Another Ride With the Boys

Coaching the Community Center for Youth Junior Cycling Team is the best job EVER.

I love riding with my juniors.

And soon-- we hope to be expanding into middle school!! (We're currently a high school team.)

For the full post, including a video of our most recent "Slow Races" and more, visit the TEAM BLOG!

Loading the Xtracycle

This is an Xtracycle.

And this is how it works:

An Xtracycle can attach to just about any bike. It's wonderful for carrying loads because the Xtracycle lengthens your wheel base which makes your bike a LOT more stable! As a result, you can load it lopsided (25 pound bag of onions on one side? No problem!) or just load it UP (130 lb buddy? No problem!). Plus, the long bag with cinching straps and large surface area of the wood "snap deck" are GREAT at accommodating awkward loads that couldn't even dream of fitting into panniers!

Just Another Pleasant Commute

Dressed for work,

dressed to ride.

Dressed for ride,

Dressed to work.

No Gatorade here, just french press coffee and low pulp OJ.

The shoes that I feel like wearing today are bike shoes.

The shoes that I feel like wearing tomorrow are bike shoes.

All my shoes are bike shoes.

Purse, lunch and a lawn chair.

Brownie in the lunch. Book in the purse. Butt in the lawn chair.

My bike has a loud mouth.

Can we turn right?

Michael: Can we take this right turn up here?

RJ: Why?

Michael: Well, because we haven't been out for very long and I want to ride longer.

:) I raised 'em good.

Full post, including a short video, is available at: bikeryracing.blogspot.com

Spring Slapped Me

Spring slapped me in the face.

All measuring devices read 70 degrees;

it may as well been 85 for the way my body felt.


I have found a spot that I like for laying.


Having taught my body to shrug at freezing temperatures,

I now teach my body to

cool off.

Home grown air conditioning.

Sweat pores.

Chit chat dissolves on the climb.

From my entry over on the CCY Junior Cycling Team blog:

Orchards, grapes in rows. Pruned neat.
Lower Dry Creek Road rolling up.
Caution over old rail tracks.
Shed extraneous layers, heat.
Hello, miniature ponies!
Tunnel: aWOOO!!
Chit chat dissolves on the climb.
Water break in Weston, Snickers bar sublime.
Chug up old Tollgate highway.
Inhale the view.
Blast back down banked corners.
Sprint for play.
Detour onto Blue Mtn. Sta. Rd.
Crackle gravel.
Butt behind the saddle.
Coast home.










To see the full entry, including the video, clickHERE.

Now I HAVE to do this race!

Okay, take all the things I like about racing bikes--

racing day after day; challenging, beautiful and brutal terrain; teamwork-- more specifically, team time trialling; the grind; burning a bottomless hole in your stomach; making your poo turn to mush; oh, and zebras.

and voila, the Absa Cape Epic off-road stage race!



So I check out this year's results, right? Three hundred eleven men's teams and..

ELEVEN women's teams??!!! Zero American women teams. Okay, to be fair-- there were 58 "mixed" (co-ed) teams. But still, 311 vs. ELEVEN??!!! Geez, now I HAVE to do this race!!

Here's the team time trial prologue!!:

Hey, Valaas-- this would be good summer training, right? And you haven't been to South Africa yet! (I don't think..)

M-- I KNOW this race appeals to you! And it's only a week, so you can still get a job!

Take a seat! : a tandem tour

Check this out!

While completing any long distance bicycle tour is worthy of raising a glass to, it is becoming harder and harder to be unique. Yes, everyone's tour, no matter how small or grand, will be unique to that person! But I mean unique in the sense of being different and more interesting than previous endeavors in order to grab headlines. People have ridden up, down, across, around the U.S., both Americas, the snows of Alaska and even politically unstable regions of Africa. To be clear, no, mom, I have no interest in riding through the Congo! 

Anyhow, that leaves us to the question: if you want to be unique, what's left to do? Well, check out THIS GUY, Dominic Gill, who rode from Alaska to the southern tip of South America, on a tandem. Oh, and the passengers on his tandem are random people he met along the way. HOW AWESOME IS THAT??! His effort is raising money for Hope and Homes for Children and now at the conclusion of his journey, he is editing footage together for a terrific documentary, Dommy No Mates. You can see a trailer of the documentary on the Take a Seat homepage; just wait for it to load.

A bit of fun on April Fool's Day!

DONATE a bike!

Do you have a bike that's just collecting dust?

DONATE IT to an eager pair of legs!

Drop off your bicycle at Allegro Cyclery on the corner of Spokane St. and Main St. in downtown Walla Walla!

Depending on the condition of the bicycle, we may use it to:

1. Teach bike repair at our Bikery Repair program.
   
2. Fix it up for a middle schooler to ride in our new middle school bike club!
   
3. Or a high schooler may use it to race for the CCY Junior Cycling Team!
   

So get that bicycle out of the garage and put it to good use!

Consistent Race Report -- Piece of Cake Road Race

Here is my personal race report of the Piece of Cake Road Race that I included in a post on my junior team blog:

Coach RJ (myself), raced in Women's 1/2/3 (as a 3) and hung on with her teeth through attack after attack after attack after attack as the day got windier and windier and windier. It was finally the penultimate attack at 3 kilometers that overcooked RJ and she finally, reluctantly, got dropped. But she finished!

Here is another race report from a Group Health rider (CAPITALS are my own addition):

Team Group Health’s Jen Akeroyd said the field caught the two leaders after a series of attacks and counters. YEP! DEFINITELY A LOOONG SERIES OF ATTACKS AND COUNTERS!

“The last little bit of trying to catch them required jumps,” Akeroyd said. “Me jumping and then the Veloforma riders would jump around me, and I’d get on their wheel and jump again.” YEP! DEFINITELY JUMPS AND COUNTER JUMPS! LOTS AND LOOOTS OF JUMPING!

With the group back together nearing the finish. Veloforma had the numbers to launch Miranda Moon past the competition, but not before Fox had another chance to test her legs. The Team Oregon rider attacked with a 5K to go and began the wind up to the finish, but the seasoned Veloforma squad took over from there. OH, YEAH-- THE PACE SURE DID GET HOT!

“Elice (Huggins) from Veloforma picked it up from about 3K out,” Akeroyd said of the lead out. ”Then Susan (Peithman) came in around 2K and kept pulling through. Then Miranda took over from about 200 meters, and she just had better legs than me today." YEP, THEY PICKED IT UP FROM 3K OUT AND THAT'S WHERE RJ GOT DROPPED!!!

It feels nice to hear someone else confirm what I perceived!

Now here's the CCY Junior Team video of the race:

Full CCY Junior Cycling Team post can be found HERE.

Meet the Women!

Meet the new 5 Trek Women Who Ride!

Amy King
Amy is a former elementary school teacher turned stay-at-home mom who wants her kids to know the thrill of cycling. When she's not visiting the zoo, cleaning up toys, or hosting a playgroup, she can usually be found out on a ride. Amy commutes to work by bike, rides centuries, competes in triathlons, and adores singletrack. Amy also enjoys snowboarding and hiking (with and without children). She also likes to pretend she's a domestic goddess by attempting to bake, try various crafts, and not kill the plants in her garden.

Caitlin Hollister
A Boston native, Caitlin teaches third grade in the city, enjoying early morning bike rides to school. Her summers are spent mostly touring on her bike, including trips through the Canadian Rockies and along the West Coast. Newly married, Caitlin and her husband David were engaged on a bike ride to their favorite swimming hole. When she's not cycling, Caitlin loves to run and ski with David and their chocolate lab, Mocha. She's always eager to bring friends along for new adventures both in the city and the backcountry. Caitlin volunteers with the Appalachian Mountain Club's Youth Opportunities Program, training youth workers to lead outdoors trips with kids.

Mary Strupp
Mary got her first new bike at age 44, completed her first triathlon at age 54, and started a new business opportunity at 64. A Milwaukee native, Mary has lived in eight states, is a mother of two, and a grandmother of four. She has been a medical researcher, a teacher, marketing director for shopping centers, sales and marketing director for a plastics company, and owner of a different plastics company. In addition to outdoor sports she enjoys reading and crafts like knitting, sewing, and quilting. Her motto for tackling just about anything is be there; be involved; be positive; be happy.

Rebecca Jensen (that's me!)
Rebecca is a self-proclaimed anti-snob, pro-fun cyclist. Rebecca’s love for cycling began after knee injuries side-lined her from soccer and running. Riding for her college cycling team at Whitman College, as her fitness increased, so did her cycling prowess, winning five Collegiate National Champion jerseys. After graduating she began working for the Walla Walla Community Center for Youth, coaching a junior cycling team and teaching bike repair. She believes the best way to help people, which she finds immensely rewarding, is through contagious enthusiasm.

Roxzanne Abbott
At almost 40 years young, Roxy tries to make the most of each day; every day is a gift and do I love opening presents! Roxy has ridden and raced mountain bikes for ten years when not busy with her fourteen-year career at an advertising firm. She plans to marry her soul-mate this year, but only after a full bike season of riding, racing, traveling and trail building is over. They direct their local mountain bike racing series in and around Omaha, Nebraska, volunteering extensively with the local trail care organization. Work hard, play hard. It's all about finding balance and living life to its fullest.