Double or Nothin' - Back to Back Podium Finishes!!!

Race: Dominguez Hills Memorial Day Race
Course: Old course, left turns
Start Time: 11:45am
NOW MS-Society Racers: Christine Barron, Jennifer Johansen, Lauren Liscinski, Louise Keoghan and me
Weather: A breezy 68 F

Things of note: Celebrity guest rider Jennifer Johansen made her second appearance of the season today. Also, Lauren Liscinski made this her first race back after breaking her collarbone a mere three weeks ago. Broken collarbone, two nights in a hospital, surgery, a week off the bike, a copious amount of pain pills, and Lauren only missed one team race. Impressive.

The Skinny: Goal numero uno today was to protect our most dominate local rider; Louise Keoghan, who is currently first in the overall standings at the California Bicycle Racing (CBR) series. In doing so I got myself in a break with Dara Rogers of Helen’s and Melina Bernecker of LaGrange; we were shortly joined by Priscilla Calderon of Incycle and the four of us worked hard to stay off the front. In the final sprint I got third and Louise maintained her lead in the series. A great day for the team!

Lessons learned: only work as hard as your break buddies.

Final Podium: 1st: Priscilla Calderon, 2nd: Melinda Bernecker, 3rd: Julia Lafranchise

Podium Finish!!!

Four corners, gusting winds, potholes a plenty and three tough NOW MS-Society riders. Welcome to Barry Wolfe Grand Prix, 2011 edition.

1:50pm start; Woodland Hills, CA: I got in an early break with two dominant SoCal teams: Incycle and LaGrange, despite herculean efforts by all of us, the move came back. Teammate Jenna (Jammer) Kowalski got in the very next move, the winning move….except it wasn’t. Five riders up the road, late in the race, with all big teams represented seemed promising, but a couple riders wanted to bridge and I followed. It took forever for the five of us to bridge to the break inside nine laps to go. This wasn’t a pleasant let’s all work together and bridge to the break kind of experience, it was more like five beavers trying to build the Hoover Dam. It worked out; however, and by this time I was gassed so I followed wheels while Jammer regulated the front. At the bell lap I picked up Jammer for the lead-out and made it to turn four second wheel behind former teammate Kendall Ryan riding for TIBCO pro cycling. Miscalculating the short tailwind sprint put me in second and Jammer in fourth overall.

Final Podium: 1st Kendall Ryan; 2nd Julia Lafranchise; 3rd Pamela Schuster

Until next time,

Quadzilla

Barrio Logan Grand Prix

05.09.11 - I am sitting in the Jammer Mobile, listening to a little Phil Collins, writing this report on our trek home from the Barrio Logan Grand Prix (in San Diego, CA). A trek that netted the team a podium finish, one attractive cow print hat, a CD case holder, tortillas, a few delectable desserts, an extenda-podium and cash to boot!

The gun went off at 2:50pm, teammate Erika Graves quickly attacked and single handedly established what was to be the move of the day. The chase began and I got in a move with former roommate and close friend Tammy Wildgoose. The Goose pulled me to the break, and unfortunately perished in the process. The five of us in the break, worked hard, but were eventually joined by two more.

No one seemed satisfied with the combination of riders, attacks started flying, I countered and got off the front of the break with Helens rider Jenny Rios. Rios worked hard to keep us up the road and before I knew it we lapped the field inside 5 to go.

Teammate Lauren Liscinski went straight to the front and hammered (with help from Helens riders) to keep the rest of the break from catching the field. In the process celebrity guest rider and former teammate Jennifer Johansen (JenJo) pulled me to the front of the field (thanks Jenjo)!! In the final sprint I finished 2nd overall; Jenna the Jammer Kowalski greased her elbows and free lanced to second in the field sprint for 9th overall (and won a couple primes in the process)! Erika came in with the remnants of the break for 5th overall. A great day for NOW MS-Society, we worked hard as a team today. I wouldn’t have reached the podium without my teammates. Thank you all as always for the support

Sincerely, Quadzilla

Final Podium: First: Jenny Rios, Second: Julia Lafranchise, Third: Jennifer Valente

Tour de Murrieta Race Report

Check out this guest post from teammate Jenna the Jammer who hammered her way to a second place finish on the weekend!!

Who: Ivie Crawford, Erika Graves, Jenna Kowalski, Julia Lafranchise

What: Tour de Murrieta Day 3 Circuit Race
Where: Murrieta, CA
When: Sunday, March 13, 2011
Why: Because it's what we do

The third and final day of the Tour de Murrieta omnium began at 9:40am after we 'sprang forward' into Daylight Savings time. The circuit race comprised of 46 miles of a 3.5 mile course (13 laps), mostly flat with a few big ring rollers - part of the TT course - with all of the corners in the last kilometer before the finish. The plan for the day was for me, Jenna Jammer, currently 4th overall for the weekend, to sit in as the protected rider for a sprint finish if a break wasn't in the cards. So that's exactly what I did as Erika, Ivie and Julia regulated at the front of the peleton covering moves and keeping the pace high. I felt rather like Mark Cavendish, and as exciting as that may sound, I found myself a bit bored and itching to attack. But as the lap cards brought our fate nearer, I could sense the pack getting anxious as I made my way to the front, looking for the orange and black jersey's of NOW MS-Society, that would escort me to the finish line. One lap to go...I was second wheel behind Julia, but not for long, as every other rider decided it was time to be second wheel as well. Going into the final (and only) four corners before the finish, the pack was frantic, wheels and elbows bumping, girls yelping and shrieking; and though I tried to stay calm searching desperately for a teammates wheel, I could not contain the panic that arose as I realized this was not going to end as planned...Into the stretch before the final corner, I heard 'JENNA!' as a water bottle hit the pavement, scaring a Helen's rider, who shot sideways, opening up just enough of a gap for me to jump through and sprint about eight wheels up to the lead rider who was jumping into the final corner. I gave a second kick to get on her wheel, but was a fraction too late as she sprinted through the final corner and to the finish line, which I crossed in second, barely edging out InCycle's Bea Rodriguez!

With a second place finish on the stage, I moved up to second overall for the weekend after a ninth place TT and fifth place criterium. Erika Graves also landed herself a top ten overall.

Sunday's race recap from Julia Lafranchise aka Mark Renshaw: 'I felt like I was regulating for twelve laps and trying not do die for one.'

Next stop: San Dimas Stage Race

Cheers!

Jenna Jammer Kowalski

Callville Bay Classic race report:

Day one of the Callville Bay Classic was a 4.1 mile uphill time trial with a wicked sweet tailwind. Times were two minutes faster than last year. I'm still working on my time trialling though, even with the tailwind advantage. So I headed home with team mates Jenna Kowalski and Lauren Liscinski to strategize over Saturday's road race.

The weather man was predicting a storm, and every bike racer in Las Vegas County was predicting the worst. So when I met our NOW MS-Society men's team at Lake Mead on Saturday I was prepared. Jenna, Lauren and I bundled up for a long wet day in the saddle, but not without our In Heat embrocation (thank goodness for warm legs).

I felt great for the first half of the race, but as we headed to the second turnaround the temperature dropped. I got to the point where I was just trying to make it home, I couldn't think of setting up a sprint finish, all I wanted was a cup o' joe and a scalding shower. But as we got closer to the finish line the sun came out a little and before I knew it we were sprinting. A botched lead-out attempt left Jenna in third and me in sixth. With a huge pot of chili waiting for us at our amazing host house, my two amigos and I headed home. We cleaned our bikes and talked about the race, planning for a better finish in the criterium on Sunday.

Luckily the final day of racing was much sunnier AND teammate Julie Guthrie took a third place finish in the 3/4 race right before ours!! Building off her enthusiasm we started our final stage of the Callville Bay Classic; and it was a fast one. There were many attacks, but nothing got away because Incycle was protecting the overall lead. I won a prime and made a last ditch effort to get off the front before setting up the lead-out. Inside four to go Lauren and Jenna were at the front and I made a hard effort to join them. As we crested the hill one last time and went into the last half lap, DS Kurt Stockton yelled at me that Jenna was on my wheel. I picked up the pace as much as I could and went flying around the final U-turn to the finish. To my surprise I finished third and Jenna fifth (that lead-out could use some work).

Then the longest drive home in history began.

NOW MS-Society had a very succesfull weekend for both men and women. Looking forward to an equally awesome season!

Race Report: Podium Finish!

Race: NOW Energy Bar Criterium
Who: Christine, Erika, Ivie, Jenna, Lauren, Louise and myself
What: Team NOW MS-Society's 2011 season opener
Where: Dominguez Hills, CA (near the city of Compton)
When: 11:40am
Weather: Almost too warm for leg warmers, not quite wet enough for In Heat. Decisions, decisions.
Tactics: Destroy INCYCLE
Results: Second place by yours truly!!

The Skinny: I attacked from the gun and got in a four woman break that stuck. Tried to get away with two to go (thanks to some clever hands signaling by DS Kurt Stockton) but failed. Second in the sprint thanks to loads of hard work by my team mates.
Word from the peleton (courtesy of Jenna Kowalski): 'Ready, set.....let them go!'

Bonus Fact: Eggs and bacon are my favorite pre-race food.

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