Thursday, August 28, 2008

Caesar Creek - A race gone terribly right


Wow! What can I say about Caesar Creek other than I was darn lucky that day. I let the other women take the early lead because I know the trail so well I knew a super hard start wasn't a great tactic. I held it nice steady from the start and rode pretty easy behind 2nd place for the first few miles. Rather than take an aggressive pass I rode a bike length or 2 behind. Sure enough, on the first technical section she slipped up enough for me to crank it up a notch and put in a gap. When riding at Caesar Creek it is such an advantage to know the trail and to know when to shift, how to pick the lines, and what junk is just better to walk. It was also important that day to stay cool as temps were in the 90s. Thankfully, I decided the night before to fill the Camelbak up with 2X's the energy drink and then I threw it in the freezer. Cold, strong energy drink = one cool Bridget.

Anyhow, back to the race, I passed Christina on the next creek crossing. Then she passed me on the second root section. Then I passed her no less than 10 sec. later! Hilarious! We were both laughing about how narly the trail was. So, I guess sometime soon after Christina broke a chain. She didn't have the tools to fix it so she had to wait by the side of the trail until someone offered up some tools. Man, she has bad luck. I think that is the 4-5 race where something like that has happened to her bike.
After the last pass, I found myself surprisingly in first for the first lap. My hubby James was there which was awesome. He was a great cheerleader. My lead stayed strong for the rest of the race and I won my first OMBC race ever! Sweet! It was a pretty darn good feeling. Biowheels put up some awesome paybacks for the expert winners! 2x's sweeter! Thanks guys.

Caesar Creek - A race gone terribly right


Wow! What can I say about Caesar Creek other than I was darn lucky that day. I let the other women take the early lead because I know the trail so well I knew a super hard start wasn't a great tactic. I held it nice steady from the start and rode pretty easy behind 2nd place for the first few miles. Rather than take an aggressive pass I rode a bike length or 2 behind. Sure enough, on the first technical section she slipped up enough for me to crank it up a notch and put in a gap. When riding at Caesar Creek it is such an advantage to know the trail and to know when to shift, how to pick the lines, and what junk is just better to walk. It was also important that day to stay cool as temps were in the 90s. Thankfully, I decided the night before to fill the Camelbak up with 2X's the energy drink and then I threw it in the freezer. Cold, strong energy drink = one cool Bridget.

Anyhow, back to the race, I passed Christina on the next creek crossing. Then she passed me on the second root section. Then I passed her no less than 10 sec. later! Hilarious! We were both laughing about how narly the trail was. So, I guess sometime soon after Christina broke a chain. She didn't have the tools to fix it so she had to wait by the side of the trail until someone offered up some tools. Man, she has bad luck. I think that is the 4-5 race where something like that has happened to her bike.
After the last pass, I found myself surprisingly in first for the first lap. My hubby James was there which was awesome. He was a great cheerleader. My lead stayed strong for the rest of the race and I won my first OMBC race ever! Sweet! It was a pretty darn good feeling. Biowheels put up some awesome paybacks for the expert winners! 2x's sweeter! Thanks guys.

Friday, August 8, 2008

Ride along the Nidda to Hoechst


One night after work Annett, Stefan and I went to a small picturesque village named Höchst. We rode along a small river named the Nidda — a quaint little river (or perhaps a canal) lined by bike paths and features little lakes and small dams and locks along the way.



Höchst began as a medieval town at a highpoint where the Nidda and the Main rivers meet. We rode past a fortified wall and through a gate to get to little restaurant loaded with "gemütlich" where we drank and had a nice meal. I enjoyed the Leberkaase with a fried egg and potato as well as several hefeweizens.



Here is a map of our ride along the Nidda.

Thursday, August 7, 2008

CX Time again...

There is some great racing planned for this fall in the greater Cincinnati area. The highlight will be the 3 day CX festival in Oct. 10-12.

More details are here.

Equal payouts for the Elite Men / Elite Women. Now that is what I'm talking about.

CX Time again...

There is some great racing planned for this fall in the greater Cincinnati area. The highlight will be the 3 day CX festival in Oct. 10-12.

More details are here.

Equal payouts for the Elite Men / Elite Women. Now that is what I'm talking about.

Saturday, August 2, 2008

24 Hours of 9 Mile

It is on - and being shown in realtime. Not even 12 hours into the race and the solo men's leaders have already hit 156 miles! Holy Cow!

Go Eatough!

The link is here.

24 Hours of 9 Mile

It is on - and being shown in realtime. Not even 12 hours into the race and the solo men's leaders have already hit 156 miles! Holy Cow!

Go Eatough!

The link is here.

Riding along the Main River

I have been extremely fortunate that my friend Stefan from the Frankfurt office has set up a bike for me to use during my stay in Frankfurt. Thursday night I went out with my coworker Angela and we had a picnic on the Main River. It was very fun and relaxing after a stressful week at work. It was a pleasant ride back to the hotel — riding along the river during sunset.



Friday night I decided to take another ride along the river after a nice dinner at the Bockenheim Weinkontor with Carolina, Petra and Lenka from work. It was really nice to ride past all the little biergartens and riverside cafés and there was a festival happening on the north side of the river. I even stopped at a little café and drank a hefeweizen while I people watched and talked to my sweet Bridget on the phone.

Here is a map of my night ride.

Friday, August 1, 2008

Bring on the Cowbell!


All you readers out there (all two of you). I need your help. Please help me convince my sweet, wonderful, very handsome husband that I need this cyclocross bike.

Bring on the Cowbell!


All you readers out there (all two of you). I need your help. Please help me convince my sweet, wonderful, very handsome husband that I need this cyclocross bike.