Tuesday, March 24, 2009

CycleLife Hearts WV


I'm pretty sure that Team CycleLife powered by Specialized spends more weekends training out in WV than any team I know. When we heard that our sponsor, Michelle from Teaism, was going to be spending a weekend out there, we couldn't pass up the opportunity to join her in beautiful Lost City. We heart our sponsors!

The weather for both days was pleasant albeit slightly chilly at the start of the rides. Badger, Chicken, Plain Jane, Michelle Brown and I attacked the George Washington mountain on Saturday challenging each other every step of the way. We are riding and meshing well. As one of the newest members of this team, I'm constantly seeking opportunities to get to know the girls better - on and off the bike. On Saturday's ride, I had to react to sudden jumps initiated by Chicken, helplessly watch Badger pass me on long climbs (more than once), and tuck in protectively behind Plain Jane as she screamed down descents. The weekend was nothing short of fun. Each chica on this team possess very unique strengths on the bike, and I can't wait for us to capitalize on them in a race. Kudos to Michelle for staying with us most of the way while riding on a standard crank! Strong team AND strong sponsors!

Unfortunately for Badger and me, we lost our human Garmin (and apparently, Plain Jane's Garmin too) and had to use old fashion road maps (gasp!!) for Sunday's ride. A teammate later commented, "you couldn't have put two more directionally challenged people on the road in the middle of WV." Well, in our defense, I think we now know exactly where we DON'T like to ride now. Key words that don't mesh: gravel, Mt. George Washington, 3-5 miles. Long story short, I either need to start mountain biking or stay far away from sketchy descents with lots of gravel. My hands and arms still hurt from gripping so hard.

We're less than one week away from our first MABRA race - Jefferson Cup in Charlottesville, VA. I can't wait to get this season rolling!!

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