Poplollie News
Women's Criterium Series
Monday Nights in July - Eugene, Oregon
7/9, 7/16, and 7/23
Category A: Open to Cat 1/2/3 and 4s
Category B: Open to beginners and new Cat 4 racers
Learn to Ride a Criterium Clinic GREAT PRIZES Primes for Lap Winners
5:30 Registration Opens
6:00 Criterium Clinic
6:30 Crit for Clinic Participants (15 minutes + 1 lap)
7:00 Category B Women (30 minutes + 1 lap)
7:50 Category A Women (30 minutes + 1 lap)
1K FLAT, FAST COURSE, EASY CORNERS, STRAIGHT FINISH
Prizes will be awarded to the top 5 placed riders
$7 entry - $18 for series
This is an OBRA event. Helmets required
OBRA License required - $5/one day or $20/annual
Directions to Greenhill Technology Park:
Google Map to location
Exit 195B off I-5. West on Beltline till it ends.
Right on West 11th. Second light is Terry. Go right.
Registration is one block on the left.
Nancy Waggoner, 541-485-6007. Make checks payable to wvw cycling
Click here to see web flyer
Click here to download the pdf (2.4 MB)
Pacific Crest Endurance Duathlon in Sunriver
by Emily Snyder
The short version/working title: Woman medals after riding 56 miles in fixed gear and running 13 miles on ankle the size of a house.
The longer version with all the hilarious (now) details:
Ten of us went up together and we were all doing different races on Saturday, so it was a little challenging to coordinate who was swimming, biking, running, and where people needed to be and at what time. Long story short, we missed the run transition set up, so I had my running shoes with me at the bike start which was 30 miles away. One of the relay guys said he would take them to the transition site after he swam, so that was okay. But in the chaos, I did not get to ride my bike to warm up or check things out after the drive [foreshadowing].
So, they started us in true time trial fashion -- every 15 seconds. I was in the middle to back of the group of riders leaving, but quickly caught up with the riders who left before me in the first few miles. I got to a big downhill and tried to shift up but could not shift. I tried everything and could not shift except to an easier gear where it permanently locked. I pulled off the road, took the chain off, changed gears, got back on, and it skipped right back to the lowest gear. Arghhhh. Meanwhile the riders I passed are now cruising by. I jumped back on and spun as fast as I could in that gear (thank goodness we did that high cadence drill last week, Norm!) I stopped at the next turn where there were volunteers stopping traffic. I asked if they had any tools or ideas about how to fix my problem. No and no.
By the way, did I mention that the gearing was making a horrendous noise also? ..Just to add insult to my predicament, I think... I didn't know what to do. I got off my bike at least 6 times trying to figure out what was wrong before I determined that my tri bars had pinched/cut the gear shift cables. At this point, the entire group passed me and I was about in tears because I wanted to race so much!! I got back on and kept riding, except to stop to help a woman change a flat. At mile 21, there was a group of spectators, and I saw a couple who looked like cyclists (don't ask me what that means.. but they were!). I stopped and told them my problem but they had no tools either. They were awesome and said not to worry, that things like that happen in bike races all the time and that I should keep going and finish the race. He pulled the cable down really hard and shifted it in a hard gear for me so at least I could pedal.
So, I was all fired up at this point and pedaled my ass off. I was riding with the pro tri guys at this point since they had completed the swim leg and had caught up with me. I averaged 21.9 miles per hour for the last 35 miles (in a FIXED GEAR!). I had to stand up on any slight incline and go as hard as I could on the steeper inclines. It just felt so great to be able to pedal again. I passed at least 7 duathletes on the ride.
Think that was the last of my problems? So did I.
I got to the run transition and my shoes were there (good news!). Some of the relay guys were there cheering and said they heard "a poplollie" was on the side of the road with bike problems, but that I still had time to catch some more people. I took off, feeling remarkably good for having just biked 50+ miles. I crossed the timing mat, went 200 yards before entering a dark tunnel that went under the road to the trails, and stepped directly on a grapefruit-sized rock and rolled my ankle and fell down the hill.
I am now greasy from the bike, bloody from the fall, salty from sweat, and my ankle is starting to swell to the size of a small animal. I tried to run it off, but could not put any weight on it at all. Tail tucked between my legs, I limped my way back up to the start of the run. Almost there, I spotted a girl that I had worked so hard to pass on the bike earlier. I turned around and started running again (I am not sure you could call it that, but I was moving forward toward the finish line). I was going to finish this race if it killed me. It eventually got a little better, and the Red Bull station at mile 9 helped tremendously! I kept passing people and looking for the "D" for duathlon written on the back right calf. There was no way I could catch the leaders after being off my bike for 30 minutes, but I still caught some.
I crossed the finish line, surprised that I did not get lost somewhere along the way or have a random lightening bolt strike me. The race crew could hardly cut the timing chip off my ankle as my ankle had swollen around the band and the band had cut into my skin leaving a nice scab around my ankle. They were all shaking their heads. I was still laughing at my luck.
Later that night, at the awards ceremony, I found out that I actually won a medal (not for being most hard-headed!) but for placing 3rd in my age group. And...Megan also got a medal for their winning relay team! She had a great swim and absolutely rocked on the bike course!!
And the best of all, I felt very fit and can't wait to really see what I can do in the next race, and I met some great people during and after my 5-hour journey at Pacific Crest.
Oakridge Fat Tire Festival 6/24/07
by Jill Howe
Thanks to Norm's encouragement and Kori's last minute "switchback clinic" on ridgeline trail on Friday, Poplollies were 1-2-3 in the beginner race on Sunday in Oakridge!!!
Thanks Norm and Kori for the tips and encouragement, we had a great day. Dudettes, I just won my first race!!!! Yes, I needed to use the SPD's to do it, but I did it! Thanks to Carol and Michele letting me go, and Norm training my lungs up so big.
We started in a parking lot, so after politely listening to a little smack talk from the "Downhill Master" in the Alaska jersey we politely booked it across the lot to the trail and never looked back. We rode together through the whole first trail section, and up "the wall". Ok, I was thinking, here are some Mtn bikers (who claim they can ride down anything really, really fast) saying this is "THE WALL", so I was like, oh whatever, I can ride up a dirt road, thank you. Well, humble me now, this climb was intense! We all stuck pretty much together, listening to the mumbles of unhappy people getting passed. Now passing was a very slow process, it took minutes. We would slowly be gaining on someone... We're talking smallest gear on a mtn bike, getting the pedals around just fast enough that one does not tip over, nor let the front wheel skid out... breathing like a dragon. So, we would slowly approach someone who could surely hear the panting behind them for awhile, getting louder, then finally beside them. One man mumbled his displeasure with the SECOND woman to pass him, though others were encouraging and asking for bungee cords. But the pass was not quick, for there was nothing quick about this climb, so the passee had to suffer for awhile knowing we were going by, but it was ever so slowly. That was a hard climb! We did make it to the trail again though, for an INSANE trip down the mountain. It started across a steep sidehill in the woods, where some men caught back up and passed us. Then opened up so you felt like you might fall 3000 feet into Oakridge. Don't look!!!! Then the trail plumeted straight down back into the woods, Carol started yelling "Getting off! Stopping! Getting off!! Go ahead and pass! I am yell back, ME TOO Getting OFF!!!!!! @!$!!!. We hop off just in time to not fall head first down this rocky half cliff. The 12 year old behind us was likely thinking "'''shesh.. old women!" and he politely asks if he can pass. We watch him ride down the cliff and disappear around the corner. What it would like to be 12 again... then we stumble down, bikes tangled with legs and rocks and small trees... and Carol had a little trouble with a cleat after I almost take her out with my bike (it is heavier when above my head and coming at me), so I got out of that situation first. We rallied down the hairpins, excellent 3 point turns for me.. Ijust climped out and sort of shimmied around peeling out like a 12 year old with a foot on the ground like a BMXer in the driveway... and made it down with only one more dismount and a few hip checked trees. I make a lot of time on the downhill (don't tell my husband, any of you, please....) I figure this is my chance for my win. Carol ran like 16 miles and rode 50 or so yesterday, so I can get her while she is tired! And then got stuck with 2 other guys behind a train. I guess this almost allowed Carol to catch me - but then she pretty much missed the turn back into the woods because she was going so fast downhill and ended up in the Blackberries, needing an assist getting out. Luckily I did not know she was behind me, so I just kept focused on trying to catch the guy in front of me. I would have felt too bad taking off on her if I knew she was stuck, so lucky for me I did not know. Michele had some issues on the downhill due to being attached firmly to her bike, so lost time there with Carol and I getting ahead. Clearly ONE of us has some common sense and went a little slower downhill. But we all made it over the tracks, back along the rocky levy, and through the parking lot to the finish. Michele did an extra lap around the lot due to the poor finish location markings, but she was far enough ahead of the others that she still took 3rd with her little detour.
We had enough fun that we want to do this again next year. Hope some of you might join us. Go Poplollies!
Banana Belt #1 3/4/07
by Erin Koenig
What a beautiful day for racing! You all missed some good times out on the roads
of Hagg lake today. We had a decent turnout in the 4's field - 23 starters (although
I know the results list fewer), so we had a good little pack rolling around.
We did 3 laps, for 33 miles of racing that was a lot harder than the distance
looked. For those of you who don't know Hagg Lake, it's basically all rollers,
with the only flat section on the course being the 1/4mile stretch that runs
over a dam. We ran clockwise, with a slightly downhill finish whereas next week
will be counter- clockwise with a finishing climb.
Right on the first lap, one of the girls near me crashed out on the turn onto the dam, which comes as an off-camber corner after a mad fast descent. That really was a lovely, cheerful way to start a race. You could smell brake pads the whole way down to the turn - braking hard sure doesn't help a bike's steering. Her teammate in the race nearly caused mayhem when she cut from the left side of the pack to the right side while hitting the stoppers in order to help out her fallen comerade! Luckily, we all dodged that clueless racer and were glad when she didn't come back to the field. I mean, really!
The pace was quick enough on the climbs that we dropped people out of the pack pretty frequently, but we kept getting neutralized just as frequently to let the other races go by that they all caught back on, just to be dropped again, and catch on again. I definitly felt bad for them! Coming around on the last lap, tho, we hit the last 'big' climb with about 2mi to go and I looked back and saw that our field had been reduced to about 10. All those hangers-on got dropped for the last time. Now I was excited, because I thought the odds of a top-ten finish were looking pretty good. Sure enough, just past the 1k a couple of girls took some flyers and the all out sprint began, I started it in 5th with three girls up ahead with a pretty good gap, and finished it in 4th about a half-wheel back from 3rd whom I closed on pretty quickly. Now I know to start my sprint just a few seconds sooner! Still, I'm pretty happy anout the result. My legs are definitly tired, but the drive was sure worth it.
I hope we have a big turnout next week, it'll be a blast!
Erin
New Poplollies for 2007 Season
The Poplollies have a few new members, as a few have moved to other parts of the country. Erin K, yes another Erin, comes to us with a strong racing background from U of O Collegiate team and Paul’s Bicycle Way of Life. She will boost our category three field.
Jill H, (another Jill) comes to us with an athletic background in a variety of sports. A junior Olympic downhill ski champion, competitive cyclist in high school and college and her daily commute gives her a strong competitive edge. Jill will be a strong competitor and a great asset to the team. Jill will enjoy high placing as a category four racer and will be moving up to category three before the spring races are over. Look for her on the mountain bike circuit.
Michele comes to the team with a running and triathlon background as well as overall fitness that includes tennis, skiing, hiking, Pilates and gym-based programs. Michele is a strong competitor who you will be seeing on the podium on the road and mountain bike scene.
Christi has been leading Plates for the team, and has a background as a triathlete, competitive gymnast, cheerleader, and rock climber. Her small stature will help her ride out of sight when she makes an attack on the pack.