Andrea

From one trip to another

Ryan and I made the 17 hour drive from Marquette yesterday & got home around midnight. Now, I’m packed up & ready to head off to the NSCA’s National Conference in Vegas to present my thesis data. I’ll be glad to get home on Saturday. In light of my recent race performances, I may end up not going to the Huntsville race on the 19th so I can prepare for the State TT Championship later in the month (as well as the remainder of the season!)

It’ll be a few days before I post again- in the meantime, if you’re bored with my blog, take a look at some of the links or go back to some earlier posts. Who knows- you might find something interesting… I’ve got some other good photos from my WI/MI trip to post. I’ll do it sometime in the next week once I get settled back in :)

Andrea

Birthplace of the Centerline Rule

I found it today just outside of Marquette, Michigan. Ryan and I were bombing down a hill when the sign off to the left side of the road caught my eye. I yelled at him to stop and turn around. Sure enough- we’d just ridden past the spot were the first center line was marked on a road!

Check it…

Andrea

On the Road Again

…but this time, not to a bike race. I’m making this post from Fond du Lac, Wisconsin. Ryan and I made last minute plans to visit some of his family in Wisconsin and Michigan. We made the 12 hour road trip yesterday. Once it warms up, we’re gonna go for a bike ride up the east shore of the lake. It’s nice to do something out of town besides racing for a change :)

Andrea

How to Cut a Steertube

I decided to lower my handlebars, and, since I like my bike to look perfect, I needed to cut some excess steer tube. Here’s a step-by-step guide: click on any of the photos to look at a larger version

Tools: allen keys (for me, it was a 4, 5, and 8mm), saw guide, hacksaw, vice (you can do it without the vice, but it’s harder), and a grease rag or paper towel.

Before:

1. Remove the top cap and any spacers from above the stem

2. Loosen the stem bolts on the steer tube

3. Remove the inner cap that’s screwed into the compression fitting inside the steer tube

4. Mark the steer tube just above the stem with a bright color (needs to be bright enough that you can see the line when you put it in the saw guide).

5. Remove the brake from the fork and your computer sensor (if it’s a wired system)

6. Remove the fork from the headtube. You’ll have two headset bearings- one on top, and one on the bottom. Place them (and the parts that go with them) on your greaserag in the order that you took them off.

7. Put the steer tube into the saw guide- you’ll want the line you made to be just above the saw guide slot so that you’re cutting it almost a millimeter shorter than you marked (this is so that the steer tube/fitting will end up just below the top of the stem when re-assembled).

8. Clamp the saw guide/fork into a vice

9. Saw!

10. The compression fitting in my steer tube needed to be adjusted as well (sorry, no pic). I used a hammer and a deep 5/8″ socket to press it down further into the steer tube so that the edge of the top fitting would sit flush with the new cut.

11. Re-assemble in the reverse order (aren’t you glad you laid those headset bearings out in order?)

12. Perfection!

Andrea

I’m watching UFC on TV…

…and I noticed that I’m drawn to how the guys throw punches/kicks, etc. in a cautious and calculated manner- UNTIL one of them shows the slightest falter or weakness. At that point, the other guy will, without hesitation or thought, attack full force, and they don’t stop until the ref steps in. It’s brutal…

Something about that reminds me of bike racing. I love counter attacks. At the risk of giving away too much strategy, I gotta admit, it’s got to be my favorite move to put on someone who is hurting during a race.

I can’t wait for this weekend.

Andrea

Tour de Louisiane Sunday

I started the day in 1st place with a 21 second gap ahead of Lauren Edwards (Probike). This meant that she could win the hot spot time bonus as well as the race and I’d still be ahead. So, since I grabbed her wheel for the sprint win yesterday, I agreed to help her clinch 2nd by leading her out for the mid-race time bonus sprint.

Once the race started, we dropped the hammer early in an attempt to weed out anyone who wasn’t confident with railing the turns on the sketchy pavement. After several laps, the officials rang the bell for a prime. As we rounded the final turn for the finish, Lauren sprinted off the front then sat up as we caught back on to her.

A lap of two later, the bell was rung again for the time bonus. I pulled up to the front , made sure that Lauren was on my wheel, then accelerated down the long back stretch and into turns 3 and 4. I continued to pull hard towards the finish line, not looking back to see what was going on behind me until I heard the announcer saying that there was a rider off the front… I looked back to see the pack barely rounding the final turn!

For a second, I wasn’t sure what to do, but I figured I’d just settle into a steady grind and see what would happen. According to Ryan and Lauren, a few people in the pack attempted to chase, but gave up since they figured I’d win whether or not they caught me. LADIES!!! COME ON!!!! What if I’d had a mechanical or wreck? What if you caught me, countered, and managed to drop me?!? You guys hung on for dear life in the thunderstorm yesterday, don’t ever give up!

Oh well… Anyway…
I finished almost a lap ahead of the pack. I found out later that Lauren had mistaken the first prime for the hotspot and thought that the hotspot was just a merchandise prime. She still ended up winning the pack sprint and holding on to her 2nd place spot.

I’m hoping I feel as good next weekend as I did today. It’s time to defend the Memphis turf!

Ryan took photos of the race: Tour de LA Women’s photos

Here are a few of my favorites (click to the link above for higher-res, unscaled images):

He also finished with the pack today, landing him 13th overall in the P 1/2/3 field. I took some photos of that race, as well as some other random non-race photos including kids playing catch, moto officials having a romantic garden moment, cowboy boots, a team meeting, and a cute little lizard. The gallery is HERE