Enjoying some time on the East Coast

Hello, Greetings from Marthas Vineyard, MA!

After another travel heavy year Mike and I have been enjoying some time just staying more or less in one place, a beautiful place we call home. It has been good to catch up with our family and friends and with ourselves as we reflect on the past season and plan for the future. We are excited for the coming year for so many reasons that it is hard to be patient, though it is fantastic to be able to feel like we have the time and possibility to find our best form to date. We are focused on staying fit and healthy as well as planing the details now to make for a stress free lead up to what looks like another challenging and exciting season.

Over the past few weeks we have been home transitioning into a bit of an off season, working on building our team program, making sure to try and pull all the stops for the exciting year of racing that lies ahead. Training wise we are less focused on the bikes and more on activities that help to balance our cycling specific bodies (and minds!) - paddle boarding, trail running, surfing, yoga and strength work outs are things that we have been incorporating to gain the type of strength that is so important for daily life and can easily be overlooked in a specific bike based fitness program. The trails and quiet roads around here are in a state of extended warm fall and are pretty much irresistible - so the bikes are surely not collecting any dust.

Mike has been devoted to testing in his bike lab where he is busy with a number of R&D projects, as well as tuning and tweaking our race bikes for optimum performance at the local the cross and mtb races. I have bumped up my kitchen time, creating healthy meals. I love this time of year when the weather cools, cranberries ripen and the nuts fall from the trees. hunting for wild foods and supporting local farms' have been a fun relaxing way to pick up some groceries - especially satisfying to haul it away on my bike with the Bob Trailer. :-)

After 4 weeks off from the racing to ensure a bit of deep recovery and rest we have gotten back into the competition at some local events these past few weekends - the UCI Cyclocross race weekend at the Providence Festival in Rhode Island (Oct 8 & 9) and the EFTA finals (Eastern Fat Tire Association XC race) Oct 16. We enjoyed the chance to catch up with old friends and soak up some sweet fall weather and choice New England single track. Both events offered a great chance to see how our local scene stacks up to the national and world cup races we have been focused on. Happy to give a solid thumbs up report for both disciplines!

The double header UCI cyclocross race weekend in Providence was an awesome and intense few days. There was so much going on that Mike slipped into support mode deciding that our efforts would be better spent on giving me the full pro treatment and support that I would need to be at my best. With 2 back to back days of racing cross, everything happens so quickly and to have full support takes away a lot of pressure. Mike was awesome - from getting the bikes and everything prepared in the week lead up to and during the races - with his complete attention on my needs and the bikes, I could relax and completely focus on the race and recovery in between.

Providence Cross, Day 1: links to pics below

It is always exciting to feel the energy of an event as we drive up to the venue. The weekends weather was atypically hot and sunny and we could tell it was going to be a well attended event as we had to settle for a parking space way on the other side of the venue. The normal weekend park traffic on top of the bike swap festival and cross races made for a busy day at Roger Williams Park. It was so warm, spectators were stoked but racers were complaining of racing in the oppressive heat and dust... I did not mind. But surely was going to put a water bottle cage on my cross bike!

There was a good sized elite women's field with many regional talents lining up... the course was fun - lots of tight loose turns, swooping dips, a few short climbs and challenging dismounts. Feeling good, I was excited to race. I really thought with this style of course, I might be able to ride away from the field to perhaps win... But it wasnt so easy... With out any uci points, I lined up on the 2nd row, as the gun went off the field charged ahead. I made my way to the front by the end of the first lap and began attacking into and out of the corners... but I couldnt break away from the field... I carried on like this, expending a great deal of energy pulling my competition around. Eventually 2 of us were distanced from the chase group and it came down to a one up sprint with Laura Van Gilder (powerhouse rider and perhaps one of America's best field sprinters)... She had raced really smart, stayed tight on my wheel most of the day, got a jump on me in the last few turns, pinned it to the line and I had to settle for 2nd. Dang! I wonder when I'll ever learn... In cyclocross racing figuring a good strategy is very important - knowing when to sit in or when to attack is crucial... a mix of power and racing "smart" is needed to win.

Providence Cross, Day 2: links to pics below

I woke up a little sore the next day but figured I would just warm up out of it and try my best. It was hotter and WINDY today... and the track was set up with long pavement sections and some tight turns and barriers which could cause potential gaps in the pack. I knew what I needed to do - get in the draft, wait patiently, and not do all the work today... And that is what I did. I could ride comfortably towards the front, watching, waiting, staying with the lead group of 7. It was fun to have so many people cheering for us all... On the last lap, I saw the attack happening, and had conserved enough to make it around into 2nd position before it got too tight to pass... Laura and I were pushing the pace and off the front again. I knew where the crucial section to be leading was... we barreled into the last set of barriers before the U turn onto the paved straight away finish - We FLEW side by side bounding over the barriers, remounting - I heard my pedals click in first and then pinned it to the u turn and onto the pavement. I accelerated. Yikes, even with a few bike lengths, I could feel her shadow coming up behind me... It was about 200 meters to the line and I gave every ounce of my energy, opening up into an all out sprint. I managed to hold her off for the victory! It sure surprised a lot of people... Spectators were going mad. yeah - a good feeling to put on a heated show and a triumphant way to finish off the weekend! After racing here 4 times, it was awesome to finally win in Providence... but more importantly some lessons came to me that I could truly understand and execute - learning to play the game.

We got home late and were exhausted. The two days of racing took a lot out of me and I needed a few quiet days of recovery. Soon enough we were packing up the van up again, this time for a local mountain bike race...

The EFTA XC series finals in Rutland, MA:

We were excited to make it to a regional grassroots mtb race - these smaller style events are how Mike and I originally got involved in racing bikes years ago. It was great to see the varied crew of xc mountain bike racers - a low key environment but thriving with energy. The local trail club helped develop the awesome trail system complete with final touch of leaf blowing the entire 9 mile loop!. Mike and I were reminded what true hard core east coast riding was all about... the mostly flowing trails undulated over the hilly terrain interspersed with creek crossings and super boney rock sections - almost impossible to ride.

It was a far cry from the european forest strasse/manicured trails that we compete on most of the year. It really required a lot of upper body strength to maintain speed and lift over the rock carpets. This was some of the most demanding mountian biking we have enjoyed in a while - especially sight reading the first lap at race pace! The 2.5 laps on the 9 mile loop took me a solid 3 hours! Mike especially appreciated racing on the difficult track, riding into the lead and never looking back... I can imagine him flowing and flying through the forest eventually putting almost 25 minutes on me and over 13 minutes on the 2nd place finisher! It was nice to BOTH win and get our bikes out on some terrain that really pushed our technical capabilities.

And for now, we will stay put another few weeks and continue to appreciate this season as the Autumn colors are passing peak and it is still warm enough to get out with a vest and arm warmers.

Hope you are enjoying your Fall season!

Mary and Mike