After the team’s ‘team camp’ plans fell through due to scheduling and finances, a few of my teammates, also living in New England, decided to organize our own mini-team camp. Silke, Anna, and I met up on Saturday in Ware, MA at the start of a popular course around the Quabbin Reservoir. The air was much warmer than we anticipated, so the wind had some invitation as it regulated our body heat from over-dressing. We rode up to the start of the big climb and looked out over the valley and hills below. It was so beautiful. But immediately we got to business and rode, single file along the course’s long stretch of rolling highway.
Silke and Anna
The pulls were quick but so efficient that it was a breath of fresh air to finally be with other women who shared the same passion. It’s always a treat, especially when you’re used to being the only female in a group of guys. We took turns for several hours and finally, on hour 3, we turned onto a quite side-road, spread out, and began sharing our life stories. Anna’s a PhD student in biology at Harvard but is incredibly competitive and loves to Nordic ski and bake. Silke is from Germany and works as a chemist for Pfizer. She too has many great stories to share.
After the ride, we drove to an Italian bar for a warm bite to eat, and then we hit the road with plans for the racing season, soon to begin!
Sunday was a whole new ball-park. Landry’s in Boston was hosting an indoor-TT event (mostly for tri-athletes) and Aaron, me and the Landry’s crew decided to enter in the same time-slot so we could not only race one-another but have a reason for trash-talking! Our heat consisted of 18 compu-trainers and the event took about 8 heats from the entire day.
Aaron's revival of the "Mr. Goodbody" kit.
Aaron and I drove up to Boston, pouting the entire ride as it was the most beautiful day of the month, and we were somehow choosing to ride indoors! Ironic, especially since we refuse to ride the trainer during the worst conditions! When we arrived, we weighed in since the compu-trainer is set up for your weight. Immediately I changed and set up my bike to warm-up. Aaron came walking into the warm-up garage and I heard guys laughing….he had on his Mario Cipollini muscle suit! I was surprised and shook my head! Aaron parked his bike next to mine and sat there whining about his stationary position. I looked over and said, “Hey, if you don’t start warming up, Jeff over there is going to kick your ass!” Aaron grinned and just decided to go on strike! I had no idea what his plans were.
It wasn’t too long before they shuttled us into the store and set-up the bikes. Ahead of us were two large screens with a data sheet for each person in the heat: our position, speed, watts, and distance. Above this data was a profile of the course with colored markers to depict the position of each rider on the course. The count-down began and when the start beeped, I stood up and took off on my stationary wheels! For the first minute, I was in the lead, but after each minute ticked away, Aaron took-over and I fell back. He was unstoppable and soon the whole building was cheering for the guy in the ridiculous muscle suit! I pushed hard but found it so hard to focus. The announcer was raving about the power behind the Cipollini suit! Aaron wore it proud. I pushed but the course was painful; several climbs with little descents. I tried focusing on my speed, but had no bearings on where I was compared to the other women. Finally, I heard my name! “Melissa Ross is looking strong…she’s going to finish as one of the top females.” I felt the encouragement. Meanwhile, Aaron was dumping more and more water on his head.
Boy do I look happy!
He broke away and finished 1st in our heat and 5th overall for the event! Aaron was beaming, Cat 3 and out-rode a few Cat 1 & 2 riders. His goal this year is to upgrade to a 2, so this was the encouragement he needed. “I think this is going to be my best season yet, Melissa!” I on the other hand wasn’t as excited about my time or average watts, but I did win my heat for the females. We stayed, cheering our friends in the following heats, Aaron celebrated with beer, and I sipped on my recovery bottle, my stomach twisting in knots. We arrived dreaming about riding outside, and left with sunshiny faces and dreaming about the upcoming season!
A. Ross & M.Ross side-by-side