Chico Stage Race

TTII Women in Attendance
W1/2: Heather Ross
W3: Kerry Stivaletti, Rhonda Serr, Adrienne Belliveau, Jennifer Zierke
W4: NONE ☹

The 3-Hour Pre Race Drive
I picked up Adrienne around 8am and we were Chico bound. I wasn’t excited about driving 3 hours on pre race legs, but we really had no choice. Chico State was having a new student orientation and everything within 30 miles of the place was booked. At least we had an afternoon start time, so we didn’t have to get up before the sun. During the drive we had a brief cell phone conversation with Kerry. She was driving solo and needed a little entertainment (not to mention a gas station stop for tamales and product) for the lonely drive up I5.

Paskenta Road Race
Adrienne and I arrived to Paskenta to find......... I don’t know, nothing, and our teammates of course. There was actually a Paskenta style weeding reception going on directly across from registration. I forgot to ask Adrienne how she felt about the wedding venue. I bet it tops the Turlock Lake Resort and it’s disco ball. Adrienne, Rhonda, Kerry and I did a little warm up, ok maybe not. I think I putted 2 miles at a heart rate of 95bpm. I hope no ones coach reads that sentence. We skipped the team meeting this time because we figured we knew what our goal was, Duh, dominate! I attempted to ride my bike and hold my spare wheels simultaneously while searching for the follow vehicle. I don’t know how people do it. The wheel bags were swinging back and forth in the wind and it was a miracle one didn’t catch in my front wheel and cause me to fall over. I safely got the wheel bags in the women’s follow vehicle. They were nicely labeled “Keith Hillier.” I assured the driver that the wheels were not stolen, but that my boyfriend refuses to put my name on anything except for my pink bike and helmet that would never fit him. I pointed at the nicely typed label on the front wheel hub that also read “Keith Hillier.” He let me go and I was off to the start line. As we stood at there waiting for instruction, Kerry told me I looked good. Kerry specifically requested that I put that last line in the race report. I think she is trying to make sure her name is mentioned first. Maybe I should start over..... “Kerry, Adrienne, Rhonda and I did a little warm up prior to the race.” Anyway, I don’t actually remember having any pre race instructions. I guess my head was just full of Kerry compliments. The race began and attacks started early. I followed a couple, but nothing stuck. As a team we decided to stop covering them because it appeared they were not going anywhere. There was no reason to burn all of our matches. A group of about 8 women managed to get off the front for about 15 minutes. We decided that was enough and we needed to bring them back in. Kerry and Rhonda went straight to the front and drilled it until the group was caught. The race stayed together for a while and got a little boring. A metroment rider (Sabrina David) managed to pull away from the field about 25 miles from the finish. No one went after her and the race got a little slower. Rhonda was behind me talking about computraining or something with a fellow rider. I figured I might as well make an attack since everyone seemed a little too comfortable. I went off the front in an attempt to catch Sabrina. I got closer to her, the field got farther from me, and then I realized the wind was just too strong and I wasn’t willing to use up all my marbles this early in the game. I worked hard, but not too hard. As soon as the field caught me Adrienne took off! Not a single woman responded to her attack and she and Sabrina just disappeared into the distance. Keith had told me to get up front around mile 37 before a 5 mileish stretch of loose gravel. I did just that. I saw the miles trickle down and I figured Adrienne would dominate the gravel and take the win. I just had to sit in. As soon as the race hit the gravel, the race was on! I got right on Asa Sales wheel. I had raced with her quite a bit on the MTB and I knew she had skills. Two other women joined our little break (A masters Team One rider Lesley Jensen and an Audi rider Amanda Mattioli). I didn’t have to do any work because I had a teammate up the road. I just stayed strong and hammered through the gravel. As soon as we hit the climb Asa was gone and I could see Adrienne struggling up the road. My group of 3 managed to push right through the gravel up to Adrienne and Sabrina. The five of us made the final turn to the finish. Since I was well rested due to Adrienne being in the break, I was first across the line! It was great to hear all the people screaming “Yeah TIBCO!” Adrienne and Rhonda followed me in at 6th and 7th respectively and Kerry in 4th in the MW category! Kick @SS! We rode back to the cars to find that the Paskenta wedding reception was well underway. My stomach was hurting from all the gu and strenuous exercise. That’s the proper version to describe my pain anyway. Race Over.

Post Road Race
Kerry, Rhonda, Adrienne and I (notice I start with Kerry now) met up with Heather and headed back to Corning to check into our Holiday Inn Hotel. I was in charge of standing outside and watching over the cars and bikes (ok we only care about the bikes). I thought my teammates were playing a mean trick on me and were showering and eating dinner while I waited. It turns out that an entire boys high school basketball team was checking in before us, so we waited around for about 45 minutes. We did indeed end up showering and ate at some hole in the wall place within walking distance. I ate soup, salad, pasta and bread, but that was not enough food to hold me through the night. I got up at 11pm and 3am to eat. I couldn’t sleep because I was so hungry. I blame it on Kerry because she told me she was making banana bread and didn’t. I had been looking forward to that! I have to give her a pass though because the night before she was dealing with bike frustrations. I myself was stalking my competitors on USA cycling while Keith got all of my bikes and gear ready for the stage races. Yes I am grateful for Keith and yes I was stalking you ladies. If you are not a USA cycling stalker you are not coming to the races prepared. I knew exactly who to watch on the climbs and in the dirt, and who potential GC contenders would be. No I am not going to give away names, you will have to be a weird crazy stalker yourself. There are always a few wildcards and new faces, but never the less I am usually dead on.



Downtown Chico Criterium
The morning of the crit the alarm went off at 5:00am for the 8:05am start time. We quickly packed up the cars and headed to the continental breakfast. I made sure to shove a little extra food in my lunch pale for later. We arrived to the crit to find that cars were being towed off the course. Apparently downtown Chico must be the happening party spot for the locals on a Saturday night because there were about 20 cars that were left overnight despite the large “Tow Away” signs and the bags over all the meters. We warmed up on our trainers and took numerous laps around the course while we waited. Start whistle was finally blown around 9:05am. We were off. Kerry made sure to get the first prime per coaches’ request. The race was getting faster as another prime was called. This time it was for a 5 second time bonus. These bonuses are huge and can make or break GC. The funny thing was that Kerry won a bottle of olive oil. I told her I would have rather had the 5 seconds. She was sure to let me know that at her next BBQ I would not be partaking in any of the olive oil bread dipping appetizers, but that I could have 5 seconds. I am not sure what I am going to do with 5 seconds at a BBQ. Maybe I could use those seconds to add to motion censored lights. It seams like every time I am using a public restroom the lights turn off on me. I am always left flailing my hands around in an attempt to make the lights come back on. Hmmm 5 seconds. That could help. O yes, back to the race. Lets see. There were actually quite a few primes called for a 30 min crit, which caused a lot of yo-yoing at the back. I made sure to stay up towards the front to stay out of it. I figured I would much rather be up front in the wind then in back on the yo-yo. Mid race my friend Erin Durkee attacked. No one followed her and she was able to take a time bonus and the win! I personally didn’t feel the need to chase her down in the crit. I had a good time cushion from the road race and was pretty confident in my upcoming time trial. I wish I had thought about my teammate Adrienne’s time though. It’s hard to keep track of your own stuff let alone the entire teams. Erin ended up edging Adrienne out of 3rd place GC by about 10 seconds. Never the less we are all very happy for each other. The funny thing about women’s racing is that there is so few of us you become friends with your competitors and end up training together over the week. I always look forward to seeing them at races. During race time we get competitive, but once its over we get lunch. I mustn’t forget about the field sprint after Erins solo win. It was actually my favorite part of the weekend. With 1 lap to go Rhonda hammered to the front with Kerry on her wheel. I was trying so hard to get up there, but my legs wouldn’t allow it. I realized Adrienne was behind me and just took a hard pull on the side. Kerry and Adrienne ended up taking the field sprint for each of their respective categories. It was such a beautiful sight to see! Amazing! I am still excited about it.

Time Trial
We had a few hours to spare after the crit with the first rider being sent off at 12:40pm. Typically the TT start order is alphabetized by last name, meaning I am always last. This time was no different as the order was decided based on road race results from the previous day, with first place going last..... me. I have become quite accustomed to being the last woman standing all alone with the officials for 30 seconds. Although this time the master women were started after the elite women, so I had some company, Kerry. She was actually trying to figure out how long she could TT before I passed her. I explained that I wouldn’t be passing her since she started after me. It took her a second, or two, but I think she finally got it. It was my turn to start and the official was calling my name, “JenniferMarie.” He asked what my friends call me as if “JenniferMarie” was far too long. I replied, “Jay-Z Blue.” He just looked at me with an awkward stare and said I was up. The other official asked if my bike positioning was ok as he held me for the start. I was actually a little sideways, but I went with it. The worst part, 20 seconds, 10 seconds, 5..4...3....2.....1 and I am out of the saddle trying to get my speed up before I tuck into my arrow position. I can see Sabrina up the road and the only thing on my mind is passing her. I continue the TT as if I am riding for my life. I don’t actually remember much of it until the last mile or so when I could see the finish line. I instantly picked up the intensity and hammered as hard as I could. My breaths were so loud and my face showed all of my bodies agony. This was the 3rd race in two days and it was just me and my bike left all alone to make a final statement. I did it. I finished at 23:56 which was good enough for 1st place by about 50 seconds. I was left gasping for air after. I actually felt like crying for some reason. It’s a little sick actually that I enjoy being put through that punishment. I met up with Adrienne and Rhonda as soon as I caught my breath. We waited for Kerry and her little red arrow shoe covers to cross the line. When she did we headed back to the car a couple of miles away, packed up and headed back to the crit course in downtown chico where results were to be posted.

The Wait for Results
We settled in some Downtown Chico grass with a Beach Hut Deli Sandwhich and chips as we watched Heather in the W1/2 race and waited patiently for results. Heather was absolutely amazing as she covered every attack and got in a break that unfortunately didn’t stick. Women were getting picked off the back and she just stayed in there strong and finished with the pack. It made me realize that I have a LOT of work to do. I am actually going to practice this weekend at Towncenter criterium in ElDorado Hills. I am going to have Heather show me how it’s done. My teammates tell me that my crit skills are getting “better.” I think that’s just a nicer way of saying I am not great. Kerry is actually pretty honest. She told me I turn like a bus! Haha The sad thing is that she is not exaggerating and the correlation is quite funny. We waited around until 4pm when the results were finally posted. There were some protests to be made and the results were not actually made official. We went ahead and left before the podium presentations. We had a long drive home and it didn’t appear that results or podiums would be within the hour. We had finished racing around 1:15pm, so we were ready to go.

The Draft and the High-Five
I am getting a little exhausted of typing now and Keith needs to use the laptop for Sea Otter, so I need to finish this up. I would wait for him to return, but he tells me that posting a race report after Wednesday is unacceptable. We do have a desktop, but I don’t remember all the passwords. Anyway, Kerry decided to lead us home. The plan was to stop at a gas station first. The problem was that Kerry’s GPS had another plan. We ended up pulling over in the middle of nowhere. I explained that I was on E and that my gaslight had been on for miles. She fumbled around with both her GPS and i-phone trying to figure out where we were. I pulled mine out which gave us completely different directions then her two devices. Frustrated, Kerry askes which of the three ways we should attempt to get home. We ended up choosing one that we thought would lead us to a gas station. I was drafting Kerry (in a car yes) in an attempt to break the wind and save gas. To make a long story short a lone ranger (CHP officer) pulled up behind us and asked what we were doing. Kerry explained the situation as I leaned out the car window afraid to get out. The CHP officer simply explained that we were in the middle of nowhere and miles from a gas station. We planned on making a drive 12 miles north, the opposite way of home, to a gas station he told us about. Kerry gave him a high-five and we were on our way. We made it! I actually thought I had a 13 gallon gastank, but I got 14.2 gallons of gas. Who knows? Who cares? I did buy an ice cream sand which there though.

We ventured home and made it fine. That was a weekend I will never forget!

Thank You For Reading,

Jay-Z Blue

TopSport Stage Race

Team
W1/2: Heather Ross
W3: Jennifer Zierke, Rhonda Serr, Maryann Schrupp, Adrienne Belliveau, Kerry Stivaletti, Page Robertson
W4: Not in attendance due to “wine night”
Team Mom: The one and only Cheri Robertson

Morning of Race Day
Keith and I set out for Copperopolis around 6:30am Saturday morning. I know I know, Where is Copperopolis? Every time my patients asked, I just told them it was near Oakdale. Oakdale? That’s really the best I could do to explain the location. It’s actually pretty close to where I grew up (Amador County). The manure scented air was really quite homey for this country girl. Anyway, Keith’s race was at 10am, so I had some waiting to do before I was up at 1:30pm. Luckily, Rhonda arrived bright and early with her boyfriend Zach, so I had company. It wasn’t until around 11:30ish when the rain decided to make its presence with sprinkles that soon led to a downpour.

Knights Ferry Road Race (The Bubble Bath)
As we stood at the line getting ready to start the officials presented us with three options; A) cancel the race B) shorten it to 1 lap, or C) complete the scheduled two. I personally was freezing, shivering and blue at line. It sounded like most of the girls wanted to do the 1 lap (including myself), but I couldn’t vote for it. TIBCO II had a pretty good presence, so I convinced my team to follow through with the 2 laps. I knew that everyone was cold, but with our team being primarily endurance riders and very strong, I knew we would not be the ones to pop off with the longer distance and bad weather. The race started and the rain just continued to come down. I could feel the hatred (not personal hatred) other ladies had for me since I had pushed this 2 lap thing. I stayed behind Kerry so she could protect me from the haters! Haha. Actually she is always a good wheel to stick behind for safety. Page and Maryanne would come up and ask how I was feeling occasionally. I felt great considering the conditions. We were able to send shout outs to Heather every time our fields crossed paths since it was an out and back course. The rain seemed to just get harder and bubbles were forming under girls @s$es, I mean big bubbles! I am not sure if the bubbles were caused from left over soap from the wash or chamois cream. Regardless, it was a bubble bath! If you were lucky enough to get behind a bubble blower, you got a nice soapy face wash to clean up the cow manure puddle water that was splashed in your face. I tried to just keep my mouth closed and chug along, but the inevitable happened. Dirt grinds were making themselves at home in my teeth. I refuse to believe anything other then dirt was in my mouth. As we passed the finish line on the first lap nothing had happened and the group was just a miserable sopping wet bubble mob. It was boring and slow. I decided to attack, a few gals went after me and soon the race was back together. Instantly Rhonda attacked. The girls were much slower to respond, but eventually the group was right back together. I was able to sit in over the two rollers while she was off the front, allowing me to recover from my own attack. The group was slower then ever and I could feel everyone getting cold. I attacked again and this time no one went with me. I could see the gap increasing, and I realized I would probably be out alone for a while. I knew the likelihood of me holding off a hungry pack of 33 women for 20 miles in the rain was slim to none, but I knew I had teammates in the race that were hopefully getting a free ride. I made the UTURN and could see the field head on. My teammates were smiling and screaming my name like they were on a casual Sunday ride. I was happy at that moment because I knew they were well rested. The field soon caught me with about 15 miles left to go. The field was beat down and strung out. Everyone was hurting. With 10 miles left we were stopped due to a horrible accident in the W1/2 race. Heather was fine, but we did have friends that went down. The 10-minute stop allowed each of us to realize how miserable and cold we really were. I couldn’t feel my toes and my wet clothing added about 10 pounds to my already heavier hill-climbing frame. All I remember is starting the race in order of how we had stopped. I was in the front so I really had no clue what was going on behind me. As we hammered over the second or third climb after the stop Rhonda said, “We are the only ones here.” We were left with 8ish riders, 3 of which were TIBCOII. I couldn’t believe it. My 2 lap plan had worked. We had attacked and pooped out the field. We had done our job. Adrienne got to the front and time trialed the remaining 5 miles to the finish and Rhonda and I were able to just sit in. I was hurting pretty bad, but just kept telling myself it was almost over. As we came to the finishing hill, Rhonda went in for the win and Adrienne and I followed at 4th and 6th with no time gap!!!! We had 3 women in line for GC!

The Resort
We were quick to head back to the car and strip off our wet wardrobe. If there was any possible way to be modest and classy while changing in the farmland, we were none of the above. It was raining and we were wet! I personally just gave the cows a show. We headed back to the “resort.” I typically associate the word “resort” as having a classy ring to it. Well this classy resort was nothing but a paint smelling headache, a clogged sink, and a 1 minute hot shower. These are not really the ideal conditions when you are covered in cow dung and cold. Keith had to heat me up with the hair dryer in an attempt to bring pink back to my color. I am surprised the place didn’t lose power when he turned it on. However, the place is ideal for a wedding venue according to Adrienne. She was completely taken back by the large dinning area filled with school children tables and a large hardwood dance floor. Not to mention the large disco ball overhead and the strange animal arcade machine sitting solo in the corner. Kerry was skeptical before the arrival stating that she was nervous what $50 a night got us. I told her it was this or the Motel 6. We were in Oakdale. There was no Marriott. After the wonderful dining experience, we headed upstairs for bed around 9:30pm. I had a really hard time sleeping. I woke up at 11:30pm, 2:00am and again at 4:00am. I failed to go back to sleep after that. I was nervous about what the day had to offer with such a terrible nights sleep. We all got up around 7am. I had to check the whether the old fashion way (TV) since I had no cell service (aka internet). The TV was just fuzz. I could barely see Dirk Verdoorn trying to deliver the weather. Kerry assured me that the television was older then I was. I just hoped we were in for a clear day. We headed down stairs for the $5 breakfast. Poor Heather just wanted a small bowl of oatmeal and couldn’t get the owner to budge the $5 price. Never the less we ate and I made sure to get my moneys worth!

Rock Creek Time Trial (The Pesky Terrier)
Rhonda and I drove up to the TT to find our boyfriends finishing up and heading over to the Circuit Race. I was in a panic searching through bags of crap (expensive cycling apparel) looking for my heart rate monitor. Turns out it was on the floor of the car. I guess I didn’t even bother putting it away after the previous days bubble blowing extravaganza. Keith gave us specific instructions not to warm up on the main road because he got a flat. To make a long story short, Kerry got a flat. I won’t tell you where she was warming up. The team went to the start to check out start times. I cheered on my teammates as riders were being sent off every 30 seconds. I was the last to go as usual. Ivy gave me specific instructions to give her at least a minute before I passed her this time. Ivy went off. I was left alone with the official with 30 seconds to start time. I swear those 30 seconds are the longest ever. I sit and shake hoping not to fall over. The seconds just seem to go slower as the official counts down the time. 5..4...3....2.....1. It’s always hard. Do I go on 1 or GO? When will the official let go of my bike? If I start too late will he let go and let me fall over?? PANICING! As soon as I am released my heart relaxes. It’s just me, the bike and Ivy up the rode. I have her in sight and I am going for it. I think I gave her the minute she requested. The air was cold and I could hear my breaths getting louder. By the time I caught Ivy she probably thought a train was coming I was so loud. Kerry (my teammate) was next in view. She made me work my ass off to catch her. The way out was a horrible head wind and I could see Kerry headed up a roller. I pushed as hard as my legs would go and as soon as I reached the peak I saw my teammate being chased by a little rat terrier. Dogs are the scariest things for a cyclist. I saw the dog yapping at her wheels and I just hoped she could get by him without an accident. If something were to happen, yes I would have to stop my own TT. There is no way I could let my teammate/friend get sent to the ground by a little rat terrier on a descent going 34mph! I got out of my arrow bars as I got closer. Luckily the dog didn’t get as close to me, and Kerry got away. I couldn’t get myself back in the arrow position for the remainder of the descent due to the bumpy pavement and the wind. I began to curse that stupid dog for causing me to loose valuable seconds, but I was thankful Kerry and I made it out ok. As the TT went on I caught up with Kerry just before the UTURN. I slowed her down a bit there. She was sure to remind me of how terrible I am at maneuvering the TT bike through the turns. Adrienne doesn’t even bother giving me pointers, she just laughs at me. At least they make up for it by telling me I look good in my skinsuit. I guess that has to account for something. haha. This was my 2nd TT, yes I do need TT bike handling practice. Apparently Kerry has it scheduled on my training books. After the uturn I had a metromint in sight and then another teammate. I made it past both and hammered my way to the finish with a tail wind. I was nervous because I felt a little too good. The descents seemed to give you some “rest.” When I did Madera it was a flat TT that I powered through till a vomited. No vomit this time. I ended up 2nd to a Metromint coming in at 31:15 followed by my teammate Adrienne at 32:25. She did that without a TT bike! Unfortunately our other GC rider Rhonda dropped a chain at the beginning of the TT which cost her some time, but she was still able to put in a good time for GC placement. Kerry and Page killed the TT with much improvement over Madera and Maryann did not get stung by a bee or get a flat! I am very proud of all of them.

Little John Circuit Race (The Final Pain Cave)
The team drove over to the circuit race. We had very little time (20min) to switch out bikes, clothes, and numbers. The TT results hadn’t been posted yet, so we didn’t really know who was holding the top GC positions. We had a general idea who to keep and eye on based on Saturdays Road Race and past TT results. We just had to hope that our TT’s were better then the rest. We had two goals going into the race 1) GC riders don’t lose time and 2) get Kerry across the line. We were able to keep the pack together, but everyone’s legs were fried. Getting Kerry across the line for a sprint finish was difficult with tired legs. The field was tired and squirrely. There was a crash early on in the race, which made us play cautious. The bunch sprint was no different. Tired racing legs sprinting for an uphill finish was not the safest situation. Kerry was able to get herself across the line in 5th. I wish we were able to do more as a team for her, but circumstances didn’t allow it.

GC Results
We were all thrilled the circuit race was over. We managed to complete a 2-mile cool down before heading to the nearest coffee shop while we patiently awaited the results. We ended up placing 2nd, 3rd and 5th in GC as a team, earning $55.00! We made a decision to put that money towards next weeks Rapha Team Challenge where we will be riding 114 miles/7000 feet of climbing.

I had such an amazing weekend! Thank you ladies!

Thanks for reading,

JayZ Blue