"Let me tell you what I think about bicycling. I think it has done more to emancipate women than anything else in the world. It gives women a feeling of freedom and self-reliance. I stand and rejoice every time I see a woman ride by on a wheel.. the picture of free, untrammeled womanhood." ~ Susan B. Anthony

Tuesday, July 17, 2012

My first sprint win, PIR 7-16 Hot Lap #3

No one more surprised than me!

Do I have a photo?
Do I have a video?
Did I even bring my Garmin?

No to all the above.  But OBRA did verify, I was the winner of the 3rd and final hot lap, and did place 4th (out of 8) for the race.  The top three, really fine, fine athletes.

If there really is a cloud 9, I suppose I am there!

Anyhow, one for the Home Boys!  Thanks so much for the support and kicking my @$$ every T/R/S/S in Vietnam... Thanks to PIR, my cornering has gone from completely horrid to just plain, bad!

Friday, July 13, 2012

Monday Night PIR - July 9

Never raced in the USA!  Funny!  Got my bike in Taiwan, raced in Taiwan... later Cambodia, Thailand, and Indonesia but never the USA.

I have always wanted to so this race at the Portland International Raceway.

www.racemondaynights.com

There is 'Novice Women', and 'Open'.  Hmmm... I am not a member of OBRA, and I am not 'Categorized'. I have a fantasy that I am a Cat 3 rider.  I have won a lot of races over the years and place well in stage races.  I am not new to racing, but we don't race every week.

I live in Vietnam and every T/R/S/S feel much like a race.

Well...

I am learning a LOT

Here's Lap 11 of last weeks.  Two got away in front and we lost a few on the back.  I was smart on this lap and kept to the front.  Sadly... not every lap.  When the Cat 2 gals dig deep, I fly off the back.  But, an area for improvement.  That's what I am here for!
Lap 1 or 2, don't know...
Lap 2 or 3, I think they rang for the "hot lap" after this....
And that is what happens to me after a HOT LAP... I am in deep trouble!  Need to work on some sprinting???  maybe some speed?
and after the next hot lap...
regular lap...

I am the 2nd girl...


This was the prior lap, and more representative of the 13 laps....

Hangin' off the back.  dyin' to survive....

The last lap, I took the lead and pulled around the last corner... I got squashed... of course, the final sprint I was wasted.  I figured since I did very little work in the race, I should work at the end... the girls thanked me for it.

I finished in the pack of 6, 2 escaped off the front and we lost a few off the back.  So... happier with this performance than the prior weeks.

Monday nights are tough for me.  I think the girls are mostly Cat 2 and 3... Don't know what I would classify myself as...3 or 4.

better luck next Monday!

Monday, July 2, 2012

Delhi, New and Old

Not sure words can accurately describe what we saw, felt, smelt, and dealt with.  It was a whirl-wind experience that I am not completely sure we will ever do again.

We arrived late at night after our fun day in Bangkok.  Picking a hotel in Delhi with our criteria in mind was the hardest part of planning the trip.  We wanted something not commercial, somewhat homey and something with character.  We also wanted to be somewhere close to the things we wanted to see...

But what did we want to see?  I don't know!  There are forts, mosques, new building, etc.  We were more interested in old history then new buildings so I found a place close to Old Delhi.