131 and counting

Today marked my 131st race in 2 1/2 years. The '09 Hokins Raspberry Crit was perfect, with a mild breeze, warm air and sunshine. The lack of rain kept the corners fast and ferocious and it turned out to be our hardest & fastest crit all year.

GP/SPBRC had a full team out there, with 6 strong women leading the pace as a bunch of us miss-matched gals tried to maintain contact. Half way into the race, Teresa "the widower maker" Moriarty went of the front with Heidi "the lightning bolt" Dahlmen and the field began to look around. 3 of the GP gals rode off the front of the peloton in pursuit, and I took a caboose sling shot for a solo pursuit to the group. I closed the gap quick and jumped in their slipstream but I believe a few riders followed suit not far behind.

GP continued to sport some great team tactics, sending gals up from the back to take a pull, as I tried not to fade any farther back than 5th wheel. With just a couple laps to go, I watched at the red n' green lined up their riders for a lead-out and positioned myself in the line up.

On our final lap, in turn three, I made sure I was sitting 5th wheel and ready to take the tight turn for the 2 block sprint. The line was secure and fast, and I used the 4 ladies in front of me as my lead out crew in the absence of my own team. I was able to pass three of them as I pushed my bike and my body to the limit, but only got w/in a 1/2 wheel length from the field sprint victory to Kit Oslin. Finishing 4th overall, I was overjoyed to know that 2 of the women in front of me were racing 40+!!! 2nd place finish....b1+ch please!!!!!

I was so overjoyed (and still am!). What a race - no teammates, no rest, no stopping and no regrets. I played the game right, making sure I knew what was going on at all times and being ready to answer it. Sure, I would've loved to be off the front w/ Tessy.... but I'm not gonna complain about a great finish - 2nd is the best I've ever done at Hopkins, and I'm luvin it.

Thanks to all the Hopkins, Silver, and racing crowd for cheerin'! It was so awesome. And thanks to my super hubby for the awesome confidence and encouragement. Hellians, I missed ya!

Waitin' to move from 2 to 1,
Kristy Kreme

Silver Cycling Devours a lot of Spam

July 5th was the 2009 SpamJam Freedom Fest / Dan Unwelling Memorial Bike Race in Austin, MN. It's an annual 25-mile citizen road race that can't be beat! $15 gets ya a t-shirt, snacks, and CHIP TIMING on race day!! No $10 day-of-penalty, no BS..but, no officials so it's partly on the honor system.

Silver lined up at the start w/ our largest field ever - some 18+ guys and gals, ready to rock! Being a citizen race, the guys & gals, old & young all start in one massive group at a time. In recent years, we've had a strong tailwind start to drive the beginning speeds up to 40 mph, but luckily this year was a slight head-wind, so speeds didn't seem to get over 30-35 mph for the first 2 miles.

After a strong double race in Northfield the day before, I was struggling hard to stay with the main group. 12 miles in, though, the fight was over and I was off the back and unable to close the gap. I tried for miles to get back on, digging in at 26.5 mph in the crosswind, but wasn't able to pull it off. Instead, I spent the last 13 miles of the course in a solo time trial effort to the finish. It was lonely and hard, but I pulled it off and was able to come across the line in 4th in the women's field. The best was my teammate Jacki "the OC" pulled off the victory with Madone close behind in 2nd.

Jay pulled off the overall victory for the first time.... the win that has elluded him for so many years was finally his, and he was able to bring home his own "Spam" trophy! He was trying so hard and wanted it so bad that I was so proud to roll across the line and see the smile on his face! If ya didn't know, babe, I am so proud of you!! Actually, I am super proud of all our Silver winners..... Not only do we have treats and chip timing, but there were trophies for the overall winnners, and plaques for the top-3 in each age group!

Merrill

Dan G.

Hwood wins age group

OC and Madone take 1st & 2nd in age group

Ted and Matty take 1st & 2nd in age group

Bruce

Kristy Kreme & Dave H. win their age groups

Jacki & Hwood win the overall

The Hellians all find a place on the podium

What a b1+chin' time! Rockin and rollin'
Kristy Kreme

Quiet Girl Designs

Check out Quiet Girl Designs for some fun new jewelry for summer. I've updated the site with some new earrings, necklaces, and my very favorite BraceNips!!!
Available for purchase at Hollywood Cycles.

Another great 4th of July

Sure, it takes me til the 9th to proclaim it, but that doesn't take away from it! Saturday was wonderfully spent in Northfield for some great racing. Of course, any day racing while HWooD's at the mic is exciting, but this one was pretty special.

In our race, the Cat 4 / 40+ race, we held the majority with 4 Hellians mounted up. The pace was steady at the start, as the women looked around for who was gonna drive the pace. My teammate, OC, took the lead and amped it up a notch for most of a lap and the field settled in behind her. Feeling jazzed, I pulled up in front of her to take a pull and dry and drop some riders.

We came across the front and took the turn up the hill and, as I looked around for the first time, I saw that the only person with me was Teresa Moriarty! I had only meant to speed things up, not break away. But there was no time to explain, so we charged up the hill and kept going. A little while later, Teresa looked back at me and asked if I wanted to wait for my teammate and i said sure. We let off the gas and waited for the OC, but to my surprise, it was Swigs in hot pursuit.

We had a pretty rough lookin' pace line goin but we kept the speed up and the gap continued to grow. Unfortunately, something I'd eaten that day wasn't playing nice, and I spent a couple laps dry-heaving over my shoulder on the backside of the course. Luckily, Teresa's an awesome teacher and mentor, and helped me get my heart rate and breathing under control so we wouldn't lose our breakaway. With 4 laps to go, I was fully recovered and loving the fact that the field was no longer in sight.

As we neared the final laps the light drizzle began to accumulate and made the final turn a little slick. Ready and hungy for the final sprint, I dove into the final turn on Teresa's wheel, only to feel my own wheel slide out from under me, pulling me in slow-mo to the curb on the far side of the road. Luckily, my good ole Vitorria's grabbed some road and I regained control. Unfortunately, though, it was not enough to hold off my compatriots. I finished 3rd in the sprint, but 2nd in my category!!! What a finish!!! I've never done so well at Northfield before - I'm usually the lapped rider out there. Yuk. It felt so great!

So very great indeed, my brain shut down and rolled to the start line for the Women's Open race as well. I had no intention of trying to compete with these women - MN's Best of the Best. But, I knew it would be great practice and training for the next one. Sure enough, by the 2nd lap, I was flying solo. Lucky for me, with only 12 in our field, the officials were nice enough not to pull me as I got lapped. I rode as hard as I could for some 28 laps, but was fortunate enough to be joined by Bonnie "Turbo" Donzella after a hard effort.

SkinnySki

Lap after lap, we got in a rotation and kept the tempo up til the finish. My favorite part about riding with the veteran ladies is the wealth of information they have to share! Both of my races that day made me a better rider, either by how to take care of myself, breathing, cornering, to climbing. Thank you so much Bonnie & Teresa!!! I am so honored to get to learn from you!

Fallin' in love with the Pain Cave,
Kristy Kreme

3 Days of Birthday Madness

This past weekend marked the final countdown of my twenties, but I made sure to start it off in style. To kick it off, my hubby made me breakfast-in-jammies on the patio, before we woke the bikes up for a mid-day ride. We headed out by 11:00 for a nice 40-miler in the warm June sun, catchin a tan and just enjoying the day. Half way through the ride, we stopped at Lake Minnetonka for some rest and rehydration.
After we cleaned up, we got ourselves geared up for Phase 2: rockin out with Surly Jones at Wyatt Earp's in Ramsey. What better way to kick it off, than with a nice cold Duvel? The last time I had one of these, it was 80 degrees out and we were watching the evening approach from the backyard of a Gite in France just a week after we got engaged.... ah, Europe.
The show ROCKED like never before as the band came out with all pistons firing from the first set on. It is hard to describe, but a ton of fun was had. This was already startin out as the best birthday EVER!

The fun bus
Jay is the best!We're not intoxicated, we're rockin' out!

After sleepin' on Saturday, we had some of my family over for a midday BBQ, then rolled it into the evening as the whole crew came out for some grillin and chillin. I bet your last birthday cake didn't say "BITCH PLEASE"!!!!

Not to mention the Motley Crew that made it a point to throw some meat on the grill and hang out with us til sundown.

Then, how do we round out a great weekend? Bike racing of course. And none other than the State Criterium Championships in St. Cloud. The weather and the racing were awesome, and I had a blast. Even though I was just outside a podium finish, I still took fourth and was proud with my best St. Cloud & State Champs finish ever.
Even better than that was my hubby's ROCKIN' THIRD PLACE FINISH!!!
James "I didn't even break a sweat" Tainter won the State Championships, with Pete 'Pure Genious' Hanna in 2nd. Jimmer Cullen won the race, but bein' a cheese head, he didn't get the title. Hwood rocked out 78 laps that day, takin' on the 35+ AND the 1/2's. Way to go babe!! You impress the $hit out of me! We headed out to House of Pizza for a great post-race meal w/ my mom & step-dad & Caveman. Yum.

Though I still don't want it to end, I have to admit the celebration has ceased and life as we know it has returned to normal. But I'll never deny that this was the greatest birthday ever! I thank my family a ton for making me feel special, and my wonderful husband Jay for making ALL of my birthday wishes come true. Thanks babe, I love you!

Feelin' like a princess,
Kristy Kreme

Playmobil Hates Cyclists

My hubby & I spent the past weekend in Iowa visiting family. Imagine our surprise as we casually walked into the mall toy store after our AM coffee, to find a viscous scene...

As we meandered through the toys and stuffed animals, Jay came across a Playmobil set that said it all. See for yourself:
The poor cyclist, mowed down on their cute little yellow bike.... the EMT who moonlights at the Velvet Room....and zoom in and check out the doors on the ambulance... All you can read is "lance".....what are they trying to say?

Cyclist, beware - there maybe little plastic figurines out there ready to mow you down in the middle of your leisurely ride!

The Perfect Black Dog

Last night was a quite unbelievable Black Dog, with all the planets (and cars) aligning perfectly enough to allow El Gato to lead me to a new PR! The wind was minimal, the air was thick with humidity but not bugs, and the cars were scarce. For the first time this year, I was able to do the entire 7 miles without a car or a rider forcing me to stop in any way, shape, or form....and I capitalized on every inch of it.

Playing around w/ my Garmin, I set it so it would beep at me every time I got below my goal mph to keep myself from stressing about my speed. I flew down the beginning stretch, even w/o being able to find my 30-second guy. HWooD, starting 1 minute behind me, and Ronny at 30-seconds back didn't catch me til the turn around!!! Unbelievable - I've never been able to stay away so long.

With a song blaring in my head and a couple new rabbits to chase, I headed towards the finish into the headwind. Somehow, as I focused on my form and aero-ness, the wind didn't seem to phase me until I hit the factory on the return. After that, I was toast, fighting desperately to keep my speed up and shut the Garmin up in one fair effort.

As I came out of the schicane under the bridge near the finish, I looked at my time for the first time all race and saw 16:56 on the read out..WTF??? I was still under 17 minutes??? I dug as deep as I could as I battled the disbelief and managed to cross the line at 24 mph. When I stopped the clock on my bike, it read 17:17, and wicked fast time that blew my old PR from last year out of the water by more than 30 seconds! Once the results were finally posted, I saw I had cranked out a 17:14!!! (I start the timer 3 seconds early each time).

I couldn't believe it (nor do I really know if I believe it now, either). I hopped back on the trainer when I was done and just relived the race again as I cooled down, trying to figure out when I tapped into that well. But it dawned on me - it was my perfect race. As I went back to my Garmin today to check out the stats, I know it was my first leg that got me there - riding the first 1/2 in only 7:46! Hot damn! But, that also means I was 2+ minutes slower on the return. Now, only if I could figure out how to pull times like that on both sides of the turn around, I'd be set.

When you break it down, though, I've got the racing bug bad. After watching all the amazing women at NVGP, all I want to do is go fast.

Ridin' cloud 9,
Kristy Kreme