B4T9 social ride Westlake Village CA

inspiring group of women cyclists

This past weekend my team , B4T9, had a social ride starting from WestLake Village through parts of the Santa Monica Mountains. The inspiring part about riding with this group is riding with my teammates. On our way up stunt road, chatting with one of my teammates I find out she is 66 years young! I was taken aback and my first thought was I hope that when I'm her age, I'm  still riding up stunt road. A few other women riding in our group are in their 70's. Our team proves that we're never too old to be an athlete and we just do it!

the social ride was led by Jan (ride leader) and Lynda (SAG Support)

That's one of my life goals is to ride my bike well into my 80's. The route proved to be challenging and scenic. The Santa Monica mountains provides beautiful roads & substantial climbing. Our team hosts monthly social rides on a monthly basis. Check out the calendar on www.b4t9.com for the schedule. 

This ride also helped me calm my fears about climbing as I'm preparing for the Rock Cobbler. The 40 mile ride included 3k feet of climbing. I felt pretty good. It's always fun to ride with my B4T9 teammates and it provided me with much needed motivation.

Jan and I at the top of stunt road

Sunday ride:

Year of the Gravel Grinder

This year is the year of the gravel grinder. My love for dirt riding started two years (2014) ago with the purchase of a new mountain bike (also noted that was the last time I wrote on this blog). This past year was the year to upgrade my cyclocross bike from aluminum frame to carbon and decided that the year 2016 will include gravel grinders. In the back of my mind, I have the Dirty Kanza (100 miles) on the bucket list (the year to be determined).

My old MASI cross bike is a fine bike. A bit heavy but was very good for my first 100 mile gravel grinder (Rebecca Rusch’s Private Idaho) in 2013 and a load of cross races. The 2016 Focus Mares CX Disc 105 is quite a bit lighter and improved performance with the disc brakes.

Focus Mares CX - Carbon Shimano 105

Mr. Fackler and I had our first dirt ride last week to prep for the RockCobbler in Bakersfield this February. It was also our longest ride in several months. We picked a route we could take directly from our front door. It included a good mix of road & trails. Most of the trails were in Lake Hodges.  During this route, I was reminded of some key lessons: 1. Hydration is key prior to riding (didn’t help New Year’s eve was the day before). 2. Bring more snacks because bonking sucks (failed here since I’m used to 2 hour rides and less) 3. Falling on rocks will hurt, it’s ok to tear up a bit but get up and back on the bike as if nothing happened 4. Having a domestique (thanks Mr. Fackler) makes it more fun!

Mr. Fackler leading the way at Lake Hodges

I’m not sure why I’m so nervous prepping for the Rock Cobbler. I’ve ridden thousands of miles with climbing before although it’s been some time. I think it’s the climbing and getting to know the feeling of suffering once again. Mr. Fackler agreed to ride with me the entire time so that is comforting. My goal is just to finish and have fun. 

Do what you fear most…it’s my motto for this gravel grinder. 

Our ride from Solana Beach:

So you want to be a cyclocross racer? Tips from a novice racer.

It's now the start of my 2nd CX season with the first  SoCal Cross Race in Granada Hills (Los Angeles).  I raced the women's masters 35+  race with 5 women in the field and managed first place (unofficially). 

One fun part is the start of the race because you have to work to get in the front of the group. For this race, I did manage to stay in the front of the group the entire time with a good gap between me & 2nd place. You can have very good fitness but lacking in bike handling skills can set you back. This is how I got in front of the woman in first place at the start. She struggled to corner a sandy turn and I was able to pass her and gap her.Most of the race my heart rate was maxed for about 35 minutes. I felt I had the cardio fitness but my legs felt tired.  I focused on cornering around the tight turns, letting go of the brakes and keeping my breathing even.  The best part was that I managed to stay upright on the bike. The course was very good for beginners because it was less technical, mostly grass and some slight hills.This race was fun and it was a great way to start the season. Having a goal and an event to push you to your limits is always good.   

This is the grassy course.

So you want to cross too? Yay! We need more CX women racers.

Last year I just threw myself into cross racing without the appropriate skills. It worked out okay but did have some good falls ending up with nice bruises & broke my bike a few times. The beginning of this year I picked up mountain biking and that has helped tremendously with cross. I also ride my CX bike at least once a week on trails near my home working on intervals and dismounting off/on my bike. 

Here are some tips to get you started:

1. Bike - you can rent a bike at the socal cross races. Another option is to use a mountain bike (borrow one). You can always find used CX bikes for sale at reasonable prices. The good thing about owning a cross bike is that they can be used as your road bike back up during the "rainy" season. You'll need mountain bike shoes too. I highly recommend wearing long finger gloves and of course a helmet. 

2. Go and practice dismounting on the grass. Just to get the feel of what it's like to mount & dismount the bike. You can youtube videos on cross racing to get a feel for how it's done. 

3. Practice in some dirt. The sandy parts make it tricky to handle your bike. So it's a good idea to get used to the feeling of riding in sand. If you can, get a hill in or two. 

4. Avoid using too much of the brakes. This is hard and I still do this. But the less you use your brakes the less likely you are to crash.

5. Practice riding around tight corners. Set up cones to go around on your bike. This will help with the tight corners (this is usually where you tend to overuse your brakes).

6. Get yourself a sleek skinsuit (ok this is optional but they make you look fast & cool). Regular cycling clothes are fine. Cool socks, however, are not optional.

6. Just do it. Sign up for a beginner race. Take your time, have fun. The women are friendly and keep a fun attitude. It's cross after all. 

Here is the Velo Hangar skin suit & Team Awesome Sock Guy socks.

Hello again.

It's been a long time since my last post. Mostly because I was burnt out after all the long distance last year and a full season of cyclocross (CX) racing. I had about 6500 miles of riding last year (including Belgium Waffle Ride, riding the Italian Alps: Motirolo, Stelvio & watching the Giro d'Italia with Thomson BikeTours, Mt. Everest Challenge & Rebecca's Private Idaho Gravel Grinder.

This year is the year of dirt riding - more dirt, less road.

Started out with the Tahoe 100K in June. Barely finished under the cut off time of 8 hours. This race was hard but overall fitness was good considering only 4 weeks of training. 

Highlights of the race for me: receiving the empty shell that was shot 2 seconds after I finished & unexpectedly receiving an entry to the Leadville 100. 

And no, Leadville isn't in my future (yet). 

I'm calling myself an athlete

Greatest motivator for athletes is seeing results.

I never thought of myself as an athlete. Then I changed my perspective & started to think of myself as an athlete. After all, I have a coach, stick to my training plan, do my best to eat well, sleep well & many of my free hours are dedicated to training…so I AM an athlete.

As an athlete I train hard. 

How do I train for these events? I hired a coach, Jill Gass. We’ve been working together for 1.5 years now. Jill's experience surmounts any coach & she founded my cycling team, B4T9. The best performances in my athletic career (marathons, Ironmans, cycling, etc.) have always been when I trained with a coach. I’m too busy to figure out a training plan plus it always makes sense to have someone do it for you. I’d rather spend my time on the bike. 

The beginning of this year I played catch up with training and it hurt. Mostly mentally.  Last year I focused on moving up a category in women’s road racing & it did not happen. Disappointed. Oh well. I re-evaluated my 2013 goals & decided to focus on my cycling vacation to Italy and the Mt. Everest challenge. I have/will race some road races such as Madera & even a few crits but the cat 3 upgrade is on the bottom of my list. 

I booked my Italy trip with Thomson Bike Tours to watch the Giro d ‘Italia and climb the infamous passes. Before then, I’m going to ride the super hard Spy Belgium Waffle Ride  (BWR) this April in my own backyard of north county San Diego. All the macho cycling men show up at BWR and ride the hell out of this route. So will I. BRUTAL is the best way I can describe this based on hearsay. BWR will prep me for the big ride of my year, the Mt. Everest Challenge, Bishop CA (near Mt. Whitney). I’m a climbing fiend & possess the spirit of a climber.

What does my training look like? Lots of climbing.

my BMC = beautiful mexican chica

the epic ride

this is what makes climbing worth the suffering

business school friends

Want to know my secret weapon? It's my sexy BMC.  Fast & super light. The last 5 years I've ridden a BMC and my most recent one is dressed with Campagnolo Super Record. The compact crank I switched to last year makes a huge difference since many of the road races in CA involve some type of climbing.

How do I make training interesting? Ride in different places.  I take road trips to ride my bike. This one happened to be one to the San Francisco Bay Area to visit business school friends. They are very understanding of my athletic lifestyle and a few of them joined me on this ride.  The best part of this ride in particular was how strong I felt on the climbs. Since I have trained for several Ironmans, I find I am stronger at the end of rides due to my muscle memory of long endurance rides. Strong because I've been following the training plan. Motivated because I felt the results. 

The ride in the Mount Tamalpais area exceeded my expectations with it's smooth, asphalt roads and breathtaking scenery. Everything a climber could ask for in a ride; orgasmic. 

I ended up riding to the lighthouse both on Saturday & Sunday only to see if I could break my Strava record. As you can see from the picture, Strava records didn't matter after taking in the view. These past weekend rides motivated me because I felt good. I felt strong on the climbs. I know the training plan is working. Thanks coach. 

Another great weekend of cycling & spending time with good friends from business school. I'm grateful for a life of passion & great friends.

I'm back!

I've been MIA because I've lacked the motivation. So now that I have two races under my belt for 2013 I'm taking a stab at updating my blog. 

Two of my favorite races: Poor College Kids and Boulevard. Poor College Kids is the road race where I fell in love with road racing. This year the organizers changed the course eliminating the fast descent and moved the course closer to Santa Maria (Sisquoc to be exact), a beautiful location. The UCSB cycling team did a fantastic job organizing this race with their well marked course and smooth registration process. Our very own B4T9 teammate, Amy Benner, placed 1^st at this race.

For me it was a hard race and I finished strong on the uphill climb although I did get dropped from the group on the first loop on the climb. Those hill surges kill me! I worked with another racer from a different team for the 2^nd lap and that was fun. It's always nice to have someone to finish the race.  I experienced some negative self talk in my head about feeling like crap and wanting to come. This was hard but I quickly stopped those negative voices from getting me down & focused on finishing the race. For some reason, I can always finish strong and it makes me wonder if I need to push myself harder up front but then my legs can only take it so far. I'm working on improving my efforts on the hill surges. 

Boulevard road race, I changed my attitude. I went in with the goal of staying with the group as long as I could. The descents made for the biggest challenge for this race. I fear descending in a large pace group and I experience stomach knots due to my nerves. This stems from my experience last May at Mariposa Stage Race with the loss of our B4T9 sister, Susanne Rivera. I will just need to work through and I’m really not sure how. It’s important to feel confident during any bike race because once you are instilled with fear you've already lost. The other important lesson was to stop comparing myself. I am where I need to be and I just need to accept that.

The best part of racing is hanging out with my B4T9 sisters. Kudos to my dearest friend, Rachel, on her first road race. She picked one of the hardest road races as her first one. 

My goals for this year in terms of racing are to focus on the Belgium Waffle Ride in April & the Mt. Everest Challenge Stage Race in August.

Next race: Madera Stage Race.

Recovery week/end

Recovery weeks provide a time for reflection and personal growth. I have learned to embrace them! As an athlete, recovery (rest) weeks and days keep your body in tune for training.

I am enjoying a blackberry margarita at Pacific Coast Grill

Friday evening started with a celebratory dinner of my friend's, B, birthday at Pacific Coast Grill (PCG) in Cardiff by the Sea. You can read my review on Yelp here: Diana A Yelp Review. The sunset view completed the experience. I'm a big fan of the sunsets. On the 2nd level of PCG they have an open patio with an amazing view. Next time, I'll enjoy my drinks on the outdoor patio.

We had an amazing view of the sunset that made the pricey dinner worth it!

 I took full advantage of a Saturday recovery day by sleeping in until 7 a.m. It occurred to me that Saturday was Jodina's, Italiano with Jodina, conversation group. I decided since I had this rare cycling free Saturday to join her group. Training plays an important part in becoming a strong cyclist, same concept with a language. Jodina's Saturday session complemented my Monday evening class. Jodina shared with us this beautiful linen with the pasta of Italy and we learned the "leggenda" of where pasta was born (hint: not China).

Bike Ride Report:  Since I had two days off the bike I decided to join my friend,  JP,  and his Velo Allegro cycling club on a ride up Glendora Mountain Road (GMR) for a 50+ miler ride covering approximately 5K feet of climbing. I didn't know what to expect. GMR placed high on my "to do" cycling list. We encountered beautiful weather for our ride. Overall, the ride provided a challenge but not as steep as I expected hitting only 7-9% grades.  The last 6 months of training focused on keeping a high cadence and this has helped tremendously with the climbing. The compact crank helps out too with the climbing.  I felt very strong on this climb. It served as a reminder of the importance of recovery both in my cycling training and in life. 

Check out my ride here:

Moroccan Bowl & Acai Beer

We had a post race celebration dinner at Native Foods in Newport Beach. I died with happiness eating the rockin' Moroccan bowl. All vegan and plant based food. It tasted delicious and a reminder that being creative you can make delicious food. I thought of Kalli, who inspires me to cook healthy and live a positive life, when I read her Fit and Forty Something blog & view her instragram postings.

Barkley after daycare

Recovery week and weekend proved successful as noted by my performance on the GMR ride. After this ride, Barkley did a great job depicting my feelings of how I felt after the long day of cycling.

A nice complement to my recovery weekend included a beautiful sunset view from my balcony.

On a quick side note regarding my blog. I started this blog as an online journal to share my experiences with the participants of the Wednesday Women's ride I lead in Encinitas. I received a very nice compliment from Jessica that writes the Run on Organic Blog. She nominated me for the One Lovely Blog Award!! Check out her blog for the details of the award.

 

Here are 7 possibly unknown things about me:
1. Spanish was my first language. I didn't speak English when I started kindergarten.
2. I completed 3 Ironmans. My goal was to complete 3 in the 3rd decade of my life.
3. I've traveled to 32 countries (I traveled a lot in Europe since I lived in Germany for 9 months).
4. I'm a project manager for a healthcare insurance company.
5. I ran Boston Marathon and had a personal record time of 3:35 hours.
6. I'm of Mexican descent. Both of my parents were born in Mexico.
7. My first endurance sport was marathon running to lose weight.

I am supposed to list the 15 blogs I follow but I only follow 7:

1. http://fitandfortysomething.com/

2. http://runonorganic.wordpress.com/

3. http://dailyworth.com/

4. http://zenhabits.net/

5. http://www.pm4girls.elizabeth-harrin.com/

6. http://wholefoodsmarket.com/stores/encinitas/2012/05/17/oh-baby-whole-baby/

7. http://www.baggagereclaim.co.uk/

Thanks for reading my blog! It's been a fun journey with you. 

Summer Solstice Celebration - MoonLight Beach - Encinitas

Photo op at the Del Mar beach

Wednesday started out as a beautiful summer solstice day. Barbara and I resumed our weekly Wednesday GLD ride. We decided on a recovery ride up the coast for one hour. We focused on our pedal stroke, keeping our cadence high and riding in a pace line. 

Bike stop to snap a photo - Del Mar

Check out our ride on Strava:

Amazing sunset at Moonlight Beach

Today was a special day - the summer solstice. I had shared the idea with Jodina (http://italianowithjodina.com/), my Italian teacher, that I wanted to celebrate solstice at the beach. She jumped on board and we planned a beach BBQ at Moonlight Beach. We invited several friends to join us.We had quite a turn out considering it was a "school" night. We grilled chicken from El Nopalito Mexican Market - Encinitas, salmon, bell peppers & steak. We even managed to drink some vino. The best parts of the evening included an amazing sunset, spending time with new and old friends and the flying paper activity. 

The friendship line

My sisters

The ladies with our token male, Eric

Jodina surprised us with her flying paper activity. She gave us tissue paper to write down something in our lives where we sought abundance. After everyone had written down their thoughts, we gathered around the fire and one at time, tossed in our sheets of paper. Everyone participated and thought it was such a great way to end our solstice celebration. 














A balanced life for me includes making time for the people I love and to enjoy the simple things of life. I also appreciate my recovery days/weeks because they allow me to rest up, gather my strength and give me extra time for other fun activities. It's all about having balance. 

Serious Cycling Jailhouse Criterium Race & weekend fun

The weekend started off right with a happy hour with my WP project manager friends/colleagues at LadyFace Brassiere in Agoura Hills.  They serve delicious food such as fresh fish and carry an assortment of craft beers on draft. The outside seating along the hills makes for  relaxing place to join friends.

Sandy has been my mentor for a few years and I've known Tracy since I started at WP. Despite the distance, we manage to reunite.

B4T9 RACE REPORT:

Team B4T9 representing at the Serious Cycling Jail House Crit

Saturday was the Serious Cycling Jailhouse criterium (crit) race held at Castaic Lake. It's called Jailhouse criterium because it was located at a prison and the course circled the prison living quarters. The course had a slight riser and the road had some bumps that were well marked. We watched the Men Cat 5 racers and a few of them went down after turn 5 and I was  nervous due to the crash that happened during the Women Cat 3 race after turn 5.  Crits are my least favorite races because I never feel warmed up enough to race and these races hurt! Lucky for me, my B4T9 teammate, Amy, supported me in a 45 minute warm up prior to the race. We had a great start, with my normal advice to Amy , not to work so much initially. I attempted a few sprints to make the girls work and add some "excitement" to the race. Twenty minutes into the race my chain stuck and I wasn't able to pedal. I had hit a bump in the road causing my wheel to come loose and I lost the group.  I did join the group after one lap and decided to finish the race, after all I needed a good workout to burn off the beer calories. I continued the race working with a first time racer and made her work on a good sprint section. My body continues to learn to accept the burn in the legs as well as the slight stomach cramps from breathing hard. I was disappointed in myself because I didn't place my wheel on properly, lesson learned. Overall it was a great race. All the Cat 4 women raced safely and kept their lines. Amy took 1st place and made B4T9 proud. Thanks to fellow B4T9 teammates, Anne and Sue, for their outstanding race support and Deanne for hosting me.  My B4T9 sisters spoil me!

B4T9 , Amy, taking 1st place!



Saturday afternoon, I trekked to my old town of Ventura, where I had lived for 5 years, to spend a relaxing evening and ride with Ventura group on Sunday. My first stop included a wine and cheese purchase at Paradise Pantry. The employee recommended a Piedra Sassi Syrah from Lompoc and Spanish cheese - she made the perfect recommendation. I stayed at my friend's house with an amazing view of the ocean and my old friend/neighbor, Lorena came by for a visit.

 

Simple, fun, relaxing evening in Ventura



Lorena- we met when I lived off the Avenue
in Ventura

On Sunday, I rode with the Ventura group. I stopped at Marie Shannon Confections to pick up a coffee. Shannon had just baked "healthy" muffins with egg whites, zucchini and walnuts. I couldn't resist the freshly baked and warm muffins straight out of the oven. The Ventura group headed up towards Capinteria and several of us rode up to Montecito including the Toro Canyon climb with a Cafe Luna stop. Ventura is one of my favorite cycling places in the world.

Check out my Ventura Sunday ride:

On my way back to Encinitas, I made a stop in Long Beach to visit with my love, Barkley, who belongs to my friend, JP, and willingly shares him with me. It's nice to have my dog fix. We had dinner at Spazzy's, a gastropub on 2nd street. They serve great food, nice seating with open windows and serve one of my favorite things: craft draft beer. 



I truly enjoy my craft beer from draft



Barkley, my love





Grateful to have spent time with my B4T9 sisters and great friends. Love weekends filled with friends, good food, good beer/wine and of course cycling!

Next on the calendar - I may attempt a few more criterium races in the L.A. area. My big race is Nationals in Bend OR come September.



Celebrating women in cycling and Gruppo Le Donne (GLD) ride

Yesterday was a day filled of celebrating women's riding. Fellow B4T9'ers, Jill and Fran, set off for Race Across the West (RAW), an 850 mile race starting in Oceanside CA and ending in Durango CO. Their goal is to complete it under 55 hours. Jill and Fran are my inspiration both on and off the bike.  They posses the mental strength and endurance to succeed with this type of race.


Jill and Fran at the RAW send-off in Oceanside.



Just as important as the racers, the support crew  plays a critical role in the race. RaeLynn and Sandi (B4T9 teammates) show off  their excitement with their big smiles. Jill and Fran are in good hands with the support crew of six including another B4T9 sister, Kelly.

 

RAW is part of the Ride Across America (RAAM) organization. Jill completed RAAM in 2010 on a 4 woman team recording a record for the event. Jill has been my coach since October 2011.  Not only does she rock on the bike, she has a heart of gold. Check out her website: http://www.revolutioncoaching.com/.

Jill taking off for RAW.

Wednesday the Gruppo Le Donne (GLD) ride started from Hygeia. Major Judy (a.k.a. Chrissie) joined me for a truly easy recovery ride up the coast. We had a fun time catching up on life that included topics on careers, relationships and cycling. Regardless of the type of ride, Major Judy, always makes me work.

Check out the route:


We had a beautiful view of the Del Mar Fair on our way home. A must stop to snap a picture.

One of the fun parts of the GLD ride is the post ride dinner. We checked out the Birdhouse, a local turkish cuisine restaurant and found a treasure. We enjoyed the fava bean dip and the gyro salad/sandwich. Next time we are taking our own bottle of wine.

Great day of watching the B4T9 team & support crew take off for RAW and ended with a fun evening ride with Major. Now time to prep for Saturday's race - Jailhouse criterium up at Castaic Lake.