Pics from the Olympics... er RAGBRAI

Most of the Wednesday group - and some fans!


Dalena and Dee looking great in pink! Check out the Women's Radar's from Oakley - sweet!


One of the things that makes RAGBRAI fun- lunch in the shade of an old oak. Yep - about the only time any of us make time for that!


Catheryn and Kristin gettin' ready to wind it up for the sprint into town - to win RAGBRAI.


Dee's best view of Lance. I mean of her son and husband.... no, of Lance. Sorry Ryan and Dave...


See ya next year! I think Wednesday is evolving into Pink Day - so be prepared!!!

What a week!!

While some were off to Missouri Valley (which redeemed itself from the last RAGBRAI and it's nickname of Missery Valley with beautiful weather, great food and a breathtaking view from our camping spot (and far far above the trains!)) - others were off to California to compete in the Vineman Half Ironman Triathlon.

Kristin Rinderknecht joined a large group from Des Moines as she continues preparation for her first ever ironman distance tri in November. She rocked out in a 5:09:11 finishing 32nd overall in the women's race! Krista Bartholomew shaved an hour off her Wildflower time from this May to finish in 5:39:36! Congratulations to both on a great race - and we'll be following Kristin on her way to becoming an Ironman!

Meanwhile, back at the ranch - Dalena Feller stayed in Des Moines as she prepared for the Big Creek Triathlon - hosted by Race Director Jenny Weber - but was able to join in on a day of RAGBRAI on Wednesday (more on that in a minute). turned out to be a good choice as she finished a strong race at Big Creek. Resluts Here

Others in pink were seen trapsing across the state throughout the week - meeting up for Pink Day on Wednesday - leaving Ames and riding to Tama. 13 pink ladies made the ride, joined by some friends and hubbies - making a splash as folks from across the land were impressed by the jerseys and joined in for a smooth paceline! Kim Hopkins recieved lots and lots of compliments on her design and probly could have sold a couple of dozen as the ladies rode from town to town!

Other RAGBRAI moments included Kris Collum making the umpteenth RAGBRAI with her Dad, Tom. (I've (your editor, Dave) known Kris since my first RAGBRAI in 1985 - and she was a veteran then!!) Dee and her family spending a few miles riding on Lance's wheel heading into Ames - and was mentioned as a RAGBRAI highlight by Lance that night - and was drawn into a cartoon by Duffy in Thursday's DSM Register!
Find Waldo (or the Mable Train...)

Wednesday was Pink Day and 13 ladies in pink joined forces for a team ride to Tama - All had fun sharing the work of the pace line, sharing coffee, pie, pork chops.. and an occasional beer! We'll post some pics when I get some!

And finally - highlight - or lowlight - of the week was Joe Schmidt (Joanns hubby) - on Monday, as a large handful of us were doing the Century together, Joe was knocked down as some guy veered across the road in front of him - Joe went down hard and lost lots of skin to the pavement - enough for some stitches in his hand - and landed hard on his shoulder breaking his collar bone in three places - help was quick and Joe was in good hands - but we all hated to send he and Joann off to the hospital and home - and we certainly wish him the best as he heals.

Lastly - and another topic - the Pink Team recieved some major press in the Des Moines Registers "Mom's Magazine" Some great pictures and an accompanying story - we sure wish all the stories and quotes submitted had been told - but you do leave that up to the editor... so stop by the store and pick up a pink copy - and if you have your own personal story - I'd love to publish it here! Mom or not - we'd love to hear what you enjoy about joining a group of like minded women on two wheels!

Still Lots Coming Up!!!

Not only will pink be well represented on the little ride across the state -

But this weekend Kristin Rinderknecht is doing the Vineman 1/2 Ironman in California as, well, as fun...and prep for her participation in the Florida Ironman in November.

Next weekend Dalena (anyone else??) is doing Big Creek Tri next Sunday - of course our good friend Jenny Weber is head honcho of Big Creek - and many of us will be there volunteering in some capacity, and cheering Dalena et. all on to the line!!! While Jenny is putting on these great races (Copper Creek and Big Creek) she continues to train for her own Ironman - the Wisconsin Ironman in September!

AND the following weekend, newly pinked Jana Severson will be tackling her own 1/2 Ironman at the Steelman Half in Michigan as she continues to prepare for her Duathlon World Championship in September!

Of course we'll be fielding a strong team in the State Road Race Championships that same weekend of August 2nd...

Then Dee and Dave load up the tandem to tackle the Leadville 100 Mtb race in Colorado - their third go-round at the buckle - and hopefully thier third buckle (awarded to everyone who finishes the 100 mile race in under 12 hours!)

Then we've got State Criterium Championships, Hickory Grove Triathlon, Cy-Man Triathlon, 24 hours of Iowa Mountain Bike Race, Chiquamegon Mtn Bike Race..... then, of course... it's CROSS SEASON!!! Stay tuned!

Dang - this is a busy bunch!!!
Good luck ladies!

What A Weekend!!

I don't really even know where to begin... so I'll tell the stories as we read a book - from top to bottom - from North to South!

Up north - Newly pinked, Jana Severson, traveled to the Lifetime Fitness Olympic Distance Triathlon on Saturday the 12th of July. Entered in the Elite category, she was matched up with 76 of the Midwests finest ameture triathletes. After the 1500m swim, she found herself as 16th Elite female - and duked it out on the twisting, tight...and windy bike portion - with, ironically, Mackenzie Madison - a local ZOOM Performance coach and athlete! The two kept it close together for the rest of the race, with Mackenzie finishing in 14th and Jana in 15th in a time of 2:23 - and only seconds apart!

Jana is in training for the World Duathlon Championships to be held in Italy on September 27th of this year - and appears to be coming into great form. Next on her agenda is the Steelhead 1/2 Ironman Championship on August 2nd. Congratulations and Good Luck!

A bit further south, in Clear Lake, Kim Hopkins, Dee Mable, Kristin Pavlovitch and Joann Schmidt took on the "juggernaut" of PRC in the Clear Lake Criterium on Saturday afternoon and Clear Lake Road Race on Sunday Morning. At stake was not only the finish of each race, but the Iowa Cup Championship - culminating on Sunday.

Dee started the day in first of active Cat 4 Women - followed by Kristin Reese, (of All9yards) and then Chris Maravelis (of PRC). As Kristin was not able to race this weekend, it was up to Dee to defend her lead - and had the full support of pink (and green)for the weekend.

The Criterium started fast, with Chris attacking from the gun in the 20 min race. She quickly gained a 3-4 block lead and settled into her strong time trial mode. Kim, Kristin and Joann mounted a chase, splintering the field, eventually leaving Dee with Maria Rutenburg (PRC) and Kristin Gallager (PRC) in tow. A moments hesitation gave Kristin the opportunity to attack Dee and put a gap on her, leaving Dee to chase the rest of the way, with Maria on her wheel. With the final straight looming to the finish, Dee put her head down sprinting against Maria for the important 3rd place points, beating her by mere inches.

Iowa Cup standings: Dee, 34 points; Chris, 32 points.... It was to come down to the Road Race to determine who would wear the Iowa Cup jersey!

A very windy day greeted the field of 12 Cat 4 Women for thier 42 mile road race. They mostly stayed together throughout the race, with an interuption of a two person crash about 8 miles into the race. The field waited and rode slowly for a bit, giving the crash victims some time to recover. The wind also played a major role in keeping the group together, though pink was active in putting forth some attacks to try and split the field. Kristin Pavlovich was instrumental in driving the train and ensuring Dee was well protected!

PRC was quick to react to each attack and close each gap - and going into the final 3.5 mile tailwind straight to the line, there were 10 women all together. That didn't last long as Chris, having patiently waited her time, put forth a strong attack. Kim and Joann were first on the scene, covering the attack and making it to Chris' wheel. Kim did her work to close the gap, and eventually pulled off to let Joann duke it out with Chris. Back in the pack, Dee found herself mid pack with 1/2 mile to go. Knowing it meant the Iowa Cup... or not... she dug deep and with a generous lead-out from fellow Leadville 100 participant (2008) Kat Porter (Bike Tech, Dee closed the gap on Chris and Joann as they all neared the line. Joann lept around Chris with 200 to go and Dee powered by a spent Chris, who'd put all her energy into her very strong attack - they finished 1 and 2 with Chris in 3rd and Kristin Gallager (PRC) in 4th. Kim finished in 7th and Kristin Pavlovich finished in 9th.

With her win over Chris, Dee takes the Iowa Cup and ALL9Yards takes 1-2 in a very exciting road race!

We're not done yet - keep reading!!!

A bit further south, in Ogden, Kristin Rinderknecht and her son, Josh, raced in the Iowa Games Triathlon. Kristin, having great form as the result of her Ironman training, put the hurt on the competition finishing first among all women! She appears to be on track for her big summer goal of competing in the Ironman Florida this November! Her (and Speedy Reedy's) son Josh competed in his first ever triathlon, and, like father and mother... like son - Josh won his 15 and under age group! Hey JJ and TJ - watch out for this kid, his name has a 'J' in it too!!!

We'd like to congratulate Kristin, Josh, Dee, Jana, Kim, Kristin and Joann for a great weekend of racing - and thank all who made it possible:

Bike World and LeMond Bicycles for the equipment support!
Zanzibars for the great coffee!
Cumming Tap for the financial support!
Whitewater Consulting and Schneiders Auto Service for the financial support
Zoom Performance for the coaching help!
True Life Chiropractic for keeping us straight!

...and of course, our team-mates who make this all so fun!

Finally - the best is saved for last -
Thursday, July 10, the pink team grew by 1! Sherri and Steve Robinson welcomed into this world, thier latest, a little girl, Keaghlan! Mom, baby, sister - and Dad are all doing well! Congratulations!!!

OK - I am done - you can go on with whatever you were doing!