Tour de Frankenmuth - Cat 1/2/3

I rolled up to the line with a bit of anxiety as usual.  My legs were stiff from the car ride that began my day at 4:30am, and my lack of a decent warm up.  It had been sprinkling the whole way to Frankenmuth (well at least as much as I could see, as my eyes were closed for a least half of the ride), and didn’t look like that was going to change anytime soon.   It was (my teammate and little sister) Lori Hotchkin’s first race as a category 3 rider and our first race together in the same field.  So much fun to have a family member fully understand the sport of cycling and all the weird idiosyncrasies that go along with it.  And even more fun to have her race in the same field as me.  

Anyway, I had a whole 3 minute warmup prior to the race, so I wanted to start off by leading the group and controlling the pace to make sure I could get my legs warm before the attacking began.  Turns out that was a smart idea, because I was able to keep the pace where I wanted it, and managed to ward off any crazy early attacking.  It’s possible this was beneficial to everyone, since it’s always a bit hard to get in a good warmup before these events.  

Looking around, there was a decent sized field of 16 women ready to race.  The Fusion Cycling Team had 5 women racing, Priority Health had 3, and there were a few one’s and twosies from various other teams as well.  From past experience with this race and the lack of hills or anything conducive to group separation, I went into this race expecting it would end in a field sprint finish.  Since it was Lori’s first race in with the 1/2/3 group, I advised her to take more of an observational role.  Sit in, watch what the teams are doing, sit back, relax, and enjoy your first 1/2/3 race – no pressure. 

The Fusion Cycling Team launched attack after attack the first lap of the race.  All attacks were covered very quickly.  During one of the first few attacks and chases, there was a crash behind me.  It sounded like several riders were involved.  I hate that sound.  I was worried that Lori might have gotten caught up in it, but couldn’t look back.  I called her name and she quickly responded saying she was still there.  Whew!   So we rolled on hoping everyone was ok.

  A few times people just rolled off the front, and created a bit of a gap, but it seemed as soon as anyone noticed any sort of separation, the gap was closed.  Then there was another crash later on the first lap.  Sarah Demerly of Fusion Cycling had launched a strong attack, which was quickly covered by Chelsea Clark of Priority Health.  Unfortunately something happened, and Chelsea was down in a blink of an eye.  Everyone managed to get around her and her loose water bottles safely.  I was hoping Chelsea was ok.  She’s a strong rider/sprinter.  After breaking her wrist last year, and losing the last bit of the season, I know she is raring to go and ready to kill it this year.  Looking forward to racing with her.  

With at least 2 riders down at this point, the sprinkling of rain, and constant spray of road debris in your eyes, it was pretty hard to see and everyone seemed to be a bit more cautious.  

Finishing out lap number one through town, I made sure to scope out the finish.  I remember it being somewhat difficult to spot the finish line last year, and wanted to make sure I had a mental image to gauge my sprint in the end.  Finish line noted, and yes, it is a long, slightly downhill finishing stretch, just as I had remembered.  It’s one of the reasons I come back to this race every year.  That sprint is the best! 

The town of Frankenmuth is so friendly to racers and spectators.  The eateries and touristy shops are all open and welcome the influx of people.  Unlike Criteriums, road races typically aren’t the most fun for race spectators, but having a cute little town like Frankenmuth keeps everyone entertained while they anticipate their racers coming down the finishing straight.   They also have the dog parade, and that’s always cute.  J

The 2^nd lap was more of the same.  Attack/Chase/Attack/Chase.  It seemed that none of the attacks would stick.  Our overall pace wasn’t very high, so everyone seemed to have the energy to chase.  What we needed was the right combination of riders, a willingness to work together, and a weaker peloton.    Perhaps the overall caliber of the group was just too strong to let it happen, or the attacks were placed too far apart and no one was really getting too tired out.  It seemed that everyone was ok with it ending in a field sprint.  Teams seemed to be switching gears and preparing their strategies for the sprint.  

The 3^rd lap was just more riding and conserving for the sprint.  Unfortunately, no one felt like putting themselves at the front, because everyone was in conservation mode.  A new rider to the cat 3 group, Kristen Jukowski of Cadieux Cycling had taken several long pulls at the front throughout the race.  No doubt she is a strong rider as I have seen her race in the cat 4 field and she is often found off the front soloing it to the finish line for the majority of the race.  I’m excited to see how her season turns out as well.  I think she’ll do well and will enjoy the challenge this group brings.  

As we took the last right hand turn towards town, I was expecting a big wind up to the finish, but we were all bunched up from yellow line to road edge, and it felt like we were barely moving.  As soon as the road opened up a bit, people started scrambling - trying to find the wheel they had intended to take to the line.   I felt a sense of urgency.  Lori was on the other side of the road, and I didn’t think I could get to her, nor her to me.  It was way too late to line up – note:  get that together much earlier next time.  I was close to the center line, and was worried about crossing it, so I followed a wheel (I think it was Dori Leib’s, but it might have been Danielle Mullis), as we approached the final left hand corner to the long finishing straight.  

As I crossed the red brick crosswalks into that final corner, I hit the corner fast and took off on the inside trying to get a jump on the field.  I think I was successful, as looking down, I did not see a wheel right on mine.  I looked up and saw the Start/Finish sign.  Whoa!  That’s a long way.  But it’s do or die at this point, so I put my head down, gritted my teeth, and felt the burn.  Crap!  There was a wheel where there wasn’t before.  I had no idea who it was, but I could sense they were happy to be there and having fun riding my wheel to the line.  Ugh!  Dig deeper.  It hurts, but this is it!  Go!  I could hear the crowd going crazy.  It must have looked pretty cool.  At least in my mind it did.  J  I looked up again, and there was the line.  I honestly can’t remember if I stood up to sprint or not.  If there are any pictures of that, I’d love to see them.  I’m going to get mocked forever if I’m not standing up.  Anyway, as the orange streak behind me came around, I was just hoping my bike would cross the line before hers.  I did my best attempt at throwing my bike, but to no avail.  Ugh.  Sarah Demerly of Fusion Cycling got me at the line.  I knew it instantly.  The clock says she won by 4 hundredths of a second, it might as well have been 4 whole seconds.  But I’ll take my second place and all of my lessons learned.  

Alicia Trevino must have been hot on Sarah’s wheel, as she rounded out the podium with a 3^rd place finish.  

Now that the race is over, I realize I gave Lori some bad advice.  The pace of the race was manageable, and Lori is a much more aggressive rider than one to sit back and watch the race happen.  I thought since it was her 1^st race that would be the conservative thing to do.  But conservative does not win races, and we want to win races, so again… lesson learned.   Glad it’s the beginning of the season, so we have a lot more chances to get to the top of the podium.  

As a whole RWT had a great day at Frankenmuth.  Here are the results for the whole group!  In the Juniors races, Sarah Hartwell took 2nd in her age group, Ellie & Kiersen Korienek took 1st & 2nd in their AG.  Lori Hotchkin took 5th among the Cat 3 riders.  In the Cat 4's, Jane VanHof took 1st, Laura Korienek finished in 7th, Sarah Hoogeboom-Williams in 10th, and Cheryl Havens in 13th!  Fantastic showing RWT!

Tour de Frankenmuth Women's Cat 4

Today started out early with a 4:30 AM departure from Grand Rapids to Frankenmuth where I signed up to race my third road race - Das Tour de Frankenmuth.  As I drove across the state, the clouds built and a light rain began to fall.  Cycling in the rain is tolerable as long as I'm not eating the detritus kicked up from wheels I follow.  So, the rain added to my motivation to stay out front and set the pace.

Twenty-one riders signed up in the Women's Cat 4 field with four representing our team, Real Women Tri: Laura Korienek, Cheryl Havens, Sarah Williams and myself.  After racing the West Michigan Stage Race last weekend and wishing for a faster pace in that Women's Cat 3-4 road race, I decided to try my best to pull and attack from the start to see what might happen. Marie Dershem from Priority Health and Melissa Ryba from Hagerty met the challenge, and the three of us attacked on the corners and pulled at a steady 21.2 mph average for the first lap and a quarter.  Then some other girls took up the front with RWT's Sarah Williams, Sandie Domagalski from the Flying Rhino Cycling Club and Priority Health's Katie Whiddun all putting in solid and strong efforts.  I knew all of these women could win the race, and I needed to keep them in my sights until the end.

There came a long stretch into the wind about halfway through our second lap when the pace slowed and I moved back to the front to hunker in and pull for a while at a steady tempo.  Gratefully, my teammate Sarah Williams came up and took over with continued power.  Never before had I put myself out in the front so often in a race and it wasn't quite as scary as I had imagined it to be, even with the wind, the rain, and the amount of work I'd done on the first lap.  So much of racing comes down to a mental attitude, I'm coming to find, and not until I push the boundaries of my comfort will I find out the potential that lives inside.  Plus, I kept reminding myself that at least in the front I wasn't eating mouthfuls of nasty road-spray!

The spirit of fair competitiveness among the riders stands out as the aspect of women's bicycle racing I appreciate most.  The women with whom I race are fun, intelligent and willing to push and challenge each other physically while still offering up moral support when spirits or legs are flagging.  Today, for instance, my teammate Cheryl pulled up next to me and asked, "How are you doing, Jane?"  I told her I felt good and reminded her to drink some water - the tip she gave me during my first road race at Frankenmuth last year!  Minutes later, my teammate Laura came up on the other side and checked in by asking, "How is it going, Jane?" and I said great and asked her how she felt, too.  It's a small thing, but those quick check-ins from teammates offer a support that spurs motivation and builds camaraderie.  I noticed it happening between competing teams as well, and that spirit makes racing fun!  Too, this defines the nature of women's Cat 4 racing - a place where new racers safely learn the strategies and demands of racing that will gradually build to a skill-set of a Cat 3 rider.

With only a couple of miles left in our race, the Men's Cat 3 field passed us.  Once their sag vehicle came by, it seemed as if our pace slowed.  I asked aloud, "What happens if we catch them as we finish?"  Another rider chimed in, "We can't pass them."  Doubting my understanding of USA Cycling rules - whether at a finish we could pass them or not - we began our final mile.  Marie Dersham led the pack with her teammate Katie Whittung right behind her and as the pace picked up and we rounded the corner, I moved to the inside to sprint to the finish.  With the finish line approaching, I realized I was going to pass the Men's Cat 3 sag vehicle just before the line and wasn't confident that rules allowed that I could!  But, I didn't want to stop sprinting!  So I slowed a little and saw Katie Whittung right beside me - that was enough for me to kick it up a notch and pass the truck while crossing the finish line.  I heard later that the race announcer completely missed our finish as he thought we were part of the Men's Cat 3 race.  Oh well!  I eked out my first road race victory right at the line with Katie, Melissa, Sandie and Marie all hot on my wheel.

One year ago the Tour de Frankenmuth was my first road race.  In the year since then, I've learned countless lessons from the women and men with whom I ride including invaluable support from my more experienced teammates Kathy Everts and Lori Hotchkin.  Racing is fun, and the community and camaraderie of cyclists in Michigan inspires me to hang in there and ride faster and smarter.

Ft. Custer

The morning of Fort Custer started like any other, “Why am I doing this?” “Why didn’t I pre-register?” “Why do I have butterflies when I’ve done this a million times?” etc. ….  All the way to Augusta I was questioning why I race if it makes me feel so anxious.  I tried to convince myself I should just be a recreational rider.

Upon arrival I see my family members and it offers me comfort that this is just another race.  Although I secretly know it isn’t.    After gaining confidence at Yankee I had mentally prepped myself for what I wanted to accomplish.  I wanted a better time AND I wanted a better than 2^nd place finish than the year before. I was hoping for a sub-45 minute first lap and a 45ish 2^nd lap.  It would mean taking nearly 3 minutes off my 2011 time, but if I could do it I was pretty sure that I would get a podium spot.  

At the line there was a rather large field compared to other races.  I knew the course had changed and the really big hills were re-routed.  I was worried about this because I don’t feel like flats are my strength.  I knew many of the faces with the exception of one.  I struck up a conversation only to learn her name was Kim and that based upon her training, she was probably going to be pretty strong. 

I knew I didn’t want to be first into the woods.  As we entered I was second – perfect!  That didn’t last long.  The girl I was following burned out quick and I was now at the front. That didn’t last long either.  I was easily passed by Kim within the first couple miles.   Kim, Heather and I rode away pretty quickly from the group, but Kim rode away faster and I eventually lost sight.  Again, I tried not to worry too much because this was a long race, roughly 17 miles total. 

The trail at Fort Custer is difficult, to say the least.  Without pre-riding, I had forgotten a lot of the technical stuff.  A surprise spot had my bike heading straight down a sandy, rocky section with my bum levitating above my back tire because it was so steep.  Throughout the first lap I accidently unclipped 3 times due to corners, speed and rocks.  As we approached the end of the first lap, Heather and I catch up to teammate Jane Van-Hof who had started with the “young girls”.  The three of us worked together through the spectator area (which I’m sure looked awesome), but it quickly fell apart as we entered the woods for the second lap.  Jane is super strong on the flats and now seems to have a fire in her to make up some lost time.  Bye, bye Jane!

Heather and I had a pretty good lead on the rest of the field, but where was Kim?  I was growing frustrated several times thinking I saw her only to be disappointed.  I rode harder than I wanted to in an attempt catch up.   As I came through the tall pines, could it really be her?  IT IS!!  But, what is going on? It appears she and 2 other riders are being held up at the road.   I push hard to make-up the distance between us and arrive just as they are cleared to cross.  The volunteer apologizes and without a look back I hear Kim say, “Do you want to pass?”  My response was a simple “sure” and I got around her as fast as I could.  What was said next shouldn’t be publishedJ  She catches back up pretty quick and passes me again.  I grab on her wheel and planned on sitting there except she appeared to be dying on the last hill.  So, as is always the case, I couldn’t stop myself from passing.   

As we came to the last stretch of flat, I was sitting out front-right where I didn’t want to be. I didn’t know how far back she was and I didn’t dare look.  I wasn’t feeling too bad, but I knew we still had a ways to go to the finish.  Finally, I think I am going to get relief as two different guys pass me.  My attempts to summon each for mercy and allow me on their wheel either went unheard or they simply didn’t care.  The last few minutes remain in my head vividly.  Kim passed me and I grabbed her wheel.  She was pedaling hard and downshifting.  I stayed with her staring at her tire until I thought my eyes were going to bulge out of my head.   As the trail opened and the crowd became visible, I made my move.  My front tire lifted, my tongue was hanging out and my face must have looked like it was in a vice.  As we crossed the line, side by side, I knew her tire had me by a sliver. 

After I stopped seeing stars, I learned I had missed out on first place by 1 second.  Heather came in shortly after me and wrapped up 3^rd pretty handily and Jane took 4^th in her age group.  I didn’t get my sub-45 minute first lap but it was close.  Both laps were 45ish and I had dropped only 8 seconds on my 2^nd lap.  I was happiest with that accomplishment, although breaking the 2^nd place curse would have been nice too. 

Yankee Springs TT 2012

I rolled into Yankee Springs with a knot of dread in my stomach.  Yankee has always been unkind to me and I expected this 4^th year of racing the time trial to be no different.  Being the first mountain bike race of the season, it is always difficult to gauge your bike handling and conditioning (or lack of).   Fortunately, unlike past races, the weather wouldn’t be an excuse for poor performance - it was cool but great for racing.  As the clock ticked for my start time, I was comfortable with setting my goal at simply beating my time from last year.

My start time was 10 seconds behind my teammate Heather Kubiak.  This was a good thing because it gave me the motivation to chase.   I made up the time to get behind her pretty quickly (or she waited?).  We rode together for quite awhile until I needed to let off and catch my breath.  She rode away and I was passed by a couple other girls.  I tried not to panic because I knew there were still a few miles in front of us. 

I ran into several men on the trail the farther in I got.  Fortunately, everyone was very nice and let me pass with little complication.  I also had pretty open shots when I needed them on the climbs.  I was able to catch and pass some of my competitors on the hills. I kept rolling along trying to get a glimpse of pink aka Heather.  I didn’t see her until about 3 miles left.   We had a couple male riders separating us, and I knew when we got to people cheering in the woods that the parking lot would be coming up quick.  As soon as we hit the grass I started the sprint.   When we came around the final corner to meet the crowds I was standing for the finish.  I was a little surprised I had that much left in me which probably means I should’ve been riding harder on the trail. 

After catching my breath, in the typical “lay down and look like I’m dying” fashion I was met by Laura with the news that she thought I was 1st and Heather 2^nd.  I was sure she was wrong, but thankfully she wasn’t.  I had finally conquered Yankee , taken 7 minutes off my previous time, and was able to stand on the “podium” with my BFF.  The times for the 1^st thru 5^th place riders were separated by mere seconds.  I was the lucky one that day.

Fort Custer Stampede- Girls 11-14

As I was lining up to the start of Fort Custer, I had a feeling that it was going to be a good race.  Then we took off, I was pedaling as fast as I could.  Everything was going great.  When I got to Granny's Garden, I was feeling great. I blew through with a breeze!  Near the end of Granny's Garden, I knew a big rocky hill was coming up. I started shifting, and I couldn't make it up.  When I got to the top, something was wrong with my bike!  Dave Lenting from Leadout was behind me trying to catch up with Gabrielle.  He stopped to help me.  As he was trying to find out the problem, all I could do was sit there and watch all of the other people from my group pass by.  After what felt like 10 minutes, my mom came along, and Dave used her multi-tool to fix my bike.  I got on my bike, as fast as I could and took off.  By now, I was frustrated and upset!  I came to a downhill.  I flew down and shot up the hill, and made a quick turn on gravel.  My bike slid and I wiped out. As I was falling, I could see a girl in my group not too far away.  In pain I grabbed my bike and started up again. 

 I had my mind set on catching her.  My mom was saying to catch the girl before the Trenches, because for me, that was my favorite part and hard to pass. When I got to the Trenches, I still hadn't passed her.  I was right behind her, ready to pass. As we were nearing the end of the Trenches, I saw a passing spot.  There were two paths, one up, where you could go up and down a small hill, or the other, where you make a quick turn.  They were both good paths.  She took the up and down one, I saw my chance and passed.  I didn't want her passing me, so I took off. As the race was nearing the end, I saw another girl.  I stuck right behind her ready to pass.  I knew we had less than a mile left.  I tried to pass, but it was hard now.  I could hear people cheering.  We both started sprinting at the same time. I could see the finish.  I put all my effort into it and just barely beat her!  I was so tired after the race. I was happy with my results considering all that I had been through.  When it was time for awards, I was grateful for getting 3rd place.
                                                               Ellie K.

                                                 Gabrielle 1st, Ellie 3rd