The baby and I had some free time yesterday, and we decided to taunt Jeremiah with this little movie we made. Will it go viral? Probably not, but we might develop a cult following. HA.
Lots of good stuff to report, so little time to do so. We've been out and about and on the go.
It poured in Harrisonburg last night.
Nohohan gave a smug look and nodded when the clouds parted and the sun burned through the falling rain. I went outside to investigate. My photos are up in the Gallery.
Over the most recent weekend, Jeremiah and I journeyed over the mountains deep into West Virginia for the Appalachian Classic mountain bike festival. With time trial, short track and cross county races, for Jeremiah, it was a great opportunity for some high intensity training/racing. For me, it was a chance to survive.
The time trial was first on Saturday afternoon. I didn't have any mishaps to speak of, just tried to find that perfect pace that I would be able to maintain without collapsing before the finish line. In all of my spring adventures, I'm pretty sure I never tried to ride that intense and I had a difficult time settling into a good steady rhythm. I almost croaked of heat exhaustion at the finish... but I reached the finish! About five minutes later, the pain was gone, and my brain had already played that amazing trick on me - what I'd just done was fun.... a great time... I'd do that again.
Good thing it worked. I was signed up for the short track event that took place a few hours later. I watched Jeremiah and all the other pro/expert men race around the course and I got excited about giving it a try. It was just Betsy Shogren, Mandi Riddle and myself for the women's race, so we lined up with the sport men. I was surprised as my legs were able to power up over the first climb. I passed a guy or two, was passed by a guy or two, and saw Betsy up ahead getting ready to rocket down the descent to the whoop-de-chute. I settled into what was a difficult pace. I go hard up the first 3/4 of the climb, then find a manageable gear to make it the remainder of the way without exploding, crank it into the big ring for the ridge and then try to recover on the descent. I enjoyed dropping into the finish chute and trying to preserve my momentum around the sharp u-turn back onto the climb. This routine worked pretty well until I fell victim to the most unimaginable mystery pain that came out of no where and practically paralyzed me. How's that for drama? But seriously, my gut hurt in ways that are indescribable. I didn't know what was about to happen, but I knew I didn't want it to happen in public. I ducked under the tape and headed for the woods! I writhed around for a few minutes, but nothing happened. Got gas? So, I climbed back toward the course and it still looked like so much fun. I jumped back in where I'd been riding - rules? When I got to the start/finish again, after a noticeable 3-lap absence, I was like "I'm Baaa aacck!" A few laughs from J.R. and I knew I was good to go. So I had a great time and finished up another four or five laps.
We enjoyed the evening listening to the Weedhawks sing about hillbillies and love, had some tasty pizza down the road at Gino's and hit the hay tired from an afternoon of racing fun.
Sunday was the cross country race, and that is a whole other story so maybe I'll wrap this one up and fill you in later.
Photos from the weekend are up in the Gallery. Look for Down-Home Racing.
If you want to see some of the photos from the weekend in Houffalize, go to the main page (www.jeremiahbishop.com) and click on the Gallery link. (The link from my blog isn't working). Open the Racing album and click on Houffalize World Cup 2008.
Today proved to be a tough race for Jeremiah. His fitness is through the roof, it looks like the timing was off. And after an event like the Cape Epic, it can be difficult to make the timing come together - especially because of the team nature of the Cape Epic and the less control over the racing JB really had.
We're looking forward to a few days of quiet time in Offenburg, Germany before the rest of the World Cup circus rolls into town. It should make for a pleasant setting for some recovering and preparation for the races ahead.
I just got off the phone with Chris Eatough who is in Knysna, South Africa with Jeremiah. Racing starts tomorrow with a team time trail through a private vineyard and/or safari park - I'm not really sure which. Either will make for a great setting.
The guys have entertained interview after interview and been swept from one media event to the next. When you're a front runner in the most televised mountain bike race on earth, sponsors can get some serious bang for their bucks. What a great way to start the racing season!
In between interviews and press conferences, Jeremiah and Chris were escorted to an animal reserve where orphaned and injured African elephants are raised or rescued. Some of the media crews needed additional images and film to use throughout the race's coverage, and seeing the guys feeding a baby elephant is sure going to be an awesome. (By the way, this is extra amusing to me because I watch a segment on Myth Busters just yesterday about how elephants are scared of mice... myth confirmed!)
I'm really excited for the racing to begin. That is when I know that everything has come together and the guys can to what they do best. It is an amazing amount of logistics and planning that have gotten the Trek VW team to where they are right now.
The online coverage for Cape Epic is going to be extensive. I've tried to compile some of the most pertinent links on the News page (http://www.jeremiahbishop.com/messages/index.htm). Jeremiah will check in when the internet allows.
The 2008 ABSA Cape Epic is going to be fast, fast, FAST! The race will be televised around the world, with the top teams wearing high-tech transponders for real-time data for everything from speed, elevation, heart rate and race position.
It dawned on me that I won't have to worry about Jeremiah being attacked by lions or hippos because the TV helicopters overhead should scare them away. How's that for a reason to stay at the front of a race: avoid becoming safari snacks. 'Race fast Honey, I'd like one less thing to have on my worry list.'
Seriously, can you imagine how dull my life would be if Jeremiah worked in an office?
Here's a peek at quick race-recap from a previous Cape Epic. Some of the world's fastest guys were there, dishing it out day after day!
When I promised a report from my Sea Otter cross country race, I didn't know it would take me a week and a half to publish it.
My cross country race took place early on Sunday morning, hours before the pro men and women would line up for the UCI race on the same course. Most of the Trek/VW team was fast asleep when I woke up and forced an all-too-early breakfast, packed my jersey pockets with bottles, some food and my borrowed big air, and jumped on my bike to ride to the venue.
I enjoyed my sunrise warmup over the rolling hills outside of Monterey, CA. Despite a week of walking around the Sea Otter venue, walking around the Monterey Bay Aquarium, standing at parties, premieres, team functions and sponsor events, my legs felt like they were ready for the 21 mile race ahead of them. What I didn't know at the time was this was the beginning of a series of deceitful tricks my body would play on me throughout the rest of the day.
We enjoyed the party and world premiere of 24 Solo
With my race preparation running smoothly, I continued my warmup until just a few minutes before my race was set to begin. When I arrived at the start line, I was happy to see there were many expert women (about 30, and mostly from California) there to add to the excitement.
The race began with a partial lap around the LagunaSeca raceway, and it was no parade! Since I'd race so infrequently for the past few years, the one thing I knew I should avoid was blowing up in the first 5 minutes, so I was content to settle into the front half of the pack; a position sweet for the draft and yet not behind the girls who are unfamiliar with riding in a group at high speeds. As girls gasped and wheezed and choked for air as they rode ahead, I was determined to avoid getting caught up in a full-speed-ahead sprint for the single track, certain to see these girls on the side of the trails in just minutes. So, with my in-it-for-the-long-haul mentality, I took my time ramping up toward my "steady race pace."
Some fast rollingfire road climbs greeted the race after the pavement. I felt decent on the steep sections and threw my chain into the big ring on the downhills. But the biggest surprise of the day came about 2 miles in, on a sweet section of singletrack. My mind was really ready to get the race going, but as it turned out, my legs were not. Where I usually would have turned a big gear, up and over the rolling terrain, I couldn't even make myself work hard. I'd never experienced "being blocked" before and did not understand what was happening. I questioned myself. Am I not tough enough? Can't I push myself harder? Why am I not breathing hard? This is a race! Why am I pedaling along like I'm wearing a skirt and a straw hat?
And so it continued for the remaining 19 miles. Lighter than most of the other racers, I'd spin up the climbs with ease, pedal over the crest of the hills, and then wish the torture of the flat and rolling sections would soon give way to a fast pedal-free downhill where I could again hide from myself.
Yay! I like the downhills
At the reduced speed of my race, I was able to take in a lot of the scenery and do some on-the-course spectating as the junior expert and sport men's classes overtook me halfway through and near the end of the lap. At times the air was thick with the smell of all kinds of made-for-teen colognes, deodorants and aftershaves. I had flashbacks to gym class in junior high. I thanked God my junior high experience is long over and done with.
I watched some nasty crashes on course. One scenario repeated itself at least four times; two up-and-comers would charge for the lead on the course's washed out downhills, neither would secure the lead while both attempted to ride the only available line, and then both would wipe out in a cloud of dust and debris. More egos than bodies were seriously injured.
The last few miles of the race were the most challenging for me. The wind picked up, the terrain was wide open and gradual and there were a lot of riders on course. I hid behind anyone larger than me, trying to avoid the wind. I still couldn't pedal hard, I still didn't feel like I was racing. All I wanted to do was finish, celebrate my return to cross country racing and find out what was terribly wrong with my legs, still feeling fresh but absolutely useless when called upon.
Finally, I pedaled off the course and onto the finish stretch on LagunaSeca. I saw Mom and Aunt Julie on the sidelines and exactly two hours after my start, full of smiles, Jeremiah greeted me at the finish line. Then the whole family was there! We took lots of pictures and I enjoyed telling all about my morning in the bike race.
Glad to be making my way back into the sport I love. Erin
Other than having to wake up at 3:50 a.m., I enjoyed a relatively uneventful travel day from our house in Virginia to the good old Lone Oak in Monterey, California, our home away from home for the Sea Otter Classic.
Unlike previous years, upon arrival I didn't run straight toward the LaptadMargatini Bar. Instead, I jumped in the rental van and hurried to the LagunaSeca Raceway to pick up my number plates and timing chip; I was pre-registerd to compete in two events, the Cross Country and Super D races!
On Thursday, I suited up in some warm and fuzzy riding gear and asked Jeremiah to join me for a pre-ride on the Super D course that I would race later that day. We boogied down the wide open access road and checked out the big (relatively- it was a downhill race after all!) climb at the start. I got some warm up tips from JB before he went out to preview the Cross Country course.
I did a great job of putting it all together to ready for my event. And while the men's races started, I stuck to my warm-up plan instead of waiting nervously by the starting area. It seemed like everything was going smoothly until after I lined up for my race. The announcer did a recap of the rules and gave us the "one-minute-to-go, Ladies." My heart was pounding. "30 seconds." Then, "Okay, we have a medical on course, we're going to hold you here." Well, so much for my nerves. Instantly my first-race-of-the-season-jitters were gone.
After 15 minutes or so, we finally got to start, and I surprised myself when we finally did. I wasn't great at the La Mans style run-with-your-bike start, but I wasn't too bad either. My new Trek Fuel 9.8 felt super fast, I pedaled hard, the rear suspension locked out for the first climb. Once I hit the true downhill, I rode the course pretty much how I planned to based on my pre-ride. It was exciting to have a bunch of spectators cheering on at the steepest washed out sections. I almost got caught up in the excitement when someone yelled "GET SOME BIG AIR!!!" If my skillz matched my enthusiasm, I might have tried to.
By the time I reached the rolling straight-away to the finish, I was starting to feel the burn, but I gave it all I had. I didn't want to let a place slip away at the end. I saw my Dad and Mom on the side of the trail and tried to manage an expression as if to say "I see you! Thanks for cheering! I'm giving it my all because I knew you guys were here!" (This expression, as I was later told, was interpreted as "ouch.")
That's me (left) with my tricked out JBL podium hat.
It was great to finish my first race of the season with Mom and Dad there to celebrate! We waited for the delayed podium ceremony, and as you'll see below, I'm glad we did. (Check out the functional PINK head tube cap in the center of the medal!)
There are a lot of photos to sort through from the weekend. My next post should be pretty exciting.
