A Crit Clinic & A Comeback

Hello it's Whitney again! Last Wednesday (not the 4th) was a big day for me! I was approved by the orthopedic doctor to get back on my bike OUTSIDE and start TRAINING! Yep. I'm in full training, physical therapy, and yoga mode again, whipping my body back into race shape for the Tour of Elk Grove at the beginning of August.

I kicked off my first ride outside by hosting a crit clinic with Tibco rider, Amanda Miller, and put on by Chris Johnson for the City Street Crits. We were expecting, like, 5 people to show up. It was pretty crazy to roll up and have about 60 people attending the clinic! Holy crap. Not only that, but the clinic ran a solid 90 minutes with all the questions people came with. We concluded the event with a mock race. From the feedback, it was really helpful! Score! To boot there were at least a dozen women.

Just in time for my training, I got a box of goodies from sponsors...Michelin tires and tubes, Honeystinger deliciousness, sweet treats from The Ginger People, and more Arnicare and Calendula.

To boot, my new, blacked out Veloforma frame should be arriving this weekend so I can build it up again (Handlebar bashed into my top tube in my crash)! I'm very happy to be on the bike again and am looking forward to more group rides and some local races starting this weekend. Elk Grove, here I come...

Farewell Wisconsin

Tour of America's Dairyland wrapped up this past Sunday in Madison, WI and after an exceptionally long time in airports on Monday, I am back in Utah.  Thankfully, Milwaukee's airport is one of my favorites thanks to a sweet used book store where I spent several hours reading rare cookbooks from colonial times and some cool essays on Ayurveda principles.  Unfortunately, I don't have much to report on the racing front as I've found myself in a bit of a racing funk.  The racing was tough and I struggled mentally to stay in the mix.  The first two crits were particularly bad for me and I finished in the 40s in Sheboygan and Fond du Lac.  Luckily, I had great company traveling with Carrie Cash and enjoyed staying with Laura Van Gilder, Kristin Lasasso, and Laura Parsons and the Pekarek Family in Sheboygan.  It helps to have good company to stave off that poor racing negativity.  


I met an awesome family on the start line in Fond du Lac and in addition to providing me with lots of encouragement and some tasty post-race ice cream, they went to the next day's crit at Downer's.  While most racers don't find "Move-up!" an encouraging comment from the sidelines, I know I need that reminder sometimes and gave folks the thumbs up to yell anything to get me going.  When I heard. "Kat, get fierce!!!" going through the first corner, I immediately laughed, promptly put the game face on, and moved to the front.  The race went much better for me in general, although I still botched up my positioning on the last lap and finished about 27th.  Better than almost 50th I guess?  Enjoyed a nice BBQ at the Schneider family's house and then prepared for the last race in Madison.  


Chris and Carrie surprised me with a sweet treat to get my butt in gear for the last race and along with some more cheering from my WI fans (whose son Matt skipped Summerfest to watch our race!), and I was feeling good.  

Bring on the gluten!!!

Timing the last pre-race bite perfectly...

The race went well, but again my positioning should have been better in the last two turns as I got caught behind some folks who seemed like they were going backwards.  Finished 26th. After such a poor start to the racing this series, I was feeling OK about the race even if I wasn't happy about my result.  After falling short of my own expectations for Tulsa and ToAD, I'm spending this week resting and re-evaluating where I'm at before heading to Boise for the Exergy Twilight Crit in a couple weeks.  


One last special thanks to Paul Warloski, the Pekarek family, and Karen Larson and her husband John for hosting me.  Looking forward to seeing you again next year!