Run for the border

Imperial Beach Triathlon

So you basically drive down the 5 south till, oh, the border. Take a right and go to the beach. Ta da! Imperial Beach! Now Tijuana is renowned for their pristine water - or sewage spills, so I'm glad that fence along the border keeps all the bad bugs out. I checked in for the race on Sat and immediately hear rumors that the swim could be cancelled due to bacteria counts being too high. Sweet! The race directors run a good race and wouldn't put us in harms way, so I would just have to take their word on the water quality. Personally I suck at beach entries/exits so I'm not sure that I would be too upset if the swim were to be cancelled. But alas.. it the water was fine and the swim would go on.

But it sucked in any case. I haven't seen the splits yet, but I'm sure it wasn't pretty. Just as my little toes hit semi-dry sand and stopped ('cause I was just about walking at that point), stripped out of my wetsuit and then ran into T1. One of my goals was to quicken up my transitions, so I'm glad I ran right past my bike in T1. I've always known that swimming provides me serious oxygen debt in the pool, but now I get an open water-demo of oxygen-debt-brain-loss. Goody!

Once on the bike things start to look good and blood once again returns to the gray-matter. The bike felt pretty good, even while viewing the Mexican houses on the other side of the hill.

Then comes the run. It always hurts, no matter how good you think you feel. I guess that's part of the "fun"... one day it won't hurt! Only a 5K run, but with an average heart rate of 188 on the run, at least I can say I gave her a good old fashion try! It wasn't quite as fast as I would have liked, not bad, but I was hoping for a little better, and not quite fast enough the close the gap to first on such a short distance.

I have to say, I'll take 2nd! If I counted correctly, I was 5th overall. I can't wait for a lake swim again!

After the race I was standing by the score board and I hear "damn, he beat me again!" from somewhere next to me. It just got me thinking - that's what brings us coming back... for yet another pain fest. That feeling that you can do better next time, it's like crack...

Next crack... Nationals..... wish me luck, I'll need it!

Happy riding!
Raja

Bella grooves & moves

OK, so this is the first time I've had 20 unread emails in my email box! Haven't written much and already blew my rule of thumb when it comes to writing race reports... write them within the first couple days after racing to get the full effect. Oh well!

This morning I attended a meeting of new Velo Bella triathlete getting ready for the US Women's Triathlon series triathlon in October and it was so great to see so many new faces! Triathlon seems formidable at first, but then after you do your first race you realize it's a ton of fun and the sense of accomplishment when you finish will get you signed up for your next!

Since the Mouse Attack, I've been to Coeur D'Alene to watch Bella Stacy Dietrich (left) and my husband Dave McMahon (right) race at Ironman CDA. Dave came in at a fantastic 10:40ish, taking 20 minutes off his Ironman Canada time (even with a swim disaster!), and Stacy finished in an astonishing 11:28 and was sporting a HUGE smile the entire time... sick!

Then I went to Napa for my girlfriend Leticia's wedding... ahhh.. a beautiful bride and fine glass of wine are always a good thing.

Since I had been away for the previous few weeks, what's 2 more!.... Back to living in a hotel for a couple of weeks as part of training for work. Get up early, run, shower, change for work, work training from 7:30-5:30, then back to the hotel, change and jump on the trainer for a couple of hours.. or zip off to the pool for a swim. Luckily my work partner (Stacy D. above) is also a tri-geek bella so my cohorts were already prepared for the equipment I moved into my hotel room.. bikes, trainers, swim cords, too many shoes and a bag full of Power Bars.

Then I raced Pendleton International and hoped I'd be recovered enough from my work training "graduation" class.... I wasn't going to expect too much since I really haven't had time to put in the solid training I would have liked to. Since I didn't have too many opportunities to swim for the previous month (except for a 25 yard pool at about 80 degrees), it was no surprise the swim sucked. Or the quarter mile run through deep sand to T1. But alas, I survived. I finally felt good on the bike. While I was at training for work, I dropped my TT bike off at the shop with a suspicious noise coming from my cranks. Of course I had heard it for awhile, but never thought it was an issue. Turns out my bottom bracket had more or less disentegrated. Oops! So ya think that's why riding that bike has been soooo hard??

Needless to say, the bike felt MUCH better and I finished in 1:10, right where I should be. (T1 & T2 were in the bike time for a total of 1:13:49). Out of T2 I left the legs turn into rocks. The deep sand was coming to haunt me. I just tried to stay steady and see if the lactic acid would miraculously disappear. Coming around to the second lap I was at about 23 minutes, I took some salt tabs & a motivator and within a half mile I had found my legs. I could hear Lesley "come on Raaa-yaaaa" like she does in your workouts and tried to focus on what I would I if she were there staring at me... she's really the Scottish Devil that one! And I mean Devil in the fire & energy that she exudes. I set my sights on a local TCSD racer who has quite a good run and if I could catch her I knew it would be a good run. Every hundred meters I got closer, and closer and I knew if she heard me coming, she could possibly out sprint me to the finish, so I used a little stealth and a whole lot of surprise to edge her out in the last 100 meters. Unfortunately with triathlon, you never really know who's in your age group so you just have to aim for someone in front of you and chip away.. then cross your fingers there's not too many you didn't see. There always is!

I ended up 3rd and really was quite happy with that. As soon as I get my swim back on and perhaps attempt to trim up a bit more, I think Nationals will be a better show this year. At least I hope so! It would be oh soo nice to race in Australia next year.... we'll see. Not sure if it's possible this year with the career change taking so much of my time, but I know it will all work out for the better.

Next race.. Imperial Beach Triathlon... see you there!

Happy Riding!

Raja

(Stacy in her post-Ironman daze...)

Get the MOUSE!

It's been awhile since my last posting... oye!

I had a change of careers in April and pretty much everything else has had to sit on the back burner until I get settled.

In May I did Wildflower Olympic and had fun. Training this year has been hampered by one thing or another, illness, work, injury, you name it. The gods are holding me back! I didn't expect much out of Wildflower, and still came away bummed with my race. The good news, my swim was the best yet and I really was delighted with it. The bike & run, well, not so much. I ended up 9th out of about 200 or so that finished. The exciting part was the finish.. pics below in the previous post....

Then came Encinitas Sprint (pic). I was 3rd with what I consider a crappy bike portion of the race. It wasn't bad, but I know I should be doing better. The run was ok.. and the swim.. well, I'm not so hot for surf entry so I survived.

This past weekend was probably one of the most fun races I've ever done. It was the Danskin Disneyland Triathlon. That's right, Kingdom of the Mouse, or in this case, California Adventure. The swim was in the lagoon in CA Adventure, the bike was a 2 loop course around the entire part and the run was a windy route through the park. With over 1300 competitors (all women), this was a big race.

Why did I enter? Well, when else can you take a dip in Disneyland without them giving you a life ban?!??

On check-in before the race I heard one woman say, "the water is disgusting! It's a lagoon! There were ducks right there pooping." Uhhh.. this is Disneyland where everything is sterile, that taste is actually chlorine and that brown water is dye so you don't see the tracks for the boat. If only she knew what nasty water really tastes like... As you walked in the water, it was warm, you know, kinda like bath water. No wetsuits needed so I wore a tri-swim suit for the first time. Couldn't wear my Bella kit as it's a 2 piece. Instead a put a Bella tattoo on my arm and wore my signature hair flair. The swim was a ton of fun, but a bit of a faux-Ironman. With about 16 waves (me in wave 9)starting every 3 minutes, it was A LOT of swimming over or around people in previous waves. Next time I think I'll actually race Elite instead of Age Group so I can get in the first wave and not have to crawl between quite so many ladies. But where else can you stroke, stroke, breathe, look at the ferris wheel, stroke, stroke, breath, look rollercoaster, stroke, stroke, breath, look Mickey...

The bike was fun, and my bike created quite a bit of attention (aka The Hornet) as there were a number of first-timers racing. I really enjoyed being able to answer questions, even got to give a fix-a-flat demo. Newby: "What are these?" Me: "These are tire levers, you really should know what they are and how to use them..."

Back to the race... so the bike was ok, still feeling a bit lacking in strength and it showed as I was unable to loose the cute chick in red on the cervelo with the disk. I should have been able to smoke her, but instead she latched on and let me take her for a ride. We leap frogged around for a bit between swim, T1, the bike & T2, but then she spanked me on the run. At least she was nice & cute!

By the time I got off the bike I was still coughing up the drink mix I managed to inhale. Note to self: don't inhale your drink!!! The run started and I had the glugs. You know that sloshy feeling from drinking then trying to run?! After the first mile I felt better and began to relax. Unfortunately the run was almost over by that point so I just ran my way past the popcorn and cotton candy, past the store where you can flatten a penny, past the churros, around the fountain, through the western-shoot-out store front and to the finish. With one great leap for Velo Bella, I was done!

I finished 2nd in my age group behind that nice cute chick on the Cervelo, and 6th overall. Not too bad.. but I know I can do better next year. My coaches tell me it's a long season and I've still got time to recover from a dreadful season (so far), but I have to say.. it's tough when you know you can do better and when people who don't usually beat you are squeeking in front of you... oh well, the life of a crazy triathlete with a life!

Pic of me passing on the bike.... no Bella gear... a tiny VB tattoo on my right shoulder... and way wicked VB water bottle to represent!

We had a number of Bellas attend, I'll update this blog with a list, but CONGRATS to all, this was a fantastic race and HIGHLY recommended as a destination race.

Happy Riding!
Raja

WIldflower - Race Report Preview

Just a little summin' summin' to post before I get my delightfully charming (and funny) race report posted....

I had a couple of challengers down the final shoot... and the facial close ups take the cake... enjoy... cause I was suffering..

Inspiration!

I can only tell how how amazing and motivating triathletes are. Fellow Velo Bella Whitney DeSpain and Shannon Werner finished their first Ironman races this weekend at Ironman Arizona this last weekend. Vic, another Bella made this video, and it just may bring you to tears... the next time I complain about the wind or the heat... please remind me it could be worse.. I could be doing an Ironman...



After her daughter watched the video.. her beautiful daughter Abby replied, "Mommy, I thought you were going to run"... (too funny!)

Run, walk or crawl, 25% of competitors at the 2008 Ironman Arizona didn't even finish.

A HUGE Congrats to Velo Bella Shannon Werner for a smashing debut at Ironman, placing 7th in her age group!

And another CONGRATS to VB Sandra Fairchild for finishing her first Olympic distance Triathlon at the Irongirl in Vegas!

We're not in Kansas any more

So how wrong is it when you're in the middle of nowhere (about 40 miles from anything), the wind is gusting to 40 miles per hour, the thought "if it's like this all the way home, I'm going to cry" is circling through your head.. and the then you see it.... Saddle Sore Trail.

Dave, Stacy, Julie, Miller, Rice & myself drove out to Ocotillo, Ca to do the Stagecoach Century this morning. I had checked the weather courtesy of my iPhone... it was going to be a cool 88 degree F (down from the originally forecast 95 degrees, thank goodness!). There was a slight detail my precious iCrackPhone didn't tell me..... oh yeah.. little breezy today.

We open the car door in Ocotillo and nearly get our arms ripped off as the wind tears the door open. Oh crap. Uh Houston... this is going to SUCK! My concerns are belayed as the man inside the warm, comfy building states that the reports from the road state the wind settles about 10 miles down the road once you drop down into the canyon. Cool.. let's ride.

Yeah, it took 50 minutes to ride the first 10 miles. 6 of us, forming a nice eschelon, rotating & playing well with others.. just to try to maintain a whopping 10 mph. Ouch! Relentless head/cross wind from hell. Mother nature had a different plan from us.

With the exception of about 2 separate 1 miles stretches, the entire freaking 50 mile stretch was a battle of wills... the will not to turn around and go hide in the car. Even up the stupid climbs. Ugg.

But Bellas don't quit...

42 miles of battling ridiculous wind, we pass the lunch stop and still have 8 miles to go to the turn around. Stacy's pretty sure her mum would have washed her mouth out with soap by that point. That last 8 miles took about 45 minutes. It took six strong cyclist about 4:20 to travel the 50 miles.. and all we could think was "it better not be like this on the way back!"

We ate lunch, took a family picture, started off again for home, Julie pointed out the Saddle Sore Trail (just how wrong is that!), battled into 2 miles of headwind, and then flew home in a tick over 2 hours. I don't think I've ever maintained 35-42mph for such a distance ever. Even the 3 climbs we had to do coming home didn't slow us down too much.

So last week when I was whining and moaning in my blogventure over the wind at CA IM 70.3.... I had no idea what it could have been like! Oh my...

Thank goodness Shadow Tour provides such a well supplied century!

Bikes n' Cars

I'm not sure if it's the latest tragedies that have prompted the need for cyclist & driver education on how to be safe on the road, but whatever the cause, it's always good to keep safe riding in mind...

A fabulous video for DRIVERS: http://www.dothetest.co.uk

This email was sent to me from Velo Bella Cycling, and I think it's a solid reminder of what we're required to do, and have the right to do as a cyclist.. enjoy:
(now if only drivers would watch it too!)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rU4nKKq02BU
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You know how, as a child, you were taught never to bicycle in traffic and to stay out of the way of cars? Well, a new video on the rights and duties of bicyclists has just been posted on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rU4nKKq02BU. Among other things, it shows bicyclists how to ride in traffic, including controlling the lane and using left turn lanes to turn left. An acquaintance of mine, Dan Gutierrez (an experienced bicyclist and a satellite engineer), posted this video in an attempt to counter those ideas you were taught as a child. Basically, he is teaching adult bicyclists that they should act as drivers of vehicles. If they are traveling slower than the prevailing speed of traffic, then they should ride to the right if they can do so safely. But if not, then they need to ride in the middle of the right lane. And when a bicyclist needs to turn left, he needs to change lanes and move to the left, just as the driver of a vehicle would. Dan's point is that if the lane is too narrow to safely share side by side, then it is better to ride in the middle of the lane. That way, the bicyclist avoids opening car doors, motorists who try to squeeze by without changing lanes, and right hook accidents. That's the way I ride, and that's the way that the League of American Bicyclists instructors teach their students. But I wonder how many motorists, people on bicycles, or, for that matter, bicycle advocates understand that. And if they understood, how many "bicycle facilities" would we really need?

Please take a look at the video and let me know what you think. I will pass any comments on to Dan.

Robert M Shanteau, PhD, PEConsulting Traffic Engineer
(you can post a comment if you'd like a comment to be passed to Dan)
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A little Q & A:

Ed wrote:
Raja,

I practice 95% of these techniques, but always wondered what the "protocol" was for the narrow lane situations where there are no shoulders, bike lanes, etc. So, "hogging" the right lane so to speak is safer until you can move over. This always seemed to be the right move and I've done it when the lane was extremely narrow, but now I'm empowered with the "law"/rules.

The only item I noticed the video left out was the situation of car sensors at traffic lights. It's true that some cities insert bicycle sensors too, but overall, if you do as the video suggests and you're first in line at a light either to go left or straight, chances are the car(s) behind you are not "tripping" the sensor so the traffic light system does not know anyone is present and may never change unless they're set on timers.

So, common logic may suggest (?) the cyclists should move forward/to either side/into the crosswalk (a bit) to allow the car to inch up onto/into sensor range, assuming they're paying attention and understand the technology. This is tricky however, because as you know (and I recognize), inching forward/sideways could put the cyclist in a less than safe situation. I think it's a gray area and unique to each situation, but I thought I'd ask if there's anyone weighing in on the subject.

Thanks. This was helpful,

Take care,
-ed

>>Dear Ed,

Good question! I forwarded your question to Dan... I'll let you know what the response is when it is received. When I'm out riding and am sitting at a light waiting for it to turn.. and waiting.. and waiting... I usually smile and get overjoyed a car has pulled up behind me. I usually just roll forward a bit, turn around, give the driver a great big smile, and wave them forward so they're triggering the light. They usually have kept a safe cushion behind me and don't want to crowd me, so it usually takes some coaxing to get them to move forward. If I point to the pad, then point to the light, they usually get it and pull forward. Then they get the big thumbs up and "Thanks!" from me... Always thank drivers who are courteous... they really don't know how much they are appreciated.

Cheers,
Raja

Ty wrote:
Raja,

Great video - thanks for sharing. I am new to cycling and I was wondering what you do if people honk at you? I've cycled down the 101 through Solana Beach and Leucadia and at times people honk if I'm controlling right the lane. Ignore them? Travel in groups only?

Regards,
Ty

>>Dear Ty,

Well, the natural reaction is not always the best (usually involving birdies and some french)... So I usually try to "kill em with kindness"... and just wave to them to acknowledge that I hear them. Your safety is the most important, so above and beyond what any laws state, do what you need to do to be SAFE. There are a TON of aggressive drivers out there who will do what they want to do in order to "own" the road. In this case, some of them really do try to get as close to you as possible to make their point (for some odd reason, they're usually driving pick up trucks or expensive cars) - which is HIGHLY illegal and VERY dangerous, so if you're confronted with one of these drivers, just move to the far right to get out of their way, your safety is more important than a bruised ego. I'm all for getting license plate numbers and reporting it to the police. These are the drivers that will one day accidentally come too close and injury or even kill a cyclist.

There are also a TON of clueless, oblivious drivers who have no clue how close they are to you, and don't understand that you really do need more than 6 inches clearance... I wrote on my blog about a women who honked at us and thought she was doing us a favor.... oh my...
There are also a TON of very considerate drivers, and I usually try to give them a thumbs up and smile so they know I am thankful for their respect.

Whatever you do, don't ignore drivers. Probably not the best idea to fly them a birdie, but at least let them know you've acknowledged their presence... and if you need the entire lane, take the entire lane, just be clear with your hand signals if you plan on turning, or what your intentions are. If I have to merge into traffic because a car is parked in the bike lane (often on PCH), I make merging gestures with my left hand advising drivers I will be merging left.

Please let me know if you have any questions... I'm not a pro, nor an authority on the law, but I can speak from experience...

Happy Safe Riding,
Raja

A Bumpy Ride through 70.3

So I thought I'd put a creative twist to the usual boring race report....let the journey begin!

I was given my instructions to take my spaceship to the planet Ocarina Fanil Minor. This is not my usual route. I was not looking forward to the flight as I knew my ship had been having some engine trouble lately. My test flights had hit some snags, and I knew at least 1, if not 2 of my 4 engines were already running on half steam. I unfortunately won't have time to get them full repaired, so I instructed the crew to throw a band aid on the engine failures, we were set to launch, so we'd just have to see what happens. At the very worst, we would coast in, but I knew for sure the overdrive propulsion system was going to be out of the questions. No lightspeed on this mission.

The journey would take us through 3 galaxies and was a total of 70.3 light years away. It was going to be a long haul. The first galaxy was the galaxy of Wims. A simple galaxy known for the abundance of liquid substances. Space was usually tight so it was critical not to get jammed up against the flow of traffic. Unbelievable that there is so much space in Wims, but everyone chooses the exact same vector so it ends up in a wing fight. This stretch usually gives me the heebeegeebees. Luckily I hitched some good rides and found that I was far more comfortable through this stretch than normal. I got through in better time that usual too. Since this has usually been an issue for me, having a successful journey though Wims was a victory.

The next stretch would put us through the galaxy of Kebi. Usually I'm not so concerned about about Kebi because I can keep out of trouble when the Kebitians try to slow you down, cut you off, or whatever tactic they use to keep you from exiting their universe. Torque up those boosters and just get out of there. This flight however, there would be no boosters to light and I would just have to depend on my ships aerodynamics to safely carry the precious cargo through. The good news was my transformer module was operational and my wings were easily tucked in for a more efficient flight. The bad news was... Kebi was expecting some weather to move in so I underestimated the ventosity vortex was sucking my fuel faster than anticipated. Engine #2 begins to fail.

The last leg was through Nur. Now Nur has historically been a challenge. With only 13.1 light years left to travel, it was still 13.1 light years away and typically something in the engine room quits on me through Nur. I hate this galaxy. No matter how well stocked I try.. I've learned it's just years of experience nursing your engines through this galaxy, as even the seasoned pilots remark that the engines tend to tank, it's just a matter of getting better engines. Damn. With 1 engine out to start, engine #2 failed, I'm wondering how 50% power will get me through this. So I enter the gateway to Nur. Systems check, 2 engines are still running. I'll back off power, try to get a steady economic velocity going and see how far it takes me. Half way through I smile, hey, both engines are still working! I speak to soon. A little turbulence and BANG! Engine #3 begins to fail. Crap, coast it, just coast it in. Can't turn up engine #4 until we're in the final leg through Nur, I need to make sure it last. Back on planet Earth, I would have birdied up the road like a blue-hair trying to drive in the left lane. Luckly the peaceful aliens at planet Love Stop were all gas and helped push my limping ship down the route. At 69.2 light years into the entire journey.... Engine #4 is now failing. My ship sputters, jolts, coughs and spits as I try to throw a little more juice in. I get nothin'. Ok, just be happy you get one of those 5 lbs "Mission Success" medallions.... I know I can coast it in, it's just not going to be a purty sight.

I see my point of docking. My journey has ended. My ship's a little burned and I have no fuel left to report of. It was a bumpy ride, but I made it, the cargo has been delivered, and yes.. they did give me my medallion for a successful journey.

But I do remind myself... I really like the shorter journeys. My ship will need some serious rebuilds if these endurance fests through galaxy after galaxy are to continue. So I think for now.... I'll stick to my favorite route.... to planet Plyocim.

Your Mission Captain,
Raja

Congrats to the Other Bellas who made it through the journey! Stacy D, Stacy S, Jess, Terri and Christine!
Dave had a rather bumpy ride as well, so while in the docking station, he captured this prime photo of me deck changing out of my flightsuit. Nothing like a wet flightsuit.... or "diapes" as I call 'em.

A Horrifying Tragedy

I am stunned, horrified and saddened by the accident that killed Kristy Gough & Matt Peterson and critically injured a third rider.

By a police officer no less.

Police should be required to escort cyclists... just so they see what we have to endure every time we hit the road, what some drivers will do to own "their" road.

Just this last weekend while I was out with a group on a 65 mile training ride, a woman in a very nice Mercedes came up behind us, honked and yelled something through her window. At the red light she rolled her window down and told us she was doing that for "our safety". Yeah... if you want to keep us safe.. STAY AWAY FROM US! Her voice was sincere, and I'm sure she meant it.. but was this how she was trying to "protect" us?.. really, is that what she thinks "protecting" us really is??? How about staying as far from us as possible???

Drivers... please be careful. Yes, there are those righteous cyclists who think they own the road.. but I'll tell ya what.. it's probably because they've been buzzed one too many times by you drivers... we aren't really going to hold you up. You do have a gas pedal and you will get there in time.

And riders.. please be careful out there! These three riders were riding on the correct side of the road, on (as I've read) a road with a bike lane which is highly travelled by cyclists, in single file and they still got killed. Brutally killed I may add.

As least they died doing what they loved.

Please be safe out there...

Pics from the Tour of California

Leipheimer

Gesink giving it his all...

Miller

More pics of Zabriski coming...

Pena

Boonen

Hincapie warming up....

Vogels??

Chipollini looking smashing in The Rock...even got to ride his own bike.