999109

That’s all of ‘em. My Bay Area Super Prestige race results. 9th, 9th, 9th, 10th, 9th. Consistency is the key to what most would consider a well fought season...or maybe it’s a sure sign of a performance plateau. Either way, I’ve made a commitment to next year’s season. I’m going to train. I’m going to train differently. I’m going to train better. I’m going to train so that after two months into racing I’m not completely burnt out. I’m going to not start training in January and stop in June. September racing just can’t hang with that type of plan. Well, anyway, I’m done for the year and pumped about it and heck, I’m new to the Bay area (originally from the Bay State) so I’m looking forward to gravel travel up “the 1” or over to Tahoe or down to Santa Cruz. Biking in NorCal is tough to beat and tough on the body. To replenish myself, I’m going to eat Honey Stinger. All the other energy packets are filth. Their smell is putrid and their taste nauseating. They are crawling with repulsive vermin.
Better luck next year,
Caitlin Trahan

Emoticon :(

Car towed - 4 pm 11/25 = -$374

House robbed - 8 pm 11/25 = - computer, - messenger bag, - something under my bed where there is now space

Camera broke - 3 pm 11/27

Crap race - 12 pm 11/29


Frownerz :(

Cow Palace

Who knew that beautiful weather could bolster such pristine cross conditions? Not I. Czech out the nasty mud brought to us by our Friday showers (in the background and fills the course).


Photo by Steve Woo

This weeks Cross at Cow Palace had almost all of the key ingredients. Mud, mud and mud. Surprisingly, no barriers were present. Astonishingly, I didn't notice. Amazingly, I still finished well. Barriers usually bring me up a place or two followed by getting passed by a place or two on any uphill. This race was different, although I may never know how different equates as far as results go. I was listed as second in the printout and also today on the internet, but my credit was lost at the podium. Perhaps this was an esoteric second I'm never to understand. So I waited at the podium. I heard Women's B's. I didn't hear "Caitlin"; nor did I hear "socks", "Moonie", "OG VK", or any of the like. I heard three girls names and none of them mine. Bummer. I went back to the results and saw this obscure marking next to my name pointing me down below 2nd but not inserting my number anywhere. I know, normally I get ninth and that's what I'm comfortable with, but I'm pretty sure I was up there. Thanks to some pain killers from Machine gun and the Hells Angels (no kidding*) and probably a bunch of adrenaline, I couldn't feel my wounds from a few nights earlier. Well, we'll leave this result as a second as far as sponsors go, but to the locals who know I only maybe got second as a top twenty for sure (cuz ther B less than 20 Gs in da race).


Photo by J. Suzuki - indoor section of the cross palace, bmx style

* Yup, my Hells Angels coworker supplied me with some "prescription strength IB Profin" - sure to make your legs numb strength (800 mg). I took one early am Friday due to my crash late Thursday night and Friday night I was starting to hurt again so I started to eat some dinner and unraveled my paper towel (which was how it was delivered) and scarred the heck out of myself when I read the pill saying "BOO". F. No wonder I'm feeling great. I'm drugged out of my mind. Oh wait, it says "800". That was close.

Seirra Point

My Moonie race report draft:

I rode to the race with big sis and friends who clearly haven't comprehended the awesomeness of cyclocross and had promptly turned around after arriving at the race leaving me to the real cyclocross groupo, the Moonies. I took a couple mental laps during the "NO PRELAP - THERE WILL BE NO PRELAP" time and finally got a few real prelaps in to scout out where I predicted the dollar grab would be. Up the hill after the barriers? No, it will be right before the woopdewoop. Great. It's race time. Crush bitches, crush bitches, crush bitches. Try for the dollar grab. Totally miss and almost catch tape. Continually get sloppier with sloppiness working to my advantage. [No kidding on this one, the more tired I got, the faster I was over the barriers and up the runups, unfortunately also bruisier. At one point, headed up to the stairs, I unclipped rather late only for my bike to hit a rock sending it nicely onto my shoulder for a super fast runup.]* Anyway, finally, I catch Katherine and heck yeah! she pulls for me around the finish line! I finished 9th to maintain consistency (9th at McLaren and 9th at Coyote Point). Post race conversation with Kathryn reveals that pull was an attempted drop even though we weren't racing against each other - she's just crushing bitches as always.

*I'm science. Pure. I dont use english and nor punctuation spots good.

ENDO

Note:

Hipsters discussing cyclocross

Point Reyes!

Sarah (in Raleigh) and I drove to Point Reyes to see the scenic vista! It was amazing! Last minute decision - let's make it by sunset - hope in the car - drive via GG Bridge - keep going along the famous 1 - make it there rushing to see it while there is still some light.




Yes! Ok, we've seen it. Let's now wait until they light it up (only a few times a year). "Are you here for the program?" ..."umm, we're here to see it light up" "well, there's room in the program if you want to join" "alright, we'll join the 'program'".



So we join the "program". Our tour guide brings us down to the lighthouse and we go inside for some historical background. She tells us about the lighthouse and some of the shipwrecks that have occurred.



Then we move up and look at the meat of the opperation, the fresnel lens. The lens concentrates the light into a beam. The rotation of these beams creates a blinking effect (even though the light is always on powered by 140 lbs of coal AN HOUR).



Each lighthouse has distictive pattern which depends on the number of fresnel lenses that surround the light widthwise. Point Reyes light house blinks once every 5 seconds. Another might be every 3 seconds and another would be every 15 seconds. Like clockwork.



There's light!

Broakland

That was a heckofa weekend - 3 races (including costume) and a scenic drive through Santa Cruz. I won some booze and I was asked if I was old enough to drink it! Yay California!



This weekend - SARAHFROMRALEIGH is visiting. I should probably take her to the Irish Bank and do the standard regular tourist stuffs. Any suggestions?