Velo Angels - Ride, Girls. Ride.

Back in the Saddle. Back on Velo Angels.

What kind of self-respecting cycling blogger am I to not write even a single post during the Tour de France?  Disgrace!  I tell you.

Although I have been a completely lousy blogger, I have been a good cyclist.  (Relatively speaking.)  I've been riding consistently.  And, I might even say that I don't hate climbing any more. 

A few months ago my friend dragged me up some canyon roads that I had been dreading and told me that I should do this sort of ride every week.  While the pain of climbing up 3000 feet almost made me cry (not really), I had a great time.  It definitely gave me a new sort of confidence I lacked.  So the next week, I went and did a different canyon road.  It was much easier.  I'm not saying it was easy.  Just much easier than the first time.  So, for a few weeks after that, I just kept going back for more.  And, things got a little easier each time. 

Then about a month ago, this crazy friend of mine had a crazy idea to go up Las Flores Cyn Rd. This canyon road gives you almost 1500 feet of elavation gain over 3.4 miles.  The grade average is over 8%.  Everyone who I talked to about this beforehand tried to stop me.  They all said, "Mai, but you hate climbing."  I should have listened to them.  It hurt.  It was hot.  At one point I was going so slow that there were like 4 horse flies hanging on my leg trying to eat me.  I hated my life.  And, oh yes.  I stopped in the middle.  I'm shameless.  I walked my bike.  Hey, it's UCI legal to do that, right?  But I finished it.  I didn't turn around.  As far as I'm concerend, I'd call this a draw between me and Las Flores.  I didn't "conquer" it, but I didn't lose either...  Next time, Las Flores, next time... 

A little added bonus after Las Flores though was the fact all the climbing became much easier.  Again, I'm not saying I love climbing.  But, compared to Las Flores, 6% grade for a few miles?  It's nothing.  Maybe, just maybe, I don't hate climbing any more. 

I'm grateful for all my cycling friends who take me up to these roads that are unknown to me and let me discover something new about myself.  (Cycling is so much like life itself.) 

I'm also grateful for you, readers... 
Even when I didn't update anything for months, there were always some people who came and read my posts.  Thank you.  I hope I'll keep you entertained a bit more from now on... 

 

 

Heartbroken

Only one more stage left for Paris-Nice...  but I simply can't focus on cycling right now.  I know.  Crazy.  Andy's brother Frank was riding, yet I haven't been able to pay attention to the race for the past 2 days. (Frank withdrew today, too.  So even less reason for me to watch.) 

It's the damn earthquake.  
I really haven't slept much.  I've been glued to my TV for 2 days. 
I am grateful that all my family and friends are safe in Japan.  But hundreds of thousands of people are struggling to survive in this catastrophe. 

I was in Kobe when the great earthquake hit my city in 1995.  It killed over 6,000 people.  My high school turned into a refugee camp.  I still remember vividly how the sky was black from the raging fire and how disorienting it was to see the city all burned down.  I lived in the area where there was little damage.  I was lucky nobody in my family was hurt in the earthquake.  But I know some people who lost everything in the disaster.  It was a very sad time in my life.  And now, by seeing the faces of the people on TV who are affected by this earthquake, all the memories that I tried to forget because they are too sad have come back. 

My heart breaks and breaks for those who are affected by this horrible disaster.  And, I'm frustrated and wonder what I can do for them.  What can I do while I'm here thousands of miles away? 

I do have this blog.  So I have a voice. 

Please help my people by making a $10 donation.  Text REDCROSS to 90999.

Thank you.

 

 

Read This.

My Friend Ko forwarded me this article from Outside Online.  It's a good read and probably the most comprehensive of similar articles I have read!  The article touches on how cyclists are seen by the society and why we are seen the way we are.  Also it talks about the never-ending dillemma of cyclists vs. drivers sociologically, emotionally and legally.  Enjoy.

 

Back in the Saddle

While most of the country is freezing, we are blessed with this gorgeous weather lately.  So, I have been riding.  Nothing extra exciting to write about...  but just to get back into some sort of riding shape.  A lot of base training. 

And, I'm thinking about doing a 5K/10K this summer.  Start from 5K and maybe move up to 10K.  Turns out I can run 5K slowly now (with some cursing in the middle), so my goal is to finish a 5K strong in a few months and maybe do a 10K later in the summer.

Stay tuned for my report on how much I hate running.  Yes.  I hate running. 

 

How to Look Good While Cycling

We talk about how silly we look in our cycling clothes.  I mean.  Really.  They are all stretchy and hug every curve I don't have to show off and hug them a little too tight.  They usually come in either black, red and occasionally white for men, and women's stuff is all pink, baby blue and purple in the floral patterns that make me vomit quite honestly.  And, what's up with the helmet, right?  I gave up looking for a helmet that makes me look good.  That just doesn't exist.  It's like a unicorn.  It's just a fantastic idea. 

I've written about the very expensive Assos Bib Shorts, that are amazingly comfortable, if not heavenly, and frankly they don't look half bad either.  (My post about the bibs HERE)  And, their other items like jerseys and jackets are rather pretty as well.  So, yes.  I do love Assos cycling apparel.  I don't buy other stuff any more actually.  I save up, don't buy anything forever and wait for the sale and raid the Assos rack.  That's how I've been doing.  But really...  I can only wear so much Assos.  I want more variety.  So I keep looking. 

As you look for pretty cycling clothes, you are destined to hit Rapha.  (Check out Rapha.) And, yes, Rapha's stuff is pretty.  Very European.  Merino wool classic jerseys and cycling hats with stripes...  ALL THE PRETTY STUFF IS FOR MEN!  They even have the designer Paul Smith designing some of the limited items like leather gloves for them!  It's Haute Cycling Apparel!!  Well, this season they finally came up with the women's line, and I was super excited about that.  But alas, their women's "LINE" consists of 5 items.  One basic jersey in 2 colors - Red and black.  (Oooooh, it comes with a set of matching arm warmers!  Whatever.)  One design for the shorts.  One color only - black.  Wind/Rain light jacket in 2 colors.  White and Red.  And, that was it.  Granted they are all very classy and well designed.  But that's it.  I ride a blue bike, and I don't mind being a little matchy-matchy with my bike.  Although I like the color red, black and white, sometimes I don't mind a green.  What about orange?  Navy?  Chartreuse?  No.  Rapha only gives you 3 colors to choose from.  And, I'm being generous here since black and white are not even a "color." 

Ben recently purchased a very cool merino wool jersey from Rapha.  It's light blue with Belgian tri-color stripes.  And, it looks well made and SUPER cute.  Why can't we have that? 

As I was so excited about Rapha's women's line, I emailed the company about a year ago to see if I could get any scoop on the new line.   The North American head honcho guy and I had a few emails back and forth.  He promised me that he'd let me "review" the new products when they become available.  Did he send me anything?  NO!  Am I bitter because of his lack of commitment?  YES!  :) 

Nah.  Actually.  I really don't mind spending a little extra cash on high quality, cute cycling clothes.  (Note my Assos collection.)  I'm just personally sick of big companies treating women like we are second class citizens!  We want more variety like men have.  That's all I'm saying.  

So will Rapha expand on their women's line next year?  I sure hope so!  In the mean while, I hope someone from Rapha will read this and give me free stuff to review. 

I had to put a legal disclaimer in my "about me" page because my attorney (Ben) told me to...  so now if someone gives me a freebie to review I have that clearly stated in my blog.  OK.  I'm ready.  Bring it.  The only thing missing here is a company who wants me to review their stuff...  Hmm. 

Dear Rapha.  Please bribe me and give me some freebies so I can write up something nice about you. 

Thank you. 

A Quick Note to Self

I don't know what happened to that hot weather we had for a few days.  Now it's so cool (chilly) that I may never have to worry about this.  But, I have a couple of notes to share with you...

About 2 week ago when it was really hot, I decided to go ride Mandeville not so early in the morning.  It was about 11 am. 

Note to self. 

1)  Wake up early and ride early when it's hot.  11 am in the windless canyon with no shade in sight is hell. 

At one point as I was bitching, moaning and riding, I couldn't take the heat anymore.  So I poured whatever was left in my bottle on my head.  At the time, I couldn't care since it was so hot, and what was left in my bottle cooled my head just enough to go to the end of Mandevile.  But, as soon as I stopped at the top of Mandeville, I attracted every bee in the 5 mile radius.  What was left in the bottle wasn't water.  It was my all-natural, subtly lemon-lime flavored Heed. 

For the bees, I might as well have been a jar of honey. Good thing we don't have bears in LA.

Note to self.

2)  Don't pour your electrolyte drink on your head to cool down unless you really like bees on your face.

It wasn't my proudest day... 

There's no clever closing statement.  No moral of the story.  So.  Yeah. 

Please Don't Kill Me

On a sunny Sunday afternoon, I was going down the twisty road of Palos Verdes East.  It is an awesome, fast descent well worth the 2-mile switchbacks you have to climb before that.  

The patch of Palos Verdes East I was riding is a 2 way street (one lane going up and one lane going down) with no bike lane.  Not only was there no bike lane, there wasn't really any shoulder to ride on.  The shoulder was about 6" wide and covered in mud and sand making it very slippery.  So, to be safe, I was riding in the lane.  It is my right as a cyclist to take up as much of a lane as I need to ride safely at my discretion.  I'm not doing anything illegal here. 

Things got really hairy after I heard the car honking behind me.  While I know my rights as a cyclist, I also know some people really don't like cyclists and don't want to hear about our "rights," and those people usually don't have the patience to drive behind us. Therefore, I scooted over to stay close to the white line so the car could pass me.  They don't have to deal with me, and I don't have to deal with them.  It's a win-win for both of us.  Right?  I was trying to be nice by "sharing the road."  But the asshole driver did not stop honking.  He kept honking more and more and drove up next to me.  Next thing I know, he started to drive closer to me so I had to move over onto the white line and into the non-existing, slippery shoulder.  As I rode on the white line with the reflector bumps, I almost lost control.  Who knows what might have happened if I crashed.  I might have slid in front of the truck and become the biggest roadkill of the day.  I might have flipped over the fence and fallen off the cliff like Frank Schleck.  Fortunately nothing happened.  I held onto my bike and slowed down enough to let the asshole go (as I screamed obscenity at him, of course.) 

I was angry at first, of course.  But soon after, I was really scared.  I was shaking. 

While I'm an adrenaline junkie and seek out thrills and speed in crazy sports, I know I am very cautious and safe when it comes to all my so-called "dangerous" sports like cycling and snowboarding.  I've never been afraid for my life while participating in these sports.  Unfortunately though, no matter how safe and careful you are as a cyclist, there are bad, stupid, evil assholes out there who don't respect the law, or more importantly, your life.  And, that's just how it is. 

It is my biggest regret now that I didn't think to look at his license plate number.  I was so desperate trying not to crash I didn't even think about it till much later.  We can be only so careful, and these assholes won't stop harassing people.  All we can do is to take their plate numbers and tell the cycling community to watch out and let the law enforcement do their work and build up a case against them.  

I don't mean to scare you with this post, and I'm definitely not saying that you shouldn't ride on PV at all.  As a matter of fact, you SHOULD ride the PV loop!  It is a beautiful ride, and it's one of my very favorite rides.  But, know that the crazies are out there, and you need to protect yourself.  Be ready for anything...  and if you see an aggressive driver harassing the cyclist(s), let the local police know.  And, I hope one day, the drivers and cyclists can really coexist on the streets of Los Angeles.  Until then...  Ride safe! 

In Search of a Perfect Saddle 3 : I Might Have Just Found THE ONE

This might be it.  I might have just found THE perfect saddle.  I've only ridden a couple of hours, so let's not rush to any conclusion here, but I might have.  Just.  Found.  It. 

This is Specialized's Romin saddle in 155mm.  It is a men's saddle, but comes in 155mm, which is the width a lot of my girl friends ride.  The cutout in the middle is wide enough to help with the pressure.  The cutaway is big enough that it doesn't dig into the back of my thighs.  And the curve up at the end holds my butt in place for a little extra push.  It doesn't have a lot of cushion like the gel pad saddle, but since it's shaped correctly, I'm not numb or sore after the ride.  I usually don't like cushy saddle to start with.  I have yet to find anything bad to say about this saddle.  I mean, it's not even ugly!  Good job, Specialized.  Finally you got your saddle right.   I heard a rumor that Specialized might be making Romin for girls in the years to come.  I'm so excited.  This is an awesome saddle now for us girls...  I can't wait for them to improve on it even more. 

Tour de France is Crack

Honestly I'm a little (a lot) sad and depressed that there's no more stages left to watch on my DVR.  The TdF is like crack...  I'm having withdrawal symptoms. 

Here are 10 sings you are a TdF addict. 

1)  Your Facebook and Twitter are all about cycling.  

2)  Your good, understanding, cycling friend tells you that you are too crazy about the Tour and Andy. 

3)  Your friend asks if you are ok after Andy loses time to his competition.

4) You quote Jens Voigt in your daily conversation.  (i.e. I say, "Shut up, legs!") 

5)  You and all your dorky friends have the same video clip posted on FB page.  And, they are usually of Jens Voigt's.

6)  Your friend leaves a message on your FB saying, "Allez, Andy!"  Even though your name is not Andy. 

7)  Your local Specialized dealer gives you their promotional poster of Andy because they know you are crazy about him. 

8)  You try to stay in bed at 4 in the morning knowing that the Tour is on, and you have these crazy dreams where you are giving Jens a pep talk, "Jensy, you have to pull up Andy hard on Tourmalet.  Contador will attack after seeing how Andy does on the climb.  Don't let him get away." Then you wake up and realize that trying to stay asleep is useless, so you turn on your TV and start watching.  

9)  You keep having dreams about your favorite riders, namely Andy.  And the dreams are not quite PG13. 

10)  You know Versus' new commercial pep talk by heart.

Whether or not you win this thing, you’ve got to decide how you’re gonna walk out of here when it’s all said and done because the game is going to go on.  And there’s only one rule you’re going to need to know about: There are no second chances.

There is only this moment and the next moment.  Every one of those moments is a test that you get to take one time – and only one time.

So, if you see an opening – tear into it.  If you get a shot at victory, make damn sure you take it.  Seize that moment.  That moment is a crossroads where everything you want will collide with everything standing in your way.

You’ve got momentum at your back.  Fear and doubt are thundering like a freight train straight at you.  And all you’ve got, the only difference between making history and being history, the only thing – THE ONLY THING – you can count on at any given moment is you.

It’s You versus Them.
You versus No.
You versus Can’t.
It’s You versus Next Year. Last Year. Statistics. Excuses.
You versus History.
You versus The Odds.
You versus 2nd Place.

          The clock is ticking – let’s see what you’ve got.

I'm a sick, sick person.  Hello.  My name is Mai and I'm addicted to TdF.

Tour de France 2010 is OVER!

The Tour is over.  What did you all think?  It was a lot of drama this year.  When Phil and Paul say that this was the most exciting tour in decades, I believe them. 

Stage 15 was hard for me.  Like, screaming-and-crying-in-front-of-the-TV-at-8-in-the-morning hard.  For those who missed the stage, (how could they?!) it was the stage where my favorite Andy Schleck lost 39 seconds to Alberto Contador.  What was so controversial about the stage was that Contador attacked when Andy was having a mechanical problem.  Cycling is a sport of lots of unwritten rules...  a gentleman's agreement if you will.  And those unwritten rules say nobody should attack while the general contender in yellow jersey is having a mechanical.  So, what Contador did wasn't necessarily illegal according to the written rules, but according to the unwritten rules, it was something to be frowned upon.  It wasn't sportsman-like.  Contador gained 39 seconds on Andy that day.  And in the end, Andy lost the Tour to Contador by 39 seconds.  So, while Andy showed his sportsmanship and said he was over the whole controversy the day after it happened, it cost him the Tour.  In the end, those 39 seconds did matter.  But that's cycling.  I guess. 

It was a hard day for me nevertheless.

But on a brighter note...

With all the drama and controversy, I think Andy won over a lot of people's heart this year.  I think lots of girls (and boys) fell in love with his style, sportsmanship, fairness, his ability to climb like hell, his bad English and his cute smile with the crooked tooth.  And, I'm happy for that.  As a true fan, I'm only happy that a lot of people got to see what I have always seen in him.  I'm a very understanding, sharing fan.  Yup.  That's me. 

As for the TdF 2011...  Well, Andy didn't show any weakness this year to Contador.  He matched Contador on every mountain stage.  He rode an amazing final time trial, which surprised everyone who knows how bad Andy is at this discipline.  Andy's truly ready to take Contador down next year.  Watch out, Pistolero.  My baby's coming to get you.