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June 2002
06/24/02 -Summer, A Cyclocross Countdown
June 21st was the first day of summer. So how did we celebrate? Well, 10 of us raced the Pescadero Road Race in wintery wet conditions. (See our La Gazzetta :: Race Reports and Race Results sections for all the details you never asked about.) Racing in the cold weather, bundling up in layers of clothes, wiping mist and debris from my eyes, and spotting cyclocross pals Hillary Daniels, Sarah Kerlin and Dorothy Wong, made me think longingly of cyclocross season. I know, I know, it's summer, but cyclocross season is one of those things that you suffer through while it's here and miss desperately as soon as enough time passes to make you forget how much it hurt.
I guess enough time has passed. So Alan pulled down my beautiful
Steelman cross bike, dusted off the cobwebs, pumped air in the Tufos, and we bounced lazily between the paved roads, fireroads and happy trails singletrack of Ft Ord. Only 105 days until cyclocross season. I think we need a cross countdown timer thingie on the
website to remind us of the wintertime fun to come. Happy Summer!
06/19/02 - IMBA Action Alert - California
IMBA asks California mountain bikers to contact their congressional delegation to help preserve access to important trails. U.S. Senator Barbara Boxer recently introduced the California Wild Heritage Act of 2002 in the U.S. Senate. The bill, S. 2535, proposes to add 2.7 million acres to California's 14 million acres of federally designated Wilderness. See IMBA's website for information to fax your opinions.
Many popular riding areas are targeted in this bill which, if passed, would make these areas off limits to bikes. Targeted areas include riding meccas such as San Bernadino Mtns, Lake Tahoe, Mammoth Lakes, Lake Isabella and more. Further details on the areas targeted and IMBA's position on them can be found here.
06/17/02 Women's Racing and stuff
Susy and Shelly just completed racing the NORBA NCS #2 in Wisconsin. See how two Californians and a roadie did in the mud and muck in our La Gazzetta :: Race Reports section.
Speaking of Susy and NORBA, if you didn't blink, you would have seen Susy clambering up the cross country hike-a-bike and attacking for 3rd place on the podium in the Short Track on OLN's coverage of the Big Bear races. If Roland hadn't used an "illegal" tool, maybe we would have seen more coverage of the women's events.
The Hewlett Packard Stage Race has started. In addition to being one of the finest women's stage races, this race has an awesome website. Check it out for live race coverage, instant results, team rosters and bios. Even send greetings to your favorite HP racer.
Alyson Lowery returned from the Women's Only Weekend at Big Bear where she taught the junior clinic. Alyson had a great time coaching the kids and supporting first time racers and riders. Alyson also enjoyed an evening out with other clinic coaches. Something about Tai Lee's cadillac and Leigh Donovan dancing on the tables...?
06/12/02 Update Mishmash
Congratulations to Chann McRae (Postal Service) for winning the Stars and Stripes jersey at USPRO Championships in Philly. And a big "What Up!" to local boy Damon Kluck (Saturn) for finishing 8th. See Velo News writeup.
A great big "Velo Bella Get Well" message goes out to our own Geezer, Jim Gilman. Jim crashed while descending Laureles Grade (Toro, Toro, Toro!) and broke some ribs and clavicle and missed out on Brenda and Skip's barbecue. Heal, get better, and don't laugh! We'll be looking for you soon!
Small World Velo Bella Sightings...
We were visiting the new Pearl Izumi store at the Factory Outlets in Gilroy, when Sabine spied a Velo Bella water bottle behind the register. Seems it belongs to one of the employees, Jeni Udall, who won it in the Central Coast Mountain Bike Series. Looks like donating to local races works! And while riding in Soquel Demo Forest, we saw a Velo Bella jersey dart off in the trees. We caught up to it and found Sue O'Daly and Stephanie Saylor checking out the Demo trails and celebrating Stephanie's birthday in fine mountain biking style. Happy Birthday, Steph!
And in other much more important news...
Laura Sanchez got her upgrade to Cat 3! Her upgrade earns her 5 Velo Bella points, and she is now leading the Points Scramble by 1 point over Shelly Whisenhant. Can you feel the tension? Go girl!
06/06/02 - Movin' on Up!
We are midway through the Women's Cat 3,4,5 Series with Laura Sanchez as 5th in the series. But they won't be earning Cat 4 points for long. Petra, racing for Team Trek, just received her upgrade to Cat 3! Can you hear all the other 4s breathe a sigh of relief? ...and Laura, in a desperate attempt to pass Shelly in Velo Bella points, will be applying soon. In case you haven't noticed, the number of women racing Cat 3,4,5 in Northern California has increased big time. So cool to have decent field sizes. And a big "THANK YOU!!" to race promoters willing to open up categories that allow beginning/intermediate women to have a race separate from the Pro 1/2 women. Next race in the series is Livermore Road Race. Nice little rolling course with a short uphill finish. See you there!
06/01/02 - Way to TalGO!!
Susys road team, Talgo America, pulled their second upset of the year this weekend when new teammate, Dede Demet-Barry, beat the Worlds top women at the Montreal World Cup. Montreal is considered one of the hardest races in the World Cup circuit, but that didnt seem to faze this feisty team. This upstart team has a fraction of the budget of teams such as Saturn but twice the heart (and lungs). Talgo rounded out the success by placing three of their riders in the top twenty, including Susy at 19th. Read Chris' Report and Susys comments on the weekend under Velo Bella's Race Reports section. Read the Velonews story. Choo-Choo!!
06/01/02 - Velo Bellas Conquer Sierra Century
Four Velo Bellas joined a number of Velo Fellas to ride by scenic rivers, beautiful wineries, and historic landmarks in Amador County. We cycled through the majestic high Sierra and historic gold towns while being pampered by the Sacramento Wheelmen...lots of great food and great music. Climbing Slug Gultch was the highlight. This was perfect Death Ride training with a steep, long, windy road. Oh, the name? Well, you feel like you're going at a slug's pace and arrive at the top just as slimy and sweaty! Elizabeth Caracker and Brenda Cranford enjoyed the 102-mile century, while Sue Lovecchio and Dana Lookadoo continued on for more joyous torture for the 124-mile double metric that contained a total of 10,000 feet of climbing.
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