Looking for Sponsors for Surf City!
August 31, 2006
Our popular cyclocross clinics will be held at course locations on the Saturday before the first two events.
Surf City Cyclcross is a fundraiser for the Velo Bella Elite Cyclocross team. Thank you for your support of our team. In addition to cyclocross team funding, this year we are also donating $2/entry at each race to local charities and groups. Donees for each race are as follows:
August 28-September 2
August 30, 2006
Expert Holland Ladies Tour
Stage 1
91st, Lieselot Decroix
Stage 2
37th, Lieselot Decroix
Stage 3
61st, Lieselot Decroix
Stage 4a
91st, Lieselot Decroix
Stage 5
62nd, Lieselot Decroix
Stage 6
26th, Lieselot Decroix
General Classification
44th, Lieselot Decroix
See Crazy Bella Action here
August 29, 2006
someday, when we get this blog up and running!
August 22-27
August 29, 2006
San Ardo Road Race, CA
1st, Sabine Dukes, Women 30+
3rd, Jennifer Udall, Women 30+
9th, Brei Gudsell, Women 1/2/3
3rd, Ryan Hostetter, Women 3
5th, Denise Ramirez, Women 4
10th, Angela Aldrich, Women 4
University Road Race, CA
11th, Brei Gudsell, Women 1/2/3
The Endurance 100 Solo, UT
6th, Cat Morrison, Women 30-39
Rocky Mountain Ultra Endurance Series
1st, Cat Morrison, Women 30-39
August 19-20
August 23, 2006
Doubling Gap Time Trial, PA
1st, Barbara Grabowski, Women 35+
Dunnigan Hills Road Race, CA
1st, Brei Gudsell, Women 1/2/3
17th, Monica Neilson, Women 1/2/3
32nd, Erin Kassoy, Women 1/2/3
2nd, Julie Porter, Women 4
28th, Soni Andreini Poulsen, Women 4
Suisun Harbor Criterium, CA
15th, Brei Gudsell, Women
35th, Kim White, Women
Minnesota State Track Chamapionships
3rd, Barb Harick, Women, 500m TT
2nd, Barb Harick, Women, 3000m TT
Dunigan Hills RR
August 23, 2006
by Monica Neilson
Brei from NZ and I traveled from my house in Brentwood to the metropolis of Yolo for this little road race Saturday. A rural drive thru Rio Vista, hwy 12, 113 up to Woodland and then Yolo. Good chance for Brei to see the flat lands up here. Exciting, I’m sure 
We met up with Erin while we were cruising around waiting for our start time. Velo Bob was a little behind – shocking I know! There were 6 or 7 Palo Alto girls, four Proman, a smattering of Metromint. & three Touchstone climbers. Amber Rais was the only Webcor and T Diddy was the lone McGuire chickie.
Erin’s working on her fitness for her favorite season – Cross – so she told us her high end fitness wasn’t there yet. Our plan was to stay near the front, cover the attempts to break and land either Brei or myself in one.
There were a few efforts to get something off, each time one of us was on it but nothing was sticking. Molly from Metromint rode away, no one gave chase. Soon a teammate of hers jumped, someone hollered at her for “chasing her own teammate.” They dangled up there for a bit when a few others jumped. I was stuck along the centerline and couldn’t get out. A few of us near the front started an effort to trade pulls when Brei jumped from the group to bridge. I tried to hang near the front to keep chasers at bay. In the distance I could see Brei closed the gap. Good for her!
The break consisted of someone from every team, Palo Alto, Touchstone, Proman, VB, Metromint & Olympic Clib so the only ones in the group to really work were Amber Rais & or T- Diddy both knowing no one was going to help them. Amber worked the front for a bit but we got up there to block her efforts. After a bit it was clear the break stuck and nothing much was going to happen.
Things got really boring here. I sat on the front and talked to people, it was kind of like, a mellow group ride. Boring, boring. As we neared the finish things livened up a bit. The field sprint was a little dicey with the narrow, bumpy road but everyone stayed up right.
I was so excited when I saw Brei and raised my hands in the air saying “well, what happened?” I won, she says. YAYYY! Too cool. I guess India from Touchstone led out the sprint with Jenny Tafoya on her wheel. Brei got around both of them before the line. Jenny was 2nd & India 3rd.
Good stuff!
Dunnigan Hills RR Report (and then some)
August 23, 2006
Not sure why they call it “Dunnigan Hills”. I think “Dunnigan Bumps” would be more appropriate. Anyway, I have been sort of shy about writing race reports so here goes!
This was the largest group I have ever raced in. There were 36 W-4 on the starting line. It is also the flattest race I have ever done. I missed my pedal on the start and ended up in the rear. It took me 30 minutes to get just a few spots up. I was constantly looking for openings, movement, etc. I would get up to the 10th spot here and there but most of the time I was near the back. This was OK since we were not setting the world on fire and no one was moving much, even in the hills.
The most excitement we had was when the CHP was pointing to a turn from inside his car, windows rolled up, and sun glare on the glass. Needless to say, most of the group missed the turn and a couple of girls took advantage of this and pulled away. A few of us tried to get the others to let them sit out there but no such luck. This was my only time in the front while we bridged up.
We made the last turn for the finish line. Everyone was nervous and trying to get their position. By now, the pack was down to 24 or so. I was still in the back end. I missed the 1K marker but saw the 200M. I sprinted up the hill in the big ring and finished a happy camper 2nd. I learned a lot about flat group riding.
Race Report Catch up:
* Pine Flat-got a flat and the weather was terrible
* Madera Stage Race-Lots of fun, got my first set of “points”. I think I had to ask what points were.
* Folsom Crit-Not a crit girl but it was close to home and I like to sprint so it was good.
* Sea Otter MTB Short Track-Bailed
* Sea Otter XC-You all know THAT story for the Women Riders
* NVDC-Slow and brutal as always
* Cougar Mtn-Can you say lava rock, kidney damaging ride? No flat tires through!
* Downieville Classic XC – Oh ya, brutal climb but a lovely descent.
* Howell Mtn Challenge – Not a good day, need more endurance training.
OK, now that I have caught up, I will be better about my reports-as required by the fabulous Velo Bella Rule Book. Thanks to Soni for always having a kind word and a smile for me. We are usually the only two Bellas in our group. I have really enjoyed my first season as a Bella and look forward to meeting and racing with you all.
Happy Riding-Julie
Another Win in the Dirt
August 23, 2006
by Jenn Young
Hi all – I won my race in KY this weekend. It was HOT when my field finally started at 12:30, luckily the other ladies and I voted down to 1 lap instead of 2. To be honest I don’t even know what the distance was but I do know I was drenched by the time I finished.
It was a really nice course, though it had some seriously heinous climbing. Good thing I took the hard tail, so much lighter. The worst climb of them all came shortly after the start. My HR was already way higher than it should have been (I think I was just excited b/c by that point I was starting to pass some of the beginners men) and I exploded half way up. I had to get off and push, then regain composure and pedal on. I was disappointed b/c I had made it further up in the pre-ride, but hey, that’s racing.
I went through the part of the course that was near the start/finish, people were crowded down there to take pictures and cheers us on. Then I remembered how much more trail there was before I actually got to the finish. One of the men and I jockeyed back and forth on more climbing, then he just gave up and dropped off. I saw Anthony, he came down into the woods to find out how I was doing and remind me that it was all downhill to the finish. Ah, there is nothing like the boost of adrenaline that you get when you know you’re almost done and there is BEER at the end. I had a 10 min gap on the rest of the field and got a nice medal, that brings my collection up to 2.
Cheers ~ Jenn
Whitney Rocks!
August 23, 2006
Introduction by Raja Lahti
San Diego Velo Bella Whitney DeSpain is WAY too modest about her finish at the Barb Half Ironman this past weekend. Whitney is one of the most supportive, energetic, amazing individuals…who has been terrified of water. Fellow bella Courtney Carpenter was her swim
buddy at San Diego International Tri where (I think) Whitney did the entire swim in ackstroke. This weekend she finished a half-ironman! Way to go Whitney!!
******************Her race report****************
by Whitney DeSpain
It went great. The hardest part was being away from Abby. It’s the first time I’ve been away from her for more than a few hours. I had major travel problems (I flew to San Francisco at noon the day before then drove up- MISTAKE!!!) and didn’t eat much or rest at all the day before the race. All of that took a toll, but I still had a ball.
I did the swim in 45 minutes, which was AMAZING for me. I’ve had to work really, really hard to get over my fear of the water, but it’s finally coming together. I think by next summer the swim might be my strongest event. Weird.
My bike split was 3:20 for almost 58 miles (they had to extend the course because of a bridge problem). It was really hilly, but I thought I should have done better. Yesterday I realized my rear wheel was on crooked and it rubbed my brakes and frame the ENTIRE RIDE. Duh. I knew it seemed extra hard. I destroyed the tire, and I’m lucky that it didn’t flat during the race! I’ll be doing more thorough equipment checks in the future.
The run took 2:45. I got a 4 minute penalty for wearing headphones (who knew they actually checked for that stuff?!?!). I didn’t eat enough on the bike, and the last 5 miles were pretty brutal. Still, I was happy to finish in about 7 hours. I’m planning on doing another one next year, then begin training for Ironman Arizona in 2008.
Howell Mountain Race Report
August 23, 2006
by Piper Ehlen
Want fast, narrow, fun singletrack? Then Howell Mountain is the race for you. Not very technical, not a lot of climbing. Just a lot of fun, winding singletrack. What more could a girl want?
Race morning started with a good warmup around this cutesy Napa town and some chatting with the Matt’s (Cerkel, Leonard, Berman). I made my way to the start line and found some smiley Bellas (Karen, Daphne) and we’re off. A few minutes of fireroad and we’re in the
trees, out of the hot Napa sun and into some super narrow, easy, smile-producing singletrack. What a blast.
A few easy climbs toward the end of each lap gave me the opportunity to pass a few Sport women and men. Unfortunately, I was passed by a Cabo Wabo rider that I had been fending off for nearly the whole race. I never caught her again. I made my last pass on the flat fireroad at the end of the second lap, a Sport woman who I thought I would have to battle until the end, but I hammered past her and gave all my energy in the hopes of leaving her in the dust – which I did. As I sat at the finish line trying to recover from the last push, I waited for her to finish and she was a full minute behind me. I guess I didn’t need to push as hard as I did, but it was good for me all the same.
I finished in 2:27, 3rd in Senior Sport Women.
What a great way to spend a Sunday in Northern California.
Piper
