hilly, 5.7 mile course in Pennsylvania’s farm lands. This was not a day or race for the casual athlete – it was a day for competition and spirit of camaraderie that cycling tends to cultivate.

Instead of hot chocolate, Badger eats cereal and drinks CeraSport...

... while Chicken loads up on coffee and donuts.

Warming up (if one could call it that, with the rain and cold), was a short ride down the first part of the course, where I met up with the three other CycleLife women in the race. The start time was slightly delayed, and as we’re all huddled on the line, teeth chattering, one of the finishing cyclists told us that it doesn’t get any warmer out there, and another warned us of a pretty significant hill part way through, and someone else told us some roosters got loose on the course (random). (Note: Having chickens loose on the course just had to be a good omen for me!)

Sara during our warm-up which consisted of sitting in the car with the heat blasting and eating Clif blocks.

So, with those encouraging words, we started our first of four laps… The first guy was wrong – I thought it got warmer as we got going, although certainly not any drier, but that hill was something. It split the group right off the bat – Chicken took off in the lead group, and I was eventually able to catch back up in the first part of the second lap. It was a group of about six, and we were all dedicated to battling it out to the finish, or at least surviving the race. That hill was going to be where the move was made, we all knew.

In the last lap, Sturdy Girl Cycling (Sarah Iepson) took off at the top of the hill, and beautifully cornered that first sharp right turn off the hill. I, along with a Zaveta girl (Lenore Pipes) managed to hang on, and it was a sprint to the finish, but ended about the way we took that corner (me taking third).

Chicken had been pulling for quite a bit of the race, but still kept ahead the other Zaveta girl to get fifth. For complete race results, click here.

Finishing the race, the only thing I could think of was putting on dry clothes and blasting the heater in my car – (I think a lot of us were seriously feeling signs of hypothermia). Overall, though, it was a good race, a challenge, and a learning experience. Things I learned: 1) rain gear may be a good investment (neoprene feet covers, rain jacket, long underwear are probably going to be among my next cycling purchases); 2) glasses with clear/yellow lenses are very helpful (thanks, Robin!), not only for seeing better, but also to keep the mud, cow poop and other junk out of your eyes (now, how to keep them from fogging up?); and 3) brakes don’t work so well when they get wet (luckily, I figured that one out in the warmup!).

(Congrats to Jen on her 3rd place finish in what was her 5th race ever. This was a tough race with a hard pace set from the gun in miserable conditions and you rocked it!)

Two for Two Walkersville & Tysons

A good weekend for the CycleLife team winning both Walkersville and Tyson's.

Lots of photos floating around the internet of the actual racing, but here's what dedication looks like...

The team warming up in a dark garage when it's 70 and sunny outside. Plotting strategy.

Jeff Cup Womens 1/2/3

Wet roads and a strong field meant it'd be a tough day of racing for the women's 1/2/3 at Jeff Cup. 40 or so riders lined up under the crackling electric wires (added to the ambiance, but what was up with that?) for the first Mid-Atlantic road race of the year in Charlottesville, VA. Some notable names were there with Sarah Caravella, Deidre Winfield, Laura Igoe, and all the local MABRA strong women.

By lap two the front group was down to 15 riders with three CycleLife - Michelle, Sonja, and Leslie. Unfortunately, both Michelle and Sonja would get flats on laps 3 and 4 respectively. Seems lots of riders were taken out by the glass that someone had sprinkled around. This left Lucky Leslie who had managed to avoid the shards to battle for the sprint.

Juice Plus had two riders in the final group - Rachel Warner and Amity Elliot. Rachel had been attacking all day, and did a great job of setting a high pace for the last kilometer for her teammate. She, along with Laura I. drove the train heading into the finish. At the 200 meter mark Amity jumped first, but Leslie was closing in. Unfortunately the line got there before Leslie did. 1st place to Juice Plus. 2nd place to CycleLife.

Meanwhile the rest of the CycleLife team was doing battle with the larger peloton behind. Some good results with Chicken, Mel, and Sara all in the top 20. Complete results here.

A hard day for all, but a good "opener" for the season. Interesting to see how many of the MABRA ladies are riding super strong.

Chocolate Milk = Good Recovery
















Post race team talk...Then I attacked and then she attacked and then I attacked... actually it was more like "I got a flat", "me too", "me too".









Who is the jerk who parked here? That'd be Miss Hart (less).

Lance in my Pants

CycleLife Hearts WV

I'm pretty sure that Team CycleLife powered by Specialized spends more weekends training out in WV than any team I know. When we heard that our sponsor, Michelle from Teaism, was going to be spending a weekend out there, we couldn't pass up the opportunity to join her in beautiful Lost City. We heart our sponsors!

The weather for both days was pleasant albeit slightly chilly at the start of the rides. Badger, Chicken, Plain Jane, Michelle Brown and I attacked the George Washington mountain on Saturday challenging each other every step of the way. We are riding and meshing well. As one of the newest members of this team, I'm constantly seeking opportunities to get to know the girls better - on and off the bike. On Saturday's ride, I had to react to sudden jumps initiated by Chicken, helplessly watch Badger pass me on long climbs (more than once), and tuck in protectively behind Plain Jane as she screamed down descents. The weekend was nothing short of fun. Each chica on this team possess very unique strengths on the bike, and I can't wait for us to capitalize on them in a race. Kudos to Michelle for staying with us most of the way while riding on a standard crank! Strong team AND strong sponsors!

Unfortunately for Badger and me, we lost our human Garmin (and apparently, Plain Jane's Garmin too) and had to use old fashion road maps (gasp!!) for Sunday's ride. A teammate later commented, "you couldn't have put two more directionally challenged people on the road in the middle of WV." Well, in our defense, I think we now know exactly where we DON'T like to ride now. Key words that don't mesh: gravel, Mt. George Washington, 3-5 miles. Long story short, I either need to start mountain biking or stay far away from sketchy descents with lots of gravel. My hands and arms still hurt from gripping so hard.

We're less than one week away from our first MABRA race - Jefferson Cup in Charlottesville, VA. I can't wait to get this season rolling!!

Pictures from NYC

Our #1 fan at Grant's Tomb.
















Mitch and LJ smiling (fake smiling?) at the start.











Mitch attacks early in the race.












LJ needs new arm warmers.