Chipseal, Cobbles, and Pedals

Yesterday was the big ‘finale’ of my month adventure of European racing.  Our race was a 7K circuit at the base of the Alps in a town called Chamberry.  This was Jeannie Longo’s (the 50 year old legend) home town, so we expected the hammer to be thrown down!  Sure enough, she arrived, old-school time trial helmet and all.  Our course consisted of a gradual decent with windy roads, a flat area with a 180 degree turn, many round-abouts and a tight, near 180 turn up a steep 1 minute, gut climb.  We did this 10 times and believe me, many times my stomach felt weak after pushing over the top.  This would be my best race as I was finally able to participate, strategize, and initiate moves with my teammates. 

 In the beginning, I had good positioning up near the front, but soon found myself pushed back on the flats.  I excelled on the climb and moved up, but was pushed back again on the second lap.  Emily and Megan were successful in starting a break early into the race with a good group of riders, so Moriah, Jasmine and I were left to protect their break.  But, Jeannie was still in our group, at the front controlling the peloton and slowing the pace.  She had a few teammates in the break too.  We kept our eyes out for this Italian team trying to bridge up and jumped on their attacks to bring them back.  It was the third or fourth lap and I kept my eye on Jeannie.  There had been an attack in the break-away group and her teammate wasn’t in it, so we were ready for her to attack and bridge to them.  She attacked at the crest of the hill and Immediately I caught her wheel, and quickly the peloton followed.  I thought, “awesome, I’m on Jeannie Longo’s wheel, how cool!”  She sat back in for a short bit and successfully attacked on the flats.  Moriah caught this attack and followed pursuit, but was dropped on the hill. 

After this, I started focusing on my role and starting working with Moriah.  We tried to catch any attacks and during the last few laps when Emily and Megan were several minutes ahead, we decided to start attacking and spice up the race.  Moriah led me out and then I attack on the flats where there were several turns to slow the peloton.  Moriah and another girl followed and we worked together until the hill, but were caught.  I was almost blown up on the hill, but caught back onto the group, just gutting it out. 

On the final lap, another girl attacked, so I jumped on it and then attacked her.  I yelled for Moriah, hoping she’d grab my wheel, attack and make it to the climb first, but she was back a few wheels.  I stayed at the front, hoping to be the first to the hill, because of how vital positioning was for the turn and the narrow climb.  I stayed in the lead, half way up the hill, but about 100m from the finish I blew up and got passed by several girls! Moriah finished a few places in front of me and I got 35th.  I had been told before the race to try stuff out, and if I blew up….at least I tried!  I was very happy about this race since I was much more involved instead of hanging on for dear life.

                             My favorite hill for intervals…came in handy during the race!

 So, is this the end of my French adventure??  It is just the beginning!  A few weeks ago, I talked to Chris about my desire to get on a team.  Immediately he knew of a French director who was looking for an American or New Zeland rider for his team.  He talked to the director at the Ladies Berry, and the guy, Cyril was very interested, so he kept an eye on me during the race.  During last week, Chris kept in contact with the director.  Cyril made a special trip to Limoux on Friday to meet with me and Chris, and we negotiated.  Cyril doesn’t speak much English, but Chris helped with the translations.  Chris had also been in close contact with my coach Frank, to make sure the best possible situation would be available to me. 

                     Mountains remind me of home.

 So, to sum up my meeting with Cyril, the director of Team Montauban, I have decided to return to France for the summer to race in some prestigious French and UCI races.  I will return in June and stay until mid September. The race programme includes the Women’s Tour de France (La Grande Boucle Feminine International), Tour de Limousine, Tour de Britania (Brittany), and Tour of Ardesh.  I will have to buy my plane ticket over there and food, but my housing, and equipment will be taken care of.  I will have an Orbea to ride when I get there.  This will be a new adventure for me as I will have to learn to communicate with a French director and teammates.  Cyril was very interested in learning English, so it will be a win-win situation for both of us.

                                                        Wildlife.  Just kidding.. sheep.

But, none of these doors would have opened for me if it weren’t for the love and support from my family, friends and community back home.  Ever since I was about 8 years old, I dreamed of doing something like this.  All this time, many people helped me to keep that dream alive!  There were many people who believed in me when I didn’t, and taught me to have confidence and believe in myself.  I never forget these individuals either, even when I haven’t seen them for many years.  While in Limoux, I looked back and remembered what they did for me, and it gave me hope.  So, I just want to thank you for being apart of my dream, and helping me get this far.  I hope my stories will give you hope too, and maybe a taste of European culture through the eyes of a young, female, Wyoming, cyclist.

Bon Voyage!

Melissa

                                                         Door to our house. “Kiwi House”

Yesterday Megan found a lizard in her garbage can.  It’s her first day in Limoux and she’s sitting at her desk, hears some shuffling and thinks that there might be a mouse in the wall.  The sound continued to amplify and she thought, “This is a really big mouse, in the wall!”  Ignoring the sound, Megan leaves for a few hours to ride her bike.  After returning she again hears a shuffling noise, she walks over by her trash can to throw a wrapper away and screams!  There was a lizard in the garbage wriggling about!  This was the second lizard we’d found in the house, the first was a week ago when Moriah found on one the stairs, which I managed to remove with my swift hands as the girls were screaming. I took the creature outside and let it go free.  Luckily, Megan had her lizard trapped in the bin, so it was easier to remove. Now we are reassured that our house is mice-free!

                                          Living room, kitchen.

                                Living room.

The first comment I’d like to make is that women’s racing is just as “hard-core” and exciting as men’s racing.  Yesterday is a testament to this as we battled pouring rain, narrow and windy roads, and wind, while at the exact same moment the Paris Roubaix took place in only mint racing conditions.  But, I too must admit that it was exiting for me as a cyclist, to be so near to a very famous race! I also can’t complain about rain because I hear back home it’s covered in snow!

 Our race started with 109 women. We started the race with 4 (5K) circuits around the town.  This time, we arrived early to the call-up so we could start the race with ideal positioning in-case a break were to form early. I focused on positioning up at the front.

After the circuits, we went into the countryside to do a longer loop.  I consistently focused on moving up and trying to stay protected from the wind.  I won’t say I was near perfect, but it was an improvement from the week before.  First, the roads were dry but it turned to rain about 20Ks into the race.  After the rain stopped, there was a break of 5 girls about 40Ks into the race.  I remember contemplating whether I should branch to them, but realized I was missing my chance.  We didn’t think they’d stay away because it wasn’t composed of the stronger riders, but a lot of teams were represented so this alone discouraged the peloton from chasing.

At one point, the main peloton split and I wasn’t in the front group, so I attacked and bridged up.  Another girl followed and let me grab her wheel, but the peloton wasn’t far behind and they engulfed us right as we caught the front group. I tried keeping my position near the front, but sometimes would fall back as the peloton would stretch out onto the narrow roads.  But I would burn a match and move up. Later after the race, Emily gave me some good criticism on this. She told me to take advantage of the teammates and use them to move up, so I could stay protected from the wind.

When we got back to town, we did 6 circuits again around the town.  Right then it started down-pouring and the course became a bit scary with thick white paint on every corner.  The circuit was like a good ol’ North American crit, but more technical. I moved up to the front, taking advantage of the power climbs.  Moriah set me up for an attack on a hill, so I sling-shotted around her and came flying down a steep decent to a sharp right-hand turn full of white paint.  With all the rain, I was a bit scared and slowed for the turn, then had to jump on the pedals hard!  Quickly I was caught by the peloton. 

 It kept pouring and the visibility wasn’t so good.  By the last lap it stopped raining and I tried moving up.  It was a mass sprint at the end and I was at the front third of the peloton. I think I finished in the top 40, maybe 30, but hopefully they’ll post results soon. I was the lead finisher for our team. Moriah lost her brakes during the crit, but wasn’t far back.  Emily’s knee was bothering her so she dropped out with a few laps to go.  Jasmine did awesome despite stomach troubles and finished with the group behind us. 

We were soaked and cold after the race, so we found the van, quickly changed, and began our long drive.  We drove until midnight and stayed the night in a motel.  I was completely drained from the race and immediately passed out on the bed.

                    Ancient monastery against the walls of the gorge.

Thursday, Emily, Jasmine and I did a 110K loop in the mountains.  The ride took almost 5 hours of the day, but was again another scenic loop!

                              Me up very high!

The ride consisted of three climbs, the second climb being the most scenic as it wound through a gorge that hid an ancient monastery.  We slowed and stopped to take many pictures and admire the bright green water that flowed far below. Jasmine works for Chris most of the year, and knew a fair bit about the history of the area.  She said that in the summer time, they take the hotel guests on hikes to the monastery and sometimes take a dip in the water.

After the ride, we were invited to a restaurant near the base of the mountain, about a 40 minute drive.  It was in a little town we’d passed by on our ride.  Our director Chris, who has kindly taken care of us during this trip, takes his hotel guests to this place every Thursday for a wonderful French feast of roasted wild boar.

                                       Our dinner slowly roasting over the fire.  Yum yum!!

The dinner was quite filling with many types of meats, pates, and salamie.  Everything was very rich.  There was duck, ham, rabbit cooked in a rich sauce, roasted wild boar, and many more wonderful treats.  Afterwards, they brought out 6 different types of desserts, so each of us picked a different one, so we could share. 

              From left: Cam, Jasmine (both from New Zealand and a couple), Mariah (Canadian), me, and Emily (US).

                     Jasmine taking her turn with the “pourou”.

Another French tradition we shared was passing around the “pourou”.  This pourou had sugar water…since we’d had plenty of wine already, but normally holds red wine.  The “pourou” is shaped like a swan with a long neck, and the goal is to get the liquid in your mouth!  I unfortunately had little talent in this task and ended of aiming at my face instead of my mouth!  We passed it around and clapped for each person as they took their turn. It was a very memorable evening and we left with full tummies.

                            The little town where we enjoyed dinner. A view from the bike ride.

 Bonjour!

Yesterday morning I awoke early to do my 3 hour ride.  Mariah gave me a map of the area, so I wouldn’t get lost and I took off on another adventure. The first thing I discovered was that I had immediately gone off course, and many of the towns weren’t on the map!  But, I wasn’t worried, as my goal was to explore the area and see where each road might lead. 

 A little church buried in the brush. Pictures can never capture how beautiful it really is. Saw this on my ride yesterday.

As I had started early in the morning, the sky was over cast and the air slightly humid.  I packed extra clothing in case it were to rain, but by the end of my ride, the sun had peaked from behind the clouds.  The roads were golf-cart sized and very windy.  Many farmers were out working in the vineyards and fields.  Once I was stuck behind a tractor on the narrow road, but patiently waited as he found a spot to pull over and let me pass, “Merci!” I proudly yelled to him as I flew down the hill.

 There’s the Great Pyraneese!  I felt like I was in a story book.

After I returned from my scenic ride, Emily, Mariah and I took a drive to a nearby town of Carcassonne, to take a visit to the bike shop. Carcassonne was about 20K from Limoux and it was great to get out for a drive in the car.  Upon arriving in the town, me of course as the navigator (Emily thinks I’m the greatest at navigating by the way), we drove by a beautiful bridge and Emily just had to get a picture of it.  She made a note to stop after the bike shop to get pictures.  So, we drove and talked about how pretty it was and finally Mariah says, “Didn’t you like the castle?”  “What castle?!!” Both Emily and I had not seen a castle, just a pretty bridge.  But Mariah was astounded, “You didn’t see the castle?? You’re joking right?!!”  But we didn’t.

 The castle.

When we were driving back from the bike shop, Emily and I kept our eyes out for a castle. “Nope, don’t see a castle.  Mariah, what are you talking about?!”  Finally I looked back, and sure enough, through the rear window of the car was a ginormous castle!!!  We were hysterical!!  We just couldn’t believe how big and obvious the castle was! (I hope my dad and brothers are laughing now.) There were even signs pointing to the landmark.

 Another view of the castle.

So, we drove back around the town on the one-way roads to get back to the castle and stopped to take pictures.  I think Emily’s heart froze when she saw the thing because I’ve never seen such a look of amazement on her face.  But, we’ve decided that next week on one of our easy days of riding, we will drive to Carcassonne, bring a picnic and a book, walk inside the castle and take a nap on the nice green grass by the river.

 Me on the old bridge that goes to the castle.

 Vineyards along the French landscape, during our drive to Chateauroux.

Saturday Emily, Mariah, Jasmine, and I drove the van six hours north to Chateauroux for the first French Cup race, the “Ladies Berry”.  I’ll admit the drive went fairly smooth especially with me at the wheel; only accidentally shifting into second gear, from fifth gear while driving down the interstate!  I shall say that if my father were there, I’d have never heard the end of it, and he’d probably tell me that I was driving like a ‘woman’ or something, but he was the one who taught me how to drive….so we’ll blame the shifting issues on him. I also hope he appreciates that I enjoy giving him credit for things I’m good at!

 Chris, our director sportif is getting the bikes ready.

 Now, let’s fast-forward to the race.  Race started at 2pm on Sunday with 150 cyclists, mostly French.  Ironically a woman stood on a stage near the start line and sang a French song that I had heard in the movie “The Trippelettes of Bellevue”, an artistic French cartoon about a cyclist. Later during the race I also saw a sign that read “Bellevue”.  First, we were paraded around the town of Chateauroux, and arrived at the true starting line.  Immediately, the rain and the hail came, but I kept warm tucked inside the peleton.  Getting pushed further back, I fought to move up, but the group was still.  My first mistake in this race was not starting at the front and therefore I was too far back when the first break came early in the race.

It was about 30Ks into the race when the break came. The rain had made the roads slick and when we came to a small bridge with a smooth surface, I could hear one by one the sound of bikes and people crashing, like a thunder of dominoes.  Anticipating to hit the pavement, I steered my wheel and my eyes straight ahead and just missed going down.  Immediately I chased back onto the group. Already 20 women had split, and Emily was with that group.

The course rolled and winded along many small, golf-cart sized roads onto bigger two-lane highways.  We went through small farming towns where many people lined the streets and cheered. The rain was challenging as the white paint from the roads became very slick.  Emily crashed in her group, but was able to chase back onto the break-away.  Mariah and I stayed together at the front of the peleton. Eventually the rain stopped and the wind helped dry our wet jerseys.

 The race finished in Chateauroux, with a 5 lap circuit around the town.  Each lap consisted of 2-180 degree turns, one which was 300m from the finish line!  Immediately when we entered the town, I encountered the fastest, most technical criterium I have ever done in my life, just after we had raced over 100K’s!  All the sprinters moved to the front and attacked and attacked.  I jumped on their attacks, but by the third lap, I was almost blown!  During that time, a legend in cycling, 50 year-old Jennie Longo lapped the field!  The ladie is older than my parents and she was winning a French Cup race!  I have never been so inspired in all my life!!  Wait till I tell my parents!Jennie Longo had on her old-school metal helmet and was riding a time-trial bike!  Never had I seen such a sight. 

We finished by coming almost to a stop, going around a 180 degree turn and just stomping on the pedals.  I pushed as hard as I could go, but was no match for the sprinters.  I finished….a HUGE improvement from last week.  I kept with my teammate and positioned myself at the front of the peleton.  Next week my goal is to be at the front early on so I can catch the break.  After returning to Limoux, I emailed my coach Frank my power files from the race and discovered that I had improved my power threshold by 7.5%!  Each race I’ll keep pushing myself further….and who knows how far I can go.

  I sit, relax, drink a cafe and write my story.

I have my music blaring and a good book.  I’m waiting for my food to digest so I can go and gorge myself with more.  My nerves are going crazy and I think the coffee only amplifies this.  I’m going to go really hard today, so I’ll be hurting at the end.  Not sure what to expect, but the weather is ideal for me as everyone is complaining of the wind and chilly air.  I smile inside and think that this can only be perfection.  I’m tired of getting told that I’m not experienced….but by God, I am getting experience today and every day…until eventually they’ll say, “Wow, look at all the experience you have!”  I do believe that a lot of wonderful people back home believe I have potential…my coach, my parents, my friends, Aaron, and people I don’t know.  But I think today is the day.  I’m going to fight!

Yesterday, Emily and I hit the road in our BMW to our new destination. We traveled across some of the most scenic parts of Europe, up on the northern coasts of Italy and into France.  It was obvious when we entered France, not only because of the writing on the signs, but the traffic had slowed to obey the speed limit!  I’ll admit, Italians are crazy drivers and rarely follow the posted speed signs.  The drive was very mellow however the gusty winds howled across the French landscape.  It sure did feel like home!  We arrived into the medieval town of Limoux after 8 hours of driving.  The streets were very narrow, but the architecture was inviting. 

Our new director, Chris was waiting for us at one of his hotels.  Chris grew up in Canada, but married a French woman and has lived here for about 20 years.  He’s a retired economist and has some small hotels, where he takes groups of cyclists on tours of the countryside; mostly older folks…old like my parents (just joking!). He’s a very interesting fellow and enjoys helping young cyclists by hosting them in the many houses he has around the town.  Chris took us on a tour of the place, everything very close in walking distance, and later treated us to dinner at a restaurant that specializes in crepes.  Dinner was delicious and the people were very polite.  I had always been told of the French as being a bit rude to Americans, but have found this stereotype to be very untrue, as so far they have been very patient with me and my inablility to speak their language.

Today is my day off of riding, so I am busy working on some school work. Earlier in the day we went to the grocery store; another adventure for me, trying to interpret the new language.  I always find grocery shopping a great way to learn the vocabulary of another language because you are taking a 3-dimensional object and reading the tag on it.  Surely I’m mispronouncing everything, but at least the practice makes me feel as if I know the language!  Besides, my poor language skill might brighten someone’s day, by how funny my mispronunciations sound.

 Tomorrow we drive about 5 hours north.  Sunday is the Ladies Berry, French Cup race.  Compared to last weekend, this race will be more low-key because we won’t be racing against world champions!  However, I must admit that last weekend was a very humbling experience; getting thrown into the race scene of the Lance Armstrong’s of women’s cycling.  Sunday, I will have the opportunity to contribute to the team, and work under the direction of an internationally well known director, Chris. As of yet, I am resting, studying, and anticipating the new excitement of French racing that awaits me Sunday.

 Au revoir!

Tuesday, Jim led us on a ride to the coast.  It was an easy ride; a good time for spinning out the legs, enjoying the scenery and socializing with the other girls.  We stopped at a cafe to get cappuccino’s and I treated myself to a gelato.   

After our caffeine boost, we casually rode up a climb and back to the team house, stopping at the top for water.

After returning to the house, we showered, dressed and drove into the walls of Lucca for an afternoon of exploring.  The city of Lucca contains over a hundred churches and several towers. The streets are cobbled and narrow, reminding me of the semester I lived inside the city of Florence.  I had visited Lucca during that semester for an art history class, so I recognized some of the architecture we had studied. I purchased some postcards, and almond cookies, finishing off the cookies as I explored the town.

Somehow we found the vehicle from the maze of Lucca’s streets and returned home where I was cooking a dinner of gnocchi, grilled eggplant and salad.  We finished the night with a drive down the hill for gelato and more laughter.