Florida Ironman and Dirty Duathlon!

Kristin Rinderknecht blasted the Ironman Florida course on Saturday, finishing her first Ironman distance event in under 12 hours! Not only was this Kristins first Ironman event.... this was her first marathon as well! I guess going in a little blind to the marathon can be a good thing!

Kristin participated in the Florida Ironman with friends Michelle Ennis and Amy Hanrahan - Pink Zoomer Jenny Weber also went as coach, supporter, friend and cheerleader! All three ladies had a great day - each one finishing in under 12 hours! Congratulations to Kristin, Michelle and Amy on a great day!

Sunday was the 3rd annual Dirty Duathlon - Pink was well represented! Dressed in pink and racing solo were Kim Hopkins, Elain Kay, Dee Mable and Kristin Reese. Those racing on Relays were Erin Rewerts (with Jerome), Dorothy Heicht (with Chad Vandelune), Shelly Hollowager (with Herbie), Kerry Gumm (with Matt), Sheri Robinson (with Steve) - as well as green-team team mates Alicia Duffy (running for Brian, her Dad) and Katie White (running for future green-team guy, Jim White). Also representing pink and running solo was Dave Mable. There was lots of pink cheering too! It was great to see!

It was quite a day with Kim Hopkins finishing 3rd overall and winning the masters division - Dee was right behind, taking 2nd in the masters, followed by Kristin Reese (3rd open) and Elain (3rd master)! In the relay race, Chad Vandelune and Dorothy won the "Married And Loving It" category, ahead of the Gumms, Rewerts and Robinsons.

It was a glorious day - and fun was had by all! Here are a few pics.

Shelly leads down the hill!


Dee smiling all the way!


Kim and Elaine early on the run!

For more pictures and story, click on www.cyclingupdate.com

Dr. Bob Ride this Saturday!

Come join us in celebrating the life of Dr. Bob Breedlove - and support the area trails effort. This Saturday, October 11th at 7:00am. Starts and ends at Bike World West (60th and Ashworth in West Des Moines). A 100k or 200k option is available. For details or to register online, clickity-click here.

Meanwhile - Get all straightened out - Visit Dr. Tyler Molstre, Owner of True Life Chiropractic, (515-225-2266)for a discounted initial screening and evaluation - and members of the All9yards Cycling Teams (boys and girls!) are treated to a nice little discount on chiropractic care! Dr. Molstre is an athlete himself and is currently working with several members of both squads, myself included... and I must say - he's good at what he does - and, dispite a long recovery from a bad hamstring injury last year, I've had a fairly successful year of running and riding - consider this a testimonial to Dr. Molstre's work!

One more thing before I let you go - You are all invited to an informational meeting on Monavie, a powerful natural drink rich in antioxidants, phytonutrients, omega 3,6 & 9, and glucosamine and plant sterols - good stuff Maynard. Dee's house on Monday, October 20th - 7:00pm.

Jana Competes at World Duathlon Championships!

Jana Severson finished 17th in her age group at the World Duathlon Championships held on September 27th in Rimini, Italy! Congratulations Jana!

State MTB Champ in Pink!

Congratulations to Kristin Pavlovich (Kpav) for her State Mountain Bike Championship victory at the challenging, yet enjoyable (in it's own weird way) Sugarbottom Recreation Area at Coralville Lake. She rode strongly in her race, winning by over 5 minutes on runner-up, Cara Hammen. All9Yards rider Kim Hopkins (Khop) rounded out the podium with an impressive 3rd placed bronze medal! Congratulations to you all for an outstanding race!

Kim (Khop) hadn't just been sitting around doing nothing either. No-sirree-bob. Nope. Not Kim. You see, she had gone on down to Denmans Woods on Friday eve for the first Quarter Rage of the year. Impressively, she took top female honors. Rock-out.

A week or so ago, Dee headed up to Cable Wisconsin for her 7th ride at the Chequamegon 40 mountain bike race, with her hubby Dave on the tandem. They braved the rain, slippery grass, huge puddles (lakes, really), sand, mud and hills to finish 6th in the co-ed tandem division, tieing their best placing. They rode the 40+ miles in 2:53, a bit off their best of last year, a 2:51 in dry and fast conditions. You can bet they'll be back to break that 2:49 barrier!!!

Now, Jana Severson, meanwhile, has been busy on the pavement - both running and riding - she took 3rd at the DOathlon For Life on Sept. 15th, 7th overall at the Irongirl Bloomington on Sept. 20th and is currently on an airplane flying over the Atlantic Ocean to participate in the Duathlon World Championships in Italy! We'll be excited to report on Jana's results as represents Pink and takes on the World! Go Jana!

Iowa Outdoor Women's Event October 9th

Iowa Outdoor Women's Association (I.O.W.A.) invites women of every fitness level and interest to come and connect with other women, have fun and most importantly, get moving.

Join us for I.O.W.A.'s FREE kick-off event. You'll hear Julie Isphording, who ran the first ever women's Olympic marathon after overcoming a spinal injury that nearly ended her running career.

The kick-off will be held Thursday, October 9th
5:30 pm
Iowa Health System Education and Research Center in the
Kelley Conference Room
1415 Woodland Street
Des Moines, IA

http://www.iowaoutdoorwomen.com/

12 Hours of Pure Joy!

Kristin Reese and I (Kim Hopkins) had a blast at our first 12-hour Mountain Bike
Race Labor Day weekend in Boone!

After several weeks of indecision and discussion and 2 failed
attempts to pre-ride the course, we finally decided to just go for it
and signed up as a 2-person team. We figured the worst that could
happen is we'd have to get off and walk a lot... actually the WORST
that could happen is that we'd break our necks but we tried not to go
there! The object of this race is to complete the most loops of the 8-
mile course as a team in the noon to midnight time period. Having not
seen the course, I tried to set a few loose goals for myself... 1) To
ride 90% of the course, 2) to complete 4 loops and 3) to try a night
loop since I had heard it was so much fun. Here's a little recap of
how the day played out for us:

The race began Saturday at noon with Kristin bravely taking the first
leg which involved a running start to her bike followed by a climb up
a gravel road to the single track course where she disappeared into
the woods for her first loop. One nice feature of this course was a
long series of switch backs in the open field at the end of each
loop. This gave your teammate the chance to spot you as you exited
the woods and then have a few minutes to fill water bottles, grab
some GU, put on helmet/gloves and a pee before meeting in the
transition area.

At approx. 1:45, Kristin and I high-fived in the transition area and
I was off on my first loop which I would have to describe as shaky at
best. The course, which featured some steep climbs & descents, tight
switchbacks and some scary bridges, was definitely a test of my still-
evolving technical skills. I was jumpy with nerves and caffeine and
was riding with too much air in my tires... all of which made for a
very herky-jerky, jittery ride. Plus, it's unnerving when you don't
know what's around each corner. While I walked a lot of the scary
stuff on this loop, I did manage to stay on the bike for most of it
and it may have been my fastest loop of the race due to fresh legs
and an over-abundance of caffeine in the system.

Kristin was ready and waiting in the transition area... another high-
five and she was off. I headed to the campsite to rest, eat and hydrate.

Loop #2 might have been the best loop of the day for me. I had let
some air out out of my rear tire (which helped me not spinout so much
on the climbs) and was feeling a little more relaxed and confident.
This time around, I was able to try few more of the scary bridges and
made it around a couple of the switchbacks that had caused me trouble
on the first round. The only near disaster on this loop was when I
discovered at about the 3/4 mark that my quick release had come
undone and my front wheel was just wobbling around loose. I don't
know how long it had been that way and I tried to not think about the
what would have happened if that wheel had come off on one of those
steep descents.

Then, it was Kristin's turn again and I was off to rest.

I started my 3rd loop at around 6:40 in the evening. One of the hard
parts about his race is the waiting in between loops. After about an
hour an twenty minutes of resting the body has just relaxed and is
not happy about getting back on the bike again... or at least mine
wasn't! The Night Rider rep was loaning out demo models of their head
lamps so I had taken them up on their offer and had one strapped to
my helmet just in case it got dark at the end of my loop. This was a
fun loop because I was becoming more familiar with the course, knew
better what to anticipate and had finally figured out my gearing. The
legs, however, were starting to feel the fatigue this time around. I
came out of the woods at dusk, without having used my light, and was
happy to take a break and eat some dinner.

Kristin had decided to opt out of the night loop so we all just hung
out around the camp fire for a few hours until Dave Mable came in
around 9ish after completing his 7th solo loop. I asked if he'd be
willing to ride a night loop with me and being the all-around nice
guy that he is, he agreed. So we took off at a cautious pace with me
in front and Dave close behind. People had been assuring me all day
that, with a good head lamp, I would be able to see everything and I
have to agree that I could see better than I would have expected. But
the course takes on a different personality at night and what had
started to seem familiar by the end of my 3rd lap looked all new
again at night. I was thankful to have Dave's company on this lap...
partly because I was getting tired of riding alone so it was nice to
have someone to chat with and partly because it was dark and scary
out there (think Blair Witch Project) and somewhere in the middle of
this lap, my helmet light came unhooked from the battery pack in my
jersey and everything went pitch black on the trail in front of me. I
probably would have freaked had Dave not been there! Also, because
Dave was following me so closely trying to give me the benefit of his
light in addition to my own, I caused him a few crashes when I
decided, at the last minute, to stop and not attempt a bridge or
steep switchback... sorry, Dave! Slowly but surely we made our way
through the course and I'm was happy to have given it a try... I'd
like to do it again sometime with fresh legs!

Our race ended at 10:40 p.m. with 7 laps completed! That put us in
2nd place in the 12-hour Team division behind Herb Hollwager and
Bruce Reese who took 1st with 9 laps. Dave Mable completed an
impressive 12 laps in the 24-hour Solo Division and took 5th in that
category. It was a very fun and challenging race and I'm looking
forward to doing it again next year! Thanks to Kristin Reese for
being an AWESOME teammate... I had a blast! Let's start thinking
about a 24-hour 4-Woman Pink Team for next year!

Gold, Silver & Bronze!

I often wonder why I do all this athletic stuff that causes me to get up so dang early in the morning. I was reminded just why early on Sunday morning, as Dee and I headed to Hickory Grove Park for the sprint triathlon. A breathtaking sunrise was there to greet us all on our drive north towards Nevada. The beauty of the sunrise was an indication of the good things to come - perfect weather, a great course, a well run event and about 400 athelete friends to share the day!

The first annual Hickory Grove Triathlon is a sprint - and is basically a new name for the old Cy-Man triathlon (which is once again being managed by the Iowa State Triathlon Club and will be held on Sept. 6th at Big Creek State Park). Hickory Grove is a great event - a beautiful park, a tight, spectator friendly course and good food and awards.

Several All9Yards women participated this year - Jana Severson, Dee Mable, Nichole Wendle, Molly Shephard-Robinson, Sandra Stone, Hunter Callanan and good friend Julie Sedor. Lena and Sammy were up at the b-crack of dawn to volunteer for the event as well!

It was great to see everyone there - and pink came home with Gold, Silver and Bronze! Nichole won her age group (gold), Jana was 2nd overall (silver) and Dee was 3rd in her age group (you guessed it - bronze!). Congratulations to each of them for their results, and congratulations to the rest of the pink ladies for toeing the line and participating in a great little triathlon!

Saturday was the State Criterium Championships - rather the DSM Area Criterium Championships! In the Women's Cat 4 race, there were only 3 teams represented, PRC, DMOS and All9 - all from Des Moines! PRC had a great day, as did Lacey Douglas from DMOS - as Lacey and Ana Nelson got off the front with about 6 laps remaining. Chris Marvelis went shortly after Dee, um, disappeared from the chase group (a bit of a slip on the wet roads left her a half a lap behind... and a little bloody...) - followed by Maria Rutenburg. Kim and Joann chased hard but ran out of real estate before they could catch them - and Maria caught Chris - so it finished 1. Ana, 2. Lacey and 3. Maria. Kim and Joann were #5 and 6, with Dee and Caroline Zeller brining up the final couple of places. It was great to see Caroline in her first ever USAC race, and a hearty congratulations to Dee for even having the guts to toe the line after Tuesday's events. I'd also like to congratulate Ana for winning both the Iowa State Road Race and the Iowa State Criterium!

While pink may not have come through as state medalists - it is evident that the clear winner is Women's cycling! In one short year, central Iowa has become a stronghold of women's cycling - and, interestingly, the nation is taking notice.

Jump on the bandwagon -there is still more to come - with Race Like A Girl this Thursday, another Waterworks race in the works for September - it is a great time to get out and ride - come race or come and cheer on your friends in the race!

Leadville, 2008

First of all - congratulations to Kim Hopkins and Kristin Reese for thier 1-2 finish at the MOB the Quab mtn bike race on Sunday at Lake Aquabi!

Dee and I ventured out to Leadville Colorado for our 3rd attempt at the Leadville Trail 100 Mountain Bike Race, which we do on our tandem.

Leadville is a hard race, crossing over 6 significant climbs and climbing over 14,000ft throughout the 100 mile race. The race starts and finishes in Leadville, at 10,200ft and climbs to it's high point at the half-way point, the Columbine Mine at 12,600ft. Riders are given a 12 hour time limit to finish the race and earn the coveted silver buckle.

Our first year on tandem we rode through a cold rain 8 hours into the race and finished in 11:55:25 - earning the buckle, but a little too close to the 12 hour mark for our comfort.

2007 was our second attempt, and after the first climb of the day, we found ourselves in 2nd place in the tandems. We held on for the rest of the day, finishing in 2nd place at 10:41:47 - quite an improvement!

In 2008, we wanted to see if we could better our time and hoped a podium spot was still realistic - as all the top 3 tandems from the previous 5 years were registered - so we knew we could have a race on our hands.

The day didn't disappoint. With sun peeking over the continental divide as we took off out of Leadville, we had only seen a couple of tandems, but with over 850 starters, it was easy to miss seeing other people. We passed one tandem as we made our way up the St. Kevin's climb, the first one of the day. On the descent Piggy told us that we were in 2nd, only a few minutes behind Mark and Serena Warner of Utah, multiple Leadville champions. The race was on!

We rode fairly strongly up the 2nd climb, knowing we still had over 80 miles to go - the prize for topping out on Sugarloaf Mountain is getting to do the Powerline descent - 3 miles of steep, rutted, rocky mountain trial that wear on nerves as well as brake pads!

After the descent down Powerline, we marched across the plateau that nestles at the base of Mt's Massive and Elbert, Colorado's highest. With a tail-wind and fairly firm gravel roads, we were able to keep up a strong pace to the 2nd checkpoint at Twin Lakes, and were about 10 min ahead of our 2007 pace.

Twin Lakes marks the start of the climb to Columbine - about 9 miles, mostly up - and the final 7, ALL up! It is about a 2 hour climb up a steep gravel road.. .that dumps you out onto a steeper, more narrow, rocky mile and a half hike-a-bike section that takes you from treeline to 12,600ft. It is a long, slow, painful slog up to Columbine, made even more interesting by the riders in front of you descending on the other side of this 4-5 foot wide rocky rutted steep trail.

Leadville is an out-and-back race, which is cool, as you get to see everybody ahead and behind you as you climb to and descend from the turn around point. We met race leaders Lance Armstrong and Dave Wiens about halfway up our climb - Lance gave us the 'peace' sign and Wiens graciously yelled "GO TANDEM!" which he honestly does for about everybody - he's a super great guy.

Anyway - we made the slow slog to the top and stopped for some soup and to refill our camelbacks - we had seen the first placed tandem leave just as we were nearing the top - and we left just 12 minutes behind them. Just as we left, a couple from Kansas, Kyle and Paulett, pulled in to the aid station... and as we were descending at the back of a line of about 6 guys, I felt someone trying to pass - and I suggested that they be patient... as I am saying that, a long green blur shoots by on our inside - the Shusters! (winners from 2007) In a fearless flash, they were gone! My desire to live kept us in this line until the uphill traffic eased up enough for us to come around the entire group - and we were off on the chase - and were behing hunted by Kyle and Paulett! Amazing - the top 4 tandems within about 12 minutes of each other at the half-way point!

It's about 45 minutes to descend from the top, much of it at break-neck speed on a tight and twisty gravel road. As we came out into the open at the bottom we couldn't see the Schusters - but as we entered a roller-coaster like singletrack section, we not only saw them, but we quickly reeled them in! On the last little rise, a mis-shift forced them to walk the rise, while we had momentum on our side and rode up over the hill, and hit the hammer on into the Twin Lakes aid station, back in 2nd. We quickly stopped, refueled and resupplied for the 40 miles and 3 climbs home, and were off. Just as we left, the Shusteres pulled into thier aid - we were again being hunted!

We rode steady, but hard across the 'flats' (not much real flat - but for Colorado - this was 'flat') A quick stop for our last aid station and 30 miles to go - we ran into Oakley Rob and enjoyed riding with him on a 3-4 mile section of pavement to the base of the Powerline... where we had a little trouble at one rutted steep point - and I dropped Dee on the ground - with Rob there to lend her a hand back up (sorry Dee!) - anyway - on to the grind of getting up this nasty climb - so steep and rutted it's all but impossible to ride. With Rob right behind, we trudged up the long steep climb. About 1/3 of the way up, you can start riding parts - and in one particularly rocky section, a change of momentum took us up a rock, stopped us cold and dropped us both down into a rocky rut. Again, Rob was right there to help us up, dust us off, and send us on our way - We sent him off in front of us... um.. .so he wouldn't see me drop Dee again?!?!?

We finally topped out - just as the cold rain started to fall - we descended a narrow rocky section for about 1.5 miles as the rain steadily gained strength, then, as we hit Haggerman road, a gravel road, it let loose - the road was a wet sloppy mess, with an inch of water running down the road... we still didn't want to get caught from behind, so we didn't let up.. and being from Iowa, we needed to take advantage of any downhills and flat sections we could - so we drove hard through the rain down to the bottom of the next climb - a 3 mile paved killer called St. Kevins.

We climbed strong and steadily, keeping pace with the folks around us, finally seeing the turn into the woods, and the last aid station. A couple of sips of Coke and a push from our friend and head Crewman, Lang, sent us onto the final 11 miles. A few steep, rocky climbs ahead and finally we topped out and started down the first climb of the day.

We hit the bottom of the climb, and in typical Colorado weirdness, it was dry as a bone! A couple of miles of flat gravel and pavement, and we were flying! One more climb to the finish! The base of the Boulevard is steep and full of round, loose rocks. We've never riden to the top because there is really only one line to follow, and if someone messes up in front of you, you are forced to stop. We found ourselves behind some guy who was not climbing fast, but still on his bike. He offered to pull to the side to let us by, but I told him to "Just stay on your bike! Just keep moving!" He did, and we made it. There is a 2 mile gravel road, all a nagging uphill grade, into town, then 1 mile of pavement to the line...with the first 1/2 mile a steep annoying uphill. At the top, you look across to the finish line and hit the hammer!

Adrenaline takes you through the crowds, up the final hill, and to the line, where all finishers under 13 hours are greeted with a Leadville 100 medal and a kiss from Marilee, the race Director!

We were done! 2nd Tandem, and by only 7 minutes! We had a PR by 17 minutes, finishing in 10:24:33. It was a record day for tandems:
A record 10 started
A record 7 finished
A record 4 finished under 11 hours and
the top 5 were all within 1 hour!
Yikes!

We are thankful for all the support we recieved as we prepared for and competed in this great event - Bike World for bike support and the trailer to get out there, Langer, Duffy, Benson, Fishy and Rob for the great gravel road training rides. Tyler at True Life Chiropractic for keeping us straight! Langer for his GREAT job as head Crewman -and his push off from Twin Lakes! Robby for the hand up, and kind words on the Powerline. Pig for cheering so early in the morning. Of course our kids for thier patince as we trained and left them helpless at home - I'm kidding about that part! Thanks to our friend Katie who watched our kids, the kids had an awesome time while we were in Colorado! And, of course our ALL9Yards friends for all the miles, support and friendship throughout the year!

Peace - Dave and Dee

A Great Multi-Sport Weekend!

Far and wide - traveled our tri-geek friends! From Whaletown to the sandunes of eastern Lake Michigan.

Kristin Rinderknecht rocked the field at the 25th Annual Whaletown Triathlon held at Lake Anita State Park in western Iowa. Kristin finished the 1k swim, 40k bike and 10k run in 2:23:49, only 1min behind winner, Kristin Gallager, also of Des Moines.

Kristin started the run about 2 min behind Gallager and kept a strong pace of 7:30 miles to close the gap to just over a minute by the finish. Rinderknecht, who is currently in training for her first Ironman - the Ironman Florida in November, recently completed the Vineman Triathlon in Californial in a quick 5:09! Congratulations Kristin - you are well on your way to your Florida goal!

Meanwhile, Jana Severson, Jenny Weber, Nichole Wendle and a whole slew of boys traveled to Benton Harbor Michigan for the Steelhead 70.3. The 1.2 mile swim, to be held in the clear, cold waters of Lake Michigan, was called within minutes of the expected start. While the winds were not an issue at Benton Harbor, a storm up north was sending her formidable surf down to the beaches of southern L. Michigan - forcing race organizers to bag the swim and begin the race with a 2 mile run.

While no one wanted a long duathlon, all delt well with the news and found their way back up the beach to the start. While results are not posted yet - I do know Jana finished in about a 4:23 and had a strong 2:31 bike (56miles). All the ladies finished and are happy to have that long duathlon behind them!

Jenny Weber - Zoom coach and talented athlete - is in her last phase of training for Ironman Wisconsin in mid-september. While this is not Jenny's 1st Ironman - it is her first while holding down a full time job, coaching, and holding the position of race director for not one - but 2 triathlons - as well as working with her smiling hubby, Craig, on the Flatland Multi-sport Race Series! We all wish Jenny her best as she tunes up and jams out her final month of training! Good Luck!

I'd also like to report that Karolyn Zeller raced her first race on last Thursday's Race Like A Girl and finished 3rd and 5th in two of the races! Congratulations Karolyn! All your riding is paying off!!

Kim and Kristin Reese reportedly traveled to Boone on Sunday for the mountain bike race held at Seven Oaks Ski Area - we'll be looking for a full report from them as soon as possible.

Results

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!

Sunday and Monday Results - and a Cup of Iowa!

Sorry this is sooo late - but we drove home last night through the stormes that hammered through Iowa - and I wasn't about to sit down at the computer when I got home!

The Mellon City Bike Race was on Sunday and a large field of Cat 4 Women toed the line - 30 in all - the largest Cat 4 Women's race this year in the state. Dee, Kim, Kristin P. and Lindsey were joined by Kristin Reese, who just couldn't stay away for the whole weekend!!!

The race started fast and furious - and the fast pace took it's toll on the field. The field of 30 was paired down after about 4 laps to a lead group of about 14 or 15 and then small groups of 4 or 5, and some solo riders trying to bridge the gaps.

Dee and Kim made the front group, which was driven by Kelli Menti, Lindsey Koren (winner of Snake Alley), Ana Nelson among others. Lindsey was tucked into the 2nd group, along with Maria Rutenburg, Kristin Pavlovich was stuck in no-man's land between this group and the next, which included Kristin Reese.

At this point -all the groups settled into strong tempos, either trying to bridge to the next group, or, in the case of the front group, position themselves for the win.

With about 3 laps to go, Kelli made a strong attack, helped along by Lindsey Koren (of Indiana). Sarah Huang - a 12 year old phenom - made the cut as the trio flew down the back side hill. Dee got caught in front, as Ana and Emily, who both had excelent races at the Snake, made an attack, trying to round out the top 5 from Iowa and steal some Iowa Cup points from Dee. Kim came around Dee, lending her wheel, and draft, pulling her back up to Ana and Emily. About this time, 3 other riders, including Kris Maraves of Waukee, attacked the group, bridging to the front 3. This made a group of 6 with 2 laps to go. Lindsey and Kelli continued to ride strong, resulting in shattering the front group, leaving Kris, Ginger Sides and Anna Loney to fend for themselves to the line.

On the last lap, Ana and Emily lead down the back stretch, nearly catching the next rider, Anna Loney, at the bottom, Dee attacked this group of about 8, charging up the hill.

In the mean time, Kelli, Lindsey and Sarah sprinted for the line - with Lindsey winning, followed by Kellin and then Sarah. (did I mention that Sarah Huang is 12?! WOW! Amazing!! - remember that name in the 2012 Olympics!!)

Meanwhile, back on the hill, Dee was leading the group up up up to the top, around the last corner and into the downhill straight, 200 yards to go - with Ana and Emily stuck firmly to her wheel. What looked like a sure PRC 1-2 punch was thwarted by pure guts and determination as Dee rounded the corner, downshifted and hammered it home to the line - taking pack sprint for 7th place - and five precious Iowa Cup points, placing her in the lead by one point over Kelli Menti.

Kim Hopkins charged from the group, throwing her bike at the line to move up one more spot to finish in 11th, having ridden a strong ride in support of Dee. Lindsey Hiem finished in 15th, just ahead of Maria Rutenburg - who also rode strongly all weekend - Kristin Pavlovich and Kristin Reese both soloed home to finish in 21st and 24th respectively.


Rock Island Criterium

Not much of an editorial for this, as Dee and Dave broke the tandem out to begin thier official Leadville Training on Monday (so I didn't actually get to see this race...) but Kristin Pavlovich and Lindsey Heim both toed the line on the pool-table flat, 8 corner course in downtown Rock Island. Lindsey had a strong race finishing 13th in the 26 rider field and Kristin smiled her way to 20th.

Congratulations to one and all for fine performances throughout the entire weekend - I'm proud of all that you have ALL accomplished in this past year!!

While not everyone could make the trip to eastern Iowa this weekend - everyone DID play a role in the great results - from the great bikes and support from Forrest and Ben at Bike World, the shades from Oakley, the testing from Jenny and Zoom, the awesome group rides, the cheering from the hill on the snake, and even a warm cup of coffee from Zanzibars - the think that makes this group click is the common love of bicycling - and the universal support that is exhuded from all and to all - has the power to lift everyone to reach for thier best!

I'll post some pics here as soon as possible - in the mean time - watch for some fun group rides being scheduled soon, and a "learn to ride in a group" session by Dave in the upcoming weeks.

Peace - Dave

Missing Pink!

What a phenomenal start to the memorial race weekend girls. I’ve enjoyed hearing about the road race on Friday night and the legendary Snake Alley on Saturday, but it really makes me feel like I’m “Missing Pink”. I decided Friday afternoon that I was too buried with work and family commitments, to try and partake in the festivities this weekend with the ladies in Pink. Reading about it just isn’t the same as being there with you and I probably should have said, “to heck with it” and went!!!

I think back to last year when we were all just starting to learn about cycling, envisioning a team of our own and wondering where it would take us. Now, we are there and I am so proud to be part of a team that looks out for one another, encourages others to excel and take their cycling dreams to whatever level they like!!! I made the decision not to go this weekend, but I was never made to feel like it was a wrong decision. That is what is great about my team and why I am “Missing Pink”!!!

I met with my Chiropractor Saturday morning to try and relieve a migraine that I had since Friday. Fortunately, it was very successful, so I decided that I would head out at the first break of sunshine about 4:00 pm to get in a 2 hour ride. I started down Westown Pkwy to 63rd Street, Hwy 28 to Park Avenue and then the Great Western Trail head to Orilla/Norwalk and through the south side (my old stopping grounds) and Hwy 28 and back home. It was a pretty relaxing 2 hour ride until I started down 50th Street south on my way home, about where Prairie Life fitness club is, and some young wiper snapper decided that he had something to say to me about riding on the road instead of the trail. I decided that I wasn’t going to put up with his belligerent comments and said a few choice words to him and gave him a thumbs up or I guess it was a middle finger up to let him know I didn’t appreciate his comments. At that point in my ride I was “Missing Pink”!

I guess it just doesn’t feel the same without my teammates there to practice rotations, chatting about the days stresses or just seeing the smiles as we gracefully flip off those belligerent a_ _ whips that drive by. I wish I could hear and see the smiles on your faces this weekend as you all cross the finish line at Snake Alley and the other races that bring each of us closer together as a team. Way to go girls!!!! I was cheering for you from a far and I know that you will represent women in cycling well!!!
- Dalena

SSSsssssNake Bite!!

Kim Hopins, Kristin Pavlovich, Lindsey Heim and Dee Mable lined up with 20 other women in this morning's Cat 4 Snake Alley Criterium.

Snake Alley is, known as the 'Crookedest Street In The World' is a 7 switchback brick street that climbs the hight of a 10 story building in one short block - of course there is a one block climb right before entering the Snake - just to zap any momentum you might have had - yum.

After a pre-race lecture about safety and stuff by the race officials - the ladies were off - on the kaotic (get it - Kaos!?! - that was for Matt!) first lap - it is all about staying moving and not getting caught behind a miss-shift or crash. Of course - crashes on the Snake are in slow-mo, as riders are moving up the steep climb at 6-8mph. While the crashes may not be too painful, they are disruptive and will cause a dominoe effect on the riders caught behind.

Luckily all the pink riders made it to the top in one piece, and the race was on! The race spread out into a single file line and as the pack made it around to the Snake for the 2nd of 6 laps, the 20 racers stretched from top to bottom of the hill.

One girl from Wisconsin then hit the gas, breaking away on her own, leaving the rest to fight for 2nd. Dee found herself in about 10th with Kim close behind - then Kristin a couple places yet, then Lindsey rounding out the top 15. As the race wore on, Dee began picking off riders one by one, moving up a spot or two on each lap - with Kim and Kristin doing the same. Lindsey found her place in 15th!

On the last lap, Dee found herself alone in 5th place up the Snake for the last time - and that is where she would finish. Kim fought her way into the top 10, finishing 9th. Kristin duked it out with Maria Rutenburg, with Maria finishing in 11th and Kristin in 12th. Lindsey finished in 15th, not DFL - which made her proud!

From learning to ride in a group only one short year ago - None of these ladies would have imagined racing in this legendary race - much less finishing - and finishing well no less! Very - VERY impressive - for one and all!

After the 5th race in the Iowa Cup - the All9Yards Ladies still hold the lead. Kristin Reese holds the lead with 27 points and Dee close behind with 26. Three more races to go - Mellon City Critierium, May 25th; and the Clear Lake Road Race and Clear Lake Criterium the 2nd weekend in July.

Tomorrow - The Mellon City Criterium - and Kristin Reese made the drive from Des Moines to join in on the fun! Tune in tomorrow night to see what happened!

On the boys team - Herbie took on a large Cat 5 field of about 40 to finish 16th. Jerome moved up from a bad start in the 4s race to finish a very respectable 7th (I'm pretty sure). Dave Lippold had a great start in the Masters 40+ and finished in the top ten in a very strong field. Steve Robinson had a great race in the Cat 3 race to finish in the top 15. In the 1/2/Pro race - Lane had some trouble shifting on the Snake and couldn't make up for his horrible start and Jerod's busy week with his new baby and his start at the back conspired against him, and both guys were out by lap 10 of their 20 lap race.

School is in session!!!

Dee vs Punk
David vs Goliath
Underdog...

The Little Engine That Could!

"Scotty, 'Imposible' is NOT in our vocabulary."
"iye-iye cap'n."

The Wapello to Mediapolis Road race was held tonight - in 56 degree temps - and a strong east-northeast wind - The course, one climb 2 miles after the start, and another with about 5 to go - went into the wind for 7 miles, turned south for 10 miles, then west for the final, tail-wind aided, 7 miles to the finish on the outskirts of Mediapolis.

Dee was the only girl in pink to ride this evening - against 3 punk rockers - Kelli, Kris and Kristin Galleger. Certaily prc had 3 of their strongest cat 4s at the line.... vs Dee.

Due to the small field size (they were the only women to race today) they were combined with the Masters race to make a field of about 20. Shortly after the start -it was agreed upon between the women to not ride with the Masters Men - so the 4 of them worked together in a smooth rotation as they headed east, then south. Dee sensed some strategizing as the prc girls would be chatting behind her as they worked through the rotation... and about this, she was correct.

As the turn back west - and into the tailwind - neared, the prc girls made sure to stick Dee on the front through the corner - "I just heard 'click, click click' and I knew I was in trouble." Dee said. Just as she predicted - Boom! Boom! Kelli and Kris took off in full sprint around her and off they went. Dee put her head down, with Kristin comfortably in tow - and went into full chase mode. "I could see them looking back every now and again - and I pulled them a bit closer, then fell off a bit, then would pull a little closer - all the while, they would look back to see if I was closing in." After about 5 min of hard chasing, Dee realized that they were pulling slowly away and that all she was doing was giving Kristin a free ride. She sat up, pulled over and gave Kristin the lead - which she took - for a bit. Dee took a rest, then back to the front - and Kristin never came around again for the next 5 miles. With 1k to go - Dee, still sitting on the front, decided it was now or never and dropped it down into her 12 and took off - Kristin tried, but failed to come around as the line neared - giving Dee a very respectable 3rd place finish.

Kelli won, with Kris close behind - Dee 3rd and Kristin 4th. Congratulations Dee - your tenacity and "Never Say Die" attitude - You are an inspiration to us all!!!

On the boys side - Jerome (Shrek - and hubby to Erin) came in 8th in the 4s race - and Herbie (our spin class hero instructor.... how shaved his head for todays race...???) came in 3rd in the 5s race - his first one! He had a great sprint - coming in more than a bike length ahead of 4th place! 2 guys were off the front in his race - and word has it that he did yomans labor to try and reel them in - and still took the sprint - A) I see more road racing for Herbie and B) I don't think he'll be a 5 for long!!!

Next up - Snake Alley Criterium - Representing Pink will be Kim Hopkins, Kristin Pavlovich, Lindsey Heim and Dee Mable - Go GIRLS!

Dualys, Tris and a weekend of racing!

Been a spell - but lot's goin' on!

Dee Mable ventured out to Cali. in early May to take on what is known as the toughest 1/2 Ironman in America - dang. She traveled with a motly group of tri-geeks - JJ, Zippy, BenG, Primeau and Krista B. On a hot day - and over a course that has as much up as anyone would care for - she finished her first ever 1/2 in a respectable 6:27:18. Congratulations to Dee!

This last weekend, Jana, Erin, AJ, and Jill traveled to Galena for the hilly Duathlon! Jana has been working very hard, having recently qualified for the World Duathlon Champs (In Italy in Sept) at the National Champs in April. Her work paid off in Galena as she won the Women's race, smiling all the way (well... maybe not ALL the way!!!). Jill, AJ and Erin rocked out too - Erin and AJ finishing in 4th and 6th in their age group, while a friend of thiers from Cedar Rapids (we'll have to get her in pink!), Amanda finished 3rd in their age group! Congratulations to all!

This weekend (Memorial Weekend) there will be blurs of pink at the races along the Mississippi River. Friday is a 24 mile road race from Wappello to Mediapolis. Saturday is the infamous Snake Alley Criterium - a legendary race. We'll be cheering as the women make 8 grueling laps up the crookedest street in the world! Yikes! Sunday is the Weed Park Criterium - a one mile circuit in a beatiful park overlooking Ol' Miss in Muscatine. The Snake and Weed Park are the 5th and 6th races in the 8 race Iowa Cup - which is lead by our own Kristin Reese, followed in 2nd place by Dee Mable.

If I have internet access this weekend - I'll be updating each evening. If you want live updates (pretty live anyway) go to cyclingupdate.com and click on twitter - we'll be updating the racing throughout the day - for each day of racing.

Mountain Mondays and the TNWCs!

Lead by Brian Duffy, Mountain Mondays was kicked off to a great start with perfect weather, perfect trail conditions and perfect company! Kristin Reese, Kim, and Dee were joined by Rhonda from Norwalk as well as some boys - Kyle Sedor, Taylor Webb, Dave Mable and Ron (?).

We all met at the Ashworth Pool for a kind of 'intro to mountain biking' evening on the local trails. Straight to the J-11 connector trail - and we were winding through the woods. All was smooth until the log/twisy-turny section near the end. This was a great opportunity for a teachable moment - and we all dismounted and then took turns getting over that nasty log in the middle of an off-camber 'S' turn! The folks who would be less experienced on mountain bikes were treated to 4 guys acting as spotters - giving them the confidence they needed to tackle anything.

Off to Denmans - and the only casualty at the entrance log was Dave - good thing he was behind everyone so they didn't see his endo... he'll make it someday.... Anyway - soon into the woods the first large log was encountered - and with spotters, the new kids all took it on - and made it! "WooHoo's' echoed through the woods as, one by one, they tackled the log crossing. - on to the biggy - and again- with the spotters - everyone took it on - and with only a couple of crashes - everyone eventually made it!

There was joy in the ride - in just winding through the woods - all 9 of us - enjoying a perfect evening on the trails with good friends - Thanks to Bike World for supporting this ride - we look forward to a summer long festival of all things dirt. Thanks to Duffy for leading and orgainizing - and to Tylor, Kyle, Dave and Ron for spotting us - On to Leadville! :)

TNWCs (Tuesday Night World Championships)
Well it was a slim overall turnout for the TNWC tonight. For the girls, it looked like it was just me, Jenny Weber, her husband Craig Hanken representing the Pink tonight. Both Jenny and I were running late due to traffic so we rolled in, just as they group was rolling out of Bike World. Another gentleman, named Mike, was also late and headed out of town to catch the group on his own right ahead of us. After checking our tires and preparing for our feat we set out determined to catch the group even though they had about a 5 minute lead and more than likely traveling about 5 mph faster than us. Of course, on the way out we caught a couple of those lights on Euclid and also just before Ankeny by Casey’s, which we were hoping the group hit a few of them as well to help with our efforts. We decided to take a short cut and turned east right before the left turn going up the BIG HILL toward Saylorville to try and catch the group in Ankeny. As we cross over Oralabor Road we hear a BEEP BEEP and I believe it was Kim West on his scooter cheering us on! We must have missed the group by a couple of minutes, but did run into the guy who left right ahead of us that was still hanging on to the hope of catching the pack as well. We picked him up and now it was four of us on the mission.

Overall, we had a great ride logging 33.8 miles, averaging 20.5 mph and had 4X15 hard efforts. We all helped pulling and helping to cut through the swirling wind which we couldn’t quite figure out which direction it was coming from and weather getting cold and rainy.

By the way - Jenny's avg heart rate on that ride last night was 129 and mine
was 170. ha ha ha - Dalena
-

The All9Yards/Zoom Athletes Rocked the Dualy!

Lead by Jenny Weber - Mrs. Zoom Performance, the collective athletes of All9Yards and Zoom Performance had a strong showing at the PRC Dualthlon on Thursday night at Big Creek.

Jenny found herself in the lead after the first leg of the run, but the wind took it's toll and gave advantage to Jane and her TT bike and aero helmet (and strong legs!) during the 10 mile bike race portion of the event. Jenny stayed strong on the 2nd run, finishing 2nd in the inaugural event. Tom Hamilton, a Zoom athlete, finished 3rd overall, only seconds behind 2nd.

Other All9Yards ladies included Kristin Reece, Kim Hopkins and Erin Rewerts. All of them love love love running. Just ask em. Really. They did great and had a blast.

Thanks to Jane, Kelli and the rest of the PRC crew for hosting the dualy - we'll look forward to the next one on May 29th.

Meanwhile, Dee is out in California, camping out in the sticks somewhere to do the Wildflower Half-ironman triathlon on Saturday, May 3rd. GO DEE! Follow her progress throughout the day on Cyclingupdate.com - click on the 'Twitter' link on the left.

Other Zoom athletes participating in the Wildflower half include JJ Baily, Matt Zepeda and Krista Bartholomew. Good luck to everybody!

Old Capital - Kristin, Kim and Brianna Fly the Pink Flag!

The 31st edition of the Old Capital Criterium saw a field of 15-20 in the Cat 4 Women's race - and included Kristin Reece and Kim Hopkins. A fast pace and early solo break caused the field to splinter down and down - Kristin ended up in a group of 4 or 5 with Kim just behind - Kristin went of the front of her group at the top of the hill on the last lap with one other girl - and came around her at the line to finish 2nd for the day - and Kim motored her way to 7th, while Brianna rolled in around 12th! Way to go ladies - thanks for flying the pink flag!

Kristin's additional 7 points will mean she keeps the Iowa Cup lead into the next weekend of racing - Memorial Weekend. Snake Alley Criterium and Melon City Bike Race are the next two races in the Iowa Cup - followed by the Clear Lake races on July 8 and 9th, which will wrap up the series. It would be sweet to see pink take home the first ever Women's Cat 4 Iowa Cup victory!

Kristin Rinderknecht ran the Drake 1/2 marathon on Saturday in a strong 1:49, finishing 60th overall - Congratulations Kristin! Kristin has really started her Ironman training in earnest as she prepares for her first ever Ironman Triathlon at Ironman Florida in November.

Proud To Be Pink!

In a textbook move, Kristin Reece and Joann Schmidt jump from the field of 38 early in the Iowa City Road Race on Saturday, April 26th. Along with them came a collegiate rider - the 3 of them worked hard and worked well to stay away from the pack.

Kim Hopkins, Jenny Weber, Dalena Feller and Dee Mable controled the pace in the pack - letting the 3 stay out front. In the final lap PRC moved to the front in an effort to pull the break in. The extra speed split the field, leaving a group of 5 to chase - including 2 from PRC, Dee Mable from All9Yards, Kat Porter from Bike Tech. and Sandy Kessler (Team Skin). Kris from PRC made a final move, which was followed by Dee and Sandy - in an attempt to catch the break in the final mile - and was unsuccessful.

Kristin Reece ended up with the victory with Joann Schmidt in 2nd, college girl (no name at this point) in 3rd, Kris (PRC)4th and Dee in 5th. Kim Hopkins held on to finish in the top 10 while Jenny Weber and Dalena Feller finished in the top 15.

Impressive ride by all!!!

In the Iowa Cup standings - this should move Kristin Reece into first with 21 points and Dee Mable into 2nd with 19 points - but we'll need to verify once results become official.

Brianna Takes Finchford!

Brainna Hantelmann braved the cold and the wind and took the win in her race at Finchford Roubaix on Sunday. Congratulations Brianna - way to keep the All9Yards win streak alive!

We also had a great time at Girls Night Out on Friday - 8 new ladies signed up for the team - We'd like to thank Forrest and everyone at Bike World for their generosity in hosting the event! Chris Maharry was kind enough to join us with his camera and we'll be posting them as soon as we get em!

This was also a big weekend for Kristin Rinderknecht, who spent the weekend in Arizona cheering for her husband, Reed as he competed in the Arizona Ironman. Her cheering and support must have worked because he finished in 9:58:50 for 7th place in his age and 53rd overall - and we're waiting to see if he qualified for the big one in Kona!

Next up on the event schedule is the Iowa City Road Race and Criterium on April 26 and 27 and the next weekend Dee heads to California for the Wildflower 1/2 Ironman.

A Great Weekend of Racing!

Altoona Road Race: 3rd, Dee Mable; 4th, Kristin Reece; 5th Joann Schmidt; 6th Kristin Rinderknecht; 9th, Kim Hopkins; 12th, Dalena Feller - WOW! What a start!

So - how do you follow that? How about Big Creek Road Race: 1st, Dee Mable; 2nd, Kristin Reece; 4th, Kim Hopkins; 9th, Dalena Feller - What a great weekend - and how long we have all come! The team currently holds 1st, 2nd, 6th and 7th in the Iowa Cup standings as well - Way to go!




To get Kristin Reeces point of view - check out her family blog

For more pictures click on Fryguy Images

Happy Birthday Dalena!

Altoona and Big Creek Road Races this weekend!

Altoona Road Race - Saturday starting at 10am
Big Creek Road Race - Sunday, races at 10am and 1pm.
Click on the race name for a map of the course.
Info can be found at www.cyclingupdate.com

Join us for a Girls Night Out on April 11th!

A Great Day For A Ride (In January!!)

A dozen hardy souls, unwilling to spend another minute on a trainer or at spin class (though we do love Herbie), braved the 30 degree temps and went outside for what has become a weekly ride.
A smooth working machine!

Dee and Kristin couldn't resist the alure of the new pink LeMonds sitting in their living rooms, and broke out the new bikes (they also knew that each of their husbands, happy they are out riding so much, would gladly clean their bikes before the expo in a week!!)

Dee and her new steed

Also bundling up for the fun were Joann, Kim, Dalena and Kelli (making a Pink Rock Composite Team!) - and were also joined by Kyla, or 'New Girl', who recently moved back home from 10 years of living in Colorado (wha???). Some nice boys tagged along - Duffy, Floodie, Nathan and Dave. An hour or so of beating against the wind treated us to an enjoyable tailwind ride home down Beaver. Now, we're all just excited for the start of the Tuesday Night World Championships, beginning this week! Yahoo!
New Girl

YeeeHaaawwww!

Now... if the snow would let up a little bit so we can all go out and play!

Hey Forrest and Steve, Thanks for helping us get the bikes, and Ben thanks for the great fit! See you at the expo!

Oh, and one more thing..... Moonbeam (Lou)kicked JJ and Tony's butt in the 2008 Season Opener at Spring Training Camp in Tuscon - and only Lou would do this... but he started his watch as he came to the summit of the 25 mile, 6% grade Mt. Lemmon.... and and it showed 16 min by the time JJ and Tony crested the pass. We hope it is an indication of a good year!

-dee

So.. tell me about those bikes a-yers.

The Kelly Benefit Strategies/Medifast Pro Cycling Team is swinging their legs over the LeMond Triumph Series bike this year - and enjoying the ride. This is essentially the same bike as ridden by the All9Yards Women this summer - so I thought ya might like to have a more detailed look - from the perspective of a pro team.

Read all about it here.

Editorial note about LeMond - the guy. Yes, everybody talks about how he's all fat and out of shape. Last autumn, he lined up with 1700 others at the starting line of the 25th Anniversary Chequamegon 40 (of course... HE got a preferred start!) Try as we might - we could not match his prowess, speed or agility in the 42 mile race - and he squeaked in 3 minutes ahead of us in a respectable 2:48. Well, that ain't too bad. His son, Geoffry, finished a strong 57th place, just behind local stud, Jed Gammell. You may remember seeing a picture of Geoffry on the cover of VeloNews in early August of, say, 1989!

The Eddy B Yearly Training Plan, Part 2

So begins Specialization - a 6-8 week period from early March to late April, when we begin to turn endurance into speed. We begin to 'specialize' as competitive cyclists - It is the effort that differentiates competitive cyclists from 'recreational' cyclists - it is what propels us, both physically and mentally, to a different level of fitness. You will be active 7 days a week.

Sunday
Long hard group ride or 'training' race - increasing in distance each week by 5-10 miles (ranging from 35-40 at the beginning of March to 60-70 by the end of April)

Monday
Recovery ride, 45-60min easy spin in low gear. Or cross train.

Tuesday
Speedwork - begin with 2 hard efforts of 10-15 seconds (150-200 meters) - full out. Increase to 6 by late April. Upper body work. Click on the TRX link to the right and down for a great tool for strength training.

Wednesday
Long steady ride, same distance as Sunday's ride, but not as hard. Not easy - use the big chainring for a fairly strong tempo ride. For triathletes, this is a good day to run. Either bag the ride - or shorten the ride if you do run.

Thursday
Intervals: These are not sprints - but longer and really hard efforts - if your interval period is 60 seconds, ride so hard that you can go 100% for 60 seconds, but not 70. Begin with 3-5 min efforts, starting with 2, and build on that. As March rolls on into April, change to shorter intervals, but more of em. Be sure to get a good warm up and warm down.

Friday
2 hours easy ride. Strength training.

Saturday:
Long easy ride (30-50m)You triathletes will probly look at today as your long run day. That works too - If that's you, make your ride shorter, or bag it.

Understand that this is Eddy Bs cycling training plan that he used to train Olympians - like the guy who rode my bike, the Red Rocket. For Triathletes, I realize you are swimming too, and probly have a family and job and grass to mow... So, this plan is easy to modify. The most important rides are Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday. You don't have to do them on those days, but if you really want to improve, get in those 3 workouts; sprints, hard intervals and a long, spirited ride. That leaves 4 days for running and swimming. If you want to add a 4th day riding, add a strong tempo ride like the one described on Wednesday. Even with all this, I still believe in strength training (though I too have a hard time finding time to fit it in). Proper nutrition and rest is a MUST during this prepatory period - your body is a very hard working machine and needs to be nurtured.

Good luck!

Editorial note - this Yearly Training Plan is taken, almost word for word, from Bicycle Road Racing, writen by Eddy Borysewicz, 1980-84 US Olympic Cycling Coach. It is intended to be used as a guide and can and should be adapted to meet the individual needs/wants/desires of, well, you. As always, consult your doctor before beginning any rigorous exercise program!

Expo in Des Moines March 15-16

Join the All9Yards Ladies at the Annual Bike World Expo on March 15 and 16th at the 7-Flaggs Event Center! We'll be there with answers to questions like:

I wanna race - where can I learn?
I don't wanna race, but I wanna get involved. Can I do that?
What are some of the great events this summer?
Can I see your cool LeMonds?
Can I buy a cool LeMond?
Can I join the ladies cycling movement?
When do you ride?
Can I join you on a ride if I'm not a member?
Can I be a member?
Can I buy a sweet pink jersey?
Where are the restrooms?
Is anyone going out for a beer tonight?

Look for our booth at the Expo - we offered to let the boys from All9Yards join us too - so look for the pink and green booth and stop by to say 'hello'!

PS - We're doing a presentation on ladies cycling too, watch the schedule!

Sweet?

Trainer Rides

We all agreed that riding a trainer with friends is better than being secluded in your basement or garage plugged into your iPod, but it is still - well - riding your trainer!

Dee, Mariah and I rode for an hour last night, getting in some strong aerobic work via some longer intervals, followed by some single leg work and finally some shorter, stronger efforts.

While it is similar to the ever popular 'Spin Class' the advantages of riding on a trainer are many. First and formost - you are on your own bike, best to not loose that feel over the winter - even if it's only once a week. Every time on your bike, you become more and more 'as one'. Having a very natural feel on your bike will help you improve your handling skills. A good thing.

Secondly, you can customize your workout - you are not subject to whatever your spin instructor dreams up - whether good or bad. This time of year it is good to be developing an aerobic base and refining pedaling technique - not working on hard sprints or doing 'hovers' or 'standing jogs' - in what crit or TT do you 'hover'?

I'd encourage you to drag your bike and trainer over to the Center to ride with JW on Tuesdays and/or to the All9Yards office on Thursdays to ride with Dave - enjoy the company, enjoy the workout and bone up on those skills!