Author: arfenarf

It’s been a bit of a hiatus, thanks to travel and Life Stuff. But I have an actual race to report!

(My anxiety-driven-perfectionist decision to skip the Shawnigan Lake Tri because I am in less-than-peak condition turned out to be a bonehead move. It would have been a great race anyway, but oh, well)

I raced the 5 km Rumble* Dallas Road Time Trial, the first event of three (TT, Road race, and the Bastion Square Criterium) running this weekend. I’ve been experimenting way, way outside my comfort zone this spring (see also: Biking, Mountain; Road Race, Latoria; Roubaix, Barry’s), and it felt really good to be back in my sweet spot where I sort of know what I’m doing, the Time Trial. No tactics, no sudden pickups, (relatively few) crazy corners. Just put your head down and ride as hard as you can over the distance. I mean, really. I didn’t even have to save anything for the run.

Continue reading “Rumble Dallas Road Time Trial”

The Velodrome!

I have to come clean here – I wasted two summers being terrified of the velodrome.  I’d allow my firstborn to ride on it.  For that matter, I’d drive him there.  I’d help throw a beach party on the infield.  I’d swap pedals for kids until the cows came home.  But the thought of riding a fixed-gear bike with no freaking brakes!!!  up on that banking was really, really scary.  My son finally coaxed me onto a fixie late last summer and, in the interests of staying a page ahead of the clinic, I joined a Learn to Ride class a few weeks ago.

I had an absolute blast.  This is good, because it meant I could tell nervous clinic participants what fun the track is with complete sincerity.

Kurt Innes comes to us from the Canadian Sport Centre Pacific.  He did a great job of easing people into every little step.  He has this way of offering a progression to a new challenge as this funny idea he just had… you might or might not want to try, no big deal if you don’t… and people just glom on and give it a whirl. Clinic participants learned how to ride (and stop!) a fixie without brakes, and then started working around and around the track, gradually working up the confidence to move up onto the banked part.

By the end of the evening (and boy howdy, it was cold out there), he had us doing a sprint called a Flying 200 and had instilled enough safety wisdom that everyone was free to ride on the track to stay warm.  It was great to see the confidence rise and speeds increase as the evening wore on.

The Greater Victoria Velodrome Association has seen explosive growth since the track was re-opened a few years ago, and it’s not hard to see why.  Racing, clinics, and open track times are described on their site:  check it out!

Beginning Racing!  Wahoo!  On bicycles!  Oh, yeah!  Exercising drafting and paceline skills!  Zowie!  At Western Speedway!!!

Whut?

I was floored the first time I went out there to watch some racing.  Grown men racing bicycles in skin-tight, baby-blue argyle really clashes with the asphalt, advertisements, oil, and testosterone-soaked atmosphere at the Speedway.  But you get used to these things. The owners of the facility are really supportive of non-motorized use and it is a great place to learn how to race bicycles.  Relatively flat, relatively smooth (corner 3 is a bit of an adventure), no sharp corners to worry about.   Continue reading “Tripleshot Women’s Clinic – Week 3”

I’ve just found this wonderful series of great trail runs on the south island… great reading and some inspiration for when I want something different from a steady diet of Thetis and Elk/Beaver.

http://briwifit.com/tag/best-trails-to-run-vancouver-island/

Glorious sunshine streamed through Beacon Hill Park, setting blossoms alight as the sun sank into the west… and our intrepid clinic participants were back for another round.  And round, and round, and round, for tonight was Drafting and Pacelines on the one-mile oval at the south end of the park.  Circle Drive follows the path of an old horse race track in the park (the Friends of Beacon Hill Park would have an aneurysm if something so very … commercial … (shudder) were to take place today) and is perfect training grounds, as it’s a series of right hand turns that make it easy to slip alongside traffic. Continue reading “Tripleshot Women’s Clinic – Week 2”

There are no words.  Prayers and peace to all affected by this appalling act.

I am one of a team of ride leaders helping out with the second annual Tripleshot Cycling Women’s Group Riding and Racing Skills clinic. We come from all over the cycling world and many of the team are very, very impressive: the cycling resumes that came out during our introductions painted a picture of a group of women ranging from 17 years old to [just never you mind]; national and provincial team members; and representation from all kinds of cycling, including mountain, road, and the track. And then, there’s me, the token triathlete. “Hey, Kate: how many triathletes does it take to screw in a light bulb? What? You can’t tell me until you find a carbon fibre ladder and check with your coach? Bwa ha ha ha ha ha!!” (sigh)

Anyway, our Grand Poobah, Jen Erlendson, has asked me to write up the clinics as we go, saying she’d like my “on the ground, leader perspective.” Now, I have to say I didn’t spend that much time on the ground Monday night and had kind of hoped she wasn’t looking when I toppled. Oh, well. Continue reading “Tripleshot Women’s Clinic – Week 1”

Bless me, Barry, for I have sinned.  It has been a really, really long time since my last confession.  These are my sins:

Vanity – I entered your race, the Barry’s Roubaix, thinking I was really hot stuff.  I assumed my triathlon glories, last spotted over six months ago, since when I have trained precious little, would translate to instant road racing success.  I allowed my pride to be inflated by hearing the flattery of others who told me I could certainly handle Cat 3/4 Women.  I discounted the presence of hungry Canada Games contenders.  Finally, when I got my ass handed to me on a platter and dropped first by the lead group, then the chase group, the stragglers, and the incumbent lanterne rouge, I was so mortified by my DFL position that I took a DNF before the 12-year-old boys caught me, and walked off the course without completing the race.

Continue reading “Confession”

Back in the saddle again, again.  I’m swimming, riding, and even running more consistently than I have in months.

Most of the winter got wiped out by that foot injury after Stewart Mountain, followed by a nasty flu, followed by the chaos of moving into my very own little (tiny) house.  As I write this, the latest wave of contractors (insulation guys this time) are under the baleful eye of my long-suffering dog who has given up barking and just looks soulfully at the daily intruders. (“Cookie?!”)

The unplanned break has had an entirely unexpected outcome.  It turns out, at the risk of inflicting TMI, that I am not menopausal after all.  The nearly 18-month shutdown that I assumed was just age catching up to me corresponds precisely to my heavy pre-Worlds buildup.  And as soon as I stopped carrying 10+ hours/week and gained 10 pounds, I went back to running like clockwork. Continue reading “Balance, baby.”