Rolling Through D.C.

There's nowhere I'd rather be on Memorial Day weekend than Washington, D.C.

Even if you're a not patriotic person, you can't help but feel the excitement in the air. Mel and I rode from our host Vanessa's house in Arlington to the RFK criterium this morning. We had to leave early because they were closing the Memorial Bridge at noon for this event called "Rolling Thunder" - a moving fundraiser for veteran’s groups, veterans and their families that attracts thousands of motorcycle riders along the National Mall. It was a pretty jaw-dropping sight, kinda takes your breath away. Luckily we got our bikes across the bridge before these guys started theirs!

After a quick coffee shop stop on "The Hill" we continued to RFK stadium for the crit. Soon after arriving, we met Vanderkitten Cycling Club (VKCC) team member Laura Cook, a Cat 2 racer who drove up to represent the club's contingent from Virginia Beach. It was great to meet Laura, and hear what the VKCC in Virginia Beach is doing! VKCC caters to women while providing the tools needed to help riders grow and excel in every aspect of cycling, and aims to help female cyclists meet and ride with other women on both a local and national level - a social component that seems to be missing in so much of women's cycling these days. (If you're interested in learning more about the VKCC, please contact Emma Becker emma@vanderkitten.com!)

The course was a wide open circuit in the stadium parking lot, but it wasn't the typical parking lot crit. First of all, no glass or oil slicks! Imagine that. They did a great job sweeping the course. The parking lot was huge, and they made a nearly 2-mile grand prix style course out of it, pretty resourceful. Mel and I were able to cover everything that went, so we were feeling pretty good. Mel saw the opportunity to test her legs and capture two $200 primes. Nice, Mel. Talking about the race beforehand, we knew who to watch , where to watch the moves, and where we wanted to be for the finish. Mel got herself in a good spot, and that combined with her good form, led to a very respectable 4th place finish! Check out the video HERE.

We're at Vanessa's a second night and catching a ride to Somerville first thing in the morning. Mel has a little "history" with that race, so we'll see if we can't get her that W, so she can finally have a cold one.

Barack Bock
(seriously, that's what it's called)

It's Been a Minute...

I won't go on about how long it's been since I've updated this blog, but it's been about a minute.

If you've been following Vanderkitten or any of the team's updates, there's been a ton happening. New additions to the team: Melodie Metzger, Virginia Perkins, Jen Reither, and an east coast addition (thank gawd), Laura Bowles. Jeff is our new racing director this year, and I think the job will be a great experience for him career-wise and a new dynamic for us as well. New sponsors, including Storck Bicycles and SRAM, have made such a difference and have me 200% motivated! It's all good.

Aside from the team, Morgan Patton (Team Type 1) and I have taken over the Southeast Women's Cycling series this year. The 2009 series is set, and we're committed to getting more women in our region out to the races. After Morgan and I had to race with the Cat 3 men today in Union City because there were only three girls who showed up, we're convinced that there are women out there who want to race, but something is preventing women from showing up to the races. I'm of the mindset that training is good, but racing is better 99% of the time. When I talked with Liz this afternoon, she said that there were 40 women who showed up to a regional race in California. That's insane! What an amazing opportunity for quality women's racing. The southeast hasn't seen numbers like that in a really long time, and how good would it be for the sport to have representation like that here? So we're working to find out where the gaps are, and how to fill them. But if women don't come out to support their own racing to start with, then there's no room to complain when women get a shoddy deal. We are our own limiters. It's kind of like voting: no vote, no voice. And that doesn't have to be the case.

Next Stop: Tour de Tuscaloosa

You Know it's Time to Start Training When...

You sit on your inner thighs instead of your saddle.

And if that didn't happen to you when you got back on the bike, you're either in denial, or you didn't try hard enough in the off season!

Anyway been back on the bike for several glorious weeks now training with my homie, Morgan. She's been busting out the base miles trying to navigate herself around Atlanta. She says she moved here to be closer to the racing, but she really just wants to meet T.I. And hey, who doesn't? But M-Pat wasn't quite feeling the weather here lately, so she ran down to Florida and left me to bust out the base in the freezing cold by myself. That's aight though, cuz it's gonna be 70 here tomorrow, and next week I'll be getting my bronze on in Sydney. Hey Morgan, HTFU!

Things are rolling with Vanderkitten this year...some VERY exciting things happening, new website, new sponsors, new equipment, we have a great group of returning riders and some really strong new additions to the team! Details to follow...

Photo Evidence

A few photos from the wedding...(thanks Andy!)

The fam! Jeff's dad Kez, brother Shaun, moi, Jeff, and mum Rose.

Our wedding party looked GOOD!!! A few of them here: Jody, Shaun (the "other" Hoppy), Willo, Jonny "the Cat" Sundt, and Iona. (not pictured: Emily, Jenn, and Andy)

A tree-theme: 3 cakes on a cake stand shaped like a tree trunk, welded by Jeff! He's a man of many talents. We're still working on the family tree...mmmm, delicious!

And as the night progressed...it pretty much went down like this. Drinking wine out of her shoe, Jody managed to completely scar the Aussies!

We polished off the night with Guitar Hero at The Grange.

10.10.08

The best day ever...



More photos to come!

Story of the Funk

Vanderkitten to Sharpen Its Claws for 2009

U.S. clothing manufacturer Vanderkitten announced its intention to continue to build its women's racing program in 2009 under the direction of Robin Zellner, who has committed to take an active role in building the team and grassroots marketing efforts of the brand. Vanderkitten Racing will build on its core group of 2008 elite team members and is actively seeking across the board sponsorship from inside and outside of the industry.

"From the beginning we've pledged to support women's cycling from the industry outward. We have a vested interest in the growth and success of women's competitive cycling as we unveil our new cycling wear line at Interbike," said Dave Verrecchia, creator and designer for Vanderkitten.

Expanding on its successful inaugural year, Vanderkitten has plans to add a riding and racing club, and offer its Ride A Bike, Better(TM) clinics to it growing dealer network in conjunction with stops along the NRC and USA CRITS calendars.

"Most cyclists may never race, but knowing they have the support of those at the top of the sport is a unique and important feeling. We need to create a strong fan base of women for women's racing to grow and succeed, rather than being an 'also ran' to men's racing" adds Verrecchia.

Vanderkitten is currently leading the USA CRITS team championship and is looking to seal up the title on Thursday night at Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas.

Festivus for the Rest Of Us

FESTIVAL OF SPEED #3 - Saturday, September 20th, 2008

Directions: http://www.dicklanevelodrome.com/directions.htm
Tickets only $5.00 or $10 per family
Pro Racing action starts at 6:00pm on Saturday

Buy the 2008 Dick Lane Velodrome T-shirt HERE!

Come and catch the battle of the titans as Emile Abraham and his Team Type 1 team take on Trent Wilson and his Jittery Joes teammate Tim Henry. Said Abraham of the coming challenge, “I felt like we rode well as a team in the last Festival of Speed, but the addition of Trent Wilson to the field really gives Jittery Joes a good shot at us. We feel like we’ll be pushed all the way to the end this time.” Jittery Joe’s Tim Henry had this to say “Adding Trent to the mix is a real plus for us and I think we can really give Team type 1 a run for their money. Our advantage is going to be in the longer races so hopefully we can take advantage of those races.” Oh no he didn't!!!

The battle for the first ever Dick Lane Velodrome women's Keirin will be as hot as ever as Vanderkitten's Leigh Valletti tries to keep her lead in the Rider of the Year competition from Sorella Cycling's Amy Lang. Said Valletti of the upcoming battle, "I'm ready to tear it up. Amy has really put it out there this season, but this title is mine!" Atlanta's own National Champion Steve Hill will be on hand to once again light up the sprint races for the evening.

Track cycling pushes the envelope of speed and danger in both hard charging sprint events and grueling endurance races. Experience the thrill of the two-man Madison, comparable to tag-team on bike, where teammates exchange positions into the action at 40 mph using the dangerous Madison hand sling. Catch the fast-paced Keirin, an Olympic event where riders are paced up to maximum speed with a motorcycle until the final lap and a half when they tear up the track to the finish. Enjoy a great night out with the family as you get up close and personal with cycling's top athletes! Or come before your big night out - A great place to meet your friends and hang out.

There is a full service concession stand on site for Saturday! All proceeds go back to support the DLV programs. Menu for Saturday:

1. Chicken Nachos made to order w/ black beans, cheese, pico de gallo and sour cream
2. Roasted Veggie wraps w/ bell peppers, Portobello mushrooms, squash, zucchini, red onions and baby spinach.
3. Grilled Chicken Sandwiches w/ mango pineapple slaw
4. All Beef Hot Dogs w/ all the fixin'sPopcorn, Pretzels and Pita Chips

VOLUNTEERS NEEDED
We need your help at the Festival of Speed! The Festival is a great event and we would love for all of you to be able to sit back, relax and watch the races, but....we need your help. If you can help out for a few hours with registration or watching the gate or the numerous other small tasks throughout the weekend we would be very grateful. Please contact Jeff jeff@dicklanevelodrome.com if you can help.

FOR A COMPLETE SCHEDULE OF ALL OF OUR EXCITING PROGRAMS AND EVENTS, GO TO THE DICK LANE GO TO THE DICK LANE WESITE: http://www.dicklanevelodrome.com/. DON'T FORGET TO THANK OUR SPONSORS!!!!!

DY-NO-MITE!!!

Man, it's been a while! Lots of things happening. I won't bore you with the dirty details, but it's been something like this: resigned from old job, got new job, planning our wedding in October (States), planning wedding #2 in January (Australia), looking for a house, and trying to finish up the racing season with some shred of dignity. It's been a stressful past couple of months and I've been a complete biyatch to live with lately, but we found time to squeeze in our second annual pub crawl, "Le Tour Decatur" on Labor Day. 30 thirsty crawlers, 10 pubs, 5 hours, 1 newly crowned KOC (King of the Cougar) jersey holder, 0 cops. Priceless.

So now we're back up to speed, right? Given the amount of beer consumed in the past few weeks, the season feels like it's winding down, but there are actually still a few very key races ahead. The Faster Moustache 24 hour Urban Relay this weekend, San Francisco Twilight (Vanderkitten's home turf), the third Dick Lane Velodrome Festival of Speed, and the USA Crits finale in Vegas.

Actually, I'm pretty stoked about this 24 hour race. The course is about 12 miles long through in-town Atlanta with 4 check points along the way. We've got 6 chicks on our team, "TNT". Jeff is on the No Brakes team, "Juggernaut". I'm not one to brag, but I really think we can win. We've got a secret strategy. Results to follow soon. In the meantime, let there be green lights!

Koppel on China

Sitting on the couch tonight after an exhausting Guitar Hero session with Slash, I came across this interview on the Daily Show where Jon Stewart asks Ted Koppel if America should let China win the Beijing Olympics so they won't raise the price of stretch pants. It's a fascinating look at our economic reality with China (skip to about the 3:30 minute mark).