girls (and boys) day in the dirt

for the past 4 or 5 years, Velo Girls has volunteered to coach a special "girls day in the dirt" for Trips for Kids. the girls who participated are generally from inner-city programs like ROCK or Girls Inc. although there are probably more "troubled" children in SF and Oakland, many of these girls have never had the advantages you and I enjoyed as children. many have never left the city. many have never ridden a bike. or seen the ocean. or a snake.

Saturday, Team Velo Girls headed up to Tennessee Valley to coordinate our annual "girls day." we had arrived before the kids, and when the first van of kids arrived, I was a bit surprised to see high school girls and boys. boys? what happened to "girls day in the dirt?" oh well, we'll play it by ear.

the high school students were from a program called ROCK -- Real Options for City Kids. they were all pretty cool and respectful. as the second van of students arrived, middle school girls from Girls, Inc., one of the Rock boys reminded the others that these were middle school girls and they needed to be on their best behavior.


after furnishing the kids with bikes, helmets, and gloves (all 30 of them), we were off on our great adventure. we started with a short climb up to a campground, where Velo Girls provided about 30 minutes of bike skills. at the last minute, I changed our program and we did a little body/bike separation drill and then had a very competitive game of limbo. one of the two winners was a little tiny girl who barely could pedal her bike. but after a try or two, she mastered the lean technique required to win the game! just goes to show you can't judge a book by it's cover.

after limbo, we had a quick lunch, and then rode down to the beach. the kids were fascinated with the sea cucumbers, the high tide, and the caves. I think they enjoyed their beach time more than their riding time.

the ride back to the start included a super-steep hill (over 15%). all the kids were amazed that the adult volunteers (mostly middle age women) could ride up this hill while most of the kids were walking their bikes.

back to the start, a cookie circle (a TFK tradition) and we were finished for another year! the boys definitely changed the dynamic of the trip, but a good time was had by all just the same!

more girls day in the dirt photos here!

when was the last time you did something for the first time?

ARGH! I somehow lost my original post.....here's the short version, only a week and a half late!


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I think I've finally realized why triathlon is so appealing to me -- it's new and different and challenging and fun! maybe I've just gotten bored with road racing. maybe I've hit my potential (sadly, not where I'd like it to be). or maybe triathlete bodies are sexy. all I know is that I really enjoy triathlon! it's fun. the people are nice. and when I'm challenging myself in new ways -- learning new things -- I feel like I'm continuing to grow as an individual. yeah, new is good!

last weekend the dutchboy and I raced in SLO at Scott Tinley's Adventures. we made a fun weekend of it and even took Julie on her first camping trip (yes, she had her own tent).

Saturday morning we spectated the road triathlons -- and watched Courtenay and her boyfriend win their respective races. since I'd never raced a tri, and I was nervous about the swim, I wanted to watch the races and maybe learn a little something.

we had planned to race the hillclimb on Saturday but a mechanical issue discovered during our course pre-ride prevented this and we spent a good part of the afternoon at Art's Cyclery in SLO. they fixed the dutchboy's bike and I was relieved to learn that the "problem" had nothing to do with the work I'd done on his bike earlier in the week.

Sunday morning we woke up and I was scared and didn't want to race. the dutchboy twisted my arm (and then held my hand at the start of the swim).

I survived the swim. it wasn't pretty. I did every stroke you can imagine (and probably invented a few, too). it was my first mass-start open water swim ever. I wasn't last and I didn't drown.

the bike was good but I was disappointed in my time. I was able to pass lots of riders, but my time was slower than it should have been. I'm not sure what happened there -- too much time off the mtn bike lately, I guess. interesting to note that the men were all very gracious as I passed them, giving me the line when I asked for it. on the second lap, however, the young boys (8-12 years old) were just starting their race and they didn't want to give up the line even though they didn't have the gears to ride the steep singletrack, so they would run with their bikes -- so tough. I saw the dutchboy during the out & back section on lap one and then again as I was finishing my bike leg and he was starting his run. that was totally cool!

the run leg shocked me -- I apparently ran just over 8-minute miles. I don't know how I did it, especially since I haven't run since February. I had to walk a bit of the really big (14%) hill but was able to run everything else, even though it was a pretty hilly course. just as I started walking, I saw the dutchboy approaching from the opposite direction on his bike. he had finished his race and came out to encourage me. after a bit, he rode back to the finish to cheer me on and take photos. a mile from the end I was passed by a girl in my age group. as I neared the finish I completely forgot about the extra little uphill loop (ouch). but I was able to push it to the finish.

as I crossed the line, the announcer announced my name and stated that it was my very first triathlon and something about Velo Girls. apparently the dutchboy had told her all about me and asked her to say that -- how thoughtful was that?

I finished in 3rd place! no way. and the dutchboy got 6th with a smokin' bike split -- one of the fastest of the day!

on the podium, the announcer called me Lorri Lay Down. apparently my middle name was truncated to Le (from Lee) and she read "Lown" as "Down." I cracked up (as did everyone else).

I've got some big goals for next season, including a half ironman in August. I've started my run training and will be racing the Salmon Duathlon in November and am looking for some other du's or running races. I'll start masters swimming in December. fun and new, new and fun. yeah!

how fun to do something new and different!

poison oak in the pool

I had PO all spring. I finally got rid of it in July. then again, I didn't do much mountain bike riding/racing after June.....I see a connection there, no?

anyways, I've been helping out with our Monday night mountain bike ride. this week, we had a great group of 9 beginner women. I was sweeping up a steepish grind of singletrack when we came upon a dick on wheels. he wouldn't yield the right of way to the girls and the last two before me ended up off the trail. I was all cool & shit and was kinda track-standing, ratcheting up the trail behind them, thinking I could just take the right-hand line, when BOOM! down I go into what I assumed was PO (no leaves, but I just knew the branches).

lo and behold, yesterday I started getting the tell-tale rash. and now, it's spread up both legs. it's even on my foot! I think wiping down with a baby wipe actually helped spread the oil to the far regions of my body.

anyways, in the spring, people kept telling me the best way to rid yourself of PO was to swim in a pool -- the chlorine would dry it right out. I'm here to tell you that's a big, fat wives' tale.

excuse me while I go scratch for a while.

off to the big trees

the dutchboy and I are heading out for a short but hopefully fun and relaxing weekend. a bit too much driving for a two-day weekend, but we'll make the most of it!

we're driving north to the



we'll be



we won't be



but we will definitely be



we'll probably also



and we might even



we'll have some of this



and some of this, too!



and we might even do this (probably not)



and if that isn't enough fun, on Sunday we'll be doing this



oh, and I need a Julie-sitter. would you like to spend the weekend with her? she love you long time!

by special request

I know, I know, I'm not blogging. no stalkers this time, I'm just not blog-inspired. life is too good right now. I don't feel sarcastic or bitter or funny or have tales of woe. everything's just right, Golidlocks! and I've been busier than a bee.

July has flown by before we even knew it.

I finished up the CCCX series in 2nd. finally had my bite back in the last race but a month of no intensity prevented me from pulling out the V needed to move back into 1st place in the series. but I'm okay with that. Keith and Rod put on a fabulous series and I had more fun than I've ever had racing. I'm not sure what my plans are for next year, but I'm certain they'll include some mtn bike racing.



immediately after the race I flew to Colorado for a week of riding, gardening, partying, meeting friends and family, and helping Hans prep one of his houses for sale. I did some awesome rides and for some odd reason, the elevation didn't seem to affect me much at all until I hit 9,000'. I rode Squaw Pass with Daniel, Jamestown with Vera, and climbed Dear Creek Canyon with Hans and Pieter. oh yea, and we went mtn biking on borrowed mtn bikes -- me with my speedplays and road shoes -- not the best ride of my life. and I rolled along the fabulous bike path network of Denver -- what a great system!!! Denver is definitely somewhere to consider for my future. I love the hot sunny days and HOT nights and being able to wear a skimpy little dress instead of a fleece or a leather jacket.



home again, a furious week of work and preparation for the Death Ride. my long-time readers might recall that I had some unfinished business from last year. this year, 25 pounds lighter with better fitness and some recent altitude under my legs, I hoped to complete all five passes. Hans agreed to ride it with me even though he's not really an endurance rider.



long story short, we started too late. don't ask why. the plan had been to start riding at 5:30am when most folks begin, but we didn't leave until 7:00am. we jammed on the first two passes (Monitor), felt okay on the third pass (Ebbetts), and then started our death march. seems we mis-interpreted the cut-off times and were making it into the rest stops with only moments to spare. and being at the back of the pack of 2,800 riders, we found that many of the rest stops had run out of food and water. by the time we finished the fourth pass (Ebbetts), we learned that we had only 35 minutes to make it to the stop in Woodfords before the cut-off time (and it was 14 miles away). a bit dehydrated and glycogen-deficient, we rode like crazy until the clock struck 4:00 (the cut-off time). we still had three miles to go to the rest stop, so we weren't going to make it. the 5% grade suddenly felt like 20% and my legs slowed to a stop. I dismounted, sat on the side of the road and cried. it was over. we failed. of course, we still did 4 mountain passes, 85 miles with almost 11,000' of climbing, so it really wasn't a failure, but we didn't get that darn pin!



after piling me into the car and driving back to Turtle Rock Park for the post-ride BBQ, Hans wasn't doing so good. he was certain he was going to die. I tried to calm him, explaining that the way he was feeling was normal for someone who just spent seven + hours on the bike. but he retreated to a nearby haybale, laid down, and curled up into a ball. I finally convinced him we should go back to the campsite and shower. he felt a bit better after that, but still didn't have that sparkle in his eyes. he asked me if I would keep his bikes at my house for a while -- maybe even sell them for him. he never planned to ride again. I felt terrible, thinking that I'd ruined cycling for him after he's loved riding for 15 years. he informed me that he never loved riding. in the back of my mind, I knew everything would be better the next day, but I still questioned what it would be like being in a relationship with someone who doesn't ride.

I finally persuaded him we should go get a little something to eat, so we headed down the hill to the Creekside Inn for spinach salad, greasy burgers and greasier fries. and cobbler for dessert. half way through dinner, he came back to life. whew! crisis averted. by Sunday morning, he was talking about how we would approach the ride differently next year (including leaving on time at 5:30am).



and here we are, at the end of another super-busy, whirlwind week. the new Tri-Flow program started on Monday so I'm busy-busy again. I've gotten some good rides in, including a short but sweet climbing epic with Kim yesterday in the Los Altos hills. Amazingly, I hit my peak 5-second, 1-minute, and 5-minute powers. my legs are just about fully recovered and I'm feeling great! and my strength is obviously coming back.

next week is my birthday. every year since I started riding I've either done a century or hosted a birthday ride. this year, we've got 6 or 7 birthdays on the team in the same week, and since there aren't any local races, I decided to host a ride. big fun, I promise, and I'd love to have lots of friends (boys and girls) join us. here's your invitation!

so that's that. are you happy now? I am!

it's not over til the fat lady sings

so, the CCCX mtn bike series is winding down for 2007. the final race of the season is this Saturday. I can't say I'll miss it -- it's been a long, dramatic season and I'm ready to move onto something else for the summer. it's challenging to sustain a high level of performance for five months straight and I've had a number of personal health issues that screwed with my early-season fitness, so it's been a bit frustrating for me.

I had three personal goals this season:

#1 -- win a race -- I did that on March 3rd -- yay, me!!!

#2 -- win Sea Otter -- well, I blew that one, probably by switching to a new bike a few days before the race. I got 6th -- okay, but that wasn't my goal. oddly enough, I realized that my age group is filled with fast women! I would've been on the podium in any other age group except mine. I was very disappointed, but moved onto the next big event (Wildflower, for which I still haven't posted my race report).

#3 -- win the CCCX series overall -- I lead the series from race #2 through race #7 -- six races. but I blew it big-time on Saturday. I raced so poorly that women who I never see in the races, women who finish 20 minutes down from me, passed me in the first lap! I kept waiting to get lapped by the leaders. I felt like I was in a time warp -- racing at the level I raced last year. Combine this performance with a lost opportunity in the prior race, and I'm now 4 points down from the new series leader. 4 fricking points! only 4 points, but it will be challening for me to regain the series lead just the same. challenging, but not impossible. given what's going on with my health right now, I'm not holding my breath. but I'm happy to say that even 5 days off the spiro and I've got a bit of strength and spirit back. I guess we'll see on Saturday, won't we. at worst, I'll finish the series in 2nd place, which should make me happy. right.

I have great motivation to ride fast on Saturday. that afternoon I fly to Denver to join Hans for a week's vacation. he'll be working on his house so he can put it on the market. I plan to spend a week climbing Mt. Evans, Pike's Peak, and lots of other big climbs at altitude to try to salvage my fitness this summer. it's amazing that I went from being super-fit in early May to feeling slow and fat and tired. but, I digress. CO will be a blast, with dinners and parties planned almost every night with his family and friends. I can't wait, so if riding faster on Saturday will get me there sooner, I'll hammer my brains out!

excuse me, but could someone help me find my testosterone?

a month ago, my dermatologist prescribed spironolactone for a skin condition. this is the drug that pre-op transgendered men take to reduce the amount of testosterone in their bodies during transition to becoming a woman. at the time my doc. recommended it, I asked her if the reduction in testosterone would affect my athletic performance. she replied that it wouldn't. well all I have to say is bullshit! in the past month, I've gotten soft, lost my edge, gained weight, lost muscle mass, and basically sucked on the bike -- at a time when my performance was critical. I'm sorry, but if someone doesn't really know the answer, they shouldn't lie about it. I've had two other docs and an exercise physiologist concur that the spiro should not be recommended for athletes, at least not if they don't want to lose performance.

does anyone know a dermatologist who understands athletes (preferably someone located on the peninsula)?

doing it all night long

over a year ago, I raced my first 24-hour mountain bike race as part of a five-woman team. considering I'm a roadie through and through, this was a big accomplishment for me. my lap times were good and I had lots of fun.....until the night lap. I headed out for about a mile, scared myself to the point of being dangerous, turned around, woke up a teammate to take my place, and cried myself to sleep. after that weekend, I decided 24-hour racing just wasn't my thing. but since I love endurance events, I decided to do the 8-hour solo event this year.

best laid plans, I guess. somehow, I raised my hand and signed up to race a two-woman team with my teammie, Justine. Justine is an endurance racing guru -- that's pretty much all she does and she usually does it solo: 8 hours, 12 hours, 24 hours. what the hell -- it would be a good goal for me, right?

long story short (because I'm too busy these days to write a long story), we raced. it wasn't flawless. we were the only two-woman team in the 2-person category. we raced 14 laps (170 miles) and finished in 4th place (of 5 teams, so we "girled" one team of boys). of note, the 2nd and 3rd place teams finished only one lap up on us. I rode not one, but two night laps, the second lap missing one light (scary). I ate wrong and got a terrible belly ache in the middle of the night and missed my 4:30am lap but got back out there in the morning.

total for the weekend: 6 laps, 72.33 miles, 9+ hours on the mtn bike, 9,648' of climbing, aches and pains everywhere (even my eyeballs), oh, and that stupid le mans start run (blech!). considering my primary goals were to conquer the night riding and to complete as many laps as I could, I was pretty proud of myself.

my teammie is a total stud. she finished 8 laps (almost 100 miles). she and her boyfriend, John, make an incredible team. Justine really knows how to race endurance events and it was such a fabulous learning experience for me.

and we couldn't have done it without Hans and John, who took care of us, fed us, rubbed us, wrenched for us, dressed us, nudged us to keep going, and were just plain heros in my book. although these races are solo or team events, I truly believe you can't succeed without the support of your crew (especially if you race solo or two-person), and we had the best!



I learned a lot of good lessons this weekend (about racing endurance events and about life). if I ever do this again, I expect to put those lessons to good use and have that much more fun!

shyte! did I just say this was fun?

when good legs go bad (and other friday afternoon ramblings)

it's been a long, busy week. between clients, training, and life, I haven't had much time to breathe. yesterday I rode Skegg's Point with Sam and it was a beautiful, perfect day filled with sunshine and wildflowers. I'm still not recovered from Wildflower and I got almost no sleep the night before, so my focus was off. combine that with the fact that I'm not a very skilled mtn biker, and it's no surprise I had a pretty fantabulous crash. it was one of those low-speed affairs where you struggle to keep your balance. gravity won and I nailed myself bigtime with both legs on the top tube. in addition to some beautiful bruising I think I might've torn something. I'm bummed because I've got great legs right now but the pain on my ride this morning was pretty severe and my power is way down. Berkeley Hills should be a treat tomorrow! arnica, arnica, arnica. the bruises are lovely and should do wonders for my dating life!

I've been drinking too much coffee and also suffering insomnia. it's a viscious cycle -- I can't sleep so I'm tired and because I'm tired I drink coffee. you would think I could get a lot of work done being awake until 3:00am but my mind is foggy so I just read blogs and shop (trips, races, music, etc). last night I downloaded 200 songs from iTunes and I named the playlist the insomnia mix. good stuff: arctic monkeys, the bird and the bee, fallout boy, incubus, joseph arthur and the lonely astronauts, kaiser chiefs, muse, my chemical romance, peter bjorn & john, plain white t's, the raconteurs, system of a down, travis, and a pretty awesome album of goth remixes of depeche mode.

I need an IT person. my wireless internet was toast this week and I spent way too many hours trying to fix it myself. I was finally successful, but it would be great if I had someone I could call who knows mac and cycling software and parallels and wireless and whatever.

Julie needed dental work. not really dental work like braces or crowns or fillings, but just a good old fashioned cleaning. I used to try brushing her teeth with one of those little finger toothbrushes and toothpaste that tastes like chicken or peanut butter but she just licked it off. and I haven't been giving her chewy snacks (just carrots which are good for her eyes but do nothing for her teeth) because I don't want her to get fat. so yesterday she went for her cleaning and the doc extracted one of her baby teeth that never fell out. hundreds of dollars!!! yeah, they use anesthesia and everything. I told her last night that we'd be brushing her teeth every night from now on.

I lost my favorite barrette at Wildflower. I've looked at a bunch of shops and can't find one like it anywhere. I went to Peninsula Beauty Supply yesterday and picked up a couple of substandard replacements and some Dirty Girl Roll-on Body Glitter. they have a full selection of Kama Sutra products, too! good to know.

we each got a big-ass plaque for winning wildflower. and a yellow tech-t (like the malloit jeune). and a medal. I like the medal. I gave the t to my dog sitter. and I have no idea what to do with the plaque. it's butt-ugly. it's just a copy of the ad for the event with a litle brass plate on it that says we won. it won't work with all the other plaques on my wall. maybe I'll give it to our bike shop sponsor. is it wrong to give it away just because it's ugly? and how do you spell plaque?

it's difficult to type your blog while eating corn on the cob.

always the bridesmaid, never the bride

Yesterday was the second race in the central coast mountain bike series at Ft. Ord in Monterey.

My legs were worked on Saturday at our Tri-Flow training, probably due to standing on my feet (in heels) for many hours on Friday night. I was a super-model (bah!) at the Tour of California gala in Sausalito, and combined with all the standing, we didn't eat until about 10:30 that night, so I was tired, cranky, and my legs were killing me. Saturday morning we worked on race drills, and anytime I hit my high-end my legs would flush and burn. I was a bit concerned they wouldn't be recovered for Sunday's race.

I arrived at Ft. Ord with enough time to do one pre-ride lap as a warm-up and roll to the line without a minute to spare. The timing was actually great -- no waiting around and cooling down, although in the last ten minutes I was a bit worried I wouldn't make it to the line by the whistle. Knowing I wouldn't have time to make it to the porta-potty, I used the green door on the side of the trail, waiting for Jill and Al Painter to ride by -- they didn't. whew!

I was more nervous for the race this weeek than I was last week. I think it was because I suddenly felt pressure to do well again. What if last week's 2nd place finish was a fluke? what if I really did suck again like last year. what if a certain ex-Velo Girl who was rumored to be racing this week showed up and kicked my butt? What if? I tried to channel my nervousness into positive energy.

I got my usual good start and rolled up the hill. I didn't push myself as much as I usually do -- not sure why. And for the first time since I've been racing mtn bikes at Ft. Ord, no one passed me on the starting stretch. You see, I usually get a good gap in the first 45-60 seconds and then blow pretty badly and get passed by at least a few racers (sometimes a lot of racers). But this time no one passed me and I was first onto the single-track. As we hit the first early climb (aka "the hill"), I kept expecting women to pass me. I tried to make myself as big as possible, but since this climb is on double-track, there are other lines to pass. Again, no one passed me and I was shocked. I rolled through the finish in 1st and Rod called out my name as the leader.

During the first lap, I kept waiting for someone to pass me on the climbs. Unfortunately, most of the climbs are on wider terrain, so it's easy to pass. And since climbing is my weakness, this is a big disadvantage for me. Again, shock as no one passed me.

Being in the leader's position is unfamiliar territory for me. I wasn't exactly sure what to do. I wanted to keep going hard but not too hard so I blew or got sloppy. At one point, I missed my line and ended up off the trail into a big pile of mud. It took some time to right myself and get back on the trail. I expected Jody (last week's yellow-jacket girl who was in 2nd this week) to pass me at that point but she didn't. I would occassionally glance back to see her about 30 seconds or so behind me. Not far enough for me to become comfortable with my gap, which kept me super-motivated to keep going.

Heading into the finish area, I see Jody's family and hear them cheer for her behind me. As we approach "the hill," I again expect her to pass me but she doesn't. A guy who I'd passed earlier in the lap passes me, but I pass him back at the top. That's one of the interesting elements of mtn bike racing that I've had to learn to deal with. Because there are multiple fields on the course at the same time, you can sometimes hear someone behind (breathing, shifting, braking) but not know if that person is in your field or not.

Heading into the finish chute going into lap two, I'm still in 1st place, but Jody is just behind me. Rod says something about "this is where the battle is being waged" so I know I don't have much of a gap. Back up the hill and I again expect Jody to pass me. I push as hard as I can and somehow make it to the top still in first position.

Lap two was pretty sloppy. I decided that I could increase my gap if I increase my risks, so I'm riding like a crazy-woman. At one point, I completely miss the trail as it turns to the left and stay on the trail to the right. Of course, I then notice the tape and realize I've ridden right off the course. The tape is low there so I turn around and ride over the tape and back onto the trail. Thank goodness the tape doesn't catch in my cranks or derailleur and I'm back on the trail (and Jody hasn't passed me). A quick glance back and I don't see her so I'm feeling a little more confident about my gap.

Then back to "the hill." I've always hated this hill. But today I'm able to ride it in bigger gears than in the past. On the second lap (my 4th time up the hill including my warm-up lap), I bottom out to my 34. Not a good sign. I hear Jody's family cheering for her, but she doesn't pass me on the hill.

Lap three is more of the same. At this point I feel I know the course well enough to really jam on the technical elements and fly through the single-track. I don't see Jody when I glance back except on the long stretch of uphill pavement (and she's way back there). But, she sees me which is probably enough to motivate her to pick it up a notch. Somehow, I stay on the trail the entire lap even though I'm pushing it. As I round the bend before "the hill" I suddenly realize I could win the race.

Alas, as I'm climbing "the hill" Jody passes me. I look down at my bike computer -- one hour and 20 minutes -- I've been leading the entire race for one hour and 20 minutes (in what was to be a one hour and 23 minute race). Unbelievable. As she passes, I try to respond, but my legs just cramp up and I barely make it to the top without stopping. But the race isn't over yet. I know that anything can happen (Jody could flat or crash or miss a turn) and I don't give up. So I try my hardest to catch her before the finish. But it just wasn't good enough today and she beat me by 37 seconds.

Although I'm a bit disappointed, I'm still pretty happy. My results are better than last year, I've learned a lot about mtn bike tactics in the past two races, and I think I still have the potential to win a race. I'm sitting in 2nd place in the series (down by only two points) and my fitness is far from peak so there's hope yet. I seem to have solved the nutrition issue for this race and my energy was constant throughout. Actually, our last lap was faster than the first two so that's positive, unlike my complete loss of energy in the week prior. The only things I would've done differently would be to stay on the trail (which I blew twice) and reconsider a couple of gearing choices. Regarding the latter, there were a couple of climbs on the trail where I got stuck in my middle chain-ring, not wanting to risk dropping my chain by shifting mid-climb, so I had to grunt it out. I'm sure this burned my legs a bit and didn't help my climbing the last time up "the hill."

So, another shiny 2nd place medal. So close, and yet so far from that elusive win.

Congratulations to my teammates also racing yesterday! Elizabeth did great, in just her third mountain bike race, finishing top-ten in the beginner women's category. Jeanine gutted it out with the sport women even though she was having a cleat malfunction. And Jenny, who missed the start of the beginner women due to some time spent with CHP in the morning, decided to race with the sport women, knowing she didn't have time to finish the race before having to take her son to his sporting event. After two laps she was sitting fifth or sixth and just jamming!