Team Bike Station Aptos

Bike racing is a strange thing.

2011-05-16T14:34:00.000-07:00

Sometimes I really marvel at what one does to race a bicycle. What normal person spends hours upon hours training within inches of 4500-lb speeding vehicles, descending at breakneck speeds on a rubber contact patch no wider than a pencil, getting up at 4 am to drive to Orinda to make an 8:10 race start? None you say. . .you are correct!

This past weekend was one of my favorite races on the calendar, the Berkeley Hills Road Race. I have not done this race as often as I would have liked, but this year it worked out and I was stoked.

Racing is funny -- you train and train and have the best intentions of things going your way. Every race you have this dream of being able to throw your arms in the air and scream with joy because you were the first one to cross the finish line. To do this you need both luck and talent -- but for the most part I think it is more about luck than talent. I was ready for a great race. I had had a solid week of training, the race was on Sunday and not Saturday so I did not have to miss work, and the weather was to be pretty nice. All of these things were true but just when you think you have it figured out and life is going your way. . .oh darn here comes that head cold you were not expecting!

I really wanted to race. So, in spite of my ill-timed bug I decided to race. I went “easy” on myself and chose the Masters 35+ race which was 50 some miles instead of the Pro 1-2-3 race which was 70 some miles.

It is really an amazing and empowering thing to show up at the start line with a bunch of gals who are still racing bicycles well into their 60s! And let me tell you these gals are fast! As an older athlete some of the snappiness might be gone, but the speed, endurance and shrewdness are oftentimes better than with the younger racers.

It was a great race. Hilly, windy and hard! As for me, well. . .I set my goal to finish with the lead group. . .mission almost accomplished.

As a racer my biggest challenge is patience -- the same challenge that presents itself in my day to day life. It is kind of funny how themes keep repeating in all facets of our lives! I was really patient for the first two thirds of the race. Stayed with the climbers on the hills, descended well and rode the flats well. But then I got excited. On the finishing lap I closed down a couple of attacks, made an attack of my own and then realized my legs were getting tired. With less than 5 miles to go the group let a rider off the front. Everyone just watched her ride away, nobody chased. I was too tired to think about closing the gap myself and everyone else just looked for someone else to do the work as there was one big climb to go. We hit the last climb, aptly named Papa Bear, and all hell broke loose. It just becomes about survival. A quarter of the way up my legs and lungs say “LATER” and a gap opens. I see the lead group riding away. . .oh they are so close and I am so close to my goal. . .just finish with the lead group! All I could do was watch them finish in front of me. . .so near but yet so far. . .again!

At the end of a race you have several choices, you can be really bummed because things did not work out as you had planned, or you can ask yourself that ever important question that always comes up when you are leaving the house at 4 am or puking on a climb. . .did I have fun? As long as that answer is yes. . .you know you are doing the right thing even if it seems crazy.

Gorry Details at the Pitt Crit!

2011-05-09T15:01:00.000-07:00

The course was great - it was short, some good corners that twisted around restaurant's and downtown streets. There was a good crowd and the announcer, Brad Sohner and DJ, Ryan Dawkins made for a fun vibe!
The finishing straight was long, and had a strong headwind which made positioning really important. The corner heading into the finishing straight was a tough one - if you were in the back it was a lot tougher because 1. you had to close a gap, and 2. you had to face a lot of wind! The start of the race was really aggressive! It strung out early on, and Devon had great positioning! She suffered the with the best for the full 75 minutes sprinting it out for a solid 8th place. Great job this weekend Devon! =)

Repeats up Baby, Moma, and Papa Bear - Berkeley Hills Road Race

2011-05-09T14:54:00.000-07:00

Ok, so I was pretty fired up to race this one. I had made the decision to race it, the night before after getting dropped like a bad habit at the Pitt crit. I fully knew it wasn't necessarily my type of race - and there was no way I was going to win - or stay with the lead group. At this point - I have realistic expectations - i'm just not there yet. That said, I knew it would still be a good test for me because there was going to be a strong 3 and 2 contingent there, who would certainly push me and force me to face the hurt head on.

I had never done BH, but heard quite a few stories about how challenging it is, primarily due to the climbs (baby, moma, and papa bear). Not pre riding the course can be a little challenging mentally, because it's difficult to know how hard to go, when you can recover, etc.

I got to the race with a solid 1.5 hours to get ready. Pinned, hydrated, threw five gu's in my back pocket and was on the start line with a couple min to spare. It was a neutral roll out to the course - which is always nice. I was right behind the moto, and felt like I was getting high from the fumes! Jane Despas didn't really smile when I made a joke about it, so I decided to shut up and get ready to hurt. She clearly had a plan from the start line - right when we rolled out on the course, she quickened the pace and road away from the field. We all let her go, knowing it was going to be a long 70 miles with hills and wind. The group was a decent size - probably 30-40 women. I didn't really want to do work, so I tried to sit 5 wheel. Then, I drifted back when I noticed none of the big girls were there. I thought it would be a good time to observe, and see how they managed their way around the pack. Sure enough, when we got to the first hill a Fremont Bank girl (strong team) went to the front. This must be "baby bear" - I followed her lead, knowing they were good climbers, and knowing i'd need to be as far in front as I could to allow for some drift back if I wanted to stay in this group for awhile. The pack surged up the steep kicker, and I felt like my heart was going to explode! I could see the top, so I dug DEEP and pushed through - phew! made it and coasted down the back side - breathing hard.... But, I was still there. Even though it was only the first lap - it was a little victory. I faced the pain and pushed through it.

The course was really beautiful, lots of rolling green hills, a reservoir, and nicely paved roads. Pretty epic....until we hit "moma bear", a long long quasi gradual climb. The climbers moved to the front and I followed. This is where it got freaking hard. I was dying at the top, and drifted all the way to the back...i'd tried to hold wheels but just couldn't - and was joined by quite a few who had fallen off as well.

There were 4 of us in my little chase, some behind and a couple more in front. The main group was only about 100 feet in front of me when I hit the decent - but that was enough...they held and grew the gap as the climbers attacked again on "papa bear" the final climb on the lap.

The thing is - I was hurting plenty in my little group of 8 - that grew to 12 by the end of the race. It was super hard on the climbs - women drilled it, and it was all I could do to stay on. We dropped a few people too.. It was a little sad when we rolled through the finish, and the guy was like - only three more times! I was like SHIT! This is going to be a long day!

By the end, I was toast. I drove home, showered, ate, watched an Adam Sandler movie, ate, watched another Adam Sandler movie, ate, slept, ate and slept again - for 10 hours!

I'm glad I did the race, and felt good about sticking a super hard 70 miles out. I don't know what I finished up, but don't think it really matters. I needed to hurt a little, and I did. And it felt good to see it through to the end.

How to Sprint

2011-05-05T08:30:00.000-07:00

Basically, Mark Cavendish is a beast. This is kind of a nice video to keep in mind, when doing your sprint workouts. ;)

Fun starts when the sun goes down - Twilight Crit in Pittsburg

2011-05-04T17:36:00.000-07:00

On tap this weekend is the Pittsburg Twilight crit! We should have a couple racers out there in the Womens Pro 1/2/3 race, so if you happen to be in the crowd, make sure to give us a shout or two of encouragement. Just no beer hand-ups, it's not a cyclocross race ;).

Here's what the course will look like. There is a restaurant on turn four, so I you want to feed two birds with one seed, take a special someone to a nice dinner AND watch the womens race - make sure to reserve your table in advance! Oh, and save me a seat because i'd like to stay and heckle the mens race that starts at 8 pm!

You can find more info about the race at their website. Hope to see you there!

In the Money at the Wente Criterium

2011-05-02T14:37:00.001-07:00

Race: Wente Criterium
Results: Devon - 1st Court - 4th

The nice part about racing - a new race means a fresh start. Everyone is always an equal on the start line, and there's always opportunity to dig deep and make some magic happen. I was done feeling a little bad about the previous day, after revisiting the pity party on the way to the race with Devon (who totally pulled me out of my slump), and things really turned a corner when we started to talk about winning primes - oh yeah!

Crits are kind of my favorite. They are only an hour long, and usually really exciting with lots of fast paced action, opportunities to win prizes like bottles of Ahava lotion, yummy Riesling wine, t-shirts, and earnings made out of chain-links! Who wouldn't want a pair of those!

Our plan - to win primes and get one of us in a break. We roll up to the race with sunglasses on, stone cold faces oozing intimidation, blasting "I could not ask for more" by Edwin McCain - fail! We ARE a bunch of dorks! We couldn't help but bust up laughing when we parked the car...good times.

We had plenty of time before the race - two hours to meander, register, pin, pump, and warm up. Course was pretty straight forward with some sweeping turns, bot dots, wind, and vacant parking lots. Not really sure why this race has such a bad reputation it has with crashes etc. It was nestled in a nice little business park in Livermore - don't ask me exactly where, I just drive the car like a robot while Devon navigates..it's good teamwork.

The group was on the smaller side, but very strong. Many of the Norcal greats were there including Mary Maroon, Mary-Ellen Ash, and of course....Bike Station Aptos! =)

Out the gate, Mary Maroon launched an attack - whoa that was a wake up call! Howdy lactic acid in the legs! We chased it down pretty quickly, and i'm pretty sure the entire group took a deep breath all at the same time - sigh. It was pretty windy, and the back side of the course lent itself well to drafting. The long finishing straight however was down wind, which made for exciting Prime attacks and of course, and exciting finish.

Round and around we went. On the second prime, I heard a voice from right behind me say "GO", I kind of thought it was God - so I quickly got my act together, pulled out, and sprinted like a bat outta hell! I flew through the start finish only to see the bell man yelling Prime lap. Wait!?, I thought to myself - did I just sprint for nothing!? Oh, man - i'm a real dork... I had a pretty nice gap on the group and knew it was all or nothing. Either I let them pull me back in, or attack again and keep the throttle steady. I was going for it. I had to win at least one Prime! So, i did - and managed to stay away. That was totally awesome, and probably the highlight of my race - other than my teammate taking the big WIN.

After that, Devon and Mary Maroon attacked. I had a job to do and was sticking to the plan - we had Devon in the break!

I just chilled out, and prepared myself for the final sprint. On the bell lap, I tried to figure out where to position myself, and out of the last corner gave it all I could. With about 200 meters to go something happened. All of the sudden I had no resistance - my chain fell off to the outside of my bike and I uncontrollably fell forward - chest to handlebars. Not sure how I didn't crash out. Totally taken off guard by what happened - I tried to remember how to pick up my chain. I shifted to the little ring, began pedaling and sure enough the chain flipped over. In a matter of seconds I had picked my chain up, spun quickly to finish the sprint out and surged to the line for fourth place by a hair. Holy crap! I survived the Wente crit!

After a cool down lap on the course, I caught up with Devon and the crew to get details on how it went down - sure enough Gorry came through with the win for the team. I knew she had it in her all along, and knew it was going to be a great battle between her and Mary Maroon - an amazing Nor Cal racer and great competitor.

We finished the afternoon on the podium with all our cool prizes that included wine from Wente Vinyards, a massage that Devon insisted we split - 10 min each, a lotion and soap package from AHAVA (it smells really good), and gift cards to the Wente Vinyards restaurant - which turns out are only good Mon-Thurs, one at a time - like that will ever happen!

We ended the day with an amazing dinner with fellow racers Mary-Ellen and Holly at a great all you can eat salad joint - Sweet Tomatoes - we ate and ate and ate, as evidenced by our pictures...

Great way to end an awesome weekend of racing our bikes. Can't wait to do it again come Saturday.

Thanks for reading.

Racing for Wine and Glory

2011-05-02T08:25:00.000-07:00

I think we're pretty fortunate to live in a region that 1. has so many races - I mean, I can find a race pretty much every weekend day through Spring, Summer, Fall, and Winter (CYCLOCROSS) within a couple hour drive from my house; and 2. to have such enthusiastic ambassadors for the sport, who spend their weekends putting these races on. I know the registration fees are high, and the prize money isn't the greatest..but the fact is - it takes a lot to put on a race, and there are a ton of volunteers who sacrifice their race days to make our race days happen. So, thanks to you mr. or miss or mrs. race day organizer who wake up in the morning, cup o coffee in hand and brave the 100 mile hour winds (yeah i'm exaggerating, but not by much) of Wente* to make sure there's someone in the reg tent, on all the sketchy corners, in the follow car, and on the sidelines yelling - don't give up Courtney you're doing great (as i'm off the back chillin' enjoying my 35 dollar "ride"). Not sure who that was, but thanks for the encouragement!

There were two of us - despite our efforts to recruit Beth out to race with the us on Friday night...she had to go take "pictures" of the "ocean"...whatever...like she's a professional photographer or something...Oh, wait - she is and here's her pro blog.

Beth set us this picture from her twilight photo shoot - thanks for the pre race inspiration teamie!

Beth is currently taking bookings for weddings, and adventure photo shoots - hit her up if you need someone to document your adventure or corporate outing. She's rad, and very passionate about pictures.

When we got to the race, it was 52 degrees and WINDY. Oh my i've never seen wind like that at a race. I'm pretty sure i saw a few little climbers flying through the air to registration. The course was pretty brutal - around 1500 vertical feet per lap - and it was sneaky..it wasn't like here's the big hill you have to climb - it was rollers, and then descents, and false flats into the wind. We had to do 4 laps for a total of 60 miles. Well, to say the least it wasn't my day in the saddle. We all have them. I fell OTB with two to go, and after trying to drill it in the wind to catch back on, decided - yeah, looking at cows and baby sheep and pretty green hills was way more fun. I called it a day, and figured i'd yell at Devon a little, since she was in really good position and killing it in the race.

I got out of my cham-wow, packed up the car, and thought playing follow car would be fun. I even took a little video of the race finish. I tucked in behind the lead womens group in the Honda Element - The Official, Legitimate, Professional Team Car, and watched the end of the race unfold. Attack by Fremont bank, Counter by Webcor, Devon throwing it down - the pack shattered by the last climb and vicious final efforts. Devon ended up a hard earned 4th place for the day - super proud of her. It was a really hard course, and she had very challenging opponents!

* I think Wente should be a place and a winery. So, i'm going to refer to Wente as a place in this post.

CCCX MTB, 3/28/11

2011-03-29T13:31:00.000-07:00

After what seems like weeks of riding in rain and wind every day, I was looking forward to the local CCCX mountain bike race scheduled for Sunday, as Sunday’s forecast was sunny and lovely and oh-so-nice. But as luck would have it, the race got rescheduled for Saturday. Saturday’s forecast = more rain, more wind, more misery. It turns out those meteorologists know what they are talking about once in awhile.

Ft Ord is usually the best place around for getting some mountain biking during the rainy winter months because the sandy soil drains so well. In fact, Ft Ord is at it’s best in the winter as everything is generally remains rideable, as opposed to the summer months when huge sandpits make the trails better suited for cyclocross than riding. Unfortunately we’ve had so much rain over the last week or two that even the Ft Ord trails were a muddy, mucky mess, and the rain was still falling. This was going to be epic.

Check out this picture from Tim Westmore.

Beth's full race report can be found on her blog - check it out!

Madera Stage Race

2011-03-24T08:12:00.001-07:00

Big thanks to Mike who lent me the bike, and Nils who lent me the helmet, despite the duct tap that stuck to my hair... was it really that much more aero!?

Getting Gritty at CCCX

2011-03-21T16:09:00.000-07:00

We had another wet weekend here in Santa Cruz. At one point on Saturday night I was a little afraid for my life. Thought Cole and I were going to be washed out to sea! Wet or dry I had the best of both worlds - weekend at home and a fun day of racing! On tap - Central Coast Circuit race with two awesome teammates Joanne and Devon. One of the greatest parts about having a teammate is when you don't want to race or are simply hiding from the clouds and cold under warm covers, and looking for reasons not to leave the house, a good teammate will say "well i'm going rain or shine, cause what else am I going to do?" Which is usually enough to kick in the competitive juices and ignite that little fire that keeps the passion to push through a little more pain burning.

I was really impressed by the group of women that showed despite the less than ideal conditions. And, i'm SUPER glad I went because as it turns out it didn't even rain! I would have felt really bad about staying under the covers due to "bad" weather...geesh!

The race was really exciting and fun with three of us Bike Station girls in the field. We had a few surprises up our sleeves, and experimented with some fun team tactics. Devon busted out a mad sprint at the end for the big victory, I got fourth place and JT took a solid 8th. Go team!

Had to add this one - we had fun out there. =)

Thanks for reading!

New LOOK Blade Pedals!

2011-03-16T15:08:00.000-07:00

Im super stoked to announce LOOK as our official road pedal sponsor. We recently put the new Blade pedals on our road rigs, and love them. They have a slightly wider platform, and very innovative carbon spring that makes the pedal slightly lighter, but more importantly creates a very unique and snappy engage compared to a conventional Keo.

I like how secure my cleat/shoe feel when I clip in and know my foots not goin' anywhere in the field sprint!

The pedals also come with an extra set of cleats, and cleat covers (bonus!) which I thought was a really nice touch.

We continue to "LOOK" forward to riding this and other product from the French company.

Team Bike Station Aptos @ CCCX #2

2011-03-10T11:38:00.000-08:00

We had a few racers at the last Central Coast Cross Country race last weekend. Check out the pics below of fellow teammate Beth Welliver on the Cannondale Scalpel 3.

New Sponsor - William Hopkins, The Foot Doctor

2011-03-09T14:28:00.001-08:00

Big thanks to William Hopkins and his team at The Foot Doctors, in Watsonville. We spend a lot of time on our feet standing, walking and of course pedaling our bicycles, and are happy to have the support of Dr. Hopkins and his team of experts. If you haven't checked them out, here's a link to their web site and list of services they have to offer.

William is an avid cyclist himself, and can be spotted riding his super awesome Pinarello (black and neon - hot!) around the hills and farmland of Santa Cruz County!

Final Day of Merco

2011-03-08T13:59:00.000-08:00

First of all, I want to thank all of the people who encouraged and supported me throughout the stage race. The kind words, advice and direction meant a lot and helped me get through sore legs, some broken heart feelings, and fatigue. Thanks to my coach - Brian Conant, my teammates - JT, Devon, Beth, and AMJ - and all of my great friends. Also, big thanks to Trey and Roman for covering the shop while I was out!

Final race report - Almond Blossom Road race - 72 miles - place 24th

Packed everything up the night before because I knew it was going to be an early morning. I tried to go through my equipment a little, because the poor bike, wheels, chain, etc were definitely under some stress. I can see how having a team mechanic is helpful at the bigger races! My bike wasn't shifting great, but I showed her some love and hoped for the best.

I was feeling tired, and pretty heart broken after the cirt - which i was pretty excited for. But, a good friend reminded me that there is always tomorrow - and so I did my best to put the past behind me, and look to the final day - a solid 72 mile RR with rolling terrain. It was all or nothing - i mean seriously - what did I have to loose!?

Alarm went off way too soon. I looked at Cole, who was in a sleep coma on top of me, but peeking through a little slit of one of his eyes as if to say "really??!!". I was up and out the door in less than 20 min, off to you know where - Starbucks! Glad I woke up early, cause they didn't open till 6 am..nice.. waited around for my vente coffee and instant oatmeal, and then plotted my course to the race start.

My brain just felt fuzzy as I drove the same farmlands i'd been driving all week long. I was sleepy, tired, and really questioning my sanity at that point in time.

I got a sweet parking spot, front and center and proceeded to sign in, get some free food (powerbar, drinks, etc yay!), and then back to the car to warm up. Clouds looked threatening but no rain yet.

Sure enough - start time was there, and I was shoulder to shoulder with the same women i'd been racing against all week. I couldn't help but remember the story JT told me about Teutenberg - how she yelled at Kristen Armstrong when she started racing on the road. Great, here I am the only Cat 3 racer in a group of pro's - i'm probably going to get shoved off into the ditch by Tuetenberg... here goes nothin!

Race started along with the rain. Kind of reminded me of cross, which made me excited a little. My goal - to hang on to the end.

The race was FAST! we did 72 miles in 3.07.21. Talk about having to pay attention! At first I stayed towards the back, until I realized I was getting tossed around like a YOYO - then I moved up to mid pack where the pace was a little more consistent. It was raining and really hard to see and everyone was SUPER close together. Kinda freaked me out a couple times when I hit a center line reflector - made an awful sound and bumped my entire rear end almost sideways...nice. One thing i noticed is that in a P123 race - you command your space or get walked on and shoved out of the way..kinda crazy, but you have to be confident and claim your little area, or wheel that you're following - or someone else will.

There were a lot of attacks, a couple breakaways and the pace always picked up as we drew near to the finish - I think they wanted to show off so they throttled it every time. When we came up on the last lap, i knew my moment of truth was coming up. I'm not really religious - but I said a little prayer to the people I usually pray to. Then, somehow I was third wheel! I sat there in the draft of an HTC and Tibco girl for about 15 min - nervous as all get out. Again, I heard JT's Tutenberg story in the back of my mind. I'm kind of afraid of her - she's big and SUPER fast. =)

That was probably the coolest moment of the race for me. It was raining, the final lap, I was still there, and the entire field was behind me. Rad.

Then there was an attack, and another attack, and another attack - I hung in there mid group. We headed into the final turn, and the group picked up. Still there... with 300 meters to go the pace increased yet again, and someone broke - 100 meters to go the field sprint and I passed some Cat1's! Holy shit! What a race. So glad I did it, and showed up. My heart was full, no more heartache. That's the cool thing about racing. There's always tomorrow, there's always another race. End result - 24th place and same overall time as the lead group. Merco box -

Merco Madness Day 2

2011-03-08T13:55:00.000-08:00

Time to TT! Big thanks to Devon for letting me borrow her clip on Aero bars, and Giro TT helmet. I always like TT's and Crits because i get to bust out my skin suit, which makes me feel a little bit like a super hero.

I haven't done much time trialing, and looking back feel like i could have gone a little harder out the gate. Good news is I made the time cut off, which turns out wasn't that imporant for the next day...oh well, mission accomplished!

Day two - Check!

Merco Madness Day 1

2011-03-08T13:06:00.000-08:00

Day 1 - 50 mile Road Race

Ok, so this was a race!

It was kind of crazy to start - there was a lot of shuffling on the front from the get go. Lots of people coming around, up and circling through. I had to really pay attention. No looking at the cool cows, or hawks or pretty streams... darn. This was my first big 123 road race, so i didn't really know what to expect. I also hadn't pre road the course so when we got to the climb - it was a little bit of a mystery - which made pacing myself hard...

The pack slowly started to accelerate up the bumpy climb on the first lap. There were patches of rock and gravel in some sections, which was kind of sketchy. It got really hard for me pretty quick and I felt myself drifting back, breathing hard and thinking NOOOOOOO don't fall off! With about 300 meters i did. But, there was a healthy group that did too. So on the wicked fast decent (rolling decent not very steep) we made up the ground and re joined the peleton. One smell comes to mind from that lap - the smell of rubber burning on carbon heading into a 90 degree turn. It was kind of cool, i have to admit.

We all stayed together up and through the rolling road past the start. And then we hit the hill again. I tried to stay with them, but half way through I had to ease up or I would have buried myself something fierce.

Good news - more fell off this time, so I had company. It was a fun crew mixed with team Red, PB&CO, Tibco, Metro Mint, Touchstone, Webcore, Vanderkitten, and a few others... We rallied together, and began pace-lining... we saw the main group and stayed steady...I think we all were about 10 min off the leader, which i felt wasn't that bad given the strength of the field.

It was really hard, but awesome to work with a group like that. I feel like i learned a lot about pulling, resting, and finding the flow in a larger group.

We all stayed together for pretty much the whole race - we were trying to survive, to make the cut off time. At the end, we all sprinted it out and I came in midish pack.

I was pooped after the race - came back and slept for a few hours, ate a burrito, jumped in a bath full of ice, and called it a night!

All in all it was a lot of fun, and a great experience. I learned a lot!

Thanks for reading. =)

Beth Welliver gets into the Leadville 100!

2011-03-02T08:05:00.000-08:00

"It’s an uphill battle. Even downhill"

This is big news! I know a 100 miles doesn't sound like a lot when you're logging hours and miles on the road bike..but when it comes to a mt bike let me be the first to tell you - IT IS! Let alone, a 100 miles of mountain in Colorado...at altitude!

This will be a great challenge, and one we all believe Beth is certainly capable of achieving, and knocking out of the park! She just may have to borrow my scalpel...hehe.

If you haven't heard about the race, or watched the movie "Race Across the Sky", with none other than Lance Armstrong - here's a little description i took from their website. Thanks Leadville people!

"Determination. Guts. Insanity. If you don’t have them, stop reading now. Leadville events aren’t for everyone. They’re for only the toughest athletes looking to challenge themselves — and impress the world. Set 13,000 feet up in the treacherous Colorado Rocky terrain, the strong may survive, but only a few will leave with their pride.

Race Description

This is it. The race of all races. 100 miles across the high-altitude, extreme terrain of the Colorado Rockies. Created for only the most determined athletes. Starting at 9,000 feet and climbing to 13,000 feet, you’ll be challenged to catch your breath — while the views try to take it away."

Neat facts about Leadville the town -

Situated at an elevation of 10,152 feet (3094 m), Leadville is the highest incorporated city and the second highest incorporated municipality in the United States. A former silver mining town that lies near the headwaters of the Arkansas River in the heart of the Rocky Mountains, the city includes the Leadville Historic District, which preserves many historic structures and sites from Leadville's dynamic mining era.

Top finishers in past years -

1. Rebecca Rusch, ID 7:47:35

2. Amanda Carey, ID 8:12:54

3. Anne Gonzales, CO 8:45:46

4. Natasha Hernday, CA 8:47:35

5. Lisa Isom, CO 8:47:51

6. Kelsy Bingham, UT 8:53:57

7. Rachel Farrett, CO 9:27:57

8. Jane Rynbrandt, CO 9:30:47

9. Johanna Mickle, CO 9:32:41

10. Kathy Kallner, AZ 9:32:50

Ron Riley (Team Bike Station Aptos) Race Re-Cap

2011-03-01T14:18:00.000-08:00

Our very own Ron Riley beat his long standing nemesis Buz Brockway in 70+ cat 1 for first place in Sagebrush Safari, Kenda Cup #1 outside San Diego last Sunday despite the less than ideal weather conditions that included snow, ice, mud, and several chilly stream crossings. The weather was so bad, the original course was converted to a short loop which took a lot of effort to put together - way to go Kenda Cup race organizers!

This was Ron's debut of his new Scalpul 1 which he said performed perfectly under harsh conditions.

Congrats Ron and way to represent BSA on the podium!

Bike Station Aptos TV - CCCX MTB #1 - Fort Ord

2011-02-16T10:46:00.000-08:00

Central Coast Circuit and MTB Race Reports - 2/12 & 2/13

2011-02-15T12:19:00.000-08:00

We had yet another spectacular sunny weekend here in Santa Cruz, which made for some pretty great racing in Nor Cal. We are fortunate enough to have some really amazing local race promoters that put on great Cyclocross, Road, and Mountain Bike events in Monterey County. If you haven't checked out their website - do it! The CCCX series draw people and ability levels that span from beginner to professional, and because it's California you really never know who's gonna show up on race day.

As of Saturday morning there was one pre registered rider for the road circuit race in the W 123 category, so we figured it was going to be pretty low key. However, the field - combined with some super fast masters -- got up to over 20 which made for a really fun and competitive race! Overall Bike Station Aptos represented on the podium with a 3rd and 4th place in the W123 division. Way to go!

Shout out to Michelle Heaton who blasted past the 123's to snag the overall win, and Beverly Chaney who always makes me work harder than I want to in pretty much any race we enter - cross or road!

Sunday came too soon for me, but not soon enough for Devon apparently who made her way through multiple fields to win the Womens Expert/Pro MTB and probably a few of the Mens Expert age category races... Talk about talent - it was her first mtb race! And to top it all, she raced with a camelback on. hehe! It was a tiny womens field (hopefully that will change as the season progresses), but great course and as always very well run by Keith, Rod, and the rest of the CCCX crew.

Other notable BSA riders that competed were Ron Riley who battled it out in the 65+ category, Kurt Brown (Sport Men 35-44) who placed 5th out of an impressive group of 26 34, and Joseph DeSante (Sport Single Speed) who placed 5 out of 13. Also - we had a great little cheering section at the MTB race that consisted of Beth Welliver, a new member of the BSA womens team (yay!)who couldn't race due to being sick (no!), and Harriet Riley, devote race supporter and water-bottle-hand-up extraordinaire! Thanks you two!

Thanks for reading and thanks to all of our supportive sponsors!

Team Bike Station Girls

2011-02-03T16:32:00.001-08:00

Been to Cafe Sparrow Latley?

2011-02-01T12:25:00.000-08:00

Big thanks to Cafe Sparrow for their generous donation and sponsorship of the road team this year. We love our local sponsors, and encourage the friends of Bike Station Aptos to check them out. We believe in shopin' and livin' local. It takes a village! =)

Golden Gate and Jingle Cross - BSA in full force!

2010-12-01T13:31:00.000-08:00

The weather has been setting the scene for some epic cyclocross, the Bike Station Aptos team has been out in full force representing in style on both sides of the country!

Devon flew East this past weekend for three days of cross at the UCI Jingle Cross Race in Iowa taking an impressive 3rd place on day two, with some of the best the Nation has to offer. Her former teammate Amanda Miller (Hudz Subaru) took 1st on day two and three - Way to go Amanda!

Good luck to Devon as she takes them all on again this weekend In Portland!

Malia, Johnny, and Courtney held the fort down locally at the renown Golden Gate Park race put on by Pilercitos Cyclesports. Tom Simpson and his dedicated crew put on a great race, as always. Courtney battled it out for 6th overall in the womens A's against some stiff competition. Malia suffered a catastrophic blow to her rear wheel that made the race a tough go, Johnny and Ron hammered hard in their respective categories.

Next up for the local crew is the exciting Bay Area Super Prestige series finale out at Coyote Point this Sunday. Then, everyone is off to Bend for Nationals where the rubber meets the road...or should I say MUD!

Thanks for reading, enjoy the photos from local photographers including Joe Fabris, Ted Ketai, Ja Heidi, and Rod Amberlang.

How to pump your teammate up at a race

2010-11-27T12:41:00.000-08:00

Epic Weather Means Epic Cross!

2010-11-27T10:41:00.000-08:00

Mr. Winter and Ms. Storm have come through for us 'cross racers yet again! The past couple weeks have yielded some great weather for cyclocrosser's in Northern California and Nevada. Team Bike Station Aptos racers have been hard after it competing in numerous events come shine, rain and even blizzard snow conditions. With Nationals only two weeks off, some are experiencing mental fatigue, exhaustion, and hits of burn out - but they persevere. They wake up every day, put in their training time, and keep their nose on that grindstone with the hope and faith that it will pay off when D day arrives in Bend.

Big congrats to the shop's very own Abe Rotstine who placed third at Districts in Reno, NV; Johnny Mullane who took 8/43 in the open B's in Sacremento Cyclocross Series, and Devon Haskell who placed second in the BASP #4 Series. Below are some pics from some epic racing!

More UCI Adventures with DnC - Colorado and LA Cross Maddness!

2010-11-09T13:25:00.000-08:00

It's hard to believe the 'cross season is half over, with a little more than a month and a half until Nationals in Bend, Oregon. We've been hard after it with some great racing and results abroad in Colorado and Los Angels. Devon has been rocking it out, consistently grabbing top ten, the whole shot, and spot on the podium. Her positive attitude, grit, and perseverance is remarkable. If you don't take my word for it, just check out her recent "Bloody Knees (mom, don't read!)" post on her blog.

The trip out to Colorado was an amazing experience despite a few sniffles from a cold and adjusting to the altitude - lining up shoulder to shoulder and riding with some of the best in the country and world was an honor and great opportunity.

Results from Day One
Results from Day Two

Dorothy Wong put on another great race in Southern California last weekend. If you haven't met her or don't know what she's doing for the sport of Cyclocross in So Cal - check her out on Facebook. She's cultivating quite the cross scene down there that (shouldn't say it but i'm gonna) is rivaling Nor Cal. =) A little competition is good..

We stayed with an amazing host family (the Wards) who adopted us as their daughters for the weekend. What a treat! I think Aaron and Spencer, their 8 and 6 year old boys liked us too. Despite the fact we were girls... Maybe it was our mad Nerf Gun war skills that finally impressed them!

Dorothy and her crew set up a killer, technical cross course in Griffith Park. One of the coolest parts about the race (there were many) was you could see the Hollywood sign from the Griffith Park Observatory. What a great warm up/cool down loop that was!

First day proved to be successful for both Devon and I. Devon took 3rd place overall, and I squeaked in to the 9th spot after overcoming a mechanical with my bike. The second day I was a little more determined to move up the ladder, and tried to bring my pain threshold up a bit. The mantra - ride as hard as I can, for as long as I can. It worked - got 7th overall and more UCI points! Devon snagged the 4th spot on the podium, battling it out with household cross names including Sue Butler and teammate Kathy Sherwin (Hudz Subaru).

Next up on the schedule - Night race at Coyote Point this Saturday and hyper local Surf City race at the Fairgrounds. Come out with a cowbell or better yet, jump in the race!

CD

Central Coast and Pilercitos Crossin'

2010-11-09T12:40:00.000-08:00

First Off, I think Keith and Rod have earned a big shout out for being two huge cross promoters in our area. They've have and continue to do a great job running the well organized Central Coast Cyclocross series and new this year, blog. If you haven't checked out their blog - do it, there's a ton of great pics from local races across the Bay Area.

Here are some pictures from a few of our own at the past few Bay Area weekend races. Malia, Ron, Kurt, and Johnny have been representing in BSA black, red and white!

Overall CCCX race standings can be viewed here.
Overall Pilercitos standings can be viewed here.

Keep up the good work you guys!

Lion of Fairfax and BASP #1 Results and Pictures - Yeeeehaaawwww!

2010-10-19T13:05:00.000-07:00

Another successful weekend is behind us, and yet again Bike Station Aptos is on top! Devon Haskell took the treacherous Bay Area Super Prestige course head on, sprinting her heart out for the finish against fellow competitor Karry Barnholdt (Scott Ritchey) after a flat tire and crash, Devon grabbed win and coveted leaders jersey for the series. Way to go!

Other notables at the race were Malia Byers who captured 3rd in the Womens C race, Courtney Dimpel who snagged 16th in the elite woman's field, Johnny Mullane and Codey Tapley who battled it out in open B's, and Ronald Riley who fought long and hard, in the masters 55+ category.

A few of the hard core BSA'ers raced the day before at the one day Lion of Fairfax cyclocross event. They produced some stellar results there as well with both Devon and Courtney a top the podium with a 2nd and 3rd finish respectively.

They'll all be at it again next weekend at CCCX #5 at Manzanita Park. Check out the web site here

BSA Cross Update

2010-10-04T11:31:00.000-07:00

With the cross season in full swing an update is an order as there's been some great racing thus far.

First Off - Star Crossed

Devon Haskell rocked the elite field placing 6th at Starcrossed in September against some of the best in the world, including Katerina Nash who races for the Luna Womens team.

Cross Vegas

Courtney Dimpel represented the team under the bright lights at Cross Vegas this year in the Elite Womens category taking 25/42. "I had a blast out there with the best of the best. It was my first UCI race, and I was just stoked to be lined up next to the best of the best. I was really tempted to ask Meredith Miller for her autograph, but didn't want to throw her off her game before the race...next time perhaps" said Courtney.

Central Coast Cyclocross

Locally we have several standouts rocking the Central Coast races including Malia Byers who has stepped on the podium at all three CCCX races. Other stand out BSA teammates include Ron Riley, Vincent Brown and Joey DeSante. Overall results for the series can be found here

Krosstoberfest

Most recently the Bike Station women were spotted in San Dimas at the annual Krosstober Fest. It was two days of So Cal cross that brought tears of joy for some and tears of pain for most. The event was held in Brunelli park, and brought a ton of spectators and racers out.

Devon and Courtney took 2nd and 7th place respectively in the Elite Womens race, and took home some UCI points. Among the Womens elite starters were NorCal household names Barb Howe (IBIS), Sara Maile (Ventana Mountain Bikes), and Sara Jordan (Rock Lobster).

Full results from the weekend can be viewed here.

Next on the schedule is CCCX, Lion of Fairfax and the first in the Bay Area Super Prestige series. Then its off to Colorado for some Boulder Cup action. Fun times ahead!

the dark before the dawn

2010-09-30T12:37:00.000-07:00

It was dark at 5:30 am. Super dark. Like wearing a blindfold dark. I set out from the house with what I thought was a fully charged battery for my head lamp, but alas it was not the case. A short distance up the fire road, the little patch of light in front of my wheel became dimmer and dimmer. It's a strange thing to navigate with sight only a few feet ahead. . . .none to the sides or behind. A perfect exercise in being in the present moment.

Thankfully, Courtney had another head light -- which she had to hold in her hand, since the clamp was too small to fit her handlebars. The moving target of light jumped around, and we joked about "The Blair Witch Project." We hit the incline, and it was still too dark to see anything. After years of riding the fire road in Nisene, many of the lumps and bumps are familiar enough to not have to see them.

The sky began to lighten ever so slightly. This still didn't cast any light onto the trail, but it was heartening to know that yes, the sun does always come up each day, and soon all would be clear. Keeping up momentum on the climb was difficult, as I couldn't pick the best line or see far enough ahead. We pressed on.

And then, almost without knowing when we passed from blindness to sight, we were nearly to Sand Point. It was a foggy morning, which was part of the reason for the darkness for so long below. The Sand Point view was glorious, as the peachy orange rays of the sun began to illuminate the top of the sea of fog below. Not much time to relax and enjoy it, though, as the prospect loomed of making it home in time to shower and get to work on time.

Charge your light well and hit that trail at 5:30 am sometime soon. What a way to start the day!

Abe Rotstein Cracking the 3's at Winters

2010-09-01T16:40:00.000-07:00

Race Report: Vacaville Grand Prix 8/29

2010-08-31T19:59:00.001-07:00

Race Report - Vacaville Grand Prix

Dates: 8/29
Events: Vacaville Grand Prix
Category: W3/4
Result: 2nd

After a really nice afternoon and evening at Anne-Marie and Joanne's friends house in Napa, I woke up again at 5:45 am to race my bike. I let the alarm go for a solid 15 minutes, and then drug my self out of bed to make the coffee and oatmeal for the rest of the team. It's nice to have some quite time in the morning. I packed my bag, packed some food and we were all out the door to the next race, Vacaville by 7. We arrived, threw the trainers up, registered and I walked the course watching the beginning groups run through all the twists and turns. I went back to the car and began to warm up nice and slow. Boy did I feel the lactic acid from the day before! I spun super easy for a good 20 minutes, did some quick efforts and then returned to my easy spinning. This crit was my kind of race - really technical weaving in and out of the small, old fashion town of Vacaville. Which, I might add is very cool!

I made it to the start line on time (always feels like a rush), and went to the front so I didn't get stuck in the back. Maybe i'm a nervous ninny but i like to stay on the front in crits. I feel like it puts me in position to go if there's an attack and I also feel like I stay out of trouble that way. So, round and round we went - 14 times! The course had a big long hill in the middle with a fast shorter decent and a hard hard right - so that's where all the action happened...14 times! My only saving grace was Anne-Marie jumping up and down waving her arms yelling - go, go, go! What could be more motivating than that!? Every time we came around someone would attack, and we'd have to bridge up. It made for a really fun race and by the end the group of 35 or so had dwindled down to about 15 of which 5 of us sprinted out at the end. Again, it was Michelle and I battling it out for 1/2 at the end. I knew if i was going to have a chance at winning - she was the wheel to follow. So, i made sure I stayed right behind her, ready to attack when she launched. Sure enough she went for it. I ended up second again, but learned a few things i'm not going to give away in a race report. ;) Fun times again! Thanks for reading.

C

Race Report: Winters RR 8/28

2010-08-31T19:21:00.000-07:00

Race Report - Winters RR

Dates: 8/28
Events: Winters RR
Category: W3
Result: 2nd

Summary:

The week leading up to Winters and Vacaville can be summed up with one little word - fatigue. It felt like my entire road season had come to a head last week, especially after throwing down some effort at University RR (yeah, i didn't write a race report for that one, but to sum it up we road in circles and climbed a really really big hill 13 times - end result 3rd.) I pretty much spent Monday and Tuesday in a tired haze, and did my best to make it though the day helping people at the shop and getting through computer work. Wednesday I decided to take completely off of everything, and Thursday night I kept it super light on the shop ride (which i haven't seen most of you on!) which was nice. Friday was a coffee ride to Verve lounge, and cruise down East Cliff. Basically, i road a total of 4.5 hours during the week and to be honest - it was exactly what my body needed.

Anne-Marie, Joanne and I left early (4:30 am) for Winters which is between Sacramento and Davis. It's pretty much in the middle of nowhere, which has its perks. 1. There aren't many people on the road, and two....well I can't really think of a second...it's pretty desolate...

I slept almost the entire way, and woke up wondering where they heck we were! I slowly rolled myself up, ate some oatmeal and began to re-start my morning this time with the race on my mind. We parked the car, registered, and went through the ritual number pinning, wheel swap, trainer warm up, leg rub down, suit em up, bathroom stop, rock and roll ritual and headed to the start line - mind you this was my first race as a 3. I didn't really know what to expect, and didn't put a whole lot of pressure on myself since I achieved my primary goal this year - upgrading to Cat3 on the road. I told Anne-Marie that these next few races are just icing on the cake - the good stuff that you just enjoy. But, that didn't stop me from getting all fidgety on the start line. These girls looked way bad ass! They were bigger, stronger, had cooler sunglasses, and matching kits... I was a little intimidated..just for a second or two. We rolled out of town, and the race was on!

The course was freakin' sweet. Nice pavement, super good rollers and a solid climb half way through the course. We did two laps so almost 50 miles of racing. Right out of the gate there was an attack. We let her go solo for awhile, and then brought her back in. As soon as that happened another attack was launched, and another, and another - I was like WTF?!?!?! I helped bridge some/most and quickly decided I was doing way to much work and tried to find a wheel to suck for awhile. Let someone else chase these ladies down. We got to the climbs, and that's where the hurt began. Slow, steady and then BAM attack. I was able to stay with the leader, and we made a dash on the longish/technical decent. We formed a gap from the group, and all tried to assemble to keep and grow the gap with no success. The main group sucked us back. But, we all secretly kept our strengths and what we learned from that climb in mind - cause we got to do it again.

The second time around was similar, except we hit that climb and decent even harder - i dug deep! And guess what - we stayed away the rest of the race. It came down to a group of 7 gals, and Me and a Dulce Vita girl (Michelle) sprinted it out to the finish. I got second by a few wheel lengths. It was awesome, and a great learning experience.

Bike Station Aptos Takes 2nd and 3rd at University RR - August 22

2010-08-25T12:47:00.003-07:00

For full results - click here